Good morning people, are we ready for Derby day? It seems that we are the luckiest fans in the world at the moment. We are getting great fixture after great fixture to satisfy our football hunger. Playing Man City will always hold a special place in my heart, mainly because they’re crap and we normally beat them so we spend the rest of the night ridiculing the less fortunate fans in Manchester. Having said that, our record has not been that great against them in recent years.
A win will take us 9 points clear of Chelsea if only for a couple of hours. What a great feeling that would be. Jose and his little boys in blue would have their work cut out, they would know that they must take to the pitch and nothing but a win would do. Chelsea have had it easy the past 2 years but now it’s time to see how well they can really do under pressure.
I remember Mourinho commenting on pressure after he lost to United last season. He mumbled some utter rubbish about feeding your starving children in Africa and how that was pressure, quite condescending under the circumstances I thought. Now he has some pressure in the premiership and it is from our very own red devils, a team that knows how to win trophies and I for one am excited about the prospect of this one going all the way.
Back to Saturday. I don’t expect the line-up to change that too much; after all who else can we bring in realistically. About the only place we have decent cover for is left-back; just as well that the only injury we suffered on Wednesday was Evra. Heinze is not a bad replacement in my opinion.
It seems to be all quiet on the transfer front at the moment. The papers aren’t saying much, but I’m sure they will in due course. I still think we need three quality signings in January if we are to carry on with our push for the title. I sometimes feel that we are walking a tightrope. If we lost Rooney or Ronaldo for a sustained period there could be trouble. Nani gets my vote as does kun aguero. He plays for Athletico Madrid and is Argentinean. He’s great on Fm2007 and it’s not oftwen wrong. I’ll try and dig some videos up on him.
Right that’s it from me, I’ve got to go and get my Nintendo Wii that comes out today, can’t wait!! Here are the goals from the game against Benfica. P.S If you find any decent Utd videos that you want me to post on the blog be sure to post a comment with the link or post in the forum. We all love watching United!
Friday, December 08, 2006
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Man Utd V Benfica Match review
Good morning to everyone. Do we like to make difficult for ourselves or what? In the end it was a confident performance by a team that showed a real hunger and desire to progress in one of the worlds largest competitions. Well done boys, you just had to do it the hard way!
For those of you who missed the game last night, you missed a cracker. United started with a 5 man midfield, a cautious approach by Fergie and ultimately one that did not pay off! On 27 minutes Benfica had scored, leaving our lads wondering if Benfica were going to be the team that knocked us out yet again.
The goal seemd to rile the squad and you could see the aggression come out in players like Rooney, Neville and Vidic. They were determined to get back into this game and an absolute bombardment was the result. United must have had about 10 shots in 15 minutes as United went in search of an equaliser. It came on the stroke of half time when Vidic drove home a powerful header.
After the break United continued their bitter punishment of the visiting Portuguese. Some will remember how they knocked us out last year and it was time for revenge. Ronaldo did one of his mazy runs down the right flank, placed an inch perfect cross onto the head of Giggs, the outcome? 2-1 to the reds.
With the game apparently wrapped up, Fergie opted to bring off Giggs with Saturday in mind. United weren’t finished however. Saha headed home to make it 3-1 and Benfica had all but sealed their Uefa cup fate.
It is certainly true that this team can only play one way and that is attacking. They become agitated and frustrated when they need to sit back, it simply isn’t in their nature and I for one am glad for it. It annoys me when Wenger suggests that his team play the most beautiful football. United last night displayed a range of slick short passing combined with long and ditrect balls, it was a joy to behold. Well done lads, hopefully we can go on from this, I would love to see us get Munich or Barcelona in the next round!
For those of you who missed the game last night, you missed a cracker. United started with a 5 man midfield, a cautious approach by Fergie and ultimately one that did not pay off! On 27 minutes Benfica had scored, leaving our lads wondering if Benfica were going to be the team that knocked us out yet again.
The goal seemd to rile the squad and you could see the aggression come out in players like Rooney, Neville and Vidic. They were determined to get back into this game and an absolute bombardment was the result. United must have had about 10 shots in 15 minutes as United went in search of an equaliser. It came on the stroke of half time when Vidic drove home a powerful header.
