EPL Talk » Lionel Messi

Manchester United Finally Decide To Sell Ronaldo

Paul Bestall — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:11:07 +0000

So its official, Manchester United’s board have accepted a world record shattering bid of £80 million this morning from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo. I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t face another summer of every news outlet boring us to tears speculating on Ronaldo’s future as we had last season. Day after day, hour after hour, miniscule item after item of droning with ultimately no end product.

This means at last Ronaldo can get the move he claims is a dream for him, United can get £80 million for a player who is clearly nowhere near the level he was in 2007-2008 and Real Madrid can keep signing attacking players that won’t win them anything next season. I wonder if Michele Platini is about to launch a stinging attack on Florentino Perez as he clearly spends money the club don’t have. Of course not!

I’m sure some Manchester United fans will be devastated to be losing Ronaldo, there’s no doubt on his day he is a fantastic player, but last season saw his performance fall away from the level he’d set himself. Of course, Madrid’s courting of him all summer only for Ferguson to dig his heels in would have affected him and he once again failed to deliver for Portugal in a major tournament. Missing preseason with an injury didn’t help, but the Champions League final saw him completely outshone by Iniesta, Xavi and Messi.

No doubt Ferguson will be getting some criticism of some of Manchester United’s more uneducated fan base, but there’s no way you can turn down that amount of money for any player. If anything, United are probably selling him at the right time, its doubtful anything he does next season would increase his value, so Ferguson and United are right to sell him now. Ferguson has been slatted before for selling players certain fans thought were irreplaceable but three titles and two Champions League finals in the last 3 seasons answers any criticism the doom mongers may offer up.

United will now probably push on for a replacement, Franck Ribery, Antonio Valencia and Karim Benzema have all been touted as replacements, though United may take two of those with the funds they receive from Madrid. With Madrid buying Kaka and Ronaldo, it probably frees up those three to join other clubs and United will be jostling with Chelsea and Barcelona to sign them up. As for Madrid, Perez’s ill feted galactico scheme seems to have been brought back for the dead and it wouldn’t surprise me if they go after one other massive signing soon. Shame they’ve forgotten how bad the defence was at Madrid last season, so Perez would a fool to ignore strengthening the back line.

The additional aspect of this is that the transfer merry go round should begin to kick off all over Europe now, with the Kaka, Diego and Barry deals being the only 3 major transfers since the domestic season finished all over Europe. The bubble is well and truly set to continue growing in the Premiership and La Liga, and most of the major clubs in both countries yet to start spending, the silly season could be just around the corner.

As for Ronaldo, sure, it’ll be a shame to see him leave the Premiership, but Spanish football and La Liga isn’t far behind in popularity so he’ll not disappear from view. Over the time he spent at Old Trafford, he’s thrilled as many people as he’s annoyed. His performances over the years at club level have propelled him to the forefront of football fans all over the world and his superb season for United in 2007-2008 will live long in the memory. It’s been a privilege to watch him for the last 3 or 4 seasons, but the Premier League and Manchester United will survive and flourish without him.

This Year’s Champions League Final Will NOT Be Ronaldo vs Messi

Sebastian Shepard — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:37:37 +0000

If you would believe various pundits, the annoying debate that many football fans have been subject to this year and last – Ronaldo vs. Messi – will come to its conclusion in the UCL final in Rome. On the biggest stage in club competitions, the two most complete players in attacking football will meet head to head.

The winner will be crowned the best in the world, the loser will claim second place. Fans of the loser will say he was robbed, the winner’s supporters will smugly proclaim that the final underscored the gulf in quality.

To boil the final down to this issue would be a mistake, and would ignore the other much more important battles that will happen on May 27th. While Ronaldo and Messi are both elite, I doubt the Champions League trophy will really go to whoever plays better on that day.

First of all, neither the Argentine nor the Portuguese has an impressive record against clubs from England and Spain, respectively. An injured Messi was pretty much ineffective against Barcelona last season in the semis, and Ronaldo was marked out of the game by Barcelona, notably Gianluca Zambrotta, who ironically teed up Paul Scholes for the long range, tie-winning goal.

This year in the final however, I see more of a Barcelona’s attack vs United’s back four. Vidic and Ferdinand, as it has been repeated so often, are the best two in the game. Evra looks to be back on form. The only suspect position, and I use that term only in comparison with the other members of the back-line, is right-back for United.

