United Thrashes Ten Men West Brom

WBA 0 - Manchester United 5
Scorers
Manchester United: Berbatov (22), Tevez (44), Vidic (60), Ronaldo (65, 73)

Red Card
WBA: Robinson (40)

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Rio (Brown 70), Neville (Eckersley 70), O'Shea, Carrick, Giggs, Park, Ronaldo, Berbatov (Tosic 77), Tevez

There were plenty of talking points in this match, most of which circled around referee, Rob Styles, but one thing that cannot be denied was that United's class shown thru. In a season where we've coughed, stuttered and generally been clueless beyond the defence, today was a statement game to all our closest rivals that we're finding our form and a reminder of just how devastating it can be.

The day couldn't have started off worse. Due to traffic issues, the game was delayed by 30 minutes. Already suffering from a severe lack of sleep due to the Chinese New Year celebrations, I was practically nodding off while waiting for the game to start. I was quite expecting another dull 1-0 bore-fest that has plagued our season so far, but on hindsight, it was worth the wait.

Unlike the game at Old Trafford in October, West Brom started brightly and threatened to run riot before surprise inclusion, Rio, and his partner, Vidic, stamped the flow. Slowly United crept into the game and began to impose our superiority and class. Carrick seemed to have found a phonebooth at the Hawthorns and dorned his Superman cape, spraying exquisite passes all over the pitch.

It wasn't a surprise that Carrick's passing ripped the West Brom defense apart, setting Berbatov free to score the opener. West Brom couldn't cope with United's pace and guile off the ball.

Neville had a legitimate shout at a penalty, but Rob Styles, being the utterly useless referee he is, waved play on, while the replays showed clearly that Neville was upended. To compound matters, he reduced West Brom to ten men, sending their skipper off for a bad foul on Park. It looked a little harsh, and by the way we were playing, we hardly needed any advantage.

The game threatened to boil over as the West Brom players were starting to lose their heads. The heat of the moment probably got to Carson most, when he dropped a routine catch, allowing Tevez to slam the ball home. Luckily half time came before Styles got into serious trouble with the West Brom players.

West Brom came out from the break a determined side to right the wrongs and could jolly well have pulled one back had it not been for the woodwork. We didn't do ourselves any favours either by getting complacent and sloppy with the ball.

Vidic, perhaps sensing that the game was getting away from us, took matters into his own hands and set us on the right path by scoring from a corner, casting all doubts away. He's our best player this season so far. An unmoveable rock.

We were back in our stride and Ronaldo added a brace to comprehensively put West Brom away.

There could've been more United goals, but it would have been rather harsh on a feisty West Brom side. While I acknowledge they lack the pedigree of a Premiership side, I would hate to see a hardworking underdog go down over some other bigger names like Spurs, Newcastle or Boro.

As for us, we're sitting pretty at the top of the table. We boostered our goal difference and broke Chelsea's premiership record of clean sheets. More importantly, we're starting to really play good football and the confidence is slowly returning to the side. And if Carrick and reproduce a few more performances like this (pretty doubtful though), we might be in for a treat the remainder of the season.

First Half Goals See United Thru

Manchester United 2 - Tottenham 1
Scorers
Manchester United: Scholes (35), Berbatov (36)
Tottenham: Pavlyuchenko (5)

Team: Foster, Neville, Vidic, O'Shea, Rafael (Eckersley 52), Carrick, Scholes, Welbeck (Fletcher 86), Ronaldo (Tosic 72), Berbatov, Tevez

Goals from Scholes and Berbatov a minute apart in the first half saw United thru to the 5th round of the FA Cup after Pavlyuchenko opened the scoring for Spurs in the 5th minute.

Besides the opening goal for Spurs early in the game, they found it hard to keep up with United's pace and power in attack. Tevez hit the post and United had numerous chances saved or cleared by the defenders before Scoles heavily deflected goal found the net in the 35th minute.

Before Spurs even knew what hit them, former Spurs player, Berbatov added a second. If the United team put out looked somewhat make-shift due to injuries, it certainly didn't show on the pitch. The first half display was one of the finest this season.

