What a difference a couple of weeks can make in the world of football. After dispatching Fulham with ease in the F.A. Cup, things couldn't have looked brighter for United- the forthcoming visit of our scouse 'friends' to Old Trafford was viewed as the opportunity to end their league season in mid-March; the Cup draw gave us the easiest tie available in Everton.... how could things go wrong....?!
Well, they have. A drubbing at the hands of our bitterest rivals, at home, was very difficult to digest because it was such a shock. The fact that none of our players looked 'up' for a game against Liverpool is unforgivable. Sir Alex's team selection and tactics also were troubling.
So, another trip to Craven Cottage should have been the perfect tonic- a team we had beaten easily just a few weeks previous. But no. Once again 'tinkerman' Ferguson has returned, to the detriment of a stablised team set-up.
It doesn't take a genius to work out that Dimitar Berbatov and Ronaldo should not be forming any sort of partnership up front, especially away from home- who puts the work in to pressurise the opposition defence? Tevez or Rooney would at least attempt to close down space.
I haven't time to comment further right now, suffice to say that a good performance and three points at home to Aston Villa in two weeks time is now vital to our league season.
23 March 2009
7 March 2009
Sublime
It's a great feeling watching United in action these days. You just know that you're watching one of the great sides in football history, YOUR team, as they set records and win trophies. Don't let these moments just pass you by!
Remember days like today. Yes, it wasn't Juventus or Barcelona in a European Cup Final, it was Roy Hodgson's Fulham, a mid-table Premiership side. However, they are a team who've forged a reputation this year as a solid, hard-to-beat side, particularly at Craven Cottage. Frankly, they may as well have been the local pub team from 'The Fox and Hound'...
United, without the talismanic figure of the World Player of the Year (Ronny was left at home in Manchester, not even making the journey down to West London), simply blew Fulham away. Despite having a few nervy moments early on, when Rio's casual manner almost cost us dearly, referee Mike Dean could have saved Fulham a lot of heartache by blowing up after Carlos Tevez had embarrassed Paul Konchesky by beating the defender to a Rooney flick-on to open the scoring on 20 minutes. By the time Park was placing no. 4 past the hapless Mark Schwarzer, Fulham had been reduced to little more than schoolboys asked to take part in a World Cup training session.
Once again, young players like Evans, Welbeck and Eckersley stepped into the side and showed they have the ability and temperament required to become top-class players for the Club in years to come- it's little wonder than Sir Alex is openly admitting that he'll find it almost impossible to retire from his post when the time comes to hand the reins to someone else!
One of the drawbacks of competing for so many prizes is the sheer number of games and the lack of time to catch breath between them. So, this week we welcome Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan to Old Trafford for the decisive tie in the European Cup last 16 fixture, quickly followed by another huge game against Liverpool, one in which defeat for the Merseysiders would surely spell the end for their fading hopes of winning the Premiership title.
It must be a great comfort for Sir Alex to know that he has virtually two great players for every position on the park, though fit right-backs are 'short on the ground' just now. His ability to constantly rotate the squad, with little effect on team performance, has been a key component of our current run of form in all competitions.
Mourinho will have been bemused to learn that the likes of Ronaldo, Berbatov, Giggs and Scholes played no part whatsoever this evening and will be fresh and raring to go against the Italian champions. It should be another memorable European night at Old Trafford and though you discount the threat of an outfit like Inter at your cost, I will be gutted if we don't win the game with some degree of comfort. It would be a terrible slight on this team to finish this season with out making it all the way to Rome in May.
Remember days like today. Yes, it wasn't Juventus or Barcelona in a European Cup Final, it was Roy Hodgson's Fulham, a mid-table Premiership side. However, they are a team who've forged a reputation this year as a solid, hard-to-beat side, particularly at Craven Cottage. Frankly, they may as well have been the local pub team from 'The Fox and Hound'...
