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The Manchester United thread

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Mad Dogg

Mad Dogg

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2,359
Football has moved on. Most of the top teams these days play with three men in the midfield at all times (one being more attacking than the other two), and they simply overpower a two man central midfield. Not always, but it's a question of consistency.

Most of our best performances over the last four years have come when we've played 4231. Carrick and Fletcher anchor the midfield with Giggs or occasionally Anderson in front of them linking the midfield with the attack. The 7-1 against Roma, 4-1 against Arsenal and 6-0 against Newcastle in 06/07, the two legs against Arsenal in the 08/09 CL semi-final (and the away against Inter in the QF), plus quite a few other performances. All have come with the same basic team set-up. In fact, up until last season we'd completely dominated every team we went up against like that. It didn't work so well last season, but whether that was the loss of Ronaldo, Carrick's loss of form or Giggs struggling to get back into form after his broken arm in the second half of the season, I'm not sure. Probably a bit of all of them. Barca also play that same system, so it's not like it is just a defensive formation. It depends on the players and your tactics. That's why i do hope we sign an attacking central midfielder.

In saying that, I don't think we'll ever stop playing 442 completely. We'll still use it against lower teams, and that's where the likes of Berbatov, Hernandez, Owen, Macheda, Diouf and Welbeck will get appearances. But then again, Fergie has said he did have a look at Villa, so maybe he does think there is still room for another top striker.

I can't see Inter selling Sneidjer, they are about the only Italian team who is financially strong and they just won the treble with him being probably their key player. And I'm not a fan of VDV, he's the type of player who is great at lower clubs but doesn't seem to have the mentality to succceed at a top club. I'd still take him over Cole though.
 
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WireMan

Bench
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Mad Dogg said:
Football has moved on. Most of the top teams these days play with three men in the midfield at all times (one being more attacking than the other two), and they simply overpower a two man central midfield. Not always, but it's a question of consistency.

Most of our best performances over the last four years have come when we've played 4231. Carrick and Fletcher anchor the midfield with Giggs or occasionally Anderson in front of them linking the midfield with the attack. The 7-1 against Roma, 4-1 against Arsenal and 6-0 against Newcastle in 06/07, the two legs against Arsenal in the 08/09 CL semi-final (and the away against Inter in the QF), plus quite a few other performances. All have come with the same basic team set-up. In fact, up until last season we'd completely dominated every team we went up against like that. It didn't work so well last season, but whether that was the loss of Ronaldo, Carrick's loss of form or Giggs struggling to get back into form after his broken arm in the second half of the season, I'm not sure. Probably a bit of all of them. Barca also play that same system, so it's not like it is just a defensive formation. It depends on the players and your tactics. That's why i do hope we sign an attacking central midfielder.

In saying that, I don't think we'll ever stop playing 442 completely. We'll still use it against lower teams, and that's where the likes of Berbatov, Hernandez, Owen, Macheda, Diouf and Welbeck will get appearances. But then again, Fergie has said he did have a look at Villa, so maybe he does think there is still room for another top striker.

I can't see Inter selling Sneidjer, they are about the only Italian team who is financially strong and they just won the treble with him being probably their key player. And I'm not a fan of VDV, he's the type of player who is great at lower clubs but doesn't seem to have the mentality to succceed at a top club. I'd still take him over Cole though.
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I don't want to get bogged down by formations as i think in reality a 442 becomes 451 with a player dropping deep, or vice versa.

However when Ronaldo was playing on the wing Rooney and Tevez were mainly used as a front 2 partnership, with Giggs left and Carick Fletcher in midfield. It only changed when Ronaldo kept on scoring and Fletcher had to cover him, this forced Giggs into the middle a bit and Rooney drifted out wide (That is part of his game though, in the World cup he kept heading out that way).

The problem we have now is Valencia is not Ronaldo. I doubt he would get us 15 goals in a season. What he is, is a classic right winger. He beats a man outside, gets crosses in, spreads defences and covers the right side defence. He does not get in the positions of Ronaldo, Robben, Messi or Mueller. They like to get into the box and support a front man. Nani on the other wing also doesn't get into the box that often. This can leave Rooney isolated. In some matches (like Milan away) Rooneys form is good enough to carry us through. Some times it wasn't. For both those players to be effective we need players in the middle to leave them one on one with there fullback.