The pace dropped significantly in the second half but we still defended stoutly. We defended from the half way line and disrupted the Tottenham midfield, causing them to make hasty passes. It wasn't pleasant to watch but very effective from United's point of view. I rarely acknowledge it but tactically, Ferguson got it right by pushing the defense up. The only downside with such tactics is that the midfield has to work extra hard to pressure the opponents' midfield.

We also saw the debuts of Fabio, Tosic and Eckersley, all of whom did credible jobs in their respective roles, although no one stood out.

Another point to add is that our injury list seems to be growing. Fabio, Welbeck and Ronaldo all seem to have picked up injuries from the game. The squad does seem to look really thin at the moment.

On paper the midweek game against WBA looks easy, but with a growing list of the walking wounded, it could very well turn into a tricky fixture to contend with.

League Cup: Yes We Can

Manchester United 4 - Derby 2
Scorers
Manchester United: Nani (17), O'Shea (22), Tevez (34), Ronaldo (pen 89)
Derby: Barnes (pen 81, 90)

Team: Foster, Neville (Chester 68), Evans, O'Shea, Rafael (Fletcher 43), Gidson, Anderson, Giggs (Ronaldo 58), Nani, Welbeck, Tevez

United survived a late and furious comeback from Championship side Dery. United looked to be cruising early on in the game when Nani took matters into his own hands and fired us into the lead with a stunner.

O'Shea made it two minutes later with a good pass from Welbeck. And Tevez took the tie beyond Derby when he met Rafael's cross to head home.

I caught most of the action in the first half despite constantly switching between Obama's inauguration speech and the game. The only downside to a brilliant first half was the subsitution of Rafael, who was taken off with a hamstring injury. It does look like he's in for a lengthy down time on the treatment table.

The second half was more of the same without the goals. We pounded on Derby but Carroll was in fine form denying us.

Then came a crazy last 10 minutes to the game. Fergie had used up all three substitutes and Evans was force to trudge along with an injury. Derby exploited the weak link and exploited Evan's lack of agility in the box, resulting in a penalty which they put away.

United had a penalty of their own at the other end when Carroll brought Tevez down. Ronaldo scored from the spot to give United a 4-1 lead. By this time, the injuries had piled up. Nani was reduced to another walking wounded on the pitch and Anderson was relieved of duties.

Derby mustered one last attempted and pulled another goal back, making it a nervy last couple of minutes before the relief of the final whistle.

We set up a Wembley date with (presumably Spurs) on the 1st of March. While this was a good win, the cost of winning it may come at a high price. Rafael is confirmed out for around 3-4 weeks, while we wait on the reports of Nani, Anderson and Evans. We have been lucky with injuries so far, and now we'd be tested with a boat load of players out for a dressed rehearsal against Spurs in the FA Cup this weekend.

United Knocks Liverpool Off The Fucking Perch (if only for 48hrs)

Bolton 0 - Manchester United 1
Scorer
Manchester United: Berbatov (90)

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Evans, O'Shea, Neville, Carrick, Anderson (Scholes 69), Fletcher (Giggs 69), Ronaldo, Berbatov, Tevez

How many times are United going to cheat death this season? We almost didn't pull this one out until some dogged, determined work by Tevez provided Berbatov the opportunity to knife one into the backs of the Trotters.

The first half was a stale affair where the only highlight was a United supporter storming the pitch to provide the only entertainment where both sides looked extremely disjointed.

The dull stalemate continued into the second half until Ronaldo decided to take matters upon himself, while his teammates were still sleepwalking thru the game. This was probably one of Ronaldo's better performances. He took on his defenders down the left and could very well have had a few chances but decided to be the ultimate team-player by passing up the chances again and again. Too bad his teammates were all on the wrong frequency.

And when the chances came via freekicks, Bolton's long time serving keeper, Jaaskelainen, was up to the task, thwarting Ronaldo time and time again.

Fergie brought on the old warhorses, Scholes and Giggs to provide much need inspiration while we turned the pressure up a notch. They replaced Fletcher, who was uncomfortable playing on the right wing, and Anderson, who was generally putrid for a lack of a kinda word.

Bolton, like many others before them, held on and looked likely for a deserved draw when Tevez's persistence won United the ball. His cross found Berbatov alone in the box and Jaaskelainen could do little to save his powerful header.