United, without the talismanic figure of the World Player of the Year (Ronny was left at home in Manchester, not even making the journey down to West London), simply blew Fulham away. Despite having a few nervy moments early on, when Rio's casual manner almost cost us dearly, referee Mike Dean could have saved Fulham a lot of heartache by blowing up after Carlos Tevez had embarrassed Paul Konchesky by beating the defender to a Rooney flick-on to open the scoring on 20 minutes. By the time Park was placing no. 4 past the hapless Mark Schwarzer, Fulham had been reduced to little more than schoolboys asked to take part in a World Cup training session.
Once again, young players like Evans, Welbeck and Eckersley stepped into the side and showed they have the ability and temperament required to become top-class players for the Club in years to come- it's little wonder than Sir Alex is openly admitting that he'll find it almost impossible to retire from his post when the time comes to hand the reins to someone else!
One of the drawbacks of competing for so many prizes is the sheer number of games and the lack of time to catch breath between them. So, this week we welcome Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan to Old Trafford for the decisive tie in the European Cup last 16 fixture, quickly followed by another huge game against Liverpool, one in which defeat for the Merseysiders would surely spell the end for their fading hopes of winning the Premiership title.
It must be a great comfort for Sir Alex to know that he has virtually two great players for every position on the park, though fit right-backs are 'short on the ground' just now. His ability to constantly rotate the squad, with little effect on team performance, has been a key component of our current run of form in all competitions.
Mourinho will have been bemused to learn that the likes of Ronaldo, Berbatov, Giggs and Scholes played no part whatsoever this evening and will be fresh and raring to go against the Italian champions. It should be another memorable European night at Old Trafford and though you discount the threat of an outfit like Inter at your cost, I will be gutted if we don't win the game with some degree of comfort. It would be a terrible slight on this team to finish this season with out making it all the way to Rome in May.
18 February 2009
Top Trumps
A convincing display from the mighty Red Devils tonight saw United extend our lead at the top of the Premier League to 5 points. Goals from Paul Scholes, Dimitar Berbatov and the returning Wayne Rooney gave United a 3-0 success over mid-table Fulham. Yet another clean sheet for the defence sees United extend the British record for 'shut outs' to 14 matches, which is simply awesome.
With a spate of matches to come in the next month, it was useful to have a reasonably stress-free victory tonight, with no reports of any injuries to any of the lads. Next up are Sam Allardyce's Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford on Saturday- another we'll be expected to win, but Sam's men won't give up the points without a fight, so I'd expect a tougher game than we had tonight.
With a spate of matches to come in the next month, it was useful to have a reasonably stress-free victory tonight, with no reports of any injuries to any of the lads. Next up are Sam Allardyce's Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford on Saturday- another we'll be expected to win, but Sam's men won't give up the points without a fight, so I'd expect a tougher game than we had tonight.
16 February 2009
Ram Jam
This season is shaping up very nicely right now, as far as any Red is concerned. We're top of the Premier League, face Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan at the San Siro in the European Cup QF 1st Leg next Tuesday night and have a trip to Wembley for the Carling Cup Final against Tottenham Hotspur to look forward to.
In the F.A. Cup, a tough trip to Pride Park was made to look like a 'walk in the park' yesterday, as Nigel Clough's Derby County were swept aside in majestic fashion by a United side that had a few more 'unusual' faces. That the likes of Darron Gibson and Danny Welbeck can take their places in the 1st team and fit in so seemlessly is testament not only to the lads concerned but to the amazing coaching set-up the Club have now at Old Trafford. Sir Alex knows that these lads are 'busting' to get an opportunity to show what they can do at the top level and has little fear about giving them their chance.
The subsequent draw for the QF has seen United penciled in to travel to the victors of the Swansea City/Fulham tie- not easy, but better than a trip to the Emirates or Stamford Bridge.
In the meantime, it's back to Premier League business on Wednesday evening with the visit of Roy Hodgson's Fulham to Old Trafford- one we will be expected to win, but therefore a potential banana skin- a home win is essential to maintain the pressure on our title rivals.
