The scoreline did not flatter the reigning Champions but that isn’t to say Fulham didn’t have their moments or that it was a procession – far from it. It was the Red Devils who fashioned the first opening, though, when neat one-two’s between Darren Fletcher and Berbatov led to the Scot caught in two minds when clean through.With the goal gaping and Rooney waiting, Fletcher unselfishly squared but Fulham’s defenders reacted quick to snuff out the opportunity.

There were, occasionally, moments of deliberation where indecision almost proved fatal – the first instance, with Neville giving the ball away, saw Clint Dempsey drive a long range shot just over the bar. United responded and Berbatov’s acrobatic volley from a corner was wide and just missed by Rooney who attempted to divert it. Midway through the first half Rooney had a decent shout for a penalty appeal after being manhandled by Stephen Kelly – United have seen one given against them, at Hull, in identical circumstances, but on this occasion no foul was given.

A feature of Rooney’s ascent to world stardom has been the way he channels what he believes to be wrong decisions against him into his personal desire to right them by letting his football do the talking instead of his mouth – by forcing Schwarzer into a smart stop on the half hour, and then seeing another chance deflected after nice build up with Berbatov, it was clear he was once again in the mood.The goalless first period was almost interrupted by Bobby Zamora – the forward has been in good form this season, and scored against United in December, but he failed to control his shot after a pass from perrenial United upsetter Danny Murphy played him through.

With 45 minutes played any pre-match observations that Fulham may be tiring after their midweek European exploits seemed to be wide of the mark – quite the opposite, in fact. Veteran manager Roy Hodgson would doubtless have drilled the importance of concentration and energy levels for both the trip to Turin and this encounter and his players did not let him down – but any thoughts that United,with the visit of Fulham posing something of an anti-climax after destroying Milan so wilfully in midweek, would suffer from complacency, took just 29 seconds of the restart to dispel. Picking up on a won header by Berbatov, Rooney played the ball wide to Nani. Nani’s delivery had been the most likely route to an opener as the winger has begun to settle into better form on the left hand side, and there could be no complaints about the accuracy and the timing of his release here, fizzing the ball through a small crowd of Fulham defenders back into the path of Rooney. Rooney, of course, needs no invitation and gratefully wrapped the ball into the back of the net.

In the 54th minute a Gary Neville cross caused all kinds of panic – Nani was unsure just what part of his body to use to send the ball towards goal, and when the ball rebounded to Rooney, he was unable to get any real conviction due to being slightly off balance. Aside from a spectacular volleyed effort by Rio Ferdinand that went just over, this was the closest United came to extending their lead until Fulham gave a reminder that with just a goal seperating them, they could yet throw an almighty spanner in their opponents title hopes.

A long ball through was deflected just enough to outfox both Ferdinand and Vidic who had otherwise been impenetrable, and suddenly Zamora found himself with time and space. Too much time and space, it seemed, as the England hopeful showed the lack of conviction that is probably the reason he won’t be heading to South Africa in the summer – nonetheless, Vidic’s recovery was sensational to snuff out any chance whatsoever.

It was enough to prompt United to up the ante – Park, on for Valencia who had been below par, showed excellent footwork before fizzing the ball in towards Berbatov, but the forward’s header was just wide. A minute later, Patrice Evra went on a mazy run and fired a right foot shot wide, and this was soon followed by Darren Fletcher working his own way through. Fletcher’s shot was on target, but Schwarzer’s reaction was superb. A second goal seemed inevitable, however, and it duly arrived with just over 5 minutes to go with more than just a touch of class. Michael Carrick’s brilliant searching pass sent Berbatov wide – with two defenders near him, it seemed a dead end, but Berbatov turned and beat them both for pace. Rooney had raced to join him in the middle, Berbatov’s pass was clean, Rooney’s shot was far from clean but went across goal comfortably beating Schwarzer. It was the England forward’s 32nd goal of the season.

