The Celebrations Really Start Next Week

Manchester United 0 - Arsenal 0

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Evans, O'Shea, Evra, Carrick, Fletcher, Giggs, Ronaldo, Rooney (Anderson 90), Tevez (Park 67)

It's amazing just how far we've come. Back in the distant 80s, we were pretty much a midtable club, occasionally giving Liverpuss fits when we played them. Unfortunately, our seasons then were really made of those two home-away fixtures year in year out. We never never able to sustain the momentum for any stretch. The only thing that kept it from being as poor a decade as the 70s were the FA Cup triumphs. For a good long stretch in time, it looked like we were forever mired in mediocracy until Ferguson happened.

Even under him, we were pretty crap for the first few lean years. In fact, as far as rumours go, he was reportedly on the chopping block until a FA Cup win saved his career and set us on a giddy journey of utterly and almost complete dominance. Our run has been so good that we've now drawn level on titles with Liverpuss, a scenerio even the best fantasy writers would have found far-fetched. Yet we created fantasy.

I sincerely hope that, now we're sharing that perch with Liverpuss, I would be writing about how we shoved/bullied/kicked them off that perch this time next year.

As for the title clinching game against Arsenal, there's really nothing much to write about. We were clearly playing not to lose and so were Arsenal. As boring as the game was, the result suited both sides. Arsenal were out to prove that they were not that far inferior to us, while we simply needed the point to seal the deal. It worked out well for both managers and both sets of players, without the need to embarrass anyone.

In a discussion with Michael this morning during my weekly football game, we concluded that the celebrations really should start next week when we put out a shadow team and gift the game to Hull City. Besides defending the Champions League, sending the Barcodes down would really sum up an incredibly good season. Ideally, Liverpuss or Spurs going down would be my dream come true, but having us lend a hand to help shove Newcastle down would be just as sweet.

Last but not least, I leave you with a really good article I read in the Independent on Tevez. I felt it's a pretty good take on the way things have come to being.

Sign Him Up, Fergie

Wigan 1 - Manchester United 2
Scorers
Wigan: Rodallega (28)
Manchester United: Tevez (60), Carrick (86)

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Evans, O'Shea, Evra, Scholes (Giggs 75), Carrick, Anderson (Tevez 58), Ronaldo, Rooney, Berbatov (Park 89)

Wow! What an exciting finish. Tevez was once again the spark that we needed to get back into the game.

Under the torrid downpour, we kept slipping and sliding around the pitch. Even a change of footwear didn't help Vidic stay on his feet, and while he was sprawned on the ground challenging for the ball, Rodallega took advantage, scoring on Van der Sar's near post. The Colombian has really impressed me playing upfront alone.

We were pretty terrible in the first half, spurning a couple of good chances early in the game, before Vidic's slip. To be fair to him, no one could keep their feet under the wet and slippery conditions all night. Both sets of players were engaged in a comedy of errors on the ball, a comedy, we United fans didn't find very funny.

The beginning of the second half was more of the same. Fergie probably had seen enough and sent on Carlitos who made an immediate impact. He redirected Carrick's wayward shot into the Wigan net, drawing us level.

Rooney was too far left to do any damage and Berbatov was often tracking back into midfield to collect the ball. Meanwhile, Ronaldo was simply trying his best to imitate my godson's terrible tantrums, and doing a mightily good job outta it too. The game needed an injection of energy and enthusiasm, and Tevez's introduction provided that. Dodgy deal or not, Ferguson's has got to recognise what Tevez brings to this team.

The dramatics of the night was completed with Carrick scoring a late goal to pull us closer to the finishline.

All we need now is a single point in our last two home games. The title's virtually in the bag. But in order to complete the job, we need to really focus on the task at hand. We nearly didn't gather all 3 points today because some of the players were too busy dreaming of the Champions League finals, thinking that the job is already done. Ferguson needs to refocus the troops and get our priorities right.

Portugese Fucker Mars Win

Manchester United 2 - Manchester City 0
Scorers
Manchester United: Fucker (18), Tevez (45)

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Evans (O'Shea 70), Rafael, Fletcher, Giggs, Park (Rooney 60), Fucker (Scholes 60), Tevez, Berbatov

One step closer to the title with this win. Unfortunately, today's game shows everthing wrong with this team. Or at least everything wrong with one particular Portugese fucker. Even after beating our local rivals convincingly, it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.

I've always found it hard to really hate/dislike a United player. I know there are times I'm just plain mean when I write my blog, but most of it comes from just spur of the moment irritation, tongue firmly in cheek thoughts or just being mean-spirited. The closest I've come to hating was from Heinze, but he's the past and not worthy of my attention.

But this Portugese fucker brings hate to a new level. As fans, we put up with his constant whining, his temper tantrums, his immature play and his complete lack of class but today's outburst brings out everything wrong with this kid. He just doesn't understand what it means to be a United player.

We've always been a team. We've always played for one another. Even in the dark days when Liverpuss was winning everything in sight, we've always had that team spirit, everyone plays for everyone else, even though most of it was done in the pubs. But this little piece of shit just plays for himself. It's all about him. It's ALWAYS all about him.

There was this little incident in the first half that got to me big time. He misplaced a pass, and had the audacity to blame Fletcher for not getting to it. And, of course, there was the very public outburst when he was substituted.

I'm sure if not for his skills, Ferguson would have sent him to Real Madrid in the summer. Quite frankly, I'd rather we win fewer trouphies and just get rid of him once and for all. I'm actually disappointed that he's pledged his future with us.

What's worse is that in tomorrow's papers he's probably going to apologise and sometime in the very near future, he's going to pull the same'o shit again. I'm done with forgiving him. If the price is right, ship him out. We'd do fine without him.

