Just One Of Those Teams...

Liverpool - beach balls need not apply..

2009-10-24T12:40:00.008+01:00

Well, the first real nerve jangler of the year is almost here in what is the biggest game in British and probably world football.

I made my second trip of the season to Old Trafford last week for what turned out to be a fairly routine outing against Bolton, last ten minutes aside. Standing on the concourse watching the Villa match started off a great footballing weekend and getting a text just after 3pm telling me that a beach ball had just put Sunderland ahead added the icing to the cake after our rather fortuitous opener.

The train home seemed much more satisfying that evening, in stark contrast to the same trip last March when I hurried away from the ground after witnessing our 4-1 drubbing at the hands of the enemy. It seemed to take forever as I lay slumped against the window as the train snail-paced the entire way.

Will there be similar feelings tomorrow?

Well all signs point to no but what does form mean when this game comes rolling around?

The midweek game on the pinball pitch seems to have taken little toll on the squad except for Fabio cramping up far earlier than a professional should, showing his lack of match exposure of late. He won't feature tomorrow, so even that can be forgotten.

There's no doubt that we look better with VDS back in nets but we are still leaking goals (as are everyone at the moment as the Premier League average three goals a game at present) and maximum concentration will be needed tomorrow as surely even the boo boys at Anfield will get behind their ailing team and give them a much needed lift.

My team for tomorrow would be :

VDS
Neville (playing like the Neville of old at present)
Evra
Ferdinand
Vidic (given his form though, I'd not be sad at all to see Jonny Evans start)
Valencia
Giggs
Fletcher
Carrick (Ferguson hates him, fully expect Scholes to start)
Rooney/Owen (the romance of Owen playing would be fantastic but Rooney is our best player)
Berbatov

Ferguson MUST resist the temptation to go Berbatov alone up top if Rooney doesn't make it, we are toothless with him playing as a sole striker. I can see us going three across the middle with Valencia on the bench. He played the full 90 in Moscow and I feel that may indicate his being dropped for this game.

Liverpool's injury worries are well documented this week. Personally I hope Glen Johnson plays, the space he leaves could see Evra and Giggs having a field day down the left. Gerrard normally does very little against us (watch that come back to bite me in the ass) so if he starts at anything less than total fitness, I won't lose any sleep. Torres looks to have made it back and we'll need Rio to have a blinder to keep him under control as Vidic seems like a rabbit in the headlights when the Spaniard gets him in his sights.

So am I confident? Well yes, as much as I can be for this game I guess. On paper, we should win but the old clichés ring true in games like this.

I hear Eric Cantona is sitting in the Anfield Road End tomorrow, in many different seats.

Oooh ahh.

Whatever happens, there will be Strongbow. And vodka.

In celebration, hopefully.

The day after the night before

2009-10-04T08:39:00.004+01:00

Sigh. Did anyone not see that coming after the team was announced?

Giggs rested before an international week he won't take part in?

Ditto for Ferdinand?

Danny Welbeck starts on the right?

Nani starts at all? (Yes, I've gotten over my hope from his preseason form)

No striker on the bench?

Whatever has happened between Ferguson and Carrick needs to be resolved. Our best player at picking a pass and retaining possession and he's reduced to the role of bit part player.

Despite one media outlet deciding we were "out thought and out fought" I didn't think we were outplayed to any great degree. I actually thought both teams were wasteful in midfield and as such play broke down time and time again.

Bent's goal was a great turn and hit but a limited player like Cattermole shouldn't be finding that much time and space in our half of the pitch. Jones' was always winning that header, such is Foster's form at present.

Berbatov again looks the part, holding the ball up well but with no one to play off him last night as Rooney had a rare bad showing.

Scholes' attitude at the moment is pathetic. Every game is now guaranteed to see at least one of those trademark tackles and his inability to control himself is costing the team. In a night when he was flanked by younger, lesser players he needed to keep his head and disappointed once again. Losing the ability to pass the ball five yards wasn't ideal either.

The biggest groan has to be with Ferguson. His team selection insulted the fans, the players and Sunderland and we got exactly what we deserved for his pre-match dismissal of the Mackems.

On a day where we should have taken advantage of at least one of Chelsea and Liverpool dropping points, we stumbled to a barely earned draw and allowed the rest of the league to see our soft underbelly.

Super fan? Me? If you say so.

2009-10-02T17:35:00.002+01:00

It’s been a long time since I updated. I got lazy. I'm getting older and possibly trying to be oh-so middle class as I find myself playing golf as often as possible. I even did the unthinkable recently and didn’t watch the Wigan match because I wanted to play golf instead. I did have my mobile with me (a big golfing faux- pas)and was checking the score so technically I’m still a super fan.

Super fan. What a weird term. On one of the forums I use, I am routinely referred to as a super fan and it isn’t meant in a good way. Why? I’m not totally sure, there certainly isn’t a logical reason behind it.

One of the reasons seems to be that I question the club and don’t accept everything that the club (and specifically Ferguson) does as perfect. This always seems to be fellow Man Utd fans who follow this line and often those who don’t go to matches. Why? I can only assume they personally feel inferior because they don't go. I’ll clarify my stance on that one right away: people who go to the match are NOT by virtue of their attendance better (and better is an entirely subjective term here in any case) fans and I would NEVER try to use the fact that I get to some games as furthering my point, although very many people do. On the contrary, I seldom voice opinions on any games I’ve been to in detail until I’ve seen the entire game back on TV. Only then can you really dissect the game and see things up close. I actually hate people who try and say you see more if you’re at the game. Simple fact is that you don’t and that’s pathetic football snobbery at its worst. Anyway, it’s strange that people use this against me, I’ve only started going in the past couple of years when it become financially viable and I’ve only been to one game so far this year because it’s become largely unviable again. Life responsibilities, eh? Getting too old.

Another reason I get called it is that I’m not shy in voicing my views and stating them as fact. There’s a horrible little trend online of people suffixing almost everything with “in my opinion”. Things aren’t always opinions. When Tevez was shocking for us for the majority of last year, that wasn’t an opinion, that’s fact. Saying that Mascherano isn’t as good as Fletcher isn’t an opinion, it’s fact. Saying that we aren’t better in any shape or form for Ronaldo leaving isn’t an opinion, it’s as stone cold true as a fact can be!

People are so slow to change their minds in football and they let big names go to their head. How can Darren Fletcher be better than Mascherano? One’s Scottish and was crap about five years ago, the other’s the Argentinean captain, cost multi-million pounds and is continually linked to big clubs. Well then, we’re sorted. No need to watch them actually play the bloody game, we can easily state Mascherano’s the better player without needing to see so much as a highlight reel!

I had a online “discussion” with an avid Argentina supporter who fails to accept that Tevez was rubbish last season and, by virtue of being a Chelsea supporter, he also claimed that Mikel is a better player than Fletcher. Given that Mikel is barely even a football player, it’s safe to say that certain people can’t see past their bias, eh?

So yea, I’m a super fan. You know people are struggling for arguments when they feel the need to say “No point discussing it with him, sure he’s always right” in that fun little way that they do. If I’m lucky, they’ll tack on one of those eye-rolling smilies for good measure. Sometimes people need to walk away from their keyboards, it’s clear they are getting worked up over what they read. You can tell when they’ve reached critical mass as the profanity starts to fly thick and fast. Or asterisks if the particular forum is pleasant like that. Would these same people, frantically smashing away at their keyboard in anger, get so testy if they were down the pub chatting about the game and someone stuck hard and true to their opinion? Nah, course not. Or at least I’d hope not. This is the internet though. Best to get wound up first and figure out if there was any need to later.

“Why… this guy has said a different thing than I felt and has worded it strongly… I can’t possibly not call him a colourful metaphor!”

That’s a great expression, colourful metaphor. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Go watch it, you’ll be a better person for doing it.

In all honesty though, once I see someone get wound up I tend to let them run with that particular stick. It’s good to sit back and watch the fall out.

Sunderland this weekend. It’s an evening game, so my golf won’t impact on that. To leave Darren Bent in my Fantasy League team or not? Ah, decisions, decisions.

Captain, there be cider here!

2009-09-01T19:48:00.001+01:00

I return from Manchester triumphant!

Not always the result that looked on the cards but for the second time in a row I return from this fixture having seen us come from behind in a less than convincing display to win 2-1. I’ve never seen us do anything but win against Arsenal, actually. I’m bad luck sometimes but when it comes to Arsenal, you want me to be there.

The match really isn’t that important, something much more important came to light on Saturday. The only bloody sell cider in Old Trafford now! GTFI. The team sheets rolling across the screen on the concourse couldn’t distract me from those beautiful bottles adorning the fridges. Yes, the fridges. THEY WERE COLD! No more warm, disgusting Bud in the ground.

So the game. Arsenal should’ve had a penalty, Foster’s really worrying at times, Rooney’s was a stonewall penalty, Eboue’s a funny character, Van Persie has enough talent to stop rolling around on the deck whenever he feels a breeze, Fletcher’s retained his great form for a third season, Ferguson’s a moron for playing one up top at home, Vermaelen is a very good player.

I should apologise to the three kids sat in front of me for swearing so much, though they did seem to find it funny at the time… that’s assuming they weren’t just amused by my drunken slur of a voice.

The burgers outside OT aren’t the best, are they? Oh well. Can't have everything.

No big transfers for us. Shame, means Anderson’s still at the club. *sad face*

Better or worse than last season?

2009-08-27T12:18:00.000+01:00

What a strange first week we’ve had. In losing to Burnley, we’ve encountered a disaster but come out the other side with more points than this stage last season. We always start slowly, don’t we? A loss to a newly promoted team at this stage isn’t the worst thing that could happen, they seem to have a knack of hitting the ground running (before spluttering out later in the campaign). The performances have been worrying at times though.

Liverpool are also having a torrid time as they were convincingly out-played by Spurs last weekend and devoid of ideas against a plucky Villa on Monday just past. Their squad really does look paper thin. If you believe some rumours, they want Michael Carrick to replace the departed Xabi Alonso. Even if the rumours are true regarding Ferguson having a bust-up with the Gatesheadian (not a word) I can’t see us selling one of our best midfielders to help a bitter rival strengthen.

The Modric rumours are equally scary. It’s cry time if we swap Carrick and money for the decidedly uninspiring little Croat. He’s no Boban. What a player he was. The 1998 World Cup was really won by Croatia, in spirit if not in reality. I never could forgive Laurent Blanc for his actions in that game. Anyhoo…

Chelsea. Ominous. Arsenal. Surprising. Spurs. Solid.

Interesting season ahead. We need to up our game massively this weekend when Arsenal roll into Manchester (as do I for my first attendance of the season) if we don’t want to be mugged in our own backyard. A draw would do the Gunners very nicely whereas I think we need a win to restore a bit of confidence that we can compete this year.

My prediction: cider on the train, cider in the street, warm Bud in OT (do they ever actually have a chance to get chilled?) and cider afterwards in a nice little pub in Manchester. TV21 makes a good venue, I find.

Berty Mee said to Matt Busby...

Man Utd 1 - 0 Brum

2009-08-16T15:42:00.002+01:00

We won the first match of the season. Crazy happenings.

It was great to see an officiating performance of such a high standard. They only missed a blatant red card on Carr early doors when he was all over Berbatov when the Bulgarian was clean through. Then they let Carr stand on Berbatov's foot in the box, no penalty given. To top things off, they ruled out a perfectly good Owen goal for offside. Ok, to the every day watcher it's offside but when the replay is shown you can see that the Birmingham defender has his leg extended beyond Owen's.

Oh well. Ferguson will get on the blower and fill the FA in. We should get those rewarded back to us against better teams.

Good points? Valencia being very direct. He'll be a star. Rooney looking sharp. Fletcher giving players hell in midfield, snapping into tackles and making himself known. Berbatov holding the ball up and bringing the midfield into play.

Bad points? Giggs and Scholes. Woeful, especially Giggs. Couldn't do a thing right.

Hopefully we'll get some defenders fit at some point this season.

Still... three points out of three. How strange.

Here at least, life can go back on hold.

2009-08-16T08:58:00.006+01:00

...and I sort of wish it wasn't.

I woke up at 6.30am yesterday, I had a round of golf booked for the morning and I can never sleep when I'm looking forward to something like that. I took the time to cast my eye over my Fantasy league team, agonised over the inclusions and then decided to leave it well alone (much to my later chagrin as Drogba bagged a brace).

So I finished up at the 18th halfway through the Chelsea game and the first thing I did was run into the bar to see the score. 1-1 at that point. Gerrin. Next stop was the golf shop as my brother pondered new clubs. I was supposed to be moral support as he spent more money than he should on "shiny metal sticks" but I found myself dandering around the shop, eyes glued to the internet on my mobile and generally being a moving obstacle for all other patrons in said shop, checking all the scores. Bent for Sunderland? More points for me.

So we get home about 4.30pm, just in time to put on Soccer Saturday and see the full times rolling in. Then the Everton v Arsenal game comes on (Arshavin, Neville, Cahill. POINTS! Or not, as it turned out.) so I watch most of that.

I was tired last night, so I didn't watch Match of the Day in the end. So I got up this morning to watch it. Wasn't it funny seeing Tevez start on the bench and then City play fairly poorly? Ireland scored though. Didn't pick him this year. Amateurish mistake.

Now it's 9am and I've got a few hours before the game starts. Might go to the driving range in a bit to kill some time. I'll be thinking about the game the whole time though. Sigh.

I'm not going today. I've scudded them on the last two opening days to lacklustre draws so at least I'm out of the equation. My first game this season isn't until we play Arsenal. Didn't they look poor yesterday?

So yea. Football's back and it will dominate everything for another ten months. My mobile bill will surely rise as I can't not know scores when I'm out.

Why do we do this? Why do women put up with this? I don't know. I really hate it, I think. Probably not in all honesty. I wouldn't change it though, not for a second. I was at the Middlesbrough - Sheffield United game last Friday night. The home fans soon got stuck into a rendition of "One Bobby Robson". I must admit, I felt a tear in my eye. I met the big man at Newcastle train station a while back. He took a few minutes to stop and talk to us. Absolute gent of a man. He shared something with many of us. He loved football. Certain things transcend rivalries and bring everyone together. Football is one of them. For example, I hate Liverpool but I can't imagine a world without them and they'd surely admit the same.

So. Where to from here? Ranting, elation, despair, ridiculous outflow of money and then a two month break (World Cup season though!) before we do it all again.

One game at a time though, eh?

This season's contenders: Same three again?

2009-08-07T16:58:00.003+01:00

Someone replied to my last entry asking me about how I thought the season was going to pan out and I gave a very coy answer.

I’ll say from the off, I don’t think City or Arsenal are in it this year.

City have some great names but not so many as they’d like to think and it takes time to get that many new players to gel. I do think they could play a major part in where the league ends up as they should give any team a run on their day, including the traditional big guns. Add in how utterly woeful they’ve been in preseason and I just can’t see it happening soon enough for any kind of challenge. Could Hughes be unemployed before Christmas?

Arsenal just lack the strength in depth that I think is needed to attack on all fronts. Too many of their best players have a knack of picking up injuries and Wenger’s inability to replace players and supplement his squad will show once again that he isn’t quite in the top bracket of managers he once was.

So I think it’ll be between the same three as last year.

On paper, Liverpool and ourselves have both weakened. Madrid have poached arguably our two best players in Ronaldo and Alonso and the way in which both teams replace those players will be key to the season coming up.

I’ve championed the signing of Valencia from the moment the rumour first appeared midday through last season, I think he is an excellent player who could well flourish under the added pressure that comes with playing for the Champions of England and the great history of Manchester United. I also feel that Michael Owen could well turn out to be a little diamond, pinching vital goals for us as the season goes along but I don’t expect him to return to his very best.

Other signings are much more low key and may not play a pivotal role this season; Obertan and Pogba already present in the squad with Ljajic and Diouf set to join up later in the season. Personally I’ve got a lot of hope for Tosic after he stepped it up in preseason. He reminds me of a left-sided Kanchelskis and we all know that the KanKan Man was the best player to grace the club.

A massive bonus for us this season would be to keep certain key players off the physio table; Carrick, Ferdinand and N E RightBack would be a good start.

The single most important factor we may struggle with is goals. No matter how much the most head-burying fan wants to pretend they aren’t bothered by Ronaldo’s departure, even they must accept that it’s a huge loss in terms of the goals he scored and also the amount teams had to sacrifice by marking him constantly. In a dream world, Berbatov will hit the ground running after his first preseason with the club, Rooney will finally get that central role he craves and will start scoring the goals we’ve always thought he had in him and the likes of Owen and Macheda will chip in consistently. Not asking for much, really.

