United Share Points At Villa Park - Lose Giggs For A Month / Chelsea LOSE / Arsenal Back In The Race After Gunning The Reds
United took a creditable point from last night’s clash with Aston Villa after playing for an hour with only ten men. With Chelsea losing at Everton and Liverpool losing at Arsenal it was a pretty good night for the champions. Few will have backed the Toffees to beat the West London club, and United fans will have taken a degree of satisfaction from hearing that Liverpool’s top four aspirations took another knock at the Emirates.
The main talking point of United’s performance at Villa Park surrounded the sending off of Nani for a two footed lunge at Stiliyan Petrov - at least that is how Peter Walton saw it. It wasn’t a good challenge; Ferguson later described it as naive - ‘poor’ would have been a better word.
Fergie went on to say Nani isn’t a dirty player; he’s right on that score. Nani doesn’t have a reputation, other than that of being a diver, so United fans cannot suggest the referee had it in for him. But when you looked at the TV replays, Nani appeared to be going for the ball and not the man. It was a challenge right out of the Steven Gerrard archives.
I’ve seen Gerrard go over the ball on countless occasions, he was at it in last weekend’s Merseyside derby - ironically when Liverpool were also down to ten men; however, there’s one big difference between player’s like St Gerrard and Nani. The Liverpool captain consistently gets away with making rash challenges whereas others like Nani are not so lucky.
I have no idea why St Gerrard gets away with making so many bad challenges, but he does, more so than any other leading player that I can recall.
Carping aside, the Villa Park result was a fair one, neither team deserved to lose. Giggsy was sent for an arm x-ray and will be missing out for a month, but apart from that United can now look forward to the trip to Milan next with no game this coming weekend.
Nothing much to say on this one. Fine performance. Fair point.
Well, Chelsea aren’t exactly ArsenalFC04, are they? And that was proved last night when they went up against the Toffees. Definitely an off-day for the leaders. The west-Londers must be thanking their luck after United failed to bag all 3 at Villa park.
David Moyes has definitely managed to bring Everton back to the pre-season expectation levels. Take a bow.
Just a few thoughts though …
I. Louis Saha.
That’s three goals in two matches against the Blues this season for the Frenchman. He is to Chelsea was Drogba is to Arsenal. Lest we forget Saha also scored the opener in last season’s FA Cup Final, after just 25 seconds — supplanting Chelsea’s own Roberto Di Matteo in 1997 against Middlesborough (43 seconds) as the quickest goal in Cup final history. The only resolution for Chelsea: purchase the bastard. Get the cheque book out Romes.
II. Micheal Ballack.
What does he really do? I mean seriously, £130,000-a-week for a spectator?
III. The Age. It’s telling.
A week of preparation — and, most importantly, rest – and they’ll batter anybody. And I mean anybody. Throw in a midweek-er and Chelsea look an absolute mess. Tired legs are EVERYWHERE. This team is ancient. If there’s not a major overhaul in the summer, I’ll be shocked. It’s kind of sad really that such a significant era in this club’s history is drawing to a close.
IV. Ashley Cole.
The world’s finest left fullback departed with a foot/ankle injury during the second half. It looked bad. If it’s broken, they’re in serious, serious trouble.
V. Away Form.
Weird. Last season, they were spectacular away, rubbish at home. This term, the exact opposite. From a possible 39 points, they’ve taken just 21 down the road. This includes defeats at Wigan, Aston Villa and Manchester City; draws at West Ham, Birmingham and Hull City. Inexplicable. The most concerning aspect of this may be the fact that this side doesn’t seem to know what to do with a lead — whether to push on or resort to Mourinho-mode and protect. Figure it out, Carlo.
VI. Urgency.
Where is it? One would have expected Chelsea to respond in the second half after only a Petr Cech penalty save — shocking, I know — kept the, from trailing at the break. Instead, they looked even more hapless at the opening of the final 45. Anelka, in particular, was appalling today. Only with 15 minutes left, when Sturridge replaced Mikel, did they actually begin to resemble their rampaging best. It wasn’t enough, obviously. But you’ve got to think, where was that earlier?
-Sent in by Neil Chedda.
Playing Arsenal at the Emirates has always been a tough task. Facts don’t lie. We have only won once in 12 years at the Emirates. Last night could have been our best chance in a long time to improve that stat. Defeated in their last 2 matches, Arsenal were looking lightweight and with us on a good run of undefeated games, Arsenal could have been there for the taking. It would have been easy, some say.
