United = Carling Cup Champions

Hello,

Although not a great game from the players nor perhaps the manager (Owen?) but United has its first trophy of the season at the expense of a good Villa team.

The game started off with pace and energy until, at least for United fans, Vidic brought down Agbonlahor in the box. It was a penalty and I still do not know how Vidic avoided a card of some kind. Refs confuse me. A similar play happened later against Owen: last man back, free kick but the yellow card came out. Strange. United dominated the first half but even with the Owen goal, I am still not a fan. He does not create anything and, really, only cost us a sub which could have been used to get Scholes on the pitch and pull a struggling Carrick.

Second half sucked the life out of the crowd and, it seemed, out of our club until Rooney headed the winning goal. His header that hit the post was like a lightning bolt or something. Clearly, Burba was injured and forced Rooney to play rover, a position I do not like seeing him in. I often wonder if Chelsea were to ask Drogba to play that role as often as Rooney has if he would. In a final, at Wembley, Rooney showed even more class, playing rover and even defending to allow Berbatov to rest in the striker position. Rooney is the class act of the Premier League.

This may not sound like a RED TILL DEAD thing-to-say but I like Villa and hope they go on to win the FA CUP. They are a good team with a good work ethic and deserve something. Hopefully this cup final will inspire them to push. They played fine today but even at the top of their game, United seems to find a way.

Congratulations to Tomasz Kuszczak who deserved to play the cup final after being solid post Foster. Fergie knows the game and knows how to inspire even the 2nd or 3rd string players. He is a motivator in the biggest sense of the word. I think the team needs to congratulate Rafael who played his role through this competition well and is beginning to fit into the squad very well. Let's not forget Evra who seems to put in a well-above-average performance week-in and week-out.

Winning trophies means something, despite what other managers seem to think. It is a spring-board to confidence and positive team-energy. I think other teams such as Arsenal and Liverpool need to start thinking about this. Are you listening Rafa/Liverpool? I think if you win the Europa League, you will be a bigger threat next year.

Cheers and see you in a week for the CL.

Derek

United > AC Milan in Leg One (02.16.10)

Hello,

Quick one: United > AC Milan. That about covers it. I know I need to be more objective when writing these match reports but, if you watched the game, you know United will go through.

To begin, the first two goals were flukes. Milan capitalized on Evra's mis-kick/clearence and scored. United went on to score a fluky goal off Paul Scholes' left shin after trying to kick the ball with his right foot.

Second, Milan completely fell apart and were exhausted in the second half.

Third, if United kept their concentration, the second Milan goal would never have happened not to mention Vidic will probably be back for the return leg. This spells trouble for the striker-less attack of Milan.

Oh and by the way, Milan has to score two goals and hold United to no goals at Old Trafford.

Not going to happen.

Derek

United Out of FA Cup - Maybe A Good Thing (01.03.10)

Hello,

United played Leeds United for the time in six years and not since 1981 have they returned across the Pennines celebrating victory. United fielded a strong team but this is the magic of the FA Cup. It happens every year. We, as United fans, are used to laughing at other teams who use to League One sides. United rarely goes out in this stage of the competition. Leeds came out and played the game of their lives against a United side still trying to find their legs after complete defensive injury meltdown to having a half and half team. I mean, for a while, United's A-Team midfield was playing defence. How can you build momentum throughout the season working under those conditions?

Jonathan Howson saw his opening and launched a long ball over the top for Beckford, who was gained ground on Wes Brown. Brown was only playing because Nemanja Vidic had been injured in the warm-up. Kuszczak was slow to react and Beckford had time to nip the ball beyond the Pole and send it rolling over the line. For the rest of the game, United looked like they were never coming back.

Now, I personally believe crashing out of the FA Cup might be a blessing. All the injuried defensive players need time to recover. We cannot afford out back-ups playing in too many competitions as the PL and Champions League are too important.

Till next year,

Derek