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Will Resume

2012-01-24T05:46:00.000-08:00

Match reports for Premier League will resume as usual now I have a) a new computer and b) have sorted my blogger account out

One Defensive Mistake...(at Arsenal, 05.01.11)

2011-05-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

Hello,

Derek in for Dan again.

If you do not count the handball from Vidic, there was one defensive mistake in the game which counted for a goal. All thanks to Park who, for some reason, tracked back somewhat and then just stopped and decided to watch the game along with the rest of us allowing Ramsey the space to shoot and score.

The 1-0 has now blown the Premier League title race wide open as United's lead remains at just three points to Chelsea, whom they face next week at Old Trafford.

Coming off a loss, people asked me what do you expect from Arsenal. I said I expect possession at home, fancy plays but not a lot of real chances and that is exactly what happened. Arsenal dominated possesion in the first half (something like 67%) but really did not have any real chances save the Vidic handball. By the way, we do not know if that would have landed on Van Persie's head so one could say that was not a real challenge either. United's defense were solid, closing shooting lanes and intercepting passes. The problem was, our midfield could not hold onto the ball. I will say that Arsenal showed more guts than usual. I have watched 17 Arsenal games (besides the United ones) and I, like a lot of pundits, believe that Arsenal lack something special, maybe heart and confidence. Do I think Arsenal played well: yes and no. They did not create much even after the goal when United were stretched. On every Arsenal counter attack, United's defence pushed them wide, allowing players to get back into position. Personally, I think the lack of Nasri and Fabragas were missing after the first goal on the counters.

United just lacked the creativity in attack. That was the problem. No Giggs? Maybe that is the problem but Anderson is definately a problem. There was a point where Anderson could have ran into open space in the box but he hesitated. That hesitation have Arsenal the time to close the space and Anderson has no lane to shoot. He is lacking in confidence and ability which allows for the defensive mid-field to push up because he is not afraid of Anderson coming up. Giggs always looks like he is going to attack and gets into the minds of the defense.

Marks:
Park - C (for inconsistancy)
Hernandez - D (did nothing)
Anderson - D (do something please)

Now, as for Vidic: that was stupid and could have easily been a red card. My question is why did he do it? Did he know he could not reach the ball with his head and felt Van Persie could score?

Anyway, Sunday = big game.

Derek

United Step Closer to League Title (v. Everton, 04.23.11)

2011-04-23T18:12:00.001-07:00

Hello,

Dan has a calf injury...strange he and Berba have the same injury. Hmm....

Manchester United has take a huge step towards regaining a record 19th league title as Javier Hernandez headed home an 84th-minute winner.

United dominated Everton for most of the game save a Jack Rodwell strike from the edge of the area that took a deflection off Evans and was heading for the bottom corner until Edwin van der Sar got the slightest touch.

Wayne Rooney has the man of the match again, stepping on every single part of the Old Trafford pitch and linking up well with the match winner from Mexico. United also rested Evra (who came on as a sub), Carrick and Vidic ahead of the CL slash against Shalke 04. Anderson, again, had a so-so game along with Gibson who could not hit the broad side of a barn although I did disagree with Sir Alex's decision to take Anderson off rather than Gibson. Gibson was playing the sweeping role Carrick usually resides and his absence was felt after the United goal in my opinion.

Four games left and six points up on Chelsea (Arsenal play Bolton on Sunday).

If you consider the last two games against Blackburn and Blackpool a certain six points, then all United need is a single point against either Arsenal or Chelsea.

Feeling pretty good about the title.

See you Tuesday for Champions League.

Cheers.

Derek

United Draw Against Spirited Newcastle (at Newcastle, 04.19.11)

2011-04-23T18:03:00.001-07:00

Hello,

Dan is on the bench again...like Berba.