But since when has Liverpool done anything the easy way? Not taking anything away from our boys though, for they played well. Macherano & Lucas (when will our fans give this boy a break?) were everywhere in the middle of the park. Gerrard was back to his roaming best. The match was hardly a spectacle given the flair and free-flowing football both teams are known for but definitely better than the raw bloodbath of the derby. Tackles were tough but fair. Unfortunately when we lost Carragher to a groin strain and replaced him with Mr. Smiley - Degen, our defence lost its shape and one lapse of concentration on the part of the substitute gave Diaby a free point-blank header that he simply couldn’t miss. Reina had no chance whatsoever with it. Go back a few minutes before the goal and you can clearly see Marsh having a real go at Degen when he lost the ball trying to play it to Dirk Kuyt. Well, I guess Mascherano’s screaming fell on deaf ears then. I’m not blaming Degen for the defeat but he was definitely our Achilles heel.
And what about that blatant handball by Fabregas? I’m not sure that it would be a penalty if it had been given, noting that he was standing on the edge of the box when he committed the crime. But it would have certainly meant another free-kick in a more dangerous position for Gerrard to test Almunia and definitely a red card for Fabregas for a second bookable offence. That would’ve ruled him out for Arsenal’s 2-3 games. That definitely would have been to our favour as we chase them for the 3rd spot because Arsenal aren’t the same team without skipper Fab in the middle pulling the strings. So advantage Arsenal, thanks to another refereeing decision that went against us. Another match, same story.
I felt that Ryan Babel should have started, or at least put on earlier. He provided a more direct approach in our attack and was much more threatening in the last 10-15 minutes that he came on than N’gog had been for the entire match. N’gog’s languid style of play can be frustrating to watch and in last night’s game, we needed a Rooney-like approach in our attack. I personally felt that Babel could have provided the thrust we needed in the final third. Maxi had a few great chances too but he must have left his scoring boots at home, seeing how he skied the ball embarrassingly high above the goal in one instance. Like Aquilani, he will be immense next season by the time he’s used to the pace and physicality of the English game.
Which makes the next game against City that more crucial for us. A direct competitor for our fight for a Champions League spot, a victory against them will definitely soothe the bitter wound of losing at the Emirates. A game for which we deserve at least a point.
Onwards and upwards, the Reds!
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February 11th, 2010 at 11:17 pm
non-sense…..man united obviously deservered d 3 points…..dey dominated the game fr mor thn an hr wid jus 10 men…villa hrldy got d ball into d utd box 3-4 times in d 2nd half
February 12th, 2010 at 12:31 am
now where the FUUCCKKK is that CFC chuut???
February 12th, 2010 at 12:34 am
just an off-day u CUNT!
February 12th, 2010 at 12:40 am
giggs out for a month???is it confirmed???
February 12th, 2010 at 1:07 am
ooo god — look how concernd u are !! a 36yr old broke his arm and UNITED’s fortune!!!
seriously - ur main player??!!
February 12th, 2010 at 11:34 am
GO GUNNNNEERRRSSSSS!!!!!!!!!
February 12th, 2010 at 11:35 am
OH .. N BTW — cfc — AHSLEY COLE’S crocked for 3 months!!
February 13th, 2010 at 9:25 pm
i know…
unfortunately, both bosingwa and ashley cole are vital parts of che’s game play…now, with essien bosingwa already gone, cole would b a big big blow..and united can PLS stop crying abt their injuries at least now
February 13th, 2010 at 10:26 pm
we havnt been ‘cryin’ abt our injuries….it was just to tell u fags tht utd can be 2nd in d league, d league final and d uefa last 16……..this is wat greatness actually is
February 13th, 2010 at 10:33 pm
asshole… chelshit is good for nuthing any ways…. they are all good for nuthing asswipes…. pussylicking motherfuckers…..
February 13th, 2010 at 10:42 pm
mr. CFC…(chloro floro carobn)….utd hav no ‘main player’ like didier drogba as for chelsea……d whole squad here is main…….@ abby…..it is absoluetly comfirmed tht giggsy will be out for 4 weeks..BUT he might play milan at home
February 13th, 2010 at 10:43 pm
People get away with stuff, that’s life, I despise both Nani and Gerrard but United fans have to stop whining abt their problems and try and solve them!!!
February 13th, 2010 at 11:10 pm
is anyone talking about injuries?? we lost 2 titles due to injuries u morons!
February 13th, 2010 at 11:12 pm
and kushal - chloro floro carbon? go and find some school blog kid.
