Manchester United were never going to win the title without this man
Posted by Cathal Breathnach on May 2, 2010 | 19 Comments
From the moment it was announced that Manchester United had agreed a deal to sell Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, I was convinced that the Premier League title wouldn’t be making it’s way to Old Trafford this season and it looks as though I was right.
Even though they have only narrowly missed out on the title this year, I personally believe it’s fair to say that United looked nowhere near as good a side as they did when Ronaldo was at the club.
Without Ronaldo they seemed to lack that cutting edge which they most definitely had last season. It’s not just Ronaldo’s goals they missed this season because Wayne Rooney was doing the business for them in that department. It was Ronaldo’s ability to sprint past defenders and deliver stunning balls into the box that United really missed throughout this campaign.
You couldn’t really blame United for deciding to sell Ronaldo given the £80 million they were offered by Real Madrid. However the thing which baffled me and thousands of other football fans around the world was the club’s decision not to properly replace him. Yes they brought Antonio Valencia to the club but I know who I would pick if I had the choice between the former Wigan winger and Ronaldo.
It would seem that Sir Alex Ferguson has regrets over the decision to sell Ronaldo. The United boss was quoted as saying in today’s Telegraph that he wouldn’t spend £60 million on anyone except Cristiano.
Ronnie, as he was more affectionately known around Manchester, proved once again why he is one of the best in the world this evening, as he scored twice against Osasuna in a 3-2 win at the Bernabeu to help Real Madrid move back to within a point of Barcelona at the top of La Liga.
Like I said before, I never expected United to win the title this season once they sold Ronaldo and the only way I can see them winning the league in the future is if they sign a proper world class player who is capable of winning games by himself.
What do you think? Will Ronaldo ever play in the red of United again? Did United make a mistake selling Ronaldo to Real? Comments below please.
Tags: Chelsea > Cristiano Ronaldo > Manchester United > Real Madrid > Sir Alex Ferguson
Comments
19 Responses to “Manchester United were never going to win the title without this man”
Leave a Reply
Find Us On
Football News 24/7
May 2nd, 2010 @ 10:35 PM
They are only one point behind and ofcourse you can’t write them off. Had they won a game with Blackburn, probably you wouldn’t write this article. They are only one point behind.
May 2nd, 2010 @ 10:47 PM
We play to the final whistle. Note that Madrid have him and at present are in the same position we are in.
Writer you are an idiot.
May 2nd, 2010 @ 10:48 PM
Pete R – How am I an idiot because I said that without Ronaldo, United were never going to win the league?
May 2nd, 2010 @ 11:02 PM
This is a transition year! Ok, i agree with you: we have to replace him. We have to sign a player, who is capable of winning games by himself. But don’t write them off!!!!
May 2nd, 2010 @ 11:05 PM
I agree that United have not looked as strong this season, and Chelsea should have had the title wrapped up weeks ago.
As for the sale of Ronaldo, I don’t think they really had any choice. The player had been after the move for some time and when Real Madrid want a player they try every trick in the book until they get him.
http://footballfutbolfitba.wordpress.com/
May 3rd, 2010 @ 1:36 AM
This is tripe.
Are you really going to make such a claim and totally ignore the fact that we played a huge part of the season sans 4 of our back 5 players?
I could understand if we had finished the season x amount of points adrift but the maximum points difference there can be is 4 and the fact we took it to the last day of the season without Ronaldo completely contradicts the piece.
Like someone said with a bit of fortune here and there the would be no basis for this article.
May 3rd, 2010 @ 1:40 AM
united sucks ass they would lose even with ron fuck alex feg
May 3rd, 2010 @ 5:37 AM
The only thing we lacked was a cutting edge
there are 4 weak links in the utd line up
valencia was a smart buy a good replacement for a right winger but the right winger was ronaldo he made up for those links….
The links are
1st a striker:
Now when I see our gameplay I see lots of crosses bieng made in the box by Valencia nani and giggs the 4-3-3 has proved to be not so bad…
So I ask myself who is a very good header of the ball who can replace Rooney and doesn’t mind being on the bench?? I think the best man would be crouch…
The guy is used to attacking play…is taller than
any other playa and imagine having crouch and Rooney in the box…what a treat for any winger
2nd would be of an attacking mid a playmaker..
Thank god we have scholes he’s the best in the business but to retire soon…now fergie says Gibson will replace him…the guy can shoot yeah but he can’t playmake make ling through balls etc
I think scholes should be replaced by yoaann gourcuff…the guy can shoot from long..playmake dominate and head the ball for crosses…he also barges in
the best part he’s only 23 and will cost a max 20mill
3rd would be a right bak
Neville and oshea can handle a decent job till rafael matures
4th: a goal keeper
who wil replace van der Saar??