This is not to take away from the offense, but the free-flowing stuff of last season has been slowed down, maybe by Berbatov’s inclusion (didn’t the United vs. Arsenal meeting last week look like the 2007-08 campaign, with Berba notably on the bench?). This season the defense has really outshone the offense, not just in the club but in the whole EPL, 4-0 loss to Liverpool excluded.

Barcelona’s attack is frightening, but currently weakened. Henry and Iniesta both are having problems with fitness, Dani Alves and Eric Abidal (unfairly) are suspended, and Rafa Marquez is out for the season. These weaknesses in defense force makeshift changes and weaken the midfield, already less flowing and lethal when Iniesta has to play as a forward for the injured Henry. If neither Iniesta nor Henry play, Pep Guardiola will have to change his “Tridente” formation for the first time this season (or else play out-of-form Bojan or Gudjohnsen), which brings me to my next point.

Everyone playing Barca since late September has known that they will run a 4-3-3 with Messi on the right, Henry on the left, and Eto’o in the middle. The midfield will include Xavi, Iniesta, and Keita or Yaya Toure. Dani Alves plays at right back (in reality reality he is an attacking midfielder), Puyol and Marquez stay in the center, unless Pique plays in which case Puyol moves out left. It’s a formula, and it has worked, but against master tacticians, it won’t. It literally came within seconds from failure against Chelsea, but a combination of slack finishing, suspect calls, and a non-existant clearance from Essien allowed Iniesta one chance that he buried in style. Hiddink knew how to shut down Barcelona, and my bet is that Sir Alex will too.

The Scot should be able to field a United side that can take advantage of both the weakness in attack simply by keeping the defense as he has all season, and exploit Barcelona’s defense problems. The right and left wings will be open all night to players with pace now that Alves and Abidal are gone, and judging by the Chelsea game, the midfield looks like it can be muscled out by the likes of Carrick and Anderson. Most importantly, if Puyol moves out left or right, the center will be horribly exposed.

Barcelona are hobbling right now, and certainly cannot field a full strength team. Messi on his day is the best in the world, but he cannot make up for the obvious defensive weaknesses. If Iniesta and Henry do return for the final however, it might not matter how weak the defense looks. If Barca show up to Rome limping in both the attacking and defending third though, I feel that Sir Alex’s carefully planned team will be celebrating at the end of the night.

Aaron Lennon: Potential Starting To Pay Dividends

Michael Timbury — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:11:38 +0000

Since the turn of the year, Aaron Lennon has been in outstanding form. His club exploits have been rewarded with not just an international call up, but a place in the starting eleven in England’s last two matches, the latter being a competitive qualifier. This is just rewards for Lennon as he has been absolutely sensational recently and much credit must go to Harry Redknapp who has made the youngster begin to realise his potential.

For Tottenham he has been consistently terrorising full backs this season, most notably giving Patrice Evra (arguably the world’s best left back) a torrid time in the Carling Cup final last month. Lennon too has added goals on a more regular basis and, perhaps more importantly for a winger, an end product in terms of crossing. It’s never been doubted that Lennon possesses the ability to take on players but what has let him down in seasons’ past is that he has frequently failed to produce a telling cross. However, he has upped his game in that department and proved that he could realistically become a top class winger.

Maybe the signing of David Bentley was a stark warning to him that his place at Spurs was in jeopardy. Possibly he needed a manager like Redknapp who will put an arm round him and tell him that he is the best, instilling much needed confidence in the young man. Lennon has been the subject of some harsh criticism for someone so young; he is still only 21. Because Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have set such exceptional standards, it seems to be that all other wide players are compared and therefore deemed not good enough in comparison. These players are rare commodities and it simply isn’t feasible for Lennon or most others for that matter to be thought of under the same rules.

Lennon’s two recent international caps have defined for me why he has come such a long way and although still a raw talent to an extent, showed why he has plenty more to come. Neither the Slovakian nor Ukrainian left side could handle him. He caused panic and chaos amongst both defences and particularly in the Ukraine game, his withdrawal killed any tempo or dynamism to England’s attacks. It was also apparent that he can pick players out more methodically when in crossing positions, rather than just hitting across the box in hope.

