@Clemo85

Agreed mate.

Its what makes it all exciting. :))

Cheers.

*Every one in the world knows we are the best team since the premier league was
formed. All this while I am talking about the entire football era...*

Well if thats the case, why the comment of: ''We have overtaken Liverpool. We are now the
best team in England'' :P I think you meant to phrase it as: '' We have overtaken
Liverpool. We are now the most successful domestic team in England'' ;)

And as I have already said, United have ben the best team in England since 1994.

*18 - 25 is my age you say...?? LOL... i wish...! What makes you think im an ardent SAF
fan... i have written countless blogs challenging his decisions and in I myself have
written an exclusive blog asking for SAF's removal (but the blog was blocked and
banned) for certain horrible decision that he has made. But for what its worth, I stick
with the manager. Continuity is priceless.*

Well your one of the few. I think its safe to assume you come from Florida? or the USA in
general? Because if you was over here during his early years you'd understand fully when I
say they wanted him gone. It was worse than any other demand by fans for a managers removal.

*At your final comments: You didnt have to tell me that ur a Liverpool fan...:))*

lol for me the team I support is irrelevant when it comes to talking about football (real
football not the padded version of rugby played over in the USA :P). I discuss teams,
tactics and players with my friends from a neutral point of view because that is the
better way to talk about rival teams with your friends, otherwise you wouldn't really have
friends who support bitter rival teams like Manchester United (and in my case Everton) right?

My point is, it isn't (entirely) the players fault if Capello chooses an imbalanced and
unfunctional system/players/formation.


Germany also demolished Argentina 4-0, does that mean players like Messi, Higuain,
Tevez, you name it, deserve to be out of the side for fresh legs? No, it just means
Maradona is a terrible tactician.


I'd suggest reading this article by Tim Hill if you are keen on reading these kind of
things:
http://timhi.wordpress.com/2010/07/01/germany-england-report/


Ultimately though, no team will ever work if their best players are played out of their
best positions and/or roles.

Masc,

That's true. People tend to heap glory only on the goalscorers, and tend to
forget the teammate who made the pass, or others who worked tirelessly to regain
possession or prevent the enemy from scoring, thus equally contributing to the win
itself.

And because of that, sometimes people can be lulled into overexaggerating a star
player's abilities or importance.

Even if Messi scored 3 goals a game, if it weren't for the efforts of Puyol, Xavi,
Pique and the rest in preventing the opponents from scoring 4 or 5 goals in return,
the team wouldn't have won anything.

@ Clemo85

Every one in the world knows we are the best team since the premier league was
formed. All this while I am talking about the entire football era...

18 - 25 is my age you say...?? LOL... i wish...! What makes you think im an ardent SAF
fan... i have written countless blogs challenging his decisions and in I myself have
written an exclusive blog asking for SAF's removal (but the blog was blocked and
banned) for certain horrible decision that he has made. But for what its worth, I stick
with the manager. Continuity is priceless.

At your final comments: You didnt have to tell me that ur a Liverpool fan...:))

Cheers.

I agree with the first part of your post emma. Case in point is Forlan, whose
performance in the World Cup was amaizing, yet he didnt do anything for Atletico
Madrid. Success in the Champions, or any other tournament cannot be taken as a
serious factor when determining your squad.

Football is a team sport, and sometimes people misplace success with greatness or
quality, and there are instances where much of a player's success is caused because
others in the team facilitated it. IMO a national team manager should look
individually at what a player brings to the table and then put that in the bigger
picture of what he wants to see the team doing. This is particularly important for
nations that have loads of quality players such as Brazil, Argentina, Netherlands,
Spain... I remember how shocked I was when I saw the squad Maradona picked for
the WC. No Zanetti, no Cambiasso... Then during the WC Argentina had a million
problems with their defense, starting with Demichelis...

Joseph,

That is one aspect, which I believe, that managers need to reexamine deeper.

Is a player playing decently in a Champions League team, that much better than a
player who is outstanding in a non-Champions League team?

Personally, I don't feel that it should be a by-default judgement that any player
should get automatic preference simply because his team is participating in a higher
tier tournament.

Sometimes it would be prudent to look at alternatives that could bring fresh legs
and ideas to the team. And besides, form, fitness and state of mind is often more
important than mere ability alone.

There are times when Capello needs to realize his stars are out of form and not
what they used to be, and it might be better to give someone else a chance instead,
despite them not being in a "big" team or playing in the ECL.

Something is clearly not clicking in the England team anymore. Yet they stubbornly
stick to their methods and hope it will eventually work someday, instead of being
bold and try something new.

Alex Ferguson would have no hesitation leaving out a player of Rooney's stature if
he's out of form or if the opponents' tactic dictate so. But you will never see the
recent batch of England managers, be it Eriksson, McLaren or Capello, having the
balls to do the same.

