People who don’t follow club football probably have no idea why Wayne Rooney’s inclusion in the England World Cup squad is a matter of consternation for Manchester United supporters. According to England’s team doctor, Rooney is recovered from his broken foot—suffered a mere 5 weeks ago—and should be medically sound to take part in Sven Goran Erickson World Cup side.... more
I didn’t even get to see this game. So why the match report? Because I’ve been waiting for a reason to expose Fulham manager Chris Coleman as Little Nicky for quite some time. Coleman has likely ditched this uber-geeky style by now, but I will never understand what would have compelled a wealthy ex-footballer turned young manager to adopt such... more
I’ve always enjoyed watching Alan Smith play football. The former Leeds striker plays with a ferocity and commitment to the cause that is unparalleled in professional football. However, what’s even better than watching Alan Smith bang in a last-gasp, injury-time goal? It’s watching Alan Smith notch a point-saving goal in the red shirt of Manchester United. Even if Sir Alex... more
He may be both arrogant and smug, but new Chelsae manager Jose Mourinho has now managed to topple Sir Alex’s Manchester United twice in less than an year. Last season, Mourinho got the better of Sir Alex when his Porto side eliminated United from the Champions League. This time, Chelsea’s Eidur Gudjohanson helped his new manager begin his premiership... more
Poor Roy Carroll. His gaffe on Birmingham City’s opening-goal of the match may have spoiled his chance at lengthy spell in the first-team. With incumbent Tim Howard falterting as of late, Sir Alex recently gave Carroll his vote of confidence to protect United’s goal for the remainder of the season. Signed from Wigan in 2000, the Northern Irish international goal... more
Had Manchester United not reaped only one point from this result, Louis Saha's triumphant return to Loftus Road would have been the talking point of this match. The Fulham fans called him Judas, but Saha punished his former team with a blistering run and finish straight up the middle. Latching onto Cristiano Ronaldo's throughball, Saha took the ball and outran... more
The term European hangover is often used to indicate that a team's poor league play stems from an intense match on the continent. It just seems that football teams have a noticeably harder time domestically when playing after a euro-cup tie. Today's premiership match felt like a case of european hangover for Manchester United even though their noteworthy European match... more
Were it not for a few uncharicteristic lapses in front of goal, this game should have been 6-0 going into halftime. As it stood however, Manchester United was already up 3-0 at the break after a slick double from Louis Saha and a milestone goal from Ruud Van Nistlerooy. Everton simply had no answer too United's new, two-pronged attack. Saha's... more
What a debut for Sir Alex's newest £12,000,000 million striker. Playing in the number nine shirt, Louis Saha bagged a brace of assists in his first game since transfering from Fulham. His first contribution came from a freekick that forced an own goal off a Kevin Phillips' deflection. The second came from a skidding bomb of a shot that forced... more
In a match between equals, most top-flight football teams place a high premium on ball possession in order to produce scoring oppurtunities. Against Manchester United however, Aston Villa needed to control the ball merely to keep United from completely outwitting their claret and blue defenders. After United's 45 minutes of first-half dribbles, flick-ons and invention, it was clear that Villa... more