Am I just totally overrating Ronaldo?

[haven]

I've noticed that I'm just about the only person on this board, or even in the pro-United media, who thinks Ronaldo should be starting on Saturday. To be honest, I'm not used to being in such a minority. My sports opinions are often in the minority, but aren't very often radical, so I'm wondering what I'm seeing (or blind to) that others are not.

This is what I see:

Ronaldo has been our 2nd best player to only Paul Scholes since early January. He's had a hand in many of our goals, got a couple himself, and hell... even came out of the Man City derby with credit (about the only guy to do so).

He's been the 3rd best possession player we have, outside of Scholes and Keane. He barely ever gives the ball away, anymore. Gone are the fancy tricks - he advances the ball using his pace and technique, then puts a quick move for a cross... or puts in a simple back pass.

His technique is simply phenomenal. He takes down a 50 yard cross pitch ball like other players take short passes. One touch kills it, and he's off.

His free kicks, while not Beckham-esque, have been steadily improving throughout the year. He's a genuine threat now, from 25 yards out.

His defense is still crappy, but improving. He seems to put far more effort in than he did at first.

All in all, I'd say you could make a decent case for him being the 3rd best winger in the EPL this year, behind Pires and Duff. I think that Giggs, Llungberg, and Robert have been at about the same level, while Kewell has been a tiny bit below.

Yet people want to leave him on the bench (and SF does) for Darren Fletcher, a player very few think has any actual talent on the wing (and who I think is destined for D1... I know I'm not alone there). He gets left on the bench for a half-fit OGS, who doesn't defend any better than Ronaldo. Hell, there have been games when SAF has started Phil Neville in place of Ronaldo.

I understand wanting to not hurry him. I understand that he's a defensive liability. But he may very well be our most electric, creative player (except on those rare days when Ryan is truly elite).

What am I not seeing?

[triplelake]

No, you are not. I'd also expect him to start on Saturday as we seriously lacked the speed upfront to trouble the Arsenal defense. I'd expect either him or Giggs to play the support striker role behind RVN. Most likely, it's going to be Giggs.
And please, SAF, no more fletcher, please. :)

[Sofabloke]

I am with you haven. Other than ensuring he doesn't play too many minutes and giving him the odd break to go back to Portugal I think he should be an automatic starter in all our games bar the Worthless Cup (or whatever it is called these days). I am also desperate to see what he could do as a support striker playing through the middle now that Ole is back to cover the right.

I honestly think he looks better than Giggs did at the same stage. There are signs he may be a faster learner too, eg his crossing had looked poor, but supplied a killer cross the other week, his step-overs had got a bit monotonous, he seems to save those now.

I hope the reason he was left out of the game at Highbury was because he was being saved for the semi. With SAF though you never know ...

[Mac_Howard]

I too would see Alex play Ronaldo out on the right. There's no question that he has incredible potential and that he's already realising some of that. His ball control is superb and his ability to run with the ball and commit and beat defenders reminds me of the young Giggs. But he still needs to improve his awareness of his colleagues around him - far too often little comes from his moves. But he's certainly improving on that and only experience will improve it.

I'm not keen on seeing him in central midfield at the moment. He's still very fragile and I think the likes of Vieira and Campbell would kick the ********** out of him and do him no good. He can work his magic well enough out wide where he has room to move.

But, yeh, play him on Saturday indeed! No need to feel isolated, haven :)

[Potomac Red Devil]

Haven, I completely agree. I have been very praising of Ronaldo all year, with one caveat: scoring. And he even seems to be picking that end up of late, scoring a few goals and hitting the pipes on numerous occasions.

Remember when Fletcher signed a new contract early in the year? That has to have a lot to do with his playing time.

[50 Euro]

I understand wanting to not hurry him. I understand that he's a defensive liability.

I'd guess those are the two biggest reasons. Look at Moyes handling of Rooney, not throwing him out there always, sometimes bringing him off the bench, etc. Ronaldo is still quite young, and SAF doesn't want to burn him out. Also, Fletcher is much better on defense than Ronaldo and seems to provide more toughness.
That said, I'd like to see Ronaldo get the nod this weekend, and I think he's made great improvements in his game this year, as stated above. I wouldn't be surprised if SAF went with the same lineup as last week, maybe switching Butt for DJ2, but I'd like to see the 4-5-1, same as last week, with Ronaldo on the right and Butt for DJ2 as the only changes. Ronaldo was rested last weekend; hopefully SAF did so to unleash him tomorrow :) ...

[delmundo]

Im with you haven. I would like to see not only more Ronaldo but more of the other new guys, and maybe all together just once. I think there is a definate future here. There are some more pieces needed but the transition is underway. We are headed towards elegance and we just need a little giant step to get there. The manager needs to show us his confidence in his new picks. He needs to weave them together into the fabric which will swagger into Europe and play with the best. We need to get back to the attack! This clogging up the midfield is boring football.
If Fletcher is a great defender and can put a lid on service from the midf to Arsenals forwards by all means play him and leave OGS until needed for other duty. But please for the glory and the sanity on Saturday play Ronaldo. Let him shine. Let him and Giggs run these Gunners into the turf. Let us the fans of ManU feel good about our team. Its been a while. Lets have fun for a change, or is it change for fun.

[van_da_man]

ronaldo against clichy.....hopefully that's how it will start on saturday.....ronaldo would win this battle, hands down

[phishy]

ronaldo against clichy.....hopefully that's how it will start on saturday.....ronaldo would win this battle, hands down

dont count your chickens before they hatch~

[bigdush]

dont count your chickens before they hatch~

Between cole and clichy, clichy is definitely better suited to mark Cronaldo.