Liverpool also suffered a huge loss this summer as long term want-away Xabi Alonso finally secured his move to Real Madrid. Liverpool have moved quickly to replace the Spaniard with Aquilani, a good player in his own right but it’s hard to imagine him doing quite what Alonso did last season. He is also injury prone. This could see Liverpool struggle to maintain their form from the end of last season. Moving Gerrard back would be excellent from everyone else’s point of view, he simply can’t perform in that role to anywhere near the standard people expect. Even better would be for the offensively ineffective Mascherano to be asked to perform a playmaker’s role. That would bring great mirth.

Their back line will continue to be fairly solid, such is Benitez’s way. It will be interesting to see if Aquilani serves as a direct replacement for Alonso and he retains his two holding midfield system that brings solidity at the expense of flair. I’ve long said Liverpool need to be more attacking to have a chance of winning the league and they’ve yet to secure players this summer that would suggest they’re going to do that. Torres will bang them in as always, Gerrard will get his fair share from his slot behind the front man (if kept there) and the main sticking point is where will the rest of the goals come from. Benayoun was in great form at the end of last season, as was Dirk Kuyt, but the likes of Riera, Babel (Liverpool’s Nani) and Lucas (Liverpool’s Anderson) will need to up their attacking input substantially to supplement the front two.

So we move onto my tip this season; Chelsea.

If Drogba, Joe Cole and Essien had been fit all last season, I doubt Liverpool would have been our closest rivals and I can’t even say I’d be sure we’d be champions right now. I know all teams can use that as an excuse but losing Essien, Cole and Drogba is akin to us without Ronaldo, Rooney and Carrick or Liverpool going for large periods without Torres, Gerrard and Alonso last season. Could you imagine those teams doing so well? I think not.

Ancelloti is considered by many to be a CL manager but we shouldn’t overlook the controversies around Italian football of late and the overall decline of that league. He cannot polish the proverbial turd. I think he’ll have enough nous about him to stage a real challenge and they’ve strengthened well in a player like Zhirkov though at the other end of the scale I don’t share the views that Sturridge is worthy of Stamford Bridge. Overall, Chelsea have the most players that I’d love at Man Utd. Cech, Carvalho, Zhirkov, Joe Cole, Essien (the best midfielder in the league)…

If Drogba can find renewed enthusiasm for the game, Anelka is utilised correctly for once and Essien and Lampard stay fit, they will boss teams out of most games without breaking a sweat. Keeping Terry is also a major plus, for his leadership if nothing else.

If Chelsea (Roman Abramovich) can resist the temptation of ignoring the league in search of elusive European success, they are going to be a real force this season and as such are the team I think the rest will be chasing this season.

City shopaholics while Wenger has garage sale

2009-07-30T17:23:00.000+01:00

Well, our “small time” neighbours in Manchester are really going all out this summer aren’t they? You have to wonder how Roque Santa Cruz feels at this point. He joined expecting to be spear-heading Man City’s rise to global domination and has been subsequently supplanted by two of the most lovable(!!!) chaps in football, Tevez and Adebayor. Then you have the likes of Craig Bellamy, sour faced at the best of times. Who shall feel the wrath of his infamously misguided golf club when he notices how far down the pecking order he is? Maybe that shiny pack of Titleist Pro V1s will finally meet their maker as their owner realises the true use of his hitting stick.

No one can blame ol’ Sparky for playing Footie Manager in the real world, who wouldn’t? Sadly someone hacked his game and gave Real Madrid more money than him. Well, I say money but I really mean gravitas. Not that I can say much as our own beloved Cristiano Ronaldo at last got his much publicised trip to the Spanish capital. We’ll chalk that one up to the old Iberian link and say that the lad wanted to help out poor old Real, struggling in the shadow of big, bad Barca. Still, if Real wanted to illicit a response with their wacky spending, they managed to send heads in Cataluña into a spin as the supremos at the current European Champions (that still hurts) found it necessary to swap Samuel Eto’o, £40m and Aliaksandr Hleb for Zlatan Ibrahimovic. They’ve basically swapped the better player and more cash than you could wipe your arse on as well as a more than capable midfielder for a player who weakens them. Baffling. On the other hand, a great bit of business by Jose Mourinho who spoke out this week and confirmed one of the worst kept secrets in football by saying he wants to take over when Fergie decides it’s time to step down. Is that a good thing? Yes, please. I firmly believe that had Roman’s trigger finger stayed itchless, we may not be sat here today as thrice winners in the past three years. Is he attacking enough? If not, we’ll make him. You don’t get by as a manager here without an attacking mentality, even if it is to our detriment!

It’s still too early to tell where the main contenders stand but Arsenal fans will have the most cause to worry as another summer is slipping by without necessary additions being made. In fact, the opposite is happening as Wenger is failing to keep players from the temptations of Eastlands. How many trophyless seasons must pass before the majority realise that Wenger isn’t the great manager people think he is? Does it really matter if he’s a master at spotting youth when he lacks the ability to keep senior players happy and attract big names in the transfer market? A manager must be a more complete package than that and Wenger has failed to move with the times as England plays a bigger part (some would say now the biggest, given the last few years in the Champions League) across Europe. That isn’t to say it’s an easy transition. We ourselves struggled in the early part of this decade as Ferguson sent out baffling, frustrating formations in Europe and it appeared to take some coaxing from Carlos Queiroz and a LOT of tweaking to get it right. I think it would be a good for both parties should Wenger and Arsenal part ways. Controversial? Nah, not at all. He doesn’t win things. He can’t build a strong squad. Sentimentality is now all but lost in modern day football and this is one occasion it shouldn’t be retained.

Audi Cup final tonight. Hands up who couldn't care less?

Pre-season football and Michael Owen?

2009-07-20T17:20:00.003+01:00

It’s been a while. I’ve left the new style for the site to someone else and he seems to have disappeared off into the sunset. Liverpool supporters, eh?

Strange times. Michael Owen’s banging them in on our ~~Annual Fund Raising Drive~~ pre-season tour while Man City are using posters of Carlos Tevez doing the one good thing he did all last season as propaganda pieces.

The Michael Owen transfer is a strange one. When he was being linked with Everton I was defending him to a Toffee, pointing out that he doesn’t actually miss many games (plays more than Torres, for example) and will score goals for any team who gives him the service. Then he goes and signs for us and I’m less than enthused. I’m also not disappointed. Is he better than Tevez? In my mind, yes, or at least he is much more in line with what we need; a goalscorer. If he plays, he’ll get a decent return of goals but he isn’t the player that was superb for Liverpool and Real Madrid. Don’t let people tell you he was bad at the Bernabeu, he had an excellent goals/min ratio and was a victim of the Galactico ethos.

As for Tevez, well I wish I could say good luck to the fella but I can’t. I’m disappointed in the magically changing attitude of many fellow Manchester United fans who have now decided that he’s not a great player and that his attitude does in fact stink. A shame it took Tevez to be so blatant with his repugnant behaviour but they got there in the end, no?

Anyone have the misfortune of seeing our first game against Malaysia XI? What a woeful spectacle that was. I don’t think I’ve ever seen two teams pass the ball directly to each other as often in my life. It looks like Nani is getting his chance. Anyone who watched that game will be crying over that statement. A goal doesn’t hide his overall ineptitude.

I’ve got a choice tonight between watching today’s game replayed on MUTV and Ronaldo’s debut for Real against Shamrock Rovers. The joy! I’ve already been told Owen has scored again but I’ve avoided finding out the exact result. I’m on tenter hooks.

Fletcher vs Mascherano

2009-06-23T18:43:00.003+01:00

It's slow season, so I'll keep this ticking over my putting up modified versions of posts from some online debates I take part in.

This article is discussing the two players mentioned in the title, their form and so on. The basic point was fans of Liverpool suggesting that Fletcher isn't as good a player as Mascherano. When I say "you" it's in direct reply to Liverpool fans that I was having this little tête-à-tête with. Their opinions should be clear from my replies.

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You say Mascherano is a superior player than Fletcher, yet performances on the park say otherwise. You're so totally caught up in the spell of having an exotic name with a big reputation that you automically propel him above a player who's been a bit part player for us with a terrible reputation as a make-weight only surviving at the club because he shares the manager's nationality. Open your eyes, look past that and see what they do on the pitch. You take the typical, moronic football fan opinion that once a reputation is forged, it can't be changed. Fletcher is a lesser player and can NEVER change that. It isn't like players can improve, eh?

In the last two full seasons, Fletcher has been better than Mascherano, even thought two years ago Fletcher played much fewer games he was always excellent when he played. Mascherano had a storming run at the end of the 06/07 season when he first arrived but hasn't built on that to have any claim to be truly world class.

As a break up guy, superb. Always has been. One of the best in the business and in that role alone is a better player than Fletcher. It's a shame for the Argentine that that's all he brings to Liverpool. He doesn't link up midfield. He doesn't read the attacking side of the game. He offers nothing beyond the half way line.

I find it hilarious that you have the temerity to accuse me of bias when you are the one putting a media built reputation (Argentine captain, Maradona loves him, must be superb) over performances. Note that at no stage am I saying that Mascherano is a poor player. I'm saying that he hasn't been as good as Fletcher in the last two seasons, especially the one just finished and that he doesn't offer enough in his overall game to be considered world class.

Put your woe-is-me attitude to one sided and drop the bias line. I'm never biased in these regards. I'd take Torres in a heartbeat. Alonso made Carrick look average this season.

Tell you want, mind. Kleberson's better than Gerrard. WC winners medal, experience in other leagues and more than any of that... he's got a Brazilian name and so must be better. Viva la extranjero.

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This second one is a later reply, posted after a few more people had commented on how Fletcher was definitely not as good a player as Mascherano with no actual discussion of the players.

I judge players on their performances. Fletcher's have been better in the past year, if not two.

The media tells you that Mascherano is a world class player, captain of Argentina and affords him all the wonder and grandeur of being foreign (ie. exotic and thus better in their eyes). Fletcher is still too boring for the media. An unassuming Scottish lad who goes about things quietly and who has, as you have said, only benefitted in terms of appearances due to the loss of Hargreaves. You are happy to leave your opinion right there because it suits you. That's how you hide behind the media, backing up your stance with what they say for the most.

In terms of potential ability, I'd happily say that Mascherano looks like he has a better career ahead of him. He's established in a better international team and doesn't have the stigma hanging over him of being a bit-part player. He also benefits from being the best in his position at his current club. Fletcher doesn't have the luxury as a fit Hargreaves (does such a beast exist?) will surely replace him in the side if/when he returns. I have massive reservations over his all round game. As much as it's easy to hide behind the fact that he's seen as a destructive midfielder thus his attacking outlet doesn't matter, that's not at all true. Football is a different beast now, players need more to their game. A holding midfielder shouldn't be so limited as Mascherano is going forward; this covers both his vision in reading the attacking side of the game and also his technical ability to operate there.

If you believe this doesn't matter so much, fair enough. I wouldn't be happy to carry such a player in my side. If you think I'm understating his ability, then I suggest you watch him more. He relies so much on his athleticism, it's almost alarming.

I've long said that a massive problem for Liverpool has been the style in which they attack. They rely so heavily on individuals, the system can't cope without them. Gerrard, Torres, Alonso. Going without these players who can continually add attacking flair to the game causes long term problems for Liverpool. Players like Lucas and Mascherano can't add this. Players like Keane and Vieira, true greats in the game, scored goals and were attacking outlets. Mascherano doesn't and until he does, he won't be on top of his game or world class imo. Not for Liverpool anyway. At Barca, he'd be much more suited to their style. They have many more attacking options, so his destructive style would probably be enough. Think of Makelele at Chelsea and Real Madrid. He thrived because he had so many good attacking players in front of him. Robben, Joe Cole, Lampard, Duff and then the Real Galacticos in the likes of Figo et al.

So yea. Mascherano. One of the best man markers around, great tackler and very atheltic. The kind of player who plays with real passion and so fans love. Like Tevez at United. And my opinions on him have shown that passion isn't enough when your overall game is lacking, I wanted him out from very early.

-------

So, am I just being biased? I don't think so. I know what I see on the pitch and over the last two seasons, especially the one just finished, Fletcher has been superb and Mascherano hasn't played to the same standard. Forget reputation. Players improve and get worse and I'll judge them on what they've done recently, not a mass of media spin that is given an indefinite Use By date.

Superb News: Tevez is set for City

2009-06-20T14:20:00.003+01:00

We offered £25.5m for him? Whoever sanctioned that should be ashamed of themselves.

We won't miss his lack of pace, his inability to locate the penalty area, his five league goals, his woeful standard of fitness and the whinging to the media about not being treated fairly, Joorabchian orchestrated or not.

If he is City bound as is expected then the collection of morons that booed Ferguson's (correct) decision to take Tevez off as we secured a draw to win the league will have to bow their heads in shame. In fact, anyone who still believes the ludicrous media myth that Tevez is world class is monumentally deluded. No matter what the odious little pleb does it won't be to a standard that we need or deserve.

So we were offering £25.5m for Tevez, £17m for Valencia and £40m for Ribery, if reports are to be believe. That means we have a transfer kitty of at least £80m if you follow that to the logical conclusion. That could be interesting.

An early end of the Ronaldo saga.

2009-06-11T12:24:00.002+01:00

Well, if he was going to go we wanted it to be early. Ferguson ideally does his work early in the window, aiming to get players in for a preseason and settled in the area before the season kicks off.

So where to from here? These goals MUST be replaced.

I'd love to see one of Aguero, Benzema or Villa at Man Utd. Benzema is continually linked and he's probably the most likely now but Villa's goals would be my first choice; just look at how Torres adapted.

I think Antonio Valencia will join now, a somewhat direct replacement to Ronaldo on the right but he brings less goals in a more conventional right winger style.

Ribery is heavily linked and I've been vocal in the past against him, I just get this niggling feeling he won't adapt to the pace of the league. Strutting your stuff in Germany is one thing but the Premier League is a different matter.

Nani is being touted as going back to Sporting with Moutinho moving the other way. We do need to bolster the centre midfield but I'm not convinced he's the man.

In defence, I'd love to see Glen Johnson come in at RB, freeing up Wes Brown to be RB/CB cover and allowing Rafael to learn his trade more.

One more thing that I feel is essential. None of the £80m should be spent on Tevez. He should be left firmly in the past at Man Utd. We need better.

End of Season Lethargy - ring the changes, Fergie

2009-06-05T11:46:00.003+01:00

Well, with the enthusiasm of Champions League runners-up, I've taken a back seat with this blog yet again.

I'm going to attempt to learn some website techno-wizardry over the next few weeks and hopefully start again with my own site away from blogger at this same address in time for the new season.

I can envisage myself toiling extremely hard only to return to blogger, which has in all honesty served me very well since the New Year.

I'll leave this season on the following note; yes, our season limped out in a horrible manner but we're still the English team to beat. The position we're in now is still where everyone else wants to be. We've got a damn good shot at number 19 next year but we need to strengthen the team, especially in midfield where we are currently lacking. I wouldn't be sad to see Nani and Anderson both leaving. The love in over the Brazilian especially must be over. Too many fans have spent the season creaming themselves over how he matched Fabregas in a 2-2 draw that is now two seasons ago. I think Hargreaves may well retire sooner rather than later.

I also won't be sad to see Tevez leave, if that which looks inevitable occurs. He's been poison coming towards the end of the season. His constant bleating to the fans about how he hasn't been treated well was pathetic, but no more pathetic than the fans who booed his removal against Arsenal or who chant "Sign him up" when he does something mediocre. Five league goals and a pot belly. That's what he brings to the team. If he put as much effort into getting into shape as he does twisting the media to secure a completely undeserved contract, maybe he wouldn't be running scared that he'll be a Liverpool or City player next season. I can only assume we're trying to get a striker in now so that we can let him move on, lest be forced to sign him.

I'm willing to give Berbatov an entire preseason with the club, something he didn't have last season, and judge him around Christmas time. So much talent, he just needs to channel it in new ways.

Defensive cover would be nice though Wes Brown returning would be like a new signing. Rafael's appearance this last season was a breath of fresh air, along with his brother to cover at RB. Rio and Jonny Evans needs to shake this knack of picking up injuries... hopefully a rest will do them wonders.

