Ronnie should go to help United

The CounterAttack picked up a Dutch friend at the airport yesterday, and asked: “Which of the Real Madrid Dutchies would be good for Manchester?”

 

“Well, van der Vaart is silky smooth on the ball,” he said, “but Sneijder has more bite on the field. Then again, why not get Robben or if you need a striker, Huntelaar? Why?”

 

Because it says here that Manchester United should finally take advantage of Real Madrid’s tawdry years-long pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo. The CounterAttack predicts that Manchester have little reason to hold onto him this time and should instead take the money and run, laughing all the way to the bank.

 

This is not a backlash against Ronnie. It’s not personal, it’s strictly business. Make no mistake – Ronaldo is a fantastically talented winger who has averaged a hair less than 20 goals in each of his five years at the club, including 42 in 2007-08. He is a player that can take over and win a match. His semi-final 40-yarder v Porto was only the most recent wonder-goal of many for United that also came at a timely moment.

 

BUT. But. But….For all that, Ronaldo has limitations at the team level. The Champions League final crystallized this. Again, let it be clear: this is not a sour grapes issue. After all, Ronnie was arguably the only Red that showed up in Rome. As the match progressed, however, it became clear that Ronaldo had decided to be the team. It was most likely justified but there were instances where he shot on goal rather than squaring to pass. When Ronaldo decides to take over a game, there is no room for others, and that does not fly in Sir Alex’s squad system.

 

That system is why Rooney has had to accept a linking role, Tevez is relegated to the bench, and Berbatov is a spot starter. Ronaldo is marvelous but the truth is that he is slightly out of position. Worse, in terms of overall talent, on both sides of the ball, and as a team player, both Tevez and Rooney are much better than Ronaldo. After all, Rooney or Tevez have poor games up front, they can track back and harass and try to win the ball. This is a glaring deficiency in Ronnie’s CV – when he is off, that’s it.

 

But there are other reasons to sell Ronaldo. Manchester have never effectively replaced Roy Keane. There was no bite in the midfield, no strong link between defence and offence. Owen Hargreaves might offer some needed presence but it would be quite a stretch to suggest that the Canadian Englishman was the missing piece against Barca. Any fair observer, however, can imagine a very different game with Rooney and Tevez starting and linking with Berbatov, instead of waiting for Ronaldo to take over.

 

Thirdly, there is the possibility that Sir Alex might have had enough of another player grown too big for his boots. The watershed is probably Ronnie’s snatched-towel substitution v Man City. Yes, Sir Alex downplayed the incident, but so did he with similar incidents for Stam, Beckham, van Nistelrooij and Heinze…just before they were sold. It could be that enough is enough, and if Real is serious and their offer high enough, it would allow everyone to save face.

 

The guess here is that the transfer fee will be around £80 million, a staggering sum mentioned several times by Real. It is impossible to see Manchester agreeing to less but more would be too much even for Madrid. Here is a kicker – the CounterAttack would suggest United take less money, take a problem off Real’s hands, and strengthen United’s squad in the process.

 

Even without new buys, Madrid have too many attackers: Sneijder, van der Vaart, Guti, Raul, Saviola, Huntelaar, Robben, plus the still-lethal van Nistelrooij. Maybe Kaka. Maybe David Silva.

 

For the Dutch, that is an entire generation of potential national team starters, each fighting to make the roster for South Africa. There is no way any of them can afford to sit as substitutes for an entire season, especially not this season. The CounterAttack expects that at least some of Dutch players are looking for new clubs. Elite players need Champions League football, and the Premier League is the obvious choice.

 

After all, it is difficult to imagine Real helping Barca get stronger. If Kaka goes – we find out tomorrow – Milan will be less able to contend for Champions League for another couple of years still. Few teams can afford high price tags and make deep Champions League runs. Inter or Juventus might be options; then again, Manchester, Liverpool or Chelsea have all made consecutive semi-final trips in Champions League. It would be foolish to bet against any of those three for next season. So despite protestations on the weather, it makes sense for the Dutchies to head to England.

 

Manchester have their attack sorted even without Ronaldo, through Rooney and Berbatov, so that’s Huntelaar out. Robben’s ever-sore hamstrings prevent him from becoming a natural successor to Giggs. While van der Vaart would be an excellent addition at Old Trafford, what Manchester really need is a midfield with bite. Sneijder excels at that role, and can shore up an attack. He would be a good fit for United’s style, while highlighting his talents for inclusion at South Africa in 2010.

