Manchester United vs. Bolton

This will be a damned tense affair i reckon, they'll shut us out or we'll be getting nowhere for about 70 minutes, and then finally get the breakthrough.

Vidic from a corner.

1-0

It won't be pretty, we'll have to be patient, but it'll be enough, and that's all that matters.



Escobar said:
The team I'd play (if everyone's fit)

-------VDS-----------
Gary-Rio-Vidic-Evra
Park-Giggs-Carrick-Ronaldo
---Rooney--Smith---
Click to expand...

Oh Sir Alex wouldn't be that bold, and although i would be tempted to go with such an XI, i'd be checked by the fact that that probably includes all our available attacking strength, in terms of thsoe tested at this level and would consider reliable. Not to mention the Boro match, we need to have some players in reserve to look to.

So that means, Park on the bench, and if fit, Evra too.
 
------------VDS---------------
--Neville--Rio--Vidic--Heinze---
Park--Carrick--O'Shea--Ronaldo
-------Rooney--Smith----------
 
Jacob said:
------------VDS---------------
--Neville--Rio--Vidic--Heinze---
Park--Carrick--O'Shea--Ronaldo
-------Rooney--Smith----------
Click to expand...
I expect this line up as well as we will need oshea's height to couter Bolton on set pieces.
 
Jacob said:
------------VDS---------------
--Neville--Rio--Vidic--Heinze---
Park--Carrick--O'Shea--Ronaldo
-------Rooney--Smith----------
Click to expand...

Spot on line up ! This will be tight, I don't expect more than 1-0 to United (Smudge far post header)
 
I dont think this will be as tense as most people think. The last two games against Bolton have resulted in hammerings. This is because (imo) Bolton cannot beat Vidic in the air. We all know the majority of their play is long ball orientated and you saw that at the Reebok with a whole second half barrage of long balls but Vidic stood strong. I see the same thing happening. Bolton will have to change their style if they want anything out of it.

I'm going with a 3-0

Ronaldo, Rooney(2)
 
Miss Dangerous! said:
Is Rio injured?!:(
Click to expand...

I think the rags are saying he is, but last I heard, his scan went good. Either way, Neville Vidic Brown Heinze will be good enough I think.
 
We'll have to rotate the squad a bit, but the Premiership should take priority over the FA Cup.

For Bolton:
-----------------Kuszczak
Neville-----Brown--------Vidic---------Heinze
Ronaldo-----Carrick-----O'Shea------Park
-------------Smith-------Rooney
SUBS: Heaton, Richardson, Giggs, Eagles, Lee

For Boro:
--------------Kuszczak
O'Shea-----Brown-----Vidic-------Heinze
Park-------Carrick-----Giggs----Richardson
------------Smith------Rooney
SUBS: Heaton, Neville, Eagles, Ronaldo, Dong
 
Sorry, but I'm a bit out of the loop here, been away for a while, why is Kusczkak known as PIG??
 
The Trotters famously shocked their Manchester rivals at Old Trafford two years on the trot following their promotion to the Premiership in 2001 but since then they've been soundly beaten and recent signs suggest it will be a similar story this time.

Sam Allardyce's side have been rocked by injuries and fatigue since the turn of the year which has slowed down their momentum in the race for a UEFA Cup place.

They've only won two Premiership games in 2007 and have been smashed 5-1 and 4-1 in away games at Middlesbrough and Tottenham respectively.

And although performance-wise United have hardly been at their most convincing in recent weeks, you just can't expect Bolton to stop their five-match winning streak in the league.

That said the Premiership leaders are hardly tight at the back at the moment and while we're confident they'll outscore the Wanderers, we wouldn't back against an away goal.

The Even money available with expekt about both teams scoring is appealing but so is William Hill's 4/1 on Nicolas Anelka to find the net anytime.

Sport Network
 
this will a game we have to battle hard to win. i hope carrick shows how tough he can be in this game.

3-2 to united. with bolton having a legitimate injury time goal dissallowed, prompting maurinho to say the referees are bias towards united. oh, i forgot, he's not talking to the press. clarke will say his words then.
 
Rio Ferdinand
16/03/2007 11:18, Report by Steve Bartram
Rio fit for Trotters test

Rio Ferdinand has been passed fit to face Bolton Wanderers in Saturday's Premiership encounter at Old Trafford.

The Sun had reported on Friday morning that the England centre-back would be out of action until the end of March after breaking a rib against Middlesbrough last weekend.

However, Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed at his weekly press briefing that Ferdinand had only suffered bruising at The Riverside Stadium, and is fit to face Sam Allardyce's side.

The Boss also confirmed that injured strikers Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are on course to face Blackburn in two weeks, and conceded that Mikael Silvestre will not play again this season.

