Resting Ronaldo so he could face his former club seems a very silly way to drop 3 vital league points, but this is what it looks like Fergie has done.
Whilst the official line was that Ronaldo had a thigh strain, it is odd that he is now fit enough to face Sporting. Without Rooney, Ronaldo is a must play as Tevez doesn’t appear to be a match winner yet (given his form at West Ham I’m hoping for a January blitz) and Louis Saha is desparately short of form and fitness.
Ferguson took a gamble on not playing him, and it failed. Shame we didn’t play them when Sammy Lee was still in charge, but then that was why he was sacked. Looks like the international break has done us no favours this time. This one defeat to Bolton won’t break our season, but it can throw us out of our groove and eventually out of the race.
Sporting still have a chance of qualifying so we can’t just throw in a team of youngsters but we’d be in a lot of trouble if Ronaldo joined the injury list because of this game.
Sir Alex has been charged with misconduct by the FA, and rightly so. I don’t suppose any fine or ban will have any effect on the old man, but if he wasn’t charged the stories of “one rule for Fergie, one rule for the rest” will be perpetuated.
The stupidest sacking of the season has swiftly followed the most obvious. Billy Davies was never going to keep Derby up and it now looks like he was sacked for winning the play-offs. You have to look at the example Watford set. Promoted by the playoffs, relegated last season, didn’t sack Adrian Boothroyd and are now top of the Championship by 5 points with a stronger side. Derby have probably set themselves back 3 seasons.
Finally, it appears that Garth Crooks has a sense of humour. He has put Patrice Evra and Kevin Davies together in his team of the week. One would hope that Davies would try to concentrate on scoring goals instead of kicking his own full back. However, his strike rate this season (1 goal in 15 games) compared to his disciplinary record (5 yellows in 15) would suggest otherwise. What is the point of a striker who gets banned as often as he scores?
Popularity: 9% [?]
0 Responses to “Sporting Preview: Champions league Group: Match Day 5”