May 12
No Smoke Without Fire at Old Trafford?
As Manchester United’s hopes for a record beating 19th league title fizzled out at Old Trafford on Sunday, smoke from the dying embers of the season could be seen around the ground by many fans. At least that is how the romanticised version of events may be interpreted.
Instead what we saw was the smoke from a smoke-bomb, dropped outside the megastore, the latest in a long line of protests by Manchester United fans over the Glazer ownership of the club.
Old Trafford on Sunday was more the theatre of broken dreams. The fans and management of the club had already, in their hearts, accepted that Chelsea would beat Wigan Pathetic to claim the title. That they did so in such emphatic fashion was less a statement of Chelsea’s right to be champions, and more a statement on the rather timid showing of Wigan, who once again travelled to London only to surrender in the meekest of fashions. If Liverpool’s capitulation at Anfield was expected, then Wigan’s shambolic efforts were equally about as unexpected as Didier Drogba sulking like a baby for the rest of the first half when he wasn’t allowed to take the first penalty. Chelsea were 1-10 with Betfair at the start of the game, United were 7-1.
You can bet very few punters hoped that they’d have a nice little betting bonus by backing United. They were ultimately proven right. It does United’s fans great credit to say that they reacted to the not-unexpected events at Stamford Bridge with a shrug of the shoulders and a ‘That’s Life’ attitude that would have done Esther Rantzen proud.
The home support was magnificent throughout the game, reflecting perhaps on a season that just wasn’t meant to be, and the appreciative applause given to the players on their lap of honour was a credit to the club and in sharp contrast to the moronic hoards at Luton and Grimsby, who reacted to their respective defeats by somewhat predictably resorting to abuse, anger and violence.
United fans ire was instead directed at the boardroom, though no representative of the Glazer fraternity was in place to hear it due to the cloud of ash disrupting transatlantic aviation routes. Whether the ash was from Iceland, or the smouldering ire of Manchester United fans remains unclear.
The fall-out from the Glazer ownership continues to cast its own toxic cloud of debt over Old Trafford. The scale of the debt, how it has been passed onto the club and the unwillingness of the owners to even acknowledge the fears of the MUST, let alone deal with them is the root cause of many fans grief.
Green and Gold scarves were the collective uniform at Old Trafford, scarves which spoke of their unquestioned support of the team and the shared anger at the Glazer ownership. Cards with “Go Glazers Out” were more common than an inept Liverpool performance. The Red Knight, astride the gallant steed of a billion and a half pounds of investment, cannot come to the rescue soon enough.
So United didn’t lift the title this time around. Unlike some of their rivals down the M62 however, the Red Devil’s fans will know that they will, once again, be there challenging for the top honours once again next season, regardless of the level of debt and the blinkered attitude of the board. The fans will still support their team in vast numbers and the Champions League and Premier League will be realistic targets. From the dying embers of one season, rises the prospect of another. Life at Old Trafford goes on…
Every cloud has a silver lining, even a smoke-filled, debt-ridden toxic one.
Photo: Reuters
Related items from Red Rants:
- It’s Still All About Ronaldo, Love
- Manchester United Travel To Wigan Amidst Latest Takeover Rumors
- Liverpool’s ‘Match-Fixing’, and the FA Cup Cockup
- Poyet Rubbishes Move – Giggsy’s College Degree – No Berbatov Yet – South Africa
- All Smoke, Little Fire on the Transfer Front
Tags: Manchester United News
Craig Mc (195)
RedDevilEddy (173)
Opti (138)
Ian (97)
Moscow is my heaven (97)
http://fourfourtwo.com/news/england/54384/default.aspx
his dream is to play for barcelona, i just puked in my mouth. no thanks!
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Stephen are you going to OT for the charity game England greats versus the greats from the rest of the world – should be a good function for the charities to collect some dosh?
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@ROOOOONEY: Yeah I saw that – but is it true anyway that we are in for him?
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@CraigMc: Look i am just a simple contributor but one thing i know that when your blog is chosen as a top ten blog then one should definitely try to better it.Regarding finance,whether this blog makes money or lose ,i dont know but in recent months ,the number of betting posts make me believe that they must earn some good amount.
I belong to IT industry and i know that buying some web space for a blog doesnot require much finance.
If Red Ranter has some serious problems ( i hope he does not),then he should have given that responsiblity to some others to post a topic atleast once in 3 days except these betting ones…
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@Owen: Fair thought Owen, but maybe he got the betting blogs to help finance things here. I know he has his own twitter and other sites, so maybe that also takes his time up perhaps. Anyway, it is his business really.
