| Welcome to LiquidFootball. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| Martin Samuel- Selling the best never makes you stronger; Cristiano Ronaldo | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Jun 12 2009, 05:33 PM (926 Views) | |
| Homer | Jun 12 2009, 05:33 PM Post #1 |
![]()
I am the King
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
So, where is the player who will score 67 goals for Manchester United in two seasons? That is the virus which was sold to Real Madrid yesterday. A match-winning virus, a free-kick taking virus, a virus that propelled one club back to the pinnacle of English, European and world football. Symptoms: extraordinary goals from outlandish range, courageous headers, wonder dribbles, invention, imagination and a deadball technique that redefined the art. Extraordinary: Ronaldo in full flight Yes, the money, £80million, is good, but it needs to be. United have traded their main man to a serious rival. There is no precedent for this, no moment in history to call upon and place the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo in comforting context. 'Remember when we sold the best player in the world, and it made us stronger?' No, because that never happens. Never has and never will. A comparable moment occurred when Juventus parcelled up Zinedine Zidane for Real Madrid in 2001, but it does not make for reassurance. Zidane won the Champions League at Madrid in 2002, Juventus lost the final in 2003 and have never been a force in Europe since. Wonder goal: Zizou meets Roberto Carlos' looping cross to score Real Madrid's winner at Hampden Park It is hard to conceive that United will fade as suddenly, but Ferguson must also replace what remains of the golden generation in the twilight of their years. Ronaldo was intended to be the shining star of this next United era so supplanting him, and them, will be Sir Alex Ferguson's biggest test yet. Ferguson kept Ronaldo for as long as he could and, exasperated that there was no resolution to his yearning for a move to Real Madrid, reluctantly agreed a sale. That does not mean he has a guaranteed answer to the problem of his replacement, though; more that he finally realised keeping him at Old Trafford against his will was no way forward. United did not achieve this season what they had last. Ronaldo had not hit the same consistent form and his goal total was reduced by 17. If he dipped again, United could be vulnerable in domestic competition, too. Ferguson decided to take the money and rebuild from there. He will have ideas but little that is rock solid, and nothing that will yield 67 goals from midfield. Exasperated: Sir Alex (left) grew irritated by constant Ronaldo speculation The best clubs do not lose their best players. Ferguson knows that, too. It is why he fought so hard to keep Ryan Giggs from the Italians 10 years ago. When United missed out on the talented teenager John Mikel Obi in controversial circumstances, it was decided that Chelsea should pay them £12m in compensation. This was considered steep, but not by United. 'We would rather have had the player,' sniffed a source at the club. There is pride involved, as well as hard cash, so it is unlikely that the rumours of a long-standing arrangement between United and Madrid are true. When Ferguson spoke of renewed speculation surrounding Ronaldo at the Club World Cup in December, it was with the manner of a man in a position of strength. He called Madrid a 'mob', said he would not sell them a 'virus'. Something changed to alter his mind-set. Too many vague answers about Ronaldo's future, perhaps, too many sentences left dangling. Maybe Ferguson recalled the havoc that the uncertainty around Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry had wreaked at Arsenal. It would not have been simply the carrot of £80m. Ferguson knows he could spend every penny of that and not bring 67 goals in two seasons to his club. The candidates under discussion now Carlos Tevez, Luis Antonio Valencia, of Wigan Athletic, even the world-class Franck Ribery, soon to leave Bayern Munich are not in Ronaldo's class as goalscorers. Buying all three would as good as wipe out the transfer kitty and that is before Ferguson has devised a way of fitting them in. Tevez scored 15 goals last season, but only five were in the Premier League, while Valencia scored just three in all competitions for Wigan and Ribery scored 14 (nine in the Bundesliga) for Munich. Tough act to follow: Although a firm Old Trafford favourite, will Carlos Tevez be staying at United, and if so, can he lessen the blow of Ronaldo's departure? Ronaldo, meanwhile, scored 25 times, was missing until late September with injury and generally considered to have disappointed, by his standards. The previous year he scored 42, which would have blown away his trio of replacements combined, in either year. That season Tevez and Ribery scored 19 goals each and Valencia his usual three, including two in one game against Aston Villa. If anything, the nearest in potential impact may be Karim Benzema, whose last two seasons for Lyon have yielded 54 goals; still short of Ronaldo, though, and in a considerably weaker league. Florent Malouda scored 12 goals in his last season in French football (with Lyon) and three in his first season at Chelsea. Losing Ronaldo is not comparable to selling Ruud van Nistelrooy or David Beckham to Madrid, either, because neither man was on the upswing of his career. Ferguson had tired of Van Nistelrooy's attitude and Beckham's celebrity trappings when he cashed in, much as he has grown irritated by Ronaldo's wandering eye where Madrid