Van der Sar Heroics Standout In Pentalty Shootout (Chelsea 1 - United 1) *United wins 3-0 on Penalties

Thanks to Van der Sar's three saves, United won 3-0 on penalties to take the Charity Shield.

The game itself was a vast improvement from the dull FA Cup finals at the same venue just a couple of months or so back. At least there was more action and, more importantly, there were goals.

Evra was surprisingly a delight to watch when he was fielded at left wing. He constantly got behind the Chelsea backline and was instrumental in providing Giggs with the opening goal. He's got plenty of attack instincts and put them to good use whenever he's played on the left wing. Unfortunately when Silves was replaced by Nani in the second half, he reverted back to the bumbling fool in left back and was constantly beaten by Wright-Phllips. To be fair, Silves didn't fair too well against the same opponent either. Yup, we still need a left back.

The lead given to us by Giggs didn't last the half when Malouda powered past both Brown and Rio from the right wing and shot a beautiful ball into the goal right at half time.

United started off the second half in strong fashion but failed to capitalize on their chances. As the game got on, Chelsea gradually grew in strength and defensive discipline, cancelling out United's superior fire power. Goalmouth action was at a premier and the game fittingly ended in a draw.

Van der Sar steped up and saved 3 consecutive penalties in the shootout, winning us our first silverware of the season. Although it's an inconsequential result but the win is all about getting the psychological edge over our opponents in the 9 months ahead and putting the right foot forward in a long journey.

A Point Separates United And The Title (Manchester City 0 - Manchester United 1)

Caught this game at the kopitam with Kentona and our respective better halves. The atomsphere wasn't exactly the best since we were surrounded by ABUs (Anyone But United) willing Shitty on. The game itself wasn't anywhere near our best showing but against a 'massive' club like Shitty, we did enough to etch out a win.

Shitty must have been rubbing their collective hands together in glee when they learnt that Rob Styles was in charge of this match. Given his abysmal record of not protecting United players, it was the green light for Shitty to 'hack-a-Ron', or anyone wearing Red for that matter.

It wasn't long after the kickoff that Shitty showed their true agenda. 2 minutes into the game, Michael Ball recklessly hacked at Ronaldo and Styles, true to form, completely ignored it. It set the tone for rough-house tackles by both sides. Well, it's what you would expect from a derby anyway.

To be fair, given our exhaustions in midweek, Shitty did look like the brighter of the 2 sides, forcing Van der Sar to a couple of good saves. We, on the other hand, didn't do too badly ourselves, hitting the post and crossbar with efforts from Vidic and Rio respectively.

Both sides were unable to get a foothold on the game until a decisive moment in the 33rd minute. Michael Ball once again fouled Ronaldo, but this time he did it inside the box and Styles awarded a penalty. Ronaldo came forward and slotted the spot kick giving a precious one goal advantage.

The second was none too inspiring from both sides, as Kentona and I went into deep conversation over our surprising progress this entire season. It was something neither of us had expected given our paper thin squad and recent injuries, but were nonetheless grateful for.

Then in the 81st minutes, Shitty were awarded a penalty when Brown fouled Ball. It did look like a soft penalty to give away, but hey, we're dealing with Rob Styles. I was personally uttering a half curse on Kentona for bringing his girlfriend along to watch the game with us. Given our past record of watching United games together with her for the past 2-3 years, she's been jinxing our results. This is of course no blame on her. It always solely lies with Kentona. (Sorry pal, needa score some points with Audrey)

Darius Vassell stood up and blasted the ball down the middle, only for Van der Sar to save with his legs. The curse was lifted! Although personally I felt it was the presence of my significant other that neutralized the curse, but that's another story for another day (needa score more points). For today we celebrate, not only another victory, but another gargantuan step towards reclaiming the Premiership trophy!

Now only a point separates us from taking back what we've 'loaned' out for the past 3 seasons. The fat lady hasn't sung yet, but given the way she's clearing her throat, the sweet melody isn't too far away. I'm not the type who likes to celebrate unless it's in the bag, but hell, the feeling's great to be so close to the prize after such a long journey. Please, no slip ups.

Other Significant Results Today
Wigan 0 - Middlesbrough 1
West Ham United 3 - Bolton 1

The results are significant. This was brought up by LY while I was typing entry. Assuming Chelsea wins their next 2 games against Arsenal and ourselves, we go into the final fixture against West Ham still needing a point. West Ham also needs a point to ensure Premiership existence. Without being a conspiracy theorist, both teams need just a point to meet our respective goals. If I were a betting man.....hmmm.....