 

Says the CounterAttack: not only will United finally sell Ronnie to Madrid, they will use the money to go after Sneijder. Nail-hard, football smart and talented on the ball, Sneijder would be a more talented Roy Keane…with less red mist. Rarely is a club of Manchester’s stature able to set a world-record transfer fee and still be able to improve its squad.

 

The CounterAttack feels that Sir Alex is astute enough to make the move, and then take about £25 million to sign Sneijder, another £32 million to re-sign Tevez – oh yes, he will re-sign since Ronnie’s departure means more starting opportunities for Carlitos – and still have more than £20 million surplus. All from one sale. And, that’s not to mention the £25 million already in the transfer kitty that can be used for other purposes.

 

So it’s not if United should do it but rather, how can they not. We wish you well, Ronnie, thanks for the memories.

Barca triumphs as Manchester lose their way

It was one of the rarest of exhibitions - Manchester United went to a Champions League final and forgot to play. 

This is not a rationalization of a game that was lost, it is an indictment of the worst tactical game Sir Alex Ferguson ever devised. There is such a thing as too much respect and clearly Ferguson read every report on the might of Barcelona. After all this time, after reaching the summit for consecutive years, after a decade of revamping his squad, Sir Alex reverted to 1997, playing away from his team’s strength, right into those of his opponent. He out-clevered himself.

Please don’t think this is a slight on Barcelona. They came, they saw, they conquered. There is no doubt that the Catalans are worthy champions. They played the way they could, the way they know how, and dared Manchester to match them on the pitch. It was a stage set for a grand finale, but only Barca showed up.

The first 10 minutes held great promise. United blazed into Barcelona’s half, pinning the Catalans on their heels. A vicious spot kick from Ronaldo forced Valdes to parry it, so forceful was the shot. On another day, the follow-up from Park would have scored a goal. As it was, it went for a goal kick and the first sign that it was not Manchester’s day.

And then, out of nothing, Barca’s first venture forward, and then Vidic was spun around, and Eto’o slotted past van der Sar. 1-nil and essentially, the whole match, over by the 10th minute.

Manchester deflated and couldn’t do anything right the rest of the match. No pressure, no sustained attacks, unable to put together anything together. 

Many will say that it was Barcelona that took Manchester out of the match, but that’s not right. Barcelona just played, but United defeated themselves. That’s not being disingenuous - Manchester tried to contain Barcelona but this is a club that does not have containment in its DNA. Manchester contain by attacking, flowing, moving the ball across the pitch. Instead, the players tried short passes, pointless crosses and static play. 

Barcelona were a club to be respected but none of the English clubs that made the semi-finals would have had to fear Barca. Top Four matches in England provide plenty of opportunity to play against the highest caliber players and tactics (especially after Hiddink joined Chelsea).

In fact, it wasn’t as if Barcelona put on a master class. That is not to say they could have been beaten, and CounterAttack does want to make that clear. But there was nothing on display that should have troubled United. Messi played his usual match but it wasn’t streets beyond anything United have seen before. His header to clinch the match, though - now there was a sublime moment. How he could have shot that across goal, while falling back and mis-hittting the ball of the side of his head…. well, it’s moments like those that indicate whose day it’s going to be. All champions need the Fates to smile on them as much as they need talent to carry the team through the match. Usually, one squad has less of one than the other. Yesterday, it was Barcelona that had both in spades. 

One thing - Gerard Pique had the match of his life. It must have been sweet for him. Pique played well above himself, at least above what was expected, according to all pre-match scouting reports. For the CounterAttack, because we try to see beyond the obvious, Pique saved several crosses from becoming shots on goal, was always in the right place, and never missed a step in the biggest match of his career. There is no doubt that he deserves Man of the Match honors. 

For Manchester, they are not so far off that a return to the final is unthinkable. The talent is there - although we don't think Ronaldo will return. What became obvious during the match is that he imposes too much of himself into the match, and not in a good way. We're not talking about injections of energy, as Tevez does. The problem with Ronaldo is that when he's off, he does not have much else to offer. But since the focus of the offense continues to revolve around him, the rest of the team become wasted talent. Then again, how do you substitute him in an important match? The headaches continue, and CounterAttack thinks that if Real come a'courtin' again, that United should take the money, re-sign Tevez and start him in the midfield, move Berbatov to the clear #9, Rooney to the #10 and find a hard midfielder to win balls and track back when necessary. Ribery has been mentioned but CounterAttack has a predilection for Dutch players and thinks that Wesley Sneijder would be a wonderful presence at Old Trafford. We'll see what happens.