After the break United continued their bitter punishment of the visiting Portuguese. Some will remember how they knocked us out last year and it was time for revenge. Ronaldo did one of his mazy runs down the right flank, placed an inch perfect cross onto the head of Giggs, the outcome? 2-1 to the reds.
With the game apparently wrapped up, Fergie opted to bring off Giggs with Saturday in mind. United weren’t finished however. Saha headed home to make it 3-1 and Benfica had all but sealed their Uefa cup fate.
It is certainly true that this team can only play one way and that is attacking. They become agitated and frustrated when they need to sit back, it simply isn’t in their nature and I for one am glad for it. It annoys me when Wenger suggests that his team play the most beautiful football. United last night displayed a range of slick short passing combined with long and ditrect balls, it was a joy to behold. Well done lads, hopefully we can go on from this, I would love to see us get Munich or Barcelona in the next round!
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Man Utd V Benfica preview and Klose transfer to United?
Good morning people… are we all set for a night of fireworks? I reckon it will be one of those games where we either see end to end stuff, or a really stale game. Personally I hope for the former even if it isn’t good for my blood pressure. Benfica know that a win will take them through so I expect them to come out of the traps all guns blazing, question is do they have the quality?
We all know how much Ronaldo dislikes Benfica, his boyhood dream team. He will be more up for this one than any other player on the field. No player likes facing Ronaldo at the best of times, but with fire in his belly I can imagine the prospect is all the more frightening! One problem could be that he tries to do it all himself, at the expense of setting other players up to score. Ronny this is not the time for personal revenge, it is a time to pull together with your team-mates and pull of this vital victory.
In terms of the line-up, most people in the forum seem to suggest the same line-up:
VDS
Nev, Rio, Vidic, Evra,
Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs
Roo, Saha
RadioDeadon believes we should be resting Heinze for Saturday, which I kind of agree with. Solskjaer looks good in training so hope he makes the bench so that he can replace Saha at some point to rest his precious hamstrings.
Has anyone heard any more about Park and Smith? I’m sure they are training hard, but I am really keen to see them back in action. They are 2 great subs to have on the bench when fully fit. I think we have kind of forgotten about them in recent months, which is a shame!
In transfer news, word in the forum is that we are interested in Klose. I am not sure about this one. At 28 he is entering those twig light years and reminds me of a RVN. A great finisher but you need to revolve your team around him, something we have tried to get away from this season. At £10million do you think he is worth it?
Other united news is that United have a new anthem coming out this year. You can watch the music video here:
Good morning people… are we all set for a night of fireworks? I reckon it will be one of those games where we either see end to end stuff, or a really stale game. Personally I hope for the former even if it isn’t good for my blood pressure. Benfica know that a win will take them through so I expect them to come out of the traps all guns blazing, question is do they have the quality?
We all know how much Ronaldo dislikes Benfica, his boyhood dream team. He will be more up for this one than any other player on the field. No player likes facing Ronaldo at the best of times, but with fire in his belly I can imagine the prospect is all the more frightening! One problem could be that he tries to do it all himself, at the expense of setting other players up to score. Ronny this is not the time for personal revenge, it is a time to pull together with your team-mates and pull of this vital victory.
In terms of the line-up, most people in the http://fcbloggers.com/manutd/forum/viewtopic.php?t=142 seem to suggest the same line-up:
VDS
Nev, Rio, Vidic, Evra,
Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs
Roo, Saha
RadioDeadon believes we should be resting Heinze for Saturday, which I kind of agree with. Solskjaer looks good in training so hope he makes the bench so that he can replace Saha at some point to rest his precious hamstrings.
Has anyone heard any more about Park and Smith? I’m sure they are training hard, but I am really keen to see them back in action. They are 2 great subs to have on the bench when fully fit. I think we have kind of forgotten about them in recent months, which is a shame!
In transfer news, word in the http://fcbloggers.com/manutd/forum/viewtopic.php?t=143 is that we are interested in Klose. I am not sure about this one. At 28 he is entering those twig light years and reminds me of a RVN. A great finisher but you need to revolve your team around him, something we have tried to get away from this season. At £10million do you think he is worth it?
Other united news is that United have a new anthem coming out this year. Here is the music video:
(Joke!)
Right that’s enough from me this morning. Tonight is the big one!!! Come on Reds, United till I die!
