'Adam & Eve'n Holloway can't stop us!

                                    Manchester united go into the Premier League break fully knowing that its their title to lose now!But things wern't so rosy going into half time @ Bloomfield road!United started the match with both Rooney & Berbatov but rooney was shifted to the wings & didn't look his usual self!But the main talking point of Sir Alex Ferguson's selection was the Midfield!Three CM & only one winger to Boot!This made the midfield to crowded for Scholsy to control the pace of the game!
                                   United lost all the width that was into play @ Birmingham & more & more looked to play down the middle.Gibson Looked terribly out of position the entire time he was on the pitch & had to shift to the left more often than not in order to influence the game.United started the game on the back foot with Charlie Adam pulling the strings from the midfield.The Bloomfield Road faithful were savouring every bit of Charlie's briliance.Who knows they may never see him in action @ Bloomfield road in a Tangarine shirt after the transfer window closes on Monday.
                                   United old boy Craig Cathcart opened the scoring & u guessed it,from a Charlie Adam corner.United had Van der sar to thank for not goin furthur behimd from a Vidic's headed back pass.But united were two behind shortly before half time with DJ Campbell scoring from yet another Charlie Adam corner.United's unbeaten record was slipping away pretty fast & united were relived to go into the break.
                                   In the 2nd half united were a totally different team.Giggs replaced Gibson & added balance to the Midfield.The big talking point was Rafael's challenge on Luke Varney.Though in real time it looked like a penalty but on close inspection u can clearly see that Varney's heavy touch took the ball away from him a bit & Rafael just Shoulder checked him.50-50 for me.Then the tactical gamble of the match Sir Alex hauled off the ineffectual Rooney & brought in Chicarito with united 2 nothing down.Chica almost made an immediate impact with Kingson pulling off a save were the sriker looked certain to score..
                                   Berba then narrowed down the deficit with a close range volley of a Darren Fletcher pass.This stirred on united even more,with Giggsy putting Chicarito thru with an inch perfect cross & strikers of his quality don't forgive you twice.From then on,with almost 10 min of normal time & substantial amount of stoppage time due to Rafael's injury,it was a case of when & not if.Scholsey on the counter found Berba & then, in the form he is in you don't expect him to miss against a tiring Blackpool defence.
                                   This proved to be the sucker punch for Blackpool as they never recovered from it.Chica had chances to flatter the scoreline a bit but his header was well saved by Kingson but it didn't matter.This  match was a testimony to united's fighting spirit more than anything else!And no one embodies more than our manager Sir alex.Not many teams,if any in the premier league can stage comebacks like we did @ Villa & @ Bloomfield road.
Proud to be a RED DEVIL!
GGMU!

The Decade Gone by…..

                                            The decade gone by has left an indelible mark on the psyche of the football  fan. This  decade has given us some amazing moments & also some unsavory ones. But whatever the consensus be , but some the moments have redefined the way in which we view the ‘Beautiful Game’.

Here’s a rundown of the ten most memorable Events of the decade gone by:

10.Asia’s World Cup

The world cup came to Asia for the first time in its then  72 year old history .Asian team were expected to roll over for the big guys but South Korea ran the Big guys ragged & all the way to the world cup semi-finals albeit some help due to questionable refereeing & tremendous home support. With the world cup Asia also got its first global superstar in Park Ji Sung. Park with his endless bottom of energy & enthusiasm became the role model of every aspiring footballer from Asia.He is rightly dubbed as the Asian ‘David Beckham’ for selling huge number of T-Shirts & Merchandise.Co-Hosts Japan also made a huge feast of it by reaching the round of 16..

9.Porto winning the Champions league

Unheralded.Rank outsiders.Total underdogs.These were the terms used to describe the Porto team after it won the champions league.With it the world also got a glimpse of the self proclaimed ‘SPECIAL ONE’ in Jose Mourinho.His Porto side beat European heavyweights such as Manchester United to win the title in spectacular style after winning the UEFA cup the previous year .This pushed him into the big time as he was then appointed the coach of the Chelsea team which under Billionaire owner Roman Abrahimovich was looking to move in the premier league big time & in Jose the found a perfect match.

