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Viduka bolts back for opener


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ALLARDYCE is ready to plunge Mark Viduka straight in for his Newcastle debut at Bolton Wanderers in United’s Premiership opener in 18 days’ time.

 

And this even though United’s signing from Middlesbrough only arrived back in England in the early hours of today after his exertions in the Asian Cup for Australia.

 

Certainly, Allardyce shed no tears when the Aussies were knocked out of the Asia Cup after a penalty shoot-out with Japan in Hanoi on Saturday morning.

 

And it means he has had a rethink about the burly striker after saying last month that he expected Viduka to miss the start of the season because he feared that the heat and humidity of the Far East would take such a toll on the 31-year-old striker.

 

Allardyce told me today: “If he doesn’t start the Bolton Wanderers game, then he’ll be on the bench.

 

“He is OK. All he’s doing is a pre-season away from us – he’s playing more games than anybody else.

 

“When he comes back, he’ll be ready to go.

 

“He’ll have had five or six games, and I’ll just say to him ‘look, just get involved in these games straight away’.

 

“You know, where he’s playing now it’ll be only about 50% of the pace of the Premiership.

 

“He’ll have to step up again as to the Premiership’s demands. He knows that as well as anybody, because he’s been here so long.”

 

United are going to be a game down on the rest of the teams in the Premiership after their proposed first midweek match with Arsenal was put back – there is no new date – because the Gunners like Liverpool are involved in a Champions League qualifier.

 

But Viduka will have looked at the fixtures and seen that, after the opening-day trip to Big Sam’s former stamping ground at the Reebok Stadium, United only have games at home to Aston Villa, at his former club Middlesbrough and against Wigan Athletic at St James’ Park before the first of the international breaks,.

 

This led Allardyce to add: “Hopefully he’ll get us a couple of good results, and then he can have a rest in the international break, which starts on September 2. Because we haven’t got Arsenal in midweek, we’ve only got four games up until then.

 

“If he can get involved in our opening four games, he can have a jolly good rest afterwards.”

 

There is no rest for Allardyce as he continues to try and bring a couple of defenders into the club before he takes United to Bolton on August 11.

 

But even for one of the biggest wheeler and dealers in the game in recent seasons, this is not proving to be easy.

 

However, players are still ready to link themselves with United, no more so that Chinese international midfielder Zheng Zhi, who insists that Newcastle and Birmingham City want him.

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what's everyone reckon our team's going to look like for the big kick off?

 

at the minute it could be:

 

 

---------------shay

 

solano---rozenhal---ramage----n'zogbia

 

geremi---dyer----butt---------milner

 

---------viduka---martins

 

not very encouraging is it?

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what's everyone reckon our team's going to look like for the big kick off?

 

at the minute it could be:

 

 

---------------shay

 

solano---rozenhal---ramage----n'zogbia

 

geremi---dyer----butt---------milner

 

---------viduka---martins

 

not very encouraging is it?

 

Owen will be fit for the opener surely? And is Taylor not supposed to be back to play ahead of Ramage.

Edited by Papa Lazaru
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what's everyone reckon our team's going to look like for the big kick off?

 

at the minute it could be:

 

 

---------------shay

 

solano---rozenhal---ramage----n'zogbia

 

geremi---dyer----butt---------milner

 

---------viduka---martins

 

not very encouraging is it?

 

Owen will be fit for the opener surely? And is Taylor not supposed to be back to play ahead of Ramage.

 

 

Owen is meant to be back for the Juve game. Plus If Viduka does not start does that not mean Shola with either Owen or Martins?

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what's everyone reckon our team's going to look like for the big kick off?

 

at the minute it could be:

 

 

---------------shay

 

solano---rozenhal---ramage----n'zogbia

 

geremi---dyer----butt---------milner

 

---------viduka---martins

 

not very encouraging is it?

 

Owen will be fit for the opener surely? And is Taylor not supposed to be back to play ahead of Ramage.

 

Don't let semantics get in the way of another Dan whinge, will you? :lol:

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what's everyone reckon our team's going to look like for the big kick off?

 

at the minute it could be:

 

 

---------------shay

 

solano---rozenhal---ramage----n'zogbia

 

geremi---dyer----butt---------milner

 

---------viduka---martins

 

not very encouraging is it?

 

Owen will be fit for the opener surely? And is Taylor not supposed to be back to play ahead of Ramage.

 

Don't let semantics get in the way of another Dan whinge, will you? :lol:

 

i'm i really whinging? possibly, but as things stand i'd say with good reason.

 

what kind of team do you expect us to start the season with? one significantly better (or better at all) than last season? at the moment it doesn't look too probable, a late flurry of activity in the transfer market notwithstanding

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Fucking hell does the season really start a fortnight on Saturday?? :lol:

 

Where's the summer gone?

 

 

What summer.

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No way I'd pick Martins ahead of Owen tbh

 

Martins would have had a full pre-eason and Owen has been injured (again) thats my only reason. I would have plumped for both in a 4-3-3 if Barton was fit

Is Emre not injured as well then? :baby:

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No way I'd pick Martins ahead of Owen tbh

 

Martins would have had a full pre-eason and Owen has been injured (again) thats my only reason. I would have plumped for both in a 4-3-3 if Barton was fit

Is Emre not injured as well then? :baby:

 

For a change...

 

Time to ship him out.

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