Still Following the Trawler

Van der Sar's return, as reported today after successfully completing 90 unscathed minutes in last night's reserve win at Everton, will be a timely and much appreciated piece of news for many United fans. Foster, lets face it, has done anything but impress during this, his most prolific run as United 'keeper. It has been an error-ridden, forgettable couple of months for Ben and unfortunately for him, although keeping 4 clean-sheets in 10 games (including Europe and the Community Shield), it is the flaws of his game and the evident fragility of his confidence that will be pin-pointed when deliberating his future as United/England no.1. To be between the sticks at one of the best clubs in the world - where performance levels are constantly high and the room for error very low - decision making, control of the defence and, most importantly, genuine ability(!) is beyond essential. Any mistakes will be, and should be, highlighted whenever they occur; and that's exactly what...

As I’m through talking about my own teams worsening state – for at least a week anyway – and am unable to withstand any more of our soul crushing and mistake ridden displays any further (…even if we are only 1 point off top spot…), I thought I’d jump on the band wagon and give the Drogba/Torres dilemma a whirl – especially as 2 of them were up against each other on Sunday, and one of them got completely played off the field. Torres: For someone with so much natural talent – beautiful touch, vision and incredible pace – he is surprisingly rather feeble on the ball. It’s plain to see that he’s not the beefiest, yet his quick feet and even quicker instinct prove his ability to maintain high levels of composure and balance; especially while on the turn, where he's at his most lethal and challenging for the opposition defenders. The ease at which he can be outmuscled is perhaps the only flaw of his game - other than playing for Liverpool and constantly sharing the pitch with Stevie Me -...

...I hate writing this stupid section, as it addresses the worrying questions and problems of the day. Hopefully this'll be the last as we suddenly hit a ridiculous run of form where we comfortably and regularly slot 4/5 past teams and Nani finally proves he is the new Ronaldo...yeh. Foster. After his 2 mistakes against City and arguably 2 yesterday, serious questions now need to be raised about his ability and genuine capacity to be United no.1. For Bent's goal, he was off his line and probably mis-read his positioning, as his post was comletely uncovered and Bent was allowed to score a fairly soft passing shot - hardly a screamer - from a good 25 yards. And as for the second, he showed further immaturity, lack of assurance and confidence...essential traits that need to be sky high if you want to keep goal at United. Schmeical lacking confidence or showing hesitancy? Don't be silly. How often are we going to rely on Ferguson ’s hairdryer to get things going? In the last ...

from Republikofmancunia.org As we approached half time, I heard an old-time Old Trafford regular - well, he had grey hair, so I assumed from that he'd been coming for years...? - say that this is 'probably the worst performance [he'd] ever seen' and that he 'can't remember us ever playing this bad'. Immediately, as I heard this whispered yet powerful complaint of the game's opening half, I thought to myself: ‘I can definitely remember the last time we were this bad’; and I remembered that night in Rome . At least then, the excuses pretty much succeed in disguising our dismal performance: we were up against a masterful team, and you could even argue that the pressure of winning 4 trophies in a season had gotten to us...but what happened yesterday? Why the hell were we having this elderly Irishman's 'worst ever performance' and by far playing our worst football since the 27th May? In that first half I can't remember us creating a meanin...

Will the second return of the season by a United legend who owes everything to Ferguson be as eventful as the first? Quite simply: no. However, I feel that today – and games such as Sunderland at home - will test our ability and power at the front. We are without Owen, obviously a blow (yet according to the big man yesterday, he “certainly won’t be out for three weeks”), however again this should be a welcome chance for us to utilise our other, less favoured/just as talented resources. I do hope he gives Macheda and/or Wellbeck a go today. The reality is that with a forward line worth £60 million, you’re obviously going to want to use and abuse this extortionate amount of talent week-in-week-out, however the youngsters and players with something to prove (the crocked Owen happily slotting into this section) of course need games; so what better than lining them up in front a potential whipping side? I understand this is ridiculously harsh on Sunderland , who find themselves 8 th (...

Carrick celebrating with Berbatov after scoring United's winning second goal. Superb one-touch link up play between Berbatov and Giggs was gracefully rewarded by a stunning shot from just inside the area from Carrick. Although not overly-fluid throughout the game, our passing was positive over all, and Berbatov showed superb vision when he came on to ignite the attack. Good : Berbatov...in the first half. His early introduction changed the shape of the game. I feel he is subtly (in truly typical Berbatov fashion!) becoming one of our most important players. I've heard people say that him and Rooney find it difficult playing together because they are both fighting for the same position and trying to dominant that role through the middle, however Berbatov showed yesterday, with surprisingly high levels of energy and movement off the ball, that he is able to create and dictate play so the whole team can function fluidly on the attack. He either created or contributed to every atta...

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 ...