Still Following the Trawler

2006/07. Viva Ronaldo. After bringing only one new player in in the summer, we incredibly – and brilliantly – managed to regain our Premiership crown after 4 years of near-misses and resignation to the fact that nothing – other than a lot of money – can stop the Abramovic machine. Carrick’s £18million move was clearly the finishing piece of Ferguson’s latest puzzle that saw youth – Ronaldo, Rooney – and experience – Giggs, Scholes and Solskjaer – combine brilliantly with his efficient holding play and immense passing ability. The defence need a shout here as well, as Rio was as solid as ever and Vidic and Evra improved on their ineffectual debut season that so nearly labelled them as flops…just imagine if Sir Alex lost faith in these two?? Nobody thought we could do it; there was no way Fergie could muster up yet another Championship winning side after Chelski’s financial domination, yet he did in imperious fashion to once again sit at the top of the pile. …in other news, Van Nistelro...

I have always prided myself on being almost the antithesis of a red-tinted United supporter; one who constantly replaces gloating ignorance fuelled by the success of the past with genuine realism and understanding of the current game. I will always maintain a respect for our past achievements and the clubs stature, but this will never - and should never - interfere with my perspective or analysis at our current state. As a result however, I have been criticised all too often about my somewhat negative, defeatist attitude towards United this season; being constantly told to ‘calm the f**k down’ and being thrown a tirade of statistics regarding our goalscoring record and points this season against last seasons. Nearly every time I have seen United this year (except for our one brilliant performance at White Hart Lane and of course the Manc derby, which was magical) I have written about our ineffectual, lethargic style and inability to propel into a unique gear that will kill teams off; o...

As we prepare for Craven Cottage – the scene of one of most disastrous and so nearly detrimental performances last season – I feel it appropriate to reflect on the season so far and discuss how the side has changed from the side Fulham beat in March who consequently recovered brilliantly to win the third title in a row. More so than any other season, there have been extremely obvious changes made at United. The very same team that excelled and prospered in 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 had been somewhat dismantled. Change, as is often the case when you have a manager as wise and experienced as Sir Alex, is a good thing and something we should always be open to at United seeing as Ferguson has successfully rebuilt, restructured and redefined several Manchester United sides to triumphant effect. However, this time, was there any need whatsoever to change our Championship winning formula? This time, has his decision making and complacency in the summer cost us? Ronaldo’s absence – the main cha...

2005/06. Failure once again in the league in 05/06 marked the first time in the history of the Premiership that we went 3 seasons without winning the title; and to think only five seasons previous we had won our 3rd on the trot. A mixture of complacency and Chelsea’s dominant position in the transfer market (and by dominant position, I mean monopoly) saw us trail yet again and all but confirm the rapid shift in power. All the talk now was about ‘if the end of the 20th century was United’s, then the 21st will be Chelsea’s’. We did however improve on last season’s no-show by coming second in the league on an impressive 83 points - making you believe that our final point’s total may have even been enough to win it another year - and winning the Carling Cup. I remember at the time talking to mates about how gaining an automatic Champions League place and wining a trophy was now classified as a ‘good season’ for United…my how the mighty had fallen. But whereas on-field events ...

United’s goal of the season – scored by Valencia and created by Gibson, Scholes and the genius of Berbatov – rounded off a more than comfortable evening at Old Trafford last night, as United ran away with a 3-0 victory that made us level on points (if only for 24 hours) and nicely pumped up our goal-difference. Wolves looked determined in the first half, even though they  were playing their reserves; as McCarthy made 10 changes to the side that beat Tottenham a few days ago. Y et, once Rooney converted his penalty after Zubar   pointlessly handballed from Gibo’s corner and Vidic scored one of his trademark yet, nowadays, rather rare header (his first goal of the season), you knew there would be no coming back for enthusiastic Wolves. Whatever McCarthy’s point was in his team selection, it failed miserably. His side were effectively battered by half-time, even though the Champions gave yet another  lacklustre performance, and the travelling fans – who chanted ‘we want ou...

2004/05. This was the season that the Abromovic regime really took off. If last season they simply tested the water to see how many extravagant and over-priced ‘we don’t care we can afford them whatever the cost’ signings they could get away with, then this was when it all started to scarily shape-up. Old Trafford’s favourite performer of the previous campaign, Jose Mourinho, was now their manager after just winning the Champions League with the Porto and he took the rent boys to their first title in like 1000 years. As for us? Officially our worst, most unsuccessful campaign of this otherwise extremely flourishing decade. The highlight was the inevitable yet drawn-out capture of Wayne Rooney, who made an immediate and utterly memorable impact at Old Trafford (see ‘Remembered for’ below). We DID reach the FA Cup final for the second year running; only to unfairly lose on penalties in the most undisputedly one-sided final defeat of all time. ...in other news, Alan Smith bashfully made ...

As IF I was going to neglect the Villa game! My review of the game is up on my FourFourTwo blog ; but heres my player ratings for the dissapointing display. Player Ratings. Kuszczak 6.5 , Fletcher 7 , Brown 6 , Vidic 7 , Evra 7 , Anderson (Gibson 68) 7 , Giggs (Owen 46) 6 , Park (Berbatov 63) 6 , Carrick 6 , Valencia 7 ,  Rooney 8