As Manchester United fans our focus is firmly on our club. We don’t really spend much time worrying about other teams as we have a belief and confidence in our own side. However, that isn’t to say that from time to time we look around and see what everyone else is doing – it’s only natural to be intrigued. Therefore with three weeks to go until the start of the league season, and nearly a month into the transfer window I thought I’d share my brief thoughts on the competition.

I must point out that I’m not fascinated with other clubs over my own (often a criticism by opposition fans when these sort of things are done); I’m not looking to specifically nail into other clubs either…I am merely giving my honest opinions on how I see things at the moment. Read as you desire into what I have to say.

Chelsea

At present: They are the reigning champions and as expected they will be a threat regardless next year. Right now their tour squad provides an insight into the direction they are heading with lots of younger players included. Abramovich appears to have tightened the purse strings meaning there are spaces up for grabs from within. Benayoun has come in to replace Joe Cole, from the bench at Anfield to the bench at The Bridge.

Strengths: Michael Essien’s return from injury is a huge bonus for Chelsea. He is in my opinion, the best non-United player in the Premiership. Frank Lampard scored more goals last year than he had done before and whilst like all England players his World Cup didn’t go as planned, no one would be surprised if he carried on scoring for Chelsea. Importantly, the squad know what it’s like to win – they have the experience.

Weaknesses: For me the biggest problem is that their squad is thin. They’ve lost a lot of experienced players who between them played quite a few games last year. Any team that loses Joe Cole, Ballack, Belletti and has the prospect of losing Deco and Carvalho is considerably weaker. Chelsea are keen to give youngsters a chance but the reality is that few of them have any real experience. Chelsea have already lost Cech, Alex and it looks like Drogba now as well for the start of the season, a few more injuries or a crisis like we had last year and they’d be in real trouble.

Future: Chelsea MUST sign some players if they want to win the league this year. Their starting XI is of course strong but every team must expect suspensions and injuries which I don’t think they could handle at the moment. If there are no signings (plural – one won’t do) then they may find themselves struggling at times.

Arsenal

At present: Arsenal are a relatively unchanged team from last year (minus some defenders). Their current tour squad is typical of what we’ve seen under Wenger – talent and youth. Wenger has made a couple of moves in the transfer market bringing in Chamakh (straight replacement for Eduardo) and Koscielny (replacement for both Silvestre and Gallas).

Strengths: In three words, talent and Fabregas. Arsenal’s squad oozes with talented youngsters all of whom will be hoping to make a serious mark in the first team next year. Ramsey, Wilshere, Djourou, Nordtveit, Vela, Gibbs, Szczesny, Frimpong and Lansbury all may hope to play bigger roles should they not go out on loan. As it stands, Fabregas remains an Arsenal player. His quality is unquestionable, as is his love for Arsenal. While he remains, Arsenal have a player of true quality in their side. The return to fitness of Van Persie will also be key – if he can stay fit he will add some flair and deadly finishing in the forward areas.

Weaknesses: Arsenal don’t have the experience of winning a trophy. This generation of youngsters haven’t fulfilled their potential yet and are inexperienced when it comes to jumping the final hurdle. If Arsenal have more bad luck with injuries then a repeat of last year may be on the cards. Arsenal must sign a goalkeeper and some centre backs. Almunia was often the reason points were dropped whilst right now the four centre backs (Campbell, Vermaelen, Djourou and Koscielny) don’t strike me as good enough.

Future: As always with an Arsenal team – lots of young talent doesn’t equal success. I think Arsenal should be content with a Champions League place next year – I don’t see them challenging all the way unless a few more players are brought in.

Tottenham

At present: Spurs have a big squad and good depth to it. Harry Redknapp has taken some of the younger players on tour and seems keen to give them a chance. Other than bringing in highly rated midfielder, Sandro, there has been little activity at White Hart Lane even though transfer speculation seems to be going into overdrive.

Strengths: As I said, they have a good deep squad. There is cover in every position bar right back if we’re being picky. The biggest plus for them is that so far they seem to be holding on to prized assets Modric and Bale with ease. The team have seen that they can be successful and no doubt confidence is very high at the moment.

Weaknesses: If Spurs want to remain a part of the top four then their squad is looking good. They will probably need to be in the market for a better striker – ideally someone who can play alone in a 4-5-1 formation. With quite a few players (Jenas, Keane, Pavlyuchenko plus others) possibly on the way out they may need a few more squad players. It will be important to see how seriously they take the Champions League if they get through the qualifiers. If they take it seriously they must make sure it doesn’t affect their league form and Harry may need to rotate the squad more.

Future: If the league remains the priority then Spurs could sneak into the top four again. I believe their squad is superior to Arsenal’s and so they could be the two teams battling it out for 4th place. Lots of players are being linked with a move to Spurs and it certainly seems like the club are moving in the right direction. They may well prove to be a real danger if they can get one or two quality players in.

Manchester City

At present: It’s hard to know what to say. Their squad is big and has some players of the highest quality in it. Speculation in the papers every day is linking them with more and more good players. They are building the core of what looks like a strong youthful team.

Strengths: Money. No player is truly beyond them. They can sign who they like and pay ridiculous wages if necessary. They have bought in a top player in David Silva, a Champions League winner in Yaya Toure and a centre back with real potential in Jerome Boateng. This team is only getting stronger.

Weaknesses: I have to try to be serious and not go down the route of money ruining football. Their weaknesses are probably inexperience when it comes to winning and the risk of the team not gelling. I don’t personally know how much identity means to City fans but with the prospect of a few of their players who’ve come through the academy leaving, they are starting to lose a sense of local identity and are becoming rather international – mind you, I’m not sure it’s bothered Chelsea fans too much. In truth, there aren’t many weaknesses other than the burden of no trophies in a long time and the pressure of living up to their bigger and better (cough) neighbours.

Future: If the team can come together then City may well be a real threat for the title not just for 4th place. The signings they have made suggest intent and with more seemingly to come the blue half of Manchester may well start to dream. I don’t live in fear of City at all but relish the challenge and I do respect the team they are building (I’ve seen City fans on Man United forums suggest we are scared, I’m certainly not…bring it on!).

Liverpool

At present: New manager. Unsettled squad. Rumours of Gerrard, Mascherano and Torres leaving. Only Joe Cole worth mentioning out of the signings, and his arrival was countered by the fact he stole another new signings shirt.

Strengths: Hard to see many but right now with none of the big names leaving -so far – that must count for something.

Weaknesses: The owners want to go. They aren’t in the Champions League. The squad looks poor. It really isn’t a good time to be a Liverpool fan.

Future: I believe at least one of the big three will leave and then it’ll come down to how Hodgson can reinvest the money. Liverpool should be concentrating on getting squad players in so that they can ensure they make Europe next year. I don’t believe one quality player is what they need. Right now their squad is not in good shape and getting into the Europa League spots may be their challenge this year.

Apologies if your team has not been mentioned. I felt it was necessary to mention Liverpool as they are close rivals of ours and they still believe they should be a top four team. I expect Aston Villa and Everton to push Liverpool hard and possibly come above them.

Hopefully what you can see here is that I believe that right now only City have got stronger. I don’t doubt that Manchester United are in a good position to challenge again for the title. We have certainly not got weaker and have the prospect of a large, talented, youthful but experienced, relatively injury-free team to start the season with. There is no harm from time to time in looking at and assessing the opposition with respect. I hope that anyone who had doubts about our own squad can see that actually other teams have bigger problems. Right now, all things considered, bring on the new season, I have a good feeling the opposition are scared of us.

