If there’s one thing that’s bound to get football fans riled up this season it is the perpetual conversation about Cristiano Ronaldo.
Supporters of Manchester United have been enchanted at times by the 36-year-old’s return to the club, where he boasts 10 goals for the season already and has rekindled that impish wonder he had in front of goal a decade ago under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Those who back rival clubs will probably point and smirk at United’s disastrous start to the season, claiming the results are proof that the veteran isn’t pulling his weight elsewhere on the field.
A goalscoring machine or a defensive liability, whichever side of the argument you stand on, you will probably not defend your position quite as vehemently as Roy Keane and Jamie Carragher on Sunday evening.
Bickering in the Sky Sports studio following United’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea, in which Ronaldo was left on the bench by interim boss Michael Carrick, Keane and Carragher went over the same old tiresome ground.
“He hasn’t pressed for four, five or six years. I said that when he came back,” said Keane, defending the accusation that United invite pressure onto themselves when the spearhead of the attack doesn’t have the legs to chase down opposition defenders.
“Ronaldo is not going to fix Manchester United’s problems, but you don’t bring Ronaldo back to United to sit on the bench. Of course he’s not going to start every game but this is Chelsea away. There’s going to be counter attacking.”
Carragher hit back, pulling out another tired line of the Ronaldo debate: “Why did Manchester United sign Ronaldo? They signed him to stop him going to Manchester City. There was no plan to sign him, they signed him at the last minute.”
The former Liverpool defender then said: “I’m not criticising Ronaldo as a player. What can he do at nearly 37, he’s a phenomenon in terms of goals.
“But I mentioned in midweek with Lionel Messi. PSG have signed Messi, United have signed Ronaldo – two of the greatest players of this generation, of all time.
“Are Manchester United closer to the league title right now than they were last season? No. Are PSG closer to the Champions League with Messi in the team? No. We talk about goalscorers… but it’s a team game.”
Stuck in the middle was ex-Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink – a man who twice won the Premier League Golden Boot in his days as a professional footballer. Neither ex-midfielder Keane nor former centre-back Carragher asked his opinion.
Carragher went on the attack once more: “If you finish second last year and sign a 36-year-old, it’s not to win the league in three or four years. It’s to win it right now. If you sign a four-time Champions League winner, it’s to win right now.”
The accusation being that Ronaldo isn’t the answer between a top-four United and a title-winning United.
But this is where the two men, orbiting around the same point, finally began to fall in on each other.
“He’s not come back to win the league,” said an exasperated Keane. “He’s come back to help them win a trophy. [Jose] Mourinho came here and won a few trophies. When you won trophies were you not buzzing at that? Manchester United are a cup team.”
Carragher goaded back: “Is that where Manchester United have gone? Targeting cups?”
To which Keane conceded: “Absolutely. That’s where they are as a club. Look at the team, look at the results. Look at the last two or three years. They’re not going to win the league in the next two or three years, I’ll tell you that now.”
And with that Carragher thought he had his man. “So what have you signed him for then, at nearly 37, if they’re not going to win anything in the next two or three years?” he asked. “Start getting Greenwood on the pitch. Start getting Sancho on the pitch. You’re not going to win the league right now.”
Which was exactly Keane’s point. Ronaldo, for all the hype this summer, wasn’t signed to win United the title. Both he and Carragher know this – and, we can assume, so does Hasselbaink, although he wasn’t asked.
Carragher’s mistake was in assuming Keane is happy with United being, as he says, a “cup team”. Of course the former captain isn’t, but he has accepted their fate.
When reality has bitten as hard as it has at Old Trafford over the past decade since Ferguson’s exit, admitting your team’s limitations isn’t particularly shocking.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3lhauM0
Post a Comment