Do Manchester United miss the services of Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo?

Fans of the former Manchester United number 7 and current Real Madrid number 9 can help the world answer this debatable question.

Since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo from Old Trafford in England to Real Madrid in Spain, Sir Alex Ferguson and his men have been insisting that the Red Devils are categorically not weaker.

Certainly, no player is bigger than a club. Like it has always been in the past at Old Trafford, we’ve seen the likes of great names such as David Beckham, Ruud Van Nilsterooy leave Manchester United in recent years.

However, the Red Devils didn’t go down from “titans” to “minnows” as they kept on triumphing at the highest level.

But thinking well, it is arguably clear that Cristiano Ronaldo’s name will come out from our mouths as the most important player (among a quality and united team in spirit) behind all of Manchester United’s achievements and success in the last four years.

With the potential of Cristiano Ronaldo, which was influenced by the good assistance of the rest of Manchester United’s players, the Red Devils went on to win several cups: three English Premier League titles, the UEFA Champions League trophy (that was missing from their cabinets for more than 8 years), and the FIFA World Club Cup trophy among many other titles.

These sweet moments are now history for Manchester United fans who are now focused on this season’s campaign where the Red Devils are combating without the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo for the first time since the 2003/04 season.

For all those fans of Cristiano Ronaldo who have their eyes set on every single things that is happening at Real Madrid since the Portuguese’s transfer, Cristiano Ronaldo Fan would like to switch your attention to what is happening at Manchester United without the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year.

It might be hard to accept the truth for Manchester United fans but it cannot be denied; Manchester United have lost at home to Aston Villa and away to Burnley, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Fulham in the English Premier League only to wrap up as much as five defeats after just 20 match-days.

They also lie second behind the league leaders Chelsea as they fight to secure the English Premier League title for the fourth time in a row.

Anyways, the league is a marathon and the points will be counted at the end of the campaign so one cannot mock or worry too much about Manchester United’s inconsistent run in the EPL.

But, what is over for the Red Devils is their FA Cup dream.

On Sunday, Manchester United surprisingly lost 1-0 at Old Trafford against Leeds United who are more than 40 places below them.

Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov, and 2009 summer signing Valencia were all part of the Mancunian team which was defeated by Leeds United;

No-one was there to deliver the Red Devils’ from Jermaine Beckford’s first half strike which finally earned Leeds one of their most memorable victories in over a decade.

With that defeat against Leeds United at Old Trafford, Manchester United went into the record books for a negative purpose:

For the first time under Sir Alex Ferguson’s 23 managerial years, Manchester United failed to reach the fourth round of the English FA Cup.

This is probably an astonishing fact, but a pure reality.

On the week when Manchester United-bound Ryan Giggs and left-back Patrice Evra insisted to the media that the club was well over Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure, both players missed their penalty kicks only to offer Chelsea the Community Shield and to start the 2009/2010 campaign on a warning note.

Last week too, Sir Alex Ferguson argued about Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence by saying that Manchester United were scoring even more goals without the prolific Portuguese goal scorer.

On Sunday however, the Red Devils scored zero as they succumbed to Leeds United’s mesmerizing defensive aptitudes.

Like Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid, Manchester United have two hopes alive: the dream of clinching the domestic cup and the UEFA Champions League titles.

But whether these two hopes and dreams are fulfilled or not will only be revealed towards the end of the 2009/2010 campaign.

Until then, one question keeps bothering a majority of the football-loving public and the media:

Are Manchester United missing the services of Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo?

Maybe the Red Devils just need more time to adjust before completely imposing themselves against any other team once more…

Today, Cristiano Ronaldo Fan gives you the opportunity to express your opinion over this debate.

Just cast your vote in the poll below and let us all know what you think about Manchester United without Cristiano Ronaldo (who is now a Real Madrid player).

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Angela Asante, CRF Chief Editor