Nothing lost yet

I'm not really sure United had started the last 3 seasons (2 of which they went on to win) as well as they have this season. I'm not talking about the points here but the number of goals scored/created and the attacking intent. After all that's what matters to us United loyalists, doesn't it? It's just for this reason that I am not yet ready to throw in the towel on our title prospects though many are eager to do it this early in the season.

Yesterday's result against West Brom was a real testament to the fact that it's just the luck that United are lacking and that is making all the difference to the results. United could so easily have had 4 or 5 goals had the finishing been spot on. But they didn't really capitalize on all the chances and on the contrary had to live to rue the outcome. The 2 goals United conceded can only be termed fortuitous more than anything else and even West Brom will readily agree to it. The first one was a silly deflection (almost an own goal) and the second was a howler from the most experience keeper in the league! I would have expected United to respond since they had a good 35 minutes to change things around. But such has been the impact of conceding goals , after going ahead (it's such a disheartening thing), that I feel the players couldn't mentally get over it in time to conjure up a response (though they had done that successfully against Liverpool).

I know this post could so easily come across as a "set of excuses" but there are more things that have been going bad for United that are resulting in these kind of results. The biggest of them all has been Rooney. There have been too many things negatives happening around him, for him to play as well as he should (personal life, possible rift with Sir Alex and most importantly his (lack of) goal-scoring form). Wayne Rooney of the last season would have inspired his team coming at a similar situation. But yesterday, he looked too out of touch. For a change, even the Old Trafford faithful (the crowd) were too eager to head out assuming we wouldn't be able to turn it around (you could see empty seats even before the injury time could start) - too unusual a sight.

Perhaps it's all the mental thing that is causing all this and I'm sure Sir Alex will know that. It's time for the players, the supporters and the manager to toughen up and reduce the mistakes and take out the impact the ill-luck factor seems to be having. From watching United so closely for the last few seasons, that's what I feel they need right now. Because there isn't much we have lost yet even though we have dropped many a points. That is because I think it's only Chelsea that we need to fight for the title with and they are just 5 points away - all other teams have been showing too many weaknesses (City, Arsenal, Liverpool). The front men are finding goals pretty regularly in spite of Rooney's issues - Nani (who's just been brilliant), Berbatov (though his shooting isn't yet the best) and Chicharito are all in good touch. The back four aren't looking totally out of sorts specially after Rio's return. Things that really matter (in financial analysts' language, the fundamentals) are still not that bad and hence it's still not time to give in. And I firmly believe in it.

Not a bad start yet

5 games gone and this is my first update of the season - think I need to keep kicking myself to blog more regularly!
United have won all their home games so far this season and drawn 2 tricky away games. Considering United's starting troubles last few seasons, this can hardly be called a bad start. The only thing that doesn't let you say that it's been a "good start" is the fact that Chelsea are yet to drop points and they are sitting pretty with an enviable goal difference already. But in terms of the way we have played so far, I would say we have started very well.

Newcastle and West Ham at home were pretty much cake walks for United. Fulham away was an absolute mixture in terms of performance - Solid first half followed by a very erratic second. We had the chance to put the game to bed but we only ended up dropping 2 precious points and in the process lost a great chance to avenge last season's ignominious defeat. Ditto with Everton - showed great composure in going up 3-1 and yet came back home dropping points courtesy of a nervous injury time. In hindsight, I will agree with Sir Alex, it's not that United have defended very poorly. It's just that our defenders have let nerves reign on them at those crucial junctures.

The Liverpool game last week could so easily have turned into another disappointment had we not had the time to respond to the Steven Gerrard equalizer. United deservedly won the game and thankfully we didn't let a certain Fernando Torres grab the headlines!

United's style of play so far is enough evidence for me to think that United are on course to mounting a strong title challenge. There have been enough goals scored and that too with our main man Rooney having scored just one! Berbatov is finally come into his own and doing justice to his talent and his price tag. He's found his silken smooth touch as well the finishing one to make us enjoy watching him play in the United shirt. The hat-trick against Liverpool hopefully will take him to another level (and strikers are all about confidence aren't they?). Nani is another player who seems to have found his rhythm early on in the season. He seems to only carry on from where he left off last season. Though Valencia will be missed for his honest deliveries, I just think his absence will be a God-send for Nani to capitalize on since he clearly seems to relish playing on the right flank. The player who's most impressed me this season has been our midfield maestro Paul Scholes. He's just making all of us, who were hoping we bought a central midfielder in the summer, look like idiots. His passing (and his shooting) has been just deadly accurate. My only concern is how many games he can play all season because if he doesn't United look quite different (remember the Rangers game?).

There is also a little bit of rustiness United are carrying at the moment and hopefully it will soon be polished away - I am talking about Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra specifically. Though both did play well against Liverpool, I still think they are a bit of distance away from their best. In the defense, I hope Jonny Evans matures up and cuts down on the mistakes he tends to make. Perhaps the competition with Smalling will spur him up a bit! Also, I think we need to get Rafael play more regularly since we just don't have a regular right back and that sometimes hurts.

Preview Season 2010-11

I'm so thankful the new season is finally here after that defensive and boring World Cup! I can now savor the fast and feisty English league again. Overall, one should feel the new season will have a lot to offer : The top four demarcation has gotten more hazier than ever thanks to the likes of Tottenham and City. City have bought a host of new talent - Silva, Toure and with Balotelli seemingly on his way, they definitely seem stronger on the paper. Liverpool will definitely do better than last season, under Roy Hodgson while Chelsea and United think they are good to go without too many changes to their squads.

From United's perspective, I am quit OK with the squad with the only exception being the fact that we have not added a quality central midfielder. Everybody has been talking of the importance of us buying an attacking midfielder all through the summer. With Anderson and Hargreaves indefinitely out, and Scholes aging, it's only Fletcher and Carrick that we have as established midfielders. Cleverly and Gibson are still young and untested on the league scene (though Gibson has shown promise). I think Sir Alex is taking a bit of risk by not adding a decent midfielder. For us to do well we will need most, if not all of these things to happen - Scholes should play at least 20 league games at the top of his game (he definitely showed he can do that in the Community Shield!), Carrick needs to rediscover his form, Fletcher will have to play week-in week-out as well as he did last season, if not better. Gibson and Cleverly will have to come up with impact performances whenever required to do so. Else we might struggle!

Midfield apart, I am quite happy with our forces in the other departments, especially the forward line. With Hernandez oozing so much promise and confidence and Berbatov looking more determined than I have seen him all my life, we won't have to rely on Rooney as much as we did last season.

Favourites: Though most people are favouring Chelsea to start with, I am not sure any team can feel overtly confident about winning the league outright and it is true about Chelsea as well. I foresee another topsy turvy title race involving mainly Chelsea, United and Arsenal. I actually feel Chelsea could struggle more than they did last season, their aging side being the cause! Also, I see Tottenham doing better than City, since I feel they will be on a high following last season and will only grow stronger under Harry Rednapp. I watched City a few times last season and I feel that under a man like Mancini, they almost look scared to play free-flowing attacking football inspite of the resources they have. Don't think that will change much - Italian defensive mentality the reason? May be.

The season that was...

I know this post has come quite late but then as the cliche goes..."better late than never".