8.Italy winning the World cup in 2006

Italian football had hit the stunning low.Its current Seria A champions Juventus were convicted of Match Fixing & had been relegated.Almost all of its Champions league representatives except Inter Milan were docked points or were relegated amidst all this stood the World cup.It seems that the Italian team thrives on Controversy last time such a controversy had risen they had won the world cup in 1984 & now too it seemed inevitable that they won it.Fabio Cannavaro’s men rose from the ashes & crushed the Zidane led French Revolution in the Finale & the Olympic stadium in Berlin.Cannavaro holding the trophy aloft shows the unending resolve of the human mind to overcome difficulties coz almost all the players in Italy World cup squad were part of the teams involved in the Calcio scandal.

7.Ronaldo’s Magical Return in 2002

Before CR7 was known to the world there was one more Ronaldo who we all love to hate.His footballing career was all about ‘What might have been?’  . ’The Phenomenon’ aka Ronaldo was an out & out striker  poacher ,a footballing genius so shrouded in mystique that you wonder if he had a durable body Pele & Maradona would have been in serious danger of losing their title as the ‘Greatest Exponents of the Beautiful Game’.The 1998WC  final will forever shrouded in mystery for the performance of Ronaldo or the lack of it.Then he was forever injured the next 4 years & just skipped, rolled ,wobbeled into the Carlos Alberto Perira’s World Cup squad.Many experts doubted his inclusion in the world cup squad & many believed he was past his best @ the ripe old age of 24 but Periara must have been thanking his stars for picking him coz he put a performance of a lifetime & walked away with the golden ball & also scored twice in the WC final banishing all demons of the past!

 6.Arsenal’s Invincibles

Arsenal under the astute leadership of Arsene Wenger had grown into a premier league powerhouse  who were always there & there abouts but in 2003-04 season they came into their own.This Arsenal team did what no other team had done in the history of English Football they went the entire season unbeaten.They the attacking threat of Henry & the defensive stability of Sol Campbell ,they had flair in Pires but had substance in Veira in all they had a perfect season.No team has repeated the feat though Manchester united may come close this season as they they are yet to lose after 18 games.

5.Liverpool winning the champions league in Istanbul

When your team is 3-0 down @ half time in a final of a major competition you just expect  that your team should atleast show up in the second half & make the score line respectable but Liverpool trailing 3-0 against AC Milan came out all guns blazing &won the champions league on penalties.Surely this is one the most exciting champions league final ever.

4.Henry’s Hand of Lamb

France were woeful in qualifying & needed  a playoff against Northern Ireland to reach the world cup.The game ended as a stalemate after two legs of football but in extra time extra drama was to ensure.Theirry Henry France’s skipper clearly almost grabbed the ball in the penalty box & then passed it to Gallas who tapped in to send France through.He became the scrouge of the irish & pronounced as a ‘Cheat’ over there. Although the French regretted that Handball the most coz they had a world Cup to forget in South Africa!

3.Zidane’s headbutt

The most dramatic moment of the 2006 world cup was not Italy winning but it was not to do anything with football.The match seemingly going to extra time there was little to tekk the storm brewing up on the pitch.Following a French corner italy’s hot headed defender Materazzi had something allegedly to say about Zidane’s mother & sister. This enreged Zidane no end & he Head Butted him.Zenedine  zidane possibly the greatest player of his generation was sent off in his last professional match .

2.Hand of Shame

Ghana had played well to reach the quarter finals of the 2010 world cup.They were playing well against a Diego Forlan inspired Uruguay & in extra time they got a free kick from which Andre ayew found some room in the penalty box & headed it goalwards but Luis Suarez made a great save except that he was not Uruguay GK but a striker .The striker showed very little regret & even celebrated after Gyan missed the penalty kick.He was deemed a villain in the entire continent  of Africa but was a total hero @ home.

1.Manchester United’s domination continues

After the golden generation of Manchester uinited faded off  the champions league triuph in 1999 many believed united’s glory days would be over but they hadn’t factored in the willy Scot Sir Alex.He rebuilt the team from scratch & turned budding youngsters to superstars.Cristiano ronaldo & Wayne Rooney are prime examples.A trophy haul consisting of 5premier league crown,1 champions league,3league cups  should put many of European Big wigs to shame apart from Barca.The years roll on but United as a institution will go on & on…….

