I woke up at 3 this morning and didn't drink last night so I can drive down to The Richmond Arms to watch this game. I am especially excited to see Christiano play, and to watch Keane and Viera battle in the middle. Hopefully Ronaldo will start. The game will come on in about an hour so I gotta go.
My prediction: ManU 2 - Arsenal 1 By the way, I hate that German keeper Arsenal has. Jens Lehmann. He is one of the worst persons in German soccer.
Man U will proberly win this one .....Arsenal has a very bad defense and along with Henry who never steps up in the real big games...so Arsenal have to play at another level to win over man u
What' wrong with Lehmann? I have no idea. I just love that Howard took over for Barthez. Definitely boosted my Man U backing. Henry isn't crap compared to Viera. Patrick Viera is the heart and soul of Arsenal and I don't think many Arsenal fans would tell you otherwise. Henry is fun to watch, but not as fun as Ljundberg. And by the way I just learned that they are playing the game up at the clubhouse where I live so I don't have to drive to Richmond. That is awesome. What is also funny is that I mistook the time of the game because they posted the start time in EST instead of BST and I subtracted six hours to CST. Sweet. I can go back to bed.
Not a great game so far. Man Utd's defense is perhaps even better than Arsenal's offense (still haven't been scored upon in open play this year)... but their offense, shocker shocker, is predictable without Scholes. TBH, with all the injuries, I'd be happy with a draw here for Man Utd. W/o Veron and Beckham, when Scholes is out... the team's completely uncreative. Not having their 2nd best striker in Solksjaer today is hurting, too. Arsenal may be the supposed crisis club mentally, but their players are mostly healthy. Missing Campbell, but he's been atrocious lately anyway.... and I'd certainly rather have Scholes, Solksjaer, and Brown and give them Campbell as well.
What's wrong with Jens Lehmann? I'm hoping van the Man and Dennis Bergkamp can add a little bit of flair to the contest.
Looks like it'll be a tie. Very stagnant offenses. I was hoping Ronaldo would bust it open, very glad to see him start. I am however unhappy to see silvestre and fortune starting over Djemba Djemba and Kleberson.
How awful. RVN has missed 3 in a row after not missing for an amazing run. This is the first one that has cost, however. You've got to wonder if he should have taken it, though. He had a very poor game, and had already miskicked several balls. Would Ronaldo, perhaps, have been a better choice? Then again, that'd be a hard thing to do to someone his age. Too bad Solksjaer wasn't in. He takes them very well. Not as powerfully as RVN, but very precisely, as he does everything. RVN should be the primary penalty taker, but it seems that most teams have a Plan B when their A guy is misfiring. Pires can take them for Arsenal when Henry isn't playing well. Bleh. Vieira gets sent off, and Man Utd's impotent attack still can't take advantage of it. Beckham and Veron were adequately replaced... right. Looks like Beckham was replaced just fine by Ronaldo... but the middle of Utd is as tame as a kitten going forward absent Scholes. Tomas Rosicky... please please please please .
Do I remember totally wrong when I had you pegged down as a Veron 'hater' haven? If so, then you should not miss him now
The decision to sell Veron was a good one. The mistake was in not adequately replacing him. Why SAF thought Utd had adequate attacking poise from the center of midfield is beyond me. Paul Scholes is a magnificent player - but they're only 1 deep at that position. Now Scholes is out indefinitely, and Utd have no fluidity from the center. They brought in 40m pounds between Beckham and Veron. They spend about 20m pounds. Last year, they made a profit of 32m pounds. They could have afforded any # of options, yet decided to stand pat. Buying another creative central midfielder when you only have one is not a panic buy - it's essential. What drives me crazy is how some Utd fans are so surprised by their attacking impotence so far. The team's attack, especially w/ Fergusons 4-2-3-1 scheme, was always balanced on the precarious assumption that neither Scholes nor RVN would get hurt for a significant period of time as neither has a remotely adequate replacement. Shock! One has. I can't think of another elite, wealthy team so entirely reliant on not one, but two players remaining healthy.
Silvestre doesen´t even play as a midfielder ....He is a defender, one of the worlds best actually, he can do cross passes comperable with beckham!
1. Kleberson has been hurt and is sidelined with a separated shoulder (and has sucked when he has played so far this year - adjustment, etc). 2. Silvestre is firmly entreched in the 1st team, for good reason (though the Beckham-esque crossing is something I've never seen from him). I also assume he was playing center back, which neither Djemba-Djemba nor Kleberson can play. 3. Djemba-Djemba gives the ball away very cheaply, at times. He's a good tackler, runs well, and seems smart. But he's very rough right now. 4. Fortune has played exceedingly well so far this year. He had a great goal against PAO on Tuesday.
I would just like to see Kleberson and Djemba Djemba play. Do not mistake me as hating on Fortune or Silvestre. I am just a sucker for getting a look at the new guys. But I do like Djemba Djemba's combative style and believe it would have been more effective against Arsenal today.
Wasn't Keown a little b**** there at the end? Good lord dude, you just got bailed out of a penalty, I would be more grateful than that. Why does Arsenal get itself into those situations?