So in the end, United couldn't quite make the history of winning 4 successive league titles. I think Liverpool's inability to get any points against Chelsea in their penultimate game was really the clinching point as far as the fate of the title was concerned. Liverpool can't really be blamed as they had played a grueling tie just a couple of days before that game. Though United won the games they had to after dropping points at Ewood Park, in the end it just didn't suffice.

To be honest (and I might have made this point before too) when the season started, I really didn't expect the United team to win either the League title or the CL. The reason was simple, I just didn't see the goals that went out with the departure of Tevez and Ronaldo getting replaced. I was barely impressed with Berbatov last season and I am really not surprised he came a cropper again this season. It has only been because of the brilliant tally Wayne Rooney could muster and the huge own goal count that United were able to score enough goals to stay in the hunt until the last day. Though I am tempted to commend Sir Alex for his confidence in his team, I feel vindicated about the fact that he missed a trick by not signing at least one big name player after Ronaldo's departure. The fact that we didn't have one more important goal scorer apart from Rooney was felt most when Rooney was injured during those crucial games late in the season against Chelsea and Rovers. I am sure most people will agree with me that's where we lost the title.

But there's no denying it was a funny season overall. Because United lost a whopping 7 games while Chelsea had a poor away record for most part of the season. Although I would attribute us dropping points to the spate of injuries our defenders had in the middle of the season, I still feel United could have gained from other title contenders dropping so many points by having a better strike force. In the end, I guess it's fair to concede the title to Chelsea on the grounds that they had a better record against the other top 4 sides which we didn't really enjoy (Although I still remember luck playing a major role in their doing a double over us!)

So, what should Sir Alex do for the next season. I think when our defense is fit, there is no denying we are one of the most miserly teams in Europe. With Evans filling in well for Ferdinand and the fact that young Smalling will be with United next season, I think we're well covered there. It's pretty much the same with full-backs. Evra continues to be brilliant form while Brown-Neville-Rafael trio keep the right back position in good stead. In the midfield, Fletcher and Scholes were brilliant this season. But with Scholes aging and Carrick at best enjoying a patchy season, we might do well do bring in a young attacking midfielder and groom him.

Valencia was absolutely brilliant and if Nani can stay as consistent as he was during the title run-in, the wings aren't really an area of concern. But I wouldn't mind somebody like Silva coming in, specially when there are rumours he might be interested in coming to Old Trafford.

As far as the strike force goes, a support striker for Rooney is an absolute necessity. I don't know if the new recruit Hernandez is being relied upon to do that, but given that he's a newcomer to England and that he might need some settling down time, I guess we could do well to sign one decent striker (with or without Berbatov staying back). I just can't see Sir Alex not doing anything about the striker situation specially after seeing the kind of poor hauls we've got from Owen and Berbatov. Overall, it will be an interesting summer transfer season. But yeah, another one where we'll have to live with the torrid transfer rumours.

Back in the hunt

I should say I am still trying to catch my breath. What a weekend it has been. It seems the footballing Gods were smiling at United all weekend. An injury-time derby win, Chelsea's loss at Tottehnam and Arsenal sinking at Wigan - not even the most ardent United fan would have foreseen such a favourable set of events unfolding this weekend!

Truth be told, it didn't seem to be going very well for United at the Eastlands for most of the derby. United were up against a City team that had scored goals in heaps in the past few games. But after the opening whistle, Mancini seemed to be playing more for a draw than a win and City were hence difficult to break down. United on the other hand were playing a determined game - after all they needed nothing less than a victory to get back in the title hunt. But given that the game was a cagey affair for most part and that United were playing only a half-fit Rooney upfront, it seemed we had a tall order to climb. Though we created the best of the few chances the game saw, it seemed we were heading for another goalless draw that could put the title beyond us. But United showed why they are the most resilient side in world football. With just 10 seconds to go on the clock, Patrice Evra delivered a pin-point cross to the Paul Scholes who had advanced into the City penalty box without anybody picking him. The unassuming legend coolly headed the ball into the corner of the net and United had won another derby in the injury time this season (the Spirit of '99 lives on!). Suddenly, we were back in the title race. You had to watch the victory celebrations to understand what that goal meant - everybody, including Sir Alex, was dancing in delight. I did my share of dancing too for the "noisy neighbours" had been silenced again and a 4th consecutive title was a possibility again!

I am sure Chelsea players' morale would have been dented after watching United win that way at Eastlands. Add to that they were playing Tottenham who were flying high after a landmark victory against their own neighbours Arsenal . John Terry was lucky he wasn't penalised for a handball against Bolton in the mid-week. But it was a case of "what goes around comes around" when he was punished just for that (though a soft one I should say) at the Lane and Tottenham were ahead pretty early-on. Gareth Bale then finished them off with a goal any striker would be proud of. Chelsea just couldn't find the answers, especially after they lost Terry who saw a Red card. Though the game ended 2-1, I was actually disappointed Spurs didn't score more (goal-difference could still decide the title!). They failed to convert at least 2 chances that could only be called sitters! But then, I am more than happy with them returning the favour United provided them by beating City.

Arsenal would have felt they were back in it after Chelsea lost in North London but I discovered they blew a 2 goal advantage against Wigan in the last 10 minutes. They are definitely, now, out of the race. I couldn't help thinking this was a divine week for United. Just everything going for us and against our title contenders. But it also shows how every week could be a turning point this stage of the season. United are still a point adrift and we still have to hope Chelsea drop points for us to have a chance. And the 3 remaining games are not easy by any stretch of one's imagination. The title race has been the most topsy-turvy one this season and I believe it's going to be that way all the way to the finish. I just hope all the turns the race is going to take will be in our favour!

Chelsea double and CL heartbreak!

I'm wondering why all the forces seem to be conspiring against United during this crucial phase of the season. Rooney was injured against Bayern last week where we gave away a silly goal in the injury time. Chelsea came to Old Trafford hoping to do a rare double (they had won by a controversial goal at the Bridge when United had dominated the game!) and cash-in on the absence of Wayne Rooney. Everybody knew United looked really feeble without him, at least on paper. So, it needed a really determined performance from United to get something against the Blues. But given that we were playing after the away game at Bayern in the mid-week (while Chelsea were resting!) and the fact that we had the old legs of Neville, Scholes and Giggs playing consecutive games, it really looked like a difficult proposition. Chelsea tried to exploit just that. They took the game to United straight-away with pace upfront and United were left to chase the game for a good hour's play having conceded early on. But United being United showed great resilience to make a match out of it in the second half. Though we lacked a creativity, we did pressurise Chelsea a great deal. Just when one could think there was a revival in store, the linesman gifted a crucial goal to Drogba by failing to spot a clear off-side. Though we did strike back immediately, that controversial goal seemed to have put the issue far beyond United. Add to that the inability of Berbatov to convert a couple of good chances, United seemed destined to give Chelsea the leeway in the title race. With tough fixtures still to come for both title contenders, I think there are still going to be more twists in this season's topsy-turvy title race.

