Stretford-End.com takes a look back at 2010. It would be easy to spend all our time patting ourselves on the back after a fantastic year for the site but we have never been ones to stand still. In this piece we’ll have a slight moment of reflection to acknowledge all that we achieved in the last 12 months, and our look back at the best of 2010, before having a look at our pre-season predictions and how we’re faring up and concluding with a look at what’s to come in 2011.

2010, what a year

Where to start? Stretford-End.com grew to the point where it is by far the most pro-active, collaborative, forward thinking and innovative United website – in fact, we even reached the point where the BBC described us a Supporters Group in the wake of Rooney-gate. It would be wrong of us to take the credit for that; everything we write has the same value, it is a bunch of black words typed onto a white background. You as the reader create the community so it’s not with delusion that I constantly talk about making a difference. Thank you for thinking we have opinions worth championing, and thank you for making your agreement heard.

So, how did we become the most “pro active, collaborative, forward thinking and innovative United website”? We broke news – club exclusives – before anywhere else in the world. Stories that appeared here and then days later appeared in the press of different countries. Some of our stories are obviously still in the air as we await confirmation; some, like our new Shirt exclusive in April and our Ozil exclusive in August, have already confirmed our authenticity. It was never our intention to become a gossip website nor is that our intention for the future; we merely passed on information we believed to be huge.

We have opinions – big opinions, and we’re not afraid to voice them. When we say we’re asking a question, you can rest assured that we’re asking the question. When we said we wrote an open letter to Wayne Rooney, you better believe that it was sent to the club via Old Trafford/Carrington and email. When we appealed to the club to buy Nobby Stile’s medals at auction, we did so directly to the club again. When we launched our own, individual support for the Green and Gold campaign – appealing that the club do not release a green and gold shirt while the Glazers are in charge – we did so to United and to Nike, and we intend to send them our petitions.

To try and become the most comprehensive fan run website we added two amazing guys to our staff; Kyle, and Doron. To ensure that we were embracing technology, and to ensure we were giving you, the reader, the best chance to have this information at your convenience, we became the first Premier League fan website to launch an iPhone application.

Not wanting to stand still, we took a bold step and launched an official “Vodcast” on our YouTube channel. We even managed to get ex-United player David May to voice his opinion on the big games for us!

Forward thinking? When supporters and fan websites may have called for signings that didn’t even make sense, we concentrated on what was needed. The opinion constantly peddled by myself and Doron using Twitter and this blog about Anderson came in for a lot of stick but is (tentatively) being proven right. I will elaborate more in the next segment but the Wayne Rooney letter was surprisingly well received – this, however, was only the aftermath of an eerie feeling I had, firstly prior to the season and then the day before the Rooney bombshell hit.

What you get from Stretford-End.com is an informed opinion and a reliable gut instinct that correlates with the heart and soul of the club; you will get more of the same in 2011.

Predicitons – How are we doing?

Obviously difficult to pigeonhole just how we are doing success wise; my hopes of a hat-trick of Carling Cup successes were extinguished in December, but even with our collective concerns about injuries, I doubt any of us at Stretford-End.com expected us to be unbeaten in every other competition at the turn of the year. On top with games in hand, United are in pole position, and while we all backed us – naturally – only Kyle did it with the conviction of calling us favourites.

We identified Chelsea as the main contenders for the championship; no-one could have predicted how quickly the double winners seem to have regressed, while the wary prediction that City would come good given the right chemistry still seems unclear.

A collective prediction that Rooney would shine has spectacularly backfired for the first half of the season; we’re hoping for an equally spectacular turnaround in the second half. Doron’s slightly hedged bet of Nani and Anderson in there is probably the closest; but Kyle’s choices perhaps seemed to be using the finger of doom, as Darren Fletcher has struggled to re-capture the form of last season.

Kyle was a little luckier with his predictions for breakout star – both Anderson and Berbatov have lived up to his words, while my own hope that Rafael would finally stamp his mark on the right back role has come to fruition. Anderson was a collective, unspoken choice, so in plumping for another name, Kiko Macheda was mentioned – though, one rescue act at Villa Park aside, there has been little to write home about in terms of opportunity for the Italian.

Outside of the club, our predictions of “best player” generally wearing the blue of Chelsea have been off the mark; but Kyle was bang on the money predicting a huge rise for Gareth Bale. Unsurprisingly we all woefully underestimated Blackpool though Wolves and Fulham were correctly tipped to struggle. In our general predictions, most accurate to this stage were my own of a “bombshell to rock Old Trafford” that happened in October with Rooney-gate, and Doron’s wonderful prediction that Liverpool would not even make the European spots looks like it might just come true.

Looking forward…

No-one can predict what the future will bring, especially in the world of blogging as sometimes popularity is just as reliant on the news as it is on the reliability of our opinions. What we can do is share a couple of things in the pipeline; the vodcasts will eventually become podcasts (but remain vodcasts, too!), and, in January, we plan to once again lead the way when we launch the first ever “Webzine” from a Manchester United blog. The webzine will be a PDF file and will be available for free download and email.

It will feature exclusive content; interviews with ex-players, features, unique content regarding match previews and editorials and also interaction from you, the reader. It will also include the best of Stretford-End.com from the previous month, including all our match reports.

A blog for the webzine is coming shortly so stick around to see how you can be in our first issue.

Manchester United welcome Arsenal to Old Trafford on Monday evening, in a top of the table encounter. Never has the difference in media exposure been so evident; as United went to the top of the table after crushing Blackburn 7-1 to maintain their unbeaten start, so the eulogies were already being written for the great Premier League. United were poor, and their position was only proof that they were part of a triumvirate at the top of the tree that were simply far worse than they had been for many a year. Some journalists even called it United’s “worst squad for 15 years” after the defeat to West Ham.

Cue Saturday and Arsenal went top courtesy of a laboured win over Fulham and a frozen pitch in Blackpool; talk is of whether the Gunners can maintain their current (perhaps false, given they’ve played a game more) position – indeed, the praise heaped on them has been so great that even casual, intelligent observations by the media are being treated as criticisms by their supporters – and Samir Nasri is being spoken of in the same breath as George Best by one of the nation’s most respected newspapers.

First of all, David Hytner should be made to sit down in a darkened room and watch videos of Sasa Curcic and Georgi Kinkladze until he is obliged to print a retraction and a doctors certificate claiming temporary insanity. The level of hyperbole is of course ridiculous but it is this kind of hype we have grown accustomed to (Not that I’m suggesting Nasri’s career will be as – respectively – ‘cult’, as those names, but the comparison is far fairer). Sure, it’s a passive statement intended to catch your attention, but as I will describe later, there were more appropriate ways of building up Nasri’s 2 goals against Fulham.

It’s the hype of Nasri’s club captain, Cesc Fabregas, that I really wish to expose. When Fabregas was flirting with Barcelona in the summer and did all but hand in a transfer request, there were a few key issues. Barca’s players were pretty vocal in their, and Cesc’s, desire to go to Camp Nou. This in itself is a practise I find abhorrent and had sympathy with the vast majority of Arsenal supporters; and I completely applauded and supported the stand of the club itself. Fabregas had committed to a long contract, so they wouldn’t sell for anything less than they wanted. I baulked at the suggested £40m price tag, as did Barca, clearly, but as he was Arsenal’s player they could have demanded a price even as high, or higher, than we got for Cristiano. But make no mistake, at £40m, Barcelona thought he was overpriced.

A club concerned about a recession, they are not. This is the club who shelled out a reported £40m PLUS Samuel E’too to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The financial struggle they faced in the summer where they failed to pay their players was very much a temporary restriction; there is no question that they will pay what they consider market value for Cesc Fabregas and that they are willing to even pay exorbitant figures for players they really covet. At £28m (give or take £2m, depending on your source), Barca hit their limit.

First of all, he’s not good enough to claim a place in that team on his own merit (no disgrace, just pointing it out), and second, Fabregas is the perfect example of a player who needs a team and formation built around him to succeed. He is a talented individual but clearly not as good as some think; descriptions of him as the league’s best player are vastly exaggerated. I’ve long been of the opinion that he needs to play in a midfield 3 with at best one protecting him so he doesn’t have to do any real groundwork for the team. This isn’t a swipe to say he only performs in a 3; it’s a statement that I don’t believe he isn’t good enough to run a top level midfield in a midfield 2. I would even push it further and say that even in a 3, he has much to prove. With a clearly defined role and the benefit of an objective, Fabregas should, by reputation, at least have dominated one big game of importance in the last 4 years. Not since 2006 has he done so – to be critical, you could say that his impressive performances in the 2005/06 Champions League run were as much down to opponents’ unfamiliarity. He has consistently been dominated, overrun and outshone by any combination of midfielders that Chelsea or United have put out, and in Europe, his most significant contribution was an admirable late penalty with a fractured leg against Barcelona last season.

I’m not suggesting he’s not a talented player, he clearly is. And should he ever get his wish and sign for Barcelona then I think he will excel; again, though, this will be down to the system used and if he is deployed in a role to suit him. A player’s environment is key to his development but also to his perceived ability. We can see now that Cristiano Ronaldo is just a phenomenal athlete and player who will shine because he’s the real deal (pardon the pun). Juan Sebastian Veron and Andrei Shevchenko are the highest profile examples to the contrary. I read an interesting point in the past week regarding Messi’s ability to pass a ball and how that ability may have been (or inevitably was) strengthened somewhat vicariously through playing alongside masters Xavi and Iniesta. I wouldn’t go as far as saying you could plop Eric Djemba-Djemba in the Barcelona midfield and he’d look like a world beater – clearly individual talent is a pre-requisite – but he’d look much better than the Djemba-Djemba that lined up alongside Liam Miller.