I have mentioned my top ten I would like u to contribute too & suggest your top ten

Will the title be decided @ the bridge?

                                 Stamford Bridge will be the venue for the 2nd top of the table clash in a row for Manchester united.United are currently in Pole position to regain the Premier league crown that they lost to Chelsea last season.Now United have extra motivation to earn a win @ the bridge & give their manager a memorable two days,as the Manchester united Head boss has passed Sir Matt Busby's record of being maximum time @ the helm of the theatre of dreams!
                                  Manchester united go into the match in high spirits.Unbeaten in the league for a club record 16 league matches.They are two points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand over all the their nearest rivals.A win over Chelsea would give them a six points lead with a game in hand which in turn could mean a nine point lead coz the game in hand is against Blackpool!Only a fool would bet against them in the that match!United are slowly getting into top gear this season & this has coincided with Anderson returning to the team & hitting the ground running!He has been in sparkling form since returing from injury.His best is yet to come in the United colours & justify the hefty fee he commanded for his move from Porto.And it is encouraging to see that the club is taking his sparking form into perspective & tying him down to united with a long term contract.The games he has featured in he has formed a great partnership with Nani.Both are young & flamboyant players & both will look to enhance their reputation in this high profile game!But Sir Alex may yet remove a Rabbit out of the hat by playing Giggs in the centre of midfield like he did a couple of seasons ago @ old trafford.Giggs though a natural winger has evolved over the years and 2day he can play anywhere in the midfield.Infact you tend to think that he enjoys the extra responsibility that comes with playing in the centre of the midfield.He has a calming influence over all the young players in the dressing room who look upto him.Rio ferdinad & Nemanja Vidic look all set to replicate the form that saw united winn three consecutive premier leagues with the meanest defence in the land.You could sense the optimissim around old trafford due to the current lot of terrific results.There is strong feeling that elusive 'Top flight' title no.19 may be coming to Old Trafford 2 the end of the season!
                                   Meanwhile currently optimisim is to Chelsea what Common sense is to New Castle!Absolutely no relation!Chelsea are currently in the worst form since the begining of the Roman Abrahimovich era.No win in seven is a form of a relegation threatented team not a team aspiring to be the champions!Chelsea's team depth has been found totally wanting this season.Ancelotti believed that he had two players per position for the back four.But Jeffery Bruma's ineffectiveness @ the back with long term absences for John Terry & Alex has hindered their progress.The Chelsea board's decision to let Ricardo Cavarlho go off to Real looks a real disaster @ the current moment.But the real problem Chelsea has faced is the prolonged absence of their talisman & consistent goalscorer Frank Lampard.Frank Lampard may not have set the Premier league on fire in any season but his continous hauls of 20 goals plus have been a gr8 helping hand in the Chelsea's domination in the Roman Abrahimovich era!Chelsea will be looking upto him in the match against United to provide the firepower in an attack,which has gone from devasting @ the start of the season to teethless currently,before u can say 'Chelsea'.They also need Drogba to fire,there is notion around the footballing fraternity that if Drogba plays  well then the whole team plays well.The Blues will be counting on him...
                                     Tomorrow is a classic in store for all football lover.Its the mordern day 'Clash of the Titans'.Speaking of 'Clash of the titans',Arsenal again drew Barca in the Champions league round of 16.Arsenal have got no one but themselves to blame but themselves for the position they are in.After three games in the group stages Arsenal looked home & dry with a perfect 9 points & a 6-0 demolition job of Shaktar but then they threw it all away in Characteristic Arsenal style & barely qualified by their skin of their neck in the last game of the fgroup stages.But in hindsight if they dispose of Barca they will be on tremendous high & may be everyone favourite to win it all.Other than that only other Marque game is Inter Milan vs Bayern Munich.Rematch of last years Champions league final!Its a game between two teams in decline & not expected to produce any sort of a spectacle as did they Champions league Final where mourinho totally outclassed Van Gall.Other than that all the European Big Guns have a stroll in the Park!
Have a terrific weekend!
May the best team win!
GGMU!
U can follow me here or facebook.com/Chinu.27392

Chelsea draw as United 'PARK' their place @ d top!