Last night was an absolute heart-break. United were 3-nill up in no time at all against Bayern and that too with no real contribution from Wayne Rooney (Nani played like a man possessed!), our biggest goal-scorer, and yet we are out of the tournament by means of away-goal rule. Though it's inexplicable, I will just put that down to sheer bad luck. Young Rafael forgot that he was on a yellow already and obstructed Ribery and got a second yellow in an utterly naive way. The tackle might have warranted a yellow, but most referees would have thought twice about giving it as it was going to be the second for the youngster and given that Ribery was way away from a goal-scoring position. But pressure from the Germans meant the ref had to make the decision in their favour and with almost 30 minutes remaining, you just felt that was it for United. I am sure Bayern would have scored more if they needed to, specially with the players they had. United had already conceded a soft goal and all they needed was a solitary goal to advance. Another contributing factor yesterday was Rooney's injury. Rooney played most of yesterday limping. I don't know why he was persisted with even after we had 3 goals on the sheet. With him struggling, United barely got a move going. Perhaps a quick substitution would have brought us another goal considering the speed with which we had scored the first 3. On a night when anybody would have been forced to think United are not just a one-man army and that we were almost unbeatable when we need to force the issue at Old Trafford, United were knocked out, at the end of the day, by a silly, soft yellow card. And I find it really hard to take.

Like I said before, United still have tough games coming up in the league and we'll have to win all of them as well as hope Chelsea are going to drop points, to win the League title. In season where United didn't look a great side for most part of the season, we still fought hard and reached great positions both in Champions League and the league title race. It would be really unfair if United don't win any silverware apart from just the Carling Cup. Hopefully that will not be the case!

League status and CL hopes

United have been having a good run since that embarrassing loss to Everton at the Goodison. They must be specially feeling good about settling the scores against Liverpool at home (after defeats in the last 3 meetings!) and against Bolton away (always a tight fixture). We still have at least 3 tricky fixtures (if not more) before the end of the season, with Chelsea, City and Tottenham to be played. One doesn't need an expert to point out United has tougher list of fixtures in the run-in compared to that of Chelsea and Arsenal. In fact, looking at the list of fixtures Arsenal had, I had a strange feeling Arsenal could yet have the last laugh in the race. But with them dropping points at Birmingham, the advantage is back with United and Chelsea at this point in time.

Everybody had been looking at Chelsea's visit to Old Trafford as the title deciding fixture of the season even as early as January. That remains true even now, just a couple of days left for the game! But the Champions' League game at Munich has given us a scare, a big one at that. The fact that Rooney is injured and could miss atleast 3 league games. I had commented in one of my posts (at least 10 games ago) that Rooney staying fit would be a crucial factor in deciding whether United would win or lose the league this season. And that has taken even bigger importance with the amount of goals Rooney has scored for United this fabulous season (34 so far). I am sure Rooney not playing would be a big boost for Chelsea. Though I would say United winning this Saturday will be a difficult task, I feel United aren't in that bad a situation than they could have been. Though United's second top scorer this season has been Mr. Own Goals, the fact that Berbatov has had a successful couple of games playing all alone, filling in for Rooney, kind of alleviates the situation a bit. So, if Berbatov, Sir Alex's costliest buy, can half fill for Rooney (read provide support to midfield) and the rest of United do their job well (specially the defense of Vidic and Ferdinand), I definitely fancy United to avenge for that unfortunate defeat by a solitary goal at the Bridge).

It's pretty much the same story as far as the return leg against Bayern is concerned. How Berbatov fills in for Rooney is definitely going to be a big factor. Apart from that, United will have to exact the best out of themselves in the other departments (midfield and defense) and we can surely make it past Bayern. After all, we have a crucial away goal to our credit!

Wolves win, Milan thumping and Ronny rues

Last Saturday was a nervy day for me. No, it wasn't because United were playing one of the big four or something but for the simple reason that United were playing Wolves away without our prime hit-man Wayne Rooney! Things were only getting worse when United looked to be heading to a stalemate well into the second half until midfield maestro by the name of Paul Scholes popped in and cast his signature on the game, in the process completed a ton of League goals. United won 1-0 and I must say that was thanks mainly to the reunion of Rio and Vidic at the back. Going by the struggle our defense has had without the duo most of the season, the result could have been much different had it not been for them (Never mind if we were only playing Wolves!). People said Berbatov played a part in the game and did well in place of Rooney. I would beg to differ. Berbatov did do a decent job of holding up the defenders thanks to his deft touches, but he didn't create or come up with anything brilliant. In fact I thought he was way too slow to be involved in the counter attacks United thrives on. Nani was another player who looked to lack confidence. Back to good old days? I'm not really sure, because I feel the real problem is with him not playing on the right flank. If that is indeed the case, I am not sure Sir Alex would want him to switch positions with Valencia. Not for my money because the unassuming Mr Valencia has fetched us absolute gold this season on the right wing.

Now to the much talked about Milan game. One thing I realized past Wednesday night was this - one brilliant player can make your team look average or great! The last time United were knocked out of Champions league, it was that rainy day at the San Siro 3 seasons ago and it was purely because of the then best player in the world - Kaka. This time around, the tide seemed to have reversed. Wayne Rooney did a Kaka. He scored 2 more goals to add to his 2 at Siro and in the process finished the Rossoneri in no time at all. Is it any coincidence Rooney is being touted the best player in the world right now?

Personally, I was a little anxious about the game. Since Milan had just a single goal deficit and the fact that they had always defeated United over 2 legs any Red devil fan would have been a little nervous. As far as i was concerned it was about who'd score the first goal. Thankfully it was Rooney's head doing the talking again (quite early in the first half) and when he scored the second, it was curtains on Milan's hopes. Two players who stood out (and they always inherently do but aren't spoken about!) were Fletcher and Park. According to me these are the players that are the heart and soul of United set up. Your Rooneys and Ronaldos and Beckams and Cantonas will get all the praise in the world when United wins those silverwares. But these players do well because players like Fletcher and Park do the difficult and dirty work in the background. Park was entrusted with the role of marking Pirlo and everybody knows he did that perfectly. Fletcher came up with his usual hardworking best over the two legs. It is players like these who work hard so United can play true to their wisdom of beautiful, fast-paced and counter-attacking football.

While Rooney and Co were running rampage over Milan, our hero until not so long ago was shaking his head heading into the Bernabeu tunnel realizing that he will not be playing the big CL games he played with his Red pals all of last few seasons. What more, Rooney being touted the next big thing must be hurting him although I am sure they are the best of friends. Now, I am not going to be immature and start a was-Ronaldo-wrong-to-leave-United debate most people seem to like these days. Ronaldo did what his heart told him and he should stick to that. I just wonder if United would have struggled at all this season had he and Tevez stayed. But then who was going to guarantee Rooney wouldn't play on the wing anymore had Ronaldo stayed? Personally, being a big fan of Rooney, I just think Ronaldo had done a major favour to his friend by following his heart!

Everton 3 : 1 United

There are somethings about home-advantage in football I find difficult to comprehend. It's the same pitch and ball you play with and yet some teams seem to totally get into a new Avataar when playing at home and dangerously so. Burnley have been a classic example this season (just one point away against 22 at home!). Teams like Fulham, West Ham, Aston Villa are sometimes more difficult to play away than some of the top 4. I'm sure people will readily point out it's the crowd support that makes the difference. But is it that difficult for modern-day professional footballers (who I am sure get enough training on staying mentally tough) to negate the influence of opposite teams' crowd support on their games? Or am I undermining the strength of the proverbial twelfth man in football?

Everton are not a team to be left behind in this debate because they are always a tough team to play in their backyard. And how well they vindicated that fact yesterday!

