Football is as someone once famously said, a funny old game, in part, the game's unpredictability makes it what it is, but Fergie wasn't laughing when the Champions League fixtures were drawn and United were given a tough looking assignment in Moscow against CSKA followed by the biggest annual domestic grudge match of the season away at Anfield.
But here again things didn't quite turn out as expected, because United went to Moscow on Tuesday and it was a proverbial walk in the park. This years beaten finalists strolled to a 1-0 win thanks to Antonio Valencia's second goal for the club. It could easily have been the Ecuadorian's third goal for United since his summer signing, because he came within a whisker of giving the visitors' the lead when hitting the woodwork following some excellent inter-play with Nani on the edge of CSKA's penalty area.
If United fans are honest, CSKA were hugely disappointing on the night. However with some surprise results around Europe this week, there's no worries about unpredictability so far in Group B, which is shaping up to expectations with the champions and Wolfsburg occupying the top two places. United should have no problem qualifying for the next phase of the competition and going into Tuesday's game Fergie was able to rest Ryan Giggs, and Patrice Evra. Darren Fletcher and Wayne Rooney were also missing, with knee and calf injuries respectively.
In the wake of the win in Moscow - United's first against Russian opposition - Fergie has rightly been singing the praises of his squad for matching Ajax's fourteen game unbeaten run away from home in the Champions League, it's an impressive stat, United fans will be hoping it continues for as long as possible.
United face Liverpool on Sunday at Anfield and we can forget about current form because if there's one game the Scousers rise to it is the visit of the champions. Going into this huge fixture, both managers have injury problems with the likes of Torres and Gerrard struggling, while Rooney and Fletcher a big doubts for United.
After four defeats on the bounce Liverpool are desperate for a win and if comes against United it will quickly end all the talk of crisis at Anfield, the result could well prove to be pivotal from a Merseyside perspective.
For our part United know that winning will enhance the club's chances of retaining the title, and while it's far too early to be seriously talking about silverware, Fergie and the fans know beating Liverpool will harm them, with the loss of more league points, and the psychological effect of losing five games on the spin another reverse could be a significant point in their season.
For anyone hoping that Gerrard and Torres will miss the game, let us not forget that they both missed this fixture last season. Giggsy, we love you, but please do not commit the same offense again tomorrow...
Not surprisingly, there's a lot of attention on Michael Owen, he will probably start the game on the bench and is it too much to hope that he will be given a half-decent reception by the home fans - can pigs fly?
Owen is still struggling to find his very best form, he was very lucky last weekend against Bolton, quite how the ball ended up in the Trotters net is still a minor mystery, but with Owen on the pitch you always get the feeling that United do look more likely to score. No matter how badly he's playing, no matter how many chances he's missed, Michael Owen doesn't hide - and that is a strong point because as we saw against City in the derby he might take that chance. Nonetheless, Fergie is currently using Owen from the bench - as an impact player if you like - if the former Newcastle striker finds his true form the manager will no doubt review his strategy but for now expect the super-sub scenario to continue.
Against CSKA, Dimitar Berbatov was given the role of the lone striker, while United won, the ploy didn't really work and it highlighted the lack of options up front.
CSKA really were there for the taking, justice was done in the end, but when looking around Europe this week, what price a player like Pato in the red shirt of United?
While United have some problems up front, it's at the back where we will need to be rock solid on Sunday. Vidic will know he cannot take any liberties with Torres, not after last season, and please no more sloppiness from Rio Ferdinand.
If United's back four are solid, as ever, it should provide a platform to attack a Liverpool back four that has looked dodgy in all departments recently. In midweek Lyon exposed Liverpool down the flanks and it is to be hoped the champions are as strong as they have been of late down the left with Evra and Giggs linking up to great effect.
Here's hoping for a good performance at Anfield and a winning goal from Michael Owen - we can all drink to that tonight.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Priceless old guard and 'beach ball goal' make it good day for champions...
United bounced back to the summit of the Premier League following Saturday's 2-1 win over Bolton, it was by no means a classic performance, but the champions just about did enough to seal the points thanks to a deflected first-half header by Michael Owen. Atonio Valencia finally got his name on the score-sheet to make it two-nil before the break. The Ecuadorian drilled home his first goal for the club after good work by Gary Neville.
