Blog United

It's Far From Over For Paul Scholes

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:01:45 -0500

Paul Scholes turns 35 in a couple of months and whilst opinion is divided on as to how long the midfield magician can continue at this level, Ferguson is backing him to play an important role at United for some time to come.

Whilst Ferguson says it’s hard to say how long he has left, the gaffer is certainly confident he can play for at least until 2011.

“I don’t think this is Paul’s last season, not the way that he plays,” the United manager said.

“It’s difficult to say how long he can go on because it’s still only September, but I am seeing the fresh Scholesy and the best time to use him is when he is fresh.

“He will not be playing the whole season, but if I get 25 games out of him at the level we saw on Saturday (against Tottenham), I will be delighted at that.”

There has been speculation Scholes would end his career at Oldham Athletic, the club he supported as a boy but Ferguson claimed there was “no chance” insisting “he isn’t going to drop through the leagues.”

Scholes has made 610 appearances for Manchester United and has scored 143 goals. He is currently just 2 goals short of becoming United’s first player to score 100 Premier League Goals.

Three Trophies Should Be an Achievement

Thu, 28 May 2009 01:53:04 -0500

At the start of the season, had I been offered the opportunity of finishing the campaign with three trophies, I would have more the likely taken it. Today, when you look at that same accomplishment; you can only reflect on what could have been with an unrelenting sense of the opportunity missed.

Manchester United could have been the first team in history to win five trophies in one season as well as being the first team to successfully defend the crown of European Champions. Six weeks ago, United were on course for an unprecedented quintuple. And now, before the FA Cup has even been decided, our season is over and we’ve finished with three trophies. (I’m ignoring the Charity Shield)

Today, we have two choices. We can take United’s domestic and World success and congratulate the team on a job well done or we can look at the team’s recent performances and rightly ask questions about the future of this so called “young team”.

If you’re happy with the former, you should probably stop reading now. We won the league, rock on!

In Wednesday’s Champions League semi final, the average age of United’s starting eleven was 28. One year older than that of our opponents Barcelona and yet Ferguson still claimed the team was young and would learn. Whilst all United players will certainly learn from Wednesday’s loss, it is naïve to suggest youth played any part in the defeat.

Anderson was United’s youngest player on the park at 21, but when he was replaced a half time, the role of most youthful player on the park fell to Wayne Rooney who, at the age of 23 and with over 200 United appearances to his name, can hardly be described as inexperienced.

As Alex Ferguson rightly pointed out, “we were beaten by a better team” on Wednesday night but rather than simply accept that; surely we have to ask why?

Statistics will paint a false image of our season. Finishing the Premier League as Champions with 90 points looks impressive and the fact we equalled the country’s all time top flight victories should make it more so. But it doesn’t.

Only three times in our history have United surpassed the 90 points mark in the Premier League with our highest ever total being 92, achieved in the 93/94 season.

Still, the stats are not a true reflection and it’s hard to be happy with our haul this season - especially when we had so much in our grasp only six weeks ago.

Liverpool pushed United close in this season’s Premier League race and whilst it’s hard to imagine the Dippers as real title challengers; this season, it almost became a reality.

Chelsea had to cope with a managerial change mid season and Arsenal surprisingly lost five games in their opening dozen leaving Liverpool with a real opportunity to stake a claim on the title. Fantasy is a million miles from reality though and Liverpool never really had enough to steal top spot from United and finished second.

Next season, I’d bet on both Arsenal and Chelsea to finish above the Dippers and I reckon you’d get good odds on that happening. It also means the race for first will be more fiercely contested. Will United be up for the challenge? No-one has ever won four Premier League trophies back to back. Bring it on.

Ignoring our (undeserved) impressive statistics, United never really looked themselves ever since the home victory against Inter Milan. United cruised to a 2 – 0 victory that evening but the manor of the performance seemed lazy and ever since then, winning looked more like a chore than a formality.

By this point, getting to the line was all that mattered in the league and rightly so. United managed to cruise over it with a game to spare but in the Champions League they had no such luck.

It was a scared or tired team that turned up to play Barcelona in the final. Given the team had been given a decent rest before the game; I can only conclude it was the former.

United started well, playing nine minutes of great football, but Barcelona scored from their first attack and from then it was men versus boys. Barcelona on the ascendency and United on the slide. We lost the game through two sloppy goals but the old adage comes true; you can’t complain about losing if you don’t score a goal.

After the game, a clearly upset Ferguson said “we’ll be better next year” but if you look at the current squad, to push further forward will require some tough decisions.

