Albiston urges Gaby to stand and deliver

Stuart Mathieson

January 10, 2007

Gabriel Heinze

GABRIEL Heinze is being urged not to throw in the towel at United and face the left-back battle with Patrice Evra head-on .

Juventus, Tottenham and his old club Paris St Germain are in a queue of hopeful buyers, having monitored the Argentinian's recent inactivity and the fact Evra has seemingly leapfrogged him to become Sir Alex Ferguson's first choice.

Juventus boss Didier Deschamps has registered his interest in public, saying, "I know Gaby, I saw him playing in France for two years.

"At Manchester United he is used as a left full-back but I don't think it is his best position. I think he is more a central defender. Considering the number of left-sided defenders at Manchester United, if there is an opportunity and he is attracted, why not?"

Rumours are also rife that Spurs are preparing a bid. Moving to London and a guaranteed regular place might tempt the 28-year-old. The Reds signed Heinze from Paris St Germain in 2004 and the French club have also openly expressed a wish to take him back.

It is an astonishing and frustrating decline in fortunes for the South American who became an instant idol at Old Trafford, being named Player of the Year for 2004-5 before suffering two separate injuries

Upsurge

But former United left back Arthur Albiston, who monitors the Reds as a Radio Manchester and MUTV expert, believes that despite an upsurge in interest in Heinze during the transfer window, the South American should, and will, stay on.

"For a start I can't imagine that Sir Alex Ferguson will want to reduce the size of his senior squad for the second half of the season having publicly and correctly played up its importance," Albiston said.

"No matter how Gaby has slipped slightly in the pecking order, he is still a great player who I think will get many games as the campaign progresses. The second half of a season as the challenges intensify will always see the senior pool used more and Heinze is certain to benefit from that.

"He might still be struggling a little fitness-wise but the only thing he needs now is a run of games. When you have had the injury he suffered and then rushed back too quickly then you need 12 games or so on the trot to get back into the swing of things. He's not had that.

"Evra's upswing in fortunes and Heinze's slide does illustrate how quickly things can change," Arthur added.

"It has made it very frustrating for Heinze and I can understand other clubs looking at the situation, thinking United might be overloaded in the left back area and eager to test the water.

"But, as I said. I don't think the manager would sanction it and I would say to Gaby, `don't go.'

"I am sure he is frustrated but I think by the end of the season he will have enough games to look back on. He is still a fantastic player and offers a different threat in defence. He will be needed without a doubt."

Should Heinze be given more time to rediscover his form or should the Reds cash in? Have your say.

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EDINBURGH RED, EDINBURGH (10/01/2007 at 09:11)

We should cash in if we get bale from southampton, I always thought gabi though tough goes down to easy and always swings his arms about when tackling which can get him sent off every game and his passing/crossing is awful, evra has stepped up, but i wouldn't sell unless we get cover also i would expect a decent fee or swap with defoe if spurs are intrested, hell if were prepared to pay 25 million for oh let's bid for gerrard.

Hamza Rijal, Zanzibar (10/01/2007 at 09:23)

We should not commit a blunder by letting Gabriel leave Manchester. Its undisputable that Evra is good in attacking but he is weak he cant play tough games. Evra can not face the likes of Drogba, Baptista, Henry and other tough and tacktically players, Gabriel is tough and he has a very perculiar style. When we let Stam leave united we had suffer a lot till Ferdinad join the team.

As United fan in Zanzibar with my colleagues I caution Sir. Alex not to repeat past mistakes. Sir. Alex is United Icon but he is not an angel he did many mistakes of selling of Ince, Hughes, Phil Neville, Stam, Beckham even Nisreloy. It our plea to retain Gabriel not for sale.

SIRU, MANCHESTER (10/01/2007 at 09:23)

NEVA GABI IS ONE OF THE BEST LB IN THE WORLD KEPP HIM NOW HE MITE BE STUTTURING A LITTLE BIT BUT I KNOW HELL COME GOOD ITS JUST MATCH FITNESS THAT HE NEEDS AND HELL B AS GOOD AS NEW

WERE JUS GOIGN TO SELL A GOOD TALENT TO A ITALIEN OR SPANISH CLUB DEPENDING WHO COMES IN FOR HIM!? REMEMBER JAAP STAM, R.V.N, BECKHAM AND MANY OTHER TALENTS THAT WENT ABROAD!

The Kid, Urmston (10/01/2007 at 09:32)

Another ex United player on the gravy train. Heinze is injury prone, and is certainly not the player he was. Injuries have taken their toll. Albiston is like a lot of the ex players, Martin, Stepney, etc who toe the party line on MUTV. As a long standing United suppoter, who was a regular supporter through the lean times, I am not kidded by comments from ex players like Albiston, who think normal red fans no nothing about football. The facts are these. Heinze attended the World Cup when he had not properly recovered from injury. Unlike Rooney, who also should not have played in the World Cup, he missed the start of the season. Heinze has always put Argentina 1st,2nd,3rd. He has suffered a lot of injuries, and been hansomely paid by United, yet in the summer when he was linked to Madrid, he did'nt rule out a move. Evra proved against Villa that he is the better all round full back, despite a dreadful start to his United career. Sell Heinze while we can still get good money money, and sign young Bale from Southampton.