Back to Fabregas and how that point affects him – build a team around him to look like a star and with the top level of talent that Arsenal have bought, chances are more often than not he will shine. And does, because the stats back it up, he creates a shed load of chances and his goal output has improved immeasurably. Fabregas’ biggest fan, Martin Tyler, compiles a weekly column and coincidentally this week discussed the Spaniard’s records in big games. He tried to paint the Spaniard’s importance in a positive light but the numbers speak for themselves. Since the start of the 2004/05 season his record against Chelsea and United is 5 wins in 22 league games; only 1 against United since the first month of 2007. Add in Cup and European clashes in that time – none won by Arsenal – and the figure becomes even more overwhelming.

Results and statistics like these aren’t the ultimate proof as it could be argued that the evidence of your eyes is more important; this is my argument in general, though, and what I see is that the acid test is putting Fabregas against quality opposition. He hasn’t shone, much less dominated, any game of significance and that’s in a system that is built specifically to get the best out of him! Of those 5 wins, 3 were against United, 2 in 2006/07. The other was in the 2008/09 season where Arsenal were inspired by Samir Nasri.

To take a closer look, I hand picked two of the four games Arsenal played against United and Chelsea last season, at the Emirates and Stamford Bridge. You can see that Fabregas was used frequently but completed just 75% of his passes against United and a similar percentage against Chelsea.

(Above, Cesc v United, below, v Chelsea)

The problem with chalkboards is that even though these back up the point I’m making, as I always say, the evidence is what you see.You see the likes of Lampard, Fletcher, Essien and Scholes bossing big games when it matters. All you see from the above with Fabregas is a little footnote to support how ineffectual he was in those two games; we could go on and on.

I blogged precisely this time last year, after the final Champions League group games, making a comparison with Anderson and Fabregas. It’s one I’ve not shied away from at any time; but not one I want to dwell on here – so please don’t start with the bashing in the comments, I’m making the observation on a previous point I have made. This time last year I got a lot of criticism for saying I would still have preferred Anderson to the Arsenal player. I’m not saying the Brazilian’s performances in recent weeks give me total vindication, but when many United supporters concur that all he needed was a run and an actual defined role? Placing him next to Carrick and watching him transform from headless chicken to devastating box to box destroyer seems ridiculously simple, but only serves to underline the immense talent the boy has.

The observation to be made here is that even without a defined role, Anderson has had man of the match performances against Arsenal in the FA Cup, League and Champions League and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge; he has demonstrated ability against top level opponents. Again, to just handpick a couple of the games I mentioned, in the 07/08 league game at the Emirates Anderson’s pass completion was around 93%, he won all 7 of his tackles in crucial areas. Last season at Stamford Bridge, as well as the impressive “reducer” job he did on Essien, he was pressing high up the pitch, too.

Time (and hopefully opportunity!) will tell if he can excel to even greater heights now he seems to have a job description. He didn’t suddenly become good; he was given a fair crack and that incredible ability is being displayed. The key factor I am trying to illustrate that he’s done this with a chance and he didn’t need a system built around him to facilitate it, he just needed clearer definition of his particular role. Fabregas, meanwhile, has everything a player needs to shine and regularly disappoints when it matters. This is why I wouldn’t include him in any list of top midfielders in the world because while he is perfectly functional – and definitely would get into any squad seriously chasing trophies – he simply doesn’t possess the ability to change a top level game yet as has been demonstrated. Until he does so, he shouldn’t be regarded as one of the best midfielders in the league. That is if we’re talking about the real cream. In a typical big United game, in a 4-5-1, considering the first choice would be Scholes, Fletcher and Anderson, even if you offered me Fabregas I wouldn’t take him. He may have more stamina than Scholes but he doesn’t possess the inherent special ability that Scholes has. I dare say that a Chelsea fan would have a similar argument, though depending on where they would play Essien, you think there’s an argument for Mikel.

I had a great chat with Doron and Andy over a beer last week discussing the relevance of a player’s environment to a) his development and b) how his talent is viewed. Ronaldo (the Brazilian one) started his career in such a fashion that until France ’98 he was on track to become – in my opinion – the best ever player. It’s a wonderful parallel then that the best player (outside of United) over the last 15 years, Zinedine Zidane, was 25 turning 26 when, in that tournament, he really rose to prominence. All he needed was a stage, and a role, the talent was always there. Zidane’s career is not too dissimilar to Eric Cantona who had showed he had the talent but needed the right platform to really show it. Gareth Bale is a contemporary example; 18 months ago he looked like a struggling left back in a ropey defence and now is one of the most devastating left sided players in world football, shining in the Champions League.

This isn’t really to compare Anderson and Fabregas (and it really isn’t – I can accept my opinion isn’t shared by many regarding those two players, but had I not mentioned it, it would appear as if I was shirking) or to talk about Zidane, Cantona, Bale and Ronaldo, it’s just to explain my reasoning that Fabregas is nowhere near worthy of the hype he gets. But when you have a national media insisting otherwise, and already hyping up one (or two, if you include Wilshere) of his teammates to legendary status before they’ve even won a Cup..? Nasri is having a good spell, a good season even, but has been touted as a worthy player of the SEASON before the Christmas decorations are up by people who were disgusted by the award to Ryan Giggs a couple of years ago for what they perceived to be a less than full contribution to a team that won 3 trophies. To be honest, the Nasri dissection barely requires the same level of analysis, I’m only mentioning him because I was honestly staggered by the Best comparison. I’d have understood perhaps mentioning Pires, it would make contextual sense, even though I’d say that comparison too would be a tad hasty.

For a team that, in all honesty, haven’t really had a title push since they last won it, they are rather generously discussed as contenders every year and treated by the media as such. This elevates the perception, because they are talked about so much, they are actually propelled in the average football fans mind as being there or thereabouts. 2008, with their 4 point finish from the top, was the exception to a rule which sees them finish more than 10 points behind the eventual champions, and even 2008 was a campaign that was going downhill as soon as Billy Gallas had a tantrum in the last minute at St Andrews. Benefitting from such favourable media exposure leads to over sensitivity when sensible observations are noted; as the fluctuation of opinion over Manuel Almunia, who went from flapper to best keeper in England back to “non goalkeeper” in the eyes of the likes of the Sun and Football365 (and now, it seems, worringly, that the overhyping is stretching to the more respected outlets) and the Arsenal supporters who lap their every word up illustrates perfectly. What, Clichy isn’t the best left back in the league? Song no longer on the way to being the best defensive midfielder? Vermaelen not “light years ahead” than Vidic? Such over-reactions are expected among supporters of any club and in particular Arsenal but supporters of other clubs surely must tire of the media peddling the same nonsense. The best argument they have in response to a player by player comparison is that trophies prove nothing because even “Phil Neville won them”, but eventually, trophies do mean a lot, because they’re the prizes you win for being better, or to put it a better way, they’re the prizes you miss out on if you’re not good enough. Perhaps it would be better to simply appreciate what they’ve got instead of building them up to something they’re not.

The biggest beneficiary of all the media adulation is Cesc Fabregas; look at Cristiano Ronaldo, often painted as a villain, a preening, diving prima donna. Fabregas has behaved appallingly on and off the pitch at times, and has been elevated to the status of a top drawer player despite not actually proving his ability either with a trophy or a big performance and without ever actually having his character questioned, either. Untouchable. There are other players more worthy of the column inches and adulation given to him. Better players.

My words here, ultimately, will go unnoticed, I fully expect Fabregas to be talked about as the best player in the league for the rest of the season. But he will surely be found wanting – yet again – on the pitch, because no lies are told on there.

You can follow me on Twitter.

Days after CNN and BBC publicised Stretford-End.com’s letter to Wayne Rooney, we are delighted to announce that another high profile campaign started by the website has ended with the right result after Manchester United bought Nobby Stile’s medals at auction today.

Scores of our Twitter followers bombarded Rio Ferdinand and other media sources with our blog on the subject, and it seems the club listened to the outrage of supporters by purchasing his World Cup and European Cup winners medals at Convery Auctions in Edinburgh.

It is expected that the club will display the medals at the Old Trafford museum.

Stretford-End.com expresses its delight at the news.

If it was just one game, then you could put it down to one of those things. If you take into account West Brom recently won at Arsenal, it doesn’t seem so bad. However, I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something very wrong going on at Old Trafford, and that something needs to be done urgently to address the situation. So, what exactly is the problem? There’s talk in the press about Rooney either wanting to go or fearful he’ll be kicked out. The club have denied it, but unrest remains. I’ll take a look at the (several) issues that currently present themselves as major problems at the club, and suggest why a 2005 style bombshell might be exactly what we need.

Ownership

We’ve made our own opinion clear on this site. Most supporters, it can be agreed, have something of a different take on how we protest, but most (if not all) concur that the Glazers are bad for the future of the club. Their ownership is directly linked to all of the below; as I am about to take the stand of stating clearly that investment is needed. There is talk that there is around £120m plus sitting in the bank for United to spend on new players. Time will tell, although history suggests it’s probably going to go in the Glazers’ pockets or to whichever of their other failing businesses needs temporary respite. What can we, as supporters, do to force them to leave the club? The protest scheduled for the 30th is a start. But the Glazers have shown they won’t leave just because they are unpopular. Taking the approach that they appreciate investment is needed in order for the team to remain a successful cash cow (and the fact that we shelled out around £60m in 2007), let’s look at where, in the team, we are lacking.

Goalkeeper

This isn’t a knee jerk reaction to Edwin’s mistake against West Brom. If anything, it was sods law that his one high profile mistake came at this point. All top keepers are prone to it, Schmeichel had at least one a year, and the last major one to my mind for van der Sar came at Anfield the season before last. He was due one. Nonetheless, he is 40 in a few days. Sure, he’s in a position where he doesn’t run a lot, but every November for the last 3 years we’ve half expected him to announce he was hanging up his gloves. If he does so, then we’d better have a safety first keeper lined up. If there’s one thing that our defence needs, it’s a keeper comfortable in his own ability. I honestly don’t think too much is wrong with our defence, in general, despite the number of goals we are shipping. Rio wasn’t sparkling yesterday but he was present for the clean sheets in Valencia and Sunderland, suggesting that – for now at least – yesterday was the exception to the rule, and that the problem lies further forward.