Whilst hard work is an attribute widely appreciated amongst the Red Devil faithful, without the talent to back it up, surely it’s only a matter of time before the gig is up?

John O’Shea was handed the job at right back after an apparently impressive season covering the same position whilst one can only assume Ji-Sung Park was given a start for his tireless energy. Both of these players have been incredible servants to the club but are they really of Manchester United quality? Yes they do a job, but do they have quality? I think it’s clear they don’t. Not at the level we need anyway.

Strong and steady will win the Premiership race nine times out of ten. Strong, steady and sexy will win the lot. Next season, it’s time to bring back the sexy…

Originally published at Blog United

18 Titles And That’s A Fact

Sat, 16 May 2009 13:34:26 -0500

Manchester United secured their third successive Premier League title at Old Trafford this afternoon bringing their total top flight league wins to 18.

United kicked off against Arsenal at Old Trafford knowing a point would be enough to secure the title and judging by the performance, a point was the best anyone could have hoped for. United were far from their best but the match ended goalless and trophy number three was in the bag.

This league win puts United on parity with Liverpool in the all time titles race at 18 a piece. However, with United having won 11 out of a possible 17 Premier League titles compared to Liverpool’s none, it would seem United are in pole position to emerge as the countries most successful English team of all time.

According to Ferguson, we won’t have to wait long for that. Asked about equalling Liverpool’s record, the Scot replied:

“It’ll make it more special when we are in front of them. Next year we are going for it again.”

United add the Premier League trophy to the League Cup and World Cup they have already won this season and march on for trophy number four; The Champions League.

Manchester United face Barcelona on May 27th knowing a win would make them the first team ever to successfully defend their Champions League crown. United set records as standard; Roll on Rome.

Original Post

No Foul, No Appeal; Darren Fletcher Will Miss The Final

Wed, 6 May 2009 09:22:15 -0500

Darren Fletcher will miss the Champions League Final in Rome no matter what after being sent off in Tuesday’s semi-final victory over Arsenal.

It was reported after the game that the Scot would be unable to appeal the decision but a possible silver lining would be the referee’s match report. Should Roberto Rosetti, last night’s match official, state he had made a mistake in handing out the punishment, UEFA had the power to overturn the decision.

Anyone who has seen the incident replayed must agree it was never a red card so once the ref sees it again, problem solved right? Wrong.

Under UEFA rules (article 44.4), any decision can only be rescinded if it is a case of mistaken identity.

“A protest against a caution or expulsion from the field of play after two cautions is admissible only if the referee’s error was to mistake the identity of the player.”

Even if Roberto Rosetti explicitly tells UEFA he made a mistake and Fletcher should not have been sent off, the Scot will still miss the final.

I should make it clear that the referee has not come out and said he made a mistake. We are working purely on the assumption he realises he has when seeing the replay.

A UEFA spokesman said:

“Manchester United have the right to protest the decision within 24 hours of the match. However, the protest is only admissible if the referee made an error and mistakenly identified and cautioned or sent off the wrong player.

However, article 9.1 of UEFA’s rules and regulations states:

“Unless the disciplinary body declares otherwise, a player sent off the field is automatically suspended for the next match of the competition in which expulsion appeared.”

This rule is normally used to dish out extended punishments for excessive offenses, but it is not explicitly set out to do so. Would is be possible for a disciplinary body to decide Fletcher should serve no ban?

UEFA may not be able to rescind the card, but they do have the ability to change the punishment.

I’m not going to hold my breath though.

Darren Fletcher has been an ever present in the team this season, making 39 appearances and scoring four goals. It I his commitment and work rate which Ferguson admires so much and it is that which would have probably got him a spot in the starting eleven in Rome.

A great day for the team, probably the worst in his career for Fletcher.

Originally published at BlogUnited

Rome Here We Come

Tue, 5 May 2009 21:54:22 -0500

Manchester United needed just ten minutes to confirm their place in this season’s Champions League Final, as the reigning Champions cruised passed Arsenal last night at the Emirates.

Coming into the game with a 1-0 lead, a goal for the visitors would leave Arsenal the unenviable task of needing three to get through and it didn’t take long to happen. Just under 8 minutes in fact.

From a Cristiano Ronaldo cut-back, young Kieran Gibbs slipped leaving Ji-Sung Park free to fire passed Manuel Almunia. The home fans were stunned and the away contingent ecstatic.