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@Johnsom33: Nobody is attacking him mate. We are just all concerned that he has completely avoided the blog without giving us an update and without showing any real concern for it’s status and dwindling membership. And I do not think he said he would be gone for two months. I remember him saying he was going to miss the rest of the season. Well the season has long been over now and yet we have no idea when and if he will return. Let me just say this. If I was running this blog, I would make sure I had what I considered an assistant manager who was able to run the blog in y absence and make sure it never skipped a beat. That assistant would also let all the members have updates on the status of the blog as well as when it’s leader was going to return. Running a popular blog today requires more than just one person because everyone has some semblance of a life and that they cannot be glued to the blog 24-7 every day of the year. That’s why you have to have an assistant or a Plan B in place. Perhaps Ahmed and David are Plan B but they aren’t exactly offering a lot of new threads per week and they aren’t letting us all know the status of the blog and RR because they probably don’t know either.
It’s all very frustrating and all rather unprofessional considering this blog was a top ten United blog and that our leader always appreciated our voting for it in these types of online award entries. Now it seems he could care less yet we are expected to give a damn. Well I’ve noticed many have shown that they don’t and have either quit the blog altogether or have severely curtailed their presence and contribution to it. Even I don’t offer as much as I used to because so many times it feels like my efforts are wasted and under appreciated because i get very little interest or response from any of my longer rants. That’s fine but all I am trying to do is to stimulate debate and conversation but there is nobody around to care. Nobody around is the problem now isn’t it? Yesterday I posted something and returned almost 6 hours later to find that I was the last post. Six hours without a post is just ridiculous and previously unheard of on this blog. Very depressing and very disconcerting.
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@CraigMc: I don’t think so, but its that time of the season you don’t know whats what. so i will just play along and pretend that we have the money to even consider buying some of the players we are linked to.
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@Owen: I totally agree there. I hope he is alright but irregardless, he must come out and either ask for some help or just let us know what his plans are for the blog. I hate giving a damn and contributing not knowing if anyone is even bothering to read it or if the blog may not even be up and running tomorrow.
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@ROOOOONEY:
– that’s the spirit mate!
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@Grognard: Now we will again start debating when Fergie will start the buying campaign by taking the names of Benzemas,Kakas,Marias of the world and will end with the likes of Onde-bonde,Chi Chu Li….
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@Owen: I honestly don’t understand why our club and even others seem to be dragging their asses when it comes to signing players? It’s paramount for all of them to sign players before the World Cup and for me the transfers should have started last monday when the season was over. I am a great believer in the “you snooze you lose” policy and I have a feeling that even if United have some money to spend, Fergie is going to procrastinate until another team comes in and outbids him or the World Cup showcases the player to the point where his price tag escalates dramatically. He needs to get a move on it.
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@Grognard: When will the transfer season start officially??
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who knows when the window officially opens
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@CraigMc: I am mate, should be a really good night looking forward to it bro and for a good cause.
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@Grognard: I hope Johnson does get a run in the pre world cup games hence he could be the break through player.
Green isn’t good enough in my view but will start, Defoe isn’t World class but is Klose or Podolski? In my view they are far from it.
For England to win the Cup we would need a great slice of luck and Rooney to show the world he truly is a world great, Lampard and Gerrard would also have to prove to people that they are not just good champions league players they can do it on the biggest stage. And as I say Johnson could be the break out player, or Lennnon or Joe Cole could show what they can do. Terry and Rio, if 100% fit are as good defensively as anyone and Ashley Cole is one if not the best left back in the world so there is genuine quality.
But we probably get knocked out on pens in the quarter finals like always!
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@Owen: It opens on the last day of the season.
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@Stephen: England will have to play Rooney alone upfront if they have to progess to semis.With Hargo,their will not be able to compete against Spain ,Brazil…They must play 4-2-3-1 with Carrick and Gerrard as 2,Gerrard behind Rooney ,Milner on the left and Lennon at right..
But i think Capello will start with Crouch and Rooney and Gerrard on the left.And it will expose the midfield Where Barry/Carrick will be totally run over by Spain,Germany,Brazil.
And i firmly believe that if u have to win a world cup,then you will have to win a match through penalties and here i will bet not a single cent on England…
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@Owen: Without Hargo.Carrick and Lampard as deep MFs.
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@Owen: I could be wrong but I think it started the day the season ended.
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@Stephen: Klose has 10 goals in World Cup history mate. That makes him world class. Podolski is world class for Germany and muppet class for his home club. A real enigma that boy. Either way I rate both way above Defoe, Crouch, Heskey and Bent. Hell I rate them higher than Gomez. For me the strikers who should be starting for Germany are Kiesling and Thomas Muller. They are in form and young and it’s time for Germany to start thinking young and starting them along with Kroos, Ozil, Marin and a few others.
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@Stephen: A lot of coulda’s woulda’s and shoulda’s in that group of players. No guarantees.
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Looks like our long hot summer of Man City pricing out of buying our targets has begun. They have made a £20mil bid for James Milner. They don’t even need midfielders!
