Just A Poor 4-1 Win

Portsmouth 1 - Manchester United 4
Scorers
Portsmouth: Boateng (pen 32)
Manchester United: Rooney (pen 25, 48, pen 54), Giggs (87)

Team: Kuszczak, Brown, Vidic, Neville, Evra, Fletcher, Carrick (Anderson 76), Scholes, Valencia, Giggs, Rooney

Don't let the scoreline fool you. I thought we were absolutely terrible for most of the game. Good goalkeeping from Kuszczak kept us alive in the early stages of the game, before Rooney was fouled in the penalty area. Rooney stepped up and scored from the spot giving us a shortlived goal advantage.

Ferguson watched the game from the stands, a punishment for his recent outburst against the referees. And true to the mark, the referee of the day, Mike Dean, proved just what Ferguson was on about. He awarded a penalty for the home team that left everyone scratching their collective heads. No one knew exactly at that point in time what the fuck the penalty was for. Not the players, not the commentators (both the English and Chinese ones) and definitely not me. It was an abysmal decision and Mike Dean is a lucky lucky man that the decision did not have a deeper impact on the game other than adding more fuel to fire the disgruntle feelings towards the modern day referee.

Boateng levelled the score from the spot, while we struggled to gain a foothold on the game.

The second half started on a brighter note and Rooney missed a glorious chance. On the subsequent attack, Giggs put him thru again, and this time he finished neatly giving us the lead for good.

Rooney completed his hattrick from the spot after the evergreen Giggs was fouled in the box. We were enjoying a good spell at this point, with Giggs, Valencia and Rooney playing particularly well.

Then we begun to relax and take the foot off the paddle, allowing Portsmouth room to come at us. Make no bones about it, Portsmouth is a limited team, but at the same time they are a desparate team. And they came at us with a ferocity of a caged animal. Good saves kept the scores respectable in our favour. Our midfield and defense was really at sixes and sevens for a good period.

Having weathered the storm, Giggs added salt into Pompey's wounds with a delightful freekick, rounding off the scoring for the day.

This was really a difficult game to watch. We weren't anywhere near our best, but we haven't really been up to our standards bar the odd game here and there. I feel there is something lacking in this squad, but I can't really put a finger on it. All that I know is that we're really not as good as we think we are.

Still Work To Be Done

Manchester United 0 - Besiktas 1
Scorer
Besiktas: Tello (20)

Team: Foster, Brown, Vidic, Neville, Rafael (Evra 75), Anderson, Gibson (Carrick 75), Park (Owen 69), Obertan, Welbeck, Macheda

It's all gone abit south the last couple of games in the Champions League. We've qualified and Ferguson is justified to field a less than stellar lineup today, opting to blood some of the younger players.

For much of the first half, we were pretty damn awesome and had it not been some poor finishing, we could have given a very ordinary looking Besiktas a good hiding. Yet totally against the run of play, Beskitas took the lead with a long distance shot that Foster really could have done better. His footwork prior to the goal left much to be desired.

We spent the remainder of the half literally parked in the opponent's half. Our play was enterprising and really should have yielded some reward.

The standard of play went dramatically down in the second half. We were still the far superior team, but the final ball was lacking. In the end, Besiktas held on to the victory and we're left with another game against Wolfsburg to secure the top spot in the group.

As for the lads, Obertan impressed me massively. He's dribbling and speed reminded me of a Portugese who left us recently. The crucial thing missing from his game is the final pass to a teammate and his goal scoring. I don't know if he'd tease us like how Nani has done, but I can't wait to see more of him. Slowly but surely he has to be making inroads into Ferguson's plans. Definitely a player to watch out for the future, if not the present.

Before I end this post, I'd just like to share a video clip that had me in stitches for the past week.

Midfield Masterclass

Manchester United 3 - Everton 0
Scorers
Manchester United: Fletcher (35), Carrick (67), Valencia (76)

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Brown, Rafael (Scholes 63), Evra, Fletcher, Carrick (Gibson 83), Valencia, Giggs, Rooney (Obertan 74), Owen

We never lie down. After the defeat against Chelsea, ranks seem to have closed and we responded with a masterclass in midfield. Fletcher was the general pulling the strings throughout the game. And when Carrick has a superb game like today, you know that we've been at our brilliant best.

Right from the word 'go', Everton were never in the game. The centre pairing of Fletcher and Carrick controlled every bit of the pitch. Owen and Rooney created havoc in the Everton defense with switching positions and confusing their markers.

Despite that, the Everton defense was resolute and the first goal took quite sometime to come. It was worth the wait. Evra's cross to the back post was headed back into the centre of the penalty box by Valencia. Fletcher was on hand to connect sweetly and volley in an unstoppable cannon into the top corner of the goal. It was a stunner in every sense of the word. Possibly one of the finest goals we've seen this season.