2 names come in mind
Hugo lloris
and igor akinfeev
both amazing very young and first choice keepers for their respective countries..I prefer akinfeev out of the 2 though he’s more experienced and can almost save anything
wht say writer?? I doubt u might have read so much
May 3rd, 2010 @ 8:08 AM
I find your opinion a bit peculiar, when looking at the goals scored. Man UTD has scored more goals this season than the last two. In my opinion a player like Valencia has been much more effective than Ronaldo as right winger. That is except for the goals of course, but others have obviously scored those. Ronaldo I believe also had a negative influence on the team, with his comparative low work rate and negative attitude when things weren’t going right.
I think the reasons are to find elsewhere than the loss of Ronaldo.
May 3rd, 2010 @ 9:19 AM
Sorry to disagree with your view but selling Ronaldo hasn’t stopped us winning the league it was allowing Tevez to go that has been our downfault, Berbatov for all his silky skills and class isn’t what we need at OT Tevez was the man and if United hadn’t cocked up in the original purchase of his services and bought him instead of loaning him for two years, why fix what wasn’t broke, take Berbatov out of the equation and replace him with Tevez we’d have won it
May 3rd, 2010 @ 10:48 AM
One point behind and they lack the cutting edge,what a muppet.We will probably lose out to a better team,but not by much.But to say it was down to ronaldo going is just stupid.And it shows your insecurity as a journalist to have to read and reply to peoples comments.I have a season ticket with united.I have missed one home game,and trust me we don`t miss ronaldo to the extent your saying.Try attending a few matches instead of harping on about something you clearly know nothing about
May 3rd, 2010 @ 12:23 PM
Bad article ‘i told you so’ attitude, fact is we’ve been a better team this season without ronaldo, if we lose the league this season it won’t be because of lack of goals it is poor defending and goal keeping that cost us especially in the early half of the season, think that’s a problem ronny could have fixed. To the writer do you have a good view of old Trafford from the comfort of your armchair?
May 3rd, 2010 @ 12:24 PM
dj.Crouch!!
May 3rd, 2010 @ 1:04 PM
Pablo – ” fact is we’ve been a better team this season without ronaldo”
Are you serious? You only have to look at the points difference for United from last season (when they had Ronaldo) to this season (with no Ronaldo.
Last season they won the title finishing on 90 points. This season, they have 82 points with just one game to play and are more than likely not going to win the league. So what you are saying is complete bollocks.
“To the writer do you have a good view of old Trafford from the comfort of your armchair?”
I have only seen United once in the flesh this season and that was the Manchester derby in Old Trafford and to tell you the truth, I wasn’t at all impressed by them that day. The only reason why I haven’t seen them more in the flesh is because I don’t support the club.
May 3rd, 2010 @ 2:13 PM
it seems like your a bitter lookin for reasons why United didn’t win the league, they didn’t win it the years Chelsea won it, we didn’t win it the years Arsenal won it, for Christ’s sake ya can’t win everything all the time just look at the blue side of the City tyey never win anything, It’s not all doom and gloom cos ya finish second, win the league cup and get to the quarter finals of the champions league, some premier sides never stand a chance of winning anything so as the song says Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life
May 3rd, 2010 @ 5:37 PM
Mark my words that Wigan is goin to hold Chelsea to a nil-nil draw, while we, United go on to win da league and when that happns I wld like 2 see anthr article from this stupid writer… As for the Liverpool game that ws nothng short of match fixing coz never have I seen a Liverpool team have 10 shots on goal and only 1 on target and as 4 Stevie G tht ws nt a mistake bt deliberate!!!
May 3rd, 2010 @ 5:49 PM
we played your lot off the park that day and then at wastelands and got justice both times albeit in Fergie time but we still got justice
May 3rd, 2010 @ 5:54 PM
This is breakdown of an article you wrote on 2/2/10.Your own words,”seven months on and united look just as good,if not better than they did when ronaldo was at old trafford”.
You then went on to say “I honestly thought united would struggle to even get close to claiming there fourth premier league title in a row without ronaldo”So one point behind chelsea without ronaldo is not close enough for you.I have no problem accepting the loss of the league if it does happen.But to say its down to ronaldo is just silly.I think your from the same school of football writing as eamonn dunphy, another has been.
May 13th, 2010 @ 3:07 PM
Cathal Breathnach, you are absolutely spot on. As a football fan, I share the same views as you. Add another forgotten man to the list as well ~ Carlos Tevez. Man Utd played their best swashbuckling football when these 2 two were around at Old Trafford. Man Utd did not the EPL title largely because of the departures of these 2 key players. No matter what haters say nasty things about Cristiano Ronaldo, he is still a very good winger, who guarantees 20+ goals a season. Tevez was a perfect partner for Rooney because of his energetic and hardworking style. Look at Man Utd. Only Rooney can be called world class in that squad. Nani and Valencia is international class at best. Take out Rooney from the Man Utd squad and you will see how bad Man Utd suck. Berbatov cannot even score goals from 2 yards out, Owen is injured most of the time. So Man Utd have only themselves to blame for.