A couple of minutes later, Robin van Persie clattered into Cristiano Ronaldo a little over 45 yards from goal. The angle didn’t look great but Ronaldo had a look and fancied his chances. He lined the shot up, took his step back and struck that ball so sweetly that it dipped and curled all the way into the back of the net.

As a goalkeeper, it has to be disappointing being beaten from such a distance but take nothing away from the free-kick; it was a peach.

Eleven minutes gone and effectively game over. There was no way Arsenal were going to score 4. Wenger knew it, the fans most certainly knew it but more importantly, the players knew it.

Resigned to defeat, Arsenal offered little going forward and it was only Almunia’s fingertips that kept the score at two nil coming in for the break.

Arsenal looked to push forward after the restart but were soon caught short.

Ronaldo led the break with a clever flick to Park before he was off charging towards goal. Park picked out Wayne Rooney to his left who came forward before laying it off to Ronaldo as he charged into the box. With his closest marker a foot away there was only one place this was going and Ronaldo smashed in his second of the night.

With only fifty minutes of the match played, the stadium began to empty. The home fans had seen enough of this and streams of them headed to the exits.

There was to be no more goals for United but that didn’t mean the drama was over. In the 75th minute, Fabregas burst into the United box but before he got his shot away, Darren Fletcher managed to get a toe to the ball before bringing the Spaniard down. Referee Roberto Rosetti deemed the challenge a foul and Fletcher was off.

Replays clearly show Fletcher played the ball first but with no avenue for appeal, it looks as though Fletcher will miss the final.

From the resulting penalty, Robin van Persie dispatched clinically into the top corner making it 3-1 and the Arsenal fans that remained burst into a chorus of “four more, we only need four more”.

Four more were never coming though and the match ended 3-1. Chelsea play Barcelona tomorrow in the other semi-final with the teams locked at 0-0. I hope Barcelona win; that would make a great final.

Originally published at Blog United

What a week; Three red cards, six goals shipped and not a point for the effort

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 18:02:14 -0500

Those fourteen league games without conceding a goal seem a long way away today. Edwin Van Der Sar may well be proved right, records mean nothing without trophies.

United lost two nil to Fulham today to make it their second defeat on the spin in the Premier League this campaign. You’d have to look back to the 2004/05 season to see the last time that happened when United lost to Norwich and Everton in the title run in. In case you’re wondering, we didn’t go on to lift the trophy that year.

Thankfully, Tottenham did us a favour and beat Chelsea today so the pressure is now on Liverpool. Can they take victory when they play a free falling Aston Villa tomorrow? Anything less than a win for them and today’s lacklustre performance won’t actually be so bad.

Whilst today’s performance wasn’t one for the memory books, it’s hard to draw parallels with previous games. Paul Scholes, a player with immense experience, really let the team down with a ridiculous two handed save on the goal line. Penalty for Fulham and the first red card of the day for United.

United were lucky to get through to half time only one down and although they did improve in the second half, numbers ultimately counted and Fulham sealed the match through substitute Zoltan Gera in the 87th minute.

Wayne Rooney saw red for his second bookable offence as frustration set two minutes later to compound a miserable day for the Reds.

United had a glorious opportunity to pull level mid way through the second half but the chance fell to Ji Sung Park and true to form, his end product let him down. If that had of gone in, who knows.

As we go into the International break, we are still guaranteed top spot and we are still in the driving seat. Fingers crossed everyone returns from the break with a clean bill of health because with suspensions looming, the United squad will be well and truly tested in the coming weeks.

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Ferguson: No Quintuple, and still no retirement

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 07:13:37 -0500

Alex Ferguson has dismissed his side’s chances of an unprecedented five trophies this season whilst maintaining he is working with his best ever squad of players.

In an interview published in the New Statesman, Ferguson said:

“The thing about cup football is you need to be the best but you also need a lot of luck and I think it’s asking too much for all the games to go your way.

“The one thing I will say is, this squad is the best I have ever had. Every game we play, I feel confident.”

United currently hold a four point lead over Liverpool and Chelsea in the Premier League with a game in hand and are through to the quarter finals of the Champions League.

They have also successfully navigated their way to the FA Cup semi-finals with the promise of either Arsenal or Chelsea in the final should they see off the challenge of Everton.

Having already landed the Club World Cup and the Carling Cup, mathematically at least, winning five trophies is a distinct possibility but as Ferguson says, all too often in football, games are decided by that little bit of luck. Still, we have the team for it so that’s a very good start.

