Another Ronaldo Brace Takes United 6 Clear (Manchester United 3 - Reading 2)

Ronaldo continued his fine scoring form, producing another double to bring us 6 points clear of Chelsea. How Chelsea have missed John Terry. Without him in their lineup, Chelsea have conceded 8 goals in the last 4 games, drawing the last 2.

I missed a large portion of the game due to internet disruptions from the aftermath of the Taiwanese earthquake. Luckily, Kentona informed me that the game was showed in the Ghim Moh kopitiam. I rushed down to meet up with him and his significant other, and caught a good portion of the game, without missing any of the goals or exciting moments.

On the 33rd minute mark, Ronaldo sent in a beautiful cross for Ole to head in the first goal of the game. At that point we thoroughly deserved the lead, having been the better side. 5 minutes later Sonko equalised for Reading. Again our defending from a freekick was woeful. Van der Sar came off his line and failed to connect with the ball that was floated in. Sonko rose above him and headed the ball into the empty net.

In the second half, it was the Ronaldo show again. (Note: Kentona's significant other had...ahem...left by then)

Ole was put thru with a delightful flick from Rooney, leaving him with only the keeper to beat. He promptly beat the keeper but failed to beat the upright. Ronaldo was the first to pounce on the rebound and directed it home.

13 minutes from the end, Ronaldo put the result beyond Reading when Giggs found him alone in the 6 yard box. Ronaldo needed no second invitation to score. Personally I thought he was offside from the replays but the goal counted. It was the luck we needed, as Reading gave us a scare right at the death when Silves was guilty of some horrid defending, allowing Lita to score.

I'd be glad when Vidic returns to the lineup on Monday. Silves is prone to silly mistakes, just like in the last game when he gave away a penalty.

Overall the team played well without Vidic, Scholes and Saha. But the story is once again on Ronaldo and his maturity. In the past year, he has grow from the child from hell to a man willing to take responsibilty on his shoulders. It's not only his goals, but the way he conducts himself on the pitch. There is less showboating and more substance to his play. Just bearly a year ago, he would run rings around the opponents without getting anywhere, although that hasn't changed much, today's Ronaldo is able to actually find teammates and produce at the same time.

Perhaps what's more important for me is that the fans truely appreciate what he has done and how far he has come. Hopefully he sees that and devotes himself to the team, the way Cantona did. No more silly talk of going to Real Madrid when the chips are down, we're 100% behind you!

Ronaldo Catalyst in Boxing Day Win (Manchester United 3 - Wigan 1)

Chelsea had dropped points in an earlier draw with Reading, leaving United 4 points clear. Ferguson had dropped a number of stars, giving the reserves a run against an unfancied Wigan side.

Rio, Neville, Ronaldo, Giggs and Saha were replaced with Silvestre, Brown, Fletcher, Park and Ole. Although we had the better of the exchanges in the first half, Rooney squandered a number of good opportunities to give us the lead.

Second half, cue Ronaldo. He replaced Fletcher at half time and within 6 minutes of the restart had scored 2 goals. The first from a corner which resulted in a headed goal, and the second from the spot. He's first shot was initially saved by the keeper but he scored from the rebound.

Ole scored the third goal from a counter in the 60th minute, after Rooney's header had put him thru to face the keeper.

Like on Saturday, Wigan were valiant but ineffective. However in the spirit of Christmas, the ever generous Silvestre gifted a penalty to Wigan in injury time, when he fouled Johansson, who was going nowhere. Wigan scored from the spot to give some respectability to the scoreline.

Man of The Match: Ronaldo. He only needed 6 minutes to prove how effective he was after he came on. Totally changed the complex of the match.

Notable mentions should be given to :

Park, who ran his socks off as usual.

Brown, who was solid in defense.

Fletcher, who made 2 absolutely beatiful passes to Rooney in the first half. However Rooney failed to find the net on both occasions.

On Saturday, we play the last game of 2006, against mighty Reading, who held Chelsea today. And we're doing it without Vidic or Scholes, who are both suspended. However the rest of the calvary should return in the form of Giggs, Ronaldo and Saha.

Oh and an additional season cheer, Pool lost to Mark Hughes' Blackburn.

Mid Term Report Card

Firstly, Merry Christmas to everyone. We've reached the midway point of the League and that time of the year to give grades to everyone.