Berbatov had a decent enough game, and is starting to look like a true match-winner for us. There is still plenty to be desired upfront for us, but with Ronaldo coming into form and Tevez and Berbatov showing signs of a budding partnership, I certainly hope it spells good things for us.

In the meantime, let's enjoying being top of the table. We hardly deserve it but on the other hand, neither do the other teams.

United Catches Wigan Napping

Manchester United 1 - Wigan 0
Scorer
Manchester United: Rooney (1)

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Evans, O'Shea, Rafael, Scholes (Fletcher 86), Carrick, Nani (Anderson 60), Ronaldo, Rooney (Tevez 8), Berbatov

We took another significant step towards our third consecutive title doing just enough to put off an in-form Wigan side that showed plenty spunk and promise. Daisy (or is it Dolly? I can never tell them apart and google/wiki sheds no answers either) has done a wonderful job since taking over the Latics.

We scored our goal early in the 1st minute while Wigan were still in the team huddle. Ronaldo broke off on the right and fed Rooney with a good cross. Rooney's goal was the only one in a game where both defenses stood out.

It's a bitter sweet victory for me. It's been sometime since we scored an early goal (before the 15th minute) and I was just about to use this post to go on one of my usual rants about it. Then up pops Rooney to play the role of spoiler. Curiously, that was the sweet part.

Having taken an early lead, we failed completely to play the game, let alone build on it. We allowed Wigan the time and space to play their game. To compound matters, we were guilty of giving the ball away in alarming frequency in the first half. Thankfully Vidic and his merry men were in fine form yet again.

Another worrying sign, along side our distinct lack of goals (again), was that Rooney seems to have pulled his hamstring. He was replaced by Tevez early in the game. Neither Tevez nor Berbatov made any positive contribution to the game. Well, at least Tevez worked his socks off trying to make an impression. While Berbatov joined the other Spurs alumni fading into the Old Trafford background.

Whatever the case, it makes this weekend's fixture against Bolton at the Reebok so much more difficult. Should we prevail, we will top the table for a good 48hrs before Pool plays.

In other news, United is scheduled to play in Malaysia and Indonesia in the summer. If time permits, I'm thinking of making a short trip down to KL to catch the game. Time to wrestle a few elbows to get free tickets from some journalist friends.....

Last but not least, here are some photos sent to me by Antonio on her trip to Old Trafford and Gigg Lane a month back. It got to me while I was having a whale of a time in Beijing, so sorry for the late acknowledgement. ;o)

Photos

2008/9 Mid Term Report

It's back. Having missed the mid term report last season due to extreme laziness, I'm finally back on track to do it this year.

It's taken quite a while to reach 19 premiership games, but we've finally hit the mark with a surprisingly good win against Chelsea on Sunday. It set us up well for the remaining half of the season to wrestle the top spot away from hated rivals, Liverpool.

What's been really good about this season so far is that our young players are actually better than I've expected. We may just be looking at another crop like that in the mid-90s that produced the Nevilles, Scholes, Becks and Butt.

The same, however, cannot be said of our current fringe players, nor the bulk of the first team.

So here are the grades:

Edwin Van der Sar (Grade B)
He's not getting an A this season. Our defensive record is pretty awesome, but very little is due to him. The men in front of him have been playing out of their minds. He's still utterly useless from set-pieces and still flaps around too much in the box.

Tomasz Kususzczak (Grade B)
Similar grade to Van der Sar and similar reasoning. He's slightly better with set-pieces but not as good a decisionmaker. It seems from the number of game's he's played, he's our number 2 guy, with Ben Foster at number 3.

Rio Ferdinand (Grade A)
Been pretty solid so far. He did take time off during the stretch of games in Oct/Nov when we conceded goals against Arsenal and Hull. Despite that, he's an integral part of the defence. Let's hope his back spasms heal soon enough.

Nemanji Vidic (Grade A+)
What can I say? He's been the star in defence this season. Not only that, he's scored a couple of crucial goals to win us games.

Patrice Evra (Grade A+)
Once again, he's proving to everyone that he's the best left-back in the world. We've looked somewhat lost this season when he's not in the game. He provides the width down the left wing when our traditional wingers go awol (and they tend to go awol alot).