United still found time to score again, with a goal almost identical in craft to the previous one. It was Rooney’s exceptional cross field pass this time, finding Park wide right. Park’s delivery was perfect, and Berbatov met it centrally to head in a richly deserved goal.

Sir Alex Ferguson may clearly prefer a 4-3-3 which is more effective in the bigger games, and as such Berbatov will probably find himself on the bench next weekend. However occasions such as these show that the frontman does have a part to play at Old Trafford in other games. Berbatov’s contribution was key; while at the back the importance of the mere presence of Ferdinand and Vidic was enough to instill an inherent confidence in the side, something notably absent the last time these two teams met. By selecting Fletcher and Carrick to start in midfield – both of whom were defensively deployed at Craven Cottage – Ferguson was perhaps unknowingly proving a point about the severity of the handicap that befell the Champions over the winter.

It is no coincidence that with his preferred central pairing Sir Alex has seen his team register 3 consecutive league clean sheets, and he will be hopeful that with something to prove they continue that stability next week, after last season’s abberation in the same fixture.

Ratings : van der Sar 6, Neville 7 (Fabio), Ferdinand 7, Vidic 7, Evra 8, Valencia 6 (Park 7), Fletcher 7, Carrick 8, Nani 8, *Berbatov 8, Rooney 8

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Manchester United have confirmed the signing of 20 year old centre half Chris Smalling from Fulham for a reported £8million fee. Smalling had been the pursued by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, however the defender will join the Champions in the summer ready for the 2010/11 season.

The signing of the England U21 International could be an indication that Nemanja Vidic will leave the club in the summer. There have been numerous reports linking the Serb with a move to Spain, with Barcelona or Real Madrid as the likely destination. Smalling has made eight appearances so far this season for Fulham and was an unused substitute in the 3-0 defeat to Fulham in December.

A United spokesperson released the following statement:

“Manchester United has agreed terms for the transfer of Chris Smalling from Fulham. Chris has agreed personal terms with the club and will join for the beginning of the 2010/2011 campaign. He will remain at Fulham until the end of the current season.”

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In the wake of a 3-0 hammering away to a good, but unfancied, Fulham side – there is always going to be scapegoat, excuses and ridiculous claims by fickle fans. Yesterday was a bad day for United, as was the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea and as was the recent 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa at home. However, in that time Ferguson’s tactics have been blamed, the performances of certain players have been questioned and our quest for a fourth successful title seem to be slipping away. I’m here to tell you know that the position we find ourselves in now isn’t Ferguson’s fault – not in the slightest.

Last season in the FA Cup at Craven Cottage we beat the Cottagers 4-0 with goals from Tevez (2), Rooney and Park. Looking at our defensive line up that day we had – O’Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic and Evra. Compare that to yesterday – De Laet, Fletcher, Carrick with Evra operating a little further forward. I know its old news, but United had Vidic, Ferdinand, Neville, O’Shea, Evans, Brown and Rafael on the injury list. How on earth can a team be expected to compete at the top level with this type of injury list? Honestly. I outlined some of my earlier thoughts in our forum discussion this morning.

Imagine a Chelsea lineup as follows – Carl Magnay (Youth player), Frank Lampard, Michael Essien, Ashley Cole. Yeah I agree – laughable. How about another one? Arsenal’s backline – Rhema Obed (Youth team), Cesc Fabregas, Alex Song, Gael Clichy. Even funnier in my opinion. Lets go a little continental and try every ones favourite dictator inspired club Real Madrid. Daniel Garcia Ortega (does it matter? I could have made the name up for all you know), Xabi Alonso, Lassana Diarra, Marcelo. Again, I hope, point proven. No club could compete at the levels they wish to with this type of injury crisis. Not to mention missing the presence, consistency and ability of those defenders we’ve mentioned, but we’re removing the guile and craft of Carrick from the middle of the park as well the as the industrious running and hounding of Fletcher. Was the performance poor yesterday? Sure it was – but we need to look at the root rather than pointing fat fingers at the greatest manager this world has even seen.