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I have all the stories from tomorrow’s chip papers all conveniently compiled right here. In today’s news Sir Alex says there will be no big summer signings, Fabiano “turns down” United, Sir Alex is linked with move for Ozil, Real Madrid rejects for sale, Scholes has his eyes on the Premier League, and Joe Cole proves he loves money and not trophies.

As of late, our noisy neighbors always seem to be linked with the same targets as us. To be honest, I’m not too sure City’s “scouting” is nothing more than just reading United transfer rumors, so this daily blog should be hugely beneficial to them. Manchester City, you’re welcome.

Ferguson: United do not need signings – The Daily Telegraph

Looking for a big name signing this summer? Don’t get your hopes up. It seems we will start the season with the squad we have now. Aside from a creative midfielder, I really think we’re strong in all positions. Sir Alex seems to think even a creative midfielder isn’t necessary. If Anderson finally fulfills his potential this season, he may just be right. Maybe it has something to do with finances, or maybe he just truly believes in this squad. Only Sir Alex knows. I’m certainly very hopeful of this squad, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly concerned that we may be missing something. The lack of a proven creative midfielder could prove costly.

Brown: Giggs is best player ever – The Guardian

Another fine example of the incredible respect Ryan Giggs has earned in the squad. Upon being asked who his favorite player was, Brown said, “I know it is going to sound daft this but I would have to say Giggsy.” Of course, Brown didn’t forget to mention Maradona and Pele, but it was Giggs who earned his highest praise. I don’t think there is any United fan who gets sick of the praise that Giggs gets. He certainly deserves it.

Fabiano turns down Spurs and Man United – The Daily Mail

Doesn’t there need to be an offer in order to be turned down? I haven’t read about any bid for Fabiano, just that we were “interested.” Aside from Joe Cole (we’ll get to him later), this must be a fairly slow day in the news because they’re trying to make this story bigger than it really is.

Alex lines up Ozil swoop – The Sun

It doesn’t seem to matter that Sir Alex says he’ll make no sumer signings, we’re still being linked with big name players. With a year remaining on his contract, Werder Bremen would prefer to sell rather than let him go on a free. Sir Alex is apparently a big fan of the player he calls “the ghost.” It seems Werder Bremen are looking for £12m for the talented midfielder. I was impressed with him at the World Cup, but I don’t want to get too carried away by a few good performances. However, I do think £12m would be really good value for a player who seems to have creativity in abundance.

Kaka and van der Vaart near Madrid exit – The Daily Mail

While The Sun is linking us with Ozil, The Daily Mail believes he may be on his way to Real Madrid. To clear up room in the squad, Kaka and Rafael van der Vaart may be on their way out. It is believe both are targets of Chelsea, but I doubt it will be long before we’re linked with one or both. I’m actually a big fan of van der Vaart and wouldn’t mind seeing him become a Red Devil, but it seems we won’t be making any signings this summer. Shame too, cause he’s the type of creative midfielder we need and I think we could’ve signed him for good value.

Scholes: Premier League is priority – The Daily Mirror

Paul Scholes believes reclaiming the Premier League takes priority over the Champions League. Personally, I’d much rather see United win the Premier League. Winning a record 19th Premier League title would be immensely satisfying, even more so than adding to our European success. In an ideal world, though, United would complete the Double, or…dare I say it…the Treble.

And now for a bit about our Premier League rivals…

Joe Cole joins Liverpool – The Daily Telegraph

Joe Cole has proved that it’s greed, not trophies, that drives him after signing a four-year contract with Liverpool worth £90,000 per week. Arsenal and Tottenham were both interested and would’ve been able to offer him Champions League football. I dare say that Arsenal may have even been able to offer him the chance to play for a Premier League contender. However, neither team could match his outrageous wage demands. Now he will grace the Europa League with Liverpool. And as far as the Premier League goes, Liverpool is certainly not a contender this season. From Premier League champions to a team fighting just to finish in the top four. Cole may help Liverpool return to the Champions League in 2011/12, but he could’ve played at the highest level this season. Some players still play for glory, others are playing for money.

Fun Fact: Today’s fun fact come from manutd.com’s Nick Coppack on Twitter: RT @nickcoppack Cheapest tickets for United v Liverpool matches (not incl. disabled section, which is free at OT)… At Anfield, £43. At Old Trafford, £27.

Discuss all today’s news and rumors in the forum.

You can follow Kyle on Twitter at KDill_MUFC

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Another quiet day in the news. Seems like I started my daily review just as the press was slowing down, but we’ve still got some great topics today. Ryan Giggs shares his thoughts on Manchester City and the kids, Rooney takes more blame for England, Ozil may be for sale, Brown backs technology, and Joe Cole falls from grace. We have also have the debate on whether Fergie is playing youth by choice or because of lack of funds to buy big names.

United not worried by City’s spending – The Guardian

Thankfully not everyone is buying into City’s astronomical spending. In fact, Ryan Giggs thinks the pressure is on for our noisy neighbors. After spending extravagantly this summer, City will need to a have a very successful season to avoid being classified failures. Look no further than Real Madrid to see that spending doesn’t guarantee trophies. I think City is going to run into the same problem this season. There is so much emphasis on how much they’ve spent and that they should win, but they aren’t even spending wisely. They make average players appear great by paying more than they’re worth. Money has the power to generate undeserved hype. I’ll start being worried about City when they finish ahead of us in the table. Personally, I love the mindset Giggs shared with The Guardian: “Until we play them I don’t take any notice of what City are doing…” Well said Giggsy, well said.

Are youngsters only playing out of necessity? – The Daily Mail

It’s as if promoting players from the academy and reserves is an unheard of practice for Manchester United. The Daily Mail suggests that, while Sir Alex is full of praise for the youngsters, he’s only playing them because the Glazer’s debt prevents him from making big moves in the transfer market. This is the same club that won the Treble with a squad made up of Fergie’s Fledglings, correct? It may have nothing to do with finances; maybe we haven’t signed anybody because we don’t need anybody. I actually get more excited about promising youth than a big name transfer. With the likes of Kiko Macheda, Danny Welbeck, Jonny Evans, Rafael, and Fabio in our squad we are already blessed with an incredible collection of potential world-class footballers.

Werder Bremen listening to offers for Mesut Ozil – The Daily Telegraph

A star from the World Cup linked with Manchester United?! Unheard of! Ozil’s performances in South Africa earned him a nomination for the Golden Ball, and now it’s getting him linked with all of the world’s big clubs. According to The Daily Telegraph, Werder Bremen is now listening to offers for the attacking midfielder. Ozil’s contract expires at the end of this season, so the club may be looking to sell him now rather than let him leave for free. While I certainly think Ozil would be an exciting signing, we already have a young, promising attacking midfielder in Anderson.

Houllier blames Rooney for England woes – The Daily Telegraph

Yet another story placing the blame on Wayne Rooney for England’s poor World Cup campaign. I almost didn’t even post this because this story has been run into the ground, but United news is United news, like it or not. So instead I’m just not going to give it much of my time. Rooney does not deserve any of the blame for England’s World Cup woes. A striker is only as good as the service he gets and England’s midfield certainly didn’t give him much. You can only score if you have the ball, and Gerrard and Lampard did a poor job at getting Rooney possession. If the blame needs to be placed on someone, look toward Anfield.

Brown calls for goal line technology – The Sun

One of the biggest debates in the game is whether to introduce technology. Our very own Wes Brown has now voiced his opinion in favor of goal line technology. My own stance on technology and football is pretty simple. Technology should be used as little as possible and avoid disrupting the flow of the game. I don’t want this to turn into American football, which allows almost every play to be reviewed. If technology is to be introduced it should only be used for goals. All we need to know is if the ball crossed the line. The last thing the game needs is for every yellow or red card offense to require a video review.

