May 16
Arsenal Preview: Will United do it?
Arsenal visit OT after a run of brutally demoralising results against us and a Chelsea side that was gutted only three days prior.
United play Arsenal with the knowledge that they don’t need to win, but this current side, with the awareness of making things easier, by winning it today and cooling their heels against Hull, drilled into them by the manager would know better than to relax today.
Or so, one would hope.
I am not really sure how cracking this encounter is going to be; one side with everything to play for while the other with nothing — not even pride, surely — to play for.
United’s dominance of Arsenal over the two legs of the Champions’ League, and Arsenal’s performances against the bigger opponents — so to speak — have had such an effect that, today will be perceived more of a victory march with the North London team reduced to a sideshow that must be surely painful for their fans.
It hasn’t been really good for the Gunners this season, and that United fans have expressed a lot of sympathy for Arsenal fans and their manager is more because of their status this season as an also ran, more than United fan arrogance.
But adversity can cause managers to say strange things. Benitez has been firm in his assertion that United have not been the best team in the league. He also says the last two games of the season must be played at the same time — like they do back home in Spain.
Tomorrow he’ll decide to say head to head record must be considered over goal difference — like they do back home in Spain.
And in a few months he’ll say siestas should be introduced in afternoon matches during half time — like they do back home in Spain. It will give players more energy to come back rejuvenated for the second half, he’d argue.
Wenger meanwhile says this has been Arsenal’s best season in recent times if you just disregard the situation they had in December, the Gallas injury, Toure and Gallas hating each other, injuries, the lack of a Flamini-type player, injuries, the lack of a good ‘keeper, injuries, and the last season, and injuries. But for all these setbacks, Arsenal have had their best season since their unbeaten season. In fact, if you disregard the games they drew and lost, they have gone an entire season winning all their games, the professor would say, but wouldn’t because the reporter cut him off in mid-speech.
Right, enough fooling around.
Fergie talked about resting some players owing to the tiring day’s work that Wigan away was — thanks, in no small part, to the heavy pitch. I think it’s better Fergie plays his best possible team — whatever that means — and do the business before sending the reserves against Hull.
I’d play Fletcher, Anderson and Carrick in midfield. Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez up front, with Vida, Evans, Evra, O’Shea and EVDS at the back. I’m sure, when the team sheet comes out, I’d have got most of that wrong.
Meanwhile Ferguson questions Gerrard’s award in the writers’ choice player of the year. He plumps for Vidic, but then this is a writers’ award and Ferguson is no writer — unless there is a magnum opus on chewing gum and turning red-faced hidden somewhere in some dusty crevice, waiting to be unleashed upon us — and we all know the difference in perspective writers and managers have on the game. Me? I am not losing sleep over why Gerrard won the award. All that matters to me now is, Gerrard = 0 Premiership titles (but next year will be the year, surely)
Prediction: 2-1 to United — there’s no way we’re going to have a clean sheet on either side today. Hopefully, Rio is fit for the final.
Come on ya reds!!!!
Related items from Red Rants:
- Man Utd v Everton: Preview
- Porto it is then…
- Portsmouth Preview
- Manchester United 2006/2007 Season Review
- Man Utd v Tottenham: Preview
Tags: Game Preview
May 16th, 2009 at 9:49
The gunners have indeed been poor in the last 3 games, but do not forget Arshavin didn’t play in any of those, and he is now back fit and probably well rested too. Couple that with Rio not playing, it probably is safe to assume we will concede a goal at the very least.
But on the positive side, their defence has Silly in it
I believe it wouldn’t be champagne football from us as well, because we have had under 60 hours of rest after the Wigan game. The difference with the Liverpool game where we had a similar situation is that the finishing line is in sight, and hence I expect the players to expend every last sinew and get us across.
My prediction: the game won’t be pretty, Arsenal will score, but we will score 1 more. Victory by the odd goal.
May 16th, 2009 at 10:29
This is it! I can feel it, success, its so palpable you can almost touch it! Oh please make this day so sweet, winning the league at home against Le Arse! Oh the ghosts of Keane and Viera will have it out in the tunnel, and i’m counting my chickens? Probably! But surely its poultry enumeration time now. The stage is set, we’ve already humbled Le Arse a couple of times recently, just one more performance, men against boys to seal the league and start laughing at the cunts down the east lanc rd. After all his bollox talk, can Rafa order a slice of humble pie from his restaurant? I doubt it. A little word to the Fat Spanish Waiter, the team with the most points at the end of the season, is the Best Team, you pathetic whinging fuck head. Isn’t it fitting that self pity city has this bitter wanker in charge.
Why am i talking about the scouse? Because we finally equal the cunts domestic haul, oh so sweet! I’m fuckin delighted we get to “knock the scouse off their fuckin perch” and you can expect our fans to remind the red side of liverpool. This is of course as long as everyone is singing off the same hymn sheet. No time for complacency today, knuckle down, take our chances and bury arsenal. Hopefully we spank them again, with Arshavin present, big performances needed from John O Shea, Vidic and Evans. Also looking for Carrick to continue his good showing of late, would love to see Rooney sparkle today too. We need a good game to set us up for the CL final. I would take a draw, gladly, but i really want more. I want a statement of intent, esp for Barcelona. And i want happy times at home for our fans. Come on you Red Devils, you know you can do it.
Follow, follow we’re the Busby Boys!
May 16th, 2009 at 10:56
Oh yeah, 3-1 to United!
May 16th, 2009 at 11:19
Where is everyone?
May 16th, 2009 at 11:58
I think its gonna be a comfortable 2-1/2-2 result, giving us the title, sticking it to thet scouse!
Lol, that club is pathetic, today, we coincidentally learn that liverpool have 20 league titles, instead of the 18 everyone in the world of football believed up until today, pathetic.
if your wondering the extra 2 came during the war
, i dont think anyone other then liverpool and their fans will consider that at all.
May 16th, 2009 at 12:11
MATCH STATS: AT A GLANCE
Man Utd
* 01 Van der Sar
* 22 O’Shea
* 15 Vidic
* 23 Evans
* 03 Evra
* 07 Ronaldo
* 24 Fletcher
* 16 Carrick
* 11 Giggs
* 10 Rooney
* 32 Tevez
Substitutes
* 29 Kuszczak,
* 02 Neville,
* 08 Anderson,
* 09 Berbatov,
* 13 Park,
* 18 Scholes,
* 21 R Da Silva
Arsenal
* 21 Fabianski
* 03 Sagna
* 05 Toure
* 17 Song Billong
* 40 Gibbs
* 08 Nasri
* 15 Denilson
* 02 Diaby
* 04 Fabregas
* 23 Arshavin
* 11 van Persie
Substitutes
* 24 Mannone,
* 12 Vela,
* 14 Walcott,
* 16 Ramsey,
* 18 Silvestre,
* 26 Bendtner,
* 27 Eboue
May 16th, 2009 at 12:20
If you can’t watch this game on tv you can try Manchester United vs. Arsenal – live streams, they will be available 5 – 10 minutes before match starts.
May 16th, 2009 at 12:21
How long we’v waited to lift the 18th.This could be the day! This could be the year we retain big ears. The year we silence the scousers! The old spaniard tryin to talk as much as he can while he still has audience, coz he knows after we lift that cup, no one will listen. No one will care. it’ll be SAF time.come on reds!
May 16th, 2009 at 13:44
Well we are back to our ’sloppy, give the ball away every time you touch it’ BEST. Our MF are not getting anybody thru at the moment, and Arsenal for obvious reasons are far more relaxed. Rooney is continuing his shite play from the Wigan game, and so is Ronnie. They need to improve in the 2nd half or Arsenal will do us. We have Ronnie, Rooney and Tev charging around like wound up rabbits, but they are too much ALIKE. Nobody holding the ball, and finding a way through, with the slick pass we need
.
May 16th, 2009 at 13:45
1st half started great. Then we gave the ball away. I think with a Fergie Talk at half-time, we should be up a running again: Keep the ball! Don’t go off-side 40 yards from goal!
2nd: Introduce Anderson for Giggs at 60 along with Berba for flether. Play Tevez alone up front with Berba holding CF. Or introduce Park for giggs and put Rooney and Tevez up front in 442 – my 2 cents and Fergie listens.
Can United score? They always score!
Que Sera Sera!
Whatever will be, will be
We’re going to win the league
Que Sera Sera!
Gotta love it!
May 16th, 2009 at 14:18
BYe bye TEvez – we will miss you
May 16th, 2009 at 14:46
Champions! Are you watchin merseyside?
May 16th, 2009 at 14:49
CHAMPIONE CHAMPIONE, OLE OLE OLE!
PS: Am I being greedy in that I expected us to win the game or at least try to win the game? We did not play like champions – - – unless fergie was practicing his Barcalona tactics… Oh well. 11 days to go for Rome.
May 16th, 2009 at 14:50
@RedAllTheWay: Tevez will be back. Nani will not.
May 16th, 2009 at 14:50
Will macheda get a medal?
May 16th, 2009 at 14:51
@Johnsom33: Giggs should give him his.
May 16th, 2009 at 14:56
CHAMPIONS!
May 16th, 2009 at 15:06
Alright fellas, champions again! This is what I needed to start my day. I didn’t want to leave for vegas knowing Liverpool still had a shot. But now I can go enjoy the weekend.
May 16th, 2009 at 15:07
shit why am i seeing this french lite mfer and not the ceremony? eeee we we we lost motherfucker
May 16th, 2009 at 15:09
hahahahaha anderson was telling scholes not to get his hair wet with champagne
May 16th, 2009 at 15:11
youl not have it you fat Spanish waiter
May 16th, 2009 at 15:12
18 times and thats a fact
18 times and thats a fact
May 16th, 2009 at 15:17
LOL AT ANDERSON!!!!!
May 16th, 2009 at 15:21
thats the treble, CWC, CC, PL, yes, im turning scouse and considering the other tow, if i was real scouse i would consider the CS aswell
May 16th, 2009 at 15:27
I missed most of the fcking match!!!
Player ratings anyone?
