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Moscow - Here come United!

There is something cyclical about football. It was proved  yet again today. Nine years back, the ginger prince was wearing a suit and watching in the stands as United picked up the famous trophy at Nou Camp. A win that was made possible largely due to his displays earlier in the tournament. But the game can be cruel sometimes and he had to sit out what would have been the biggest occasion of his career. Fast forward 9 years and United need to beat Barca to reach the finals of the same competition - so who better than the ginger prince to get us the goal to get there! As Fergie said after the game, he will be the first name on the team sheet in Moscow - and who can argue with that?
Having said that, today's was as complete a team performance as it can get. Every player ran tireless and worked hard for the cause. The back four, without Vidic, was immense. I can't stop praising Rio and it is displays like this that will cement his place as the best central defender in the world. Brown and Evra were formidable today, so was Owen, playing at right back. Tevez and Park covered every blade of grass and gave all they had. Scholes got us the goal and Carrick made some important interceptions to break their play. Overall a great great team performance.

The loss of Rooney  and Vidic before the game made this win even more special. Both are players of immense stature and influence, and to come away with a win in such a huge game without them is very satisfactory for everyone concerned.

I've been highly critical of Fergie's selection and tactics  for the last few games. I think some of it was deserved as well but so far he has proved me wrong. We've been guilty of being tactically naive in the past and playing the same brand of football no matter the occasion or the opponent, but this year , our displays against Roma and Barcelona have been full of tactical nous. It's not always pretty to watch, not always breath taking, but functional and effective. Even today when I saw the team sheet, I wasn't impressed. It's hard to understand what Anderson needs to do to get a game - he has been stellar all season and I think is highly suited for games like these. I do hope he has a part to play in the remaining few games to come.
So, It is Mocow on May 21st, our opponents would be either CSKA Chelski or Liverpool. I wonder how much influence Roman may have should Chelski reach the finals - it isn't hard to imagine Roman having his say in Russia - his backyard.

Anyways, focus is back on domestic matters. Games like this are energy zapping and highly draining both physically and mentally. Hopefully, the lads will recover in time for the game against West Ham on Saturday. I am also awaiting news on Rooney, Vidic and Evra who was stretchered off late in the game today.Hope all of them are available on Saturday - a win against West Ham will mean one hand on the trophy!

Fergie strikes again

What can I say? Once again, we've left it to the end by taking an approach that is mind baffling to say the least. Not only did we rest Ronaldo and Tevez today, we started with Fletcher and Nani which made it a rather strange combination in the middle. Fergie clearly set out the team to not to lose, rather than go for the win to clinch the title today. You may argue the game on Tuesday made the selection justified, but this was a bigger game, there is no point fucking up the title after failing to gain advantage over Barcelona. I for one can never understand what's going through Fergie's mind at the moment. We have clearly given away the advantage and given our record against West Ham, Chelsea must be favorites to win it from here. There is no evidence that we won't drop points again whereas Chelsea are just grilling out results at the moment.

Having said that, I thought we had a good second half. Nani was very wasteful, think Ronaldo circa 2005 and multiply the wastefulness by 10. He had no clue when to release the ball and was generally poor. Giggs didn't have much impact either, which has been a regular feature this season. Alan Wiley was the villain for me - he gave too many bad decisions against us and the penalty wasn't decisive and in such a big game, it shouldn't have been given.

With news of a brawl with Chelsea ground staff after the game, this has really not been a good day all around. We don't want to be bottlers like Ars*nal. We don't want to come across as sore losers. Lets get it together for Tuesday - and I am looking at you Fergie. More than the referee, you'll have a lot of answering to do on your decisions of this past week come the end of the season.

Now its Barca on Tuesday, a game that we've left a  of hopes on. The kind of game we've lost in the past. Fergie has taken a huge risk and lets see now how his plan unfolds. I for one, am prepared for the worst. We've let this season slip from our hands in the past week and now I know how it feels to be an Ars*nal fan.

Anti-Climactic Damp Squib!

