Football Season 2009/2010

[Fierce_LiNk]

Uniteds latest pre season game was a pretty nice win at 8-2.

 

Giggs hatrick, Owen 2, Berbatov, Nani and Tosic.

 

I think a lot of fans are changing their minds about Owen. Just hope he can keep up his pre season form when the season starts.

 

I missed the game because I thought it was on later, so watched some highlights over the internet. Me and my brother just chuckled when we saw Giggs had scored three.

 

Also, Anderson hitting the post. He's done that in two games now. He better score sooon!

 

Berbatov had a great game by the looks of things. He looked like he was at the heart of everything, and Nani was very involved. I'm tipping these two to have a good season for us. When they're on their game, I think they're awesome players. They offer a lot. It's just about consistency I think.

[Platty]

Yeah apparently Berba was man of the match. One of his best performances..... he needs to have a good season.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Yeah apparently Berba was man of the match. One of his best performances..... he needs to have a good season.

 

He will do, I think. In all honesty, I thought he had a decent or good first season. A lot of people just seemed to write him off because he wasn't banging in goals every match. But, in fairness, it was a strange season all round. Especially towards the end where Rooney was playing on the left or where Ronaldo was playing as our most advanced forward. This season, I think we'll play a more straightforward 4-4-2. Nani and Valencia on the wings. Rooney and Berbatov up-front, with Owen freshening things up from the bench or starting some games.

[Platty]

He will do, I think. In all honesty, I thought he had a decent or good first season. A lot of people just seemed to write him off because he wasn't banging in goals every match. But, in fairness, it was a strange season all round. Especially towards the end where Rooney was playing on the left or where Ronaldo was playing as our most advanced forward. This season, I think we'll play a more straightforward 4-4-2. Nani and Valencia on the wings. Rooney and Berbatov up-front, with Owen freshening things up from the bench or starting some games.

 

Yeah fergie stated today/yesterday that Rooney will be playing through the middle this season. I can see him banging in goals every week.

[Noodleman]

He will do, I think. In all honesty, I thought he had a decent or good first season. A lot of people just seemed to write him off because he wasn't banging in goals every match.

 

Don't think it was his lack of goals. I think it was more to do with, certainly towards the end of the season he quite clearly couldn't be arsed and was strolling around the pitch like he was already on his summer holidays by about March. Coupled with his awful choice of penalty in the FA Cup game.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Don't think it was his lack of goals. I think it was more to do with, certainly towards the end of the season he quite clearly couldn't be arsed and was strolling around the pitch like he was already on his summer holidays by about March. Coupled with his awful choice of penalty in the FA Cup game.

 

The penalty choice was bad. Although, had it gone in, quite a few fans would have been raving about it. It was definitely his most embarrassing moment so far, though.

 

With his performances, he was often compared with Tevez, who is a lot more terrier-like. Tevez had a higher work-rate, so that went down really well with the fans. One problem that I had with Berbatov was that he seems to drop too deep in midfield, and my wish for him would be to player further up the field. But, is that a tactical choice by Fergie or is that a personal choice by Berbatov? In the Porto away game, he played more like an advanced midfielder rather than an attacker, and I think that was a choice by the manager.

 

He does cover quite a bit of ground, though. But, he'll never run full pelt at the goalkeeper like Tevez (or Rooney) did/does. I think a lot of people just saw that he wasn't running at a fast pace like the rest of the team. To be fair, when you're put in a team with players like Rooney, Tevez, Ronaldo, Park, Evra, Rafael, Nani, players with pace, it is very easy to just look at someone and think that they do very little.

[Ramar]

I don't think Berbatov is ever going to be banging in goals, but he definitely needs to be chipping in with assists on a regular basis and popping up with the odd goal when called upon. Not that I care, the less he does the better for me. xD

[Fierce_LiNk]

I don't think Berbatov is ever going to be banging in goals, but he definitely needs to be chipping in with assists on a regular basis and popping up with the odd goal when called upon. Not that I care, the less he does the better for me. xD

 

You mention about the assists, yet Berbatov was joint second in the league for highest number of assists. He scored 9 league goals in his first season, three behind Wayne Rooney. It wasn't an amazing number of goals, and I think it was a season where he didn't feel entirely settled in the squad. He and Tevez weren't guaranteed places in the side, especially with Fergie tinkering and playing Ronaldo as a striker in a few games.

