Ferguson time shot-stopper believes Ronaldo ‘still good enough’
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has not started the season on the right foot with Manchester United, but according to but Raimond van der Gouw, that might change.
The former Old Trafford favorite thinks that
Cristiano Ronaldo
has a lot more to offer to
Manchester United. However, he has been in the starting XI for the Red Devils once this season and he also played in five matches off the bench. He has not yet met the back of the net or contributed an assist. United are getting ready for a derby match against Manchester City. Whether Erik ten Hag will use the Portugal international for that clash or not remains to be seen.
Raimond van der Gouw, who played for United for six seasons under the reign of Alex Ferguson, believes Ronaldo still has plenty to offer.
When quizzed whether the 37-year-old will be a great impact substitute for United, Van der Gouw told Stats Perform:
"I will not say that. No, no, no, no.
"I mean, okay, he's not 30 anymore. He's 30-plus, but he's so fit. But he missed a part of the pre-season."
The former shot-stopper insisted how important those weeks before the start of the season are and how Ronaldo can offer so much more than just cameos from the bench.
"You look for your form, you're still a little bit behind in the condition. So it's a matter of when is the right time to fit in,"
Van der Gouw said.
"But in the meantime, you have seen the team is performing, so then you don't change so quickly a team. I think it's a matter of time of when do you put Ronaldo in, and can he deliver what he can deliver?
"And I think with his age, he's still good enough.
"You can be fit and doing your work in a gym, but you need your match fitness, and you only get that by playing games. And that's what he didn't do it in the beginning. So he's a little bit behind."
Ronaldo has only player 207 minutes in the league this season, with only two shots on target from 12. He met the back of the net for the first time this season in the Europa League during the battle against Sheriff. However, for his performances for Portugal, the striker has been subjected to a lot of criticism. His sister, Katia Aveiro, hit out at the fans and said the critics were "sick, petty, soulless, stupid and forever ungrateful".
Bruno Fernandes defended his teammate and said:
"This is a phase. When the goals start to appear, he will have more capacity and tranquillity to continue scoring many goals for our national team. We cannot forget that he is the best scorer ever."
Ronaldo has a chance to prove them all wrong but he might also be benched this weekend. Van der Gouw believe that City will be a tough components for United.
"Well, at the moment, it's obvious City's much further [ahead] than Man United. It's quite clear,"
said Van der Gouw, who was for many years Peter Schmeichel's deputy.
"So in a certain way, you're hoping that it will be an interesting game. It's always a different game compared [to others]. It's not just a normal game if you play against City.
"Everybody has to be really sharp. And then we will see who's going to be the winner. That's a massive game. Massive."
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