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.