Ruud's road to ruin

Stuart Mathieson

May 09, 2006

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THE love affair between Ruud van Nistelrooy and United started to fray around the edges last summer.

Ruud van Nistelrooy hadn't scored on the Reds' Far East tour last July when in the final match in Tokyo, Rio Ferdinand delayed a routine pass to the striker.

By the time the frustrated striker was given the ball, a Japanese player was on him and the chance was lost.

At the final whistle, the trying Dutchman could not contain his venom and ran off hurling abuse at Ferdinand.

Many observers were impressed by that commitment and the fact that Sir Alex Ferguson publicly ignored the confrontation suggests he admired van Nistelrooy's will-to-win. But the seeds of discontent had been sown.

Jaap Stam, David Beckham, Paul Ince and Roy Keane are all familiar with how quickly a seemingly impregnable working relationship with the Reds' boss can decline and breakdown.

Hero to zero quicker than you can say Jim Leighton.

Van Nistelrooy's mood has allegedly darkened to the point where in-house arguments with Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs saw Ferguson spot the first potential cracks that might shatter team spirit.

Then last week's mystery incidents involving the 29-year-old on the training pitch were deemed so destructive that he was jettisoned from the squad before the Charlton match.

Anger

Clearly, just like Keane stepped over the line with his never aired MUTV rant against his colleagues, van Nistelrooy has taken his heart-on-the-sleeve anger just too far.

Ferguson's reaction to van Nistelrooy's penalty miss against Middlesbrough on May Bank Holiday that cost United two points compared to his spot-kick blunder against Arsenal in the 0-0 Old Trafford stalemate in September 2003 is an insight into how the relationship has cracked.

In 2003, despite two points again being lost when Ruud's penalty struck the Gunners' bar, the United manager shrugged the miss off.

"I never have any doubt about the man. He is a marvellous striker and it is just one of these things," said Sir Alex.

Against Boro he declared curtly with a twist of the knife, "It was a bad miss. It was an important one and I thought he would score."

Since then have come the issues that have effectively ended van Nistelrooy's goal-laden Old Trafford career.

Ruud was handed the United captaincy on a temporary basis and then saw it given officially to Gary Neville.

Van Nistelrooy's body language since then has rarely looked upbeat. He was fired up again when against Blackburn in February he was dropped to the bench but came on to score twice.

Annoyance

However when United went to Anfield for the FA Cup crunch Ferguson's annoyance with his striker became public for the first time.

United were heading for a 1-0 defeat and playing poorly when van Nistelrooy failed to urgently chase down a pass back to Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina.

Ruud ambled away after Reina's eventual clearance but Fergie was on the touchline raging at the Dutch striker.

Seven days later he was axed for the Carling Cup Final against Wigan in Cardiff.

The pair allegedly had a verbal exchange on the bench in the Millennium Stadium when Ferguson used up his quota of subs and brought on new boys Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra as United strolled to victory.

Van Nistelrooy queried the decision and got an icy glare in return.

His winner's medal was barely around his neck before he left the field shunning a lap of honour.

The relationship was now strained and van Nistelrooy's training ground attitude was the final straw.

Once again ruthless Fergie has shown emphatically that he is in charge and no player, no matter their record is bigger than the club.

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Phil C, Salford (09/05/2006 at 14:38)

yet again, Fergie has gone to show, it doesn't matter how talented, or important a player you are, if you get on the wrong side of him ala becks and stam, you're out the door. the idea that no man is bigger than Man Utd is true, and that includes you Ruud.

George, RHYL (09/05/2006 at 14:44)

Hero to zero in the time you can Jim Leighton;rubbish! There has always been a time between original source of dissatisfaction and departure.Beckham media circus.Stam the book.Ince; part of very good team but thought himself "the guvnor" Van not responded like a true pro to being dropped.I think SAF does give players time to retrieve the situation.Others have left with true honour Hughes Bruce Robson Cantona Pallister more simply accept that SAF is right their sparkle has diminished.SAF whatever people think is the man paid to run the club in the best interests of UNITED. I have no doubt that he always tries to do that.Even the best make an occasional mistake.SAF would agree with that I think.
Conclusion; SAF is boss Ruud has gone; not as gracefully as some but gone.The team has actually done better wiothout him of late.