You’ve got to hate those french broadcasters – after the game was done they were not interested in broadcasting the celebrations … 1 minute of celebrating, and that was all…
May 16th, 2009 at 15:31
@Dan: What did he do?
May 16th, 2009 at 15:33
@NicoQB: He started marching with the troops!!
Haha, ronaldo just gave a sky sports type of interview to anderson for the cameras!
You gotta love the latin lads lol.
May 16th, 2009 at 15:45
@Dan:
I want all these on links on youtube or whatever!!!
May 16th, 2009 at 15:48
@NicoQB: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OQwLdH9nac
May 16th, 2009 at 15:55
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b182/mat35/1242481544140.jpg?t=1242484736
Spot the difference….
I swear i dont know!
May 16th, 2009 at 16:29
@Dan: Thanks mate!
Love how Ronaldo says “This is Skysports” … just like a pro…
Don’t you think the atmosphere was a bit subdued…?
May 16th, 2009 at 16:56
Just watched the highlights.
The Park goal was valid! Ronaldo was onside when he received the pass. Just imagine that if Arsenal had scored on the other end how important that decision would have been…
May 16th, 2009 at 16:57
I’m sorry lads but that was not the way to crown ourselves champions. Not a single solitary shot on goal the whole frakken game in a game that we needed to win against a bitter rival and at home. Sorry for the negativity but unlike a lot of people I don’t just like to win, I like to win with style. I’d call this draw today entering the champions podium through the rear exit.
What a completely rubbish filled display of football, without an ounce of intensity, imagination or desire. The ball possession which we have become famous for was completely non existent. Instead we were force to play like a bottom feeder sending long direct balls to nobody but Arsenal defenders. Our forwards looked lazy, uninspired and devoid of any ideas and the whole team looked and played like you put together eleven stars from around the world who have never played together on to one team for an exhibition match and none of them could get on each other’s page. Man this game was total rubbish and they deserved to lose it ten times over as Arsenal were by far the superior side.
This game was the symbol for what I have said over and over is one of the worst and dullest seasons in the EPL on memory. I mean the leading scorer in the league hasn’t even passed the 20 goal mark. It’s been a defense first league this year where teams lack the courage and ambition to attack in force. For us to lift the trophy today with 0-0 draw just taints the whole season and the whole race. It was a cheap and totally bush league way to win the league. Only 5 points out of a total of 18 against the big three and I am supposed to disregard the claims of that Fat Waiter, when he could be right? Perhaps Liverpool is the better team this season. I seriously doubt if the show was on the other foot today and Liverpool hosted Arsenal at Anfield if the Scouser cunts would have laid a boring brick in front of their hometown faithful. Man did this game really discourage me.
We started a strong team, a team with quickness and style and all I saw all day long was Arsenal control possession and the midfield. Our careless and sloppy play was disheartening to say the least. Oh I could conceivably see Arsenal give us a hard time for a half but what I could not see was them wanting it more than us considering they had nothing concrete to play for and us not playing with any killer instinct knowing Arsenal were in a slump and that we could raise the EPL trophy today. Actually, I was shocked that we never scored in the first ten minutes. And how can we justify a performance today where we get no shots on goal against arguably the most useless backup keeper in the game? Did Ronaldo seem inspired to score and ensure the goal scoring crown, did Rooney try his best to forget the lackluster performance from last Wednesday, did Tevez give a performance that would make Fergie and Gill hang their heads in shame for not having signed him up already? NO! NO! NO!
Instead they all went out for a nice Saturday stroll in the park with hardly a care or concern. Just total rubbish. If ever a game needed an injection of energy and pace it was today and today Anderson sat the bench when he could have helped, considering how he last played against Arsenal.
Oh well, I’ll stop right now but despite the fact we have been crowned champions, I am not a happy camper. Oh I am relieved it’s over and that we are champions once more, but this season will always go down in the books for me as the year we were crowned as paper champions. I am sorry to say that despite the fact we are in first, Liverpool have been the better team in the league and they also embarrassed us twice in the process. So will a single point lead at the end of it all mean squat in the eyes of millions who know that the team on top isn’t always the best team of the year. What we did better than Liverpool this year was not draw as many matches. We lost more and we lost to them twice and they scored more goals than us. That alone makes me sick to the stomach. Truthfully, I would deal with it better if we were in second. Then I could say that yes, we were definitely not good enough to finish first. But we did finish first and I am still shaking my head and trying to figure out how?
Congrats to the team and to all of you out their in Red Rants World. Forgive me if I am too depressed and too overcome with frustration and my nagging demands for perfection to celebrate the win the way I would like. But gathering from the few hits to this new thread, most of you may be feeling the same way. Certainly nothing to write about is it?
May 16th, 2009 at 16:57
NicoQB yeah it was a little but I think there was a sense of exhaustion and a knowledge that we still have the Barcelona game to come. If we win that then there really will be fireworks!
May 16th, 2009 at 17:01
wow….
ok, some of you guys may have gone out or celebrating or whatever… But this blog is eerily silent..
May 16th, 2009 at 17:01
@NicoQB: Can you blame the crowd? They were subjected to a boredom fest of epic proportions where their team got beat at every aspect of the game except in the score. Is that the way a great team goes out at home to win a championship? Today I feel embarrassment and even shame when I should feel elation and ecstasy. That poisoned and completely uninspired performance was a metaphor and a symbol for everything that was wrong with this season, despite the fact we have been crowned champions. Champions? My ass! More like paper champions We won 1 game in 6 against the big 3 but we had a little more killer instinct than they did against the bottom feeders this year. So yeah, lets party.
May 16th, 2009 at 17:06
@NicoQB: It’s silent mate because the game put everyone to sleep. I am just happy that i recorded it and slept through the game and watched it on tape delay. The idea of waking up at 4:30 in the morning to watch that joke would have made me sick enough to vomit. It sounds like everyone else was so tired and bored by the whole mess, that they just don’t care enough to respond because like me. they realize that we may not be worthy champions in the classic sense. Sure we will go down as Champs but in my 30 years of following this team can i remember a season where we lifted the trophy and never felt like we really deserved it? This is the year friends. This year we are second best but number one in the standings. and for me that hurts inside greatly because I am very demanding as a fan. Today the lads showed no hunger, desire or eye of the tiger. They just went through the motions and it was the worst performance I have ever seen from the team where they never lost the game, by far. Not a single shot on goal against a useless git like Fabianski says it all.
May 16th, 2009 at 17:09
@Madschester United: And if we play like this in Rome even a depleted half strength Barca will kill us. Fortunately we will take next week off and lose our 5th game of the season to Hull and rest up the big boys and see if they have a little more hunger, desire, imagination and energy for Barcelona. I sure hope so because they have frankly looked mentally and physically tired in the last tow games.
May 16th, 2009 at 17:11
@jesbit: Today we did nothing to silence the Scousers and especially the Fat Waiter who will most certainly come out and call us something like fake champions and unworthy compared to his gang of misfits.
May 16th, 2009 at 17:17
usain bolt at training yesterday
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiuYd2H0mAk&feature=channel_page
May 16th, 2009 at 17:24
Hey guys where can I watch the trophy presentation video? Thanks…
May 16th, 2009 at 17:27
@Grognard: Well, I was sleeping too… Don’t know why but I always thought the match was played at normal kick off time!
Now knowing the match wasn’t one to remember will soften the blow of missing most of it, but still…
tevez interview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkz2XrVlLx0
celebrations:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8FIH7-NCKE
May 16th, 2009 at 17:38
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v70/TedMaul99/LP/18smaller.jpg
May 16th, 2009 at 17:45
Moment of the season, it has to be machedas goal!
May 16th, 2009 at 17:56
@Grognard: That is completely over the top. We didn’t play at our best but still Arsenal never really threatened us, we created more chances and we got the result we needed. We have shown character and class throughout the league, coming from behind when we needed to. We got 87 points with a game in hand, and the League Table does not lie. We are more than deserving champions and if you want to play the fat waiter game please yourself.
May 16th, 2009 at 18:01
@Dan: Foe me the moment of the season was lifting the trophy because nothing they did all season long really wowed me.
But if I was to pick a moment it;s not a specific goal but the 3-0 destruction of Chelsea at home. By far the best performance by us in the EPL all season. And yes, Macheda’s goal would be right up there.
May 16th, 2009 at 18:02
Grognard I agree that we’ve flattered to deceive this season. Last season we were far and away the best team in England as the head-to-heads showed. This season we’ve been clinically efficient against the bottom teams (ive lost count of the number of 1-0s) but I can count on my two hands the games when we’ve truly played like champions.
Id definitely give the first XI we intend to start at Barcelona the day off for the Hull game. Let them take a few days in the sun or whatever they need to do to unwind and get their desire back. As a plus, if a weakened team lose to Hull there is a chance it will sink Newcastle which would be hilarious!
May 16th, 2009 at 18:10
@frankie: I’ll say and do as I please mate and if you don’t like, I could give a rats ass. I am not happy with the way the team played this season and especially on a day when a comfortable win would have made the celebrations feel deserved. Instead we did fuck all for 90 minutes, never got a single solitary shot on goal against a crappy backup keeper and were lucky not to lose the game because Arsenal came close a few times and even hit the post once.
So you go out and drink and party with your friends and all the power to you but I shall sit in my room and sulk over what has to be the poorest clinching of a title in Manchester United history. It was disappointing but at the same time it was a relief because I would have been sick to my stomach if we needed to start our main eleven to try and win it at Hull City and then only have a few days off before Rome.
So I’ll take the point and the championship, but like I said earlier, I don’t please so easily like a lot of others. Bright and shiny things don’t make me go goo goo ga ga. I am a bit of a perfectionist and I want a good well deserved victory so that at that we could crown ourselves with style and panache. Instead we offered up a lunch bucket brigade performance that hardly made us look like worthy champions, at home of all places. I also suggest you enjoy the championship they way you please and stop knocking the way others celebrate or don’t. You may think I was over the top when in fact I was letting out my honest feelings. So perhaps you can disagree with me but respecting my feelings and my opinions is also something I would greatly appreciate.
May 16th, 2009 at 18:17
Anybody else think it was a bit unfair that Gary Neville was the one to lift the trophy first?
