United Steals Thriller

Manchester United 4 - Newcastle 3
Scorers
Manchester United: Evans (25), Evra (58), Van Persie (71), Hernandez (90)
Newcastle: Perch (4), Evans (og 28), Cisse (68)

Team: De Gea, Rio, Evans, Smalling, Evra, Carrick, Scholes (Cleverley 69), Giggs, Valencia, Van Persie, Hernandez (Fletcher 90)

Just as it looked like we were heading for a second successive draw, Carrick's cross caught the Newcastle defence square and Hernandez reacted quickest to prod the ball beyond the on rushing Krul to steal the points for United.

After missing numerous chances in the game, Hernandez must have felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders when the ball went into the net. Carrick, too, made amends for his error which resulted in Newcastle's opener. He lost the ball in midfield and Ba lashed out a shot that De Gea could only parry onto the path of James Perch. It was a familiar sight, and once again we had to orchestrate another come-from-behind win.

Evans equalised when he reacted quickest to Hernandez's cross-cum shot from a set-piece, but his joy was shortlived. Three minutes later, Evans once again found himself on the scoresheet, but this time on the wrong end of the pitch. There was a bit of controversy as Cisse was offside, but Evans did get to the ball first. The referee first disallowed the goal, before allowing it. It was a decision that was hard on United but probably the right one according to the letter of the law. Thankfully it didn't alter the final result.

In the second half, Evra brought the teams level again with a sweet left foot shot. He's recently been having an Indian summer and scoring goals for fun. As we pushed for the winner, Newcastle once again pegged us back with a sweet volley from Cisse after good work from Obertan. Didn't remember him doing that well on the flanks for us.

This time round, we were quick to answer. Van Persie found his name on the scoresheet after his first volley was not cleared by Krul. With the scores level and around 20 minutes to go, United threw the kitchen sink at Newcastle but found the Geordies hard to break down. It was only until the final minutes in injury time that Hernandez scored to take a home victory.

Ferguson nearly paid the price for playing both Scholes and Giggs together in midfield. For a good two thirds of the game, we allowed Newcastle too much time and spare in midfield, It wasn't until Scholes was replaced by Cleverley that the passing become quicker and more incisive. During this festive period, the games come fast and furious and I understand the need to rotate players, however, playing both Scholes and Giggs is a recipe for disaster. As it stands, we're already handicapped with Carrick as the default starter, at least today he made good in the final minutes.

United Drops Points With First Draw

Swansea 1 - Manchester United 1
Scorers
Swansea: Michu (29)
Manchester United: Evra (16)

Team: De Gea, Vidic, Evans, Jones, Evra, Carrick, Cleverley (Scholes 85), Valencia (Hernandez 62), Young, Rooney (Giggs 78), Van Persie

Gotta admit this result is somewhat disappointing. Given how we're markedly improved our play in the last few weeks, this one pales in comparison. Credit should also be given to Swansea, who never panicked. Even under intense pressure in the second half, they insisted on playing their way out of trouble and if you're a neutral, are a delight to watch. Unfortunately, they did it against us.

What was more disappointing was the fact that we didn't have any impact substitutes. When it mattered most, we could only rely on Scholes and Giggs as our trump cards off the bench. And when the inevitable substitutions came, we ended up more stiffled instead of pressing the issue. It was a shame. We didn't really look too bad, and it did seem like a matter of time before we clinched the winner too.

Evra put us infront from a corner early in the game, but Michu continued his irresistable goalscoring form and pulled Swansea level. In truth, Swansea did look the better team in the first half, exploiting holes in our porous defense from the counter attack.

We came out with more impetus in the second half and for good parts really made Vorm work for his money. On the other side, De Gea too had his hands full taking out the threat provided by Michu and his speedy wingers.

United, on the other hand, offered little in terms of flank play and it was a matter of time before Valencia was taken out to be replaced by Hernandez.

Rooney found himself in the referee's book and sensing a red mist rising, Ferguson took no chances and replaced him with Giggs. The downside to that decision was that the ineffective Young remained on the pitch.

The game was nearly brought into disrepute when AshleyWilliams slammed the ball into Van Persie's header after the whistle had blown. It was a low blow and the Dutchman reacted, nearly bringing on a free for all. Luckily cooler heads ruled the day and order was maintained. The two players involved were booked for their troubles.

United, perhaps spurred on by the incident, really poured on the pressure. Swansea held on resolutely and eventually were happy, and perhaps relieved, to play the time out.

We really missed Kagawa, Anderson and Nani. They could have come on and made a difference. Right now, there is no competition on the wings, and when neither Young nor Valencia made an impact, we have no one to bring on to change things up. As good as Giggs and Scholes are, they are spot players. Both would be tremendous players to bring on to see a game out with their vast experience, but to chase a game, neither has the speed to shake things up.

United Brushes Sunderland Aside

Manchester United 3 - Sunderland 1
Scorers
Manchester United: Van Persie (16), Cleverley (19), Rooney (59)
Sunderland: Campbell (72)

Team: De Gea, Rio (Vidic 68), Smalling, Jones, Evra, Carrick (Scholes 46), Cleverley (Giggs 73), Valencia, Young, Rooney, Van Persie

First off, just want to say that I was away and missed the last couple of games. Could and should've caught the derby but was simply too tired to make my way to the pub to catch the game.

That derby win seems to have given the lads confidence and they kept up the pressure with a good performance against a depleted Sunderland side. We scored 3 good goals and saw Vidic return to the first team. The only disappointment was that we didn't keep a clean sheet, but with the current set up, those are rare and we really should be glad not to have conceded more.

Overall it was a nice open game with both sides coming close on a number of occasions and both sets of keepers did their respective jobs. The difference between the sides was simply clinical finshing by the home team.

As much as I didn't like the amount we spent on Van Persie, he's the first name I look for when the teamsheets are released. Like it or not, he's become the single most important signing for a long long time. It's like having Ruud Van Nistelrooy back.

United Wins It In A Thrilling First Half

Reading 3 - Manchester United 4
Scorers
Reading: Robson-Kanu (8), Le Fondre (19), Morrison (23)
Manchester United: Anderson (13), Rooney (pen 16, 30), Van Persie (34)

Team: Lindegaard, Rio, Evans, Rafael (Smalling 31), Carrick, Fletcher, Anderson (Jones (45), Young, Rooney, Van Persie (74)

We won this thriller with all the goals coming in the first half. It looked like a potential banana skin, but we navigated it and sailed to a well deserved 3 points.

Chelsea had lost in the early game to West Ham and Shitty were held at home to Everton. Usually when the early contenders slip, so would we, but today we held our nerve and came back twice from behind in sensational fashion to beat a resilient Reading.

Just as the doctor ordered, we fell behind early thru a superb volley from Robson-Kanu. The goal spurred us and we levelled with a brilliant goal from Anderson after some good work with Young. Evans was then fouled in the box and Rooney put us into the lead from the spot.

Just as the early deficit invigorated us, Reading did their own revival on us. Two corners from Shorey resulted in two headered goals. We couldn't defend the corners and paid the price.

In a ridiculous to and fro battle, we punched back harder with another couple of quick goals from Rooney and Van Persie.

Van Persie could have made it 5, but his shot over the line was not seen by the linesman, despite it being way way over the line before being cleared. On the other side of the pitch, Reading were equally unlucky not to be awarded a corner despite the ball clearly coming off Evra.

Just as games of this nature are played, adjustments were made and the second half fell into a dull affair. Van Persie should have put the result beyond doubt when he robbed the Reading keeper of the ball. He put the effort wide. As a result, we barely survived a late late Reading onslaught of freekicks and corners. The defence held firm and we collected all the points in a thrilling contest.

I just have to add that this is probably one of the most thrilling first halves I've seen in a long long time.

United Beats West Ham

Manchester United 1 - West Ham United 0
Scorer
Manchester United: Van Persie (1)

Team: Lindegaarde, Evans, Smalling, Rafael, Evra, Carrick, Anderson (Jones 84), Cleverley (Young 66), Rooney (Welbeck 78), Van Persie, Hernandez

Van Persie's hugely deflected goal right from the kickoff was the difference between the two teams. We controlled much of the game but could not comfortably put the Hammers away.

There were moments where West Ham had their shot, but frankly without Noble in midfield, they looked rather toothless. Even then, Diame looked like a world-beater out there. But I really can't have many complaints. Anderson and Cleverley starting really helped speed up the game, even though it was Carrick who supplied the pass for the goal.

All in all, it was a good win. We kept a very rare clean sheet and kept up with the appearance of challenging for the title. It's looking like a two-horse race with Chelsea drawing blanks at home. Despite maintaining the top spot, we are really the underdogs. Shitty has a deeper squad and they do not have any European commitments. At least having Van Persie fit, healthy and scoring goals makes things interesting.

Another Comeback

Manchester United 3 - QPR 1
Scorers
Manchester United: Evans (64), Fletcher (68), Hernandez (71)
QPR: Mackie (52)

Team: Lindegaard, Rio, Evans, Rafael, Evra, Fletcher, Scholes (Hernandez 59), Young (Anderson 59), Welbeck (Powell 79), Rooney, Van Persie

Let's just stop wasting time and appeal to the FA to start games at 1-0 down. It seems we just cannot start playing football until we concede. To suggest this was a good victory is a terrible terrible insult. We were utter shit, that is until Mackie put the bottom team 1-0 up.

