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.

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.

Experience And Youth Sees United Thru

Manchester United 3 - Middlesbrough 1
Scorers
Manchester United: Ronaldo (25), Giggs (79), Nani (90+5)
Middlesbrough: Johnson (56)

Red Card: Pogatetz (67)

Team: Amos, Brown, Vidic, Rafael, O'Shea, Possebon (Gibson 72), Anderson, Nani, Ronaldo (Tevez 60), Giggs (Manucho 85), Welbeck

It was a well-earned and morale boosting victory which was unfortunately tarnished by the injury to Possebon who left the pitch with a suspected broken foot.

We controlled the first half, missing numerous chances. Welbeck, Rafael and Possebon stood out from the crowd with briiliant touches. Welbeck was particularly impressive with his awareness, picking out players around him in the attacking third. Rafael didn't miss a foot in defence and was a pocket dynamo joining in the attack whenever the opportunity presented itself. Possebon is just such a joy to watch in midfield. He's a classy player, even when under pressure.

The scorer in the first half was a headed goal by Ronaldo from a Giggs corner. It really should have been more had we not wasted so much possession. Nani, Giggs and O'Shea were the main culprits giving it away cheaply. Whenver the ball went to the left side of the pitch, the trio somehow managed to either lose the ball or make passes to phantom teammates.

Immediately after the break, Welbeck found himself in a one on one situation but couldn't convert. Then the game swung to Boro. It wasn't long before Boro found the back of the net with a long range effort which deflected slightly past Amos.

Boro's ascendency was shortlived. Shortly after equalizing, Pogatetz lunged into a high two footed challenge that brought Possebon down. It looked like an innocent challenge but after numerous replays, it just looked worse with every showing. Possebon was left on the ground with a wide gash on his right leg and a suspected broken bone. The medical team took a good 10 minutes to stretcher him off, indicating just how serious the injury was. Up to that point, he was easily the best player on the pitch. Pogatetz got a deserved straight red for dangerous play.

Perhaps affected by the injury, struggled to make our advantage count. Boro should have easily held on to extra time except for a couple of suicidal defensive errors. The first by substitute Chris Riggott allowed Giggs a one on one chance and he coolly stuck the ball into the net.

Then David Wheater shortchanged his keeper deep into injury time with a back pass that allowed Nani all the time and space in the world to round the keeper and slot it home.

Repeating what was mentioned earlier, it could have been more.

Given the state the first team is playing, maybe it's time to blood some of our youngsters. Rafael, Welbeck and Possebon had a stellar game today and they should start featuring in the first team, especially if this 'blip' continues. FWIW, it's going to give them valuable experience for future campaigns.

United Barely Weathers Boro's Icy Blast

Middlesbrough 2 - Manchester United 2
Scorers
Middlesbrough: Alves (35, 55)
Manchester United: Ronaldo (10), Rooney (74)

Team: Van der Sar, Rio (Pique 67), Brown, O'Shea (Hargeaves 65), Evra, Scholes, Carrick, Giggs, Ronaldo, Tevez (Park 63), Rooney

Strange and painful game to watch. Even more painful to write about.

We started well and got into the lead early in the game with yet another Ronaldo goal. He just can't stop scoring. From a corner, the ball bounced about and reached Carrick on the left. His pass found Ronaldo unmarked and he swept it into goal in the opening 10 minutes.

We had controlled the game and our passing, credit to both Scholes and Carrick, was some of the best we've seen all season. Kentona and I were confident it was just a matter of time before it yielded a second. Boro, to be fair were chasing shadows.

Yet despite our dominance in midfield in the opening half hour, whenever Boro had the ball, they looked dangerous. Maybe it was the absence of Vidic. Everytime Boro came forward, they were able to create a good enough chance to score.

It was no surprise that they did with Alves opening his account on the 35th minute. A long punt found him in no man's land, with only Van der Sar to beat. The goal shattered our confidence and in the falling snow, our nerves froze. At the same time, it lit a fire up the opponents' asses.

They came at us strong and hard, and our midfield found it hard to contain the rampant Boro surges. The half time break did little to quell their desire. They were faster to the ball and more robust in their challenges.