May 16th, 2009 at 18:18
@colver: The starters need rest but not too much that it causes them to lose focus and intensity. But lets face it, can you remember a time when Wayne Rooney and Ronaldo looked as physically and mentally tired as they have this past week. I honestly think they let it all hang out in the second leg at Arsenal in the semi finals and since then they are just pooped. A good rest should give us that extra gear and that much needed concentration and focus that has been missing this past week. Problem is, Barc also has gotten a good rest starting earlier than us. Fortunately though, they have some key injuries that will weaken their side against us, but if we aren’t focused enough to take advantage of their weakened back four, then it really doesn’t matter. Look at Arsenal today. Song at CB, Gibbs at LB again and Fabianski in goal and we couldn’t muster a shot on goal. Unfuckingbelievable and completely unacceptable when you think about what was on the line today.
We hardly looked like deserving champions but we are nevertheless. All this will be forgiven and forgotten by me as long as we do the job in Rome on the 27th. I want that one more than anything because I want United to hold the banner for world soccer, not those pretty boy puffters from Spain who supposedly play the beautiful version of the game. How can we lose with no Iniesta, Marquez, Alves and Abidal in their lineup? If we lose that game it will be a true embarrassment because Barca’s bench is paper thin compared to ours.
May 16th, 2009 at 18:19
@frankie: Its really up to him to feel however he likes, some fans are just ingrates, if he wants to be unhappy its really up to him.
May 16th, 2009 at 18:20
@NicoQB: Gary Neville as captain of the team is unfair and a disgrace. Classic case of an absent skipper when the ship is at war. He should have done the right thing last year and given up the captaincy due to his long layoff and the fact that he could no longer play the game at the highest level.
May 16th, 2009 at 18:21
@NicoQB: I know, it should have been Rio and Giggs, but oh well he’s still the club captain so I guess thats why.
May 16th, 2009 at 18:22
@Rd: So now you are calling me an ingrate?
I think an apology is in order their because that was way out of line. 
May 16th, 2009 at 18:26
Was just watching an Ibrahimovic feature…
Other than speaking very good english, this guy has a huge ego – like that of Ronaldo, but without the prissiness.
But from the highlights featured he looks very much like a committed and selfish Berbatov…
And an interesting fact about him is that wherever he played since winning the league with Ajax, the team he played with always won the league…
May 16th, 2009 at 18:37
@NicoQB: thats hardly an amazing stat, considering hes only been with 2 clubs since leaving ajaz, who happened to be 2 of the biggest in italy!
Im sorry but that is a stupid statistic/fact, thats like tevez leaving west ham for us, winning the league for 2 seasons, then moving to liverpool/chelsea and winning the title there!
Its hardly down to individual effort is it.
May 16th, 2009 at 18:43
@NicoQB: Never been much of a fan of ibra but he certainly seems to be doing well with inter, i think they are the right club for him to be honest. As for the game today it was good we won the title but im a bit angry at the display today. If i was a paying fan there today i would have asked for my money back, it was nice seeing the celebrations but the display was embarrassing.
As for the hull game its important we rest players but as someone before mentioned too much time off can be a bad thing as they wont be having much match time before the big barca game. Barca may be in a similar position as us though as i think they can win the title today aswell so it will be interesting to see what they do.
May 16th, 2009 at 19:08
@Grognard: No doubt it, we have only been at 70 percent capacity for most of the season, sometimes 80 percent and the odd time 90 percent. We only hit the hieghts we did last season in a few matches so from that perspective your right.
But playing at your best and still triumphing is a sign of of a great team.
To win the title three years in a row is a feat very rarely achieved, the history books testify of this fact and to deny this is to deny the evidence provided by many good teams who have tried to achieve this feat and failed. When success is measured over a sustained period of three years, in terms of form it is normal to have high spots and low spots, but its as simple as this, if during a season when your maximum form is not reached on a consistent basis and it still proves to be too good for your rivals then no one can question your speriority over any rival and that includes Rafa Benitez.
Liverpool performed at a higher percentage of thier capacity over the season than us, I wouldnt argue with that, but the fact remains that despite this fact they still were not good enough to beat us, and this speaks about our greatness more than Liverpools, we went further than them in every competition that we entered so Rafa or any Liverpool fan has no logical basis for arguing against the point that the best team finished on top.
May 16th, 2009 at 19:12
@Dan: Point taken, he obviously isn’t the sole factor in winning the league. But the one thing you have to give him credit for is that he was a standout player for those 3 league winning teams. The big game bottler nonsense is rubbish. By that logic messi is a big game flop as well, and despte the naysayers ibra had a solid game the 2nd leg he just didn’t score.
May 16th, 2009 at 19:23
@Matt: It wasn’t the display of everyone Bro. Our defense had to play and did play so feckin good as usual. Our MF were mediocre at best, and our strikers were like a bunch of Grannies, with arthritic joints, that couldn’t MOVE, let alone do anything of value. They carried on from their AWFUL display at Wigan. Rooney, Ronnie and Tev absolute shite again. It takes more skill to play as abysmally as those 3 did, than it does to play an average game
. Fergie needs to kick them up the arse BIG TIME!
As for Benitez saying we are not the best team in the land – what a bitter prick he is. We beat that lot to the title, when yes we have been pure shit for many a game this season. Poor ole Rafa and the scousers, their next two games are so worthless, that it will be like going to a FUNERAL. Enjoy your wakes Daft Rafa!
Lastly, I am thoroughly fecked off with Ronaldo. He disrespected Fergie in the City game where he was substituted, and he repeated it at Wigan. He is a big headed, disrespectful prick, and I couldn’t care less anymore if he leaves for Spain. Feckin good riddance.
Fergie should grow his balls back, because he has become a feckin Eunuch where Ronaldo is concerned. No player bigger than the club, I think Ronaldo’s defiance antics against Fergie prove otherwise. He keeps crunching Fergie’s balls, and getting away with it. I am losing respect for Fergie too, because anyone else would have been out the door. But Fergie seems to be Ronnies bitch for a good while now.
May 16th, 2009 at 19:31
@Grognard: If our team was at WAR today Grog, I’m a feckin Dutchman ( no offence to the Dutch, love you all
), but our lot were like little pussies out there! I excuse our MAJESTIC warrior defenders from that pussy remark though! The defense were pristine, even skinned sausage, except when he forages forward that is 
.
Our forwards contributed NOTHING, and dragged Tev’s performance down with the,
. Gives people like Rafa grounds for his United are not the best team in the land, doesn’t it?
May 16th, 2009 at 19:35
@NicoQB: Red Nev lifting the trophy is called RESPECT Bro.
May 16th, 2009 at 19:39
@Matt: @Dan: I’m not a scholar of Ibrahimovic either, but I think his talent is undeniable… With him its just a matter of performing in a week in week out level and I personally think he’s done it at league level..
As for Inter being the right team for him, certainly, but the fact is that he just won the Calcio for the 3rd time successively and the challenge is looking less and less interesting for him each year. Our boy Ronaldo can attest of that. There is a moderately high probability of him leaving Inter in the transfer season, and Chelsea would be favourites to welcome him…
As for us, I’m sitting on the fence for this one, as I want Berbatov to do well…
May 16th, 2009 at 19:40
@colver: Yeah Colver Bro, we have flattered to deceive, and YET we still beat the rampant scousers to the title they wanted so desperately – GO FIGURE Bro
. How must those shit scousers feel, that they couldn’t catch us on a BAD YEAR, and believe me it has been a feckin bad performance year for us. Nobody can win against us though, even our bad performances. That’s because we can do the most amazing ten minute comebacks when we go behind 
.
May 16th, 2009 at 19:44
@Grognard: We will beat Barca no problem Bro, and LADY LUCK once more will score the goals
. Our name is on all the trophies Grog 
.
May 16th, 2009 at 19:45
Yay!!!!!
I’m drinking Champagne!!!!!
Cheers to everyone here!! and every Red Devil everywhere!!!
Champions!!!
Yay!!!
May 16th, 2009 at 19:48
@Craig Mc: today was the culmination of a very physically and mentally demanding period so some of our players can be forgiven for being below par, hopefully in the next ten days we can recharge and refocus nicely in time for Rome.
May 16th, 2009 at 19:49
YES>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.
And oh my God…. Ronaldo said again.. No one knows the future….
FECK
May 16th, 2009 at 19:53
@Fred The Red: I hope you are right Bro, I am a United fan, but we have had a collective culmination of shoddy play most season my Bro. You have to admit that. I have stood on the terraces home and away OFTEN and been bored shitless. Like I said to Grog, I believe we will BEAT Barca, but the stuff we have dished up this season, apart from the few excellent performances, have not been too palatable, not to me and my mates anyway Bro. And we are just about as FANATICAL Manchester United as you can get
May 16th, 2009 at 19:57
@Grognard: I respect you Gronard. I just want to make two points regarding today: First it is understandable that we played very cautiously. Even if we didn’t play good attacking football to deny Arsenal of any credible goalscoring opportunity it still requires to play a good game in a different way. Controlling a game playing defensively is also an art and we excelled in it today. We would all like to win playing amazing attacking football but you cannot do it every game. My second point is that we are at the end of a very, very long season in which we had already won three trophies and I think that the squad have to take enormous credit for that. On the face of it your criticisms seem to me rather out of place.
May 16th, 2009 at 19:59
BERBA to play in the final!!!……
You heard it here first!
May 16th, 2009 at 20:00
@frankie: Dude…. If your new here…….
Then Bro… This is the KING OF FUCKING DARKNESS!!!!
Honestly…. Groggy can be dark and twisted and negative whenever he wants… To be honest this is nothing…
My master has mellowed out a bit… Just like Fergie…..
Ain’t that right Groggy?
May 16th, 2009 at 20:12
@Craig Mc: I agree mate, read my post no58, unfortunately sometimes good teams only do enough to get by, and whevever we have needed to find an extra gear we found it.
I dont know wether its a subconsious complacent switching off or a delberate more patient approach to the game, whatever the reason is we showed only flashes of the old intensity and gung ho attitude of teams past which in my opinion only took us so far in Europe, which makes me think that SAF is getting the team to play a more controlled patient kind of game, like the Italian teams of the past that we locked horns with in previous campaigns, its not what we are used too, but there is no doubt in my mind that our last two seasons in Europe have been our best since Ive been a supporter and that includes 99.
