Ruud van Nistelrooy

Back to topic. I think the violent wall kicking outburst was a result of being called ruud

I can't see any point whatsoever in Manyoo selling him really unless its for big, big, big money or if he's fallen out with Ferguson big style. But still, who are they going to sign that's better? There's nothing wrong with Ruud that a confidence-boosting goal run in Euro2004 and a summer break won't fix. Whether the partnership with Saha will work out in the long run is a moot point.

People compare him unfavourably to Henry but then virtually everyone compares unfavourably to Henry at the moment but Van Nistelrooy's goalscoring record is second to none, especially when you consider how quickly he adapted to the Premiership.

What Ferguson needs to sort out is the midfield and defence and have them playing with some coherance again... I think fucking up the Ronaldinho transfer will go down as his biggest mistake.

So, if you believe all the rumours, we might be losing the three most important people at the club in the summer.

Keane, Van Nistelrooy and ?

As for midfield, don't forget Liam Miller -- maybe a little young and relatively unproven, but wasn't he touted as a possible replacement for Keano (who is in actual fact irreplaceable in many ways)? Fletcher is now developing nicely, and when he's ready, he'll slide in alongside Miller (or Djemba Djemba?) in central midfield, leaving Ronaldo to continue his improvement on the right (matching some dazzling tricks with actual incisive football). Giggs will need to be replaced fairly soon, though (which is why Chelsea's scooping of Robben from under United's noses was so disastrous). Scholes in the hole is still dangerous, and I think, as an option, Kleberson may also develop into a playmaker just behind the striker(s).

The last few months has been pretty depressing for United supporters. Much more so than on other recent occasions when we've been eclipsed in the league. It feels to me like the end of an era. The only positive things to happen recently have been beating Arsenal in the semi, and the brilliance of Cristiano Ronaldo.

And bloody hell, people are going to luv it if Millwall upset the odds, which is distinctly possible.

To answer part of the original question, Ruud will do fine if he goes to Madrid. He'd do well anywhere.

Ruud the HorseHead to Real Madrid
Michael Owen to Barcelona
Didier Drogba to Man Utd
Cissie? [Auxerre] to Liverpool
David Trezeguet to Chelsea
Mutu to An Italian Club
Alan Smith to ?
Jimmy Floyd to Celtic
Viduka to Middlesboro
Wiltord to Werder Bremen
Dado Prso to Rangers

Lets remember he also got rid of japp stam (sp?) for saying whatever it is that he said in his biog.

Also Ruud is one of his best signings but not his best surely.

van nistlerooy is obviously a brilliant striker, he's too young to have lost it completely, so man u would be extremely silly to let him go. although i've no doubt forlan is capable of filling his boots ;-)

beckham's departure and van nistlerooys less impressive goalscoring form strongly related. who at united can cross well? i watched the portsmouth game recently and every cross failed to scale the closest defender. fletcher, ronaldo, bellion = poor crossers of the ball.

The other, completely contrary, possibility is that Ruud knows Fergie might be off in the summer and is deciding to jump ship given the inevitable uncertainty that will bring.

Real Madrid's buying policy rarely coincide with a 100% willingness on the part of the selling club (an exception being Beckham last summer). The issue is hardly whether United want to keep him - of course they do.

Weasel Diesel is slightly off the mark with Ronaldo. If he put a few crosses astray against Portsmouth that's not typical of his current form. The one bright spark of the second half of United's season, and he's a far better crosser of the ball than Giggs was at that age (or at any point?).

Was he the answer to all our creative problems? Was he the one player that made the team tick? He was a very important part of the team for most of his time at United, but I don't think so.

The intended idea of getting rid of the whole disruptive Beckham circus and bringing in Ronaldinho was an extremely sound one. Thanks Kenyon for fucking up that one. (And thanks Fergie for making such bizarre secondary choices.)

And it's worth pointing out that the player who was mostly wide right in midfield for our successful push for the title last season wasn't Goldenballs but Ole Gunnar Solksjaer.

I think it's partly losing Beckham, but it's partly that I think Keane and Giggs are getting past their best. I think Man U have a whole lot of good midfielders, but not many who are regularly very, very good. Some might come through - I mean, I can imagine a midfield comprising say Ronaldo, Djemba-Djemba, Kleberson and Fletcher becoming a very good one, but they aren't there yet.