Even then it took a while before we woke up. Evans evened the scores with a header, followed by another from Fletcher. Hernandez completed the comeback with a sweet goal. We probably just about deserved the victory solely based on desire, but at some point in the season it's just not going to be enough, just as Norwich has shown us.

You know, the entire season I've been ragging on the Scholes and Carrick pairing as the utter bomb, and just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, Ferguson threw up Scholes alongside Fletcher to bore QPR to death. The first half was simply pathetic. The only consolation was that QPR's equally pathetic....in all departments.

Only after conceding that Scholes was replaced with Anderson that the pace of the game changed slightly. Young who had a terrible game, thankfully joined Scholes. As stubborn and loyal Ferguson is, at least he's not blind.

We have a couple of winnable games before meeting Shitty in a couple of weeks. Now that we've mastered the art of coming from behind, let's take the next step of not bloody conceding.

Encouraging Loss

Galatasaray 1 - Manchester United 0
Scorer
Galatasaray: Yilmaz (53)

Team: Lindegaard, Jones, Carrick, Rafael, Buttner, Fletcher, Anderson (Young 74), Cleverley, Powell (Macheda 74), Welbeck (King 85), Hernandez

We rest a whole slew of players coming into this fixture. Having already qualified and secured the top spot in the group, we could afford to relax and rotate the squad, while keeping our focus on domestic competition.

Although we just lost this game, the signs were encouraging. If only that were true with the 'regulars'. Anderson and Welbeck were the pick of the bunch. Along side Cleverley and Powell, we passed the ball much faster and as a result were able to attack the opponents quicker before they could set their defence. Only poor finishing was our undoing on the night. Both Welbeck and Hernandez had their chances but were unable to beat the Turkish keeper.

We might have lost, but at least the game was immensely watchable, with both teams going for it. It was especially encouraging after Galatasaray took the lead. We put relentless pressure on them and was alittle disappointing not to have come away with anything.

Young Powell's performance promises alot for the future of the team. He's passes and positioning, especially positioning, was top notched. Although he delivered little in quantifiable terms, it's the intangibles that gives alot of optimism.

Of course everyone knows I love to see Cleverley and Ando playing together. They may not be the best pairing, but they speed up the game so much that it's refreshing to watch.

Carrick actually played a good game in central defence. If he doesn't get murdered at that position, he's actually a good asset. Keeping him there keeps him away from midfield.

Jones was terribly rusty. He gave the ball away a few times in dangerous areas. It will take time for him adjust and get his form back.

Welbeck was just brilliant at everyone but putting the ball in the net. I still insist that he's our Emile Heskey. He was really brilliant at everything.

I'm not feeling Hernandez at the moment. He had an okay game. It's looking increasingly like his best position is coming off the bench, ala Ole. Unless he gets an early goal, he tends to fade. I really like him, but I'm just don't think he's suited to play the entire 90 minutes.

Overall, the greatest change to the game was in midfield and it showed, even though the results showed otherwise. The ball's in Fergie's court, add Van Persie and Rooney to the mix, I'm sure we'd be churning out results week-in, week-out.

Ferguson Stinks Up Carrow Road

Norwich 1 - Manchester United 0
Scorer
Norwich: Pilkington (60)

Team: Lindegaard, Rio (Anderson 83), Smalling, Rafael, Evra, Carrick, Giggs, Young, Valencia (Scholes 69), Van Persie, Hernandez (Welbeck 69)

Just when you think it's safe to go into the water, Ferguson throws up a stinker with this one. I'm so disgusted. While Rooney not playing the link man from midfield, there were exactly two reason why we lost this one.

1. Anderson and Cleverley were on the bench. Carrick and Giggs started in midfield. After going on down, Ferguson's master plan was to send on Scholes along with Carrick and Giggs to futher slow the game down.

2. Valencia has a stinker of a game. He spent way too much time on the ball deciding what to do. Taking him out of the game was the right thing to do, but replacing him with Scholes was just another head-scratcher from Ferguson.

We truly missed Rooney in his new-found role of playing behind the frontmen. No one could make a pass and our midfield played like their age showed. Giggs and Scholes are still good impact players, but Ferguson needs to pick their spots more carefully and not throw them to the wolves.

So much for trying to make up for the goal difference last year. We're not only trailing Shitty on the table, our much prized goal difference is also inferior. Let's get things right and win the goddamn games first. No excuses, this one is solely on Ferguson.

Hernandez Does A Macheda On Villa

Aston Villa 2 - Manchester United 3
Scorers
Aston Villa: Weimann (45, 50)
Manchester United: Hernandez (58, 87), Vlaar (og 63)

Team: De Gea, Rio, Smalling, Rafael, Evra, Carrick, Scholes (Cleverley 72), Young (Hernandez 46), Valencia, Rooney (Anderson 79), Van Persie

Great game. Villa's been shit for most of the season but they brought their A game today and they practically gave us fits, especially the physical play of Benteke. He was practically unplayable. Luckily, we had our own Benteke in the form of the diminutive Hernandez, who single-handedly snatch victory for us.

We didn't play too badly and both our goals results from a lack of protection from midfield, allowing Weimann to score from surging runs from midfield to connect to great hold up play from their forwards. Neither Scholes nor Carrick were able to track the runs from midfield. If I recalled correctly, Scholes was the guilty party in the second Villa goal. He gave away the ball cheaply and it resulted in the goal.

For most parts of the game, we controlled the ball and the tempo pretty well in midfield. Upfront was where the problems occurred. Villa played a tight formation and Rooney and Van Persie found little to no joy. Young and Valencia found space down the flanks but their crosses were often crowded out.

At 2-0 down, Villa seemingly were in a comfortable position, but against United, it was never enough. Hernandez pulled one back with a somewhat lucky goal after getting the ball stuck between his feet. He showed great composure digging it out and putting it between the legs of Guzan.

Hernandez then fired a Rafael cross into the on-rushing form of Vlaar and the ball took a huge deflection into the goal. The cameback was complete and the teams were level.

Van Persie, who had been anonymous, till now, struck the crossbar twice within a minute, once with his head, and the other with a venomous strike. And in the final ten minutes, United were virtually camped in the Villa half and eventually the pressure paid off when Hernandez broke free from his marker and headed home Van Persie's freekick to turn the scores around.

It was a fantastic come from behind victory, another one to add to the ridiculous amount of times we've falled behind this season. The win gives us a 4-point cushion until Chelsea and Shitty play tonight. We probably could have played better, but you can't really complain about the fighting spirit the lads have shown.

Random Thoughts
I seriously think the Belgium national team is one to look out for. They have some seriously good and young players and alot of them are already stars in the Premiership. It's only a matter of transferring that level of play to the national team.

Braga Self-Destructs, United Takes Advance

Sporting Braga 1 - Manchester United 3
Scorers
Sporting Braga: Alan (pen 49)
Manchester United: Van Persie (80), Rooney (pen 84), Hernandez (90)

Team: De Gea, Evans (Rio 57), Smalling, Valencia, Evra, Giggs, Anderson, Nani (Rafael 73), Rooney, Welbeck (Van Persie 64), Hernandez

It was hard staying awake to catch this game. Having it played at 3.45am and coupled with a lengthy floodlight failure in the second made it even more difficult. In any case, we somehow managed to grap all 3 points with a late flourish of goals to come away from a difficult fixture and book a place in the next round of the Champions League.

Our teamline up looked strong enough and although we had the bulk of the possession, it was Braga that looked threatening everytime they countered. Their passing and movement was a stark contrast to our lacklustre movement and misplaced passing. We were constantly on the backfoot whenever Braga broke on the counter, and were lucky not to concede when they hit the post on the 22nd minute.

Braga deservingly took the lead in the second half when Evans fouled Custodio in the box and the 2-goal man from the first leg, Alan converted from the spot.

We just couldn't get the engine going. Giggs and Anderson looked kinda confused. I know I was pretty confused watching them, trying to figure out who was trying to play where. For most of the game, I didn't know who was playing in front of the back four and who was supposed to roam forward. That said, Anderson's energy was phenomenal. He was constantly trying to get forward and sometimes he was our last line of defence when all else failed. However he still looked confused on the pitch.

The game was looking like a victory for Braga until it all fell apart with some madness on the pitch, the first starting with Beto, the Braga keeper. Van Persie was set free by Giggs, and with defenders in front of him, Beto rushed out his box leaving Van Persie a wide open goal to lob into.

Rooney then won a penalty which he scored himself.

And for the finale, Braga were all over place when Hernandez scrambled home the third. Had Braga not lost their discipline in the final 10 minutes, the scoreline would have been so different. Just some crazy football. We can now go to Villa Park on the back of a good result and fully concentration on the League.

Random Thoughts
WTF are Shitty doing? We need them to advance in the Champions League. The more distractions they have, the higher our chances of taking the EPL. At least on this night, Chelsea did what was expected of them, albeit unconvincingly.

Well, That Was Easy

Manchester United 2 - Arsenal 1
Scorers
Manchester United: Van Persie (3), Evra (67)
Arsenal: Cazorla (90)

Red Card
Arsenal: Wilshere (69)

Team: De Gea, Rio, Evans, Rafael, EVra, Carrick, Cleverley (Anderson 61), Valencia (Nani 82), Young, Rooney, Van Persie

Many of us would have expected a tougher run out this time round after that 8-2 drubbing here last season, but in many aspects, this game was much easier than the previous one. We had a relatively easier time and it wasn't because our defence improved by leaps and bounds, Arsenal was just utterly worthless on the pitch.