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@Traverse: Heres the thing, city can’t buy everyone. Sure they can afford to buy anyone and everyone, but that doesn’t mean players will agree to go. They have to sell players on the “project” and what’s in it for a rising star like Milner to help City get CL football only for city to go and buy a better player once they qualify? If he chooses the money over the prestige of United then he isn’t really getting anyway. Atleast that’s the way I see it.
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@Grognard: “Maybe I needed a break from the blogging/debate part of it and just enjoy the football, take it in for what it’s all worth. And just, well, be a fan without the analysing part. I think the last month was like that. I think I am finding my way back, and hopefully things will be back to normal.”
my interpretation of that is a indefinate leave of absence. Writers block is a bitch, and there is no way of knowing how long it’s going to last maybe a week maybe forever.
I agree that he could atleast comment from time to time, but maybe he felt he needed a complete break from the blog.
Obviously your guess is as good as mine as too the fate of the blog, but at this time I think we should all be patient. Remember the season ended only a week ago.
I am curious to hear about what happened with writing competition, has anybody gotten a response from red ranter yet?
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@Stephen: I feel like the perception of English players is simplified into two categories. World class or complete rubbish. Now I don’t believe that too be true, but that’s what I get from hearing peoples opinions on the players. Players like Rooney, lampard, gerrard and cole are all generally accepted as world class by the English and the rest of the world. But everyone else is considered a joke. Good players like Defoe, bent, crouch… Can’t seem to get any respect. It’s almost like people are afraid to admit they are good because who ever does so will be ridiculed without mercy.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/may/17/manchester-united-premierleague
interesting article on our clubs commercial efforts. £200m is alot of money, but I’m curious to see how that compares to other big clubs.
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@Johnsom33: Writers block?
Come on mate. If one has been halted by writers block for a footy blog, then my God, he’s got greater problems than I expected. Christ I could be drunk as a skunk, high on Crystal Meth and sleepless in Seattle and i could come up with a fairly entertaining paragraph or two to offer the masses every week. I mean writing threads is a piece of cake if you know the game and the team you are talking about. Managing the blog and keeping bastards like me in line day after day, well that’s the hard part. I have my suspicions but I think something negative has gone wrong in RR’s personal life which has caused him to just lose his interest in the blog and escape for some much needed rest and recreation. I hope he is doing well and I indeed hope I am wrong and he’s just showing all of us a fuck you attitude and having a good time, but I just have a feeling there is more to it. He’s a private person so he’s not going to come on here and tell us what’s wrong because it’s none of our business, but still, to just let this blog go into purgatory like this, is wrong and it’s above all a crying fucking shame. I might have to sic Jack Bauer on him. 
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@Johnsom33: OK I’ll simplify it even more. Some of their players are indeed world class but the team overall is complete unadulterated rubbish.
Everybody thinks Capello has done wonders but really now, who the Hell have they beaten? Croatia? Big frakken Whoopie Ding! Lets see how they fare up against the Dutch, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Spain, or even underachievers France, Argentina and Portugal who all barely got in by the skin of their teeth.
I honestly hope they do well if not for England’s sake, for Rooney, Carrick and Rio. But it will take some players of lesser reputation to raise their games and be included in the world class club for them to go far. I think Lennon and Theo will have to finally show they belong and Defoe will have to come up big because I have a feeling they will put a blanket on Rooney and that he is too pooped to play well. Just the feeling I get. Finally, Lampard and Gerrard will finally have to elevate their game to the level they display in the Prem. Something they have never done internationally, and something I am not so sure they are capable of. We’ll find out.
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@Traverse: City can flash the money around but only UK based players will sign because until they prove something on the field and in the standings, they are still a small minnow in comparison to big teams with pedigree and history. Great stars will not sign with a club that has none of that and that will not be in the Champions League. So they will have to settle for sloppy seconds and for me that’s fine. Let them go after Milner because in comparison to other players I like that we have been linked to, he’s nothing more than sloppy seconds. Man City reminds me of the ugly mug who happens to be a millionaire but who still can’t get beautiful women to sleep with him because he’s just too damned ugly.
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@Johnsom33: Well they have the stage to prove it now Johnsom, so lets see if they can do the business. What might help them this year, is that at least they haven’t got the heavy weight of the countries unrealistic clamour of expectation upon their shoulders. All that pumped nonsense, which if you are English I am sure you will get what I mean Johnsom!
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@Traverse: Trav – maybe this is Fergie playing the game again, leaking names of players we have no intention of going for, to put other top clubs like Man Shitty off the scent!I wouldn’t put it past him
.
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@Stephen:
– should be Stephen, and the charities have really done well from Events held at Manchester United this season – especially UNICEF and the local kiddies hospital units.
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city can only field 11 players @ a tym. So no th number of players they buy dont really matter. Also it can backfire and work against them as it may cause unrest amongst players. City will always try to outdo us and thats why they snoop around hoping to beat us on getting our targetr
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