And just to rub it in, we're probably going to keep him over Tevez, which absolutely murders me. I love Tevez to bits although I don't agree with his recent outbursts as well. There are dirty linings you wash in public and there are those which are kept within the locker room. Still, I'll have him over that fucker anyday of the week. Honest player, and it shows on the pitch.

As for today's game, we got into an early lead via that fucker's deflect freekick. Despite his piss poor attitude, he's simply quite brilliant in that department.

Tevez added a second with a thunderous strike. Both teams were pretty sloppy, just that Shitty was sloppier. The good thing about us is that we're peaking at the right time and putting away opponents comfortably.

You know, I've just checked the schedule, and we could very well wrap up the title before Liverpuss plays. Just 4 more points from a midweek game against Wigan, who are on holiday mood, and a early kickoff on Saturday against the Arse, and we're home free. Then we can concentrate on preparing for the Champions League finals against the best team (imo) in the world.

United Cruise To 6 Point Lead

Middlesborough 0 - Manchester United 2
Scorers
Manchester United: Giggs (25), Park (52)

Team: Foster, Vidic, Evans, O'Shea, Evra (Rafael 78), Scholes, Giggs, Park (Nani 75), Rooney, Berbatov, Macheda (Tevez 56)

This was an easy victory despite the fact that Fergie rung in the changes from midweeks exploits. Boro were never in the same class and their horrible defending just showed. They were lucky not to have conceded any earlier.

The game was made even better coz I caught it with a few good friends, one of whom just returned from Beijing with stories of eating binges that parallel those only found in fantasy novels.

Giggs scored in the 25th minute to give United a well-deserved lead. It was a coolly placed shot when the entire Boro defense was in panic mode. The recently crowned PFA player of the year, kept his head when everyone around him was panicking and passed the ball into the net past a static Brad Jones.

Jones could do nothing about United's second goal either. Rooney's vision and passing sliced the Boro backline into shreds, releasing Park on a one-to-one, which he finished. The pass was of a superb quality and the finishing matched it.

The rest of the game was just a matter of going thru the motions, with Berbatov spraying backpasses whenever he got the ball. It's a bit disappointing seeing our prized summer signing playing like he cost a tenth of what we paid for.

Other than that, everyone was good without being outstanding. In the final analysis, we were simply too good for a poor Boro side and thoroughly deserved the 3 points.

With just 4 games to go and a comfortable 6 point lead, it would take a super catastrophe of epic proportions to lose the title. Something that only happens in the worst of nightmares.

With our key players rested for Tuesdays encounter against Arsenal, I'm expecting for a good result to see us to the Champions League finals in Rome. I'm hoping we become the first team to repeat under the new format.

What A Comeback!

Manchester United 5 - Tottenham 2
Scorers
Manchester United: Ronaldo (pen 57, 68), Rooney (67,71), Berbatov (79)
Tottenham: Bent (29), Modric (32)

Team: Van der Sar, Rio, Vidic, Rafael (O'Shea 70), Evra, Fletcher (Scholes 62), Carrick, Nani (Tevez 46), Ronaldo, Rooney, Berbatov

Thanks for all the concerned smses and emails. I was down with a terrible flu and at the moment still in the long process of recovery. With the swine pandemic spreading and causing fear around the world, my overly concerned and easily excitable doctor even suggested I took a blood test just in case. A suggestion which I rejected. The only pigs I've been around the past couple of weeks were my girlfriend and that swine, Kentona.

As bad as my flu was over the weekend, I stll managed to catch the game while drooping off to sleep as the coughing took every ounce of energy. Enduring a putrid first half just made it excruciatingly worse.

It's not to say we played that badly. We just played without any intensity whatsoever. With every missed chance, we just shrugged our shoulders and continued with the game. There was no desire or urgency. I'm beginning to feel why Ronaldo whines so much. Flanked by teammates who don't care, I'll want to leave too.

After an unwatchable half hour, Lennon struck. He's been a constant threat down the left and everytime he got the ball, he made Evra look like a schoolboy. Evra's dip in form recently has been alarming to put it nicely.

Before we knew it, Spurs were two up with goals from Bent and Modric. We were staring down a barrel of a loaded gun.

We did try to pull one back before the break, but there was a distinct lack of urgency in the way we went about our business. The half time and the throwing of teacups from the locker room couldn't come soon enough.

Ferguson decided to unleash Tevez in the second half in place of Nani and that possibly made all the difference in the game. Tevez injected some life and desire into the game. Perhaps playing for his United life, he went about trying to murder everyone foolish enough to cross his path.

Fergie's second substitution brought on even more agression from Scholesy. We were taking no prisoners and playing with reckless abandon. Both Scholes and Tevez soon found their way into the referee's book for being overly aggressive. And at the way the game was played, it was apparent more swashbuckling action was on the way. Rooney, Ronaldo and a couple more were already hacking away and it was just a matter of time before we were going to end up with 9 or fewer men as the scoreline continued.

Referee Howard Webb probably had the same feeling as I did, when he awarded a soft penalty when Carrick was taken down in the box. It threw us a lifeline which Ronaldo grabbed to give the score some respectability.

The complexion of the game completely changed from that goal. It gave us hope and Tevez's unique style of play rubbed on on everyone. Everyone, including the much maligned Berbatov, pulled up their socks and chased for every ball. There was a whole lot of game to play and we were finally getting the upper hand.

In quick succession, Rooney and Ronaldo scored 3 more goals between themselves to overhaul the deficit. We were running amok and Spurs, who looked so comfortable in the first half, were getting a mauling. This was the best we've played in a long long time.

Berbatov bundled in a 5th just to twist the knife little bit more. There probably could have been another couple more but we eased up on them.

While all this was going on, Michael was busy smsing me just how this game resembled that Beckham-led turnaround earlier in the decade. We cameback from 3-0 down to win 5-3 against today's opponents. I just want to take a quick timeout to apologise to Mike here as my replies were short and curt. I was practically dying from my flu, and the adrenaline rush from watching United play the way they are capable of, nearly gave me a heartattack in my weakened state.