We basically had our way with them throughout the entire 90 minutes. Right from the kickoff, we were the better team by a long long shot and created chance after chance, almost at will. Van Persie gave us an early lead and we never looked back.

Although we practically dominated the game for it's entirety, given our defensive frailties, it just never felt comfortable. Rooney had a chance to put the game away from the spot, but he missed the target. That miss makes it 4 misses from the last 5 spot kicks.

Credit to the lads, we just kept on plugging and Evra gave us the cushion we so badly wanted with a header in the 67 minute. Arsenal's woes were further compounded when Wilshere was given his marching order with a bad tackle just a couple of minutes later.

Cazorla gave the result some semblance of respectability with a goal from virtually the last kick of the game. Arsenal was ridiculously poor and we failed to properly punish them. At least the result and the way we played would give the team a confidence boost in the next few away fixtures.

Chelsea Beatens United Reserves In Extra Time

Sorry guys, no time for fancy statistics today. I got the daylights saving time completely wrong. Apparently time has already adjusted for Europe while I was still on American timing which hasn't adjusted yet. As a result I stayed up for way too long and by the time the game started, I was practically asleep.

However I still caught most of the first half goals and a majority of the second half, not to mention the disappointing extra 30 minutes. I'll just quickly summarise:

- United scores first thru Chelsea error. Anderson robs the ball off someone (dunno who) and feeds Giggs. Giggs scores.

- Buttner fouls Moses in the box and Luiz equalizes. Moses is a terror.

-Again Chelsea caught in possession and once again Anderson is in the centre of the action. This time he feeds Hernandez and we go 2-1 up.

- Wootton and Keane played really well in the centre of defence.

- Chelsea levels the scores in the second half thru Cahill. We can't defend crosses or corners. Every ball whipped into the box looks likely to be a Chelsea goal.

- Chelsea's joy didn't last long. Nani scored a wonderful team goal. He started off juggling in his own half, and half the team contributed with slick one touches and eventually ended up with a one-two with Anderson and a cheeky chip over Cech. Possibly the best team goal of the season.

- Chelsea dominates possession, but Anderson keeps Chelsea honest at the back. He was central to all our outlet passes. Every pass was efficiently relayed to a teammate upfront in a dangerous position.

- Anderson taken off at the 80th minute and Chelsea completely dominates the game.

- Keane and Wootton tired visibly. Wootton makes a tired challenge and fouls Ramires in the box. With the last kick of the game, Hazard scores from the spot.

- In extra time, Wootton makes a tired header that never makes it back to Lindegaard. Sturridge latches on to the ball and scores. Will be valuable experience for the young defender.

- Keane lucky to stay on after he fouls Sturridge as the last defender. Referee was extremely kind to the youngster.

- Without Anderson pulling the strings, we never really look threatening at all. He must be wondering what he must do to replace Carrick in the starting lineup.

- United go for broke and were caught out by a lightning counter. Too many tired legs and Ramires scores.

- United wins a penalty on the other end in the dying seconds of extra time. Giggs dispatches the spot kick but it was too little too late. Chelsea progress.

- Proud of how our lads performed. We held a very good Chelsea side that played all their stars. We certainly played better than the first-teamers did on Sunday.

- Last but not least, I certainly enjoyed writing in this format!

Trivia time

- According to the official stats, Johnny Evans hasn't commited a single foul this season!

9 Men Chelsea No Match For United

Chelsea 2 - Manchester United 3
Scorers
Chelsea: Mata (44), Ramires (52)
Manchester United: Luiz (og 3), Van Persie (12), Hernandez (75)

Red Cards
Chelsea: Ivanovic (63), Torres (68)

Team: De Gea, Rio, Evans, Rafael, Evra, Carrick, Cleverley (Hernandez 65), Young, Valencia, Rooney (Giggs 74), Van Persie

What a farcical game. Referee Clattenburg sent off two Chelsea players and we bearly beat a 9-men Chelsea.

The game started off really well for us. Van Persie smashed a shot into the upright and Luiz turned the rebound into the net. Van Persie got his name on the scoresheet a little later after turning in Valencia's cross.

We played brilliantly and were fully deserved of the two goal advantage. It was a far far cry from the previous games where we started slow and had to claw our way back into the game. But pound for pound, Chelsea is probably the better team and when they finally shook off the shock of conceding two early goals, they started to play the game.

And boy did they play the game. They were so damn good that it was just a matter of time before they got back on level terms. We were left chasing shadows and that's a gross understatement. De Gea was called into action numerous times and he did a masterful job at that.

We were under such enormous pressure that frustration finally got to Rooney as he fouled Hazard right outside our box. From the ensuing freekick, Mata pulled one back for the home team. The half time break did nothing to break the relentless pressure that Chelsea put us under.

On the 52nd minute, Ramires levelled the scores. Kentona and I were left shaking our heads and wondering just how many this rampant Chelsea team would put past our defence. We weren't bad on the night, but they were THAT good. We had looked good for 30 minutes, but once they realised they had a job on their hands and gotten those shock goals off their system, they were, to paraphrase Robert Palmer's hit song, simply irresistable.

Just as the game probably would have gone out of our reach, Van Persie made a spectacular pass that sent Ashley Young off to the races. Ivanovic was possibly a tad bit unlucky to get a red card as he clumsily brought Young down while in the process of avoiding contact. It wasn't a cynical tackle but according to the letter of the law, he was rightfully given his marching orders. Personally, abit of common sense could've helped.

Even with ten men, Chelsea looked like the better team. That was when the game turned on it's head. Evans came into contact with Torres and Torres fell like a sack of potatoes. We feared the worst for Evans but the referee instead gave Torres his second yellow for a dive. Much has been talked about with regards to diving in the previous few weeks and Clattenburg took a stern approach to it today. The replays were non-conclusive and once again I felt a common sense approach could have been the order of the day. If it happened to United, I would have been screaming bloody murder.

You would think that against an opponent with nine men, it would be easy pickings for us, yet it wasn't. It took an offside looking goal by Hernandez to settle the game. Left to chase the game, Chelsea threw caution to the wind and left themselves open at the back, but we just could finish off the game. If anything, Chelsea looked damn threatening when they came forward, but with only nine men, it was just one giant step too much for them.

I'm just glad we won this game to close the gap to a single point. We started off brilliantly but had to ride our luck before everything just went our way. The result was good, the process was bewildering and I'm left worried at how we're going to cope with Arsenal next week.

United Nearly Pays The Price

Manchester United 3 - Sporting Braga 2
Scorers
Manchester United: Hernandez (25, 75), Evans (62)
Sporting Braga: Alan (2, 20)

Team: De Gea, Evans, Carrick, Rafael, Buttner, Fletcher, Cleverley, Kagawa (Nani 46), Rooney, Van Persie, Hernandez (Giggs 80)

Great comeback victory, but honestly if we hadn't won, this one would be on Fergie. All that nonsense of not wanting to repeat the debacle of last season, and he rests Rio and Evra. Fittingly, Buttner and Carrick were at fault for us slipping into a 2-0 hole.

Lucky for Ferguson, our attack was much stronger than our defence on this day. Riding on the back of Hernandez's heady play (pun fully intended), we managed to claw a victory, but just. Even while leading 3-2, we were playing like a bunch of girls, giving possession away and generally playing like we were having our periods.

Honestly I know I should be celebrating the result, but I just can't help but be pissed off at Ferguson and his decisions today. Other than not playing our strongest 11, he further compounded it by bringing Hernandez off the pitch when he could've had a chance at a hattrick. Again after all the nonsense of resting players for the weekend against Chelsea, he chose to take Hernandez off instead of Van Persie or Rooney, both of whom are almost guaranteed to start at the weekend.

I know Ferguson has been instrumental to bringing United to where it is now, while I would shed a tear for his past achievements, I wouldn't be sorry to see the great man leave in the summer. His loyalty to players like Carrick, Giggs and to a lesser extent Scholes is really wearing my patience thin.

I absolutely dread the prospect of facing Chelsea this weekend. Given the way we've been defending, I pretty sure we'd get murdered at Stamford Bridge. Our attack might give a good account of themselves, but the defence sends more than shivers down my spine.

Better Late Than Never

Manchester United 4 - Stoke City 2
Scorers
Manchester United: Rooney (27, 65), Van Persie (44), Welbeck (46)
Stoke: Rooney (og 11), Kightly (58)

Team: De Gea, Rio, Evans, Rafael, Evra, Carrick, Scholes (Anderson 70), Valencia (Nani 75), Rooney, Welback (Hernandez 78), Van Persie

This was a busy weekend and I've been unable to update the blog. It's probably going to be the same for the next couple of months. Thankfully, I'm still able to catch the game and belatedly share my thoughts. Although I caught the game over at Kentona's place, I spent much of the time playing with his baby daughter and only caught the important moments. With time at a premium, I'm going to do this point form.

- Damn, our three-pronged attack of Rooney, Welbeck and Van Persie was just awesome to watch. Everytime we go forward, we looked really threatening. We scored 4 on the day and really looked like punishing Shawcross and his merry men.

- Damn, as good as our attack looks, our defence looks like it could concede everytime Stoke attacked. Rooney scored an own goal and Kightly sliced through our midfield like a hot knife thru butter. Carrick was left flailing his arms in defeat as Kightly ran past him like he didn't exist.

