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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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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