Ruud Winner (Manchester United 1 - West Ham United 0)

Ruud started and scored the winner, however that's bout all he did the entire game. That's Ruud's game, a clinical striker. We had tonnes of chances but only a couple fell to Ruud. Had we been more clinical, we should have put away West Ham and made this a comfortable victory, instead we had to sweat the entire game. It's a frustrating game to watch.

Again our midfield went MIA, much due to Saha not playing. It's kinda difficult to balance the team. Have Ruud playing and you can be sure of goals if the chances fall to him. On the other hand, play Saha, and you wouldn't have your midfield overwhelmed by the opponents. It's a tough decision and I'm glad I'm not making it.

Pique, Vidic and Evra started this game. Pique IS the future. He played awesome in right back, making all the right decisions. Come to think of it, he's the present. I've yet to see how he performs in a full game at centre back, but if we lose Gary Neville for whatever reason, there's a ready replacement. Yes, I'm drooling all over the prospect of seeing Pique become a regular.

Vidic had a pretty damn good game too. He single handedly kept Harewood out of the game. I don't know what's happened to Brown, but Vidic is a player. Evra had a mixed game. Did nothing outstanding and wasn't too damaging at the back.

We are having a pretty decent run of good results. If I'm not wrong, we're facing Bolton at the Reebok this weekend. That should be a real test away from home against a strong team. I hope our midfield doesn't get kicked off the pitch.

Merciful (Manchester United 3 - Birmingham 0)

Maybe it's because it's Steve Bruce's team, or maybe we just lost that ruthless edge, but whatever the case is, we were merciful today. The scoreline could and should easily have overtaken the midweek scoreline Birmingham suffered in the hands of Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter finals (7-0, and yes I caught that game, in fact I caught all the FA cup quarter final games).

The game effectively ended as a contest in the 14th min when Giggs scored our second goal, adding to the first he scored in the 2nd min. After that, we were basically just hoofing the ball over to Birmingham and inviting them to test out our defensing pairing of Vidic and Rio.

I've also noticed that the midfield pairing of JOS and Giggs seems to work pretty well, despite not one of them being a recognised central midfielder. I realised that alot of it boils down to playing Rooney and Saha as the front 2 pairing. Rooney basically plays slightly in front of JOS and Giggs, and Saha actually plays pretty deep despite being the frontmost guy. I noticed in the past few games, he's always been playing deep and making penetrating runs when we do move forward. He acts as the extra midfield, helping the 2 guys in the centre. It's something Ruud is unable to do because he lacks the speed to make a dash forward when we win the possession back. Which probably explains why he started the 4th consecutive game on the bench.

On a sadder note, this is probably going to be Bruce's last game as a manager of Birmingham. I think his players have already thrown in the towel and pretty much a foregone conclusion that Birmingham are going down to the lower division, even though it's not a mathematical certainty. The other sad note is that Brian Robson's West Brom might just join them. As I mentioned some weeks back, Portsmouth is finally starting to gel and playing some terrific soccer. If both Birmingham and West Brom continue not to pick up points, there is a very high possibility that Portsmouth is going to overtake them.

Warning: Not soccer related
Just like to add that Trey Parker and Matt Stone (the creators of South Park) are geniuses. In their latest offering, they basically showed the middle finger to that fruity little club, while giving Chef a fitting farewell.

And hail Xenu.

WBA 1 - Manchester United 2

Good game for us. Nothing much to report though. We were pretty good but nowhere near the brilliant form of last week. We were so comfortable that I nearly fell asleep in the first half. Luckily Kentona called me on the mobile to wake me up.

Anyway, good result and another win to keep Liverpool a decent distance from us. Let's hope we can keep this run till the end of the season. Gives us something to build up to next season.

We're back! (Manchester United 2 - Newcastle 0)

Rooney.....that's bout as close you can get to a hattrick without getting one. What a display! Just a week ago I was getting really worried bout getting our asses kicked by a resurgent Newcastle. And we did it without a midfield and with Ruud on the bench.