May 16th, 2009 at 20:32
@Fred The Red: i AGREE about the Europe thing Bro, but the CONTROLLED patient game is not my cup of tea, it is too BORING and pedestrian. You can usually tell by the response of the crowdn and every fan was asleep in the first half at OT today, and in a lot of games this season. I want our cavalier football back Fred, at least for the PL
.
May 16th, 2009 at 20:39
Dear Liverpool and all their supporters,
I’m sure you would feel hard done by this completely surprising title sweep by Manchester United. I understand your concerns and emotions wholeheartedly. In fact, I do feel some sorrow on your part for the fact that you didn’t win the title you deserved to.
I mean, who could have predicted that the only two players in your team capable of doing something decent would have been so untimely and unfortunately injured at your most crucial time. It was unjust that you were penalized based on your incompetent financial planning and spent your bulk load of your transfer kitty on a player you sold back to the club he came from for a 8 million pound loss. I mean, it’s not your fault you didn’t buy a real player that could have helped you win the league. It’s not your fault you had to hinge your entire team on two individuals. It really isn’t.
And for you to beat the Champions away by 4-1, that really proved that the title deserved to be yours. It really did. Let’s be frank, you whipped a team you lost to 3-0 last season by 4 goals. The FA should have just hosted the celebrations and handed you the trophy the moment the final whistle blew. After all, the league is won in one game right? Clearly a victory of such dignity would merit an immediate reward in the form of the league title. How unjust and unfair. You deserved to be champions based on that single fantastic showing of mind-blowing, world-shocking, galaxy-shattering football. We all had 30 orgasms watching Vidic get sent off.
It’s not your fault you unjustly drew 11 times out of 36 games and lost twice. It’s not fair that you had no teeth or threat in scoring goals. It’s not your fault you failed to score to Villa, West Ham, Boro, Fulham and Stoke (twice). They are all reigning European supergiants who were unfairly pitted against you and demonstrated a level of football far beyond your class. It’s just not fair that you had to face teams of such quality and depth. Your failure to score a single goal against all of them really didn’t merit United winning the title instead of you.
Of course, it’s not your fault you lost 2-1 to Tottenham after taking the lead in the 3rd minute. I mean, ALL teams just randomly implode on occasion. It’s not fair you lost 3 points against the massive Middlesbrough. You didn’t deserve to lose! The ball just oddly found its way to the back of your net without any reason, twice!! The 4 goals you conceded against Arsenal wasn’t bad defending, it was mere bad luck. Also, forget that you lost 2 points on that game, you earned a kazillion points based on “team spirit” and “effort” to score 4 goals against the team that depended on Mikael Silvestre to save their ass. Those kazillion points would have definately won you the title by a mile, had the FA remembered to tally them in.
It’s not your fault your team didn’t have any depth in the squad, and it’s not your fault that you were constantly on the end of bad refereeing decisions. Refs just hate Liverpool. All of them. It’s not fair all the refs were against your team in all the games, all the time, in all the occasions. It’s not your fault you lost the title to the world’s best team. It’s not your fault you lost the title based on your own demerit. It’s not your fault that you succumbed under the pressure of a year-long league. It’s not your fault the EPL isn’t won based on a single 4-1 result. It’s not your fault, Liverpool. Don’t cry over it. Robbie Keane isn’t. You shouldn’t too. After all, Rafa will never admit defeat and the Kop flag will keep flying high…as long as things remain fair, of course.
You’ll never walk alone, Liverpool. You have the other 18 losing teams to walk with you.
May 16th, 2009 at 20:51
@Craig Mc: I loved our old swashbuckilng football and still do mate, but I also hated the empty feeling I got when teams in Europe constantly picked us off on the break, quarter final and semi final defeats against teams that on paper were inferior to us was gut wrenching and our tactics had to change if we were to be successful.
Its not about being too defensive over too open, its about being balanced and having the ability to do both when needed, its not what we as United fans have been brought up on mate, but it was needed, and we should learn to appreciate the steps we have taken, Barcelona like ourselves have a history of playing all out attacking football, and like ourselves they have a poor record in Europe compared to the other big teams, its all about balance.
May 16th, 2009 at 21:00
Dont give a fuck about todays performance tbh. It is great to finally equal Liverpools domestic record. Oh yeah, some of you said we didn’t have a shot on goal! Specsavers for you lot and the fuckin linesman who called Ronaldo offside for Parks’ goal. There was nothing wrong with it, in fact it was a peach. Champions, champions champions! Now lets get a nice rest in, and beat Barca well in the final. Oh yeah, the BEST TEAM won the fuckin league, thats United. You dont get extra points for beating the top 4, just 3 pts like everyone else. So the bollox stats that the FSW comes up with dont mean shit. I hope the lads enjoy it, they definitely deserve it. This was a transition year and we’ve already won loads, come on you Red Devils!
May 16th, 2009 at 21:04
@Jon:
May 16th, 2009 at 21:06
@Jon: fuckin brilliant Bro! Lmfao! Lol! Poor little scousers, ah bless!
Fuck them, You Scouse Bastards
May 16th, 2009 at 21:09
@phoenix red: I’ve been saying it for the past month mate, each game we play we are awarded an average of 2 offside calls which are not. And the majority of them ending up being clear cut scoring opportunities, if not goals…
Funny how the media don’t deem this to be worth coverage.. No doubt there would have been massive outrage if it was the case for liverpool or any other london team…
May 16th, 2009 at 21:09
I won’t let the dull 0-0 draw today dampen my celebrations. The players looked exhausted today – Rooney was panting for breath by the end, it’s understandable after such a long season and a very hard game at Wigan 2 days back. I think many people are forgetting that the Wigan game was barely 60 hours before today’s! Today’s game wasn’t some final where we played for a nil-nil draw and then got lucky on penalties. The season was decided in the last 36 games before this. So I frankly don’t care how today’s match cos it won’t be remembered and it shouldn’t be. What matters is – we are champions of England – three times in a row – 18 in total – BEAT THAT!!
So Grognard, you might be unhappy but look at the positives. Yes, we didn’t play our free-flowing brilliant football from last year. Yeah, we had many dull games. But, this season, we’ve just incorporated a major change in our attacking force (Berba) and it’s only towards the end of the season where things looked like clicking between the big four. These things happen. I would take our british defensive record as a major high from this season too. And in some ways, I thank Liverpool for giving us a major scare and running us close, cos frankly, the season has been awesome since the Liverpool and Fulham games (Villa, Spurs, Arsenal to name a few). And from this moment of time, things can’t get worse (unless maybe Ronaldo leaves). They can only get better next season.
May 16th, 2009 at 21:15
@Jon: You beauty!!!
I think your comment should be our next post, I really do. RR should put it up and put a suitable title too; will bring on the scousers here, how would I love to hear them now!!!! 
May 16th, 2009 at 21:17
Prediction: 2-1 to United — there’s no way we’re going to have a clean sheet on either side today.
RR, no offense bro but I really think you should stay away from predictions.
Just kidding, keep it going man!
May 16th, 2009 at 21:31
Damn is anyone watching Eurovision? The Turkish girl is something else! Smoking hot. And the Albanian girl is very sexy as well.
In the final I reckon we’ll go with Ronaldo up top, Rooney and Park on the wings and load the midfield with Anderson, Carrick and Giggs.
May 16th, 2009 at 21:58
@colver: Azerbaijan, I love that girl
May 16th, 2009 at 21:59
@colver: Also I completely agree with that lineup. Tevez’s antics really pissed me off tonight
May 16th, 2009 at 22:01
@colver: No offense but Eurovision has long been a joke… No wonder if people judge talent by looks..
May 16th, 2009 at 22:32
@phoenix red: Awwww Phoenix Bro, your really knowledgeable about football, how the feck can you not care about the performance????
May 16th, 2009 at 22:35
@Fred The Red: Fred I already said I agreed with you about Europe, but not to bring the same pedestrian football into the PL. I personally hate SNOOZE football, bt each to his own eh Bro? L’Pool didn’t seem to have to adapt their game to go all defensive when in Europe, so why are we making excuses for our pedestrianism???
.
May 16th, 2009 at 22:40
@Jon:
– Bloody brilliant mate 
.
May 16th, 2009 at 22:41
CHAMPIONS AGAIN!
Its a shame I wasnt able to share my elation with you guys at the time of victory, I got to share it with some ‘pool supporting mates instead. Onwards and upwards to Rome! Veni Vidi Vidic! The famous Man United Went To Rome To See The Pope!
May 16th, 2009 at 23:01
@Johnsom33: Messi isnt a big game flop, hes a flop period lol, i generally dont rate him, thats just my opinion.
May 16th, 2009 at 23:05
I can certainly understand the sentiments of those who say this was a victory with a somewhat bitter aftertaste. The performance was not one befitting our great club, but the end result is the most important thing after all. Namely knocking Liverpool off their f**king perch.
May 16th, 2009 at 23:05
@Craig Mc: what Liverpool team are you talking about, the team in the 80s certainly werent as free flowing as some people would have you believe and the current team certainly dont play free flowing football, as Paddy Crerand said on MUTV, even during our lean years, we played more expansive football than Liverpool.
Apart from John Barnes Im struggling to think of another world class wideman than played for Liverpool.
May 16th, 2009 at 23:18
@Dan: seriously, do you have some weird hate for Argentinians? Messi is no flop, he’s arguably the best in the world.
May 16th, 2009 at 23:20
@Fred The Red: What I am saying Fred, is that they have won 5 European cups without playing DEFENSIVE TACTICS – surely you are not goig to deny that. Although, you should know I totally dislike the scouse bastards, but I cannot deny they didn’t go ll defesive in Europe
.
May 16th, 2009 at 23:28
Let me tell you something lads, and some of the older posters will back me up on this, supporting United during our barren 25 years was tough going and I can remember shedding tears when we were beaten at Anfield in 92, it was a defeat that meant our title dreams were over after leading for most of the season and I can honestly say that I thought to myself that we would never win the title again.