10 minutes after the break, Boro got their second. A lucky recochet allowed Alves in and he needed no invitation to add his second for the game. We were well and truely rocked. Boro were the better team by far and value for their lead.

Fergie made 3 quick substitutions, bringing on Park, Hargeaves and Pique for Tevez, O'Shea and Rio, who limped off. It proved to be a master stroke as Park flew down the right flank and delivered a tantalising pass for Rooney to equalise.

Having drawn level, United poked and pried, trying to find a weakness in the Boro defence, knowing that a draw would open the door to Chelsea who are lurking uncomfortably close. On the other side, Alves was proving to be a handful for a defence that had neither Vidic nor Rio.

In the dying minutes, Boro could very well have found the winner, but Van der sar came to the rescue, saving from Tuncay. The game ended all square, but could very well have been very different.

It was a hard match, which we barely survived by the skin of our teeth. More worrying, despite the drop of 2 points, is that our injury problem could be growing. Rio limped off and Evra was the subject to some horrible tackling. How he walked off the pitch at full time is a mystery to me.

We're going to face Roma in the return leg of the Champions League on Wednesday, which should prove to be a mere fomality, but if we miss Rio and Evra, it might give Roma a glimmer of hope. And we don't want that.

Couple of game notes:

- Scholes and Carrick played well in the first half hour, but when Boro were revitalised by the first goal, just seemed to lack the steel and nerve. I thought having Anderson in the game would provide that steel.

- Giggs and Tevez were totally anonymous. This is probably the worst I've seen Tevez play....ever. Maybe it was the snow. He just didn't seem comfortable in the game. Giggs was simply terrible. It's painful to watch him struggle so badly in the game.

- The defence worries the hell outta me. We've already lost Vidic to injury, and a likely chance to lose Rio as well. With only 5 games left in the league, let's hope it holds up.

United On Fire (Manchester United 4 - Middlesbrough 1)

United just gets better and better. We scored another 4 goals, making it 4 in 4 games. Don't know about you guys, but it's fast becoming my favourite number. I hope I don't jinx team with the number four fetish.

Before I forget, this win takes us temporarily to the top of the table for a good 24hrs as Arsenal faces Liverpool on Sunday.

United started the game with a scintillating goal from Nani in the 3rd minute. From a midfield position, Nani wiggled his way to the edge of the penalty area and let fly a superb volley straight into the Boro net. Mark Schwarzer didn't have a chance in hell to even get near the ball. Nani's celebration, although probably frowned upon by Fergie, was just as spectacular as the goal scored.

Tevez had a chance to double United's lead a minute later but a superb tackle foiled the chance. Unfortunately, in the 6th minute, it was Boro that scored. Aliadiere got in between both Rio and Vidic and equalized with a header placed beyond the outstretched arms of EVS.

The goal dragged Boro back into the game. After looking like being over-run by United very early in the game, Boro's spirits were lifted. In truth, Boro's equalizer did shock us and the lads played poorly. Tevez, in particular, looked shakened by his earlier miss and made a number of terrible passes.

But United under Fergie is made of sterner stuff. Nani, Anderson and Hargreaves (who replaced the injured Scholes) ran the midfield and harassed the Boro players. On the half hour mark, Nani harassed Downing into giving the ball away to Rooney around the penalty area. Rooney didn't need a second invitation and scored his 8th in 7 games.

The second half gave more reason to cheer as United were rampant and it wasn't long before Rooney and Tevez combined to scored a wonderfully crafted goal. A lob from Tevez and a backheel return by Rooney exposed the entire Boro defence, leaving Tevez with the simple job of passing the ball into the Boro net. 3-1 up and Boro were truely dead and buried.

United could afford to shift a couple of gears down and contain a hapless Boro side that, quite frankly, never looked like scoring. It wasn't a surprise to anyone that United scored a 4th before the game was over. On a counter attack, Rooney found Tevez lurking on the left flank. Tevez's shot was deflected into the net.