- Everytime Scholes and Carrick lineup as our midfield pairing, it sends shivers down my spine. Scholes can no longer track back and Carrick is just worthless. Rooney did more at both ends of the pitch than the two combined. I suspect Scholes so hates playing with Carrick that he was on a one-man mission to get himself sent off just to send a message to Ferguson.

- Welbeck has to be our Heskey. He's great at everything, except putting the ball in the net. The majority of chances fell his way, and he only converted one. He's beginning to look like our version of Suarez or Giroud. That said, he does every other thing so well that it's easy to overlook his one major flaw. At least for him, youth is on his side.

- Rooney looks like a new player playing in a deep position. So good that he scored a unique hattrick. Ok, aside from the tongue in cheek comment, Rooney really seems to be thriving on his new role. He covers back well and links up even better with the frontmen.

- Winning this one was huge. Chelsea had beaten Spurs and Shitty kept up the pressure with a last gasp winner. We still look terrible in certain areas of the pitch, but the decision to play Rooney deep seems to be working. Hopefully once the injuries clear up, things would look better and brighter.

- On a separate note, I'm going with Rio on his decision not to wear the Kick it Out t-shirt. Although I may not entire agree with it, I'm going to defend his freedom to choose. Let's just hope he has chosen wisely.

Defenders Lead The Charge

Newcastle 0 - Manchester United 3
Scorers
Manchester United: Evans (8), Evra (15), Cleverley (71)

Team: De Gea, Rio, Evans, Rafael, Evra, Carrick, Cleverley, Kagawa (Valencia 55), Rooney (Scholes 80), Welbeck, Van Persie (Giggs 87)

Man, I'm a bit pissed off that I was pretty high on cough syrup while watching this game. I reckon we played really well, but since I was basically tripping, I hadn't the foggest what was going on most of the time. That said, in my heightened state of delirium, it was immensely pleasurable to watch us pound the living daylights out of Newcastle.

Evans lead the way with a header from a Van Persie corner, and Evra followed with another from a Rooney corner from the other side, and all these happened while I was waiting for Newcastle to romp all over our midfield. Tactically we kinda crowded out the midfield with Rooney and Kagawa along side Cleverley and Michael 'only lateral passes' Carrick. We squeezed out Cabaye and Tiote.

Add to that, we completely dominated the first half and probably could have had more had Welbeck been more clinical. Speaking of which, does Welbeck remind anyone of Heskey? I mean he does everything required of him and more, except putting the ball into the net.

As with all games, Newcastle gradually found their way back into the game and started to cause problems, many of which were self-inflected, especially by De Gea who flapped and flopped at the high balls coming into the box. He's been playing in England for slightly over a year, and he still can't command the aerial threats.

Just as Newcastle looked likely to pull one back, Cleverley scored a superb, albeit unintended, goal to put the result beyond the barcodes. He must cherish playing Newcastle. Having scored his first against Newcastle in the mickey mouse cup a week back, he pops up to score his second in United colours with a cross that inevitably floated into the net.

The result brings us back to the second on the table, ironically on goal difference above Shitty. Too bad we have to endure a bye week of uninteresting internationals, just as the team looks like finding some sort of remedy for the piss poor level of play of the past few months. At least the fortnight rest will be good remedy for my persistant cough.

United Continues To Suffer From Poor Starts

CFR Cluj 1 - Manchester United 2
Scorers
CFR Cluj: Kapetanos (14)
Manchester United: Van Persie (29, 49)

Team: De Gea, Rio, Evans (Wootton 79), Rafael, Evra, Fletchers, Anderson, Cleverley, Rooney, Van Persie, Hernandez (Welbeck 83)

It took a last gasp save from De Gea for United to come away with a victory in Romania. Like most of the games this season, we got off to another slow start and nearly paid the price.

Cluj were defensively tight and were advertised to be the experts at the counter-attack. Well, it was supposed to be common knowledge, except that Evra obviously missed out on the scouting report. Sougou, the two goal hero at Braga, found himself with so much property that if he were in Singapore, he would be the richest land owner. He eluded Evra on the left and found Kapetanos with a sweet cross and all he had to do was to put it past De Gea.

In the words of Ferguson at a half time interview....'it was shocking!'.

The only saving grace is that Cluj is a pretty terrible team and we practically dominated the entire game. With Carrick, Giggs and Scholes all left at home, we started with a midfield consisting of Fletcher, Cleverley, Anderson and Rooney supporting the two frontmen.

The midfield battle was comfortably won as we imposed our will on the game. It wasn't a surprise that Van Persie equalized. Rooney's freekick from the left was looped over the keeper with a lucky bounce on Van Persie's shoulder.

Van Persie got the winner early in the second half with Rooney providing once again. Rooney seems to be thriving in the supporting midfield role with most of everything good United did coming from him. On this occasion, his long raking ball released Van Persie who took a delightful touch to direct it past the on rushing keeper.

With the lead and the momentum on our side, you would think we would have gone on to really plaster the Romanian goal, yet the opposite happened. We shifted a couple of gears down and just stopped playing football. There was a whole lot of nonchalant passing the ball all around midfield. The good thing is that Cluj is built around the counter-attacking game and it kinda put them off their game plan.

That said, without a two goal cushion, there was always an element of luck, and that nearly came for Cluj in the dying seconds in injury time. De Gea made a superb save right at the death to preserve the lead and the points.

Once again, we were our worst enemy. I suppose at least the midfield looks much better today than it has in a long long while, but I suspect a huge portion of that is down to the quality of the opponents. Sadly I think we're going to see Carrick and Scholes back on Sunday at St James. Ben Arfa is going to have a field day with that pairing.

Spurs Break Old Trafford Jinx

Manchester United 2 - Tottenham 3
Scorers
Manchester United: Nani (51), Kagawa (53)
Tottenham: Vertonghen (2), Bale (32), Dempsey (52)

Team: Lindagaard, Rio (Hernandez 90), Evans, Rafael, Evra, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs (Rooney 46), Nani, Kagawa (Welbeck 79), Van Persie

Anyone even surprised at this result? I know I'm not. We were terrible. Absolutely putrid in the first half and deserved this loss even though we did give a good account of ourselves in the second half. Sadly the game is not played in 45 minute halves.

I'm sure the newspapers tomorrow would all be screaming at our porous and sometimes non-existent defense, but the problem for me lies squarely in the midfield area. We are so bad in the centre of the park that we just didn't give our much maligned defenders a chance. The cover just wasn't there and there were times our midfielders didn't seem like they cared.

Just look at the first goal by Vertonghen. Neither Nani nor Carrick were interested in tracking him when he got the ball. If either had tracked back, he wouldn't have the chance to slice right thru our defense to score. Similarly, Bale was given arces of space to run at Rio while Evans was busy covering Defoe. Even for Dempsey's tap in, no one shadowed him, allowing him all the space and time in the world to tap in Lindegaard's shotblock.

To make matters worse, our midfield is terribly static. Kagawa had no one to play with. Once Rooney came on in the second half, the entire complexion of the game changed. Suddenly all the off the ball running by Kagawa mattered. Suddenly he had someone to play the ball off, and as a result, we played so much better, pinning Spurs back into their own half. They could barely cope with the movement. Even Van Persie and Nani came to life, after stinking it up in the first half.

We brought the game to Spurs in the second half, but were unable to claw back a huge first half deficit. Until Ferguson starts playing the youngsters (Ando and Cleverley together) or we get a covering midfielder in the mold of a Yaya Toure or Tiote, we're going to see a whole lot of play like the first half. Sometimes we pull out of it, like against Fulham, Soton and Liverpool, but against good enough opponents, we're just going to fail like against Everton and today against Spurs.

Anderson And Cleverley Stunners Sees United Thru

Manchester United 2 - Newcastle 1
Scorers
Manchester United: Anderson (44), Cleverley (58)
Newcastle: Cisse (61)

Team: De Gea, M. Keane, Wootton, Vermiji (Turnnicliffe 76), Buttner (Brady 86), Fletcher, Anderson, Cleverley, Welbeck, Rooney (Powell 76), Hernandez

I'm usually not a fan of our midfield, but today I am. With Fletcher leading the pack with his first start after a long absence, our midfield was almost fantastic. Ando and Cleverley has always been my preferred pairing and today both got on the scoresheet with absolute belters.

For once without the static Carrick holding play back, there was movement and urgency in the centre of the park. With the help of Rooney and Welbeck playing deep, we were creating chances and looked significantly more dangerous going forward.

We did look vulnerable at the back especially during Newcastle set-pieces, but both Michael Keane and Wootton held their own well. With Vidic, Smalling and Jones out for an extended amount of time, Ferguson seems to have viable options. Whether he uses them or not is another question altogether. For what it's worth, they both got valuable play time today.

The stand out youngster today however was the young Belgian, Vermiji. His delivery into the box from the right wing back position was delicious. It was unfortunate that most of the time he whipped in those delightful balls, no one was at the end of it.

I'd be surprised in the weeks to come, Ferguson keeps faith in Carrick. Fletcher, Ando and Cleverley are all knocking on the door and should really be given the opportunity to play over Carrick, Giggs and Scholes. The Ando-Cleverley pairing would be a godsend. When together, both are hungry and mobile. Mpre importantly, neither will have an elder statesman along side them which they would feel obligated to defer to.

Can't wait for the weekend to come. If Spurs play anywhere near what they are capable of, they are going to knock our socks off. Maybe then, Ferguson will start changing the midfield.

