he may have just scored, but he still played fairly awfully today, save for his goal, and his cross to Bellion at the end of the match... he mishits so many passes, loses the ball so often, and has such a dire first touch... I appreciate the effort he puts into his game, and was delighted when he scored today, but I still don't think he belongs in the starting line up for us.
It was a very peculiar game from him. He was always involved but he screwed up almost every time. His strike, when he was played through one on one with the goalkeeper and RvN alongside him unmarked, says everything about his striking failures. A striker often needs to keep a cool head, and this was a classic case of that, but he blasted it wide without even looking up. It wasn't just a bad shot, it was terrible judgement, and for me the turning point in this game.
We really missed our chance for a quality striker... we could have had Makaay, or Crespo but we did not get them when the opportunity arose... Now we have a shot at Rivaldo, yes he is not the future, but neither is Forlan... Rivaldo should be a good partner for Ruud. He has had to play second fiddle before and did so well (Brazil) He can dribble has an excellent first touch and is an aerial threat. Although at times he can be selfish he is still a much better player than any other option we have and teams will have to pay close attention to him as well as Ruud, which should make Scholes/Giggs/Keane much, much, more potent.
Diego, bless him Lovely bloke, the vision of Stevie Wonder, accuracy of a $3.75 revolver, the flair of a Teddy boys trousers. Couldn't trap a sandbag. Nice fella though. Only thing keeping him at OT is Fergusons inability to admit a mistake.
>That rings a bit hollow after selling Veron, don't you think? Just the opposite! A realistic analysis of Veron's play indicated he couldn't work his magic at Premiership pace around 6 months after he joined Utd and there was no shortage of people telling Alex that. It took 2 years and an offer from Chelsea that no one else would ever have made for Veron to get Alex to recognise the inevitable - Veron was never going to be the player he wanted. I don't think there's any doubt that the fear of looking a fool in losing 10 million or more on Veron was what kept him at OT so long. On new players: I think we may have to drop the eligibility for the CL. If a suitable player becomes available then fine but we don't want to take second best just to meet that criterion. Better a striker that could be used in Premiership games and give RvN a break sometimes than a second rater that can play in the CL. We certainly don't want a striker version of Blanc
That is a very good point. Speaking of candidates... Now here this, Barca have played 7 league games (10 this year total so far) and Javier Saviola has played 3 games. Rijkaard is an ass for not playing and if he doesn't start playing him soon I cant imagine someone so obviously talented not getting playing time staying in that environment. Add in their huge debt I think there might be a small possibility of a transfer. Ruud + Saviola = Championsleague victory. Saviola would be a near perfect partner for Ruud... he is a great dribbler, he is an accurate shooter, makes good runs, and he played off Kluivert and Rivaldo for a time so he knows how to play the role of second striker. I cant see this happening midseason, but maybe at the end of the season?
Yeah, I noted that, its so funny that Rijkaard has stuck with Kluiv up to this point because he gets booed at every home game... that and he has not been that effective, Cocu and Gaucho with 3 goals apiece are the team leaders in scoring...
Ronaldo..United Prosper or Parish? I see where you are going with Ronaldo. Sure he has a truckload of potential and he's still young. BUT HE HAS GOT TO LEARN. Holding the ball like you said needs to be stopped. In England soccer is played differently than in spain and Portugal. He likes to play the one-on-one. I fear that eventually it will be his downfall because these English defenders arent affraid to slide with their cleats up if u know what I mean. He has the skill to avoid some tackles but eventually one will cause him some serious trouble. I just hope he learns quickly enough before he gets injured. Furthermore i get the vibe that these refs arent impressed with his ability to constantly draw fouls. He should spend more time on his feet than on the ground shrugging his shoulders.
The article you link to, Motterman, says the same thing as the stats I included in the Utd/Fulham thread. These stats say: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- In the 4 and a half matches (407 minutes) Forlan has been on the pitch Utd have score 4 goals. In the 8 and a half matches (764 minutes) he's not been on the pitch Utd have scored 21 goals.So a rate of scoring of 1 goal in 102 minutes with him on the pitch and one goal every 36 minutes when he's not. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rounding those numbers off, when he's playing we score one goal a game when he's not playing we score three. It's not just that Forlan doesn't score but that the TEAM doesn't score, including RvN, when he's on the pitch. But I understand he had a good game last night
Now, now, dont give yourself too much credit, clearly the reason Forlan is scoring is because I started the Is Diego Forlan the worst finisher of all times thread, he has scored goals ever since. (all of 2 matches)
I think you'l find the worst finisher ever is not Forlan, nor Heskey, nor Kluivert and not even the premierships worst ever finisher Ade Akinbiyi..... but my friends.... the worst finisher of all time accolade goes to........ HARALD BRATTBAKK!! (While at Celtic at least) Managed to miss an open goal from 2 yards not one, but twice (against Hearts and Motherwell). AND, against Motherwell he didnt score at all despite the rest of the team managing to net 7 goals! ....ten of course he scored two against us in the Champions League for Rosenborg... grr!
You are a freeking genius. You should be manager of United after Fergie goes. I'm just glad Forlan wont turn out to be another Gary Birtles or Alan Brazil.
Is Forlan the best finisher? Is this thread now defunct. Four goals in four starts. Superb goal against Rangers, unlucky not to score 2. HT at time of post.
His aim must be one of the accurests (does that word exist???) in Europe! He used to hit the bar pretty often in Uruguay!