Believe the Hype

Last night the “match the world has been waiting for” was contested in a melting pot of noise and emotion inside the Bernabeu. Since the draw for the last 16 in the champions league the world savoured the prospect of two heavy weights coming head to head for the first time since Christiano Ronaldo’s record breaking transfer nearly for years ago.  These types of matches are fuelled by a real sense of occasion and this one was no different. All the press conferences before the game were a testament to the mutual respect both mangers have for each other, both knowing that in years to come arguments will take place over who was the greatest Fergie or Mourhino.  Much like the Messi or Ronaldo arguments that rage now but for me those arguments ended tonight.  Not only did he have an outstanding game, scoring Real’s equaliser with an inhuman leap to get on the end of a cross, terrorising young Rafael De Silva down the right and showing the sort of feet that leave you dizzy just watching on the TV but he did all that with class beyond his years.  His celebrations for his equaliser were muted and respectful on a night when anybody could be forgiven for letting their emotions get the best of them. At the final whistle he searched out the man he once called his  “father in sport” and provided an iconic photo opportunity for the media by embracing his old manager. Tonight he showed his maturity.
United, they came to do a job in Madrid and they will head back to the hotel very pleased with their work. Its true that it was very much one way traffic for large periods and David De Gea was called upon to make some quality saves but the way United played as a team was simply superb. Defensively they were disciplined and organized, limiting some of the best players in the world to efforts from outside the box  and causing Benzema to be little more than a ghost on the pitch. Both Carrick and Jones did well breaking up play, with Jones making a crucial tackle on Ronaldo inside the six yard box to deny a certain goal that epitomised the game and was a great example of the spirit this team has.. For all the defending United were made to do they weren’t without chances themselves, Welbeck’s opener, a well taken header off  a corner was taken well and he worked tirelessly for the team, chasing down every ball as usual. Van Persie, found it difficult to get into the game but still there were chances, he had a scruffy effort cleared off the line, a shot tipped onto the post by stand in keeper Diego Lopez and a late effort saved well. On another day it wouldn’t surprise you to see RVP put all three away but it wasn’t to be last night.
With the tie deliciously poised at 1-1 both sets of fans will come away believing in three weeks they can be heading to a champions league quarter final. Ronaldo’s home coming will mean little to the players themselves but for the rest of us it just adds a little extra seasoning to a mouth watering spectacle and provides a back story for the drama that will undoubtedly unfold. Could be another special European night at Old Trafford

Players of the Game

Man of the Match
David De Gea: The ex Athletico Madrid keeper played a blinding game against his old nemesis, effectively keeping united in with a chance. Making one or to fantastic saves while showing safe hands on a number of efforts from distance that he might have been expected to parry. After the amount of stick the lad has taken in his time at United, to come and produce a performance of this quality shows bags of character.

Others

Di Maria: looked really lively on the ball and tested De Gea a few times from distance, showed a real desire to penetrate Uniteds back line and I was surprised to see him go off.

Ronaldo: His goal was taken expertly, the jump was just ridiculous. With Rooney not tracking back enough he was left one on one with Rafael to often and inevitably tore him apart. The technique he showed for a second half free kick  that went narrowly over the bar shows why he has the right to challenge Messi for best in the world

Aston Villa vs Manchester United pre match

After a tricky away victory over Braga that put Manchester United through to the knockout stages (Qualified top of the group with two games to go, get in!!) attentions have turned back to the Premiership and its looking good on that front as well. Back to back victories against Chelsea and Arsenal have seen them climb to the top spot and will go to Villa Park with every intention of keeping it that way. Of course the old adage is that when your on top you are there to be shot at but I don’t see many problems coming from this fixture, the last time Villa managed to take all three points from United at Villa park was a while ago, a three nil win in ‘99-’00 season, and only one win in thirty one meetings (a on nil away win three years ago) means its not looking good for the Villa. With their attacking options United are spoilt for choice, It will probably be Van Persie and Welbeck leading the line with Rooney dropping back into the deeper role we have seen him play this year. I’d like to see Hernandez given a chance in the league over Welbeck but it seems SAF wants to persevere with Welbeck and coax some goals out of him. United have Kagawa, Jones and Vidic all out with knee injuries, Nani is out with “a tight hamstring” and Jonny Evans is a minor doubt with groin trouble though he could play a part on Saturday. After Smalling made his return in the champions league at least there are some options for the Red Devils at the back.