Trivia: Ryan Turnnicliffe was substituted into the game at 76th minute. His father placed a 100 pound bet on his son making the first team of Manchester United 10 years ago at a 100-1. Today, the elder Turnnicliffe walks away 10,000 pounds richer.

United Continues To Scrap Wins

Liverpool 1 - Manchester United 2
Scorers
Liverpool: Gerrard (46)
Manchester United: Rafael (51), Van Persie (pen 81)

Red Card
Liverpool: Shelvey (39)

Team: Lindegaard, Rio, Evans, Rafael (Welbeck 89), Evra, Carrick, Giggs, Valencia, Nani (Scholes 46), Kagawa (Hernandez 81), Van Persie

After a few dismal reviews, I had hoped to gloss this one with accolades, especially with a win over our fiercest rivels, but instead we were treated to this abysmal crap that continues to spew from our non-existent midfield. If there is one game that is truly terrible, this one has to take the cake.

I know the emotions were high with everything going on, and the tributes off the pitch, but we were never in the game. To make matters worse, Liverpool were reduced to 10 men late in the first half and we never really capitalised until Gerrard put them ahead early in the second. Although we responded with a quick equalizer, the game was entirely dominated by Liverpool.

We hardly had a sniff against a team with 10 men and to add insult to injury, we were awarded a penalty late in the game just to rub it into Liverpool, who really were outstanding and possible hard done by by the result.

With Nani taken off the pitch at half time, Van Persie stepped up and powered his spot kick into the net. It could nearly have been a 4th fluff from the penalty spot had Reina had a stronger pair of hands.

Overall, this was a contest between two shit teams slugging it out. We were completely outplayed, yet managed to take all the points by the skin of our teeth. I wish I knew what's wrong with the team, I really do. As of right now, if we face any of the top teams, we're looking at a very harsh thrashing and deservedly so. Utter shit.

United Loses Midfield Battle But Wins The War

Manchester United 1 - Galatasaray 0
Scorer
Manchester United: Carrick (7)

Team: De Gea, Vidic, Evans, Rafael, Evra, Carrick, Scholes (Fletcher 79), Valencia, Nani, Kagawa (Welbeck 84), Van Persie (Hernandez 81)

The more I watch United this season, the more underwhelmed I get. We keep getting lost in midfield and had it not been for some stout defending and brilliant goalkeeping, we would have dropped points tonight.

To be fair, we started off pretty well and really looked like taking the game to the Turkish. Carrick scored early playing pretty one-twos with both Kagawa and RVP. He rounded the keeper, kept his balance and put the ball in the net. We had numerous opportunities to double the score but were found wanting. As with every game, the momentum slowly swung the way of Galatasaray and we were kept at bay for the longest periods in the game.

They struck the woodwork thrice and had a couple of penalties denied. On our end, we had one called and Nani fluffed his lines while trying to fool the keeper. I don't understand why or what he was trying to do, taking a number of stutter steps which only ended up fooling himself. At least after making a complete and utter fool of himself, he actually played some really good football.

We created a good number of chances in the game, but were unable to find the target, while Galatasaray were good value for a draw. They were the better team and probably on the night deserved something. Yet we won the game. I hate repeating myself, but we continue to live the lie.

I really have a bad bad feeling for this Sunday. You know that Liverpool is a wounded beast, and as poorly as they have been playing, we're no better. Our careless play in midfield is going to come back to bite us in the back one day. I just hope it's not this Sunday.

Buttner And Powell's Turn To Open Their United Accounts

Manchester United 4 - Wigan 0
Scorers
Manchester United: Scholes (51), Hernandez (63), Buttner (66), Powell (82)

Team: Lindegaard, Rio, Vidic (Evans 77), Rafael, Buttner, Carrick, Scholes (Van Persie 71), Giggs (Powell 72), Nani, Welbeck, Hernandez

First off, let me apologise for missing the previous game. I cleared my the cache on my browser and kinda 'lost/forgot' my password. Real life hasn't been any kinder either. Too many fires to fight on too many fronts and too much work over the weekends. In any case, that shouldn't be an excuse to miss out on my opinions on the game. Too many readers have their hopes on me, and after a timely tongue lashing from Kentona today, I promise all my 7 readers (yes readership has increased), that I will put in a more conscious effort not to let anyone down. However, that being said, reports, rantings and opinions will not be as prompt as before. I foresee weekends for the next 6-7 months to be really busy, and I hope for your understanding (all 7 of you)!

A Fortnight Ago
Let me keep this short since everyone would have seen the highlights by now. RVP completed a hattrick to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in the dying seconds of a game we didn't deserve to draw, let alone win. He made up for a penalty miss and single-handedly won us the game. Soton played their hearts out and really didn't deserve to come away with nothing.

One Night Ago
If last week was bad, yesterday was terrible. Yet in spite of that, we somehow thumped 4 past Wigan. If this was the cooporate world, the entire department would have been shut down to stop the bleeding after the first half.

As much as I want to use Carrick as the scapegoat again, Giggsy was equally poor. Both were guilty of slowing the pace of the game. At least in Giggsy's defense, he was trying to spray the ball forward with his wayward efforts, gifting it to the opponents. Like the previous game against Soton, Fergie's faith in Carrick remains a mystery to all. Sometimes I swear that Carrick has incriminating evidence of Fergie in compromising positions.

The game started brightly for us when Welbeck shamefully dived for a penalty. Just like RVP in the previous game, Hernandez had his saved but did redeem himself with a poacher's goal in the second half.

Other than the penalty, we were simply terrible. It was back to the lacklustre play we've displayed most of last season. The 4-0 result only confirms the lie we've been living.

It was much of the same dull football in the second half until Scholes get really fed up with everyone and did what he did best. He was the first to pounce on Al Habsi's dreadful parry from Nani's cross. The goal gave a kick up the butt for the lads (pun not intended)

Alex Buttner, making his United debut, was the outstanding player from then. His misdirected shot was redirected in by Hernandez, making up for his shambolic penalty. Buttner then got on the scoresheet himself after a determined run, jigging past 4 defenders and putting the ball in the net.

Nick Powell, a substitute also making his United debut, thundered home a sweetly struck shot to run off an unlucky rout over a poor Wigan who were hard done by.

Just to drum in for those of you who are still celebrating the margin of victory, WE PLAYED LIKE SHIT! This has to count as one of the emptiest 4-0 thumpings. I'm sure if we continue trying to sleepwalk thru the season, we're going to get caught out badly one of these days. What I really fear is that we might get caught out at Anfield next weekend. As poor as Liverpool has been all season, and they are really shit, I think we're worse.

The silverlining here is that our new players have shown plenty of hunger and desire. Fergie has a tough decision to make. He can either keep faith in the old guard, or he can play the new blood. The decision is crystal clear to me, and the question is how clear is it to him? And for fuck's sake, someone please take Carrick out of the game!

Van Persie And Kagawa Open United Account

Manchester United 3 - Fulham 2
Scorers
Manchester United: Van Persie (10), Kagawa (35), Rafael (41)
Fulham: Duff (3), Vidic (og 64)

Team: De Gea, Vidic, Carrick, Rafael, Evra, Anderson (Giggs 81), Cleverley, Valencia, Young (Welbeck 68), Kagawa (Rooney 68), Van Persie

Looks like we can look forward to alot of goals this season. We have what looks like a potent strikeforce and a terrible looking defense. While this is only one game, we do look good upfront, if and when we get our chances. I expect the defense to improve significantly when the treatment eventually does its job repairing the likes of Rio, Evans, Smalling and Jones. Right now it just looks like we have to deal with the pairing of Vidic and a bewildered Carrick as our centre pairing.

Our defense started off in the worst way possible. Duff scored a well worked goal and we were left wondering if the previous week's results were on the cards. Rooney and Nani were dropped from the team and it was the summer signings that took the spotlight.

Our reply was swift with Van Persie scored a wonder goal, somehow directing Evra's somewhat wayward cross into the net. Once the ball left Evra's leg, it never looked anything but a terrible cross, yet somehow RVP made something out of nothing with his first touch. That's the reason why we spent 24 million pound on the 29yr old. In a split second he repaid a huge amount of that transfer fee.

United threatened to take last week's result on Fulham, coming close on a few occasions. Rafael had a goal disallowed for offside before Kagawa pounced when Schwarzer could only parry Cleverley's screamer.

The trio of Cleverley, Ando and Kagawa was a delight to watch. Their play was positive and lacked the usual lacklustre ball movement when Carrick, Giggs or sometimes Scholes, are on the ball. There was also plenty of off the ball movement, making it difficult for the Fulham players to contain and follow.

Rafael got on the scoresheet with a header from an acute angle to round off a very good first half.

You would expect the second to be more of the same, but in typical United fashion, we allowed the opponents in. After threatening the Fulham goal, a comedy of errors between De Gea and Vidic resulted in a Vidic own goal to help Fulham close the deficit.

The momentum had shifted and De Gea redeemed himself with stunning double save to protect the United lead. For those familiar with United, it was the typical we attack, you attack kind of finish to the game. For all our attacking prowess, we were defensively vulnerable at the back.

In the end, De Gea proved to be our match winner when he parried Ruiz last second shot from point blank.

I suppose a win is a win is a win and 3 points are better than 1. I know the team will take it, but there are huge improvements to be made. Once again, for all our attacking potential, we only managed 7 shots on target (although 3 went in). I suppose in the larger picture, it's a good return, but it must be noted that we also allowed the opponents 6 shots on target. If De Gea had an off day, we could have lost this one easily.

