UnitedBlog - All things Manchester United

Champions of Europe!

How can you possibly put that into words! What an incredible incredible day!

I hear there is a game tomorrow...

...an important one at that? Well a lot has been said about the game. We are favorities, Fergie needs it for his legacy, we've under-acheived in Europe and must win to set it right, the pitch is bad, we have the lucky dressing room at the stadium, Roman will have influenced the officials, Vidic sat out training, Cole was two footed by Makelele, the list goes on. When the ref blows the whistle, none of this will matter. The eleven players on the pitch have to win it on the day. Nothing that happens tomorrow will change the fact that this has been a great season or the fact that we have been the best team in Europe for two seasons running now. It'd be good to have the trophy tomorrow for validation and nothing else.

Fergie has talked about his selection dilemma, especially on this rare occasion when everyone is fit (yes, that includes paper cup Saha). He does have an interesting dilemma - does he start both Scholes and Giggs? We've not done very well when both have started recently , so should he stick to Park in the starting eleven? Giggs has experience but we can't afford two people having an off day in the middle. My starting line up would be: EVDS, Brown, Vidic, Rio, Evra, Scholes, Hargreaves, Carrick, Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez. That would mean we have the luxury of bringing in the likes of Park, Giggs, Nani and Anderson from the bench. Rio and Vidic, on form, should be able to take care of Drogba. We have to be wary of not affording the likes of Ballack or Lampard any space outside the box. Many teams get caught against Chelsea when the runners pick up the pieces from the front men. In Ballack and Lampard and Essien, they have players who can score from such situations. That is why Hargreaves must start in the holding role in front of the back four to mop all such balls away. Chelsea know only one way to play and they'll play from the back and test our patience. It won't be a classic but I think this one will be more open than the game we played against Barcelona at Nou Camp.

It's another 20 odd hours to kick off, by this time tomorrow we will know how it went down in Moscow.

All eyes on Super Sunday

So it all gets decided on Sunday. It's a tougher fixture than Chelski's but we have our destiny in our own hands.We need to keep it simple. Stick to the basics, play the way we've done all season and we will walk out as worthy champions. Any unusual or special tactics for this game will make it tricky. Wigan has some decent quality in a few areas - a testament to that been that both Palacios and Valencia have been rumored with a moved to United. Up front they have the bulky Heskey and Darren Bent and they could cause a few surprises from set pieces or long balls.

On the injury front, seems like Vidic will be fit for the game, but rumors about Rooney's injury being worse than initially suspected are worrying. He still needs to pass a medical to be deemed available to play. No one can compensate for his work rate and although we can do well without him on Sunday, but in Moscow, his absence will be a big blow. I hope that's not the case and he can play at 100% in both games.

Well, anything but a title win on Sunday will result in a feeling of injustice. It won't be easy to swallow. But one thing is for certain, the team has done all the fans proud. To be so close to two major championships and doing it the right way is no mean feat. This has been a fantastic season all round with the right signs for the future. Some young ones coming through like Anderson and the ones bought in for experience doing their jobs like Hargreaves. It just needs the well deserved icing in the form of the premiership title. That will be superb! It's going to be a heart stopping 90 minutes of action on Sunday!

West Ham Preview

This one can get us a game away from the title. A win will result in a huge amount of pressure on Chelski to win away on Monday. Anything less than a win and the title is over. We've lost the last three games against the Hammers so this is not an easy fixture by any means. Our ability to take chances early in front of the goal will be the key. If this is 0-0 in the 70th minute, we are bound to be more desperate and prone to trying different things and in general panicking. The mantra is to kill the game early - don't flirt with chances - no foreplay - just penetrate - goals goals goals - as early as we can.

Rooney and Vida are not fit to play. That means we will see Hargreaves at right back again. My pick would be Anderson,Fletcher and Carrick in the middle and Giggs and Ronaldo on the wing. There are no other options up front than to play Park and Tevez. Scholes deserves a rest. I expect it to be a physical game and they will do their best to make it disruptive. I do think though that Tuesday's game would have lifted the team and they'll go all out for a win tomorrow and get it.

There's a lot of transfer speculation going around - but with a game like this in the horizon and the title at stake, I don't want to spend any time discussing that. That's what summer's for. 3 points tomorrow will make my weekend, anything less will destroy a season. 4:30 PM PST kickoff means another sleepless night.