Nimby, Salford (09/05/2006 at 14:53)

Great bit of work Fergie, Get rid of a 20/25 goals a year player and rely on a player who hasn't played 10 games in a row since we signed him, a player who's best days are well behind him and an untried 19 year old, Just how much will it cost to replace Ruud? ??15/20,000,000 even if we can persuade a world class striker to come to OT. You've set Ruud up well and truly, but we can all see where the real problem lies.

steve, Glossop (09/05/2006 at 14:57)

Irrespective of the rights & wrongs here we've now got another big problem. When all of us agreed we need at least 2 new top CM's we now need another striker as love him as we all do OGS isn't a solution. Saha is injury prone Rossi will need time & there's nothing high class in the reserves. I think Bellemy is hot but imagine him & Fergie getting on? Torres yes but we don't have the money especially as others have pointed out RVN's fee will plummet thanks to our usual poor PR. Do you believe Chelski will sell Eider to us or Spurs Defoe? Maybe the Glazers will pull their wallet out but probably not.

Gaz, North Stand (09/05/2006 at 15:27)

Not convinced we will bring in a striker he may decide that a four of rooney, saha, smith and rossi is good enough and it possibly is it all depends on if saha can say fit for at least 80% of the season if he can then rooney and saha will be our strike force and they will score 30+ goals between them and smith and rossi as cover could get 20 so this could be enough. If we are to bring a striker in then i think we should also sacrafice smith as we can't afford to block rossi's development. If the 25 million budget can buy us the two midfielders we need then the money raised from the sales of ruud, smith, silvestre, bellion, miller should give us the 20+ million required to buy a top striker alla torres, tevez or maybe the cheaper option could be yakubu who has a great goal per game ratio when you consider the teams he has played for and then we might just have a little money left to buy a winger as well.

dep, dublin (09/05/2006 at 15:34)

we dont know what has happened,or who is to blame,but i hope its sorted quick.we can`t afford to loose vnr he is world class,and utd will not sign anyone off his stature they can`t afford it...SORT IT OUT

Louis, Malta (09/05/2006 at 15:55)

The Story of Ruud: The love affair between RVN and United started to go sour when he returned from his long-term injury in 2005. Although he remained one of the best six-yard box finishers, he never recovered all his other footballing skills and became very predictable in his play. The team continued to play an attacking style to complement his predator skills but this resulted in the team forfeiting its traditional flowing football and as a result became a very ordinary side. Sir Alex Ferguson finally saw the light in early 2006 with the return to fitness of Louis Saha and the whole team again started playing their traditional passing game to the delight of their supporters. The demotion to the bench just before his World Cup call-up infuriated Ruud and his many devoted fans who still thought that football is just about scoring goals. Sir Alex Ferguson lost his patience with Ruud when his lethargic displays almost cost United second place, and he patiently waited for justification to give him the boot. Ruud obliged by taunting Ronaldo during training and so he finally got what he deserved. And so ends the story of Ruud.

cantona's upturned collar, work (09/05/2006 at 16:04)

I'm with Sir Alex on this one. Clearly, Ruud does not accept being sub. He expects to play always. Up til this season he's always been assured of a place. Now that his poor form has resulted in being overlooked (rightly so), how does he take it? He acts like a spoilt brat and causes disharmony. We've done better without him anyway. Even if we don't sign another striker, we'll be all right with Rooney, Saha (I just wish people would stop saying he's injury prone -He just had a freakish spate that's behind him now), Solskjaer and Rossi, not to mention Smith for the latter part of next season.

Batman, Gotham City (09/05/2006 at 16:10)