You CAN win with kids – The Daily Mirror

Ryan Giggs believes Manchester United can win with all the youth in their squad. He would know, about 20 years ago he was in their shoes. Giggs was around in 1995 for the famous “you’ll win nothing with kids” quote. Of course, they won the double that season. Now Giggs suggest they can do it again. In my eight years as a fan, I’ve never seen a such a promising group of players come through the ranks. It makes me very positive that this could be a second coming of Fergie’s Fledglings. I firmly believe that Manchester United can win the Premier League this season, and I think the youth will have a lot to contribute.

And now for a bit about our Premier League rivals…

Joe Cole to Liverpool? – The Guardian*

A few weeks ago Cole was linked with chasing trophies at Manchester United, but club officials quickly put an end to that rumor. Now, despite rumored interest from Champions League-contenders Arsenal and Tottenham, it seems Cole’s likely destination is Liverpool. How quickly he has fallen. In May he won the Premier League with Chelsea, in June he was linked with Manchester United, and in July it seems he will sign for lowly Liverpool. All top players strive to represent a club which qualified for the Europa League qualifiers. Playing against either Macedonian or Armenian minnows to secure a place in European competition must be a dream come true…

*This is no longer a rumor. Joe Cole has signed a four-year deal with Liverpool.

Discuss all today’s news and rumors in the forum.

You can follow Kyle on Twitter at KDill_MUFC

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Welcome to the very first installment of my daily media review!

Today’s big news is, of course, that Manchester United beat Celtic 3-1 in Toronto last night. Also in today’s news: Hargo needs more treatment, Vidic linked with Madrid, who his possible replacement is, Javier Mascherano lost his phone, and our noisy neighbors are in dire need of a dictionary.

Manchester United 3 – 1 Celtic

For once a match was on at a reasonable time for me here in the U.S., but I suppose the same can’t be said for our UK readers. If you didn’t stay up to watch the match, you missed out on Manchester United opening their preseason campaign with a win over Scottish rivals Celtic. Berbatov, Welbeck, and Cleverly were all on target for the Red Devils. Chris Smalling made what The Daily Mail called “a debut to forget,” but I think he had a solid performance aside from the penalty. Berbatov was my man of the match, but I welcome a debate in our forum. After frustrating most of last season, he put in a fantastic performance in Toronto. Hopefully he continues to play at that level this season.

Hargreaves treatment ongoing – ManUtd.com

This one comes straight from the source. Hargreaves’ future seems in jeopardy after suffering a reoccurrence of the knee injury which has plagued him the past two seasons. There were some rumors earlier this week that he would be forced into retirement, although Rio Ferdinand dismissed these claims on Twitter. Sir Alex claiming that the knee injury is of great concern to the club is hardly reassuring though.

United linked with Porto defender Bruno Alves – The Daily Mail

Zenit St. Petersburg is hurrying to complete a deal with Porto for Bruno Alves out of fear that United may make a move for the defender. Is there going to be a player that we aren’t linked with this summer? According to the article, Alves may be bought as a replacement should Vidic leave this summer. Personally, I’d much rather see Evans in the starting XI if Vidic leaves. I rate Evans very highly and think he’ll feature regularly. If it weren’t for Rio and Vidic, I reckon Evans would already be starting.

Vidic has a Real desire for Madrid – The Sun

How many times are we going to hear this rumor? Once again, Nemanja Vidic has been linked with a move to Real Madrid. The Sun values Vidic at £18million, which is laughable. This is one of the best center backs in the world, he’s certainly worth more than that, especially in this inflated transfer market. I’m not buying it either way. Even across the pond I know how big of a joke The Sun’s transfer rumors are. You have to love their “clever” headlines too…

And now for a quick bit about our rivals…

Manchester City reserves now called Elite Squad?

Can somebody get a dictionary for our noisy neighbors? Apparently someone doesn’t know the definition of elite. Also why do they feel the need to be different? Reserve team seems to work just fine for every other club. Doubt they’ll be feeling so elite when the Manchester United reserves beat them this season.

Mascherano not returning Hodgson’s calls – Mirror

This is actually from yesterday, but too funny to pass up. Hodgson is trying to sort out his star players’ futures and Mascherano won’t call him back. What kind of club allows their players to just ignore the manager’s calls? If Mascherano wears a Liverpool shirt this season I’ll be stunned. Not that I blame him; I wouldn’t be caught dead in a Liverpool shirt.

You can discuss all today’s news and rumors in the forum topic 17.7.10 Stretty Stories.

You can follow Kyle on Twitter at KDill_MUFC

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It can’t be blamed on the manager, it can’t be blamed on the goalkeeper this time, and despite best attempts, it can’t blamed on Wayne Rooney, the diamond in the manure infested national side. Fabio Capello has indicated he will consider a system change to boost England’s chances of progression, but to get the best out of this group of 23 he will have to make a switch in personnel.

It’s a cliché that’s almost as tired as Jamie Carragher seemed to be after 5 minutes yesterday but like all clichés it originated because it is an occurrence of defying frequency – the question over Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard that remains unanswered after six thoroughly unsatisfying years can no longer, with a truly world class manager who has a rich history of success, be put down to the inability of a coach or the inflexibility of a tactic.

Worse, it’s the medias insistence of asking the question when surely the answer was given emphatically in Euro 2004, that influences a nationwide myopic view of the side and inevitably looks for the scapegoat elsewhere. Criminally so, too. Trying to shoehorn two players of limited ability into a team, disregarding their club form or form for the national side, for 6 years has resulted in casualties – Paul Scholes, shunted left to accommodate them, grew frustrated and this was obviously a contributing factor to his retirement. With Fabio’s public last minute plea to Scholes on the eve of the World Cup there can be no doubt that between 2004 and now Paul Scholes has underlined his status as the best English midfielder both on form and technical ability.

For sure, too, Frank Lampard fully deserves his spot on the team after what seems like a million seasons hitting 20 goals every year, even if those statistics are somewhat misleading when factoring the system Chelsea play to accommodate him. Still, it’s that system really that England really need to be considering now and it’s a system that has no place for Steven Gerrard.

Gerrard’s inclusion in the team is baffling; his form last season was as questionable as his character (that he is captain of our team is an altogether separate disgrace), he is the lingering embodiment of the very public immature rift that exists from Liverpool players to Manchester United players in the England camp, a fundamental refusal to pass to fully utilise and embrace the superior talents of his compatriots from down the motorway. Faced with a choice of an unlikely shot from 30 yards and a defence splitting pass to Rooney, there is no question that Gerrard will always choose the former – this was something I touched on in my blogs prior to the World Cup on World Cup Statistics, and is a strong reason why I find it so difficult to support the national side. This immature, selfish attitude is not something that should exist in an international side. I could get accused of going easy on Lampard because he too has a shoot on site policy; this much is true, but his also exists at club level, while we know from evidence of our eyes that Gerrard is perfectly capable of playing in tandem with a frontman to the huge goalscoring benefit of his partner.

The answer can’t be that Rooney somehow isn’t as good as United fans make him out to be; he is every bit that proclaimed quality. The heartbeat of a European Cup winning side, the hunger of 3 consecutive league titles, and the ability to seamlessly switch from deep lying magician and predatorial frontman are not imagined qualities so it stands to reason that given the service he will produce something at international level. Failure to do so is not Rooney’s failure, just as it wasn’t Scholes’ back in 2004, even though he was the one who ultimately paid the price when his frustration got too much. Failure to translate his club form to the national stage is as much the responsibility of the major players around him, even more so. It’s so clear to see when Rooney drops back to the halfway line to spread the ball about that he is doing it just to get involved, he shouldn’t have to be doing that just to get a kick of the ball. This is the highest level of the game and is watched worldwide; any doubt over childish club allegiance should either be sorted out or left back home.

