Wayne Rooney: Record breaker

Two hat-tricks in a row, 8 goals in total. Wayne Rooney has started off this season in magnificent form, already reaching the halfway point of last seasons goal tally and looking as if he could again reach the hights of two season ago where he scored 34 goals!

He reached the massive mile-stone of 150 goals for the club with his first strike against Arsenal, but it almost seems silly concentrating on this as he has now blasted in a further 5. 2 more against the Gunners and 3 past Bolton. 

Total club goals now stands at 155, 110 in League bringing him equal with Ryan Giggs (the only player still playing to compete with Rooney, but realistically Wayne will not have to worry about Ryan scoring a bucket load this season) Well take a look at Wayne's Goals now in terms of Man Utd all-time scorers & all-time league goals

via www.stretfordend.co.uk

via www.stretfordend.co.uk

As we can see he has a further 90 goals to score in the league and just an extra 5 on top of this in all competition. Being only 25, its not unrealistic to think that he can exceed these totals. Being cautious we can safely assume he will be playing until he is 32/33 and stays at United for the rest of his career. Therefore playing for the next 7 seasons he would require only approximatley 14 goals a season, a bench mark he has exceed in every previous year in a United shirt! If he can in fact continue the form he is on at at the minute it may not even take this long. Obviously, although it may be the smaller target Wayne could break the all time record before the all time league record as there will be no restrictions on the compettions the goals are scored in. Speaking on the all-time target Sir Bobby has set he has said, 

"I spoke to a few of the players and asked how many Sir Bobby had and Giggsy said I was 100 or so off. It's a target for me, to try and do that. Hopefully, in the next few years, I can do it."

The game against Bolton was also Waynes 7th Hat-trick for the club bringing him level with Sir Bobby on atleast one level

via www.mufcinfo.com

He had the greatest possible start to trying to break the record no.of hat-tricks by scoring one on his dream debut against Fenerbahce in 2004. Since then he has almost averaged one a year with 7 hat-tricks and this being his 8th season at the club. Assuming one more a season it is tough to see Denis Law's immense 18 trebles being touched.

A crazy stat regarding hat-tricks (kinda relevant), literally just tweet as I am writing this blog;

"January last season, Berba had more hattricks than Rooney had goals. Now Rooney has more hattricks than Berba has appearances" via R_O_M

Today's goals also brought Wayne into the Top10 all time PL Goalscorers aswell,

via www.premierleague.com

Looking at this table, we can see that there are 3 other players in the top 15 that are still playing. Although, looking at the ages of the others, the only player who will be able to significantly rise up the table will be Rooney with Owen (31), Lampard (33) & Anelka (32) all heading towards the final seasons of their career.

To top Alan Shearer's record will be an even will require Rooney's goal tally per season in the league to to be as high as 20 league goals per season over the next 7 years (again this figure is variable because Wayne may well play on longer than this) 

All-in-all his blog has been to highlight how Wayne has the potential to be one of the greatest & most prolific strikers in the English games history. What I find most pleasing when looking at these stats, is that I know he offers the team so much more than goals, working tirelessly throughout each game and putting as much effort in to assist the team as he does to score himself. 

Only time will tell if he can break any or all of these records, but regardless I think we should all be please that we have a player of his quality in our squad!

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Rivals Summer Spending Summary

Many have stated that we are again favourites to claim the premier league title, why is this? Well basically it’s because we won it last year and have not weakened over the summer. i.e. the departures of Scholes, Brown, VDS & O’Shea are not seen as large enough to cost us in games this season. Many people may debate this fact as the depth Brown & O’Shea provided us in defence will be missed, the unparalleled vision and passing ability of ‘Sat-nav’ (Scholes’ nickname with fellow Utd players because he could find anybody on the pitch with a pass) and perhaps the largest chick taken out of our armour is the loss of the Edwin Van der Sar as the anchor of our defence. 

Of course the new summer signings are taken into account when looking at this, offsetting the gap I have mentioned due to the previous mentioned departures. I have already spoken about how I felt about the signings of Young, Jones & de Gea when they signed earlier in the summer. I think with the games we have seen so far everybody is over the moon with how quickly Young & Jones have settled into the club and slotted into the team, both perhaps playing a much larger role in the early days due to injuries sustained by Valencia, Ferdinand & Vidic. There have been question marks over de Gea, which I have also voiced my opinion on a few times in the blog. I think he has looked stronger from game-to-game and as we go further into the season, he gets a better grasp of the English language, becomes more comfortable in a new country & gets half a season of games under his belt. It is not fair to expect him to come in and offer us the same security & organise the defence as  Van de Sar, if for no other reason than VDS came to us with the experience of a full (and successful) career behind him and de Gea is just. I believe the best will come.

The main point of this blog is to look at our rivals summer spending & judge them by this same ‘measure’. Im going to have a quick look at the major In’s and Out’s at each club, along with my opinion as to how their business over the summer will affect their success in the upcoming season. 

