Manchester United 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur |
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December 1, 2009
In a repeat of the final from last season there was a familiar result as Manchester United overcame Tottenham Hotspur. Darron Gibson scored two fantastic long range goals to secure a semi final spot for the Red Devils in a tie that was more straightforward than they could ever have hoped for. Comments (0)
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The Kids Are Alright.. Win or Lose Tonight |
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Rarely will Sir Alex have been so delighted at the speed of another occasion to throw in his latest set of fledglings as he will be tonight – after they were roundly criticised for not winning against Besiktas despite battering them, the Carling Cup tie against last years finalists Tottenham provides him with a glorious opportunity to test their character. |
Reaction to the Tottenham Victory |
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September 13, 2009
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Match Report: Tottenham Hotspur 1 – 3 Manchester United |
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September 12, 2009
Tottenham Hotspur 1 – 3 Manchester United Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and White Hart Lane have always been three ingredients that are among the most likely to provide a high octane advert for the English League – and this clash was no different. Continue reading Match Report: Tottenham Hotspur 1 – 3 Manchester United |
Fergie: Ferdinand could make Spurs trip |
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September 11, 2009
Manchester United centre half Rio Ferdinand could be fit for the trip to London to take on Spurs on Saturday after Sir Alex Ferguson claimed he had a ‘chance’ of making the squad. Ferdinand has been out for nearly a month after injuring a thigh muscle in training for United – with young Evans deputising for the experienced defender. |
Match Report: Manchester United 5-2 Tottenham Hotspur |
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April 25, 2009 You may also find these links interesting:
Manchester United took an almighty step towards lifting a third successive Premier League title with a quite dramatic comeback against Tottenham Hotspur. Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney scored four goals between them with boo boy Dimitar Berbatov rounding the scoring off. United knew that Liverpool had beaten Hull City 3-1 prior to kick off, which kept the challengers on top by goal difference, and it was essential that United obtained the three points at home to Spurs. Considering Spurs had not won at Old Trafford since December 1989 – United would have been confident in heading into the fixture. Berbatov was back in at the expense of Giggs, whilst Fletcher and Carrick were brought back into replace Scholes and Anderson. Sir Alex obviously looking ahead to the Champions League clash with Arsenal on Wednesday decided it would be best to rest both Scholes and Giggs whilst giving players like Nani a chance to make an impression. United’s first half performance was distinctly average without any great urgency in the passing or movement. This lack of urgency gave the visitors confidence and the North Londoners settled with some good football, which had United on the back foot at times. United conceded the first goal in the 29th minute when Ferdinand and Vidic failed to deal with a cross from the right and the fortuitously fell to Spurs’ number 10 Darren Bent who smashed it past Edwin Van Der Sar. It didn’t get any better three minutes later when Aaron Lennon, who put in a superb first half performance against Evra, dropped a cross in from the right to the back post where an unmarked Modric placed a left footed shot past the stranded Van Der Sar. Modric was left unmarked as young Brazilian fullback Rafael was caught out of position – which gave the Croatian an easy finish. Cristiano Ronaldo had a number of set pieces, which were dealt with by the error prone Tottenham goalkeeper Gomes. The Spurs stopper also made a quite remarkable save from a Ronaldo half volley. United’s number seven struck a free kick into the wall which bounced back to the Portuguese winger who proceed in smashing the ball towards the top corner. The ball looked destined for the back of the net, with the Stretford End on their feet, the Spurs goalkeeper somehow managed to get his finger tips to the ball. United went in at half time 2-0 down with much to do in the second half. Ferguson’s intentions were obvious with the inclusion of Carlos Tevez for the ineffective Nani. Tevez was deployed up top alongside Dimitar Berbatov, with Wayne Rooney operating from the left hand side. Tevez’s introduction lifted both his teammates and the crowd as the industrious forward closed down the ball from all over the pitch, making the Tottenham players rush their play. United’s break through came on the 57th minute when Gomes was alleged to have brought down Michael Carrick after a superb Wayne Rooney pass. Howard Webb immediately gave the penalty without hesitation, however it was clear from television replay’s that the Tottenham goalkeeper had touch the ball before bring Carrick down. Ronaldo didn’t care though and stepped up to score his 22nd goal (in all competitions) for United this season – smashing the ball down the centre. Tottenham were clearly rattled by the decision, which gave United the confidence to search for more. They were rewarded ten minutes after the