This was United at it's finest. The only problem now is how to replicate this second half performance for the remainder of the season. If we can do that, then repeating last season's feat would be a walk in the park.

Closing In On The Title

Manchester United 2 - Portsmouth 0
Scorers
Manchester United: Rooney (8), Carrick (82)

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Evans, Neville (O'Shea 13, Rafael 53), Evra, Fletcher, Scholes, Anderson (Carrick 76), Giggs, Ronaldo, Rooney

Just in case anyone was wondering, I haven't died and disappeared from the face of the earth since the FA Cup semi-finals. I just decided to take my mum's advice: if you have nothing good to say, say nothing at all. Well, that's not entirely true. I was very impressed with how our kids performed against the tested and tried players of Everton, but I realised I was probably going to spend the entire post slagging off Berbatov, so to save everyone from my tirade I made the executive decision not to write anything.

Which bring me to today's post, I really ought to keep my keyboard somewhere where I can't find it. With the exception of Anderson and Fletcher, we were pretty terrible.

The moment Rooney scored the early goal, we completely lost our intensity and passion for the game. In short, we settled for a 1-0 victory.

If you read the stat sheet, it's true we had an incredible amount of shots on goal, but most of it was due to the god awful job Portsmouth was doing defending. How the hell Portsmouth isn't at the bottom of the table along side West Brom is beyond me. They were giving the ball away in dangerous positions time and time again. Utterly incredibly poor finishing on our part and brilliant keeping from James kept the scoreline respectable.

Again I reiterate, other than Fletcher and Anderson, we could very well had 9 other Berbatovs on the pitch and it wouldn't have made a difference. I don't know if yesterday's results between Arsenal and Liverpool had an impact on how we played, ot simply fatigue playing into it, but our players looked disinterested. Damn, my Sunday soccer team shows more passion than them.

To add to the woes of our fans, we're actually going to increase ticket prices to droll out this kind of entertainment. I'm just glad I'm in Singapore watching the games at a minimal cost, rather than in England getting fleeced.

At least on the bright side, we really should have the title in the bag now. 6 games to go, a match in hand and a healthy 3 point lead should really do it, especially after both Liverpool and Chelsea have dropped points.

We should look better on Saturday against Spurs. I can't possibly imagine us playing any worse than we have today.

Macheda - The New Ole

Sunderland 1 - Manchester United 2
Scorers
Sunderland: Jones (55)
Manchester United: Scholes (19), Macheda (76)

Team: Foster, Vidic, Evans, Neville, O'Shea, Carrick, Scholes, Park (70), Rooney, Berbatov (Macheda 75), Tevez (Anderson 82)

He's only 17 but if we win the title this season, he's name will live on in the minds of United fans around the world. In a space of 7 days, the Italian has emerged as an unlikely hero.

United were unbelievably poor in defense, yet again and should have been punished harder. Thankfully their counter-parts on the opposite side of the pitch were equally poor.

United started the brighter of the 2 sides with Scholes scoring in the 18th minute from a Rooney cross. It looked like a routine day at the office and a customary routing of another opponent. But our midfield and defense had other ideas.

We started to lose possession with increasing frequency and we were leaving gaps all over the place for the Sunderland attackers to exploit. Lucky for us, they had their tactics all wrong. The were so afraid of the counter-attack that they refused to commit men forward when attacking. Had they done so, we would have been staring at a defeat.

As it were, only Cisse and Jones were left to fend for themselves upfront. Still they made life extremely difficult and we barely coped with their strength and pace.

We've been playing some shitty football in the first half of games and have been able to turn it around in the latter halves. Unfortunately, today we decided to be utterly crap for the full 90 minutes.

Sundeland found the equalizer in the second half when the defense collapsed and Foster was left flapping in the box when Jones poked it home.

We tried to regain the lead but our front guys were either misfiring or simply missing. It didn't help that there was no support from midfield. We were definitely dropping the points. Even the presence of Ronaldo, who came on for Park, didn't help the situation. Instead of providing the killer punch, Ronaldo was more interested in his stepovers and basically clowning around.

As an almost last resort, Ferguson sent on Macheda. Barely seconds after his introduction, Macheda redirected a Carrick shot into the net. He single-handedly changed the complexion of the game. We've found our supersub, we've found our Ole.

We held on to the final whistle and gathered a much needed 3 points to leapfrog Liverpool in the standings. It was definitely not deserved but we'll take what Macheda gives us.

I'm not as confident as before that we'd win the title, although we'd still probably will. Liverpool's form is incredible. Pound for pound, I believe their starting 11 is way better than ours. And they definitely are showing much more desire right now.

We have no midfielders and our defense is in shambles. Even our front guys are looking shaky. Only Rooney is performing up to par. Tevez can't hit the side of the barn and Berbatov looks like a terrible waste of money. Ditto Carrick.

The only things that set us apart from Liverpool is that we have the experience of performing under pressure and we have a deeper squad. That said, if we continually use players like O'Shea week in week out, our squad depth's pretty shitty too. Least we have the new Ole to count on.

United Digs Deep For Victory

Manchester United 3 - Aston Villa 2
Scorers
Manchester United: Ronaldo (14,80), Macheda (90)
Aston Villa: Carew (30), Agbonlahor (58)

Team: Van der Sar, Evans, Neville, O'Shea, Evra, Carrick, Fletcher, Nani (Macheda 61), Ronaldo, Giggs, Tevez (Welback 87)

We were down to bare bones today and it showed. Vidic, Scholes and Rooney were all serving suspensions and were terribly missed. Berbatov and Rio, normally first team players, were out with injuries, although I personally didn't miss them terribly.