To be frank, I'm personally gratified that we're leading the pack (Chelsea) by 2 points after the first 19 games. Not even in my wildest dream, would I have expected such a lofty position. If anyone remembers, I had basically written United off in the preseason, and kinda worried that we would probably even be out of the races for a Champions League spot when the season end. Yet at the half way point, we're 14 points above Bolton, who are lying 5th. To make an entire mockery of my predictions, we probably out of reach for Liverpool (3rd) and Arsenal (4th), who are 13 and 14 points behind respectively. Only Chelsea is still hounding on our tails, and given their recent late late wins recently, are the only team able to overhaul us.

(Note to Leonard : You're absolutely right when you made your predictions at Cow's place.)

The other thing that has surprised me so far is the lack of injuries to the key players in the team. Given our waffle-thin squad, major injury problems would have decimated the team chemistry. While it remains to be seen if we do anything to strengthen in the coming transfer window to add to that department.

With nothing further ado, here are my grades:

Edwin Van der Sar (Grade A)
Solid solid performer week in week out. He didn't have to do as much as he did last season, but that's entirely due to the defenders in front of him. He's only weakness so far is still from freekicks, but that's mostly due to the brilliance of the freekick taker.

Gray Neville (Grade A)
What can I say about our captain? He's certainly played well this season. He doubles up as an extra winger whenever the opportunity arises.

Rio Ferdinand (Grade A)
I still can't bring myself to like Rio too much. Too much flash and too little substance. He's too incombustible for our own good, nothing seems to light a fire under his ass. But gotta give credit when it's due. This season he's been brilliant, forming a great partnership with Vidic. We have the meanest defense in the Premiership, a testiment to the great job Rio has done.

Nemanja Vidic (Grade A+)
Man mountain. I thought he was great last season with his no-nonsense style of defending, but this season he upped it a notch. Not to mention he's constantly banging in the goals from corners, something that has been lacking since Daisy and Dolly played for us.

Patrice Evra (Grade B-)
To be frank, I have no idea what to expect from Evra when he plays. Last season he was a disaster, and for the first few games this season, he kept to that form. However after the Spurs games, someone lit a torch under his butt. Since then, he's been playing out of his skin. Although it's not been as consistant as I would like it to be, he's improved leaps and bounds. Just to illustrate the progress he's made, he's no longer on my shit list to slag every week on this blog.

Gabriel Hienze (Grade B-)
Before I get crucified(it's Christmas, not Easter yet), I like to say that I love Hienze. But that being said, he seems to have regressed after a stellar performance last season where he was voted the supporters player of the year. I'm putting the blame on his injury at the beginning of the season and the lack of games played. Oh yah, and also the 'emergence' of Evra.

Paul Scholes (Grade A+)
Before his long hiatus due to vision problems last season, he played like shit. I had seriously feared the worst for him this season, but the Ginger Prince proved me wrong. Despite a 3 game ban in the beginning of the season, he's been one of our best performers this season. Everything in midfield went thru him. He even ended his scoring drought against Liverpool, and that's gotta count for something!

Ryan Giggs (Grade A)
Talk about turning back the years. He's been playing like an 18 year old again, with the flicks and tricks. Although the pace seems to have left him, he's added a good brain to his already impressive repertoire. Adding to that, he's already equalled his goals tally of last season in the EPL.

Christiano Ronaldo (Grade A+)
Without a doubt the performer of the season so far. Last season I was so pissed off with him, that at one point I was willing to let him go for a bag of chips. His immaturity and petulance was intolerable. Thankfully that spate with the English media during the World Cup somehow woke him up. He's returned this season a completely new player. He's taken on a personal responsibility to lead this team when the team is down. He's the reason why we are where we are today. For a number of games in the beginning of this season, he's been the only player carrying the team. Not to mention his 8 goals have been timely and crucial.

Michael Carrick (Grade C)
He's got a C and I'm being kind. I've seen nothing to justify his pricetag, absolutely nothing. Sure he makes pretty sideway passes. And when he does connect with the long passes, it results in an exciting attacking play, but the problem is that it seldom connects. On top of that, he's impersonation of the InvisibleMan is getting really tiresome. Only in the Chelsea game, he found a phone booth and transformed to Superman, but as we know, one swallow doesn't make a summer. The only reason keeping him from getting a D or F grade is that he's been our most consistent player....with that InvisibleMan act.

Wayne Rooney (Grade B+)
He's been brilliant for most parts this season. But I'm giving him a B for that lengthy goal drought and for flying off to America to catch a basketball game (albeit a Boston Celtic game). Moreover much more is expected of him to lead this team despite his young shoulders.