Yesterday was probably the most disappointed me and most fans have been coming out of an undefeated game. I was aware this was not going to be all that classic as everyone expected, but what was on show was so pathetically dire, it belied belief. Once again, Ferguson didn’t walk his talk. Once again, he played players out of position. Once again in European away games, we didn’t play to our strengths. What resulted was an utter bore fest, with us chasing shadows for most of the game. Rooney was frustrated on the wing. Ronaldo was the only outlet who the team could hardly get the ball to. Scholes and Carrick huffed and puffed and chased all game without threatening to play forward. Barcelona as expected saw all of the ball, but didn’t really penetrate that much. If anything positive came off it was the fact that we didn’t concede even after they kept the ball for almost all of the game.

Now once again, Fergie and players have come out and spun this performance as a "highly tactical" one and there are noises of “mission accomplished” coming out of the camp. Expectedly. It’s all B.S. Players and Fergie have come out and said “Now we will attack at OT”. Now being the operative word. We’ve left it late once again and I am afraid and prepared for the worst on Tuesday. It’s happened before and it’s very likely to happen again on Tuesday. Fergie risked a whole lot yesterday. He should be prepared to pay the cost.

The penalty came too early and not many players are mentally up for it in the 2^nd minute  You could see Ronaldo was also not too sure – the stutter was missing and he missed it. We can only guess how the game would have unfolded should he have scored. A lot of experts have come out and criticized Ronaldo once again and have made direct comparisons between Ronaldo and Messi. How can you judge Ronaldo in a game where his team had 20 odd % of possession? When everyone else played behind the ball for almost the entire game? When the likes of Rooney and Park and Tevez were wasted and hardly knew their roles? It was all down to Ferguson’s selection and tactics yesterday.  I can’t fault the players for that.  And given all of that, Ronaldo had a penalty, was denied at least one more clear shout and Messi didn’t trouble EVDS even once. I think Messi is a great talent, I saw Barcelona play at Nou Camp November of last year and he clearly stood out as the best player on the pitch then; but these comparisons based on one game aren’t valid as judgments on players.

Overall, this was a huge huge disappointment. How big a cost we’ll have to pay for this? Well we’ll know in 6 days. Meanwhile, it’s a trip to Stamford Bridge on Saturday, a win will clinch us the title – so as games go this is the biggest league game of the season. It seems like we’ll have to do it without Vidic. I am positive about our chances, and only a defeat will hurt our title chances. More on that coming soon.

2 Points dropped at Ewood Park

So, in keeping with United's tradition, we are not going to win this one easy. There are more twists and turns and they'll keep us supporters on the edge for some more time to come. This was a strange game, not because we couldn't win or it was far from easy. We should have expected a tough physical battle against Mark Hughes' team. It was Rio and Vidic, who have been the best central defensive partnership in Europe so far, who were uncharacteristically nervy throughout the first half. It was quite a sight and they made a mess of the floated ball in the box for the first goal. Both of them at fault. Although rare, this does come at a bad time - all games we play from now on are BIG games, the ones that could make the difference between a good season and a bad one.
We have struggled every time Giggs and Scholes have started, and so we did today. Giggs especially was way below par and was rightly taken off at half time. We had small isolated spells of passing but apart from that Blackburn looked good for the lead in the first half. Tevez missed a sitter early on and didn't do anything of note in the first period. Fergie's hair dryer treatment was the order of the day and I am sure Fergie must have been waiting for the half time whistle.

We started well in the second half, Nani gave us some width and pace and did well. Rob Stiles is not the best of referees and he did deny us at least a couple of shouts for penalty. One of them was a clear handball and should have been given. I mentioned in the previous post that Brad Friedel could be crucial and he was the man of the match today. He made a string of brilliant saves to keep us at bay. It was Scholes header re-directed in by Tevez that brought us level. A huge point, a point that still gives us the chance of winning the league even if we lose at Stamford bridge. Rooney's injury towards the end was worrying but Boss confirmed he will play on Sunday.