Villa showed absolutely no sympathy to our plight and were determined to make the most of their annual donation to Old Trafford. The opening moments of the game were totally dominated by Agbonlahor running circles around Gary Neville. They created so many chances that it was Fulham all over again.

I was watching the game with a few mates at a Clementi kopitiam, hoping to break the jinx which had followed me the last couple of games by pulling our collective karma together. And it didn't look at all good. In fact, we were hoping that we didn't dig ourselves too deep a hole before the team decided to play football.

This time it looked like our collective karma worked wonders. Friedel gifted us a freekick when he handled a backpass. Giggs rolled the ball to Ronaldo who whacked it into the top right corner giving us an undeserved lead.

Despite their good work, Villa were one down and their confidence started to fade. We couldn't exploit their brief moment of weakness and it wasn't long before Carew found himself being marked by Neville. Neville had neither the strength, pace nor height for such a tough and one-side appointment. And on the half hour mark, Carew easily lost Neville and headed a cross into the net. That was Neville's last meaningful contribution as a centre-back. He was returned to his normal position as right-back. Not that it made much difference. He continually was left huffing and puffing after speedy wingers like Agbonlahor and Ashley Young.

Villa had the upper hand and the half time whistle was just what was needed for us to regroup.

Sadly, half time was also what Villa needed to refocus and this time it was Agbonlahor who headed home Petrov's cross giving Villa the lead in a see-saw contest. Well, actually to called it a see-saw contest was giving United too much credit. We never really looked like scoring despite having a good portion of the possession.

2-1 down in a crucial game, it looked like Liverpool's season. Ferguson's response was to bring on 17-year old Italian Fedrico Macheda into the fray. Remember the name.

We still played like crap and Villa probably had the better chances until Ronaldo took over the game. With ten minutes left in the game, he took a wonderful shot that curled past Friedel to level the scores.

Tevez was sacrificed for Welback and he nearly made an immediate impact with a shot stopped point blank. Then in injury time, Macheda happened.

The young 17-year old twisted and turned in the Villa box before curling a beauty to crash Villa's dreams. It was a coolly taken goal. Huge emphasis on coolly.

It's been sometime since we've had a young player come in with such an impact. He plays hard, and more importantly he seems to have loads of confidence and spunk. I know this is probably abit premature, but I think we can afford to let Tevez go at the end of the season, as much as I hate it. But damn, Macheda's impact in this game reminds me of Ole's debut.

If he continues to get opportunites to perform like this, we may have a winner on our hands.

And to all the Liverpool fans who were crooning over their result yesterday, eat this!

Lastly, collective karma rules! The only downside is that everyone's gonna really unproductive at work in the morning.

Self-Destructing In Spectacular Fashion

Fulham 2 - Manchester United 0
Scorers
Fulham: Murphy (pen 18), Gera (87)

Red Cards: Scholes (17), Rooney (88)

Team: Van der Sar, Rio, Evans, O'Shea (Tevez 70), Evra, Scholes, Fletcher, Park, Giggs, Ronaldo, Berbatov (Rooney 46)

So much for rising from the ashes like a phoenix. We crashed and burned in spectacular fashion today. A midweek break did little to improve our play. Even a favourable draw in the Champions League to Porto and the bracket avoiding all the big guns like Liverpool, Chelsea, Barcelona and Bayern Munich did little to improve the morale of the team after that mauling last weekend.

I've seen zombies play better football than we did in the first half against Fulham. If half the chances in the first half had fallen to Andrew Johnson instead of that pathetic excuse of a striker Zamora, we would have been long dead and buried before Scholes had a chance to handle the ball in the box.

The game, however, didn't play out that way and Scholes instinctively handled the ball preventing it from going into the net. The result was a straight red card (3 match ban), and a penalty that gave Fulham a deserved lead.

The half ended that way, but really Fulham could have rised a rugby score but for some incredibly wasteful finishing. We were completely outplayed in every area of the pitch.

Ferguson didn't help matters when he, yet again, shattered our strikers' confidence by playing musical chairs, this time pairing a completely disinterested Berbatov with a petulant Ronaldo.

The result and the situation demanded a change at the half and Rooney was brought on for the injured Berbatov. Things improved immensely, with Fletcher, Park and Giggs leading an improbably comeback.

Even with ten men, we still had significantly more quality than Fulham and it showed. We begun to string passes together and made penetrating runs into the Fulham box. But try as we may, Schwarzer had a blinder, almost single-handedly stopping everything we threw at them, including the kitchen sink.

As it is with such games, when you chase, pushing men forward, you get stung by the counter. Zoltan Gera struck a dagger into our hearts near the end of the game, ending all hopes of getting something out of the game. Well, Rooney had other ideas and after the Fulham goal, he literally went beserk and got himself sent off.

This was more than a fair result. We should have been utterly crushed by the first half.

This was not the reaction I was expecting from the team. If anything, this race is almost blown wide open now. I suppose this is the United way, we don't do things easy. At least we're still in pole position....for now.

Ferguson needs to identify his best eleven and stop screwing around. When you screw around, someone's gonna get hurt. Along the same lines, he needs to start benching some of the non-performers and the prima donnas in the team. We've stopped playing like a team for a long time.

Humiliated!

Manchester United 1 - Liverpool 4
Scorers
Manchester United: Ronaldo (pen 23)
Liverpool: Torres (28), Gerrard (pen 43), Aurelio (77), Dossena (90)

Red Card: Vidic (76)

Team: Van der Sar, Rio, Vidic, O'Shea, Evra, Carrick (Giggs 74), Anderson (Scholes 74), Park (Berbatov 74), Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez

Not going to dwell on the game. I'm sure everyone's watched it and everyone will agree it's a nauseating loss. We didn't just lose, we were utterly and completely humiliated. We conceded 4 goals to our fiercest enemies and Vidic should be facing a 3 match ban for a straight red for hauling Gerrard down in a goal-scoring position. It was a bad day all around.