Speaking of Ruud, I am kinda getting worried with Ferguson's latest tactics of starting Ruud from the bench. Are we going to lose Ruud next season? I mean we did that with Becks, and Ferguson's never been afraid of getting rid of players whom he didn't like for various reasons. Ince, Stam, Yorke, Becks and Keano can all attest to that. Or are we (and the press) making too much out of it this time round? Ruud's never known to be a problem, nor does he have a lifestyle which Fergie is against.

In my numerous discussions with Ly, maybe Fergie is really sure of Rossi's talents and wants to make way for the lad. He's either showcasing Saha, or really makin a play to sell Ruud. Well, whatever the case is, this makes it an interesting off-season to look forward to. That and the World Cup, of course!

Back from idle speculations, what a superb game! This was the single best performance this entire season (and maybe last season as well). We totally dominated the entire game, from the kick off till the last minute. Rooney was amazing, simply amazing. How he did not get a hattrick after scoring 2 wonderful goals in the first 12 mins is beyond logic. Actually how we did not score anymore after that is beyond any reasonable comprehension. In short, the scoreline flattered the crybabies (yes, we all remember Keagan and his whining), it should have been a rugby scoreline, with 3 tries to us and none to them.

Even the much targetted Ronaldo did well. He played a very mature game. There was a spot in the first half where he lost the ball and tracked his opponent all the way back to our penalty area and won the ball back. No whining, no theatrics.....just a couple of whinces when he missed a couple of good chances. Overall, he played well and didn't whine much. If he carries on like this, he may well have a bright future with us, especially his chemistry with Rooney. And more importantly, we may once again become a relevant force.

For once I can end on a happy note! Looking forward to face Capt Marvel's West Brom next week.

You are my Solskjaer, my Ole Solskjaer!

I can't believe how unlucky my favourite player is. He broke his jaw in a reserve game and wouldn't be available this season. He's been out for 2 seasons. Given his age and the number of strikers we have, I seriously doubt he'd ever play again for Manchester United.

Everytime he's theatened to come back, he's hit by a new injury. He must have used up all his luck by scoring that goal in Barcelona in 99. He's probably the only Manchester United player (past and present) who joined Shareholders United. The only one who actually put his money where his mouth is in the fight against the Glazer's takeover. For that, you have earned my eternal respect.

This is probably premature, but here's a farewell to the Baby-faced Assassin. You were always my sunshine when skies are grey!

Ugly (Wigan 1 - Manchester United 2)

It was an ugly win, and probably one we hardly deserved. Come to think of it, we've hardly deserved quite a number of past few wins with our pathetic displays since I started this blog.

Once again there was no midfield. This is becoming a common theme and quite frankly I'm getting really sick of it. I'm sure it's going to be a continuing trend until the new season starts. At the same time, I'm kinda dreading the new season and fearful of the midfielders we're rumoured to bring in. I'm having flashbacks of Kleberson and Djemba-Djemba all over again!

We won this game in the most cruel manner. A last minute own goal from my man-of-the-match, Pascal Chimbonda. After a good display keeping Park and Giggs out of the game, he scored an own goal right at the death. It was a result Wigan hardly deserved, especially after they totally dominated the entire game.

I'm also terribly disappointed with the team today. We played with no desire or passion. Only Giggs actually played like he wanted to win. Everyone else played like the result was a given, they were practically sleepwalking for almost the entire 90 mins.

Tactically, we seem out of ideas. We can't seem to adjust our play and kept trying to play down the middle like we still had midfielders. I'm beginning to think either we have really stupid players who can't adjust or we have a really stupid manager who is tactically clueless. I think we have a game at Stamford Bridge in April and I'm pretty sure Chelsea's going to not only outplay us, but hopefully humilate us so badly that Ferguson retires. My only worry is that Carlos Queiroz is handed the job. Talk bout outta the frying pan and into the fire!

Next week we face an in-form Newcastle. I really hope we play to win this game. If there's one team I really hate, it's the barcodes. Any team that quits on their manager doesn't deserve to be called a team.