It would be nice if our own supporters could learn to forgive but not to forget. Put the summer out of the way and focus on the here and now. Ronaldo is a truly exceptional player who has greatly inspired us for 2 seasons straight. He is probably at 70% now and that is good enough for most players but he knows there is more to come. He is a fantastic asset to us and needs our support because our team is all the more stronger with him on top form. Thats my view.
Our lad Ronaldo
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) is joined by CEO Duncan Drasdo and Financial Director Andy Green from the Manchester United Supporters Trust for a special episode on all things behind the scenes at Old Trafford including a brief history of MUST and their aims today, views on INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe so far, and the Old Trafford regeneration.
It does make sense. I just wonder how long it takes a player to get back to full flight after missing pre-season.
Ronaldo strikes me as a perfectionist, a player blessed with incredible physical attributes and i imagine he never lets himself get out of shape. Of course nothing beats matches to get match fit and he has played 8-9 or 10 games this season for club and country.
I also can't imagine United rushing him back before he was fully recovered as that could prove counter productive.
Ronaldo strikes me as a perfectionist, a player blessed with incredible physical attributes and i imagine he never lets himself get out of shape. Of course nothing beats matches to get match fit and he has played 8-9 or 10 games this season for club and country.
I also can't imagine United rushing him back before he was fully recovered as that could prove counter productive.
I would say that an 80% fit Ronaldo is still better than our next best option at right wing and the only way he's going to get properly match-fit is by playing games, even if he isn't at his best in those games (that old Catch 22 again!)
What bemuses me slightly about last night's display is the amount of criticism he's been getting from fans. His form this season has been a bit like Berbatov's (another player with a fecked up pre-season, funnily enough) in that he's been getting better and better with every game he plays and is still showing glimpses of class, even when he's not at his best. I've absolutely no doubt that anyone who is doubting Ronaldo now will look as silly as those who doubted Berbatov after some under-par displays when he was clearly a long way short of match-fitness.
I actually thought that last night was the best we've seen from Ronaldo all season. For the first 45 minutes he was playing some cracking stuff. He did tire in the second-half but he still managed a brilliant free-kick and some decent runs down the left-wing. No way was he as poor as so many are keen to make out and it's blatantly obvious to me that he's no moor than another game or two away from hitting some decent form.
6+2 for United. And he's scored or set up goals in all of the six games he's started. I also think he played Rooney through for both of his wrongfully disallowed goals. He's clearly not on his best form, but so far his passing and crossing has actually been way more dangerous than last season, when his assist tally didn't even get into double figures. (If Rooney's goals hadn't been ruled out, he'd now have five or six already.)
I also think he looked excellent in the first half last night. Not because he constantly beat his man, but because he (and the rest of the team for that matter) kept moving both himself and the ball around at a pace Celtic couldn't live with at all. We somehow didn't create many clear-cut chances, but we broke free down the flanks about five times a minute for long spells. After 2-0 and game over he went more solo, which didn't work very well, but overall I'd say he had a decent game.
Exellent? brilliant in the first half? i must have been watching a different game.
You could have fletcher on the wing if you want aguy to take the ball and pass it inside or back to his full back.
Maybe it's the form of other players that is making United less reliant on Ronaldo which in turn is making his contribution seem less than it is. He did a few things well but for the most part he wasn't up to much in my opinion.
I thought Nani was more threatening than Ronaldo.
His free kick was good but Boruc has been in shocking howler form recently and he made a real mess of it.
You could have fletcher on the wing if you want aguy to take the ball and pass it inside or back to his full back.
Maybe it's the form of other players that is making United less reliant on Ronaldo which in turn is making his contribution seem less than it is. He did a few things well but for the most part he wasn't up to much in my opinion.
I thought Nani was more threatening than Ronaldo.
His free kick was good but Boruc has been in shocking howler form recently and he made a real mess of it.
You're nuts.
Nout wrong with his form given the fact he's clearly not match fit.
Did I mention Ronaldo managed two goals and no assists in his first seven starts of last season? He's way ahead of schedule, actually.
If Ronaldo is judged to have been "brilliant" in the first half then what would people judge him as when he is actually playing well and in great form? You would have to create a new word to describe him! It's bizarre!
"Given the circumstances i thought Ronaldo was brilliant" fair enough. But take away the circumstances and Ronaldo as judged along side his team mates was below par in my eyes.
And I've said it before - people like you are small, green, furry creatures resembling a frog.
Either that or you're letting your ridiculous obsession with Messi cloud your judgement when it comes to assessing the performances of his rivals for the Balon D'Or
Ronaldo played very, very well in the first half. He was one of our best players and caused Celtic all sorts of problems. Looked like a player who is not far off hitting top form again. And when he does hit top form he is one of the best, if not the best, footballers in the world. Although it seems to pain you to admit this.