Engine Room

I use this term loosely, based on it being the popular football culture reference for the middle of the park. Made famous for the driving spirits of Roy Keane and Bryan Robson, displayed on the continent in the recent past by the likes of Gattuso and Edgar Davids. If you wanted the antithesis to that, you need to look no further than yesterday, when for 30 minutes, Michael Carrick and Darron Gibson plodded their way to another appearance bonus, 30 minutes in tandem that saw them offer nothing of their creative talents going forward and even less in protection for a back line exposed to raw pace. If they are unable to impose themselves in the bigger games on a consistent basis, then that’s hardly a stick to beat them with. If they lack the desire to even try against the so-called lesser lights? Then something is wrong, and that something is more than likely their fundamental lack of ability to do so. At least in tandem.

Because for the moment at least, United look blessed in numbers. Perhaps it’s the combination? Any two of Gibson, Carrick and Scholes is a leaden footed recipe for disaster. Scholes has been in imperious form but benefits from the energy of Darren Fletcher or Anderson at the side of him. Part of United’s problem lies with the injuries to wide players; with Ryan Giggs’ hamstring recurrence suggesting he was in need of a longer rest the first time – something he’ll definitely get now, the lack of a direct crossing threat that Antonio Valencia provided is also absent. Anderson was shifted wide at times against Valencia and after Gibson’s introduction yesterday.

Is Anderson the answer? After 3 years trying to find his natural role – pushing him into numerous positions, (where to be fair, he has applied himself admirably) to accommodate for others, namely, yesterday, Gibson – he deserves the opportunity for someone to be shoehorned in at the side of him for a change. It wouldn’t have hurt for Bebe or Obertan to have been around yesterday, and it won’t hurt for them to be involved on Wednesday.

One key thing I picked up yesterday, and remarked upon immediately on Twitter and in the match report, was our lack of penetration. We rely on a 36 year old to provide this, and it shouldn’t be the case. Rooney can, if he’s in the mood, but he’s not. Anderson has the natural talent to do it but yesterday he was denied that opportunity in place of Gibson. Nani, for all his improvement, is not that answer. At times last season he looked like he would be. This season he has scored goals and created loads, so it’s with a degree of apprehension that I write this. I was talking before the game yesterday about my thoughts on him, only for him to do, yet again, exactly what I had predicted. Two moments of brilliance accompanied with 88 minutes of almost complete frustration. Is this because he’s reverted to type, or is the rest of the side just not good enough? Given the number of crosses that failed to clear the first man yesterday, I’d have to suggest the former, but I wouldn’t give up on him yet.

Tom Cleverley may yet turn out to be the penetrating midfielder we need, but that’s the unknown quantity. Ravel Morrison was earmarked as one for the future by Doron last week and had a stormer yesterday, but he is, as Doron remarked, very much one for the future. Likewise, Magnus Eikrem at the higher level of the reserves, is the regular captain for United’s second string. Of the two, Eikrem is far closer, but even he is yet to make his debut. There are hopes that he will figure in the coming weeks, but it remains to be seen if he is able to make the transition from excelling in the reserves to performing with comfort in the first team.

Where does a penetrative threat lie outside of Old Trafford? There are two names that spring to my mind immediately. Cristiano Ronaldo is the first. Our exclusive last month that United were actively sounding out the possibility of his return was greeted with scepticism by some, and I would have to at least concede that the move relies heavily on the willingness of Real Madrid to sell in the first place. Given their unpredictability on transfer matters, it’s very much wait and see.

The other name is Gareth Bale. The young Welshman is currently the most exciting left sided player in the country and it is no secret that Ryan Giggs is his hero. A transfer is no foregone conclusion given Tottenham’s current standing and our dealing with them in the past. He would, without question, come at a premium, which would immediately cock an eyebrow at the finances. While Ronaldo remains the dream, Bale – although equally unlikely – is surely the hot favourite for Ferguson to look at. When casting an eye for “Manchester United” style players, Bale is the one that sticks out like a sore thumb, and certainly, one I wished we’d taken a punt on in the January window when he was seemingly out of favour, since when his price has probably trebled.

In terms of a Keane / Robson / Davids style player, we already have Anderson, who has the potential to be a box to box midfielder, if only he is given the prolonged run he is crying out for. Build the team around him, if only until a transfer window and we will at least have a pressing urgency. Best of all, we already have him, so only an arm around the shoulder and faith is required. We have to try and at least utilise his immense ability; after all, we’re trying to do the same for players of lesser individual talent. The worst thing of all of late is the lack of urgency in the late stages of games. It was there to see against Liverpool, but that pride shouldn’t just materialise when we are playing esteemed rivals, it should materialise whenever our players pull on the United shirt.

Reliance on the old guard

Maybe a little too simplistic, given that we finished the game with plenty of players who cost more than £7m on the pitch. They should have been able to see off a newly promoted side, right? As I wrote in the match report, and to be fair, as has been widely acknowledged, United looked toothless after Giggs went off. So, with Giggs out, Scholes unable to kickstart some energy into a team intent on going through the motions, and van der Sar making an uncharacteristic error, we saw exactly what happens when we can’t rely on the elder statesmen. I spoke at length last season about how it was Ryan Giggs pumping blood into the United body that decided the league derby with City at Old Trafford, and the pride of Paul Scholes that saw him pop up in the last minute at Eastlands. Where was the heart yesterday, the pride? It was sulking, or already feeling in the comfort zone. Too many players who don’t think they have anything to prove, Dimitar Berbatov and Nani in particular who seem to believe that one swallow made a summer. It’s not a particularly helpful attitude to those who are playing as if they have got something to prove, yesterday, Anderson and Chicharito.

If this were a film, it would represent the Wizard of Oz, with United needing a new heart, new brains and a little bit of courage. Yesterday, and too many times this season, we have displayed little of any.

The problem dates back to last season – I believe the same problems on display yesterday were all too easy to see in our game against Aston Villa last December, and at various points through the season. It’s not simply that we lack conviction or a cutting edge; profligacy up front does not correlate with these bizarre short spells of terrible defending nor does it explain the lack of cutting edge or even desire that generally follows. I waited until after the international break to voice this concern; I was hopeful that, as these things seem to in the past, it was just a short trend. However, the trend has continued through two international breaks and a lack of invention without Valencia and Giggs does not bode well for upcoming games against Stoke, Tottenham, Villa and City (three of those away!). If we continue to defend like we have, too, then things are likely to get worse before they get better.

The Rooney factor

This will be unpopular, as it is going against the grain for myself to write it. It’s only in response to the rumours that Rooney is unsettled that have been ridiculously over-hyped and exaggerated by the Mirror who are boldly claiming Rooney will definitely be off and be off in January, too. Regardless of whether they are right, perhaps there is some truth in the style of the story.

If the problem isn’t that Gibson and Carrick aren’t as desperately bad as I make them out to be, then it’s somewhere else. In 2005, Sir Alex dropped a bombshell by kicking Roy Keane out of the club mid-season when it seemed that Cristiano Ronaldo and Darren Fletcher, among others, were facing the end of their own stays at Old Trafford. At the end of that season, Ruud van Nistelrooy was gone too, and only Michael Carrick came in. Minor tweaks (the midseason signings of Evra and Vidic) and we had a title winning side. If, in the summer of 2005, you would have identified Roy Keane as the player to go, you’d have been laughed out of town. Yes, we needed a long term successor, but every time he was on the pitch he was invariably United’s best player. Kicking him out was a huge decision and, ultimately, the right one.

The Mirror’s story that Rooney has had a number of rows with Ferguson – there is only likely to be one winner in that scenario. Rooney’s bench time and introduction wide left is probably the fuel to the fire on the Mirror story – the Daily Star (I know) go with quite the opposite, that Rooney will stay, and will sign a new contract. The Telegraph’s reaction was to take an even further stand; far from trying to engineer his exit, Rooney himself appears to be fearful of his future. United have dismissed talk of a sale as “nonsense”.

I’m not suggesting for one moment I want Rooney to be sold, only that the problem with some players might not be quite so obvious. At the end of the day, no player is bigger than the club. Roy Keane’s controversial exit did not tarnish his legacy at the club, as evidenced by his warm reception on his subsequent returns. More importantly, Darren Fletcher and Cristiano Ronaldo grew into two of the best players in their positions in Europe. The problem may be Rooney – the finger is pointing there, as he seemingly struggles to come to terms with the consequences of his recent actions – but even if it is, he has time to put that right. It may well be someone else. Maybe Nani has gotten too big for his boots. I get the feeling that there is something massive brewing at United, and that a bombshell is about to hit. I actually predicted as much in our pre-season review, and it’s a feeling that grows every time I see us go through the motions. If it takes the sacrifice of one top name to be conducive to the progress of others and the team, then that’s what will need to be done.

Conclusion

I don’t have the answer. Just that, something isn’t right, it’s just as likely to be none of the above but factoring all of it in. You can just take a look at the three completely different stands taken by the media re: Rooney, and how Sir Alex’s response, if he gives one, will probably contradict the lot. One thing we can safely say, though. Our midfield needs a re-invention, and unless Cleverley or Bebe has the keys or Obertan makes an unlikely and startling rise to prominence, it will have to come in the terms of significant investment. Investment that is required, as conceded by Sir Alex, with the inevitable retirement of Scholes and Giggs on the cards, too. My pick, as I said, would be Bale, and another midfielder. The identity of who, I don’t know, but what we have is not enough.

Before then, however, we need to wait for the storm to hit. Exactly what kind of storm is brewing, is anyones guess.