In the F.A. Cup, a tough trip to Pride Park was made to look like a 'walk in the park' yesterday, as Nigel Clough's Derby County were swept aside in majestic fashion by a United side that had a few more 'unusual' faces. That the likes of Darron Gibson and Danny Welbeck can take their places in the 1st team and fit in so seemlessly is testament not only to the lads concerned but to the amazing coaching set-up the Club have now at Old Trafford. Sir Alex knows that these lads are 'busting' to get an opportunity to show what they can do at the top level and has little fear about giving them their chance.
The subsequent draw for the QF has seen United penciled in to travel to the victors of the Swansea City/Fulham tie- not easy, but better than a trip to the Emirates or Stamford Bridge.
In the meantime, it's back to Premier League business on Wednesday evening with the visit of Roy Hodgson's Fulham to Old Trafford- one we will be expected to win, but therefore a potential banana skin- a home win is essential to maintain the pressure on our title rivals.
13 February 2009
Comings and Goings
It's been quite a week for comings and goings in the Premier League managerial hotseats.
The dismissal of Tony Adams at Portsmouth was hardly a shock- the man, despite being a great defender in his hey-day at Arsenal, has never struck me as being 'nasty' enough to be a top manager and when you couple that with being saddled with a job where you have no money to spend and are guaranteed to lose your top midfielder and striker, it doesn't take a genius to foresee the outcome. Actually the fact that the current Portsmouth owner DIDN'T have the foresight to see this inevitable outcome would make me very wary of investing in the Fratton Park outfit, if I were a wealthy foreign investor looking to buy into Premier League football.
I guess I was a little surprised by the haste at which Abramovich dispensed with Luis Scolari's services at Chelsea. Perhaps it underlines more clearly than ever how vital qualification for the Champions League is viewed by the top clubs' hierarchy these days. With Chelsea seeming to be in danger of fading out of the title race, the Russian has taken decisive action now and given temporary replacement Guus Hiddink a decent chance of keeping (at least) their Champions League qualification hopes alive. Personally, I think it would be very foolish of anyone to rule the Stamford Bridge outfit out of the title race just yet, and Hiddink certainly has an impressive CV in terms of getting the most from the players at his disposal.
Joe Kinnear must have ran over a few black cats in his time- the man has nothing but bad luck and misery as company. No sooner has he got a chance to re-establish himself in top-flight football again than it's snatched away by a 'dodgy ticker'. Given their perilous state near the foot of the table, it's unlikely that Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley will be willing to wait around for Joe to make a full recovery from his triple heart by-pass surgery to take the reins again. Much more likely is a quiet 'thanks but we can't wait' to Kinnear and another face in the hotseat at St. James' Park. The rumours that that face could belong to Bryan Robson should have every Geordie reaching for their atlas to search out routes to the likes of Barnsley and Plymouth for next season....
Meanwhile, the World and European (oh, and English) Champions face a quick return to Pride Park to face Derby County in the F.A. Cup 5th Round on Sunday afternoon, having recently overcome the same opposition in the Carling Cup semi-finals. Whilst not to be taken for granted (as they proved in the 1st leg of the Carling Cup semi-final), this Derby side are not really any better than they were last year, when they finished their Premier League campaign with a feeble 11 points. Obviously a lot will depend on the strength of side that Sir Alex puts out on the pitch, but you'd hope that ANY United side comprising of 1st team squad members would have too much for a Championship side over 90 minutes. Guess we'll soon find out!
The dismissal of Tony Adams at Portsmouth was hardly a shock- the man, despite being a great defender in his hey-day at Arsenal, has never struck me as being 'nasty' enough to be a top manager and when you couple that with being saddled with a job where you have no money to spend and are guaranteed to lose your top midfielder and striker, it doesn't take a genius to foresee the outcome. Actually the fact that the current Portsmouth owner DIDN'T have the foresight to see this inevitable outcome would make me very wary of investing in the Fratton Park outfit, if I were a wealthy foreign investor looking to buy into Premier League football.
