Not Your Average United Fan

Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal Match Analysis

2011-08-29T02:43:00.000-07:00

With two weeks of the season gone, I've been banging on about the lack of attacking football and goals. Then came the humiliation of a depleted Arsenal team who were mentally exhausted as well as following a lacklustre start to the season. What a wrong time to face the champions.

Having again kept faith with the same lineup of the previous two games, Welbeck chased down a short back pass to the Arsenal goalkeeper which nearly resulted in a freak goal, that was probably a sign of things to come for Arsenal on a day both sets of fans won't forget in a hurry.

A hesitant Arsenal defence failed to clear a cheeky lob by Anderson into the box and Welbeck pounced to head United into the lead in the 22 minute. Then poor judgement on the part of Jonny Evans led Arsenal to earn a undeserving penalty, but De Gea was able to save Van Persie's low drive to his right. United's number 1 needed that boost of confidence and the other United players swamped him to show him that.

Like an arrow

Then the floodgates opened. Young has been impressive so far in his United career, and he curled in a peach of a goal into the top corner to double the lead. Welbeck's night was cut short as he was substituted for a hamstring injury that hopefully isn't that serious. Hernandez came on for him as Arsenal fans must be fearing the worst.

Two great freekicks by Rooney to either side of the posts, sandwiched Walcott's low drive that the United keeper should have definitely done better. 4-1 to the champions. The United striker now becoming more influential.

Rooney then turned provider for Nani as the Portuguese had another poor game but he dinked the Arsenal keeper for the fifth. Ashley Young then exchanged passes with Park before the South Korean drilled in United's sixth.

Need a hug, Arsene

And, although De Gea did make some good saves to deny Van Persie in either half, he couldn't do anything to stop Arsenal getting another consolation as Van Persie fired a shot to the roof of the net for 6-2. It was definitely hard to keep count at this point. But it wasn't over.

Carl Jenkinson should have been sent off earlier in the first half alongside Arshavin but finally found his marching orders as he tripped Hernandez outside the box. Rooney tried to get a hattrick of goals from a hattrick of freekicks but couldn't keep his shot down enough.

Good things come in three's

Evra then tried to get on the act as he surged into the Arsenal box but was accidentally clipped by Walcott. Howard Webb pointed to the spot for a soft penalty. Rooney wasn't going to miss his chance for a hattrick to set on a milestone of 152 goals for United. The record of 249 goals set by Sir Bobby looks attainable for a player who hasn't been out of second gear in the three games played but has still scored 5 goals. Can't wait for him to really push on from here and lead United to more glory this season in Europe and domestically.

The final nail in the Arsenal coffin was Young's second of the night and it was quite a stunning goal too, as he thumped in another top-corner goal.

A day Arsenal fans will never forget as United again played some exquisite stuff. But all told, I still stick by my comment on the goalkeeper as he holds the key to make or break United's season.

With the biggest three clubs in the northwest of England leading the way and looking ominous at that, looks like the balance of power is definitely changing. This builds up the importance of the derby games even more.

No long distance assignments

The Champions League group stage draw has concluded and United have been drawn against Benfica, FC Basel and, try saying this aloud 5 times, Otelul Galati.

Group C
Manchester United FC (ENG)
SL Benfica (POR)
FC Basel 1893 (SUI)
FC Oţelul Galaţi (ROU)

Well, at least we can't complain of travelling far and even the Otelul Galati match will be played in Bucharest, rather in Galati's home stadium about 150 km away from the Romanian capital. With the huge squad that we have, rotating players will be the manager's luxury, especially when we have a tough game at Chelsea after travelling to Portugal to face Benfica.

Time to prove that we have the best squad in Europe then.

Match Preview - Manchester United vs Arsenal

2011-08-25T02:57:00.000-07:00

Two weeks into the new season and we're famished at the lack of goals and attacking intent from nearly all the teams. Considering the league is the best league on the planet, hopefully last season's record breaking goals-scored tally of the Premier League wasn't a fluke but rather a base for seasons to come.

We all love to see goals and thankfully United (and City, credit given where it's due) haven't disappointed in providing quality entertaintment and great attacking football. And this match couldn't come at a better time for us.

The exquisite one-touch football and build-play evident in the last two games from United has made us fans licking our lips for more. And with Rooney looking increasingly the player that in my opinion, is the top three in the world alongside Messi and Ronaldo. With Cleverley improving dramatically into a class act from the mediocre player he was in his loan spells at Wigan and Watford, the future looks more than just bright.

