Wayne Rooney believes Manchester United are well placed in a three-horse race for the Barclays Premier League title. Sir Alex Ferguson's side are seven points behind leaders Liverpool with two matches in hand, both at home, to Wigan Athletic and Fulham and the England striker is looking forward to the run-in against Liverpool and Chelsea.
"I think we are in a good position," Rooney said. "We would have liked to have played those two matches in hand but we've got them to come. If we can get some good results in those games we would be in a really good position.
"You can never write Arsenal off and they are a good team and Aston Villa are doing well as well but in the end I think it will be down to one of the top three."
United have won both their league matches since returning from the Club World Cup in Japan, but Dimitar Berbatov's solitary goal against Middlesbrough last night was only the club's fourth in their last six league matches.
Despite converting just one of 25 chances against Gareth Southgate's side, Rooney believes it is only a matter of time before United start firing on all cylinders again. "I thought we played well, created a lot of chances and could have scored four or five goals," he said. "If those chances go in everyone speaks differently. If we don't score it is a worry but we got the goal that mattered."
Ferguson warned his players after the match that they have to start turning their dominance into goals on a more regular basis if they do not want to slip up in their attempts to haul in the top two. Chelsea have scored 40 times in 20 matches and have a goal difference of plus 31, well in excess of their two main rivals.
Rooney admits it is something which the United players are conscious of and are trying to rectify. "Of course we want to score more goals," he said. "Going into the last game of the season last year our goal difference could have won the league.
"We want to try to get our goal difference up but this stage of the season is a difficult period and you are just looking to get points on the board. We missed some good opportunities against Middlesbrough, the goalkeeper [Ross Turnbull] made some good saves but that is football, it happens.
"It has happened a bit more than we would have liked this first part of the season so hopefully we can start taking those chances."
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Cristiano Ronaldo to go home to find missing spark
Sir Alex Ferguson will consider allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to return to Portugal to recharge his batteries before Manchester United’s Barclays Premier League showdown with Chelsea on January 11. Ronaldo has cut a snarling, fractious figure in recent weeks, having been involved in a series of altercations with opponents, but the idea of a short break is regarded at Old Trafford as a routine course of action from which the winger might benefit.
Ferguson has often given his younger overseas players dispensation to return briefly to their homeland during the winter months, with Anderson and Carlos Tévez back in Brazil and Argentina respectively this week, and now would appear the ideal time to allow Ronaldo a brief rest, particularly given that United’s next two matches are against Southampton in the FA Cup third round on Sunday and Derby County in the Carling Cup semi-final, first leg a week today before they face Chelsea at Old Trafford. Ronaldo may be involved against Southampton, but he is almost certain to sit out the Carling Cup tie.
Ronaldo could be said to be in need of a change of environment, having struggled for his best form in recent weeks and he has also been involved in a succession of spats with opponents. The Portugal winger angrily squared up to Emanuel Pogatetz at half-time during United’s 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough on Monday, having been fortunate to escape punishment for kicking out at Scott Brown, of Celtic, Michael Dawson, the Tottenham Hotspur defender, and Andy Wilkinson, of Stoke City. The dispute with Pogatetz continued into the players’ tunnel at Old Trafford, with Ronaldo furious that the defender grappled him to the ground at a corner in the final minute of the first half.
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Ferguson would be reluctant to acknowledge a link between Ronaldo’s recent antics or form and any decision to rest him, but even on United’s television station on Monday night the player’s conduct was a matter of debate. Lou Macari, the former United player, said that “the Ronaldo of last season” had not been seen for several weeks and that it is essential he finds his best form during the second half of the campaign, with his team seven points behind Liverpool in the Premier League, albeit with two games in hand.
Ronaldo missed pre-season training and the opening weeks of the campaign while recovering from an ankle operation, having also spent much of the summer distracted by his planned transfer to Real Madrid, and, while he scored seven goals in his first nine appearances after returning to the starting line-up in September, his form has dipped markedly in recent weeks.