first when Wayne Rooney, who was quite simply breathtaking in the second half , scored a right footed shot after a good pass from Carlos Tevez. Wayne Rooney may get frustrated in not playing in his favourite position more often (as a main striker), however he will have to stop proving to be such a versatile player – he was at times unstoppable. It was Rooney who then setup the third goal a minute later when he crossed for Cristiano Ronaldo who proceeded in heading the ball past Gomes. Cue the Old Trafford eruption, with Ronaldo celebrating erratically with his team mates. In the space of twenty three minutes United had taken the lead after being two goals down at half time. It got worse for Tottenham three minutes later when Ronaldo returned the favour, from the right side though this time, by picking out Rooney who was lurking at the far post. Rooney took a touch before placing the ball past the keeper. Ex Manchester City defender Corluka tried in vain to stop the ball crossing the line – however his momentum took him over the line, closely followed by the ball – 4-2. This remarkable comeback was rounded off by Dimitar Berbatov, who had been booed by some United fans, when Wayne Rooney swung in another delightful cross from the left. United’s number ten checked onto his right foot, waiting for the right moment, before placing a inch perfect pass onto the head of Berbatov. The Bulgarian’s header was saved by Gomes, however Berbatov bundled in the rebound – giving United a 5-2 lead. United’s win brought back memories of Steve Bruce scoring at Sheffield Wednesday in 1993, Chris Eagles scoring at Everton in 2007 or more recently Federico Macheda scoring against Aston Villa at the Stretford End. United performance was much better than recent matches and Sir Alex Ferguson will be hoping the result will spur his men on for Wednesday’s clash with Arsenal – with United knowing they have an amazing opportunity to retain the double. Make no mistake this is a massive win that, although was clouded in controversy, is a massive step towards the title. Ten more points from a remaining fifteen will give United a third successive title and eighteen titles all in all. |
Match Report: Manchester United 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur |
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March 2, 2009 You may also find these links interesting:  Manchester United won the Carling Cup on penalties after a confident display in the penalty shoot out following a goalless 120 minutes – which they just about edged. The Red Devils made all the early running and a free kick from Ronaldo, a long shot from Darron Gibson and a fantastic piece of improvisation from Rio Ferdinand all resulted in the ball going narrowly over or wide from long distance, while Nani was the only United player to really test goalkeeper Gomes with a 20 yard drive. Tottenham pushed on towards the end of the first half with Aaron Lennon showing his football equivalence of a toothless Yorkshire Terrier – plenty of running and effort but no real bite at the end of it, save for a shot in the second half which United keeper Ben Foster saved magnificently. Anderson made his return from injury coming on for Danny Welbeck and immediately added a dynamism to the midfield, regularly carrying the ball over long distances or finding unexpected spaces, while Paul Scholes’ good form continued as the Ginger Prince sprayed 50 yard pass after 50 yard pass all over the pitch. With a quarter of the game remaining Chris Foy made a big call by booking Cristiano Ronaldo for diving after a challenge from Ledley King just inside the area. Clearly this was a case of the Madeira magician’s reputation preceding him and his dive last week against Blackburn will have done him no favours in this instance. Replays showed contact was made and the debate will go on, do Ronaldo’s previous wrongs make this incorrect decision right? Anderson had a 20 yard drive comfortably handled by Gomes and the best chance of the entire game came with 30 seconds of injury time after 90 minutes remaining, Ronaldo cutting in wickedly from the left and driving with real menace. The ball for once evaded the Spurs keeper but smashed against the post and bounced back into play. United were shorn of Wayne Rooney due to a virus and Sir Alex Ferguson opted to leave Berbatov out altogether – this left the team with little aerial threat and the decision to replace Gibson with Ryan Giggs for extra time showed that Fergie was looking to win the tie with incisive passing. The extra period provided little in the way of chances – just one clear cut for each side, Foster doing well again to deny Bent and Evra’s speculative shot astonishingly flying over the crossbar. With penalties looming Redknapp brought on Bentley and O’Hara (who had missed last years triumph after being dropped by Ramos). Ryan Giggs was first up and his penalty cannoned off the same post Ronaldo had hit earlier, only this time the ball whipped into the back of the net. United’s good fortune, and O’Hara’s unfortunate relationship with the Cup continued as the youngster’s strike was superbly saved by Ben Foster. Tevez scored, as did Corluka, and when Ronaldo exorcised his Champions League demons with a successful strike from 12 yards Bentley knew his penalty was crucial. The expensive summer signing fluffed his lines, though, as his shot went wide of the post, and it was left to Anderson to have the chance to win the Cup. United fans had already seen Anderson’s coolness under such pressure when he converted a sudden death penalty in the Champions League, and the man himself appeared to have little concern as he casually knocked the ball past Gomes to claim the trophy for Sir Alex’s troops. The manager himself remained cool on talk of an unprecedented quintuple, but one thing that cannot be denied is that after this triumph and with such a commanding position in the league, United are on the verge of at least the second most successful season by an English side ever (the first being United’s treble side of 1999), regardless of whether they win the European Cup or FA Cup. Source: (Yolkie) |
