If We Win The Title This Season, It's Down To This Game

Manchester United 1 - Bolton 0
Scorer
Manchester United: Berbatov (88)


Red Card
Manchester United: Evans (75)


Team: Van der Sar, Smalling, Evans, Brown (Fabio 46), Evra, Carrick, Giggs, Valencia, Nani, Rooney, Hernandez (Berbatov 46)

10 men, no Ferguson, against the odds, and we came away with a precious victory. This was a superb victory not only in terms of the circumstances surrounding the victory, but also Arsenal dropping points to give us a cushion in the run-in.

We came into this game without a good 75% of our defenders and were practically down to the bare-bones in that department. It was made worse when Johnny was sent off for a terrible tackle in the 75th minute. He now faces a lengthy suspension, while Rio is out for the season and both O'Shea and Rafael incurred hamstring problems at midweek. What was most nerve-wrecking was that we had to employ Carrick as a makeshift central defender to partner Smalling in the last 15 minutes.

We also had a terrible ruling by the FA to suspended Fergie from the touchline for a whooping 5 games, starting with today's game. Although Ferguson's comments were out of line even though it echoed most fans' sentiments, 5 games smacked of a conspiracy to take us off our stride.

Last but not least, we had a grueling game at midweek in the Champions League. The good thing out of that was that we got to face Chelsea in the quarters and hopefully the lads are up for a revenge especially the way we lost to them a couple of weeks ago.

Under those circumstances, a draw would have been a welcome result. Yet after Evans was sent off, we threw bodies forward in search of 3 points instead of protecting the 1, which was absolutely brilliant. Nerve-wrecking but very entertaining. It made matter all the sweeter that Arsenal valiantly fought back from 2 down to draw 2-2 but couldn't get over the hump, while we did. In the grand scheme of the title race, Berbatov's goal was probably the most important to date.

Berbatov's substitution at half time was a head-scratcher. He replaced Hernandez, who had done no wrong, and could so readily have backfired. I know I was bewildered like many others out there, but that's the reason why Ferguson is the manager of this great club and I'm at home blogging.

United Scrapes Thru After Flying Start

Manchester United 2 - Marseille 1
Scorers
Manchester United: Hernandez (5, 75)
Marseille: Brown (og 81)


Team: Van der Sar, Smalling, Brown, O'Shea (Rafael 36 (Fabio 70)), Evra, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs, Nani (Valencia 62), Rooney, Hernandez

We really made it hard on ourselves after a blistering opening to the game. We came out of the blocks and took advantage of Merseille's youth. While they were in awe of the moment, Hernandez scored a poacher's goal with a tap-in following Rooney's cross cum shot.

It was opportunities galore but in typical United fashion, we refused to make it count. Gradually Marseille got their act together and had a few threatening moments but were wasteful.

We threatened to swing the gates wide open at the start of the second half, but were once again unable to find the net. Marseille grew in confidence as the game wore on and they started to create chances. The tie was hanging on a balance by a knife's edge, until brilliant play from Valencia and Giggs created another poacher's tap-in for Hernandez with 15 minutes to go.

We should have been home and dry. We really should have. Instead of pressing home our advantage, we took a backseat, hoping to see out the game and were rather unfortunate to have Marseille pull one back when Brown put the ball into his own net. It set up a really tense ending to the game, one that was unneccessary.

Despite the somewhat close scoreline, we were pretty much the better team on the night. There were some really good performances on and off the pitch.

Thumbs Up
UEFA - Definitely got a thumbs up for the support and the minute's silence in the aftermath of the earthquake in Japan. I have to say that the Japanese people as a whole were absolutely brilliant in handling the crisis. I doubt any nation or people in the world would have handled the situation any better. In the face of a life threatening situation, they were still looking out for the people around them and that spirit is commendable, unfortunately will not be replicated anywhere else on this earth.

Rooney - His passing today was quite out of this world. He made some jaw-dropping passes that left me....well...with my mouth gaping. Looks like he could very well be back to his best.

Hernandez - What can you say about this little pea that hasn't been said? He was everywhere and his positioning for both the goals was top class. Not to mention he's in the form of his life. No wonder Berbatov can't get off the bench despite his exploits this season.