I guess I was a little surprised by the haste at which Abramovich dispensed with Luis Scolari's services at Chelsea. Perhaps it underlines more clearly than ever how vital qualification for the Champions League is viewed by the top clubs' hierarchy these days. With Chelsea seeming to be in danger of fading out of the title race, the Russian has taken decisive action now and given temporary replacement Guus Hiddink a decent chance of keeping (at least) their Champions League qualification hopes alive. Personally, I think it would be very foolish of anyone to rule the Stamford Bridge outfit out of the title race just yet, and Hiddink certainly has an impressive CV in terms of getting the most from the players at his disposal.
Joe Kinnear must have ran over a few black cats in his time- the man has nothing but bad luck and misery as company. No sooner has he got a chance to re-establish himself in top-flight football again than it's snatched away by a 'dodgy ticker'. Given their perilous state near the foot of the table, it's unlikely that Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley will be willing to wait around for Joe to make a full recovery from his triple heart by-pass surgery to take the reins again. Much more likely is a quiet 'thanks but we can't wait' to Kinnear and another face in the hotseat at St. James' Park. The rumours that that face could belong to Bryan Robson should have every Geordie reaching for their atlas to search out routes to the likes of Barnsley and Plymouth for next season....
Meanwhile, the World and European (oh, and English) Champions face a quick return to Pride Park to face Derby County in the F.A. Cup 5th Round on Sunday afternoon, having recently overcome the same opposition in the Carling Cup semi-finals. Whilst not to be taken for granted (as they proved in the 1st leg of the Carling Cup semi-final), this Derby side are not really any better than they were last year, when they finished their Premier League campaign with a feeble 11 points. Obviously a lot will depend on the strength of side that Sir Alex puts out on the pitch, but you'd hope that ANY United side comprising of 1st team squad members would have too much for a Championship side over 90 minutes. Guess we'll soon find out!
9 February 2009
Hammer & Tongs
There's an old saying about how a little time can make a huge difference... and Gianfranco Zola's West Ham United are currently a textbook example of that particular adage!
I last witnessed the Hammers 'live' just before Christmas when they entertained a Tottenham side which was at that time 'riding the crest' of the Redknapp wave of enthusiasm. That Monday evening, the gulf in class between the two sides was frightening (at least, it should have been very scary for the young Italian manager in his 'rookie' season). Tottenham were as majestic in possession and overall control of the game as West Ham were abject. They couldn't have strung two passes together that evening, much less put the comedic Brazilian keeper Gomes under any sustained pressure.
Wind the clock forward a little under two months and the change at Upton Park is little short of miraculous. Yesterday, the Hammers subjected United to as tough an examination of our domestic title credentials as any side we've faced this season- indeed had the otherwise excellent Carlton Cole chosen power over precision with his best chance of the afternoon, United may not have been back on top of the Premier League this morning.
For their part, United played no better than 'decent'. Sir Alex baffled everyone with a fluid 4-3-3 formation, with Giggs on the right of a midfield three containing former Hammer Michael Carrick and veteran Paul Scholes. Ronaldo, on the left, flitted between left-midfield (minus any ideas of actually tracking back to assist O'Shea at left-back) and left-sided forward. The industrious Tevez spent as much time in the midfield area as he did up alongside Dimitar Berbatov.
It was a game played at 100mph, but not lacking any quality for that. West Ham were snappy in the tackles, with Mark Noble and Scott Parker quick to close any space in the centre. Consequently, much of the United threat emanated from the wings, Ronaldo usually providing an outlet for the defence since he hadn't bothered to cover back during the previous West Ham raid. Behrami, the Swiss international, had a pretty decent game for the home side, doubling up to counter the threat of our Portuguese winger.
In the end, the midfield stalemate was broken only by a sublime finish from Ryan Giggs. The Welsh wizard received a diagonal pass from Scholes, fained to cross twice with his favoured left foot (thereby taking two home players out of the game) before cutting inside on his right and sending a lovely shot across the unsighted Rob Green into the far corner of the goal.
