Why would we play Valencia at RB with Rafael on the bench? I'm tired of us using that position as an experimental free for all. We'll be playing De Gea or Phelan there next.
Aldershot Town vs. Manchester United
- Thread starter Minkaro
- Start date
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) was joined by comedian Ali Woods to look back at the best and worst moments of a rollercoaster season with the annual United Hour Awards.
Has Ten Hag been sacked yet? We're not sure and we hope not, but it's looking more likely as the days pass.
Who should replace him and why is it taking so long to make a decision?
Good case for Jones and Hèrnandez
Worth noting - no Darren Gibson.
Match Fitness.
Or Cleverley either, both have similar injuries.
Either would've had the sense to avoid the hung ho stupidity of the weekend.
Didn't Macheda tweet late last week he was out fo 2 to 3 weeks with an injury? I know Morrison tweeted he thought he'd broken his toe before playing a day or so later, but everyone seems to think Kiko is out with an injury certainly for this one.
I think it would be a excellent statement to play everyone who played against City rather than letting them sit at home with thier feet up.
In reality that will never happen. But I would.
In reality that will never happen. But I would.
Sorry, I just realised since there's no DarrEn Gibson in the squad anyway, why would he be in it?
I'd certainly be tempted to get Rio, Smalling and Evra playing again tomorrow night. Smalling is young and fit enough to be able to manage the frequency of 3 games in 6 days, Rio won't play against Everton anyway and Fabio deserves a start now.
We can't risk a slip-up at Everton by fielding too many first-teamers in a game like this, so some players who should really be playing will get an undeserved rest, but I'd certainly get the defenders back out there for a bit of "Defending: The Basics".
We can't risk a slip-up at Everton by fielding too many first-teamers in a game like this, so some players who should really be playing will get an undeserved rest, but I'd certainly get the defenders back out there for a bit of "Defending: The Basics".
So he's in the squad.
Fantastic news. Maybe he's even starting, although that's very unlikely. Surely he's heard at least something concrete if he's excited, though. And it's also a good sign that he's looking forward to it.
Really excited about this match now. Pogba+ Ravel please!
Who? Is he still here?
Yeah - he's been moved full time to the media relations department though. Still gets wheeled out for the Carling Cup if he's not too busy on Twitter.
Aldershot to win
Berbatime 
Cocks out boys:
Ravel Ryan Morrison on Twatter said:
Might be a cracking time for some of the understudies to stake a claim for saturday, and put that shower from yesterday under some pressure.
How do we know he's not talking about a night out in Nando's?
I think we'll see one of Pogba and Morrison starting, the other on the bench.
You weren't saying that during the summer when you wanted us to sign every feckin midfielder under the sun.
Sssssshhhhh I need something to cheer me up a little bit okay.
.Their badge is bigger than ours.
Please fix.
..........Lindegaard
Jones Smalling Vidic Fabio
.......Pogba Cleverley
Valencia Berbatov Park
...........Welbeck
Chicharito can have Everton this weekend.
Please fix.
..........Lindegaard
Jones Smalling Vidic Fabio
.......Pogba Cleverley
Valencia Berbatov Park
...........Welbeck
Chicharito can have Everton this weekend.
No better tonic for the City game than seeing some shit-hot youngsters tomorrow.
If we can at least keep the score below 6
For us or them?
Lindegaard
Jones, Smalling, Vidic, Fabio
Valencia, Carrick, Cleverley, Park
Berbatov, Owen
Bench: De Gea, Rafael, Pogba, Rio, Chicha, Morrison, Welbeck
Jones, Smalling, Vidic, Fabio
Valencia, Carrick, Cleverley, Park
Berbatov, Owen
Bench: De Gea, Rafael, Pogba, Rio, Chicha, Morrison, Welbeck
Pogba didn't look too good against Leeds.
Really? I thought he looked nervous but his talent was evident.
Was it the first time you've seen him play? Didn't show much of what he's really capable of, but that's to be expected under the circumstances.
That's most likely bollocks, why would SAF be angry at Vidic for getting game time before the Liverpool match? There will be a lot of senior players playing tomorrow but I reckon Pogba will start and Ravel will come off the bench.