At the same time, I feel it's a good loss. We've been sleepwalking thru the season so far. We've not found any sort of form or rhythm. Barring a few choice wins against opponents at their weakest (Chelsea) or just weak opponents (West Brom, Fulham), we not been able to really stamp our authority in most of the games we've played. In fact in alot of our games, we've just been plain coasting and getting the results.

Although many will argue that that's what champions do, playing like shit yet etching out a win. Well, today we got exposed in the worst way possible, humiliated beyong recognition.

All along I've been maintaining that Van der Sar is just an average keeper and today with Vidic being thoroughly abused by Torres, we see just how average Van der Sar really is. The cleansheet record has been more a credit to the men in front of him. In most of those games, he's been a spectator.

The defense was awful on Tuesday against Inter. Today they just collapsed. But I'm not going to get down on them today. They have performed miracles for most of the season. It's time for them to step up again. Evans will have to step in for the suspended Vidic, and I have every confidence that they will be up to the challenge ahead.

Midfield is where most of our problems occur IMO. Ferguson hasn't settled on a centre two. I understand resting Scholes due to his age, but fielding Anderson and not Fletcher was a terrible decision. I wonder what in the world Fletcher has done to end up in Fergie's doghouse. He's been our most consistant player for the entire season and he usually performs in big matches. Yet today Fergie benched him and played Anderson. I understand that Anderson is one for the future, but in all honesty, he's still a kid. Today's game needed a man to stand out. As for Carrick, I'm sure everyone who reads my posts know exactly what I think of him, so I'm not going to sound like my mother and leave as it is.

Another one of the biggests problems is that we have no true, traditional wingers. No one can really cross the ball with any accuracy or consistancy since Beckham. Actually it doesn't really matter. We don't really have traditional strikers who can head the ball with any accuracy or consistancy either.

On paper we have a really sweet looking strikerforce. The problem is that no one, including Ferguson, knows which partnership works. The thing we do know is that so far nothing works consistantly. I really like Rooney, Tevez and Berbatov. Rooney and Tevez have the heart and Berbatov has the sublime skills, yet none of them can play with one another. It's frustrating to see so much talent on the pitch not gelling. And since I cannot pinpoint the problem here, I'm just going to put the blame on the midfield.

The result is immaterial. We're still 4 points ahead of Liverpool with a game in hand. The title is still ours to lose. What this means is that Liverpool can hold on to their pathetic hopes for a while longer, and they will expand more energy in league games which could affect them in Europe. I especially luved it when the cameras panned to arses like Gerrard and Torres patting themselves on the backs like they won a cup final. Well, this was their cup final. We are of a different pedegree, we go after records.

Like I said, this is a good loss. We needed this loss badly. Now we will see what this team of ours is made of. Will they rise from the ashes like a phoenix or will they wither and die. I believe a fire has been lit under their arses and they will go all out to prove all detractors wrong. We've been playing far too poorly for far too long. It's time to pull up our socks and play some real football.

Fuck It, We're Champions

Newcastle 1 - Manchester United 2
Scorers
Newcastle: Lovenkrands (9)
Manchester United: Rooney (20), Berbatov (56)

Team: Van der Sar, Rio, Vidic, O'Shea, Evra, Fletcher, Carrick, Park, Ronaldo, Berbatov (Giggs 90), Rooney

It never sprung so true, but it never rains......it pours. I've just endured the most financially wrecking week of my entire life. Due to that scrotum-faced excuse of pathetic crap ex-commander-in-chief's utterly incompetence while holding the helm, I suffered a huge financial loss when a company I was fully vested in went into administration. And that's only the part when it rains.

Here's where it pours. I've been constantly taking on United to win 2-1 away since the end of last year, betting on the expectation that it's been almost a full 2 years since we've had that particular result in the Premiership. At a whooping odds of 9 to 1, I've been martingaling it for the last couple of games. So with tonight's result, I should've been walking away with a mini fortune. Like I mentioned, it fucking pours. Just before the game started, I realised that due to all the shit I've been dealing with, I completely forgot to deposit money into my bookmaker to place the wager! It's unreal how the best made plans can go awry.

As for the damn game, we were completely crap and yet came away with 3 points. It only goes to show just how bad the Premier League is.

We have no killer-instinct and can't seem to kill off games, yet we remain heads above every one of those pretenders below us with a game in hand to boot. With only 11 games left, the title is as good as ours. We have to freaking lose 4 of those 11 to throw it all away, and that is if the rest of the rubbish win all theirs.

Champions! Book it!

Scrapping Past Blackburn

Manchester United 2 - Blackburn 1
Scorers
Manchester United: Rooney (23), Ronaldo (60)
Blackburn: Santa Cruz (32)

Team: Kuszczak,Rio, Evans (Vidic 61), Rafael, Evra, Carrick, Scholes (Giggs 82), Nani (Tevez 61), Ronaldo, Rooney, Berbatov

Our 14 game clean sheet record came to an abrupt halt in the 32nd minute when Santa Cruz passed the ball into an open net after Kusczak and Rio both commited early and clashed into one another.

This happened after a bright start by United in which Rooney opened the scoring for us. Rooney's looking sharp after his injury layoff and starting to look like the player we've always known he would be.

After surrendering the lead, we played sloppily. Ronaldo was at his classless best, lashing out at David Dunn in the second half. He was then booked for a dive, which would have won over the pundits on Sunday's Oscars. Unfortunately this was the wrong stage. It seemed like Ronaldo was on a one-man mission to get himself sent off. Up to that point, any neutral would have been glad to see him see the red card. As a United fan, it was disgusting to see our best player act like a petulant manchild.

Just as I was silently cursing to Kentona and Kiat, who were watching the game with me, Ronaldo came up with a show of class. His freekick from an acute angle rifled past Robinson. Words cannot give justice to just how well-taken and incredible the kick was, so I wouldn't even try. Just take it from me that it was artistry at it's finest.

