Ole To The Rescue (Manchester United 2 - Aston Villa 1)

I practically missed this one due to the 'stag party of the year', and only caught a few moments of the game. I'm torrenting this game, but chances are it'd only be completed by the year 2010 at the current rate it's moving (or not moving).

Larsson scored on his debut. From what little I've seen from the game, he's truly a wonderful player. He's got more up in his brain than our entire strike force put together. Yes, I'm thoroughly impressed with the glimpses I caught. I wonder if there is any chance at all of actually signing him for the remainder of the season instead of just 3 months?

When the chips are down, Ole is the one to count on. He's still as clinical as before. An instintive strike in the dying moments brought us thru to the 4th round.

United Fails To Beat Spirited Newcastle (Newcastle 2 - Manchester United 2)

On paper this was supposed to be a game which we should have won convincingly, especially given the kind of injuries Newcastle was facing. But as we all know, there are no such things as easy games in the EPL, especially against a team who has Titus Bramble injured. There hasn't been a more convincing case of addition by subtraction here.

We started the game playing better, but failed to take our chances. As the game wore on, Newcastle, led by Parker, grow in confidence. With the crowd behind them, they deservedly took the lead in the 33rd minute with a stunning strike by James Milner.

That goal galvanised United out of their slumber. We attacked with purpose and were rewarded in the 40th minute when Scholes danced thru the entire Newcastle defense and scored.

Both teams traded punches with neither able to beat the opponent's keeper. The game was flowing and it was end to end stuff. Probably one of the best ends to a first half I've seen this entire season.

Given what had transpired in the first half, the second half was a let down. Scholes gave us the lead in the 1st minute when the game resumed, and United went back into sleepwalk mode. I personally fell asleep until Newcastle scored the equalizer with 15 minutes left in the game. 19 year old Edgar, a youth defender brought up into the first team only because of their injury problems, scored from way way outside the penalty box.

I was expecting a avalanche of United attacks, but it never really materialised. It was more of a cough and splatter kind of response. All credit to Newcastle who defended stoutly and played well.

In truth we lost 2 points in a game we tried to sleepwalk through. However given the schedule, we've done well in this festive period. We took 10 points out of 12 and I don't think any team even came close to that record. And on top of that we're 7 points ahead of Chelsea, who has a game in hand. Let's hope they continue with their piss poor defending against Villa tomorrow.

Ole's Stamp Of Approval

If Ole says he's good enough, that's good enough for me!

From Football365

"It is a joy to be in the same dressing room as Cristiano," revealed Solskjaer.

"He is always smiling, which just shows how happy he is.

"His finishing is excellent and he produces crosses which strikers only have to move to get on the end of.

"The thing is, he is always practising. He always stays after training for half an hour, or sometimes, an hour just practising. Sometimes I wonder if he is doing too much. I certainly cannot do that at my age."

Good to know Ronaldo is happy here as well as training hard. When was the last time we read/heard about a player training extra hard? That's right, the legend, Cantona. This time round we have a 21 year old doing it. I'm sure Ole left out the names of the others who stayed back as well. This team is hungry, and it's showing!