Villa will have summer signing Karim el Ahmadi back after he completed his one match ban for picking up five yellow cards but its one in one out as Eric Lichaj is suspended for the same thing. Joe Bennett and Darren Bent will both miss the game through injury meaning United will be facing Christian Benteke and Agbonlahor as Villa’s attacking threat. Pace, power, personified. Both players bring different options and the United defence will have to stay switched on  to keep them at bay but with only two clubs (Sunderland and QPR) scoring fewer goals than Villa so far this season you’ve got to say its not looking good.
Its still early  but with a busy Christmas looming just over the horizon now is the time to pick up points while your fresh because once you get to the new year things get a little more serious, you don’t want to be lingering around the foot of the table then. Villa may well find themselves in a fight this season but unbeaten in three and coming off the back of an important win last week against Sunderland they will be full of belief. If United go out and grab control of the game though  I think they will create enough chances to notch up a hefty score but if they get forced into playing a slow game Villa have a chance because as we’ve seen so far the United defence isn’t quite as tight as it once was. There are some big games this weekend, Man City vs. Spurs, Chelsea vs. Liverpool, increasing the chance of rivals slipping up so I want to see United come out of the blocks and send a message  on Saturday, if they do that then it will be a good game to watch.

Chelsea vs Manchester United: Fireworks on Halloween?

After Sundays incredible (albeit controversial) win at Stamford Bridge I can’t imagine the powers that be are looking forward to this tonight’s rematch. So much happened in that game to stoke the fires for tonight it really is set up to be an absolute cracker. The line ups will no doubt be very different but the emotions will still be high, United will want to put the finishing touches to a very good weeks work and Chelsea should be desperate to get a win in the cup after two defeats in a row. With all the drama surrounding Mark Clattenberg this week all eyes will be on Lee Mason, who I don’t envy at all. Chelsea feel aggrieved and who could blame them after three major decisions went against them, two of which that were wrong, and they will want to see decisions going their way tonight and we all know if big decisions go against United tonight a lot of people will feel that the referee has tried to make amends for the fiasco on Sunday. Lee Mason will be walking the refereeing equivalent of the tightrope at a time when all attention is focused on him, one slip and the mainstream media will have a field day. I hope the football gods look kindly on him however and spare him from having to make any big decisions and we can all talk about the football after the game its been difficult to really revel in United’s first victory at Stamford Bridge in the Abramovic era since it didn’t really feel deserved, even as a neutral though I think we’d all like to be talking about a little bit of magic tomorrow morning rather than a cock up by an official.

Every one is weighing in on the latest race row to erupt and its one that I never thought I’d see, between a ref and a player. Its all a bit crazy at the moment with few real facts being clear but the long and short of it is that Chelsea as a club are alleging that Clattenberg called Mikel a “monkey” and Mata “Spanish twat”. I have absolutely no idea whether its true or not but either way the repercussions should be strong. Personally my gut feeling is that it isn’t true because I just can’t see a referee being that stupid and there didn’t seem to be any reaction from Chelsea players at the time. Whether its true or not will be sadly irrelevant I fear as the only other people who know what was said are other match officials and I don’t think they will throw one of their own to the wolves. If it does get proved though Clattenberg is done and will face criminal charges. I almost hope it is however because the alternative is that a top club tried to get a career destroyed out of anger although I’m sure it would be spun as a misunderstanding. It is sad that a truly great games continually get marred by incidents like this, just once I’d like to see a match of that quality and intensity end with out so much bitterness but I have to admit if those decisions were against my team I would be a bit bitter as well. I hope the truth does come out either way and that any guilty parties can be dealt with swiftly and justly.

The fans need to play there part in this as well, it was disgusting to see the Chelsea fans reaction to Chicarito’s winner. I’m sure most of the idiots throwing coins couldn’t have known he was offside so there was no reason to be that angry until they get home, see a replay and take it out on their poor wives. These players get paid enough you don’t need to give them any more, if anything the players of the losing team should walk around throwing money to the crowd at the end of a game. I understand that emotions grow high, we all become animated during a tense match and I thoroughly enjoy throwing a bit of banter back and forth but at the end of the day anybody who watched that game of football was well and truly entertained for ninety five minutes with some good football and more drama than an East Enders omnibus but those kind of thoughts only come 0nce the dust has settled.