Man City

IN – Aguero (£38m), Nasri (£22m), Clichy(£7m), Savic (£10m), Hargreaves (Free)
OUT  - Tevez?, Given (£3.5m), Boateng (£11.8m), Boyata (Loan), Adebayor (Loan), Santa Cruz (Loan)

City have made it into the champions league this year, and so have added some quality to their squad and trimmed off the excess. They’ve spent big this year (shock) again, but the real story is the Tevez saga, were he announced he wanted to leave the cub, the club to be fair said ok but you’re not going cheap.  A deal was almost done with Corinthians earlier in the summer but fell through, following that there was rumours of heavy interest from Inter Milan who were trying to perhaps off-load Sneijder before bringing in Tevez. Now that the transfer window has closed, Tevez is trapped atleast until January. It will be interesting (and could have a great effect on City’s results) whether he can still perform to the best of his abilities or if he will spit out the dummy and try to force through a move in the Winter transfer window. Aguero was obviously brought in to replace Tevez at the club, now with them both there it could lead to a prolific partnership between the Argentinian team-mates rather than Tevez being made second choice behind the new signing.

I think they already had the basis of a good squad and feel that the players they have brought in during this transfer window will add to this squad and unfortunately I have to admit I can see them as a major challengers this year. It is all going well at the minute for them with some impressive early victories. So it can be easy to get carried away, as with the same standards we set ourselves, we will see where they are, come Christmas-time and judge them from then. We will also see how their team bonds and will react when things start to get tougher on them. As always Mancini will face the pressures of keeping all his 'star' players happy in such a large squad.

Chelsea

IN – Lukaku (£18m), Mata (£29m), Romeu (£4.35m), Meireles (£12m)
OUT – Zhirkov (£13.2m), Benayoun (Loan)

Many people may not have heard of Romelu Lukaku,  being a major football buff that I am (not really, bought him of Football Manager before) I have heard of him. He has an impressive record in the Belgian league and at international level. In the few interviews I have seen he also comes across as very intelligent, stating how he understands how lucky he is and how he expects it to take time before he becomes a regular first team member for Chelsea. He has the build and power of Drogba, perhaps can bring a similar goal scoring record, without the attitude?

Many of us will know Juan Mata from the Valencia & the Spanish senior & U21 squads. This is a signing  I will admit I am jealous of. Always liked him & it seems he would have been interested in a move to United as well, with his preferred clubs being us, Chelsea or Barcelona. With ourselves & Barca signing Young & Sanchez respectively it meant Chelsea became the front runners. There was in the week building up to Chelsea signing the young Spaniard a lot of news coming out that Arsenal where looking to sign him and favourites to do so, with actually progress made Chelsea in a very short period of time leaving Arsenal fans as discontented as ever. 

My opinion is that in an ageing squad Chelsea have done well this summer to inject some talented youth. I feel that Chelsea have improved their squad from last year but I am unsure if they will be able to preform consistently enough to compete for the league this season. Again it is so hard to judge after just three games, but they have struggled for their results so far this term. Before I get to excited about this, it could have the opposite effect to last season where they started so strong and faltered near the end. I think along with City, Chelsea are our main rivals this year, but I feel that the Sky Blues may have overtaken the Royal Blues as our main title contenders.

 

Arsenal

IN - Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain (£12m), Chu Young-Park (£3M),  Gervinho (£10.5m), Jenkins (£1m), Santos (£6.2m), Mertesacker (£8m), Arteta (£10m), Benayoun  (Loan)
OUT - Nasri (£22m), Fabregas (£36m), Clichy (£7m), Denilson (Loan), Vela (Loan), Eboue(£3m), Traore (), Bendtner (Loan)

You can almost hear the collective sigh of relief from Arsenal fans following deadline day. After Suday afternoon when United hammered their team 8-2, it was clear that additions were required. I understand that they were missing a number of first team players but if any Arsenal fans thought that they had a strong squad, that idea was severely knocked out of them on Sunday when the limits & lack of depth of their squad where ruthlessly exposed by a Utd side with the same avg. as the Arsenal ‘Second-string’ of 23years old. 

Until the transfer deadline day the only major signing Arsenal had made with any real senior experience was Gervinho, but like many others have written time & time again the Gooners area which needed improving was defence much more urgently than their strike-force....and after the departures of Fabregas & Nasri they also needed some experience in the middle of the park. 

Whether it was always planned, if it was a tactic of Wenger or if the United result brought reality crashing down on French manager, he finally got out the cheque book and signed a few more players to sure up his squad. The two most valuable being Arteta & Mertesacker in my opinion, they bring real experience and class to their squad. Many people will argue that the loss of Fabregas & Nasri leaves a much greater gap in quality than can be filled by Arteta & Benayoun in midfield. I agree with this but it was essential that these players were brought in our Arsenal could have slipped severely down the table. I feel they could still struggle to gain a top four spot, but with the players they have brought in; there is a base where they can improve in future. 

Liverpool

IN – Downing (£20m), Henderson (£20m), Adam (£7m), Doni (Free), Jose Enrique (£10m), Coates (£7m), Belamy (Free)
OUT – Meireles (£12m), Konchesky (£1.5m), Ayala (£800k), Cole (Loan),  Aquilani (Loan), Poulsen (£2m), N’Gog(£4m), Insua (Free), Kyrgiakos (Free)

After last year’s poor showing from Liverpool, along with the sale of their best player, it was important for them to buy well this summer. Unlike Arsenal they wrapped up most of their business before deadline day. Apart from the ‘mysterious’ return of Craig Belamy, which seems pointless in my opinion even as a back-up. I suppose it can be looked on similar to the reasons we signed Michael Owen.

We know what to expect and what we will get from Stewart Downing & Charlie Adam so their most exciting signing this summer has got to be Jordan Henderson. He has shown potential is his first few games this season, grabbing a goal in the process. He is not the finished article but has the potential to be a quality winger in the future.