"Mikael is now out for the season, unfortunately," he admitted. "We operated on him and it was very successful. He'll make a full recovery."

http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={B4CEE8FA-9A47-47BC-B069-3F7A2F35DB70}&newsid=411689
 
SUCCESSIVE victories at Old Trafford will long be remembered as two of the most satisfying results in the modern history of Bolton Wanderers.

But, as they celebrated those triumphs of 2001 and 2002, a sobering thought crossed the mind: what price would they pay for pulling the tiger's tail?

No one was ever under any illusions. Taking nothing away from Sam Allardyce's Premiership upstarts, who took advantage of a distracted Manchester United, the two wins were shocks of monumental proportions. And anyone thinking there would be no retribution was sorely mistaken Make no mistake, he might have smiled sportingly and offered handshakes all round, but Sir Alex Ferguson never takes kindly to being beaten, especially at Old Trafford, and Wanderers fans won't need reminding that they haven't savoured victory in eight subsequent meetings.

advertisementThey came close twice: at the Reebok in February 2003 when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's injury-time equaliser denied Wanderers the distinction of claiming a Premiership double; and in September 2004, when another last-gasp goal, credited against the unfortunate Nicky Hunt, salvaged another draw for Fergie's men. But, in the main, the Reds have ruthlessly exacted revenge for those two surprise setbacks - and never more effectively or efficiently as they did at the Reebok in October.

That was the fourth time in the last 11 meetings that United have scored four in these fixtures and was by far the most convincing, with a display of football of a calibre even they would struggle to replicate.

Sam Allardyce, who understands and respects Ferguson as much as any other rival manager, believes Wanderers have been made to pay dearly for those early successes.

"We won there two years on the trot and Sir Alex has never forgotten that," he said.

"We took full advantage of playing them when they were in the middle of Champions League ties or had their minds on bigger Premiership games and he changed his side dramatically - six or seven changes as I recall. That disrupted his side and we took advantage, by not attacking and living on what we could get on the break.

"Ever since then they've battered us. In some cases we've played better than we did in those two victories, but still ended up losing."

Kevin Nolan, who secured himself a place in Bolton folklore when he scored in both those Old Trafford wins, makes no bones about what it will take for Wanderers to pull off another shock result tomorrow.

"You have to take your chances on the day and hope that a few of their team, actually the vast majority of them, have an off day!" the Whites' skipper said in an honest appraisal of the gulf in quality between the Premiership leaders and title favourites and the team currently lying a highly respectable fifth in the table.

That would be the case even if Wanderers were on top of their game, but they aren't. They have won just two of their eight league games since the turn of the year and, after successive defeats at Spurs and at home to Blackburn, their UEFA Cup hopes are suddenly under serious threat.

"Old Trafford would not be top of the list of venues you would choose to visit when your team is in the midst of a spell of poor form," Nolan wrote in his weekly column on the BBC website.

"But the wins have to start somewhere - and we believe it can happen at United?

"We won there in 2001 and 2002 - and on those days we did take the opportunities that came our way."

Despite their own concerns, Wanderers have been encouraged by the manpower shortage that will rob Ferguson of the services of Paul Scholes, who is suspended, and Solskjaer, Louis Saha, Darren Fletcher, Edwin van der Sar and Mikael Silvestre, who are all injured.

Nolan admits he will miss the chance to lock horns with Scholes - a player he holds in the highest esteem - but on this occasion he is relieved not to have the former England man to contend with.

"As a midfielder, he is the sort of player I love to test myself against," he added. "But, looking at it another way, United missing first-team regulars gives us a better chance, so I'm not too disappointed!

"The fact that United will have players missing does not affect the way we prepare for the fixture - we know that they will still field a strong side.

"They have a great, great squad and have been fantastic this season.

"Watching them play you can really see their hunger and, although I think Chelsea will push them all the way, I expect Sir Alex Ferguson's team to finish the season as Premiership champions."
 
Match news

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has rejected reports that Rio Ferdinand is suffering from a cracked rib and the defender is fit to play.

Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are out so Ryan Giggs is set to play up front with Wayne Rooney.

Bolton give Kevin Davies a late fitness test after the striker sat out six games with a chipped bone in his ankle.

Abdoulaye Meite is expected to shake off a toe injury and return to the defence after suspension.

Man Utd (from): Kuszczak, Heaton, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Brown, Heinze, Evra, Park, Ronaldo, O'Shea, Carrick, Giggs, Richardson, Eagles, Rooney, Smith, Dong.

Bolton (from): Jaaskelainen, Walker, Ben Haim, Meite, Hunt, Gardner, Nolan, Campo, Speed, Anelka, Davies, Pedersen, Teymourian, Thompson, Diouf, Giannakopoulos, Faye, Tal.
 