I’ve never been a fickle football fan. I always try and give an honest opinion and view on the game. If I feel we’ve been played off the park, I will say so – as our match reports for the Barcelona and Liverpool games suggested. However, if I feel there has been an injustice – as there was against Porto back in 2004 or more recently against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge – I like to think my opinions are of a consistent nature and most of all, honest. Sir Alex Ferguson is the greatest manager we’ve ever seen. We all know that. But its what he does after these problems that always astounds me. He motivates his side, makes them feel they are better than what they are and I honestly believe United will bounce back over the next few weeks. Having said that we need to get some consistency in defense before we can start to look strong at the back again.

Forget the nonsense of the ‘fear factor’ and the ‘Ronaldo factor’. With the first point – United can beat anyone on their day, as can many top teams, but we haven’t had a good run so far this season, which coincides with our injury concerns. Ferdinand is by far the most worrying. Looking out of sorts for England against Holland, his casual scoop, which led to Bellamy’s goal, was an embarrassing throwback to his early days where his biggest criticism was his concentration. Personally, I don’t think Ferdinand is going backwards or in decline in terms of reading a game. I think that injuries have taken its toll on his large frame and a rest is exactly what he needs. His last game was in the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield back in October where he was clearly lacking fitness and being out muscled and paced by an equally unfit Fernando Torres (if you believe the reports).

The Ronaldo factor is a tricky one because expectations need to be managed. Lets look at it from the top. We’ve lost 68 goals in two season from one player and we’ve lost the trickery/pace/inspiration of one of the worlds best players. However, its frustrating to hear whenever United lose that its “because of Ronaldo’s departure”. Nonsense and pretty easy to speculate like that. Take the semi final against Arsenal last season in the European Cup. What I choose to remember about Ronaldo is the beautiful counter attacking goal that he scored at the Emirates. It was quite simply magnificent and my favourite memory from last season. Here we were playing the so called ‘most attractive team’ on their own turf at their own game! Before the match many Gooners were confident of a victory – however in truth, we hammered them – and it could have been more. But look back a week before in the 1-0 victory over Arsenal – I thought Ronaldo was awful. There were groans around the Stretford End when we saw the familiar figure of Ronaldo smacking the turf in despair having gone to ground a little too easy and got nowt from the ref. Of course there were moment of brilliance (I think he hit the bar from miles out) – but you’d expect that from such a talent, however it is narrow minded to assume that Ronaldo would have made any difference in the 3-0 defeat yesterday.

So to conclude – its embarssing to claim that Ferguson needs to address his tactics when we’ve been hit by so many injuries. Fickle fans need to look at themselves and try to manage their own expectations. Fulham are a good side under Roy Hodgson – who has done wonders for them. We need to get all of our defenders back to full fitness, get a consistent run going and get behind the team.

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It is a perfect illustration of the crisis Manchester United find themselves in when it is no surprise to say that Fulham unsurprisingly mercilessly battered the Premier League Champions – and while Roy Hodgson’s side and supporters should no doubt bask in the glory of a comprehensive 3-0 victory, the damning criticism of United that will be coming from the direction of the media will not reflect the reality of the situation.

Despite a crippling injury list that in van der Sar, O’Shea, Ferdinand and Vidic saw 4 of last season’s regular back 5 injured and in Neville, Brown, Evans, Rafael saw their next 4 replacements on the injury list, it hasn’t really been United’s (or Ferguson’s) style to blame their horrendous league form this year on their absentees – indeed, our recent Stretty Debate included my own opinion that concentrated more on the limitations that are on show from the players available without even taking into consideration that on only one occasion this season have the club fielded their regular defence from last season.

I concede that perhaps I was a little unfair to not really recognise this as a major contributory factor, not only in the injuries, but the fact that in defensive replacements such as Fletcher, you are reducing the effectiveness of other areas of the side and also, perhaps as a consequence of the high level United are expected to perform in every game, not even considering the lack of composure or positional sense that comes with the experience in playing in those positions.

