So Ben Foster has finally played as many games for Manchester United as he has for England. United fans might not know too much about him (apart from his debut against Derby) so I thought I’d let you know what to expect.

As a Watford fan I would say that Ben Foster is somewhere between God and Gandhi in relation to his importance in the history of the world. For two seasons at Vicarage Road he performed like no other keeper I have ever seen on the hallowed turf. We’ve had some good keepers down at Watford including the young David James and United’s own goalkeeping coach Tony Coton, but nobody came near to this exceptional young number one.

Continue reading “So How Good Is Ben Foster? — A Watford Fan’s Perspective”

It was a very bizarre weekend, the one that just passed; it gave Man Utd fans a lot to think about. The defeat at Portsmouth was one thing: a rather infuriating encounter which will have given their fans cause for pessimism. But the blows which Arsenal and Chelsea suffered were of another nature, a sort of a remedy after such a poor display for the Old Trafford faithful.

Continue reading “The need for a right-back and a forward | Title race blown open”

Behold! Squeaky bum time is approaching and approaching fast for Manchester United and if you think that I am talking about the remaining five fixtures that Fergie’s men have left in March, you are gravely mistaken. Nay, it is not March which worries me, but April… that is a different story.

Of Manchester United’s eighteen possible fixtures left, nine of them would be next month. Aside from the four Premier League fixtures, they could have an additional four Champions League games and, if they get past Portsmouth on Saturday, the FA Cup semi-final is conveniently placed between the two legs of the Champions League quarter-finals (in place of a Premier League fixture against Middlesbrough).

Oh, did I mention that they will also be taking on Arsenal and Chelsea?

So onto the actual fixtures:

Continue reading “Manchester United’s tough, tough April fixtures list”

There has been much made about our premier defender’s contract situation since yesterday. Rio Ferdinand, according to earlier reports, was to hold off contract negotiations till summer. The reports attributed his agent, the scheming Pini Zahavi, to have said that.

Lot’s of blogs and forums have immediately reacted to the news.

Continue reading “The Rio Ferdinand Situation”

Pick up a piece of paper, and write down United’s best XI. Picks itself, mostly, doesn’t it? You might be in the Giggs or the Nani camp for the left wing, but I’d bet my bottom dollar that 8 of the names down will appear on everyone’s list. The remaining two? Only the small matter of our central midfield partnership.

This is something that has elicited a lot of discussion in the comment sections recently. I don’t pretend to have the answer or anything approaching it, but what I’d like to do is present my take on the conflicting views and then give you my opinion. Which you can then rip apart (or try to!) in the comments.

As I see it, there are four players (despite Fletcher’s valiant performances recently, he’s never going to be a regular first choice), two general approaches and one big complicating factor. Let’s look at each in turn, and then try to draw the strands together.

Continue reading “United’s Midfield Dilemma”

Most of you might have heard about the Premier League’s plan to increase the number of games to 39 and play the extra game abroad. I am not sure what many of you think, but to me this is one of the most arrogant decisions ever made by the Premier League. Now I am not saying that it is a bad business decision. The potential at overseas markets are huge, especially for clubs like United. In fact, if a mid table side played a ‘big four’ team abroad, they will attract fans because of the presence of the big four club. Due to the neutral nature of the venue, I would assume that the gate receipts will be split equally — which is only fair. The clubs will stand to make more money — which is all there is to it, really.

But all that is besides my point.

Continue reading “The Most Insanely Arrogant Plan”

If I can start off by clarifying one thing from my previous column. In no way did I mean to suggest that we should never sign young, unproven players - I’ve seen Anderson play this season, and I’ve seen how Ronaldo developed. If our opposing bidders are top-flight European clubs, there is no second bite of the cherry so you have to take the first. But when our competition is a lesser club…that’s when we can stand back and play the long game. Aaaaaanyway, onwards to today’s article.

You might say that this is a great season to be a United fan, and that we have a strong chance of winning either the League, the Champions League or both. You might also reflect that we have a young squad, with plenty of strength in depth and room for improvement, and that the squad is better than last year’s equivalent. You might then add, as the icing on the cake, that we have two once-in-a-generation talents playing for us. And I would agree with everything you said.

Continue reading “The Doomsday Scenario”

Thanks for all your responses to my first column, and thanks once again to RR for allowing me to inflict my views on you. Without further ado, here’s number two.

It was so uneventful that it may have passed you by (it nearly did me), but the transfer window closed on Thursday night. And totally underwhelming it was for a United fan, too. We signed Manucho, and then loaned him out.

That’s it.

The arguments about the merits of the January transfer window are well rehearsed, and its dangers illustrated vividly by the lukewarm reception given to (and worse performances given by) Evra and Vidic when they arrived this time two years ago. But I read the rumours, and the quotes, and I’d like to divine some meaning out of events and put them into context.

Continue reading “Fergie Happy to Take Second Bite”

I don’t know how many of you watched our FA Cup game against Spurs on the BBC. I did, and in between the usual inane banter in the studio and the consistently good commentary of Jonathan Pearce (please retire, Motty, and take Lawrenson with you), was a strong theme. The excellence of Dimitar Berbatov was constantly referred to, with all the usual cliches, and with many a mention of how he is United’s “number one target for the summer”.

This is not the place to debate that move. It’s been done lots, and I don’t have a lot new to say on him at the moment. However, it put me back in mind of a long term strategy which has been in place at United for some time now. It is simultaneously the reason why we will look to buy someone like Berbatov, and the way we will fit that player into our side. It is the Super-Galactico strategy, and its importance is underestimated by nearly all the journalists, pundits and fans who give their views on our beloved club.

Continue reading “Fergie’s Super-Galactico Dream”

We all know how important Munich is to United fans. Which is why the 50th anniversary of the Busby Babes tribute assumes priority over anything for us. We also thought it was great to actually see the Glazers willing to allow the team to sport jerseys free of sponsors for the tribute game, incidentally against Citeh.

Continue reading “The Glazers’ Busby Babes Tribute Madness - Sign the Petition”