Of course if Chelsea drops points tomorrow or against us on Wednesday, all bets are off and we celebrate like no tomorrow.

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!

Old Boys Help United Zero in on Title (Everton 2 - Manchester United 4)

This is the stuff made for legends. 2 goals down and a thrilling comeback served up a sweet taste of toffee at Goodison Park.

Speaking of legends, there was a minute's silence to mark the passing of World Cup legend Alan Ball, which was immaculately kept before the start of the game.

Everton started both halves with early goals as United struggled to find their passing game. Despite the injuries faced during the run in and a relentless persue by Chelsea, fatigue is fast becoming our greatest enemy. Our play was sloppy and we failed to make that final pass when it mattered. The players looked like they were wearing weights on their feet for most of the first half.

On the 12th minute, Alan Stubbs thundered a freekick home, albeit with a telling deflection from the unlucky Carrick. It wasn't as if we weren't warned, as Lescott had hit the crossbar from a corner minutes earlier.

Our response was almost non-existent. Although we did dominate the first half, the final pass was always lacking. The Everton defence was sordid and did not allow an inch of space to the invaders in Red.

The second half started disasterously as Manuel Fernandes scored a stunning goal which Van der Sar could only flap at. In all honestly, the strike was so damn good, no keeper in the world could have saved it. 2-0 down and things were not looking good at all. Making matters worse was that Chelsea was leading in their own game against Bolton. Things were indeed looking glim for the men from Manchester. I'm glad I don't own a pet.

Our meek response was to take off the ineffective Evra, replacing him with Richardson in left back. Against a determined Everton side, who are fighting their own battle for a UEFA spot and trailing by 2 goals, it was perhaps better to give Richardson a run out for the midweek Champanions League game against Milan.

While the management probably had throw in the towel with a negative looking substitution, the players never hung their heads. Right on the hour, Iain Turner who has been playing in place of Tim Howard, inexplicably dropped a corner from Giggs, allowing John O'Shea to stab the ball into goal.

After playing like zombies for an hour, United were thrown a life line and my did they grab it like their lives depended on it. On came Ronaldo in place of Smith and the football was flowing. There was a sudden spring in the steps and United pushed forward for the equaliser.

And it came from the most unlikely source. Old boy and goal shy, Phil Neville somehow managed to score, perhaps his most important goal for United during a mad scramble in the penalty box. I hope his Everton teammates wouldn't be to harsh on their captain in the dressing room.

The other old boy, Rooney, completed the comeback in the 79th minute. He dragged the ball wide from the Everton defence and squeezed in the winner between Turner and the far right post.

Chris Eagles, who came on as a late substitute, put the sprinkling on the toffee, curling a superb 4th in injury time.

It was a superb victory given the circumstances and it was made sweeter by the news that Chelsea had drawn against Bolton. 5 points clear and needing 4 points from the next 3 games should see us home free. Surely we can't possibly screw this one up even if we tried...right? I certainly hope not, but we're United, and we've always made things difficult for ourselves, as this game has shown.

Another thing I just want to say here......damn we gotta be one of the most exciting teams to root for. The emotional roller coaster rides that we, United fans, go thru is incredible. And it's been going on and has gone on for quite sometime. My ticky ticker has gone thru some really tough times for almost 27 years, just by watching United play. I swear I'm going to have a heart-attack one of these days before I turn 40. I suppose the point I'm trying to say is that as much as I love the emotional spins we've gone thru the past week or so, gimme a Roma-type, non-nerve wrecking game anytime. Thrashings or boring wins once in a while is good for the heart. I'm sure some of the older fans reading this will understand where I come from.

ROOONEY!!!!!!! (Manchester United 3 - AC Milan 2)

My god, what a game! Actually it wasn't much of a game.....but what an ending! It's not over, we still have to face Milan at the San Siro, but we're going there with a slender lead.

We started off with a fluke goal by Ronaldo in the opening 5 minutes. He headed a corner right at Dida and it carromed off him upwards and subsequently into the empty net. It was a fluke goal, not that we're complaining here.

Despite going a goal up, Milan looked comfortable. They passed the ball around efficiently and did not panick, slowly building up the play. It was much like when we faced them 2 years ago. They eventually equalised with a superb goal by Kaka in the 22nd minute. He ran past Carrick and Gabby and slotted the ball past Van der Sar to score.