I'll sign off this post with a wish. Please, Benzema. Please.

Catching up - Part 1

2009-05-11T13:09:00.000+01:00

Since my last post, I've had my first trip to Wembley, old or new. I'm in hurry to return.

I'm not sure what was more disappointing; the team that Ferguson insulted the traveling fans and the FA Cup with or the fact that we were so close to going through in spite of that line up.

It was the little things that annoyed more than anything once the game had started; Danny Welbeck's reluctance to use pace to take on as one-paced a right back as you could ever hope to see. Tevez's continual refusal to behave as a striker. Ferguson's ridiculous bench that couldn't change a game should they be playing Sega Classics on the PS3. The penalty takers.

The weekend on the whole was fun though. I spent it with an Arsenal fan, so we had mutual mourning to do. The Everton fans were superb throughout, making a good atmosphere before, during and after the game and being sound for a chat in the hotel after the game. We even had one discussion where a dyed in the wool blue said that Gerrard was the best player in the league. I suppose you can expect them to overlook Rooney given his history.

Wembley is a fantastic stadium. Massive without feeling distance from the pitch. The facilities inside are superb, the amount of space on the concourse is astounding. A shame about the pitch, eh?

Onto midweek and one of Ferguson's many days of reckoning in the aftermath of the semi-final defeat.

Luckily he was vindicated in many ways as we coasted to a very comfortable win against Portsmouth who never really troubled after a reasonably bright start.

The next game was a rather less sedate affair. Those who remember the 0-3 to 5-3 game will have been forgiven for thinking this was orchestrated but it unfolded exactly as we all knew it would. Eh, no. I'd written off our season at half time, in my own typical fashion.

A lot of time has passed so I won't go into details on the match except to cover the most controversial moment of the game...

No, not the penalty. You'll see almost identical penalties erroneously given all over the country, all season long. I'm talking about the decision to allow Wilson Palacios to stay on the pitch after a two-footed lunge on Ronaldo which thankfully the Portuguese evaded, lest his season be ended there and then. The lack of backbone demonstrated there set the tone and it was no surprise that Jenas went unpunished when he lead with his arm into Berbatov's face. Would Spurs have scored twice if down to ten or even nine men? No, thought not. Still, everyone loves a moan about us (myself included all too often)...

Pessimist's Porto Preview - Jager bombs are nice

2009-04-15T13:44:00.001+01:00

Eh, I hate this game. No, I don't. I love it.

Where has the defensive unity gone? Does Mister Vidic think his job was done to secure Player of the Year or something? We're looser at the back than Taylor Raine. Van Der Sar looks like a gibbering wreck and was probably rested against Sunderland to allow the new meds to kick in. Do we even have any right backs any more? Don't say Gary Neville, he's as much a right back as I am. Do us a favour, Gary. Fall on your sword. Walk away from the club, ta.

The Porto game showed yet again what can happen when a team sets about us. The confidence is so utterly drained that we bend over and accept the resultant bumming in an almost apologetic manner. Both their goals game from individual errors but that's absolutely no excuse for the pasting they were giving us in the first half. It has been touted as Paul Scholes' worst game in the red of Manchester United and I find it hard to disagree. Perhaps he fancies a brief flirt in Liga Sagres and was getting used to the surroundings. Only Patrice Evra and Wayne Rooney actually came out of the game with their reputations in tact in my eyes, though Evra will need to show a little more defensive nous against a team who attacking so aggressively.

The Sunderland game is a strange one. The media portrayed us as struggling when the reality is that we dominated the game for large parts and were very good value for the win, but again there were ridiculous defensive errors. Enough about those. Another goal for Macheda, intentional or not, will have the young man brimming with confidence and putting pressure on Berbatov, who has regressed once more to the slow, lazy oaf of a player we saw at the start of the year. A few good touches against Sunderland don't make up for his lack of goals.

So what's going to happen tonight? We are favourites to progress at a ground we've never won at (I think no English team has ever beaten Porto in Porto, though I may be wrong) despite being second best at everything at Old Trafford.

Is it possible? Absolutely, if any team can do it, it is us. That's surely the message Ferguson has to be reminding the players. We have players that the rest of the world envy; Ronaldo, Rooney, Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand... we have a fantastic set of supporting players to allow the flair players to do their work; Scholes, Carrick, Van Der Sar... We even have talented players who seem loath to exhibit their abilities; Nani, Anderson, Tevez, Berbatov...

If we can get some spirit and belief back into the squad, the sky's the limit. We're the match of any team on the planet, whatever the media may think about Barcelona.

That said, I believe Barca are rightly the current favourites in the Champions League as they have the form. I can still see Chelsea progressing from their semi though, if they can look after Messi. Step up Mr Essien?

I'm not sure if the butterflies in my stomach are the kebab and Jagerbombs from last night or the nerves of the game later. Probably both.

A marriage with Macheda

2009-04-06T14:06:00.001+01:00

So I survived my first ever wedding and I also survived the game yesterday, though my heart is a little worse for wear.

Actually, my Saturday was very similar to my Sunday, it's amazing how much a wedding can resemble a game of the old footer.

Let's take it step by step -

The ceremony vs the build up.

No one actually cares about this bit, it's all hyperbole. The line ups are revealed, the formal arrangements all agreed and all the onlookers await the good times later on. In this regard, the ceremony was probably the more enjoyable as my potential granny-in-law's hearing aid started whistling loudly just as the minister piped up. I struggled to contain my mirth at this, as the church in question was tiny and everyone stared in our direction. The only person who couldn't hear it was the poor old dear herself. In stepped future mummy-in-law and my laughs were over. Boo. The chirpy minister probably loses out to the pre-match Sky comments, his attempts at being funny and berating the lack of singing were as cringe worthy as Andy Gray's best “Take a bow, son”.

The Meal vs the first half.

Kick off is upon us. All the pretence is over. Both sides are clearly divided in their allegiances (bride v groom's guests, United v Villa) and take their respective positions on the pitch/tables. The early minutes are tense as both sides get their first couple of drinks. Neither side is giving an inch. One side begins to edge it, but no... there's a shock! There's a handled back pass working in my favour, I get my first drink free of charge. The Bulmers isn't my usual poison but it tastes as sweet as a Ronaldo finish today. Yes, I'm winning. I'm getting drunk free of charge. I'm sticking it to the man.

1-0

My joy is soon checked though, I'm sat at a table with no one I know apart from my girlfriend, and they (like Villa) have no love for United as they cheer when they realise Chelsea are beating Newcastle and I look despondent. Villa take back control of the game and as Carew slots in his header, it's just like that first trip to the bar where I actually had to pay. It lessens the fun but at 1-1 it's all square, and I am still drinking at this wedding so this could go either way!

Post meal entertainment vs the next 35 minutes.

The meal is over, I'm still a little hungry, my money is flowing out of my wallet like Ashley Young past old man Neville and I'm summoned for the dreaded photos. Come on now, this isn't fair. I'm the boyfriend to the cousin of the bride! How the hell is that worthy of involvement in the photos? To add insult to injury, I need to set my drink down for this. What's going on! Right on queue, we can marry this (pun not intended but I'll pretend it was) to Aston Villa's dominance after the break and when I return to my seat to observe The Beatles tribute band sound checking (surely the most overrated band to have existed since the dawn of time), it feels like a bundled Agbonlahor goal.

What's going on? I'm not drunk yet. I'm still hungry. I'm having my ears subjected to this tripe. Please... Please Help Me!

2-1 down.

The piss up vs 80th minute to 85h minute

What is happening? The Beatles have started banging away and they're playing all the songs I can actually tolerate and perhaps the Bulmers is doing more than I credit it. My girlfriend's sister's boyfriend David has arrived and is seemingly intent on catching up on the alcohol stakes. The fact that my latest pint has been delivered courtesy of the girlfriend's dad always adds to the pleasure and it's almost inevitable that my mood is now on the up, just like a Ronaldo 18 yard strike to bring things level. This night can go either way now. What's it to be?

2-2

The bar (David inspired) v the end of the game (Macheda inspired)

The hour of reckoning, I'm at the bar and with the accuracy of a Ryan Giggs through ball, I find David purchasing his latest round. This potential future giant provides the impetus we need to kick on and dominate this one. Aftershock, one round thereof. The smattering of bridesmaids and other assorted girls at the bar join us as the first one feels like a Ronaldo shot, just over. It's good, it's a kick up the arse but it's bitter. We need more! The next Aftershock feels like a Danny Welbeck chance, narrowly saved as the great feeling is surely only one more drink away. Delirium kicks in, it's my turn to take a chance and as I ask the barman for lime and salt, David reminds me that I've ordered sambuca.

This is it, the moment of truth, one shot away from that elusive victory or one shot glass away from that all conquering buzz. Macheda being jostled off the ball at the end of the box feels like that first smell of the sambuca, that realisation that this isn't a nice feeling at all. But then, as Macheda turns Luke Young, it's the sambuca pouring down my throat. The slow motion feeling as the ball curls around Brad Friedel's despairing dive and as the ball nestles into the far corner, it's that warm, tingling sensation in your stomach as the drink settles in for the evening.

3-2

Ecstasy.

It was all worth it.

This is what it's all about. Football and life.

I return to cider, safe in the knowledge that this feeling is going to last the rest of the night. My liver is destroyed by the wedding, the ten odd pints of cider during the day and those three beautiful shots.

My heart is destroyed by the football, and all that took was those three beautiful shots.

Yes, three shots is all it takes if the ground work is right.

Life mirrors football.

Football is life.

Internationals are dead, long live domestic football.

2009-04-03T12:00:00.002+01:00

It's been another substantial break since my last post, mostly down to having nothing to talk about and my acute case of football loathing there for a while. For the first time in a while, I was greeting the international break with relief. The team was clearly burnt out, emotionally, with tempers flaring during the Fulham farce.

Normally I don't take too much time for the internationals, keeping an eye out for Northern Ireland, England and our players but I actually found myself glued to the box for both of our internationals this time around. Jonny Evans turned in two Man of the Match performances, in my opinion, and that bodes fantastically well for Sunday where he will deputise for the suspended Nemanja Vidic. Hopefully Rio will be there also after limping off for England in midweek.

Also for England, Wayne Rooney found a smile on his face once more with a superb game against Slovakia and a good shift put in against the Ukraine, while his strike partners fell away around him. Heskey's absence from Sunday's game is actually a curse as the infinitely superior John Carew will now surely start.

Even Carlos Tevez found the score sheet as Argentina wiped out Venezuela 4-0, but then featured in an energy sapping high-altitude game as they were embarrassed 6-1 by Bolivia in La Paz.

John O'Shea was literally shedding blood for the Republic of Ireland's cause midweek as they scraped a draw against ten man Italy.

Ronaldo was rubbish as Portugal messed up yet again, Evra didn't have too troubled a time against Lithuania in either game as France secured two 1-0 wins against the minnows.

Meh, have I missed anyone? Probably have, don't really care.

So by Sunday we'll probably be two points behind Liverpool. How they hell have we let that happen?

Tevez to start up front on his own? Or perhaps we'll see Ronaldo play there again? Or Danny Welbeck? Hmm. Whoever plays, we must attack Villa from the off. They're on a relatively poor run at the moment and we need to put someone to the sword to get us back on track. A strong midfield with Giggs, Scholes and Carrick would be excellent and should be enough to control the game. Ronaldo on the right, Tevez and Welbeck up front. Or perhaps Park on the right, Giggs left, and Ronaldo and Tevez up front? This isn't even mentioning Anderson and Fletcher.

Even with injuries, we have options and we need to show that our lesser seen players are up for the task.

God, please just give me a win. I think I'll have a cider during the game, to take the edge off my hangover from the night before.

Going to my first ever wedding. Are they fun?

The two week implosion - where's my Strongbow?

2009-03-23T10:19:00.000Z

After the entire internet ignored my blog for a few weeks, I received this comment after Liverpool's demolition of Aston Villa - “bad weekend for manc bloggers the world over”.

The writer left themselves anonymous but their succinctly put reply reminded me I hadn't made a post in a while. I haven't been avoiding it because I'm a fair-weather blogger, I just haven't had much to say in all honesty.

Needless to say, I could vent all day long about our attempts to destroy our season in a two week period. There are many factors to blame for our current arse-over-tit form; Ferguson's selections, big names prancing around the pitch like gurning women, sheer bad luck in some cases.

For Saturday's debacle I'm going to edge towards Ferguson being the main problem. In a game where we needed to stamp our authority early on and show the opposition that we weren't in the midst of a crisis of confidence, Ferguson decided to drop our best player and talisman, Wayne Rooney. This move was to accommodate Dimitar Berbatov, the last player in our entire squad that you would want at your side in battle, and a battle is exactly what we have turned the season into. Pairing him with Ronaldo was merely insult to injury, as a recalcitrant Ferguson seemed determined to prove that he had a trick up his sleeve to turn us around from our drubbing at home to Liverpool.

The midfield saw the teaming up of Giggs, Scholes, Fletcher and Park. Attacking outlets – virtually nothing. Now, don't get me wrong, they are all good players in their own right, but not in this combination. By removing Ronaldo from midfield, we had no real natural width (our main attacking strength when we play two wingers) and so our normal style was completely negated. Dropping Michael Carrick is simply moronic at any time.

The game itself started poorly, the penalty and sending off are almost inexplicable aside from the fact that Paul Scholes has form when it comes to playing volleyball in either box. He must shoulder a large portion of the blame for this result and won't shirk away from that responsibility, unlike our esteemed manager who will look to blame everyone but himself.

Once Danny Murphy did what he always does, that was all she wrote. At no stage were we ever going to get anything from this game.

Berbatov sulked around, Ronaldo moaned, the defence decried each other visibly all afternoon.

By the time Rooney was sent off for daring to throw the ball back to his team mates too quickly, we were already two down after a very fine finish from Zoltan Gera, a very good little player in his own right.

All was not lost, with Chelsea unexpectedly losing at White Hart Lane but Liverpool dispatched Aston Villa with consummate ease as they eased past our goal difference and to within one point of us in the table, albeit we do have a game in hand that won't be played until a couple of weeks from the conclusion of the season.

The international break couldn't come at a better time. Hopefully Ferguson will have noted how susceptible Aston Villa are looking at present and actually set out to impose our game on them, something we haven't done since the Fulham cup game. We'll have to do it without Vidic, Scholes and Rooney, with Berbatov possibly missing due to injury after leaving Craven Cottage with his foot in a cast after an awkward looking ankle injury. Is that a bad thing?

I didn't drink during the match. Two week self imposed hiatus from the sauce. What am I thinking?

Man Utd v Liverpool in the Champions League, please.

2009-03-16T10:09:00.001Z

I'll cover the Inter game before I discuss our footballing lesson at the hands of Liverpool.

We won 2-0. We were woeful. Yet, we won.

OK, that's the Inter game covered.

Onto Saturday then...

I put a large portion of the blame onto our esteemed manager, who was maybe one too many whiskies down the line when he handed his team sheet in for this one.

Anderson? Seriously? In a game of this magnitude, you pair Carrick and Anderson together, and then decide to supplement that with Ji Sung Park? So basically you're inviting Liverpool onto you, the game after they've just won 4-0 against Read Madrid... Oh and guess what two players appeared in our 2-1 loss at Anfield in September? Anderson and Carrick. Inspired, Sir Alex. I doff my cap to you.

Well, at least you won't have made the mistake of picking Carlos Tevez up front.

Wait... what? YOU HAVE?!

Jesus is weeping openly at this stage.

End result of these choices?

A team devoid of any attacking presence in the centre of midfield, allowing Liverpool to put two players on Ronaldo at all times. The crowd around me loved having a moan about Ronaldo's failures all day, but for all Javier Mascherano's drawbacks he is a fantastic man-marker (his performance against Kaká in Athens was testament to that) and this coupled with Fabio Aurelio forcing the Portuguese inside (something Ronaldo normally revels in) towards the Argentine captain was enough to keep him quiet all day. This freed up acres of space in the centre of the park but sadly Anderson doesn't have the footballing brain to see such a thing and was a passenger for his much too lengthy stay on the pitch.

Anderson has ability, but is having a shocking second season and needs a stint in the reserves to realise the basics once more. Paul Scholes may have played on Wednesday night, but with the space afforded in centre midfield all day, he could have ran the show. So could Ryan Giggs, for that matter, who thrived in a similar game against Chelsea in January.

