ManUre V Porto!!!

[n_henry]

I was pleasantly surprised by this result...and also shocked of course. :shock:

Yes, United were cheated, but even regardless of their disallowed goal, they couldn't build on their 1-0 lead anyway... :?

And Juve crashed out too... :?

 

[Aussie]

UEFA really have to clamp down on players like Carlos Alberto. Such a talent but this guy is a pure cheat, worse than Inzaghi! I couldn't believe what he was doing.

One part of me is happy they are out, the other is sad coz Porto are a disgrace.

I know they are a good side but people get tired very quickly of them diving all over the place. Remember last years UEFF cup final it was like watching a team of Van ****face's play.

 

[OoDy]

Couldn`t get any better!

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002 ... 19,00.html

Cristiano Ronaldo will have a scan on a damaged knee today, while Eric Djemba-Djemba has a broken rib.

Both miss Sunday’s Manchester derby, while Mikael Silvestre is out another two weeks with an ankle problem.

LOL

 

[Jasper]

FC Porto played terrible! They couldn't pass, possession nor finish!

If manure couldn't beat these guys they deserved to be out of the Champions league!

 

[Aussie]

I have read that Man U will be expected to loose around ten million from there failure to qualify.

 

[Sammer]

This will motivate United to perform domestically. They could go both ways really - react, or slide.

I believe that they will slide. Getting thrown out at this stage by Porto is huge blow - even for ManU. Not only monetarily, but also in terms of self-confidence.

Remember all the Diverboy talk about missing Becks, the Rio-case and a defense that looks like swiss cheese. OH, and there is the Fergie vs. Board issue, too.

When things are messed up that bad, a clean sweep - probably including Fergie - is the only way to get out of the sh*thole. So I believe, they won´t come back. It´s more likely that many players have given up on winning any title this season.

 

[Natnat]

I think that MU will be like to quote a song 'Bat out of Hell'
They will be on a 'high' and I think we have to beware of every trick clean or in their case not so keane(excuse my pun).
We will be the one team they be on adrenalin for.
My BP will zoom out of control, do not know if i be able to watch it properly.

 

[mauapa]

he was giving them the finger at the end wasn't he? both hands as well.

just download the full matches from internet, i don't see any finger, are u watching from espn?

 

[Adam]

If i was a United fan, i'd be concerned about the team spirit. It just hasn't been 100 percent this season - Beckham leaving, Butt going - that core will need replacing, and it has affected them. They are arguing - as Zat Knight pointed out (usually its just Keane that does that) and they are not coping with any injuries whatsoever. To win titles you have to show these qualities foremost.

 

[mayoud]

Tragic, Catastrophic, Disastrous, Heartrending, Terrible, Ruinous, Appalling, Tearful, Dreadful, Sad - and in goal, Wretched (The Eleven Dwarves - all managed by Slow Shiite (Sir Fungus Rednose).

I reckon we will get a good indication of the value of this result after the weekend when they have the derby match against City. A loss of points to them, as is quite possible, could be doom.

This was even better than Spurds losing to Boro.

 

[lewdikris]

Man U are reminding me more and more of Liverpool circa 1990 - fading greatness and too many average players. How the hell were Djemba Djemba, Butt and Fletcher supposed to win an important cup tie from midfield? Decent players, but not good enough at the highest level.

Expect history in the press now to be re-written to say that Utd have never been good in the knockout stages of the CL, and that the Keane/Fergie era was ultimately a failure with the exception of 99. Harsh, but an easy story to tell...

 

[Adam]

While they have immense amounts of money, it becomes more difficult to fade.

 

[lewdikris]

They can fade like Inter Milan - always be a big club, win **** all. We'll see soon enough how much Kenyon will be missed - and you should never be in a position to 'miss' a commercial director.... Fergie barely chooses his own players, and never has done - he depends heavily on scouting more than most managers, and without Kenyon doing the negotiating the likelihood of them ending up with compromised purchases is a strong one.

 

[Adam]

The group of talented home growns helped their hold onto silverware, and a genius - Cantona.

It could happen that they fade, but with their financial resource they can always buy winners - and Ferguson gets the best out of some of them, unlike Ranieri has done this season.

It's good that Ranieri has emerged onto the scene for Arsenal in some ways. Mainly because he has snipered alot of players United scouted - Duff and Robben in particular. Chelsea will be looking to buy a striker in the summer, as may United who will once again be looking for that "creative spark". Bidding war for Van Der Vaart, Tevez, and others expected. United may also buy a defender and a left winger.

