Jaysus, that's miles away!
Owen Hargreaves | 2009/10 Performances
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It's another 5 weeks on top of the initial 3 weeks that Fergie said
I wont believe a word of it until i see him tackling the opposition on the pitch.
What? Where did this come from? I didn't hear this....It's another 5 weeks on top of the initial 3 weeks that Fergie said
I assume we'll start to see how he is when he plays a few reserve team games.. it'll be slow like with Gazza. Any indication when that may start ? Somebody care to set up a reserve watch thread for him ?
We could do with having him fit and raring this weekend
Even if he was in full training for the last two or three weeks he wouldn't just walk back into the squad against Chelsea, he'll be miles off proper match fitness.
That we could, be good to see him back in the game against Wolfsburg hopefully.
thread posted on 16th October, said back in three weeks; it's tomorrow then?
Nah, TORM, we're using the Neville Calendar. He should be back in about.....(runs off, laughing maniacally)
We'll see, he could be back in full training next week some time. Obviously they'll ease him in and the three weeks isn't to be taken at it's word.
I think a few reserve games first for him.
The Neville Calendar is actually based on the Saturn Year....
WikiAnswers - How many days are in a year on Saturn
I cant wait to see him play again, he is better than all of our wingers currently. Im not counting Giggs as wnger.
He is also a great ball winner if you need a man in the middle.
He is also a great ball winner if you need a man in the middle.
The Owen Hargreaves situation on here is a bit like old people saying "Everything was better in the good old days", only remembering the good things.
I see posters on here rave about what Owen Hargreaves will change, how he'll slot into the midfield, see him being lined up in posters first 11 etc.
He must be one of the few players that gets a better reputation simply by not playing.
I think, when discussing and anticipating Hargreaves' return, we need to take a step back and remember that 1) he did not work very well centrally for us when he was tried there, 2) he was good on the wing, but nothing out of the ordinary, 3) he was far from great in every match he played that season.
Not directed at anyone in particular, but generally the expectations of Owen Hargreaves are too high in here.
I see posters on here rave about what Owen Hargreaves will change, how he'll slot into the midfield, see him being lined up in posters first 11 etc.
He must be one of the few players that gets a better reputation simply by not playing.
I think, when discussing and anticipating Hargreaves' return, we need to take a step back and remember that 1) he did not work very well centrally for us when he was tried there, 2) he was good on the wing, but nothing out of the ordinary, 3) he was far from great in every match he played that season.
Not directed at anyone in particular, but generally the expectations of Owen Hargreaves are too high in here.
Amen to that.
What I remember about Hargo is that when paired with Anderson in the middle, we won the middle battles in all the games they played together, we went on a run where we scored 4 goals in some consecutive games.
So imagine going into a tough game with Fletcher, Anderson and Hargo in the middle. They will destroy a lot of what the opponent try to do.
So imagine going into a tough game with Fletcher, Anderson and Hargo in the middle. They will destroy a lot of what the opponent try to do.
1. Well it was his first season for us. Harder to play in central midfield. Inspite of that, he and Anderson did very well in midfield against Arsenal and Liverpool at the Emirates and Anfield respectively. I would say he had a good season. It hopefully will be better, which is why we are all salivating. Pardon us for that.
2. He was superb on the wing. He was our best player against Roma, and he performed well against Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea in the final. He was very good.
3. Not true.
Expectations may be a bit high, but considering the recent state of our midfield, a 'new signing' is bound to get everyone here giddy, eh? Loosen up.
I believe he may be playing against Wolfsburg
Has anything offical been said by the club recently?
And they will be creative.
That I am not sure, Anderson with only one striker infront of him has not excelled so far. He does well when he has two ahead of him moving and creating spaces so he can try his Hollywood /xbox360 through-ball passes
So we will do well to use all three if we meet a team that is really inform and just want to hit them on the counter.
Fletcher is yet to show creativity consistently, Hargo, I don't really remember his passes, but I remember being a bit disappointed back then
I'd disagree with #2. He was very good out on the wing, like having Park with extra attacking thrust. Faster, stronger, while also having the best crossing we've had since Becks. His off-the-ball movement and his short passing wasn't as good as Park, but overall he did very well out there. Probably better than any of our wingers, barring Giggs, have done this season, although Valencia is starting to hit form.
I wouldn't really say we 'won' the midfield battles when they played together. They did very well at stopping the opposition from building anything from there, but they themselves didn't really control things either. It sort of stopped being a team game and became a battle of who had the better individual players. Obviously we would come out on top in most cases, but it's not something that would consistently work.