The build-up to Valencia's goal was just as impressive as the finish; it wasn't that long ago that Gary Neville being written off, but against Bolton we saw glimpses of the 'old' Neville who was at times back to his best.
While the contribution of Neville and Valencia for United's second goal was impressive, the men tasked with raiding down the opposite flank proved to be an even bigger thorn in Bolton's side. Time and time again Giggs and Evra linked up to great effect which led to the champions creating a number of good goal scoring opportunities.
Time defying Ryan Giggs has been restored to the left-flank and he's been a revelation, so much so that Nani isn't getting a look-in at present - given the age difference, it's a huge compliment to the Welshman who looks to be getting even better.
Following the high-profile departures of Ronaldo and Tevez and the manager's modest summer signings, there has been a temptation to write-off United with Fergie seemingly over-reliant on Giggs, Scholes and to a lesser extent Neville. It's far too early to be talking about United retaining the title, but so far so good.
United wouldn't have been top of the League if it were not for the fact that Chelsea slipped up when losing 2-1 at Villa. On a day of much hilarity where our main rivals are concerned, the manner Villa's two headed goals were of the sort you'd expect to see at schoolboy level - Chelsea's marking was non-existent.
Villa's win over Chelsea earlier on in the day meant that if United could win they'd go back to the top of the table. The Champions were made to work hard for three points against a hard working Bolton side who created a number of chances themselves. Kevin Davies once again proved to be a handful and with Nemanja Vidic out injured it was Jonny Evans who was given the rarely easy job of marking the Bolton striker. Davies and Taylor missed a couple of good goal scoring opportunities. United's luck finally ran out when they conceded a goal in the 75th minute as Taylor made sure it was a nervy finish for the champions.
In the end United were relieved to hear the final whistle and to cap off an almost perfect day, news that Liverpool had lost to Sunderland thanks to a deflected "beach ball goal" made it really happy Saturday night.
The evening entertainment continued on BBC Radio 5 Live, the 606 phone-in show is hosted by massive Liverpool fan Alan Green; his first caller was predictably Liverpool supporter, who was extremely unhappy about the 'beach ball goal', which not surprisingly proved to be the main talking point of the evening. No doubting United fans will have been roaring with laughter throughout the night, especially after finally seeing TV replays of what is undoubtedly one of the funniest moments in the history of the Premier League.
Next up United travel to Moscow to face CSKA on Tuesday and then it's Anfield on Sunday. Following the hilarity at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, what price on Michael Owen scoring the winner against his old club in front of the Kop? :0)
The build-up to Valencia's goal was just as impressive as the finish; it wasn't that long ago that Gary Neville being written off, but against Bolton we saw glimpses of the 'old' Neville who was at times back to his best.
While the contribution of Neville and Valencia for United's second goal was impressive, the men tasked with raiding down the opposite flank proved to be an even bigger thorn in Bolton's side. Time and time again Giggs and Evra linked up to great effect which led to the champions creating a number of good goal scoring opportunities.
Time defying Ryan Giggs has been restored to the left-flank and he's been a revelation, so much so that Nani isn't getting a look-in at present - given the age difference, it's a huge compliment to the Welshman who looks to be getting even better.
Following the high-profile departures of Ronaldo and Tevez and the manager's modest summer signings, there has been a temptation to write-off United with Fergie seemingly over-reliant on Giggs, Scholes and to a lesser extent Neville. It's far too early to be talking about United retaining the title, but so far so good.
United wouldn't have been top of the League if it were not for the fact that Chelsea slipped up when losing 2-1 at Villa. On a day of much hilarity where our main rivals are concerned, the manner Villa's two headed goals were of the sort you'd expect to see at schoolboy level - Chelsea's marking was non-existent.
Villa's win over Chelsea earlier on in the day meant that if United could win they'd go back to the top of the table. The Champions were made to work hard for three points against a hard working Bolton side who created a number of chances themselves. Kevin Davies once again proved to be a handful and with Nemanja Vidic out injured it was Jonny Evans who was given the rarely easy job of marking the Bolton striker. Davies and Taylor missed a couple of good goal scoring opportunities. United's luck finally ran out when they conceded a goal in the 75th minute as Taylor made sure it was a nervy finish for the champions.
In the end United were relieved to hear the final whistle and to cap off an almost perfect day, news that Liverpool had lost to Sunderland thanks to a deflected "beach ball goal" made it really happy Saturday night.