But I can't disagree with your general point about the United midfield. Even Scholes hasn't been at his best for the last few months (partly, I think, because of all the chopping and changing).

However, the number one problem United have got is that the focus isn't there. The feeling I get is that the dressing room is the most divided it's ever been in the last decade or so. Players are speaking out more than before, openly questioning Ferguson's decisions (and I'm not saying they're wrong, it's the divison that's the problem), and there's a whiff of end of an era about the team. Whether Ferguson retires in the summer or not, the rumour has got the players thinking about their futures, and that's affected the way they're playing.

well i know beckham's absence isn't the *only* reason for united's lack of guile, but when you see them huffing and puffing today, obviously the presence of a player who can hit accurate long passes, take great set pieces, and land pin-point crosses on ruud's noggin would help. beckham's absence is not the *only* problem, but still a major loss (maybe they got more money for him than he's actually worth, but that money is no good if it isn't spent on good replacements).

possibly an even bigger problem is the lack of depth in defence. a couple of major signings needed in the summer.

is it louis earning his place in the team or ruud having done something to upset fergie?

or maybe someone had put in a bet for Henry to be top scorer in the league a couple of weeks back when it was 7-1?

mind you, another newspaper said that patsy kensit had eaten her horse

is ruud going to leave? perhaps he is! perhaps ferguson is gambling on cashing in his chips now, utilizing saha instead (who did v well for man u before he got injured, that first season?), rooney of course, maybe bring through rossi more, and bring in a 4th bigger name striker (yakubu again maybe, he surely cant be staying at boro!)

i think ferguson contributed to the decline rather than making a decent stab at arresting it, though. i think fergie's conclusions about players often turn out to be self-fulfilling - ie. he gets it into his head that they're losing their appetite or focus, proceeds to goad the player until they become completely demoralised, which in turn leads to the player turning in performances devoid of conviction, which leads to ferguson believing his initial impressions were correct, and then results in their departure. van nistlerooy not blameless, but perhaps ferguson has fallen out with too many people.

Thanks for the memories, RVN.

If Barca can't bag Henry perhaps they will move for him instead. But wait, this is surely too obvious.

http://www.cybersaps.org/images/static/images/CT/Ronaldo.gif

The stats:

2001/02 games 44(5), goals 36, goals per game 0.79 (saying each sub is 30 mins)
2002/03 49(2), 44, 0.89
2003/04 42(2), 30, 0.70
2004/05 25(2), 16, 0.62
2005/06 39(8), 24, 0.58

and Louis Saha this season: 20 (10), 15, 0.64

What’s it all about, Ruud van Nistelrooy?
Is it just for the moment we live?
What’s it all about when you sort it out, Ruud van Nistelrooy?
Are we meant to take more than we give
Or are we meant to be kind?
And if only fools are kind, Ruud van Nistelrooy,
Then I guess it’s wise to be cruel.
And if life belongs only to the strong, Ruud van Nistelrooy,
What will you lend on an old golden rule?
As sure as I believe there’s a heaven above, Ruud van Nistelrooy,
I know there’s something much more,
Something even non-believers can believe in.
I believe in love, Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Without true love we just exist, Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Until youfindtheloveyou’ve missed you’re nothing, Ruud van Nistelrooy.
When you walk let your heart lead the way
And you’ll find love any day, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Van Nistelrooy is understood to have taunted Ronaldo, referring to his Portuguese countryman and assistant boss Carlos Queiroz as his dad.

Ronaldo was furious, reminding Van Nistelrooy his real father, Dinis Aveiro, had died only last September.

But the Dutchman continued and the pair came to blows before being dragged apart by team-mates.

TEARS OF LOLZ

What price Beckham surfacing in the coming days saying 'yeah we'd love to have someone of Ruud's capabilities here at Real Madrid'?

This episode [assuming it's true] does confirm my suspicion that RVN is actually a sly, nasty scumbag, and not the mild-mannered genial fellow we see in interviews.

he's a dutch footballer, what do you expect? it's why I love the dutch team.