Ferguson was once again asked whether he had any plans of retirement:

“Not for a while” was his response. “I’m 67 now. My health’s good. I still have the drive and the energy. I’ve been here more than 22 years, but I still get a buzz arriving at the training ground. I still get that tingle when the team bus draws up at an away ground before a big match.”

Pushed whether that meant another year or two he replied: “That kind of area. We’ll see.”

Originally published at Blog United

Red card? It wasn’t even a foul

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:05:41 -0500

Nemanja Vidic will serve a two game suspension after being wrongly sent off in Saturday’s Premier League match and will miss United’s trip to Fulham and their home tie with Aston Villa.

Whilst most seem to have accepted that Vidic’s ‘rugby tackle’ was a foul, I ask you, did you look closely at the footage? If you did, you’ll see that the coming together was nothing more than six of one and half a dozen of the other.

Don’t believe me? Have a closer look. This is the moment the two collide. Notice Vidic has his arm outstretched whilst Gerrard has clamped his arm around Vidic’s. If Vidic is guilty of anything, it’s an outstretched arm. But a red card for an outstretched arm?

Both have a clear hold on the others shirts as you can see from the following three images images. Gerrard has a hold on Vidic as the Serbian comes crashing to the ground.

Need a hand down Vida?

Here is the moment Gerrard released his grasp on Vidic. After helping him to the ground, the cheating bastard releases Vidic’s shirt and throws his arms in the air fooling the referee and his assistants into sending the Serbian off for the second time this season against Liverpool.

Revenge is a dish best served cold. Here’s hoping we get them in the Champions League.

Originally published at Blog United

Ibra-himo-who? Two

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:09:05 -0500

Manchester United progressed to the quarter finals of the Champions League after beating Inter Milan 2-0 on Wednesday night at Old Trafford (2-0 on aggregate).

Inter Milan were much improved since the first leg but were undone by goals early in each half. Nemanja Vidic easily shrugged off Patrick Viera following a Ryan Giggs corner and headed home to give the Champions an early lead.

Cristiano Ronaldo headed the second four minutes after the restart following some clever hold up play by Rooney on the left before delivering an inviting cross which the winger duly accepted.

This was no vintage performance from United and the difference between the two sides ultimately came down to the taking of chances. Inter had their fair share but unfortunately for them, too many fell to Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Jose Mourinho said: “We just lacked that little bit of luck you need to win, that little thing that makes difference between winning and not winning.” No Jose, you lacked that little bit of quality.

Following United’s domination of Inter at the San Siro a fortnight ago, I published an article in which I was somewhat critical of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

My main concern with him is that despite all the hype, he’s really not achieved anything. Sure he has a nice touch and at times can be brilliant; but doing something great occasionally doesn’t make you a great player.

If the guy was 19 I’d call him great; he’d have quality and potential but at 27? By now he should be at the peak of his career. He is, and he’s an okay player. That’s it.

Following my first article, I received some feedback from a chap who shall be known only as Dave. Dave said:

“People who know football know how good he [Ibrahimovic] is. The only ones who don’t rate him are EPL fans and pundits. We’ll see what happens in Manchester.”

I think Italian football fans should take more notice of what Premier League fans and pundits say because let’s face it, we are talking about the best league in the world. Three of the Champions League semi-finalists have been English clubs in the last two seasons and all four are through to the last eight this year.

We Premier League followers KNOW what good football is, we see it week in week out.

The problem for Inter Milan fans is they watch their fearsome attackers tear apart snail paced Italian opposition week in week out. I mean even David Beckham is tearing up Serie A at the moment; something he could never do again in the Premier League.

Ibrahimovic may well have scored 16,098 goals for Inter but he’s never scored in the final stages of the Champions League nor has he ever scored against English opposition. He’s been involved in 10 games against Premier League opposition and he’s never even experienced winning.

There has been way too much hype surrounding Zlatan Ibrahimovic in recent times with the bulk of it coming from himself and his manager. I think the world has seen enough to make up its own mind, it’s time to jump off the band wagon.

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Spot Da Difference

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 13:44:30 -0600

The arrival of Rafael and Fabio da Silva has caused some problems on the training pitch by all accounts as the pair of identical twins cannot be distinguished.

Rio Ferdinand has almost got it sussed out. “One of them has a slit on his chin and one of them has a ring on their hand” he said. “I don’t know which one it is though.”

I found some pictures of the pair together but as you’ll see, Rio’s tip for telling them part doesn’t really help. From what I can tell, they both have dimples (or “slits” as Rio calls them) in their chins.

What do you think? Can you spot Da difference?

Here's what I think.

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