It was a seriously another brilliant performance. Tevez and Rooney looked awesome going forward. Hargreaves and Anderson were pretty darn good in midfield, flanked by our two Portuguese wing wizards. Carrick is going to have a hard time getting his position in midfield back. Once Scholes returns, I can foresee Scholes and Hargreaves as Fergie's first choice partnership, and Anderson possibly cementing his place as the first option off the bench.

This all sets up nicely for our next game against Arsenal next week at the Emirates.

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.

More on Late Kickoffs

Alright, we're facing Boro tomorrow in yet another late kickoff. I know our record in late kickoffs hasn't been stellar, well...to put things into perspective, it's been abysmal.

However we've not totally without any sucesses in late kickoffs as slated in my previous post on the subject. Here are the ones which we have won. Not alot, but enough to give hope for tomorrow's game.

1-0 Victory over Spurs on 9th Sept (Sat) 1715 kickoff
1-0 Victory over Blackburn on 11th Nov (Sat) 1715 kickoff
4-0 Victory over Spurs on 4th Feb (Sun) 1600 kickoff

Tomorrow's the last hurdle we have to clear for premiership games with a late kickoff. Let's hope we pass this one with flying colours. I'm personally hoping for yet another penalty to settle this one....just to rub it for all the whining in past fixtures.

Boro Barks Up Wrong Tree

In the news today:

Ronaldo Branded A Cheat - Typical Boro. I'm beginning to lose complete and total respect for Boro. It's getting disgusting and getting on my nerves the way they are coming out to discredit Ronaldo. I can understand they were still complaining about the Riverside penalty incident back in December, but in last night's game, even a fucking blind man can see it was a penalty. It's just disgraceful that Southgate and his coaching staff are such dicks.

'Why Does Controversy Follow Me?' - Good to see Ronaldo being totally unflastered about the whole 'cheat' thingy. Boro would have garnered more sympathy had they attacked the referee instead for playing favourites by not sending Rooney off. I sincerely hope they get relegated next season. Boro is seriously pissing me off.

Warnock Brands Southgate A Disgrace - Neil Warnock probably conveys my feelings best when he calls Southgate a disgrace.

Owen Bent On United - Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not a big fan of Owen Hargreaves. But his commitment to joining us cannot be doubted. I hope his transfer goes thru this summer for a reasonable price. My only fear is that he's going to be another Michael Carrick, not that Carrick isn't good, just too damn pricey.

Ronaldo's Penalty Sees United Into The Semis (Manchester United 1 - Middlesbrough 0)

How Southgate must hate to face Ronaldo. This is the third meeting between the sides this season and Ronaldo has earned 3 penalties, taking the penalties himself in the last 2.

The game itself wasn't really anything to shout about. Neither side really played well. Boro were content to sit back and let Viduka take long shots, while United didn't really create much. When they did, the chance mostly fell to Rooney who left his scoring boots at home. Credit must also be given to Mark Schwarzer. He must have made at least 3-4 utterly brilliant saves from Rooney.

Smith who was given his first start of the season looked sharp and was his usual pesky self, irritating the Boro defenders to no end. Carrick also had a pretty outstanding game, by his usual standards. Giggs started in midfield and was superb beside Carrick. I suspect alot of it was due to the fact the entire Boro midfield was playing like auxiliary defenders.

The game had looked like it was going to be a draw until the 75th minute when a Carrick (or was it Giggs?) pass down the left flank found Ronaldo. Ronaldo ran past Woodgate down the byline and was facing Schwarzer one on one. In a desperate challenge, Woodgate caught Ronaldo's trailing leg and brought him down. Penalty! No doubts about it. Just as he had earned tonight's replay 9 days back, Ronaldo stood up and smashed home the winner.

Boro could hardly muster a comeback as United looked confident playing keepball. Deep in injury time, Morrison was sent off for sliding 2 legged into Ronaldo. Somehow the referee, Mike Dean, did not send Rooney off for a second yellow for confronting Morrison. It was honestly piss poor refereeing.