The pressure and anxiety were excrutiating that season and the following one when we finally ended our 25 year wait with the help of Big Eric and its been success most of the way since then.
Now I am a good bit older and dont take it to heart as bad as I did back then, which was a bit OTT, but since then a new generation of fans have risen that know nothing other than good times and to be honest with you, some of them have been spoilt by our success, so my advice to them is this, enjoy the victories, enjoy being on top, no matter how it is achieved, coz I tell you this for nothing, despite any criticism that might come our way from any of our rivals, they would gladly swap with us in an instant, and this proves that theyre criticism is just fresh air.
May 16th, 2009 at 23:33
@Craig Mc: Liverpool DID NOT win 5 Euopean cups playing all out attacking football, they played solid football and defended well first and then tried to win the game. They were a good passing side, but I cant remember them being a pacy free flowing side.
May 16th, 2009 at 23:38
@Craig Mc: Liverpools lack of anybody that is named in all time great debates proves my point, they were always good sound teams that kept the ball well and waited for the right moment to score.
The most free flowing Liverpool side that I can remember was the one in the late 80s, and they never played in Europe coz of the Heysel ban.
May 16th, 2009 at 23:40
@Fred The Red: “Liverpool performed at a higher percentage of their capacity over the season than us, I wouldnt argue with that, but the fact remains that despite this fact they still were not good enough to beat us”
And in that statement you are right and wrong. They are not good enough to beat us in the marathon of a long EPL season because they couldn’t defeat a few minnow earlier in the season and instead of winning a few games 1-0, they ended up tying them 0-0 or 1-1. When you win a championship by a point or two you are the champion of the league, but if one looks closer and really evaluates the difference between them and us, they will discover that they out scored us and beat us in two games this season, they scored more goals than us and they have lost two fewer games than us. Consider the fact they have lost only two games all season and we lost four, says one thing to me. But losing two of those four to them, tells me a lot about what consolation champs we truly are.
Yes we have won the Prem for three straight years and that is a great achievement and sure we should be proud. But I look at this victory through the looking glass like a scientist or statistician and I see that justice doesn’t always serve those who deserve it. There is no doubt in my mind that we never exceeded 70% of our capability this season and that for the most part we were playing in low gear. Yet we still won. That says a lot about our quality but it also tells me that from the point of view of stats and the just the common eye and one’s ability to view things clearly, that we were not the best team in the EPL in 2008/2009. We won the silverware and those of you who want to hide behind that and showcase that fact, go ahead, be my guest. I know different and this season will always go down like a bitter pill for me because it was a cheap undeserved win won on experience and grit and not on flash, style and substance. This year we totally defined the phrase “winning ugly”. Because that is exactly what we did.
May 16th, 2009 at 23:48
@Craig Mc: @Craig Mc: This was before my time, but the Liverpool between 1975 and 1985 were in fact renowned for their defensive approach away from home.
May 16th, 2009 at 23:50
@Craig Mc: I agree mate. Where last year Ronaldo elevated our team and our play to dizzying standards, this year he has brought our play and the team attitude and chemistry down due to his poor play and the dissension I believe he creates. The fact he seems to get away with murder cannot be going over well with his teammates. He has become a selfish distraction and an annoyance and I for one still love him for his ability but have had more than my fill with his attitude. I don’t want him to go, but I think that it would be best for the team in the short run and in the long run.
Question of course is who replaces him? Truly, I am getting sick and fucking tired of noticing every player we target would rather play for Barca or Real. I am just sick of this fact and I’d like to know why more players are not interested in playing for the world’s best team? I especially get frustrated when I see a player like Ribery for example who would fit into our system and starting eleven like a glove still prefer to go to two teams that really don’t have a starting position in their lineup ready and perfect for him. Does Barca sit Henry or Messi down or does Iniesta sit?
It’s ludicrous how the ego’s of these players work because if they truly had an ounce of education and the brains to reason and think like logical people instead of like uneducated athletic muppets, they would realize that going to a winning team that has an outstanding spot open for them, is far better than going to a team that will force him to compete for playing time. Just frakken stupid beyond words. It’s not like we are asking him to come to Man Shitty.
May 16th, 2009 at 23:53
@Craig Mc: Our forwards were shite personified. Unbelievable how bad they were but lets also include the midfield that never provided one interesting and vital ball all game. Like I have said many times before, forwards are only as good as their service.
May 16th, 2009 at 23:54
@Craig Mc: Neville lifting the trophy FIRST is called a disgrace and a ripoff. He is a paper captain who hardly plays and if he had the courage and class of a David Beckham would have given up the captaincy one he realized he was no longer the first choice. I frakken hate him, the useless pratt.
May 16th, 2009 at 23:56
@NicoQB: Ibrahimovich is a loser, a coward and a lazy bastard that never shows up when the game is major and when it means something. He’s a classic no show choke artist and the game has to be in a crawl or even in slow motion for him to show some of his overrated tricks. The man is total rubbish. Sorry.
May 16th, 2009 at 23:57
@Craig Mc: You know the thing that gets to me is rafa and bloody ranting about money, i mean hes hardly been on a small budget has he and yet we still hear him saying we spend much more than he does. Well maybe winning trophies and having more ticket sales has something to do with us having more money.
And thats actually besides the point, the man claims we spend more than him but im pretty sure ive seen the spending figures for the last 5 years and they have comfortably outspent us everytime so where the hell does he get the balls to talk about that, fat spanish waiter.
I think the difference is he will spend £30 million on 6 mediocore players whilst we will buy 2 quality players, that aint nothing to do with money its just hes a crap talent spotter who goes for quantity over quality.
As for your comments on ronaldo i have to agree. I have been so frustrated at times with ronnie its unbelievable, he does appear to be getting preferential treatment and hate to say it but in many ways seems to do no wrong and is bigger than the club. I think to be honest fergie maybe is letting him get away with this through gritted teeth, he probably does feel ronnie is taking the piss but he doesnt want to loose him because really theres no 1 out there to replace him who is anywhere near as good as him. Were not talking about an older player past his prime or a player who can easily be replaced were talking about an excellent player, best in the world in my eyes whos in his prime and is head and shoulders above every1 else. Were he to leave whos good enough to replace him. Ribery is the best in my opinion but hes not as good as ronnie.
So i can see what your saying mate, ronaldo really pisses me off too and does act like a brat at times but i think fergie feels he has to take it cos hes such a big player and would be very hard to replace. Its maybe not right but thats the situation and its a complicated 1. Put ronnie in his place and risk loosing him or let him do as he please and keep him. Its a tough one.
So i
May 16th, 2009 at 23:58
@Craig Mc: I think that is one thing positive that we can gain from this championship. That we were still able to outpoint them when they were at their very best and when we were playing like crap for most of the season.
May 16th, 2009 at 23:59
@Craig Mc: I too believed 100% with all my heart that we would beat Barca but the last two games have me feeling the team might have peaked vs Arsenal last week. They look slow, tired and mentally wasted. Hopefully a week off will help them to get their “A” game back, by the 27th.
May 17th, 2009 at 0:00
@Darth Red Diablo: Ronaldo is a giant prick.
May 17th, 2009 at 0:06
@frankie: Our defense has been a rock for most of the season. In that area of the game we are truly excellent and they are the number one reason we are champions. But our attack wasn’t just cautious today. It was totally inept. Try driving a truck up hill without any fuel. Thats what we were like. And as well as we played defensively, Arsenal still had a few great chances to score where we had none. None and we were playing for a championship at home where we needed to win in order to allow resting our best for Rome.
They barely showed up today. Our skilled players in midfield and up front took the day off, and that for me is inexcusable but is quickly forgiven and forgotten because we weaseled out a single pathetic point that allowed to have half hearted and pathetic celebration at the end. I was just sick watching it because I expected us to come out and play like champions. Instead we played like chumps and pretenders. And that for me was an embarrassment. Liverpool have every reason in the world to make sure we never hear the end of it.
May 17th, 2009 at 0:08
@Darth Red Diablo: I still possess the evil mate. I just channel it differently and use it for special occasions like today.
May 17th, 2009 at 0:10
@Craig Mc: Good point mate. I can understand playing that style against European competition but playing that style of garbage in the EPL is just not right and doesn’t sit well with me.
May 17th, 2009 at 0:14
@Jon: I got to admit, I am in a piss poor mood and feel Liverpool were better than us all season, but that was a funny writeup. It helps me make todays game more of a faded memory and allows me to just concentrate on the post game celebrations and the fact that despite all our weaknesses and pathetic play this season, we are still number one and the Scouser can cry in their scouse stew all year long thinking about what could have and should have been. As they say, close only counts in horseshoes and had grenades.
May 17th, 2009 at 0:18
@Fred The Red: Great point, but that does not excuse the fact that our new style of play has to also be included in the EPL where we play the likes of Hull, Stoke and Bolton. The EPL should be used for the players to let it all hang out and turn on the style and the flash. Not be inhibited by utilitarian pragmatism and conservative play that is designed to slow everything down and just keep possession. That’s what you do to beat Italian teams, not West Bromwich.
May 17th, 2009 at 0:23
@antsBoy: Trust me, I’m more upset about today than how we played all season. I could not believe my eyes today that I was watching an Alex Ferguson managed Man Utd outfit playing at home for an 18th League championship. What I saw was Stoke City wearing Red and white and masquerading as United. It was for me a very hard pill to swallow because one of the things I like to use in judging the greatness of a club is how they play when it’s crunch time and the championship is on the line. Trust me, many of you would be singing my song today had this been the Champions League final and the 0-0 went to penalty kicks and we lost. We were awful out there today and looked nothing like worthy champions.
May 17th, 2009 at 0:25
@Dan: I’ll remember you said that after the final. Pray he doesn’t beat us with his play because you will get the wrath of Grognard for throwing a JINX like that on this blog.
Not to mention anew nickname or handle like “Dan is a frakken jinx and he knows it!” 
May 17th, 2009 at 0:29
@Fred The Red: Widemen were not as overly used back then but I remember a player in the 70’s named Steve Heighway who was pretty damned good. And their central midfield with the likes of Souness, McDermott and others was pretty frakken outstanding. I was never a Pool fan but their team of the 70’s and 80’s were outstanding and extremely well coached and disciplined.
