The former Atletico Madrid keeper has not had the best of starts to his time at Old Trafford. In the first live football of the season, the Community Shield, he was to blame for both of Manchester City’s goals. He let a Shane Long effort slip through his grasp against West Brom and was even questioned when he let a Theo Walcott shot go through his legs against Arsenal.

Thankfully for United supporters his errors have not proven too costly, and their premier league odds remain high after three stirring victories out of three. But there remains some nagging doubts about his ability to cope with playing for a club like United. This fear is re-enforced by tne memories of the struggle Ferguson had in replacing Peter Schmeichel 10 years ago, they don’t want another Massimo Taibi.

However, a frank and honest interview with De Gea suggests he can cope with the pressure and like most players can be cut a bit of slack in his first few months at the club.

“When you do things wrong, even though it’s a [just] couple of mistakes, the press has every right to criticise you. Especially when you’re a goalkeeper, who is always under the spotlight. What happened is something normal and no big deal. Now it’s in my hands to change those early negative criticisms into praise.”

 ” [I want to] improve in every training session and in every match, but above all keeping intact my confidence in my abilities and in what I can bring to the team. I’m surrounded by very good people and that means that we can do big things this year. We have to have faith and belief that we can do it. Only that way will I continue to grow as a goalkeeper and having the necessary confidence to become a key player.”

Wise words from such a young player and ones that hopefully mean – following an international break – he can put his early mistakes behind him and prove his critics wrong.

The team that went down at Wembley back in May had an average age of 29, with 40-year-old Edwin Van Der Sar and 39-year-old Ryan Giggs in the starting line-up.

After the game there was much talk of an end-of-an-era, with the likes of Gary Neville,Paul Scholes and Van Der Sar all retiring. The Champions League betting began to question Sir Alex Ferguson‘s ability to build yet another United team.

However, the Red Devils side that took to the field on Sunday had an average age of 23 and carried a freshness and enthusiasm about it that points to a brighter future.

Ferguson has been a master at re-moulding his squad through time, with many highlighting three distinct sides – Cantona and co in the mid 90s, the treble winning outfit in 1999 and the other European Cup winning side in 2008.

Now he appears to have done so again, combining big money imports, shrewd bargains and home-grown players to once again fashion a side that looks capable of competing for top honours.

The oil-fuelled rise of Manchester City is also a factor in this latest red revolution. Ferguson likes nothing more than a challenge and just like when Chelsea struck oil 10 years ago Fergie looks like responding to City’s emergence by raising his team to yet another level. Those who bet on the Premier League certainly seem to think title number 20 is on its way to Old Trafford.

There is, of course, a long, long way to go and one of the challenges facing a young side is how they cope when things don’t go their way.

However, as Alan Hansen found to his cost 15 years ago, whoever suggests you can’t win anything with kids could be made to look very foolish.

The key trio of Paul Scholes, Edwin van der Sar and Gary Neville have all retired from Old Trafford while Sir Alex Ferguson has allowed the experienced stalwarts of John O’Shea and Wes Brown to join Sunderland.

In place of this veteran quintet the United gaffer has replaced them with 20-year-old goalkeeper David de Gea and 19-year-old Phil Jones, while recalling the likes of Tom Cleverley and Danny Welbeck from loan spells with view to giving them extended time in the first team. Those looking to bet on Champions League winner will be wondering if they are up to the job.

Ferguson has spent big and brought in England international Ashley Young and also looks to sign Dutch superstar Wesley Sneijder – with the latter bringing Champions League winning experience to Old Trafford if the move comes through.

It is definitely a case of evolution taking place at United this summer and you have to wonder how much of this was prompted by Ferguson watching his side get comprehensively dismantled by Barcelona in the Champions League final back in May. The Champions League 2012 best odds show Barca are still the side to beat.

Winning the Premier League will be top priority, but success in the Champions League should also be high on the agenda at Old Trafford. It is going to be a big test of the new generation at the club as the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea are going to push them domestically.

With the addition of Young, and the possible arrival of Sneijder, there will be a new flair and pace in the United side and adding them to the likes of Nani, Antonio Valencia, Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez makes the side a formidable attacking force.