Everton was surprisingly poor today. They did have a short spell of good play in the beginning of the second half but it was shortlived. Carrick found the net after Giggs' brilliant pass, giving us a 2 goal advantage.

Valencia got onto the act as well when his shot deflected off Baines to round off the scoring. There probably could have been more goals in our favour, but we the foot off the accelerator, saving ourselves for the Champions League game in midweek.

We may not have gained any ground against the leader Chelsea, but there is plenty to be positive with today's performance. Evra and Fletcher probably had their best games this season. Carrick actually looks like a player. And this Obertan fellow is really quite impressive.

The Chelsea game possibly lit a fire up our asses. If we play with such aggression and determination the rest of the way, there really could be a chance, albeit a small chance, to retain the title.

Who can fill the Ronaldo void?

Written by Mark Ferguson, a sports writer who blogs about cheap football shirts

It doesn't take a genius to work out that we are not the team we were last year with the only loss to the team being the genius that was Cristiano Ronaldo. Wayne Rooney has been given much more of free role and is playing better than he ever has but he can't do it alone. Just like Ronaldo needed Rooney in the team Rooney needs a Ronaldo and Antonio Valencia just isn't it.

Valencia is not a bad player and has shown glimpses of why he was brought to the club. However he is not the world class player that Ronaldo was and the world class player that we need in the team. At times the side seems to lack creativity and imagination, particularly in the midfield, but trying to find a replacement for Ronaldo is much easier said than done, not only financially, but also in finding someone who offers the same quality.

There have been a number of players who have been linked with Man Utd and with pulling on that famous red Man Utd home shirt but so far we have not seen any of the names linked with a come to fruition.

One of the names continually linked with a move to the club is Franck Ribery. He appears to be one of the most sought after players at the moment but Bayern were keen to keep him in the summer and did but if the rumours are true they could now be willing to cash in on their star man.

Another two players linked with the club are David Villa and David Silva, both of whom appear to be top quality players. Silva is not quite the quality of Ronaldo but is certainly a top class player whilst Villa is one of the best forwards in the game. Both players seemed reluctant to leave Valencia but with the increasing financial problems at the club they could be forced to move.

Atletico Madrid's Argentinean forward Sergio Aguero is a player linked with a move to the Premiership, and although there is no doubt the lad has talent I am just not convinced he can do it as regularly as we would want and need him to.

For me the Ribery, Villa and Silva would certainly add to the quality of the team but I feel more is needed. A top quality central creative midfielder is what we need at the club but these are not easy to pick up. A player with the qualities of Diego, though I am not necessarily saying him though you could do worse, is what we need. Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs have served the club magnificently over the years but we can't depend on them forever. We need to sign someone sooner rather than later but I don't see any big money move being made until the summer which I fear may be a little too late.

Title Gone? Probably

Chelsea 1 - Manchester United 0
Scorer
Chelsea: Terry (76)

Team: Van der Sar, Brown, Evans, O'Shea, Evra, Fletcher, Anderson (Owen 85), Carrick, Valencia, Giggs (Obertan 85), Rooney

Let's not kid ourselves if we think we're going to win the Premiership 4 years in a row. 3 was already a dream come true and in this game we've been cruelly exposed. No creativity in midfield is going to be our achilles heel this season. Without the sorry Portugese who fled to Spain at the first calling, we've absolutely nothing to show for against a top-tier opponent.

To be fair to the lads who tried hard but just weren't good enough, Chelsea was absolutely shit as well, but that extra bit of quality showed today.

The only silverlining for me was that I hardly spent much time watching this game. I spent half the time at Kentona's stag party trying to look for some nice eye-candy whilst all the United fans around me were burying their heads in despair when Terry rose to head the ball into the net. It helps to be pissed drunk as well.

Now that I'm semi-sober, it's safe to say, the stag party was a major downer. Not only was there a huge lack of boobage, we lost the game as well. A good result in either would have been the sugar to help the medicine go down.

As it stands, not only are we 5 points adrift of the champions-elect, we're lying below Arsenal on goal difference. Barring a major fuckup in Chelsea's season, I cannot see how under god's blue sky we can compete for the title. January can't come quick enough....oh wait, Chelsea's allowed to spend, scratch that.

Couple of notable notes in this game:

- Evans deserves a knighthood. Attempting to blatantly maim Drogba while getting off completely scot-free is awesome. Super awesome.

- Drogba better be nominated for an Oscar this year for his utterly convincing tribute to Edgurdo. I seriously thought he broke all his ribs, punctured both lungs, only for him to return to the game seconds later.