Despite the greatness and importance of the goal, I still have to say just how disgusted I am with Ronaldo's behaviour on the pitch.

We continued to play sloppily for the rest of the game and Blackburn had a number of good chances to equalize but a combination of piss poor refereeing and bad luck denied Blackburn.

Rafael was extremely luck not to have conceded a penalty when he pulled Pederson down in the box. Nelsen then hit the post after being fed free and Diouf fired the rebound straight at Kuszczak.

It was a lucky escape for our lads. With the victory, we extended our lead at the top of the table and closer to the prize with only 12 games remaining. On the other end of the table, Blackburn remain rooted in the relegation zone, but I'm sure they would climb out of it sooner rather than later. They are too good of a team not to. I'm just relieved that we wouldn't have to face them again this season.

United Stretches Lead

Manchester United 3 - Fulham 0
Scorers
Manchester United: Scholes (12), Berbatov (30), Rooney (63)

Team: Van der Sar, Rio, Vidic, O'Shea (Evans 62), Evra, Carrick (Gibson 69), Scholes, Park, Ronaldo, Berbatov (Rooney 61), Tevez

The Premier League had better watch out. We're finding our form, and it's scary just how good we are. Today we despatched Fulham with ease, and plenty to spare in the tank, stretching the lead to 5 points.

Today's first half was one of the best we've seen in a long long while. We simply tore Fulham to bits and could have chalked up a rugby score by the half. Yet, both the goals scored in the half had a huge element of luck attached to them.

The first came from a well worked corner routine that saw Scholes send a scorcher from outside the box. Schwarzer had the ball well covered and in his grasp, but the shot was just too hot to handle and it squirmed into the net.

The second came via some comic defending from Fulham, failing to clear an O'Shea toe-poke into the box. Berbatov accepted the gift with glee.

Despite a huge slice of luck, take nothing away from the first half performance. We literally controlled the game and tore Fulham to shreds. Two goals flagged for offside and some ridiculous saves from Schwarzer stood testamont to our dominance.

Rooney completed the rout early in the second half with his first touch of the ball after coming on as a substitute. Park's wayward shot found it's way to Rooney on the far post and Fulham were truely dead and buried.

We slowed the pace down considerably, electing to play keep ball and conserving energy.

Van der Sar also kept a clean sheet, stretching the record to 14 straight games. He's had so little to do in those 14 games that it's probable that he's forgotten how it's like to be beaten.

We face Blackburn this Saturday and big Sam, who was scouting from the stands must be thinking just what an impossible the task ahead is.

Same 'O Same 'O

West Ham 0 - Manchester United 1
Scorer
Manchester United: Giggs (62)

Team: Van der Sar, Rio, Vidic, O'Shea, Rafael, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs, Ronaldo, Berbatov, Tevez (Park 88)

If we win the league this year, it wouldn't be by style points. We went up against an in-form West Ham team who matched up well against us.

Right from the kickoff, West Ham came at us hard and we matched the pace in an exhausting first half that neither side produced anything note-worthy, except for sweat drenched jerseys. Considering how hard the Hammers played, I thought we played well and made intelligent use of the ball when we had it.

The second half was more of the same bar a stroke of genius from Giggs that produced the winner and yet another 1-0 scoreline. Giggs turned back the clock and shimmied his way past two West Hammer defenders before unleashing a low shot into the back of the net. It was the only piece of play that was really worth typing. Ronaldo probably had a legitimate claim for a penalty towards the end of the game, but the referee was never going to give it.

West Ham did look threatening without really threatening Van der Sar (right, I know that sounds confusing). And speaking of Van der Sar, apparently he now holds the record for the longest clean sheet in Britain. I wonder what record they would dig up if we get another clean sheet next week.

Anyway, the important thing is that we've maintained the momentum. I have to say that Liverpool's luck is incredible. Last week they got two late goals against Chelsea and this week they hit another against Pompey. Not to mention the late ones they've hit in the beginning of the season. They are chalking up some ridiculous points and it's beginning to worry me.

We're not much better ourselves. We're unable to put away opponents. While we have the points in the bag, I'm worried our style of play will come back to bite us in the final reckoning. That said, I'll contradict myself here: I'm still pretty sure we're going to edge out everyone here and that's only because after watching Chelsea and Pool play, I conclue that they are utterly crap. Now I only wait for Villa to sneak up from behind and bite me in the arse.

Record Breaking Wind

Manchester United 1 - Everton 0
Scorer
Manchester United: Ronaldo (pen 44)

Team: Van der Sar, Rio, Vidic, Neville (Brown 50), O'Shea, Fletcher (Giggs 75), Carrick, Park, Ronaldo, Berbatov, Tevez

Man, I'm sorry for doing this so late. Got invited to the Chingay parade last night by Kentona and was completely knackered after watching the United game, which we had to rush back to catch. In case anyone is wondering, the Chingay parade, despite it's gay-sounding name, is not some gay pride parade with little Chinese dudes prancing around in pink leotards. It's actually an annual street parade with cool looking floats, and this year's was pretty good with foreign acts, firecrackers and a short but really sweet fireworks display. The only downside was the finale, where a magician set himself on fire only to disappoint the crowd by appearing on top of the city hall.

After the parade was when the gay party really started. The roads were closed for a street party and I can't understand the fascination with this whole hip hop culture. It's angry, rude and so wannabe. The awkward gyrating of ugly young mugs to the sound of ear piercing noise gave my stomach the runs. After breaking wind the entire night (hence the title) and deciding that the scene was too gay for me, we returned back to our normal haunt to catch the game.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at just how good we were today. With the exception of Neville who was played for the fool the entire time he was on the pitch, everyone else was pretty good.

