United Held By Ferguson

Everton 1 - Manchester United 1
Scorers
Everton: Fellaini (63)
Manchester United: Fletcher (21)

Team: Van der Sar, Rio, Vidic, Brown, Evra, Fletcher (Tevez 78), Giggs, Park (Anderson 67), Ronaldo, Rooney (Nani 71), Berbatov

Stupid computer chose today to go down on me that's why I'm up at 3 freaking am, typing this. Good thing it's not something a good hard kick can't fix.

This was just an incredibly frustrating game to watch. I was literally foaming at the mouth by the end of the second half. There were so many stupid stupid decisions taken in the game that it's really mindboggling what goes on in Ferguson's mind when the match is being played.

We comprehensively dominated the first half and really should have put a miserable looking Everton to the sword. Giggs and Fletcher were outstanding, and it wasn't really much of a surprise that the two combined for the opener.

Giggs' thru ball was controlled expertly by Fletcher and his shot found the back of the net in the 21st minute. There was a touch of class and plenty to be admired in the way it was scored.

Everything was going our way and we really should have made the result beyond doubt. But the ball is round and it doesn't always go our way. That's really fine, and I wasn't complaining at that point. We were leading going into the half and it's been a stroll in the park so far.

'So far' were the key words. Everton came storming back in the second half. They got physical and we couldn't cope. Fletcher was literally overworked, doing the job of all four midfielders. Park and Giggs were outmuscled and Ronaldo was just shameful. He took every opportunity to dive, pout and whine. It seems like good Ronaldo is gone and we have to put up with this arsehole until he realises he's not bigger than the team or until Real Madrid grow some balls and actually pay some decent dough.

I was practically screaming at the wide screen TV in the coffeshop for a substitution. It was obvious after just only 10 minutes into the second half, things were falling apart, and falling apart fast!

Phil Neville then lost alot of my goodwill when he threatened to turn the game on its head by lunging in wildly at Ronaldo. True, it was a bad challenge but it didn't deserve the performance by Ronaldo, wringing on the ground as if he was shot by a sniper. And he wasn't even doing it right. I have a football mate who does it perfectly, maybe I should introduce them. Just awfully despicable of Ronaldo to try to make more of what it actually was. Both set of players came together and angry words were exchanged. Thankfully common sense prevailed and it stopped at that.

Everton took the lead shortly after. Phil Neville's cross was met by Fellaini and Everton equalized.

Everton almost took the lead a couple of times when Brown, Rio and Vidic played like nervous school girls going for their first prom. Rio and Brown gave the ball away in dangerous positions and if not for Van der Sar, we would have returned empty-handed instead of the solitary point.

Ferguson's decision making was pathetic. It was clear the direction the game was going and changes should and could have been made earlier instead of responding and reacting to what has already happened on the pitch. He brough on Anderson in response to the equalizer but didn't remove Giggs from the game. Giggs was practically a pedestrian. Whenever he got the ball, we were moving one step forward and two steps back.

Rooney then tried his hand at crowd control when he started kissing the United crest on his chest. Just quite what he was trying to achieve, besides inciting a riot, was totally beyond me. Totally stupid. If there was one thing Ferguson did right today, it was removing Rooney from the game immediately, before WWIII broke out.

As time started to whittle away, Tevez was brought on too late. What has Tevez done to get into Ferguson's doghouse is again beyond me. He should've at least been on at the same time with Anderson to have some impact.

All in all, this was a game we should have won comfortably. Instead of being proactive, we became reactive, and that resulted in a poor draw. The problem stemmed from management down to the players.

And Ronaldo needs to sit. He's getting too big for his boots.

Tevez Steals The Show (Manchester United 0 - West Ham United 1)

There were celebrations all round when the final whistle blew. West Ham had staved off relegation and Manchester United were crown champions of England.

Despite being almost overwhelmingly outplayed by United, Tevez willed West Ham to an unlikely victory. On paper, the United team that started lacked star names like Giggs, Scoles or Ronaldo, but they played like stars yet somehow the West Ham goal led a charmed life. Even when the trio were introduced in the second half, the West Ham defence could not be breached.