Anderson, the midfield player, is expected to return to the United squad against Southampton on Sunday, having flown to Brazil after his team’s success in the Club World Cup in Japan before Christmas. Tévez is due back in Manchester at the weekend, having been given permission to return to Argentina for what Ferguson called a “family issue”, but it is not clear whether he will be back in time to figure in the FA Cup tie. “When their parents and families are far away, you have to be patient with them,” Ferguson said.
United also had to be patient against Middlesbrough, with the only goal of the game coming through Dimitar Berbatov with just 21 minutes remaining, but the forward has echoed Ferguson’s belief that profligacy in front of goal is the main threat to his team’s ambitions this season. “Maybe we must work on our concentration in the final third of the field,” Berbatov said. “The boss tells us all the time not to lose our concentration because it will be very important in the crucial games coming up. We will keep working on that and, as long as we keep making chances, hopefully the goals will come.”
source:the london times
Ferguson has often given his younger overseas players dispensation to return briefly to their homeland during the winter months, with Anderson and Carlos Tévez back in Brazil and Argentina respectively this week, and now would appear the ideal time to allow Ronaldo a brief rest, particularly given that United’s next two matches are against Southampton in the FA Cup third round on Sunday and Derby County in the Carling Cup semi-final, first leg a week today before they face Chelsea at Old Trafford. Ronaldo may be involved against Southampton, but he is almost certain to sit out the Carling Cup tie.
Ronaldo could be said to be in need of a change of environment, having struggled for his best form in recent weeks and he has also been involved in a succession of spats with opponents. The Portugal winger angrily squared up to Emanuel Pogatetz at half-time during United’s 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough on Monday, having been fortunate to escape punishment for kicking out at Scott Brown, of Celtic, Michael Dawson, the Tottenham Hotspur defender, and Andy Wilkinson, of Stoke City. The dispute with Pogatetz continued into the players’ tunnel at Old Trafford, with Ronaldo furious that the defender grappled him to the ground at a corner in the final minute of the first half.
Related Links
Angry Ronaldo in Old Trafford tunnel rage
Berbatov keeps United in the title hunt
Multimedia
Ronaldo must not lose temper like Zidane
Has Ronaldo lost the plot?
Ferguson would be reluctant to acknowledge a link between Ronaldo’s recent antics or form and any decision to rest him, but even on United’s television station on Monday night the player’s conduct was a matter of debate. Lou Macari, the former United player, said that “the Ronaldo of last season” had not been seen for several weeks and that it is essential he finds his best form during the second half of the campaign, with his team seven points behind Liverpool in the Premier League, albeit with two games in hand.
Ronaldo missed pre-season training and the opening weeks of the campaign while recovering from an ankle operation, having also spent much of the summer distracted by his planned transfer to Real Madrid, and, while he scored seven goals in his first nine appearances after returning to the starting line-up in September, his form has dipped markedly in recent weeks.
Anderson, the midfield player, is expected to return to the United squad against Southampton on Sunday, having flown to Brazil after his team’s success in the Club World Cup in Japan before Christmas. Tévez is due back in Manchester at the weekend, having been given permission to return to Argentina for what Ferguson called a “family issue”, but it is not clear whether he will be back in time to figure in the FA Cup tie. “When their parents and families are far away, you have to be patient with them,” Ferguson said.
United also had to be patient against Middlesbrough, with the only goal of the game coming through Dimitar Berbatov with just 21 minutes remaining, but the forward has echoed Ferguson’s belief that profligacy in front of goal is the main threat to his team’s ambitions this season. “Maybe we must work on our concentration in the final third of the field,” Berbatov said. “The boss tells us all the time not to lose our concentration because it will be very important in the crucial games coming up. We will keep working on that and, as long as we keep making chances, hopefully the goals will come.”
source:the london times
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