England’s loss was United’s gain as Scholes’ domestic career as clearly benefitted from the rest but after the abject display against Algeria even as a United>England fan, it gives me no real pleasure to say that. Scholes can still count his peers on the world stage on one hand and most of them wear the red of Spain as he enters the last stages of a career that has seen most of those peers that have been and gone describe him as the most talented English midfielder of his generation; perhaps ever.

Think of that; the most talented midfielder of his generation still effectively being denied to the country to satisfy the ego of an out of form and over hyped square peg in a round hole. And not content with that; Gerrard for the short term at least looks like he will do everything he can to sabotage the most talented player in the country in his contribution to the England team.

Naysayers will say that Gerrard and Lampard are the best we have at our disposal so we should play them; one only needs to look at the list of players that some nations felt capable of leaving behind to realise that the team needs to be greater than the individuals. To be fair it’s a point that also falls down when considering form.

The sad thing was that I predicted this is what would happen even if I couldn’t predict just how costly it would be. One embarrassment from the red side of Liverpool has already thankfully been ruled out of the final group game through suspension; if Fabio is true to his post match musings and has the courage of his conviction, he will take the bold move of axing Gerrard, too. For the good of the team.

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If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, Manchester United fans would have a veritable feast in the wake of their Premier League title surrender. Allowing myself a little time to wallow before taking a more rationalised evaluation, you wouldn’t be surprised to find one of my major bugbears lies with the media representation of Chelsea’s one point title win.

They can act like Mike Dean and Steven Gerrard didn’t make the difference; but as Didier “manchild” Drogba argued with teammates through the game and celebrated like a rockstar when he got the toy he asked for for Christmas; as John Terry took his hands off the ball to pick up the trophy; as the country’s scribes finally got to hit “publish” on those long awaited obituary style attacks at Sir Alex Ferguson and United, one can’t help but think how utterly pathetic and hollow their celebrations were.

I’m reading about the West London powerhouse and how they destroyed all in their path with a handful of admittedly impressive avalanche scorelines, even if the last two of those came against a club that has a fundamentally bizarre ABU core and a team that knew the Gods were conspiring against them so got thoroughly deflated when another set of generous refereeing decisions managed to settle any Chelsea nerves. Phil McNulty, the BBC correspondent wrote on Twitter  ”all was right with the world” when Drogba finally scored after poncing round like a baby all afternoon. Really, Phil. It would take too long to elaborate just how wrong that is, on so many levels, suffice to say I was questioning the value of my licence fee.

I’ve no problem with Sky’s double channel broadcast and I’ve no problem with the fact that Chelsea had the actual trophy while we had a replica despite being the holders on the brink of history, however unlikely. I’m paying a subscription to Sky though as millions of United fans are, though, so I find it a little annoying that I have to listen to ex-Arsenal forward Alan Smith smugly describing – at great length – a goal celebration from the manchild in the other game. My feelings were perfectly captured by Patrice Evra’s face of thunder as he did the standard end of season lap of honour. It didn’t feel too great. But, before I surrendered my TV for the day, I wanted to stick around long enough to hear Fergie’s address. Stoke fans were predictably classless enough to chant through it so it was made difficult enough as it was, but Sky then force fed us a splitscreen of Chelsea’s celebrations during the speech. No real source of anger but still general annoyance.

I was sent the Sun’s match report of the United game that mentions nothing about the match and is instead the most poorly disguised attack on Sir Alex Ferguson, labelling among others, van der Sar, Scholes and Giggs as past it when they were probably the games outstanding players yesterday!

Regular readers of my articles won’t be surprised to see a mention of Football365 here but their front page this morning leads with how they supported Chelsea on the final day because they were the best team. This is the same website that suggested Blackburn would roll over and die for us a few weeks ago but is now saying Chelsea are the best side by virtue of a one point difference, a few more goals scored and a couple of Merseysiders shaming their profession to literally give them crucial goals.

Basically, it was a nationwide celebration. Football365′s reaction summed it all up. All season, whenever United have lead the table or looked like we might win it, it’s been a terrible season and a sign of decline in standards of mammoth proportions. Chelsea win it by being gifted games in the same manner they were complaining Blackburn would give us 3 points and suddenly it’s been the best ever Premier League season with the best ever winners.

But, this was no defining victory. This is no powershift. The “Premier League/ship pendulum” hasn’t permanently swung back to London. The league wasn’t decided by Chelsea’s impressive goalscoring machine. It was decided by one point, and where that decisive point was gained can be traced back, as I said, to two Merseysiders with no connection to Chelsea but plenty to Liverpool Football Club. Take your pick of the two when deciding which one made the vital difference but they needed both.

I will argue that the decisions made by Mike Dean and Steven Gerrard were intentional; plenty will say I’m bitter, and you know, I can take that. Because in the black and white of the situation, whether or not they were intentional, beyond how disgruntled I am, those are still the moments that have proved the difference between Chelsea winning the title and United not.

It’s not been Frank Lampard’s brilliant second half of the season, Didier Drogba’s golden boot, the team spirit among their core created by Mourinho and rediscovered impressively by Ancelotti. It’s not for any reason forcefed to you by any media outlet or Chelsea fan about the West London club. It’s not for anything to do with Chelsea, it is because Mike Dean and Steven Gerrard made it happen. They are as deserving of a league winners medal as Frank and Didier.

As we reflect on this 1 point difference, what have we learned from our Manchester United team? Were we really one point short of this blue behemoth? Does the lack of medals mean that Antonio Valencia, despite physical evidence to the contrary, has had a disappointing first season at the club? That Wayne Rooney’s 34 goals were not enough? That Nani’s incredible switch from facing the exit door to arguably the league’s most exciting player isn’t so? Sure, we can lament the almost season long injury list that decimated our defence and in particular the pre-Christmas spell where we were playing with Fletcher and Carrick in the back four. Or we could instead say that we got where we did in spite of that. Crippled by injuries all over the pitch all season, United did amazingly well to take it to the last day. The sensible conclusion would be that perhaps with a full complement we would have got a better result at any of the places we dropped points. Just one result would have made the difference, if Valencia or Berbatov had scored at Blackburn when they had great chances.. it’s natural for us to look at our own failings but that would be unfair even on the under-pressure Berbatov, because no matter how you look at it, United’s players did all that was asked of them and their effort should have.. no, their effort was enough to win the title. It’s unfair to look at what we did and say what we could have done because our players did enough to win a fair competition. We can’t be responsible for others’ abuse of their professional positions, and we shouldn’t use that abuse and attribute it to our own players as signs of their shortcomings when it clearly isn’t so.

The league table doesn’t lie, I’ve been told ever since Chelsea made everything “all right with the world”. It doesn’t, and Chelsea are top and got the trophy. However, there’s no gulf in class. Despite all of their good things – and there are plenty – they have won the title because of Mike Dean and Steven Gerrard, and that’s what they were celebrating yesterday. So when Sky were forcefeeding it to me, I couldn’t help but think how hollow it all was.

As hollow as I felt when Pedro Mendes scored that against us from the halfway line, and how pitiful it was that we got a point from it. I couldn’t celebrate that no matter how hard I tried and immediately wished Spurs had won the game just for the sake of fair play so I know just how fundamentally vacuous the rejoice for Chelsea getting the trophy is. That they and the people who report it are being deliberately blissful in their ignorance to the reality of the situation says far more about these people than it does about whatever shortcomings exist in the United team.