The evening entertainment continued on BBC Radio 5 Live, the 606 phone-in show is hosted by massive Liverpool fan Alan Green; his first caller was predictably Liverpool supporter, who was extremely unhappy about the 'beach ball goal', which not surprisingly proved to be the main talking point of the evening. No doubting United fans will have been roaring with laughter throughout the night, especially after finally seeing TV replays of what is undoubtedly one of the funniest moments in the history of the Premier League.
Next up United travel to Moscow to face CSKA on Tuesday and then it's Anfield on Sunday. Following the hilarity at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, what price on Michael Owen scoring the winner against his old club in front of the Kop? :0)
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
England need Rooney, but not as much as United need 'the white Pele'...
Surely Manchester United supporters cannot be the only fans who hate these god awful international breaks’ - it's enough to drive you to drink. With England set to take on Belarus and having already qualified for next year's World Cup Finals', the media are desperately short of material - no surprise then that we are being told Rooney is 'key' to Capello's chances of glory next summer, not exactly news is it?
Apart from Fergie's attack on Alan Wiley, the reaction and apology that followed there hasn't been a reason to read the sports pages or tune into Sky Sports News.
As far as Rooney (aka the white Pele) is concerned, he's picked up an injury which means he will thankfully miss the Belarus game, but hopefully he'll be fit to face the Trotters this weekend when the real action starts again.
While Rooney misses out tonight, Rio Ferdinand has retained his starting place following another dodgy performance last weekend against Ukraine and all eyes will be on the United defender who cannot afford to keep on making high-profile mistakes at club and country level.
As for Fergie, the referees' boss wants him banned from coaching - that response is as ridiculous as the initial attack on Wiley. No doubting Fergie will be hammered with a massive fine, but no way will he banned. According to reports Fergie believes it's 90% certain the FA will throw the book at him, I think he's wrong here, surely it's 100% certain? Apparently, Fergie also thinks the refs and the FA have it in for him - which is a bit odd if true because he started this row and so he cannot really grumble on this occasion.
In other news Rafael da Silva has made a welcome return to action along with new signing Gabriel Obertan in the 3-0 win over Oldham in the Manchester Senior Cup, so it's looking good on the injury front.
After tonight we can look forward to ending our collective snoozefest and look ahead to pasting "Wanky Wanderers" this coming weekend.
Apart from Fergie's attack on Alan Wiley, the reaction and apology that followed there hasn't been a reason to read the sports pages or tune into Sky Sports News.
As far as Rooney (aka the white Pele) is concerned, he's picked up an injury which means he will thankfully miss the Belarus game, but hopefully he'll be fit to face the Trotters this weekend when the real action starts again.
While Rooney misses out tonight, Rio Ferdinand has retained his starting place following another dodgy performance last weekend against Ukraine and all eyes will be on the United defender who cannot afford to keep on making high-profile mistakes at club and country level.
As for Fergie, the referees' boss wants him banned from coaching - that response is as ridiculous as the initial attack on Wiley. No doubting Fergie will be hammered with a massive fine, but no way will he banned. According to reports Fergie believes it's 90% certain the FA will throw the book at him, I think he's wrong here, surely it's 100% certain? Apparently, Fergie also thinks the refs and the FA have it in for him - which is a bit odd if true because he started this row and so he cannot really grumble on this occasion.
In other news Rafael da Silva has made a welcome return to action along with new signing Gabriel Obertan in the 3-0 win over Oldham in the Manchester Senior Cup, so it's looking good on the injury front.
After tonight we can look forward to ending our collective snoozefest and look ahead to pasting "Wanky Wanderers" this coming weekend.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Referees' chief wants Fergie sanctioned
The head of the referees' union Alan Leighton wants Sir Alex Ferguson banned for claiming referee Alan Wiley was not fit enough.
Fergie lambasted Wiley after his display in the draw with Sunderland FC and has since apologised for any embarrassment his remarks may have caused, but Leighton is keen to see the United chief is given more than just a slap on the wrist.
"A punishment should be a UEFA-type coaching ban, which is more than a touchline ban," said Leighton.
"A UEFA ban involves a ban for a greater period of time during, before and after a game."
Ferguson is sure to incur a hefty fine and a touchline ban at the very least after the FA asked the Old Trafford boss to explain his comments by 16 October.