As for Tevez, well, not much needs to be said. Woeful positionally again, doesn't commit players, doesn't beat enough players and has a disgraceful shooting ability for one so lauded. Sadly, running around aimlessly all day still pushes some fans' buttons.

The back four had a mare. Simple as that. No excuses to be made. It happens. Given the number of games they've excelled in now for two and more years, I won't single any of them out and just say that days like Saturday are few and far between and sadly one came on the worst day possible. If they'd been on top form, we'd have struggled to have kept a superb Torres quiet and off the score sheet.

Rooney was wasted in exactly the same manner as from around 2004 to 2006 (and tellingly in the Anfield fixture this season) as a winger and could do nothing to impact the game, which wasn't his fault as he has never been a winger despite Ferguson's insistence that the biggest games mean playing your best player out of position.

By the time Ferguson made the much needed subs, he messed up again by destroying any shape we still had. It was 2-1 at the time, so no mad panic, but he abandoned all semblance of a formation by removing Michael Carrick, our best player at gelling the team together, Ji Sung Park who was our best player on the day and Tevez, which was his only good decision at any stage in the game. The three subs did the sum total of nothing but I doubt anyone could have in the system we were employing.

Rooney was now moved to the other wing, with Ronaldo suffering the same baffling treatment. Berbatov and Tevez went up front with Scholes and Giggs in midfield. I think. It was hard to tell what was going on before my eyes.

Ferguson's drivel about being the better team was expected, he rarely gets too critical during the season, and hopefully this will be a one off in what could be a season to eclipse 1998-99.

When the Champions League is drawn on Friday, I want Liverpool. I didn't before but now they are the only team I want to see. If we were to put them out of their beloved European Cup, the momentum would have shifted right back to Old Trafford and should put an end to their season. It should be the side that our players and Ferguson want to see, too.

Go on UEFA, rig it. You know you don't want the potential carnage of Man Utd versus Liverpool versus Rome.

I'd even want the second leg at Anfield.

Are three pints enough to see off Liverpool?

2009-03-10T19:11:00.002Z

As promised, Three Pints has chipped in with his thoughts on current affairs surrounding those 'uns from the other end of the East Lancs.

So Mr Pints, I know you fairly well now and your opinions on current events around Anfield but try to outline for us your current state of minds regarding Rafa Benitez and specifically his rant (which can be heard here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZHosq1fxSM – if you need a reminder)...

As things are, Rafa Benitez is not the man to lead Liverpool to a League Title. His choice of football is far too defensive. People sometimes say that Jose won the league with Chelsea being defensive, but this is incorrect. Mourinho is a shrewd operator, and I'd like to see him take the helm at Liverpool. His rant was embarrassing. Whilst a lot of the stuff he said may or may not be true, the fact he came out publically and said it was no good. The effect it had on the players was evident as our form dropped quicker than a prostitutes pants.

The current situation at Anfield is definitely not ideal. Two American owners who don't give a rats ass and a Chief Executive who blocks transfers. Now, United have an American owner that doesn't care, but your manager is in control of absolutely everything. In our situation, Benitez has to ask Parry, and this obviously leads to a lot of friction. Solution? Yanks out, Parry out and Benitez either puts together a proper squad or he gets out too.

In a previous post on your blog, Three Pints, you mention a core of players you believe are vital to Liverpool and that the rest are basically expendable. Who do you blame for this accumulation of poor players? Rumours abound that Rick Parry undermines Benitez at every turn in terms of funds available and on players targeted...

I think the blame for our accumulation of poor players must be shared between both Parry and Benitez. Parry has been known to deny Benitez the funds required to sign the players he wants. An example of this is Gareth Barry (must point out I can't see why we'd swap Alonso for Barry) when Benitez didn't get the man he wanted. However, Benitez is the one who actually signs the dung. Babel, Kuyt, Lucas, Skrtel, Dossena, Benayoun. None of these players are good enough to be League Winners. You only have to look at what Liverpool do when we struggle in a game. United bring on Carlos Tevez, Liverpool bring on Ngog.

Given that Benitez guided you to the top of the table, the argument is there that the squad is good enough. I assume you don't agree, so do you agree with me that this year has seen a fairly poor performance across the board and that Liverpool simply took advantage of that until we found our form?

The only reason Liverpool were top of the league is because of the poor form of the other teams around them. It took you lot quite a while to find form. The fact we were still top after so many home draws is indicative of this. If you want to challenge for a league, you must win all your games at home. This is an absolutely vital part of becoming Champions. You also must impose your style of play on other teams. For instance, when we go away from home, we set out our team as it suits us and the other team sets out theirs to try and counter-act it. Not the other way around. We shouldn't go to other teams and change formation to try and defend against a possible threat. We play our game and force them to change! Manchester United do it, Chelsea did it when they were Champions. Arsenal too. To answer your question, no our squad is not good enough. Out of it, Reina, Agger, Carragher, Gerrard, Alonso, Mascherano (ok, he's having a bad time but the quality is definitely there) and Torres can be considered good enough. The rest need shipped out and the team needs to be built around this spine. We need pacy wingers who aren't afraid to beat their man on the outside (Babel and Kuyt can't do this, they always go inside, Babel especially) and whip in a good ball. We need another GOOD centre forward. Someone to compliment Torres, in an ideal world, David Villa. We need two full backs, and not rubbish ones, I want Rafael and Evra standard please.

You come to Old Trafford hoping to do the league double over us, something you haven't done in a fair while... What team do you think Benitez will go for and would you change it? And what do you think the result will be?

I think we'll not go defensive like we would have if we were above you. We HAVE to win this game (well not really, I consider it over already) so I think we'll set out our stall in the usual manner. 4-5-1. Reina, Carragher, Skrtel, Dossena/Aurelio (Aurelio is the less shit of the two), Arbeloa (I can't remember the injury situation at right back so I'm going with him) at the back. In the middle the usual, Gerrard and Alonso with Mascherano just behind. Kuyt and Riera out wide (yes, apparently Dirk Kuyt is a winger. Go figure). Up top Torres. Torres will be marked out of the game no doubt, by a very much in form United defence. We'll try feeding balls into him and they'll be cut out every time or else he'll get the ball 20 yards from goal with his back to goal and 4 defenders in his way. As for changing it, it's been shown this season that we actually cannot play any other formation successfully, so while I'd love to go 4-4-2 we just cannot do it (the fact we only have one decent striker doesn't help either). Player changes? Tough one. Again, we have no strength in depth, so it's like swapping piss for shit. As for the end result, I'm going to go for a clear win for United. 3-0, just like last time, except this time I really hope that little scrote Nani doesn't score one and Mascherano shuts his mouth.

If you do come away from OT with a win, is your title chase back on? How do you see the league panning out from here?

Even if we do win, it's 4 points with a game in hand for you, so realistically, we are still 7 points behind. I can't see you losing 3 games. No way. If you win, then it is most definitely over - 10 points with a game in hand. Our title challenge is over, and at the time of writing, the match tonight (Tuesday) makes or breaks our season. Get dumped out of the Champions League and this really has been a shitty season (I may go as far to say that even if we win the CL it's been a shit season). As for the league panning out, I see United winning it by some distance. 13, 15 points clear, or something like that.

And finally... The Quintuple – can we do it?

Yes. Who is going to beat you? You are in unstoppable form and it's going to take some seriously bad luck or a serious off day for you to lose. At the very least, you'll clean up domestically and possibly get a bad draw in the Champions League (us :p). Come on Inter Milan, might I add. But in all seriousness, I think the quintuple is most definitely on and you have a good enough squad that you can rotate players to prevent burnout and not compromise quality. The Quintuple is there for you, the only people who will stop you winning it is yourselves.

Well, even I must say, I didn't expect our lad to be as defeatist as this. The Quintuple is never happening in my opinion, but I am glad to see that you've seen through Skrtel for the poor player he is!

You can read more from Three Pints at his blog, www.threepints.co.uk and it's linked from my read blogs section.

I set off early doors tomorrow for Manchester, armed with cider and a Gogs. It could get messy.

Inventive title here or summat.

2009-03-09T15:18:00.000Z

It's been a while since I've had a few minutes to sit down and write out my thoughts but I'll try to keep this brief.

On Wednesday night, I took my chances and took a seat amongst the Geordies at St. James' Park, situated directly below the away end. The chill in the air seemed especially bitter as Van Der Sar made a monumental error to throw away the clean sheet record he was amassing, gifting the ball straight to Lovenkrand's feet as the ex-Rangers player tapped it in. I almost forgot to look happy as the goal went in. The game itself, as many do, blurs for me (yes, cider) but I clearly remember Rooney's shot for the equaliser slamming home and just about stopping myself from exalting the striker, scoring in his fourth start in a row. I'm told that what didn't look too serious from our spot high in the stand when Taylor could have been sent off and that we could have had a penalty, but this was washed away by Berbatov's finish to give us the win. This time I was unable to keep myself under control and jumped from my seat, fist in the air, before catching myself in the nick of time and proclaiming, “For fuck sake, Newcastle”... Ahem.

One thing that should be noted is that on going 1-0 down, our fans were louder than ever and made the Newcastle crowd seem non-existent. This is in stark contrast to the game at the Riverside I covered in my last post. There's a real buzz around the team now that we can and will get ourselves out of anything.

After that game, I found myself downing tequila, Aftershock and Jagerbombs, so you'll forgive any lapses in memorable content from the game.

Fast forward a couple of days, and I was in London for the cup game against Fulham, but sadly I wasn't at the game, rather a weekend away planned a long time ago. I managed to catch the game and was initially worried by more indecision at the back, VDS looking a bit worried on occasion but we soon settled down and a promising Carlos Tevez performance was the icing on the cake for a game that in honesty we sailed through, though again injuries to Ferdinand and O'Shea are worrying. The only thing that kept us from Champions League success two years ago was the crippling injury list to the back line and we are teetering on the edge of that again.

I'm hoping to find time tomorrow to have a word with the writer of Three Pints and ask him a few questions about the upcoming game against Liverpool and where he thinks things have gone wrong. You can read his work at www.threepints.co.uk.

Inter Milan on Wednesday. Someone buy me a new liver.

The Carling Cup comes calling, Liverpool left lamenting

2009-03-02T12:56:00.001Z

Well, the curtain has been drawn on the Carling Cup for another year, and after the stands had emptied, Champagne spilled and the floodlights turned off, it was Manchester United who left the ground as winners.

As the players had strode up the steps to receive the cup, Ben Foster carried on that unusual trait of goalkeepers by leaving his gloves on for the celebrations. Perhaps he was scared of dropping his Man of the Match bottle of bubbly or even the Carling Cup, a trophy notable only for its lack of size. It reminds me of the trophies my father used to bring home after once again winning Player of the Year in his local pool league.

I had my usual cider haze going on that just about dulled the edge of nerves. Actually, I was still essentially sober at kick off. I found it hard to get worked up for this one from the edge of my sofa, a hotel room going to waste down in London as I failed to secure tickets in time, but by the latter stages of the game both my nerves and the Strongbow were running on empty. I made a strange comment, well for me anyway, as the game progressed through extra time, to my girlfriend... “I just can't see us losing this, there's something about us this year.” and even a post made on a forum as I waited for the penalties proclaiming that Tevez would take the first penalty (he didn't), would go the same side he always does (he did) and he would miss (thankfully, he did not) was more said in preparation to be shocked rather than honest belief.

Once again we looked assured at penalties, almost German to use a stereotype, with four excellent spot kicks being enough to seal the win after O'Hara hit a weak spot kick that Foster saved well and the massively disappointing David Bentley failed to even find the target from just 12 yards. It was fitting that Foster had a winning ticket in the lottery of penalties, having kept us in the game twice with smart saves from Aaron Lennon and Darren Bent. The former was especially impressive, having a field day against Patrice Evra who looked at odds with the former Leeds player's direct running at times but once again Lennon's final ball wasn't quite up to scratch.

Overall, the game won't leave too many lingering memories, it wasn't a showcase of fantastic football. There were a couple of talking points along the way... how did John O'Shea stay on the pitch after as blatant a second yellow tackle you'll ever see? What was going through Foy's mind when he booked Ronaldo for clearly being taken down after a good bit of footwork saw him nip the ball away from Ledley King's despairing lunge? A combination of not wanting to send anyone off and fear of being labelled a ref willing to accept Ronaldo's perceived diving I guess. Either way, even these thoughts will fade into the mists of time as there can be little time for panegyric as time moves fast in football these days and the small matter of a game at St. James' Park on Wednesday closes in, a game I do have tickets for in a marathon couple of weeks of football for myself.

I started this off with the pleasure of taking up a seat at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday afternoon, hopeful, but not expectant, that our dear old friends from Teesside could fashion a nail for the Anfield coffin. As always, I had a couple of pints down my neck by the time I took my seat, and was actually reasonably impressed by the Riverside Stadium. It gets a reputation as a soulless, empty bowl but there was good voice on show on this day and the stadium looked full to my eye. The Liverpool fans were located in the stand to my right (as time went on in the game, it became clear that there were also away fans located in the three seats immediately to my right as well as directly behind me) and I could not help but be unimpressed with the so called legendary travelling Kop.

Like most away sides they piped up early on with their biggest songs, You'll Never Walk Alone aka The Celtic Song, Fields of Anfield Road aka a butchered version of the other Celtic song, a couple of other nice ditties before their Torres song, which apparently we stole to sing about John O'Shea. Ahem. Needless to say, not a peep was to be heard once the first goal went in, right in front of their stand, as the woeful Skrtel tried to hide from all around and Xabi Alonso stared to the skies, presumably offering a prayer for the dying title challenge.

The man sitting directly to my right could do nothing but offer muted applause as the locals danced and cheered around him. I assume his mate was trying to be even less conspicuous, wearing an England shirt (Liverpool fans, like our own, famously don't have much time for their national team... although is that now Spain in their case? Yea, they won the Euros, they'll be having some of that then) but his face visibly soured as time pressed on and he disappeared for a while, probably to fill up on some of the familiar Carlsberg on offer from the concourse bar. At full time, the Scouser sat behind me muttered to his mate, “We've just handed the Mancs the title.” which I don't agree with just yet. I even heard one of the Boro fans saying, “The only bad thing about today is helping United”. Bad thing? Wash your mouth out, fella. This was a glorious day. Even as I made my way back into town, I received a text message informing me that Kapo had equalised for Wigan just for Lampard to net an injury time winner I had to smile as it meant Liverpool had dropped to third. Next year will be your year, friends. Next year.

Carling Cup build up - Interview with spooky

2009-02-27T15:24:00.005Z

In preparation for Sunday's Carling Cup Final, I've had a quick chat with spooky, a fellow blogger who is reaching moderate levels of infamy amongst his fellow Yids for his satirical (we think) letters and posts to Daniel Levy, chairman at Tottenham Hotspur. Not afraid to call a spade a c**t, how does spooky feel as the game draws closer?

First of all, you're an absolute bastard for getting tickets for Sunday. I found out today that if I'd logged on to the net last night after 11pm, I'd have been able to get two tickets but they've since gone. Gutted, I tell thee.

So how important is this match to you? Redknapp obviously thinks it matters more than the UEFA Cup...

spooky: It's a Cup Final, even if it isn't a proper Cup Final. It's important because we are at Wembley and its pretty horrid to lose (even if we have rather apologetically got there). Doesn't fill me with pride like last seasons run. And as for Harry, he sees this as an opportunity to claim silverware, so he can double it up with the 'miracle escape from relegation with a bare bones squad' and call SSN up to discuss it in more detail. We had to rest everyone on Thursday because any injuries would have made it more difficult than it already is to overcome Utd. Ironically, a strong team might have won through.

Winning the UEFA Cup = UEFA Cup football next season
Winning the Milk Cup = No European football next season

It's all a distraction anyways. Premier league games are playing out like miniature Cup finals at the minute. At least that's what my heart is telling me.

From our side, we have no clue who to expect in certain positions. Darron Gibson has been promised a starting place, sigh, and Anderson played 45 minutes of a reserve game yesterday and is expected to feature at some point. We expect Welbeck to play up front, maybe with Tevez or Rooney. The backline maybe picks itself due to injury though. Who do you expect to start for Spurs on Sunday? Can Campbell play, or is he ineligible?

spooky: Dawson and Woodgate I hope. Not sure how fit King is, so its all dependent on the injections his knee gets prior to Sunday. Corluka will probably play. And possibly BAE. Any variation won't do much in scaring the Utd frontline. If that frontline includes first teamers. Campbell can't play. He has hardly figured this season for us. Looks a livewire when he cameos but not in our plans it would seem for the all important league games.

