I am very happy to see Ronaldinho most likely heading to Old Trafford. I think that with Ronaldinho, Man U will be the club with the most talent in the world. Exceeding even Real Madrid and it's aging stars like Zidane and Figo. I picture a Man U with RVN at striker and Ronaldinho behind him. With Giggs, Veron, Butt, and Beckham in midfield. Neville, Ferdinand, O'Shea, and Silvestre at defense with Barthez at goal. I am just wondering, what role Scholes and Keane will have in this new Manchester side (if Ronaldinho should come)? What would be a realistic lineup. Are Veron, Scholes, or maybe Butt on the way out? I don't Beckham will leave but we'll see. Comments?
Man Utd would cetainly be on par with Real if Ronaldinho does come to OT. Scholes is never going to leave OT he is an essential part of the team and no other midfielder in Europe is as lethal and consistent when it comes to scoring goals. 4-5-1 ----------------Goalie ----------Ferdinand--Southgate? ---O'Shea---------------------Silvestre ----------------Keane --Beckham------------------Giggs --------------Scholes ------------------Ronaldinho ------------VNR 3-5-2(unlikely) ---------------Goalie -------------Southgate? -------Ferdinand----Brown/Oshea/Silvestre ---------------Keane ------------------Veron -----Beckham-------------Giggs -----------------Scholes ---------------------Ronaldinho --------------VNR 4-4-2 ---------------Goalie --------F'dinand---Brown/S'gate --O'Shea----------------Silvestre ---------------Keane -Beckham--------------Giggs -------------Scholes -------VNR---------Ronaldinho Formations and strats vary from CL to EPL with Veron getting more action in CL. Lets wait and see where Ronladinho goes first before getting ahead of ourselves.
---------------Goalie(whoever it is)--------------- ------Shea------Rio------------Keano----Tweety -----Scholes?----Veron-----Ole/butt-----Giggs Ronaldinhio !!!!!RVN!!!!
no samba boys please As talented as Ronaldinho is I don't see him fitting it the manu team very well. He is a glory hog who doesn't pass, doesn't get along with his team mates and is not a team player by any streach of the imagination. United are a team, not just a bunch of star players. I might be wrong but I don't want to take the chance of spending that much money for a player who is just out for himself.
Re: no samba boys please I only kept that part becuase, well, that's the only part that is correct! What's funny is that the first sentence you made I agreed with - but everything else is a bit off. PSG is not so great a team. Glory hog? Certainly can't be any worse than Beckham or Keane or Barthez in his hayday. Doesn't pass? Ronaldinho passes - and he's very good at it. Ronaldinho is a great player IMO on two occasions: 1: He is playing out and out striker. 2: He has an incredible strike tandem in front of him (like for Brazil). This is one reason why PSG I believe was trying to get Cisse and bring in other good forwards. What he would do for Manchester is take pressure off of their midfield should he play there. Specifically, I think he would open up the field more for a player like Veron to be as creative as he was for Lazio. Do not think for a second that this is not one of the main reasons why Ferguson is considering this. They spent loads of money on Veron and damned if Ferguson has egg on his face for not utilizing him. But then you have the question of what to do with Scholes, and how do you get the best talent on the field that actually works well together.. What he wouldn't do is play defense or run the wings. That's just not what he does - and really not what you'd want him to do anyway. IMO, the biggest gamble would be if he fits into the Manchester system. IMO, he should go to either Spain or Italy - he would be a fantastic playmaker in Italy. Anyway it would be interesting. Manchester vs. Madrid - Madrid has the edge. And even if Gaucho goes to Manchester, it might not stop Beckham from going to Madrid - which would make them (Madrid) even better.
Re: no samba boys please If Ronaldinho goes to Man Utd or Madrid or any other top tier team he will not be a glory hog by any stretch of the imagination. He has far to much to prove to the newfound billions who will be watching him in major games and he'll play the game correctly for at least as much time as it takes him to establish himself. PSG is a very different issue - he clearly has only a fleeting interest in performing there - he's already the best player they have by far and has nothing to prove to anyone there. At major teams he has major competition for the spotlight(s) similar to when he plays for Brazil he's not the star and knows he's playing catch up on the likes of Ronaldo, Rivaldo, R Carlos , Cafu etc and he plays his role accordingly.. i think the issue here is respect. He comes across as someone who needs to respect those around him to feel the need or the belief that they can utilise his passes or efforts correctly...same as any other top number 10..i mean, if you think your teamates are inept it's certainly correct to go for it yourself more often, but in honesty you really think he wouldn't play in the likes of Scholes, VNR, Giggs if they were in a better position than him? He's not that kind of player that NEEDS to be numero uno..just needs to be acknowledged. You'll be surprised if he turns out for Man U at just how unselfish he can be and at how much of a team player he is. You shouldn't judge him from his PSG form really but that of his national team.
I have only two issues with this whole thread: 1) We didn't lose to Real Madrid because we couldn't score goals, we lost because we are lacking experience (not talent) at the back. I expect another signing for the defensive line, and for Keano to moonlight back there from time to time as well. 2) We beat Real Madrid at home, showing that we could score goals in bunches. Maybe with Ronaldinho we could score more goals, but it's the defence that still needs sorting. If Keane is back to his old self next year, we have a real chance to win the European Cup, if he's not, we could still win the League and maybe make a better run in the FA Cup as well. However, the goal next season is clearly going to be the European Cup, and I think Sir Alex is well aware how close he is to finding the right mix. It's almost more important we get Ronaldinho, just so that Real doesn't. We both have the firepower to tear any defence in the world apart, and denying them the option of bringing in Ronaldinho has got to be worth a little extra cash. I think Scholes is the best in the world in his spot, but consider this: if he's injured or suspended, we're phuct (unless we have Mr. Gaucho).
I have no problem seeing Man Utd being as good as Real with or without Ronaldinho. They lost 6-5 to Real, met Ronaldo in a purple patch, lucky goal for Figo, bad judgement from Barthez. I could see that result going the other way particularly if Alex didn't have some silly idea about playing defensively in Madrid. I would see Ronaldinho fitting in like this: ................Ruud .<<<<Giggs.....Ronaldino .......Scholes......Beckham>>>>> .................Keane O'Shea...Silvestre....Rio........Neville ................Whatever Lots of rotation in the midfied/attack-midfield positions. Another defender and gk would be useful. Keane may need replacing if he doesn't get his engine back. But no way does Scholes go anywhere!