It's a tight rope we're walking and our walking wounded can't come back soon enough. At least our next fixture looks much easier on paper against the newly promoted Saints.

Cover For Evra

Too bad this didn't come before yesterday's game. Apparently we signed Buttner from Vitesse. Who? Who cares, he plays left back and that's all that matters. If Evra continues playing like the way he did the whole 2012, we'd have someone to look forward to.

On a more depressing note, there was a small little Progba interview, and honestly, I wish him the best at Juve. I don't know if he made the right decision, but as I've said many times, if you're a midfielder of any good and you consistantly get sidelined by Carrick, then you're either not good enough or someone (not naming names) isn't doing his job. IMO, Progba seems like the prototypical midfielder we're looking for. Someone big and physical, someone in the mold of a Veira or Toure (Yaya). Too bad we can only wish his potential was still with the team.

....Same Old Shit Again

Everton 1 - Manchester United 0
Scorer
Everton: Fellaini (57)

Team: De Gea, Vidic, Carrick, Valencia, Evra, Cleverley (Anderson 85), Scholes, Nani (Young 78), Kagawa, Welbeck (Van Persie 68), Rooney

Didn't take long to come undone. We thoroughly deserved this defeat. You would think after coming so close to the prize last season, facing the team that ultimately cost us the title, the team would come out with all guns firing. Instead we cowered like pussies, with our tails behind our backs.

Let's face it, on paper we may have the strikeforce everyone is wetting their pants over, but the story's the same. We just can't find the men upfront. The statistics tell the whole story. Everton had 7 shots on target (and another 2 hitting the posts), while we only troubled Howard a miserly 4 times. Yup, best strikeforce in the Premier League can't score if they have nothing to shoot at.

However it's still early days and it's not the end of the world...not till December anyway. Ferguson has time to work with this team. There is too little movement when we attack. Only Kagawa proved a willing runner, always moving and making spaces, while everyone continues to play the style we've been accustomed to the last couple of years. It gets predictable and stale. It's alot like watching Spain play. People will figure you out after some time.

On a side note, Fellaini was terrifying. Everytime he got to the ball, it looks like it was going in. I'm surprised why we never considered him before. He's big, tenacious and shows an incredible amount of hunger whenever he plays. And most importantly, he scares the shit outta defenders, just like how he terrorized Carrick today. You could see the fear in Carrick's eyes whenever Fellaini was near. Damn, had it not been for De Gea, Fellaini could have eaten our entire make-shift defense.

There should be huge improvements in our play by Saturday against Fulham. Ferguson will have a week of training with the lads, especially Van Persie, and hopefully we can put this woeful performance behind us and let the title chase start proper.

Here We Go Again

Hello everyone, I have to say it's been awhile. We've been busy this summer, not only in terms of the number of games we've had via the Euros and the Olympics, but we've been busy in the markets and for once splashed money on established talent.

Not progressing thru the Champions League knockout stages must have hurt the owners really hard. Their little exercise of floating a small percentage of the shares on the New York markets has been nothing but a spectacular failure, in the shades of QPR's demise in the final seconds against Shitty. To anyone who bought the shares for the long term....you're a moron. I would love to be polite, but somethings just can't be sugar-coated.

Good to have that little rant out of the way. I foresee the road to our 20th title paved with little rants and minor frustrations.

Summer Signings

We've bought big this summer. We got Kagawa. Personally, I'm alittle wary. He's been spectaclar in the Bundesliga for 2 seasons, so it's not a fluke. My concern is his ability to translate that to the Premiership. Chances are that he's be eaten alive by the physical play. And in the event he doesn't, he has to contend with the bozos around him. Our team is filled with bad decision makers, let's just hope he follows the footsteps of Scholes instead of Nani. And if it all doesn't pan out, he replaces Park as our token asian, not to mention he has a famous girlfriend to boot.

In the light of the departure of Progba, we went out and concluded the signing of Nick Powell. Who? Exactly. Apparently he's the next big thing. So was Bebe. Enuff said.

Last but not least, we got Van Persie. I have to say this one shocked me. We already have Rooney, Welbeck, Chicharito, Berbatov and Kiko on the books, and we went out of our way to get RVP? On paper we look damn bloody awesome.....on paper.

There are a couple of concerns I do have with this signing, as awesome as it looks. Firstly, we have a strikeforce to die for. We know Rooney and RVP can bang in the goals if we have the chance. The problem here is creating that chance. Unless Kagawa is everything that was advertised, we're going to fall back to the pattern that plagued us last season....very very very few shots on target. We were utterly pathetic at creating the chances. I suppose that's why we got RVP. Ferguson must have read the stats and it didn't make for easy reading.

The second concern is of course his injury history. There are two things that are going to happen. He's either going to be a cult hero, or he's going to be our next Hargreaves. Well, either way, he's going to make a name for himself amongst the fans.

Summer Goings

Just want to dedicate a small space for Park Ji Sung. I've always been a fan and wish him all the best at the mess that is QPR. If he was there last season, we would have lifted the trophy. I suppose that's why he's there now....to prevent a repeat.

I'm also alittle astonished that Fabio join Park at QPR, albeit on a loan spell. It leaves the left-back spot abit thin.

I hope Progba makes it at Juve, just to spite Ferguson.

Euros

Spain won again. Boring as hell until the last game. I sincerely hope Spain will never win another major competition again.

As for our players, Welbeck was the only guy who stood out. The problem with watching Welbeck for English and in some cases United, is that he totally reminds me of Emile Heskey. I don't know if that is good or bad. I think the word 'scary' comes to mind.

Olympics

I can't help but laugh at Liverpool. Seriously....Joe Allen? My god, he was terrible. Looking towards a huge season for Cleverley, if he can escape the Hargreaves bug. Best player for the Brits by a huge margin.

Twitter

Someone just shoot Ferdinand. Please.

Season Report Card 2011/12

We ended the season trophyless. Since Ronaldo left, this has probably been the likely outcome for some years, yet thru sheer dumb luck and the utterly pathetic state of the league, we've always ended with some silverware. This season, we finally got our comeuppance. It took a while but when it eventually came, it came with a vengence. To be more precise, it came in the final 2 minutes of injury time.

So that beggars the question: how will we react to this failure? In previous seasons, we've always returned stronger and more resilient, but this time round, the feelings around me amongst my fellow United fans seem alittle subdued. The league looks like it's going to get harder for a number of reasons.

Firstly, it certainly looks like we're unable, or unwilling, to compete amongst the rest of the clubs for the signatures of the best available talent out there. From David Gill to Sir Alex, the message is simple, we're not able or willing to spend big money on big names. Being dumped out of the Champions League early and not winning any silverware also means we lose out on some big money, which directly affects our spending power (not that we had much in the first place). From that standpoint, it seems we'd be back to spending stupid money on prospects instead of spending stupid money on proven talent.

Secondly, it seems the rest of the teams below us are really going to spend big money. Arsenal has already gotten a proven players in Podolski. Spurs are, in my opinion, a top team. All they need to do is go out and get a real manager. Chelsea is going to spend big, especially after the euphoria of winning the Champions League. And lastly, we all know what Manchester Shitty is going to do in Middle Eastlands.

In short, all the teams around us are improving, or building from a strong talent-base. All, except us.

The only advantage we over everyone else is that we have Alex Ferguson. If he can motivate the troops, we can compete. If not, we'd be what we actually are, a team good enough to enter the Champions League, but not good enough for the top honours anymore.

There are only two reasons why we ended up where we are. The first is that everyone around us fucked up beyond all recognition. Chelsea were never in the races this season, and Spurs were hit by some managerial uncertainty. Arsenal is Arsenal, and Liverpool was managed by someone living in the stone age. The second is that we were carried by our 3 wingers, Ashley Young, Valencia and Nani at various points in the season. The trio took turns to keep us in the race, either with crosses or with goals.

With all that said, this makes for grim reading:

The Grades:

David De Gea (B+)
Considering his age, he's done pretty well. With the price tag that he came with, he had a jittery start to his career and it definitely cost us some points. But credit has to be given to his form towards the end of the season. He single-handedly kept us in some games and in the hunt towards the latter parts of the season. More will definitely be expected of him in the years to come. Definitely room for major improvement.

Anders Lindeggard (B+)
He settled in well. Solid but not spectacular. Would most probably have been the key man down the run-in had he not been injured. Given De Gea's late season form and the pricetag he came along with, Anders would probably have to spend his career on the bench.

Ben Amos (B)
Not too sure if B is a fair grade. He saw precious little time, but when he did, he didn't fuck up. That's all you can ask for a 3rd choice keeper.


Patrice Evra (C-)
C for captain, and leading by example certainly isn't in his resume. You can count of one hand the number of good games he's had all season, and he's played in most games. In fact he probably was responsible for a huge number of points we lost in the beginning of the season. I suspect the only reason why he starts so much for us is that we have no one plying their trade at left-back. Buying a left-back ranks very highly on my wishlist for next season.

Rio Ferdinard (B)
Missed a good chunk of the beginning of the season. When he returned, he proved himself to be adequate enough despite a bad back.

Johnny Evans (B)
The problem with Evans is that he doesn't instill and confidence of those around him or the fans. Whenever the fans see his name on the teamsheet, there are more groans than cheers. However in his defense (pun fully intended), he's performed his job well without being spectacular.