Liverpool Vs United

So as I expected the Liverpool game went off with out a hitch and the United fans should be proud of how they conducted themselves. The players however will probably come away wondering just how they scrapped three points out of that one, everyone has been saying that to me today and they are right but I would like to point out that after Gerard scored the opener a bit of urgency came into United’s play, an urgency that had been severely lacking until then. Once that urgency miraculously appeared they were able to equalise inside five minutes so although Liverpool have been getting immense credit, and deservedly so, questions should be asked about the fact that they had very little to deal with in the way of a goal threat from United and still managed to lose this game. Looking at the decisions Liverpool have a right to feel hard done by, the sending off could have gone any way, I didn’t think with the first look it was worthy of a straight red and I still don’t now, it was harsh but then this fixture tends to throw out red cards more often than not so nobody should have been surprised by the controversy. Brendan Rogers was complaining in his post match interview about 2 penalties, one on Suarez and one on Sterling. Suarez cost himself his penalty, if he just trips over like a normal player would be no doubt in the refs mind and he would have to give it but Suarez isn’t a normal player he’s a diver, so when the contact is made he goes down like he has been shot in the back with a 50 calibre bullet. The arch of the back and throwing his head only serves to convince the referee that he was making a meal of it, which lets face he always does. So while it was a penalty I think its hilarious that it wasn’t given because which ever way you look at it diving is cheating and it’s about time these stupid tumbles (I mean when did the laws of physics change and having a heel clipped cause your head to fly backwards and your back to bend like a bow) started costing decisions as a way to eradicate them from the game. The sterling claim is an odd one to me, the challenge was clearly outside the box from the Tv cameras view but maybe it looked less clear cut from the side line or perhaps Brendan Rogers is just moaning because again this season he has seen his side play incredibly well against one of the big boys in the league and come away with less than they deserved. Now during the games I admit I am about as biased as anybody can be, any decision should go United’s way however after the final whistle I switch back to objective mode and tell it how it was, I am more than happy to sit here now and admit that United were shocking for probably 80 minutes during that game . I only mention this because I am can't believe that people can say they don’t think the Valencia penalty should have been given. Yes Valencia knew the challenge was coming and went down accordingly but nobody can tell me it was a dive, there were 3 points of contact, the challenge came from behind in the box and it stopped Valencia getting his shot away. If Valencia had rolled around on the floor or twisted his body around (cough Suarez cough) then I can understand the complaint but he didn’t he just fell which any player in that position is going to do. With the emotion of the day it was always going to be a tough game especially when you look at United’s recent history at Anfield so coming away with three points is excellent but the careless passing and inability to shield the ball won’t have pleased SAF, to often in the middle of the park United were shrugged off the ball and to many there were to many loose passes that had Liverpool been at full strength it would have been difficult to take anything from the match, Liverpool have a nasty habit of turning up against in the big games and United really didn’t seem interested yesterday which is odd considering the rivalry, perhaps with Liverpool struggling in the league for a while now maybe the lads don’t see them as a threat anymore but I doubt it, the truth is United were poor and Liverpool weren’t. In this league you need the luck where you can get it and United had bucketfuls but I’d rather them get lucky and take three points than come away with nothing, wouldn’t you?

What No Football

I was so excited about the return of premiership football this weekend, the international break had left me itching to see football that really mattered but as it turns out this week end was the same weekend my wonderful girlfriend was moving down to Portsmouth to attend university. Being the caring and loving boyfriend I am I came down with all her family to get her settled in. I held out a small hope of managing to convince them that we should get some lunch at three o clock and that it would be best if we went some where with a TV, I knew this was never really an option because anyone who has ever moved house before will testify that it is an absolute nightmare, let alone moving to a new country, I see Wales and England as separate regardless of how united the sell out politicians would like us to think. If I hoped for the full game then I was certain I would see the highlights on Match of the Day later, so come Friday night I placed my bets (including United to win obviously) and tried to get as much team information as I could.