Louis Saha (Grade A)
He's continued with his good scoring form from last season. He's also shown he's a damn bloody good player. His mobility has been the reason why our attack is so potent. Opponents have trouble keeping up with him as he runs all over the pitch, allowing the others to get involved.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Grade B)
You couldn't ask anymore from him. He's always filled the gap when asked to do so and has scored 5 goals in all competitions this season so far, despite only playing 9 games. Can't wait for him to return from injury.

John O'Shea (Grade B-)
He's the perfect role player. Always called upon to do the dirty job. The unfortunate thing with O'Shea is that as a role player, he doesn't have a fixed role. I can see how utterly confusing it must be for him to play all across the midfield and defense his entire career, while excelling in none. The moment he shows promise in one area, he's shipped off to another to fill the gap.

Darren Fletcher (Grade B+)
Ok, I admit it, I have an unhealthy man-crush on him. Hey, anyone who plays well against Liverpool gets love from this man. But seriously, he's been playing really well this season.

Wes Brown (Grade B)
I pity Brown. He's always showed such promise, but injuries have always plagued him from getting a consistent run. And when he's finally healthy, Rio decides to play well and Vidic emerges.

Mikeal Silvestre (Grade C+)
Forgettable whenever he plays.

Tomas Kuszczak (Grade B+)
He's performed credibly whenever he's been called on. He's probably got a fight on his hands for the number 2 job, with Howard and Foster playing really well on loan.

Alan Smith (Incomplete)
He's been utterly awful, I'm giving him this because he's probably not match fit in the games where I saw him play.

Park Ji Sung (Incomplete)
Injuries have taken away most of his season. In the games he did play, he's done well. Nothing spectacular, just solid. But still not enough games to make any grades on him.

Alex Ferguson (A+)
Well, he still has that fire burning inside of him, and his players are responding. That's all that matters to me.

Ronaldo Sparks Win (Aston Villa 0 - Manchester United 3)

For almost an entire hour, we were probably looking at a second consecutive blank for our much vaunted attacking force. We played poorly in the first half and with the way we started our second half, I really felt this was not going to be a good start to the Christmas program.

Thankfully it was super Ronaldo to the rescue in the 59th minute. He scored with a trademarked mazy run. His first shot was blocked but he showed determination and preserverance by going after the rebound and smashing it.....past a hapless Kiraly.

His goal sparked an impotent United to life. We poured forward with great endeavour and was rewarded with a spectacular Scholes volley just 6 minutes later. The technique was perfect as he connected with the ball. It was made more spectacular as it rocked the underside of the bar before rebounding into the net....past a hapless Kiraly.

Ronaldo completed the scoring by slotting home a counter attack. The move was incisive as Rooney, Ronaldo and Neville combined to out pace the Villa defense, resulting in an open goal for Ronaldo to pick his spot.....once again past the hapless Kiraly.

In the end it was a convincing win, although it didn't look that way for an hour. Once we got our engine running at full steam, Villa were never able to compete. The team did not play badly for most parts, but there were worrying signs that they boys were getting tired and perhaps a bit complacent. Had it not been for Ronaldo's hardwork and 'never say die' attitude, we could be losing ground to Chelsea and not maintaining our lead at the top. (At the time of typing this, Chelsea is already 2-0 up at Wigan)

What was interesting to note was that Carrick had an ankle injury. What was perhaps more interesting to note was that I never even noticed him missing until Kentona called to inform me late in the game.

On Boxing day, we face off with Wigan, who by the way is currently giving Chelsea a good fight by pulling one back. Although it's personally been a hard year with precious little to cheer about, let's hope for a favourable scoreline to bring us into the festive period.

United Loses Ground (West Ham 1 - Manchester United 0)

In a blink of an eye, what was once an 8 point lead is now only 2 points. With the way Chelsea is playing (boring but effective) it's only a matter of time before they catch up or overtake us. It was a disappointing effort by our boys today.

One thing we established today is that we should never...I mean NEVER watch a late Sunday kickoff at Cow's house again. It jinxed us with the Arsenal game, and today, it jinxed us again. Kentona, I hope you're reading this!

We never looked comfortable in the game today. Other than taking long shots, which Green did well to keep out, we never really got our game going. Whether it was down to West Ham trying to impress new boss, Curbishley, or packing men in front of the back four, they managed to put us off our flowing style.

It obviously didn't help that we had no support from the flanks. Whenever Giggs or Ronaldo had the ball, they cut in instead of going down the byline and crossing the ball. To be frank, no one really had a good game.