I don’t think on the whole, any of the signings they have made will set the world on fire, but I think they have improved their squad and will be able to fight for a spot in the top four this year. I think it will be between them and Arsenal fighting for fourth spot. 

Conclusion

I feel that all our main rivals have improved their squads this season, apart from Arsenal who have salvaged their squad on deadline day but I feel they have not recruited at the level of quality they should have. I also think that we have improved, we already knew that we will have to preform better than last season (especially away from home), and with the teams around us improving it has only emphasised this point further.

Hargreaves: "Welcome To Manchester: Part II"

So breaking news today is that Owen Hargreaves is having a medical with Manchester City. If you are on twitter and follow the #MUFCfamily your time line, like mine will have been hi-jacked by Owen Hargreaves news, views & opinions. A lot of these opinions are at the extreme end of the scale (as with a lot of opinions of twitter) 

Many people calling him a money-grabber & a twat for swtiching to City. 

Just as many wishing him the best & stating he owes nothing to Man United. 

In my opinion, both these views are wrong, as with most things in life there is a middle ground. My feeling on the issue is that Hargreaves is not 'money-grabbing' with this move to City. He clearly feels he has the ability & has regained his fitness to play for a club in the Champions League. The move to City however, I feel directly contradicts a statement in the interview he gave last week;

"But, right now, I'd like to think I can play 40 games this season and with the right care I believe I can train every day."

If he goes to City I think he will be lucky if he makes 20 appearances over the season.  But perhaps along with the money and size of MCFC he views this option more attractive, than playing regular football for a team such as West Brom.

To those who are stating that he owes the club nothing and wishing him the best. This isn't fair either, has been at the club for 4 years, basically being only fit for one of them, playing 39games in total (costing the club £447,368.42 per appearance) & he has been given total support from the fans throughout this time. To now turn around and sign for city rivals is a bit of a slap in the face for them. Again it can be understood, if his options were for non-champions league clubs, but for United fans to turn around and wish him the best, is when it comes down to it, giving best wishes to a blue. 

I honestly believe that he will not improve City & United will not be weakened without him (as somebody said on twitter "You can't miss, what you never had") I think he will at best be a back-up player for City and has been brought in as more of a "Stunt", a "Welcome To Manchester: Part II"

So my own final opinion. I think it is a pretty lousy move on Hargreaves' part, removing my personal bias it is understandable though. But he is kidding himself if he thinks he will make his 40-game target & I think City are only looking at him because he is leaving United. The whole thing feels especially bitter after the interview he gave a few days ago stating how he thought Man Utd was a wonderful club and his regret that it didn't work out ect. Even at that stage every United fan was full of sympathy & regret that it hadn't worked out. Those feelings have not abandoned me altogether! It may make since for him to join City but it leaves a very bitter taste in the mouth.

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Arsenal Aftermath

The Good

Could just write up the 90min match report in this section....but will try to keep it brief ;-)

Andos Assist: The ball falls to a midfield player, 30-odd yards from goal many would shoot, a lot would pass to the wings but very few would try the lobbed pass that Anderson played today. I will admit that the Arsenal defence really should have handled it much better, but it is not our fault they didn't. The assist was hit into the danger area and towards Welbeck, great vision from the young Brazilian in my opinion, anyone who calls it lucky, I say you make your own luck!

Double de Gea: Looked a lot more solid in goal today! Particularly impressive and sticking out in the mind, was the double save, shortly after the penalty save (obviously impressive in itself)  But on a whole, de Gea looked so much more confident, surely starting to win over many of his doubters. And who knows what way the game may have turned out if Van Persies penalty or the efforts shortly after had of found the back of the net!


Super-Strikes: If anybody was still thinking United where lucky to be in the lead after Welbeck's goal, the other two goals in the first half surely dispelled that thought. Ashely Young with a magnificent curling effort, finding the top corner. He then repeated the feat at the end of the game, from inside the box this time, it as almost unstoppable! Great to see him settle at the club so well. I said, when he signed, he is a player who seems made for United, but I am sure he has exceeded even his own expectations at the start of this season. Maybe unlucky not to get the Man of the Match award today.

Set-piece Hat-trick: What can I say about this other than Wayne Rooney...take a bow. The two free-kicks looked directly off the training ground. The first one looked pretty unstoppable, but I think Szczesny should have been doing better for the second free-kick. From the opposite side of the pitch perhaps the Arsenal keeper thought Rooney would try to find the opposite corner, rather than shoot across the goal, leaving the goalie stuck in the mud it seems.

The Bad

Welbeck Injury: After an excellent start to the game unfortunately Danny pulled up with what seems to be a hamstring injury when chasing a long ball on the counter attack, such a shame that he only got 35mins under his belt today. It looks like it could be a month or so before we see Danny back in first team action again, which is a shame and we wish him a full & speedy recovery. Of course the silver lining is we seen almost an hour of football from Chicharito, who did well, unfortunately unable to find the net himself! But it goes to show, with Sir Alex speaking of selection headaches leading into the game, it is shown why the full depth of the squad is required. I dare say Wenger would have liked the same strength in numbers as we hold.

The Ugly

Arshavins Tackle: Leaving a bitter taste in many reds mouth, Arshavin can count himself lucky to have stayed on this pitch with a horrendous tackle on Ashley Young. I suppose Young can also count himself luck that he was not seriously injured by the tackle. Arshavin's foot was high  with studs showing and could have cause much more damage than it did in the end. Arsenal eventually did keep their record for a Red Card in every premier league game so far this season, with young Jenkinson picking up two yellows. Although the two bookings were fully deserved you almost felt sorry for the young gooner as he was tortured the whole game by Ashely Young on the wing and offered no help or protection from the Arsenal midfield!