It says much for our record-holding defence that, despite some heavy West Ham pressure late on in search of an equaliser, the most notable talking-point after Giggsy's goal was the refusal of referee Phil Dowd to point to the spot after Ronaldo was blantantly tripped in the area by Lucas Neill. There's little doubt that Ron's reputation for 'losing his feet' is costing him (and us) penalties that are clearly warranted these days.
So, a narrow hard-fought victory in the East End, where we've often been 'found wanting' in recent years, sees United return to the summit, with only lucky Liverpool for close company. Just how much more luck the Merseysiders are going to get this year is anyone's guess, but Rafa's bizarre decision to leave both his available strikers, Kuyt and Torres, on the bench in a Premier League game almost came back to haunt him. Indeed, were it anyone else but the hopelessly inept Portsmouth as opposition, they may indeed have regretted such a strange team selection. As it was, the reason Tony Adams has since lost his job at Fratton Park was there for all to see as his side contrived to turn a 2-1 lead into a 2-3 defeat in the last five minutes of the game, with former Liverpool striker Crouch particularly culpable for a hideous back-pass which led indirectly to the opening goal for the Anfield side.
Elsewhere, 'Big Phil' Scolari's stay at the Bridge looks increasingly in jeopardy as his side tamely drew 0-0 with Hull City, with John Terry making a claim for this year's 'Miss of the Season', volleying over the bar from inside the six-yard box.
The North London derby ended in goal-less stalemate as well, with Wenger's well-known blindness making a return, the Frenchman claiming not to have seen Emmanuel Eboue's ridiculous kick at Modric for which Eboue rightly received his second yellow card of the afternoon. Of course, he has since made a miraculous recovery and is now moaning that the referee wrongly chalked off Eboue's earlier 'goal', in the build-up to which the Arsenal player quite blantantly shoved Jonathan Woodgate in the back. I guess some things never change...
Martin O'Neill's Aston Villa increasingly look like a side which could become a permanent fixture in the fabled 'top four'. Villa completely dominated in the 2-0 victory at Ewood Park against a rejuvenated Blackburn Rovers, and must wonder how they only scored twice. Everton also had another excellent result, winning 3-0 at home to Bolton despite their heavy toils of mid-week in the F.A. Cup win over Liverpool.
I last witnessed the Hammers 'live' just before Christmas when they entertained a Tottenham side which was at that time 'riding the crest' of the Redknapp wave of enthusiasm. That Monday evening, the gulf in class between the two sides was frightening (at least, it should have been very scary for the young Italian manager in his 'rookie' season). Tottenham were as majestic in possession and overall control of the game as West Ham were abject. They couldn't have strung two passes together that evening, much less put the comedic Brazilian keeper Gomes under any sustained pressure.
Wind the clock forward a little under two months and the change at Upton Park is little short of miraculous. Yesterday, the Hammers subjected United to as tough an examination of our domestic title credentials as any side we've faced this season- indeed had the otherwise excellent Carlton Cole chosen power over precision with his best chance of the afternoon, United may not have been back on top of the Premier League this morning.
For their part, United played no better than 'decent'. Sir Alex baffled everyone with a fluid 4-3-3 formation, with Giggs on the right of a midfield three containing former Hammer Michael Carrick and veteran Paul Scholes. Ronaldo, on the left, flitted between left-midfield (minus any ideas of actually tracking back to assist O'Shea at left-back) and left-sided forward. The industrious Tevez spent as much time in the midfield area as he did up alongside Dimitar Berbatov.
It was a game played at 100mph, but not lacking any quality for that. West Ham were snappy in the tackles, with Mark Noble and Scott Parker quick to close any space in the centre. Consequently, much of the United threat emanated from the wings, Ronaldo usually providing an outlet for the defence since he hadn't bothered to cover back during the previous West Ham raid. Behrami, the Swiss international, had a pretty decent game for the home side, doubling up to counter the threat of our Portuguese winger.