At the moment Ferguson decision will seem strange to fans and to the press. He clearly decided that Ruud time was up before any incident that took place this week. His response to the penalty miss against Middlesborgh said it all. I've been told more than once that Ruud isn't all that liked by alot of the Utd players. After that incident against Arsenal, when Keown and Lauren attacked him, hardly any of our players protected him. If Manchester United get ??10 million for Ruud then they would have done a smart move. He was, and still is, a class player, and yes, a 20-25 goals a season player. However the bigger picture is that he is 29, and will be 30 in July. In my opinion his best days are behind him. He can still score goals when given service, but he can no longer produce his own goals like he did against Fulham, Arsenal and Basle. When he first arrived people were split over who was better, Ruud or Henry. Today there is no comparision, Henry has got better and Ruud, after his first two fantastic seasons, has declained slowly. I would have no problem him staying and playing with a better midfield, but the problem been his attitude. He was dropped, and has repsonded by sulking and giving careless performances. The Ruud of 1-2 years ago would never had done that. He isn't happy at United and clearly at some point was looking to leave, but was maybe convinced to stay by Fergie. It is these incidents that have led to this suitation and his impending departure. He will be hard to replace, but not impossible. Ruud is going to have to adapt his game soon, as he is not as mobile as he once was and needs to play in a system thats suits him. Man Utd have been playing a more free flowing game over the last few months, and we can see the difference when Saha in the team, and when Ruud is playing.

Fergie Out, Republic of Mancunia (09/05/2006 at 16:14)

Fergie the Tyrant would not be at the helm at Old Trafford was it not for RVN's goals. He has pretty much single-handedly carried the team over the last few seasons and Fergie's behaviour towards one of the greatest United strikers of all time is appalling. How much longer will the Glaswegian despot be allowed to rule the roost?

Alias Smith, over the moon (09/05/2006 at 16:29)

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the Ruud situation, I do NOT envy people like steve, Frank and william (usa) who will have to endure at least one further season of supporting the club while a man they clearly loathe is manager. On the one hand, if we do badly, they will have the comfort of knowing that they were right but then their beloved club would be suffering. On the other hand, if we ARE successful (and plenty of people think we will be) what then for you guys?

Andrei Attard, Malta (09/05/2006 at 16:48)

With this kind of fergie's attitude, i don't think that we are going to attract any stars to utd. All the big players are wrong and gone, but have MR FERGIE ( yes with capitals letters) ever considered to take a look around himself..what trophies did he bring to OT in the last few years??..eh ok..i forgot..we won the league cup..surely we need a new breath and a new manager..i was a keen fan of fergie but his best days have gone many years ago..

Eirik, Oslo;Norway (09/05/2006 at 17:21)

No player is bigger then the club!Not David Beckham,not RVN and even not the King himself Roy Keane.The team and the club must always comes first.Ruud has been an fantastic player for United,probably the best striker in modern times.Thank you Ruud for the time at United and I wish you all the best.

Lee, Heywood (09/05/2006 at 17:30)

Gaz,Louis and Batman???? I agree. Time for Ruud to go. I have heard rumours but personaly I would prefer to say thats life at a football club. Thanks for the memories Ruud and for the Title in 2003 sadly you are no longer the player you were. SAF has this one right and its time to move on.

CLAPPERTON, MAN (09/05/2006 at 17:57)

GOD BLESS SIR ALEX FERGUSON. GOOD JOB! STOP SULKING WE GUT BRILLIANT ROSSI AND HE WILL TAKE HIS CHANCE. STOP THINKING THERE IS ANY SORT OF CRISIS BECAUSE THERE ISN'T. PERIOD. UNLESS SOMEONE DOESN'T LIKE THE UNITED OF LATE. WHO WOULD STAND AGAINST A FWD LINE OF ROSSI/ROONEY/SAHA, WITH CHRISTIANO/PARK OR GIGGS ON THE WINGS, DIARRA/RIQUELME IN M/F, AND VIDIC/FERDINAND/HEINZE AT THE BACK? ISNTEAD OF WORRYING AGAINST SOMEONE WHO ONLY SCORES PENALTIES OR IN THE PENALTY AREA, WE SHOULD BE PRAYING saf GETS DIARRA AND RIQUELME. WE HAVE BETTER THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT FOLKS. GRAB A BEER AND SIT TIGHT. THE GOOD TIMES ARE ROLLING IN. WHAT DID WE WIN WITH RVN'S 150 ANYWAY? AND WHY IS IT THAT WE DIDN'T? WE CHANGED OUR FOOTBALL TO SUIT HIM. WHO TOOK THE FLAK - INCL. FROM ME - LAST YEAR? saf. IKNOW HE WOULD BOUNCE BACK. EVERY TIME I WANT US WIN, I ALWAYS TELL MY SPOUSE THAT I WISH THIS TEAM WOULD ALWAYS WIN TO PLEASE THIS GUY. HE LOVES WINNING.A MAN HAS TO TO WHAT HE HAS TO DO.