Ultimately, it was a Tevez goal in the first half that settled the match. A fitting end to the season for a West Ham team that looked doomed only two months ago, only for Tevez to claw and inspire them to safety on the last day.

(In my best Keegan impersonsation) I would have loved to see West Ham relegated to ease the pain of 95. But it was not to be.

Based on his sheer determination, Ferguson will find it very difficult to resist a move for Tevez, should he be offered again to United. He showed skill, grit, courage and a 'never say die' attitude, an attribute you can never lack when building a team. I would love to see him in our colours 'again'.

Anyway it was good to see Alan Smith get his Permiership medal and the lads celebrating wildly after the game.

Before I end this entry, here's an interview with Eric Cantona. Just thought it's a fitting end to a great season.

Poor, Gutless Performance United Falter in Europe Yet Again (AC Milan 3 - Manchester United 0)

From top to bottom, from the manager to the fans to the bloggers to the mailing lists, everyone was to blamed for this one. The only exception being Scholes who played his heart out, and probably the only one to deserve any sympathy from anyone. Everyone else was counting their chickens. All around the blogs were people getting ready for the showdown with Liverpool, the mailing lists that I was involved in were debating who to support for last night's semis, Pool or Chelsea, to eventually meet in the finals.

Sir Alex Ferguson and Carlos Queiroz were major culprits, playing scared again away in Europe by playing one up front. Time and time again we've failed to get the result desired by going away from what the players are familar with. As long as we go in with that mindset, we're simply going to be outplayed and outclassed by teams like AC Milan.

We also took a gamble and played a semi-fit Vidic in the centre of defence and right from the kickoff he's lack of fitness and sharpness was nearly exposed by Kaka. 3 minutes into the game, Seedorf hit a screamer and Van der Sar did well to push it over his bar. Milan were out of the blocks fast and we struggled to cope.

10 minutes into the game and Milan took the lead thru Kaka with a precise strike into the bottom left corner. Nothing more than Milan had deserved. They were hungrier and significantly better in every department on the pitch. I was surprised it took them till the 30th minute to add a second thru Seedorf. Again it was a sweet strike into the same corner of the goal. Quite frankly, they should've been at least another couple of goals ahead. The gulf in class was apparent for all to see.

We were no better in the second half. Although we showed abit more urgency trying to win the ball, Milan were still by far the better team. I can't remember a save that Dida had to make in the second half. That was how bad we were. It wasn't a surprise that Milan added a third via a counter attack thru Gilardino in the 79th minute. That knocked away whatever fighting spirit we had left, not that we had much to offer in the first place.

On a night when we needed to bring out our best, we produced our worst. Key players like Ronaldo and Carrick played like they were in awe of the Italians, totally gutless and disgusting. The entire defence was poor as well, giving the ball away cheaply. Heinze and Vidic combined to gift Milan their second goal. Rooney and Giggs squandered away possession. Brown and O'Shea were pumping long balls upfield to no one. All in all this was a pathetic performance. At least it gives us a taste how we play a division 2 side, except this time round, we were the division 2 side.

Only Scholes, and probably Fletcher, had average games. They were the only 2 United players who showed any semblance hunger.

Well, looks like AC Milan has gotten their wish to face Liverpool in a grudge match. It would sicken me if Pool were to win, not to mention, we're probably going to get it shoved down our throats again if they do. And it's probably going to make me puke in my mouth if Milan wins, considering they shouldn't even be in the competition in the first place. Shameful that someone has to win it.

I hope we go on to whip that 'massive' club in the weekend and take another step closer to the title. And for fucks sake, let's stop counting our chickens!

Fuckin' Late Kickoff (Manchester United 1 - Middlesbrough 1)

I can't emphasize how fucking irritated I am with our performance in late kickoffs. We were trying to be what Fergie and Giggs had said in midweek....efficient. Unfortunately it all turned out wrong as we tried to play like Chelsea. Now the cushion has almost been completely swept from under our buttocks. Chelsea now holds their own destiny in their hands. All they need to do is to win their remaining premiership games, including the one with us.

The game started brightly for us. Richardson gave us the lead after a superb pass from Scholes and some brilliant running from Rooney in the 3rd minute. Just as Chelsea has been making a habit of scoring late in games, we've been doing the same with early goals.