In the end, the midfield stalemate was broken only by a sublime finish from Ryan Giggs. The Welsh wizard received a diagonal pass from Scholes, fained to cross twice with his favoured left foot (thereby taking two home players out of the game) before cutting inside on his right and sending a lovely shot across the unsighted Rob Green into the far corner of the goal.
It says much for our record-holding defence that, despite some heavy West Ham pressure late on in search of an equaliser, the most notable talking-point after Giggsy's goal was the refusal of referee Phil Dowd to point to the spot after Ronaldo was blantantly tripped in the area by Lucas Neill. There's little doubt that Ron's reputation for 'losing his feet' is costing him (and us) penalties that are clearly warranted these days.
So, a narrow hard-fought victory in the East End, where we've often been 'found wanting' in recent years, sees United return to the summit, with only lucky Liverpool for close company. Just how much more luck the Merseysiders are going to get this year is anyone's guess, but Rafa's bizarre decision to leave both his available strikers, Kuyt and Torres, on the bench in a Premier League game almost came back to haunt him. Indeed, were it anyone else but the hopelessly inept Portsmouth as opposition, they may indeed have regretted such a strange team selection. As it was, the reason Tony Adams has since lost his job at Fratton Park was there for all to see as his side contrived to turn a 2-1 lead into a 2-3 defeat in the last five minutes of the game, with former Liverpool striker Crouch particularly culpable for a hideous back-pass which led indirectly to the opening goal for the Anfield side.
Elsewhere, 'Big Phil' Scolari's stay at the Bridge looks increasingly in jeopardy as his side tamely drew 0-0 with Hull City, with John Terry making a claim for this year's 'Miss of the Season', volleying over the bar from inside the six-yard box.
The North London derby ended in goal-less stalemate as well, with Wenger's well-known blindness making a return, the Frenchman claiming not to have seen Emmanuel Eboue's ridiculous kick at Modric for which Eboue rightly received his second yellow card of the afternoon. Of course, he has since made a miraculous recovery and is now moaning that the referee wrongly chalked off Eboue's earlier 'goal', in the build-up to which the Arsenal player quite blantantly shoved Jonathan Woodgate in the back. I guess some things never change...
Martin O'Neill's Aston Villa increasingly look like a side which could become a permanent fixture in the fabled 'top four'. Villa completely dominated in the 2-0 victory at Ewood Park against a rejuvenated Blackburn Rovers, and must wonder how they only scored twice. Everton also had another excellent result, winning 3-0 at home to Bolton despite their heavy toils of mid-week in the F.A. Cup win over Liverpool.
6 February 2009
The Flowers of Manchester- Never Forgotten
6th February, 1958- a date forever tinged with sadness for all Reds, and indeed for all decent football followers around the world.
The story is well known to anyone with even a passing interest in Manchester United. If you wish to read more go to http://www.munich58.co.uk/.
By the end of that fateful day, 21 people were dead, 7 of them young men cut down in the prime of their lives. Two more, the captain of the aircraft, and star player Duncan Edwards, died later from their injuries. Two others, Jackie Blanchflower and Johnny Berry would never play football again.
The United lads who perished were: Geoff Bent, team captain Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Liam Whelan.
On this day, we remember them and their families. No-one could have foreseen the terrible fate that overtook them; we who come after them recognise the price they paid to play a game of football for our Club.
The story is well known to anyone with even a passing interest in Manchester United. If you wish to read more go to http://www.munich58.co.uk/.
By the end of that fateful day, 21 people were dead, 7 of them young men cut down in the prime of their lives. Two more, the captain of the aircraft, and star player Duncan Edwards, died later from their injuries. Two others, Jackie Blanchflower and Johnny Berry would never play football again.
The United lads who perished were: Geoff Bent, team captain Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Liam Whelan.
On this day, we remember them and their families. No-one could have foreseen the terrible fate that overtook them; we who come after them recognise the price they paid to play a game of football for our Club.
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