 

But, the assists show that at least he contributed to the team play. Still, he plays a little too deep for my liking, but if he's setting others up to score...then, I don't really know.

[Fresh]

Berbatov does seemed to have improved at he is playing well in pre-season. Everyone seemed to be calling for united to get a new striker when we lost Ronaldo and Tevez however at the moment Kiko and Owen seem to be supplying plenty of goals. The team scored 8 in their last game.

[Ramar]

Berbatov does seemed to have improved at he is playing well in pre-season. Everyone seemed to be calling for united to get a new striker when we lost Ronaldo and Tevez however at the moment Kiko and Owen seem to be supplying plenty of goals. The team scored 8 in their last game.

 

I could score 8 against some of the teams Man Utd have played this pre-season. Lets not get carried away here. Results in pre-season mean nothing, except getting players fit for the new season.

[Babooo]

I could score 8 against some of the teams Man Utd have played this pre-season. Lets not get carried away here. Results in pre-season mean nothing, except getting players fit for the new season.

 

Agreed. Do not take anything from pre season games. Come on, just look at the opposition you play against...they're awful!

[Fresh]

I wasn't claiming the team they were playing about were on the same level of them but there really isn't a need to slate the teams. The guys are playing well and it's nice to see owen on the scoresheet and berbs playing slightly differently than before. It is easy for people to say Sir Alex brought him in to play Ruud-esk however these are the kind of people who don't really understand what he is all about. It's all about his link up, his creation and yes occasionally his reactions.

 

What we must remember is boys such as Kiko, yes boys he's only 17, are still at the start of their career. So if I were 17, playing in front of a sell out 100,000 person crowd, against a team of much older and more experienced professionals, and in a team which scored 8 I'd be damn happy about it.

[Ramar]

I wasn't claiming the team they were playing about were on the same level of them but there really isn't a need to slate the teams. The guys are playing well and it's nice to see owen on the scoresheet and berbs playing slightly differently than before. It is easy for people to say Sir Alex brought him in to play Ruud-esk however these are the kind of people who don't really understand what he is all about. It's all about his link up, his creation and yes occasionally his reactions.

 

What we must remember is boys such as Kiko, yes boys he's only 17, are still at the start of their career. So if I were 17, playing in front of a sell out 100,000 person crowd, against a team of much older and more experienced professionals, and in a team which scored 8 I'd be damn happy about it.

 

Firstly its not really slating them is it, its the cold hard truth. The teams aren't good. It's not because Man Utd are playing out of this world.

 

Yes its nice to see goals in pre-seaon but it doesn't mean anything when the season starts, just ask Tottenham fans about last year. They rinsed pre-season then spent the first few months rooted to the bottom of the league with 2 points.

 

Even at 17 I'm sure the lad will know its only pre-season, whilst he can be happy with his performance, he knows its different in the league. Even when I played Sunday league we knew not to get too carried away with pre-season victories or even defeats. Plus he's played at Old Trafford a few times, I'm quite sure he's over playing in front of large crowds.

[Fresh]

I understand where you are comming from but I still think they are performing well. Also the lad has only played at OT twice. I think the steps he is making are incredible.

 

On a rather side note looks like Kolo is off to Man City, £16m. I know Arsenal have some financial debt however I thought they had some decent credit structure to repay the new stadium. It would seem not however. Hopefully this new guy can fill Kolos place and keep them in the top four but it's starting to look more like citys place now, then again I would rather Villa have it.

[Ramar]

On a rather side note looks like Kolo is off to Man City, £16m. I know Arsenal have some financial debt however I thought they had some decent credit structure to repay the new stadium. It would seem not however. Hopefully this new guy can fill Kolos place and keep them in the top four but it's starting to look more like citys place now, then again I would rather Villa have it.