With Arsenal sealing their passage into the Champions League proper, they have had something to smile after a tumultuous summer of discontent. Losing Fabregas wasn't a big blow considering Wilshere's rapid rise, but Nasri's departure will probably be the difference for Arsenal finishing 4 or 5-7. Harsh but highly likely with a improving Liverpool and Spurs challenging them.

Having Song, understudy Frimpong and Gervinho suspended for this one, their midfield and attack would be weaker than Wenger's urge to drench Pat Rice. Djorou is back to partner Vermaelen so that should ease the headache of Wenger at least a little.

Trusting nearly the same side that beat West Brom against Spurs paid dividends so I wouldn't be suprised to see the side unchanged for this one too. Rio could be a outside bet to take the pitch and maybe Fabio could be given some game time after being benched against Spurs.

In midfield, I'd probably want Sir Alex to start Carrick or Giggs for their experience, but with Cleverley and Anderson scoring, it would be hard to edge them out.

Park may be prefered to the disappointing Nani to give the extra energy to complement the attack. He is Big-Game-Park after all. The 10 minutes or so cameo by Hernandez will not threaten Welbeck after a great display the other day. Our Mexican hitman still needs at least another substitute appearance to get back into the starting line-up.

Arsene Wenger is a great manager and you can't rule them out but without sounding arrogant, Rooney and company should put this lightweight Arsenal team to the sword easier than many would think.

European quest begins again

Finally, the last round of qualifying has finished and now its time to start the Champions League proper. United being seeded, is placed in pot 1 among the other heavyweights of Europe.

Honestly, for me it doesn't matter who we get drawn as we stronger than nearly all the possibities and should have little trouble making it into the knockouts considering we're the only team to have the best knock-out round appearance record.

I would prefer trips that wouldn't tax us in the league but hoping to meet the newer in the competitions. Going to these places is the mystic of the Champions League.

The pots and stats according to uefa.com

Club	Route	Last in	Years*	2010/11**	Best***
Pot 1
FC Barcelona	Holders / Champions, Spain	2010/11	15	Winners	Winners x 4
Manchester United FC	Champions, England	2010/11	16	Runners-up	Winners x 3
Chelsea FC	Runners-up, England	2010/11	9	Quarter-finals	Runners-up
FC Bayern München	Third place, Germany	2010/11	14	Round of 16	Winners x 4
Arsenal FC	Fourth place, England	2010/11	13	Round of 16	Runners-up
Real Madrid CF	Runners-up, Spain	2010/11	15	Semi-finals	Winners x 9
FC Porto	Champions, Portugal	2009/10	15	UEL, winners	Winners x 2
FC Internazionale Milano	Runners-up, Italy	2010/11	10	Quarter-finals	Winners x 3
Pot 2
AC Milan	Champions, Italy	2010/11	14	Round of 16	Winners x 7
Olympique Lyonnais	Third place, France	2010/11	11	Round of 16	Semi-finals
FC Shakhtar Donetsk	Champions, Ukraine	2010/11	6	Quarter-finals	Quarter-finals
Valencia CF	Third place, Spain	2010/11	7	Round of 16	Runners-up
SL Benfica	Runners-up, Portugal	2010/11	6	UEL, semi-finals	Winners x 2
Villarreal CF	Fourth place, Spain	2008/09	2	UEL, semi-finals	Semi-finals
PFC CSKA Moskva	Runners-up, Russia	2009/10	5	UEL, round of 16	Quarter-finals
Olympique de Marseille	Runners-up, France	2010/11	7	Round of 16	Winners x 1
Pot 3
FC Zenit St Petersburg	Champions, Russia	2008/09	1	UEL, round of 16	Group stage
AFC Ajax	Champions, Netherlands	2010/11	9	UEL, round of 16	Winners x 4
Bayer 04 Leverkusen	Runners-up, Germany	2004/05	6	UEL, round of 16	Runners-up
Olympiacos FC	Champions, Greece	2009/10	12	UEL, 3qr	Quarter-finals
Manchester City FC	Third place, England	Debut	0	UEL, round of 16	First round
LOSC Lille Métropole	Champions, France	2006/07	3	UEL, round of 32	Round of 16
FC Basel 1893	Champions, Switzerland	2010/11	3	UEL, round of 32	2nd group stage
FC BATE Borisov	Champions, Belarus	2008/09	1	UEL, round of 32	Group stage
Pot 4
Borussia Dortmund	Champions, Germany	2002/03	6	UEL, group stage	Winners x 1
SSC Napoli	Third place, Italy	Debut	0	UEL, round of 32	Second round
GNK Dinamo Zagreb	Champions, Croatia	1999/2000	2	UEL, group stage	Group stage
APOEL FC	Champions, Cyprus	2009/10	1	UEL, play-offs	Group stage
Trabzonspor AŞ	Runners-up, Turkey****	Debut	0	UEL, play-offs	Second round
KRC Genk	Champions, Belgium	2002/03	1	UEL, play-offs	Group stage
FC Viktoria Plzeň	Champions, Czech Rep.	Debut	0	UEL, 3qr	N/A
FC Oţelul Galaţi	Champions, Romania	Debut	0	N/A	N/A