And, at a place like Fulham, who under Roy Hodgson in particular have made Craven Cottage a difficult place to go, a result would have been no “gimme” with a full strength side.

Nonetheless, a staggering 5th defeat before Christmas has only been produced once in the Premier League by United, in 2001/02, a season where a three year consecutive haul of the title was ended – and, a season that was dogged by injury, too. Not the best omen.

Sir Alex Ferguson shuffled the team into a 3-5-2 similar to the one deployed at the start against Wolfsburg recently but one he has been loathe to use throughout the best part of 20 years (only a Prunier inspired 4-1 loss at Spurs springs to mind) with Valencia used as a makeshift wing back on the right hand side and Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher and Richie De Laet constructing a backline that probably wouldn’t even have been Ferguson’s 20th choice – and that’s no exaggeration! The midfield trio of Darron Gibson, Paul Scholes and Anderson was not only lacking in mobility but also any natural intention of protection for the defence.

Scholes was booked in the 7th minute for a trademark late tackle while Gibson and Wayne Rooney both attempted strikes from their own half – confidence in one’s ability is something encouraged by Ferguson but such attempts not only bordered on the barrier of over confident and arrogant but also as if they took a very capable Fulham side and an excellent experienced goalkeeper in Schwarzer for granted – not to mention the sheer wastefulness that would later come back to haunt them.

Fulham probably began to sniff out that something special was in the offing against a defence that didn’t seem to have any self belief and a midfield that was wasteful and, Anderson aside, largely immobile just after the quarter of an hour mark – Zamora and Gera combined to good effect and only the athletic stretch of Tomasz Kuszczak denied the Hungarian.

Moments later and Damien Duff was played in only to be denied on the stretch by Michael Carrick – however the momentum was with the home side and they went ahead midway through the first period. It seemed only a matter of time anyway and it was hardly as if they needed assistance, however when Paul Scholes was caught daydreaming, Danny Murphy walked the ball off him and his 25 yard shot took an unfavourable bounce in front of the Red Devils Polish stopper, keeping up the ex-Liverpool midfielder’s reputation as a “bogey” player against United.

From then on the unfamiliar formation began to clearly take its toll on a United side lacking not only in personnel but also in any real confidence in their ability to defend as a unit without any experience and, perhaps more worringly, despite fielding 3 centre midfielders, never offering anything worth writing about in terms of creativity. Gibson’s frustrating tendency to do nothing but shoot was on show, with long range shots just before and after the goal wasted with teammates in good positions.

As the game clicked onto and past the half hour mark it bore all the characteristics of the league defeats against Burnley, Liverpool and Villa.

After the Murphy goal United only managed two periods of sustained pressure in front of the Fulham goal, and you got the impression that this was something afforded by the hosts – particularly as the Champions could still only muster wayward long range efforts at the end of each.

Half time dreams of a famous comeback against all odds were extinguished within 30 seconds of the restart. A cross into the box was met with a mix up in United’s defence and the in-form Bobby Zamora pounced to seal all three points.

Despite substitutions and a temporary injection of enthusiasm, the instant fightback that was needed to salvage any kind of result wasn’t forthcoming – the home side always looked more likely than their visitors to score goals as United began to resemble the football equivalent of a one armed boxer. Fulham were able to soak up any pressure in complete comfort and at times looked as if they invited it – unconcerned about United’s long distance efforts, confident in their ability to clear any crossed ball, and anticipating the always available counter attack.

Damien Duff’s 20 yard volley in the 75th minute after good work again by Zamora had an air of inevitability about it and just like against Aston Villa you began to think that the game could have played for another 3 hours and United would not score a single goal. Fulham were clear and deserved victors but you couldn’t help thinking they could not believe their luck at the side they were facing.

The Villa defeat prompted a concerning thought that United were entering a 7 game league run where they would need to pick up maximum points – the sobering thought after this crushing result is that the Champions face the very real possibility that with no real light on the horizon as far as their injury list is concerned, by the time the defence begins to resemble something near even a second string thoughts of any title push will be firmly concentrated on next season.