The intention of this is not doom-mongering. But we have to be realistic; all is not right, and it’s not just the ownership. There is an issue that exists within the team. It needs to be resolved, and quickly, if United are serious about trophy ambitions this season.

With essentially meaningless games getting us with sweaty palms it’s sometimes easy to forget the end goal, what it’s all about. We’re getting excited over a silly dance from our reserve winger scoring a goal against an American team; but there is a definite chasm of emotion that exists between that and the pinnacle of the game. As a prelude to a new feature we have for the new season on Stretford-End.com, I read an amazing account of our 2008 victory in Moscow, which I am proud to say I can share with the Stretford-End.com community here.

This season coming we will bring to you some simply enthralling stories of following our club on the continent and we kick it off with a piece that will probably never be bettered. You will find yourself reminded of your own memories before being taken down a first hand experience of the Russian capital and whipped quickly into a familiar yet all new emotional whirlwind of that night when Ryan Giggs broke records, combining his left foot with Edwin’s hand to return the European Cup to the team that first introduced England to the competition.

So sit back, crack open a cold one, and remind yourself of why the rollercoaster we are about to embark upon in just a couple of weeks is worth it. The account is written by Kim, (follow her on Twitter) and was originally written for a blog she contributed to at the time – I was permitted to edit it, but decided that the references that I didn’t really know ultimately made the piece far more authentic.

Enjoy.

This was it. The big one. Champions League Final 2008, Luzhinki Stadium, Moscow. The opponents- our relatively new foes, Chelsea.

It was going to be a long day ahead of us as we were just doing a day trip to Moscow so we tried our best to go to bed early the night before, in an effort to get a few hours’ sleep to keep us going. Of course, that plan didn’t really work as firstly, it was not normal for us to try and go to sleep at 9pm when it was still light outside and secondly, it was the eve of the Champions League Final for crying out loud! Needless to say, I don’t even think we managed two hours’ sleep between us, and we were both awake before the 4 alarms that we’d set for 1.45am had gone off (after our alarm didn’t go off before the Roma trip, we have been ultra paranoid about setting alarms ever since!). After getting ourselves ready and constantly checking that we had our tickets and passports safely in the bag, we made the short drive to Manchester Airport and arrived there just before 3am. Already, we could see loads of United fans around and I wondered how they all seemed to look a lot perkier and more awake than me! We made our way into Terminal 1 where our flight was departing from and we were instantly hit by the sheer number of United fans crammed into it- there was just an absolute sea of red in every direction. Looking on the departure screens we could see that over about 4 hours, there would be around 22 flights leaving Manchester Airport for Domodedovo Airport (the ‘United’ airport in Moscow) and that was just in our terminal- goodness knows how many there were in the other two aswell! We eventually managed to find our check in desk and thankfully, the queue was quite small. I managed to bag us exit seats (after cheekily asking for them!) and we were soon checked in and left with a couple of hours to kill before boarding. Before we left the desk though, we were given red wristbands which we had to keep on all day as we would have to show them at passport control in Moscow as part of a security check. For that reason, it was imperative that we didn’t lose them and that set me on edge all day as I have randomly tiny wrists and I’m forever losing bracelets because of that! We headed straight through security which was an absolute breeze due to the upgrades that have recently been made and then on into the shops and cafes area. Not unsurprisingly for 3.30am, a lot of the shops were closed but there were some open like a sports shop which was full of United merchandise (they obviously spotted an opportunity there!) and WHSmith so we could buy newspapers and read all of the pre-match build up. Apart from that, all that was open were the bars and cafes so predictably, that’s where we found almost all of the United fans hiding out! Most that were in the main bar looked as if they hadn’t even bothered going to bed to be honest! Amazingly in amongst all of those people, we found European away guy! We were pleased to see him because we weren’t sure if he would even get to be at the Final, despite him going on every European away all season, because he is only a One United member. We had a fair chat with him and he told us that for once, he was doing an independent trip as the official club ones had all sold out by the time his ticket was confirmed. He gave us a couple of tips about things to see in Moscow as he’d been there a few times, and we wished each other a good day. We then headed upstairs to the restaurant and miraculously found 2 seats which was a near impossible task despite the place being huge! We decided to split a cooked breakfast between us as neither of us could stomach a whole one quite so early in the morning, but we did take good advantage of the refillable mugs of tea! Amongst the hoards of fans and staff (who were all wearing ‘Road to Moscow’ t-shirts amusingly enough, to mark the occasion!), we spotted two families who looked like they were just going on their holidays. They looked totally bewildered by it all as I’m sure they were expecting to find a deserted restaurant all to themselves at that time! After wasting as much time as we physically could in there, we decided just to head to the gate. I wasn’t getting a duty free perfume from Hubby this time as we were worried about being allowed to take it into the ground (usually we leave our bags on the coach when we get to the ground on Euro aways but there were no pre assigned coaches this time). As usual, it made me paranoid about it being bad luck as I’d had one before every Euro away this season and we’d won! I just hoped that I could balance it out with enough good luck with my lucky perfume, the same clothes I wore when we won the League at Wigan (obviously washed since then lol!) my lucky scarf and my nail varnish called ‘Russian Navy’ which turned out to be a good omen last time I wore it against Barcelona at home! Honestly out of millions of United fans around the world, god only knows why I think that me not having a duty free perfume or wearing the wrong clothes is going to be the thing that affects whether we win or lose! We got to the gate and we ended up with a 45 minute delay which wasn’t entirely unexpected because of the sheer number of flights leaving and arriving in the same place. Evidently we got off lightly though as we heard tales of long delays, some up to 8 hours, and some flights that were cancelled altogether! Soon enough, we were boarding our flight on Transavia (an airline which I’d never heard of before but soon found out it was Dutch, after doing some Googling!) to Moscow. Almost all of the planes being chartered were non-UK based airlines so it wasn’t at all unusual to see ‘Air Slovakia’, ‘Air Mediterranea’ or ‘Corsair’ flights going to Moscow, along with a myriad of other obscure airlines! I was just happy we weren’t flying with Aeroflot as I had my doubts that they would have got us there and back in one piece! Our flight ended up being terrific actually. The plane was new so it was absolutely immaculate, the crew were really friendly, the food was actually edible and best of all, the flight time was only 3 hours 20 minutes! Most people chose to take the opportunity to have a nap on the plane which made for a rather quiet flight but we did have a bit of chat to the bloke sat next to hubby about the prospects for the match.
 
We landed at Domodedovo Aiport and straight away, we were all drawn to the windows, wide-eyed. Few of us on the plane if any, had been to Russia before and we were all clamouring to get our first look at this imposing country. The first thing we noticed were the state of the planes- a lot of the Russian based airlines had very old planes and I couldn’t even imagine some of them ever making it off the ground, judging by the look of them! I thanked our lucky stars once again that we weren’t flying on one of those! We entered the terminal building and contrary to our first impressions, was actually fairly modern. We braced ourselves for a long wait at passport control with all of the measures that had been put in place for travelling fans but I have to admit, it wasn’t bad at all! It probably took about half an hour all in all including time in the queue and it seemed well organised. We had to hand in our passport, immigration form, match ticket and show our wristband to be permitted into the country and it all seemed so straight forward compared to the hassle there would have been over the visas. We then made our way through the terminal building and towards the exits and that in itself, was a task. It gave us a glimpse straight away into the pace and chaos of the city as people were jostling each other and racing around the terminal, barely even having time to draw breath. It was quite a shock compared with the orderly and mild mannered way in which the British tend to be in airports! Once we finally battles our way to the exit, we saw a massive line of buses, all with Manchester United crests in their windows, waiting to take us into the city. It’s no exaggeration to say that the line must have been at least a mile long- it was incredible! We grabbed the first bus we came across and it happened to be one that looked as if it was build somewhere around the Stone Age period- it was only slightly better than us all having our feet running through the floor to make it move, like The Flintstones! The journey into Moscow was very long. Despite it raining quite heavily outside, the bus was rather stuffy so we had all of the windows open to try and get some air circulating. Unfortunately, the fumes from the bus were very strong and became rather overpowering after a while! So we closed the windows again, plumping for the lesser of two evils as the bus carried on chugging down the motorway. The traffic itself was absolutely insane- it was like Wacky Races! Nobody seemed to have any concept of lanes or indictors and eventually, the traffic just came to a standstill completely! The driver didn’t appear to be helping matters as at one point, he actually had to pull off the motorway to ask a policeman directions!! Not a good sign! Eventually somehow, we arrived at Luzhniki Stadium which was where everyone was being dropped off on the buses. The journey from the airport had taken 2 bottom numbing hours.
 