Regardless of the team selected, I can see our lot 'turning up' and having a go because its a Cup final. Expect Bentley to have a stormer.

Hahaha, I crack myself up, I really do.

If you do win on Sunday, can you see it having a knock-on effect and having the impact to finally push you away from the relegation battle? Surely you fall into the clichéd category of “Too good to go down”?

spooky: Last time out, it had the opposite effect and the players stopped playing all the way up to Ramos exit and Redknapp's arrival. We do have the quality to see us safe, I don't expect us to re-visit the bottom 4 or 5 positions now. However, the fundamental problem at Spurs remains the culture of failure that Carrick mentioned when he left us for your lot. Spurs shouldn't need a Cup Final to inspire them. In fact, they will probably not bother that much if they win it because, you know, we'll be Milk Cup double winners, innit. Open bus parade time.

Much of our title aspirations this year and over the last couple of years has been helped massively by Michael Carrick, a player who doesn't seem to get as much animosity as our newest Spurs old boy, a player I used to refer to as a gormless Geordie but who is now much improved and one of my favourite players at Man Utd. How do you think he has done since his move?

spooky: He's done good. Model professional. Unlike Berbatov was pretty much up front and honest about things, and as much as it hurt for him to point out what we all knew but chose to ignore, he left because he had to. And he has been proved right. In a dream world all these players would still be at Spurs and we'd have a splendid side, but in reality, they know to shift on out.

Even off the back of two good seasons under Jol, he felt there wasn't something quite right at the club. Sums it up. Of course, others will just tell you he left because he wanted instant success which Utd could offer him.

Modern day footballers are never going to remain loyal if there's a better offer on the table.

Like I said, he's done good. But at Spurs, the illusion would make him even better as he'd orchestrate play from midfield. We got less of the world class and more of the ordinary down our way at the minute.

Lastly how do you think the rest of the season will pan out for both teams? Are the bookies right that we're set to dominate the world? Will shrewd 'Arry do the business yet again?

spooky: Utd will win the title. Not sure about the Champions League, although English clubs will probably share the final again. Utd v Liverpool just for larks.

Us lot will survive to once more grace the Prem next season, where I expect Harry to last till around Christmas before we appoint our next messiah.

You can read more from spooky on his own blog at www.dearmrlevy.com or by clicking his link in my blog list on right!

Inter Milan fail to impress and Benitez betting suspended

2009-02-25T12:41:00.001Z

Ah Fergie, you sly old dog. You did it again. Sure enough, come match time, there was Jonny Evans lining up at centre-back with O'Shea slotting in at right back. Although Evans did begin to struggle towards the end, it was academic as once again the hugely overrated Ibrahimovic failed to turn up when it really mattered and Adriano looked the slow, ponderous waster he has long been. The much lauded Maicon, who has also never been anything more than average, was made to look ordinary once again by decent opposition. It was the old hands who kept Inter in this game early on as Woody Harrelson, er, I mean Esteban Cambiasso produced an outstanding performance constantly doing just enough to dampen our attacks.

The strangest choice of the night seemed to be Berbatov up front on his own and the Bulgarian struggled all night to cope with most of his best working coming through earning free kicks. Ronaldo was also on the end of a lot of niggling fouls, especially in the first half when he gave young full back Santon a torrid time as we dominated but couldn't find that elusive goal. Inter looked a new team in the second half and pressed hard early on with Adriano guilty of missing a sitter. The Milan bench huffed and puffed about the referee, substitute goalkeeper Toldo getting booked for his moaning, but in reality he had a good game, stamping down on the Italian's penchant for kicking ankles all game long. He did book Rooney for a fantastic tackle, showing that even a good ref isn't above letting reputations go before players, but all in all he had a good showing.

Taking a 0-0 back to Old Trafford is scary, knowing a score draw will see us out, but we showed last night that we're a class above Inter Milan and should be impose our game on them in the second leg, we should progress.

Breaking news at the moment is the decision by leading bookmakers to suspend betting on Rafael Benitez leaving Liverpool. Has this been caused by opportunist punters putting two and two together and getting five, with regards to Rafa's activities while in Madrid for his Champions league match or is there more to it? I can't see him leaving just yet, it may well be a carefully thought-out plot to once more strengthen his hand in contract negotiations. He is hell-bent on securing total control at Liverpool before he will stay, something surely no one would grant someone with his transfer record and bottling mentality.

Berbatov to play at centre back?

2009-02-24T12:30:00.000Z

We go into this week's game with the weight of knowing that there is an unsettling recent trend of the reigning champions going out of the Champions League in the last sixteen.

We also go in with the knowledge that we're going to have to shut up shop with a makeshift defence as Ferguson's gamble to get Evans back into the swing of games went badly wrong as his bad ankle has once again flared up. He has travelled to Italy but didn't take part in training yesterday. John O'Shea did take some part in light training but it is by no means a certainty that he will start the game this evening. The number of different possibilities Ferguson will be debating aren't breathtaking in their stature; a game for young Richard Eckersley isn't an impossible scenario if O'Shea fails to make it. Darren Fletcher may slot into right back as he has done in the past. One caller to MUTV last night brought up the fact that Berbatov played at centre-back for Bayer Leverkusen on occasion but I think it's a safe bet that he'll be up the other end of the park. I personally hope Sir Alex puts his faith in Fabio but his attacking style may be seen as too cavalier for a fixture of this magnitude.

The game itself is unpredictable. The footballing romantic in me says we should accept our defensive frailties and try to exploit Inter's by taking them on, all guns blazing. They are missing Walter Samuel and it appears Santon, the young full back, will play. They're going for a solid midfield, if Jose's team announcement is to be believed, by playing Muntari and Cambiasso. Adriano and Ibrahimovic are expected to lead the line.

However, the old head says that we'll go 4-5-1 and see Rooney pushed out to the left once more in Europe with Giggs, Scholes and Carrick under orders to keep the midfield very tight. There's also an argument to play Park for his tracking back, but I can't see where he fits in with the necessity to keep things tight. We may go for a four man midfield, in fact I hope we do, but I can really see Ferguson wanting to afford a great amount of protection to his makeshift back line.

I think the team will know that a draw would be an excellent result and an away goal is extremely desirable but avoiding a loss will hand advantage right back to us. We will also be looking to avoid any more niggling injuries with a cup final to play at the weekend and a couple of juicy league games in the pipeline.

RAWK - the internet's biggest hypocrites.

2009-02-21T19:51:00.002Z

Let's get straight to it... Should Ronaldo have been sent off?

Nah, don't be stupid, if he'd been stopped and booked for the kick out, he wouldn't have been involved for the build up to the move that saw him dive. Yes though, that dive was an absolute joke. Cut that crap out. No need for it, you have so much ability.

Our friends over at RAWK, who for some reason again take umbrage at our singing “Are you watching Merseyside?” despite the fact that they are glued to their televisions watching the same game and openly back their team for their songs about us because they're in the title race.

Make no doubt about it, RAWK are an embarrassment to other Liverpool fans and I think the majority know that. Their forum is essentially the joke of Liverpool and other good Liverpool forums such as On The Kop generally admit that.

One good example?

http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=237648.msg5416851#msg5416851

Ferguson, the Nazi. You couldn't make it up.

Back to the game, another supposedly contentious decision in the game is Pedersen's decision to dive when clean through. Sorry, open your eyes, there is absolutely minimal contact and anyone who thinks that is a penalty is a pathetic soul who buys into Platini's hopes for a sterile game, devoid of any contact.

On our side, PIG showed why he isn't the man for the job. His decision to come for the ball that Blackburn ultimately scored from was a huge mistake. I think it is safe to say that Foster will start the Carling Cup Final if VDS is dropped.

I'm currently posting this from a Nokia 3330, as Berbatov has ended my dreams of a rich lifestyle.

United line up minus Van Der Sar and Vidic

2009-02-21T17:25:00.003Z

A surprise Man Utd team takes to the field tonight, with the two main defensive stalwarts this season absent. Vidic is banned for the game at the San Siro, which obviously explains his inclusion and shows how brave Ferguson is when it comes to challenging for the Champions League.

Did the Chelsea and Arsenal results help dictate his decision?

Very important decisions.

Live by the sword, die by the sword.

Dimitar, can I stay with you for a while?

2009-02-21T12:44:00.002Z

As I type, Villa and Chelsea are preparing to take the field in what is seen as a crunch match for both; Chelsea fail to win and it's curtains on their title ambitions, Villa lose and perhaps their top four ambitions are just too high. Hiddink will undoubtedly have his side well up for the fight and I find it hard to see past a Chelsea win here. A very telling stat about Villa is that they have only used 19 players so far this league campaign. If you can maintain a consistent side with a few quality players (which they have in Ashley Young, Laursen, Friedel, Barry) then you can hold your own in this league but going for the likes of Emile Heskey at the expense of John Carew is baffling.

We play Blackburn in the late game in what always seems like a tough fixture but we've had the best out of Blackburn in the last few games, including Tevez scoring four in a league cup game earlier this year. I can't see this game being anything like so open and one goal could very well be enough to win this for either side. I have a feeling that Berbatov's going to score today. Bet your house on it, if you didn't lose it in the credit crunch.

Gary Neville's signed a new contract. I'd guess it is a contract offered out of honouring an old hand and showing his influence around the club, rather than the contract being earned on the pitch as was the case with Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. I'm glad to have him still around the team though, his passion is a vital component of a team with the kind of run in we have coming up and knowing he'll be around for another year at least will surely aid young Rafael and Fabio.

If I don't appear after tonight, it's because I've had the flat repossessed because a certain Bulgarian has lost me everything. Fingers crossed, eh?

Five points clear at a canter

2009-02-19T13:10:00.003Z

A very comfortable win at Old Trafford last night in a game that saw Paul Scholes rolling back the years with an excellent performance in a crowded midfield.

His goal will remind many of his stunning strike against Bradford all those years ago when Beckham picked him out on the edge of the area from a corner and the Ginger Prince hit what is possibly the best goal of his career, though Scholes himself claims his best is his volley against Villa a couple of years back. Schwarzer should have done better but it is always wise to test a goalkeeper early doors and this clear unsettled the normally reliable Aussie.

The second goal was another master class by Scholes, streaming the ball wide to the right with the most beautiful of passes with the outside of his right boot, before a brief passage of play that saw the ball eventually finding its way across the box for Berbatov to tap in, albeit via another Schwarzer howler as he completely misjudged the ball in.

By this point the game was over and both teams seemed happy enough to play out the rest of the game at a leisurely pace. On another day Berbatov would be disappointed to have missed a couple of good chances but they were academic here.

Wayne Rooney's long awaited return was capped with a goal only seconds after joining the action, as Ji Sung Park's woefully miscued shot turned into the perfect cross for the returning forward tom ghost through the away defence and tap in at the back post. His return will be a worry for Carlos Tevez who has not taken his chance to claim a spot in the team with too many poor performances and little goal return.

There were a couple of shouts for handballs against Vidic in the box, one looking ominous but on replay was probably too high up to hold him at any fault, but other than that there was no real trouble for Van Der Sar as the back four extended the record of league clean sheets to 14 in a row. We have also won the last ten games in all competitions since losing at Pride Park in the first leg of the Carling Semi.

One bookie is already paying out on the domestic treble, which in my opinion is ridiculous business but shows just how strongly we are viewed at present. The next few weeks can really make or break our season.

Mind games ahoy

2009-02-17T14:23:00.000Z

The mind games are already in full bloom it seems. Ferguson has said that Darron Gibson has played his way into the Carling Cup Final team. Surely a wind up? He does realise that Spurs aren't quite as bad as Derby, yes?

Speaking of mind games, Rafa has once again felt the need to talk about us, despite being annoyed when Ferguson talks about them. Apparently we spend economy busting levels of cash on transfers, eclipsing their paltry yearly spend, making their relative position utterly astounding and proving that Señor Benitez is certainly the best manager ever to have graced our league with his presence. Either that or he's publicly airing his CV in a hope that a certain team from the Bernabeu (or the Nou Camp, as hilariously reported by the Daily Mail yesterday) will see that he is reluctant to sign a new contract at Anfield and he would appreciate a counter offer to force the Liverpool owners' hands. Either way, a quick look on http://transferleague.co.uk/ puts his arguments firmly to bed, even if those sites are afforded a little leeway on their guestimates of transfer figures.

Net spend is a common phrase you'll here coming from Liverpool fans. The basic premise behind this is that you're allowed to buy crud players if you subsequently make a profit or break even on that player. With that criterion, Dong was the best purchase of all time, given the influx of money it brought us from the 1.4 billion occupants of his native China.

The poll actually exists now. Bit of a technical glitch yesterday or I forgot to put it in, whatever you want to believe.

Much love!

Crap Players Score Day

2009-02-16T12:33:00.001Z

I must say, once again I was a little bemused by the starting XI against Derby yesterday, but this time we did it with minimal fuss.

To my eyes, the main difference between this game and the first leg of the Carling Cup tie was that the hunger we clearly lacked that night was back with gusto. In the previous game we seemed too reliant on Derby being overawed and expected our reputation to do the work but this time out we saw none of that lax attitude.

Ronaldo was shifted to a more central role, presumably to give him a few more sights on goal and up his surely waning confidence. Personally I think he needs games on the right, which is where he has always done the most damage for us and where Ferguson seems at pain to play him of late. As it turned out, he was virtually anonymous for the entire 90 minutes, partly down to Robbie Savage and partly down to his own lack of form. He did smack the wall his customary couple of times, one setting up a goal rather fortuitously, but that was about it except for a very well taken header when he jogged clear of his marker from an early second half corner.

Again the engine of the team was the mercurial Ryan Giggs, playing in a playmaker role on paper but deeper and more strict on position in reality. Alongside him, the normally woeful Darron Gibson was promoted to the stature of average-at-best. Park worked hard, as always, but lacked any real outlet. The biggest surprise of the day for me was Nani, who outshone his Portuguese counterpart all day, scoring another well taken goal and troubling his full back quite a bit.

The back line did well, but that annoying habit of conceding when we're coasting crept in once more. Winning 1-0 keeps our backline vigilant, but giving them a cushion seems to do them no favours and Derby's goal was all too easy as Addison put a good header out of Ben Foster's reach to threaten a brief revival.

Danny Welbeck's goal to finally seal the game will have reminded onlooking pundit and ex-United player Teddy Sheringham of many of his own goals.

So not a startling performance, but we did control the game with a make shift midfield and were never really in trouble except for a brief spell after Derby's goal which we rode out with aplomb.

The draw sees us away to either Swansea or Fulham which, while not being the hardest draw possible, will not be an easy game but one we should be able to progress from. In a busy period of the season (the game is flanked by games against Spurs in the Carling Cup Final and Newcastle just before, with Inter Milan and Liverpool just after) we have to wonder if we'll again see another one of Ferguson's baffling line-ups.

Next up is Fulham in the latest in a long line of 'must wins'.

Coming up over the next week I'm going to have a brief chat with spooky from DearMrLevy.com about being our feeder team and March 1st's Cup Final.

Take a moment to vote in my poll.

Manchester United 1 - 1 Chelsea

2009-02-12T14:40:00.000Z

What an incredible game, mostly for the complete lack of ability on both sides. Never have I seen a midfield so continually bypassed when there is so much quality on both sides in that department.

Chelsea's decision to go with one up top, Anelka, probably helped them to only have about ten offsides in comparison to the twenty incurred on our side. Also, their style of everyone attack, everyone defend was a strange sight to behold, as their entire team moved en masse up and down the field of play as the home team's players stayed relatively in their set positions.

It was no surprise when Anelka headed in the first after a scrappy free-for-all in the United penalty area following a corner but after this it was the team in red who started to control matters and set up wave after wave of attack, sadly with the normal result of a certain C Ronaldo (playing on the left) being at least ten yards offside when put through.

Half time came and went and the set pattern continued. Attack up the wing, offside. Attack, long ball, offside.

When the equaliser finally did come, it was from an inexplicable challenge from Deco just inside the box on a man nowhere near the ball, and Ronaldo kept his calm to slot the penalty just past Petr Cech's stationary body as he clearly expected the Portuguese to go down the middle.

Despite a couple more chances for both teams, the game ended in a stalemate and a few muffled cries of “well played at the end lads” and “should've 'ad 'em”.

The sad thing is, I'll go back for more, even with this terrible style of play.