Rooney was booked early in the second half for mouthing off at the referee which was the right decision. Then when the 90 minutes was up, he initiated a tussle with Boateng, which saw Boateng booked. Strangely Dean let Rooney off the hook. Then of course in injury time, he failed to book Rooney again. A stronger referee would and should have sent Rooney off. Rooney despite all his talents still cannot keep his head in check and it's really frustrating for us to see him being stupid time and time again. This time he got away with it, but he might not be so lucky next time. Of course the situation is compounded given the current squad status, which makes it doubly frustrating.

Same case for Alan Smith. Being his usual self, he too was booked for a stupid tackle which he had no chance of winning. Good thing Fergie replaced him in the second half before any real damage was done. Unfortunately, he didn't take Rooney off, and Rooney's ugly self manifested itself.

We now face Watford in the semis, and on course to meet Chelsea, who beat Spurs, in the finals. That's of course if both teams can beat their semi-final opponents.

Just a couple of small trivial before I leave:

• Boateng was actually one of the ballboys when we played Barcelona in the Cup Winners Cup finals back in 91.
• We equaled Arsenal's record in semi-final appearances of 25.
• Scholes will return in our next game against Blackburn on the 31st this month. He's served his 3 match ban.
• Our squad was so decimated by injuries that on the subs bench was a defender named, Craig Cathcart. Who? My sentiments exactly.
  

United Live to Fight Another Day (Middlesbrough 2 - Manchester United 2)

Gotta hate these late games. We never look good in late kickoffs and getting a draw here doesn't help our cause.

The game started brightly with good chances falling for both sides. Kuszczak made an early save from Downing and set the tone for what could be an entertaining game. Despite the loss of Scholes, and the general crappiness of Carrick, we played well in midfield. Rooney dropped deep to help out occasionally.

In the 23rd minute, a moment of brilliance from Rooney gave United the first goal. He jinked around two defenders to make space for the shot and scored with a sweet strike. Unfortunately that was his only positive contribution of the game. He looked sluggish and a step slow the entire game. Personally he was the worst performer in a United shirt today.

After the goal, United took complete control of the game. It's ridiculous how we didn't manage to score a second goal with all the possession and shots. Boro was reduced to counters and nearly had one when Yakubu turned Vidic sweetly, only for Kuszczak to make another superb save.

Despite the odd Boro foray forward, we looked like coasting to the next round of the FA Cup. But we're United and we simply love to do things the hard way. 2 minutes either way of the break, some suicidal defending allowed Boro to equalise and take the lead.

For the first goal, Kuszczak, Vidic and Heinze collided with Yakubu, leaving Cattermole a chance at goal. Then 1 minute after the break, Boateng scored from a corner. The defending was horrible. No one was even a 3 metres radius near Boateng when he headed the ball. It was just suicidal defending from us. Have I mentioned that I hate late kickoffs?

Anyway, we pressed forward to equalise and were somewhat fortunate to be given a penalty when Boateng handed the ball which trying to protect his face. I mean the ball was flying towards his face and upon natural instinct flung his arms up to protect his face. Unluckily for him, a penalty was the result.

Ronaldo stepped up, just as he did in the Premiership encounter, and blasted the ball past Schwarzer. The rest of the game was pretty much a dull affair. Well, at least to me it was a dull affair. I had hardly the energy to keep my eyes open. Hell, I've hardly the energy to write this entry. Seriously these late kickoffs are pissing the shit outta me.

Just before I go, I would like to say that Rob Styles is a horrible referee (at least for this game).

1. How many times does Ronaldo needs to be hacked, chopped and flattened before the opponent gets a yellow card? The Boro players were getting away with murder out there!
2. How the hell did Larsson get a yellow card in the first half? He was tripped and this blind bat gave him a yellow for diving! Incredible!
3. I thought the penalty decision was harsh. Sure it was undoubtedly a handball, but what was Boateng supposed to do? Let the ball hit him in the face? What if it hit him in the eye? Having been hit in the eye and gone thru an eye operation with permanent disability, what Boateng did was absolutely right. Looks like a player must sacrifice life and limb in the game. Of course that being said, Boateng gets paid alot more than me. All I get is free rides from Pok.