10 Questions ahead of the 04-05 season

[seven7]

Hello all, I'm very excited ahead of the new season so i have come up with a few questions.....

1] will ronaldo be a regular or have limited appearances like last season?
i hope he is involved more, but how would that affect his development?

2] what month and day will rio return?
i don't fell like doing the math

3] is fortune still injured?
i tought he did a good job last season, he is a versatile squad player

4]who will be sold this summer?
as much as i hate seeing players -good or bad- leave, it would have to be forlan. p. neville and butt i'm over the fence about. next summer we will need to offload some players depending on this seasons performances.

5]Any good youth players gonna break thru?
don't know much about the players in the youth system so i will not comment

6]who'm else will we sign?
do we need anymore signings? i think that we are pretty balanced for this season, hopefully some players will come thru! kleberson, dj2 and bellion especially. and i am hoping our new signings have great seasons. btw, did we sign pique or not? does it matter for next season, he seem too young?!

7] anyone know what the squad numbers will be next year?
referring to our new signings, heinz will probably #4, dont know about miller and smith. i guess timmy howard will get #1?

8] will carlos quieros stop fergie from making last years mistakes, and will he improve our fringe players?
dear god i hope so!

9]that comment about john o'shea being a midfeilder?
dont we have enough midfeilders?

10]how hungry will the team and individual players be?
well, rio said he wants to repay saf, the players must have been gutted after last season, want revenge. players in euro 2004 that will not win the cup will probably be even hungrier, and what about the players that didnt make it into their national squads, or didnt qualify, i'm sure they will be keen to impress

11] are we relying on rvn for all the goals?
a few years back we didnt have strikers that scored as many goals as he did, and the whole team used to chip in, could this be effecting our play?

anyway, those are the questions i had, i gave some of my opinions and would like to here yours. lets not get to carried away ok boys?! :D
hope the questions are good ones that can strike up some good thoughts and debates. i'll post more questions to fight over...i mean answer in a few days. oh, and i figure i'd throw in our best line-up for next season

______________line-up___________________cover

----------------howard--------------- ______carroll
--------------------------------------
----------ferdinand---silvestre--------- _____brown/ heinz backup
g.neville--------------------------heinz _____p.neville/ fortune/ brown
------------keane--------------------- _____fletcher/ butt/ djemba*2
----------------------scholes---------- _____miller/ kleberson
ronaldo---------------------------giggs _____ogs/ bellion/ smith
--------van nistelrooy---saha---------- _____smith/ ogs/ bellion/ scholes

please critique!

[johno]

1] I think he will probably play more than he did last season, but not more than say, 30 starts...

2] You are not the only lazy one.. lets wait for Motter to tell us...

3] He is, but should be ready sometime during the season... not right away, but certainly before the halfway point... I agree, he is a good squad player, and will probably be one of the best fullbacks on the bench next season... he like u said is versatile... imo the most improved player other than Ronaldo last season...

4] You were about spot on I should say, maybe not all three but at least one and likely 2.

5] Kieran Richardson has impressed me for some time now and has been making cameos for a couple seasons now... he is a LW and might see some action this season... Chris Eagles is highly touted and might get some action on the RW in an early cup match perhaps..

6]Again, you are spot on... we don't really need another signing... if we bring up Richardson we definetly dont need a LW and that is the only position I feel we need cover at, and we could make it through the season without bringing in another one as long as both Giggs and Ronaldo are not injured at the same time... No clue about squad numbers....

8] I think we will see some better tactics this time around and hopefully no more Scholes on the LW and Giggs on the right or behind the strikers blah blah blah...

9] We do, but if we cannot find a replacement for Keane, he is a good bet because he is strong in the air like keane.. a good passer, like Keane, not as good a tackler as keane but better than the other CMs we have and he is also very versatile and can contribute to the attack when needed, more than keane can at this stage... I dont see it happening much this season, perhaps just something to fall back on.