Looking at the strikers we have i think we may have enough. This is dependant on whether Rooney can continue his goal scoring form and if Henandez, Marcheda, Welbeck etc. come good. There is alot of potential there, but we have all seen potential come and go at United.

I would like a goal scorer to ease the burden on Rooney, maybe allowing Rooney to play as a link man between attack and midfield.
Last year Giggs played a lot in that position and it didn't really work.

I guess we will just have to sit back and see what Fergie does. He is the man with the plan, and it really depends on what he is planning with Rooney. Does he play him as a 9 or 10? He has showed he can do both very well. We need a player to consistantly play the other position. Maybe Berba can do it. He has shown no evidence that he can over a season however and needs to play well enough so Fergie will have faith in him for the big games.

I doubt we will get Sneidjer. Inter don't need to sell, Rafa will hardly do Fergie a favour and at no time has he shown a willingness to come to United. Out of the dutch team i'd have Van Persie the most but i doubt that will happen!! Cole looks good at times, but as stated above we need a player who can do it over a season, not once or twice. VDV may be the same type of player. That Kaka bloke from Madrid would be nice sitting behind Rooney or Diego from Juve... :)
 
DB

DB

First Grade
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6,400
New Kit



New home kit unveiled

The new Manchester United home kit for the 2010/11 season combines elements of the club’s history with new age technology – as every shirt will be made entirely from recycled polyester, each created from up to eight plastic water bottles as part of Nike’s ‘Considered Design’ programme.

Red, white and black is in the DNA of Manchester United and Nike has captured the spirit of the club through this season’s home kit. The new shirt leans towards a classic look, inspired by the 1970s, and features a collar for the first time since Nike became the team’s official kit supplier in 2002. And the chevron design that featured last season is evident in the engineered mesh pattern on the back of the shirt, with the V-shape echoed in the shoulder print detail and in the socks.

Kit-wise, there are three options for the home games: red jersey, white shorts and black socks; red jersey, black shorts and white socks; or red jersey, white shorts and white socks depending on the opponents.

Aon, the new shirt sponsor, features on the front of the shirt, while inside the shirt on the back of the club crest is the club's mantra, 'Believe'. The message sits right next to the heart, revealing every United fan's 'Inner Pride', while the symbolic Red Devil sits on the sleeve of the shirt and the shorts to add the finishing touches to the kit.

Nike’s 'Considered Design' programme aims to create performance products that minimise environmental impact by reducing waste during the design and development process, use environmentally preferred materials, and eliminate toxins.

To make the kits, Nike uses discarded water bottles destined for landfill sites in Japan and Taiwan, where they can take up to 500 years to decompose. This saves precious raw materials and reduces energy consumption by up to 30 per cent compared to conventional fabrics.

The bottles are placed in a large washing machine to clean them and get rid of labels, before they are chopped into tiny flakes and melted down into a yarn that is ultimately spun to make the fabric for the jerseys.

Use of recycled polyester across its new range of club kits means Nike has saved nearly 13 million plastic water bottles, a total of around 254,000 kg of polyester waste – enough to cover more than 29 football pitches, and to stretch over 3,000 kilometres if laid out end-to-end. The process is used for all shirts, whether worn by the players or available to fans.

"As we look at how we design and develop products and run our global business, it’s not enough to be solving the challenges of today," said Nike spokesman Charlie Brooks.

"We are designing for the sustainable economy of tomorrow, and for us that means using fewer resources, more sustainable materials and renewable energy to produce new products. We’re proud to be a partner of Manchester United and to help them achieve their environmental goals."

Considering the environment doesn’t mean sacrificing the renowned high performance of Nike’s kits, and the new Manchester United home kit has been engineered to give players a greater competitive advantage than ever before, keeping players drier and morecomfortable, allowing them to maintain their optimum body temperature and perform at their peak on the pitch.

The improved Nike 'Dri-Fit' fabric, now 13 per cent lighter than previous kits, helps to quickly evaporate moisture by drawing through the fabric to the surface and to keep players dry.