 

Selling him isn't about debt, if it was we'd offload Fabregas for three times as much. It's shit if he does go, but £16 million for a defender who hasn't been at his best for some time now is looking like good business (hence why Wenger appears to be taking the money).

 

I'd rather not see the deal go throuh though because I highly doubt Wenger will follow it up with a decent signing and because Toure's a decent bloke.

[khilafah]

ESPN get more football!!

 

ESPN has secured TV rights to show football from the German, Russian, Portuguese and Dutch top divisions, alongside the remainder of the US Major League Soccer season.

 

Coverage from the four leagues for 2009/10 - and the rest of the MLS action up to November - will be shown on the firm's forthcoming ESPN channel, along with its English Premier League and Scottish Premier League matches.

 

The station will officially launch on August 3 in standard definition and high definition at 417 and 443 respectively on Sky's EPG.

 

Ahead of this, the Disney-owned network has agreed a multi-year deal with Germany's Bundesliga for five live games per week, including a "selection of HD matches, plus weekly preview and highlight packages".

 

It has also negotiated a UK and Ireland exclusive deal with the Portuguese Liga and an arrangement with IMG for two Dutch games per week from the Eredivisie, as well as full live coverage from the Russian Premier League.

 

The MLS coverage will include five playoff games to the end of the season, alongside action from the MLS Cup championship and ten matches featuring David Beckham's LA Galaxy, starting with their tie against New England on August 8 at 11pm.

 

To mark ESPN's opening weekend, the channel will show the Italian SuperCup between Seria A champions Inter Milan and Coppa Italia winners Lazio, with live coverage from The Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing, starting at 1pm on August 8.

 

Alongside this, the station will show pre-season friendly games from Real Madrid's tour of North America - including live matches against Toronto FC on August 7 and DC United on August 9 - as well as Benfica's warm-up match against AC Milan on August 8 and Tottenham Hotspur's contest against Olympiakos on August 9.

 

ESPN EMEA vice president of TV channels Jereon Oerlemans said: "We are delighted to bring viewers in the UK and Ireland access to a further lineup of some of the world's finest footballers and top clubs.

 

"We feel these deals represent an excellent addition to ESPN as we look to build the channel with great local and international sports."

 

The broadcaster also plans to "make its new live sports coverage widely available across multiple pay-TV platforms", including carriage negotiations already being underway with Virgin Media and BT Vision.

[Fierce_LiNk]

With all this talk on the importance of pre-season: I think the performances are more important than the actual results. When I think of pre-season, I think of it as a way for teams to "gel" together before the new season begins. With Berbatov last season, he didn't go through a pre-season with us, because we signed him so late on. However, had we signed him earlier, I think he would have gelled with the rest of the team a lot quicker, and maybe he would have performed better in the league.

 

Even if some of the perfomances are not up to scratch in pre-season, it's really just a way to get some low-risk games under your belt. The games mean little. It's also a way for the managers and tacticians to try out a few things to see how they work. If they don't work, then you can work out ways to resolve these problems before the season begins.

 

As far as the United pre-season goes, the pleasing thing for me is the way the squad is working together, particularly the attacking line. I feel that it is important for the development of Macheda that he has as many chances to play with the likes of Rooney, Giggs, Carrick and so forth. The same with Nani and Anderson. The more these guys play together, the better the understanding that they will have. I've been pleased with what I've seen so far in pre-season.

[conzer16]

how much will ESPN cost on top on a Sky Sports subscription I wonder.

[Fresh]

With all this talk on the importance of pre-season: I think the performances are more important than the actual results. When I think of pre-season, I think of it as a way for teams to "gel" together before the new season begins. With Berbatov last season, he didn't go through a pre-season with us, because we signed him so late on. However, had we signed him earlier, I think he would have gelled with the rest of the team a lot quicker, and maybe he would have performed better in the league.

 

Even if some of the perfomances are not up to scratch in pre-season, it's really just a way to get some low-risk games under your belt. The games mean little. It's also a way for the managers and tacticians to try out a few things to see how they work. If they don't work, then you can work out ways to resolve these problems before the season begins.