February 13th, 2010 at 11:22 pm
oooh!! look at tht gunners supporter….beatin liverpool has given him sooo mch to boost abt……don forget chelsea n utd crushed ur dreams at home and away from home
February 13th, 2010 at 11:24 pm
kushal u cunt - we scored 17 goals when he was away at the ACN for a month … 17 goals without him in 5 games
February 13th, 2010 at 11:35 pm
@rishabh - no such problems arent a common occurrence(unless u’r arsenal!) with clubs. but they do ruin ur chances if u’r competing for a trophy. and u despise nani and gerrard?! one mr. inspiration and the other a brilliant creative player?!!
February 14th, 2010 at 1:21 am
sad to hear a cole injured for 4 months…as his prospects of representating his country for the WC suffer a major setback…@ CFC…its sad that the game of has made u so insensitive that u r deriving happiness from a player’s injury…try and be human first…wishing both cole and giggs a speedy recovery…
February 14th, 2010 at 1:30 am
@ let’sGUNNem…one of the major factors u look before buying a player is that how injury prone is that particular player…and i am afraid the scouting of arsenal has gone for a toss on this matter…its wenger’s &co’s fault that they have brought players like rosicky…i dont doubt his ability…but how effective a player can be when he’s not fit enough to play 5 games on the trot…that attribute itself makes him a weak player…take for a example louis saha…brilliant player but made of cardboard…somewhere down the lane the medical ward also comes under the scanner…so one cannot cry over bad luck all the time when their players get injured and use that as an excuse as to why they have’nt won any silverware…
February 14th, 2010 at 2:08 am
yeah but abby - u gotta agree that injuries do make a diff .. and dude the med ward of evry premier league team is = brilliant. juz that our players are more of footballers with skill but a lil agile and y’all got big thugs! (dont say u dont agree that arsenal have better footballers!)
February 14th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
all what arsenal’s got is a lot of inexperienced kids….n d ones tht hav d experience r usually (or lets say always) injured…
February 14th, 2010 at 1:52 pm
chelsea suxxxxxx. MAN U will surely win the league
February 14th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
i say it’ll be the arsenal. why?? coz therz no way the che and utd arnbt dropping 7-8 pts and we have the easiest 12 games in d fixture list
February 14th, 2010 at 5:59 pm
why is evry1 misn the pt - CHELSHITS LOST 2 EVERTONB THNKS TO AN EX-UTD PLAYA!!!!!!!!
February 14th, 2010 at 8:34 pm
@let’sGUNNem……….face it dude!!…. nobody ain’t better than the uniteds
February 14th, 2010 at 9:17 pm
don worry all u ppl utd jus hav to win a ova chelsea in april n d trophy is safe
February 14th, 2010 at 9:21 pm
don thnk chelsea will be able to keep their lead till apirl….its gonna be utd sooner
February 14th, 2010 at 9:25 pm
go check the fixture list u fucklets!
February 14th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
lol…….u arsenal fans just like to dream so much…..its gonna be utd n d premier league n its gonna be utd in d champions league
February 14th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
chelsea’s gonna be out of d title race if dey keep loosin or drawin to teams like everton n hull
n den its gonna be utd n arsenal in d race
February 14th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
burnley anyone?
February 14th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
frankly, for the ucl, only chelsea, barca and madrid(if they click) have a chance!
February 14th, 2010 at 9:50 pm
haha….look at dis fag…..he calls himself ‘DROGBA-Is-GOD’ n is asking 4 burnley fans………..lol
February 14th, 2010 at 9:55 pm
u fucklet — i was replyng to gunnerrz — refrng to utd’s defeat to burnely … god don’t we have people hu undtsnd football here?
February 14th, 2010 at 9:57 pm
@ankit…..ur crazy dude……chelsea wont beat inter…..n madrid maybe till d nxt round…..its gonna be utd n lets say barca in d finals n den we win
February 14th, 2010 at 10:07 pm
@droba is god…..u cunt it ws a joke…..,god don v hav ppl hu undrstbd jokes
February 14th, 2010 at 10:42 pm
u r dumb. anyone one intelligent here?
February 14th, 2010 at 10:42 pm
yeah i think he’s some kid and he’s stupid … nevermind reallY!
February 14th, 2010 at 10:49 pm
y u actin as if ur scared n u jus wanna avoid me..
February 15th, 2010 at 10:26 am
ya say i am d intelligent one
February 17th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
@ DOGBRA IS GOD…
burnley gave u a scare aswell
and HULL CITY anyone???
February 17th, 2010 at 4:54 pm
your not supposed to draw games with teams like hull city…..they are meant to increase the goal difference….but thtz if u wanna win d title