Manchester United drew scoreless with a strong, spirited Newcastle United side at St. James Park. The United side from Manchester were denied on two occasions before the break by fine saves from Tim Krul, who replaced the injured Steve Harper.
Newcastle were the better side in the first half, controlling the midfield and tearing through the United defense.

Manchester United picked it up in the second half and Giggs missed an open net after a great pass from Patrice Evra with 69 minutes gone.

Both teams also had penalty appeals with Peter Lovenkrands claiming to be tripped by Anderson and Hernandez, who was booked for diving, as he was challenged by Danny Simpson in injury time.

My biggest issue with this game was Anderson. His lack of attacking prowess allowed Newcastle to surround Wayne Rooney. Newcastle were not afraid of Anderson running to the penalty area and shooting and it allowed them to have three players in a triangle position around Rooney. While Wayne still found areas to move around, he could not find room to shoot. Anderson is a disappointment to me and I feel his time is coming to an end. With the Fletcher illness and Scholes suspension, he will get some starts and he better to something with it.

Overall, disappointing but ok result.

Nice to Newcastle survive even at the expence of my pool :)

Thanks,

Derek

Chelsea's 12th Man Cost United (at Chelsea, 03.01.11)

2011-03-04T08:00:00.001-08:00

Hello,

Derek here subbing for Dan who may be too angry to review match.

In a very exciting, free-flowing, hard hitting and controversial match, Chelsea increased its unbeaten streak against United at the bridge to 9 games as they beat United 2-1. United looked like the better team until about 38 minutes in and opened the scoring with a Wayne Rooney, outside-the-box strike, beating Cech on the near post. Luiz equalized off an Essian free-kick and Lampard hammered home a penalty kick called on Smalling.

I could go through this match in more detail but I have an opinion I would like to share. I got an email right after the game from a fan of another team. He said:

"Manchester United lose a game...must have been bad refereeing. They can't just lose a game. That's unpossible."

I would like to challenge fans out there. I will say point blank that, after watching the game again the next day, I will agree with every card and major call/card against United. Also, Chelsea played well and are a good team.

With pen/paper in hand, counted the amount of calls v. non-calls for both teams. After subtracting the difference, United had 14 calls more than Chelsea. Of those, 5could go either way. 2 were really bad calls in the opinion of myself and the rule book however the referee may not have seen it. The other 7, the referee was in a good position. I re-played each of them over and over and I really, objectively, cannot see how the call either did not go United’s way or a card did not come out.

Was I mad the first or second time Carrick was kicked? Nope. Was I mad the third time he was kicked and no card? A little. Am I made because the referee missed the Terry hand ball in the box in the few minutes of the game? No, because referees are human. They made mistakes. One mistake or even six small ones do not bother me. Missing 1-2 big ones do not even bother me.

My challenge to the fans out there who say United supporters always blame the referee when they lose is this: give me a number or at what point should a fan become angry? 4 bad calls? 7 bad calls? 14 bad calls? Please post your opinion.

Rant over.

Derek

Points Dropped & Injury at Bolton (09.28.10)

2010-09-28T16:47:00.000-07:00

Hello,

Chancellor Dan had to leave mid-way through the first half so I (Derek) am back for this week.

As much as I hate 7am kick-offs, I hate dropping points more. United went to Bolton after both Chelsea and Arsenal lost, only to barely hang on to draw at the Reebok. Worse than that, Rooney went out with an ankle injury and is now listed back in 2-3 weeks. So what happened?

Let's begin, shall we.

United has had defensive problems since the beginning of the season and have now conceded nine goals in five league games and trail leaders Chelsea by three points. Right off the bat, Kat Knight exposed the United defence to take the lead, only 6 minutes in. Where was Evra on the post you ask? I am still wondering what the hell happened there. Next, Nani dazzled to level the score but Bolton came back in the second half when Petrov was left un-marked and scored off of Fletcher. Moments later, Bolton could have easily taken a 3-1 lead when Elmander had a break-away but shot it over the bar. Nani later crossed to Michael Owen who seems to be scoring more goals off his head lately to give United the draw.

