Still Following the Trawler

Potentially the worst, most pivotal night of the season? The impact of defeat in Munich – bad although not detrimental at this stage – was heavily enhanced by the fact our best player limped out of the stadium on crutches and is now ‘awaiting the results of a scan’. Never ever a good thing to hear. Munich , for their efforts, deserved something out of the game, and in fairness  a 1-0 victory - after Rooney's 2nd minute volley put us ahead -  would have been a tad unfair. Even without Robben they were formidable in midfield; with Ribery simply mesmerising at times and Olic constantly threatening our back four. Yet as much as their resilience genuinely deserved a goal, our strength and composure at the back was nothing short of brilliant. From Neville (who had the enjoyable job of covering Ribery all game) to Fletcher; it felt as though everyone chipped in whenever the pressure was mounting. Unfortunately, our brave defending was not enough to walk away as victos. Firstly, Nevi...

After stupidly claiming yesterday that we were nicely boosted by Mr. Rooney passing his fitness test (bloody 'The Times Sport' predicted line-up!!), we were in fact NOT boosted by Mr. Rooney passing his fitness test at all. So in the absence of our top scorer, who better to capitalise on the goals than top scorers’ no.2 and no.3: Berbatov and o.g. It was the potent o.g. that struck first; yet, as always, it was all thanks to some awesome work by his team-mates. Nani’s vision and intuition played in the darting and forever sprightly Giggs, who whipped in a ball so treacherous that o.g. (this time in the form of Jlloyd Samuel) simply couldn’t miss. The game was still a bit edgy up until then (probably represented by the fact it took us nearly 40 minutes to find the net), yet it could’ve been so much worse had 2 of last seasons most reliable players not stepped up when it mattered. Firstly Vidic, who was generally immense all game (sorry, no real example there) and secondly, the ...

With games against Chelsea, Citeh and Tottenham still ahead of us, the last thing we need are points dropped today in one of the so-called easier fixtures of the run-in. But, as we all realise in this eclectic league, the words ‘easy fixtures’ are immediately synonymous with two others: ‘banana’ and ‘skin’. Owen Coyle’s not exactly setting things alight over there however it’s worth remembering that at this stage of the campaign, very few teams have nothing to play for. Bolton , as well as having a knack of enjoying themselves to a few points here and there against the bigger boys, are not quite safe yet (8 points off the drop with 7 games to go). Winning points today should all but keep them safe; and to call it doable is hardly ludicrous, especially with a manager who’s already beaten us this season. A hearty bonus for us though is the presence of a certain half-decent striker in our line-up; with Wazza, originally a doubt for today, seemingly fit enough to be involved. On a slight s...

Let’s face it, Liverpool, in the year (THEIR year) that they were supposed to halt United’s title no.19, have been nothing short of shocking. But given we’re talking about the team who, before Christmas, won only 2 games out of 15 (the 2 were against us and Everton), it’s also fair to say that, as part of their almighty shiteness, their inconsistent displays mean they apparently only play well against the teams they hate. Cue United at Old Trafford; cue their cunning ‘4-1 to the murderers’ chants…and cue Torres taking only 5 minutes to score. Had the goal won them the game, or opened the scoring on an eerily familiar home defeat, it would have, to the delight of that vile mob, been highlighted by everyone who thinks they have something worthwhile to say about football, as a perfect representation of United’s inability to deal with Torres and his clinical, well-timed and truly majestic goalscoring ability. In summary: let’s all jizz our loud over Carragher’s bit on the side. The goal wa...

You felt that a game like this - starting off slowly and massively frustrating us for the entirety of the first 45 minutes - would simply turn out to be 'one of those days'. However in contrast, Fulham's brave resilience was just not enough against the current might of in-form and in the mood United. Come full-time, we came away with a handsome and thoroughly deserved scoreline thanks to Rooney's 24th, 25th and Berbatov's 10th of the season. A response was vital, not only after the annihilation at Craven Cottage in December, but also due to last nights results that saw Chelsea resume their lead at the top and Arsenal leap-frog us to claim 2nd spot. A strong, convincing performance however - showing that Wednesday's result was neither a fluke nor a walkover due to the utter shiteness of the weakened opposition - was just as important. Rooney and, more so, Berbatov worked perilously all afternoon and when Rooney finally broke the deadlock after 30 seconds of the r...

As we all remember, it’s fair to say Beckham left under a slight cloud with regards to the ambiguity of the move. The fall out with Ferguson was merely speculated and therefore never legitimately declared as the reason for his departure, nor was the old ‘tactical change’ chestnut. In fact, nothing was really said about it; and then suddenly the excitement, potential and eventual genius of his replacement as no.7 disguised the issue completely. But what he always wanted, and what the fans justly deserved, was the opportunity for him to say a proper goodbye. As his superstardom rose to colossal heights, he could’ve easily forgotten about his boyhood club in search of bigger and more fame-friendly things; highlighted quite profoundly by a girl at work saying today that she had no idea Beckham ever played for United, she just thought he played for Madrid . Yet he always held the reds close to his heart, and when the occasion arose, it was all a bit too much…for all of us. His bottom lip qu...

Ok, perhaps the banner states it the other way round; but I'm sure few would disagree that United's proud, trophy-laden history is always more profound than the misguided hatred and jealousy dished out by the magnitude. This beautiful snipett of our history - that introduces an interview with the granddaughter of one of United's founding fathers, John Henry Davies - highlights an aspect of our earliest history that is unknown by many yet eerily relevant to the current situation: the detrimental financial state and debt ridden struggle of Newton Heath. The determination and selflessness of Davies, to get Newton Heath out of debt in 1901 to consequently, 6 years later, see them crowned Champions of England for the first time, quite  simply started it all off. And his intentions for Manchester United, intentions so utterly detached from those of the Glazers, are so powerfully summed up with these words: 'A team of Manchester men to make Manches...