Smalling - My word, he's our new man mountain. He's had another top class game. Let's hope it's a consistent thing with him. I remember going crazy over Evans when he first played, but it faded off after sometime.


Thumbs Down
Evra - Was given the captain's armband but it wasn't a captain's performance. He's tackling was ridiculously reckless and was lucky not to have been given a second yellow in the early stages of the second half. That said, he was however, pretty effective going forward.

Ray Wilkins - I was really unfortunate to have this dick as part of the commentating team alongside Billy Leslie. There was nothing he said during the game that wasn't obvious. Not only was he Captain Obvious, he was auditioning for Captain Blowjob. The entire night he was drooling over Rooney's passing even when Rooney didn't pull them off. It was almost this idiot has Rooney's dick in his mouth the whole time. And he crossed the line in the final 10 minutes of the game when he was probably jisming in his pants when Carrick made a long pass. The kicker - Carrick completely missed the target he was aiming for. Chelsea were smart to let his idiot go. All that needs to happen now is for Liverpool to sign him up so we won't get to hear sperm mouth fucking our ears.

Carrick - Didn't have a good game. Didn't have a bad game. Just wanted to put him here.

Kicking Arsenal Out Of The FA Cup

Manchester United 2 - Arsenal 0
Scorers
Manchester United: Fabio (28), Rooney (49)

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Smalling, Brown, Evra (Scholes 80), O'Shea, Gibson, Rafael (Giggs 63), Fabio (Valencia 46), Rooney, Hernandez

Both teams where pretty much down in the dumps, affected by bad results recently and injuries. We just had consecutive losses to Chelsea and Liverpool, while Arsenal self-destructed in the Carling Cup finals and were harshly dumped from the Champions League competition by a Martin Atkinson-like referee.

With injuries playing a big part to both managers' selections, it was Ferguson's gimmicky lineup that won the day, to make it a hattrick of competitions that Arsenal were dumped out of. The porn brothers were wonderful make-shift wingers. Their energy, enthusiasm and can-do spirit was a breath of fresh air from Carrick's square passes and hopeless running. Together with Rooney, O'Shea and even Gibson, they formed a formidable 5-man midfield that was able to catch Arsenal twice on the counter-attack, resulting in the first goal.

Valencia replaced Fabio at the half and proceeded to help set up the second and another sweeping move that dumbfounded the Arsenal defense. Arsenal too had their chances, but were foiled by the brilliant Van der Sar. Almunia had his moments too, making a number of incredible saves to keep the contest interesting.

The spectacle was marred by a lengthy injury to Djourou. And in a longer than normal injury time, Scholes tried to his best to get a red card but the referee refused to indulge him.

Overall it was a really good game and a really good result. Rafael and Fabio were exceptional and the return of Valencia might just mean that Nani's injury against Liverpool would not be such a huge miss. Most important of all, Ferguson probably learnt that we can not only survive without Michael fucking Carrick, but we were actually striving.

United Plays Without Midfield And Gets Thrashed By Bitter Rivals

Liverpool 3 - Manchester United 1
Scorers
Liverpool: Kuyt (34,39,65)
Manchester United: Hernandez (90)

Team: Van der Sar, Smalling, Brown, Rafael (O'Shea 76), Evra, Scholes (Fletcher 84), Carrick, Giggs, Nani (Hernandez 45), Rooney, Berbatov

This was a fully deserved defeat, and a typical end to a horrible week. We started with a diabolical lost to Chelsea, then came the news we were extending Carrick's contract and now climaxing with a terrible defeat to Liverpool.

We had a healthy amount of possession in this game but playing without any midfielders of note, we had no cutting edge. Rooney and Berbatov were left out to dry and a matter of time before Liverpool took advantage. Bar a Berbatov effort that clipped the post, we rarely made our superiority in possession count.

Giggs was having one of those nightmare games where he just kept giving the ball away and again and again. Almost every move United made was single-handedly broken down by him.

And don't get me started on that absolutely useless Michael Carrick. I wonder what in the world Ferguson sees in him to extend his contract. I would have gladly returned him to Spurs for a bag of chips. He provides no attacking impetus and all he does in midfield is make lateral passes, mostly to Scholes. Damn, if Ferguson wanted someone to make lateral passes, he could have hired me. I make pretty sweet lateral passes, and I cost way less. Hell, if he asks nicely, I might even do it for free. If his normal invisible man act wasn't bad enough, he decided to stamp his mark on the game by being absolutely dreadful today.