May 17th, 2009 at 0:30
@Liam: He’s just Dan. Sometimes he’ll say something outlandish just to get a rise out of us.
May 17th, 2009 at 0:32
@Craig Mc: Liverpool won 5 European Cups playing very safe defensive tactics mate. I have all five games on DVD and everyone of those games was won with strict defensive discipline and taking advantage of counter attacks and set plays. They were not an outstanding attack oriented club. More of a well balanced and and hard working club. They were closer to Mourinho’s Chelsea than they were to our great attacking teams of the past.
May 17th, 2009 at 0:32
@Grognard: What you are saying is hogwash mate, during Liverpools dominant years we beat them on a regular basis, does that mean that we were the better team, no it doesnt.
You point out the fact that we have been beaten more times than them, but you fail to point out that we won more games than them.
Stats can be interprated many ways my friend and can also be very decieving, but the bottom line is this, the best and most consistent team over 38 games finishes on top of the pile.
I will admit that Liverpool at thier peak this season were a bigger handful than us us most of the time, but Liverpool only hit thier peak at certain times during the year, the other times they were average as an attacking force and this shows in the number of draws they played out, so over the course of the season they might have reached thier highs more often than us, but thier lows were lower than ours, and that over the marathom of a season makes us the better team.
In every competition that we entered we went further, in all four of them we were more successful than liverpool, so if you want to say that they are a better side than us be my guest, our position in the league table, the Carling Cup sitting in our cabinet, our further progress in the FA Cup and our future trip to Rome tells me when the going got tough, the tough got going.
Remember this Grog, if you have two cars, and one can of them can go at 120 MPH top speed, and the other at 150 MPH but for whatever reason it has failed to reach its top very often, the fact is, its still a faster car even if it only went at 120 MPH for most of the time, United are the faster of the two cars, and the ability to find the extra speed when it mattered makes us the best.
May 17th, 2009 at 0:35
@Fred The Red: You are absolutely right mate. Pace and free flowing football was not their forte. Yes in the 70’s they had Keegan who offered a bit of that but they mostly had a very utilitarian and pragmatic side that bored opponents to death. They just didn’t make mistakes.
May 17th, 2009 at 0:39
@Grognard: I respect your opinions mate and always find them thoughtful and well considered and I will admit that United were below par too often for my likng this season, but I still think that we are the better team mate and in the end it showed,
peace Bro.
May 17th, 2009 at 0:40
@Fred The Red: First off mate, by all means disagree with me and feel free to do so, but please do not insult me by calling my ideas hogwash. It doesn’t have to come to that. Be civil and show some class. I have every right to feel the way I do because that is what I am and who I am. I’m a nit picky perfectionist and those two losses to Liverpool this season in this very close race just rub me the wrong way. But I would have forgotten about them had we come out today and legitimately claimed the throne with three points and a resounding win. The way champions do. Instead we backed in to the championship through the back door. Just my opinion, whether you like it or not. And if you don’t agree, i’m fine with that, just spare me the insults.
May 17th, 2009 at 0:42
@Fred The Red: We are the better team because we have more points, but are we the better team when we match up against them? That I am not so sure of anymore. They beat us twice and the 4-1 loss at home will sit and fester in my soul for a very long time. And seems to bother Fergie a lot too because he keeps bringing it up and always making the sad excuse that the score flattered them. That’s a proud man who was embarrassed talking, and that’s how I feel too.
May 17th, 2009 at 0:44
@Fred The Red: Also remember this, my criticism over the team is for just their EPL run and not the other competitions. We are the best team in the world because we can go so far in all those competitions. Liverpool clearly couldn’t. But as for the EPL alone, yes we are champions but by the skin of our teeth.
May 17th, 2009 at 1:02
@Grognard: Hogwash is just a figure of speech that probably conveys a stronger or more negative opposoition of your views than I intended mate, no offence was intened.
The two Pool defeats do not sit well with me me either Grog, but my honest opinion on them was that in both games Liverpool did not outplay us and were fortunate in 5 of thier six goals.
But what they did do in the two games that made them deserving winners was that they outfought us, they out hussled us, they pressurised us into making stupid mistakes and for this they deserve credit.
If it boils down to a pure football match then Rafa knows that we would win everytime so he has turned this match into a battle and we will continue to have have problems with Liverpool in a head to head until we first match them in the ugly stuff and by not letting them back into the maych by siily mistakes after taking the lead, eg, Osheas og at Anfield and Vidics brainsorm at OT.
The OT defeat was a freak Grog, yes they desreved to win coz they pressured us into making silly mistakes, but if you look at the goals mate not one of them was well crafted and all of them were very preventable.
May 17th, 2009 at 1:07
@Grognard: I don’t think it was by the skin of our teeth. For every close game we had (Villa, Wigan, and Sunderland come to mind), Liverpool equaled us (City, and other I cannot recall right now…).
There is NO WAY they have more right to be champions. Yes, we were not pretty this year as you mentioned, but we did not have a 2 month slum after New Years nor did we throw away a 5 pt lead at christmas.
Sure they beat the top team in EPL but it means nothing if you cannot beat the minnows first – once again Liverpool prioritized poorly and it cost them on all levels.
Yes we have more money to spend than they do but we are also a more successful club.
Grognard, you are a football connoisseur and I respect it, but I cannot follow you logic in claiming that liverpool deserved the EPL – following the car-analogy, they over-revved their engine and it cost them.
I am happy today, despite waking up at 8 AM and watching garbage for 2 hours. Once again, we did our task, which was avoid playing full strength at Hull City.
May 17th, 2009 at 1:15
@Grognard: another way of looking at it Grog is by asking if Liverpool would be worthy winners considering the number of draws that they had, I personally dont think so.
Its not the first time that we have finished above a team that lost less games than us during the season mate, the only difference this time is that in the head to heads we came out second best this time and as I siad in the above posts, there are lessons to be learned from both defeats, but I will put it down to two bad days at the the office, but having seen what way Rafa intends to play against us I will be very disspointed if we let do the same next season, coz our defeats to them this year were more down to them stopping us playing than them outplaying us.
May 17th, 2009 at 1:31
@Fred The Red: Preventable but the fact is they weren’t prevented. And lets not forget that they did score 6 goals in two games. It doesn’t matter how well crafted the goals were, they all count the same. We could only score two against them and that is the bottom line.
When one judges two teams over a marathon there are a lot of circumstances and 18 other teams that have a lot to do with one team’s success over others. Luck, timeliness and avoiding long injuries to key personal have a lot to do with who wins. Considering how much time both Gerrard and Torres have missed this season, I don’t think it’s out of line to say that had they been healthy for most of the season, they may be in first right now. The other factor is the opposition. Playing Arsenal two months ago was a more daunting task than playing them today. Well Liverpool had to play them when they were in better form. We probably played a lot of teams when they were in better form while Liverpool got lucky and generally, those things even out, but not always.
Thats why the two head to head battles say a lot to me. Last year we beat them twice and they couldn’t shit to us because they were our bitches and they finished 4th. But this year they could conceivably finish one point behind us. And for me, that is one hell of a point considering they made their point and got six points playing us head to head. I’m sorry but that 4-1 loss did a lot of damage to my heart and soul mate. Sure I am being overly dramatic about things, but it severely bruised my inflated United supporter ego badly. And yet, it wouldn’t have been so bad if we had won with some comfort and style today. At least I could say that when it was on the line, the club showed up and won it with power and class. Instead the played like a bunch of pregnant women to bloated to care.
May 17th, 2009 at 1:38
@Madschester United: We lose one game to any of those teams we l beat 1-0 and we finish second. It was a close run thing and it was definitely by the skin of our teeth. Also remember that despite the two losses to them this year, we only captured 5 out of a possible 18 points against the top three teams. Sorry but that is not the stats of a great champion. Where we won this title was being able to defend well and beat mediocre clubs early in the season by 1-0 while Chelsea and Liverpool were still searching for their mojo. Come the second half we were clearly the third best team in the EPL, and that is a fact, as the Fat Waiter would say.
In the end, all this will be forgotten and i will celebrate with all of you because in ten and twenty years from now, nobody will remember how we won the title or by how much. They will just remember that we won it. But for right now, I can’t get past the obvious. That being that we back our way into a the championship. Today we never played like Champions. We played like a tired old team hanging on for dear life. It was sad to see.
May 17th, 2009 at 2:28
@Grognard: Hate to think how you’d feel if we ever didn’t win the league. I’m sorry mate, but you seem to look at the dark side way too much.
!!
Today is a day of celebration, we won the league, beat Liverpool at it, and Chelsea and Arsenal and who ever else you’d like to mention . Over 38 games we are the very best, because it’s not really the teams you beat but how often you beat teams. We did better than anyone else over the course of a grueling season and deserved our spoils without any reservation.
Today we were a very tired looking bunch, mentally and, in the second half, physically, and narrowly eked out any kind of result at all. But once again we proved that we could win (or draw) the games we really have to.
Regardless of your post-season slaying, I take my hat off to these young gladiators and will drink merrily to them all this evening
May 17th, 2009 at 2:33
UNITED : 11 Premier Leagues
Blackburn : 1 Premier League
Liverpool. ZERO PREMIER LEAGUES
CHAMPIOOOOOOONES !
May 17th, 2009 at 2:43
@Madschester United: Bullshit, they fought hard and won this title because of their grit. Why would you try to take this away from a young squad that, for most of them, are just growing their teeth in the European game.
For all of you that say Liverpool was a more worthy winner, I suggest you go here. Oh and stay there!!
May 17th, 2009 at 2:45
@Traverse: My man, fucking Champions!!!!
May 17th, 2009 at 3:54
@Redrich: have to agree with you there mate, in my opinion it was a well deserved title and we showed over the season in all the competitions that we were the better side.
Your also right in saying that we are a young team coz when you take away the old stagers and look at the core of our team then I think we have reasons to be very optimistic for the future.
Four seasons ago we barely finished in Chelseas slipstream and failed to emerge from the group stages in thr Champions league, the empire has crumbled was the cry from the media, the balance of power has shifted they said.