Where we got to was an incredible achievement – mother nature could not stamp out the incredible inherent desire that breathes within our players and their drive for the club to succeed, and had it been a fair race then this morning we’d all be nursing slightly sore heads with a haze of happiness, celebrating four titles in a row and a record 19th league title overall.

All being right next season you would say United’s injury list won’t be quite so bad. With a season’s acclimatisation, Antonio Valencia and Nani will flourish in their roles as first choice wingers. With a pacy forward and some more creativity in midfield and hopefully with a fighting fit Anderson, United will have a whole new dynamic. More importantly, though, unless the fixture list conspires to have Liverpool playing Chelsea on the last day or we get Mike Dean in one of our games after March then we won’t see a set of circumstances that can be predicted days in advance pan out before our very eyes. Of fundamental, immediate concern is now the ownership of the club, and hopefully the Glazers will bow to pressure and leave in time for us to build for next season.

If anything, the conclusion we should have reached from the Premier League season is that you can decimate our team but it still needs more than a little outside help to take the title from us – as we look forward, the team who deserved to win the title, as they should be, are the team that look best placed to win it next year. And that team isn’t Chelsea, no matter what the table says.

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Ian over in our forum has put together a collaboration of events that look at determining the outcome of the Premier League title and finishing positions for Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs and Europa League qualifiers Liverpool and Manchester City. Show your appreciation for a witty, humorous and insightful prediction of what could well happen on Sunday afternoon.

You can view the original thread in our forum. So make sure if you like the thread you let Ian know!

3.30pm – Richard Keys prattles on about how “anything can happen”, while they talk about Spurs’ last-gasp win over Man City on Wednesday and how it not only secured fourth place, but also gives them a sniff of third.

3.31pm – Even though they’re not relevant to the title race any more, coverage of Chelsea and Manchester United games focuses primarily on Liverpool.

3.37pm – It’s announced that Wayne Rooney’s leg has fallen off. Fergie says there’s “absolutely no chance of Waynre Rooney playing football ever again.”

3.38pm – With the Rooney announcement, Manchester United fans swarm the dressing room and in the melee Dimitar Berbatov goes missing. Rumours that he’s been bundled into a car and driven away from the ground by Manchester United fans are unconfirmed. Chelsea fans implore police to find Berbatov so he can start for United.

3.45pm – Rooney is announced in starting line-up.

3.53pm – Berbatov is returned to Old Trafford unharmed by relieved captors who heard on the radio that Rooney was starting.

4pm – Matches around the country kick-off.

4.01pm – Andy Gray sounds more cement mixer than man, as he always does on the last day of the season.

4.06pm – At Hull Rafa Benitez has retreated to the dugout briefly but returns to the sideline with a deck chair under one arm and a Lonely Planet guide to Turin in the other.

4.15pm – Stoke have spent the first fifteen minutes playing in a fashion that makes them unrecognisable from the team that got drubbed by Chelsea. They look like a proper football team for grown-ups.

4.17pm – United fans despair as the news comes through that Didier Drogba has just given Chelsea the lead. He celebrates by peeling off his shirt and revealing a tattoo of Steven Gerrard’s face that covers his entire back.

4.18pm – Tottenham and Man City, away at Burnley and West Ham respectively, are doing their damndest to look like two teams who don’t deserve to finish in the European places.

4.21pm – After 429 consecutive 3-yard passes from Arsenal, the move is capped beautifully when Brede Hangeland smashes the ball from the edge of his own penalty area and Bobby Zamora thrashes it past Polish ragamuffin Lukas Fabianski.

4.22pm – Arsene Wenger remonstrates with the fourth official for allowing Fulham to shoot the ball at the goal really quite hard indeed.

4.26pm – Hull score a hilariously offside goal to take the lead against Liverpool, and the cameras pan to get Rafa’s reaction but he hasn’t seen the offside because he was busy in a conga with Roary the Tiger, the fourth official, and a selection of Liverpool substitutes.

4.27pm – Darren Fletcher and Ryan Shawcross cause a tear in the fabric of space and time when they both go in for a 50-50 tackle two-footed and their studs fuse together.

4.34pm – Tottenham and Man City both take the lead in the space of a few minutes, and both look distinctly uncomfortable about it.

4.41pm – United go a goal down when Rory Delap, taking a throw-in from his own corner flag, sets up Ricardo Fuller who does one of those peculiar headers of his where he tries to head it one way and it goes in the exact opposite direction yet somehow still sneaks inside the post.

4.43pm – Iain Dowie looks flummoxed, or more so than usual, when Rafael Benitez starts reciting to him from an Italian phrasebook.

4.45pm – Refusing to finish the season on anything resembling a high note, Aston Villa go a goal down at home against Blackburn.

4.55pm – Alex Ferguson substitutes Dimitar Berbatov on for Michael Carrick. God help us.

4.56pm – Hope! Charles N’Zogbia is in one of his “being a footballer” moods and spoons a preposterous curler into Cech’s top corner.

5.04pm – Damn! Dimitar Berbatov smashes an audacious volley into the top corner. Unfortunately it’s his own top corner. On reflection he decides that beggars can’t be choosers and he celebrates anyway.

5.10pm – Arsenal equalise at the Emirates. A nicely worked team goal. A safe third-place finish is back on.

5.12pm – The comeback is on! As a cross floats in towards Berbatov, Wayne Rooney grabs him and throws him to the ground before heading it into the bottom corner.

5.13pm – Rafael Benitez has switched clothes with the Hull mascot and is currently wiggling his backside at the Liverpool fans. The chap who was the mascot, however, is wearing Rafa’s suit and doing a better job of inspiring the team than Benitez has in months.

5.16pm – Berbatov gets the ball and runs ’round the Stoke goalie before somehow smashing the ball against the bar from 3cm out. It hits him in the face and falls to Paul Scholes who calmly slots in the equaliser.

5.18pm – United are motoring now. Rooney passes the ball to Nani who nutmegs three Stoke defenders before knocking the ball into the air and putting United 3-2 up with an overhead backheeled chip into the far corner…. but no! The goal is ruled out for Rooney having bumped into a Stoke player. In a rage that wouldn’t look out of place on Bruce Banner, Rooney kicks the referee so hard in the knee that his metatarsal fractures, ruling him out of England’s World Cup group games.

5.22pm – Chelsea are in shock as after battering Wigan with 27 shots on target the visitors break down the field. John Terry catches a Rodallega shot with both hands and lobs it to the centre circle and then looks outraged when the referee whistles for a handball. He gets a stern telling off. Charles N’Zogbia scores from the free-kick and puts Wigan 2-1 up!

5.28pm – Carlos Tevez scores at West Ham but is booked for time-wasting when he celebrates by personally apologising to every Hammer in the ground.

5.33pm – Fulham score from a corner as a cross is nodded in. Arsene Wenger remonstrates with the fourth official for letting Fulham use their heads.

5.35pm – Oblivious to Hull having gone 2-0 up, Rafa Benitez is gleefully trying to start a “Stand Up If You Hate Fergie” chant.

5.39pm – With a minute plus injury time left and Chelsea still losing, Dimitar Berbatov’s moment finally arrives. Valencia puts an inch-perfect cross in and Berbatov controls the ball, nonchalantly flicks it over two defenders and rifles a rocket-shot into the top corner! 3-2!

5.40pm – United seal a win, and surely a fourth Premier League title, as Federico Macheda taps one in from a yard out and reacts as though he’s just scored a wondergoal. The smug-looking git.