To be fair, Bolton played a good game and I do not think it is fair to say "United did not play well". It takes away from Bolton's mid-field and defensive play which was pretty solid except the Nani goal.

Rooney was taken off for what would later be revealed as an ankle injury. He will be out 2-3 weeks.

So dropped points = Derek mad.

This is an interesting if not scary time to be a United fan. It will be tough in Spain and we have another road game against Sunderland on the weekend. These are the games were things can be turned around or keep drawing and you fall behind.

See you on Saturday.

Derek

No Rooney = Dropped Points Again (at Everton, 09.11.10)

2010-09-12T07:05:00.001-07:00

Hello,

Dan is in the mist of a transfer so I will handle the report once again.

I think I have used this title once before. The facts speak for themselves. Without Rooney in the line-up, United drops points. Let's look at the numbers from last year and this year since his injury away at Bayern.

Apr. 03 - v. Chelsea - LOST - NO ROONEY - 3 points
Apr. 11 - at Blackbrurn - TIE - NO ROONEY - 2 points
Apr. 17 - v. City - WIN - w/ ROONEY
Apr. 24 - v. Spurs - WIN - NO ROONEY - +3 points
May 2 - at Sunderland - WIN - w/ ROONEY
May 9 - v. Stroke - WIN - w/ ROONEY
Aug. 16 - v. Newcastle - WIN w/ ROONEY
Aug. 22 - at Fulham - TIE - NO ROONEY - 2 points
Aug. 28 - v. West Ham - WIN w/ ROONEY
Sept. 11 - at Everton - TIE - NO ROONEY - 2 points

Totals:
- 10 Games
- with Rooney: 5 games, full points
- without Rooney: 5 games; one win, one loss, three ties (-6 points)

These numbers do not even reflect the 3 goals Bayern scored at OT after Rooney re-injured himself and was no threat and were dumped out of the CL. They also do not reflect the fact that the one game United won against Spurs without Rooney, Tottenham had beaten Chelsea and Arsenel in back-to-back games in less than one week. One could make the argument that the odds were against Spurs to win that one, especially at OT.

Let's talk about the Everton game.

Everton played well in the first half, keeping possession and pretty much dominating the mid-field. Former United keeper, Howard has a great game making some critical saves. Everton scored first as Evra made a huge mistake to allow Arteta to charge in on goal. While Van der Sar stopped the shot, Pienaar hit at the far post. United responded with a great pass to Fletcher in the box so converted. United started the second half well, with Vidic heading in his first goal in what seems to be a while and Berbatov running another great Scholes ball to score.

Game over right? Nope.

Cahill headed home from Baines' cross in injury-time before setting up Arteta himself to game the point. Defensive meltdown? Evans was in front Cahill for the second Everton goal, that is for sure.

So United drop more points with Chelsea and Arsenal winning.

This Tuesday, Champions League against Rangers. Should be a good atmosphere at THE SCOT'S CORNER with both supporter clubs there.

We are also raffling off the new United home jersey next Sunday against LIVERPOOL.

Cheers.

Derek

Solid Win Against West Ham (08.21.10)

2010-08-30T16:18:00.000-07:00

Hello,

Like Mascherano, our usual PL match report writer, Dan Berriman, is in the middle of a move so I will take over one more time. United defeated West Ham 3-0 in what could be described as solid but not inspiring. Rooney returned, playing the full 90 minutes and getting back on the goal scoring sheet, along with Nani and Dimitar Berbatov.

The bottom of the table Hammers looked, as a whole, unsure and defensively, shaky. Jonathan Spector fouled Ryan Giggs in the 33rd-minute to bring Rooney to the penalty spot. Damn that flu bug or else Rooney would have given United the full points last week. Nani had an up and down game, missing easy passes/crosses, making inspired passes, to getting into open space to miss as well as score a goal. Berbatov has started the season well and United fans have to hope that the pressure on him will result in goals...in key matches.