Armed with our waterproof jackets (we’d checked the weather report the night before we went), we got off the bus and our first thought was to look for programs. After them all being sold out at Wigan quite a while before kick off, we didn’t want to make the same mistake again. Thankfully there were plenty of people selling programs so we bought what we needed to and decided to leave the stadium area, and hop on the metro and head into Red Square as contrary to rumours, we were allowed to have as much free time as we liked in Moscow and even make our own way to the stadium. The metro was an experience in itself. We had bought ourselves a Moscow guide book before we left which had a street map and metro map inside it. Although the names were written in English letters, it was still the Russian names. However all of the metro stops were in cyrillic (Russian) letters and didn’t look anything like the same names using English letters! There were no signs in English or any spoken in announcements so we were very reliant on guess work! We used our guide book map to count how many stops it was to Red Square from the stadium and try and work out from that where we needed to get off! Thankfully, our guess proved correct and we got off the metro and we were only less than a minute’s walk from Red Square. As soon as we arrived in the square, we were dumbstruck- it was such a surreal experience being stood somewhere that we’d seen so many times on TV and in books. The vastness of it shocked us too- it was absolutely huge. This was illustrated pretty well by the fanzone that had been set up there which hosted lots of souvenir stalls, a huge room displaying the European Cup and even a five-a-side pitch and all of that only took up one tiny corner of the square! We took lots of photos there of the likes of The Kremlin and Kazan Cathedral. I asked a Chelsea fan to take a photo of Hubby and I in front of the St Basil’s Cathedral actually but I don’t think they realised we were United fans! The square was teeming with fans from both teams actually but it was evident even then, that United fans were outnumbering Chelsea fans quite a bit. Unbelievably in Red Square, we saw both Royal Mail Guy and Tweed Hat which I couldn’t get over. Out of a city of millions, I see a couple of blokes that sit in K Stand!! They looked like they were having a good time anyway! We then nipped into the fanzone for a bit before getting back onto the metro to head to the Arbat which used to be, according to our guide book, the heart of Bohemian Moscow where nowadays there are lots of good souvenir stalls, bars and restaurants. Unfortunately for us, the station which we had to use to get to Arbat was almost identically named to another station further away. Naturally, we got off at the wrong stop and spent about an hour asking random Russian people and even some of the police who were milling around, which way we had to go. Again, our map used English letters which the Russian people didn’t understand and they all ended up pointing us in different directions! Eventually, we found our way there only to find that the street was full of United fans! I would love to know how they all managed to find the place so easily! It was even more evident there that red was vastly outnumbering blue and I began to wonder if Chelsea had even sold all of their allocation. We stocked up on plenty of souvenirs there- Russian dolls and a Russian hat each for hubby and I (and I even managed to haggle the price down of my hat by 500 roubles- about £11!) and then headed on to Hard Rock Cafe for some more bits. We had been planning to eat there for dinner but the place was heaving so there was no chance of getting in there whatsoever! So in the spirit of embracing Russian culture, we ended up at a pizza place followed by Starbucks!! Interesting fact- caramel macchiato was called the same thing there! It was quite a bizarre feeling sitting there drinking coffee at 8pm knowing that at 8pm at home, the game would’ve already started. I had to keep reminding myself not to panic about running out of time! As I idly looked out of the window, I had to look twice as I saw Quiet Bloke walk past and down the street! I looked frantically for any sign of my remaining Yorkshires but alas, they were nowhere to be found. We then decided it was best to head to the ground, as we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to get there in case there were any hold ups on the metro or we had lots of security checks in the stadium. On our way there, we incredibly bumped into Keith our program guy and all of his friends! I couldn’t get over the coincidences of seeing so many people that we knew! We chatted to them for a while, and they told us they’d been sightseeing like us all day. They told us a bit about their flight too and they weren’t very impressed to say the least! We carried on to the metro and thankfully, we managed to get on at the right station near the Arbat this time and although we had to change trains once, it was so much easier as almost everyone on the train was going to the stadium so we just followed all of them!
 
We arrived at the metro station by the ground and once again, it was obvious that there were more United fans about than Chelsea. United songs were flying around left, right and centre and eveyone was joining in. It was absolutely rocking and the Russian police and soldiers looked as if they’d never seen anything like it before in their lives! They were taking photos and videoing the fans but not for official purposes- they were doing it for themselves. They were clapping along to the songs and had huge smiles on their faces! Out of the station, we had a five minute walk to the ground and only then did any Chelsea fans try and pipe up. A handful sang ‘We are the famous CFC’ and one bloke on his own tried to make up a song about all United fans flying in from Stanstead *rolls eyes*. Apart from that, I never heard another peep out of any of them outside the ground. Looking around, all of the souvenir stalls with United stuff had sold out and I’m not just saying this, but there was honestly still loads of Chelsea things there. There were no programs left apart from a couple with some Russian people who had obviously bought a few earlier in the day and were now trying to sell them on for more than double the price! As we approached the stadium, we had our first security check of the evening and that was the point in which the United and Chelsea fans were separated and a fence and wall of police was between us. Our tickets were checked and then we progressed towards the stadium. A bit further along, we were stopped once again and had our tickets checked- not much chance of anyone jibbing into the ground for this match! Finally, we reached the turnstiles and as well as having our tickets checked, we had our bags searched. We were a bit nervous about this as Hubby had a carrier bag full of souvenirs including things like a shot glass, which we were convinced would be confiscated. The steward in question began to look through the bag and when he saw the hats and dolls etc, he exclaimed, “PRESENTS?!”. We said yes, and he waved us through with a big grin! Everything there was good humoured actually as everywhere, people were getting their photos taken with the Russian soldiers, and the soldiers would plonk their hats on the fans’ heads so they could pose with them on! Some of them were even trying to swap scarves and shirts for items of their uniform!! Once through the turnstiles (naturally, I kept up my ritual of going through the left hand turnstile!), we had one final ticket check to get to our seats. The steward who was checking my ticket looked at me and exclaimed, “Manchester fan!”. I said yes. He then said, “Manchester fans- very nice fans” with a huge grin! I said thank you, and he looked genuinely pleased to see us there! This was quite a shock as from what we’d heard before we’d got to Moscow, the stewards, police and soldiers were supposed to be harsh and dour. But they were absolutely the opposite when we got there- we found them helpful, polite, warm and even had a sense of humour! And contrary to many, many European aways, I didn’t see a single incident of a member of police or a steward having a go at a fan. It was all tremendously good natured. We got into our seats and found that we were in the first occupied row by the corner flag (the first 3 rows were empty, possibly due to the advertising boards like they do at Old Trafford). We were rather low down due to the gradient that the stands were on so it was going to be a view that I’d never experienced before. I nipped quickly down to the concourse to have a wander around and as weird as it sounds, check out the toilets as they have been the bane of my life on European aways previously! Happily, I found that they weren’t holes in the ground, and they were immaculately clean. From the outside, the Luzhniki Stadium looked old and it was a concern that it perhaps wasn’t up to scratch inside. But it had clearly been updated, and was more than adequate for hosting this game. And as I like my stadiums, it had character! I went back into my seat and all of a sudden, it hit me- I was at a Champions League Final. As ridiculous as it sounds, I don’t think the magnitude of the game had quite sunk in before that moment. It hit me like a ton of bricks and a wave of nausea, followed by panic engulfed me. I had been unusually calm all day up until that point and all at once, nerves started to take over. I couldn’t sit still- I became edgy, stressed and I just wanted the game to start. I didn’t know how I was going to stand watching the whole match without giving myself a heart attack!! I decided to try and distract myself for a while with the pre-match build up. For some inexplicable reason, James Richardson (who those of you who used to watch Gazzetta Football Italia on Channel 4 many moons ago will remember, was the presenter) was doing the build up I can only assume on account of him being neutral (I’m presume) and also speaking English!! I have to admit, he actually did a pretty good job and came down to each end and spoke a bit about each team, getting the fans behind the teams. Of course, we were far superior to Chelsea in that respect lol! We then each had a montage of our road to the Final to watch on the screens and I don’t care how biased I sound, but ours was so much more interesting and exciting to watch! The ground, despite it still being a while away from kick off, was now nearly full and the atmosphere was building. United fans were singing loudly and proudly already, going through the most popular ones like ‘U-N-I-T-E-D’, ‘Viva Ronaldo’, ‘Anderson-son-son’, ‘United Calypso’ and naturally ‘Championes’ to really rub it in to the Chelsea fans! We did notice that there were sections of the Chelsea end that had empty seats though and there were rumours that Russian people were being given tickets in the Chelsea end just to fill it up, and that would tally up with the amount of Russians around the Chelsea area of the stadium that we saw. The pre-match ceremony then began and it looked very pretty, but none of us could really grasp what was going on! To be honest, I think nerves were beginning to set in then so we weren’t really paying close attention to it! Eventually, the show finished and shortly the players emerged from the tunnel to huge cheers! I found the experience quite surreal, being so far away from home and in a strange stadium but playing an English club that we knew so well. In fact, it was the first time I’d ever seen United play an English club in a European match. On the big screens, I noticed that the word ‘Believe’ was in a stand. Firstly, I thought it was showing when it was held up at Old Trafford but then I realised it was being held up right at that moment, and I turned around to see the word being spelt out behind me. It looked beautiful. Over at the Chelsea end, it looked like they’d had blue and white checked flags left on their seats which they were all waving, but it had nowhere near the same impact as our mosaic. The teams then lined up and the Champions League music boomed over the tannoy. I was caught totally off-guard as I felt a lump in my throat and began to get choked up. I was getting overcome with emotion at the occasion and I looked over at the players and hoped that they wouldn’t do as I did!
 
The game kicked off and the roar from our end was immense. We all had to work even harder to create a good atmosphere because of the huge running track between the pitch and the stands. The lads started off brilliantly and this encouraged the singing even more from United. From where we were stood, it was actually very difficult to see the players very well because although we were on the first occupied row, we were so low down that there were lots of parts of the pitch which were blind spots for us in all honesty. The team did have a lot of possession to start with and I think we were all delighted with the way they had started the game. This was duly rewarded from an attack deep into the half when a fabulous ball from Brown was launched across the box and buried with a terrific header by Ronaldo of all players. We all went absolutely ballistic in the stands and it seemed as if everyone who had a scarf was waving it proudly above their heads and singing ‘Viva Ronaldo’ with so much passion. The stewards in front of us were smiling broadly and looked to be pleased that we were 1-0 up! Scoring seemed to spur the lads on even more as they took Chelsea to pieces with attack after attack. They were completely outplaying them at this point and we were so, so unlucky not to have gone 2-0 up when Tevez smashed a header towards goal which Cech got down to save. When the loose ball fell to Carrick, his shot looked absolutely destined to hit the back of the net. We were all ready to celebrate when somehow, Cech denied us once again to push the shot around the post. The look of agony on Carrick’s face was mirrored by our own as we all stood with hands on heads, puzzled at how on earth the shot stayed out. The lads were playing such terrific stuff that we couldn’t see Chelsea getting back into the game at all until somehow just seconds before half time, Chelsea took advantage of a lucky deflection which fell into the path of Lampard who benefitted from an even luckier slip (for them) by Van der Sar on the greasy surface to slot home the equaliser. Shock just reverberated around the United end and we were stunned into silence, I have to admit. I couldn’t believe that once again, we had somehow succumbed to a Chelsea goal just before half time. In fact, I screamed as much into the now chilly Russian air and the stewards looked at me in surprise! The half time whistle went shortly afterwards and it was fair to say that their goal took the wind out of our sails a bit. I had a brief chat with the guy next to me and we decided that Ronaldo’s goal in the first half quite possibly cemented his chances of being crowned European and World Footballer of the Year. The rest of the break was spent watching the first half highlights on the big screens and once again rejoicing in Ronaldo’s goal but despairing over Lampard’s. We were then surprised to see the United lads reappear for the second half so quickly as it seemed like almost no time had passed at all. I wondered if they had particularly stringent rules for half time in the Final. The Chelsea players shortly followed and although we’d barely had time to draw breath after the first half, the second half was about to get underway.
 