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Return of the Little Pea

Javier 'Chicarito' Hernandez returned to first team duties during the game on Monday night against Spurs. With I imagine everybody involved in the club being ecstatic to see the little pea back to full fitness....except perhaps Danny Welbeck & Dimitar Berbatov.

With Welbeck, easily being the most impressive striker on the pre-season tour, with some very strong performances. He has been rewarded early this season, earning two starts in the Premier League ahead of Berbatov, proving himself worthy by scoring a goal & creating an excellent assist in the game against Tottenham on Monday night. I know its only been a few games but I feel we now need to stop considering him as a young reserve getting a run out, he is a fully pledges first team member & should be fighting for his place and in contention for starting place throughout the season. Though with the return of Chicarito this may be easier said than done! In the second half of last season it became clear that his partnership with Rooney moved him above Berba in the pecking order at United. It will be interesting to see if Hernandez is now put in along with Rooney for the Arsenal game on Sunday, or will Fergie stick with Welbeck, perhaps introducing Hernandez slowly due to his lack of pre-season.

Then the next step we look at has to be does this force Berbatov to fourth in the queue? If it does it would be a crazy outcome, the season after he shares the golden boot in the Premier League, he falls to a bit-part roll by the start of the next season. To be honest, I like Berbatov, but will always prefer to see Welbeck and particularly Hernandez starting. I like the youth, pace and the hard work of these two and feel it serves the team better than Berba's more 'relaxed' style. Dimitar has undoubted skill and when he's confident & on form it is amazing to watch. Unfortunately, it doesn't really lend itself to the wide attacking, pass and move style of united when we play 4-4-2. Having said that, SAF could turn around and hand Berbatov the start against Arsenal, he certainly has the ability to hold the ball up more than the two young strikers, so depending on tactics and how the manager feels the game will pan out Berba could even get the nod. SAF spoke about the problem in an interview stating;

"Chicharito came back on Monday which gives me a tremendous problem for picking a side, But that’s the kind of problem we want" Sir Alex Ferguson

Regardless of who starts on Sunday, it is great to have the little pea back in the mix and I personally believe that he will be Rooney's partner in attack this season once the staff are confident he is fully fit and prepared! He himself seems to be as keen as ever, speaking to MUTV about being back in the first team squad he spoke of how difficult it was not playing football for two months & had this to say about the game against Spurs;

"It was great to play again, unbelievable" Chicharito

Chicharito won't be the only player fit to return to action this weekend, with SAF confirming that Darren Fletcher is ready to return to first team duties and will be in consideration for the side vs. Arsenal on Sunday. More good news for United fans and usually we would see the Scot returning to being the first name on the team sheet, but it could be much harder for him to break-back into the set-up with Anderson & Cleverley playing so well in the centre of the park. It will be another interesting selection problem for the manager, let the youthful pairing gain more experience together on the pitch, or bring back in Fletch who imo over the past few years has been our strongest CM. 

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More Than Football

I've already written a blog about the United Way. About how I continue to support United, not because of our success, but because of how they do things. I've used the Sir Matt Busby quote;

 "At Manchester United we strive for perfection and if we fail we might just have to settle for excellence" - Sir Matt Busby

As Manchester United fans we should all take pride, not only in this quote but in the fact that the club strives to live up to this standard it has set itself. In turn, as supporters, as TRUE supporters, we should look at our actions with the same ideals we expect the club to uphold.

Being of the generation I am, where I only began following United in the 90's I am always on the defensive of being a true supporter & not just a glory hunter, I'll admit I have known very little but success, 3years being the longest dry spell of league titles I have witnessed - but this is by chance, I will continue to support United for the rest of my life, regardless of success.

This is relevant because, at times I have to look at other supporters & wonder, do they really support the club for the right reasons, or do they follow the club because of the success instead of the manner is which we have succeeded. Is it part of their image rather than part of who they are.

I am not meaning to come across as preachy here (and perhaps failing) and certainly don't hold my-self above other supporters, but looking at a few of the things I have seen, heard & read this week it makes my doubt a few others.

I can have very little respect for anybody who has already lost faith in de Gea, or never offered any faith in him in the beginning. Even if he wouldn't have been your pick of goalkeeper to bring in or if you would start Anders Lindegaard ahead of the young Spaniard, he is the No.1 picked by Fergie and he is a Man Utd player. We should be offering our support, again I'll point out he should have done better with the Dzeko goal in the community shield & Longs goal in the West Brom game, but its not as if they were horrific mistakes, where he has dropped the ball through his hands or missed a pass back. Every fan should be rallying around him, giving him time & understanding the difficulty of the situation he has walked into. If we cannot even offer a young player, who could become a star player at United for a decade or more the benefit of the doubt, why even support United at all.

I have also came across a situation where so called United supporters have actually been abusing other supporters. Personally attacking them, with little cause and less evidence to base the abuse upon. It is a sad state of affairs, when you attack somebody who ultimately is part of the same group as yourself. I personally don't see the reason which would call for partaking in the abuse, I am not saying you have to like everybody who supports Man Utd or agree with every-bodies point of view (after all different points of view are what makes football so interesting). But we should be treating each other with a level of respect. There are ways of arguing a point with somebody with out having to personally attack them & even if you find there is no reasoning, or there is a trait in the person you dislike, there is nothing to keep you interacting with them. There are just some haters out there, in every large group of people it is inevitable that there are people who are hell-bent on attacking others, rather than adding something of value.