*Past group stage appearances not including 2011/12
**UEFA Champions League unless stated
***Includes pre-1992 European Champion Clubs' Cup
**** Trabzonspor replaced Fenerbahçe SK, who were withdrawn from the competition by the Turkish Football Federation (TFF)
UEL = UEFA Europa League
3qr = Third qualifying round

Manchester United 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur Match Analysis

2011-08-23T02:37:00.000-07:00

After a decent enough performance away at the Hawthorns last week, Spurs were supposed to be a tough experience for our young makeshift defenders. But boy, did we blow them away.

The team started nearly the same as last weekend missing only the two first-choice centre backs and Fabio, as Evra regained his starting spot, captaining the side in the process. After demolishing Hearts the other week, Spurs were looking for their first win at Old Taffrord under Harry Reddknapp and he kept faith in the team that travelled to Scotland with only new signing Friedel making his Spurs debut. And what a debut it was too.

The first-half was quiet in terms of goals-scoring chances with only Cleverley's shot parried away by the ever-present Friedel. But the second half proved to be a precursor to what this young United team could achieve this season.

With Van der Vaart leading Spurs on a personal mission to try and prove that our keeper hasn't learned anything from his experience last week, tried to shoot on every given opportunity. This decreased their chances of mounting any serious threat to our goal throughout the match.

Salford born United fan, Danny Welbeck was wasting his energy in the first-half by running into areas where he was tightly marked and couldn't receive the ball, so whatever the manager told him at the interval, it worked like a charm.

He closed down defenders and his overall movement improved dramatically. With Cleverley, Rooney and Young giving him enough support, as Nani again carrying through his lacklustre performance from last week, it was only a matter of time before we broke the deadlock.

Smalling dashed into the right flank and cutback the ball to Cleverley who crossed a peach of a cross onto the path of Welbeck, who with all his 6ft plus frame, guided the ball into Friedel's right-hand corner of the net. The two Academy lads proving that with hard work, you can make it from the bottom-up within our club.

A Wel-taken goal

With Spurs piling on forward and bringing on Pavlyuchenko, we were able to control the possession and the tempo of passing. A great one-two from the ever-improving Anderson, who I still believe has a long way to go yet to prove himself, and Welbeck's deft back heel in the area flummoxing the Spurs defence, the Brazilian sweeped United's second and you got the feeling that it was over by then.

Since Scholes left I have a burden on my shoulder

All three subs were used by Sir Alex and Park, Giggs and Chicharito coming on for the fantastic trio of Cleverley, Welbeck and Young.

Although the result wasn't in doubt but United weren't finished scoring as Giggs gently lifting the ball for Wayne Rooney, who I thought gave a man-of the-match performance together with Phil Jones, headed the ball in for a well-deserving goal for the player and his team.

New hairstyle, same outcome

David De Gea did himself enough justice as he gave a decent performance with the only wobble coming late in the match when he mishandled a cross and Defoe hitting the subsequent rebound onto the post.

Commentators and pundits were piling on the well-deserved plaudits for City's great start so far, but United's performance wasn't a statement like City's but more of a glimpse of what this squad is capable of. And with Rooney starting to finally fulfil his potential, who knows what United can achieve this season and in the future.

Match Preview - Manchester United vs Tottenham

2011-08-19T02:36:00.000-07:00

This will be a very enthralling encounter between two teams that produce good, end-to-end, attacking football. With Spurs going through to the next round of the Europa League proper already with the 5-0 hammering of Hearts midweek, barring catastrophic defending, although with Spurs you never know, they will be in buoyant mood ahead of this one.