Gray Neville (Grade B)
Kinda hard to grade him with so few games under his belt. But whenever he's been called upon, he does an adequate job. He's lost alot of pace (not that he had much to start with) and he no longer crosses the ball like he used to. Other than that, there's really very little to complain over our club captain. I'm just not too sure he's going to get many games as Rafael matures and Wes Brown returns to the foil.

Rafael (Grade B)
He's been a breath of fresh air. He's still very young and his play shows it. There is still alot of immaturity in his tackles, but that will no doubt improve as he gains more experience under his belt.

Wes Brown (Grade B)
Kinda sad for him really. Everytime he gets a decent run in the team, something bad happens. He's gotten injured at a bad time, just as Neville returns to stake his claim and just as Rafael turns up to impress. Overall, not a good time to be Wes Brown.

John O'Shea (Grade B)
Once again he's our guy who plugs holes. Whenever there is a position on the pitch that needs to be filled, he's the guy Fergie turns to.

Johnny Evans (Grade A)
We knew he was good. We just didn't know he was THIS good! To think I was really upset we lost Gerald Pique last season. Johnny seems to have step into the heart of the defence almost seamlessly, replacing Rio. He's not the first choice in that position, but if he continues performing as he has done, then it's just a matter of time before he edges out one of Rio or Vidic (hopefully it's Rio).

Darren Fletcher (Grade A)
Really stepped up his game this season. The truth be told, he's never really been given a consistant run before. With injuries to several key men in the position, he's finally been able to claim a place in central midfield and it looks like he's finally here to stay. He's proving to everyone that we've overlooked him all these years. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing him continue in this rich vein of form.

Paul Scholes (Grade B)
Seems like he's lost a step or two this season. He's no slouch, but you can see a drop in production compared to previous seasons. Maybe the injury is still bugging him. In any case, either by Ferguson's tactics or Father Time's manipulation, he's not the man we know.

Michael Carrick (No Grade)
Don't want to be unfair to Carrick here, but an Invisibleman deserves no grades. If you can't see him, you can't grade him.

Anderson (Grade C)
Told you that the second season is the toughest. He's dropped off pretty far from last season's performance. He still has the second half of the season to pick up his game.

Darron Gibson (Grade B)
So far so good. Reminds me of Butt when he first came on the scene. Good solid player that plays without much fuss. As long as Ferguson doesn't fuck around with him by playing him out of position, he should have a good enough career in the premiership. I personally don't think he's good enough to break thru the ranks with so many vying for a couple of spots in the centre of the park, but stranger things have happened.

Ryan Giggs (Grade A)
Been having an indian summer of sorts. Amongst the 3 wisemen in the team (Scholes and Neville), he's been the one that has been performing well. I hope he keeps it up.

Park Ji Sung (Grade A+)
Along with Vidic, he's been the best player in the team. He runs his socks off every game and good things always happen when he has the ball. If there is one criticism, it's that he doesn't score enough goals. Hell, he's yet to open his account this season.

Nani (Grade B)
Again, second year player. Can't expect too much from him. The problem with Nani is that he cuts in way too much for a winger. Whenver he's in the game, the attacking third of the pitch becomes narrower as he tends to have the bad habit of bringing into the centre. Oh, and he's pretty crap with freekicks and corners. Still I keep reminding myself that he's only in his second year. I'm going to go with a Ronaldo timetable for Nani, that means, it's going to be another two years before he comes good, hence I'm not going to grade him like everyone else.

Christiano Ronaldo (Grade B)
Hasn't come marginally close to the heights of last season. Nonetheless, he's still one of the most important players in the team. So far he seems more interested in looking good on camera, that getting in rough and dirty on the pitch. There's still another half a season to go for him to pick up his game. At least he's verbally come out to commit to the club. With goodwill already running thin, the last we need is another summer like the last.

Wayne Rooney (Grade A)
Been our best striker this season. Had a slump before his 100th professional goal, but otherwise has been rather consistant in his performance. Besides a couple of petulant moments, he's head has been screwed on right so far.

