Anderson’s bust-up with Sir Alex Ferguson has placed his United future in doubt. The player has said that he now wants to stay and accepts the manager’s decisions. But Anderson’s second season syndrome, attitude problem and party-boy lifestyle seem to have hampered the Brazilian’s progress. What should Ferguson do next?
Loading ...Dimitar Berbatov says that Manchester United’s players are determined to win the Champions League this season after defeat to Barcelona in last year’s final. Berbatov, who was left out of the starting line-up in Rome, has begun the season strongly, scoring in United’s 5-0 victory over Wigan Athletic at the weekend.
“For me, losing in Rome was doubly frustrating because I wasn’t at the club when the team won in Moscow,” Berbatov told ManUtd.com. “I’ve never won the Champions League so losing to Barcelona was very upsetting. This year our aim is to make it all the way to Madrid. The Bernabeu is one of the best stadiums in the world and I know we’re good enough to make it back there and, this time, win it.”
The draw for the group stage of the Champions League is made tomorrow in Monaco, ahead of the annual European Supercup match in the principality. United cannot be drawn against another English side or any of the fellow seeds. This means that the club will not meet Chelsea, Liverpool or Arsenal (if the team beats Celtic tonight), or champions Barcelona in the first stage. If Arsenal makes the group stage then Spanish giants Real Madrid are likely to be in the second group, alongside Inter Milan.
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Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira has more than a touch of an enigma about him. Signed for more than £17 million two seasons ago, the Brazilian youngster burst onto the scene with standout performances against luminaries such as Steven Gerrard and Cesc Fabregas in his opening campaign. The player’s assured touch, all-action style and flowing braided hair marked the former Porto player out as a star of the future. But it was a dream that has turned sour for the Porto Alegre-born midfielder, as his off the field lifestyle, attitude and on-pitch form have conspired to halt the player’s development at Old Trafford.
It shouldn’t have come to this. Anderson has long been though of as one of the best Brazilian youngsters of his generation; a future number 10 and ‘meia’ apparent to Ronaldinho in the national side. That the two has each played for Gremio and share a taste for women and a party lifestyle is about as far as the analogy has stretched though. On the pitch Anderson suffered what is generously described as a ‘difficult second season’ – his form and opportunities nosedived as injuries disrupted the campaign. Returning to the team and to some semblance of form towards the end of last season, Anderson made the Champions League final side only to see the game pass him by as Barcelona dominated.
In many ways this campaign was set to be Anderson’s breakthrough season. Or a last chance to shine. In professional football they are two sides of the same coin. With Paul Scholes’ and Ryan Giggs’ opportunities set to diminish as age set in, it was Anderson that Ferguson was to rely on to provide both muscle and flair through central midfield. With the departure of Anderson’s close friend Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, Sir Alex Ferguson talked up the Brazilian’s chances of taking on the mantle of midfield goalscorer. That he has never scored a competitive goal for United was laid aside in the hope of a brighter future.
But Anderson was left out of the team to play Chelsea in the Community Shield at Wembley and the visit to the DW Stadium for last weekend’s match against Wigan Athletic. The hour he played against Burnley at Turf Moor last week was hardly an auspicious start to the midfielder’s season.
Off the field Anderson has long held a reputation for his party lifestyle; once accused by The Sun of taking part in a poolside orgy in which five prostitutes were ordered to Ronaldo’s Cheshire home. Indeed, Anderson was warned by then assistant manager Carlos Quieroz to curb the excesses of drink and late nights. Ferguson is famously intolerant of his players’ nocturnal habits – often having staff follow the team ‘off duty’. As a youngster Ryan Giggs’ is said to have opened the door to his house, expecting fellow party-goers, only to find an enraged Ferguson waiting on the doorstep.
However, it is the player’s apparent reaction to his omission from the Community Shield team that has plunged his Old Trafford future into serious peril. Better players than Anderson have found to their cost that questioning Ferguson’s decisions leads only to the door marked exit. Indeed, Ferguson is believed to have told the player that he is welcome to leave the club if he cannot accept being left out of the side.
“I believed that I would play in the Community Shield but that is forgotten now,” Anderson told the Daily Mail. “I thought that, without Cristiano Ronaldo around, I could play more and that has been my challenge from pre-season onwards. But the coach decides the teams and to discuss this with him is foolish because he is the chief. I do not want to leave United. No.”