Fletcher had what has to be one of his worst games in recent memory. I cannot remember the last time the Scottish international has this rough a time. Wayward passes, giving away the ball. It was weird to watch. Evans had a better game although I wonder if Cole is so bad right now that we cannot tell? Hard to tell whether Evans did a good job if he was never really threatened. Hmm.

Now, what about Capello. I am pretty sure I saw him in the crowd at the Blackburn game so I guess he drove down the "street" to watch United. With Lampard out, maybe he made a trip to the locker-room to try and get Scholes to play in the Euro qualifyers. Capello should worry about his mid-field so Rooney does not have to run all over the pitch to help out. Wait a second, this is a United match report. Why I am wasting time talking about England?

While I think Chelsea is the team to beat, they have had the easiest start to any PL season I have seen for a while. United will get West Brom, Wigan and Stoke later. By the way, United has never lost to Wigan ever. Look it up.

Hopefully Dan will be back in two weeks.

Cheers.

Derek

Rooney-Less United = 1 Point Again (at Fulham, 08.22.10)

2010-08-23T08:25:00.000-07:00

Hello,

Our PL writer and chancellor, Dan Berriman, is almost ready to return.

As I mentioned in the previous entry, no Rooney = problems. The real problem is not talent as the squad has tons of that. Let's see: Berbatov, Herdandez, Fletcher, Giggs, Scholes, Vidic, Evra, O'Shea, Valencia, Park, Nani. I see a problem which happened in this game, the Bayern Munich CL game after Rooney left with injury and the Blackburn game.

Determination, energy and belief...in tough, tight, grinding games.

When United gets scored upon or when the match is tight, with no Rooney in sight, the team seems to lack determination, energy and belief. At least in the last month or so of last season and this game. When Fulham's Simon Davies scored to even the game, United seemed to lack in determination for 20 minutes and allowed Fulham to took control. There was no spark to the flow of play until Giggs came on but that fizzled quickly. The second half reminded me of the Blackburn game. Same kinda feel.

What about belief? Ask Nani. Fuhlam defender Hangeland punished the missed penalty (and atoned for an earlier blunder) by hitting a header past Edwin van der Sar. What scares me more is the boss actually said: "I should have let Giggs take the penalty". Yikes. The boss is not even sure what to do without Rooney.

With Rooney, there is psychological change to the game. Berba does not terrorize defenders like Rooney and Hernandez, while he did ok in the first part of the first half, disappeared and did not seem to pull defenders with him the same way Rooney does. Rooney also shows a lot of emotion out on the pitch, demands a lot of himself and his fellow team-mates. Where in yesterday's game did you see any emotion from the United players in the second half? Where was the general screaming at his players to perform better. Where was the energy?

I was going to say Vidic has the kind of energy to bring up the team but he was too busy supporting Evans who had one of his worst games in recent memory. It was scary how bad Evans was in this match and something to think about when United faces West Ham next week.

All credit to Fulham who battled through the first half to equalize, go down a goal again (and almost a penalty goal) to level the game just before added time. Fulham manager Mark Hughes deserves credit along with his players.

United need to solve the Rooney-less problem if they wish to not lose the PL by a point.

Next week, we are raffling a women's 2008 home jersey. Be there.

DN

United Beats the Other United (v. Newcastle, 08.16.10)

2010-08-23T08:04:00.000-07:00

Hello,

Dan, our regular PL match report writer, is still injured from last season so I will continue. He is due back in the squad in a couple of weeks.

Memo to TSN2 or whoever the feed is coming from: let's get our act together. I cannot really comment on the first half as the feed was basically broken. We got a few second of action, then, the picture would freeze.