                                                              This Weekend of fixtures in EPL had a lot of subtexts to it with lot of Managers under pressure to deliver results to their demanding owners.The biggest story coming out of d last week was the sacking of the very popular and then NEWCASTLE boss Chris Hughton.So his his repaclement Alan Pardew was under tremendous pressure to deliver , deliver he did & how!Newcastle recently have acquired a reputation of being this crisis club.Its never too rosy to be on TOONSIDE.Just when everything was seeming to fall in place,in comes Mike Ashley & fires Hughton for no fault of his own.Pardew has an unenviable job now @ toonside.IF he does well then many will point that he got a settled team from CH & if he doesn't then it will be a feeling of  'I told u so' feeling among the Fans & Pundits alike.
                                                             Speaking of Managers Blackburn too fired their boss Sam allerdyce with immediate effect.I think Big Sam has been hard done by, its not as if he was doin a bad job.It has been a rollercoaster 2 weeks for Big Sam with his name being suggested as the future England & then being fired from his Job @ Blackburn.I think the Mordern boardrooms are too shortsighted for anybody's comfort imagine if the United Board had sacked Sir Alex after his unsuccesful initial Period of his tenure ,United would never have been this Megalomanic conglomerate that it is today!Also bear in mind though that United were a BIG team but were languishing in Mid table when Sir Alex arrived @ OT!
                                                              The weekend got off off to a steady start with Gerard Houlier eased some of the pressure he had built upon himself after the Liverpool defeat with quotes such as this "If I have got to lose 3-0, I would prefer it to be to them as I like Liverpool".When u are 6 games without a win u just don't make statements like this!But he has got away with it as he is an experienced & proven Manager!
                                                              While Liverpool's campiagn has just gone from bad to worse,they are just not being able to put in a decent number of results together.Roy Hodgson seem to have brought his away form bogey from Fulham to Liverpool.Liverpool generally lack attaking instincts on their travels and 1 win out 9 backs d notion that they generally inadventorous on their travels.It seems that miss the KOP so much that they they fail to evem put in the effort!Stevie G rightly calls d KOP their 12th Man but going by their current woeful displays i don't think even 11 players turn up from the team on particular day!
                                                            Manchester city Seem to be having all sorts of problems of d field with last weeks Balotelli & Boateng coming to arms on d training ground & biggest BOMBSHELL fell this week when their talismanic striker & CAPTAIN courageous TEVEZ has put in a transfer request!Are we goin to see scenes like what happened when ROO threw his tantrums @ d united board?We will not know as yet but we may be finding taht out in a few weeks!But off fields problems have no effect on the TEAM's onfield performance whatsoever they were clinical to dispatch off West Ham to d bottom of the table & maybe down to the championship!
                                                             Meanwhile Wolves got a gr8 result against a struggling Birmingham side who just like Liverpool hate to play away.Owen Coyle is building a tremendous reputation @ Boltan for being a terrific Man manager.His Boltan side are easy on the eye & know when to get physical he has singlehandedly revived Boltan to the Glory days of Big Sam when they finished 5th in the league.Can he keep going on in the same vein ,only time will tell.Owen Coyle is my longshot as the next Manchester United as & when Sir Alex retires.
                                                             Make no mistake abt it Chelsea are in Big trouble,this draw just piles on the pressure to win against United on Sunday!Lampard has made a return from injury that may not be a good sign for United but he still not match fit.Chelsea missed a golden oportunity to seal all 3 points by missing a penalty late on!Spurs would have loved all three points but i think a draw was a fair results as both the teams played well!
                                                              Manchester united played host to Arsenal @ OT yesterday & gave the Gunners a footballing lesson on how to defend a slender lead!United would have loved a bigger margin but they will take the result nevertheless.I thought Nani & Anderson were in sparkling form yesterday & commanded the game briliantly.Park too had a gr8 game & a back flip (a la 'Chicarito'vs stoke) was all that was needed by united to win it!Such was United's defensive dominance that Arsenal had only two realitic shots on target a first half header by Chamakh which was smothered by VDS & a Walcot volley in the dying seconds which went over.Arsenal most influential player this season was totally shut off from the game & so was returning skipper Fabregas!All in all a job well done.
                                                             Sets it up beautifully for sunday's match against Chelsea,if United win @ d bridge then the Premier league title may well be @ OT @ the end of the season for a record 19th time.All bets are off!
Best Players in all the big matches:
Man C vs Wh
Yaya Toure:(rating:8/10)
Enjoyed his advanced role,scored two fantastic goals
Man utd  vs Arsenal:
Anderson (Rating:8.5/10)
worked his socks off ,was influential in all of united's moves,unlucky not to get a goal to show for his exploits!
GGMU
(i have given ratings for only those matches which i have seen!)