..After derby humiliation, United face the long trip to Aldershot and the ultimate banana skin
Manchester United's wounded stars will climb off their team bus in the narrow alley by the entrance to Aldershot Town Football Club and be reminded what cup football is all about.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s side will then file through a small door over a dusty doormat bearing the League Two club's phoenix crest and wiggle their way down the tiniest red-and-white corridor to the away dressing room.
Greeting them will be a few uncomfortable blue benches, a massage table with holes in it and some showers that are no doubt a far cry from the luxury of Old Trafford.
Then it is down some stairs alongside Aldershot players they will probably have never heard of, through the red pull-out tunnel and out of the Domino's Pizza stand on to the pitch.
Only three sides of the ground have stands but that doesn’t mean the noise will be any less from the 7,000 screaming fans – fans who never thought they would see United back at the Recreation Ground.
United were here in 1970 for the League Cup, you see. George Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law were given a scare before winning 3-1 and, as United formed a guard of honour after the full time whistle, little did the 18,509 crowd know it would be over 40 years until such players graced the turf again. And little did they know that mounting debts would lead to the club’s closure 22 years later.
Aldershot – or Aldershot Town as they have been known since their reforming in 1992 – have been through a lot since then: bankruptcy, liquidation, re-creation, endless promotions and now comes their reward. It is United in the last 16 of the Carling Cup, millions of people watching on Sky and the chance for manager Dean Holdsworth to put Aldershot back on the map.
For United, there is the fear of further humiliation after Sunday’s 6-1 thumping by rivals Manchester City. It is the ultimate banana skin.
‘I don’t know if our changing room is big enough to get all their players and staff in,’ said Holdsworth, a striker for 16 clubs during his career, most notably Wimbledon and Bolton. ‘It might be a bit of a reality check for them.
'And we have players who can cause them problems. We’re playing in the all-white kit, which is my superstitious thing to do in the cup. It’s our away kit but we’ve worn it in every round.’
Whether it was the white kit, his management or his players, it worked as Aldershot saw off West Ham, Carlisle and Rochdale – all in leagues above them - to set up this tie.
But, as Polish chairman Kris Machala points out, hosting the Premier League champions is not the money-making exercise many will expect it to be.
‘The financial situation is not as rosy as you might think because you have to share the money with Manchester United,’ says Machala, an entrepreneur who arrived in England in 1981 with just £80 to his name.
‘There are increased costs. Police costs usually are around £4,000 per match but this will cost £18,000. Obviously we’ve sold more tickets but you take 20 per cent VAT off that, pay 10 per cent to the Football League and then split the rest in half with United.’
United even take a cut on some items in the club shop, including 10 per cent on commemorative scarves because their badge is being used.
The club have taken special measures to ensure that only battle-hardened Aldershot fans are in attendance. A five-stage ticketing system was put in place that meant initially only those with ticket stubs from the previous cup-tie against Rotherham were eligible to watch United.
The final stage, which opened on Friday, was open to those who agreed to also buy tickets for the forthcoming League Two matches against Burton Albion and Gillingham. Even at £51 for the three-match package, the last remaining tickets were soon snapped up.
‘The only plus is the television money,’ adds Machala. ‘We are not multi-millionaires. I had to re-mortgage my house to put the money into the football club. It’s not like Abramovich. One Manchester United player is probably worth more than our whole club. Our whole wage bill is £90,000 a month. They can pay £100,000 a week. I’m hoping for the win and then we can go to Man City or Arsenal, to a bigger stadium and earn some more money.’
Not that – unlike so many clubs outside the Premier League – Aldershot need a pay day to stay alive. Two years ago they owed £1million and made a £500,000 loss. This year they will make a small profit, the turnaround driven by Machala and commercial manager Nicky Banger – a former Southampton player who once scored at Old Trafford.
Holdsworth also knows a thing or two about scoring against United and remembers a particularly dramatic header in 1993 on the final day of the season.
‘I scored past Peter Schmeichel but the night before I got a death threat, saying if I scored tomorrow, I’d be dead,’ says Holdsworth. ‘I rang Sam Hammam and he told me it was him playing a prank. But when I scored I was still looking over my shoulder the whole time – I was so worried. And Sam told me after the game it wasn’t him – he’d just told me that to keep me calm.’
Holdsworth is keeping calm ahead of this match too. He’s been scouting United’s reserve side, looking for ways to win the tie and sorting out a nice bottle of wine to share with Ferguson.
