Panic Button

[JC7rox]

Um, where to start? Probably with the threads that plan to 'save' us, or the ones talking about throwing all our players overboard and buying new ones. Oh, I also like the ones about Chelsea player rotations, or about how Chelsea is so rich. Can we compete? There was the one about the morning after, Kleberson, how Wenger gets it, Fergie does not, and how Ferguson needs to be let go. No, no! I think my favorite one has to do something about David Beckham, and how we miss him. I would have sworn we were just relegated!

I think Nicephoras said it best when he said that we were slightly beaten by a 'top 3' team in the world. There is no shame in that whatsoever. A lot of us are acting as if the Titanic has sunk. It is not that drastic. Maybe this is a transitional period. I don't know. Definitely, what is wrong is that we have such high standards for ourselves. We're pissing and moaning about, without regard that we are sitting in second place in our domestic league. We have at our disposal two of the Top 5 young players in the world in Rooney and Ronaldo (Sorry Fergie, I know you include Fletcher in this batch, but even though he is a good squad player, he is not in this class). Our strike force, when fit, is enviable (even to the 'Roman' Empire)! Defensively, we can be quite astute, and tenacity apparent whenever we want to show it (always against the Arse). Why are we all so glum?

I like the thread dedicated to Kleberson. He is definitely a player who would shine if he is given the opportunity. If Ferguson would give Klebs half the chance he's given O'Shea and Fletcher (both British, btw), he may have shown a brilliant step or two. And yes, I'm aware that he's been injured, but didn't we collectively send out a missing persons report on him last season? A lot of the time where he was out, he was just missing. Maybe he was having personal trouble, but a few hours on the weekend maybe would have cured his ailment. Kleberson should stay, and I'm glad you guys have remained United.

For those who miss David Beckham, watch video of his Madrid performances.

Chelsea? Arsenal? Of course we can compete. Barca? AC Milan? Slight loss because we lacked cool, and a goalie error. Fine, I cave in to the 'Stone Carroll' mentality, but that was from long before Milan. Why bow down and feel inferior? Any other team in the world would love to be in the top 3 every year. I understand where we all feel gutted. I want to be champions every year. But we must understand that not too many teams going through a, mind you, very subtle, 're-building' process are not going to finish top 3, ever. Anywhere. If Fergie makes the right buys, or right choices from the youths, we're still fighting. Ronaldo, Rooney, Smith, Saha (ugh, can't believe i'm including him), Ferdinand, Heinze, Fletcher (even), Kleberson. How did we come to this? Last year we should have started rotating some of the older guys, but we're still top flight. I remember a long time ago (about a month, I think), we were all punching out our grandmothers because Keano made Vieria pee his panties. Where is that buzz?

Basically, I want to see where we still believe, without dying or crying out for a major overhaul. Sure, we need a player here and there, but remember that the likes of Spector, Pique, and Rossi are battering their way up the stepping ladder as we speak into the first team. Maybe Essien will do us some good, but what if for some reason, he does not fit into Fergie's system. We are sitting in 2nd place. Most teams in a transitional period would have been relegated, or sitting at the bottom of the table. Finishing top three, which is likely, or top four gives us a CL spot. That is a chance to write the wrongs. WE CAN DO IT! Lets have some faith. I want to see some replies from those who have faith with me! Positivity! Yeah, it still exists. All we need is a kick in the pants!!!!

Everyone, please step away from the frickin' Panic Button!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, yeah! BTW, SELL P NEVILLE!!!!!!

[Dark Savante]

http://www.cybertime.net/~ajgood/images/ostrich3.jpg


























No-one is panicking. There comes a time for reakism. Our reality tells us our midfield needs hekp and that we need a GK. Read the threads you're criticisng properly. The mood in most is upbeat.

[JC7rox]

Yes, I can tell our mood is upbeat when a Chelsea fan continues to make his way to these forums and reminding us that things aren't that bad. I've read the threads. Maybe if you read some of them and were not so inclined to give bearance to your own, you would see what i'm talking about. I mentioned that we need help here and there, but made emphasis on where we can help ourselves from in-house. Haven't you read the sell RVN threads?

I want replies who are with me. A war cry! Self-portraits not required.