10] I think we will strike with a vengeance next year... like we tend to do when we dont have successful seasons.... Rio will be hungry... Silvestre will have to strive to keep his place... Heinz will try to win a place... Brown should as well.... O'Shea and Gary Neville might compete for RB but I think Gary will be first choice...

11] We wont be playing much of the 4-5-1 anymore but we will still rely on close to 30 goals from Ruud perseason I should think... We have much more firepower now though and I expect that while Scholes' goal count should drop due to him having less of an attacking role with 2 strikers we should still have maybe 25-30 goals aside from the strikers... Ronaldo and Giggs might net 15 and Scholes is good for 10 and then bonus goals like OShea on corners or Fletcher, and Kleberson scoring now and then... I think we will have a strong midfield who wont score as many as they did in the past with Scholes scoring 20 and Giggs 15 and Becks 10 over the course of a season, but we are a different team now... one with 2 striking threats, threats from both wings and Scholes - he scores goals, just not for England...

anyway, those are the questions i had, i gave some of my opinions and would like to here yours. lets not get to carried away ok boys?! :D
hope the questions are good ones that can strike up some good thoughts and debates. i'll post more questions to fight over...i mean answer in a few days. oh, and i figure i'd throw in our best line-up for next season

______________line-up___________________cover

----------------howard--------------- ______carroll
--------------------------------------
----------ferdinand---silvestre--------- _____brown/ heinz backup
g.neville--------------------------heinz _____p.neville/ fortune/ brown
------------keane--------------------- _____fletcher/ butt/ djemba*2
----------------------scholes---------- _____miller/ kleberson
ronaldo---------------------------giggs _____ogs/ bellion/ smith
--------van nistelrooy---saha---------- _____smith/ ogs/ bellion/ scholes

You forgot to give OShea a spot on the bench... I have him as a Fullback on either side, LB and RB (he actually is rightfooted)

1 more thing that is not a critique... I hope than Fletcher can start 15-20 games this season in the middle partnering Keane and Scholes on occasion, just to see how he will develop... He will never be a number 10 but he might develop some creativity thus the need to play him with Keane and see how he does when he can attack more... also, he will never be a DM but he might be one who can play as a co-CM thus the need to play without an anchor... I see him and Klebs 5 years down the road as our CM pairing...

[Mac_Howard]

>1] will ronaldo be a regular or have limited appearances like last season?

Portugal played him for a couple of games and found that he was their most effective player. They then put him in the starting lineup. Utd will do the same.

>2] what month and day will rio return?

Around mid-September. Not sure of the exact date but around there.

>3] is fortune still injured?

Yes, and apparently it'll be some time before he's back. As OGS and Brown showed last season it takes time to come back from along layoff.


4]who will be sold this summer?

Wouldn't surprise me if no one was but Butt and Forlan have to be favourites if any are.

5]Any good youth players gonna break thru?

Well, we've yet to see precisely how Ronaldo, Fletcher, Kleberson, DjDj, Miller and Smith fit in. Not youngsters in the strict meaning of your question but there's no shortage of players to watch for outside of the first choice players.

6]who'm else will we sign?

Gill says no one else. Is he kidding us? Maybe. Wouldn't bet on it though.

>7] anyone know what the squad numbers will be next year?

I wouldn't have thought they'll change too much. Just three players to fit in.

>8] will carlos quieros stop fergie from making last years mistakes, and will he improve our fringe players?

We've all welcomed him back but with only 12 months here before and a disastrous year at Real then it's difficult to know precisely what his influence will be/has been. Just another variable to make the season interesting :)

>dear god i hope so!

You're not alone!

>9]that comment about john o'shea being a midfeilder?

Perhaps Alex sees him as a the future replacement for Keane. Perhaps it's just Alex's new belief in "flexible players".

>dont we have enough midfeilders?

But are they all good midfielders?

>10]how hungry will the team and individual players be?

They hated to lose the Premiership and to exit the CL the way they did. The FA Cup is no consolation. They'll be hungry or they're out. Alex wants to retire on a high.