Fresh from defeating Chelsea less than 2 weeks ago and smarting from a narrow derby loss, Everton was not the best place to visit around this time. Specially for United who were coming off a hard earned victory at Milan. It was a little surprising Sir Alex went into this one with a 4-4-2 and not the time tested 4-5-1 that has been so productive this season in terms of results. You could see the effects straight-away - Everton seemed to enjoy bullying United midfield as the game got into its stride. The flip side though was that United went ahead through a nicely taken goal by Berbatov, a player who wouldn't have featured if United had gone with a lone striker! Everton shot right back through Bilyaletdinov's stunning goal, a thunder-bolt really! All this within the first 20 minutes and it seemed that we could be up for a goal fest! Rooney could easily have scored United's second had it not been for that one touch he took after rounding off Tim Howard that was wee bit heavy. Overall, first half was mostly an end-to-end affair with some really exciting football to watch.

Second half looked a bit cagey unlike the first for a good 15 minutes. But after that it was all Everton. The second string United defense of Browne and Evans looked more and more shaky.

Everton began to boss the proceedings and eventually resulted in their second goal. United pushed hard for the equalizer but seemed to lack the sting, specially with Rooney having an off day at his old club. Everton finally finished off United in the 90th minute through a brilliant solo effort from teenager Jack Rodwell.

The game was mainly lost in the midfield, I would say. I am quite sure a 5 man United mid-field would have definitely dented Everton's game. But then, United also looked tired as a unit and you can't play the aging Scholes week-in week-out! Browne and Evans struggled to say the least and I feel that was the clinching factor as far as this game was concerned.

So, it's 6 losses so far this season and we still have about 11 games to go! My initial assessment at the start of the season was that United would struggle due to the lack of goals after Ronaldo's departure. But I now realize that United's defense is more crucial to their prospects than their frontline. Last season, United came up with one of the least goal tallies to win the title (oh yeah, Ronaldo was still with us!) and that was largely due to the exploits of the Vidic and Ferdinand's partnership along with that of Van der Saar. United always score goals because of the way they play their game (and we must be so thankful for that!) But this season has been an absolute testament to the fact that United's defense is perhaps more vital to their title aspirations than their frontline.

Obviously, the season is not over yet and how we should be happy about that. Any other season and 6 defeats would have meant good-bye to the title! Yet this season, freak as it is, a couple of slip-ups by Chelsea and United could still sneak away with the title. Can't wait for Chelsea to come to Old Trafford!

Gunners gunned down at the Emirates 3-1

When Nani came to Old Trafford 2 seasons ago , he was handed quite a few few league starts for somebody so new to England. Yet, he was one of the stand-out performers in those early games when Rooney and Ronaldo were being missed immensely and United had a rather slow start to their season. One of those performances involved a stunning long range goal and we all thought that Nani would be a permanent on the United wings. But things didn't turn out as scripted. As time progressed, Nani was in and out of the starting eleven. His performances since last season have been particularly patchy. Until a couple of weeks ago, most people thought he'd leave United sooner or later. But if yesterday's performance is anything to go by, Nani is going to be a certainty on the United wings. Because last night, Nani almost single handedly demolished the Gunners through sheer pace and trickery!

Until last weekend, the title race was clearly a 3-way tussle. United and Arsenal have been hot on Chelsea's heels for a few weeks now. And despite Arsenal's goalless draw away at Villa, United were not going to take them lightly, specially when Arsene Wenger seemed to suggest that his young side had grown up since their Champions League semi-final defeat to United last season. Hence it came as no surprise that we started with the conservative 4-5-1 with only Rooney upfront. I was surprised to see Nani play on the right instead of the ever-reliant Valencia, who instead started on the bench. Nani's recent performances surely seemed to have impressed Sir Alex.

United began very well, I thought, gaining good possession in the initial 10-15 minutes and even giving a couple of scares to Almunia. Arsenal didn't seem to hold back and they reciprocated in kind. Andre Arshavin, who was playing upfront in the absence of key strikers, seemed to be giving a tough time to Browne, who himself has been a make-shift Center-half for United. Arshavin had 2-3 chances to outwit Browne and score the first goal but his decision making didn't seem to at its best! Instead, it was United who took the lead and it came courtesy of a brilliant piece of play by Nani. He outwitted about three defenders, cut in and popped out what seemed to be a supply for the incoming Park which Almunia inexplicably finger-tipped into his own net! United's second came almost immediately after that and in the form of a stunning counter attack. Rooney and Nani played a delightful one-two from the edge of their own penalty box into Arsenal's to score probably one of the best goals you'd see on a counter attack. Arsenal seemed shell shocked to know what was happening let alone conjure up a response. It ended that way into the break, though United could have gone in 3-0 had Nani scored when presented with a golden chance.

United only seemed to carry on that way into the second half. As Arsenal began to press for a goal, United found another opportunity to counter and this time it was Park who found himself through and came up with a clinical finish to put United 3-nil up with almost an half to go. The game seemingly put to bed in a hurry! Though it's too risky to rule out Arsenal out of games whatever the situation is, United went about the job of slowing the pace of the game through better possession. Though the Gunners looked a little threatening after getting a goal around 80th minute, it only proved to be a consolation. United deservedly came on top on what was an amazing display of how to play Arsenal at the Emirates.

Overall it was a brilliant game for United who only seemed to be carrying on from where they left in the Carling cup semi-final. Nani was undoubtedly the man of the moment for United. Rooney was not to be left behind. He got his 20th league goal, his best tally so far, and could have had more! Hats off to Sir Alex for playing the tactical game so shrewdly. The midfield trio of Scholes, Fletcher and Carrick were just brilliant. Initially Scholes was found a little wanting on the pace front and hence wasn't able to catch up with Arsenal's key man Fabregas. But once that role was taken up by Carrick, everything seemed to fall in place as the Red Devils controlled the midfield.

With this game, Arsenal could well be out of the title race, though I must say this season has been the riskiest for putting your title bets on! Chelsea still are effectively 4 points ahead. United will have to carry the momentum forward if they are to stay in the hunt. Title hopes aside, what a game for us United supporters. Easily the best game of our season!

United 4 : 0 Hull

What will it take for Man United to win a record 4th consecutive league title this season? The answer is very very simple: Wayne Rooney staying fit and keeping his goal-scoring form intact. And if he's going to continue scoring as many goals as he scored against Hull last night, rest assured he'll break all the existing goal scoring records! Because his score yesterday was (not 1, not 2...but) an astonishing 4!

United had it relatively easy yesterday against the bottom of the table Hull. One of those games where United created so many chances, they could have had a double digit score. Spurred on by an early goal by Wayne Rooney, United looked impressive in their movement and created numerous chances. It was significant according to me because we didn't have our usual threat in the form of Valencia on the right. Instead it was Nani, perhaps playing on the right for the first time this season. For a change Micheal Owen was partnering Rooney upfront and I must say the partnership looked quite promising.

Though we didn't look really sharp for much of the second half and were fighting to hold on to the slender lead, the flood gates were opened for Wayne Rooney towards the end. The United hit-man scored 3 in the last 10 minutes to notch up a brilliant personal feat. There have been so many days when one would have felt Rooney deserved more goals for his performance. But yesterday it seemed just perfect. Even he won't be unhappy with having 4 against his name. He just looks set to go higher and higher up with his performances this season.