The Bolton boss is worried the team he built into one of the most formidable forces in the Premiership has developed a vulnerable streak that could be ruthlessly exposed by Manchester United.

"Yes, we've gone soft," Allardyce admitted on the eve of a derby duel that could have a major bearing on the fortunes of the two Greater Manchester rivals.

advertisementIt was a brutal but honest analysis of performances that have left Wanderers - serious Champions League contenders at the turn of the year - facing a desperate struggle to qualify for the UEFA Cup.

And, at the same time, he poured scorn on anyone who under-estimates the physical attributes that have helped United emerge as red-hot title favourites.

With Chelsea trailing by only six points and United still having to go to Stamford Bridge, Allardyce is not yet prepared to acknowledge them as champions-elect, but, in Sir Alex Ferguson's side, he sees Premiership heavyweights capable of landing knockout blows against any team that is not prepared to get physical.

He said: "If you start with the goalkeeper, who is 6ft 4ins, Gary Neville, who is not the biggest but can mix it with the best in the world, Ferdinand, Vidic, Heinze, Carrick, O'Shea and Ronaldo - who, when you get close up to him, is huge - the physical size and strength of Manchester United is equal to anybody else in the Premiership, and the skill levels are very good as well."

Wanderers have been encouraged by the manpower crisis that has robbed Ferguson of so many key players but one clean sheet in their last eight league and cup games and 18 goals conceded, are statistics that particularly alarm the manager.

"The biggest part of the game is earning the right to play," he said. "You've got to stop the opposition from doing what they want to do, first and then take advantage of what you've got to break down the opposition, and we've lost a little bit of that.
 
Kuszczak, Heaton, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Brown, Heinze, Evra, Park, Ronaldo, O'Shea, Carrick, Giggs, Richardson, Eagles, Rooney, Smith, Dong.


Hope for this team

....................Kuszczak.............
Neville.....Ferdinand...Vidic.....Evra
Park........Carrick....O'Shea.....Ronaldo
.............Rooney.....Giggs..............

Subs Heaton - Brown - Heinze - Richardson - Smith
 
As I always post I dread this fixture. Not as much at home as away, but nervy all the same.

I have a bad feeling about playing Bolton and Blackburn. Two fixtures that, while I expect to win, have 'injuries' written all over them.

I really hope I'm wrong on this one :nervous:

Come on the boys!
 
Orton said:
Basically PIG stands for Pole in goal.
Click to expand...
I thought that it stands for Polish International Goalie.

And as for the game, I'd like to see Smithy take a part in the match, probably not as a starter. 1-0, Giggs.
 
midfieldred said:
I thought that it stands for Polish International Goalie.

And as for the game, I'd like to see Smithy take a part in the match, probably not as a starter. 1-0, Giggs.
Click to expand...
same really
 
Just don't feck it you feckers :mad:
 
------------------PIG--------------------

Neville--------Rio-------Vidic-------Heinze


Ronaldo-------Carrick------Giggs-----Park


-----------Rooney--------Smith------------

Subs: Heaton , Brown , O'Shea, Eagles, Dong
I hope Eagles makes it on the bech ahead of Richardson

1-1 .We are almost due a slip up.
 
on sky sports news this morning they said Giggs would start upfront today with Rooney, so looks like Parks going to be playing and O'Shea
 
Ky7 said:
on sky sports news this morning they said Giggs would start upfront today with Rooney, so looks like Parks going to be playing and O'Shea
Click to expand...

Or

player-image-80904.jpg
 
---------------Kuszczak-----------------

Neville--------Rio-------Vidic-------Heinze

Ronaldo-------Carrick------O'Shea-----Park

-----------Rooney--------Giggs------------

2-0, Ronaldo x2
 
Successful said:
It is my birthday today, and I would love to have a win :p Go out there and fix it boys :o
Click to expand...

Happy birthday, have a good one.
 
Bolton are feeling the effects of being a pain in the arse to everyone in the first half of the season. They're first XI have looked tired and worn out their last few games.

We should put them away comfortably. 2/3-0.
 
Plechazunga said:
We're going to slip up today lads

:(
Click to expand...

I hope not.Anything but a win today will give Chelsea a massive boost.It is time for Rooney to come out and play.Bolton have done well at Old Trafford in the past and I am nervous as a kitten about this match.:nervous:
 
----------kuckchack...

neville-----rio----vidic----evra

park----carrick----oshea---giggs

----rooney-----ronaldo---------
 
Looks like, according to sources

Rooney - Smith
Park - O'Shea - Carrick - Ronaldo
Heinze - Vidic - Ferdinand - Neville
Kuszczak

Heaton, Brown, Richardson, Giggs, Dong
 
Successful said:
It is my birthday today, and I would love to have a win :p Go out there and fix it boys :o
Click to expand...

Have a good one mate :D
 
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