are concerned. Yet nobody doubts that United had the best of Beckham and Van Nistelrooy. Going downhill: Van Nistelrooy and Beckham gave their best performances in a red shirt, but will the same be said for Ronaldo? The same is not true of Ronaldo. Lionel Messi may be about to steal his individual crown, but Ronaldo's performance against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium last month suggests there could be a few more rounds in this prize fight yet. It is quite possible that the 42-goal season is not the peak of Ronaldo's career, that hemight be inspired to fresh heights at his beloved Madrid. If he is, with Barcelona also in the ascendancy, United could again be relegated to also-ran status in the Champions League, as happened soon after their triumph in 1999. These are troubling times. It is ironic that, in the weeks leading up to United's appearance in the Champions League final in Rome, it was said Ferguson's team were approaching invincibility and now, with the sale of just one player, the same group are regarded as vulnerable. This is testament, however, to Ronaldo's influence. Even last season when he failed to maintain constancy, he remained the most significant player. When he was at his best, as against Arsenal in the Champions League semi-final, second leg, United looked unstoppable; when he lost his way, as happened against Barcelona in the final, so did the team. After that game Ronaldo criticised United's tactics, selfishly oblivious to the fact it was his presence that frequently forced Ferguson to realign in Europe. Brilliant he may be, but Ronaldo was never one for tracking back, so Ferguson mapped out a way of playing in European competition that placed Wayne Rooney in the wide role, dropping to create a five-man midfield, with Ronaldo deployed as a central striker. Now, at least, Rooney can revert to the role in the middle that he prefers. He is deployed there by Fabio Capello, the England manager, and is top scorer in the European section of the World Cup qualifying groups, equalling Gary Lineker's record of 10 goals in one season for England. So a centralised Rooney is one option for United, a colossal spending spree another. Are they 67-goal solutions, though? Hardly. As Ferguson will reluctantly concede, he has sold Madrid a virus that is not at all catching. Well said Martin well said Man Utd fans are kidding themselves if they think Valencia will replace Ronaldo |
| |
![]() |
|
| Fluke | Jun 12 2009, 05:47 PM Post #2 |
![]()
COYS!
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Someone's in love with Ronaldo... |
![]() |
|
| Homer | Jun 12 2009, 05:48 PM Post #3 |
![]()
I am the King
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Who? |
| |
![]() |
|
| ManYou | Jun 12 2009, 06:16 PM Post #4 |
![]()
Thierry Henry
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Ronaldo won't score 42 in a season again, I think everyone knows this. For me he is a 25 a season man, maybe 30. In his last 3 seasons he's scored 23, 42 and 26 = 91 and an average of 30. So we need 30 goals replaced, and we won the league in 2006/07 and 2008/09 with him scoring less than that figure. Rooney got 23, 18 and 20 in his last 3 seasons averaging out at 20 per season. Berbatov in the same timeline got 23, 23 and 14 producing and average of 20 aswell. Now if we could see both players (Rooney and Berbatov) reach that average or their peak score which is 23 well then that sees us gain 12 goals, so if we got another striker who could score 18 well then that's Ronald's goals replaced, let's not get carried away and say that Ronaldo scores 42 goals a season because he doesn't, that's the only time he has got over 30 goals and in the other 2 seasons he was at least 5 short of 30 so I'm being kind saying we need to replace 30 goals, in actual fact we need to replace about 25, Tevez might leave too, in the last 3 seasons he has scored 7, 19 and 15 giving him an average of 17. So that's 42 goals, Ronaldo's 25 and Tevez' 17. I think it's fair for us to expect a further 12+ goals from Rooney and Berbatov so we need someone who can hit near 25-30 goals a season all comps. It gets blown up by this journalist saying we need to replace 67 goals, conveniently including Ronaldo's wonder season which will never be repeated. As I'm always saying we need a winger and a striker, is it impossible for us to get more from Rooney and Berbatov and then have another striker who will hit around 20 and a winger to chip in with around 5+ or so? Of course not, maybe Nani will get more games and score a few aswell because we know what a goal threat he is, he score out of nowhere. Ronaldo leaves a void in our team but it's replacable, make no mistake about it Mr. Samuel and any other doubters. |
| |
![]() |
|
| GoonerPaul | Jun 12 2009, 06:25 PM Post #5 |
|
Carlton Cole
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Your logic is flawed...the initial post was talking about 1 player, yet you say the void can be filled with 2 or even 3 strikers (based on your goal tally explanation). In addition to the flawed goal tally logic, you also ignore the other elements to Ronaldo's game that add to that void...his free kicks, his long range shots, to pace, power, imagination...ALL this AND goals from the one player, and all we hear is Man Utd fans say that these 2 or those 2 will fill the void. Fact is you are all reasoning on the basis of 2 players doing the job that 1 was doing previously...that effectively is admitting you are almost a man down in your first 11 line-up in terms of what Ronaldo gave you. Crack on... Edited by GoonerPaul, Jun 12 2009, 06:27 PM.