However Leighton is keen to see Ferguson slapped with a ‘coaching ban’ which will prevent him from contact with the players for a significant amount of time before during and after matches.
Ferguson’s comments have certainly touched a raw nerve. The usual criticism about referees’ decision making is often brushed off because of the objectivity involved. But Fergie’s attack on Wiley’s fitness essentially questioned his credentials as a referee.
Referees are physically tested regularly throughout the season and the Prozone stats from the game suggested the official had in fact run further than around half of the Premier League players on the pitch.
Suggesting the official was lacking fitness - a compulsory attribute to do his job - was also questioning the integrity of the referees’ association and a huge oversight from Fergie.
His comments were though made in the heat of the moment and that will be argued, but whether his apology will be enough to see him escape punishment is unlikely.
Fergie lambasted Wiley after his display in the draw with Sunderland FC and has since apologised for any embarrassment his remarks may have caused, but Leighton is keen to see the United chief is given more than just a slap on the wrist.
"A punishment should be a UEFA-type coaching ban, which is more than a touchline ban," said Leighton.
"A UEFA ban involves a ban for a greater period of time during, before and after a game."
Ferguson is sure to incur a hefty fine and a touchline ban at the very least after the FA asked the Old Trafford boss to explain his comments by 16 October.
However Leighton is keen to see Ferguson slapped with a ‘coaching ban’ which will prevent him from contact with the players for a significant amount of time before during and after matches.
Ferguson’s comments have certainly touched a raw nerve. The usual criticism about referees’ decision making is often brushed off because of the objectivity involved. But Fergie’s attack on Wiley’s fitness essentially questioned his credentials as a referee.
Referees are physically tested regularly throughout the season and the Prozone stats from the game suggested the official had in fact run further than around half of the Premier League players on the pitch.
Suggesting the official was lacking fitness - a compulsory attribute to do his job - was also questioning the integrity of the referees’ association and a huge oversight from Fergie.
His comments were though made in the heat of the moment and that will be argued, but whether his apology will be enough to see him escape punishment is unlikely.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Rio Ferdinand: From defensive rock to Mr Bean - the sorry slide continues ....
No doubting Rio Ferdinand would have preferred it if the BBC had not belatedly gained access to highlights of England's World Cup qualifying defeat against Ukraine last night in Dnipropetrovsk. Not for the first time this season the England centre-back was found wanting and according to the 'expert pundits' by rights should have been sent-off for a foul on Artem Milevskiy just 13 minutes into the game. In the end, it was Robert Green who received his marching orders for bringing down the Ukraine forward.
Luckily for England, Shevchenko's resulting spot-kick hit the post, but the focus of attention has rightly been on Ferdinand's failure to deal with a regulation interception and clearance in the build up to Milevskiy's run on goal. In the end, it didn't really matter because England still lost the game following another defensive mistake, this time by Ashley Cole, but Fabio Capello's team were down to 10 men for most of the game and for that Ferdinand must take the blame.
Uncharacteristic defensive lapses have started creeping into Ferdinand's game - he was shocking for United in the Champions League final, and was equally poor for England against Holland. However, nothing compares to his error late on in the recent Manchester derby that led to Craig Bellamy scoring, in so doing equalising to make it 3-3, luckily for the England defender Michael Owen saved Ferdinand with an injury time winner on that occasion.
To be fair to Ferdinand he's been suffering with injuries, but that cannot explain what are lapses of concentration and basic errors of judgement that have absolutely nothing to do with injuries - anyone who'd beg to differ would be deluding themselves.
There has been talk that Ferdinand fancies a move to Barcelona, if he carries on making silly mistakes Fergie might well drive him to the airport providing he is clutching a £20m Barca cheque in exchange.
Luckily for England, Shevchenko's resulting spot-kick hit the post, but the focus of attention has rightly been on Ferdinand's failure to deal with a regulation interception and clearance in the build up to Milevskiy's run on goal. In the end, it didn't really matter because England still lost the game following another defensive mistake, this time by Ashley Cole, but Fabio Capello's team were down to 10 men for most of the game and for that Ferdinand must take the blame.
Uncharacteristic defensive lapses have started creeping into Ferdinand's game - he was shocking for United in the Champions League final, and was equally poor for England against Holland. However, nothing compares to his error late on in the recent Manchester derby that led to Craig Bellamy scoring, in so doing equalising to make it 3-3, luckily for the England defender Michael Owen saved Ferdinand with an injury time winner on that occasion.
