United's Handicap entering nu season

[rondwisan]

ujian sesaat sebelum musim bergulir nih ...
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Double trouble for United
MEN, James Robson - August 03, 2010


Manchester United's carefully planned build-up to the new season has been hit by an embarrassing double whammy.

First, England ace Wayne Rooney was caught by the cameras enjoying a night-out in the early hours of Sunday morning and then Brazilian Anderson escaped serious injury when his high-powered car was involved in an accident in Portugal.

United remained tight-lipped on Monday after Rooney was photographed in the city centre holding a cigarette and appearing to urinate next to a bin.

Although sources claimed the 24-year-old was under no curfew as the season is still the best part of two weeks away and therefore broke no club rules, it is still unwanted publicity.

And this, together with the serious car accident involving Anderson, has given the club another PR nightmare after the management had worked so hard to project a positive image during their tour of North America.

No doubt Sir Alex Ferguson will demand Rooney proves his critics wrong tomorrow when he makes his first appearance after an increasingly troubled summer when the England ace fell out with the fans during the World Cup .

He will have the chance to prove to Fergie he is ready to spearhead United’s bid to regain the Premier League title when the Reds face a League of Ireland XI in Dublin.

Just last week, the United boss spoke of the importance of his players projecting the right public image. So he is sure to have been concerned by both incidents.

The Old Trafford boss said: “At United we don’t just develop players in terms of ability, we try to build character, make better human beings who understand their responsibilities.

“The response I’ve had over the years has been very good.

“The people who I’ve worked with, the younger players and the older ones, have a very goodunderstanding of the importance of their jobs.”

Rooney is set to be one of four World Cup players – the others are Michael Carrick, Ji-sung Park and Nemanja Vidic – earmarked to play against an Irish League XI at Dublin’s new Aviva Stadium.

Antonio Valencia, on his way back from an ankle injury, will also be in the squad.

All five missed the Reds’ tour of North America and the subsequent friendly in Mexico, so tomorrow’s game will be a key step in their preparation for the new season.

“Rooney, Park, Carrick and Vidic are back in training and are doing well,” said Sir Alex.

“Valencia is also training well and needs a game. All of them will be involved and Chicharito will also be part of the squad.”

His two Republic of Ireland internationals – Darron Gibson and John O’Shea – will play.

“They deserve to, and O’Shea will probably be captain,” he said.

Fergie is desperate to see Rooney shake off his problems this summer, giving him extra time off – along with the rest of United’s World Cup stars – to fully recharge their batteries after South Africa.

The United manager was so concerned by his star man’s displays for England that he even contacted him during the tournament to tell him to relax.

Rooney failed to score in four matches and hasn’t found the back of the net for club or country since damaging his ankle in March.

His frustration boiled over when England were booed off the pitch following a goalless draw with Algeria.

“Nice to hear your fans boo you,” he said to a TV camera.

United are still ascertaining the details of Anderson’s crash, with reports in Portugal claiming the £18m man had to be dragged from the blazing £125,000 Audi R8.

The 22-year-old, recovering from knee-ligament damage, was treated for only minor injuries and is expected to return to Manchester this week.

An official at the Sao Marcos hospital in Braga said that Anderson and two people involved in the crash were discharged on Saturday afternoon having only suffered “light injuries”.

Anderson’s Portugal-based representatives, said: “It was an almighty fright but Anderson will return soon to Manchester to continue his rehabilitation.”

The Brazilian is still recovering from a ruptured cruciate ligament injury that he suffered in February.

[rondwisan]

United special: 10 key areas to tackle
MEN, James Robson - August 03, 2010



Sir Alex Ferguson faces potentially one the most testing seasons of his Old Trafford reign.

Against the backdrop of fan unrest, growing financial concerns and mega-rich rivals in the form of Chelsea and City, he must try to return United to pre-eminence at home and in Europe.

Does he have the players to win a record 19th title or must he accept another period of transition where United will have to watch on as their noisy neighbours battle it out with Chelsea’s Roman Empire for a place at the top table?

MEN Sport assesses 10 issues that will be foremost in Ferguson’s mind as the new season approaches.