Frank, Old Trafford (09/05/2006 at 18:27)

Al, nice of you to be so concerned but if we win everything I'll enjoy it as much as you. However it will not change the fact that over the last 3 years we have had one distasteful action after another concerning what for the fan has always been the most important thing, our star players. I believe that had Fergie's personality and personal feelings not influenced his actions then the last 3 years could have been the most successful in our history. If we had kept Stam, Becks and even Veron we would have had a level of quality that we have struggled to attain in that time. If we had bought a competant replacement for Peter and not sold Stam then we wouldn't have had to pay a stupid fee out of desperation for Rio after struggling defensively for so long. Selling Becks and Veron without buying adequate replacements removed a supply line of the highest quality to Ruud who was in his prime and scoring for fun. Now we lose Ruud, we have the unquestionable talent of Roo, an injury prone Saha, an incredible talent in Rossi that I don't believe is ready to lead the line and Smith and Ole who cannot give us the quality we need up front (for one reason or another). So after drooling over the prospect of a top midfielder being bought to supply our incredible frontline, we now have a series of doubts that most agree on will have to be solved by buying a top striker. So we have another summer of worries and problems to solve and it just seems that we have taken a step back instead of forward. UNITED TIL DEATH

Stuart Webb, Southend On Sea (09/05/2006 at 18:38)

So many pathetic people criticising the legend that is Sir Alex Ferguson.
I'll wager good money that most of you would not be able to manage a whelk stall, never mind a huge football institution like United.
Sir Alex has made some team selection and playing style mistakes this season, but he is absolutely right on the RVN problem.
The dutchman simply became too big for his boots, and along with an alarming dip in form, and hence his usefulness to the team, this meant he had to go.
No individual player is bigger than the club and I have full confidence that Sir Alex will bring in a top class striker to augment our wonderful trio of, Rooney, Rossi and Saha.
RVN is yesterday's news; I suggest you all get used to life without him.
If I may paraphrase that great man and genius songwriter from Liverpool; John Lennon, "Give Fergie a chance".

steve, Glossop (09/05/2006 at 18:41)

Alias thanks for your caring concern I'll miss your sarcasm over the summer. My response is we won't have to do that badly for the Glazers to have to act given how high the stakes are now. You know full well these guys are razor sharp. I don't envy you for not being real about Alex's failing powers & I hope it's only football you're deluded about but it's ok remember one day at a time!

patrick, vancouver (09/05/2006 at 19:00)

For whatever reason, known only to himself, fergie has decided to side with the younger players against putting his best eleven on the field. Rudd, really has nothing left to prove at manu and should just look elsewhere. He is not going to win any more titles with this club. I have followed this club for a long time and am always amazed at the way fergie has treated players. one minute they are the best and the next he cant get rid of them quickly enough. Rudd's problem has been that he is so committed to winning , just like Roy Keane, that he finds it hard to accept the attitude of the so called younger stars. Fergie on the otherhand, can only see the sun shine on these young players. Rio and Ronaldo are never going to win the premiership or champions league the way they play and will follow the same exit as Rudd when Fergie wakes up and realises he's been wrong all along. manu has been fortunate in that they had a group of players who came through the ranks at exactly the right time, played the same way and thought the same way and also supported one another. that time has now passed and the cycle has turned. fergie has been trying to hold on to past glories and promising trophies by buying more and more players who have not been successful because their styles just dont fit the manu pattern or being played out of position. manu used to have a tradition of treating their players with respect but since fergie's arrival, its been one of disrespect. no wonder players look elsewhere before coming to Old Trafford. players only come to old trafford if the money is much more than they can get elsewhere. I'm wondering when Rooney is going to start thinking that its time for him to move on??? we know that Ronaldo is not here for the long haul and Rio is only here because the cheque is the biggest he can get for doing the least amount of work. The disruptive nature of management and the way they treat their players means that this club will not win the league or champions league anytime soon. The beginning of the season I predicted that manu would not win the league as they are not good enough to challenge chelsea. all that has happened is that because manu got some good results and finished second the drama will continue. To put it bluntly, fergie is not good enough to challenge Jose, who with Abramovich's millions will keep improving his squad in order to win the champions league. Liverpool is on teh comeback trail as are arsenal. fergie and co will point out the fact that they finished second in the league and beat charlton 4-0 in their last game. I see a side that scored one goal in the second half against a side that did not come to play at all. I see a side that lost 3-0 to chelsea after all the hype about how they were going to catch them. I see a side that lost to Blackburn, drew with Middlesborough, lost 5-0 to them during the season, drew with the worst team inthe league when it counted. I see a side without a leader floundering. The sad part about this whole thing is that all this could have been avoided. They have the talent and yet they continue to buy, Vidic and Evra - dont have a clue why !!! all they have done is install non-confidence in the team. The next player I can see being pushed out is sylvestre. Manu have now too many defenders and so someone has to go. yet all these players that have been pushed out still had so much to offer the club.

