Is Ruud a cheat?

manutd/dogs

All Australian
Joined
Feb 18, 2002
Posts
979
Likes
117
Location
Melbourne
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Other Teams
Manchester United
Thread starter #1
Interesting article concerning Ruud on Soccernet:


Ruud the Riot Act

Richard Jolly


Accused of stamping, branded a cheat and surrounded by over-exuberant Arsenal players, Sunday must have been among the least enjoyable days of Ruud van Nistelrooy's career.

Previously regarded as the most reliable penalty taker in English football, a third consecutive miss made him suddenly fallible. It could yet decide the destination of the title.

But, more than the ball rebounding off the underside of Jens Lehmann's bar, the defining images of Manchester United's top scorer at Old Trafford are his instantaneous jump away from Patrick Vieira's outstretched leg and his impassiveness in the face of a goading, gloating Martin Keown.

So Ruud is innocent, a victim of provocation, supported by his manager and backed by his team-mates. Or is he? A rare penalty miss was greeted with barely disguised glee by many who do not support Arsenal. Central as he was to the drama at Old Trafford, there are other reasons why it was van Nistelrooy, rather than Roy Keane, Rio Ferdinand or Gary Neville, who Arsenal targeted.

As a footballer, van Nistelrooy is rightly regarded among the world's top strikers. Eighty goals in two seasons at Manchester United is an outstanding return. Twice reaching double figures in the Champions League is proof he is equally effective in Europe as in England.

That makes him one of Sir Alex Ferguson's best signings and brings the kind of adulation reserved for the very best players in United's history.

Elsewhere, however, van Nistelrooy is more admired than liked. He is a goalscorer par excellence, but he lacks the thrilling pace or elan of his Arsenal rival Thierry Henry. Despite a series of quality strikes at the end of last season, van Nistelrooy's goals are more inevitable than aesthetic masterpieces.

Which, in itself, does not explain why van Nistelrooy's buffeting at the hands of Martin Keown, Ray Parlour and Lauren did not bring him universal sympathy.

Admittedly, commuters on the London underground experience worse on a daily basis but it was hardly what one of the world's foremost strikers is accustomed to.

But if the Dutchman's reputation as a striker is unchallenged, his character is more a subject for debate - and he should not be looking for references from Highbury.

Van Nistelrooy's long-running feud with Keown is scarcely proof of malevolence. Amid the mutual suspicion and enmity of Manchester United and Arsenal, even the seemingly amiable Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made enemies.

Arsene Wenger, perhaps intentionally patronising the Dutchman, said he 'seems a nice boy'. His disciplinary record suggests as much. Whereas Vieira has now been sent off eight times in the Premiership, Keane seven and Keown six, van Nistelrooy has the princely total of eight bookings and no red cards.

So, despite Vieira's suggestion allegation of stamping, it is hardly a history of bad behaviour. Nor, if team-mates are to be believed, is van Nistelrooy responsible for opponents' red cards.

'There are some people in the game who do try and provoke others but Ruud is not one of them and every player at every other club knows it,' said Phil Neville. The younger Neville's loyalty is admirable, his judgement less so. Van Nistelrooy had established a reputation as an agent provocateur even before his altercation.

In particular, the Dutch forward has proved successful at provoking referees to point at the penalty spot. Helped by an almost symbiotic relationship with Mike Riley, those 18 successful spot kicks came in less than two years. Van Nistelrooy's movement and awareness troubles opposition defenders; his movement to ground in the vicinity of them can cause more difficulties.

Van Nistelrooy has escaped relatively unscathed from several controversial penalty decisions while Francis Jeffers and Robert Pires have been labelled cheats. Sir Alex Ferguson - tongue wedged in cheek? - spoke out against divers before Sunday's game. He made no mention of excessive flinching, though.

And just as van Nistelrooy preys on defensive failings, he looks for temperamental weaknesses. It is inconceivable he did not remember Vieira's earlier booking when he jumped into the Frenchman. Whether he expected the reaction of the Arsenal captain is a moot point. But if the situation was partly of van Nistelrooy's creation, the key decisions were Vieira's and Bennett's.

Thanks to the marvels of the elevated Old Trafford dugouts, Arsene Wenger was temporarily freed of his selective myopia and recognised the provocation. Roy Keane, who provided some of the calmer comments after the game, has reacted to similarly calculated provocation from Alan Shearer in the past. Vieira, like Keane before him, lost his cool however briefly. Van Nistelrooy, in contrast, displayed his composure by not responding to the boisterous Keown.

Slyness and cunning can win penalties or result in opponents' dismissals but never endanger players or van Nistelrooy's participation in the game. Some call it cheating, others regard it as professionalism. And the only cost gamesmanship comes at is personal popularity. Like another unpopular irritant, Robbie Savage, van Nistelrooy 'gets away with it'; referees do not send him off.

It scarcely matters if van Nistelrooy's reported comment of 'you have no class' to Vieira is true. Had the Frenchman retaliated, however, the consequences could have been serious for him.

