Still Following the Trawler

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My final reflective piece looking back at our final in Rome two years ago, is my overly emotional (but highly justified) piece the day after. 29th May 2009 was a dark day, full of disappointment and 'what if's' as we failed to rise to the occasion and in turn got taught a lesson by the best team in the world. Many people's perception this time round is that we'll all be feeling exactly the same on the 29th May 2011. But call it raw passion, loyalty or belief - I think it'll be different. Very different. Anyway. I know we'll step up this time round and avoid this... the day after... Posted by   The Cockney Red THURSDAY, 29 MAY 2009 I don’t really know where to begin. I don’t really know why I’m even bothering with this to be honest. But I’ve hidden away from it all day and as much as I thought it would help to mentally remove myself from the realities of last night, it really hasn’t. So here it is. It arrived, and then, somehow, we forgot how to play. Nothing...

Jonathon Wilson, the Guardian , on how to stop the unstoppable, almighty, incredible, best team in the entire fucking Universe that is Barcelona. The Telegraph's Henry Winter reckons Bob Paisley taught Fergie a thing or two Soccerlens'   match preview Stretford End Arising analyses are best XI and how they  can win us the Champions League But according to Surreal Football , United haven't got a hope in help

Part two of my build-up to Saturdays final looks back at my reaction to 2009's utterly controversial Semi-Final second leg clash between Chelsea and Barcelona at Stamford Bridge, where Barca edged the win and secured their place in the final against United...   Wasteful Chelsea, lucky Barca...'IT'S A F**KING DISGRACE!' Posted by   The Cockney Red WEDNESDAY, 6 MAY 2009 Well there you have it: after about 75 clear-cut penalty shouts and 1 single, stinging shot on target for  Barca , Chelsea are out. Am I happy that they lost? Definitely. Am I happy that we have  Barca  in the Final?  Hmm . I celebrated like a psycho when  Iniesta  belted it into the top corner (an absolute beaut), but is this what I, and therefore Man United, actually wanted? At least the extra motivating agenda of 'Chelsea and John Terry getting revenge' is wiped out, but then Chelsea we know. As a result, we know that we can beat them. In terms of the way they line-up, they are ...

In 'preperation' for Saturday's epic encounter against Barca, I thought I would reflect on the last time we were in this situation - exactly two years against the exact same opposition. Starting with my first ever post on this blog (aww), here is my reaction to the 3-1 Semi Final win at the Emirates... You Stay Classy Manchester United... Posted by   The Cockney Red WEDNESDAY, 6 MAY 2009 To quote my hero Ron Burgendy, I am in a glass cage of emotion. Although Burgendy was most definitely not referring to waking life as a Football and/or Manchester United fan, He is the worlds greatest prophet of life and wisdom; to question this absolute powerhouse of knowledge would therefore be foolish and ignorant beyond belief. This divine being knows and can tell you EVERYTHING you ever need to know about everything: the ladies, diversity (a Spanish ship),  San Diego (Def: a whales vagina), hair, sharp suits, scotch and jazz-flute. Football, you’d assume, has to come somewhere in the m...