The difference is when you score late goals, the other hasn't a chance of hitting back. And Boro did just that at the stroke of half time. It was also partly due to Rio hurting his groin again and was practically immobile when Viduka scored the equalizer.

Our tactics after going one goal ahead early was probably to blame as the team took heed from SAR and Giggs suggestions to play 'efficiently'. We allowed Boro plenty of possession and allowed them to come at us. Although until the goal, we had been able to contain Boro somewhat comfortably. We should have gone out and tried to nick a second goal, and play the way that had worked so well for us the entire season. Of course there were other considerations like injuries and more importantly, fatigue, but we should have treated each game like it was a cup final.

SAR rang in the changes at half time bringing on Giggs as an attacking punch and Fetcher to replace the injuried Rio. Yet it was Van der Sar who was called into action, denying both Viduka and Yakubu. Perhaps our first half rhythm had set in and our attacking play just wasn't effective. We could hardly penetrate the last third of the pitch with Boro defending resolutely and hitting us on the counter, a tactic which we made almost exclusively our own throughout the season.

Ole was sent on in a desperate push forward to seek the winning goal with a quarter of the game left, which in fairness to Ole, just wasn't enough. To put things into perspective on how ineffective we were, I don't think Schwarzer was troubled to make a single save in the second half. The tension in the stadium was intense and it probably got to the United players on the pitch.

In the dying minutes, what was a already bad situation almost got worse. John O'Shea brought down a Boro player in injury time and a penalty wasn't given. It could have made a bad day turn really sour.

Despite not winning this game, things aren't dire yet. Just as Chelsea has their destiny in their hands, so do we and it always has been. The only difference is that the margin of error now is minimal. Nerves will play an important part to both teams and how they perform under that pressure will separate the men from the boys.

I don't like the situation we're in, especially after having had a 6 point cushion, but I'll take what we have considering I never gave us a lick of hope at the beginning of the season. And with all the fucking late kickoffs out of the bloody way, the only thing that worries me is facing West Ham in the last game. I believe we probably would draw Chelsea to bring the race down to the wire.

If anyone cares to remember back in 95, we faced West Ham in the last game for the title and a certain Andy Cole missed 7825 shots on goal. We drew that game as Blackburn edged us to the title. Had we won then, the title would have been ours.

Ronaldo Pledges Future With United

'I'm Not A Galatico' - Ronaldo has given the clearest indication yet that he's going to remain at Manchester United. Given all the smoke screens passed out by the media, I'm taking this with a healthy pinch of salt. Even if he stays at United for life, it's going to take him quite a while to even come close to Cantona's cult status.

Woodgate Defuses Ronaldo Row - Well, he didn't say it outright, but the implications that it was a penalty were there. Kudos to Woodgate for clearing the air.

Ferguson's F-word Rant - This is a Sun exclusive, and I almost never got to read the article. Page 3 always distracts me whenver I visit the Sun website, and today's entry almost had me in my own F-word rant! Anyway, back to the article, I don't know why this is a big deal. It's just Fergie being typically Fergie, and the English media typically being the English media.

Nevilles to Equal Charltons' Record - Er....I'm happy for them, I really am. Just not a fan of the English national team.

Preview : Europe XI

Had some spare time so thought I'd put up some news reports and some of my own comments.

Becks set to mend ties with Fergie - Don't care what others have said, but Beckham will always truely be one of the lads for me. He bleeds Red. It's a pity he's down with injury. It would have been a fitting farewell for the fans to have him play, albeit for the opponent.

Zidane Avoids Metarazzi - Zidane declined an invitation to play alongside Metarazzi for the Europe XI. Just as I always thought, Zidane's a pussy....and a petty one at that.

Congested Fixture Gives Smith A Chance - Forgotten man, Alan Smith might be in with a shout to play regular football after the draw with Boro. Larsson leaving and injuries to both Saha and Ole also strengthen his cause. On top of that, Rooney's been rather off form lately, doesn't hurt either.

Keano, Next United Manager? - It's more of a Sunderland article, but a good read nonetheless.