Smalling (B-)
He was blamed for the goal at Shitty. However to me, it was the team that defended badly. Truth be told, he suffered from second season syndrome. There were times he was really good, but there were times he was really bad too.

Phil Jones (B+)
He really deserved an A, He burst onto the scene full of promise but injuries derailed his season. He never looked like that same guy after he returned from injury. Remains to be seen if he can find any consistency next season.

Rafael (A)
I really like Rafael's improvement this season. He doesn't start as much as he should. He's cut down on those silly, reckless challenges that tend to put us in dangerous positions. Whenever he roams forward, he creates trouble with paired with Nani or Valencia. Unfortunately for him, it looks like he's behind the packing order behind Smalling and Jones for that right-back position.

Paul Scholes (A+)
You can insert all your Jesus jokes here. Since the last two thousand years, there hasn't been a second coming that meant so much to so many people.

Michael Carrick (C+)
Sigh, I really dread this entry. Carrick is a good guy, he really is. He's always done what he's been asked to do. In any other club, he would and should be a star, but not with us. For some reason, he's just not what we signed him for. But because he's one of the first names on the teamsheet, we need a creative midfielder in the worst way possible, even if it's just to ensure he doesn't get to play and hold us back.

Cleverley (B)
The way he started the season, you would think we'd be rid of Carrick. Unfortunately he got injured. He was never the same sure after he came back from injury....twice.

Anderson (B)
Woulda, coulda, shoulda. His partnership with Cleverley in the centre of the park was a beauty to behold. Together, they did everything in midfield that we wished Carrick would do on his best day. But like Cleverley, he got injured and never came back.

Park Ji Sung (B-)
He was used sparingly this season. And whenever he was called upon, he did a man's job until Yaya Toure came along.

Ryan Giggs (B-)
Father Time can only be so kind for so long. It's obvious age has caught up with Giggsy. You can see he's tried his best and many a times, his best is no longer good enough. If there is one thing I really hope I would never see is, Giggs and Scholes paired up together ever again, unless it's to confuse Father Time.

Ashley Young (A)
I really didn't like the signing at the beginning of the season, but gradually came to terms with it. His wing play has been good and has scored important goals. He's one of the few reasons to cheer this season.

Antonio Valencia (A)
As bad as and as inconsistant as the season has been, Valencia has been one of the few players who was consistant when he's not injured. Like Ashley Young, he's been a joy to watch, despite the fact he's a one-trick pony, albeit a very good one-trick pony.

Nani (A)
He's still as inconsistant as hell. However as inconsistant as he is, he's possibly one of our most important players. He can single-handedly change the game with a dribble or a shot. He's our poor man's version of Ronaldo.

Wayne Rooney (C)
Just before you say I'm out of my mind for giving a 27-goal man a C, hear me out first. Let me start off by saying Rooney oozes with talent. Just a couple of years ago, we were comparing Rooney, Messi and Ronaldo. But now, Rooney has fallen so far off the stratosphere that he's breathing a completely different density of air from the other two. The problem with Rooney is his terrible inconsistency. When he disappears, he does so completely for ridiculously long stretches of 15-20 games at a time. In fact he becomes a distraction when he plays badly. Without an adequate backup, he's all we've got. So it's either feast or famine with Rooney and you need to ask yourselves if this is good enough for a club like United.


Javier Hernandez (B-)
All I can say is Chicharito can't dribble, can't pass, can't cross. However he has one talent that outshines everyone on the team except maybe Owen. He can put the goddamn ball into the net. He's suffering from second season syndrome and I expect him to come back with a vengence next season. That's especially so if he gets some rest in the off-season after 2 full years consecutive.


Danny Welbeck (B+)
That loan spell with Sunderland last season did wonders to his confidence. There's been some significant improvement to his all round play. I'm looking forward to what he can do next season.

Dimitar Berbatov (B)
I honestly don't know what more you can ask from the man. I think he's gotten the short end of the stick here. He was the joint top scorer last season and he's hardly featured this season. And to add insult to injury, instead of letting him go, the club held on to his rights for another season. As much as I utterly hate his style of play when he does get a chance to play, I think he's being mistreated by the club in the worst way possible. With his treatment and that of Kuszczak last season, the club could very well be starting to gain a reputation of being dicks to their out-of-favour players.

The Ungradeables:

Nemanja Vidic
Boy, did we miss him this season. Not saying that our central pairing of Rio and Evans are that bad, but with Vidic around, at least we'd have a real captain, instead of the rudderless and soulless team we were put thru the entire season.

Fabio
Can he last half a season? I'm not greedy asking for a whole season. Anything to give Evra a good kick up the arse every now and then would really be nice.

Darren Fletcher
Get well soon. Anything not to see Carrick so often. Familiarity breeds contempt.


And saving the best for last:

Alex Ferguson (C)
I hesitate to say this, but this was a poorly managed season on so many levels. I don't even know where to start.

1. Evra as captain. Really?

2. Getting into a verbal fight with Roy Keane all season long. Keane won every bout by the way. And it wasn't by points either.

3. We didn't get a creative midfielder. We didn't get a defensive midfielder. We didn't get anyone who could play in the centre of the park. We had to have our Jesus jokes. At least Scholes came back rejuvenated.

4. His treatment of Berbatov was deplorable at best. Word gets around.

5. Tactically, there were too many times we played scared. It's either by design or by personale. Either way, it's both his fault.


At least with Ferguson, you know by some hook or by some crook, he's going to motivate this bunch of players. Next season will really show if Ferguson still has it in him to be the manager of this football club.

Of course as fans, we can only hope for the best. It's really beginning to seem like our golden age has ended. With the failure to win silverware, the spectre of debt hanging over us and Ferguson losing the plot alittle, it makes for some challenging times ahead of us.

As for me, I'm optimistic by nature. We're not Liverpool!

Shitty Did A United On Us

Sunderland 0 - Manchester United 1
Scorer
Manchester United: Rooney (20)


Team: De Gea, Rio, Evans, Jones, Evra, Scholes, Carrick, Young (Nani 82), Valencia, Giggs, Rooney

Just how crazy was last night? Was switching between games and it was going to and fro, just like the whole title chase. We went up, they went up, then they went down, only to win it the way we did against Bayern Munich in 99 with 2 crazy goals in injury time.

Before the games started, I had already conceded the title, as most United fans would probably have, but to lose it the way we did, my word, just how painful was that? Prevously I could only sympathise with the Munich fans, but after what happened, I can truly say I empathise with them. We share a certain bond that can only be shared by losers.

I suppose I really should be proud that the lads held up their part of the bargain by winning yesterday's game despite the odds. They pushed Shitty to the limit. The same can't be said about Mark Hughes' side. After word filtered to the players that Stoke had relegated Bolton, the last 5 minutes was dysmal. And it was that last 5 minutes that sealed title for Shitty.

But after a day of milling around and mulling over what could have been, I suppose it's time to look forward to the next season. By not winning the title and exiting the Champions League early, it looks unlikely that we would have a substantial warchest going forward. Already the rumoured players coming in look and sound like rubbish. Well, they aren't exactly terrible per se, but definitely not the sexy buys we're expecting.

It looks like a club like ours, saddled in debt, can only be reduced to buying potential and searching for the next Ronaldo to fall on our laps. Unfortunately, the chances of unearthing a 'Bebe' seems a more likely the norm.

The only hope is that our young players can learn from the experience and mature quickly enough for a rebound season. All in all, we certainly over-achieved here this season. The league looks a tougher place.

Hey, at least on the bright side, we're still in a much better position than Liverpool.

United Win But Unable To Dent Shitty's Chances

Manchester United 2 - Swansea 0
Scorers
Manchester United: Scholes (28), Young (40)


Team: De Gea, Rio (Rafael 88), Smalling, Jones, Evra, Carrick, Scholes (Cleverley 68), Young, Valencia, Rooney (Berbatov 79), Hernandez

Well, unless there is a miracle next week, this season is over. At least we got to see United play a scintillating first half of football.

We came into this game knowing just what the score was and what we had to do. Shitty had defeated a plucky Newcastle 2-0 and a whooping goal difference to boot. There was all to play for and right from the word go, we set out to settle the scores.

We approached the game with reckless abandon and we really rattled the normally calm and composed Swansea. There was plenty to admire from a United perspective. The lads were really up for it, and what we didn't have in quality, we made up with sheer hard work. If we had played anywhere this close, this hard, the title would have been sewn up, but as we all know, we didn't. After a heavy bout of possession and chances at goal, we finally drew the rewards with a Scholes goal. He finished off the good work of Valencia and Carrick.

There were chances aplenty but Vorm had another outstanding game to top off his outstanding season. It wasn't until the 40th minute before we were able to snatch another goal. This time Young placed it after Rooney's effort was blocked.

The game was all set up for a flurry of goals from United in the second half. We looked desperate, hungry and angry. We lacked the first two in huge amounts this season, while the last was directed in the wrong areas.

As mentioned earlier, the quality in the squad is just simply woeful. The anticipated second half never materialized. Instead of gunning for the jagular, we just couldn't match the pace of the first half.  Our challenge wimpered off like our season thus far.

Swansea had made adjustments in the half, and they looked like the side they've been all season, dominating the ball and frustrating their opponents. The game that started with a roar, ended with a whimper.

QPR's late winner today somewhat eases their relegation worries marginally. There is still all to do against Shitty if they want to keep their Premiership hopes alive. Unless Mark Hughes pulls a rabbit out of his ass next weekend at the Etihad, it's just very improbable that QPR can get anything off Shitty.

