Comeback Kings

Southampton 1 - Manchester United 2
Scorers
Southampton: Chaplow (45)
Manchester United: Owen (65), Hernandez (75)

Team: Lindegaard, Smalling, Evans, O'Shea, Rafael (Brown 46), Scholes, Anderson (Nani 58), Gibson (Giggs 58), Obertan, Owen, Hernandez

That's twice in a week we came back from a deficit at the half to win the game. Once again we had to endure an uninspired. And once again, it was probably Giggs who made the difference when he came on for Gibson midway in the second half.

This time round, the first half performance was somewhat forgivable. In light of the packed fixture ahead, Ferguson decided to field a team largely made of reserves and second stringers.

Andes Lindegaard also made his debut and did a credible job. Didn't look like he has any weaknesses in his game, but it's still early to tell. At the moment it looks like a straight fight between him and Kuz for the position in between the posts until some of the rumours surrounding that spot do materialize.

Like midweek, we took advantage of Southamton's fatigue of closing us down all game and hit them with 2 goals to win the tie. Owen scored a poacher's header after good work by Obertan, and Hernandez sealed the win after a truly incisive pass from Giggs set him free.

With the win, we avoided adding another game to an already packed looking fixture in the next couple of weeks. More importantly, it also gave the reserves and second stringers some much needed game time, not that many did well though. Still it allowed our mainstays some rest as the next game comes on Tuesday in the form of a resurgent Villa side that has won their last 3 games.

Epic!

Blackpool 2 - Manchester United 3
Scorers
Blackpool: Cathcart (15), Campbell (43)
Manchester United: Berbatov (72, 88), Hernandez (74)

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Smalling, Rafael (Anderson 80), Evra, Scholes, Fletcher, Gibson (Giggs 46), Nani, Rooney (Hernandez 66), Berbatov

What a game! As a football fan, you can't ask for more. 100 minutes of football, 5 goals, an epic comeback! The only downside was a worrying injury to Rafael who spent a good 5 minutes on the ground with a suspected concussion and subsequently sent to hospital. Word out is that he should be fine which is a relief.

This was literally a game of two halves. The first half was a downright diaster. Barring Van der Sar, no one played an average game. Everyone was rubbish. Credit however has to go to Blackpool who brought the game to us. They were absolutely brilliant and their hardwork paid off with two good headers from corners. It was nothing more than they deserved.

At the end of the half, I had already resigned to defeat, half wishing we had the type of fight and endeavour Blackpool showed. I was almost glad that our first defeat would be to add to Blackpool's wonderful fairy tale story so far. They really impressed me and believe me, I'd be rooting for them the rest of the season. Good, hardworking, honest team.

The thing here about United is that you can never write us off. We just never backdown, never give up. And today's game is the biggest indication of our desire not to go into the night with our heads hanging down.

The Giggs' subsitution at the half was inspirational. As Blackpool began to tire, we began to stamp our authority on the pitch, and really piled on the pressure in the last 30 minutes of the game to not only draw level, but to take off 3 points.

As industrious as Blackpool were, we showed that the game is played for 90 minutes. The Tangerines gave too much in that first half rampage and left themselves totally exhausted in the last quarter of the game, completely exposed to our pressure. Berbatov grabbed a brace and Hernandez's goal in between those gave us an unlikely win. In the added 10 minutes for Rafael's injury, we looked the most likely scorers and Blackpool were almost, sadly, reduced to walking pace. They had given their all, but in the end, it wasn't enough.

The win moved us 5 points clear at the top of the table. It also marked only our third away victory in the league this season, which is clearly not good enough for a team with title aspirations. Anyhow, I'm feeling alot more relaxed with this win. It was a great game and a real down and up experience. A great way to start the day!

Berbatov Grabs A Hattrick Of Hattricks

Manchester United 5 - Birmingham 0
Scorers
Manchester United: Berbatov (2, 31, 52), Giggs (45), Nani (76)

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Smalling, O'Shea, Evra (Fabio 45), Carrick (Gibson 25), Anderson, Giggs (Owen 55), Nani, Rooney, Berbatov

If only Berbatov can play away the way he plays at Old Trafford. He grabbed a third hattrick today against a toothless Birmingham. Either Birmingham were shockingly poor or we were sensational.

We practically dominated the game from start to finish. Berbatov opened the scoring in the 2nd minute and we never looked back. We missed a boatload of chances before he added a second to leave the result beyond doubt.