Southern Red, Berkshire (10/01/2007 at 10:32)

Heinze should stay. He's the kind of player we need; with total commitment , desire and skill by the ton. He and Evra are totally different types of players and both have their place dependant on the opposition. Gaby is also a centre back - and that should keep Rio on his toes. I can't see him leaving, in fact I can see him gaining his first choice place back before long.

SAFs RedKnight, Manchester (10/01/2007 at 10:45)

Gaby is like an old fashioned no nonsense fullback, where as Evra in the modern attacking fullback. It would be a mistake to let Gaby go, because SAF likes to use Gaby when we come across attacking teams to add some combativeness and steel to the defence, where as when we play the more defensive teams he uses Evra to bolster the attack. Itâ€TMs a nice combination to have and would weaken our squad letting Gaby go.

mcfc, salford (10/01/2007 at 10:51)

over rated just like arthur
build a bonfire build a bonfire
its uniteds favourite song
wish we had one just as scary
where did we go wrong

Brian, Crumpsall (10/01/2007 at 10:59)

Are you guys real? Gaby was fantastic in his first season and if it wasn't for his injury Evra wouldn't even be at the club. Given a few games in a row and he will be good as gold. Yes Evra is playing extremely well but up against a power forward like Drogba or Crespo he struggles. He just doesn't have the height or power and they aren't things he can develop. When it came to the Chelsea game Fergie had no hesitation in playing Heinze even though Evra's form had been excellent. Why do you think that is??? There is enough games in the season to keep both happy and they provide great options. Yeah the lad Bale sounds good but have any of you watched him play? He's 17 playing in a division below and not been tested at all. If we have the money to buy him then loan him back for 18 months then fantastic but to think he's going to be a better alternative than Heinze if Evra was to get injured the you're living in fantasy land. United only bought Carrick in the summer with the money that came in from Van Nistelrooy and Mikel, that should mean the annual 20 million transfer budget is still available. A young CM with potential (no idea about Mavuba but that level of player) and a real quality LM as long term replacement for Giggs should be what we go for. Then in summer get Hargreaves in, sell O'Shea/Richardson/Silvestre/Smith and bring in someone like Huntelaar. Squad would be n\bang on for years then.

Andy, Norway (10/01/2007 at 10:59)

Agree totally with those pointing out that Heinze is better than Evra at defending, while Evra is better going forward. Gaby is one of the world's best left backs defensively, and letting him go would be crazy, even though we're targeitng Bale. Bale won't be playing at Gaby's level for some years, as defenders need more experience than forwards to reach their potential. Heinze has the perfect age for a defender, and when he's match fit in the latter stages of the season, he'll be extremely important for us. After all, we've still to visit quite a few hostile places, have we not?

JoJ, Norway (10/01/2007 at 11:07)

At left back, Gaby is just as good as Evra (although completeley different in style), and as a central defender he is just as good as Rio and Vidic, and clearly better than Wes and Silvestre. Why the heck would we want to sell him? Besides, when we face tough opposition, we need DEFENDERS in defensive positions, and they don't come better and more committed than the Argentinian.

Dave, Salford (10/01/2007 at 11:07)

Whoever says Heinze should leave, take of your sock off and stuff your mouth with it. As it stands, we have two different options at left-back and it is a good thing. Heinze will be needed to grind out results at Nou Camp and Milan. He is a no nonsense tough-tackling defender who is first of all defensively-sound. If we let him go, who will step into his shoes, O-shea, Silvestre? Puh-lease. We need to strengthen our squad this January and not leave it more thread-bare. Among the top four sides in England, we have the worst second eleven, it is amazing how Fergie works his wonders and most importantly, how the other three have slide.

danny, manchester (10/01/2007 at 11:17)

gabby is a class act, he didnt win player of the year for nothing there is no reason why him and evra can play on the left with evra in a more advanced role. Its no suprise big clubs r monitoring him but we need to buy not sell?

Duncan, London (10/01/2007 at 11:24)

Evra is a very strong attacking left back but he is an awesome tackler as well. He also has the pace to recover if a winger goes past him. He has ample strength to deal with any striker. I don't understand comments that assert otherwise. Gaby on the other hand has the Terry/Vidic factor. He thunders into the tackle and can lift the team with his wholehearted enthusiasm. I would keep both.

Kevin, Bedford (10/01/2007 at 11:25)

For Chelski and the Scousers away games cue Heinze. For the Arse and Spurs away cue Evra. Why? Pace! The Arse and Spurs have speedsters like Henry/Persie and Defoe/Lennon. Heinze will get roasted where Evra showed last Sunday Agbonghlar-who? Leave Heinze for the Drog and robot-man (Crouch).