‘It’s Blue Nun from 1992, the year I joined Wimbledon,’ he jokes.
Two lower league clichés Aldershot will not be party to are a muddy dump of a pitch and players who are woefully short of Premier League fitness. The playing surface is in excellent condition, while Holdsworth is proud of his squad’s physical shape. It is a promising squad, which includes midfielder Anthony Pulis, son of Stoke manager Tony.
‘Our pitch is of a really high standard. I want players to be able to pass the ball, not have it bobbling around. We train very hard at a high tempo.
We monitor their body fat, what they eat and drink, their hydration. Their body fat is Premier League standard – 8.5 per cent. We ask them to think outside the box. I learnt a lot from Sam Allardyce. He taught me "if they’re not good enough, get them fit enough".'
And that, buoyed by their first win in six against Dagenham and Redbridge on Saturday, takes them into the United game as best prepared as they can be, with top scorer Danny Hylton hoping to write himself into Aldershot’s colourful history books.
‘We haven’t been playing badly but everyone will be running around like a madman,’ says Hylton, a 20-year-old who has been scouted by several Championship clubs. ‘We will be closing them down, not giving them a minute to play.
‘Berbatov doesn’t look like he’s interested when he’s playing in the Premier League, so what’s he going to be like playing down here? Hopefully he’ll have an off day. Hopefully 11 of them will have off days.’
Another A-lister likely to be up against Hylton is Michael Owen, the United striker generally reduced to tweeting and the Carling Cup these days. Not that Hylton minds.
‘I watched Michael Owen’s goal against Argentina as a kid. We’re playing against players we grew up watching. For the last two weeks I’ve been trying to sort it out so I get his shirt.’
Score the winner to cause the upset of all upsets and there will be plenty of Aldershot fans fighting over his.
Daily Mail
He didn't exactly look bad either.
small-time cnuts.....
if not for this weekend game at everton, i would hope fergei start with most of the players that perform so badly last time around.
so, still no cleverley?? wasn't he suppose to be back in training a couple of weeks ago? it seems that we are missing him badly now which is a huge surprise.
hope to see morrison in action as well.
so, still no cleverley?? wasn't he suppose to be back in training a couple of weeks ago? it seems that we are missing him badly now which is a huge surprise.
hope to see morrison in action as well.
40. Ben AMOS
7. Michael OWEN
9. Dimitar BERBATOV
15. Nemanja VIDIC
20. FABIO
24. Darren FLETCHER
25. Antonio VALENCIA
27. Federico MACHEDA
28. Darron GIBSON
42. Paul POGBA
51. Ezekiel FRYERS
Subs:
34. Anders LINDEGAARD
8. ANDERSON
12. Chris SMALLING
14. CHICHARITO
43. David PETRUCCI
45. Ravel MORRISON
52. Larnell COLE
7. Michael OWEN
9. Dimitar BERBATOV
15. Nemanja VIDIC
20. FABIO
24. Darren FLETCHER
25. Antonio VALENCIA
27. Federico MACHEDA
28. Darron GIBSON
42. Paul POGBA
51. Ezekiel FRYERS
Subs:
34. Anders LINDEGAARD
8. ANDERSON
12. Chris SMALLING
14. CHICHARITO
43. David PETRUCCI
45. Ravel MORRISON
52. Larnell COLE
He did absolutely fine at Leeds. What did you expect? A hat-trick?
Some people's expectations are feckin unreal. I could understand if he had a poor game but he didn't......and if he did you'd make allowances for his inexperience.
I can think of at least 10 players who didn't look too good only a few days ago.
I was thinking that myself.
Amos
Fabio
Jones
Vidic
Fryers
Valencia
Carrick
Park
Diouf
Owen
Berbatov
SUBS:
de Gea, Reece Brown, Tom Thorpe, Michael Keane, Paul Pogba, Ravel Morrison, Danny Welbeck
Lindegaard to start in the CL next week.
Fabio
Jones
Vidic
Fryers
Valencia
Carrick
Park
Diouf
Owen
Berbatov
SUBS:
de Gea, Reece Brown, Tom Thorpe, Michael Keane, Paul Pogba, Ravel Morrison, Danny Welbeck
Lindegaard to start in the CL next week.