Dimitar Berbatov (Grade C)
Not been impressed by any means but I'll keep my tongue to myself until the end of the season.

Carlos Tevez (Grade A)
He's not been given a fair chance but his grade has not been affected (it helps to be the teacher's pet). I'd be really pissed if we eventually let him go because of the transfer fee. Between him and the guy above, whom I'll not bad-mouth, it's clear as daylight who I'd prefer.

Danny Welbeck (Grade B)
Pretty well done for an 18 year old. The future looks bright for this kid and Ferguson seems to agree as he slowly beds Welbeck into the senior team.

Guys without a grade:
Owen Hargreaves
My reservist friend warned me about Hargreaves before we bought him and I finally see what he means. Hargreaves is a walking disaster and he's fast becoming the new Tissueboy. Fuck it, maybe we'd just call him Tissueboy II from now.

Rodrigo Possebon
One for the future. He's a classy player, but with so many established midfielders in front of him, it's going to take a special effort to break into the team.

Manucho
What's up with him? That's any body's guess, I guess. With the frontline playing like crap at times, you'd think he might get a chance. I suppose no one really knows what's going on in Fergie's mind.

Last but no least:

Alex Ferguson (Grade B)
Seems to be lost without Carlos Queiros, especially at the beginning of the season with that dismayal start to the campaign. Seems to have found his mojo lately, but still a stubborn old horse by sticking to 'the one whom I will not bad mouth'.

Back In The Hunt

Manchester United 3 - Chelsea 0
Scorers
Manchester United: Vidic (45), Rooney (63), Berbatov (87)

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Evans, Neville, Evra (O'Shea 66), Fletcher, Giggs (Carrick 80), Park, Ronaldo, Berbatov, Rooney

There's been little to cheer about since the turn of the year and our results lately has been some binary code that probably reads 'we can't score' when strung together. But today, we changed all that. In a crucial game against fellow contenders, Chelsea, we signalled our intentions loud and clear, putting 3 past a stout and stingy defence.

This was the performance we've been waiting for. We're still nowhere near our potential, but on this night, we showed the hunger and the spirit that has been missing for the last few months. Park was outstanding, along with Giggs and Evra deserving honourable mentions. Rooney had that mean streak in him and Ronaldo actually looked a little like the Ronaldo of last season.

Rio's presence wasn't missed at all with Evans proving to be a more than able deputy. Vidic, as usual was a man-mountain. And not to spoil my own mood, I wouldn't even rant on Berbatov, who was still in Carrick mode. Strangely enough, even he turned up for the party before the end of the game and scored a pretty good goal late in the game.

The great thing about this result is that we've closed the gap to Liverpool to within 5 points with 2 games in hand. For once I feel we have our destiny in our own hands. What makes this result sweeter is that I personally think that our two closest rivals, Liverpool and Chelsea, are nowhere near our playing standards. Pretty evidently from today's result Chelsea is not in the same class this year.

As for our other dreaded rivals, Liverpool, they have a manager who will lose them the title. Yesterday against a physical Stoke team, he threw out a feather weight team which lost all the physical contests, while setting his top goal-getters, Torres and Keane on the bench. And add to the fact he's kinda lost the plot this early in the season with a Keegan-patented Fergie rant to the media. Gotta luv it when opponents lose the plot in a mega way.

I doubt we're good enough nor deep enough to compete on all fronts at the moment, but retaining the Premiership title looks like an attainable goal. We just need to keep up the hunger and the aggression. Time for the other teams to quiver in our wake.

Clough Arrival Inspires Derby

Derby 1 - Manchester United 0
Scorer
Derby: Commons (30)

Team: Kuszczak, Vidic, Evans, O'Shea, Rafael, Scholes (Ronaldo 63), Anderson (Carrick 74), Gibson, Nani, Tevez, Welbeck (Rooney 63)

Totally uninspiring. We were not only poor but abysmal. Credit to Derby for pulling out an unexpected result. They were hungrier, more passionate and, generally, put in more effort in this game.

They started the game putting pressure on our boys and never relented throughout the game. In all my years of watching United play (28 years and counting), we've never looked so poor. Even in the dark years in the 80s, what we lacked in talent, we made up in desire. And when we fell short on desire, there was still the occasional flair to fall back on. This season, we lacked everything.