Either that or you're letting your ridiculous obsession with Messi cloud your judgement when it comes to assessing the performances of his rivals for the Balon D'Or
Ronaldo played very, very well in the first half. He was one of our best players and caused Celtic all sorts of problems. Looked like a player who is not far off hitting top form again. And when he does hit top form he is one of the best, if not the best, footballers in the world. Although it seems to pain you to admit this.
I've said it time and time again I think Ronaldo should win the Balon D'or, he deserves it more than any other player in the world. His achievments last season merit it alone, that is undeniable.
But I watch every game with a clean slate and i wont be sucked into constantly praising players who dont deserve it. I thought he was way down on the list of United performers last night and i'll stand by that. I didn't see a great deal of brilliance from him last night, he was playing on the wings and rarely beat a man. He put in a couple of crosses and had about 10 shots on goal. That for me isn't brilliant from Ronaldo, it's average.
Fair enough. We have a difference of opinion.
The only way we'll find out who was closer to the truth is by seeing how he does in his next few games. Last night convinced me that he is very close to getting back to his best (which is sensational, to be fair) but you disagree. Let's see how he gets on this weekend, eh?
Wasnt close to his best. He still isnt going by players as easily as he does at his best. You also have to factor in who he was playing. But he's only a few games away from it.
And as someone said earlier him at this level is still better than our next best
And as someone said earlier him at this level is still better than our next best
Of course, as i said every game is a clean slate. I always expect Ronaldo to perform well.
Everton have been struggling recently and United have been great at goodison in recent times so i expect a win and i expect a goal from Ronaldo, even if its a free kick or a pen.
I don't really care about him now. He will off or at least pushing for it again next summer anyway.
What will you do about your username? Ask to change it to WhiteRonaldo?
Yeah he ain't close to his best, but he will be. The Ronaldo we know will be back to 100% around mid November.
Smiling and celebrating (hopefully).
Still it's not only better than our next choice as RW but he should be given games to recover his fitness and level.
I'm finding it very difficult to be moved in some way by this situation.
To me it seems obvious that Ronaldo is not giving his all for some reason or another; it's quite noticeable that when he loses the ball, he simply gives up on it. He also seems disillusioned with the fans. Prior to the game, he ran back into the tunnel just before kick off to a standing ovation. Did he even acknowledge those fans? Did he feck. Did he applaud them afterwards upon coming off the pitch? Nope...
There wasn't one Ronaldo chant sung yesterday, and rightly so.
To me it seems obvious that Ronaldo is not giving his all for some reason or another; it's quite noticeable that when he loses the ball, he simply gives up on it. He also seems disillusioned with the fans. Prior to the game, he ran back into the tunnel just before kick off to a standing ovation. Did he even acknowledge those fans? Did he feck. Did he applaud them afterwards upon coming off the pitch? Nope...
There wasn't one Ronaldo chant sung yesterday, and rightly so.
So then is that a case of who breaks first? Is he waiting for the fans to acknowledge him or are the fans waiting for him to acknowledge them.
I personally think he's giving his all. He worked his socks off yesterday, in my opinion anyway.
seconded.
Its not like he's not trying, we went flying in yesterday to get the ball back and he does seem eager to want to get back on song.
but i do agree with this
I personally think Ronaldo has worked hard in matches since he has been back (especially yesterday), so I don't agree with 'he isn't giving it his all' at all and if Fergie ever thought he wasn't trying or working hard, make no mistake about it like any other player, he would be dropped but he hasn't been
Eh?
Didn't you see him sprint back about 40 yards to try and get back at Naylor, after he lost the ball? About half-way through the first half?
He's not at his best on the pitch but you're reading far too much into this not-smiling nonsense if you think he's actually trying less than he was before.
That really pissed me off.
I think he may be gone in January. If that is the case then Ferguson needs to use games like last night to try Rooney, Berbatov and Tevez.
It won't happen.
In the absence of a huge blow-up between Ronaldo and SAF, he won't be sold mid-season. It's too big a chance to take(although selling him at any time is too big a risk, IMO).
I would like to see every player clap the fans on the way off, but it doesn't always happen. Ronaldo is far from the first player to run off without acknowledgement, but he might be the first that has numerous threads dedicated to the fact. That's the only distinction.
Storm in a teacup, really. Even if there is something untoward going on, it comes down to this for me; As much as we don't have to like Ronaldo to appreciate him as a footballer, it works the other way too. He doesn't have to be too bothered about us to perform. Not ideal, but there you go.