 

As far as the United pre-season goes, the pleasing thing for me is the way the squad is working together, particularly the attacking line. I feel that it is important for the development of Macheda that he has as many chances to play with the likes of Rooney, Giggs, Carrick and so forth. The same with Nani and Anderson. The more these guys play together, the better the understanding that they will have. I've been pleased with what I've seen so far in pre-season.

 

These boys have really been impressive on the tour so far. Ando in particular has been Showing some more consistent form, those glimpses of greatness that we have seen from him in the last 2 years have started to flourish and he seems to be able to keep them up for a whole game. Here's to him continuing to shit on Fabregas*.

 

Nani has again showed what he is capable of. I know that is Sir Alex has his way he only would have been leaving Portugal now however other bids were coming in for him 2 years ago and we needed to get him, even if it was slightly prematurely. There is a lot of talk about him being Ronaldo Mk II. However, and I hope some of you agree with me, now that Ronaldo has gone I think Nani's time to show us his individual talents. He may never be Ronaldo Mk II but I think a Nani Mk I might be quite a damn good player.

 

* Flink, I hope you get in what this is in reference to.

[Ramar]

how much will ESPN cost on top on a Sky Sports subscription I wonder.

 

Quite sure they've already said it's going to cost £9. The real question is whether they'll put it on freeview. With the update khalifah posted, I'm a bit interested if the price is right.

[khilafah]

how much will ESPN cost on top on a Sky Sports subscription I wonder.

 

Still £9 and free for Virgin XL customers.

[Babooo]

gonna be watching the arsenal pre season game at 6....they're not very exciting mind lol. But i have nothing else better to do.

[Fierce_LiNk]

These boys have really been impressive on the tour so far. Ando in particular has been Showing some more consistent form, those glimpses of greatness that we have seen from him in the last 2 years have started to flourish and he seems to be able to keep them up for a whole game. Here's to him continuing to shit on Fabregas*.

 

Nani has again showed what he is capable of. I know that is Sir Alex has his way he only would have been leaving Portugal now however other bids were coming in for him 2 years ago and we needed to get him, even if it was slightly prematurely. There is a lot of talk about him being Ronaldo Mk II. However, and I hope some of you agree with me, now that Ronaldo has gone I think Nani's time to show us his individual talents. He may never be Ronaldo Mk II but I think a Nani Mk I might be quite a damn good player.

 

* Flink, I hope you get in what this is in reference to.

 

Are you refering to "the nut-meg"? Or is it something else?

 

 

Also...

 

 

Aaaaaaannnnndeeeeeeeerrrrsooooooon!!

 

...has scored his first goal for United, and what a beauty it was. A free kick. The thing is, when he stepped up to take it, I had a feeling today would be his day. You should check the 606 boards, they've gone crazy.

 

Valencia has also scored too. His first on his debut. *I know its pre-season, but it still counts to meeee*

 

The thing with Nani is that if he continues to be called "The Second Ronaldo", then it will just stop him from being his own player. I'm not expecting him to be better than Ronaldo, because that is a very hard act to follow.

 

Also, Kolo Toure has signed for Man City. 4 year deal for 16 million quid.

Edited July 29, 2009 by Fierce_LiNk

[Babooo]

Sad that Kolo has gone but he was getting worse. I really hope Wenger uses the money on reinforcements but I doubt he is....cos with this squad I don't see us winning anything. 4th place again probably. Any other Arsenal fans feeling the same?

[Fierce_LiNk]

Sad that Kolo has gone but he was getting worse. I really hope Wenger uses the money on reinforcements but I doubt he is....cos with this squad I don't see us winning anything. 4th place again probably. Any other Arsenal fans feeling the same?

 

You've bought in Vermaelen (sp?) though, so is he the "replacement" for Kolo?

 

But, that's around about 40 million quid that has been gained from letting go of Adebayor and Kolo, and there's still quite a bit of time for Wenger to bring in some players.