Chicharito Opens European Account

Valencia 0 - Manchester United 1
Scorer
Manchester United: Hernandez (85)

Team: Van der Sar, Rio, Vidic, Rafael (O'Shea 90), Evra, Fletcher, Carrick, Anderson (Hernandez 77), Park, Nani, Berbatov (Macheda 85)

Utterly horrible game to watch. Let's be honest, both sides were terrible and really neither side should have had any points, not even for a draw. UEFA should refund the tickets the supporters paid. This game brought about more negatives than positives.

In fact other than a nice goal coming late in the game, there's nothing to write about so I'll go along with some observations, starting with the negatives.

Negatives
- Outside of Scholes, we have no central midfielders. Not going to win anything unless Scholes goes the distance.

- Carrick is utterly rubbish. Everyone who reads this blog knows I already not a very big fan of Carrick and his standing with me is somewhat rock bottom. Yet somehow he went alot lower after today. Granted it's his first game back, it's still hard to cut him some slack with the abysmal first touch he showed today. Not only that, he was guilty of giving the ball away with every other touch. I'd very much rather have Invisible Man back, at least that guy wouldn't/couldn't do much damage.

- We can't defend crosses. Valencia was utterly horrible at the end of crosses, and we benefited from their wastefulness.

- Knew it wouldn't last. Berbatov is back. Sulky, lazy Berbatov is back. At least with him, I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt and just put it down to him playing up front alone without support. Yet somehow I feel it's not the end of this version of Berbatov I'm going to see this season.

- Alright own up, who took Evra's soul?

- Owen must feel so fucked. After scoring 3 goals last week, he ends up behind Hernandez and Macheda. And because Macheda created the goal that Hernandez scored, no one is really going to notice this. Can't help but feel sorry for Owen.

- Had I known they were going to play this badly, I would have gone to sleep or watched some porn. The only consolation was that we somehow won, just was Valencia was gaining some foothold in the game. To be honest, both teams were just terrible.

Positives
+ Chicharito has a beautiful first touch. Hit a post and scored a goal in a short short period of time he played.

+ Macheda didn't do too badly either. Did well to pass to Hernandez. Showed more life than most of the zombies on the pitch.

+ Nani was immense. Top notch work-rate today. Was everywhere on the pitch and made some crucial blocks, covering Rafael. Was tremendous going forward, but never got the support he deserved. Easily the best player on the pitch by a long long margin.

Still Finding Their Feet Away

Bolton 2 - Manchester United 2

Scorers

Bolton: Knight (6), Petrov (67)

Manchester: Nani (23), Owen (74)

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Evans, O'Shea, Evra, Scholes, Fletcher (Owen 71), Giggs (Park 53), Nani, Rooney (Macheda 61), Berbatov

Nail biting stuff. I'm just glad we didn't lose. Given that Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs all lost and Liverpool couldn't find their feet at Anfield, it's almost scripted for us to falter. We NEVER take advantage of such opportunities. I'm just glad we took something from the game. A point gained is better than one lost.

Under Owen Coyle, this Bolton team is actually watchable compared to the rubbish that was dished out week in week out under Fat Sam. For once Kevin Davis is not that physical forward you'd hate to play against. He hasn't lost that physical aspect of his game, but there is at least a decent level of finesse to his play now. Same goes for the entire Bolton team. Truly quite entertaining to watch.

It all started badly for us. As mentioned, Bolton are a decent outfit nowadays, and they got into an early lead when Zed Knight scored from a corner. The Reebok used to be a pleasant hunting ground for us in past seasons where we'd hammer them, but without Ronaldo and without Fat Sam, it's turning out to be a different prospect, as we found out today.

It took sometime for us to find our rhythm and when we did, it came thru Nani. He took the ball off Rooney from the centre of the pitch and weaved his way past 5 defenders before taking a low pinpoint shot into the bottom left-hand corner of the net. It was a scintillating run that was rewarded with a wonderful individual goal, one that even the greasy haired one who left for Spain would have been proud of. Sensational goal by the young Portuguese who is finally having a great season (not going to last for long since I've just jinxed him, like I jinxed the Bulgarian).

We pressed hard for the lead, while having to endure Bolton's quick and inventive counter attacks. Elmander's also having a great season, and should have punished us on a number of occasions.