Giggs added a third at the end of injury time in the first half to give us a commanding lead. The goal was a beauty, involving sweet inter-play between both Berbatov and Rooney.

We took the foot off the pedal in the second half and allowed Birmingham to have possession, but it was Berbatov who found the mark for the third time in the game.

Nani added a fifth with a fine individual effort.

We were at our finest today. If only we can build on this and play similarly week in week out. I suppose there has to be a starting point and hopefully this is the springboard for us to play at a much higher level to blow our opponents away. It's important to go into the next game against Blackpool with the same level of commitment and movement.

Today's been a really good day all round and if we can win our game in hand against Blackpool in the midweek, we should be in a commanding position to take the crown.

Got Away With One

Tottenham 0 - Manchester United 0
Red Cards
Manchester United: Rafael (74)

Team: Van der Sar, Rio, Vidic, Rafael, Evra, Carrick, Fletcher, Nani (Anderson 62), Giggs, Rooney, Berbatov (Hernandez 78)

Phew, gotta say we escaped with a point. This was never going to be an easy fixture, facing a Spurs side filled with attacking talent.

As usual, our away malaise persisted and we continue to play like fuck. The going got more difficult in the 74th minute when Rafael was sent for an early shower after a rather harsh second yellow card, but it wasn't unexpected. Rafael was totally immersed in the game and was rather rash with some of his tackles throughout the game and after some persistent rough play probably left the referee with little choice but to brandish the red card.

The game itself was a drab and dull affair. Both sides failed to control any semblance of a passing game, although Spurs was slightly better with Modric pulling the strings. They, however, failed to make any telling contributions in the final third.

We were no better. Barring a Rooney strike in the second half that somewhat troubled Gomez, we were absolutely horrid for a tabletopping side. The draw was probably the best result for two unconvincing sides. Spurs proved that they could stand toe to toe with the big sides, and while we topped the table and kept our unbeaten record. The sending off made things slightly more uncomfortable but we managed well in the final 16 or so minutes.

Once again, I must stress that we must improve on our level of play. Besides the defense that kept an unlikely cleansheet, everyone else must improve. Our away form is shocking and could very well be our achilles heel. And when Nani is not performing, nothing seems to work for us. Once again, we're left too reliant on one player.

It seems that Ferguson is finding it hard to motivate the players to perform at a high level. I, too, am at a loss of how to improve the team barring an injection of new blood. That said, Ferguson seems confident that this is the squad to take us to the end of the season. I suppose we can only trust Ferguson to know what he's doing. Hopefully Valencia and Park returning in the near future will give us more options to shuffle a stale looking deck.

United Bore Liverpool To 4th Round

Manchester United 1 - Liverpool 0
Scorer
Manchester United: Giggs (pen 2)

Team: Kuszczak, Rio, Evans (Smalling 84), Rafael, Evra, Fletcher (Anderson 62), Carrick, Giggs, Nani, Berbatov, Hernandez (Owen 75)

What a putrid game to sit thru. It was so boring that I immediately fell asleep right after the final whistle. Once again, we failed to find any sort of flair and probably played our worst game of the season.

We were lucky on two accounts. First, we got to face a Liverpool side that is on a huge decline. Even the appointment of Kenny Dalglish failed to movtivate this bunch. Although it was a somewhat spirited performance by the scousers, they were truely pathetic.

Then there was that penalty decision that everyone was talking about. Berbatov dived in the first minute and Howard Webb bought it line, hook and sinker. Unlike Walcott, the day before, Berbatov still insists it was a genuine penalty.

Shameful.

But not as shameful as the way we approached the game after Giggs put away the spot kick. It was as uninspired as it could get. With the exception of probably Rafael and Hernandez, no one in a red shirt gave a shit out there. No one was interested in fighting for the ball and no one was moving and making space for the passes.

Gerrard then foolishly got himself sent off for a leg-breaking tackle on Carrick. Carrick was lucky to be unhurt by the challenge and Gerrard was rightly given his marching orders. Things got worse playing against ten men.

The only reason that kept me watching the game instead of switching to the Spurs game was the prospect and hope that we would finally wake up and pound the living daylights of our once hated rivals.

Sadly, that never materialized. Barring a 20 second spell where Reina make a quintuple of fine saves, the game fettered out into a borefest.

