Still Following the Trawler

The words 'potential' and 'banana skin' were written all over this fixture; firstly thanks to fortress-esque reputation the Brittania is gaining...remember how narrowly we won there last season?? On top of that, the delightfully fruitful nature of the Premiership often tends to throw you the odd shocker when you're coming into a game on such a high; as we were from the previous week...just look way we completely destroyed the respect won from going 14-matches-without-conceding last season by leaking in 5 goals in 7 days against Liverpool and Fulham respectively, then conceding a further 2 at Old Trafford the game after. Well, as it were, this day was rather routine - other than Rooney not getting on the scoresheet for the first time since the Burnley defeat. Stoke, as expected, were ruthless and tough at the back (often too tough, with Huth being overly niggly and annoying). Yet Ferguson's secret weapon is currently his most loyal servant - the club's most

Manchester United: A blend of costly superstars, youth products and bargain buys such as Patrice Evra. Manchester City: A blend of costly superstars, Stephen Ireland and Micah Richards. Olver Kay, The Times (Saturday, 19th September) "Sometimes you have a noisy neighbour. You cannot do anything about that. They will always be no isy, y ou just have to get on with your life, put your television on and turn it up a bit louder. Today the players showed their form. That is the best answer of all." Sir Alex Ferguson (Sunday, 20th) "It could have been one of the defining moments of a momentous match ( Barry's goal; set-up by Tevez ). Instead, this was probably the day that Owen's Manchester United career started in earnest and Tévez's contribution was consigned to the small print." Daniel Taylor, The Guardian (Monday, 21st) "At a rough estimate, there was probably £400million worth of talent on the Old Trafford pitch. Yet it was a man snatched from Cit

Right, enough of that...have we all recovered? Have the seemingly permanant smiles on our faces began to fade as the reality of a normal, mundane existence kick in thanks to Monday morning? Well then, what better time to address and deal with the real issues of that surreal Sunday?... Rio - Foster . Odly enough, at around the 80th minute, after Ferdinand had confidently dealt with another lofted ball into our area, I thought that he had had an utterly convincing game and showed his ability to be able to come back, after such a patchy spell on the sidelines, and perform with such authority. Bang on 90, he acted with the ignorance and apprehension of an under-21 novice playing his very first game. His flick to...noone was idiotic, and his inability to track back and cover Bellamy shows the ageing side to his game. Fair play to Bellamy, as his pace was blistering and he didn't allow Ferdinand to touch him, but the finish was tame and one that Foster, had he stayed on his feet like he

Wow, wow and wow. As a lucky witness of such a beautiful game, I feel privelaged, honoured and truly blessed to have been sat inside Old Trafford on such a glorious Mancunian afternoon. This is what it's all about, and, even if we do not see something like it again all season - possible, yet (*cliche time*), at Old Trafford, anything is possible!! - this will be our 'Villa home' and Owen will surely be our Macheda. The day for me started with me standing nervously in the East Stand, playing about on my phone and awaiting the teams to take to the field; when my periferal vision was clouded by a sea of red. No, I wasn't having a weird faint spell due to a mixture of the heat and the occasion, but this: When I finally got what it said - 'Welcome to Manchester' with a picture of trophies we have won and how many times we had won them - goosebumps overcame me. I remembered and properly understood the magnitude and importance of this derby, and if I was ever excited

T he men (who aren't players, or Sir Alex, OR Eric) that make us proud to support United: 1. “If I couldn't beat it out of them, I’d have to disown them. I’d miss them, but they would have to go. They’re sensible kids though, so they wouldn't do something like that.” On if his kids had the audacity to become Blue's. 2. 3. 4. Courtesy of:  Ginosprio.com 5.

In a week where we saw a footballer and a musician fight it out for 'twat of the week', I can't help but think with a self-satisfied smile on my face how lucky we are to be clear of that sort of selfishness, arrogance and ego in our team (the worst we've got is a vexed Wazza after getting subbed off because he hadn't scored yet). Adebayor and Kanye West this week expressed themselves - one through actions, the other through words - in a way that embarassed not only themselves, but everyone involved, regardless of whether their ego's convinced them that they were doing the right thing. With Kanye, he approached the stage at Sunday night's VMA's in Manhattan thinking, no, knowing, that Beyonce deserved Taylor Swift's 'Best Female Video' - and to be fair, she probably did! Yet, as he was off his tits on brandy and juice, as well as the fact that he thinks the sun shines out of his arse, he had to let the world know; upsetting the young lass, B

Finally, after a typically slow start to the Premiership season - where, as usual, average performances have been adequate (results wise) yet utterly unimpressive - we pulled together a performance worthy of the Championship crown that has been resting firmly on the red devil's head. Our recent performances up until now however, especially with the teams in front - Chelsea and (worryingly?) City - winning casually, have given our critics and haters alike apparent reason to believe it will NOT be 4 in a row...and that selling Ronaldo was the most expensive, flawed gamble of all time. Although we got a win against one of the league's best in the previous game, it was in no way a performance to comfortably convince the fans that we have the ability to retain the trophy without Ronaldo.  On paper, and obviously historically, Arsenal are a bigger/better team than their North London neighbours, yet based on this seasons form alone, the trip to White Hart Lane seemed easily as daunti

Things we learnt from the Arsenal game: Rooney does NOT work as a lone striker . The number 1 issue with the last game, as I pointed out at the time, was Rooney being isolated and, in the process, out-muscled as the lone striker. He did not, and will not against any team with a decent central defence, have the height or strength to make his presence felt. As quality as he is, he is not Van Nistelrooy (in strength) or Henry (in pace). Also his game is too multi-dimentional to be wasted in this way creatively. Berbatov needs to start . Following on from the last point, Rooney clearly needs to play alongside a strike-partner; someone who is equally as technical and spatially aware, however who's also a little on the lazy side. So, while Wayne's pounding his way up and down the field chasing every ball and lost cause, there has to be someone holding their position and collecting the passes in order to progress the attack. Enter Dimitar. Confident: Rio's back. Spurs have scored

Seeing as I've just spent an epic week in Manhattan - and, as is often the case with the International break, I can't be bothered to comment on the 'Fabio factor' and the incredibly unique stories about how he can actually lead England to World Cup victory - I thought I'd have a pop at highlighting my top 5 (alternative) must do's while enjoying the uber-Metropolis...assuming you've either done, or ain't fussed about doing, the queuing-for-hours-and-climbing-tall-buildings-slash-a massive-woman-holding-a-torch thing. 1. Spend as MUCH time as you can exploring, walking through and absorbing the West Village. Cruise in and out of the pretty little streets (Bleecker, Perry, West 10th, 11th and 12th) and enjoy not only the beautiful architecture and structure of these old fashioned streets - which were aligned to a grid during the 18th Century, in accordance with the borders of the island and the Hudson River rather than the main grid-structure that occurs