After a hideous drive that involved getting lost three times, driving the wrong way down a one way street and speeding through a red light it was safe to say all involved were stressed and on the verge of snapping. It was just after arrival that I began  regretting  coming on this trip. As the only man it became my responsibility to heave all but the lights bags, boxes and equipment up and down nine flights of stairs, now I may write about football but I do not train like a footballer and I am convinced that this assault on my poor excuse for muscles will have left lasting damage but like a trooper I powered through fuelled by the fact that soon the football would arrive. At some point in the day I got a text off a friend of mine to tell me that at half time United were drawing 0-0 and City were also drawing 1-1. I immediately text him back to say thanks but I will watch match of the day later and I would rather not know the scores, how naïve I was, how stupid.

The family left for home and I was in my girlfriends new room unpacking her things and be a general dogs body just trying not to get in the way. At around nine o clock there came a knock at her door, her new flat mates wanted to introduce themselves and invite us to a party, this was a nice thing to do and I hold no ill will towards them but for that they are bastards, an hour and a half before the football comes on and I am forced to act nonchalant while inside I am screaming “Don’t you knowI have money on these games god damn swine’s” . The first night in uni is a big deal though so I continued my chivalry (its really not dead you know) and went to the shop to pick up some beer and go to the party. The next day I woke up to find that my phone had died meaning I couldn’t phone anyone to get results. My girlfriend suggested getting a paper but I don’t like getting match results from papers its to heart breaking to get bad news from those devils. Apparently nobody in Portsmouth knows what football is much less likes the sport, every person I asked just looked blankly back at me offering small apologies but what do you expect from a city whose club as steadily been going down the toilette for a number of years. So that’s how I find myself on a train hurtling back towards Newport with absolutely no clue how United got on or how much money I have won or lost. If that’s not love then I don’t know what is .

(just incase my wonderfully intelligent, beautifull and all round great  girlfriend reads this, i will say that there is supposed to be a lot of humour in this and i am 100% glad i went and i did have a great time, even if i did have to wait until 11:00 pm on sunday to find out the results, haha jokes.)

Manchester United Vs Wigan Athletic: Pre Match opinion

Manchester United Vs Wigan Athletic: Pre Match babble

Thankfully the international break is over and United managed to come through without any serious injuries after a few scares. Both new boys Van Persie and Kagawa picked up injuries while doing their international duties, Van Persie had to be carried off on a stretcher in Holland’s 4-1 victory over Hungary, and in case you hadn’t noticed RvP is ever so slightly injury prone so it was a relief this morning to hear that he will be fit for the game against Wigan. Shinji Kagawa was also forced to pull out of Japans 1-0 win against United Arab Emirates after feeling a twinge in his back during training. The back is a nightmare when its hurt so he did the right thing by pulling out and it is great to see he shouldn’t miss to much action for the Red Devils. Whether either of them will start is any ones guess, I expect Kagawa to start but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Van Persie start the game on the bench just to be on the safe side.

Wigan Athletic have cemented themselves as a Premier League club since they arrived for the first time in 2005 and with Roberto Martinez running the team they play some really attractive attacking football, after last year United fans should know that they are a tough team to beat. I love the way they play however over recent years, come the end of the season, they always seem to be fighting relegation and given the football the can play I think its time the club got a few solid mid table finishes behind them enabling the club to progress. I think they have the potential to do it but the phrase I used at the end of last season was that they need to poop or get off the pot, I said poop, honest.

Wigan may be an attacking side but Manchester United at Old Trafford really should have enough about them to see off the fight, a spirited one I am sure.

There are some things to celebrate this week though as Darren Fletcher is set to be included in the squad for the first time since November last year with an stomach condition that did look like it was going to threaten his career and the living legend that is Paul Scholes could make his 700^th appearance for united if he takes part on Saturday, so lets hope we get to see a Scholsey special and I don’t mean a red card. I’m sure United fans everywhere will be delighted to see them both enter the fray come Saturday and the occasions are capped by three lovely points.

