TheChelseaBlog doesn’t do things by halves, so when it came to looking for a Red to put a few questions to before the 2009/10 season’s curtain raising Community Shield game against United this weekend, why not go for the biggest Manchester United blogger there is?
No, I didn’t know either, so I settled for a chat with Scott the Red from the Republik of Mancunia instead. 🙂
Just kidding, RoM’s been around since 2006 (and probably winning awards ever since). It was voted 2009’s best EPL club blog in the editors choice of the EPL Talk awards, and it’s always worth a look.
Have a read of RoM’s take on Sunday’s clash:
Which current United player do you rate the most?
Wayne Rooney. He’s passionate, he’s skilful, he’s strong, he’s tough and he’s a cheeky little bastard. Ok, I could do without the swearing at the ref but anyone who says they wouldn’t love Wazza in their team is a liar.
If United could buy one more player in the transfer window, who should it be and why?
I think Ribery is bloody brilliant but he’s a Galáctico wannabe which is very off-putting. But he’s definitely a player I’d put in to the “special” category. More realistically, I like Ashley Young and think he’d be great at United.
United won’t be making any more signings though.
Which one of our players do you think could cause you the most problems this weekend?
Essien is a beast and having him back fit will cause us problems I imagine. Drogba is always a pain, as is Lampard. I’m interested to see Zhirkov in action too.
Which United player should Chelsea fear most on Sunday?
Valencia looked good in the pre-season. Finally we have a winger that will run at players again, something Ronaldo seemed to tire of last season. Michael Owen will either score or break his leg, but certainly will be eager to impress. Berbatov has had a good pre-season but is more likely to be creating than scoring. Sadly, Rooney rarely impresses me when we play Chelsea for some reason.
Where do you consider Chelsea’s weaknesses to be in the side?
The immediate answer for me was the defence, given Carvalho’s likely departure/desperation to leave and Terry’s “sleepless nights” over a move to Manchester fucking City, but on reflection, your first choice full-backs are handy, Ivanovic is good, Alex is getting there and Mancienne looks to be a safe bet. Whilst Lampard and Essien make probably the best central midfield partnership in the league, there isn’t much substance to the rest of the midfield, with the exception of Joe Cole, if he can come back as good as he was, which is always a worry following an op on the knee. Deco is shit, Ballack is past it, don’t rate Malouda, and Mikel is never a “play maker”, regardless of what Ancelotti thinks.
I’m sure you’re relieved Guus Hiddink didn’t stay on at Chelsea but how do you think Ancelotti will fair against SAF this season?
Hiddink is a bloody brilliant manager and of course I’m glad he’s gone. Ancelotti is a successful manager and should have the presence to control the egos you have. I can’t imagine him really getting involved in some war of words with the manager though.
Do you think Manchester’s second club will finish in the top four?
It depends on what Arsenal do really. United, Chelsea and Liverpool won’t be going anywhere but given the fact Arsenal keep selling and not buying, and their “up-and-coming” players are still in the womb, they can’t be so certain of their top 4 place.
Fortunately, whilst City are signing lots of “good” Premiership players, they generally all think they’re better than they actually are and are more interested in money than anything else. When things are going well and they’re picking up points, I’m sure stuff will be grand there. But the moment things take a turn for the worst there will be cat fights and temper tantrums, whilst Sparky sits back and watches, totally overwhelmed and unable to control the egos.
Whilst the ability can’t be questioned, the mentality of these new signings can. Gareth Barry said he was leaving to play Champions League football at his peak – then joined a team who aren’t even in any European competition the season he turns 29. Carlos Tevez said he was leaving to play more football – then joined a team where this is not mathematically possible to play more games and has since conceded he is happy enough to be rotated at City. Adebayor said he was staying at Arsenal to pay them back and help them win trophies – then stalled on a deal with City, desperate to go to United or Chelsea, before signing for City and conceding it was all about the money.
Just to throw a silly question at you because I’m sure I can predict your answer – who do you think will win the league this season?
I heard it was Liverpool’s year, no?
Of course I think we’ll win it, but I think that every season. I wear my red-tinted specs on a daily basis and Ronaldo’s exit makes little difference to me. You’ll remember better than most the summer of 2006. We sold Ruud, our top scorer, the Premiership’s second highest scorer (scoring more than Ronaldo did last season, I might add!) and didn’t buy a replacement. We’d just finished second in the league and were written off. You, on the otherhand, had just won the league and then added one of the best defenders (Cole), one of the best midfielders (Ballack) and one of the best strikers (Shevchenko) in the WORRRRLD to your Premiership winning squad. But the rest of our players stepped up to the plate to fill Ruud’s boots, we scored more goals than we had the season before, and won the league. We won the Treble two seasons after Cantona left… Cristiano who? 😉 Plus the idea of Michael Owen helping us beat Liverpool’s joint record of 18 titles is just too fucking good to be true!
Gary Neville thinks we’ll be right up there challenging you this season, do you think he’s right?
Yes. I’d say it’s you, Liverpool and us in the running and none of us are in great shape. Liverpool have sold Alonso and Mascherano wants off (and their manager is a mad man!). United have sold Ronaldo and have bought “risky” players to replace his goals. Chelsea’s “heart and soul” took a month to decide he wanted to play for Chelsea and not City and your most effective players are a year older (you do remember what Sir Alex said about your ageing squad last season eh?). Us champions, you runners-up (or “vice champions” as Drogba would say), dippers in third.
Finally, what’s your prediction for the game Sunday?
On most recent form, we gave Boca Jnrs and Bayern Munich a good game whilst Chelsea looked like they were lacking fitness against Reading, but who knows eh… 2-1 United.
Cheers Scott
Blue is the colour