They eventually did punish us with Petrov's shot deflecting off a hapless Fletcher beyond the flapping Van der Sar. It was a little bitter-sweet for me. While I really enjoyed the way Bolton played the game, I just wished it wasn't against us.

Owen was thrown on and it was he who rescued us when he rose amongst the trees and deftly flicked his header into the net. For the remaining time, we pushed forward for the winner, while putting our backline under pressure from Kevin Davies and company on their counters.

The game ended as a draw and it was probably the best result for 2 teams who went out not only to entertain the crowd, but in a genuine attempt to collect all 3 points. As a United fan, I'm slightly disappointed, yet having to heave a sigh of relief that we only have to visit the Reebok once.

Perhaps a little more disconcerting is that for the 3rd away fixture on the trot, we've conceded at least 2 goals. The rot simply has to stop somewhere. I don't believe I'm going to type this, but I can't wait for Rio to replace Evans. Evans hasn't been performing well under pressure. The experience will do him wonders further down the road, but right now he's just not doing justice to the manager's selection. In short, he's rubbish right now. If Rio's not available, maybe it's time to partner O'Shea with Vidic. Something's gotta change before we continue letting in more goals this season. Already we're way way behind Chelsea and Arsenal in goal difference, and in a tight season like this, it maybe the difference between winning and not winning.

Fringe Players Too Hot For Championship Side

Scunthorpe 2 - Manchester United 5
Scorers
Scunthorpe: Wright (19), Woolford (90)
Manchester United: Gidson (23), Smalling (36), Owen (49, 71), Park (54)

Team: Kuszczak, Rio, Smalling, Rafael, Brown, Gibson, Anderson, Park (Bebe 74), Macheda, Hernandez (Obertan 68), Owen

Pretty superb game that had everything, including a streaker....too bad it was a 'he'. As expected, we fielded most of our second teamers. Ferguson was in Spain scouting next week's Valencia game and Mike Phelan took over the reigns for this one, which probably accounted for the relaxed approach the players took to the field.

Right from the whistle, Scunthorpe were the hungrier side and Kuszczak was made to make a number of fingertip saves. Eventually, Scunthorpe went into the lead with a stinging strike from Josh Wright.

The lead somewhat galvanised the team into action. Smalling's long punt was well met by Gibson. He out-sprinted the Scunthorpe defenders and lobbed the ball exquisitely over the keeper from a narrow angle. It was a touch of class and sheer brilliance from the United midfielder.

Smalling got on the end of a cross to put United into the lead in the 36th min with a deft touch to direct the ball into the net.

To be honest, Scunthorpe were the better side in the first half. Kuszczak had a torrid time in goal and our defenders were having a hard time with Scunthorpe's shoot-on-sight policy. All throughout the game, we were unable to close them down, resulting in 19 shots on target. Kuszczak was an incredibly busy man. While he did do well for most of them, he did fumble a number too. Kinda hard to take the Pole's threat to quit the club seriously based on today's performance. Way too uneasy for my liking.

Whatever Mike Phelan did at half time worked. We came out from the locker room a significantly different team. Macheda lead a counter attack and fed Owen, who seems to have regained some of his speed from yesteryear as he raced straight down the throat of the Scunthorpe defence to score United's third.

The fourth came quickly via a mad scramble with Park firing it hard and low into the bottom right corner. Despite Scunthorpe's valiant attempts to make a game out of it, it was United who added a fifth when the keeper spilled Park's thunderbolt, only for Owen to prod it home.

The goal killed off whatever remaining resistance from the home crowd until a streaker decided to take matters into his own hand/leg to entertain the crowd. Sadly the camera could not follow the exploits of the streaker, but Mike Phelan and his counter-part on the Scunthorpe bench had a good giggle over it.

Bebe was subsequently introduced and Scunthorpe found a consolation into injury time. Overall an eventful game and a good workout for the lads who rarely got a game.

Bebe is everything I think he is. Big, powerful, fast but incredibly raw. I caught him in against the Aston Villa reserves a week back and thought he has a pretty good right leg, especially those crosses when he was playing on the right wing. While the crosses were of good quality, he didn't take the time to look up to see if anyone was on the end of them. I suppose the potential is there, but it would probably be a couple of years at the minimum before he finds his 'ball-sense'. 7 million may be a bit rich for now, but it'd be sometime before he realises his potential and then we can fully evaluate.