Oh yes, and I was controlling Michael Carrick.

I'm talking about FIFA09 BAP, by the way. Should have mentioned that.

I've been driving in my car...

2009-02-11T12:06:00.002Z

International weeks. Not a fan. International friendlies? Hate with a passion.

I must say that I am glad that Michael Carrick is finally getting the recognition that he deserves for his current form but it always worries me when our players go off to play for their countries. It always seems a rare occurrence for all involved to return unscathed.

The break is allowing Chelsea to close in on assuring that Guus Hiddink will be the man to see out their season. He does have some international concerns to handle with Russia, but games against Liechtenstein and Azerbaijan should be formalities. He does have knowledge of Europe after a good spell with PSV and should be much more at home in league football than Scolari was. Hope not, obviously. His first task will be to reunify the troops and if he does that, I feel Chelsea could be right back snapping on the heels of the top two as things stand.

Another Man Utd player has fallen foul of car related matters. Tevez decided to take his pimped out Bentley for a spin only to be pulled over for having over-tinted windows. Then when asked to produce his driving licence he was forced to admit that he doesn't actually have one. Sigh. Footballers, eh?

Please take a moment to check out the blogs that I read from the menu on the right. You've got a decent selection already with a fellow Man Utd supporter (As I See It), a Liverpool fan (Three Pints) and long suffering Spurs fan spooky's excellent Dear Mr Levy.

Chelsea Dagger... in the back

2009-02-09T16:56:00.002Z

In what no one can really call a surprise move, given Roman Abramovich's past history with managers, Big Phil is already seeking new employment.

He took a very strong Chelsea side, who were two games away from achieving what we did last season, and has single-handedly destroyed team spirit and ruined that knack of winning that Chelsea had built up.

One can only assume the successor is already known in theory, although a firing at this stage gives Chelsea a couple of weeks to find a replacement as surely the FA Cup game at the weekend will be a formality for Chelsea.

Add these to your tick list, Roman:

1. Has managed a club team in Europe

Actually, that's about it for now, anyone with that experience could surely have guided a squad such as Chelsea's to loftier peaks at this stage of the season.

Already I've seen a Zola/Clarke combination mentioned... that's so utterly laughable, the top teams would piss themselves laughing should that happen.

At this stage my money's on Hiddink...

Top again after a one nill hammering

2009-02-09T11:00:00.002Z

A busy weekend at the top of the table and not one for the faint of heart.

Saturday seemed to be going almost perfectly as Chelsea stumbled to a 0-0 draw with Hull at Stamford Bridge after another average performance. The late kick off saw Liverpool field a strange starting XI, including six defenders and leaving Alonso and Torres on the bench. Ultimately, the weakened team prevailed (after Alonso and Torres had entered proceedings) but not before Liverpool had twice gone behind to a battling Portsmouth side. Sadly the way Liverpool got back into the game was by way of the weekly capitulation by the Fratton Park side, which has now cost Adams his job. An inexplicable Crouch pass back essentially forced James into handling and Niko Kranjcar made a woeful attempt at a block of the subsequent free kick on the near post. The second Liverpool goal saw the once solid Distin fluff his lines and allow the industrious Kuyt to hammer in a near post shot that James should have done better with. The winner saw Torres ghost into the box unmarked to guide a sublime header past James, although again James should have done more.

By the time our game came into focus on Sunday evening, the North London Derby had already finished 0-0, with Arsenal now looking a forgotten figure in any title race.

Our squad was without Rooney and Evra who had both been tipped to at least make the bench but a solid looking midfield of Scholes, Giggs and Carrick looked like being the difference in a game between two of the form teams in the Premier League at present. West Ham are now playing some excellent passing football and Carlton Cole in current form has earned his place in the England squad (which also included Michael Carrick, finally) and they played some of the best football I've seen against us this season. They could have gone ahead had Cole chosen to put his laces through it instead of trying a cute dink over Van Der Sar from an unlikely angle. Neither keeper had an awful lot to do during the game, in honesty, and it was a game fought out primarily to stalemate in the middle of the park. Kudos must go to Behrami who confused and infuriated Ronaldo in equal measure. The turning point was a piece of individual excellence from an old hand, as Ryan Giggs (looking suspiciously offside but level on a replay) feigned twice to hit with his favoured left peg as he jinked into the box before sliding a right footed shot through the crowded box leaving Green with just too much to do. The goal means that the Welshman has now scored in all 17 Premier League seasons, and the travelling Manchester contingent soon piped up with a rendition of “He's won it ten times”, in homage to his unmatched number of top flight victories as a player. A late penalty shout aside from the away team and that was that, with our 85th 1-0 of the season wrapped up.

The coming fortnight starting on Sunday is vital, with an FA Cup tie, two league games and the return of the Champions League all to play in little over a week. With Rooney and Evra set to return, we should be bolstered going into these fixtures with more depth to pick from and we'll need that at this vital stage in the season.

Munich - The Anniversary - 51 years on

2009-02-06T11:13:00.002Z

It was on this day, 51 years ago, that the saddest event in the history of this fine club took place. I need not go into great detail about those events as they are well known and well chronicled elsewhere. I'd advise anyone who only knows fleeting details or who just wants to remember that day in greater depth to read Munich58.co.uk and thebusbybabes.com. It is never too late and you are never too old to read about the events of the sixth of February, 1958.

The poignant, honest words of the Flowers of Manchester ring true once more today and everyone, whatever club you support, should read this at least once on this day.

The Flowers of Manchester

One cold and bitter Thursday in Munich, Germany,
Eight great football stalwarts conceded victory,
Eight men will never play again who met destruction there,
The flowers of English football, the flowers of Manchester.

Matt Busby's boys were flying, returning from Belgrade,
This great United family, all masters of their trade,
The pilot of the aircraft, the skipper Captain Thain,
Three times they tried to take off and twice turned back again.

The third time down the runaway disaster followed close,
There was slush upon that runaway and the aircraft never rose,
It ploughed into the marshy ground, it broke, it overturned.
And eight of the team were killed as the blazing wreckage burned.

Roger Byrne and Tommy Taylor who were capped for England's side.
And Ireland's Billy Whelan and England's Geoff Bent died,
Mark Jones and Eddie Colman, and David Pegg also,
They all lost their lives as it ploughed on through the snow.

Big Duncan he went too, with an injury to his brain,
And Ireland's brave Jack Blanchflower will never play again,
The great Matt Busby lay there, the father of his team
Three long months passed by before he saw his team again.

The trainer, coach and secretary, and a member of the crew,
Also eight sporting journalists who with United flew,
and one of them Big Swifty, who we will ne'er forget,
the finest English 'keeper that ever graced the net.

Oh, England's finest football team its record truly great,
its proud successes mocked by a cruel turn of fate.
Eight men will never play again, who met destruction there,
the flowers of English football, the flowers of Manchester .

I always find it a powerful piece because it does not hide from the brutality of events, nor does it try to add glamour and seek undue sympathy for those who were lost or hurt. It simply says it as it is.

It is easy to wax lyrical about the Busby Babes, to claim them as the best English club team of all time, to say that they had the world at their feet and that they would have become the best team in the world. I won't go down that route, because the truth is we will never know and I don't think a single player who died that day would have made such a claim, such was the mindset Sir Matt Busby instilled into them. Be confident, but not pompous. It is for people of that time to hold such discussions and they all seem to agree that this was a team destined for great things, especially young Duncan Edwards, and that is enough for me to know.

So on a day where we should stop to think, I will end my post with what is probably the most famous picture remaining of those who perished in the snow.

The best form of attack is defence

2009-02-03T11:14:00.001Z

Ten goals. That is the sum total that we have conceded in the league so far this season, 23 games in. That is a truly outstanding record considering the defensive issues we have had to face, starting with the loss of break up man Hargreaves and spiralling downwards from there. We have seen the blossoming of Rafael Da Silva and Jonny Evans into players who can hold their own at the very top. The fact that they are aged 18 and 21 respectively goes to show just how astonishing that is. We can also factor in the appearance of Rafael's brother, Fabio, who has looked the better player in the younger teams since their arrival at Old Trafford from Fluminense, where they never made a first team appearance.

Nemanja Vidic has been the rock that everything has been built around, which is huge credit to a man who looked off his game at the start of the season, indeed to the point where I was asking for the inclusion of Evans ahead of the Serb. As Rio's back problems flared up, Vidic took on the role of main man with aplomb and has turned in gargantuan performances time after time.

Between the sticks we have the much maligned (from our rivals, mostly) Edwin Van Der Sar, who is apparently past it and a weak link. I don't think that really needs much input from me as the statistics speak for themselves at this point. Twelve league games. 1,122 minutes. The benefits of having a presence like Van Der Sar are so much more than basic goalkeeping ability. He is a natural, albeit calmer, successor to Peter Schmeichel and Ferguson knows he is the keeper he should have moved earth for in 1999 when the Great Dane decided to find new challenges. The Dutchman commands his area, organises his back four fantastically and always seems to pick the best time to reassure or to berate. The fact that he is also a great shot stopper is overlooked by far too many. I, for one, certainly wouldn't replace him with anyone else in the league at the moment.

In the coming weeks we can look forward to the return of Rafael, Fabio, Evra, Evans and also to relative old hands like Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown coming back to full fitness. This kind of competition for places should only serve to sharpen the focus at Old Trafford, and while we will surely concede soon in the league, we can be fairly certain it won't be too often between now and the end of the season.

In a team where most of the focus lies on Ronaldo, Berbatov, Tevez and Rooney, we will have the defensive contingent to thank should we go on to lift the title this year. While the forwards have often struggled to finish teams off, grinding out so many 1-0 victories, the back line have been steadfast and resolute. Don't think this hasn't been noticed, there is a real camaraderie at Old Trafford that I don't see in other teams at present, with Aston Villa the only exception, at the top of the league. This could prove so vital to proceedings.

I'll say it one more time. Ten goals.

The Rafalution - has the Spanish waiter delivered it on a plate?

2009-01-29T12:12:00.000Z

Let me state something at the start of this post. I've said since early in his time there Rafael Benitez will never win the league with Liverpool.

Two months ago I started to worry that I was going to eat my words and it is still a distinct possibility as I refuse to accept the media outcries that the league is done and dusted. Chelsea simply have too much quality about them, Aston Villa just won't go away and Liverpool could turn it around again.

However, at this stage I believe that the league will be fought out between ourselves and Chelsea, as I believed all along (worries aside). Chelsea have good strength in depth and have the goals across their team to make up for their internal wranglings with Drogba.

But how did Liverpool get to the top of the league? Well, quite honestly it was through massive amounts of luck. They took advantage of dips in form of both Man Utd and Chelsea, but they themselves were not playing good football. One of their main success stories this season has been very similar to one of ours, Xabi Alonso has been in fantastic form mirroring our own Michael Carrick. He has controlled games for Liverpool and without him they lack cohesion across the park. I've found myself being very critical of Javier Mascherano since he signed for Liverpool. For a central midfield player of his stature in the game, his passing is quite simply atrocious and is too prone to be dragged out of position. Alonso is gifted with that rare ability to see passes where others would see nothing and his long overdue return to form has been the push Liverpool needed.

It says a lot that Liverpool were eager to sell Alonso during the summer and bring in the much more limited Gareth Barry.

Benitez's style can be summed in up one word. Stubborn. He is determined to show that like Wenger (who is now suffering from a similar stubbornness) before him he can impose his preferred style onto a league and have it flourish and to hell with those who say it can't. If it worked at Valencia, then damn you all, it will work at Liverpool. Two deep midfielders whenever possible, yet seemingly reluctant to play two proper wingers in the space the midfield set-up affords him. One striker is also a common mistake, though this may be down in part to his ineptitude at signing strikers. He quite simply can't pick them, Torres as the exception, but then we were courting him as well so Rafa could be fairly certain that we knew he was good enough, so he probably would be.

His treatment of Robbie Keane is extraordinary. If you don't want him, sell him. If you do want him, play him. In last night's game he finally felt it was time to introduce Keane after Wigan equalised and to the surprise of everyone, it was Gerrard he replaced. He had taken Torres off much earlier, though Torres was having a shocking game, still seemingly hampered by lack of match fitness.

So what does Benitez need to do, in my opinion?

1)Drop Skrtel, play Agger. It's so important to have a defender who's comfortable on the ball and Agger is. Skrtel is a very limited player and will never flourish alongside an equally limited ball player in Carragher and Carragher is basically undroppable.
2)Give your two central midfielders more scope to attack OR get two proper wingers
3)Two up front. If that means playing Gerrard in the hole, then do that at all times.
4)Sell Robbie Keane.

Do that, and you'll find yourself doing much better, Señor.
At this point I feel that his position at Liverpool is somewhat untenable. He clearly isn't a good enough tactician to take Liverpool where their fans want to be, and only their fans' blind devotion to him keeps him employed. I doubt his recent contract offer would have been forthcoming if the owners weren't desperate to ingratiate themselves to the fans. The fans' devotion stems from one thing only, the winning of the Champions League in 2005, the worst thing that could have happened to Liverpool Football Club at that stage. Now the fans have false hope in Benitez's ability.

Would he still be there if he hadn't won it?

Don't kid yourself.

In Rafa we trust.

West Brom - beaten with Style(s)? No, not at all.

2009-01-28T12:14:00.002Z

I think everyone can agree that Rob Styles helped us immensely last night and, if we're perfectly honest, something should be done about a refereeing performance like that.

It all started with the game being put back thirty minutes to allow our fans to arrive. Without them, Styles surely wouldn't have felt NEARLY as pressured as he did, and so would have allowed Paul Robinson to stay on the pitch for his “tackle” on Ji Sung Park. We should all ignore the fact that Park was already to ground when Robinson finished his 30 yard dash with a flying lunge, catching the South Korean hard on the ribs leaving the returning winger prostrate. After looking around for some opinion on the red, I've found that Baggies' fans are divided in opinion, many accepting that the tackle was both late and reckless while some are peddling the age old myth that winning the ball removes any aspect of foul play. It doesn't. Winning the ball does not take away the foul element, as much as those ignorant to the rules of the game may well wish it to be. For me, it was possibly a harsh red but anyone who knows the game also must accept that on making that challenge he knew that he stood a chance of walking as soon as he left the ground. The fact that his trailing leg was grounded before making contact makes no different. It did leave the ground as Robinson threw himself in with all his weight.

Now that I've covered what was the most contentious issue of the night, might I rewind to what could have been had we not notched up the victory. As Gary Neville strode into the area, Chris Brunt took down the right back as Neville flicked the ball to his right to eye up a cross. This incident has passed by essentially without any real coverage or controversy, even though it would have put us 2-0 up and coasting before any red card (Brunt wasn't denying a clear goalscoring opportunity for me so he would have remained on the park). The touch Neville had on the ball to line up a cross was probably seen by the linesman as a touch from Brunt (Styles was unsighted), erroneously.

In honesty, there could have been a couple of early yellows for Vidic and Ferdinand, but both at a stage when Styles was trying to let the game flow. Perhaps the penalty decision would also have been given if it had occurred later in the game? One can only speculate.

Once Robinson had left the stage, the game became much more one-sided. The home faithful booed Park, for reason unbeknownst, but were only met with a free kick given in his favour towards the corner flag. Giggs provided the ammunition, Carson provided the clanger and Tevez put it in for 2-0 and essentially game over. Carson's first instinct was sadly all too familiar with keepers these days as he sought a foul for what he saw as obstruction or an elbow to his body. That elbow obstruction was provided by his own defender, though even that contact was not nearly enough to cause the spill from the ex-Liverpool stopper. He argued his point at half time, as another West Brom player requested Tevez's shirt, a strange scene to occur at the break.

West Brom were spirited when they came out for the second half and a Donk shot smashed against the woodwork as Van Der Sar surely thought the record was gone.

Soon after though the game was totally put to bed as Vidic stole in unmarked at a corner to head past Carson. The fourth goal saw good work from Giggs (who continues to bely his years) as he played a neat ball to Ronaldo to glide through the static defence and bag a much needed goal for the Portuguese player.

There was more faux-controversy soon after as an “offside” Berbatov, who actually timed his run perfectly, strode clear from the home team, looked to have lost momentum but then did well to time his pass to an “offside” Ronaldo, who also timed his run perfectly, to nutmeg Carson and end the rout. Of course, the WBA players did their evening long trick of complaining to Styles about it as the crowd cried foul.