[johno]

LOL at the self portraits not required bit... good post and good thread idea... I agree that we should not panic.. if possible I'd like to agree with both you and DS... we need to be greatful that in a transition period we are still a great team... but we also have to be aware that the transition has not yet been completed... we've gotten rid of some of the old guard... Becks, Veron and shifted towards a new type of player... Ronaldo, Rooney... However, there are still flaws and gaps in our game... while synergy and form might help us beat the top sides in the condition we are currently in, we still have to realise that that is a best case scenario and we've got to prepare for the time when Keane and Giggs will no longer be the best in the prem at their positions... or perhaps one of the best in the prem at their positions...

[Nicodemus145]

I think Nicephoras said it best
Quiet You! Saying his name only attracts him.
You knew this was going to happen; I knew it after the first game against milan when all the posts and threads ranted about how poorly we played; I couldn't believe what I was reading and thought I had watched a different game.
It's nice to see a worry-thread to end all worry-threads. Here's what some people might have forgotten about:
2-0, 4-2,
DWWWWDWWWWDWWWWWWD and counting...
we were knocked out by europe's best...
the FA Cup is still on...
we still have one more chance to beat Chelsea....
and the title holders, comming off the greatest run England has ever seen, look likely to finish in the same spot that we were so embarassed to accept last year.

[The Jitty Slitter]

Quiet You! Saying his name only attracts him.
You knew this was going to happen; I knew it after the first game against milan when all the posts and threads ranted about how poorly we played; I couldn't believe what I was reading and thought I had watched a different game.
It's nice to see a worry-thread to end all worry-threads. Here's what some people might have forgotten about:
2-0, 4-2,
DWWWWDWWWWDWWWWWWD and counting...
we were knocked out by europe's best...
the FA Cup is still on...
we still have one more chance to beat Chelsea....
and the title holders, comming off the greatest run England has ever seen, look likely to finish in the same spot that we were so embarassed to accept last year.

Agree with this. The following is said with the obvious rider that you need a new 'keeper.

You are getting results domestically and with everyone fit I think you are actually through a transition, not in one. This side is heading up and can peak in the next 12 months. I say peak because clearly the partnership at the core of the side Keane & Scholes (and to a lesser extent Giggs) can't go on much further than that.

The question is - how good can that side be? Good enough for the CL? Or will it come up short as against Milan? I prepared to withhold judgement on that. I think when you've got errors gifting teams a goal, yoou don't need to look much further than that. Look at cech for the reverse. Without him, Chelsea would have been history.

So yeah. I don't think this is a transition at all anymore. You know your best lineup except between the sticks.

I think SAF thinks they can compete next year all right, if they can get a keeper. Thats the point of buying people like Rooney. They are thinking short term all right.

If it doesn't happen next year, and in fact whatever happens next year then you'll see a new transition alright because keane will go, or even if he stays, he will be way past his best. Then the engine of the side changes.

[The Jitty Slitter]

LOL at the self portraits not required bit... good post and good thread idea... I agree that we should not panic.. if possible I'd like to agree with both you and DS... we need to be greatful that in a transition period we are still a great team... but we also have to be aware that the transition has not yet been completed... we've gotten rid of some of the old guard... Becks, Veron and shifted towards a new type of player... Ronaldo, Rooney... However, there are still flaws and gaps in our game... while synergy and form might help us beat the top sides in the condition we are currently in, we still have to realise that that is a best case scenario and we've got to prepare for the time when Keane and Giggs will no longer be the best in the prem at their positions... or perhaps one of the best in the prem at their positions...

I think you do prepare for that time, and clearly some of the purchases to prepare haven't worked. O'Shea looks like the best replacement for Keane right now. :rolleyes:

But I still think that management think they have just about cracked it now - they will be gutted that Howard hasn't worked out.

[nicephoras]

Quiet You! Saying his name only attracts him.

Bart! Quit pestering Satan!