The second half kicked off and I felt a bit of a pang as I wondered where the Yorkshires were sat. I couldn’t believe that despite seeing them at so many of the matches this season (not just home ones), that I didn’t see them at all at Wigan or Moscow, two of our most important games all season. However, I didn’t have too much time to ponder as I had the match to concentrate on! Chelsea seemed to be boosted by their goal just before half time and similarly, it seemed to knock the confidence of the United lads who had been so fearless up until then. Chelsea had a lot of the possession and were flinging a number of shots towards our goal, but Van der Sar didn’t seem threatened too much. It bouyed the Chelsea fans up though however, and the previously silent blue end now began to be more vocal as they sang ‘We are the famous CFC’ once again (one of only about 3 songs they seem to have). We did our best to outsing them again though with our vast repetoire! However we were all beginning to get edgy and tense though and I’m afraid I didn’t deal with the tension at all well as I screamed and bellowed towards the pitch, bollocking any Chelsea player who breathed near a red shirt whilst similarly trying my best to encourage the lads and drive them on. Once again, I had an audience as the stewards facing the fans (not being allowed to turn around and watch the match) seemed totally bemused and a little scared by my efforts. Time ticked on and still we were unable to get a breakthrough. Chelsea still had lots of the ball but were yet to really punish us with it. This almost wasn’t the case though as deep into the last 15 minutes of the match, Drogba sent a long range shot curling towards our goal. All of us held our collective breath as it seemed absolutely on course to smash into the top corner of the net. Thankfully, it smashed into the top corner of the crossbar instead and the relief in our end was immense. From then, time just seemed to evaporate and then it dawned on me that if extra time was imminent, when on earth would we get home?! But at that moment, I couldn’t have cared less if I’d got home next week as long as United would be lifting the European Cup! As the 90 minutes began to draw to a close, Giggsy was brought on to make his record breaking appearance and was welcomed onto the pitch with a roar of acclaim from the travelling reds. We were a tad puzzled that Scholes was making way for him and we briefly wondered if the manager had penalties in mind as Scholesy has missed a couple over the years. Of course we couldn’t see that Scholes’ nose had been smashed in by Makelele so that decision became much more understandable knowing that! The referee then whistled to signal the end of normal time and I slumped back in my seat, already exhausted from the first 90 minutes. I wondered how the players were feeling.
 
After a brief break, the players were ready to go once again as the first period of extra time began. Chelsea once again seemed to start off quite brightly and within a few minutes, Lampard had the chance to put Chelsea ahead for the first time in the match with a curling shot which once again, rebounded off the woodwork. It seemed as if our goal was beginning to lead a charmed life! After that however, it felt like we were in control. All the Chelsea players seemed to want to do was roll around on the floor and try and break up our rhythm. It was getting rather frustrating. Then we had a fabulous opportunity to go 2-1 up when Evra made a tremendous run into the box and pulled the ball back for Giggsy who thumped it goalwards, but somehow was cleared off the line by John Terry. None of us could believe it and we all looked at each other hands on heads, as we watched the replay on the screens. It was at that point that my legs just gave out on me. Whether it was tiredness or whether the sheer stress and tension of the occasion had finally caught up with me, I don’t know. So I had to watch the remainder of extra time sat down as I just couldn’t physically stand up any longer. The end of the first period soon came around and after just a couple of minutes, we were into the second period. The lads continued to play in a very positive fashion, and really tried to go out and tie the game up. Still I never felt like we were in danger somehow and we were all doing our best to get behind the team as we sang ‘Forever and ever, we’ll follow the boys…..’ and ‘We love United, we do…’ amongst others. The Chelsea fans were non-existant once again. Maybe most of their end really was Russian, so they didn’t know the words to the Chelsea songs! As time appeared to be running out, Cech put the ball out of play when a few of the Chelsea players yet again went down with cramp. As Chelsea had done to us several times during the game, Tevez put the ball out of play to give possession back to Chelsea instead of giving it straight back to Cech. Suddenly, almost all of the Chelsea team came flying over to the touchline and started jostling Tevez and shouting in his ear. Of course, I was screaming at John Terry (as if he could hear me lol), ‘What the hell are you moaning for? You did exactly that to us earlier!’. I couldn’t believe how they were behaving and I said to Hubby that this display just showed their arrogance and lack of class completely. In the middle of the melee, a red card suddenly appeared and Hubby started cheering. I said, ‘Why are you cheering? How can you tell who was sent off? Couldn’t it be one of our players?’. But somehow he knew it was Drogba although god knows how, as we couldn’t see what the hell was going on from where we were! Of course Drogba was still bitching and moaning as he left the pitch, which he took a good few minutes to do. At that point, it didn’t even cross my mind about the possibility that he would have been one of Chelsea’s penalty takers as I was still concentrating on the possiblilty that we might still win the game in extra time. But as time continued to tick on, it looked less and less likely. With one last throw of the dice, Ronaldo launched a ball into the box and Tevez couldn’t quite connect his head onto the cross so the chance went begging. Anderson just managed to get onto the pitch to replace Wes Brown before the final whistle went, with Fergie clearly thinking about penalties. When the whistle went, there was collective groans around the ground- none of us wanted a penalty shoot out, especially as our nerves were already shot to pieces as it was!!
 
We awaited with nervousness to see which end the penalties would be taken at and we were pleased to see that it was at ours. We hoped and hoped that it could make some sort of difference. I was now beside myself with nerves and I was resorting to clasping my hands together in a prayer almost, just saying ‘please, please, please, please…’ over and over again. I decided I had to stand up for the penalty shoot out too although I could barely stand- my legs were completely numb and wobbling like jelly. How on earth I didn’t have a heart attack stood there, I will never know. So, we were to start taking the penalties first. To get the ball rolling so to speak, Tevez stepped up first. The roar of encouragement that greeted him from the reds was phenomenal. Strangely enough where we were positioned in the ground, we couldn’t actually see when the ball was struck or indeed, see it go into the net. The only way we would be able to tell the penalties had been scored or missed, was to wait and see if the back of the net rippled or not! As a lot of you know from my previous AVFTS all season, I have a real problem watching penalties being taken. The pressure and intensity of the situation is just too much for me. But I was persuaded by Hubby to watch Ronaldo’s penalty against Wigan and once again, he convinced me to watch the penalty shoot out, especially as we had come such a long way for it. I thought back to the penalties that I covered my eyes whilst were being taken- the likes of the Portsmouth one which knocked us out of the FA Cup and the one which Saha missed at Celtic. So I figured that if I’d watched Ronaldo’s at Wigan and he scored, then maybe somehow I could bring good luck to the team by watching the shoot out. As you can tell, I was rather clutching at straws at this point! As Tevez ran up to hit it, a hush decended over the United end as we didn’t want to do a single thing to distract him. In the background, we could hear the faint whistles of the Chelsea end. He smashed the ball and the net rippled so we knew from that, he had scored. Next came Ballack to take the first Chelsea penalty and I said to Hubby that there was no way Ballack would miss- after all, he was German and they are the absolute masters of penalties. As expected, Ballack slotted home to make it even at 1-1 despite all of the boos and whistles coming from us to try and put him off. At this point, even the stewards had given up watching the crowd and were turned towards the pitch to watch the shoot out. Absolutely everyone was just looking on with bated breath. Next up for us was Carrick which was a bit of a surprise but nevertheless, we put absolute confidence in him scoring and he didn’t let us down as he sent Cech the wrong way. Belletti then followed and I hoped that maybe he would be a bit ‘cold’ as he hadn’t participated much in the game. That remained just a hope though as he too, put his penalty away. With us both still evenly matched at 2-2, it was now Ronaldo’s turn to step up. I immediately turned to Hubby and said ‘He’s going to miss this’. Hubby just laughed at me as if I was being stupid but to me, it was so obvious. He’d had such an amazing season that it was almost as if there had to be something around the corner to knock him down. I could just imagine all of the headlines in the papers the next day- the media would dine out on it for weeks. He was going to be vilified by them. I hoped dearly that I would be wrong but alas, my feeling was right. Cech saved the penalty and shock and dejection was etched across all of our faces. I looked over at the Chelsea players and they were celebrating as if their name was on the trophy. We all then looked to Van der Sar to try and do the same against Lampard as Cech did on Ronaldo but the net rippled yet again, and we were now behind. Next for us was Hargreaves, and I didn’t know what to expect really. Well, we didn’t have to wait for the net to ripple as the ball nearly smashed through the back of it with a terrific penalty to keep our hopes alive. Ashley Cole then took Chelsea’s next penalty and for a split second, we thought Van der Sar had saved it as there was a slight delay in Cole kicking the ball and the ball hitting the back of the net. Unfortunately, Van der Sar’s hand wasn’t quite enough to stop it creeping in and still we were trailing. Nani then stepped up to take our next penalty and I was quite surprised to see that. It seemed like a lot of pressure for such a young player but he took his run up wth confidence and although he tried a little bit of a Ronaldo pause before he hit it, luckily for him it worked and we were still in the game. It was at this point that I didn’t know how much more of it I could take. I felt physically and emotionally drained and I was so stressed and panicking, that I was almost hyperventilating. My heart was racing and for a second, I couldn’t imagine why the hell we paid so much money to put ourselves through it. I clasped my hands together a little tighter and almost got on my knees to pray. John Terry then confidently strode towards the box, to take the next Chelsea penalty. I think my head had totally gone by this stage as I didn’t realise at that time that if he’d scored the penalty, Chelsea would have won. I don’t think I was even keeping tally of how many had been taken at the time, I was in such a daze- I was just concentrating on one penalty at a time. When Terry hit it, I waited for the back of the net to ripple. For a second, I couldn’t understand why it hadn’t as I could see from where we were that Van der Sar had gone the wrong way. It suddenly dawned on me that he’d missed. The United end went beserk but I only allowed myself one loud ‘YES’. We still had work to do. Anderson was up next for us and I guessed that he must be quite good at penalties for Fergie to bring him on specifically for it. I was still very nervous seeing him step up but he muct have been the coolest person in the ground as he buried the penalty and then gave us fans a huge roar of encouragement to get the lads over the finishing line. We reciprocated with a huge roar of our own. Kalou then took Chelsea’s next penalty and Van der Sar had no chance as he hit it hight into the top corner. Giggsy was next to go and I was absolutely terrified. Not because I didn’t have confidence in him but because I couldn’t think of a crueler twist of fate for a Giggs missed penalty to cost us the European Cup in his record breaking appearance for the club. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one thinking these thoughts as everyone around me seemed to look more tense for this penalty than most of the others. He struck the ball and the net didn’t just ripple- it bulged. And it may have been my imagination but I’m sure the cheer for his penalty was a little louder than most of the others. The tension was now at such a peak, that it was almost suffocating. I felt like I could hardly breath. Then up stepped Anelka. I thought bitterly that he was bound to score, being an ex-Liverpool, City, Arsenal and Bolton player. It seemed inevitable. In desperation, I shouted out to Van der Sar, ‘Come on Edwin- you have to save at least one’. Then Anelka began his short run up. It was almost as if I was watching it in slow motion- it felt like a real out of body experience. I looked to the net. No bulge. Not even a ripple. I couldn’t quite grasp it but then the realisation came crashing down on me- Van der Sar HAD saved it. We were Champions of Europe!! I let out an almighty scream, like a banshee and I just stood on my seat for at least a minute, just looking up to the heavens and screaming. My screams were lost in the pandemonium. The end just exploded. I mean, I’ve never seen euphoria like it in all my life. The players came tearing over to Van der Sar and then to us and I just burst into tears. I stood there crying my eyes out for ages- I just couldn’t believe it. Even the stewards were celebrating!
 