The most significant highlight for me from last night was Nani's performance. There has been a lot of speculation on his future the whole of this season thanks to his poor form on the flanks. Nani, to me has always looked like a talented footballer ever since he moved 3 seasons ago. But if there was one thing that he's been found wanting on, it has been his temperament. He looks a natural winger with pace and trickery but most times, specially this season, seems confused about whether to act as the provider or the shot-taker and most times comes up short in either of the ways he goes. That has been the reason behind the lack of confidence the management has shown towards him - so evident when you see the young and untested Obertan preferred to him. Luckily, Nani has looked to do the basics right in the last 2 games that he has played. He came up with a decent show against City the other night. And last night, he looked even better, putting in easily his best show this season. Perhaps he prefers playing on the right but with Valencia having cemented that position, he's had to play on the left most often than nought.

Another star last night was the evergreen Scholes. He dictated the game from the midfield pulling every string he had in his control. He has looked a little patchy of late, but last night's performance definitely showed he might be back at his passing best.

United would now be looking forward to playing Arsenal away next week. But before that, they have unfinished business in the Carling Cup return leg. So much has been spoken about the first leg - the performance and the Tevez controversy. But as far as I am concerned, United were desperately unlucky to come out second best that day. We looked so sharp and created so many chances, specially while trailing 1-2. Had it not been for that Irishman Shay Given, United would definitely have had more goals. Perhaps starting with the deficit sets the right tone for United to go for an all-out attack against their "noisy" neighbors! Can't wait for the game to start!

Link to the Highlights: http://www.footytube.com/video/manchester-united-hull-city-jan23-32208

Hull 1 : 3 United

What a relief it was to see United secure a victory yesterday. After the twin set-backs against Villa and Fulham (if you take away the gift from Wolves!), I was wondering if United will have it easy at all anymore even if it was against a team like Hull who have perpetually been locked in the relegation battle. The worry was vindicated to a large extent yesterday. United barely looked at their best yet came away with 3 valuable points in the bag!

After the disappointment at Craven Cottage the onus was totally on us to do well against the struggling Hull. To me seeing Vidic and Browne on the starting sheet was such big news. In the wake of the worst injury crisis I have seen United go through, the make-shift defense was exposed against Villa and Fulham (I guess you should ask Bobby Zamora how he felt about playing against our Nth string defense. He looked like Torres' Guru in that game!) and having a traditional 4-4-2 was as if United had been gifted with an unlikely Christmas present! United players had to come to their own, still, and that's where the drubbing at Fulham seemed to be having a hangover effect. It was Scholes' misplaced pass that lead to Fulham's first goal (another one by Murphy) and at the KC Stadium misplaced passes was becoming the order of United's game. The Skysports commentators had lost count of the number of times United gave away possession just in the first half. Hull consequently had a few good chances but their not so accomplished strike force meant they couldn't really capitalize. United, on the other hand, still had a few good opportunities to take the lead luckily they could convert one, late in the first half, through Rooney. In spite of not having played their best football, United had their noses in front at the break!

A few minutes into the second half it pretty much seemed to be the continuation of United's possession-gifting game. Things got worse when Rooney's inexplicable back-pass straight into the path of Fagan lead to Hull's equalizer through a penalty. After the penalty was converted, United had about 30 minutes for redeeming the situation and any United supporter would have been feeling the nerves like I did. Rooney took that task upon himself and more than redeemed himself by being responsible for United's 2nd and 3rd goals. United's second came of a lightning counter-attack (happy to see that after a long time!), though through an own goal and the third was an easy tap-in for Berbatov created smartly by Rooney.

Finally United could boast of a comfortable victory (only going by the score-line mind you!) to somewhat bury ghosts of Fulham. Though we can always argue that the defeats to Villa and Fulham were due to the defensive injuries, United still have to get their act together in other parts of the pitch. Berbatov still doesn't seem to have settled and he is nowhere near the threat he used to be at Tottenham. I still have a feeling letting go Tevez for the Bulgarian (though it seemed to be the logical way) and it really hurts to see him score so many goals for City like they way he has been. More than the goals, I sorely miss Tevez's 'never say give up' attitude and his work rate which Berbatov undoubtedly lacks in tons (he says that's his style but I just don't agree!). Anyways it's Rooney who's doing all the hard work for United by getting on the score-sheet and long may it continue.

We are just 2 points off the top and what a blessing it has been. Chelsea, I would have thought, would have run away with the title by now but thanks to their inept form, we are still in with a big chance to win the title.

With half the season just over for us here is my take on the season so far : I had actually thought that Sir Alex was too ambitious in vying for the title without bringing in replacements for Ronny and Tevez. Though Sir Alex's strategy seems to be working (largely courtesy of others' dropping points), I still feel we need somebody who can account for about 10-15 goals for us. With Berbatov proving to be as less prolific as he has been and Owen being played as little as he has been, I am just not happy with our over-reliance on Wayne Rooney. Midfield (mostly Giggs and Valencia) have contributed some goals but how much can we rely on them to deliver? So the bottom line is that all our fortunes squarely rest on young Rooney's shoulders. Hopefully he will stay fit and keep that scoring rate for the whole of the season.

The midfield has been a mixture this season. Fletcher has emerged as our numero uno. Scholes started the season brilliantly until the game against Sunderland and his form since then has been patchy to say the least. Carrick and Anderson are yet to attain great consistency this season and Hargreaves' absence has been so sorely felt specially when we have lost to teams like Chelsea and Liverpool. Valencia seems to have found some form and I would say he has exceeded most people's expectation.

Our defense has been ultra reliable last 3 seasons. With Ferdinand left injured for most of this season, we have seen holes appear there with or without the likes of Browne and Evans to replace him. Just shows how much of an asset the Vidic-Rio partnership has been for us. To me, Vidic's presence at the back will determine if we are going to win the league or not.

I'm not very bullish about our chances in the Champions' League this season. I will be happy if we can make it past the quarter finals stage. From there on anything can happen!

United 0 : 1 Villa

This is my 6th post for the season and I just can't believe I'm going to post my 3rd on a defeat!

It's been that kind of a season this, United had already tasted defeat 3 times with the season not even at half way stage. Just when United were looking like they will go on a long and healthy run after the bitter disappointment at Chelsea, United came short again, this time at home.

Villa have been United's bogey team for some time now. But they have come leaps and bounds under the ambitious Martin O'Neil, hoping to mount a challenge for a top 4 slot. They came agonizingly close to achieving that as well as turning their record against United around last season. It was only the Macheda miracle that stopped Villa from going back from Old Trafford with some points last season. This time around, one would have thought it wasn't going to be any easy for them to gain anything from this fixture. Surely, with United on the upswing with plenty of goals off late, it was only natural for anybody to think so. If anything, it was United's injury crisis that had led to United having to string a make-shift defense for last few matches that was the worrying factor. And that's how it turned out, unfortunately. A shock first half goal from Agbonlahor, that saw Villa aerially threaten United defense (read Wes Browne), turned out to be United's undoing. United's lack of luck at the other end meant that United just couldn't capitalize on the Golden opportunity Everton had provided us (they drew 3-3 at Stamford Bridge) to go level with Chelsea at the top of the table.