5.41pm – Frank Lampard decides to remind England fans what they won’t be seeing this summer by pinging a shot into the top corner from 45 yards out. Just a minute or two left for Chelsea to get the winner they desperately need…

5.42pm – Arsenal, who looked comfortably third for so long, drop to fourth as in the final minute Clint Dempsey tackles one of Wenger’s WonderTots and accidentally boots him out of the stand and into the car park. A fine cross is played into the penalty area from the resulting freekick but various players leave it as they remember Arsene’s warning that heading the football is for neanderthals. It drops to Nicklas Bendtner instead who sends Spurs fans into dreamland by fluffing the shot straight at the keeper as the whistle goes while at White Hart Lane Spurs took three points courtesy of a late Peter Crouch header.

5.43pm – United’s game is over with a 4-2 win, and now all thoughts turn to Wigan. Chelsea force a corner and Titus Bramble tries to head the ball away but somehow ends up with the ball inside his shorts. As he flails around to try and remove it, he stumbles into the net, gifting Chelsea a 3-2 win and the Premier League title.

League finish: Chelsea (champions), Man United, Spurs, Arsenal, Man City, Aston Villa, Liverpool.

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To write a blog trying to decide whether I thought Liverpool threw the game against Chelsea would be almost as easy as the Dippers made it for the West London club. That debate even exists asto whether Liverpool gifted 3 points or if they are actually that bad is a new low for our once proud rivals up the M62. Yesterday’s reviews of their capitulation were varied. But, in surrendering even the faint hope of short term prosperity for more probable short term schadenfreude, those Liverpool fans who were happy to see their team lose not only the game but all of its integrity in one fell swoop are also presumably looking forward to the years in the wilderness that result guaranteed.

Liverpool’s fans wished for their own club to fail yesterday. That short term failure could have long term effects. Stretford-End.com explains why those fans should be careful what they wish for.

I was accused prior to the game of making excuses in advance when I challenged Rafael Benitez’s integrity. When I blogged prior to the weekends fixtures I acknowledged this but was under the impression that the feeling of a manager who is more than likely on his bike in the summer would not be replicated by the players or their infamous “12th man.”

Well, how wrong I was. That 12th man was busy making banners that demonstrated where their loyalties lied; any doubt on that score was eradicated when the eerie silence that shouldn’t accompany any home game, let alone one where in the last game of a season where there was still a Champions League spot up for grabs, was broken only after Frank Lampard scored a goal. Anfield broke into verse. Only, “Are you watching Manchester?” wasn’t quite the ditty you would associate with fans trying to inspire their team to an unlikely comeback.

Their response to Steven Gerrard’s blunder was as nonchalant as the response of the man himself. No remorse. No drive. No sense of urgency to make things right. Conspiracy theorists were shot down because of Gerrard’s previous – two similar errors to Thierry Henry in the space of a couple of months 6 years ago, though, don’t really count as previous. Not with 6 years time and a couple of Champions League finals worth of experience to boot. I don’t need to really state whether I think Gerrard’s assist for Drogba was intentional. It’s a sign of how poor this player is at this present time that there is a huge number of people clearly stating that this is just what they expect from him these days.

The extra time 3 days prior to the game was used as an excuse. Really? That’s really the best you could come up with?

What’s done is done. Unless the man himself has enough belief in himself and his convictions to admit it, we won’t know if it was intentional, just as we won’t know for sure if Liverpool fan Mike Dean, a ref whose professional integrity was under such suspicion from the FA that he was removed from a Cup Final they were in, meant to deliver one of the worst refereeing performances in English league history when we played Chelsea at Old Trafford. It could be argued Chelsea might not even have needed the assistance they received. But they did, and the damage that has done to the integrity of the competition cannot be underestimated.

The Telegraph took an alternative look at it, saying that Liverpool’s performance brought shame on the club and aura that it inherited from Bill Shankly. And while opinion can be split on whether the players threw it or were really as bad as a team doomed to relegation, opinion cannot be split on what is commonly seen as the most integral part of any football club – the fans. Dippers made their allegiances clear with their banners and anxiousness until Chelsea scored. They made their feelings clear by their nervousness that wouldn’t settle until Lampard scored the visitors second. Only then did they find their voice.

And, fair play, the 35,000 plus that were in Anfield yesterday to a man got the result they wanted. Chelsea won a game that they seldom looked like even imposing their presence on until they were gift wrapped and presented a goal, and their odds of 33/1 on to win the title next Sunday reflect the realism of the situation. It’s probable that Manchester United won’t be winning the league this season, that we won’t win a fourth successive title, that we won’t become outright record holders with 19 wins. Liverpool can safely say they’ve played their part in that and revel in that schadenfreude.

What of next season? Liverpool’s lack of effort and passion and subsequent defeat means they won’t be playing Champions League football next season. No matter what happens in the rest of the season, it’s only Liverpool themselves that guaranteed that by losing against Chelsea. The club are going backwards. Who knows if Steven Gerrard or Fernando Torres will stay there next season. If Manchester City get fourth place then you can probably safely write off the next 2 or 3 years of Champions League prospects for Liverpool in advance. Knowing that, there will likely be a mass exodus. Will they have the money or pull available to replace those players who leave with better? Who could they get better than Torres for less money and no offer of Champions League football? And where from there? The club is not secure enough to go through a period of instability and come out the other end. It’s not as stable as United were when Abramovich funded Chelsea. It’s not as strong as Arsenal, who seem as if they could probably cope if they were to go without Champions League football for a year or two.

If the fixture list pops up Liverpool against Manchester United in the death throes of next season and the Red Devils have the chance of the title again, we won’t be questioning the intention of the Liverpool players or the desire of the fans. That much is cast iron guarantee. But will their next incarnations of Kvarmes, Kennedys, Bjornbyes and Ruddocks be good enough to stop us?

The dippers can revel in the twisted logic of celebrating at best the incompetence of their own side and at worst the fraudulent nature of them. But that short term fun at our expense is a very real stepping stone on the way to fast becoming a club that will be battling for survival.

Every club has it’s share of morons who indulge in vicious and sick chants. We put that down to an unpleasant minority and hope that our shared love for the game would prevail. There are a new generation of Liverpool fans though, raised on having no notable memory of their own team have a period of success of no real memory of their last league trophy and have been conditioned to hate United more than support their own team. That hatred was at fever pitch when a large number of fans behaved inhumanly to attack the ambulance carrying Alan Smith to hospital in 2006 and was on show yesterday when to a man Anfield waited with baited breath for Chelsea to score.

Liverpool Football Club as it once was is no more – any lingering healthy respect for their accomplishments has been overshadowed by the pathetic nature of their supporters. Those fans will have to stomach the inevitable as it is now to be expected they will comfortably surpass a 26 year wait for a league trophy which they have so often been quick to jab at United fans. That will probably be the least of their worries as even the trophyless days of the last 4 years will seem like very pleasant memories in the face of what the journey they are about to embark upon.

But don’t feel sorry for them, not even a bit. After all, they quite literally asked for it.

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Liverpool’s game with Chelsea just became the biggest game of the season. Amid concerns over United’s great rivals approach to the game and despite Liverpool fans being torn over whether they even want their team to win, Stretford-End.com attempts to take a positive look at this huge clash.

I’ve been having what I guess given the popular penchant for tagging two terms together would be termed ”twarguments” (over Twitter, get it?) with a couple of precious Arsenal fans; among their criticisms of my opinions were their incredulousness at my belief that Mike Dean unfairly abused his position as a referee in the crucial Chelsea game recently. Of course, they neither knew or would accept the common knowledge that Dean is a Liverpool fan, so that itself proved I was embroiled in an exchange where a rational, informed opinion could not triumph.