I would still consider this as 2 points dropped rather than a point gained. It's quite disappointing that the team didn't show up in the first half. All eyes on Wednesday now, with Barca also struggling domestically, this is an interesting fixture in the making. They have quality all over the park but I think the game will be won in the midfield and how we line up and deal with their playmakers will be something to look forward to. More on that coming up next.

Au Revoir, Arsenal!

Character. Today's game was all about character. And there was only one team who had plenty of it. A huge win today means a giant step towards the title. Fergie persisted with Rooney up front with Park in a supporting role. Scholes, Owen and Carrick started in the middle of the park. First half saw us chasing Arsenal for long spells, with our midfielders not really getting in to the game. Scholes, in particular, was guilty of repeatedly losing possession and was generally the worst player on the pitch today. Thanks to Adebayor's inability to take a chance, and Rooney's determination to match him miss for miss, the score remained goaless at the half. Plenty for Fergie to talk about during the half and I couldn't wait for some change in the pattern of play. Scholes had to be taken off and Anderson was the remedy. We started the second half without any changes and found ourselves a goal down 2 minutes within restart. It was that cheating Adebayor who clearly handed the ball into the net. One just wonders what Arsene would have had to say had they conceded a goal like that - you would be hearing about it for decades to come. United just got on with it. Rio commented after the game that he had heard someone call "Keeper" so he let the cross go. But EVDS hadn't called for it, Adebayor just handed it down to the goal. Off they went celebrating, the arsenal cry babies.
It was their captain Gallas, who handled the ball just 6 minutes later and handed us a lifeline. Ronaldo took the penalty, twice, and with such composure levelled the score. Some nerve that - with 0-1 down, in front of the Stretty and the title at stake! We looked much better in the second half and with the introduction of Anderson and Tevez,looked like a different side. Anderson once again shone against them. What a talent!We were stringing passes together and generally getting into our stride. A free kick conceded by Gilberto around 25 yards out in the 72th minute saw both Ronaldo and Owen line up. I was hoping it was Owen, Ronaldo generally needs more distance to bring the ball down. Arsenal probably didn't expect it. Hargreaves stepped up and curled one above the wall - with the wall forgetting their purpose and not even bothering to jump! Lehmann didn't move. One of the best free kicks of the season and what an occassion. I couldn't have been more happy with Hargreaves , it was very well deserved and he's having a wonderful spell at the moment. You could see with the body language that Arsenal had lost faith from then on. We held out to win 2-1. Amazing win, amazing comeback and most importantly huge huge three points!
Fergie was complimentary towards Arsenal in his post match assessment. Predictably, Arsene made some noise about the free kick and the penalty and did not see Adebayor's blatant hand ball as the stars weren't aligned properly for his vision to detect that incident. Whining loser.
All eyes on Chelski now, I don't expect them to drop points on Monday but they'll have a sterner test away to Everton on Thursday. If we win against Blackburn on Saturday and avoid a defeat against Chelski, the title is virtually over. If chelski drop points before we meet them, that will be a bonus and will give the boss the luxury to rest some players before the Barcelona fixture. There's some football to be played yet but one huge obstacle towards the quest for another title was removed today.

A dream date with Barcelona beckons

So there it is. A dream date with Barcelona is set. Today’s performance was again, professional and functional. With Ronaldo and Rooney missing, it was apparent we won’t have the cutting edge in front of the goal. Our passing in the first half was brilliant. Owen Hargreaves and Park Ji Sung had the best game of their United careers. Owen could have had a couple of goals in the first half itself. What was surprising was his supply from the right – it was quite a revelation today. Park’s energy, movement and constant running kept their back four busy and midfielders sufficiently hassled through the game.

The moment of the tie clearly was the penalty call against Brown. It was a soft call, but a penalty it was. De Rossi wasn’t up for it and from then on there was going to be just one winner. They saw more of the ball in the second half, but we dealt with it. Rio on one leg was phenomenal. Special shout out to Silvestre for doing well on his return from a long layoff.

What a moment it was to see Gaza come on! The crowd at Old Trafford extended him an amazing reception which was befitting of the occasion.