We all know how much Ronaldo dislikes Benfica, his boyhood dream team. He will be more up for this one than any other player on the field. No player likes facing Ronaldo at the best of times, but with fire in his belly I can imagine the prospect is all the more frightening! One problem could be that he tries to do it all himself, at the expense of setting other players up to score. Ronny this is not the time for personal revenge, it is a time to pull together with your team-mates and pull of this vital victory.
In terms of the line-up, most people in the forum seem to suggest the same line-up:
VDS
Nev, Rio, Vidic, Evra,
Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs
Roo, Saha
RadioDeadon believes we should be resting Heinze for Saturday, which I kind of agree with. Solskjaer looks good in training so hope he makes the bench so that he can replace Saha at some point to rest his precious hamstrings.
Has anyone heard any more about Park and Smith? I’m sure they are training hard, but I am really keen to see them back in action. They are 2 great subs to have on the bench when fully fit. I think we have kind of forgotten about them in recent months, which is a shame!
In transfer news, word in the forum is that we are interested in Klose. I am not sure about this one. At 28 he is entering those twig light years and reminds me of a RVN. A great finisher but you need to revolve your team around him, something we have tried to get away from this season. At £10million do you think he is worth it?
Other united news is that United have a new anthem coming out this year. You can watch the music video here:
Good morning people… are we all set for a night of fireworks? I reckon it will be one of those games where we either see end to end stuff, or a really stale game. Personally I hope for the former even if it isn’t good for my blood pressure. Benfica know that a win will take them through so I expect them to come out of the traps all guns blazing, question is do they have the quality?
We all know how much Ronaldo dislikes Benfica, his boyhood dream team. He will be more up for this one than any other player on the field. No player likes facing Ronaldo at the best of times, but with fire in his belly I can imagine the prospect is all the more frightening! One problem could be that he tries to do it all himself, at the expense of setting other players up to score. Ronny this is not the time for personal revenge, it is a time to pull together with your team-mates and pull of this vital victory.
In terms of the line-up, most people in the http://fcbloggers.com/manutd/forum/viewtopic.php?t=142 seem to suggest the same line-up:
VDS
Nev, Rio, Vidic, Evra,
Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs
Roo, Saha
RadioDeadon believes we should be resting Heinze for Saturday, which I kind of agree with. Solskjaer looks good in training so hope he makes the bench so that he can replace Saha at some point to rest his precious hamstrings.
Has anyone heard any more about Park and Smith? I’m sure they are training hard, but I am really keen to see them back in action. They are 2 great subs to have on the bench when fully fit. I think we have kind of forgotten about them in recent months, which is a shame!
In transfer news, word in the http://fcbloggers.com/manutd/forum/viewtopic.php?t=143 is that we are interested in Klose. I am not sure about this one. At 28 he is entering those twig light years and reminds me of a RVN. A great finisher but you need to revolve your team around him, something we have tried to get away from this season. At £10million do you think he is worth it?
Other united news is that United have a new anthem coming out this year. Here is the music video:
(Joke!)
Right that’s enough from me this morning. Tonight is the big one!!! Come on Reds, United till I die!
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Man Utd Benfica Match Preview and transfer news
The big game against Benfica looms, with a win an absolute must. It is so important that we top the group if possible. Key men have been rested so there will be no excuses; it’s time for payback against the Portuguese.
The Christmas period is always a packed time in terms of fixtures. We have another big game at the weekend against Man City in a time where every game is crucial. If we beat Man City this weekend we will temporarily be 9 points clear, a healthy margin that will leave Jose and his boys with it all to do, the pressure will be on them.
Back to the Benfica game, I think Fergie will take no chances and elect to play his full strength side. Carrick will return to the midfield, with Fletcher returning to the bench. Giggs should hopefully have enough legs in him for another 90 minutes, as will Scholes and Neville!
Marlowe asked me if I though Saha looked out of sorts during Saturdays game? I have to say he didn’t, he created the first goal with some fancy footwork and converted the penalty very coolly. For the rest of the game he was instrumental in setting up moves instead of scoring them, a quality that has led to the great performances thus far in the league.