While Berbatov scored the opening goal, it was Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs who stole the show...again. How United is going to replace Scholes and Giggs is entire blog entry. Darren Fletcher doubled United's advantage shortly before the break but it was substitute Giggs who extended his remarkable record of scoring in every Premier League season when he hit the back of net off of another sublime pass from fellow legend Scholes', beating Newcastle keeper Steve Harper.

The Rooney bashing continues - here is a quote from SOCCERNET:

"The only real disappointment for United was another blank day for Wayne Rooney, who has now gone 13 matches for club and country since he last scored, against Bayern Munich in March. Questions will continue to be asked of Rooney until he starts to show the form that established himself as one of the world's leading players last season. His performances in South Africa were almost too bad to be believed, the nadir coming in England's terrible draw against Algeria in Cape Town."

What is Rooney supposed to do? Score in every game? It is just one freaking game. Remember the community shield, where he played in the position he scores goals (unlike with England)? He terrorized the Chelsea back-line, often pulling 2 and sometimes 3 defenders on him on almost every play when off the ball. He out-ran the Chelsea defender and made a great pass to Valencia who was open because the other defender was drawn towards Wayne because he was worried about what Wayne could do one-on-one with his partner.

I think United's big problem is winning games when Rooney is not on the pitch or on the bench. See the CL Bayern game (second half) and Blackburn last year. Rooney does not have to score to have a huge impact on the game. Unless he is asked to run all over the place, mid-field, defense like with England.

Manchester United looked pretty solid in this game, save a Carroll free-header that could have easily went in. Unlike the Soccernet commentators, I do not point fingers at Carroll. You see, it is hard for a goal scorer to hit the back of the net when the ball is going the other direction 70% of the game. Carroll, like any striker, needs support and those players were always going backwards to defend.

Next week, a tough away game against Fulham.

DN

Reds Win But Lose (v. Stoke, 05.09.10)

2010-05-19T10:33:00.001-07:00

Hello,

Derek back again.

I wonder how many other 4-0 home wins would be considered such as downer. With Chelsea pounding Wigan, spirits were down at Old Trafford and at The Scot's Corner. Goals from Darren Fletcher, Ryan Giggs, a Danny Higginbotham own goal and Park Ji-sung were cheered but the enthusiasm went further and further downhill as Chelsea started scoring more goals.

Wayne Rooney started and, once again when he starts, the team plays better. Burba missed more opportunities and was heckled again by the supporters at the club.

Members started talking about where it all went wrong and it was not easy to pinpoint. Losing seven games is normally an insurmountable handicap but in a switchback season such as this one, it was not necessarily so. Was it the defeats to Chelsea? The second one hurt but what about the draw at Blackburn? That really hurt.

For me, the defensive injuries before Christmas undoubtedly played a major part. I mean, Carrick and Fletcher (our best midfielder) was playing defense. Hard to win games when your entire defensive line, save Evra, was injured and your best midfielder is playing defense. Can you imagine how many more goals Rooney would have had if his midfield and defense were healthy?

This may not be a RED TILL DEAD thing to say but hats off to Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti who has proven himself in his first season.

For United, a team that lost the best player in the league and another guy (what was his name again, he wears blue), they stood talk. One trophy and one point behind history.

Till next year.

Derek

Uninspired v. Reality (at Sunderland, 05.02.10)

2010-05-06T06:46:00.000-07:00

Hello,

With Dan on the bench, seemingly with an injury now, I (Derek) am back with the match report. I would like to start by saying I was correct when I wrote on facebook that Rooney was fine. Sir Alex is playing mind games. We have seen this before.

For this one, I want to talk about a lot of reviews I read on this match being uninspired. I would like to give our readers a reality check. I know United fans expect a lot but we have to remember, this is the premier league. Going away in the premier may be one of the hardest tasks in sports, even to clubs in the bottom half. The Canadian club's review called the game "uninspired". I would like to back to two years ago where United seem to win every game 1-0 and wonder if they called that entire season uninspired when we won the CL and PL. I mean, 1-0 away is a good result and it is something United has gone very frequently over the last two or three years. Reality check.