Certainly, if last weekends result meant the club could only afford one defeat for the rest of the season, todays has signalled the death of their title defence, and that’s the harsh reality despite the unfortunate circumstances.

Ratings : Kuszczak 6, Fletcher 4, Carrick 5, De Laet 4 (Fabio 6), Valencia 5, Evra 5, Scholes 3, Gibson 4 (Berbatov 5), Anderson 5, *Rooney 6, Owen 4 (Welbeck)

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Shambolic Manchester United crumbled to an embarrassing defeat at Craven Cottage to provide a major sign that the championship will be surrendered to Chelsea or Liverpool – but have every reason to be aggreived at referee’s Phil Dowd despicably biased performance.

A first half penalty from average ex-Liverpool player but constant United scourge Danny Murphy and a last gasp classy strike from Zoltan Gera were enough to secure victory for the home side but Dowd’s ridiculous decision to send off Wayne Rooney with the away team gaining momentum could be the defining moment in the title race.

Sir Alex Ferguson rung the changes after last weeks capitulation to Liverpool but Paul Scholes and Berbatov were abysmal, while Park was anonymous and Vidic’s replacement Jonny Evans appeared to lack significant confidence A penalty awarded midway through the first half was just about Dowd’s only decent decision of the day – Scholes’ inexcusable handball on the line was the catalyst for United’s subsequent downfall, and Murphy gladly accepted the invitation to score from the spot.

Wayne Rooney was brought on for the awful Berbatov at the break but the Champions continued to falter with ten men – Rooney, Ronaldo and Fletcher all missing chances with Park even guiltier, before United got a free kick placed where Ronaldo would strike, around 35 yards out.

Rooney threw the ball back and no-one caught it – and Dowd saw fit to give the striker a second yellow, and in doing so, dispel all of United’s momentum, write off the rest of the game, and ensure United were unable to appeal the pathetic decision, rendering forthcoming games an even greater obstacle. Dowd is an experienced referee and this appalling decision will doubtless be welcomed nationwide but Rooney’s dismissal was a simply incredible move.

The title challenge for the Red Devils shows signs of 98 and 2002 and is clearly on the rocks, and honorary Scouser Phil Dowd will have every reason to pat himself on the back tonight – though Sir Alex Ferguson, subsequently, will surely have every reason to request that Dowd is not considered for future United games.

None of this should detract from Fulham’s performance, who, after such media encouragement, were fully deserved winners, but nevertheless Dowd’s deliberate decision at a crucial point in the game could be the most powerful moment of the season.

Source: (Yolkie)

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Manchester United march in the semi-finals of the FA Cup after thrashing Fulham 4-0 at Craven Cottage this evening.

The game marked the start of a very important week for the domestic, European and World Champions who will be taking on Inter Milan on Wednesday and Liverpool on Saturday – in what could prove to be a title clincher. United went into the game knowing that they had beaten Fulham 3-0 the season previous – however their record in the capital hasn’t been great.

The first twenty minutes were sloppy with both sides giving the ball away far too cheaply. Fulham began hustling United, pressing them wherever possible, which led to Michael Carrick losing the ball in his own half – which resulted in a Fulham chance, whilst Nemanja Vidic saved the blushes of Edwin Van Der Sar with a clearance off the line after the Dutch goalkeeper had misread an long ball punted forward – which was touched forward by the leg of Andy Johnson. Van Der Sar came storming out and the ball embarrassingly started to roll pass him. Vidic read the situation and cleared well although it was a heart stopping moment for United.

At the other end Carlos Tevez had a low shot saved by Mark Schwarzer after a mix up in defense by Fulham. Rooney, who along with Tevez were menacing all evening, played a through ball to the Argentinian forward who struck low to Schwarzer’s right. The keep made a decent stop but it was an encouraging start from the away side.