Although his finishing has also improved, Theo Walcott would still have the edge in that department but in terms of all round game I think Lennon is the best option for England on the right wing. He stretches defences and has better control when on the ball as well as having the odd trick up his sleeve, something that Walcott doesn’t seem to possess. It would be nice to see Lennon retain his place in the side but I get the impression that he is just keeping it warm for Walcott. The best Lennon can do is maintain his good form and take it from there. It could be worse though, he could be in the international wilderness like Ashley Young.

Manchester City Left Broken Hearted By Kaka

Paul Bestall — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 10:56:10 +0000

So it’s all off then, Kaka has shunned the millions on offer to switch the San Siro for Eastlands, turned his back on an alleged £500,000 a week ( A measly take home salary of £260,000 per week after tax) and declared his love for AC Milan. Am I surprised? A little bit, but it’s certainly reaffirmed a bit of faith for me in footballers when someone can turn down astronomical wages to stay where they are. I thought that even a deeply religious man as Kaka is, would have his head turned by Manchester City’s overtures toward him but it was not to be. Manchester City are now beginning to realise the scale of the task ahead of them to attract anyone of any real quality to join them. Sure Wayne Bridge is an accomplished player, but one of the best 10 left backs in the world? No. Is Craig Bellamy, 29 years old and on his 8th club already, a man who could start an argument in a graveyard, one of the top 50 strikers in the world today? No he’s not. If Nigel De Jong was as good as they think he is, he wouldn’t be with SV Hamburg. Apologies to Hamburg fans and your fantastic manager.

It finally proves that to some players money isn’t everything. Whilst I appreciate the fact he’s on a fair whack at Milano, around £150,000 a week, Kaka realises the scale of the job ahead of Manchester City’s owners to attract anyone to join them at Eastlands. Are they going to play European football next season? It looks a major long shot at this point with only two routes open to them, winning the UEFA Cup or applying to join through the Intertoto Cup and at the moment both look well out of City’s reach. We are now beginning to see the calibre of players who will go to City and the ones who will not, Robinho, Bellamy, Bridge, Jo. It’s long way from Kaka, Messi, Aguero and Ribery. The owners will be stunned I suspect that for some people money is not everything, to build the highest building in the world, only for the people to declare how ugly it is.

I think the owners bought the club and assumed that money would bring everyone there. They’re now beginning to realise it’s not the case. City, traditionally one of Britain’s best supported clubs, are not a European household name, haven’t won a trophy in 40 years and were in the third tier of English football as recently as 1999. They cannot offer a history of success, as Manchester United, Liverpool and even Arsenal and Chelsea in recent years can do. When you bring European sides into the mix, the lure of the lush warmer climes of Spain and Italy, history and passion go against them as well. If they can’t match sides in England, what about Barcelona, Internazionale, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Juventus, Bayern Munich, even Lyon. Nationallocation goes against them too as their two successful near neighbours can offer Champions League football, well balanced squads and and a winning ethic. Big players want the chance to win big trophies and Manchester City simply cannot do that, instead of trying to build a Mancunian Barcelona, they should look back in recent history and use Blackburn’s template to try and get to the top in England first. Then perhaps they can look to higher quality signings once they become a top 6 side.

Unfortunately, it seems that to compound the issues with Kaka, Robinho has walked out of the Manchester City training camp in Tenerife, apparently due to a disagreement over being allowed to have his birthday in Brazil. City have not given a reason for him leaving the camp as yet and one of the local English speaking Tenerife Radio station, Oasis FM (now that is ironic) are currently running a “Have you seen Robinho” phone in competition this morning. For Manchester City fans, they hope someone spots him soon.

Barcelona v Manchester United Preview: Champagne Wishes

Lonnie — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:07:23 +0000

Posted from ChampionsLeagueTalk.com:

Unlike the comedy of errors that Chelsea and Liverpool managed to produce in their first leg match, I have sky-high expectations for the Barcelona – Manchester United match. Barca will look to salvage something from what has been a bit of a lost season for them while United will be looking to overturn last year’s disappointing loss to AC Milan and that’s where our comparison begins. The two clubs are the only unbeaten sides in this season’s Champions League tournament so one of them will have to give but which side will it be?