To be fair to Ferdinand he's been suffering with injuries, but that cannot explain what are lapses of concentration and basic errors of judgement that have absolutely nothing to do with injuries - anyone who'd beg to differ would be deluding themselves.
There has been talk that Ferdinand fancies a move to Barcelona, if he carries on making silly mistakes Fergie might well drive him to the airport providing he is clutching a £20m Barca cheque in exchange.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
The ironic man who trousered a fortune from sale of United has 'concerns' over Glazers' departure...
He was often lampooned for his disgusting alleged antics, which include peeping under the ladies toilet door; he is also the man who was willing to sell the club for 'peanuts' to Michael Knighton.
He failed again when trying to sell United to media mogul Rupert Murdoch, he was eventually forced to resign as United's chairman in 2002 over alleged engagements with prostitutes in Brazil, Britain and Switzerland - this while on club business - that man is of course Martin Edwards.
This week he voiced his "concerns" about what may well lay ahead if and when the debt ridden Glazer regime decide to sell the club. However, given the vast fortune the Edwards' family have plundered from the sale of United shares, it comes as no surprise that no one particularly cares about Martin's ironic comments about the Glazers'. This is 'bear shit's in woods territory’; the die-hards have been saying it since 2005, what's more the paying fans have more credibility than Edwards and his gravy train sort will ever have.
He failed again when trying to sell United to media mogul Rupert Murdoch, he was eventually forced to resign as United's chairman in 2002 over alleged engagements with prostitutes in Brazil, Britain and Switzerland - this while on club business - that man is of course Martin Edwards.
This week he voiced his "concerns" about what may well lay ahead if and when the debt ridden Glazer regime decide to sell the club. However, given the vast fortune the Edwards' family have plundered from the sale of United shares, it comes as no surprise that no one particularly cares about Martin's ironic comments about the Glazers'. This is 'bear shit's in woods territory’; the die-hards have been saying it since 2005, what's more the paying fans have more credibility than Edwards and his gravy train sort will ever have.
Shock horror: Fergie apologises to Wiley...
As predicted on this blog, Fergie has made a public apology to Alan Wiley for his senseless comments about the referee's fitness. You do wonder if this apology has been made voluntarily, or more likely has it been made in a bid to water down the FAs punishment that will surely follow? Whatever the reasoning for Fergie's apology it is most welcome and it's to be hoped he thinks twice before going on the offensive in future in front of the TV cameras.
In a statement on the club’s official website Fergie had this to say "I apologise to Mr Wiley for any personal embarrassment that my remarks may have caused.
"I intend to contact him personally after I return from a trip overseas."
In a statement on the club’s official website Fergie had this to say "I apologise to Mr Wiley for any personal embarrassment that my remarks may have caused.
"I intend to contact him personally after I return from a trip overseas."
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Fergie hoist by his own petard...
So then, Fergie has dug a rather big hole for himself, it will serve him right if the FA make an example of him following his ill-timed and ill-thought out attack on referee Alan Wiley. Fergie claimed last Saturday's referee was 'unfit', yet ProZone's stats showed that only four United players' covered more ground than the man-in-the-middle.
There's no doubting that some Premier League referees have been on the portly side, I refer to now retired Jeff Winter and Graham Poll, however, ProZone's stats confirm that overall fitness levels have improved since referee's turned professional.
There's also no doubting the standard of refereeing in the Premier League often leaves a lot to be desired, but given United have made a habit of scoring important goals in added time as they did in the recent Manchester derby and again against Sunderland on Saturday, then Fergie's decision to attack Wiley following the game was not only ill-timed, but also on the evidence of the ProZone stats plain wrong.
Fergie's attack on Wiley beggared belief, given the champions were chasing the game in added time, it also defied all logic - what was there to gain? You do wonder if Fergie was rattled about the team's poor performance against the Black Cats. Unconfirmed reports are claiming the United manager had a dressing bust-up with goalkeeper Ben Foster; the row was allegedly over Sunderland's second goal scored by Kenywne Jones.
Fergie will more likely be given a huge fine and do not rule out a grovelling public apology to Alan Wiley, if he's man enough to admit he was wrong then good on him, but don't hold your breath.
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