Hope You Enjoyed Your Birthday, Fergie

Manchester United 2 - Blackburn 3
Scorers
Manchester United: Berbatov (52, 62)
Blackburn: Yakubu (pen 16, 51), Hanley (80)


Team: De Gea, Jones, Carrick, Valencia, Evra, Rafael (Keane 86), Park, Nani, Welbeck, Berbatov, Hernandez (Anderson 46)

Am glad I missed this one, if not I'd be fuming. I'll probably still find a way to download the game and watch it at my own time.

From all acounts I've read and from the numerous smses to Kentona and friends (dread to check my phone bill for the month), it seemed like we were our own worst enemies. Ferguson seemed to gatecrash his own birthday party by lining up a weird formation and opted to rest our best players. He seemed so cocksure that neither Giggs nor Rooney were allowed on the bench. It effectively left Will Keane to come on for Rafael on the 86th minute to make a rescue that would never come.

Sigh....this come just when we looked to be turning the screws on Shitty with a nice run of results and a fixture list that looks rather favourable. Should've known it would last with our ever busy treatment table. No doubts about it, Fergie laid a bomb on us with this one. I'd like to see him wiggle out of this one.

I'm just glad I missed this one.

Berbatov Christmas Reminder

Manchester United 5 - Wigan 0
Scorers
Manchester United: Park (8), Berbatov (41, 58, pen 78), Valencia (75)


Red Card
Wigan: Sammon (40)


Team: Lindegaard, Evans (Fryers 46), Carrick, Valencia, Evra, Gibson, Giggs (Macheda 64), Park, Nani (Rooney 64), Berbatov, Hernandez

Berbatov must be enjoying his holidays. After scoring the fifth goal against Fulham, he was rewarded with a rare start for last season's top scorer and he reminded everyone why and how he acquired that accolade with a hattrick.

As much as his goal grabbing prowess go, it has also been a microism of his career at Old Trafford: he hardly scores when it matters. By the time he grabbed his first goal in the 41st minute, Wigan were one down to a Park goal and a man down. We were already cruising and the result was never in doubt once Phil Dowd brandished the red card to Conor Sammon. The card was harsh and it rather killed and chances of a Wigan revival.

The second half was mostly a one-sided affair as we continued to pound the Wigan goal as Berbatov grabbed his hattrick and Valencia added another to finish off with a handsome 5-0 scoreline. Carrick was marvelous as a make-shift centreback and we finished the game playing with 4 strikers and only 2 recognised defenders in Evra and Fryers. Yup, there was some weird shit going on at Old Trafford.

As great as the result was, the bigger and more significant news came from The Hawthorns where WBA hosted the table toppers, Shitty. WBA held the bad guys goalless and all of a sudden we're level on points, sharing the summit as the year turns. Bloody hell, if we get anything against Blackburn this weekend, we'd be looking to bloody top the table into 2012! And we'd be doing it with a gimpy looking backline! To think a few weeks back, we were 8 points behind and Shitty were playing like they were going to run far away with it and not look back.

Don't know about you guys, but I'm actually somewhere between a state of shock and one step into the twilight zone right now. If the world does indeed end in 2012, I'm proud to say I've lived!

United Thumps Fulham At Bogey Ground

Fulham 0 - Manchester United 5
Scorers
Manchester United: Welbeck (4), Nani (28), Giggs (43), Rooney (88), Berbatov (90)


Team: Lindegaard, Evans, Smalling, Jones (Young 28 (Park 59)), Evra, Carrick, Giggs, Valencia, Nani, Rooney, Welbeck (Berbatov 76)

What an emphatic win! And a perfect Christmas present to United fans all around the world.

I have to admit I had my doubts coming into this game. We've never played well at Craven Cottage, and playing back to back games in London seems like a daunting task, but we passed the test with flying colours, albeit at a cost.

Phil Jones suffered a concussion in the 1st minute of the game and while he struggled to soldier on, a concussion is not something you take a risk with. I was glad he signalled to the bench to be taken off in the 28th minute. He's replacement, Young, didn't fare any better either. Ashley injure his ankle 15 minutes into the second half and he, too, had to be replaced. Our injury situation seems quite dire, especially in defense. Rio seemingly picked up a knock somewhere between Sunday and today and was deemed unfit for today's game.

As a result of Rio, absence, Jones was drafted back into right-back and Smalling went inwards to partner Evans. There were alot of position shifting when Jones was replaced by Young early on in the game. Valencia came back into the fullback position while Nani and Young plied the wings.

Anyway, as confusing as it sounds, Nani and Valencia both had outstanding games on the right and most of their play involved Giggs and Welbeck playing little triangles around the Fulham defense, creating havoc and goals.

As with the game against QPR, we scored early when Nani took on his defender on the left and placed a perfect ball for Welbeck with an easy finish. Nani himself got on the scoresheet with an unlikely glancing header from Giggs. He returned the complement when he supplied Giggs with United's third goal.

We were all over Fulham and I don't think the Cottagers had a sniff at goal in the first half.

We took the foot off the pedal in the second half and Fulham were allowed more freedom. They came close on a couple of occasions but the defense stood tall. On the rare occasions when they breeched the twin towers in Evans and Smalling, Lindegaard was there to thwart their best efforts. It's gratifying to see that we have really two outstanding keepers in De Gea and Lindegaard, and more gratifying to see Ferguson appreciate them enough to consistantly give both a good run in the team.

The game was looking like it was going to fizzle out in the dying minutes until Rooney took matters into his own hands and scored a screamer out of nothing. Surely it must be a contender for goal of the month.

Not to be outdone, Berbatov added United's fifth with a cheeky improvised backheel to put the gloss on our win.

We've played some incredibly beautiful football today and were duely rewarded with an equally beautiful scoreline. More importantly, we've kept pace with the team at the top...and we've not lost away from home, which was our Achille's heel last season.

However with the injuries piling up during this festive season where the games come at an unrelenting pace, it could very well be our Achille's heel this season. I'm just thankful that the teams we're facing in the next few games have problems of their own.

And before I sign off, Merry Christmas to everyone out there.