“Sir Alex Ferguson has demanded a bigger effort from me and I accept that. Because to get into this United team is very complicated and difficult for any player.”
With that perhaps the penny has dropped. It had better. Failure this time, and Anderson will surely be shown the door come next summer, with Barcelona and Inter Milan waiting in the wings.
United’s South Korean winger Park Ji-Sung is set to sign a new four-year £65,000 per week contract, according to reports today. Park, 28, signed for United from PSV Eindhoven in the summer 2005 and is set to be rewarded for his fine form over the past two seasons. Park’s contract expires at the end of June 2010 when he would be free to walk away from Old Trafford for no transfer fee.
However, managing director David Gill is said to have opened talks with Park’s representatives, with a view to securing the future of a player who has become key to Sir Alex Ferguson’s plans.
“It is hard to reveal specific content about the deal, but when we sign with United, we will make an announcement,” said Park’s agent somewhat unrevealingly.
Rio Ferdinand is set to recover from injury inside three weeks as he sets the away match against Tottenham Hotspur on September 12 as his likely return to action. The defender, who suffered a torn thigh muscle injury on the opening day of the season, has missed United’s games against Burnley and Wigan Athletic as he recuperates from the problem.
“It’s improving, I’m a bit ahead of schedule,” said Ferdinand. “I’ve been training really hard the last few days. I’m not where I want to be obviously on the pitch, but in a couple of weeks I’ll be back on the pitch playing again. Hopefully the match after the internationals I will be fit so that’s what I’ll be aiming for.
Fellow defenders Nemanja Vidic, Gary Neville and Wes Brown have all recently return to action from injury, while Johnny Evans has said that he requires an operation on his left ankle.
Wes Brown is set to be declared fit for the weekend’s game against Arsenal, according to reports today. The defender, who has suffered a series of injuries throughout his United career, has been hampered with a thigh problem this season. But the Manchester-born defender is set to offer manager Sir Alex Ferguson additional options as United’s defensive injury problems begin to ease. With Nemanja Vidic making his first appearance of the season against Wigan Athletic last Saturday, Johnny Evans requiring an ankle operation and Rio Ferdinand unfit for another three weeks, Brown may start against Arsene Wenger’s side.
Nemanja Vidic has rubbished reports that he is set to leave Manchester United for Barcelona this summer and reiterated his commitment to the club. The player has been linked with the European champions amid reports that his wife is unsettled in Manchester. However, the big Serbian defender, who was United’s Player of the Season last campaign told reporters that he has no intention of leaving.
“Anyone who is a fan of United or the players would only have to see how I played to know how committed I am to United,” he said.
“I never speak about my future so I don’t really know why someone else does. I spoke with my agent about this and what he said. I know about all the rumours about me but I don’t want it to have an impact on the club. It’s not a good time for my club to be hearing those rumours.”
Anderson could be on his way out of Manchester United after a bust-up with Sir Alex Ferguson, according to today’s Mirror. The player, who joined United in the summer of 2007 for around £17 million, is said to have reacted badly to the manager’s decision to leave him out of the Community Shield side to face Chelsea. While the Brazilian was restored to United’s team to face Burnley at Turf Moor last week, Ferguson reportedly told the youngster that he could leave the club if he couldn’t accept the Scot’s decisions. Despite a positive first season at Old Trafford many fans felt the player performed poorly last season.
This could be Wayne Rooney’s season. No, this will be Wayne Rooney’s season. It has to be. For too long has this prodigious talent stood in the shadow of a certain Portuguese maestro at Manchester United. No, not Nani. Now that this distraction has left, it’s time for Rooney to show why Sir Alex Ferguson made him the world’s most expensive teenager in world football back in 2004.
Rooney burst onto the scene at Everton – who could forget that goal against Arsenal? – having broken goalscoring records at every age group level. At the time, he scored more goals than matches he played in. Scoring a hat-trick on his United debut only cemented his place as a legend in the making. But Rooney never seemed to match the progress that Cristiano Ronaldo was making on the pitch.
The Englishman played at the 2006 World Cup without fully recovering from a metatarsal injury. Such was the hype and pressure placed on this young man’s shoulders that some British journalists would have you believe that he could walk on water and juggle a ball at the same time. They were right about the latter. Indeed, many blame Ronaldo for Rooney not being able to realise his true potential. It started with the famous winking incident in the World Cup quarter-final that led to Ronaldo contributing to Rooney’s red card. The Scouser may have stamped on Ricardo Carvalho but there’s no denying that Ronaldo’s protests to the referee had an effect.