I have absolutely no doubts that if we bring this Night of the Living Dead performance into most of the games remaining this season, there is absolutely no way we're going to win anything. There is going to be a huge injection of pride and motivation if we're going to take anything from Spurs at White Hart Lane next week.

Nani Sinks Stoke

Manchester United 2 - Stoke City 1
Scorers
Manchester United: Hernandez (27), Nani (62)
Stoke City: Whitehead (50)

Team: Kuszczak, Vidic, Smalling, Rafael, Evra, Fletcher, Gibson (Carrick 78), Giggs, Nani, Berbatov, Hernandez (Owen 78)

Once again we failed to overwhelm our opponents despite dominating the bulk of the game. The good news however is that we still managed to gather all 3 points after a lacklustre display.

Hernandez opened the scoring when he nipped in front of Shawcross to poke home Nani's low cross to send the Old Trafford crowd wild. We should have had killed the game but no one had their scoring boots on. All our shots went wayward.

Inside the first 5 minutes of the second half, Stoke equalized via a header from Whitehead. Our defenders were caught in Neverland and Whitehead capitalized to pull the game level. We looked shaky until Nani's wonderstrike just after the hour mark.

From then on, we completely kept Stoke out of the game without threatening to pull further away. Our passing in the last third was severely lacking and the game petered out to a close 2-1 victory.

What was encouraging was the play of both Smalling and Rafael. Both handled their defensive duties well. The only blemish was allowing Whitehead's header, but that responsibility fell mostly to Vidic and Evra.

On the attacking side, Nani was a welcome sight. He's goal brought us the points, and while he did show his usual scintillating runs down the flanks, he did a wonderful job providing the spark and link up play.

If there was one downside was the play of Gibson. I'm beginning to feel very underwhelmed by him. Besides a wicked shot (which has been missing), he's just a very mediocre player. There is nothing outstanding about his play. At the same time, there's nothing he does poorly either. Perhaps that's exactly his problem, he's a very average player when his shot is not there. Probably someone good enough for a second rung club like Birmingham or Wolves, but I don't really see a future for him at United. Afterall, as Kentona once mentioned, we already have Carrick for that.

All in all, it's a good result today. We've come away with 10 points from a hectic festive fixture and that's a really good haul.

Next we get to play Liverpool in the FA Cup this weekend, followed by another imposing game against Spurs, who'd love to avenge the defeat at Old Trafford.

United Survives Hawthorns

WBA 1 - Manchester United 2
Scorers
WBA: Morrison (14)
Manchester United: Rooney (2), Hernandez (75)

Team: Kuszczak, Rio, Vidic, Neville (Fabio 71), Evra, Carrick, Anderson, Fletcher, Obertan (Gibson 61), Rooney, Berbatov (Hernandez 61)

Hmmm....where shall we start? First off, we were terrible...really terrible. Secondly, WBA should have won with plenty of leg space to put most first class seats in most airlines to shame.

Granted we started off early with a Rooney goal from open play to usher in the New Year, we were second best for most parts of the game. Neville, in particular, was just abysmal. I know he's been a loyal servant and a key part in alot of our past success, but the current version lacks the timing and positional sense to play the game at this level anymore. He was caught out of position time and time again and to make matters worse, he's been caught for pace and left for dead. He should have been sent off early in the game with a crude tackle in the box, but was let off when the referee waved the game on despite it being an ironclad penalty.

It's embarassing to watch a legend fall so badly. Ferguson should stop trying to shame the poor fellow and let him slowly fade into the sunset. There are options at rightback if Ferguson is willing to put away his biasness.

Obertan is the other player in red that was utterly disappointing as well. There is no doubts that he has oodles of skills, but for some reason, he just doesnt't know how to deal with it. He's decision making is some of the worst I've seen in football. Nani and Ronaldo have been guilty of making some poor choices on the pitch, but Obertan takes the cake. Some of the stuff he does )or doesn't do), just baffles the mind. Nevertheless, I'm not willing to write him off yet. If we exercised the amount of patience on both Nani and Ronaldo, then it's only fair we give Obertan the same amount of time to establish himself and learn the game properly. Yet for some reason, I feel he just might not make the grade.

As for everyone else, I suppose they did enough. We were lucky that WBA missed a penalty while they were completely dominating the game. That penalty miss deflated them and Hernandez went on the sub salt in their wounds with a game winner.

We've chalked up our second away win and have temporarily broken away from the chasing pack, albeit for a few hours.