I have to say that United going with Rooney as the sole striker was a worrying factor for me as I looked at the starting line-up. But given that United had scored plenty of goals in the last 2 league encounters with the same strategy, you wouldn't really question Sir Alex's strategy. With Rooney coming agonizingly close to scoring on two occasions in the first half, I felt parity would be restored sooner rather than later. But it wasn't to be. Also, introducing Owen right at the beginning of the second half did suggest a little bit of haste in United's decision making (as if there was a sudden loss of trust in the lone-striker ploy). United looked too anxious to equalize and perhaps that didn't help. Villa looked more resolute in the second half and as a result the number of chances we had were lesser than those in the first. So, in retrospect one can only think what would have been the case had we gone with 2 strikers straightaway - perhaps with Owen just fresh from his hat-trick, there would have been a different story to tell. Having said that, I also feel that the one-striker ploy could not have been avoided as it probably was a ripple effect of the weakened defense.

Though United failed to capitalize on the Chelsea slip-up, I wouldn't really mind being just 3 points away from the top. United's patchy performance is not unexpected given that we have not really been able to fill the void left by Ronaldo and Tevez (in the goal-scoring department). I just hope United will learn from these mistakes and avoid further dropping of points. I also hope United get back to the good old 4-4-2 for the simple reason that I feel Rooney, even though he has been brilliant in shouldering the goal-scoring responsibilities, sometimes is overawed by his lack of goals on a bad day at office. If Owen or Berbatov can find some form upfront, I am sure we could see more and more of Rooney's brilliance.

Pompey 1 : 4 United

I wasn't too lucky to witness the whole of this match as I was travelling during most of the game but was filled with immense joy when I got to know, the following morning, that United had won by a big margin (3 goals is quite big in away games isn't it?!) and the fact that Rooney had scored a hat-trick was really the icing on the cake.
I could watch about 30 minutes of the first half and I really was surprised that Avram Grant's appointment as their manager had really rallied them. It showed in their performance upfront with them looking to take the game to United. I honestly felt that playing Rooney alone at the front was a little defense tactic specially after seeing Giggs playing as just a winger and not a support striker.

Portsmouth looked really sharp to begin with and could have had a goal if not for Tomasz who showed brilliant reflexes in front of the goal. I think the first goal (the only one I was able to witness) was all courtesy of Valencia's brilliance. He outrun Hreiderssen so easily with his sweltering pace and it was his pass to Rooney that resulted in the penalty. Was happy to see Rooney convert it in clinical fashion.
I didn't catch up with much of the game after that. But I was able to watch the highlights of the game the following day and man was it satisfying to do that. Conceding the goal through a non-existent penalty notwithstanding (that decision was perhaps the worst penalty decision I've seen!) United I think were outstanding. Rooney's second and third goals were clinical again. I think with these 2 converted penalties, there won't be any arguments further on as to who'd take our penalties from now on. Also, I guess if somebody was due for hat-trick, it had to be Wayne Rooney, for all the hard work he'd been putting day-in and day-out for United specially after goal-scoring responsibility had been thrust squarely on his shoulders. Ryan Giggs was back to his brilliant best, coming up with a goal to remember to score his 100th. Add that to the 2 assists it was another MOM (Man of the Match) performance by the legend. People had been calling for bringing in players like Ribery and Silva to replace Ronaldo. How many of us have realized that Giggs has effectively been playing the role Ronaldo used to play- scoring goals, providing assists and taking free-kicks! I'm already thinking the PPFA Player of the Year is a long gone conclusion if we win the titleLong live the Welsh legend.
I also think Valencia came up with one of his best performances of his short United career yet. He kept running down the flanks all day and was a perennial threat. I like the fact that he is a very traditional minded winger who mainly concentrates on delivering good passes from the wide than trying to be a hero on his own (unlike players like Nani) and that I guess makes him a truly adorable team man. An unsung hero really.
I also think Tomasz Kuszczak deserved a word of praise. I didn't really fancy him to pip Foster for the support keeper's role but this guy seems to have grabbed his chance with an impressive showing. Tomasz has always had sharp reflexes but has been known to be poor on the delivery front. But going by today's performance, I wouldn't mind having him between the posts instead of Foster as he seems to come up with some great saves. As long as he can do that, who cares about the delivery (let's leave the passing work to the mid-field shall we!)
Like I have said above, I thought United weren't achieving much with Rooney as the lone striker but the moment Giggs was there to support him in the second half, things seemed to change for good and I guess it was Sir Alex's tactical genius to achieve a robust mid-field plus some support for Rooney that ultimately clinched it for us.

All in all a great result for us. I would have expected Arsenal to help us out a little by taking some points off Chelsea but they have ended up with an embarassing defeat at home. Though that means the Blues are still 5 points clear, I have a feeling Drogba's absence during the African Nations' Cup will do us some favour (given that he's been doing all the goal-scoring off late). Let's hope that's how it transpires and come New Year we'll be breathing down their necks. Go United! - for a record 4th consecutive title!

Chelsea 1 : 0 United

Disgust! That's the only word I can use to explain the feeling I have about last night's game.
Man United, who were written off by pretty much everybody (many of whom had the audacity to call the defending champions underdogs!) came up with a brilliant tactical performance only to be undone by poor refereeing. Chelsea won by a solitary, disputed goal that has now given them a 5-point cushion almost a third into the season.

It was disappointing to see every quarter of the media virtually writing off United prior to this game. The ESPN, the channel that I follow (unfortunately!), has this set of so called football pundits who are pathetic to say the least. None of the 'pundits' thought United could gain anything from this game. It really smacks of bias and illogic. When United travel to Liverpool, Liverpool are the favourites just because United have not obtained great result against them in the last season. United's league win, it's position above Liverpool and Liverpool's poor reason just don't count for the occasion. And when United go to Chelsea with just 2 points separating them, Chelsea are clear favourites because : Carlo Ancelotti is leading them; He ousted United out of the Champions' League with AC Milan twice; Chelsea are a goal-scoring machine; And United have "not been convincing" this season! Really, it's as if United are at the bottom of the table. No respect for United's tactical ability even if they have a certain Alex Ferguson as their manager. No respect for United's ability to fight back - something which is acknowledged as their trait.
Never mind. Having known the English press, this kind of behaviour is hardly unexpected!

I was just hoping and in fact strongly felt United could turn the tables on Chelsea. Fletcher's availability for this game was a major boost. And I must say that I was not surprised that Sir Alex went with a defensive 4-5-1 formation. The defense was definitely a worrying aspect considering that Browne and Evans had looked quite ordinary during the midweek clash with CSK Moscow. But it was United who enjoyed most of the possession when the game started. With every passing minute you could sense that Sir Alex seemed to have found an answer to silence Ancelotti's much-touted diamond formation. Fletcher, Anderson and Carrick combination worked brilliantly specially with their ability to close down Chelsea midfielders. Valencia, with his attacking runs kept Ashley Cole on his toes and forced him to defend most of the time. Rooney, being the lone striker was prepared to do all the running and could have been rewarded had it not been for a wrong off-side ruling. He was clearly on his way for a one-on-one with Cech only to be flagged off-side. Replays suggested he wasn't, though by a few centimeters I guess! United won the midfield battle all of first half but the fact that Rooney wasn't supported upfront meant that they couldn't quite create clear chances but had to contend with half ones. Chelsea did try to break free every now and then but they too didn't create great number of chances.