Being it Spurs first game of the league campaign, they definitely want to show that they can compete with City, Liverpool and Arsenal for those Champions League spots with or without Modric.

Although you want your first choice defenders playing, Evans, Jones and Smalling are very much able deputies and any team would love to have them as cover, especially the latter two. With Evra coming back into the side and Fabio performing really well recently, I do expect Smalling and Evans to cover the central defence. Although, I would prefer Jones to Evans, because of his calmness and composure that Evans lacks.

With Young cementing his place on the left wing, Nani's poor showing against West Brom will be punished with a place on the bench usually but with Valencia still recovering, he has another chance to impress. I am slowly beginning to be impressed by Cleverley, as I still have my doubts over him, because one game doesn't make a great player.

But his attitude and energy gives him a good platform to build on and he should get the nod with Carrick in midfield providing he is fit. Upfront, I was surprised to see Welbeck starting ahead of Berbatov, and I wouldn't be be caught off my guard again as Welbeck showed great fighting-spirit and some neat touches and could start again.

Spurs play a very counter-attacking football, similar to the one we play away from home but we should be having more of the ball in this one although Van der Vaart should be nullified whenever he lurks in or around the box, as he has the vision to unlock our young defence. Gareth Bale will threaten with his pace, power and crossing ability but I expect Fabio to match him on everything.

Scoring goals is never our problem and shouldn't be on Monday especially with Gomes playing but if De Gea hasn't mentally prepared himself for shots from distance and gets the timing wrong again, we could be trying to rescue another win.

A great match is in anticipation here, and I expect to be fully entertained.

United shares to be listed in Singapore Stock Exchange

As all United fans coming to terms of news that the current owners, the Glazer family, are planning to "service" the debts incurred purchasing United by raising funds reportedly about 600mil pounds by launching a IPO (International-Public-Offering) in Singapore's stock exchange.

I heard the Balti pies are good

To those who don't speak all this business jargon, the Glazers are trying to sell United's shares to the Asian market as a measure to clear the debts they have incurred, which currently stands at about 500mil pounds. Although the club have denied this, there do seem to be enough good reasons for them to be doing this action. Anyway, we'll just have to wait and see if anything materialises.

I really couldn't care less who owns the club or the intentions to wanting to own the club as long as we are bound to be in a healthy financial condition. The sooner, the better.

Malaysia on the map

Smile for once, Neil

Matters closer to home, Datuk Tony Fernandes, the Malaysian AirAsia tycoon has just wrapped a multi-million pound deal to own over 60% of shares in QPR(Queens Park Rangers).

Well, in the light that the Malaysian national football team is slowly nudging it's way back to it's heyday, is it really necessary for a rich Malaysian to spend so much money acquiring a soon-to-be struggling Premier League team when all that money could be put to good use here, in our very own Malaysian grassroots programs for youngsters.

Unless he is planning to promote partnerships with QPR to open coaching clinics here and even farm out our Malaysian players over there for exposure to the professional side of things in England.

As the saying goes, A wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart. Or is it the other way around ?

West Brom 1-2 Manchester United Match Analysis

2011-08-14T22:54:00.000-07:00

The first day of Premier League games were bore-fests galore, but the second day did not disappoint, apart from Chelsea's drab first-half at the Brittania which did liven up in the second half though.

But, the champions have shown they mean business with the usual flamboyance and willpower to wear teams down.

We were off the blocks in the first 20 minutes, and only wasteful finishing prevented us from taking a more healthier lead in that time. Great interchanging of passing between Rooney and new Devil, Young, created a well taken shot by Rooney which squiggled past Foster. The goal showed the reason why we sold him last season.

Wayne's smilling again

West Brom slowly played their way into the game and with Nani wasting two great chances, David De Gea, unfortunately made a howler of a shot by Long and managed to let it slowly roll into the net. The Spaniard should be saving those bread-and-butter saves and will have to improve quickly.

Oops, I did it again !!

In the second-half, we again dominated possesion and the tempo of the game, but without creating any chances with real conviction. With Somen Tchoyi and Long making a nuisance of themselves, the match was always in the balance.

Then came the invididual brilliance by Ashley Young, when he tricked himself inside the box on the left and cut a cross back which took two
very fortunate deflections off West Brom defenders, the final one supplied by Steven Reid who was having a torrid time with Young throughout the match unlike Shorey at the other flank who was untroubled during the match with Nani deciding to perform his usual inconsistent self.