Despite the stats saying that we forced 4 saves, only Carrick's late late injury time header looked like a genuine shot on target. Even then it's a stretch to call it a shot. It was a tremendously weak header straight at Roy Carroll. That was our best chance on target. Pretty much sums up the night.

The early pressure by Derby put us off our element and we never recovered. Our passes throughout the night were either too long or too short. Welbeck and Tevez never had an ouch of service.

Nani cuts inside too much and always makes the wrong decision. Gibson, who played on the right, was totally non-existant. Ferguson must have something against Gibson to play him so horribly out of his comfort zone in the centre of the park. I foresee another prospect ruined by Ferguson tinkering and playing him out of position ala O'Shea, Alan Smith, Phil Neville etc.

Anderson was doing everything wrong in midfield. His passing was simply atrocious. Practically every single pass went wayward. Scholes could hardly keep up with a midfield that was giving up the ball all night long. No wonder he looked knackered when he was substituted.

Speaking of subsitutions, Rooney was a headless chicken, much like Tevez the entire game. While Ronaldo had decent chances, he just didn't seem like putting in any effort on a freezing night.

I'm not touching on the defenders coz I thought they did a decent job considering how the other 6 in front of them were pretty much mucking around.

Once again, all credit to Derby for bringing the fight to us. They showed us what cup passion is all about. We have been playing like zombies in a poor B grade movie for quite sometime now and unless we take a lesson from Derby on this night, we're in for a really rough time against better equiped opponents.

There may still be hope yet for us to find that elusive spark to jumpstart our season, but on the evidence of tonight's game, it's a long way to go. I'm not even looking forward to Chelsea's game this Sunday.

United Sets Up Spurs Date

Southampton 0 - Manchester United 3
Scorers
Manchester United: Welbeck (20), Nani (pen 48), Gibson (80)

Red Card: Patterson (37)

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Evans, Neville, O'Shea, Carrick (Possebon 56), Anderson, Giggs (Gibson 56), Nani, Berbatov, Welbeck (Rooney 62)

Spent the pregame watching a couple of really dull guys pull balls out of a hat for the FA Cup 4th round draw. The draw was such a horribly boring affair that it made Punch and Jude look like world class acts. If I had a gun, I would've shot the monitor and then myself. Better still, I would have gone to England and shot those two bozos over and over and over again. Before I rant myself out of control again, we drew Spurs in the next round. I'm frankly not looking forward to it. As you'd recall, 'arry 'ednapp plotted our downfall in the cup last season. Add to the fact that we'd probably be playing two old boys against their old team.

Ferguson seems determined to find a strike partner for Berbatov. Today he started Welbeck along side our misfiring Bulgarian. The partnership didn't really flourish as the manager had wished, but Welbeck did find the net in the opening 20 minutes in a rather fortunate fashion. O'Shea's header was saved by the keeper and it fell kindly for Welbeck to nod it in.

Southampton tried to make a game of it, but the contest effectively ended in the 37th minute when young striker Patterson served up leg-breaking challenge on Vidic that rightfully produced the red card. It was a dangerous tackle and had it been on a lesser human, body parts would have been flying all over the pitch. Vidic merely brushed it off after treatment and carried on playing as if nothing happened.

We made our numerical advantage count after the ref awarded a dubious penalty in our favour in the second half. Nani sent the keeper the wrong way and us into the next round. Because the ref had erred in giving the penalty, other more legitimate claims were ignored. In the final analysis, it didn't matter.

Rooney set Gibson up for the third with 10 minutes to go and we looked like heaping it on a really young Soton side.

Again, in this game, I had my eye on Berbatov. I can hardly pass fair judgement on him today. For the first half hour or so, he was the usual, utterly disinterested fellow. But when Soton were reduced to 10 men, he suddenly found the time and space needed, and sprung to life. Even then, it wasn't by any means a stella performance, but neither was it one to complain about.

There is still a long long part of the season to go, and we need everyone to be on their toes. I personally would love to capture the Champions League again. No team in the modern era has repeated under the gruelling format of playing extra games the following year. I would geniunely hope we become the first to do so.