Second half looked pretty much the same. United enjoyed better possession most of the time but couldn't come up with a clear chance. Rooney went closest when he missed the far post by about a foot. As time progressed in the second half, it seemed as if United would either hold on for a draw or that one killer goal could clinch the game for either side. That is just what happened - On the 75 minute mark, Chelsea were awarded a dubious free kick though Fletcher seemed to have got the ball off Ashley Cole. When the free kick was whipped in, Browne was brought down by (the actor called!) Drogba and the ball deflected into the net off the shoulder of Terry who was lurking behind him. The referee failed to spot the foul and United were unluckily behind with 15 minutes to go. From then on United pressed forward desperate for a reply. Owen and Obertan were pressed into service. Though it seemed that they could nick an equalizer, they just didn't seem to have any luck in the final third of the pitch. And that's how it ended. Chelsea, who seemed to be chasing the game most of the time came out as the unworthy winners.

Irrespective of the result, I thought it was a very spirited performance by United. There was great improvement in effort and desire from the United we saw 2 weeks ago at Anfield. And it was absolutely agonizing to see United came off unrewarded from a game they deserved at least a point from. But then such things happen in football. Wayne Rooney was my Man of the Match. In spite of being lonely upfront he worked tremendously hard to find the net as well as supported the midfield diligently. The midfield worked brilliantly well according to me. If Carrick, Anderson and Fletcher can improve on their shooting abilities, United can definitely find the match winners we need in such games. The make-shift defensive combo of Browne and Evans did very well and definitely handled the pressure of facing Anelka and Drogba very well.

Chelsea might have opened a healthy 5-point lead but it's still early days according to me. United just need to build on this performance and I am sure we can stay close on Chelsea's heels through the season. With Chelsea and Liverpool having to visit Old Trafford later in the season, I am positive the situation is entirely in control!

Liverpool 2 : 0 Man United

It has happened for the 3rd time in succession and I have a sinking feeling about it. Believe me it's an uncomfortable task to write about any United's loss and given that this time I have to write about a loss at Anfield, it certainly doesn't make it easier.

Liverpool had not had a great season at all. They were coming into this match on the back of 4 consecutive defeats in League and Europe. And everybody was of the opinion that if they lost a 5th, they would be out of the title race and Rafa would definitely be shown the door. Things were only made worse for them with Gerrard becoming unavailable for this game due to injury. United on the other hand were sitting at the top of the table which I would put down to the failures of its rivals to obtain consistent results, Liverpool included. So the onus was really on the Reds from Liverpool than United even given the fact that United had let its fiercest rivals do a double last season and everybody had been calling for a revenge this season.

The fact that form is hardly of any relevance in derbies such as this was something you could realize watching this game as it was Liverpool who started to boss the proceedings. They were egged on by their supporters who were boisterous as ever. Liverpool enjoyed more possession and showed more of an urge to turn the tables. Though most of the first half looked a cagey affair, it was Liverpool who had the better chances. Van der Sar was called in to make some good saves - first he denied Aurelio off a free-kick and then denied Lucas from scoring from a header.
United didn't get much possession through out the first half. They struggled to get their familiar passing game going. Perhaps it was because Liverpool were always on the heels of United players and they were successful in closing in on most attempts by United players to build an attack.

Second half had a similar story to tell until Torres came up with some magic - A Benayoun through ball saw the Spaniard finding space in front with only Ferdinand to counter. Torres showed his class by muscling through and coming up with a stunning finish from a difficult angle and it was 1-nill Liverpool. Until then Torres had not had much to do in the game but given the reputation he has built for himself (of being one of the best strikers in the world right now), the goal was no where near being a shocker. United had a good 25 minutes to make a turnaround. But they just couldn't find their game on most occasions. They almost had a chance to do that when Micheal Owen, who was shown not an iota of respect by his former supporters, was on course to a one-on-one situation with Reina only to be cynically brought down by Carragher. On most occasions, such a foul would have invited a straight Red but this time the defender only saw a yellow much to the dismay of United. As tempers soared high, the game saw 2nd yellows for Vidic and Mascherano but that didn't have much of an impact on the game. None of the United front men could come up with the goods needed for an equalizer. On the contrary it was Liverpool who got the second just before the whistle that seemed to be the icing on the cake for them.

Though it was a very disappointing result from United's perspective, there is hardly much we could complain about except the Carragher offense. Liverpool undoubtedly looked the better side and United didn't seem to have the same desire for the game. The front men, Rooney and Berbatov hardly saw much of the ball in the Liverpool box. I was actually startled when I saw Carrick and Scholes starting the game together - Carrick has not had any form this season and Scholes has been off-colour since the Sunderland game. Liverpool midfielders' drive to close in on United's play didn't help the cause. Vidic and Ferdinand looked quite nervous specially against Torres and not without reasons. Ferdinand has not been in great form for club or country this season. And Vidic was perhaps keen to overturn the treatment he received from Torres last season. Most people have been vocal about how we missed somebody like Ronaldo. Well, if you let go of your best player you are obviously going to feel his absence! And everybody knows that United is in a rebuilding mode as far as the wings are concerned. Valencia has been decent while Nani is yet to live up to his potential. For me, the reason we lost was because we didn't show enough hunger for the game. Liverpool made it a do-or-die situation for themselves and found the spirit to redeem themselves to a certain extent through this result. On a lighter vein, I am not too disappointed by the result. Because this result means that Mr. Benitez has saved his job and we know how Liverpool have the knack of dropping points under him. So never mind if they are going to do another double over us. As long as the title stays at Old Trafford, long live Rafa and Liverpool association!

The Legendary Derby - Man United 4 : 3 Man City

Micheal Owen you beauty! One strike and he turned the whole world upside down! United clinched the most entertaining tie I have seen them playing all my life. Easily the best Manchester derby I have watched, ever!

It was an absolute humdinger of a match. And the the build-up was no less sensational. It had to be - after their new owners splashed loads of money and helped City build a "strong" side, it was not going to be a low profile derby anymore. With them making a perfect start to the season so far add to that, the controversies such as the one about Tevez's switch and the one involving Adebayor last weekend, there were all the ingredients for a perfect derby build up.

And did it start by living up to the billing! Wayne Rooney scored quite a brilliant goal in just the 2nd minute of the game and it seemed as if United had decided to kill the tie in the first half. But City reacted well to their credit. After the first few minutes of the United "storm", City obtained more possession and seemed to get a good grip over the game. They gradually improved their possession and were actually were rewarded with a goal, a gift from James Foster, who through an inexplicable mistake helped Tevez create a beautiful chance for Barry to capitalize on. That soft goal seemed to send the United players' spirits spiralling down as they seemed to lose control of the game and City actually began to dominate the second half. They almost doubled their score before the half time break but Tevez only ended up hitting the post in what actually was a easy chance.

Second half was a repeat of the first half as far as United were concerned. Just a few minutes into it, United scored through a Fletcher header. But City responded in no time. Craig Bellamy came up with the goal of the match, a brilliant strike onto the corner of the net and it looked like we had a great match on our cards. Conceding the second goal didn't really make too much of difference to United's game. In fact, they only seemed flourish. United created a heap of chances as the second half progressed. They could have scored at least 3-4 goals in no time but for the City shot stopper Shay Given who seemed totally invincible for a short period. In particular, it was Berbatov who was at the receiving end of that show by Given and was a tad unlucky not to score.Yet it was increasingly looking like United would score and they didn't disappoint - Ryan Giggs, who was having a great match, beat a couple of defenders with some vintage trickery and found Fletcher to perfection and Fletcher didn't disappoint. United had about 10 minutes left on the clock and looked set to defend the game out for an easy victory from then on. But a silly mistake from Ferdinand saw Bellamy clear with the ball. Bellamy was too quick for Ferdinand to redeem and he came up with an great finish to beat an off-colour Foster with a clinical finish. That goal which came as a shocker for United came at the completion of 90 minutes and it just looked as if City were destined to leave with a point.
United didnt really get too close to scoring in the allotted 4 minute added time and everybody was expecting the referee to blow his whistle. But the injury time dragged on into the 6th minute and that's when we got to see some magic, Ryan Giggs found a loitering Micheal Owen in the City penalty box to perfection. Owen controlled the ball brilliantly, foxed Given and put the ball into the far net! And that was it, it was game over, in the most dramatic fashion.