United scored on the twentieth minute when Carlos Tevez nodded home a Wayne Rooney flick from a corner. The Argentinian has been frustrated this season with his lack of playing time – although he has now played as many games as Cristiano Ronaldo. Tevez has scored in the league, Champions League, Carling Cup and now the FA Cup. The goal marked his sixth of the campaign and got United playing.

In between the first and second goal, United showed their true class with some sublime one touch football – which fashioned chances for Wayne Rooney and John O’shea. Wayne Rooney was unlucky with one of his chance – which he poked just wide of the goal, however should have finished the second. United created an opening on the right, in which Ji-Sung Park ran into crossing low for the onrushing Rooney. Rooney passed the ball past Schwarzer, who had dived to the left, and it smashed the post. Rooney really should have scored.

The second goal came fifteen minutes after the first when Carlos Tevez scored a quite superb goal. Tevez picked the ball up on the half way line and began charging towards the Fulham goal. He then cut inside to get onto his right foot before unleashing an unstoppable shot past the Fulham keeper – a brilliant solo goal. The cries of ‘Fergie sign him up’ have been heard in many games recently and after today’s showing it is evident that the player has an abundance of talent.

United went into the half time break with a two goal lead, although lost their captain Rio Ferdinand through injury – who is now a major doubt for the game with Inter Milan on Wednesday night. Jonny Evans, who has been in superb form this season, came on to replace the injured defender. Ferdinand wasn’t United only injury concern – with John O’Shea picking up a hamstring injury, which definitely rules the versatile Irishman out of the game.

United picked up where they left off with Rooney adding a third on the fifty minute mark. Rooney and Tevez were interchanging passes until the ball was eventually intercepted. Fulham failed to clear their lines and Anderson pounced on a loose ball and the Brazilian fed Rooney. Rooney turned onto his right and struck a low curling shot into the bottom corner. It was Rooney’s sixteenth of the season.

United could then sit back and relax and rest some players. Young Eckersley replaced the injured John O’Shea at right back whilst Danny Welbeck came onto replace Wayne Rooney. Rooney is still finding his way back to full fitness – however looked very sharp tonight and will be a definite started alongside, probably, Dimitar Berbatov. Ji- Sung Park rounded off the scoring with nine minutes to play after intercepting a pass from Fulham’s left hand side to the right. Park ran in to intercept before placing a right footed shot into the Fulham net.

United started off sluggish, however really showed their worth after the first twenty minutes. United even looked like they could go up a few more gears as the business end of the season kicks in. Sir Alex Ferguson will be delighted that United are into the final four and will be looking forward to the draw tomorrow. Rooney and Tevez were superb with Anderson showing maturity and vision with his superb range of passing. Inter Milan are next up, which hopefully proves to be a superb, but nervous, night.

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A 3-0 rout of Fulham sent out an intimidating message to the Premier League as champions Manchester United established a 5 point lead in front of Liverpool at the top.

It was as routine a victory as Sir Alex Ferguson could have hoped for and the points were never really threatened after Paul Scholes had volleyed the home team ahead. Michael Carrick’s corner was met by Scholes from the edge of the box with trademark velocity but Fulham keeper Schwarzer found the strike too hot to handle and the ball rolled into the corner.

The Red Devils pressed with urgency for a second and were denied when Carlos Tevez’s shot from a Dimitar Berbatov pass was ruled out for offside, but achieved their just reward shortly before the break when Berbatov took advantage of Fulham’s defensive shambles – perhaps the reaction to an exhibitionist home side passing move – to tap home what seemed an unassailable goal.

The second half became merely a procession as Fulham declined to threaten and United declined to press home their superiority save for Ronaldo’s constant desire and the introduction of the returning Rooney, who scored the third and final goal converting Park’s mis hit shot with his first touch.

The easy return of Rooney and extension of the record breaking defensive legacy will have pleased Sir Alex but the ease in which they discarded potentially tricky opposition coming into a vital stage of the season will possibly have given him more cheer.

Source:(Yolkie)

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