While United did everything to appease Ronaldo after this debacle in order to get him to return to England, not many in Rooney’s shoes, as big as they may be, would have forgiven the Portugese player’s actions that night. But that’s Rooney for you, always putting team before self. These concessions have carried onto the pitch as well because Rooney has been wasted on the wings in the past few seasons at the tactical expense of Ronaldo’s floating role up front. Rooney said nothing in public because the team was winning.
Rooney’s work ethic and selfless play has meant that fans have not seen the player in his favoured forward position as much as we should, especially in the biggest matches. It was desperately frustrating to watch Rooney in the Champions League final against Barcelona last season, out of place and out of touch with the game. Rooney certainly has the class and ability to be mentioned alongside the likes of Lionel Messi, Kaká and Fernando Torres. But this will only happen if the team is built around him. The good news is that for the first time in Rooney’s United career, Sir Alex Ferguson has decided to do just that this season. At least that’s what he says.
Rooney enjoys dropping deep into midfield to pick up the ball and be involved in build-up play. Alongside Dimitar Berbatov, playing along the shoulder of the last defender and holding up the ball like glue as he always does, Rooney will be given a free license to feed off the Bulgarian. Berbatov is capable of finding space for others where few can, allowing the former Tottenham man to play Rooney into areas where he can do the most damage. It’s a defender’s worst nightmare to see Rooney running at them.
How Rooney links up with Michael Owen will also be crucial, not just for United but England as well. Rooney, barring injury, is guaranteed a starting place for his country at the World Cup next year. Meanwhile, Owen will spend this season proving to Fabio Capello that he deserves the place alongside his new teammate. With Rooney playing to show he can be United’s new main man and Owen finally joining a team that can create chances for him, this season be a turning point in their respective careers. Each has had their fair share of bad luck with injuries. Owen’s problems are well-documented, while Rooney has picked up knocks just as he starts to hit form. That he has missed 19 league games in the past two seasons is testament to this. They both have something to prove.
We’ve seen Rooney score some breathtaking goals, now it’s time for the player to add some scruffy tap-ins to his repertoire. In Ronaldo, United has lost a 30 goals-a-season player. In Rooney, playing through the middle, the team has that and more. Rooney has the potential to be a better player than the Portuguese ‘winker’. Averaging 20 goals in each season with United so far, imagine what Rooney could do playing up front for the majority of games?
Wayne, be selfish, run more with the ball, shoot more, and be the player you’re meant to be. Advice like that can only be given to a handful of players in world football, and Wayne Rooney certainly falls in that category. This will be his season.
In the euphoric midst of United’s demolition of Wigan on Saturday, fans could be forgiven for failing to notice the director’s box at the DW stadium. There, sat behind United director Sir Bobby Charlton, were several United players. They say a picture paints a thousand words and the image of Michael Carrick, Ji-Sung Park and Oliveira Anderson in their club suits spoke volumes. The three players, who were once considered vital members of United’s first team squad, looked isolated and anxious. Defendants soon to enter the dock might be an apt analogy for the three, who have caused so much debate amongst United fans. How has it come to this? It’s time to take a closer look at the alleged crimes of those now known as ‘the accused’.
Michael Carrick: accused of being an overpriced and inadequate replacement for Roy Keane, his arrival caused much disquiet amongst the United faithful. However, Carrick formed a formidable partnership with Paul Scholes, leading United to a ninth Premier League title in 2007. Carrick’s supporters will also point to last season’s match against Inter Milan as a true reflection of the player’s quality. But it’s a worry that all of the doubts harboured about Carrick when he first signed for the club remain three years on. Here are the charges:
Ji-Sung Park: few United fans had heard of the South Korean prior to his move to United from PSV Eindhoven in 2005. There was even the suspicion that the player was bought solely to sell shirts in Asia. Four years on and here are the charges:
Oliveira Anderson: during his first season at the club United fans saw the Brazilian as a potential successor to Paul Scholes. Remember the player’s duels with Gerard and Fabregas the season before last? But Anderson’s development has not gone to plan. He’s clearly very talented but after two years the former Porto midfielder has made limited progress. Here are the charges:
The accusation: each is guilty as charged. The verdict: United’s judge, jury and executioner Sir Alex Ferguson holds the answer.