|
![]() | |
![]() |
|
| GoonerPaul | Jun 12 2009, 06:28 PM Post #6 |
|
Carlton Cole
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
It also highlights my point that Cantona was nowhere near as influential as Ronaldo...Cantona didn't have everything in his locker...Ronaldo does. Keep denying it boys
|
![]() | |
![]() |
|
| ManU2DaTop | Jun 12 2009, 06:32 PM Post #7 |
![]()
Forum Legend
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Great Post ..now jog on ManPoo
|
![]() "If I ain't good looking u bet my bitch is"-2datop | |
![]() |
|
| I BOW TO RAIDZ | Jun 12 2009, 06:32 PM Post #8 |
![]()
living la vida loca
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
your right ronaldo's irreplaceable, we can never function as a successful team again. my god, whats with all the doom and gloom. of course its a set back, we have lost the best player in the world but we will change adapt and evolve like we have always done. |
![]() |
|
| GoonerPaul | Jun 12 2009, 06:33 PM Post #9 |
|
Carlton Cole
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
You are also assuming that the remaining forwards will both be scoring their seasons best tally's to even keep up with Ronaldo's contribution...it's laughable
|
![]() | |
![]() |
|
| GoonerPaul | Jun 12 2009, 06:35 PM Post #10 |
|
Carlton Cole
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I know fella, but many other posters on here and I know in the real world (so to speak) deny it will be something easily replaced with the signing of this guy or that guy. I couldn't stand Ronaldo, but boy he is incredible...wish he was a gooner for sure lol. |
![]() | |
![]() |
|
| I BOW TO RAIDZ | Jun 12 2009, 06:36 PM Post #11 |
![]()
living la vida loca
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
so what are you implying? united wont improve this summer (like we have done every summer) and our star players will fail to perform. are you saying united will disintegrate because ronaldo was so influential. wishful thinking |
![]() |
|
| I BOW TO RAIDZ | Jun 12 2009, 06:37 PM Post #12 |
![]()
living la vida loca
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
untill we find out who we will/wont sign then no-one can write us off |
![]() |
|
| GoonerPaul | Jun 12 2009, 06:40 PM Post #13 |
|
Carlton Cole
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Not at all, I'm just saying that Man Utd will need to seriously beef up their squad, especially if your remaining players can't raise their game sufficiently to fill the void. Remember also Giggs can be a good free kick taker and is a good winger, but he's in his twilight years. Also Barca are trying to sign Evra or Clichy and Madrid also want Vidic and are prepared to pay silly ass money to get them. The comings and goings for all the top 4 clubs is far from over... |
![]() | |
![]() |
|
| GoonerPaul | Jun 12 2009, 06:41 PM Post #14 |
|
Carlton Cole
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
We don't know how much weaker or stronger the top 4 will be next season. I see ManYou is piecing together an essay of a response
|
![]() | |
![]() |
|
| Scholes | Jun 12 2009, 06:41 PM Post #15 |
![]()
Nothing's as it seems
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
How the hell does Ronaldo have it all? If he's not scoring he's often a detriment in games, such is his attitude, and such is his poor short-passing, vision and creativity. To say he has it all is bizarre, he's a huge weapon but complete he certainly is not. |
| |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · General Football · Next Topic » |





![]](http://z4.ifrm.com/000/1/90/f39/f39.png)










12:24 AM Jul 11