Suarez danced his way thru our defence and set Kuyt up for the opener, a well deserved goal for the hungrier team. As if watching Giggs and Carrick piss the game away wasn't bad enough, Nani decided to get into the act. He added to his bulging assist number with another one today. With no one around him, he headed a clearance right to Kuyt and set up the second goal on a platter. At that point in time, you knew it was curtains.

The drama for the half hadn't ended. Carragher then proceeded to literally leave his mark on Nani with a dreadful challenge. It almost sparked a mass brawl, with Nani at the centre of it. He was later stretched off the pitch and replaced by Hernandez. Rafael then got himself involved with Skrtal and sparked another come together of the players. Phil Dowd handled both situations brilliantly, unlike some referee at midweek.

Kuyt got his hattrick in the second half when Van der Sar spilled Suarez's freekick. Meanwhile, Giggs and Carrick continued their devastating rampage. Hernandez eventually got a consolation but it was too little too late.

The defeat completely eroded whatever advantage we have in the title race. We now lead Arsenal by a miserly 3 points and they have a goal in hand. Add to that, they seemingly have an easier run in. The only saving grace is that they have a ridiculous injury list.

In truth, we don't deserve the title this season. We have been helped largely by our opponents screwing up at crucial times and our nonchalant style of play is finally catching up to us. By now, it must be crystal clear to Ferguson that our don't have a midfield. For a huge part of the season, we've been riding on Nani's shoulders in that department. We need to spend in the summer to bring in suitable replacements for the aging and the incompetent. No more excuses.

That being said, I somehow get the feeling that despite the proclaimations that funds are avilable, it's somewhat a smokescreen. The fact we so willingly extended the contracts of Fletcher and Carrick seems to tell a different story. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Fletcher, but his form this season leaves alot to be desired. And don't get me started on Carrick again, I could go on and on and shame the Duracell bunny.

As much as I want us to win, I think this defeat could very well open Ferguson's eyes to what most of us fans have known for a long time - that this squad simply isn't good enough. If he doesn't, or can't, see this, then perhaps he's no longer the manager to lead us forward.

WWE Ref Bodyslams United's Title Bid

Chelsea 2 - Manchester United 1
Scorers
Chelsea: Luiz (54), Lampard (pen 79)
Manchester United: Rooney (30)

Red Card: Vidic (90)

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Smalling, O'Shea, Evra (Fabio 81), Carrick, Fletcher, Scholes (Giggs 70), Nani, Rooney, Hernandez (Berbatov 70)

To say I'm miffed is a gross understatement. Like Ferguson, I'm fuming mad. Instead of running away with the title, we're now stuck in a dogfight and serverely handicapped by a referee who is more worthless than Rob Styles. At this level of the game, it's shocking that a referee can influence a game this badly and subsequently the outcome of a season.

Martin Atkinson decision not to send David Luiz off, not once, not twice but thrice, was shameful and dastardly. Eventually his decision, or non-decision, resulted in the equalizer scored by Luiz, of course. To compound matters, He gave away a ridiculously soft penalty. Zhirkov ran into Smalling and was rewarded with a spot kick that sealed United's fate.

Against such odds, it was almost impossible to come away with anything from a game like this. But Atkinson wasn't finished with his destruction of United. He produced a diabolical red card to Vidic as the game ended to ensure a tough match up at Anfield over the weekend.

I've seen some piss poor refereeing in my 30 odd years of watching football, but this has to rank up there as probably one of the worst ever. Even the notoriously poor refereeing in the WWE and NBA can't be as blatant as this.

This was one of the rare games that we actually played rather well away from Old Trafford. It's a shame the referee had to spoil it. Of course the conspiracist theorist in me feels that this goes beyond the referee and a larger agenda at work. In part this is also probably a payback for the elbow that Rooney got away with in the midweek where he was lucky not to receive a red.

All that matters now is to look forward to Anfield this weekend. It's going to be tough without Vidic, Rio or even Evans. Looks like we'd be having some problems fielding someone to partner Smalling. Maybe Wes Brown might finally get a look in.

Last but not least, curse you Martin Atkinson!