Mark Hughes was visibly upset at seeing United score during a prolonged injury time.
There has been a lot of controversy around why the injury time was dragged beyond the stipulated 4 minute mark. But it was later explained that the Craig Bellamy goal was celebrated for almost a minute by his city teammates because of which a minute's time was added on by the referee. And along with that there was half a minute added to account for the substitution made by United. So, it should appear that the officials strictly followed the rule book on this occasion!

This is by far the best game I have seen United play and win. They looked a touch wary in the first half after the ill-conceded goal but were all over their neighbours in the second. But I would say that the mistakes made by the defense made the game as interesting as it was. Ryan Giggs was my man of the match and he looked a good 10 years younger in this game. Fletcher scored a brace which was heartening to see for he deserved both the goals for the hard work he put up in the mid field.
City have actually announced, through this game, that they are definitely a top-4 material. With their improved strength, we can certainly look forward more interesting derbys. The down-side would be that United stand the risk of losing points to their neighbours!

Season 09-10 Match 5 : Tottenham 1 - 3 Man United

It's been a lazy start to the new season as far as this blog diary is concerned!
This is my first post for the season and already 5 games have been played! Evidently there is so much to write about not just about what has happened in these 5 games that have gone by, but also the build up.

This season was the most anticipated as far as I was concerned. There were a couple of reasons for that - Firstly, the loss of our most prolific player by the name of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid. Ever since it was declared that United had agreed to sell Ronaldo for a record-shattering sum (80 million Pounds), it was more than a million dollar question as to how United would cope without him. Just the fact that Ronaldo was our best player for the last 3 seasons during which we won all the League titles including a Champions' Trophy was enough evidence to suggest that question was on everyone's mind. And the second reason was the result of the last match of the last season - A humiliating defeat to Barcelona in Rome in our quest to retain the Champions' trophy. You didn't have to see Sir Alex Ferguson's face after that defeat at Rome to understand what he felt about that. And for millions of United fans like me, it was a result that just couldn't be digested easily and it's not easy when you are left reeling for an entire off-season because of one bitter night. Without going too much into the Ronaldo saga, all I would like to say is that we all knew he was going to go someday. And that day just arrived this summer. But knowing what happened at Rome, I felt Sir Alex would definitely buy a strong replacement - somebody like Silva or Ribery. But then nothing of that sort happened which for me was difficult to fathom given the money we had. And yeah, the transfer market had gone absolutely bonkers in terms of valuation which I'm sure contributed immensely to that outcome.

With just Micheal Owen, who could go down as one of the most shocking of our buys ever and Antonio Valencia being the most notable of our acquisitions, I wasn't too convinced United would be the same force in England and Europe. That being the feeling, I was happy to know that we were playing the new boys, Birmingham and Burnley first up. The match against Birmingham wasn't very convincing as far as United were concerned. But we still ended up winning that game. With United yet to settle down, they went to Burnley and we were beaten by a very spirited team playing in top flight after more than 30 years in front of their home crowd. United, it seemed, were just following their regular ritual (something they've been doing last few seasons) of having false starts to their new seasons. Match 3, they go to Wigan and by half time are trailing by a goal at half time. And that's when United decided to show their true colours - the ability to fight adversity. In about 25 minutes United settled scores with all detractors by scoring 5 goals!
But wait a minute, the real test of the season had yet to arrive for we still had Arsenal to play at home in game 4. Again, it was a case of United struggling. Andre Arshavin put a thunder bolt into United's net and United have an uphill task again. United came out and showed a bit of class in the second half. Rooney won a penalty and converted it (and giving us some good news on the penalty taker's situation) and Diaby gifted an own goal that sealed the tie in United's favour.

But believe me Game 5 was the real acid test yet. Tottenham had a perfect start to their season till then and playing them Away with some of their players flying really high on confidence was not an easy task. We needed to be at our best to avoid dropping points for the second time so early in the season. And the way the game started, it seemed it would be more than an acid test for United - Jermaine Defoe scored spectacularly off their first move and United were a goal down inside 50 seconds. The Hotspurs looked to be in a hurry to finish off United and they could have scored a couple more inside the starting 10 minutes. But that's that. United didn't hold back too much. The open attacking style of Tottenham meant United found the kind of space they love playing with. The midfield combination of Anderson and Scholes along with Fletcher and Giggs on the wings started to control the proceedings. Anderson and Fletcher looked particularly impressive with some quick incisive passing. Berbatov and Rooney too seemed to find their rhythm upfront. That spawned the opportunity for the equalizer the Red Devils were looking for - Berbatov was brought down, a free-kick was awarded, in-steps Ryan Giggs and the years are rolled back! Giggs brilliant curling kick opens the scoring for United!

United didn’t stop there. They pressed on and with Tottenham showing no restraint, the game was virtually played end to end. On one side, United’s strong defence (with the combination of Vidic and Ferdinand back again) saw out most of the threats, United looked to be getting closer and closer at the other end. Ultimately they did take the lead and it was Anderson who scored his first goal for United and he did that in some style, putting the ball past Cudicini from outside the Tottenham box. So United went into the break with a well-deserved lead.

Come the Second half, United seemed happy to carry on still on the lookout for goals. Rooney and Berbatov who hadn’t yet scored looked to press on the pressure pedal. But there was a twist to the story, Paul Scholes went into a rash tackle and was given the marching orders with a second yellow. Replays actually suggested that Scholes was trying to pull off the challenge in the end. Nevertheless that meant United had to protect the one goal lead for about 30 minutes which lead to Berbatov getting sacrificed. But that’s where United showed their true character during this match. At no point during the whole of the remaining second half did United look like a 10 men team. Fletcher, Anderson, Evra and Rooney in particular seemed to almost double their work rate. Tottenham didn’t seem like they could make use of the sending off. To add to that, Rooney came up with a brilliant individual goal wrestling through two defenders and nonchalantly scoring between the keeper’s legs to put the tie to an undeniable rest.

This was definitely United’s best performance of the season so far. A team that seemed to be hit hard by Ronaldo’s departure finally put all doubts about their abilities to rest and proved they are good enough to retain the title. Almost everybody looked top-class – Giggs, Anderson, Fletcher, Evra, Berbatov, Rooney - the whole pack. My man of the match was Anderson. He looked a very busy player always willing to run from defence to the attack. Considering doubts were cast on his abilities since the Barcelona debacle, this was a refreshing performance from the Brazilian youngster. The Berba-Rooney combine seemed to come off in this game. Fletcher obviously is turning into a mid-field maestro! And Evra is undeniably and still the best left-back in England.

So all in all, an utterly brilliant game for us and that made my weekend. Glory Glory United!