I was however given cause to contemplate my own belief over my opinion of Rafael Benitez’s professional integrity. I was accused of having a ready made excuse should Chelsea win next week. You know, the more I think about it, it’s a valid point. I’m not exactly sure whether having a concern over Benitez’s integrity in advance – an opinion I hold regardless of an individual game, much as the opinion I have about Mike Dean’s professionalism – constitutes for preparing an excuse, but, by voicing that opinion, I suppose it would definitely look that way.

The first thing that should always be pointed out is that every loss or failure from a team provokes a reaction from a supporter to identify a reason for that failure. The most common is of course application of blame in general; cheating from the opposition or a bad refereeing decision, before compensating for your own team “that player was injured/played out of position” and similar tales of lament. No fan is completely magnaminous in defeat 100% of the time, nor can I be expected to comment on events that have happened yet.

To challenge my own view I went introspective and looked back. When Liverpool last had a huge say in United’s title hopes they beat Blackburn – managed by their favourite son Kenny Dalglish - only for us to screw it up (apologies for the grainy picture. It’s like that game didn’t even exist, online). They even won in the last minute after coming from behind, which would have made it sweeter, and gave no doubt whatsoever about their own application in that game. So, considering that, why do I have my doubts this time around?

Firstly, the Benitez factor, which goes without saying but I will elaborate just to flesh it out. This is a man who is so open in his dislike for Sir Alex that he delivered a targetted, personal attack (regardless of it having more holes than a Connect 4 board) and he just happens to be in charge of United’s (historically, anyway) biggest rivals. A man who has shown little integrity for the Premier League in the past. A Liverpool fan website recently ran a poll where there was a definite split opinion over the question “do you want to win or lose”?

Coupled with my feeling about the inherent integrity of Benitez are the repercussions or punishment of a laying down. When he fielded a team of reserves in 2007 against Fulham, Sheffield United were the team who were relegated as an indirect consequence of that result – the Blades probably concentrated on the wrong wrong, if that makes sense, by blaming the Tevez affair. When the FA fined Wolves this season for their weakened team at Old Trafford their official line was that they “deemed that the club had failed to fulfil its obligations to the league and other clubs in the utmost good faith and was therefore in breach of Rule B13.”

No clubs yet have taken the action of challenging retrospective team selections, but the interesting thing is that the fine was suspended in any event. If Liverpool make wholesale changes for the Chelsea game (not out of the question should results not go their way on Saturday) then they are certainly in breach of Rule B13. Would it be worth it to risk a suspended fine? Of course it would, if you were cynical. Meanwhile, the team who really get punished are a third party. The punishment for Sheffield United was being relegated; the punishment for Manchester United will be potentially having their chances of winning the Premier League taken from them; the punishment for the team that would directly cause this? Nothing, in the case of the Sheffield United relegation, and the remote possibility of a suspended fine in this case.

Liverpool fan referee Mike Dean was demoted for his performance at Old Trafford when we played Chelsea. A temporary demotion for being single handedly responsible for one of the worst decisions in English football history, which had a defining influence on the hated rivals of his favourite team. As I wrote back after that game, Dean’s professional integrity was considered dubious enough to remove him from the FA Cup Final in 2006. The FA are as much to blame for his curious appointment to the United/Chelsea game, but the fact remains the cost for United is far greater than the cost to Mike Dean.

I won’t pretend to have the solution for this; other than thinking a punishment to fit the crime would be appropriate, but would be practically impossible to implement. There are all kinds of situations that see clubs docked points, but the FA seem to be able to do what they want without being questioned or punished. Asking for the Chelsea game to be replayed is unrealistic and paints me as a bitter fan; something I also addressed after the game when I said that as much as the game was exhibit A for those who want video technology to be introduced, I have always disagreed with the essence of it, so however much it bites or sticks in my throat, I can’t just change my opinion because it’s gone against my team. But, shouldn’t Mike Dean be sacked, named and shamed for his obvious corruption? Even that seems a small price to pay, considering as a grown adult, Dean must have realised this was a possibility in advance and decided to do it anyway. Would a suspended £25,000 fine for Liverpool in 2007 really be appropriate given the millions and millions of pounds of lost income for Sheffield United?

One of the things that was mentioned to me was that if Liverpool lose despite having tried their best, United fans will still say they laid down. Anyone can tell the difference between a manager that has picked a side to win or not and a team that is applied or not. Look at the difference of Chelsea’s recent games, Bolton, Spurs and Stoke. Bolton played with great courage and deserved something from the game despite their lack of quality, Spurs of course upset the applecart, and Stoke were already on their holidays. I’m not suggesting anything untoward occured from Tony Pulis’ men, but you would probably have seen greater application had that fixture been in January or February, and this was a comment I did make days prior to the game. So, as long as Liverpool give it a go with merit to their own club with respect to what they want to achieve, then you can’t ask for anything more.

I’m don’t want to dwell on re-inforcing my opinion, rather, I wanted to write a piece that is more optimistic in tone. So, how could it all go right? Well, to quickly challenge my point about the supporter opinion, I did read a comment on a forum from a Liverpool fan who said he would rather “die with pride than live with shame”. It sums up the mentality of any right minded supporter, but still, one would suspect that it’s the mindset of someone 30 or over, who has lived long enough to witness his own clubs success and prefers that to the schadenfreude of watching United fail.

It will be FSW’s last home game (if the rumours of his exit are to be believed). If results go their way on Saturday, they will still have a fighting chance of finishing 4th with a comfortable looking game v Hull on the last day. If results don’t go their way? Well, in that case, we’ll be rooting for an Everton win. Everton play at Stoke, and if the Potters play anything like they did against Chelsea, that will be three points for David Moyes’ team.

It’s one thing suffering the blow of not qualifying for the Champions League, it’s quite another suffering the indignity of finishing lower than their fierce local rivals Everton, and finishing lower than Everton in a race for a European spot. They could make sure that doesn’t happen with a win at Hull but do they really want to go into that game uncertain? Hull after all do have nothing to lose, so the players would surely want to send the Kop home happy in the knowledge that Everton can’t catch them in the last game regardless of result. Even a point against Chelsea would secure this, with Liverpool’s goal difference.

The other factor to consider is how much Thursday’s Europa League game takes out of the Liverpool team to the extent it’s a ready made excuse. Extra time and you might as well throw the towel in and tie blue ribbons to the the Premier League trophy, an early goal from Atletico and we’ll know that it has to be settled in 90 minutes. It will be a question of whether a group of professional players can play two games in 4 days; though if Sunday’s opponents were United, well.. we have a recent example that demonstrates after a Thursday night tie, they did field a full strength side against us.

Under Roy Evans, hell even under Gerard Houllier, I would have no qualms about the professionalism of the Liverpool players. You look at Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher and think they have something to prove. You look at David N’Gog or Ryan Babel and think this is a chance to show they can have a future at the club. Regardless of this and their poor season, their home record is quite formidable and matches up to most other teams in the league. All this talk of “will they roll over” should really be enough to see a fully committed performance from Liverpool. The only way the race for a Champions League spot will be mathematically out of their hands over the weekend will be if they don’t win against Chelsea. They know that all it takes will be a draw between City and Spurs next midweek and they will go into the last game with a stronger or at least comparable goal difference and with the benefit of their experience, should they win against Chelsea. It’s an unlikely scenario but, after United, who are the one club who defy the odds to get achievements? The dippers.

If you’re re-reading this and wondering why you didn’t see this bit the first time, I have slightly edited this piece after a good point raised in discussion with a fellow United fan. I saw another popular fansite run an opinion piece where the editor claimed he would want United to throw the game if we were in Liverpool’s position.

My friend was shocked by this; the reason being that in any situation you want your own club to be better regardless of the repercussions for anyone else. He rightly said, if we were in Liverpool’s position and there was a chance we wouldn’t qualify for the Champions League then we would automatically find ourselves behind in attracting the better players and then attracting finance (Glazers aside, for this hypothetical).