- Referee ought to be shot for missing Terry's foul on Valencia. It would have given us a penalty, which I have no doubts we would miss.

- Referee ought to be shot over and over again for Fletcher's phantom foul on Cashley Cole which resulted in Terry's goal.

- Ferguson is right to complain about the referee but that trick is getting old. We have no imagination in midfield. He knows it, we know it, Chelsea exploited it.

- Why the fuck is Carrick still playing? He's the modern version of Neil Webb. I'm sick of using the word 'rubbish' on him. It's an insult to the word itself.

- At least Obertan looks like a player. It's still too early to tell but maybe, just maybe, we could have done something right and uncovered a gem.

- Seriously, what's the use of sending Owen on for a lost cause?

United Survives Russian Scare

Manchester United 3 - CSKA Moscow 3
Scorer
Manchester United: Owen (29), Scholes (84), Shennikov (og 90)
CSKA: Dzagoev (25), Krasic (30), Berezutsky (46)

Red Card
CSKA: Semberas (90)

Team: Van der Sar, Evans, Brown, Neville, Fabio (Evra 59), Fletcher, Scholes, Nani (Rooney 58), Valencia, Macheda (Obertan 82), Owen

My word, what a game! This is definitely the most exciting game we've played the entire season. Mine you, we weren't exactly good. For a good period we were quite rubbish at the back, conceeding 3 goals, but we came back strong. We came back really strong at the end.

CSKA took a shock lead in the 25th minute. Dzagoev took the ball down the centre and when the angle looked impossible, smashed the ball into Van der Sar's net. It was a brilliant goal.

United responded strongly via Owen's clinical strike. Despite looking rather blunt on a couple of previous attempts prior, his strike on this one was spot on and a nice turn around strike into the back of the net.

While we were still patting ourselves on the back, CSKA sucker punched us. Krasic took on our sleeping defense, fell, found his footing again, spun and hammered the ball into the goal, with our entire defense in sixes and sevens.

We went into the half trailing. I took the half time break to relieve myself and came out with the shock that we were trailing even further.

Fergie took a couple of quickfire substitutions, replacing Fabio and the ineffective Nani with Rooney and Evra. Our formation changed drastically with only Brown and Evans at the back and everyone else pressed forward.

We looked abit flat for a short period, coming to terms with the new formation. In that time, CSKA could have gone further ahead.

Slowly but surely we found our mojo and started to find kinks in the CSKA defense. After a couple of ridiculous near misses, a barrage of fine saves and a smashing header into the post, Scholes pulled one back with 5 minutes left on the clock.

Old Trafford suddenly sprung to life. The crowd which had been stunned to silence for a large period of the game, found their voice and it carried onto the pitch. There was a new spring in the steps and we looked increasingly dangerous with each passing minute.

It wasn't a surprise that we did indeed find the equalizer when Valencia's powerful shot was deflected into the goal by Shennikov. The lads pressed on for the winner into the 6 minutes of injury time, but that was perhaps too much to ask on what is already a memorable night.

This was a hardfought draw and at times we were our own worst enemy. But take nothing away from the army men from Russia. They played really well at times and barring a shaky looking defense are a really good team in Europe.

The lads should have their tails up for the weekend's mega super important game against Chelsea. They are the front runners for the league title and rightly so. They have an incredible team this season that doesn't look to have any weaknesses. Hopefully we can exploit any chinks in that formidable armour and show the way for everyone else.

But if I'm really honest, I'm not holding my hopes too high. Probably explains why I'm off to Kentona's stag party at the weekend instead of watching the game. If the venue does show the game, it's an added bonus.

My Helloween Nightmare

Manchester United 2 - Blackburn 0
Scorers
Manchester United: Berbatov (55), Rooney (87)

Team: Van der Sar, Evans, Brown, O'Shea, Carrick, Anderson, Nani (Obertan 64), Valencia, Berbatov (Owen 79), Rooney

Talk about being screwed by daylights saving. Time was pushed back one hour and together with a late kickoff made watching this game really difficult on many levels. It was shown at 1.30am over here and cumulated with an exceedingly dull first half, conspired to put me to sleep before the half time whistle even blew.

I had initially thought that I could torrent the second half and at least put some perspective and respectability to this review. I resisted the urge to read any reports or even talk football with my friends over the weekend so as not to spoil my enjoyment. But the torrent never came thru. I ended up getting to watch only the highlights and two exquisite goals by Berbatov and Rooney to sew up the 3 points for us.

There's really not much to add, except we started from where we left off last week against Pool. Piss poor and with a huge lack of urgency in our play. It got better towards the end of the first but by that time I was already dozing off.