Southampton 1 - 2 United

Lindegaard

O'Shea Smalling Evans Fabio(Brown)

Obertan Scholes Anderson(Nani) Gibson(Giggs)

Chicharito Owen

I expected this starting line up today. It was quite a strong starting XI, strong enough to face a League 1 club I thought. But I was terribly wrong! Southampton did 'a Blackpool.' They were excellent during the first half but faded out during the second. Owen and Chico spared our blushes today but it was all thanks to the introduction of Nani and Giggsy.

United were awful during the first period. The amount of misplaced passes by our midfielders was simply jaw dropping. Gibson and Anderson seemed to have forgotten the basics of passing. They gave the ball away cheaply and were rightly substituted. At that time bringing on Berba and Rooney seemed to be more appealing but Fergie opted to stick with the starting strikers and replace the under performing midfielders. Obertan, in my opinion, was lucky to escape being withdrawn. He was very poor just until the 60th minute, when the determined Nani and Giggsy were introduced to this game and sparked United into life. Suddenly the passing was perfect again while the pace had noticeably quickened. Obertan managed to look threatening on the right and even created a goal. Still, he has to do much much more to win me over!

Chico might have been caught offside far too often but his movement and finishing is really good. Owen looked really determined today. I find his run, just like Obertan's, ridiculously funny but his goal instict is still there. He had a good chance during the first half and a cross of his even hit the woodwork! Could prove to be really handy during the upcoming second half of the season but I'm not too sure about that. At the back captain O'Shea had a good game while Evans and Smalling were OK. Fabio did his best and might have picked up an injury. It was good to see Wes Brown back though! He might have been prone to that odd howler in the past but I still like the lad. We did terrifically well when he got through a season without any injuries. What about Lindegaard? The first positive thing is that we have a backup keeper whose name I can spell. The second positive thing is that he looks confident in goal and passes the ball well even when under pressure, however, he wasn't really tested today and he couldn't do much about the goal.

I heard(maybe I misheard it) the Red Army singing the Ronaldo chants during the game. It was quite emotional, those chants still send shivers down my spine!

"...running down the wing, hear United sing...Viva Ronaldo"

Blackpool 2 - 3 United

VDS

Rafael(Anderson) Smalling Vidic Evra

Nani Fletcher Scholes Gibson(Giggs) Rooney(Chicharito)

Berbatov

The term 'a game of two halves' might have been invented for this match. United were totally outclassed by a plucky Blackpool side during the first half. 2 nil down and most thought this was going to be our first defeat of the season. However, during the interval, I had that tiny feeling(the feeling you always get when United are trailing) that something big was going to happen. In comes 37 year old Giggsy for the below par Gibson and the game was completely changed. We were finally attacking and making their goalie work. All the huffing and puffing finally paid its dividends as we got the 3 points out of nowhere. Chico (who could have scored 3!!!) scored a good goal while Berbatov scored two, with the second after a sublime finish.

My man of the match has got to be Giggs. He tore Blackpool apart with mazy runs, pin point passing and good crosses. Chico and Berbatov were also close candidates. The former got himself into excellent goal scoring positions while the latter scored 2 goals and worked hard for the team(even though I think he should have been marking Cathart when our former player scored). He's finally making a difference to this United side and thank God for that! With Rooney looking like he lost his scoring boots, we badly need Berbatov and Chico.  

Every player did his best during the second half, so credit goes to every Red who battled hard to keep United's name on top. Maybe in May we'll look back and say that the league was won after this game!

I still feel pumped up, maybe I should use this spare energy to get back on track with my studies ;) Good night! 

UNITED NEVER DIE!
n.b.  Get well soon young Rafael!!

United 5 - 0 Birmingham

VDS

O'Shea Smalling Vidic Evra(Fabio)

Nani Carrick(Gibson) Anderson Giggs(Owen)

Berbatov Rooney

United were outstanding today and have finally won another game without putting my heart to test. Berbatov got his third hat-trick of the season and I guess this game epitomised what a good season he is having. He was definitely my man of the match, and believe me, I never thought I would be writing this last year! Giggsy scored the third while Nani scored another excellent goal. 

Berbatov. Man of the match.