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!

Good News, Bad News and a small matter of a CL Semi Final

Not that it is a surprise, but Cristiano Ronaldo is PFA's Player of the year for 2nd year running. The guy has been miles ahead of everyone else and long may it continue. As he himself said though, it will be worthwhile only if we have anything to show for his form at the end of the season. This week will tell us a lot about that. So that was the good news and its out of the way.
It was also good to see Rio and Vidic as central defenders of choice for the team of the year - they really pick themselves up for those spots and this is really a world class partnership in the making. Our mean defense this season is really the reason we are top of the table right now - just ahead of Chelski on GD.

Now for the bad news. Contrary to Fergie's firm statement post Chelsea game that both Rio and Vidic will play on Tuesday, reports today suggest the haven't shrugged off their injuries yet. They didn't train with the squad and that really not good news. Both are very vital for us and in a game of this stature, we will definitely feel their absence. This injury bug has really hit us at the wrong time. I just hope Fergie's gamble of leaving it this late and not clinching the advantage early doesn't cost us the season.

All eyes will be at Old Trafford on Tuesday and both gaffers have come out stating their teams will go out and "attack attack attack". Well Fergie said that before the first leg and we didn't see that happening. This time though, I don't think we have any other options. An early goal for them is what I dread - I hope we don't concede all night. This is the kind of game the squad should be up for - the mathematics is simple - win it and you go to Moscow - lose it and you've let a great great opportunity to lift the European cup go by again - a chance that may not come back soon. It promises to be a cracker and contrary to the events at Nou Camp, I actually do think it will be a more open game with both sides showing intent to play. Team selection for us will be vital again and I hope its a balanced selection - not like the one we saw at the weekend. Alright then, tomorrow we will know if we are going to a European final for the first time this decade - it'll be sweet to do it in the 50th anniversary of Munich - but there is work to do yet.

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.

This week will decide it all

What a week of football this promises to be. For a fan there is nothing better than the fact that your team is still competing and involved at this time of the season. Big games coming thick and fast, blood pressure going through the roof, no nails left on the fingers and yet you wouldn't want to have it any other way. Barcelona and Chelsea, two away games in a matter of days, each game that could decide if we end up with silverware or not this season - no pressure.

Nou Camp is a special venue to anyone attached with the club. Every mention brings back memories of 99 and eventual hopes and comparisons to the treble year. The game tomorrow, will not be won based on history or form, it will be won by eleven players on the pitch. Nothing else will matter. I must admit this is the most confident the fans are going in to a big game. I think we have what it takes to win these sort of games now. We are tactically more aware (think Roma away) and have the midfield resources to run a game or change things if required. In spite of their domestic form, Barcelona are going to be formidable opponents. The occasion is such that all players will be up for it. I don't think this will be an out and out open game as many fans expect. Both sides will be cagey, we will have to be patient and be prepared to do some chasing especially in the initial part of the game. We will have to be extremely purposeful with the ball though, the game will be ours if we use the ball well whenever we get it and if we are clinical in front of the goal. Obvious words but I can't offer anything deeper at the moment.

The biggest selection dilemma facing Fergie will be the selections of Giggs and Scholes. Giggs had a howler at the weekend and Scholes has also shown cluelessness in recent games. Does Fergie go for the jugular and drop both? Will he play one for the experience? I would definitely go with Anderson, Hargreaves and Carrick with Nani, Rooney and Ronaldo.

This will be a big test for the squad. Not only for the maturity with which they handle highly skilled opponents on the pitch but also how the occasion and the venue impacts their mental mode. The back four will have their work cut out with the likes of Messi, Etoo, Bojan and Henry all capable of creating havoc. We've had bad memories of the likes of Ronaldo and Kaka almost single handedly messing us up in the past. That must not happen. This can become tricky for us as the threat of Messi and Bojan can keep our full backs busy and we will miss the runs of Evra and Brown down the flanks.

Anyways, I think this is when the fans stop talking and the players do the talking for the fans on the pitch. This is the biggest week of the season, and as games go, there will only be ONE game bigger than this one; that will be in Moscow and only if we get past this one.

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.