United's young defence, after the departure of Rio and Vidic, and De Gea in particular, then withstood some aerial and physical onslaughts, but did well to withstand it and take the first 3 points of the season.

All in all, a good game to watch, and a good enough performance by the champions to show that we're hungry to win yet another title. And, Young, Jones and Cleverley showed that extra determination which will be needed to win more matches like this one in the future. The only taint is the injuries to the first-choice centre-backs for United, although the strength-in-depth of the best squad in Europe will ease those fears.

Getting Underway - Major Threat's Preview

2011-08-12T02:47:00.000-07:00

Finally the greatest league in the world is getting underway this weekend. And we would have had all 10 games kicking-off if not for some thugs/hooligans/idiots/muppets/youngsters trying to kickstart some kind of martial law coming into effect in England. Hopefully the situation has come to a abrupt halt and we could finally see 22 grown man chase around the ball.

Enough of that rubbish, let's talk some football, and especially the club that everyone in England must beat, the champions, Manchester United.

The Magical 19th

After the tickertapes and trophy celebration's for winning an unprecedented 19th title were swept away by the summer pre-season US tour, the manager has made sure that the hunt for more success begins.

Ashley Young, Phil Jones and David De Gea have arrived to bolster one of the strongest, if not THE strongest, squad in Europe. Make no mistake, the manager means business when United beat rivals to tempt the English quality away from Premier league rivals.

Although Cleverley looked fantastic against City, one game don't make a player, and the furore of hype surrounding him at the moment isn't going to do him much good. Our midfield was the main reason for the torture against Barcelona in the UCL final (and the ill-timed absensce of Fletcher) , and with or without the possible signing of Sneijder, our midfield has to have more energy in it.

The overall age of the squad has been reduced dramatically for the new season, and this bodes well for the present, and the future. The great mixture of youth and experience should make United a force to be reckoned again this season.

The signing of De Gea is where, in my opinion, the title could be won or (God forbid) lost. The goalkeeping conundrum has plagued us ever since the departure of Peter Schmeichel and before the arrival of the great Dutchman, VDS, as he is affectionately known amongst United circles.

A steady and solid goalkeeper is a must-have for every winning team. Just ask Arsenal. Also it nicely sets us up for the next talking point, our rivals to the throne. I expect City to be our major threat for domestic supremacy, eventhough we can't write off the others, especially Chelsea.

Don't be fooled by the bravado talk of silencing the neighbors after the weekends dramatic Community Shield victory over City, every United fan knows that the Blue moon is rising indeed. And their main reason is their strength defensively. Not only they can bore you to death with a stale approach to matches, but they do have a great goalkeeper in the making in Hart. Minus the Wembley blip, Kompany is a archetypal no-nonsense defender, in the mould of our own great United captain.

Charity from the richest club in the world

They do have enough ability to thrash the lower teams and eke out draws against the far superior technical sides like us, Arsenal, Spurs, etc. That does make for a major threat. But, I do think that Mancini wouldn't have learned from Wembley's "glorified friendly" defeat, and he will continue to start negatively in certain matches that they should be winning, and instead settling for draws. This will hinder their title aspirations.

As for Chelsea, well, what can you say about a team that changes it's manager every few years. This merry-go-round has hindered them in the past, and will so again, I think. Don't get me wrong, they do have enough quality and the mentality to win the league, unlike City, but the new manager needs more time to get his ideas across a team full of egos, pride and definitely way to many strikers for any one club. Unless, he's as lucky as Ancelotti was in his first season with a single linesman decision.

Liverpool have bought good attacking players, but like Roy Keane was quoted the other day, "to improve your team and to win the Premier League are two different things." But a good foundation to build on, although try telling that to any Liverpool fan.

Don't provoke me, Cesc

Arsene's reluctance to end the transfer sagas of his two stars is going to leave him with a huge hole and not much time to plug it. That will leave Arsenal exactly where they were for the last six years, trophyless, the manager using waterbottles as footballs and a growing sense of unrest amongst the Gunners faithful.

Being Sir Alex's main rival for years, I do feel for him, but unfortunately, everyone has to clean up their own mess.

The rest, well, just like everyone else in the league, they have to prove worthy of playing in the league, although this season's relegation battle will be more tighter and compelling than the championship race.

So, the talk is over, now let's watch those 22 men chase the ball for about 9 months before we start all over again. Just sit back and enjoy.