Feb 17 2008
William Gallas talked about United players being too arrogant and a whole load of bollocks, expanding on his thoughts on United’s said arrogance. Well, if yesterday’s display was anything to go by, yes, he was absolutely right. United blew away Arsenal with an arrogance that would be deemed fit for Champions.
Continue reading “Man Utd 4-0 Arsenal: United Swat Le Arse Away”
Feb 16 2008
Today is a big game in terms of the rivalry the two sides have had for the good part of the last decade, but surprisingly, and thankfully, there isn’t the over the board hype surrounding the fixture as has normally been the case in United-Arsenal fixtures. Maybe it’s because it’s the BBC that is showing the game and not Sky. Or maybe it’s the FA Cup itself, which has dwindled in importance and relevance for many Premiership clubs over the years. Who knows!
Feb 15 2008
A very good morning to you all. Thank God it’s Friday! So now I can waste my time at work by making frequent trips to the water cooler, reading some football websites and also do some work in between; all in anticipation of the weekend that lies ahead.
In this jolly mood let’s do a quick one today.
Continue reading “Brazilian’s United Debut and Other Stories”
Feb 14 2008
I took a break yesterday with the hope that I would be able to report more news today. Sadly all that happened in the world, over the past couple of days, was the barking of a stray dog at it’s own reflection; the marching of ants, from the front door of my apartment to the kitchen; and a congregation of pigs along the banks of the neighbourhood gutter, looking to plot world domination — much like the ones on George Orwell’s Animal Farm.
Except that all of this didn’t really happen. If you think about it, the world would have been more interesting to me had I actually seen these aforementioned events unfold. Imagination can be a funny thing.
All this does not disguise the fact that there is precious little to report today. At least nothing related to actual football and MUFC.
But here we go.
Feb 12 2008
As the extremely well crafted title would tell you, there is quite a bit to talk about today. But before we go ahead, a little word on one bit of news that sneaked away unnoticed–or should we say, did not get the coverage it deserved.
The Premier League, besides chalking up a rather controversial plan (to put it mildly), also agreed to allow seven substitutes on the bench from next season onwards. Now that is certainly something to feel happy about as it gives the manager more options. I’ve never understood the concept of five players on the bench when La Liga and the Champions’ League allow seven. Hopefully this would make man management easier.
Right, now back to United related news.
Feb 11 2008
I really don’t feel like writing a match report. It can’t get any worse can it? City, of all the clubs in the world, win against us; we put on a limp display on a day which was supposed to commemorate a side known for playing one of the most free-flowing forms of the game; and the blue half actually do the double on us this season.
I just can’t think of anything uplifting at the moment either. I could, of course, cite Chelsea’s inability to capitalise on this slip up on our part. Or I could sit and hope Mark Hughes does us a favour today against Arsenal. But that’s really it.
Recently, it has come to my notice that whenever I wrote a match report following a loss, I have invariably praised the opposition and given it due credit for being the better side. At least the last time when we lost to City it was bad luck, more than anything.
But yesterday, I couldn’t see much to say that United deserved anything out of this. I couldn’t even look to chide the Citeh fans, who were well behaved during the one minute silence.
Citeh got what they deserved, and so did we. I don’t want to really go deep analysing things for today because a lot was wrong about our display. I could have talked about Rooney’s and Evra’s absence, but those are excuses. The side we put out should have beaten a Man City side that have been well below par in recent weeks. It was derby day, an occasion to rise up to — enough motivation to win. And they didn’t. Maybe I am being too hard, or maybe it was the occasion that put undue pressure on them.
But they have to rise up to such occasions and not go missing. I am letting my emotions get the better of me here, which is certainly uncharacteristic of me. But I am feeling quite bitter about yesterday and so I will end what has been a rather incoherent post from my side.
See you when I get my spirits higher than this.
Edit: Oh, and the official reason for our defeat: Fatigue due to internationals. And here we are discussing the possibility of a 39th game, not to mention our short jaunt to Saudi Arabia. Oh, the irony!
Feb 10 2008
After weeks of speculation about City fans and the Munich tribute — and the minute’s silence versus the minute’s applause (mooted from some quarters) — we get to the day where we would have to realise that there is a game to be played as well. And, of course, precious three points to be picked.
On that poignant note, we shall preview today’s game.
Feb 09 2008
Tomorrow we invite our friends from the council house to our humble home, and I will surely write a preview post tomorrow. But apart from it being a derby and, of course, an opportunity to pick three points to close the gap with Arsenal, the game will assume greater significance for a non-footballing reason.
It is our first home game since the 50th Anniversary of the Munich disaster and our efforts to mark the occasion with a one minute silence may come under threat due to some City fans disrupting the said minute’s silence.
Feb 09 2008
Most of you might have heard about the Premier League’s plan to increase the number of games to 39 and play the extra game abroad. I am not sure what many of you think, but to me this is one of the most arrogant decisions ever made by the Premier League. Now I am not saying that it is a bad business decision. The potential at overseas markets are huge, especially for clubs like United. In fact, if a mid table side played a ‘big four’ team abroad, they will attract fans because of the presence of the big four club. Due to the neutral nature of the venue, I would assume that the gate receipts will be split equally — which is only fair. The clubs will stand to make more money — which is all there is to it, really.
But all that is besides my point.
Feb 08 2008
This is to enlighten readers of this site that Soccerlens has launched it’s first Blogging Awards.
I would also like to mention that this site was not nominated for any of the categories. But then, as you may have seen, I don’t write for awards. They are incidental, you know — actually pointless. And of course, I certainly have more class than these lowly awards. I mean, who cares?
Oh, and a fox cried “Sour Grapes!”.
Anyway, honestly though, I would recommend you all to head over to Soccerlens and vote for the various categories — and trust me, there are quite a few excellent blogs out there; some of which you may have never heard of before. Personally, I was pleased to see top notch ones like 200Percent and Pitch Invasion get nominated, among others.
More than the voting, such awards serve to bring into focus a lot of quality content on the web that one may not have stumbled upon earlier, and this is a good chance for readers to find more such blogs to waste time.
Happy voting.