My only disappointment was that Rooney didn't score. He was very good in build ups (his link up with Berbatov for Giggsy's goal was outstanding) but missed an absolute sitter. Right now he can't score even if his life depended on it, and believe me, I never thought I'd be writing these words this time last year! He badly needs a goal and I hope he gets it soon. We will be needing his goals!

At the back we were never really tested. Van der Sar was a virtual spectator while our striking force bombarded Foster with about 23 shots at goal. Giggs did really well once again, while on the other flank Nani was his usual self. He was wasteful at times, delivered good crosses on others and scored a very good goal. That's Nani alright! Gibson and Anderson won the midfield battle. To be honest Birmingham's midfield was awful. Even O'Shea had a good game today and that really speaks volumes of Birmingham's effort.

If this display isn't champions standard, then I don't know what is! All I know is that I'm proud of our players and if we emulate this performance in the coming matches then I'm confident the league title will come our way. Well done UNITED!

Excellent footballer, excellent human being

Blackpool next...could be a tricky game.

Tottenham 0 - 0 United

VDS

Rafael(s/o) Rio Vidic Evra

Nani(Anderson) Fletcher Carrick Giggs

Rooney Berbatov(Chicharito)

This was a match with lots of attacking endeavour from both sides but no-one seemed capable of creating the breakthrough. I saw the game through my red tinted glasses but I think that even some Tottenham fans would agree when I say that United created the most threatening chances. In fact, Rooney should have opened the score in the first 2 minutes and had another two shots superbly saved by Gomez. Meanwhile I cannot recall one decent shot that VDS had to save. However, he neutralised a lot of crosses.

Man of the Match Vidic. 

Rafael was sent off on the 75th minute. He had a very good first half but was clumsy when he floored Van der Vaart during the second half(even though it didn't seem to be intentional). It was a challenge that earned him his second yellow card. He did the same thing vs Bayern Munich but I guess he'll learn with time. This was also our first red card of the season if I'm not mistaking. 

There were quite a few players who had a poor game today. Berbatov, Fletcher, Nani, Carrck, Giggsy & Evra did not play up to their usual standard. Rooney started the game brightly but faded out while our central backs had a very good game. Vidic was phenomenal. He was a beast at the back and had Crouch in his back pocket all afternoon. My man of the match.

Sky keeps repeating that point week in week out

Something that keeps pissing me off is the fact that skysports always presents as a talking point, after each and every United game, identical words to the following:-  "Can United play this badly and still go through the rest of the season unbeaten?"  I mean wtf? When City defended, Vs Arsenal, for about 90 minutes without one single decent attack, these pundits said that City had a great match and that they were very brave. Today we had our fair share of chances and defended brilliantly, yet these football 'experts' keep saying how badly United are playing. Yes, I do agree that we're not setting the world alight this year but we scored the most goals, conceded the fewest and are on top of the table. So check the table, check the stats and before you start jizzing over Arsenal and City put your glasses on and get your facts right. Fuckin ABU's. They're against us, but we'll never die! A draw against such an improved Tottenham was a good result. C'mon UNITED!

Our Pole in Goal

I've got my exams coming up, I'm way behind schedule, I tried to read my economics book but I couldn't understand one fuckin word. So I thought I should just blog about something that was all over the papers today. No, I won't blog about Dalglish's continuous whining about the 'injustice' they suffered, but I will write something about our Pole in goal.

He debuted in September 2006 in the defeat at the hands of the Gunners. He brilliantly saved a penalty though!

Some people argue that our 2nd goalie, Kus-something, isn’t up to United’s standards. Even the manager thinks so since has been busy sending scouts all over Europe to try and spot another stopper. We have already bought a young Danish keeper and according to the rumours we are looking for another.

So what’s exactly wrong with our Pole in goal? 

Personally, I like Kuszczak(Yep, I searched his name on google to make sure I spell it right). He is a very good shot stopper and very good at defending crosses and corners. But that seems to be just about it. The very essence of being a good goalie is communication with your fellow team mates and Kus lacks this. I never really gave two flying fucks about his communication skills until it was brought to my attention by my good friend Androo during one of our long Manchester United conversations.