Rant over, I guess the point I am trying to make is we hold such high expectations for the club and the players while representing the club, we should also try to reach these expectations ourselves, by handling ourselves in the right way. Wether it be offering support to a struggling player instead of slating them because the newspapers have latched onto a 'headline' or whether it be how we treat our fellow supports, particularly fellow Manchester United supporters.

Our fans hold a banner which reads;

Not Arrogant, Just Better

We have to earn this motto and at times, unfortunately, the difference is a fine line which many of us can step over.


I realise that this post is more of a rant than any real football chatter, so I apologise to anybody you didn't enjoy it and can tell you normal service will be resumed next time :-D


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WBA - Away Day Win

I was hoping for a more emphatic start to the season from United after last weeks performance in the community shield, but the important thing was of course the three points that we earned. Considering the torrid time we had last season away from home in the league, not earning our first 3points outside of Old Trafford until the week before Halloween. Glad to have that out of the way because I don't think we can afford to through away so many points this season and still finish top.

The game started off bright with United pinning West Brom into their own box, with a few corners and a free kick from just outside the box which where delivered into the box by Anderson & Young.These looked much more dangerous, than any of the set-pieces we were delivering in last year so hopefully it's an area we can improve upon this year. 

I'm not going to do a match report, because I'm sure if you weren't watching it, you've seen it by now, on TV or on-line. Im just going to select a few of the major talking points, arising from the match.

Dodgy de Gea?

I've already made my feelings clear on this matter, after the Community Shield game (in Season Starts Now) and my feelings remain the same. We have to support de Gea, we cant expect him to walk in and be an instant replacement for Van der Sar, that's not how it works. He is only 20 years old, he has moved to a completely different country, he has moved to one of the biggest clubs in the world where he is expected to step right in to the first team. The unfortunate thing about being a goalkeeper is that there is nowhere to hide, you cannot be slowly integrated into the squad with 20mins here and there. You are in with the spot light from the very beginning. The other issue with being a goalkeeper is that if you do make a mistake, it will almost certainly cost a goal. 

This is exactly what de Gea has done in his first few games, made a couple of mistakes. I'm not denying this, but rather than jump on the band wagon and decided he shouldn't be the 1st team goalkeeper, we should be thank-full we have went on to win both games as he is making his transaction. He will take time to adjust, but given that time, he will settle and begin to impress at Old Trafford.

Defensive Injury Crisis?

Four of or eight first team defenders are currently injured, Evra is expected to be back for next week, so if he is fit to return that will ease worries a little. Rafael is reportedly out for 10weeks, requiring surgery. Rio will also be out for 6weeks, with a hamstring injury & it is still unclear how long Vidic could be out for.

The problem does not lie in the fact that the four our out because I have great faith in our second string defensive line up. Rather the problem may occur if we any of them where to pick up an injury. We don't want to end up stretched at the back as we where a few seasons ago when we had Carrick & Fletcher in defence and paid the price. Without them injuries we could have even went on to win the league for the record 4th time in a row. This year we have much greater strength and depth in the defensive area so hopefully Evra will return and this will be the only bad luck we have with injuries this year, because injuries can ruin seasons.

MotM - Ashley Young

Ashley Young picked up the man of the match award. Fully deserved in my opinion, he looks made for United, just as Valencia did when he joined. he hugs the left touchline and is always looking for that killer cross. He looks to have settled in well, stating himself the fact that he knew a number of the fellas, from the England set-up and also signing in time for the pre-season tour allowed him to meet all the players too.

He gained an assist for Rooney's goal and played a bit of pinball as he created the second goal. Long may his confidence and effectiveness continue.

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Sneijder Saga: The Never Ending Story

This is a post I kept thinking about writing, but have purposely been putting it off and not tackling the subject, not because I have little opinion on the matter or it is not big news, but simply, nobody can get the story straight. Its the proverbial hokey-cokey, one day the transfer is on, the next it is off. The past 24-hours, having turned a complete 180 degrees that the Sneijder deal was eminent to just this past few hours reports have come out that Manchester United are no longer interested in signing the Dutchman.

Anybody who has been talking to me on twitter will know I have mixed emotions on the matter. I will welcome Sneijder if he does eventually sign and if he doesn't I won't see it as the end of the world either.

I think he is a world-class player, who can only add an extra-spark to United in mid-field.

However...I can also see issues with him signing

• We don't want to be breaking our budget for the sake of a big name signing. If Sneijder doesn't reduce his wage demands, then it may not be feasible for the club to sign him. Especially when the transfer fee will be so large and against United's policy of not spending excessive transfer fees on players older than 26years old. 

• If he comes, he will probably not play in a CM role, more likely he will play in the hole behind the striker. Which I believe is where he is most effective. Due to Sneijder's lack of defensive qualities, we will probably still play 2 more centre mid-fielder's behind him. Meaning a formation with room for only 1 forward (Rooney) for most matches, limiting the appearances of Berbatov and Chicharito, never-mind Welbeck and Macheda behind them.

In conclusion, what I really really wish would happen most with this saga.....is that it would END!

Regardless of if we sign him or not, I just wish we knew what was happening. The waiting, the rumours and the countless different sources stating different things is torture. The thing I like about United (and maybe the biggest indicator that the transfer will not happen) is that when it comes to transfers we usually hear nothing until the deal is almost final. Then it is officially announced, like a plaster being pulled off, the quicker it is the better.