Now, let's talk Berbatov. He missed three, from the fans perspective, "should have been goals". In the moment, as a fan, worried about a draw, I was upset. Moments after every miss, I felt sorry for him. Here is a world-class player who scores goals for club and Spurs in previous years, really struggling. The fans get on him real quick. Even I yelled: "walk back to Manchester" when he was benched. Upon thinking about it, I wonder whether he is not playing the position or area he was when he was scoring 20+ goals for Spurs. He is better in the rover/striker position but he seems to spend most of the time upfront with Rooney moving around. Maybe Sir Alex is not playing him to his game. Maybe. I do not know. The thing with goal scorers and great players is confidence. You lose it, you are in a world of hurt. Right now, Berbatov has lost his confidence and perhaps a vacation away from United in the summer is a good thing.

Sunderland under Bruce is a good team but needs some key spots next year if they intend to improve on their table position. They lack a balanced mid-field which, in this league and modern soccer in my opinion, wins games and trophies. That being said, they played well at home while United messed up several changes. Nani stepped up again and scored to keep United in the title chase with one game to go.

So, United plays Stoke at home while Chelsea plays Wigan at home on the last day of the season. United win, all they need is a draw or loss from Chelsea. If I was the coach of Wigan, playing at SB, I would tell my wingers to get in the box as often as possible. Chelsea defenders are not playing "great" right now and have some nerves in the box. United will win at home.

Liverpool rant coming soon in Red Rants.

Cheers and hopefully Dan will be fit for the last report of the year.

See you Sunday.

Derek

Reds Dominate Spurs Save 10 Minutes (04.25.10)

2010-04-27T13:29:00.001-07:00

Hello,

Derek here, subbing for Dan.

Going into this game, United wanted to put the pressure back on Chelsea and they did, beating Spurs 3-1. Spurs came into this game hot, beating two London teams in less than a week but was it too much to ask for them to come to Old Trafford and beat United?

United was 2-0 this season against Spurs (3-1 PL and 2-0 in League Cup) going into this game. Spurs do not have a great record at Old Trafford. United has won 8 out of last 10 at Old Trafford and have a great overall record against Spurs in the PL ( 25-7-3). I do not look at overall records. I like to know what has happened lately. For me, the Spurs of late play a similar game as United. They play a fast, passing game, using wingers to set-up plays and push central mid-field players forward. The problem is against United is that United is better. That may sound like a "Red Till Dead" thing to say but it is true. Player for player, United is better or equal to their counter-part. So if Spurs want to play the same game, go right a head. Want proof:

Evra > Bale
Rafael = Ekoota
Scholes > Palacios
Fletcher > Huddlestone (a waste of characters even typing this one)
Giggs > Modric
Nani > Bently
Valencia > Defoe
Burba > Pavlyuchenko (yes, P has 5 goals while B has 12)

The first half was dominated by United save one or two Spurs set-plays in United territory. The camera was pretty much stationary in the Spurs half. The second half started well with a Giggs penalty, his first PK in a premier league game. Yes, you heard that right. I could not believe it when I read the stat myself but it is true. He has taken PK in cup tie competitions but never in the PL league. I would chalk it up to having guys with Bruce, Cantona and Ronaldo on your team at the same time. Credit to Spurs as they made some changes and it seemed to work as they fought back to tie the game via a Ledley King header as he was pretty much on top of Rafael. For about 10 minutes, United look shell-shocked but Nani took control with a great go-a-head goal and Giggs put in his second PK goal later to cement the win.

No Wayne Rooney as reports say he has a groin injury. By the way, I am not 100% convinced of this. I mean, Fergie bluffed Rooney this week to get in the minds of the Spurs. He could be doing it again and there is no injury save the ankle or perhaps the groin injury is not severe.