I honestly thought back then that major rebuilding over a 2 or 3 year period was needed to get us back to the top, three years later we have won 3 titles, semi finalist in CL, winners of CL and a final to come, you couldn’t make this up.
In a strange sort of way this team is still in transition, with a group of young players ready to take the reigns from players like Scholes, Giggs and Neville, and being led by new old stagers like Evra, Ferdinand and Carrick. Even the young guns that Im talking about like Rooney, Ronaldo and Nani are 3 or 4 years older than the new kids on the block like the Da Silvas, Macheda and even Anderson who people seem to forget is only 20 or 21 and throw in the kid Ljajic in Belgrade, who some say is the hottest young player in Europe at the minute, and I think you will agree, things are not too bad at the minute.
May 17th, 2009 at 4:18
@Grognard: what if Liverpool hadnt of stolen those games late on early in the season, what if thier opponents hadnt have had a man sent off when they were either drawing or beating liverpool at the time and how many points would Liverpool have won if they hadnt have been playing against ten men on eight or nine different occasions this season. These type of arguments can be made both ways and are purely hypothetical. Dont forget, they were seven points clear at one stage, they simply did not do what was required, we did, and thats why we are champions. Your entitled to your opinion mate. and we all would probably agree that we did not hit the hieghts of last season, but the best team is the team that finishes top, and that team is United.
Liverpool might be closing the gap, but until they finish on top a gap still remains, coz ultimate success is not beating United in two games, but in finishing top of the pile come May.
May 17th, 2009 at 4:43
@Fred The Red: I have to admit that I couldn’t see this coming in November. It could have been “just one of their seasons”, with a lot of poor individual performances, and an attacking force looking lik they couldn’t penetrate a whore on a Saturday night in Amsterdam.
But with guidance , they have shown a massive willingness to prove their desire to win and dominate their counterparts!
It’s only fitting that to clinch our title we beat out a team that professes to be the ideal janitors of the youth movement. We showed that its really not just youth but the maturation of youth that allows your team to progress.
I do beleive , that we are now in pole position to dominate the European game for years to come and without a major shift in our direction, I just can’t think of a reason why not!!
May 17th, 2009 at 5:04
@Redrich: it was a strange run in for me as well, coz although I must admit that I dont think we ever hit the same high points as last season, for some reason even in the games were we were behind and struggling to play our game, I just knew that they would find a way, it happened too often for it to be put down to luck or good fortune, and for a team that contains so many young or youngish players it speaks volumes of their determination and self belief.
When you think about it and ponder some of our results and how we got them, the mental toughness of this team is incredible.
May 17th, 2009 at 6:02
@Redrich: I’ve handled that a lot better than you think. Four years ago I wasn’t upset because we just weren’t good enough. I don’t demand the impossible form those who cannot deliver it. This team is great and has stars 22 players deep. There is no excuse for them to come out like they did today and go through the motions. I’m getting a lot of heat for being the only one with the balls to say hurrah for the championship but you looked like shit today and were very average all season long. Sometimes the truth just infuriates people because they are so drunk and happy from celebrating. I look at a season like this the way Eisenhower and Churchill looked at the end of D-Day. We took the beaches but it was unfortunate to lose all those boys in the process. Yes we won the league but we stunk in the process and let ourselves get embarrassed a few times on the way. It was an ugly win because take a few goals away early in the season and instead of winning the title, we finish 2nd. It was a close run thing. Believe me I am happy and relieved but I am also pissed off in the manner we won it today and I still cannot forget 4-1 for Liverpool at OT. That had to be the lowest I have felt in a long time when it comes to watching the game. Even watching my beloved Germany loses World Cup or Euro finals didn’t hurt that much.
May 17th, 2009 at 7:01
@antsBoy: Thanks mates!! I actually put it up on facebook, and got a reply from a fucking Scouser fan with “Dear United, Of Course It’s Our Fault”.Never got around to reading that bullshit anyways.
Nah, mate. That doesn’t deserve to be a post. But it just summed up what I feel about those fucking Scousers. Legends of the past, end of.
May 17th, 2009 at 7:25
@Grognard: I fail to see HOW you or any other United fan could HATE ‘United thru and thru’ RED NEV – I’m shocked to hear you talk about Gary like that Bro
.
May 17th, 2009 at 7:25
@Grognard: The games against Liverpool, I feel, have little or no say in terms of who deserved to be champions. I admit we were outdone, or rather, we commited professional suicide, giving up the lead in both matches, and going on to lose miserably. The thing is, we were more than capable of producing the 3-0 whipping we gave them last season, but we somehow didn’t. I believe it was a freakish result, and one that will not repeat itself next season. Trust me, United will shit over Liverpool at Old Trafford next season.
What we must consider as credentials to be worthy champions is the squad depth, the attitude of the players, the ability of the players, and above all, the amount of points we rack up. Before yesterdays game, we had won 18 out of our last 20 games, 12 of those wins had clean sheets…I would say we are not at our most potent offensively, but this season, we won the title on our defensive capabilities. However, that is a run of great form that only champions would have. We saw Chelsea do it two seasons ago, and we said that that is how leagues are won: long runs of successful results. We have produced it here, and I believe that the most important statistic would be the positioning on the Premier League table.
Last season, we really won the league by the ’skin of our teeth’. THAT was skin of our teeth, mate. Having no option but to go for the 3 points away from home on the final day of the season to win on goal difference. That’s tight and close. This season, the only reason why Liverpool kept going top was our game in hand. If we had both played equal games, we would be soaring high above them, as we are now, for a big part of the season. I thought that despite Liverpool’s best efforts, they didn’t come close to ever really challenging our title. I had no doubt from January onwards that we were going to win the title, despite any possible hiccups on the way. Liverpool have exceeded my expectations, but have still fallen short of what is required to be true champions.
I feel your disappointment in the way we won the title. I must say that compared to last season, this season just quickly fades away in my memory. I feel that the season hasn’t even begun, really! The way we played left much to be desired. Unlike last season, where we knew we can score and leave the opponent for dead after hitting them with 4, I had to struggle at times to imagine our team scoring. I feel that I enjoyed my football alot more last season compared to this one, because United were not at their attacking best. However, we cannot say that we do not deserve to be champions. We do. It’s just that the team didn’t do it the way we would have loved them to. But we are champions, deserving, nonetheless.
May 17th, 2009 at 7:33
@Fred The Red: Just ask yourself one question and be honest with yourself when you answer it. If the roles were reversed and it was United in second place and united with only two losses and United with more goals scored and United with two big victories over Liverpool, would you be saying the same thing. That Liverpool were worthy champions? I think not.
Most of us are fickle winners and we are fickle losers too. I just look at things with a little more perspective and insight. And theres nothing wrong with it because even though I am displeased with the way we won, I am overjoyed that we did win. Because like I said earlier, in 10 or 20 years from now, nobody will remember who finished second and by how many points and nobody will remember that they beat us in two games. They will only remember that in 2008/09 Man United were crowned EPL champions. I get that. So let me have my few days of bitter contemplation from the perspective of an elitist and perfectionist who wanted the victory to feel more inspired and more deserved.
May 17th, 2009 at 7:34
@Fred The Red: Fair do’s then Fred mi Old Bro
, I guess some of us Young Uns are too, too, spoilt 
. I still want to keep being spoilt though Fred, because it means Man United will still be Top of the Tree 
.
May 17th, 2009 at 7:42
@Craig Mc: Sorry mate, I’m being honest. Something about that ugly Franck Ribery lookalike has always bugged me. For years I have called him an overrated albatross on the United defensive back four as well as Englands. Unlike you and so many others, his numerous errors stick in my mind more than most. When Neville blows a marking assignment or just gets skinned, nobody does it better. He invented the art of losing focus on his marker and letting the guy steal a shot or header on the back post. He’s not a bad crosser but for me the guy was just not that good. Honestly, he wasn’t that much better than his brother Phil. He may be United through and through but there is no law that says just because he is United player, I must love him. Not even close. If I was running the club he would have been sold before 2000.
Again, sorry Bro, but I am being honest. There has never been a team I love in any sport that I follow that hasn’t had at least one player that rubbed me the wrong way. United have had several. Neville is king of the lot though. I also wasn’t a big fan of Andy Cole and Nicky Butt. Cole especially used to drive me crazy because even with all his goals, the guy needed ten shots to score one goal. He was a totally inept shooter and could miss more sitters than one could ever imagine. And lets not forget my ever lasting love for Mr. Balsa Boy himself Louis Saha. What a slug of a human being that walking injury list was.
May 17th, 2009 at 7:43
@Grognard: Contrary to what you think it doesn’t take real balls to say we stunk today. Yes we stunk, but who gives a flying fuck right now when we won, what is, a historic title for the club?
Today, and a couple of days would be a good time to have an unconditionally, blinkered celebration. Enjoy the day when you are meant to enjoy as a fan. It’s what most fans live for. Retrospection would come, and I will certainly get back to it in a few days’ time when the season gets over. But I think it’s a pretty good time to just enjoy the moment.
Of course, you could rain on the parade right now, you’re welcome, but we’d be a little too caught up in emotion to actually give you a sober response or debate with you about it — which, I’m sure you might want.
Check back in a week or two, and you will have a debate.
May 17th, 2009 at 7:46
@Jon: I’m hearing a lot of coulda woulda shoulda when it comes to Liverpool. What I am not hearing though is people fessing up to the fact they beat us twice and once badly at home. And those games had a great bearing on our season because if we win those games we win the league comfortably and then there is no doubting who the real champions are. But those two wins buoyed the Liverpool cause and gave them the confidence and impetus to fight on and so in the end we win by 1 or 3 points, we can always say that it was our luck against one of those minnows that we beat 1-0 that really was the difference between us being champions, and us finishing second. Not exactly something to stand up straight and walk around with pride over.