Recently Thomas Kus has been given a run of games and he has performed quite well. However, I have noticed that he barely speaks to the defence and most of us supporters don’t really trust him. Yes we can praise his stops and all but our level of trust in him is proven whenever one of our defenders passes the ball to him. Personally, my heart skips a beat whenever this happens! With him in goal I don’t feel the level of safety I feel whenever VDS is playing. He also seems to be indecisive when to get out of goal and when not, and that is all down to the low level of communication with the back four. That must be one reason why he has played a mere 58 games in 5 years! Obviously there's  also the really small matter of having a brilliant keeper, in the form of VDS, in front of him.

He has recently claimed that he wants the number one jersey but that will be one mammoth of a task for him. First of all he needs to convince Sir Alex that he’s worthy of the number 1 jersey. That seems highly unlikely given that Sir Alex has already bought a new goalie and is rumoured to be in the market for another. Second he needs to raise our, and the defence’s, level of trust in him, and third, he needs to start opening his damn mouth and talk to our defence!

Won't be wearing the number 1 shirt next year, IMO.

Once again, I like Thomas. He’s a brilliant reflex goalie but I don’t really trust him with most of the other tasks. He will not be our number one and I doubt if he’ll be at the club next year, however, he’s a very good backup keeper who’s willing to sit on the bench week in week out and play the odd game or two.

Testing

Just testing the new facebook widgets.

As you can see I have added a like button widget that will appear after each post on this blog. In order to like a post you'll obviously have to be logged in on Facebook. I did this so as to get some kind of feedback on the posts I post.


- edit - The widget on Safari browsers works perfectly well but there seems to be a problem when pressing the like button using the Firefox browser. Anyone using a Firefox please inform me if the widget is working well.  Thanks.

United 1 - 0 Liverpool

Kuz

Rafael Rio Evans(Smalling) Evra
Nani Carrick Fletcher(Anderson) Giggs
Berbatov Chicharito(Owen)

So we're through to the 4th round after beating a spirited Liverpool side. We went ahead after just 2 minutes when Berbatov was fouled in the box and the ref awarded a penalty. Giggsy made no mistake from the spot. Liverpool were later reduced to 10 men and to be honest I think we should have beaten this side with greater ease.

The Liverpool fans are blaming Howard Webb for their loss, so I'll analyse the big decisions taken by Mr Webb. The penalty - It was dubious. There surely was a touch but I think Berbatov made a meal of it and he got what he asked for. A goal that early in the game does damage the morale of the players of the team on the receiving end. However, sometimes conceding a goal that early could spur you on. Liverpool had 88 minutes to do something but instead kept whining and hitting, with their highly inaccurate shots, people seated in the highest tiers at Old Trafford. The Red Card - It was a dead cert red. Anyone saying that it wasn't should pay a visit to the nearest specs shop as soon as possible. A two footed challenge is a straight red, we've seen players getting sent off in the past for that kind of challenge and we'll keep seeing players get sent off in the future for identical challenges. Other penalty claims - United had two other penalty claims and I think one of them, when Evans was bullied off the ball, was quite valid.

Anyway a win is a win and winning against Liverpool is always special. As I browse through some Liverpool supporter's Facebook profiles I cannot help but laugh at their pathetic claims that Webb won us the game. We didn't do anything spectacular, true, but we were the better team on the pitch. Only the post and a couple of excellent saves by Reina have kept the margin on the scoreline to a minimum of 1 goal. Oh and by the way, that Brazilian kid Rafael had another excellent game. Well played Rafa, well done United!

Spurs next. Expecting a very difficult game, therefore a draw would be just fine while a win would be great!

Just a random post

I predict that Sir Alex Ferguson will get the sack - Avram Grant will be his replacement. Ray Wilkins becomes number 2 at Man City and they take the title, with Spurs, Bolton and Blackpool coming, 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Man City beat Man Utd 7-6 with Neville getting all 6 of Man Utd's goals - no luck, eh! Owen Coyle twins Bolton and Burnley and manages both clubs - Burnley get promoted. The new England manager is announced as Rafa Benitez with Big Sam as his number 2. Lee Cattermole doesn't get booked in 2011 nor does Simon Davies. West Ham decide they don't need a manager and easily escape relegation. Wenger goes anti-English and sells all his English players - all 3 of them and sign Davie Weir from Glasgow Rangers to strengthen his defence. Chelsea have no money to buy new players so Ancelotti decides he should ask the ones he has got to start playing instead. Gareth Bale moves to Swansea who get promoted with Cardiff. Fellaini gets a haircut. Beckham and Ronaldo sign for Blackpool, with Messi and Iniesta signing for Sunderland. Liverpool get relegated - no ignore that one, it might just happen.

