(Damn it) Feels Good To Be A Gangster

(Instead of the tangential image, today I've the not-really-connected-at-all-video...)



Sir Alex's press conference is he topic of the day today and he starts off making a pertinent comment about our current form which has been conveniently forgotten by the papers, as it doesn't fit into their "missing Ronaldo" narrative. From The Daily Star:

“We dominated two games of football and we would like to have scored goals. The ratio of goals last season was our poorest when winning the title in 15 years

“That was an issue – and it will be an issue this season unless we step up to the mark, which I am confident we will do.”

Yes. The start of this season is a continuation of last season, not some new "crisis" borne out of nowhere. Unless you read the "Wooly's world" column in The Daily Star:

A narrow first-day victory over ­Birmingham and then Wednesday night’s defeat at Burnley have thrown up all sorts of questions. We know United are slow starters but something is not right. They are playing without real belief and inspiration. Like someone who is missing a friend. Their missing link, of course, is World Player of the Year Cristiano ­Ronaldo. United are suffering from a Ronaldo hangover. Over the next few weeks we will discover just how much Ronaldo meant to them in the Premier League. It is already clear they don’t have a ­similar match-winner, a player to turn a game on its head and win it alone.

Yawns.
Sir Alex defends Berba and Owen:

"He would like to score a goal," Ferguson said. "Strikers are like that. They always feel as if scoring is the most important thing. That's the case with Dimitar. He had a couple of attempts [against Burnley] and he also had a header cleared off the line against Birmingham. He has a languid style and maybe that's the thing that is counting against him – his style of play, rather than his actual effect on the game." ...
"Michael is exactly the same as Dimitar," Ferguson said. "He could do with a goal. He had two [chances] on Wednesday and should have scored both of them. He knows that. He will be wanting that goal but there's no question about it that his movement and positional play in the last third is very, very good. We are just waiting on that goal that will set him off."

He also "defends" Carrick taking the penalty:

"Michael Carrick said himself last week he felt confident taking penalty-kicks," Ferguson argued. "He asked to take it. He had never missed a penalty in all our shoot-outs over the last few years. He was a confident choice."

He also does the "it's how we react" type thing:

"We do not enjoy losing but it has happened before and it will happen again," he said.

"The issue now, as it always is at this club when you have a bad defeat, is what are you going to do about it?

"The great thing is that we have only have to wait four days.

"We can be philosophical but there is a certain reality too.

"You cannot lose too many games in this league and we have already lost one."

A few words on the Vidic "situation":

Vidic's agent was quoted as claiming the defender would be interested in a move to Barcelona, but Ferguson said: "He's denied he said these things.

"Who can you believe in the present-say climate? Who do you believe? As far as I am concerned Vidic is here and will be staying here."

Fergie also denided claims Vidic's wife Ana was unsettled in Manchester and wanted her husband to move elsewhere.

"You're hearing things I don't hear," said Fergie. "So I can't answer that."

Onto other stuff, and Mark Lawrenson makes little sense in The Mirror. First example:

What was magical about Cristiano Ronaldo was that he would destroy teams in the bottom half of the table.

Truly magic - a players ability to play well against bad teams. Genius. What makes a football legend? His ability to break down Burnley apparently...
Second example, and I'll have to quote the first sentence as well:

Manchester United’s defeat at Burnley told us one glaring thing – they need one more top quality signing. ...
The jury is out on Nani and also Antonio Valencia.

So his article is about the Burnley game and yet he tells us that what it tells us is that Nani (who didn't play) and Valencia (who got 30 minutes as sub) are unproven. It's tough proving yourself when your not on the pitch. Third example, bearing the first sentence in mind again:

Also they missed Rio Ferdinand and Vidic the other night. Without that pairing, they don’t look nearly as strong.

So, according to Mark Lawrenson, we need one more signing - a striker who can stand in for Rio and/or Vidic. Brilliant.
Paul Jewell on Valencia:

Ecuador won 2-0 and there was one player who stood out - Antonio Valencia. I liked his reading of the game, his understanding of the play and I was surprised to find out he was only 20. His game was much more mature.

Berba on Rooney:

"Ronaldo was a fantastic player for us and I'm sure he will be very good for Real Madrid.

"But, for me, our biggest talent is and always was - even last season - Wayne Rooney.

"He is an incredible talent and will be one of the best players in Europe for many years to come.

"The scary thing with Wayne is he's four or five years off his peak and, when you see the level he's at now, that is almost impossible to get your head round."

Rio out for "3-4 weeks". Evans will need surgery at some point:

"At some point my ankle will need surgery," said the 22-year-old.

"It is a problem that has been bothering me since Christmas.

"We thought it might have gone away over the summer but it is still there.

"Every now and again I catch it and it will be quite sore for a while. Then the pain dies off after a week or so."