In this case its been in the media all summer long & just because this latest report coming out of the United camp says we are no longer interested, I would almost bet my life it will not be the final word on the transfer.





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Obertan - 1st to Fly

Gabriel Obertan has now completed his move from United to Newcastle, we first heard this move would be completed a few days ago with 3million being the figure being mentioned. But as always when Utd are involved the official fee is undisclosed.

You may remember my previous post Fight or Flight, where I spoke of the possibility of Obertan moving on or fighting for a place in the squad. It seems the arrival of Ashley Young has been the final nail in the coffin for the Frenchman. With the extra competition pushing him further down the pecking order at Old Trafford, where he was already struggling to make an impact.


Personally I will be wishing Gabby all the best with his move and feel it is a great move for both himself and Newcastle, especially if the £3million price tag is accurate. In a transfer market when Liverpool and Arsenal have paid £16-20mil and £12-15mill for Jordan Henderson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain respectively. Henderson has had a lot more premiership experience than Obertan, getting regular football at Sunderland over the past few seasons. Having said that though I feel Gabby has as much potential as Henderson and with regular football he will become more consistent and will improve on his weaker areas such as his decision making and his final ball.

As for Arsenals move for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, I'm getting a very weird case of déjà vu, back in 2006 when they signed up a certain Mr. Walcott was signed up. It will be interesting to see how Arsenal handle this one, will they throw him in the deep end as they did with Walcott or will they give him a proper chance to develop as a player? I am not saying Walcott is not a decent player now but I feel it has taken all these years before he has started to make an impact due to how Arsene Wenger utilised the young man.

I accept the price-tag is much lower for Obertan because of the fact he is French and not English as teams look to buy young, home-grown players to ensure their squads will meet requirements in this area in the future. But this can not deter from the fact that Newcastle have had a bargain, for a player, in Obertan, who has enormous skill and potential with 2-years experience training at Manchester United.

via The Republik of Mancunia

As I have said above, I think it is a good move for both parties involved as I fear Obertan would have found it very difficult too ever break into a regular first team squad at United. He has realised this himself and instead of spending more time at Old Trafford (which must be tempting, even if it will mainly be reserves) and picking up a handful of appearances in the cup competitions, he has stepped up, and moved on to get first team football.

Good luck and Meilleurs vœux Gabby

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Season Starts Now

So the community shield has been and gone, glad to say we beat the city scum and deservedly so. We dominated for the entire game and some how amazingly we went in at half-time 2-0 down. Citys first goal coming completely against the run of play on the 38min, they won a free kick in a dangerous area and some poor defending allowed Lescott a free header. At the time of the goal I thought de Gea got stuck flat on his feet, but looking back it would be hard to expect him to do anything as Lescot got so close.

The goal stunned Man Utd for the remainder of the half, not regaining the control that they had held previous and the pain was compounded on the 45min when Edin Dzeko took a long range effort which caught de Gea of guard. The shot was hit with venom and undeniably swerved in the air but it was clear 'Big Dave' was slow to get down to it.

At this point twitter exploded with the end of the world tweets, we need Sneijder or the season is over, bring back VDS and sell de Gea. It's laughable how many people will panic and jump on the bandwagon! I'd like to point out that at this stage I was disappointed at the 2nd goal we had conceded and to be honest found it hard to see our way back into the game. We had dominated the first half and came out 2-0 down, it seemed it would just be one of those days. But I was not calling for de Gea's head or screaming that our squad was not good enough. We had been so impressive, that regardless of the result of this game I consoled myself that a performance like that every week we should have no problem retaining the title, but held out little hope for the shield at that point.

2nd half starts and with 3 subs on (Cleverly, Jones, Evans for Carrick, Ferdinand, Vidic) Man Utd started the 2nd half as they had the first. We looked the brighter of the two sides once more and eventually got our reward when Chris Smalling got on the end of an Ashley Young free. 6mins later we may have seen the goal of the season already (especially where team-work is concerned) with Rooney taking the ball from midfield and linking up with Nani, Welbeck and Cleverly with some intricate and beautiful 1-touch football, before Nani finished the move with a beautiful chip into the roof of the net.

Finally, we all know what happened in the last minute of the game, Rooney with a large looping clearance from his own box which was latched on to by Nani who was running so fast the air-force he created flung Gael Clichy to the side.

Queue the screams "Oh Fuck, please dont't miss, please don't miss"
                            "OH MY GOD HE'S GOING TO MISS"
                            "Hes too close to Joe Hart"
                            *Holds breath - time slows down*
                             ...
                            "GGGGGGGGOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLL"

It was such a weird feeling watching a game with something at stake again after the pre-season friendlies. It was a great feeling and was just exactly what we needed to get ready for the new season. I still hold the same opinion as last week, the result of the game was meaning less, but just taking part in that match can only have done the squad the world of good. If we continue to preform like that this season, we will definitely have more trophies to celebrate come next may.

As for City, how can they expect to be successful this season if they are more worried about kicking and fouling the other team than playing football. Pointing particularly towards Richards, Balotelli and YaYa Toure. Separate incidents where they all had terrible tackles or dived or forgot that Nemanja would tear them to pieces.

