Still Following the Trawler

GOAL  | David de Gea DEFENSE  | Matteo Darmian, Chris Smalling, Paddy McNair, Daley Blind As we were for last Saturday's draw away to Leicester I presume... Rojo is out with a dislocated shoulder, so Blind will continue at LB. Jones is also still out so McNair will carry on in the centre partnering big Mike Smalling . Darmian , of course, will play on the right in defence. MIDFIELD  | Jesse Lingard,  Morgan Schneiderlin,   Juan Mata, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Ashley Young Now recovered from his brief injury, Lingard has to start again on the left for me. Every time he picks up the ball in midfield he looks bright, energetic and fills us with hope that something decent is about to happen. He's definitely been United's most adventurous player during this rather dreary spell we're currently in the midst of. Now onto the rest of the midfield... Reader's of my blog will know my thoughts on the one-dimensional, oppressive system t...

*LATE MATCH REPORT PART I* #whatfuckingwhat April 28 th , 2007. Everton 2 …..........Stubbs 12, Fernandes 50 United 4 …............O’Shea 61, P.Neville og 68, Rooney 79, Eagles 90 5 th April, 2009. United 3 …..............Ronaldo 14, 80, Macheda 90 Aston Villa 2 …………Carew 30, Agbonlahor 58 25 th April, 2009. United 5 …........... …Ronaldo 57, 68, Rooney 67, 71, Berbatov 79 Tottenham 2 ………Bent 29, Modric 32 In order to win, there needs to be that extra level of desire. But in the season that demands an extra surge of inspiration from those games at the tail end, where you feel pressure mounting as the demands of the season naturally take their toll; every final reserve, from the physical abilities of the team to the undying passion and ability to succeed, have to be utilized. We have done it plenty of times before (see above) and even when it looks as though we are out, and those ignorant haters who clearly haven’t understood the United way begin to shout their mouths off about fragi...

So…THAT’S how our unbeaten start to the season ended! No one saw it coming, and as long as it doesn’t open the floodgates and signifies a beginning to a detrimental losing streak, I don’t think anyone is overly fussed. It was a bit embarrassing – losing to a team planted at the bottom of the league is one thing, but conceding four (in one game) against a team who has scored only four at home (all season) is pretty damn awful. And clearly, as with every shock defeat we have suffered in the Carling Cup over the years (there haven’t been many in recent years), questions were immediately asked over the pedigree and the ability to gel of our new breed. This crop have shown their hunger and ability already this season – Wolves in the Carling Cup and Bursaspor away in the Champions League spring to mind – and therefore any overly harsh criticism is purely that: overly harsh. Especially when you bare in mind the media bashing we got after our last defeat in the Carling Cup, 0-2 at home to ...

Ok, this might be a tad late and utterly pointless (sorry ya'll, but I spent last week getting my tan on in Cyprus * )…better late than never though, right? Besides, I needed something for the files! So, here’s my long overdue look back at the West Ham game on the 28th  August… Rooney’s off the mark. Ahh the wonders of hindsight and punctual writing that’s NOT two weeks late! Straight after the match, knowing me and my overly enthusiastic style, I would’ve hailed Rooney’s penalty – his first of the season and first goal (including Internationals) for six months – as the trigger for him to regain form, get the shitty summer out of his system and begin a run of  non-stop goalscoring form. Well, to give him credit, with his goal against Switzerland on Tuesday it is two in two…but who in the world would have predicted the plethora of shit he’s had to deal with in the last week? Somehow I don’t think a penalty against lowly West Ham is enough to kick start his season after the rec...

A slow, often lethargic start from both sides suggested that a token 'scrappy win for United' would be the final outcome; regardless of which United would come out on top. But this nonchalant encounter was suddenly and rather unexpectedly transformed into a masterclass of forms. Berbatov's vision, Valencia's ingenuity and Rooney's sheer clinical finishing ability saw us take the lead beautifully; rejecting the preconceived sloppy aura of the match and suddenly sparking us into gear. As soon as the deadlock was broken, you felt there was no coming back from West Ham; and equally no stopping United. Our next, most meaningful chance came literally seconds after the restart. A sweeping, free-moving attack eventually ended up at the feet of the wanting Park, who's curling effort was unluckily smashed against the woodwork. That undoubtedly set us up nicely for the rest of the match, and so the second came 10 minutes later to all but end the tie. The exact same format ...

Pretty much exactly what it says on the tin. Enjoy! Football Talent Spotter: How United Will Beat West Ham

TURNING POINTS, in this modern game, define a season. It is not enough to simply be good or maintain a 'Championship winning' standard all season long. You need to be granted a little spot of luck, and this in turn, when looking back at the key incidences and events, will act as the focal moment of you campaign. On Saturday afternoon, United cruised to a convincing 4-0 victory at Upton Park. As important as these wins are, the lingering, disappointing reality is that even though we are doing our job, that is not quite good enough. After falling 5 points off the top with the defeat at Stamford Bridge, we are constantly playing catch against the in-form and annoyingly formidable Chelsea; as it seems whatever we can do (or we think we can do), they can do better.  So, come 7:30pm, when Chelsea's late match against City would have finished, they would presumably resume their healthy lead at the top with a victory at Eastlands; and in doing so, e...