United Rides On The Red Hot Wings Of Berbatov

Manchester United 3 - Liverpool 2
Scorers
Manchester United: Berbatov (42, 60, 84)
Liverpool: Gerrard (pen 64, 70)

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Evans, O'Shea, Evra, Scholes, Fletchers, Giggs (Macheda 82), Nani (Gibson 88), Berbatov (Anderson 88), Rooney

Definitely the year of Berbatov. After a torrid start to his United career, he's finally become the player we paid an obscene amount for. His sensational strikes today brought home the 3 points against a horrible Liverpool side.

We were the better team throughout the entire game, applying sustained pressure on a piss poor Pool side. They are indeed a team in turmoil and rarely looked to threaten. The first half was exclusively United's and when it looked like the half would end in a nil all draw, Berbatov popped up to put United into a deserved lead.

The second half was more of the same and Berbatov doubled his tally with a sensational bicycle kick that sent the Old Trafford faithful into a frenzy. We were all over Liverpool and a route looked on the cards until Howard Webb decided to stamp his influence on the game. He was Liverpool's single most important player, awarding a dubious penalty against Evans, while ignoring our own claims much earlier in the game. Gerrard scored from the spot to pull on back for the Scousers.

Webb, then went on penalise O'Shea for an innocuous challenge on the edge of the penalty area. Once again Gerrard stepped up and whipped the freekick home, drawing level against the run of play.

The last 20 minutes were horrible to watch. Shades of Fulham and Everton were on the cards, and we very nearly added Liverpool to that growing list. After 70 minutes of really superb football, we suddenly displayed a severe lack of confidence and probably would have been happy to see the game end in a stalemate. But Berbatov had other ideas. Refusing to let his two goals go to waste, he lept highest to meet a O'Shea's cross to seal victory for a manager who has shown tremendous faith in him.

While Berbatov was utterly brilliant, there is a worrying trend going on with our team. There is a sudden fallibility at the back that is hard to swallow and even harder to digest given the stingy diet we've been fed on in past seasons. We have been throwing away leads in recent times and that needs to stop if we're to challenge Chelsea for the top spot. As of right now, we're looking alot like Arsenal, playing good football without that steel to see thru it. Hopefully today's game is a step in the right direction for what is a long long season ahead of us.

United's Poor Week Continues

Manchester United 0 - Rangers 0

Team: Kuszczak, Rio, Smalling, Brown, Fabio (Evans 76), Fletcher, Gibson, Park (Owen 76), Valencia (Giggs 63), Hernandez, Rooney

Ferguson took a gamble, changing 10 players from Saturdays incredible melt-down, in part sending a message that for the horrible way we defended and in part to save our best players for the up and coming game against Liverpool.

I wouldn't exactly said his intentions backfired, but it would have been nice to have been able to bring on a Nani or a Berbatov to refresh a very stale looking attack. We were woeful going forward and our only threat was from Gibson's long range efforts. Nothing we did came thru.

To compound matters, we should be looking a long long injury for Valencia who probably broke his leg midway in the second half. The injury was so bad that there were no replays and, with the exception of Rooney, everyone looked away in horror. That being said, Rooney is the kind of guy you'd want in a Dungeon and Dragon party with that incredibly high constitution. At this point in time, we can only hope for the best for Valencia and wish he has a speedy recovery, but in any case, we're also looking at a huge downtime.

Good thing that this is only the start of the group stages of the Champions League and in two weeks time, we'd have a more settled starting 11 to take on Valencia. What's more urgent to me right now is this weekend's game against Liverpool. Granted that they are a fading force, it would still be nice to ram it down their throats to remind them of that fact. Oh and 3 points would be a nice welcome too, especially after the way we're been throwing points.

United Away = Fail

Everton 3 - Manchester United 3
Scorers
Everton: Pienaar (39), Cahill (90), Arteta (90)
Manchester United: Fletcher (43), Vidic (47), Berbatov (66)

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Evans, Neville, Evra (Park 81), O'Shea, Fletcher, Scholes, Nani, Giggs, Berbatov

I'm so livid! Can't believe we collapsed again. Screw it, I'm so pissed I'm not going to continue this week's post.