Rooney was visibly off his game. He looked off form and tired. Looks like that trip to New York did more harm than good. Why he was not taken off still remains a mystery to me. To add to that, after West Ham scored in the 75th minute, Rooney looked like a man possessed. He was losing his composure and ratting off at the referee. I was half afraid he would get himself sent off. To put it mildly, he was like a mad man frothing from the mouth. While I love his passion for the game, it could also be detrimental to the team.....in a really bad way.

My favourite whipping boy in this blog, Carrick, put on yet another solid impersonation of the InvisibleMan. I hardly knew he was in the game until he was substituted off. At least you can't complain he's inconsistent.

As for the rest of the team, well, they could all have gone on that trip with Rooney and we couldn't have seen the difference.

One thing pretty apparent to me is that we lost our intensity this week. Perhaps the break of 8 days without a game gave the lads too much time to actually take stock of the situation and the league table. We seemed to have lost that seige mentality which has worked so well for us this season so far, and the result showed.

They had better start getting their act together before the lead slips any further in the packed Christmas fixtures. In January, you can be sure Chelsea will be adding to their already strong squad, and strengthening in the areas which they look terrible in (which is everywhere but central midfield based on today's win against Everton).

Oh No! Not Lille!

Kinda late with the reactions to the draw here, but better late than never.

The Champions League draw was made and we ended up facing Lille, who gave a horrid time in last season's very forgettable campaign. As noted here before, my personal preference was to face either Real Madrid or Barcelona. Given our recent history with so-called minnows, we've always struggled to find our A-game.

Our failure to beat Monaco (98), Leverkusen (02), Porto (04) and last season's disaster all come to mind when we face the so-called unfancied teams. At least facing the teams with 'pedgree', we often play our best, and although we might not be victorious, it's good entertainment value. The other advantage is that losing frees up our fixture to push for the domestic league. On the other hand, beating good teams gives us the confidence to make a real run at it.

Let's hope judging from our domestic performance, we show the same kind of intensity facing Lille, who many considered to the weakest team left in the tournament. The other thing is hopefully Ferguson has learnt that the 4-5-1 formation has been our achille's heel in European games. I personally don't care what he thinks, but the results have shown through the years that we've constantly failed to perform on the big stage because of our fear to go forward in the away legs, and our failure to score enough in home matches.

Anyway let's hope the lads put on a good performance.

Wayne Rooney and Paul Pierce

I'm only posting this coz it includes both my favourite sports teams, and possible 2 players who I really like.

United players were given three days off after the Manchester derby before returning Wednesday to prepare for Sunday's trip to West Ham United.

Here's the thing I don't get. You're given 3 days off after a gruelling week of soccer and you fly across the Alantic to catch a basketball game between the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks? Shouldn't Rooney be at home resting instead of globe trotting half way across the world? Sometimes I don't understand the mentality of these players. FWIW, he better be supporting the Celtics when he was over there.

Putting the Squeeze on Chelski (Manchester United 3 - Manchester City 1)

We never really looked close to firing on all cylinders in the big Manchester derby. Credit to City for a spirited performance, stifling our midfield. However in the end that little bit of extra quality shone thru and we came away with all three points to go 9 ahead of Chelsea.

We had a bright start to the game when Rooney put us ahead with his 50th premiership goal in the opening 5 minutes. Despite our early goal, I believe City had most of the possession in the half. Thankfully they lacked any sort of quality up front. Rio and Vidic were hardly troubled.

At the end of the half, it became Saha's turn to notch his 50th premiership goal after some determined effort from Hienze to cross the ball to him. It's becoming a healthy race between Saha and Rooney to outdo one another.

Again in the second half, City had alot possession without troubling Van Der Sar. We were beginning to impose our football on City, stringing passes, and coming close to scoring the third. However it was City who stunned us by scoring a superb goal. Trabelsi belted the ball just outside the penalty area with 5 United men (that's right...I counted 5) around him.

City suddenly felt a new lease of life, and for the next 15 minutes looked very much like equalising. We were literally rocked by the goal. Our defense suddenly felt nervy and the midfield was conceding possession.

Just when City looked like they were going to romp all over us, Ronaldo restored the 2 goal cushion, after Rooney's shot had fortuitously fallen onto his path. With only 5 minutes left on the clock, City's dogged challenge had ended and we were victorious. To add insult to injury, Corradi was sent off for a dive at the end of the game.