Of United missin another record & Chelsea's compounding Misery!

                                        With most of the European Big Guns through to the last 16 of the Champions League, the last round of fixtures were more of Academic Importance than anything else.But still there was a small matter of takin first place in group & thereby avoiding the big guns like Barca & Real Madrid,Also united were on their quest to become d first team to qualify to d knockout stages without conceding a goal....
                                         Arsenal with their new captain Robin Van Persie embarked on a journey to d last 16 of the champions league on a cautious note with d first half endin 1-0 in d favour of d Gunners but they were handed a major scare when Partizan equalised in d 2nd half  but d introduction of Walcott livend thing up..
He & Nasri scored to put d game beyond Partizan.But that win cud'nt land d Gunners d top spot with a possible date with 1 of Europe's Elite waiting in d next Round.
                                          Chelsea's Didier Drogba returned to d place where he made his name.Though he was given a standing ovation he wud have loved to put 1 past his former club..Chelsea's trouble just don't seem to end,just 1 win in last six permier league games & a defeat now to Marseile has now put Carlo Ancelotti's job on d line.With Spurs,United,Arsenal next for Chelsea u tend to think that Ancelotti is already on borrowed time given d fickle nature of d Chelsea Boardroom.Over to you Roman!
                                  Spurs continue to entertain & enthrall evryone.With Spurs playin u know dat der is never gonna be a dull moment in d match but their POROUS defence may still be a headache for Harry but Spurs can be forgiven on dat front coz they have not had a setteled Centre back pairing for the entire season.But i think with Ledley King returing & ever so underrarted Michael Dawson they may have a better defence come year end.I m tippin them as the Dark horses for d Champions league purely because they have 1 of d most Talented squads & d fact dat dey will have a favourable draw due to their 1st place finish in d Group.
                                   The 'La Masia' / 'Canterra' continues to produce players of the top quality.The academy which is d envy of almost every club in europe continues to churn out outstanding players.Barca played their total B team with all players from the 'Cantera' except Mascherano.Still they won hansomely with a 2-0 margin.Jonathon Dos Santos younger brother of Giovani Dos Santos(currently @ Spurs),looks a real talent hope he fulfils his potential unlike his elder brother who faded from d limelight after promising much @ Barca.Real on d other hand continue to bulldoze d opposition into Submission with d defeat against Barca their only BLOT on a crystal clear report card.Their real test will come in d next round though their 4-0 win against Auxeere was preety impressive.Benzema's hattrick may have silenced his critics for some time but it may not gurantee him a place in d startin 11 when Higuain comes back.CR7 continues his sparklin run of form.He just can't stop scorin @ d moment!
                                      Finally to my beloved united.Manchster united were standin on d threshold of History when dey hosted Valencia @ Old Trafford but were left countin their misses.Anderson had a perfect game & should more than 1 goal.Rooney still not to peak Match fitness as yet but he is improving wid every match.Although i like Berbatov but he is to much of a stop start as a footballer.There is no consistency in his game.If ever u wanted any player to play for your life i don't think Berba wud high up on anybody list,he is too unpredictable for that position.I m sayin dis but i may yet b singing his praises if he put in a shift in d game against Arsenal on Sunday & guides UNITED to victory!
                                      Its a mouth watering weekend this weekend in d EPL with Chelsea vs Spur & United vs Gunners.I m puting my Money on united & Spurs to win.How abt u?
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