Whether or not we would be able to compete the following season, then the season after? Pointing out the relegations of teams like Newcastle and Leeds who were playing Champions League football less than ten years ago clearly illustrates the point. He also mentioned something I couldn’t believe I missed first time round and that was Gillett and Hicks. They are selling the club and are wanting a better price – buyers are waiting to see what happens regarding the competition they’re in. This won’t neccessarily change Benitez’s view given he’ll more than likely be gone when the repercussions hit home but it does put pressure on players such as Babel and Lucas who with all respect don’t want to be shipped out to clubs in the way that, for example, Jermaine Pennant was. I can’t speak for Liverpool or their supporters, merely my own point of view, and this is all of course just speculation and debate. If I were a Liverpool supporter I wouldn’t want my club to compromise any chance of prosperity or success even if it meant our biggest rivals getting a trophy.

After all my concerns over Benitez’s professionalism he has had quite a few run-in’s with Chelsea in his time in England – most of the staff may have changed but the club hasn’t. If this is to be Benitez’s last chance at getting one over on a Chelsea side that have proven tough opponents at home and in Europe, then it was at least encouraging to hear the Liverpool boss saying the right things, that the club are still aiming for fourth.

To further counter it, merely seconds before pressing edit, I was intrigued by another Tweeter who referenced a situation where he had joined in chanting encouraging the team he was following not to score – the team he supported were 2-1 down to a relegation threatened side and they had just discovered the rivals of the team they were supporting would be relegated instead if his team didn’t score (wow, that was a complicated sentence).

I can’t answer how I would feel if in that circumstance the team being relegated would be Liverpool, but my partner is from a huge West Ham supporting family (yes, I am North of the Watford Gap) and I was gutted that we lost in the last game of the 06/07 season even with their delight. No great compassion and certainly not a glowing reference to my ability as a significant other but at least, somewhat topical reference to my unerring support to the club I support even when it “doesn’t matter”.

It’s likely to be the last chapter of a topsy turvy season that has seen so many teams become embroiled in the fortunes of others that the top league has become almost incestuous. Some will say United’s failure in games they should have got points from, particularly at Blackburn, means that they aren’t good enough to win the league regardless of what happens at Anfield. We haven’t done enough. Some just commend us for even being in it at this stage after being struck with so many defensive injuries in the winter – in all seriousness, all season – at the same time.

It almost goes against the grain – beyond the pale, as Sir Alex would say – to want Liverpool to get fourth, not least because the end results of the season – the usual suspects in the CL, and the worst 3 teams relegated – will indicate it has been another predictable season, when the reality has proved that it’s been anything but. United fans will be hoping the status quo is maintained, because if it is, we will have been given every chance to have retained the title. And if we don’t even then? Then, we really will only have ourselves to blame.

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I’m sure someone will mention the fact that Fernando Torres actually scored within five minutes, however I would argue the fact that Torres is a world class striker and if you give him an inch of space he can and will punish you as he did this afternoon. Vidic looked a tad nervy around Torres at first, however after the first ten minutes he found his composure and put those ghosts of last year to rest. He got close to Torres when he needed to stop the striker from turning and stood off when he needed to.

Nemanja again operated on a the left hand side of the centre half pairing, with his pass completion rate higher than it was at Anfield earlier in the season. You would of course expect our defenders to get more of the ball against a counter attacking side like Liverpool, however his 93% pass completion rate highlights his composure and confidence when faced with a pacey forward like Torres. In the first fifteen minutes Torres was operating on the right hand side, which is where Vidic was operating:

As I said earlier, I think Vidic was obviously weary playing against a top striker that has just come into a run of form after injury, which is why he was hesitant at times when Torres was dribbling at him. However, the rest of the half showed Torres’ passing being intercepted by Vidic – which saw him shift over to the left hand side (red dots highlight failed passes):

I think once United found their feet and started moving the ball quicker, Liverpool couldn’t keep up. United started to dominate play, which obviously meat the service to Torres and Gerrard became limited. Steven Gerrard played much further forward in the first half, before being forced into making more tackles second half, which was a result of United’s dominance:

Gerrard first half tackles:

Gerrard second half tackles:

Steven Gerrard’s withdrawl to a more deeper role gave Ferdinand and Vidic more space to operate in and push forward as a libero, something Rio Ferdinand does naturally very well. Liverpool’s counter attacking mentality meant that they dropped deeper as the game went on compared to the first fifteen minutes, when they actually attacked United. This is reflected in Nemanja Vidic passes in the first twenty minutes compared to the rest of the game. Vidic misplaced three passes all games, two of which happened int he first seventeen minutes:

Vidic passes first twenty minutes:

Vidic passes after twenty minutes:

United did start out with Michael Carrick playing a holding role and obviously to have a responsibility in monitoring Steven Gerrard, something in which he failed to do in the build up to the Liverpool goal. After the goal, Ferguson dropped Fletcher a little deeper to operate alongside Michael Carrick with Ji-Sung Park higher up the pitch. This was brilliantly pointed out by Zonal Marking (a website I all recommend you read daily) – which gave United a better shape, but left Rooney and Park isolated up the pitch. We all know the work rate and stamina of Darren Fletcher and you all know the praise we have for him on here, so his ability to pick up the ball deep and drive forward – whilst also getting back behind the ball after being high up the field highlights how pivotal he is when playing against a counter attacking side.

In the second half Park put in a great performance, having been excellent against Aston Villa and AC Milan recently. However, the first half paints a different picture as the Korean was caught in possession too many times, whilst being sloppy with the passes that he did make. There was no tactical shift as he operated in the same space in the second half, he merely raised his game to the levels that we saw against Milan recently, resulting in him getting on the ball more and producing a better pass completion rate:

Ji Sung Park first half passes:

Ji Sung Park second half passes:

I felt that in the first half the game was passing Park by as he couldn’t get hold of the football. Credit to him in the second half as he put in a fine performance resulting in a vital goal to give us the victory. Last night I sent out a ‘tweet’ that asked whether United should line up with Valencia or Nani on the right hand side – Fergie went for both of them with Valencia favoured on the right. Nani has been excellent on the right hand side of midfield and has put in his better performances there, rather than on the left hand side. Against the attack minded Glenn Johnson, you would be forgiven to be a slightly concerned. However, Nani at times was class against Johnson, cutting back on his right and allowing Evra to overlap, whilst also inviting challenges that resulted in a foul. Nani also didn’t ignore his defensive duties by working up and down the left hand side as a outlet to pass to, whilst also putting in a number of tackles (6:2 compared to Valencia). Compare the number of passes made by Valencia and Nani over the course of the ninety minutes:

Nani’s passes:

Valencia’s passes:

Valencia was much further forward, as these stats suggest, which resulted in Insua being pushed back and limited to a defensive outlet. Johnson is a far more accomplished attacking full back, which is why Nani had to operate a little deeper. Having said that both wingers put in good performances today, with Valencia getting the penalty in the first half after a driving run from the right hand side into the box. Below are the conflicting passes made by both Liverpool fullbacks:

Insua’s passes show him being pushed back:

Johnson completed more passes and was more venturous on the right hand side:

So to conclude, United put in a very solid performance against a counter attacking, cautious Liverpool side. Antonio Valencia continues to impress as attacking force on the right hand side, whilst Darren Fletcher continues to go from strength to strength in United’s midfield. Nemanja Vidic may leave United in the summer after speculation that his wife is unhappy and in the wake of signing Chris Smalling from Fulham. He won the majority of headers, looked assured in his passing and as the game went on kept Fernando Torres quiet.

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