Barca hold the edge in semi-final victories overall having won four of the eight previous semi-finals they have competed in while United’s nine previous semi-final appearances have yielded only two victories. Also going against United is their record against Spanish opposition in Spain. They have contested 16 matches in Spain and won only once, drawing six and losing nine.

If previous meetings between these two are to be any guage of what to expect, this ought to be another classic. The clubs met twice in the old European Cup Winners’ Cup and have twice found themselves in the same Champions League group. Each tie proved to be memorable for different reasons but for pure drama the first a Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-final in March 1984, was arguably the best. United overturned a 2-0 deficit in the second leg at Old Trafford. United went on to lose 3-2 on aggregate in the semi-final’s to Michel Platini’s Juventus. I have not seen the full game from 1984 so the game I most remember is the dramatic 3-3 draw from the group stage in the 1998/99 season. This match had it all and was a display of skill and style that makes football such a beautiful game.

Now, onto this year’s matchup.

Lineups and Tactics
Barcelona were given a huge boost when it was announced that dynamic forward Lionel Messi would be healthy for this fixture. Like Kaka did last year to United, Messi has the ability to single-handedly turn a game with his pace and vision. Captain and anchor of the Barca backline, Carles Puyol, is suspended for this match but Rafael Márquez should be recovered from injury and is likely to start in his place. Thierry Henry has been fighting off a fever/flu and is a doubtful starter but could play a role from the bench. One must keep in mind that Henry has scored nine goals in 18 appearances against the Red Devils.

Possible Starting XI (4-3-3): Valdés — Zambrotta, Milito, Márquez, Abidal — Yaya Touré, Xavi, Iniesta — Eto’o, Messi, Bojan

For Manchester United, Edwin Van der Sar is fit after a groin strain and Wayne Rooney looks to have overcome the hip injury he sustained on Saturday. Both Owen Hargreaves and Anderson have recovered from minor injuries. Gary Neville and Darren Fletcher have also been named in the squad but are unlikely to start.

While United has received plenty of press for their flashy forwards, the outcome of this semi-final depends heavily on how well the back line deals with the danger posed by the likes of Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto’o, Thierry Henry and Bojan Krkic. Manchester United trained without key defenders Nemanja Vidic and Wes Brown and both are said to be a game-time decision.

It is not a stretch to say that the central defensive partnership of Vidic and Ferdinand has been the cornerstone of United’s success in the past two seasons. This year, no team has conceded fewer goals in the Premier League and only Chelsea FC have let in less in the Champions League. Another factor will be Patrice Evra’s ability to get forward and support the attack. If he is pinned back by Messi, United may struggle to create and will be forced to rely on counter-attacks.

On the offensive side, United will again be looking for their interchanging forwards to confuse and unsettle the opposing defenders.

Possible Starting XI (4-3-3): Van der Sar — Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra — Carrick, Scholes, Hargreaves — Cristiano Ronaldo, Tevez, Rooney

Key Matchups:
Lionel Messi v Patrice Evra
As discussed above, Messi can be highly influential in setting the table for the Barcelona attack. He likes to attack from wide positions and Patrice Evra will need to contain his runs and deny him time/space when Messi has possession on the flank. However, Evra also does a lot to support the United attack as he often makes supporting runs down the wing to stretch the opposition defence and open space for the United forwards.

Xavi/Iniesta v Carrick/Hargreaves
Xavi and Andres Iniesta are the twin engines that drive Barcelona’s midfield play. Neither player gets enough credit for their hard work but if Barca has success going forward, these two will be involved. On the other side, you have another pair of talented central midfielders. Owen Hargreaves has had a hard time cracking into the United starting XI, partially due to injury, but he showed in recent performances why United spent big money to sign him from Bayern Munich.

Verdict
The purist in me would like to see another 3-3 draw with lots of flowing passing and end-to-end action. However, it will largely depend on the forces at hand for both sides. If Vidic and Brown are out, I think United may be a bit more conservative, despite speaking about bringing “a positive approach” to the match. For Barcelona, they will need to come out atacking and look to build a lead that they can nurse through the second leg at Old Trafford. It’s tough to go against Barcelona at home but I have to go with the form team at the moment so look for a 2-1 United scoreline.