Fergie must have installed a phonebooth in the locker room. Carrick was, once again, outstanding. It's rare that Carrick has an exceptional game, and even more so when he has 2 in a row. Partnering Fletcher in midfield seems to have cast away the shackles. He was more involved with the front players and occasionally had the opportunity to get into good positions.

One such opportunity resulted in Arteta tripping him and a penalty awarded. Ronaldo sent the ball into the net, and United in front. It was nothing more than United deserved.

We did create chances throughtout the game and even had an ironclad penalty denied when Carrick was once again fouled in the box.

Everton created little and were reduced to long range shots which Van der Sar collected comfortably. They probably weren't too bothered with the result, probably saving their legs for the next game.

We ended the game 1-0 winners and a record 12th clean sheet in a row. Personally the record means little if we do not retain the title. But judging at how that Spanish fellow over at Merseyside is throwing games, I'd say we have a good chance of doing so. All that needs to happen is for Chelsea and Liverpool to lose more ground with a dull draw tonight.

United Thrashes Ten Men West Brom

WBA 0 - Manchester United 5
Scorers
Manchester United: Berbatov (22), Tevez (44), Vidic (60), Ronaldo (65, 73)

Red Card
WBA: Robinson (40)

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Rio (Brown 70), Neville (Eckersley 70), O'Shea, Carrick, Giggs, Park, Ronaldo, Berbatov (Tosic 77), Tevez

There were plenty of talking points in this match, most of which circled around referee, Rob Styles, but one thing that cannot be denied was that United's class shown thru. In a season where we've coughed, stuttered and generally been clueless beyond the defence, today was a statement game to all our closest rivals that we're finding our form and a reminder of just how devastating it can be.

The day couldn't have started off worse. Due to traffic issues, the game was delayed by 30 minutes. Already suffering from a severe lack of sleep due to the Chinese New Year celebrations, I was practically nodding off while waiting for the game to start. I was quite expecting another dull 1-0 bore-fest that has plagued our season so far, but on hindsight, it was worth the wait.

Unlike the game at Old Trafford in October, West Brom started brightly and threatened to run riot before surprise inclusion, Rio, and his partner, Vidic, stamped the flow. Slowly United crept into the game and began to impose our superiority and class. Carrick seemed to have found a phonebooth at the Hawthorns and dorned his Superman cape, spraying exquisite passes all over the pitch.

It wasn't a surprise that Carrick's passing ripped the West Brom defense apart, setting Berbatov free to score the opener. West Brom couldn't cope with United's pace and guile off the ball.

Neville had a legitimate shout at a penalty, but Rob Styles, being the utterly useless referee he is, waved play on, while the replays showed clearly that Neville was upended. To compound matters, he reduced West Brom to ten men, sending their skipper off for a bad foul on Park. It looked a little harsh, and by the way we were playing, we hardly needed any advantage.

The game threatened to boil over as the West Brom players were starting to lose their heads. The heat of the moment probably got to Carson most, when he dropped a routine catch, allowing Tevez to slam the ball home. Luckily half time came before Styles got into serious trouble with the West Brom players.

West Brom came out from the break a determined side to right the wrongs and could jolly well have pulled one back had it not been for the woodwork. We didn't do ourselves any favours either by getting complacent and sloppy with the ball.

Vidic, perhaps sensing that the game was getting away from us, took matters into his own hands and set us on the right path by scoring from a corner, casting all doubts away. He's our best player this season so far. An unmoveable rock.

We were back in our stride and Ronaldo added a brace to comprehensively put West Brom away.

There could've been more United goals, but it would have been rather harsh on a feisty West Brom side. While I acknowledge they lack the pedigree of a Premiership side, I would hate to see a hardworking underdog go down over some other bigger names like Spurs, Newcastle or Boro.

As for us, we're sitting pretty at the top of the table. We boostered our goal difference and broke Chelsea's premiership record of clean sheets. More importantly, we're starting to really play good football and the confidence is slowly returning to the side. And if Carrick and reproduce a few more performances like this (pretty doubtful though), we might be in for a treat the remainder of the season.

United Knocks Liverpool Off The Fucking Perch (if only for 48hrs)

Bolton 0 - Manchester United 1
Scorer
Manchester United: Berbatov (90)

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Evans, O'Shea, Neville, Carrick, Anderson (Scholes 69), Fletcher (Giggs 69), Ronaldo, Berbatov, Tevez

How many times are United going to cheat death this season? We almost didn't pull this one out until some dogged, determined work by Tevez provided Berbatov the opportunity to knife one into the backs of the Trotters.

The first half was a stale affair where the only highlight was a United supporter storming the pitch to provide the only entertainment where both sides looked extremely disjointed.

The dull stalemate continued into the second half until Ronaldo decided to take matters upon himself, while his teammates were still sleepwalking thru the game. This was probably one of Ronaldo's better performances. He took on his defenders down the left and could very well have had a few chances but decided to be the ultimate team-player by passing up the chances again and again. Too bad his teammates were all on the wrong frequency.

And when the chances came via freekicks, Bolton's long time serving keeper, Jaaskelainen, was up to the task, thwarting Ronaldo time and time again.

Fergie brought on the old warhorses, Scholes and Giggs to provide much need inspiration while we turned the pressure up a notch. They replaced Fletcher, who was uncomfortable playing on the right wing, and Anderson, who was generally putrid for a lack of a kinda word.

Bolton, like many others before them, held on and looked likely for a deserved draw when Tevez's persistence won United the ball. His cross found Berbatov alone in the box and Jaaskelainen could do little to save his powerful header.

Berbatov had a decent enough game, and is starting to look like a true match-winner for us. There is still plenty to be desired upfront for us, but with Ronaldo coming into form and Tevez and Berbatov showing signs of a budding partnership, I certainly hope it spells good things for us.

In the meantime, let's enjoying being top of the table. We hardly deserve it but on the other hand, neither do the other teams.