So hats off to Barca, worthy winners, best in Europe, clearly got it done all season. We only wish that Manchester United had bothered to show up for the match to at least provide some entertainment to the night. It's what everyone had expected, and the worst possible time for Manchester to disappoint.

Worthy champions in 2008...and beyond?

Manchester United were justifiable winners of their third Champions Cup title, this past Wednesday. United did not lose a match in the entire tournament, and scored the most goals. Like all champions, they received a dose of luck, but also created enough of their own to deserve what they received.

The championship game v Chelsea properly went the full distance. Both sides were evenly matched, and of course both knew the other well. A testament to both managers’ tactics was that all substitutions were attack-minded ones. They didn't play for penalties in Moscow.

In the Premier League, United were equally worthy of winning their 17th title. The superlatives: most goals scored, most wins, greatest goal differential, least goals allowed, the best attacking player and best defensive player....You'd have to stretch to find a negative. 

There are those who argue whether this Cup side is better than the 1999 Treble winners. For not winning the FA Cup, the argument is moot - the '99 side was more successful. The 2008 champions have more talent, however, and greater promise for more future success.

A player like that boy Ronaldo, for instance comes along less than once in a generation. He is Best and Law and Beckham, wrapped into one happy-footed package. And while he may be gone sooner than not, he is an exclamation point to the team. That is to say, only an exclamation point.

That's right, it says here that if Cristiano Ronaldo were to leave, he'd be sorely missed but that the club would remain potent. If Ronaldo were to head for La Liga, he'd go for a record-breaking sum - 100 million pounds is not out of the question. That would leave plenty of money available to buy a player that can support Rooney and Tevez.

The contributions made by Wazza and Carlitos were overshadowed by Ronaldo's magical season. El Apache scored 14 goals, most of them clever strikes, and good enough for second-most at United this season. Admittedly that's a big drop from Ronny's numbers, but few can doubt that Tevez could boost his totals were he to be the focus.

Rooney's contributions this season were much less obvious. He is a very good defender, and races into the defensive half time and again to win the ball. He has adapted to the supporting role that Sir Alex has asked of him. Yet he is unfairly criticised for not scoring more goals. That's not his focus in this lineup.

Kudos to Wayne for evolving into the consummate team player. But he is still a threat to score and forces defences to put a man on him all the time. It freed up Ronaldo and Tevez all season, and was thus an unsung factor in many of the team's goals.

This triumvirate functioning closely bodes well for the next couple of years for United. This is, after all, a team that has learned how to get the results they need. 

Manchester were criticised for not winning away to Barca, for example. But as any long-time United supporter will tell you, it's the end results that matter.

That's not arrogance, that's learning from losses to Monaco, Dortmund, Real Madrid, Milan - the list is long, glorious...and painful. This year's squad finally learned how to maintain a sense of the bigger picture. As late as last season, the Milan away match was a perfect example of a match where United lost the plot. Those sorts of lapses have bedeviled the club in the past decade, a sore point for Ferguson.

This year, however, there was a sense of calm and efficiency in every game. A lot of that comes from having Vidic and Ferdinand marshaling the backfield. They are among the best defensive partnerships in the world. Wes Brown finally grew into the talent he demonstrated before injuries nearly ended a promising career. So the attacking side and the defensive line are solid.

Most importantly, this is a young but mature side. This is only the third year since Ronaldo and Rooney have linked up. Adding Tevez was a master stroke - all three know how to win. The meshing of talent was a question mark at the start of the season. Goalscorers are notoriously selfish yet all three seemed to revel in the others’ successes.

A fourth striker will doubtless be added in the close season. A top midfielder would also help do the business. This is a team that continues to go from strength to strength. After all, we haven't even discussed the raw abilities of Anderson and Nani.

So congratulations to Sir Alex and the 2007-08 Manchester United side. He will surely want to prevent a slide like the one suffered by the Treble side after 1999. The team has already served notice that they aim to collect more silverware before Sir finally retires. Considering what Manchester accomplished this season, it will be wondrous to watch if this comes to pass.