Inter compete with other rich clubs in Serie A, United compete with one now....and maybe two in the future. They wont have it all their way with certain players in the coming years, and this may facilitate the "fade"...

 

[Taozhe]

Spot on Adam.

 

[thegame24]

Lewd you do have a point, I think Man U are relying on their name to strike fear into teams (yes it does work, a they should have lost more games in the prem, teams ***** out). I have been saying all season they are **** and we will piss the league yet many disagreed.

However, Man U fading i cant see it. They are the richest in the world, also you cant compare them to Italian teams. Italian are too much involved with the mafia. I mean look how many rival teams swap players, it just isnt right. You will never see a team like Arsenal give Vieira to man u, or man u giving Van nis etc etc. If you are to compare another falling team it would be better to compare them with Barca, and even they are on there way back why? MONEY MONEY MONEY.

 

[Sammer]

Spot on Adam.

Not only Spot on, but a very interesting thesis: Chelski could be ManU´s pitfall in terms of them collecting all the hot-shots (Duff, Robben etc.).

Still, we should not underestimate ManU´s ability to launch a comeback soon. Although I personally believe, that they won´t win anything this season, they might invest heavily in new players in the summer. That might not be enough for next season, but think of all the enormous financial resources they have.

The chance of them losing their EPL dominance is quite high though - Arsenal´s decade might be coming up now.

 

[Adam]

You can guarantee that Chelsea would of bought Ronaldinho, Van Nistelrooy, Veron, Ferdinand and the other high fee players United bought/were interested in if they had the money pre 2003.

When we signed Reyes - Chelsea were thinking "Why didn't we snap up him?". That is because we kept it secret - United don't. Chelsea get jealous aswell, they will buy if they see United after a big name. They will have a say (especially as they want two class players for each position), unless the player rejects a move to Chelsea outright and would only wish to play for United (which is unlikely due to the amount of wages Chelsea can pay, and the higher bid Chelsea will offer the selling club).

Our purchases will have to remain discreet, and very swift. In todays game - Arsenal have a bigger appeal to foreign players than any other club (note Trabelsi praising our style, saying he wants to play here as it is his favourite club, the same with Kluivert, and many others - we are offered alot of players who Wenger turns down).

That will put us in good stead (give us an advantage) in the transfer market with the obvious big buys, and we can rely on Wengers astuteness to pop up with a surprise.

Our appeal will be further enhanced if we are crowned European champions, and then world club too. That would take us onto another level of recognition - "I want to play for Arsenal as they are the best club in the world".

Likelihood of occurence? It's a dream, but hopefully not too distant!

 

[Sammer]

. In todays game - Arsenal have a bigger appeal to foreign players than any other club (note Trabelsi praising our style, saying he wants to play here as it is his favourite club, the same with Kluivert, and many others - we are offered alot of players who Wenger turns down).
!

Not only does Arsenal offer a bigger appeal, but at the same time, we attract dedicated players, who really care about playing at Arsenal and - hopefully, who do not decide merely about the money.

So at the same time, we will attract players with the right personality being proud to play at our club, even if they are top class players that could play anywhere.

 

[lewdikris]

The Game - i'm not sure about the Mafia connections, but what has been the downfall AND the sustenance of the big Italian four has been their commercial connections. Juve are owned by FIAT, Milan by Berlusconi who owns the biggest Italian media company and so on. Chelsea are basically in their position now - as long as their owner's business is massive so will they be.

Utd, being a PLC cannot compete on that cash basis - they simply can't, because the money they earn has to be earnt from their own endeavours, rather than on, say, selling ****eloads of cars. An unsuccessful period for Man U, say 4 years, would really really hurt them - driving their share price down, and making it much more likely that someone like Brian Glazer will buy them out. Which would put them in the same position as Chelsea etc again - only Glazer (the most likely candidate) is 76 and makes all his money from owning sports clubs now (Tampa Bay Buccanneers), and is no way in the personal financial position of Abramovich or Berlusconi.

There will be shockwaves amongst the team at Man U after last night - but nothing like the shockwaves in the boardroom. Their commercial mechanism is built on on and off field success - and without on field success for a sustained period, their worldwide sales market will dramatically decrease. Their international fanbase will easily be converted to Chelsea or Madrid (or even Arsenal).

Newcastle's example shows the perils of being a PLC - they really threatened Utd commercially for a while, but as soon as they failed on the pitch under Gullit and Dalglish their profile, and commercial power went tits up, probably for good. You'll be able to see the outcome of that when they try and replace Shearer - whoever they get won't be a big name, and won't cost more than about 7 million - they simply can't afford anything more.