At any rate, I've posted before that football fans are a funny bunch. All of us. We tend to believe after two straight wins that we're on form to defeat the 94 edition of Milan and win the CL. And then, after a narrow loss to a fabulous team we believe that most of the team isn't good enough to shine Leeds' shoes. Form in football vacilates more than any other sport I can think of, which leads to the inevitable conclusion that football fans are a bit bipolar. I do think United fans exhibit this a bit more than other fans for a simple reason - you're used to success. I'm not suggesting you're glory hunters, just stating a simple fact. You're used to winning and prior to the last couple of years you're used to getting to the semis of the CL or even winning. So when you're on a roll, you tend to remember previous years and assume things are back in their rightful place. And with the loss, and the memory of the last couple of years, that loss seems drastic, because when you're used to winning, any failure seems somewhat catastrophic and disappointing.
Now, its obviously easy for me to sit here and write this since we're leading the EPL by 8 points with a game against West Brom in hand and we're in the quarters of the CL. But Chelsea fans don't panic like that. We didn't last year after the loss to Monaco. Why? Simply because we don't necessarily expect to win anything. So losing isn't shocking. As one of the older Chelsea fans on our boards says, "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory is a Chelsea tradition". Mourinho is changing that, much to his credit. But for us fans, it remains true that winning things is great, if it happens, and unfortunate if it doesn't. We're not used to winning. You are; so you see a dimunition in honors as a disaster, whereas we see it as the normal rollercoaster of footballing fortunes. Something you just don't remember. Its not that I'm calling you gloryhunters. Its just that even for fans who remember the second division, its been a LONG time since you were there.
Me? I'm just here to get a bit of a chuckle out of "crisis" claims from a team that has the talent you do, and to provide a bit of levity. That, and, of course, I am a bit of a prick. ;)

[billyho96]

football fans are a bit bipolar. I do think United fans exhibit this a bit more than other fans

I'm not suggesting you're glory hunters.

Its not that I'm calling you gloryhunters.

sounds like he is.................... :p

[Achtung]

http://nicolas.botti.free.fr/images/dontpanic.jpg

[Bruiser]

*chuckles*

http://home.no/bruiser/panickey.jpg

[haven]

It depends on why you're hitting the panic button.

If you're hitting it because you woke up in the morning and realized United aren't really the elite of the elite anymore...yeah, it's time you started to worry. United have a lot of good young talent, but also quite a few crucial veterans who are declining rapidly. That's a major problem.

The club is also facing a new financial reality in that there's another domestic club that can outspend them. And not suffer in the long-term, like others (newcastle, leeds).

If you want to panic because you think United are anything less than an excellent team...well, you're silly.

[Mac_Howard]

The trouble is that it is panic and not a rational analysis of the problems we're facing. I'm normally in the negative grouping but even I have found some of the stuff since Milan over the top.

We do not have "many players" fading yet - Keane has suffered a step down in ability through injury but it's not at the moment continuing. Scholes has shown nothing yet to suggest he isn't every bit as good as he's ever been and Giggs' problem seems to be attitude rather than physical decline. Nor have I seen any decline in Gary.

However they will decline and we currently have no obvious replacements. It also means that we struggle to give them any sort of break or replace them when injured without losing significantly in our play.

I don't think that management does believe that they've already done enough and it's merely a matter of time before we're the elite again. They clearly felt we needed something more in midfield when the brought in DjDj, Kleberson, Miller and Bellion. They can't possibly believe that these players have solved any sort of problem. Therefore they must recognise that something else must be done.

What reinforces our concern, though I haven't seen it said yet, is the feeling that Gill really meant it when he said Rooney's fee has come out of next season's transfer budget. In other words, we may see little to improve things this coming off-season. I think the realisation that this may be the case is backing up the feelings of despair.

[Father Ted]

Um, where to start? ...

If Ferguson would give Klebs half the chance he's given O'Shea and Fletcher (both British, btw)

not "both British":

http://www.ananova.com/images/web/48925.jpg

[sitati_kituyi]

BS is in a frenzy of activity! I've come on several times for idle posting and realized there just isn't room for that, everyone is posting 5 paragraph essays.

The funny thing is that EVERYONE denies being in a state panic about the club's fortunes, but everyone then goes on to exclaim how the club need better quality youngsters, Saha, Klebs should be out the door, etc.

Just chill!!! If we're not back to our '99 status (when we were widely regarded as the best team in Europe) or close in the next 2-3 years, there will be cause for concern. Till then be easy, Fergie knows best.

[JC7rox]

Thank you for O'Shea correction. He is Irish. Hopefully no one was offended by that. I guess what I meant to say is that Fergie's style of player is that English, Scottish, Irish-type of player, that mentality. Whereas those players are probably more physical in their approach, a South American is more, for lack of a better term, fancy, stylish, whatever. But Kleberson deserves the same chance that these guys have gotten. I know, there is another thread discussing this, so I'm out!