comment by Eric_the_red (U1122)
posted 11 seconds ago
4-2 up against Everton But still bombing forward, Fellaini running the show, should have stopped him by hook or by crook, stuck Rooney on him, fouled him floored him, stamped on his head, closed the game out al la José bad game management, yes if evras header had gone the other side of the post, the game against the 10 men relegation threatened QPR would have irrelevant and the bitters would have had to crawl back into their blue bubble for another year

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That Evra header still haunts us.

Having Berbatov no where near the squad in the CL final was a joke too when you see it was Owen there instead, especially seeing as he was our top scorer that season. Would’ve been equally good to have a very technical player against Barca who’s capable of keeping the ball for long periods.

Berbatov was lethal in FIFA 10, upfront with Rooney in beast mode.

comment by Sideshow (U11809)
posted 46 minutes ago
Underestimating Barca in the CL final?

Would have been difficult either way, but they were very fortunate to get to final
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No. Wouldn’t matter how we set up or played, that team would still have wiped the floor with us. They were arguably the best club side ever.

comment by Constantinople (U11781)
posted 17 minutes ago
Having Berbatov no where near the squad in the CL final was a joke too when you see it was Owen there instead, especially seeing as he was our top scorer that season. Would’ve been equally good to have a very technical player against Barca who’s capable of keeping the ball for long periods.
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Was about to say the same... desperately needed someone to hold the ball and give us an outlet

We needed fletcher for that final.

Veron. Kept the faith but the guy just never lived up to the hype. Was a huge fee too

Biggest mistake was running an ageing squad into the ground without any thought for succession

What about backing Moyes? They wouldn't have given Moyes the job without his stamp of approval, would they?

2011 CL final for sure.

Maybe this might be a tad controversial but I think SAF's strength in thinking of the future and long term outlook also cost us a few CL titles as well. I wouldn't swap it of course but I think we'd have one or two more CLs had we had more short term managers then. We'd almost certainly not have won as many Leagues though IMO and, to be honest, as good as a CL win is the League beats it for me.

comment by Paulpowersleftfoot still champions 744 days & counting (U1037)
posted 32 minutes ago
Biggest mistake was running an ageing squad into the ground without any thought for succession
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Not sure about that tbh, he retired because of a family bereavement and his own ill health, he didn't go into the 2012/13 season planning to retire, it just sort of happened to him.

Had he stayed beyond that season, (which he said he would have if not for the reasons mentioned) we would have seen a smoother transition, a younger squad and maybe more thought put into his successor, maybe better options would have been available 4-5 years later.

I'm not blaming SAF for the squad, or, as others have mentioned, choosing Moyes.

Diafol, interesting point actually.

comment by Joe The King Exotic (U10026)
posted 52 seconds ago
Diafol, interesting point actually.
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It's a topic we've discussed in the pub before. We had remarkable consistency for 20 odd years so I'll never moan about that but it's just a hunch I have. To be fair though, with a bit of luck, we could have had more CLs anyway. Or, with a bit less luck, none.

It's a fine balance and one we got right for years. It doesn't mean we need to follow that blueprint exactly now though.

It’s a point worth considering. Though I think an even bigger factor was the inability to compete on fees and wages for the very best players at points in the 90’s and 00’s. We missed out on a lot of top players due to that. Notoriously to Chelsea, but also to Italian and Spanish clubs.

Plus I think a lack of a decent goalkeeper between 99 and 05 cost us. As well as a poor defence.

We bought Rio but the likes of Silvestre, Blanc and co really weren’t good enough.

comment by Diafol Coch 77 - A Reputable Poster (U2462)
posted 16 minutes ago
Maybe this might be a tad controversial but I think SAF's strength in thinking of the future and long term outlook also cost us a few CL titles as well. I wouldn't swap it of course but I think we'd have one or two more CLs had we had more short term managers then. We'd almost certainly not have won as many Leagues though IMO and, to be honest, as good as a CL win is the League beats it for me.
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Perhaps, but I think saf could also squeeze an extra -0-20% out if his teams, I don’t think at any point even 99 we were the best team in Europe squad wise.

We deffo had the best squad in Europe in 1999

Considering we went into the final and won with the likes of Ole and Teddy on the bench and no Scholes and Keane

Recommends Moyes as his successor

comment by Robb, the fifth husband of Joe Exotic (U22311)
posted 5 minutes ago
Plus I think a lack of a decent goalkeeper between 99 and 05 cost us. As well as a poor defence.

We bought Rio but the likes of Silvestre, Blanc and co really weren’t good enough.
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I think in some ways that ties in with what Diafol was saying, though. Not the keeper but the defence was looked at with an eye on Wes Brown becoming the player Fergie expected him to be.

Fergie rated Brown as high as Rio, but he just couldn’t stay fit enough to become close to what he promised to be.

I have Diafol filtered

Kidding. He’s literally the nicest guy on here and he’s even posted his YouTube videos and seems like a stand up guy 🤘

Must be mental.

Considering the state of your team since he left he made no mistakes.

That makes no sense.

comment by Cheesy (U14278)
posted 13 minutes ago
Must be mental.

Considering the state of your team since he left he made no mistakes.
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see my comment above...

He stayed loyal to Neville, Scholes and Giggs too long also. Could have given them a proper send off but moved them on and replaced them one by one.