Never has such hatred been shown for a player, that I can remember as much as Balotelli, not even Viera, or Tevez (and who could like them?). I think its a statement of the way Man City are as a club that the continue to play him, when he lets them down so often with his behaviour. Sort him out or ship him out. Personally I'd choose the second option and have nothing to do with him, but atleast as long as he is at City we will be able to enjoy his antics as he continues to embarrass the bitter blues.

The main outcome that I have taken from the shield victory is that I cannot wait for next week now as Utd start to play week in week out, the season starts now!

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It Doesn't Mean Anything...but it Doesn't Hurt

Its billed as a seasons curtain-opener by the F.A.

It's viewed as an over-hyped friendly by clubs who are not in it (and sometimes the clubs that do complete)

However you view it, it is better to be in it than not, it is a symbol of the success in the previous season and being Man Utd this means competing more often than not since the premier league was introduced, this will be their 14th appearance since 1993. Unsurprisingly to go along with being the most successful team ever in English League history we also hold the record number of Community Shield victories with 18 (4 of which are shared) and on Sunday we will aim to match up with our league titles and hold the shield for a 19th time, with Liverpool again lurking in our shadows.

The Community Shield (formerly Charity Shield prior to 2002) was established in 1908 with guess who playing in the first ever match?...Yup, you guessed it, United played QPR, but it ended in a draw and was replayed where United won 4-0. This is the only time the fixture has ever went to replay but it has faced many re-incarnations over the years. This match was between the first division champions (United) and the southern league champions (QPR)

Currently it is an exhibition between the League Champions and the F.A. Cup winners (or 2nd place in the league if the Champions also win the F.A. Cup) with 1st Division vs Southern League champions, Amateur vs. Professionals games, England World Cup team vs FA XI side. In fact the last time Man City appeared in the in the shield (1972) it wasn't because the won either the League or F.A. Cup but rather they were invited to partake after Derby and Leeds both decline to take part. Where City, who finished 4th in the 1st division, beat Aston Villa who had just won the 3rd division!

The way I look at the game, is perhaps more positive than most, although I consider the result meaningless, I think its a great opportunity for a competitive match, against (more than likely) one of our close title rivals, since 1998 we have played Arsenal 4 times and Chelsea 3 times, with a few non-title contenders also thrown in there in Porstmouth and *coughs*....Liverpool! Its a great chance to test the current ability of our squad against theirs as well as test our performance and fitness in a competitive environment before the league kicks off.

This years will be particularly competitive as we seek revenge on City from our last meeting at Wembley in last seasons F.A. Cup semi-final, which left them to eventually lift the title. And as always with City, they will be treating this as their biggest game ever, against Man Utd for a trophy. If they were to win it, no doubt they will see it as another step to becoming the dominant force in Manchester and act as if they have won a major trophy. Anybody reading this will no doubt be able to see the flaw in their thinking, although there is obvious bragging rights up for grabs City will surely be doing nothing more than kidding themselves if the result carries any type of weight towards a shift in power within the city.

Perhaps the 3-times they won the Community Shield in the past is what the 3-stars on their crest represents, and then just to embarrassed to admit it and so say its just for decoration.

Anyway, I will finish now as I started, the match is meaningless, but it is better to be in it than not.

Good luck to the boys on Sunday but the results start to matter the following following week at the Hawthorns.

The United Way

"At Manchester United we strive for perfection and if we fail we might just have to settle for excellence" - Sir Matt Busby

 I had never heard this quote before, I'm not sure why but I just never came across it. It's a quote which, to me atleast, sums up Utd. It sums up why I support Utd.

I was born in 1988 and so when I was starting to watch football (2nd half of the 90's) I didn't just support Man Utd because they where the best team in the premiership, I followed them because my father followed them. And he started to support United back in the Tommy doc era in the mid-70's. This unlike now was against the grain, especially in our family, Liverpool where dominating in the League and Europe. He followed them because they had a number of Irish players but also because of how they played. He does not reminisce of the league titles or European cup in the 50's and 60's under Busby as it was before his time. But even in this lull of tittles from United, there was something in the way they played and the way they carried themselves that appealed to him. 

I think the quote from Sir Matt Busby, summarises this attitude. At Man Utd we will strive to be perfect, to make sure things are always done the right way. As I have mentioned, I started to follow Man Utd in the 90's and so I have known little but glory, people attack me for this, that I am a glory hunter, which I am not. I followed Utd because of my father but I have continued to support them over the years not because of the success, but because of the way Manchester United do things.

I also think as the game has grown over the past two decades with TV,  the money, players from all-around the world playing in different leagues there is one reason and one reason only that United has kept doing things the right way....Sir Alex Ferguson!

We cannot be thankful enough that SAF came to United when he did and that he has been allowed to stay in charge and hold the club stable over this period of explosion in world football. The tradition of wearing the suits to matches still in tact is a prime example of how Utd still do things the right way and when they are representing the club the players all know what is expected. We no official statements are made by the club regarding transfers until they are confirmed and the transfer fees are never disclosed from the Man United end.

Without him at the helm we may have spiralled into a manger a season mode, not allowing anybody to make a mark and leaving the club in disarray. But Ferguson has upheld the tradition and attitude on Man Utd and implanted it into every player that has crossed his path, if they did not meet the standard, they were shown the door. Many of the mangers brought into other clubs today are shown the door by the players as the chairmen look to keep their star players rather than keep the manager. No player should ever be bigger than the club, no matter what club that may be.

This leads me to think to the future, after Ferguson retires. I hope when-ever that is that the right decision is made in appointing his successor, they will be give the time to create their own squad and more importantly they uphold the traditions of the club and play the United way!