Spot on. Especially if they're in a bit of a snot about being substituted. I remember a certain Wayne Rooney flinging shin-pads round the place and generally acting like a brat, when he got the hook once. He didn't applaud the fans then either.
Eh?
Didn't you see him sprint back about 40 yards to try and get back at Naylor, after he lost the ball? About half-way through the first half?
He's not at his best on the pitch but you're reading far too much into this not-smiling nonsense if you think he's actually trying less than he was before.
Watched him give up on the ball twice right in front of me alone; one of which was quite ridiculous as he could've easily kept it in play. He then proceeded to whinge, as usual.
He's obviously not at his best, but I doubt that it's solely injury related. Still think we should've cashed in on him during the summer, in spite of his performance throughout the year. I struggle to talk about him objectively; he simply does my head in.
I remember one particularly energetic chase back to cover the right back spot in the second(?) half.
Shouted to congratulate him on the effort - no way he heard me I'd reckon.
No change there then, he's always been fond of a whinge.
I understand why a lot of fans have fallen out of love (if that's not too strong a word!) with the guy and I definitely won't get the same pleasure watching him this season as last. But I honestly don't think his slight dip in form could be put down to anything other than a lack of match fitness, having missed an entire pre-season. His work ethic last night (and in every other game he's played) was just as good as it was last season, IMO.
Good post. Did any player actually applaud the fans last night? I didn't notice anything. But most of the stadium had emptied by then so it works both ways.
There are lot of reasons to dislike Ronaldo without making up stuff.
Maybe Ronaldo was pissed that he had to go off because he had a slight knock, which meant there was no chance of him getting a goal (that he was desperate for)
With Rooney stepping up and lifting his game, Ronaldo might be putting too much pressure on himself to improve even more, and when it doesn't happen, he winds himself up
I feel he need a game or two where he is in complete control and he'll be right.
With Rooney stepping up and lifting his game, Ronaldo might be putting too much pressure on himself to improve even more, and when it doesn't happen, he winds himself up
I feel he need a game or two where he is in complete control and he'll be right.
Seconded
For me I think Ronaldo is playing great and being a team player. Ive seen him track back more in his return than I did all last year. Ronaldo is just frustrated that hes not match fit and his form is a little off. Also after fouls Ive seen him get back up and not lay there like he did last year.
Some of you people on hear act as if no matter what he did you would still scrutinize it. If he doesnt look happy hes a cnut if he smiles he happy to be leaving. Some of your expectations of him are way to high. He is human. I do agree he needs to look a little happier but I understand that he is frustrated and off form. He strives to be the best and does everything he can to get better and right now he knows hes not up to his standards, so ofcourse he isnt happy.
Some of you people on hear act as if no matter what he did you would still scrutinize it. If he doesnt look happy hes a cnut if he smiles he happy to be leaving. Some of your expectations of him are way to high. He is human. I do agree he needs to look a little happier but I understand that he is frustrated and off form. He strives to be the best and does everything he can to get better and right now he knows hes not up to his standards, so ofcourse he isnt happy.
Likewise, I get the impression that some people on here would tolerate him even if he took it upon himself to devour Sir Alex's intestines.
There is a limit.
Well said!
If he did that to Fergie I would rip out the cnuts throat myself. But luckily Ronaldo has not done much wrong when you think about it objectively.
Other than cause a fair bet of controversy throughout the summer, all the while showing a lack of loyalty to the team.
I could go through a whole list of players who have done much worse and followed through with their demands eg Dimitar Berbatov. Besides that is in the past now and is not worth any consideration. This season is what matters.
lmao and I never lmao but the idea we'd sell him in janurary is fecking absurd. I think some people have really lost the plot. At the end of the day Ronaldo is putting in the effort on the pitch and that is what counts for the here and now
That's the problem with the world. Every action is analyzed to death. Sometimes there is no reason why people do things and none of us know what the boys thinking
As the season goes on, and when he's playing as he can - i'm sure he'll be more open to the fans
How many underpar performances can be put down to his lack of pre-season and ankle operation? How many games before he doesn't have excuses for under par performances?
Just curious, he's played how many now 8-9-10?
He was up against two of the slowest full backs in scotland, he really should have left them both on their arses. The only time i seen him really skin a man was when he did his little heel flick inside and Robson totally bought it.
this post really shows enough a lack of knowledge, ask any pro how important pre-season is.
People have done worse. Berbatov acted like a right old twat at Spurs.
I was just making the point that really, he did do a fair bit wrong.
It never bothered me though, players personalities don't and never have bothered me. Same goes for loyalty, it's just an added bonus these days to have the right personality or amount of loyalty.
I'm right behind Ronaldo and will be until the end.