Boss revealed Rio had 3 stitches on his foot during the half time. I hope he makes it for Sunday. Carrick had a knock on his calf but should be OK. Barcelona next and to use a cliché it is the biggest test for the maturity of the squad. We’ve come through some tough games already and that will be no different. In his post match conference Boss talked about the need to be positive at Nou Camp. We’ll see if his team selection will walk his talk. I do think we have a fair chance if we have a full strength squad. The tie will have all the neutrals drooling – two quality sides that represent all that is good with the game. Both sets of fans though will be reasonably nervous. However, contrast this to the other semi finalists – Chelski and the Scousers – two teams who can pretty much bore an audience to death on their best days!

On to Arse on Sunday, we should be favorites on form but that tag has often proved tricky. We need to be ruthless in front of the goal and make all our chances count. Arsenal will play like they have nothing to lose, so it should be an interesting game. Today’s performances will make the team selection a headache for Fergie, but it’s a good position to be in. More thoughts on Arse coming up.

Advantage Manchester United

AS Roma 0 2 Manchester United
Stadio Olimpico, 04.01.2008

The performance wasn't breathtaking. It wasn't fluent. It was effective. It was functional. And it gives United the vital edge going into the return leg at Old Trafford.
You can always bet that Fergie's team selection will spring a surprise on you - but even then you wouldn't have expected to see Park to start on that team sheet. A true "WTF" moment before the start. No Tevez either confirming my suspicion that it's going to be another very cautious performance - nothing like the 4-0 demolition of Villa just a few days back. And so it was - United happy to play at walking pace. We started well with keeping possession without really threatening them. But as it often happens, the home team settled soon and started to shade possession. For a while there things were quite dire. United happy to chase shadows while Roma not really doing anything of note. We had the likes of Rooney behind the ball every time they had possession. I don't agree with it, but it did deliver today.

It was Ronaldo's amazing courage that gave us the lead. Scholes' perfect floated ball saw Ronaldo leap up ahead of the defender and head it in - a jump that would have made Michael Jordan proud! He did hurt himself in the process and for a second the entire red world held a collective breath wondering if it was too early to celebrate that goal. It was to everyone's relief then seeing him back on his feet. That goal really rattled Roma and their fans. They started brightly in the second half but couldn't really make any of the chances count with EVDS making a couple of brilliant saves to keep us ahead. Rooney's goal off a fumble made it easy and from then on Roma had no belief of getting anything out of the game. Ronaldo, Carrick and Rooney all missed easy chances to make it three and virtually seal the tie. But 2-0 is a great away result - although to some level the scoreline does flatter the performance we put out there today. Some may say this was a perfect away European display or that it was a tactical masterpiece from Fergie. I am not entire sold on that yet. Will it work with a more attack minded side (uh, like Barcelona?)?

Vidic's injury around the 30 minute mark was something that spoilt the victory today. This team has some interchangeable parts - but Rio and Vidic are not one of those. We need them both fit for every game we play from now on. But its likely now that Vidic will miss games - it's just a matter of how many. I don't think we can cope without him for the rest of the season. O'shea came in today and did the job but it will be another thing to try and fit in the role for the remaining games - both in the league and in the CL. I am eagerly waiting the news on Vidic's scan.

The boss did admit that we got the breaks today:

It was a marvellous result for us. We showed discipline and composure on the ball.Ronaldo's goal changed the game for us. It was a fantastic header. His spring and courage to go in front of the defender surprised the Roma player.It was a centre-forward's header - it reminded me of myself. I thought Roma had some good chances the first 15 minutes of the second half. But there are breaks in a football match and I think they were with us today.

 

 

Man of the Match : Tough one between Ronaldo and EVDS. Ronaldo shades it just.

Moment of the Match: EVDS's early second half save from a header at 1-0 that kept the lead intact.

Moan of the Match: Undoubtedly the injury suffered by Vidic.This could cost us the title and the CL. Such cruel similarity with the happenings of last season. [ Anderson's performance today was the runner up]

Focus is back on the bread and butter league this weekend. Thoughts on that when I get a chance to catch my breath.