United Catches Wigan Napping

Manchester United 1 - Wigan 0
Scorer
Manchester United: Rooney (1)

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Evans, O'Shea, Rafael, Scholes (Fletcher 86), Carrick, Nani (Anderson 60), Ronaldo, Rooney (Tevez 8), Berbatov

We took another significant step towards our third consecutive title doing just enough to put off an in-form Wigan side that showed plenty spunk and promise. Daisy (or is it Dolly? I can never tell them apart and google/wiki sheds no answers either) has done a wonderful job since taking over the Latics.

We scored our goal early in the 1st minute while Wigan were still in the team huddle. Ronaldo broke off on the right and fed Rooney with a good cross. Rooney's goal was the only one in a game where both defenses stood out.

It's a bitter sweet victory for me. It's been sometime since we scored an early goal (before the 15th minute) and I was just about to use this post to go on one of my usual rants about it. Then up pops Rooney to play the role of spoiler. Curiously, that was the sweet part.

Having taken an early lead, we failed completely to play the game, let alone build on it. We allowed Wigan the time and space to play their game. To compound matters, we were guilty of giving the ball away in alarming frequency in the first half. Thankfully Vidic and his merry men were in fine form yet again.

Another worrying sign, along side our distinct lack of goals (again), was that Rooney seems to have pulled his hamstring. He was replaced by Tevez early in the game. Neither Tevez nor Berbatov made any positive contribution to the game. Well, at least Tevez worked his socks off trying to make an impression. While Berbatov joined the other Spurs alumni fading into the Old Trafford background.

Whatever the case, it makes this weekend's fixture against Bolton at the Reebok so much more difficult. Should we prevail, we will top the table for a good 48hrs before Pool plays.

In other news, United is scheduled to play in Malaysia and Indonesia in the summer. If time permits, I'm thinking of making a short trip down to KL to catch the game. Time to wrestle a few elbows to get free tickets from some journalist friends.....

Last but not least, here are some photos sent to me by Antonio on her trip to Old Trafford and Gigg Lane a month back. It got to me while I was having a whale of a time in Beijing, so sorry for the late acknowledgement. ;o)

Photos

Back In The Hunt

Manchester United 3 - Chelsea 0
Scorers
Manchester United: Vidic (45), Rooney (63), Berbatov (87)

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Evans, Neville, Evra (O'Shea 66), Fletcher, Giggs (Carrick 80), Park, Ronaldo, Berbatov, Rooney

There's been little to cheer about since the turn of the year and our results lately has been some binary code that probably reads 'we can't score' when strung together. But today, we changed all that. In a crucial game against fellow contenders, Chelsea, we signalled our intentions loud and clear, putting 3 past a stout and stingy defence.

This was the performance we've been waiting for. We're still nowhere near our potential, but on this night, we showed the hunger and the spirit that has been missing for the last few months. Park was outstanding, along with Giggs and Evra deserving honourable mentions. Rooney had that mean streak in him and Ronaldo actually looked a little like the Ronaldo of last season.

Rio's presence wasn't missed at all with Evans proving to be a more than able deputy. Vidic, as usual was a man-mountain. And not to spoil my own mood, I wouldn't even rant on Berbatov, who was still in Carrick mode. Strangely enough, even he turned up for the party before the end of the game and scored a pretty good goal late in the game.

The great thing about this result is that we've closed the gap to Liverpool to within 5 points with 2 games in hand. For once I feel we have our destiny in our own hands. What makes this result sweeter is that I personally think that our two closest rivals, Liverpool and Chelsea, are nowhere near our playing standards. Pretty evidently from today's result Chelsea is not in the same class this year.

As for our other dreaded rivals, Liverpool, they have a manager who will lose them the title. Yesterday against a physical Stoke team, he threw out a feather weight team which lost all the physical contests, while setting his top goal-getters, Torres and Keane on the bench. And add to the fact he's kinda lost the plot this early in the season with a Keegan-patented Fergie rant to the media. Gotta luv it when opponents lose the plot in a mega way.

I doubt we're good enough nor deep enough to compete on all fronts at the moment, but retaining the Premiership title looks like an attainable goal. We just need to keep up the hunger and the aggression. Time for the other teams to quiver in our wake.

United Scraps Past Boro (Huge Berbatov Rant)

Manchester United 1 - Middlesbrough 0
Scorer
Manchester United: Berbatov (69)

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Evans, O'Shea, Rafael (Neville 63), Fletcher (Scholes 63), Carrick, Park, Ronaldo (Giggs 86), Rooney, Berbatov

This is turning out to be a difficult season to watch. Week after week, we labour to put away bottom-dwellers. This result puts a particularly foul taste in my mouth when the most undeserving player on the pitch got all the accolades.

I played special attention to Berbatov, in the hopes of writing something nice about him after dissing him in the last post. And after today's game, I come away totally justified with my previous piece. He contributes nothing to the game. In fact, I feel he's stifling the progress of the team.

When we break, he's hardly every around, being too slow to keep up with the pace of Rooney and Ronaldo. When we play in the opponent half of the field, he lazes around, not making runs to free up space or draw defenders. When he does eventually move forward, he never runs back to avoid being caught offside. In short, he basically does fuck all.

Yet, despite all that, he scores the winning goal. The footballing gods must be blind. To top it off, it was a ridiculously lucky goal. The ball fell at his feet and all he had to do was volley it in.

I suppose the argument is that he's there for precisely that reason...to score goals when the opportunity presents itself. Right....so that's what....he's 2nd or 3rd goal after 15 games in the EPL. I'm just simply not impressed with what I'm seeing and every week that passes it just gets worse.

The entire team should also bear alot of the blame, including and especially Ferguson, but I'm giving everyone a free pass this post. I'm just incredibly amazed that we're still in the chase for the title after turning out such dross over such a long period. Everyone else must be rubbish as well.