United 2 - 1 Stoke

Kuz

Rafael Smalling Vidic Evra

Nani Gibson(Carrick) Fletcher Giggs

Berbatov Chicharito(Owen)

It was a deserved victory but we were too kind with Stoke. With the amount of possesion we had, United should have finished off Stoke by half time. Instead, we let Stoke get back into the match and this brought about a very nervy finish to the game. How many times have we said that this season?!

Fergie decided to give VDS another breather and Smalling started instead of the exhausted Rio. There were no surprise starters in midfield and at the front, given that Rooney failed a fitness test, there were only two players who were going to start this game. Two superb finishes by Chichartio and Nani were enough for us to get the much needed three points and stay at the top of the table. I can now enjoy a good game of football tomorrow that will result, hopefully, in a draw.

We were quite poor on the left flank. Evra seems to be tired and Giggsy played well at times but tried too many fancy flicks and tricks which was a tad too much to be honest. He should know that before killing off an opponent no one should have the audacity to try those kind of passes. Anyway the right flank proved to be our livewire once again. Nani made an assist and scored while Rafael was excellent in defending and attacked well. In the middle of the pitch, Fletcher made a couple of fantastic tackles and Gibbo did his job without being spectacular. At the front Berbatov had a quiet game while Chicho scored and set one up for Nani.

The goal we conceded was, in my opinion, the fault of our two centre backs. Smalling, who had a good game, was caught out of position and Vidic left Whitehead unmarked. It was the only shot on target from Stoke and Kuzschack(sorry but I still cannot spell his name!) couldn't do anything about it.

At this rate, if we continue to fail to finish off opponents we will defenitely pay the penalty come the end of the season with more points dropped and a couple of supporters' hearts crumbling under the pressure of the final tense minutes. For the sake of our health and of course the quest to clinch that 19th title, please, United, start killing off opponents!!! Meanwhile the Liverpool game looms large

WBA 1 - 2 United

Kuz

Neville(Fabio) Rio Vida Evra
Fletcher Carrick Anderson Obertan(Gibson)
Rooney Berbatov(Chicharito)

So Chicharito saved another away game with another headed goal. Rooney scored the first but it was soon cancelled out by a Morrison gem.

I must admit we rode our luck today. Neville made a clumsy, yet goal saving, tackle in the box which should have been a penalty and an automatic red card for our former skipper. The referee, who had a shocker of a game, decided to wave play on. Then WBA were justly awarded a penalty but their striker put the ball wide, with our Pole in goal beaten. That was the turning point of the game as from then on United started doing something. We were also a tadunlucky not to be awarded a penalty but I guess the ref wanted to even things out. Still, the ref had an absolute horror show! He awarded far too many freekicks against United in 50-50 challenges.

When I saw the starting line up I was gobsmacked. I mean, what on earth was Fergie thinking? Neville at right back? We have a winger crisis so the inclusion of a very poor Obertan was understandable, but starting Gary Neville was almost suicidal. He has become too slow for the premier league and, since on our travels we've been so poor, I really can't phatom why Fergie started him. He has been a great servant to the club but I think his role in this team should be solely to motivate our youngsters and maybe play that odd home game against a so called minor team. Gary's love towards our Club is undeniable but I think that his time as a professional football with United is up.

Meanwhile November's villain, Rooney, should have won back the fans who turned their backs on him. He scored a goal but the highlight of the game was when he limped off the field, and when he saw five minutes of added time he sprinted back on even with an injured ankle. That is what made me love Wayne Rooney in the past and that is what will make it more comfortable for me to sing his name again. He was also my man of the match.

Just like Fergie said, this is a massive massive result. We could have been dead and buried by the 60th minute but we managed to get the 3 points. We didn't play well but we snatched the needed points and that is the hallmark of champions. COME ON UNITED!