>11] are we relying on rvn for all the goals?

Saha, Scholes, Giggs, Ronaldo, OGS, Smith should contribute 45 goals between them. With 25 from RvN that takes us to 70 plus a few from the defenders. Arsenal scored 73 this season.


______________line-up___________________cover

----------------howard--------------- ______carroll
--------------------------------------
----------ferdinand---silvestre--------- _____brown/ heinz backup
g.neville--------------------------heinz _____p.neville/ fortune/ brown
------------keane--------------------- _____fletcher/ butt/ djemba*2
----------------------scholes---------- _____miller/ kleberson
ronaldo---------------------------giggs _____ogs/ bellion/ smith
--------van nistelrooy---saha---------- _____smith/ ogs/ bellion/ scholes

>please critique!

Not a lot to argue with there though O'Shea does deserve a mention ;)

[Sinter]

if i remember correctly rio's ban started january 12 meaning he will be back september 12, give or take a few days (dont ask me how i remember hehe).

the only thing i might change with your lineup is moving silvestre outside as they signed heinze to play alongside rio in center d.

[Bizzo]

1. Ronaldo will definitely be in the first 11, but Fergie will also find many opportunities to rest him - including probably an extended (2 weeks) break at some point.

2. It doesn't seem like the club is desperate to sell anybody. Barring great offers or players submitting transfer requests we might not see anybody go (although I can't see Forlan coming back).

[Achtung]

I believe I read that September 20 is the date Rio can return.

[Achtung]

To answer a few more questions, I think we'll Ronaldo playing about the same amount we saw him last season. SAF wasn't planning to play him as much as he did, but Ole's injury forced that.

Fortune was originally feared to be out until next February, but now it looks like he might be back in September. He'll add a bit of much-needed depth in the backline.

Youth players we're looking at possibly breaking through include Chris Eagles, Kieran Richardson, and Kenny Cooper up front. There is also defender John Spector. Those are the ones I'm most familiar with (the latter two more because they are Americans).

I think the return of Queiroz will do more to help our defense than the purchase of any player could. His tactics and training style received much credit for helping our defense improve a great deal while he was here. I should also add that having a coach who speaks Portugese can only be a good thing for Ronaldo and Kleberson.

I don't think we'll necessarily see RVN scoring as many goals for us as he did in 2002-03, but that's not a bad thing. Saha looks to be the real deal, and if Ole gets healthy and Smith can fit in, we could see goals coming from all sides. I think that's a good thing, as I'm not a big fan of having one big goal-producer. The more we spread the goals among our players, the less a single injury can hurt us.

[bigtoga]

I see Queiroz really helping out the youth players this season. I think with Carlos back, we'll see Bellion really blosson into a winger from a striker - so much so that he can be a starter in 2006 (or be sold). We'll also see a few less loans go through as we'll have a real coach to work the lads through the system. I wouldn't be surprised to see Dong come over to the USA this summer as will Kenny Cooper and Jonathan Spector.

I think our #2 will take last year's signings and really make them into something special. He'll be there to help SAF use Kleberson properly as well - which means Kleb may factor much more into the team next season than we thought. I see him being the favored son over Nicky Butt next year with Querioz's help.

[BillyManutd]

1] I think Ronaldo will a regular only if we sell Solskjaer and also have to consider that SAF don't want wear him down.

2] Rio will return September 20.

3] Fortune is injured but he should be back to fitness when next season starts.

4] Forlan and Butt are likely to leave in the summer.

5] Good youth players that are gonna break thru are possibly Eagles and Richardson.

6] we have already signed Miller, Smith, and Heinze. I think we will sign a attacking midfielder/left winger probably Vicente or Van Der Vaart. We also have been strongly linked with Gerrard and Rooney.

7] Squad numbers will be announced mid-July I guess. I predict that Howard will probably get #1.

8] Carlos Queiroz will help SAF to make decisions on and off the pitch. SAF went insane because he has no one to trust.

9] O'Shea becoming a midfielder is possible but we already have enough midfielders.