All talk today seems to be about how Styles favoured us all game long but the facts just don't add up. The first really big decision was the penalty, which he got wrong in West Brom's favour, though he was unsighted. The second was the sending off, which by the letter of the law was absolutely correct. The third was the so called offside goal, which he and his assistant got right and the timing of the runs made that very difficult. The linesman should actually be praised for getting such a decision right, but it just isn't in football fans' nature to be so inclined.

The on-going issue was the way Styles handled the constant barracking from the home players, clearly riled up by their perceived injustices. Once he started booking players for dissent, he was left with no option but to continue, so it somewhat begs belief that Baggies players continued to constantly chirp away at the referee, knowing what was coming. I guess it is sometimes easier to play the victim when you're underperforming, but Mowbray will surely try to drum such behaviour from his team for the upcoming struggle to retain a Premier League place. They could have been down to nine men after Roman Bednar's “you're crazy” gesture to the referee after he was brandished with a yellow card for ignoring the whistle and putting the ball in the net, somewhat defiantly.

I stand by my start to this post where I stated that something must be done about that refereeing performance. That something should be praise for not being intimidated by the home crowd. Too many referees are accused of cheating, corruption and bias against the top clubs (especially us) but the facts speak for themselves. We get less penalties given against us because our defenders are better. We get more decisions in our favour because we force lesser players into committing errors.

Referees make mistakes. No one complains about those that work in their favour but demand blood for those that go against. Last night, what should have been the main one went against us. We still won 5-0. Were you watching Merseyside?

The Battle of Wounded Knee Part II

2009-01-27T11:38:00.001Z

Ok, so my title isn't accurate for all involved, but you get my point. It's another day, another game. That seems to be the pattern at the moment. It was interesting to see Mowbray on the telly this morning pointing out that West Brom are struggling to get a team out, with up to twelve first teamers missing for tonight's game. I sympathise, Tony, but not too much. We can see each one of your injuries and raise you, though I doubt that our struggle to win the league compares to their battle for survival in their eyes.

We go into the game with the possibility of breaking the clean sheet match record, which would be extended to eleven games. Normally West Brom would be the ideal club to have a game like this against but the injuries once again make team selection difficult. Everton at the weekend will be a tough game, though they may have the Merseyside derby next week in mind, so we'd be looking to keep key players for that fixture, but can we? There's talk that Ronaldo may be held back for that match, with Nani and Tosic starting tonight. That would suit me just fine. I'd also keep at least one of Tevez or Berbatov on the bench with Saturday's match in mind, and if the choice was mine that would be Tevez. His industry would be more helpful against a tough Everton back four if he was totally fresh and raring to go.

Anyone of you nice readers have a pair of tickets for the Carling Cup Final going spare?

Nah...?

Thought not.

Kanchelskis finally replaced?

2009-01-26T11:43:00.007Z

My prematch worries seemed to be on their way to being realised all too soon as Pavlyuchenko stole in front of Nemanja Vidic to steer an early header past Ben Foster, but after that our only real rival was our own profligacy.

Although he is credited as Man of the Match in many quarters, I still expect Tevez to put away some of the chances he had at the weekend. His effort can't be questioned, though, and he battled hard all game long. Danny Welbeck had a good game on the right, too, where he too seemed tireless and was a constant threat. He looks good with the ball at his feet and only an understandable lack of composure with his end product seemed absent on Saturday evening.

The makeshift backline was decent after this and Fabio looks a real prospect for his age. His step into the first team didn't slightly faze the lad as he carried the ball forward with confidence and flung himself into a few meaty tussles.

The match showed once more just how important Michael Carrick is for us. He controlled the game and that pass for Berbatov's goal was magical. The accuracy and pace on the ball with very little back lift was exemplar and Berbatov continues to surprise and impress me in equal measure with a cool finish and he just about stopped himself from wheeling off to celebrate in front of the travelling fans. The former Spurs midfielder's performance helped in some way to highlight the passing of the baton from Scholes to Carrick. A tendency is creeping in for Scholes to be just that little bit off the pace with his distribution and in Carrick we have the player we've been looking for for too long. I believe that Carrick's presence at the club will add longevity to Scholes' career here. I can see a lot of a younger Paul Scholes in Michael Carrick in the way he carries the ball in midfield, picks a pass and keeps it tidy as well as spotting the occasional Hollywood pass. The lack of goals from the younger player isn't an issue as we are a different beast now in terms of strike rate being spread around.

A word on Foster... After the Spurs goal, I felt he couldn't trust his back line and this also caused him to come out for a ball he was never going to get quite soon after. After this he settled and became much more assured and looked much more like the keeper we all know he can be on form. Mistakes happen and he needs to fully trust those in front of him. While Vidic did him no favours a few minutes into the game on Saturday, he will bail him out more often than not.

We also had our first look at Tosic. Can he be the first true heir to the hallowed number 14 shirt of Kanchelskis, probably the best player ever to grace the hallowed Old Trafford turf? He had a good run out on Saturday and I've already determined that he is seventeen and a half times better than Nani using the complicated match analysis software called MY EYES© .

It's busy, busy, busy in January as usual with a midweek trip to the Baggies and then Saturday's game against Everton, which has been brought forward to accommodate the third Scouse derby of recent times due to Everton's disgraceful attempt at not losing in the cup yesterday. I don't know how Everton fans can look themselves in the mirror knowing that they haven't lost at Anfield twice in a week. Surely Moyes is on borrowed time?

I've once again raided RAWK for my What's being said? quotes. It may be lazy but they provide such gems. Both are taken from their thread that covers the weekend's FA Cup ties. I will also point out that they post about 13 pages on the Man Utd game and about 2 pages on the rest of the fixtures combined, but then called us obsessed for having songs about them. You couldn't make it up.

Drink to the fallen

2009-01-24T13:20:00.001Z

As nervous a fan as I am, match day doesn't usually meet me with quite as much trepidation as today. On what should be a massive day for two FA Cup giants (11 wins against 8), there are major injuries doubts and more pressing matters (West Brom and Stoke respectively, scarily) in midweek and both managers are set to field weakened teams, albeit after Redknapp somewhat retracted his claim that he will field a weak side in fear of the consequences passed down by the FA.

I couldn't even guess at a line-up today. We need Vidic to play, other than that it's a pick and mix at the back. Ronaldo is being tipped to score by Ferguson, so does that mean he'll be on the bench a la Carrick against Chelsea? Tevez should start, perhaps with Welbeck against a weakened Spurs defence? Berbatov will be dying to play against his old employers, so he's the better bet. I'll stop there, it's pure guess work. A win for either team is better than a draw, we simply can't draw today given the injuries we have to the squad.

Right – I'm off to do what I do best and try to drink the nerves away.

Spurs times two as City entertain

2009-01-22T11:33:00.002Z

After a nail biter at Turf Moor, Spurs just about made it to Wembley to ensure we play them in both cups. It could have been oh-so different if Burnley hadn't switched off for just one second at the end of extra time but once Pavlyuchenko's goal went in, the second was almost inevitable as Burnley streamed forward looking for the goal to take them to penalties.

After the game, Harry once again demolished his team's fragile confidence (following his assertion that Cesar isn't good enough and that his missus could have scored Darren Bent's chance from the weekend) and has stated that he'll be fielding a weakened team at Old Trafford in the FA Cup game on Saturday. Mind games or will he really? Either way, he'll be facing a weakened team given our injuries. I've heard Ferguson has called a meeting to discuss ideas with Fletcher being touted as our fifth right back of the year. Five. Not so long ago I stated on one of my forums that we didn't need defensive cover. Seems I may be wrong, eh? Could De Laet step in at right back already? I'll not hold my breath.

On a lighter note, our friends from across Manchester are having an entertaining transfer window. Entertaining for us, at least. In Nigel De Jong they have actually signed a potential gem, he's a very solid player who could flourish in England. Bellamy is also a player who I think could do a really good job, if he stays fit. If he is joined by Santa Cruz, they shouldn't need to worry about relegation as they'll score enough to stay up, even with their hilariously bad defence. It's good to see that the rest of the footballing world seems at least to be catching on to the fact that Micah Richards is all about pace and power and not about any real footballing ability and rumours of a move to Bolton for £5m wouldn't surprise me. City must be annoyed that they didn't move him on when there was talk of great things, based on the back of a couple of lung bursting runs up their right flank. The refusal to admit defeat in the Kaká saga is the main source of hilarity. How they don't see that they're a laughing stock defeats even the most simple of minds. I'll also have a good laugh if they buy the massively overrated media darling that is Shay Given. If they replace a bright, young, English talent with a goalkeeper who never learned to command his box and is woeful positionally then surely it won't be because Mark Hughes wants it to happen. Maybe he's a stand in until Buffon or Casillas signs in the summer...

Top of the league, into a Cup final but so many injuries...

2009-01-21T11:08:00.001Z

Monday night was a bit of a rollercoaster, watching the Merseyside derby. It played itself out as a proper old fashioned local derby, not much football on show, a few rash tackles, 99% of which early on were Phil Neville flinging himself into everything and everyone he could saw wearing red, in a reprisal of his old role against Jose Antonio Reyes. The almost inevitable Gerrard stunner threatened to ruin my evening but Rafa's zonal marking paid off a treat when Martin Skrtel (having a poor game) chose to let Tim Cahill take up an unmarked position in the box and Arteta put it on his head with aplomb. 1-1 and we stay top by goal difference while the bookies now have Liverpool as third favourites for the title. I agree should look at the facts and we are top of the table now on merit. Can't be unhappy with that.

Onto last night and our game against Derby. The team sheet didn't fill me full of confidence but I was almost glad to see Nani after putting a daft bet on him to score last night. I didn't think our performance in the first half was particularly stunning, it was more an insight into the difference between Premier League and Championship. We scored three without really doing a massive amount. Nani's thunderbolt, O'Shea ghosting into the box in a position that deserved to be offside but wasn't and a good Tevez header from a pinpoint Rafael cross seemed to put the game out of reach, even though Rafael was soon withdrawn with what is another hamstring injury.

The second half was a strange affair, reminiscent of the Hull league game and the Blackburn Carling Cup game. Foot off the pedal and the other team takes a chance, in this case a penalty, and they're one goal from extra time. The media seemed to think that Derby dominated the second half but this didn't match the game I was watching. By all means they improved on their first half display but they weren't really troubling us until the penalty. The penalty would never have happened if Jonny Evans wasn't limping around but Fergie's baffling decision to use all the subs left us no choice. Thankfully a Ronaldo penalty after a bad tackle from Carroll on Tevez (which he could have walked for) put us further ahead as the body count continued to rise. Anderson could barely take the weight on his ankle, Nani did his groin and couldn't even limp out the rest of the game and Evans was still hobbling about. Ten outfield players against seven and only one goal away from being forced to extra time, after Barnes placed a free kick inside Foster's near post. That lad could have a real future in football, if injury stays clear this time.

Job done just about, but at what cost? Rio, Brown, Evra, Rafael, Neville, Evans. All carrying injuries, leaving our back line massively depleted. Further up the park we now have Rooney, Nani, Anderson and Park all doubtful, joining the long term absentee Owen Hargreaves. We can only hope that Wes and Rio make their returns sooner rather than later after beginning training again. Anderson faces an X-ray to determine the extent of his injury. We need to clear at least some of these injuries quickly if we want to maintain an attack on all competitions this year.

Added a new feature to the site – What's being said? Whether it be from my favourite Liverpool site, the press, our players or another blogger, I'll try to keep it funny or poignant. I won't update it daily but I can't think of a better name for it.

One nil - scoreline of Champions?

2009-01-19T11:58:00.001Z

It wasn't pretty and it has come at a large cost, but as I type we are top of the league pending the Liverpool derby this evening.

Rooney's goal against Wigan was massive given how lacklustre we looked once he left nursing his hamstring, which we are told will keep him out for three weeks minimum. I've always said and maintain that he is our most important attacking player. Without him, I would venture that Ronaldo wouldn't currently be World Player of the Year, such is the symbiotic nature of their link up play and the space they make for each other. Seeing Tevez and Evans limp off at the end wasn't a happy sight either.

Thankfully though, come Saturday, both had passed their fitness tests, though Evans required a painkilling injection in his troublesome ankle. This is never a desirable measure for any player but such is the importance of every game at present. In better news, Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown are expected to return for selection soon.

The Bolton game itself was yet another tense affair, with the home team good money for their half time draw but we had them heavily under pressure in the second half. After yet another poor game, it seemed fate was on Tevez's side as he wriggled between two defenders, made his way down the right channel and played a perfect cross for Dimitar Berbatov, who put it just above Jääskeläinen in an area he couldn't react to in time, even when in impressive form as he had been all game. Don't let the cross mask the fact that Tevez continues to play to a fraction of the form he showed last year. That wasn't good enough, and his current showings should do nothing to force a contract offer. He is playing on borrowed time now and he simply must take the chances Rooney's absence afford him. Berbatov, while not spectacular, has increased his effort massively and is starting to gel. His intricate play around the box is starting to pay off but he must start hitting the back of the net more frequently.

The Bolton game was the tenth league clean sheet in a row, which is an excellent statistic when you take into account the injuries and suspensions. Yet again Evans was fantastic and Vidic continuing his run of superb form. Personally I found Vidic's early season form a little worrying, but he has come into his own in the last couple of months and has been an absolute rock. His ability to cover ground has really impressed me, he has had to cover for his full backs quite often of late (as we struggle to keep a consistent right back) and has excelled.

There are a few worries in form. Anderson seems to be suffering second season syndrome. Many think a goal would spark him into life and there's no denying one is long overdue. Scholes has looked a bit jaded in his last couple of games, too. O'Shea is still having to cover other players but surely it is a matter of when and not if he costs us a vital goal. Nani will surely leave the club in the summer if Tosic shows any kind of form... Ferguson was very specific when he said that Tosic was a Nani type of player, not a Ronaldo type of player, in the Serb's introductory press conference. That was surely a statement aimed at Nani that he needs to improve and quickly.

Another big week of football lies ahead, starting tonight as Liverpool play Everton at Anfield, looking to regain top spot. Anything less than a win and they will remain in second place. After this we move onto the cup games, Derby first up at Old Trafford. Ferguson has already told certain players they have the week off, hopefully not enough first teamers to allow Derby to hold onto their slender 1-0 lead from the first leg. This trophy is certainly bottom on the wish list right now but when you get this far it is time for a club like ours to acknowledge that we should fight for it. Spurs at the weekend in the FA Cup will be a huge test. Their league form may not be anything to worry about but neither is our recent style of play. They always seem to pose a test now. The worst case is almost a draw. Should we beat Derby tomorrow and draw against Spurs, that leaves another two games to be rearranged and that is something we can do without.

I'll try to keep this factual

2009-01-13T11:47:00.000Z

A few days have passed since the incident but I can't make a post without mentioning Señor Benitez and his comments made just before an important weekend. Clearly he has had this planned for a while now and he must have spent Friday night feeling delighted with himself and the pressure he had put us under.

What he somehow didn't realise was that we are the one team who thrive under this sort of attention. The siege mentality that Ferguson often builds on a title run in has largely been done for him, so thanks very much for that. Perhaps you were just ingratiating yourself to your own fans and attempting to manoeuvre that new contract that you're desperate for but so far isn't forthcoming. Perhaps if you actually manage to maintain a league challenge this year, you'll get that offer. If you fall away again, perhaps you'd be better off looking elsewhere for employment, lest you give the rest of the league hope once more.

The following day, Liverpool turned in one of their most spineless performances of the season and left the Britannia Stadium with a point. Job half done, Rafa.

Roll on match day and a midday phone call offering me a ticket to the game. Sadly, four hours just wouldn't have been possible I don't think, so I had to turn it down with great regret. Not long after I was tucking into some of Strongbow's finest in an attempt to dull the nerves a little. It didn't really help, especially when the team sheet was released.

I will happily admit that I was once again furious with a team that Ferguson picked. After claiming that Carrick was such a massively important player, he leaves our most inform midfielder on the bench. Clearly Chelsea would have prepared to play against Carrick, so as time would tell, Ferguson got his mind game of the weekend right. Take note from the master, Merseyside.

Rio Ferdinand is a massive loss, as to me he is probably the best centre-back in world football at present. His pace, his vision and his ability to link defence and midfield are all exemplar. However, Jonny Evans has been playing excellently and he stepped once more unto the breech and we didn't miss Rio at all. That's probably the biggest compliment I can give and it isn't slightly overstated for this game.