I am proud to support Manchester United, not just because we are champions, its because;

We always go out to attack, we always go out to win, we always go out to play until the final whistle. There is no other way. We are Manchester United, Not Arrogant....Just Better.

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Friendly with the Enemy

What an odd situation to find ourselves in. A friendly against Barcelona, only 2months after being defeated by them in the last competitive match of the season. Although this now looks like a disastrous fixture for United, it was arranged well in advance of the Champions league final (announced on 29/03/11 to be exact) and poised to be a show case between the two greatest club sides in the world, to show America how good the game can be.....unfortunately that seems to be exactly what has happened with the two clubs meeting on the 28th of May for the crown. (even more unfortunate that United lost)

Many people have been talking about this game being a chance to get revenge, others saying that will be the cry if Manchester win but if we lose it line will be that it was only a friendly.

I view it slightly differently in that if we win, everybody will state its only a friendly and if we were to meet again (towards the end) of next season we couldn't repeat the feat. Then if we lose they will use this as a platform to once again question Uniteds credentials alongside the likes of Barca. To me it seems we cannot win in this situation, it will be played down if we win and blown up if we lose.

Fergies has stated this week that he would happily play his youngsters against Barcas youngsters as it would be very interesting. I also think it would void the result as an opportunity for the sports media to pounce on us and create pressure within the squad before the start of the new season.

I think I have come across very pessimistic in this post, I don't mean to and I am looking forward to the Barcelona friendly more than I have any of the rest. And the result will be meaningless when the season starts, regardless if we do meet Barcelona or not. I am not looking forward to the the media hype, whether we win or lose, which will more than likely follow the result. I'm just hope the tie has no negative effects on the mentality of the squad.

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No.1 Knows!?

Sir Alex has probably already made this blog entry null and void as he said in a press conference last week that David de Gea would be starting the new season between the sticks. Maybe it is also naive to think a couple of pre-season appearances could overturn this season but Anders Lindegaard has been impressive while on the pitch in the USA.

Although it is hard to judge any player in pre-season, judging the goalkeeper may be the most difficult task. They are not facing the same quality of crosses and shots when touring other leagues such as the MLS, with the number of times they are called into action also being limited. So maybe everybody asking the question de Gea or Lindegaard is a bit hasty.

Obviously the main pro for Lindegaard is that he has had time to settle in at Utd and may have a better idea of the atmosphere and pressures of playing in the English league. A second pro for the (someday great?) Dane would have to be his sheer confidence and self-belief he has in himself. Talking in the press when he signed that he did not come to Man Utd to sit on the bench and he would be pushing for the No.1 spot at Old Trafford. He has again re-itterated these sentiments this week stating;

"It's not about making the choice [as to who plays in goal] difficult for him [Sir Alex]," Lindegaard told ManUtd.com. "For me, it's about being number one. That is what it's all about - playing. I enjoy competing and, so far, I feel very good."

Its a horrible problem, because when a keeper does establish himself as the No.1 choice, it is important to keep him in nets to help his consistency. It is not a position where the manager can decided to swap and change or let the keepers take it in turns.

In my opinion, we will see de Gea start the season in nets, he was not bought for nothing and has had much stronger experience as a first team keeper compared to Anders. I don't believe Lindegaard could change Sir Alex's mind in the few appearances pre-season, but he has certainly done himself no harm. He has done well and won himself over a number of fans I'm sure, and provided himself a great platform to start off nipping at David's feet!

Perhaps he has created a selection problem where many thought their wouldn't be one. Hopefully both have a good season in which ever matches they play as the have a massive pair of boots gloves to fill.

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What Would Fergie do?

Two sections of this blog, the first will be regarding the that mature, cultured and all-round complete forward of Manchester City, you know that one which we all wish we had in our team.....oh wait, its actually about Mario Balotelli. The hot-headed, petulant child that I feel will never reach his potential due to his poor attitude. If you haven't seen the following clip already, check it out before reading on (if you have seen it, watch it again anyway and laugh out loud please)

At least Mancini had the balls to substitute the arrogant Balotelli immediately after his epic fail. (although I can't help but feel if he had scored, the Americans would have loved it) Though it was so unnecessary and an embarrassing attempt at goal, compounded with the American supporters jeering the young Italian it really left Mancini with little other choice. My real point of this blog Marios reaction after being brought of and the side-line argument with his manager. What would Sir Alex do if this ever happened, i'm sure over the years there has must have been a few players who have gone straight down the tunnel in the heat of the moment (and I'm sure they also received an appropriate hair-dryer shaped punishment at the least), but if anything like the the disrespect shown to Mancini, arguing with him on the touch line was shown towards Sir Alex I wouldn't imagine a much longer career in the red shirt for that player. I cannot see the same fate befalling young Balotelli, who would want him anyway.

The second section is to do with Sir Alex's most recent press conference where he says the summer spending is over! He gave to following quote; 

"At this moment in time I can't see any other additions," he said. "The type of players we may have been looking for are not available to us. So therefore I have to be happy with the players I have and carry on."

This seems it could be a bit more mind games to me than a fact. Maybe waiting on a drop in price or for the players agents to push for the move a bit harder. Either way, I'm not saying that there is 100% still going to be more signings. I'm just saying don't rule it out. Fergie may just be slowing things down with moves for Nasri and Sneijder being massively hyped by the media, it does not help negotiations.

P.s. We cannot look at Balotelli video's without looking at bib-gate 2010... Enjoy.

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