Still Following the Trawler

What. The. Fuck? * *more detailed, less hysterical analysis to follow shortly.

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...

Ahh the football international. A time where the worlds greats can showcase their talent by proudly representing their countries and putting their bitter club feuds aside as they line up alongside their rivals. Poetic, aint it? Me personally, I see the international break as a nuisance. An opportunity for the country to get carried away with unjustified levels of hysteria (with the tabloid press, as always, leading the way) only for England to play their continually flaccid brand of football against whatever random European team they have been drawn against this time. Add to that my obsession with United, I also find it increasingly acts as an inevitable opportunity for our star player to get themselves injured and miss a hefty slot of the season; either that or they have such a shitter that the poor display and subsequent pathetically over-hyped national response ignites their sudden and timely loss of form. Therefore, it's fair to say I'm not a fan. But yesterdays Euro 2012 ...

As those shiny, plastic balls lay patiently in the Euro dome of destiny, is anyone else getting that tingling feeling in their crotchal region in the build up to today’s Champions League Group Draw? No? Umm...me…neither. Anyhoo, as an esteemed member of the highly prestigious ‘Pot 1’, we’re thankfully avoiding Champions Inter, last seasons finalists and lucky cheating bastards Bayern Munich, Barca, Milan as well as Arsenal and Chelsea. We also avoid CL debutants Tottenham until at least the Quarters So here’s a quick butch at the '4 toughies' we could potentially be paired with... Real Madrid : Euro Pedigree: 9 European Cups, 3 Runners-up. Star Player: Cristiano Ronaldo CL Last Season: Last 16 How they qualified this year: 2nd  in La Liga to Barcelona . 2009/10 top scorer:   Higuain, 29 goals Legends:   Raul (who has just left after 16 seasons for Schalke 04) holds the record for most appearances (741) and Champions League goals (66). Di Stefano and Puskas have 13 La L...

The thought going into yesterdays game at Craven Cottage – a place we haven’t had a League win for three seasons – was that avoiding a repeat of last season’s debacle (0-3, Scholes had a shitter etc) would have been ideal. But that naïve view would have altered immediately after a glance at the top of the table that read ‘6 points’ and ‘For: 12 ;  Against: 0 ’ next to Chelsea ’s name. A win, against our most prominent and contemporary bogie team, was therefore nothing less than essential. Well Scholes, the current darling of the Premiership, didn’t have a shitter and continued in his rejuvenated ways by scoring an ‘early-Noughties Scholes’ beauty. But as it was, and how it so avoidably shouldn’t have been, the curse of the cottage (copyright ‘When the Seagulls Follow the Trawler…’ 2010) struck again. And more pressingly, the ‘curse’ of last season’s consistently average brand of football has, at such an early stage, struck again. The immediate and all too obvious post-match crit...

This might seem a tad random, verging on plain inappropriate, but BASICALLY it recently occurred to me while upgrading my phone that I took a copious amount of photos during my year at Old Trafford last season (my first season as a ticket holder). Anyway, they're late, but I don't care. Here are my pics from 2009/2010 ... My Seat - vs Birmingham City (1-0) . August 16th ...and view. Pre-match. The Game. Manc derby (4-3) . September 20th vs Everton (3-0) . 21st November In the North Stand for the Leeds Cup game (0-1) . January 3rd vs Hull City (4-0) . January 23rd Beckham's return (4-0) . March 10th Post-match. After the City game. vs CSKA (3-3) . November 3rd Last game of the season . May 9th

£7million for an unknown playing in the third tier of Portuguese football? Scott at Republik of Mancunia spells out exactly what we all think of Fergies claims that their's ‘ no value in the market ’ now. Read Mike Norrish at the Telegraph's claim that Wazza’s on the decline (for England , anyway), and that Capello’s focus should be on ‘fixing’ him rather than falling out with Becks. After Giggsy’s beaut against Newcastle on Monday – confirming this as his 19th  consecutive season scoring in the Premier League – the Telegraph look back at Ryan’s 5 best goals . Another Scott one here. I was literally creasing my pants at the responses  to this picture in RoM's competition: Personal favourites: daveob82   says: I need an adult! vika09   says: Shh Shh. Where you’re from, this is legal. shabadu84   says: Smith: Oh Chicharito, my precious, I am so happy that you have joined me in England. I’ve been watching you in the World Cup you know. You were magnificent. I alw...