May 17th, 2009 at 7:52
@Jon: For me as a supporter the season felt like a beast of burden. I never really enjoyed it that much. Sure there were a handful of games that were great but overall, it felt a lot like having sex with a really ordinary and plain looking girl after having broken up with your ex model girlfriend. Just left a sour taste in my mind and in my heart. It got to the point where i would record every game and not even bother labeling the dvd because I couldn’t be bothered. And I blame Ferguson for all of it. Yes the man is a legend and I will never question his game time decisions again, but honestly, he brought to the team this year a really boring pragmatic and totally utilitarian style of play direct from Italy for all of us to love and rave over. Fuck I am mad as Hell with him for fucking with the traditional style of play we are known for and that we have had more than enough success with to not panic into changing it. A tough pill to swallow this season, no doubt.
May 17th, 2009 at 8:00
@Grognard: We lost to Liverpool intentionally to lull them into a false sense of comfort and confidence, so that we can come back and crush them again.
It’s true.
May 17th, 2009 at 8:35
@Red Ranter:
, IS THAT the best you can come up with Boss? 
.
May 17th, 2009 at 8:36
@Liam: No, i have nothing against argentines, but i call it as i see it.
Tevez, good player, not world class.
messi, better then tevez, not quite the best in the world, yet. he has the potential.
Messi is a more then decent dribbler, but scoring against second rate spanish defences doesnt do it for me, the fact is, hes only managed 1 assist in the 4 english games he played last season and this season, that may seem like a good statistic, but in a CL final, messi is supposedly the type of player you look for to mnake something happen, which obviously he doesnt.
I dont listen to what the media say, i judge talent buy my own eyes, just ask grognard, i think huntelaar would be a risky signing, but he and the media think hes made for this club, thats not saying grognard believes the media, thats grognards own personal opinion.
May 17th, 2009 at 8:40
Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, United are the champions of the PL, but who is the champion of the Red Rants league of ‘giving people the HUMP’ debating?
. No contest OF COURSE its the CRAIGMEISTER, or CRAIGSHITE-STER 
. Come on, don’t deny it you all, you know I have pissed you off more thasn any other 
. A true red deviler eh?
May 17th, 2009 at 8:46
@Dan: I agree with you actually Dan. I think Tev is a good player, a great combatant, but I would not say he is World Class either! When he plays a FULL game like yesterday, he is too often ineffective. When however he come on for last half hour of games, full of bustling energy, and opposing defenders TIRING, he always does well. So maybe Fergie knows what he is doing after all, by not starting him in the big games, like Ole, he is very good coming off the bench. That’s how I feel about Tev
.
May 17th, 2009 at 8:54
@Grognard: Bro we have played about 10 games more than L’Pool, and against 11 men and not 10 men as Loserpool did for 10 of their games. So that took a lot out of our lot. Also Loserpool caught United on a BAD DAY at OT, and we were without Ronnie and Rooney at Anfield. Let us wait and see how the Rafa-ites do against us in our heads to head NEXT season, before we get convinced that somehow beating us twice makes them suddenly better than us. If we lose to the next season (Lord forbid), then maybe I will say you are on to something Bro
.
May 17th, 2009 at 8:57
@Red Ranter: Now come on RR, stop pretending that you are a BOOZER, when by your own admission you are teetotal
. So I figure thereby, that you are the ONE person who can give a, what you call, SOBER RESPONSE 
.
May 17th, 2009 at 9:01
@Grognard: Errrrr he’s not just a United player Grog Bro, to most United fans, he is a United legend
. Red Nev, he hates scousers, what a guy 
.
May 17th, 2009 at 9:01
@Craig Mc: Drunk with joy, emotion. Not alcohol.
Sober, as in clear from the euphoria of the occasion. Right now I am quite caught up in the moment to bother thinking about the negatives.
Hope that answers your question.
May 17th, 2009 at 9:02
@Craig Mc: Was it that bad?
May 17th, 2009 at 9:02
@Red Ranter: Cor Guvnor, I forgot to bring my dictionary with me this championship morning
.
May 17th, 2009 at 9:05
@Red Ranter: As close to bad as it gets, but considering you are drunk on Euphoria, quite acceptable really
.
May 17th, 2009 at 9:16
The Geordies are threatening me, of what I can expect if our team turn up at Hull, and don’t give it their all. Seeing as N’Castle are dependent on us BEATING Hull to help keep their team from the drop. Those Magpies are peck peck pecking at me, that we will send our youth team to face Hull, and that will hurt the Magpies
. I truly do feel that we will send a lot of our young players to Hull, but I reminded the pestering and moaning Geordies, that EVERTON full strength team couldn’t beat our young uns, and had to rely on penalties. So not to fret about us not being good enough, or boys against men 
.
May 17th, 2009 at 12:27
@Craig Mc: God i hope newcastle go down, i cant stand that git manager of theirs shearer. It would just complement the season were they to go down.
May 17th, 2009 at 12:35
@Grognard: to answer your question on the worthiness or unworthiness of United or Liverpool being champions this season, I can honestly tell you this, it has always been my belief that whoever finishes top deserves to be there, yes Liverpool might have won a few battles along the way which they deserve credit for, but ultimately we won the war and winning the war is what all the top teams set out to do at the start of the season, they failed, we suceeded.
All the arguments that you are using about a goal hear or there would have changed things are purely hypothetical mate and can be applied to both sides of the argument coz when you look back over the course of a season, all teams will get points that they deserved and some that they didnt, decisions that went there way, and some that didnt, thats football.
I dont find any of your arguments convincing mate, and obviously you think my counter arguments are unconvincing to, lets just leave it there my freind coz we seem to be going round in circles, bottom line is, for me it has been a very successful season so far, it could be a brilliant season if we do the buisness in Rome, yes we can improve in areas and yes we have been below par for large parts, but does that take anything away from the achievement of being Champions again, not for me mate.
May 17th, 2009 at 16:20
@Red Ranter: OK, so now I know. How could I have been so easily duped?
May 17th, 2009 at 16:21
@Dan: Well you don’t see to well my friend. Messi is a fantastic player and a true genius. His only drawback is his size and that you can hardly fault him for. You already lost your street credit with me over your feelings on Huntelaar.
May 17th, 2009 at 16:29
@Craig Mc: Nobody pisses them off better than the Grognard mate. My poison gets in between their pours and just rubs people the wrong way so much more so. I am definitely the King of Nasty, whether I want to be or not. Even if they occasionally get mad at you, you are still known for your comic relief. I’m like a solid blast of hemorrhoid like agony.
May 17th, 2009 at 16:33
@Craig Mc: I live too far away to get that feeling and no enough about his personality quirks. I suppose if he hates Scousers, he’s halfway OK in my books. Just don’t start him in games though.
May 17th, 2009 at 16:36
@Craig Mc: I was going to ask you about that. I could see your life being in danger if Fergie fields the B Team next weekend. And he most certainly will because he could give a rats ass about Newcastle and especially Alan Shearer who snubbed him when he went out to buy him in the mid 90’s. This will not endure you to Geordie fans if the Toon lose. Prey Rafael, Machedo and the youth brigade come through for your health only.
May 17th, 2009 at 16:39
@Matt: I think like Leeds, it’s a shame when a big club goes down. Newcastle with all their problems is a big club and it’s not good for the league to have a big club relegated. But yes, Shearer has less managerial ability than a common house fly. He’s way over his head and his run will not be long. In fact, if they get relegated, I could see him quit because I do not really see him as hungry for the job. I think he was pressured into it.
May 17th, 2009 at 16:57
@Fred The Red: What I see is a very thin line of separation and when that line is so thin, hypothetical if’s and buts play a big role in concluding who is best and who is lucky. And trust me, we were lucky a lot this season. Yes we are champions but we are not resounding champions who know they are better because they won comfortably or at least because they dominated the other top 3 teams over the years. We won by a nose hair and for me that’s not good enough. What you and everyone else who have complained to understand in my argument is that I look at things differently than you or most of the fans out there who just define a win as a win. I have said on numerous occasions that I am a bit of an elitist and a perfectionist when it comes to my tastes and desires in sports and entertainment. I can handle my team finishing second or third if I can clearly see they are not good enough, but I have a harder time when I see a team who wins it when I know that they aren’t as good as their victories proclaim.
A lot of factors come in to play on the road to a championship and United just had a break or two more than Liverpool. The difference between them is a an if or a but, because against us, they were the better team this year, and that will always sit and fester in my soul. Had we lost to them twice and badly but finished second, I wouldn’t be so upset.
I suppose it has a lot to do with the fact that in my life I have followed 6 sports with great passion and interest and 7 leagues as well as International football for countries. I have seen too many of my teams or the enemies win and lose and in my day I have seen a lot of unworthy and highly overrated teams get crowned champions while seeing many far better teams lose and in many cases get cheated or screwed out of a title. So many factors from referees, to weather to injuries to fatigue and scheduling have played major roles in often crowning the wrong team. Now my bias tells me the right team was crowned yesterday simply because I hate the Scouse and because I love United. But if I am honest with myself, only 1/3 of our team could really rejoice with this triumph. Our defensive unit who did a masterful and consistent job all year. Our midfield and attack was for the most part in shambles all season. And we lucked out on many results where we never deserved the three points.
Being a bit of a perfectionist never allows you to just inject the moment into your system and let it just happen. You cannot help but over analyze the team, the games the scenarios that defined the team’s entire campaign.
When it comes to Europe I have no problem saying that United are the best team. They did all that was asked of them and they were especially great warriors on the road when they had to be. Winning in Rome would make them worthy champions where Barcelona are incredibly undeserving as I still feel the referee secured their spot in the final because Chelsea were by far the superior team to them. That kind of realistic and honest perspective comes from not just a fan of a team or the game, but truly a student and objective mind. And whether that is appreciated or respected on Red Rants, that is what I am. I will and always call it as I see it, not just as a pro United supporter.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:02
The Grog is right, celebrate all we want now but when we’re honest (and sober)the bitter taste of the double loss to ‘Pool will still haunt us.
My Scouser mate keeps taunting me with it, that it takes the gloss of us being Champions. Well I say he can well hold on to that point as the years without winning anything piles up on him and then he dies.
Let’s beat Barca and that’s another trophy to taunt the Scousers with. And let’s do them good next season, cant wait.
Jon, you are a genius. Have you got the tix for when United come over to Malaysia ?