15 minutes later it got worse. Evra who made a 'timely' return to the team in defence, ran into Gabby and exposed Van der Sar to Kaka. Kaka didn't need a second invitation to score his second of the night. Evra has been give a free pass and sometimes generously given a couple of praises in this blog. But on this occasion, he was simply awful! I cringed everytime he got close to the ball, and cringed again when he was making passes to the Italians.

Speaking of awful, the Greek referee was awful as well. He seemed to be doing his darnest to keep United away from Athens next month. He was on a one-man mission to keep his capital safe from the marauding United fans who have been creating 'havoc' in other lands. He booked Evra for a seemingly innocent challenge ruling him out of the second leg. Given our defensive deficiencies, it should have been a great blow, but in the context of today's performance, there couldn't have been a better gift. I rather have Fletcher in defence than Evra screwing it up again. There are some things that you do not leave to chance.

United came out of half time playing like the way they did in the first half....being dictated by a very composed Milan side. To put things simply, there was no movement whenever we got the ball. We passed the ball, but we were not moving. It made defending against us very easy. Needless to say, Kaka should have gotten his hattrick. At this point in time, I had given up on the cause. Damage limitation seemed like a good thing.

Rooney and Scholesy, however, had other ideas. Right on the hour, Scholes flicked a brilliant ball which caught the Milan defence napping and Rooney was on hand to level the scores.

Suddenly the team woke up. They began passing the ball and running into spaces. On a couple of occasions, they put Milan on the backfoot. The Italians, unable to cope against wave after wave of the Red tide pounding on their defensive walls, started to give away freekicks at the edge of the penalty area. Strangely enough, some of the tackles put in were pretty cynical and yet the referee from Greece did not book anyone. Despite the number of freekicks given, Giggs and Ronaldo combined to miss all of them.

Just when all look lost, Giggs threaded a superb pass to Rooney in the box and Rooney unleashed a thunderbolt from a narrow angle into the goal in injury time. It suddenly felt like Gigg's goal against Juve that drew us level at OT in 95!

Like I mentioned, the job's not done yet. We must not let our guard down next week. If we played like anything in the first half, we're doomed. We need to take the game to Milan and let them adjust to our style.

Man of the Match : Rooney. Had he not scored that last minute goal, I would have given it to Fletcher, who was outstanding in midifeld again. He must love playing against the Italians, having done the job against Roma and for Scotland against Italy.

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.

Curse of Late Kickoffs (Portsmouth 2 - Manchester United 1)

The cushion which we've been sitting so comfortably on has just gotten significantly harder. Chelsea beating Spurs (seriously, who couldn't see that coming!) and us losing to Portsmouth has cut our lead in the table to just 3 points with 6 games to go. It's still a commanding lead, especially when you factor in our superior goal difference.

It's just a minor road bump on our journey to wrestle the title from Chelsea. As long as there are no major road blocks in the form of late kickoffs, we should do fine. If at the start of the season, given the option to be in this position, I would gladly grab it with both hands. That's how far we've come, and I doubt neither the players, the management team nor the fans will willingly let this one go, especially not since we've worked so hard to come this far.

As for the game, all I can say is that Portsmouth played well, we looked tired and were undone by individual errors. None more glaring than from our stand-in captain Rio and our keeper Van der Sar.

The game was played at a franatical pace right at kickoff and neither side really got a hold of the game in the first half. This, of course, didn't help our cause since we never got into our rhythm. Both teams were guilty of giving away possession under pressure from the opposite side, but Portsmouth made theirs count. On the half hour, Richardson conceded possession and Benjani took a pot shot at goal. Van der Sar parried the ball straight in front of him and Matthew Taylor, my favourite Portsmouth player, got in front of Rio and knocked in the rebound.

Kinda hard to find fault when 3 of our players were involved in the boo-boo. They were:
1. Richardson for gaving away possession in a dangerous area.
2. VDS for parrying the ball in front of him. I'm sure in goalkeeping 101, you're taught to parry the ball to the side if you can't hold it.
3. Rio for standing rooted to the ground and allowing Taylor to get in front of him to score.

We were poor and rattled by the goal. In the second half, we were significantly better and piled up the pressure on the Portsmouth goal. Unfortunately, the final ball was always found wanting. When we did get it right, David James was in outstanding form. A couple of saves he made were simply marvelous, leaving Kentona and I rooted to our seats wondering in amazement how he kept them out.