Tomorrow Chelsea face Arsenal and we shall see how today's result affects Chelsea's performance.

Three Headers to Top Group (Manchester United 3 - Benfica 1)

We started the game with our strongest 11, and for half an hour we played like we fielded most of our second stringers. For some reason, the team that was tearing up the domestic league looked really ordinary. While we controlled most of the possession, we were not at all convincing.

Benfica gradually grew in confidence and took the lead with an unstoppable thunderbolt from right-back Nelson. It was a stinger that no keeper in the world could keep out. From our less than convincing performance till then, I was expecting the worst. We only needed a point from this game and like the previous two games, we were trailing. Over in Denmark, Copenhagen was doing their part and leading Celtic by 2-0.

Thankfully the goal was what was needed to awake the red giant. Sleepwalking thru this tie no longer became an option. We started stringing passes and started to lay seige on the Benfica goal. Only desparate defending, timely tackles and some cynical fouling stopped our progress. But our attacking playing was simply too much for Benfica. Right at half time, Giggs won a freekick outside the box and took the kick himself. The Benfica defence, probably hoping for the half-time whistle were in sixes and sevens, tripping over one another when the Red tide surged forward. Vidic benefited from the chaos to head home the equaliser.

The relentless seige continued in the second half, and on the hour mark, we were rewarded with the lead. Ronaldo did superbly, by crossing the ball to Giggs. Giggs eluded the Benfica defense and headered us into the top of the group.

Saha then rounded off the win with our third header of the night on the 75th minute.

On this form, we would probably be one of the favourites in the Champions League. We were simply superb, barring the first half hour. Our away form still leaves alot to be desired, but at home, we're practically unstoppable.

It would be interesting to see who we would be facing in the next round. Personally I would love to see us matched up with Real Madrid or Barcelona. I like to see us matched up with the best 2nd place finisher. If we win, it would do our confidence a world of good. If we do get dumped in the competition, we can put more focus on push for the EPL. Ideally I would love for us to win both.

Controversial Penalty Mars Good Win (Middlesbrough 1 - Manchester United 2)

It was the Riverside and last year's demolition was still fresh on my mind. I had feared the worst coming into this game. For some reason, Boro always puts on a good performance whenever a good side comes visiting.

Thankfully this time we came mentally prepared and equiped. Of course getting a dubious penalty to open the scoring was really welcomed. Ronaldo had passed Schwarzer and was thru on goal but he stumbled along the way. Although my initial thoughts were 'PENALTY!', the TV replay did not show any contact. Ronaldo had dived, or at least he hand stumbled. It didn't matter, the referee gave a penalty and Saha prompt stood forward and scored. The good guys were one up, and based on our play, we richly deserved it.

The second half was a bit hazy for me. The game was played at freaking 1am in Singapore, and I was really having trouble keeping my eyes open by half time. I even had to go the extra length to call Kentona on the phone to engage in a conversation to keep myself awake. Of course having that pussy being viciously attacked by a lizard during the conversation helped to entertain me.

All I could remember in the second half was that James Morrison equalized for Boro but within 2 minutes from the restart, Ronaldo ran riot in the Boro defense, cut the ball back to Giggs who crossed it perfectly onto the head of a rushing Fletcher to restore our lead. He had justified Ferguson's faith in replacing Carrick in the starting lineup. I'm sure after that I fell promptly asleep. Thankfully there were no further goals.

We're now 6 points clear of Chelsea who have a game in hand. Chelsea did not play this weekend coz their game was against Newcastle. Newcastle played in the UEFA Cup on Thursday, while Chelsea will be playing in the Champions League this coming Tuesday, hence the weekend schedule could not be fulfilled.

If we carry on in this irresistible form and dispose of rivals Manchester Shitty next Saturday, we could very well be looking at a 9 point lead before Chelsea meets London rivals Arsenal on Sunday. While on paper it doesn't mean much, psychologically it could affect the Chelsea players.

However, before we start counting our chickens, there's that all important Champions League game against Benfica this Wednesday.

Larsson to Booster Frontline

Just got this piece of great news off soccernet.

According to the news, Larsson will be here for a loan deal for 2-3 months and will be eligible to play from 1st January. Despite his age (35 yrs old), he's still a terrific player. Anyone who watched the Champions League finals in May will agree.

It's a shame he can only play in January, and not when we need him most this month. With only Rooney and Saha available, December looks like it might just be a long month. Let's hope we keep our squad healthy and the goals coming.