EPL : Manchester United vs Wigan Athletic - 26 Dec
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Tuesday, 26 December 2006
vs 
Manchester United v Wigan Athletic
Old Trafford
Live on ESPN, 11pm!
Wayne Rooney could return to the Manchester United starting line-up for the Boxing Day clash with Wigan Athletic at Old Trafford.
The England striker was left out of the first XI for SaturdayÂ’s 3-0 win at Aston Villa after a family bereavement but Sir Alex Ferguson is also mindful of keeping his forwards fresh.
Michael Carrick (ankle) is out but he could return for the next game.
Wigan boss Paul Jewell has no fresh injury worries to contend with, but he is still without seven players.
Henri Camara, Andy Webster, Antonio Valencia, Paul Scharner, Steve McMillan and Ryan Taylor are injured, while Lee McCulloch is suspended.
Man Utd : Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Scholes, Fletcher, Park, Saha, Giggs, Kuszczak, Brown, Rooney, O'Shea, Silvestre, Heinze, Solskjaer, Richardson.
Wigan : Kirkland, Jackson, Hall, Kilbane, Cywka, Johansson, Landzaat, Heskey, Boyce, Cotterill, Skoko, Baines, De Zeeuw, Wright, Todorov, Teale, Pollitt. -
I think Man Utd will be without Scholes and Vidic, suspended for having 5 yellow cards already, and without Carrick as well.
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no worries everything is under control
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No Scholes no Vidic? That kind of sux.. Nevermind move Heinze inside and play Evra on the Left.. Midfield would be Ronaldo Giggs Park Fletcher..
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Hey people, remember to rate. Out of 10
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i gt really bad feeling bout this
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c'mon devils!! we can lead by 4 points now!! Dun BLOW IT!!!
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Ronaldo is the farkin supersub!!!!!!!!
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SOLSKJAER!!!!
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Ronaldo will certainly be the man of the match despite playing only half the match
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3-1 how sweet
i think i will sleep well tonight -
GJ manU..4pts clear nw
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well...honestly wigan play under par..probably their minds on XMAS?>...no desire or fighting spirit wat so ever in them...so manutd had a easy game despite missing giggs saha n co...
manU didn't play as well,or should i say they conserving their eneergy for the tight scheldule?well...most impt is !!!!!we got the 3 pts!!!!hooray!!!!
hail ronaldo -
See I always always say if you play passing and patient build up possession play, we will win games..
Van Der Sar : 7
Wes Brown : 7.5
Vidic : 8
Silvestre : 7
Evra : 7.5
Fletcher : 7
Scholes : 7
O Shea : 7
Park Ji Sung : 7.5
Solksjaer : 7.5
Rooney : 7
Ronaldo : 7.5
Heinze : 7
Richardson : 7 -
RONALDO SENDS UNITED FOUR CLEAR
Cristiano Ronaldo made an instant impact from the bench to fire Manchester United four points clear at the top of the Barclays Premiership.
Despite second-placed Chelsea being held to a surprise 2-2 home draw by Reading in one of the early kick-offs, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson rested a number of big names in his side's 3-1 win over with Wigan.
One of those was Ronaldo but, after a goalless first half at Old Trafford, the wing wizard entered the fray.
Barely a minute later, a bullet header from Paul Scholes' corner gave United the lead.
And four minutes after that, the Portuguese was taking a penalty after Park Ji-Sung was clipped by Gary Teale. It was a poor effort and Chris Kirkland saved, but Ronaldo was on hand to net the rebound.
United went route one for their third, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer marking his first Premiership start for almost two months by flashing home Wayne Rooney's knockdown.
Leighton Baines scored a stoppage-time consolation from the spot after Mikael Silvestre felled David Wright. -
for those doubters of Carrick, now your real chance to see how "productive" OShea or Fletcher are.
In a barely recognisable team, MUFC struggles to find any real flow.
And with Rooney deciding not to score, it was proving harder and harder.
The pressure cooker was cranked, and with one swift stroke in 2nd half, Ronaldo finally eased all fears.
Given how Ronaldo has progressed, his diving and tricks are now cut to the minimum, it is good to see refs giving him due protection cause hey, he will be the #1 man in a red shirt that any opposing team will target.
without Ronaldo, counter-breaks are not effective. And balls seems to be all going either to Scholes or EdwinVS. Too predictable.
Fletcher was brought in to provide some width and some cutting edge passes but he failed. Park was full of energy, but given his match fitness, his link-up play often seems to cogulates at the six yard box, and often denies Rooney space..
We certainly need more brains in MF, carrick provided that. Hopefully with him back and a certain OwenH, we would be better.
Cause once the wings are clipped, MUFC seems to slutter. -
i slept well last night.. so nice..
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I was scolded by my neighbours and my wife.
cause, when Cole "scored", I think I wake up my neighbourhood.
when MUFC scored, I woke up my neighbourhood the 2nd time... -
I think they are suspended for the next game, against Reading.Originally posted by dinky1409:No Scholes no Vidic? That kind of sux.. Nevermind move Heinze inside and play Evra on the Left.. Midfield would be Ronaldo Giggs Park Fletcher..
So strange, after Chelsea, they faced MUFC.
the last time,we met, we got a 0-0. Hopefully, we can beat them. -
ratings:-
GK
EVS -6.5. Managed to be at the right place at the right time.
Def
Evra - 6. Tend to waste alot of balls going forward.
MS - 6. Gave away penalty.
Vidic -7. Solid as a rock. Was named by commentators as Most Improved Player in EPL.
Brown - 6.5. A few decent crosses.
Heinze - 6.5. Always dependable.
MF
Flecther - 5. (for his standard,lousy game).
Oshea - 6. (unsure what his role was).
Scholes - 6. (asked to do too much, became predictable. Almost gifted opposing team with a backpass).
Park - 6. (given his match fitness, did okie, but seems to clog the middle).
Ronaldo - 8 (MOM).
Richardson - 5 (not enough time to make impact).
Rooney - 6. (he could have a hat-trick if not for his first touches). -
1st half so frigging boring....
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Originally posted by iceFatboy:I was scolded by my neighbours and my wife.
cause, when Cole "scored", I think I wake up my neighbourhood.
when MUFC scored, I woke up my neighbourhood the 2nd time... -
imo , the fletcher yesterday was good , u guys saw the thru pass from him to rooney? but of cos not only that .
i dont know why but i keep thinking fletcher > carrick
hehe -
Fergie surprised at United's Christmas presence
Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted Manchester United's four-point lead over Chelsea has provided him with an unexpected Christmas gift.
The victory enabled Ferguson's men to take maximum advantage of Chelsea's failure to beat Reading at Stamford Bridge a couple of hours earlier and double their advantage over Jose Mourinho's men.
United only learned of Chelsea's slip from the crowd reaction as they were completing their pre-match warm-up.
And Ferguson acknowledged it was a result he did not think very likely.
'It is an unexpected lead we have now,' he said. 'I did not expect Chelsea to draw but that is the nature of football.
'Nobody expected us to lose at West Ham a couple of weeks ago but we did.
'It just reminds you football can knock you on the head. It turns the tables on you all the time.
'Consistency will win the league and if we can maintain the consistency we have played with over the first half of the season, we will have a marvellous chance.'