But such provocation shows why he has supplanted Keane in the affections of non-Manchester United fans, the United player they love to hate. Being a figurehead of the ABU brigade only cements a player's popularity at Old Trafford. Chants of 'Gary Neville is a Red' surely owe more to his pariah status in Liverpool than a few over-hit crosses.

It's not just Arsenal who will come under greater scrutiny from now on. So, too, will Ruud van Nistelrooy. The fall-out from the 'Battle of Old Trafford' might well affect United as well as Arsenal.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

So. Is he a cheat? Or just professional?

I think that, personally, he's the most competitive player I've ever seen. He'll chase down every ball, no matter how hopeless it looks, and somehow gain possession for his club. Much like Keane does. I agree that sometimes this 'enthusiasm' can spill over, but he's no different to any other handful of strikers in the premiership or elsewhere. Except for the fact that he has scored over 90 goals for Man Utd.

The article, for what it's worth is fairly spot on.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Shinboners

Brownlow Medallist
Joined
Feb 18, 2000
Posts
27,229
Likes
25
Location
pellegrini's espresso bar
AFL Club
North Melbourne
#2
RVN dives and it gives me the sh*ts. He's good enough to get goals the proper way.

However, considering the other things that can happen on the field - acroplayers falling down as if they've been shot to win frees, ankle taps from behind, holding onto the ball just long enough before retuning it to the opposition so that you give your defenders enough time to get into positions, the attempts to rip open holes into walls set up in front of goals - there is plenty of gamesmanship....or should that be called "cheating"....in any game of soccer. The only thing is that these antics don't lead to a direct opportunity at goal as a dive in the penalty box does.
 

Yabba

All Australian
Joined
Jul 8, 2003
Posts
979
Likes
66
Location
Melbourne
AFL Club
Essendon
Other Teams
Essendon
#3
**** yeah ruud dives but he is far from the only one.
w@nker at arsenal cant complain when he has a bunch of thugs and divers in viera, pires, jeffers

and they arent as victimised as they feel: (taken from another site

Okay I've more time on my hands than is healthy but i've just spent 30 minutes on the site below.

I've completed a spreadsheet of ALL red cards in Premier matches ONLY (since this is the only competition where everyone plays the same number of games) and these are the facts that the media never tell us...

In the 6 full seasons since AW took over we've had 25 red cards - 4.17 per season. In that time teams with a higher average are:

Barnsley 5.00 (only one season though)
Blackburn 5.25
Bolton 5.33
Everton 4.67
Notts Forest 6.00 (only one season)
West Ham 4.33

plus on 4.00 Birmingham, Fulham, Middlesborough, Watford, WBA

As for the other s/o we've played more games in the FA Cup in this period than anyone (4 finals / 1 semi) so will have more sendings off.
 

Knowledge

Norm Smith Medallist
Joined
Aug 18, 2003
Posts
7,242
Likes
93
Location
Harlem
AFL Club
Collingwood
Other Teams
MUFC, Trailblazers, Ravens
#4
Viera is a thug should of beens sent off. All ruud did was step away. Now if someone was having a kick at you tell me you wouldn't step back..
 

moomba

TheBrownDog
Joined
Oct 3, 2001
Posts
52,378
Likes
15,732
Location
Timperley
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Other Teams
Man City
#5
Ruud isn't a cheat. He is THE cheat.

Nothing to do with last weeks game, but his history of diving, stray elbows and general poor sprtsmanship since he came to England is only slightly less appalling than the fact that he almost never gets picked up on it by the refs.

Moomba
 
Joined
Feb 10, 2000
Posts
1,335
Likes
13
Location
London
Other Teams
Essendon & Arsenal
#7
Yep he is a scum bag. Talented scum bad though.

Viera was unlucky but deserved, in aggregate, both cards.

The first yellow, if taken alone, was not there (ie: he got the ball) but it followed a couple of earlier fouls - indeed Viera has since said fair enough.

The second, in terms of intent (albeit fairly limited - he didn't exactly lash out massively) was there too. The problem was RVN's girlie-sook reaction, exaggerated movement and whiplash turn to the ref to get Viera sent off - a player he'd just clattered into needlessly while NOT attempting to play the ball...

Scum bag basically of the Robbie Savage variety.

HOWEVER, Keown's reactions (and Lauren, Parlour, Cole etc) at the end of the game were disgraceful. Felt a little ashamed to be a gunner at that point.

Incidently, to the various numbnuts who haven't noticed, Jeffers plays for Everton these days....
 

Yabba

All Australian
Joined
Jul 8, 2003
Posts
979
Likes
66
Location
Melbourne
AFL Club
Essendon
Other Teams
Essendon
#8
Originally posted by jod23
He is a cheat and a tap in king.
yet there are players at 19 other clubs in the premiership who dont get in the position that he does.

he scored 33 goals from open play last season which is ****ing awesome
 
Top Bottom