Anderson was the only player I felt comfortable with next to Hargreaves in a two man midfield though. He never really worked with anyone else, although hopefully that was just because he was still learning how to fit into our team.
Fergie said back in full training 10 days yesterday.
Ben Hibbs (BenHibbs) on Twitter
Might just play in that last CL group game. Should never have been included in the squad at the expense of Tosic though.
Ben Hibbs (BenHibbs) on Twitter
Might just play in that last CL group game. Should never have been included in the squad at the expense of Tosic though.
TBF that is wining the battle. The battle in midfield, especially in gig games, is all about controlling what your opponents do. If they can't do nothing. You have won.
You don't think Hargreaves might be a more valuable asset than Tosic in the knock-out stages, if he stays fit?
With Park to return, Obertan impressing in his first couple of games and Welbeck (or even Ljajic) giving us extra options on the wings I don't think Tosic will be needed at any stage.
Hargreaves, on the other hand could be crucial back-up for Fletcher, a lack of which was arguably the single biggest reason we couldn't match Barca in the final.
You can change your squad before the knockout rounds, so Hargreaves may or may not play in one dead rubber match, but Tosic could have played in all of them had he been included instead. And you could have swopped in Hargreaves in January if he had proved his fitness by then.
Fergie got it wrong. And Tosic has lost out on a few precious chances to prove himself because of it.
http://www.uefa.com/multimediafiles/download/competitions/ucl/88/61/44/886144_download.pdf
Yes, but Tosic would have been a more valuable asset than Hargreaves in the group stages. It would have been great to give him a run out in the next game.
I think you are forgetting that the squad list that excluded Tosic was for the group stages, there will be another squad list for the knock-out stages. That's the one Hargreaves should be picked for.
It's not unreasonable in the least to suggest Tosic (who has shown some good form for the reserves) should have been picked over Hargreaves (who is yet to kick a ball in anger) in the group stage squad.
I didn't know that. If Hargreaves could have been added after the group stages then there doesn't seem much point adding him to the initial squad, I agree.
I doubt Tosic would have seen much action, mind you. He's not even getting his game in the Carling Cup team. He could have got a game in the dead rubber match I suppose but that might also be a useful bit of match practice for Hargreaves?
The annoying thing is that he played really well in his CC appearance. He seemed to really up his game when he finally got some time in the first time. It would have been perfect timing for him to have got some time in the CSKA games. Instead he's stuck in the reserves where he obviously is losing confidence.
Hargreaves better justify Fergies faith in him.
Would have been a good confidence boost for Tosic, who has been doing the business at international level, to get some minutes in at CL level. I wouldn't have suggested playing him in the CSKA games personally, but now we have qualified I'd have had him on the bench at least for the last two games. Tosic would also have been handy for set pieces.
Not if you can't do anything either. Which is basically what happened in most of the games during that period. The midfield battle basically degenerated into a scrappy affair with neither team's midfield doing much. But as we had the worlds best defence along with the worlds best attacker (well supported by Rooney) we had the superior ability everywhere else and generally came out on top.
It's an interesting style of play and there's nothing wrong with it. I'd have no problem if we decided to go that way against big teams in the future (if Fletch isn't available). But to call it 'dominating the midfield' which I've seen many people do is over-stating it a fair bit.
I seriously doubt Tosic would have featured in either of the CSKA games. We picked a strong team and brought our best players off the bench.
Which is the whole purpose of big games. Make the opponents threat non existent. Then see who has better individual talent to carry the day.
Fair enough. IMO It depends how you look at it. For my money rendering an opposing midfield usless is dominating it. Also running all over it as a result is just an added bonus. Especially in big games in which sides often cancel each other out. I prefer it much more to the let the opponents play philosophy we have been using and losing with of late in big matches.
Exactly. We really didn't need Hargreaves for those games.
I agree with Hargreaves on the brink of recovery and no doubt needing competitive games, what better return than a match against Wolfsburg that we don't need to win but they do?
Apparently he strained his calf recently and took 3 days off training.
This is exactly the kind of thing you should expect to see happening as a player with a very lengthy lay-off gets back into the flow of high-tempo high-intensity training. It is going to take his body a bit to get back to that fitness level.
Hargreaves being on the CL squad was extremely optimistic by the way, probably should not have been included imo.
This is exactly the kind of thing you should expect to see happening as a player with a very lengthy lay-off gets back into the flow of high-tempo high-intensity training. It is going to take his body a bit to get back to that fitness level.
Hargreaves being on the CL squad was extremely optimistic by the way, probably should not have been included imo.
Well that's him out for another week then straight away.
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