1. Golden Oldies

Despite watching United relinquish their hold on the Premier League, Ferguson still saw fit to convince Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Edwin van der Sar and Gary Neville to sign one-year contract extensions. But their ageing legs can only go on for so long and it is hard to imagine either Giggs or Scholes repeating their evergreen displays of the past two years. But as Ferguson knows only too well – replacement for that kind of talent is hard to find.

2. The wonder of Roo

The single biggest reason why United pushed Chelsea so hard last season looked a shadow of himself following his ankle injury at the end of March. He looked woefully out of sorts at the World Cup and is yet to score for club or country since that night at the Allianz Arena in Munich. Fabio Capello suggested his problems in South Africa were psychological and
Ferguson will need all his legendary man-management skills to coax Rooney back into the kind of form that last season saw him challenge Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as one of the best players on the planet.

3. Berba-flop

There is still no sign of the Bulgarian finding the kind of consistency to suggest he can be anything other than a £30m flop. Were funds not so tight at Old Trafford and had United received a reasonable offer for their record signing then it is hard to imagine he would still be at the club as the new season approaches. Berbatov looks destined to be Ferguson’s most costly blunder, but that won’t stop the Scot from trying to make him work. With Javier Hernandez looking impressive during pre-season, it could be another frustrating campaign for the former Tottenham striker.

4. Treatment table

Ferguson has spent the past two years juggling with a crippling injury list. Owen Hargreaves, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick, Edwin van der Sar, John O’Shea, Anderson, Wes Brown, Gary Neville and Michael Owen have all been out for long periods during that time and it is a credit to United’s resolve that they have been able to compete on all fronts even despite those problems. They will start the new campaign without Hargreaves, Ferdinand, Anderson and Owen, and Ferguson will hope that is not a sign of things to come.

5. Fan power

United’s already disillusioned supporters were infuriated by their manager’s public backing of the Glazers while on tour in the US. Fergie insisted he had “no complaints” about the Americans’ controversial rule, which has landed the club in debt to the tune of £700m. While fans understand the manager cannot be seen to be attacking his employers, in a season when discord on the terraces is only set to intensify, perhaps he would be wise not to be so vocal in his praise of Malcolm et al.

6. Oh Rio

Having missed a huge chunk of last season, Ferdinand will miss the start of the new campaign, albeit with an unrelated injury to the back problems that have haunted him.
The accidental training ground clash with Emile Heskey just before the World Cup played havoc with Capello’s plans and he is every bit as vital to United’s cause. With Vidic having signed a new long-term deal, Ferguson will be desperate to reunite the defensive partnership that was the envy of Europe and steered United towards a hat-trick of titles. But he will be aware that his captain’s injury record has made depressing reading of late. At the age of 31, are the years catching up with him?

7. Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Neither Ferguson nor Scholes could ever have expected the Ginger Magician to still be pulling the strings in United’s engine room – but heading into the new season, that is exactly the case. The 35-year-old thought he’d have hung up his boots by now – but the matter is his club simply can’t afford to put him out to pasture. Finding Scholes’ successor could be more treacherous than replacing Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and Roy Keane combined. How many other players have been his equal when it comes to long and short range passing and goals from midfield? In his pomp he was peerless. In his dotage Carrick and Anderson have both failed to fill his boots. Fergie clearly didn’t think Joe Cole would be up to the task, could Mesut Ozil be?

8. Spend, spend, spend

That’s what United’s fans want – but as yet Fergie has kept his chequebook in his pocket. Chris Smalling and Hernandez were bought for a combined £17m before the end of last season, and despite looking at a host of names like Ozil, Karim Benzema, Frank Ribery, Jack Rodwell and Luis Suarez, the United manager has yet to swoop this summer. Does he even have the money to spend? The fans think not, but chief executive David Gill insists the cash is there for a top class player. Before the start of the season, he is expected to hit the transfer market, with a number of options still being considered – Ozil, Benzema and Lassana Diarra all among them.

9. Are the Kids All Right?

If the man who brought us Giggs, David Beckham, Scholes and the Nevilles is to be believed, United have their latest batch of stars in Federico Macheda, Danny Welbeck, the Da Silvas, Smalling and Darron Gibson. But it remains to be seen if Ferguson’s faith in his young guns is well-placed. The truth is that when the chips were down last season, they were found wanting. A year on, will they be ready to step up to the plate or will Fergie be forced to try to get one more ride out of his old warhorses, Giggs and Scholes?