Man I wish cole was going to play.

[Soccerholic]

Haven - you're right. Ronaldo is one of United's best players over the last few months, and he has shown improvement and the abliilty to adjust his game throughout the year. The only thing that I disagree with is your assessment that his defense is as good as Ole's. It isn't. Ole rarely gets caught out of position and tracks back much more diligently than CR. Considering how much of Arsenal's attack comes down the left, United need a good defense on the right. And with Gary as right back, they really need a right mid in front of him who can defend well.

I would love to see if CR could play up front with Ruud (the position he played in Portugal), but you don't want to try this for the first time in such a big game. So, if it were up to me, I would start Ole on the right and try to attack through him, tiring Pires and Clichy as much as possible. Then bring on CR around 60' to do some serious damage.

[haven]

Haven - you're right. Ronaldo is one of United's best players over the last few months, and he has shown improvement and the abliilty to adjust his game throughout the year. The only thing that I disagree with is your assessment that his defense is as good as Ole's. It isn't. Ole rarely gets caught out of position and tracks back much more diligently than CR. .

I think you're overrating OGS's defense. OGS is more often in position... but one thing that I like about Ronaldo, is how often he wins the ball back... without really tackling. The first time I saw it really was in the Everton game, and he's done it several times since. I think it's actually a product of his technique - it's really kind of hard to get past a player, especially a fast one, without the ball even touching them. With many players, an incidental deflection won't matter - but Ronaldo manages to take the ball more often than most.

They're both relatively weak, can't tackle, and prefer to play a *very* advanced role on the right. Ronaldo's faster and better in the air (though his control on headers... eek) as well.

[Soccerholic]

I think you're overrating OGS's defense. OGS is more often in position... but one thing that I like about Ronaldo, is how often he wins the ball back... without really tackling. The first time I saw it really was in the Everton game, and he's done it several times since. I think it's actually a product of his technique - it's really kind of hard to get past a player, especially a fast one, without the ball even touching them. With many players, an incidental deflection won't matter - but Ronaldo manages to take the ball more often than most.


You may be right. I'll pay more attention to this aspect of CR's defense. The thing I continue to notice is that when CR is caught out of position, he often doesn't even try to get back. And that drives me crazy.

And even if the only thing better about Ole is position, I would still favor him because the right can't let Pires get behind him. If he does, it's going to be a long day for United.

[bigtoga]

Between cole and clichy, clichy is definitely better suited to mark Cronaldo.

Man I wish cole was going to play.
Me too... Clichy seems to be the real deal. In fact, ARSe have done a great job of getting top quality young talent recently; I hate to say it but kudos to Whinger. This has the makings of a good rivalry if they can keep up the pressure.

[18yardboxterror2540]

I think Clichy is a testiment to the young and gifted French youth that exists in the english game right now. Players such as Le Tallec,Pongolle,Aliadere,Clichy,Bonissell and Cheyrou (yes even him) will all be stars for the French national team someday.

To stay on topic, I wish it was Ashley Cole playing instead of Clichy also. C.Ronaldo should play tomorrow as this is the match of the season for United. All ManU fans would have to agree.......

[johno]

All this overrating of Clichy... ok yes he is good, but we are talking about Cristiano Ronaldo here... he can go by this guy... the only thing about Clichy is his positioning is much better than Cole's ... Ashley would have been nice in the sense that he would allow CR to get behind him on occasion... Its been awhile since we've seen the more flamboyant Cristiano... look for him to wow the crowd and make some moves abit against the Arse when he plays... (optimism... lol)

[Talksoccer365]

Ronaldo this season has been really below par and has cost on numerous games. He really needs to put in more crosses which can setup players like van nistelrooy and scholes. He has done too much showboating this season, that is fine when you are 3-0 up but when you are 1-0 down in a big game, you need him to stop that and put in a decent ball.

Also his tracking back has been a major problem, the goal which tarnat scored against us was something beckham would never had done even though i felt we should have sold beckham 3 seasons ago.
The boy has a great a future if he can keep his attitude which is the key for a young player. He will learn his trade as he grows older.

[umbra]

[QUOTE=Talksoccer365]Ronaldo this season has been really below par and has cost on numerous games.[QUOTE]

ya?

[Achtung]

Ronaldo this season has been really below par and has cost on numerous games. He really needs to put in more crosses which can setup players like van nistelrooy and scholes. He has done too much showboating this season, that is fine when you are 3-0 up but when you are 1-0 down in a big game, you need him to stop that and put in a decent ball.

He did a lot more party tricks early in the year, but if you've been watching him over the past month or so, he has settled down immensely, and now makes smart plays with his final touch. He makes some quality crosses, and if nothing else is available he'll seek the open teammate. Rarely does he try to take on three defenders at once, give it away, and fall over anymore. His shot selection is also much better.


Also his tracking back has been a major problem, the goal which tarnat scored against us was something beckham would never had done even though i felt we should have sold beckham 3 seasons ago.
The boy has a great a future if he can keep his attitude which is the key for a young player. He will learn his trade as he grows older.

Possibly, but why are we comparing Becks to Ronaldo? One of them is 19, the other is nearly 29. Beckham was at Preston at Ronaldo's age, and certainly was not thought of as United's future on the right. Ronaldo has at least two more seasons to solidify himself and become a world-classs winger. He will have time to improve his defense (which I already think is fairly good) and to make better decisions.

[forza inter]

maaaaaaaan, i love this kid. hes great, and i cant wait for him to come into his own and play with some serious consistancy. i am planning on doing my hair like his for my senior year this fall. word.


forza inter