Instead of picking the best men to do the job, they seem intent on picking the
biggest names, group them together, and hope they somehow do the job.

*@clemo85

well your logic is completely wrong... just because Real Madrid won the Spanish La
Liga 31 times does not mean that every other team (except Barcelona) have to meet
that number of domestic trophies to claim the best team in the world. The standard,
format, and the time each league had been founded was/is different.

For instance the Old Firm in Scotland, Celtic has won the Scottish Premier League 42
times... So when they, if they do, win the CL 10 times, are they a better team than
Real Madrid?

I dont think so.*

No, my logic is not wrong, and the above comment contradicts your very first post which
states: ''and soon the world when we overtake Real Madrid 9 European titles. ''

Your logic is what is completely wrong. Manchester United have been the best team in
England since 1994, the number of trophies does not dictate who the best team is during a
certain time scale and you have contradicted yourself by saying what you have above.

*About ManU fans calling for SAFs removal... well most ManU fans will tell you this
same thing... We might disagree with certain decision that he makes, but end of the
day, we trust him. We know our history. We never forget them. You dont have to
remind us about our own history.*

I'll assume you are between the ages of 18 and 25? Which means you do not really know
about the whole topic of United fans wanting and demanding Fergusons removal as manager
until he won the FA cup (for his first time in charge of United). Most United fans began
to trust him since that day (which emma rightfully pointed out) but if it wasn't for that
one day, Ferguson and all the titles and trophies would not have been won by United.

*"I will be very intrigued as to how United do once Fergie retires. that will be a bad
day for United as the players that he will leave will show how dependant they
are/were on him and I don't really think many United fans realize this either."

- I sense a touch of jealousy there and no real concrete theory.*

1) There is no jealousy, I'll quite happily admit to being a Liverpool fan, however I have
just as many friends who are Manchester United fans as I do Liverpool fans and we talk
realistically about our two clubs, not just ''we're better than you!!''. I will also admit
that Ferguson is currently the best manager in the Premier League.

2) Concrete theory? First, I think you mean concrete evidence as a theory is just that. .
a theory. Evidence proves the theory.

If it is evidence you would like all you need to do is look at Liverpool; your bitter
rivals. Bill Shankly rebuilt Liverpool but Bob Paisley is the man who made Liverpool.
After Bob Paisley we were fortunate to have Joe Fagan and Kenny Dalglish (thanks to the
boot room) but since that period we have struggled as our managers have only been
average-above average and United have no such setup as the boot room with no potential
replacement.

If you look at that history, assume that slide from top dog could happen to United when
Ferguson leaves, don't just assume you'll be as strong as you are with Ferguson there now.
Especially with the Glazers as owners and the lack of funds every transfer window, you
will struggle to bring in a good manager and good players. Evidence of this is again, in
Liverpools history when Hicks and Gillet owned the club.

No jealousy, spite or anger torwards United from me. I just have a level head and don't
assume the best out of everything that happens at the club I support. Even my friends who
are United fans agree AND worry about what will happen to United when he retires.

The problem is not Lampard and Gerrard playing together, the problem is Lampard
and
Gerrard playing together in a freaking four-four-two.

Why Capello, a manager with experience, tactical awareness and vision insists in
playing 4-4-2(until the end of WC that is) is beyond me.

Neither of them are at their best in that formation. Gerrard plays in a 4-2-3-1 behind
a
striker and Lampard plays in a 4-3-3 with Mikel holding behind him and Essien
storming up and down the middle.. Plus, neither are Rooney(at the time, playing
brilliantly as a lone striker), Milner, Carrick, Barry or Ashley Young at their best in a 4-
4-2.

You can make the argument whether those players deserve or not to be in the
english
team, but the facts are that they play (well) in teams that reach advanced stages in
the
champions league and that Capello got it all wrong from the beginning.

@clemo85

well your logic is completely wrong... just because Real Madrid won the Spanish La
Liga 31 times does not mean that every other team (except Barcelona) have to meet
that number of domestic trophies to claim the best team in the world. The standard,
format, and the time each league had been founded was/is different.

For instance the Old Firm in Scotland, Celtic has won the Scottish Premier League 42
times... So when they, if they do, win the CL 10 times, are they a better team than
Real Madrid?

I dont think so.

About ManU fans calling for SAFs removal... well most ManU fans will tell you this
same thing... We might disagree with certain decision that he makes, but end of the
day, we trust him. We know our history. We never forget them. You dont have to
remind us about our own history.

"I will be very intrigued as to how United do once Fergie retires. that will be a bad
day for United as the players that he will leave will show how dependant they
are/were on him and I don't really think many United fans realize this either."

- I sense a touch of jealousy there and no real concrete theory.