10. Neighbourhood Watch

Scholes doubts whether United’s mega-rich rivals across the other side of Manchester will mount a concerted title challenge, but Ferguson knows the danger is clear and present from Old Trafford’s “noisy neighbours”. Having knocked Liverpool off their perch since arriving at Old Trafford, the Scot would hate to see City do the same to United in his final years in management.

[Redsbusby]

Sebenernya kalo mau dibilang Double Trouble buat Kesiapan skuad United ya nggak juga, tp kalo berhubungan dgn Image United sendiri sih iya. Soalnya berkaitan dgn kesiapan, anderson bukan pemain yg jadi andalan banget, dan kesiapan lini depan uda mulai mateng meski tanpa kehadiran Wazza. Untungnya wazza bermasalah hanya dgn kegiatan2 yg menurut saya sih wajar, soalnya berita diatas kan hanya nunjukin kalo roo hanya ingin menikmati pesta terakhirnya sebelum Mulai brgabung dgn skuad United... Apesnya cuma keliput ama media aja . IMO

Hiyahh, artikel keduanya opa muncul, edit post ini lagi deh, ntaran aja commentnya, sarapan dulu yukss

[Oom Panda]

Sebenernya kita kembali lagi nih ke jaman dulu, sewaktu Fergie mulai menemukan batches of youngsters... sama seperti dulu, Fergie mulai mempercayakan mereka di starting 11, Fergie mulai melihat adanya pemimpin baru yang bisa diangkat menjadi panutan dan role model di lapangan oleh anak2 muda ini di diri Rooney and Fletcher... Dan dengan masih tetapnya para Senior bermain disana, keseimbangan menjadi lebih terjaga...

Yang jadi masalah sekarang adalah... Para senior kita pun sering angin2an maennya... VDS sometimes looks sloppy... and so does Nev and Vida... Too much injury problem on senior player.. Let's say.. Rio, Owen, and Hargo...

The engine room itself... Scholes and Giggs... ga sekompetitif dulu... kaki2 mereka udah berat banget untuk ngeladenin gaya permainan BPL...

Di sisi lain.. Banyak pemain yang tidak menunjukkan performa yang baik di saat mereka diharapkan memberikan lebih.. Look @ Berba, O'Shea, Brown, Carrick, Anderson, and Nani last season....

Jadi kita benar2 membutuhkan pemain pelapis or reinforcement.... Hopefully, our next crop of youngsters yang kita dapetin musim ini bisa bersinar.. berharap banyak pada Chicharito, Macheda, Cleverley, Obertan, Gibson, Diouf, Welbeck and Smailing to fulfill their true potential dan membantu United mengejar mimpi dan keyakinan mereka untuk titel ke 19 BPL!!!

Glory Glory Man Utd!!!

[rondwisan]

hayuu hayuu ...
share kendala2x yang dihadapi United menjelang bergulirnya musim 2010/2011 kali ini ...
menurut pendapat temen-temen bijimana nih ...

[Oom Panda]

wah.. threadnya opa diangguriinnn... hahahaha... ^^ ditembak mati semua nanti loohh...

[rondwisan]

wkwkwk ....
sepertinya temen2x udah padha yakin aja nih ama United ...
yah yakin sih boleh-boleh aja ...
but kita tetep harus membumi dan melihat kenyataan yang ada ...
at least klo kita mo sekilas review ..., mengapa kita gagal mempertahankan EPL musim lalu 'n gagal (kembali) mencapai final UCL ...

hayu sok atuh beropini di sini ...

[f3bry]

Pada saat membaca kata "handicap" saya jd mikirnya kemana2 maklum di media cetak lokal suka ada rubrik handicap , jadi saya kira sama,,,Kalau melihat laga uji coba dan perkembangan yang terjadi, saya melihat Handicap yang paling terlihat adalah barisan pertahanan UNITED, Smalling terbukti masih belum cukup siap untuk dipasang sebagai starter sementara duet Vida Evans juga masih kurang padu. Di bawah mistar Van der sar mulai terlihat berkurang kemampuannya,,,Ya semoga kekhawatiran saya salah,,,untuk lini tengah dan depan saya rasa tidak ada masalah... We will see on Sunday