Ronaldo, Redknapp, priority and sacrifice |
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February 22, 2009
Ronaldo’s petulanceThose who watched the game on Setanta Sports will have had the misfortune of being subjected to Craig Burley’s personal singling out of Cristiano following his flick out against Blackburn, saying that this was the “3rd or 4th time” he’s done it this season, before later correcting it to “4th or 5th time”, highlighting the incidents at Tottenham and Stoke (so that makes it the 3rd). I won’t make excuses, Ronaldo probably deserved to go. But where was the same vilification when Diouf did the same shortly after? And, perhaps more significantly, where were the statements of uproar when Ronaldo trudged off pitches in the autumn with stud marks and bruises clearly visible all over his legs? Indeed, David Dunn was giving Ronaldo more than just a little personal attention when our winger retaliated. Perhaps to those who believe they walk on a moral high ground they will say two wrongs don’t make a right and Ronaldo should go (without making any kind of comment about the treatment he has suffered prior to his lashes out). As Craig Burley said “Ronaldo is supposed to be world player of the year. He should be used to this treatment”. Really? Should he? Maybe he’s grown tired of the lack of action taken against his numerous attackers so he’s decided to do something about it. Some would call it petulant, just as many violent. But there’s a small pocket of us who would call it retribution. Seven points clear and a trip to the San SiroLiverpool’s title challenge lasted longer than most expected – the leaves are normally just falling off the trees rather than wondering when it’s time to come back – okay, maybe a little tongue in cheek there, as there is still a long way to go and despite their latest setback they have shown the resilience to avoid defeat. Generally this has been Rafael Benitez’s trademark and as such he is recognised as a good Cup manager, but there is still time for them to change those draws into wins. Nevertheless, City’s unexpected result at Anfield gave United some cheer heading into the Champions League 2nd round at the San Siro on Tuesday night. Cheer that’s badly needed given the potential defensive mis-shape – the last time we were so badly afflicted for selection at the back was probably our last trip to Milan almost two years ago, and no-one needs a reminder of how that turned out. That said, even John O’Shea has a calmer head on his shoulders, and though I suspect Fergie was keen to avoid selecting Rafael in the away leg, in being almost forced to do so he may see the making of the youngster. Against Barcelona’s riches at the Nou Camp only Ferdinand and Evra from our “first choice” four played, so there is cause for some optimism, or at least, little negativity. From a result perspective, a score draw or even a score in defeat by the odd goal wouldn’t be a disaster. Harry Redknapp and the fine line of a priority and sacrificeThe last 5 days have showed and the next 8 days will show the difference in mentality between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, but more relevantly, show the shortcomings of Harry Redknapp as a manager of a “top, top” club, and why long term he is probably not the right choice for Spurs. Prioritising team selection with one eye on the next game is all well and good but one thing that has constantly baffled me over the last 2 years or so (finally enough to provoke me into blogging about it) is the decision of some managers to treat the UEFA Cup with such contempt. Redknapp all but threw the towel in before what (on paper at least) seemed a very winnable tie against Spartak Moscow and has more or less conceded defeat for the second leg by declaring he is going to give debuts to teenagers. His reasoning for this is that the Cup final is a more important game. In isolation, he may have a fair point. And with Fergie saying that our team is going to be the same as the one that has qualified for the final, Spurs will arguably go into the game as favourites. But if they do win the game, what then? The whole point is to qualify for Europe, for the same “glory nights” they earned the right to have this season, the same nights which Harry is arguably pissing up the wall. It’s not just a point against Redknapp, it’s a bizarre epidemic that reaches far and wide. Gary Megson inexplicably left 7 first teamers at home as Bolton travelled to Sporting Lisbon with more than a fighting chance of making the UEFA Cup quarter finals last year. They went out, narrowly, leaving the travelling fans wondering what might have been. A surprise package in Zenit went onto win the trophy and although it turned out that they were actually a very strong side at the time, surely there is a massive “what if?” lingering for some Trotters fans. And with a potential clash with AC Milan as a carrot for sides in this season’s competition, I can’t for the life of me understand why it isn’t being treated with seriousness. I’m aware the