The real celebrations then began. Fans were just jumping all over each other in absolute delirium. I even had one bloke come up to me, give me a huge kiss and tell me he loved me! Don’t think Hubby would have cared less what that bloke had said to me at that moment but the bloke carried on and shook Hubby’s hand anyway! The players came flooding over to us, some of them looking like they were in tears themselves and just let loose. They were jumping everywhere, especially the likes of Rio and Nani. Anderson then did another samba dance which was greeted with huge cheers! The United fans then broke out into a newly updated rendition of ‘We’ve won it 3 times’ which we were amused to see all of the United players joining in with, some of them knowing it word for word! This was then followed with ‘Are you watching Merseyside?’ as I’m sure all of the scousers who were watching the shoot out were full of disappointment! These celebrations continued for a little while until the lads had to go up and collect the trophy. Firstly, Chelsea had to go and collect their losers’ medals and looking on the big screen, we saw that the lads had made a guard of honour for them although they didn’t conceal their glee at all well!! I barely noticed the Chelsea players collecting the medals but what we did notice very much was Peter Kenyon leading them up. Cue a HUGE rendition of ‘Peter Kenyon, you’re a w****r, you’re a w****r’ which went on for a good minute or two. I’m certain he would have heard it loud and clear! Next, it was the lads turn to go and get that trophy and because it was over the other side of the pitch to us, we glanced at the big screen as they made their way up the steps. As I saw Sir Bobby leading the lads up and wiping away a tear himself, it nearly set me off crying all over again! I had a quick look around the stadium and I was surprised to see how many Chelsea fans had stayed behind to watch the trophy presentation. Less surprising was the amount of United fans revealed in the ‘neutral’ area. It was clear from there that we had heavily outnumbered them by at least a third. Michel Platini then handed out the medals to the lads and he then passed the trophy to Rio and Giggsy who lifted it together to such a roar from us that I’m surprised it didn’t rip the roof right off and drop it in the nearby Moskva river! The lads each then took it in turns to lift the trophy and they then headed down onto the pitch for a team photo with the cup. Fireworks and gold streamers then went off behind them and the lads were covered in a glistening blanket of gold. They then made the way back over towards us and were surrounded by a crazy ring of photographers, all clamouring to get photos. Eventually, the lads managed to escape them and some even vaulted over the advertising hoardings and onto the running track to be nearer to us. The elation on their faces was indescribable. It was such a perfect moment that it almost seemed surreal. We were still singing our hearts out proudly and then lots of songs were coming over the tannoy- ‘Glory Glory Man United’ was the first, and players all joined in as well as twirling scarves above their heads. The United Calypso then followed and that piece of nostalgia took my mind to the significance of the win in terms of the club’s history- 50 years since Munich and 40 years since our first European Cup win. I shed yet more tears then. Finally, the sanatised version of ‘Take me home, United Road’ started playing and although I usually dislike it, we all joined in and sang along! Eventually, the players made their way back towards the tunnel and with one last triumphant gesture in our direction, they left the pitch. None of us really wanted them to leave but they had more celebrating still to do! We were then kept back for about 15-20 minutes inside the ground but none of us could have cared less. Russian music was played over the tannoy whilst we were waiting and everyone was singing and dancing along to it which, bearing in mind how about half of the fans were also wearing Russian hats, looked absolutely hilarious!!
 
We were then let out of the ground and glancing up at the clock, it was well after 2am. It didn’t matter at all to any of us though- I still felt like I was walking on air, and the adrenaline was still coursing through me. We headed back to the buses which took us straight to the airport and as soon as I sat down, it all seemed to catch up with me. Most of the journey back I spent asleep so before I knew it, we were back at Domodedovo Airport. Passport Control was an absolute nightmare with the sheer amount of flights heading to Manchester so we were queuing there for at least an hour as everyone had to have their passport stamped with a departure stamped as well as having the match ticket stub, immigration form and wristbands checked once again. Once through there, the security check took about another half an hour and I felt sorry for the poor people caught up in it that were actually going on holiday! Once through there, we looked at the departure screens to look for our flight and found that our flight number was nowhere to be found. Concerned that it might have already left, we asked one of the members of airport staff about the flight and we were directed to a gate where a plane was boarding. Apparently the decision had been taken that there was to be ‘free boarding’. Essentially, we could board any plane that was leaving for Manchester despite the airline or flight number! This worked out brilliantly for us as we got to leave the airport quickly, with very little hanging around. So we ended up on some random Italian based airline and except for 5 minutes when we were given a tuna sandwich to keep us going, I slept for almost the entire flight! A couple of times I did wake up a little disorientated and it took a few seconds for me to remember that we were European Champions and when I did, I kept welling up again! The emotion of it all had just overwhelmed me completely. We soon arrived into Manchester Airport and bleary eyed and still wearing our Russian hats, we made our way through Passport Control and then into Arrivals where we were met with a blaze of lights, TV cameras and journalists all trying to interview us. Some enterprising people had decided to set up a table right as we came into Arrivals full of newspapers so needless to say, we stocked up with them all there and then!
 
Heading out of the terminal and into the beautiful Manchester morning, I felt on top of the world. It was a feeling I had scarcely dared to imagine, all the way through the season. Never in my wildest dreams, could I have imagined such utter joy when we kicked off our season all the way back in August. My heart just swelled with pride thinking back and reliving all of those months. The ups, the downs…..no other club in the world could send us all on such a rollercoaster ride of emotions. But it was worth every painstaking second. Manchester United- Premier League and Champions League Winners 2007/2008.

Stretford-End.com reviews the Sun newspaper’s account of Manchester United’s European performances this season. Having taken the time to log all of the paper’s match ratings, it seems appropriate having now finished the season that we have a look back and see how well our progress was deemed by the tabloid media.

There are a couple of influencing factors that admittedly cause fault to the fundamental structure and consistency of these ratings; one, because we can’t be sure that the same journalist did the score for every game, secondly, because it’s the Sun, come on.

To be fair and time effective; if you want to view the complete list of individual players, you can visit our forum thread, but for the purposes of this article, we’ll concentrate on those players who featured in 6 or more of the ten games United eventually played.

Edwin van der Sar : 6 appearances, 6.67

Gary Neville : 6 appearances, 5.83

Rio Ferdinand : 6 appearances, 6.33

Nemanja Vidic :6 appearances, 6.33

Patrice Evra : 8 appearances, 6.25

Antonio Valencia : 9 appearances, 6.56 (2 MOM awards)

Darren Fletcher : 7 appearances, 6.28

Michael Carrick : 7 appearances, 5.85 (1 MOM award)

Paul Scholes : 7 appearances, 6.42 (1 MOM award)

Nani : 7 appearances, 6.42 (1 MOM award)

Ji-Sung Park : 6 appearances, 5.67

Wayne Rooney : 7 appearances, 7.14 (2 MOM awards)

When you consider 6 being an average; and United’s top outfield performers being Rooney and Valencia, you can’t really argue. Our European campaign was average, two standout results against Milan and a good win in Germany against Wolfsburg aside. Notable by their absence are John O’Shea, Wes Brown and Rafael, all three of whom would expect to start in front of Gary Neville, and all of whom made only fleeting appearances; though Rafael’s contribution in the knock out stage was very impressive, one red card aside, as he dealt admirably with the considerable thrust of Ronaldinho and Ribery.