With 2 minutes left to go in regulation time, our stand-in captain decided to make our task doubly difficult. In a moment of sheer madness and lack of communication between defender and keeper, Rio and EVS somehow made a goal out of a seemingly innoculous backpass. It was an epic comedy of errors, which no United fan could find joy in. It was horrible defending and equally horrible goalkeeping. I couldn't believe how Rio could make a backpass like that without even looking up to see where his keeper was. I was equally shocked at EVS for coming off his line when there was absolutely no reason to.

Credit to the lads, they never once held their heads down and carried on plugging away. Although time was running down, they did manage to pull one back, albeit too little too late. Ole's shot was spilled by James and O'Shea was on hand to poke in the rebound.

As Kentona noted to me, Rooney was particularly disappointing. In the run up to our injury time goal, Rooney ran up to the referee to complain about something when he should be focusing on the game. It's a part of his game he must get rid off. The constant whining when decision do not go his way must stop. Ronaldo has learnt it, and now Rooney must learn it if he's going to be of any use, especially when the chips are down. If he cannot concentrate for the good of the team, then he's useless to us in such circumstances, no matter what a brilliant player he is.

Oh, and last but not least, PLEASE NO MORE CAPTAIN'S ARMBAND FOR RIO EVER!!!!!

I Believe! (Manchester United 4 - Blackburn 1)

What a performance! What a show of true character! I never really believed we would win the title even after beating Liverpool, but after today's performance, I truely believe we can and we will. We have a squad of winners and the level of desire they've shown on the pitch today was just astounding.

To be fair, we started off the game pretty tame and for most parts were sloppy on the ball. We did have a larger share of the possession, but didn't really create many chances. Then tragedy struck on the half hour when Vidic fell awkwardly going for a corner and broke his collar bone. He's by far the main guy in our defence. Chances are that the season's pretty much over for him.

O'Shea came in for him and while the defence was still readjusting to the shuffle, Blackburn struck. Morten Gambst Pedersen whipped in a delightful cross that Carrick could only deflect goalwards. Van der Sar could only parry it into the path of Derbyshire and he scored easily. Double whammy.

The game a contest almost ended there. Blackburn refused to play football. They resorted to time-wasting with the usual fake injuries, roughhouse tackling and taking forever to take freekicks and throw-ins. And this was all done in the first half!

The second half was no better. In fact the tactics got worse. The Blackburn players started to play dirty, by fouling unnecesssarily. The referee, in my opinion, was weak and did not take action. Credit to our boys, we not only weathered the storm, but we continued to play our brand of attacking and positive soccer, bringing out countless superb saves from Friedel. He single-handedly stood between the actual scoreline and what could have been a cricket scoreline.

On the half mark, we got what we deserved....the equaliser. And my word, what a brilliantly taken goal! Scholes won the ball at the edge of the penalty area and with a few herky-jerky moves, jingled his way past 2 Blackburn defenders and as calmly as a cucumber, slotted the ball beyond Friedel and into the net.

After a hail of United barrages, the Blackburn defence caved-in again at the 73rd minute. This time it was Carrick who scored after Ronaldo had taken on the entire Blackburn defence on the left byline. It was truly nothing more than we deserved. It was just a relentless onslaught of United attacks, knowing that a draw would do us no favours. Not to mention the treatment given to us by the Blackburn players.

The floodgates truly opened up in the 82nd minute when Park joined in the scoring. Ronaldo's freekick could only be parried and Park was on hand to score from the rebound, just as he had done in the Bolton game.

Ole came on as a substitute and rounded off the scoring in injury time. And, it was nothing more than we deserved. Glory Glory Man United! It was truely a gutsy performance by everyone on the pitch. You can hear the crowd singing, 'The Trophy's Coming Back' (it sounded something like that).

Special mention must go to both Scholes and Carrick. They were fabulous in the centre of the park. I know I don't say this enough (in fact I often do the opposite), but Michael Carrick was brilliant. This could easily be his best performance in a Red shirt.

Also worthy to note that Rio is lucky to be playing in England. In a rare show of emotion when we were 1-0 down, Rio kicked the ball into the stands on a referee's decision not to play the advantage and decked an elderly lady. If it happened in USA, you can be sure the lawsuits would come flying in thick and fast. Rio, being the gentleman that he is, went over a number of times to apologise and to check on the elderly fan. As you guys know, I've always wanted Rio to show more emotion in a game but after today, I'm hoping he plays it 'cool' from now on. An emotional Rio isn't exactly worth the trouble, as we already know, he's not the brightest person around.

Now let's not waste this effort and go on to win the freaking Premiership.