argument in principle is a very fair one, that the priority is Premier League survival. But should the priority be at the sacrifice at everything else? Teams at the 3rd and 4th round stages of the FA Cup field weak sides with the guise that survival is their priority but when you get 10 or 11 sides doing this and you know three of those sides will get relegated, it seems such a shame to the fans of those sides who get relegated or narrowly avoid it that their manager robbed them of the chance of a little bit of excitement in the Cup competitions. Of course it’s just my opinion but last season’s FA Cup quarter finals as well as Middlesbrough’s fantastic UEFA Cup run a few years back should have at least served as a glorious reminder of the feeling of success against the feeling of another season of underachievement. Personally, I feel that progression in competitions has just as much potential to provide an extra buzz and enthusiasm as it does to provide a hindrance. There’s a fine line between team selection and sacrifice and I just happen to feel sorry for the fans of such clubs, as well as lucky that Sir Alex recognises the difference. That’s why, win or lose in the Carling Cup final, I at least won’t bemoan the team selection. For every manager you get bemoaning that there are too many games you’ll probably be able to find 20,000 fans who can’t get enough of the games coming thick and fast. Yes, perhaps the footballers cannot play to optimum ability with so many games, yes, that’s why teams have big squads and yes, of course teams with smaller squads will always use that as an excuse. At the end of the day though it’s still only 90 minutes of (occasionally) chasing a ball around a fantastically kept piece of lawn. I’m not Frank Lampard’s biggest fan but think of the stick he gets for his supposedly generously proportioned body, and then take into consideration he almost never misses a game for Chelsea. What do others think? Am I being too much of a fantasist? Has the game changed so much that fans accept being out of cup competitions at the earliest opportunity in order to supposedly increase chance of league stability? If you’ve managed to get to the end of the blog, thanks for reading! Let me know what you think on any of the issues. Source:(Yolkie) |
Match Report: Manchester United 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur |
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January 25, 2009 You may also find these links interesting:  A low key FA Cup 4th Round tie saw Manchester United deservedly progress thanks to a lovely Dimitar Berbatov goal against his old club, but Sir Alex Ferguson will be counting the cost as his patched up side suffered even more injuries. Tottenham started stung by their poor midweek performance and United’s naive defending allowed Pavlyuchenko all the room he needed to head in easily past Ben Foster. It took a while but United did spring into life before the break, with Tevez hitting the bar and Ronaldo going close, before 2 goals in just a couple of minute turned the tie on its head. First, Michael Carrick’s pulled back corner was struck by Scholes and then deflected by Huddlestone past Spurs keeper Ben Alnwick, and then Carrick’s stunning lofted pass was brilliantly controlled by Berbatov and steered in from 20 yards. The real highlight of the game had been the enterprising and confident play from debutant Fabio, but unfortunately he was the first injury casualty. His replacement, another debutant, Richard Eckersley, was composed at full back. Worse was to follow as Cristiano Ronaldo appeared to be injured as he came off, and then stand in winger Danny Welbeck had to be assisted from the pitch before the end. United made efforts to add to their lead in the second half with the bright Tevez at the centre of most things, while Michael Carrick was brilliant, and Zoran Tosic made an impressive substitute debut outing replacing Ronaldo. But though Sir Alex will be pleased to get through to the 5th round he will have concerns over Ronaldo with a massive league game at the Hawthornes coming up on Tuesday. Source:(Yolkie) |
Match Report: Spurs 0-0 Manchester United |
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December 14, 2008 You may also find these links interesting:
Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Manchester United The Premier League Champions concluded their pre-New Years domestic schedule of visits to last years top 9 with a drab goalless draw at White Hart Lane. A United side shorn of the suspended Evra and Rooney, and holding Giggs, Nani and Anderson back on the bench seemed bereft of any threat, as did their hosts. Indeed it was substitute Giggs’ fantastic last minute free kick effort which proved the closest United would come to a goal, as Spurs much maligned keeper Gomes rounded off a defying display to push the Welshman’s strike onto the crossbar. Returning £30m front man Dimitar Berbatov was booed at every opportunity by the home crowd while constant villain Cristiano Ronaldo offered little in the way of productivity – Sir Alex Ferguson’s insistence to play Park at the expense of his more able alternatives was just the the tip of the iceberg in the case of reasons the Red Devils were never going to win the game. Manchester United head to the World Club Championship in Tokyo this week and will now be hoping after this slip up – which saw their away record extend to a pitiful three wins in 9 games – that leaders Liverpool and Chelsea don’t put an unattainable obstacle in their path before the trip to Stoke on Boxing Day. Source:(Yolkie) |