It’s only 25 days until the transfer window reopens. Hargreaves as always is on many fans lips. Of course it depends on how his recovery is going from a broken leg, but surely Munich can’t hold out for much longer. Nani is the other option, I think we should definitely lure him to Old Trafford, he looks quality and is good friends with Ronaldo. We also have Larrson coming, if only for 3 months. Those three signings would provide us with enough depth to challenge until the end of the season.
Park and Solskjaer are back in full training. It will be good to have these 2 back. I am really looking forward to seeing more of park ths season as I am sure I have said on many occasions. The games are coming thick and fast, with every one a must win! Bring it on!!!
The Christmas period is always a packed time in terms of fixtures. We have another big game at the weekend against Man City in a time where every game is crucial. If we beat Man City this weekend we will temporarily be 9 points clear, a healthy margin that will leave Jose and his boys with it all to do, the pressure will be on them.
Back to the Benfica game, I think Fergie will take no chances and elect to play his full strength side. Carrick will return to the midfield, with Fletcher returning to the bench. Giggs should hopefully have enough legs in him for another 90 minutes, as will Scholes and Neville!
Marlowe asked me if I though Saha looked out of sorts during Saturdays game? I have to say he didn’t, he created the first goal with some fancy footwork and converted the penalty very coolly. For the rest of the game he was instrumental in setting up moves instead of scoring them, a quality that has led to the great performances thus far in the league.
It’s only 25 days until the transfer window reopens. Hargreaves as always is on many fans lips. Of course it depends on how his recovery is going from a broken leg, but surely Munich can’t hold out for much longer. Nani is the other option, I think we should definitely lure him to Old Trafford, he looks quality and is good friends with Ronaldo. We also have Larrson coming, if only for 3 months. Those three signings would provide us with enough depth to challenge until the end of the season.
Park and Solskjaer are back in full training. It will be good to have these 2 back. I am really looking forward to seeing more of park ths season as I am sure I have said on many occasions. The games are coming thick and fast, with every one a must win! Bring it on!!!
Monday, December 04, 2006
Man Utd V Middlesbrough match review and highlights
Another fantastic 3 points well deserved on Saturday as we move 6 points clear of Chlesea. It was a determined performance from our lads, who never seemed like conceding the points in a tough game in harsh conditions.
Rooney was magnificent, as was Ronaldo, although controversially the Portuguese had a little trouble staying on his feet. Ronaldo won a penalty early on when he tried to avoid a challenge from Mark Schwarzer. The referee had seen enough and awarded the penalty. Up stepped Saha after his nightmare week and coolly converted!
United looked strong on the ball, Rooney and Ronlado looked like they would split the Middlesbourgh defence open at any time, although the next chance game surprisingly at the other end. A free kick was nearly converted by Jonathan Woodgate, fortunately in ricocheted off the post and United were safe.
For all United’s creativity, the second goal was not forthcoming and the reds went into half time only 1 the better. Southgate mixed it up at half time bringing on the young self confessed United fan James Morrison. His contribution was marked with a goal, his low volley beating Van Der Sar.
The home fans had hardly stopped celebrating when down the other end, a neat piece of trickery from Ronaldo set up Giggs to cross into the box and Fletcher to head the ball in to make it 2-1. United looked like a team that wanted it so badly, it was 3 points or nothing!
The performance on Saturday demonstrated just how far we have come in 12 months! We are strong at the back and massively dangerous going forward. Mourinho does not like the break his team has and for good reason. They are now 6 points behind and they know that nothing less than victories will suffice. His team are in danger of trying to force results which is never good.
Finally for all you football manager fans out there. I checked out Nani last night, he is class and available for £16million (on the game). The other player that I have found quite handy is a guy called Montiel, he is an attacking midfielder with blistering pace and a mean shot, whatsmore he’s only 18! Fergie… Check him out.
P.s here are the highlights from Saturdays game
Rooney was magnificent, as was Ronaldo, although controversially the Portuguese had a little trouble staying on his feet. Ronaldo won a penalty early on when he tried to avoid a challenge from Mark Schwarzer. The referee had seen enough and awarded the penalty. Up stepped Saha after his nightmare week and coolly converted!
United looked strong on the ball, Rooney and Ronlado looked like they would split the Middlesbourgh defence open at any time, although the next chance game surprisingly at the other end. A free kick was nearly converted by Jonathan Woodgate, fortunately in ricocheted off the post and United were safe.