Man Utd 4 0 Aston Villa

Manchester United 4 0 Aston Villa
Old Trafford, 03.29.2008

The best team in Europe does it in style! With Arsenal coming back from a 2 goal deficit at the Reebok to clinch 3 points, it was up to United to keep their lead intact at Old Trafford. Villa have a pathetic record against United, but as we all know, history counts for nothing on the day. I thought it would be a closer game than many thought - Villa have good quality all over the park. In Agbonlahor and Ashley Young they have players with raw pace who can beat their man. In Gareth Bary and Reo-Coker they have solidity in the middle of the park and John Carew can hold the ball up front decently.

I was not sure what team Fergie was going to line up today, given a tough away trip to Rome on Tuesday. But he did put out his best available 11 out there with Carrick and Scholes in the middle and Rooney and Tevez up front. Giggs and Ronaldo started on the wings and our best back four this season started as usual. Things looked positive and I was decently happy with the way we lined up.

Villa did start brightly, having the better of the exchanges in the first 10 minutes. It looked like an interesting morning in the making. It was that boy Ronaldo again, who put us ahead with an audacious back flick off a poorly cleared corner. The lad can do nothing wrong these days and there are absolutely no doubts in anyone's mind that he is THE best player in the world on current form. That helped settle us a little. Credit to Villa, they did come to play unlike many who just part their buses in front of the goal. They did try to have a go but Brown , Vidic and Rio were monumental in defense whenever called upon. It was Carrick though, who was spraying the ball all over the park and virtually running over Bary in midfield. He did make Don Fab's midweek selection against France look quite silly. There was some breathtaking play with Ronaldo, Giggs, Rooney and Tevez cutting open Villa on numerous occasions. This is Europe's best attacking force when on song. Ronaldo turned provider for the second, floating an amazingly inviting ball in the box. Tevez got at the end of it beautifully. 2-0 United in the 33rd and that was game set match!

Although this was a great performance and 3 points were virtually sealed at the half, I did want Rooney to score. He has been brilliant all season but without the luck he deserves in front of the goal. And given the crucial run in, it is imperative that Rooney and Tevez are full on confidence leading the attack. My prayers were answered soon enough as another breathtaking move put Rooney through and he rounded off Carson for a 3rd. It was expected Fergie would now rest some players as the conditions out there were getting really tough - but his substitutions would have left many surprised. He left all of Giggs, Scholes, Tevez, Ronaldo and Rooney on. He took off Carrick, Evra and Rio! On came Anderson, O'Shea and Hargreaves! Our back 4 had to reshuffle and I wasn't sure we can hold on to a clean sheet from that point on. Credit to the players - they did! Anderson came on and once again impressed me; what a season he is having! By no means is he playing like a 19 year old and if he continues to develop, we have a star in the making. It could have been a goal fest but both Tevez and Rooney missed a bunch of chances and it ended 4-0. A very well deserved result, loads of positives although the worry would be the knocks suffered by Giggs, and possibly Evra.

This is what the boss had to say after the game:

I think we showed fantastic energy today.That's a very pleasing aspect considering some of the players had been away for internationals and it was a very heavy pitch.I said last week the players had reached a peak and that continued today.I think the players realise now it’s a race to the line and we need consistency, we need real focus. They want to play at their very best. There’s good evidence of that in the last two games. Being at home is always an advantage of course but we’ve played against two very good sides so these (last two games) are good omens for us.We don’t feel that close (to the title) with six games left. We wish it was only one. Nonetheless I think there’s great confidence in the way the team is playing and that’s always good at this time of year.

Rooney said:

I'm very pleased. It's been a bit frustrating in the last few weeks. I had a chance just before I scored that I missed. I should have scored, and I felt like I wasn't going to score again. But I was delighted to get two goals in the end. It was a good game for us coming after international matches, it can be tricky. But we got two goals in the first half which settled us down, and then we got two more in the second half. It was a good performance all-round and a well-deserved win.Each game we get closer. But we have to keep playing our game and picking up the wins in every game. If we do that that will hopefully see us through.

On to Roma on Tuesday, premiership weekend round up and a Roma preview follows next!