Epic!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Berbatov Grabs A Hattrick Of Hattricks

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nani added a fifth with a fine individual effort.

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

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

Got Away With One

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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