Irish_Manc, Belfast (10/01/2007 at 11:35)

in Reply to poster from Zanzibar, how do you determine it was a mistake in Selling Ince, Hughes, Beckham and RVN? if you can remember Selling Ince and Hughes made way for Scholes and Nicky Butt, Selling Beckham made way for Ronaldo, Selling RVN made way for Saha, so i dont know how you can say SAF made a mistake in selling these players! Back to Gabi, Gabi was a quality left in his first season, but injuries and stupid descision makings have stalled his development as our first choice LB. He should have known he wasnt ready for the WC, and he went instead and had a dreadful tournament by his high standards. Im all for keeping the guy and letting him get back to fitness and then fight for his place, hopefully he does that!

EDINBURGH RED, EDINBURGH (10/01/2007 at 11:47)

Problem solver make evra, gigg's replacement

manc_abroad, OT (10/01/2007 at 11:52)

Simple. Offer Silvestre instead. Heinze like Silvestre can play centre half or left back. Heinze had a serious injury and needs time to regain his match fitness.

chris, oxford (10/01/2007 at 12:31)

Cant believe we would seriously consider letting Gabby go, yes he is lacking form at the moment but he will soon be back to his best and when he is we will have proper competition for the LB position (not to mention great cover as CB). Bale has said that he doesn't want to leave Southampton so I would be very surprised if we got him this season. If anybody is going it has to be Silvestre who has been overlooked more and more.

Mark - Stretford ender, Manchester (10/01/2007 at 12:59)

People need to stop flapping about this one. Heinze is getting on and Fergies is using the two really well, the fact that both look undroppable when they play is great and just shows that the two are rising to the challenge and enjoying the copmetition. If players want to leave the club then they can go and that's the policy Utd have always stuck by. Nothing else to write about so why not stir the port at O/Trafford. Always the way.

John F. Lynch, Dublin & New York (10/01/2007 at 13:00)

ANY "UNITED FAN" advocating the sale of HEINTZ is a turncoat, a prawn sandwich man. He has more character in his big toe than O' Shea, Silvestre, Richardson combined. These are the same "fans" complaining about squad depth no doubt. Sell a major asset - completely foolish.

If Heintz has been off the pace this season it is because he's been injured and is not 100% match fit. To say he's past his best is ludicrous. A year or two back he was everyone's favourite Red - a hardman with the bit between his teeth. He is United BEST defensive L back by a mile; I like Evra going forward but I suspect he'd be found out easier by a strong forward line. Heintze must stay; once match fit he'll be indispensible.

Thomas, Norway (10/01/2007 at 13:01)

I think we should look into the possibility of selling Heinze. That is only if we can bring Bale to Old Trafford. We already have Evra and Silvestre. Gareth Bale is a massive talent. United would be an ideal place for him. Arsenal got Theo Walcott, Lets get Bale before anybody else does.

Anthony, Hamilton, Canada (10/01/2007 at 13:55)

Reducing the squad, now, doesn't make sense. United should be thankfull to have so much talent on left back. As long as Heinze is used,I am sure that even he understands the nature of to-days game. Besides him and Evra could be used in the centre field. He,still got a lot of gas left in the tank.

BEST MARK 11, london (10/01/2007 at 14:01)

UTTER NONSENSE- you never sell your best players he has a major role to play this season if the three trophies are to be won!

Jamie, Birmingham (10/01/2007 at 14:27)

Heinze being my favourite player I really want him to stay. He shows a passion for the game that you don't get with Silvestre, O'Shea, Fletcher and Richardson. It would be a HUGE error for us to offload him. Dechamps said hes a better centre back...all the more reason to kep him. An injury to Vidic or Ferdinand could leave us short of good defenders rather than penalty conceding options like Silvestre, who has a tendency to switch off. Heinze also adds the physical factor that would scare many attacking wingers into not trying to get past him. We NEED him at all costs. I do feel that when hes back to full fitness he will be better than Evra in that position but I feel that United can use them both in their persuit for silverware. If SAF were to unload Heinze you would seriously have to consider our ambition as we should only be seeling players who aren't good enough for united like the ones stated earlier!

Nick Warbutton, Camden, London (10/01/2007 at 14:57)

Heinze is one of the best left backs in the world; that is why so many clubs in Europe are interested in getting him. He can also play as a central defender if you want to rest Rio or Nemenja. It would be myopic to let him go. Let us keep all our defenders; they are the envy of Europe as well as Stamford Bridge. We should concentrate on strengthening the midfield where Giggs and Scholes will soon have a rendezvous wth time. Nani of Portugal, Mavuba of France and Gareth Bale of England(to succeed Neville at right back) would be the future for United along with Rooney, Ronaldo and Rossi. So let keep Heinze at all costs. Nick Warbutton, Camden, London.

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