For all United’s creativity, the second goal was not forthcoming and the reds went into half time only 1 the better. Southgate mixed it up at half time bringing on the young self confessed United fan James Morrison. His contribution was marked with a goal, his low volley beating Van Der Sar.
The home fans had hardly stopped celebrating when down the other end, a neat piece of trickery from Ronaldo set up Giggs to cross into the box and Fletcher to head the ball in to make it 2-1. United looked like a team that wanted it so badly, it was 3 points or nothing!
The performance on Saturday demonstrated just how far we have come in 12 months! We are strong at the back and massively dangerous going forward. Mourinho does not like the break his team has and for good reason. They are now 6 points behind and they know that nothing less than victories will suffice. His team are in danger of trying to force results which is never good.
Finally for all you football manager fans out there. I checked out Nani last night, he is class and available for £16million (on the game). The other player that I have found quite handy is a guy called Montiel, he is an attacking midfielder with blistering pace and a mean shot, whatsmore he’s only 18! Fergie… Check him out.
P.s here are the highlights from Saturdays game
Friday, December 01, 2006
Lasrson to join Utd on loan! Transfer News
Larrson will join Manchester United in January in a loan deal until the end of the season. Read the BBC article here
This represents a shrewd move by Ferguson who has been lacking attacking options up front. Larrson at 35 though will need to work hard if he is to be a regular feature in the starting line-up. Does this mean that a move for Huntlaer or Torres is now unlikely?
Your thoughts as always, much appreciated!
This represents a shrewd move by Ferguson who has been lacking attacking options up front. Larrson at 35 though will need to work hard if he is to be a regular feature in the starting line-up. Does this mean that a move for Huntlaer or Torres is now unlikely?
Your thoughts as always, much appreciated!
For those of you who have not seen the Everton goals, here they are, a big thankyou to Insanelogic in the forum for digging these out!
I was thinking to myself this morning that it will be really good to have Rossi back at United. The lack of opportunities at Newcastle must have been frustrating at best. What’s more I think there could be a real opportunity for him to progress in the team during the run in of the season. Of course it all depends who comes in during the January window!
Is anybody else getting a little tired of Mourinho telling the world that his team will be top soon? They beat Bolton 1-0, so what? We beat them 4-0. It’s great to see the pressure on the £multi-billion squad and I hope it continues until the end of the season. We may not have the depth, but I was really impressed with the attitude and performance of our squad players on Wednesday. They showed real character and answered their critics (me included) with a great result.
The question is….? Do we continue to rest key players for Saturday’s away trip to Middlesbourgh? The game against Benfica is crucial and we cannot afford any injuries prior to that game. I certainly feel that Fletcher can cover and even Richardson had a useful game on Wednesday. We must not drop points however, for if we do, Mourinho will have his way and his Chelsea boys will close the gap!
I hope to see Park and Solskjaer back in action soon. They have started training with the first team and will provide fresh options to Ferguson in the New Year. With a couple of additions in January we could have a very healthy squad come February, a time when we traditionally have a good run. Come on the mighty REDS!
I was thinking to myself this morning that it will be really good to have Rossi back at United. The lack of opportunities at Newcastle must have been frustrating at best. What’s more I think there could be a real opportunity for him to progress in the team during the run in of the season. Of course it all depends who comes in during the January window!
Is anybody else getting a little tired of Mourinho telling the world that his team will be top soon? They beat Bolton 1-0, so what? We beat them 4-0. It’s great to see the pressure on the £multi-billion squad and I hope it continues until the end of the season. We may not have the depth, but I was really impressed with the attitude and performance of our squad players on Wednesday. They showed real character and answered their critics (me included) with a great result.
The question is….? Do we continue to rest key players for Saturday’s away trip to Middlesbourgh? The game against Benfica is crucial and we cannot afford any injuries prior to that game. I certainly feel that Fletcher can cover and even Richardson had a useful game on Wednesday. We must not drop points however, for if we do, Mourinho will have his way and his Chelsea boys will close the gap!
I hope to see Park and Solskjaer back in action soon. They have started training with the first team and will provide fresh options to Ferguson in the New Year. With a couple of additions in January we could have a very healthy squad come February, a time when we traditionally have a good run. Come on the mighty REDS!
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