10] We want our trophy back so the players are ready to devour the league.

11] We don't have to rely on Ruud for goals. We strenghtened our attacking options.

[Motterman]

2] Rio will return September 20.


It should be noted that this date reflects the date he can return to training with the first team, don't expect him to suit up for a few weeks after that, at least. Probably a Reserve match or two would be expected as well.

[Potomac Red Devil]

1] 6] we have already signed Miller, Smith, and Heinze. I think we will sign a attacking midfielder/left winger probably Vicente or Van Der Vaart. We also have been strongly linked with Gerrard and Rooney.

I haven't been impressed with Van Der Vaart at Euro 2004...but then, I'm sure SAF could use him better than the Dutch coach.

[Achtung]

I haven't been impressed with Van Der Vaart at Euro 2004...but then, I'm sure SAF could use him better than the Dutch coach.

SAF >>>>>>> Penis Lawyer, er Dick Advocaat :)

[laddi]

It should be noted that this date reflects the date he can return to training with the first team, don't expect him to suit up for a few weeks after that, at least. Probably a Reserve match or two would be expected as well.


rio did say recently that he planned to work out so hard over the summer and in preseason that he could start right away. If thats possible or if he sticks by his word well have to wait and see but beginning of october should be reasonable.

Fortune the first i heard was supposed be out until beginning of next season but then i think he said he hoped to take part in the preseason.

Youngsters. Before any signing was made i would have said spector or mcshane but then heinze was signed. Cooper would have been another name but smith was signed and who knows maybe rooney. Jones possibly but the midfield is crowded. Kieran is the luckiest in terms of not having 5 players infront of him. Overall id say eagles and spector

[Motterman]

rio did say recently that he planned to work out so hard over the summer and in preseason that he could start right away. If thats possible or if he sticks by his word well have to wait and see but beginning of october should be reasonable.

You can't regain match fitness, without playing matches. Unless he plays in a league cup match or against Norwich or something, give him a week or two to work his way into the squad. Maybe a sub appearance or three....

[laddi]

You can't regain match fitness, without playing matches. Unless he plays in a league cup match or against Norwich or something, give him a week or two to work his way into the squad. Maybe a sub appearance or three....


I know that i was just repeating what he said, you may have noticed i said october would be reasonable. One or two things in his favour though are that he has been fit and not out with a torn ligament all this time and that its early into the season not in the middle or late as with wes last season

[*RiVeR PlAtE 4 LIfe*]

11.) I'm very conserned about RVN scoring a lot of goals. Manchester has (in my opinion ) a lot of midfielders and a lot of defenders they should concentrate in adding in at least one more striker even though RVN is good you cant have the guy scoring all the goals the team makes

[bigtoga]

SAF >>>>>>> Penis Lawyer, er Dick Advocaat :)lol - then you'll like this - http://sport.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=998&id=709292004

(stupid BigSoccer blocks out all Tiny Url.com links - why?)

Dutch fans buy Advocaat one-way ticket out of town

DUTCH fans at Euro 2004 have clubbed together to buy a plane ticket out of Portugal for coach Dick Advocaat following the 3-2 defeat by the Czech Republic. "We collected the money in just three minutes," said Johan de Laat, who organised the initiative on a camp site in Portugal.

Advocaat’s ticket was booked for Tuesday’s Virgin Express flight from Faro to Brussels, a flight that cost 163.14, according to the airline’s website.

[haven]

Hello all, I'm very excited ahead of the new season so i have come up with a few questions.....

1] will ronaldo be a regular or have limited appearances like last season?
i hope he is involved more, but how would that affect his development?

Hard to say. It's painful to sit your (arguably) best player. You also don't want to overload a 19 year old.

3] is fortune still injured?
i tought he did a good job last season, he is a versatile squad player

He was adequate, no more. Great utility player. If he's going to start again, we're in trouble.