Its still early days in the hunt for the title but every game counts and winning margins can be fine so it is important that the lads get three points at home and if they can keep getting the wins in the theatre then it will certainly be a good year. It may have only been two weeks with out premiership football but for us fans that is two weeks more than we want so I for one cannot wait Saturday and what should be a great game to watch

Southampton Vs Manchester United

(a little late due to a technical malfunction, otherwise known as my lap top died)

After the Fulham game (3-2 United home win) I couldn’t wait for the game at Southampton to roll around. We played some great football at times and though the defence had looked a little shaky I knew that they should have some of the defenders back who had so far been forced to watch the game from the stands. Even with Rooney out injured with that nasty cut, a situation that last year would have left me wondering all week where goals are going to come from, I was sure United had enough attacking ability and they would cruise through this one. This confidence didn’t dissipate when I saw the team sheets, Ferdinand returning meant that some could argue we had a full strength back four at last to protect Anders Lindergaard in his first game of the new season. With Ashley Young out with a strain Fergie choose to go with Danny Welbeck on the left, if that isn’t a message to Luis Nani I don’t know what is. With Rooney out for the next month or so RvP and Kagawa were granted another start after a great first half together against Fulham .

Southampton have a tough run since coming up from the Championship facing The champions Citeh on the opening day, they put up a tremendous fight in that game going two one up before a late comeback. That game told the league that they weren’t here to make up the numbers and with players like Rickie Lambert in the side they will certainly be no push over’s.

The Game started in much the way I expected, with United dominating possession in search of an early goal. Southampton soaked up the pressure well and looked really organised at the back and after a nervy started grew into the game and in fairness no United fan when the took the lead in the fifteenth minute. Jason Puncheon put a long diagonal ball into the box for Rickie Lambert to rise above Rafael and nod past the helpless Lindergaard. It was a well created goal but as soon as I saw Rickie Lambert move away from Ferdinand towards the back post I knew we were in trouble. Rafael can go forward but he can’t defend and I have a horrible feeling I’m going to have an opportunity to point this out every week he plays this season. United would respond quickly though and it was the new signing Van Persie that levelled things up, I’m sure we’ve been here before. Antonia Valencia pinged in a deep cross to the back post which Van Persie brought down on his chest while his marking Nathaniel Clyne lost his footing, this left RvP the time to pick his spot and drill a low strike into the bottom corner. it’s the type of goal I can see him scoring all season long. The rest of the first half was like a game of cat and mouse, Southampton would take the ball forward then it was United’s turn to probe the opponents defence, no really clear cut chances were created and one - one at half time was a fair reflection on how things had gone.

The second half started in much the same vein with perhaps Southampton having just the better of it as their confidence and belief grew, they worked hard and pressed United well. Kagawa especially was having a torrid time of it, the Southampton players would stand off him inviting the ball into his feet and as the ball got played rush at him, it worked to great effect and he was nowhere to be seen in this game. Southampton got the reward for their efforts in the fifty fourth minute and this time Rickie Lambert turned provider with a carbon copy of the first goal at the other end of the pitch, Lambert played a cross to the back post which Morgan Schneiderlin headed across the goal into the bottom left corner, it was a well placed header but I was frustrated that United had conceded what in my eyes was he same goal twice. For the next five or ten minutes or so things did get nervy as Southampton full of belief looked to put the game to bed and it was no surprise when Sir Alex decided to change things up as the hour struck, Paul Scholes came on for the ineffective Kagawa and Cleverly was replaced by Nani. After that the game changed, anybody that has watched football during Paul Scholes career will tell that the midfield maestro can control a game and the last half an hour in Southampton was a perfect example of this. Within ten minutes of being on the pitch United had gone from being on the ropes fighting to keep points within reach to being on top search for the goals to bring points home, it wasn’t just that they were attacking well again there was a belief that came onto the field with Scholsey, he is just that type of player. On the sixty seventh minute RvP won and missed a penalty, it was definitely a penalty from how ever you look at it and it was definitely an awful penalty. He tried a dink over the keeper, think Pirlo in the euros and your there only this one failed miserably and at that point I thought United were done. I have watched United long enough to know better. After the penalty miss they really stepped their game up but as is the United way they left it late . In the eighty sixth minute, Rafael over lapped Valencia down the right and played a first time ball into the area, Ferdinand powered forward and slammed his header against the post, fortunately the rebound fell to RvP to put in a quick tap in. Did the united faithful dare to believe in yet another late comeback, damn right they did and in the second minute of extra time the players repaid their belief in full. Luis Nani whipped in a corner that Van Persie leaped well to put a header past Kelvin Davis and into the back of the net. Game over.

Not sure how they came away with three points from that one but does it really matter? I would like to see United play great football and win five- nil every week but I would take games like this where they scrape through and salvage three - points every week if it means the reclaim the title, I’m just not sure if Fergie’s heart would take it.