Does anyone else just want this new season to hurry the f**k up!?
Well, well...how splendidly uneventful things have been in the closing weeks of the summer for our little Northern club, considering we should be on the most exciting spending spree of our lives. Not only have I been unable to blog recently as I'm currently in Cyprus sweating like a bitch and trying to look as glorious as this:
...but I have generally been so uninspired that I've found nothing of interest to talk about (thus giving me plentiful time to work on the tan).
What's been going on? The most hectic (fixture-wise) pre-season I can ever remember: having played 7 games so far, and still to come is Valencia at home on Friday and, of course, the epic Charitable for the Community Shield on the 9th. Admitedly I havn't seen all the friendlies as I've split my time between working to pay for my season ticket (= proper fan) and standing around by the pool in Cyprus, like this:
...but from what I gather it's a bit of a mash-up of opinions. The goals, of which I've seen them all, have been decent verging on impressive (especially 5 of the 8 against Hangzhou Greentown), but the displays in general have not given alot to shout about, in terms of 'how will United fair post-amazing golden Adonis and ugly disgraceful City rat'. OK, friendlies are never the best way of judging your team coming into the new season, as the opposition are usually Asian pub-sides with really cool names; but with the immense change of personnel at United - and subsequent adaptation of our fucking Championship winning tactics (!!!) - it was definitely an interesting opportunity to see how Sir Alex has blended the new into the mix.
A worrying observation, especially in the earlier games, was the lack of creativity in midfield (hmm I wonder what could be missing...)
...and therefore a fear of returning to the Ruud-old-days; with goal-machine Owen (a revelation...in pre-season anyway!) showing similar quintesential 'out-and-out' touches that United fans appreciated and enjoyed with Ruud because of the general level of consistancy; however, we now realise that, in this truly eclectic, multi-dimensional Premier League (with strikers like Torres and Drogba providing alot more to their sides than just a centre-forward's poaching abililty), it can be a little boring and dangerous if too overreliant on this approach.
I do feel though that with Rooney being allowed to come into his own, as he has shown nicely playing through the middle; as well as the far less direct 4-4-2 style of midfield we have now compared to what Van Nistelrooy had behind him (with Park, Carrick, Fletch and Carrick able to provide alot more movement on the ball than the 'circa 2001-2003' lot), this shouldn't problematise our attacking options too much. Furthermore, the debut (and goal) of Valencia was pretty damn enjoyable...so there may just have been 1 decent thing to mention over the past week, then. Against Boca in Munich he gave the fans an insite into his skill and flair that could work ever-so nicely next season.
So we'll just have to wait and see how the masterplan pans out. I doubt this coming week will be any more exciting than the last - with the friendlies slowly drying out and the transfer rumours all but finally evaporating until January...although Villa emerged as a $4omillion possibility again today in the Daily Mail??...ahh who am I kidding. Roll on 2009/2010!
...but I have generally been so uninspired that I've found nothing of interest to talk about (thus giving me plentiful time to work on the tan).What's been going on? The most hectic (fixture-wise) pre-season I can ever remember: having played 7 games so far, and still to come is Valencia at home on Friday and, of course, the epic Charitable for the Community Shield on the 9th. Admitedly I havn't seen all the friendlies as I've split my time between working to pay for my season ticket (= proper fan) and standing around by the pool in Cyprus, like this:
...but from what I gather it's a bit of a mash-up of opinions. The goals, of which I've seen them all, have been decent verging on impressive (especially 5 of the 8 against Hangzhou Greentown), but the displays in general have not given alot to shout about, in terms of 'how will United fair post-amazing golden Adonis and ugly disgraceful City rat'. OK, friendlies are never the best way of judging your team coming into the new season, as the opposition are usually Asian pub-sides with really cool names; but with the immense change of personnel at United - and subsequent adaptation of our fucking Championship winning tactics (!!!) - it was definitely an interesting opportunity to see how Sir Alex has blended the new into the mix.A worrying observation, especially in the earlier games, was the lack of creativity in midfield (hmm I wonder what could be missing...)
...and therefore a fear of returning to the Ruud-old-days; with goal-machine Owen (a revelation...in pre-season anyway!) showing similar quintesential 'out-and-out' touches that United fans appreciated and enjoyed with Ruud because of the general level of consistancy; however, we now realise that, in this truly eclectic, multi-dimensional Premier League (with strikers like Torres and Drogba providing alot more to their sides than just a centre-forward's poaching abililty), it can be a little boring and dangerous if too overreliant on this approach.I do feel though that with Rooney being allowed to come into his own, as he has shown nicely playing through the middle; as well as the far less direct 4-4-2 style of midfield we have now compared to what Van Nistelrooy had behind him (with Park, Carrick, Fletch and Carrick able to provide alot more movement on the ball than the 'circa 2001-2003' lot), this shouldn't problematise our attacking options too much. Furthermore, the debut (and goal) of Valencia was pretty damn enjoyable...so there may just have been 1 decent thing to mention over the past week, then. Against Boca in Munich he gave the fans an insite into his skill and flair that could work ever-so nicely next season.
So we'll just have to wait and see how the masterplan pans out. I doubt this coming week will be any more exciting than the last - with the friendlies slowly drying out and the transfer rumours all but finally evaporating until January...although Villa emerged as a $4omillion possibility again today in the Daily Mail??...ahh who am I kidding. Roll on 2009/2010!
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