Ryan Giggs made just 3 appearances in this seasons competition, a crucial intervention with a goal and an assist in the game against Wolfsburg at Old Trafford and two substitute appearances against Bayern. Dimitar Berbatov’s involvement just missed our ratings cut with 5 games, and he too only started one game – even Danny Welbeck started more!

Perhaps Neville’s average rating seems a little harsh, but one only realises the true opinion or inclination of a media outlet in comparison. You can check the accuracy for yourself, but the results are quite astounding. I chose Arsenal as the team to compare against; in the knowledge that they are looked upon rather favourably by the media in general.

Arsenal coasted through a group that included Standard Liege, AZ Alkmaar, and Olympiakos. All European competition in my mind is tough; so I’m not discounting the difficulty of their group, particuarly their trip to Greece, which incidentally they lost. I won’t put all the figures here but I have saved them if challenged in the comments. It goes without saying that Cesc Fabregas was considered the equal of Rooney. The young Spaniard has really impressed against the lesser lights this season but has failed miserably against top quality opposition – his final and most significant contribution was cheating to win a penalty and get an opponent sent off (sound familiar?) so perhaps our Wayne would understandably a little aggrieved that his 4 goal demolition of Milan over two legs, his goal in Germany and inspirational appearance on one leg that saw him set up one goal and play a crucial part in another didn’t elevate him above the highly rated Arsenal captain.

Fabregas’ status in the media means that such a comparison is to be expected; but it’s when you scratch the surface that it gets really ridiculous. Alex Song and Andrei Arshavin are a mere second decimal place away from being judged as better than Rooney this year. Think about it. In Fabregas, Song and Arshavin, Arsenal had three players that the Sun thought did just as well as Rooney in Europe this season. Song has come on leaps and bounds but Arshavin can firmly be placed alongside Berbatov when discussing expensive Eastern European misfits.

William Gallas and Thomas Vermaelen were both rated considerably better than Rio and Vidic, Gael “catastrophe” Clichy was rated better than Evra – and, for all three, it would have been a landslide if not for the Barcelona tie.

Antonio Valencia’s first season at United can definitely be described as a success. His European performances in particular have caught the eye – in the group stages he played a vital role, and he came on to change the game against Milan. Against Bayern at home, the Germans found it difficult to handle the Ecuadorian. He will have to go some next year to impress the media, though. Not only did they consider Fabregas, Song, and Arshavin to be better in Europe but also the defensive pair of Gallas and Vermaelen.

I blogged after Darren Fletcher’s stunning performance in the San Siro earned him a lofty 6 out of 10, describing that I was a little confused asto what Aaron Ramsey did that was so much more spectacular that he could get a rating of 9 in a defeat to a Greek team. Ramsey’s handful of substitute appearances to add to his amazing game in Greece gave him an average that comfortably beat Fletchers.

All of these are even including the Barcelona tie, so it gives you some indication of how it would look if you took that out. Even if you do take that out; the Sun consider that every game played by Denilson, Song, Arshavin, Fabregas, Vermaelen, Gallas and Clichy this season was to the equivalent or better standard than Fletcher’s display in the San Siro. No United player put in a shift that even compared to Ramsey’s game in Greece. In the interests of time, I just picked Arsenals most prominent players – I dread to think how Nasri, Walcott and Bendtner outperformed their United peers.

This “exercise” was carried out to really demonstrate the difference in the way the media is suspiciously favourable to the team in red from North London and less favourable to United. You would be hard pushed to find even an Arsenal fan, though, who would tell you with a straight face he thought Clichy had performed better than Evra in any competition this season.

United were deserted by luck in this years competition; take out the last minute in Munich and our fortunes in two competitions would probably look far rosier, if van Bommel had been punished for the foul that saw Rafael gain his first booking in the second leg, and if Arjen Robben didn’t score the goal of his life.. but, the very fact that we’re lamenting luck when a cold hard look at it suggests we should have made the final this year shows that United have shortcomings that do need to be addressed. That much is clear to the most ardent red.

The media meanwhile have shown that it’s ok to be utterly humiliated on the biggest stage; because depending on your postcode, they will still make you out to be better than you are. There’s a theory about the British media mentality that they “build you up to knock you down”. I think we can add to that, “and if that fails, we’ll just pretend”.

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.

I am in the process of migrating everything across from the old website to the new layout – I know i’m useless in terms of time scales. The article has received some great praise from around the web – including The Times. I’m going to store this under ‘old posts’ (new category) but I believe the arguments are still valid when assessing the pros and cons of either setup.

Date of publication: December 2006

Boom Boom says:

I was reading an article about the why’s and wherefore’s of zonal marking compared to the traditional man marking system and the facts compared to the comments and pre match analysis of certain sides.

Some sides go with zonal marking and the thing that irritates me is the way it is talked about as being so much more risky, yet the statistics prove that man marking leaves you more vunerable from set plays.

Being a Liverpool fan (in the article I was reading) he claimed the introduction a zonal marking had its problems and it seems as though those problems have tarnished the style, but after the introductory 2 months and getting used to it, it has proved to be far more succesful at defending set pieces than man marking if you compare liverpool from christmas 2005 until the beginning of this season.

Yet why is it commantators and pundits alike seem to always nit pick at zonal marking when clearly the stats prove otherwise?

why is man marking so much better?

Mancunian Red says:

The main argument against zonal marking is a valid one, being that a standing jumper should always be beaten by a running jumper who has momentum. What is rarely considered is the fact that the attacker either knows beforehand where the ball will be delivered to, or he takes a gamble on a space.

If the defender has to react to the player he’s marking, unless he’s telepathic, he’ll always be a touch behind and in some cases (i.e, the way most goals are scored from corners) a ‘free header’ will result. Of course, it’s not really free, but a case of the attacker losing his markers, but if he has no marker, he has no one to lose. Either way, the man-marking defender has to watch the ball and the attacker as well as his own nearby team-mates (who may contest the same ball) and other attackers who may have lost there own marker (a regular occurrence, leading to the ‘free’ headers – something that should never happen with the zonal system) and on top of that he has to try to second guess the attacker’s run (meanwhile, of course, the attacker is jinking everywhere to put you off the scent).

Compare this workload with the zonal system. The defender instead has a ‘box’to mark and if the ball comes towards his box he goes for it and if not he covers the goal or other players looking for scraps in the event his team-mate doesn’t clear. The main disadvantage of this system is where one zone is overloaded with attackers, but this wouldn’t really happen in a dangerous area (too near the keeper, and he can come get it – too far out and it’s unlikely a goal will result – near post normally has 2 or 3 defenders there anyway). The other problem may be that the defenders have to be very brave as well as intelligent enough to communicate with each other as well as adapting to the situation when it demands.

If the defenders get the zonal marking right, there will be no free headers. Even if defenders get man-marking right, a combination of decent ball and a millisecond between the reaction of the attacker and defender can mean a free header anyway.

The stats do no always lie and Valencia won the Spanish title by keeping more clean sheets than any other team (not conceding a single goal from a corner in it’s title winning seasons – in the league) rather than scoring the most.

Free kicks are a trickier subject though as off side and a wider range of targets means more to consider in defending the kick.

Top Cat says:

Since Rafael Benítez arrived on Merseyside the Reds have implemented a zonal marking system on set pieces and corner kicks. The system does exactly what it says on the tin: the players guard zones rather than the opposition; setting-up in danger areas in and around the six-yard box, so that they are automatically in a good position to deal with the ball, wherever it happens to be delivered.

The best way to understand the whole concept of zonal marking is to think of an extension of what a goalkeeper does at set pieces. The keeper defends the ball; he does not mark the opposition striker. His job is to follow the path of the ball, and intercept it when it comes into his zone – which should end at around 10 yards from his goal. So it’s fairly simple to understand.

In all of Liverpool’s televised live games this season the commentator, or summariser, has mentioned how much the Reds struggled with set-pieces last season, due to that pesky zonal marking system.

Clive Tyldesley is on a mission to mention it as many times as possible. At least Andy Gray mentions how big a side Liverpool are, and that the Reds should be good at defending set pieces; but there usual follows a barb about zonal marking, to suggest that the converse is true.

Quite frankly, that Liverpool are poor at defending set pieces has become the biggest falsehood since it was claimed that Chesney Hawkes was the future of music.

The truth is that Liverpool only conceded from two corners all last season, both coming in Premiership games (Chelsea away and Everton at home). In total the Reds faced 137 corners in the league, meaning Benítez’s men conceded on just 1.5 per cent of them. Only one team, Chelsea, were able to come even close to that, allowing three goals from 127 (2.4 per cent).

In terms of goals conceded from free-kicks delivered into the box, Liverpool also allowed only two in the Premiership all season, again one less than Chelsea. So the Reds conceded one-third fewer league goals than the next-best team when defending set-pieces.

Widening the net to all competitions, Liverpool conceded eight set-piece goals, compared with Chelsea’s nine, Arsenal’s 12, and Manchester United’s 15. Liverpool also played the most matches: meaning fewer set-piece goals conceded from a greater amount of games.

And the Reds did not concede a single free-kick shot all last season (this is not down to zonal marking, but is an interesting fact all the same, and something the other top four teams could not boast).

Already this season it’s been seven games, with just one set-piece goal conceded, in the first league game at Sheffield United. The average last season was one conceded every eight games in all competitions.

It’s fair to say that Liverpool can look nervous on set-pieces. But who doesn’t? With the whip and swerve players put on deliveries these days, and the movement of the newfangled balls, no team can ever look relaxed in these situations; it’s a potential scoring chance, after all. But can we stick to the facts, and not continue to propagate ill-conceived ideas?