Ryan Giggs was excellent, he controlled the midfield with Fletcher doing the dirty stuff alongside him and, especially in the second half, Chelsea couldn't match his guile. Ji-Sung Park must take mention again as he did in my last post. Fergie must run him on Duracell, he gave Cole a torrid time, keeping him forced back for large periods of the game with another tireless display.

Even Berbatov seemed to come alive in the second half, with some good touches, great teamwork with Vidic for his goal and he even seemed happy to score. What's that all about?

Ronaldo was in great form in the second half, too. Probably his best performance this season and hopefully he can build on that. The newly crowded World Player of the Year is saying all the right things at present and hopefully it can translate itself onto the park.

To go back to the pre-weekend comments, was Benitez proven right? Do referees favour us? My favourite Liverpool site's (yep, I read RAWK and make no apology for that, it's nice to see how the other end of the East Lancs are thinking) general consensus is that once again they did indeed give us everything, as outlined by Rooney's constant mouthing off. As it happens, I agree with that. He should have been booked. Of course, this is roughly where their attention span ends. This is all the evidence needed, apparently.

This is ignoring a few things:

Ronaldo held down in the box by Carvalho – no penalty, Ronaldo booked for arguing with Carvalho when it was the defender who raised his hands to Ronaldo's chest. Now, I am not asking for a sending off, it was a nothing push, but by the rules, it was a red

Ashley Cole handles on the line – no penalty

We score from that corner – goal disallowed

Ronaldo breaks free and scores in second half – ruled offside incorrectly, goal disallowed

Drogba's constant diving – allowed to go on all game, no booking

No, wait... Forget all that. Rooney swore a few times. Haul him across the hot coals.

Moving on, we are five points behind with two games in hand. We have to get two wins this week to really hammer home the advantage. Not because Liverpool and Chelsea (why is everyone writing Chelsea off?) won't drop points from here on in, but because going top will give us a lift and demoralise both rivals. Knowing the lead they had and throwing it away so early will add to the current pressure (self-inflicted in some cases) on Liverpool and Chelsea.

Hopefully my next post will be made with us one point clear.

Toughest Derby of the year

2009-01-09T12:01:00.003Z

To quote myself...

The league cup game against Derby this week should be a formality after their very fortuitous victory over Forest Green at the weekend. They appear as a club in disarray, having never really recovered from their disastrous spell in the Premier League last year, and are currently managerless after the resignation of Paul Jewell. Hopefully we'll see appearances from the likes of Possebon, Rafael, Nani, Evans, Foster and Tevez as all need games at present.

I think I was wrong, though my mind is slowly closing off the synapses that allow me to remember any of that embarrassment. I think I'm finally finished defending Nani. His selfishness and arrogance are not even slightly matched by his ability and when up against the easiest opposition he could really hope for, he continued his one-man attempted showboat and failed yet again. I said on a forum earlier in the week that a large part of our success is how everyone gives 100%. I should have added on that this is for the team. Nani most certainly gives 100%, but only to himself.

Other players such as Jonny Evans, Vidic, Rafael did themselves justice. Rafael wasn't helped by the baffling decision to place Gibson on the wing, where he was clearly lost as to defensive and attacking duties. Tevez looked rustier than ever. Welbeck didn't get much of the ball, so hard to tell if he could have made an impact. Paul Scholes looked terrible, which is a concern. The inverse team should play against Chelsea on Sunday – VDS, Neville, Vidic, Rio, Evra, Ronaldo, Carrick, Fletcher, Park, Rooney, Berbatov.

It is a real credit to Park and Fletcher that I no longer cringe when seeing their names involved in such a big game. Park may not offer much in the way of goals and assists, but his tireless performances have so often helped us grind out results. Fletcher has been a revelation, and beside Carrick they have been keeping very tidy midfields of late. If we can out scrap Chelsea there, we have a real chance against a team who aren't setting the league alight themselves.

I see after pointing out that we were definitely finished in the transfer market after the Serbs were signed, Ferguson has brought in a defender that isn't good enough for Stoke. Baffling, but we'll see what happens. Didn't know reserves made signings yet.

Tevez money being allocated for Benzema? Hmmm.

Tis the season to win one nil

2009-01-06T10:03:00.002Z

Well, there's much to catch up on...

Firstly the World Club Cup.

The first match was a typical exhibition affair. Do enough, get the job done, then open the game up and give the fans what they want. Nothing more really needs to be said.

The final was a much more tough affair. Quito were clearly right up for it and the fact that this competition means a lot to the South American teams was shown by the ferocity of some of the tackling and, at full time, Cevallos lying against the post, sobbing into his gloves. The game itself was nothing to write home about, but I felt we were comfortable even after going down to ten men. Therein lies a major worry come true over this competition; Vidic is now suspended for at least the away leg of the CL match and very possibly the home leg and the next game, too.

Jonny Evans has been more than capable when deputising this season, as he has done often in the CL, but the theatre of the San Siro on a heated European night is a step up again. I have confidence in my fellow countryman though, he looks a real prospect and has eased my worries about depth at CB since Pique left in the summer.

However, we returned with no major injuries and as world champions (though this title doesn't actually mean anything unless another English team has won it first, apparently) so as long as there was no knock on effect in the league, no short term damage will have been done.

Then we had the two demolitions(!!!) in the league of Stoke and Middlesbrough. The Stoke game was everything you could have expected it to be. They got stuck in all game long, especially on Ronaldo (whose petulant flick could/should have been punished) and Rooney, who was also lucky to escape punishment after what looked like an arm swung in the direct of Abdoulaye Faye. I don't agree with Ferguson's constant bleating for protection for his flair players but Stoke were clearly on a wind-up mission and our players need to learn to expect it and if it does happen, approach the referee with the captain and outline their thoughts. Believe it or not, a ref may respond to this kind of approach. The goal was an excellent move, culminating in my two favouritist of all time in the world ever players linking up for what was a worthy winner.

The Boro game should have been a much more cut and dry affair, but I felt instantly worried by the fact that Tevez had disappeared back to Argentina on family matters. I then got asked for ID in Old Trafford when trying to buy a Bud to drown the worry away. The fact I hate beer and that a bottle of this swill costs £3 should show just how nervous I was to be purchasing it, especially with my proximity to fans of the Teesside-club in everyday life, but being asked for ID? I'm 25, for what it's worth. Ah well, “it's a compliment”. The game itself ran the course of the majority of our season. Controlled the game, couldn't score. I sent a text message to a mate saying “We're never scoring here” about 30 seconds before Berbatov volleyed in the winner. Anti-scud. Nice. Although the words “barn door” spring to mind, I thought Ji Sung Park had a great game which is very important as he always seems to get games in the Champions League away from home when graft is as necessary as guile.

The FA Cup game on Sunday past was textbook, pretty much. Absolutely coasted it and goals for Welbeck, Nani and Gibson should give a lift to some of the younger players looking to establish themselves. All may well feature tomorrow night against Derby. Lots of bleating about our “offside” goal which wasn't actually offside, and to think people pay these commentators and pundits that much money. The incident is certainly a lot more complex than being just about where Welbeck was when O'Shea touched the ball. As O'Shea meets the ball, is Welbeck gaining an advantage by being offside? No, he doesn't interfere with the Southampton defenders running back or with the goalkeeper. Then when he does come into play (after a save is made) he is clearly onside, behind two defenders. He gained no advantage, came back onside before having any impact on play and is thus onside. The penalty decision was probably wrong but someone in the wall shouldn't jump with his arm raised like that lest he ask for a decision like that. Now we have Spurs in the next round. What? Us draw a Premier League club in the FA Cup? Never! At least it's a home.

The league cup game against Derby this week should be a formality after their very fortuitous victory over Forest Green at the weekend. They appear as a club in disarray, having never really recovered from their disastrous spell in the Premier League last year, and are currently managerless after the resignation of Paul Jewell. Hopefully we'll see appearances from the likes of Possebon, Rafael, Nani, Evans, Foster and Tevez as all need games at present.

Transfer news... after confirming that we won't be buying in January, Ferguson went out and bought Tosic and Ljajic for a reported £16.3m. There isn't much else to say about them. Hopefully Tosic puts real pressure on the likes of Ronaldo, Park and Nani for a spot on the wing. Competition for places shouldn't worry players, it should inspire them and the two Portuguese players seem to need inspiration at present. Bambi will stay at Partizan until next January to aid his footballing development. If the fee is true, I hope this wasn't to the detriment of money available for a forward (be that sealing the Tevez deal or someone else.).

On Tevez, over Christmas I seem to have warmed to him. Some of the statements he has made have been very promising though he has come out today and accused us of playing games over his contract. I would assume this means that we're still haggling with his owners, possibly over how the balance for him would be paid in installments and so on. Time will tell.

World Club Crap

2008-12-17T16:16:00.005Z

So the World Club Cup starts for us tomorrow against Gamba Osaka, where we already know we'll play Quito in the final should we progress or Pachuca in the ridiculous third place play-off. Even if you do lend some credibility to the winner, do you really care who is the third best team in the world? That said, I think the truest way to determine that would be to look back at the losing semi-finalists of last year's Champions League and say 'Eeny meeny-miney Barcelona'. Ahem.

I think it is true that for most this tournament doesn't really matter, despite the spin being put on it by MUTV and the club in general except for Ferguson himself who seems to pay it lip service out of contract rather than admiration. If we win it, I will be happy and probably raise a drink to it (must have an excuse for the girlfriend, don't you know, and I'll be using “Christmas cheer” a lot over the coming two weeks) but should we lose I'll dismiss it as a cursory annoyance, much as I did with the game against Zenit. I missed the end of that game as I'd had enough and gone to bed. If I'd seen Paul Scholes' volleyball attempt at the time, I would not have been responsible for my actions.

So over the next few days I want four things to happen.

1) We start finding the net. My good friend Dimitar has picked up a virus (the lesser known 'Lazybastitis') and seems to be struggling to make the games and our adopted Scouser is also struggling with a knock, though rumours that this is an ankle strain after his intensive stamping practice of late are unconfirmed. Fingers crossed that Carlos gets the two full games he deserves and with the lack of other forwards maintains a much more forward role.

2) No major injuries. Obviously.

3) Paul Scholes getting his match fitness back. Fletcher has been outstanding in his absence but his game is totally different and we need someone to 'unlock the door' more than we need a grafter at the moment. Hopefully Scholesy is the missing piece at the moment.

4) To win the tournament. Screw what else I said, I want us to win everything.

In other news it is being said that Zoran Tosic is whoring us off to other teams, trying to secure the biggest contract possible. While I hope this is more Roy Keane in style than Lucas Neill in nature, I wonder at the incredulity of it all. We're offering this boy a chance at the big time, let's hope for both our sakes that it is success that drives him more than the money. If so, we'll get on just fine. If not, whoever wants him is welcome to him.

A point gained or two points lost...

2008-12-15T13:56:00.004Z

So the weekend's dust has settled and the context of the result is a little clearer. The “Big Four” all drew, albeit at entirely different standards of opposition. It is important to keep things in perspective so it is noted that we were away to a team who had won nine from their last twelve under a new manager and a team who have not lost to Arsenal, Liverpool or Chelsea this season. A draw here, at 12pm on Saturday afternoon, would have been acceptable so perhaps it should remain so at 12pm the following Monday but the sense of opportunity lost (again, see the 0-0 at Villa Park) does not dissipate quickly.

The primary reason it doesn't dissipate for me is that the game was there for the taking. Spurs are a decent side, make no mistake, and are a much more organised unit and more eager to dig in than under the departed Ramos but they lack real quality across the park, especially when King and Woodgate are absent from the side, so surely a side boasting the attacking talent of Carlos Tevez and Dimitar Berbatov would thrive against the relatively weaker centre-back pairing of Corluka and Dawson after Woodgate left procedings? Well, perhaps they would if they were actually interested in the fight (which Berbatov was not) or if they had the positional sense to work against the weakened back line (which Tevez does not). Sadly this was not a once off. Both are traits that shine through time and time again.

I should outline that I have no great love or admiration for either player at this stage of their Manchester United careers, if that isn't already clear.

That isn't to say I think either are technically poor players but they aren't doing what they are paid good money to do.

When it comes to Tevez, his all bluster style appeals to the crowd and very few Man Utd fans seem to be open to the fact that his goalscoring record is poor, especially for a player who finds himself in clear goalscoring positions that he does. His bluster seems to work against him when he has these chances as he lacks even a modicum of composure far too often. He expels so much energy from his tracking back that you can often see him gasping for breath. His forays all over the park take him away from what should be the business end for him. We don't lack the ability to get the ball to him, so why he feels the need to drop deep so much is a fact lost on me. In fact, dropping deep isn't even the exact problem. Doing it effectively is, and that's something he should look to Wayne Rooney to see being done properly. All the effort in the world means nothing if you're a spent force by the time you get a sniff at goal.

Speaking of Rooney, from reading around it seems to be a theme amongst those from the other end of the East Lancs Road that Tevez is the one player they would like to take from us and the general feeling seems to be that he is better than Wayne Rooney and that Ferguson shoots himself in the foot by not picking Tevez ahead of Rooney (or, probably more accurately along with Rooney at Berbatov's expense). They're right that Tevez should play ahead of Berbatov. They are absolutely deluded if they think he is a player of the calibre of Rooney, but that comparison will come another day so suffice it to say for now that Rooney is our best striker/forward by a long way. As a side note, those same fans who say Tevez is better than Rooney and that Rooney is, shall we say, not in peak physical condition should take a look at Tevez more closely. After the Blackburn league game this season, Tevez removed his shirt as he left the pitch and the gut was there for all to see. Jimmy Gardner would be proud to add it to his collection.

Then we have Berbatov. He doesn't need nearly as much text to sum up. Effort and the lack thereof. In terms of ability, as with Tevez, it is clearly there only in this case it isn't wasted in midfield or with a lack of composure. In fact, he's too composed. Too sure of himself. Frustratingly it seems that Alex Ferguson also shares that belief in him and he is now unsubable (not a word) and undroppable (probably not a word but this paragraph outlines what the definition should be if it is). Surely playing against his old club where his every touch is being booed is the kick up the Bulgars he needs? Absolutely not, it's his cue to retreat back under his Alice band for 90 minutes. His blatant refusal to contest 50-50 tackles isn't that unheard of from so called flair players but a 99-1 tackle in his favour would seem unworthy of effort for this man. Berbatov would feel intimidated by the pension queue at the Post Office on his way to cash his wages. Oddly, he does seem more likely to challenge for headers, even with all those big, nasty elbows flying around. Something that I must confess I didn't notice until a friend pointed it out was that he doesn't commit himself to follow his own shots up, just in case of a spill from the keeper. Is it arrogance at thinking his shot will go in on the first time of asking? Is it that he feels others are doing that? Not at all, he just can't be bothered seems to be the answer to that question. The fact that when Berbatov plays Ronaldo is a lesser player is also not to be ignored but is also something worthy of much more analysis in due course.

If Tevez had the control and positional sense of Berbatov OR if Berbatov had the inclination to try that is infused in the Argentine, then I think nearly all our goalscoring problems would be solved. As it is, the Spurs game summed up everything I think about the two.

As it stands with his loan set to end in the summer, I would keep Tevez at the club if we can secure his services for around £15m, as last season he showed that what he did do excellently was keep our front line fluid and teams couldn't live with the interchange that a Rooney – Tevez – Ronaldo front line brings and he also has a knack of stealing late goals with his never say die attitude paying off when the chips are down and we're stuck in a good old-fashioned scrap. However, with prices being slung around of £30m and more, I'd be more inclined to once more go shopping for a forward. Oneoption may be Frazier Campbell. No, he isn't doing it consistently and it is far too early to tell but there is promise in the lad and hopefully Spurs will give him the time he deserves, perhaps as a foil for Pavlyuchenko or Bent (they can't play together, didn't ya know?).

Perhaps I'll be proved completely wrong and the team will return from Japan bubbling with confidence, Berbatov will start banging them in and Tevez will concentrate his efforts in the final third. Hell's to be quite mild after Christmas, I hear.

Kick off

2008-12-11T14:56:00.003Z

I'm making this blog for a couple of reasons; one is to give me an outlet for my opinions on things relating to Manchester United and the other is further down the line (should all go according to plan) I hope to port this over to a website of my own and expand upon it.

The format isn't completely decided yet. Match reports, media talk, forum banter (there are some forums that leave me in stitches, own side and rival that I sense I will comment on often) and so on should all be covered.