Ferguson has alot of work to do this off-season and I don't fancy being in his shoes. It was announced earlier today that Pogba has signed off to Juventus. In a space of half a year, we've lost two of our most promising midfielders in Morrison and Pogba. In an area where we're most dire in need of reinforcements, we lost two of our best from the reserves.

I can't really blame their decisions either. If I had to wait for my chances behind someone like Carrick, then let's be really honest, either I'm shit or the manager thinks I'm shit. Either way, it doesn't bode well for my future with the club. Not to mention the additional smack in the face of someone returning from retirement given a shoo in, even though he's one of the best in the business.

Would be a terribly interesting off season to see how this circus plays out.

Defeat Ushers In A Changing Of Guard

Manchester City 1 - Manchester United 0
Scorer
Manchester City: Kompany (45)


Team: De Gea, Rio, Smalling, Jones, Evra, Carrick, Park (Welbeck 58), Scholes (Valencia 78), Giggs, Nani (Young 83), Rooney

There is nothing really to say here. The statistics tell the full story. We had ZERO shots on target. We were never in this game and never looked like scoring.

We had started off well, with alot of attacking verve, but it all resulted in nothing. Once Shitty settled their nerves, it was all Shitty. They had our number and it was just a matter of time before they scored. And they did, into injury time of the first half. Kompany lost Smalling from a corner and powered his header into the net. Nothing anyone could have done about it, except Smalling getting closer to his man.

But this defeat is not about Smalling. It was on the entire team. Not only the players, but everyone from the management, from top to bottom. I dare say that this is the worst United team in the last 20 or so years. The only players who have held their weight in gold are the wingers, Young, Valencia and Nani. Without them, we wouldn't even have been close. And the small little thing of the second coming of Scholes. No one else even come close to doing what a United team should be capable of playing.

At case can be made about Rooney's contribution, but really, without the wingers, he is nothing. Carrick is our version of Charlie Adams. A worthy player for a mediocre team, in fact he may even be a star player for a mid-table team, but for a team plying it's trade in winning titles, he's worthless. Solid but worthless. Look at Yaya Toure for Shitty today. Now that's a beast of a player!

Granted we have alot of young players coming thru the ranks, but they are just that right now, young players with potential. Until (if) they reach their potential, they are still young players.

Yet, having said all that, the title is not done and dusted. There are still two games to go and Shitty still has to win them. One is away against an in-form Newcastle and the other at home against a team playing for their Premiership lives in QPR.

We, on the other hand, have to contend to playing 'Barcelona light' in Swansea, and a final game at the Stadium of Light against Sunderland. Both look easy on paper, but mind you, both look like teams that will give us loads of trouble.

Let's face it, even the most optimistic of us have already conceded the title after today's result. It's no longer in our hands. Unless either Newcastle or QPR does us a huge favour, it's really over. And even in the very unlikely scenerio they do, the chances of us fucking up our own games has a higher possibility of happening.

As what Kentona brought up last week, I suppose the silverlining for us is that it's going to be a win-win situation either way.

Draw Opens The Title Race Wide Open

Manchester United 4 - Everton 4
Scorers
Manchester United: Rooney (41, 69), Welbeck (57), Nani (60)
Everton: Jelavic (33, 83), Fellaini (67), Pienaar (85)


Team: De Gea, Rio, Evans, Rafael, Evra, Carrick, Scholes (Jones 86), Nani, Valencia (Hernandez 89), Rooney, Welbeck

What a game and what a truly terrible result. Suddenly the title race is blown wide open. Unless Shitty somehow screws up against bottom of table Wolves in an hours time, this title race is going down the wire.

We couldn't have asked for a worst opponent. Everton came to Old Trafford, licking their wounds off a terrible result over the previous weekend, and as Ferguson mentioned pre-match, were a wounded animal. True to his words, they opened the scoring with a superb goal by Jelavic. The goal set up a truly exciting encounter filled with superb goals.

We bit back with Rooney's header as the game drew into the half.

The game opened up in the second half and for good periods of time we were playing as well as Barcelona. Welbeck's wonder individual goal took us into the lead and moment's later, his individual effort was topped by a cutting edge team effort. We tore the Everton defense to shreds with some sublimed passing, with Nani finishing off the move with a goal, flicked over the on rushing Howard.

3-1 up and the points seemed wrapped up. Everton, however, never laid down. They came with renewed vigour and Fellaini volleyed home a superb effort to bring the scores closer.

Over on the other end, Rooney and Welbeck combined to produce another good finish that should have really been the nail to Everton's little revival. Yet somehow Phil Neville rallied the troops and Everton came forward again, this time Jelavic and Pienaar scored twice within 3 minutes to level the score against everyone's expectations.

In the last ten minutes, including a generous amount of injury time, we threw the kitchen sink at Everton, but between their defenders and Howard, they held firm and both teams had to share the points.

Despite an overall exciting game, especially in the second half, it was a disappointing result for us. We saw a couple of two goal leads slip, and more importantly, we saw the title slowly but surely slipping from our finger tips. This game possibly epitomises our entire season. We started off on the backfoot and slowly clawed our way into the game, and towards the end, we let slip generous cushions and ultimately had to share the spoils. Only in this case, sharing the spoils works in our disadvantage due to an inferior goal difference.

In the words of Kentona, who I had the misfortune of watching the game with, either way, it works for us. If we win the title, it's a bonus after all the trials and tribulations we've been thru this season. And if we don't, it's finally time for the higher management to finally realise that we've been pretty much crap, and hopefully, if the purse-strings allow, will usher in a new era of players.

In any case, attacking like Barcelona and defending like Wolves is simply not going to win us the title. On to the title defense next Monday against Shitty.

United Shakes Off Midweek Woes

Manchester United 4 - Aston Villa 0
Scorers
Manchester United: Rooney (pen 7, 73), Welbeck (43), Nani (90)


Team: De Gea, Rio, Evans, Rafael, Evra, Carrick, Scholes (Cleverley 78), Young (Nani 60), Valencia, Rooney (Berbatov 75), Welbeck

After the midweek debacle, normal service was resumed. Just as against QPR, a dubious penalty was awarded when Young took a tumble with minimal contact. The replays did seem to suggest it looked more like a dive than a blown tackle. In any case, Rooney sent Givens the wrong way and sent Old Trafford into raptures early on.

Villa were almost non-existent as an attacking force, while United were equally as impotent upfront. It took us until the end of the first half before being gifted another goal. This time Baker stepped over Young's cross thinking that the ball would go out for a goal kick, but Welbeck was alert and industrious. He scrambled to the end of the cross and poked it home for United's second.

With the game almost secured, United started to play with abit more freewill, but we still stuttered upfront, Rooney being the culprit of numerous awful passes. However he made amends just when he was going to be substituted off. This time he scored from Valencia's cross to make the scoreline abit more reflective of our dominance.

Nani added a fouth in injury time.

Aside from the Wigan game, this was possible Rooney's worst outing the entire season despite getting his name on the scoresheet twice. It was kind of a bitter-sweet outing for him. Thankfully the rest of the team played well enough to cover for his inconsistancies.

Evra, in particular, I thought played a good game. After what he's been producing (or rather, NOT been producing), it was pleasantly surprising to see him put in a good shift. The back four was solid while not being spectacular.

The midfield laboured alittle, but that was mainly due to Villa being really woeful. Our wingers were magnificent once again and carried the team for most of the game, and the season as well. And upfront, Welbeck was sufficient and doing it alone without any significant help from Rooney.

The win bumps us 5 points above Shitty, who put on a purring performance against a bewildered Norwich. The title race is well and truly on the way. With the 'title-decider' back in the burners on the 30th of this month, we cannot afford anymore cockups along the way. Just 4 more games till the end of the season, so let's wrap this one up. It's nowhere near what I hoped we would be, but I'll take the title, warts and all.

United Takes A Step Back

Wigan 1 - Manchester United 0
Scorer
Wigan: Maloney (50)


Team: De Gea, Rio, Evans, Jones, Evra, Carrick, Giggs, Young (Cleverley 46), Valencia, Rooney (Nani 65), Hernandez (Welbeck 58)

I don't even know where or how to start. We were so bad it's actually worth mentioning. As poor as the result was, we were even poorer. As much as I want us to win the title, there is a little part in me that hope we don't.

We need to be exposed to just what a terrible team we are. All this talk of staying dominant domestically is just rubbish. It has to be clear to everyone and anyone that we can no longer compete in Europe and the only reason why we're still top of this league is because everyone is as poor, if not poorer than we are.

Today's game was just shocking. If Carrick continues to play a prominant role next season, it will just signal a clear intention that we are standing pat and refusing to acknowledge what everyone can already see. He and Giggs were turnstiles. Everyone in blue was having a field day with them in the middle of the park. Rio and Evans had to work extra hard without any cover from the two in front of them.

As for Giggs, it's also becoming apparent that his game will show in the first 15-20 mins. If he starts well, he usually continues along that vein. However, if like today, he starts poorly, he just disappears. Ferguson made a huge tactical error by not removing Giggs today.

The team on the whole was just ridiculously drunk over the weekend results. Everyone played like they had a massive hangover from Sunday. Well, newsflash, after today's results, we're back to where the last two games did not matter. Granted we're still in pole position, but there are no easy fixtures in the EPL. The good thing is that we have 3 home games against teams that have nothing to fight for.

On a last note, I really hope Wigan survives.