Chelsea won their game with a ton of goals against Stoke at home leaving United behind by only a point. Next week, Chelsea play Liverpool away and United play Sunderland away.

See you on Sunday @ 11am. Hey, we can finally have some beers.

Derek

Need Synonyms For Terrible (at Blackburn - 04.11.10)

2010-04-12T09:42:00.001-07:00

Hello,

Derek substituting for Dan who had parenting duty on the weekend. We granted him compassionate leave.

Ok, so I need synonyms for "terrible": abhorrent, appalling, atrocious, awe-inspiring, awesome, awful, beastly, dangerous, desperate, dire, disastrous, disturbing, dread, dreaded, dreadful, extreme, fearful, frightful, ghastly, gruesome, harrowing, hateful, hideous, horrendous, horrid, horrifying, inconvenient, loathsome, monstrous, obnoxious, odious, offensive, petrifying, poor, repulsive, revolting, rotten, serious, severe, shocking, unfortunate, unnerving, unpleasant, unwelcome, vile.

Some of the words to describe United's performance away against Blackburn Rovers with, essentially, the league on the line in some ways. Where to start: well, I have to start with Burba. I heard a member of the club say this comment at the end of the game: "could this be his last start for United". He remarked that Burba may play a role in one of the remaining four games however he might not be with United next season. Perhaps a bit harsh however one cannot dismiss the lack critical play from the Bulgarian international. He has second to a clearly not 100% Wayne Rooney in the Champions League. He did not produce at Chelsea knowing in advance Rooney would not play. He also knew the team was Rooney-less against Blackburn but did not produce.

With strikers, I have a lot of sympathy because if the mid-field and defence are not playing well, how can strikers get the service they need? With the Chelsea game, especially in the first half, United's midfield and defence were struggling so I was on-the-fence regarding whether or not we should point the finger. Against Blackburn however, United dominated position and could not produce the goal. I am a fan of Burbatov and believe he is a world class player however should we as fans point the finger at him or point the finger at Sir Alex and the coaching staff for not integrating his style of play into United's style of play? Should we buy a player like Berbatov, with a specific style of play that made him a world-class player and expect him to change? I am not sure.

What I am sure about about is the nails in the coffin. If Chelsea wins on Tuesday, that will be one of three final nails in the winning-the-league coffin. A Chelsea win would put them 4-points up with four games to go. We also seem to be forgetting that if Arsenal wins their 34th game this week, they go into 2nd.

You send me your synonym for "terrible" to describe United's passing this weekend.

With the title on the line, I expect more from United.

Cheers.

Derek

United Cruise Against Hammers (v. West Ham - 02.23.10)

2010-02-26T10:34:00.000-08:00

Hello,

With a couple defensive hiccups, United seemed to control the game to defeat West Ham by a score of 3-0. It was another very impressive game from Wayne Rooney who, despite some questionable service at times, still managed two goals, bringing his season scoring to 27. Even Owen managed a goal and I was glad the game was delayed as the swears would have been outrageous coming from a certain club member. Let's call her Kate for now.

Foster returned and gave a good performance, even one good save. It is too bad he messed up so badly at the beginning of season but he had to go. Darron Gibson had a good game however he had several bad passes and many missed opportunities, especially with an open Rooney and Burba here and there. But one has to praise Dimitar Berbatov and Antonio Valencia given the Bulgarian's excellent crossfield pass and an even better volleyed cross to the far post to a waiting Rooney was the man who had shifted into space. This is a something perhaps some United fans take for granted: Rooney's ability to move around, get in to space and perhaps most important, bring defenders with in, opening up lanes for players like Scholes, Fletcher and Gibson. Rooney = great team player.

I like West Ham and think they are a fun team to watch. Gianfranco Zola, hopefully, is starting to move forward with managing. Sometimes great players do not make great managers but I hope Zola is given time.

Oh yeah, Anderson is out for the season.

See you next time.

Derek (subbing for Dan)