4]who will be sold this summer?
as much as i hate seeing players -good or bad- leave, it would have to be forlan. p. neville and butt i'm over the fence about. next summer we will need to offload some players depending on this seasons performances.

Forlan and Butt need to go. I think P Nev has value as a utility player, like Fortune.

5]Any good youth players gonna break thru?
don't know much about the players in the youth system so i will not comment

I've always liked Richardson, when I've seen him. Not sure why he wasn't given *any* shot at the 1st team last year, particularly since we were short of wingers.

6]who'm else will we sign?
do we need anymore signings? i think that we are pretty balanced for this season, hopefully some players will come thru! kleberson, dj2 and bellion especially. and i am hoping our new signings have great seasons. btw, did we sign pique or not? does it matter for next season, he seem too young?!

Yes. People forget the great decline in goals we've had. Fine, Rio's back. The defense'll be better and might let us play a bit more aggressively. But I still think we badly need another winger or maybe off-striker. Another catalyst. Alan Smith is just not that man.

8] will carlos quieros stop fergie from making last years mistakes, and will he improve our fringe players?
dear god i hope so!

Hopefully, the team will be more tactically disciplined.

9]that comment about john o'shea being a midfeilder?
dont we have enough midfeilders?

But not defensive minded midfielders who don't suck. My guess is, O'Shea will get a few games in there to test him out. He's definitely got the skill.

11] are we relying on rvn for all the goals?
a few years back we didnt have strikers that scored as many goals as he did, and the whole team used to chip in, could this be effecting our play?

We only have 3 real goal scorers, imo. RVN, Saha, and Paul Scholes. I think we definitely need more fire power.

Ronaldo might become one - but there's not enough evidence yet. OGS might regain his form - but I'm not optimistic about a 31-32 year old striker recovering from major surgery to regain past form.

[seven7]

hey people it's me! the original poster of the above questions. i tought to myself it was a great idea to use all my questions in one thread.

i'd like to reply to some of your answers but i'm in a rush, so i'll post tomorrow.

btw, ronaldo vs england... :eek: i hope he doesnt tear us apart!

[SimonCampbell]

1] will ronaldo be a regular or have limited appearances like last season?
I don't think he was that limited last year, he made over 30 appearance didn't he? I think Fergie will evaluate how tired he is from the summer and then ease back into the starting lineup. We looked very poor without him last season.

2] what month and day will rio return?
no idea, but most people think its going to be mid to late September

3] is fortune still injured?
I think so but he should be back sometime close to the start of the season. I don't see any need for him to rush back

4]who will be sold this summer?
Forlon, Butt, Bellion,
Less likely:
P. Neville, OGS (if we pick up Rooney), Giggs (if we pick up a world class winger to replace him), Ruud (you never know)

5]Any good youth players gonna break thru?
Spector- (cb that made it to the bench for the last two matches),
Chris Eagles- I've heard good things about and seen some short highlights, he might get some more League Cup appearances.
Keiran Richardson - is either going to break through this season or he's on his way out.
Cooper - big striker, probably heading out on loan somewhere

6]who'm else will we sign?
possibly left midfielder, we need to start looking for a long term replacement for Giggs

7] anyone know what the squad numbers will be next year?
no idea

8] will carlos quieros stop fergie from making last years mistakes, and will he improve our fringe players?
It can only help. I also think Keano and Cantona are going to be involved in coaching this year as well.

9]that comment about john o'shea being a midfeilder?
Until we find a good defensive midfielder, no. From the competition the best one will emerge.

10]how hungry will the team and individual players be?
Keano, Rio, DJ2, Kleberson(depending on how much he plays at Copa America), Giggs, O'Shea, Brown, OGS should all be fired up at the start of the season.

11] are we relying on rvn for all the goals?
Yes, but Saha, Smith, OGS, Scholes, Ronaldo, Giggs et. al should relieve the pressure. Saha and Smith are quite capable of scoring 20 goals this season, OGS has scored in double digits most seasons. Scholes and Giggs usually get 10 or more goals. Ronaldo is scoring more and more.