Innovative ventilation zones are placed along each side of the jersey to enhance breathability, by up to 7 per cent compared to previous kits, and allow air to pass across the whole torso. These zones have up to 200 tiny laser-cut holes, backed by Nike’s innovative halo application which prevents ripping without reducing air flow. An additional ventilation zone is placed below the waistband on the shorts at the base of the spine.

The jersey’s new double-knit structure gives it a sleeker appearance, while offering 10 per cent more stretch, and also boasts a new dynamic fit, cut to follow the natural contours of the body while allowing for maximum airflow and movement.

Reds winger Nani said: "I think it looks really good and it feels nice. It’s always a nice moment for the players and the fans when you first see the new kit and it’s like a new motivation for us at the start of the season."
Click to expand...

I like them. I'm not going to get one, as I got a new jersey last year but they are not bad at all.
 
Jason Maher

Jason Maher

Immortal
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35,991
Who cares about the keeper kit? It's a keeper kit! They're meant to look crap.

As for the main kit, I love it. Nice, simple, retro design. True, there's a bit of fine detail on it, but George Best would have looked perfectly at home in it (other than the recycled milk bottle material, anyway). But I won't be buying one until the club is no longer owned by the American prick.

As for team changes, I don't see too many being necessary. If we sell Vidic then perhaps another defender, or maybe it's time for Evans to make the position his. Plenty of cover at the back with the de Silva boys, Smalling, the everywhere man O'Shea, Brown, and de Laet. Our midfield was what let us down last year, but if Nani can continue his upward trajectory from the second half of the season, and Obertan and Gibson can kick on, then I can't really see the point of adding to Giggs, Scholes, Anderson, Carrick, Fletcher, Valencia, Park, O'Shea again, and the young buck Cleverley (and Hargreaves if he recovers and doesn't retire). You can only have so many players in a squad before they all get restless from not playing. Having said that, if we can land Joe Cole on a free then we'll be laughing. Any further additions and we'd have to start selling. Up front we have Rooney and Berba, who work well together. Then we have Owen, Hernandez, Wellbeck, and Macheda. The trick is avoiding the injuries to Rooney, Macheda, and Owen from last season. Hernandez gives us that extra man that we need. So long as we don't end up being forced to play Berba as a lone man, which really doesn't suit him, we should be right.

The real key for us this year I believe is how our young players step up. And we have absolutely the best man to give that the best chance of happening in Sir Alex. If I had a choice of any player to bring in, I'd name Aaron Lennon, but with Valencia, Nani, Obertan, and some old grey haired bugger, I'm not sure we need any more wingers.
 
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WireMan

Bench
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4,479
i agree about the kit, and i'm not getting one either until he sells up.

As for players, we don't need wholesale changes. If we can avoind having 97 defensive injuries this season which also effected our midfield then we will be fine.

The only move i can see is Vidic going to Madrid. If he does i think we will get Cahill from Bolton as cover for Rio and Evans. Smalling will also be around as cover for Rio and to eventually replace him. We may look at getting someone of Madrid also as part of the deal. The obvious one is Benzema as Fergie is an admirer of him and has tried to sign him before.

Given the choice i'd have Kaka though. He would fit in behind Rooney nicely!!

i think we should make one big signing though, just to freshen things up a little.

I doubt we will get a winger. Fergie likes to put his youngsters in on the wing if extra cover is needed, to get players into the fold. Recently both Gibson and Welbeck have played there. Fletcher played there before him. Lennon is no better than our reserve wingers IMO.
 
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WireMan

Bench
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4,479
Twizzle said:
of course he is, yet if he played for ManU he'd be the best in pommieland
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If Giggs and Valencia are first choice our reserves are Nani and Park. Who are both better than Lennon.

Lennon needs to improve his final ball and learn how to play with his head more rather than just running fast. He will then become a very good player.

At United he would have Giggs teaching him so would become a much better player. Look at the progress Nani has made.
 
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WireMan

Bench
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4,479
Nth-Qld-Raider said:
Are Man U bringing in any new players for next season, Rooney needs some help up front.
Click to expand...

Smalling and Henandez.

If you listen to rumours and i really wouldn't. Oezil, Hunterlaaaaaar, Benzema, Lahm, Swinesteiger, Balotelli, Van de Vaart so far this week. I'm sure i'm probably forgetting a few though.

Most likely, no-one. ;-)
 
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