Jorgen, Oslo (09/05/2006 at 20:00)

Actually, this makes me a bit proud of United. Just look at Real Madrid and how they refuse to react on their starplayers, and they are in a much worse dump than us. We are almost out it. By the way, visited the Liverpool message board here the other day and the fans there, at least half of them, wants to sign RVN. Would be awful to see him that jersey!

Kevin, Tralee, Eire (09/05/2006 at 21:00)

Alias you continue to miss the blindingly obvious! SAF is the best manager we have ever had bar none. His greatest gift were his man-management skills, his ability to relate to the players ( nobody would ever claim he was a master tactition ) to coax an extra 10% from their performances, he knew who needed a comforting arm & who needed a rollicking. When their time came ( Robson, Bruce, Pallister Hughes, Irwin et al ) it was a pat on the back & thanks for the great work lads but the time has come to move on. The players all bar 1 accepted this & left with their heads held high. Since the debacle with Stam & the handling of his sacking through the media, getting his retaliation in first as they say, he has let his ego rule his head. It's taken 5 years for him to replace Stam in defence, we still haven't replaced Beckham nearly 4 years later & if Ruud goes ( how long to replace him? ), I can hear all the cries from the "fans" now, " ah well he's 29 now sure he's too old, past his best".. He's wasted the best years of his career waiting for SAF to build a team to challenge for the CL & EPL. We have the greatest finisher in the modern game who just needs decent service into the box, who does SAF give him to provide this service... Miller, Fletcher, Dj x2, Kleberson, but of course when it all hits the fan, it aint ever SAF's fault is it? No of course not, it's Beckhams or Yorkes or Ruuds, anyone but the real culprit! He no longer has the ability to relate & communicate with the players which imo, is the reason why there are so many public fallings out with high profile players & must be the beginning of the end for him.

Tooth&Claw, M'Cer/Glasgow (09/05/2006 at 21:24)

Steve Glossop, I'm not sure SAF will buy another striker. He might sign Ronaldo from Madrid for a year until Rossi and Campbell are bedded in. Saha, if he stays injury free, is a 30 goals a season player and I think Rossi will be too. We've got backup in Smith and Solskjear, Ronaldo can play the Rooney role, as can Giggs and there are others in the youth team nearly ready. If we do buy (for a transfer fee I mean), I hope it's a youngster who'll be at OT for many years and not an expensive mercenary.

Anonymous Star, Denmark (09/05/2006 at 23:36)

MU gotta big prob... SAF

Manc Abroad, OT (10/05/2006 at 06:22)

As I have said before I don not agree with a lot of SAF's decisions, but right or wrong there can only be one boss. Ruud should have shown what a true profesional he is and fought for his place rather than expect it as a god given right. The team currently plays better without him, which is a shame as he will always be a goal scoring legend at OT, (second behind the lawman imho).

Insp Cluseo, in the Shadows (10/05/2006 at 08:01)

Here's something for you conspiracy theorists, Last week Football365 ran an article on Chelsea looking for a lone striker upfront now that they signed Ballack and the player identified by Blue Peter was no other than Ruud. Couple days later and guess what RVN is out. We all know Chelsea's reputation in courting players behind their Club's backs. So, what better way to get them to sell. Create a problem knowing Fergie's temper and he is on his bike. RVN does not have to ask for a transfer (fans won't be disappointed) and it takes the focus off Chelsea as there would most certainly be questions if RVN asks for a transfer to Chelsea. Time will only tell.

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