Maybe they could be closer to Barcelona in the Champions League this season, but it is going to be a big campaign at Old Trafford one way or another.

With Sir Alex Ferguson a man who doesn’t allow players who believe they are bigger than the club or the team’s cause to stick around at Old Trafford for very long, and with Ashley Young newly arrived in Manchester to provide additional competition for places on the wing, with Nani already ruing the level of competition in midfield at the club, could it be that the next few months sees the beginning of the end for Nani‘s career in the north of England? Those looking at the Manchester United odds might think Nani is surplus to requirements.

Should Nani continue to seek reassurance from Ferguson that he still has a big role to play at the club, as he apparently did after the Champions League final when he was left out of the first eleven, it seems likely that the United manager’s patience will wear out faster than it did with the likes of David Beckham, who clearly knew when his time was up in the Premier League. The football news indicates Nani is on his way out.

With Nani also aiming a swipe the way of the club this week by stating that he “has” to welcome every new player who signs for United regardless of his actual feelings deep down, it would seem that the rumbling of discontent surrounding the Portuguese winger could yet prove to be his downfall as the Premier League champions seek to get rid of any dead wood in their squad before the start of another long domestic season.

A rebuilding process is undoubtedly occurring at Old Trafford and Young is certainly one man who will flourish in the future as well as the current. He is gradually cementing his place as a central figure in Fabio Capello’s more urgent rebuilding plans at national level and whilst £16m can never be considered a cheap transfer fee, it represents good value for a player who cost Aston Villa nearly £10m over four years ago. The Man Utd betting indicates he should do a good job for them.

Young’s main characteristics, pace and positional flexibility, are high on the manager’s list of priorities. Capable on both wings and with both feet, he is ideally suited to playing anywhere across the front of a 4-3-3 formation as well as an orthodox winger in 4-4-2 and 4-5-1 set-ups.

He is a good finisher, as his haul of 28 league goals in four full seasons at Villa Park suggests. This allows him to be employed as a centre forward, but is out wide that he is most effective, where he can employ his pace, dribbling ability and crossing proficiency to devastating effect.

United fans will see the best of Young over the next five years, but fortunately for them, they will also see it in the forthcoming campaign. He has all the attributes to become the star in what has sometimes been a workmanlike United line-up.

With Manchester United facing off against Arsenal early on in the new Premier League campaign, and the Red Devils all too aware that they can ill afford to start the season poorly and expect to claw things back once again, since so many more sides are now capable of seriously challenging for the title, the early season battle between the two sides could prove to be a massive opportunity for both clubs, but one that United will clearly be expected to win, adding more pressure to the shoulders of the United players. Those following the latest football betting odds will know these games will be crucial.

Despite a successful season last time around, United will be lining up next season without at least two familiar faces, as Edwin van der Sar and Paul Scholes have both hung up their boots, and the success of the replacements for these two key players will be crucial if Manchester United are to stay as top dogs in English football.

That said, should United find themselves in possession of a goalkeeper who has not adapted well to the Premier League or the pressure that playing for United brings, they will certainly not be looking forward to facing a team that is certain to pose an attacking threat at Old Trafford and one that forced Edwin Van Der Sar to pull out all the stops in a man of the match performance last season in the same fixture. Anyone looking to bet on Premier League action will know the replacements will have to be up to the job.

If United can come through this test successfully, then we will know who the favourites for the league are from a very early stage.

United’s rivals are all, for differing reasons, likely to be opening their chequebooks with regularity in the coming weeks and the Red Devils cannot be left behind. Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and in particular Liverpool will be stronger opposition next term and new blood is needed at the champions. Anyone placing a Man Utd bet will realise this.

Ferguson has been fortunate that his experienced stalwarts have not departed the scene at the same time, but the feeling that a new era is about to begin remains. Centre back Phil Jones is the first piece in the jigsaw that appears to being put together with youth and Englishness as key ingredients. Ashley Young also fits this profile.

United will need to look at other nationalities to fill the goalkeeping and midfield creator vacancies, with David de Gea, Luka Modric and Wesley Sneijder leading candidates. All carry high price tags and the clearout of some fringe players to balance the books is inevitable.

Supporters would be happy with these prospective acquisitions to go alongside Jones and Young, who have the potential to become long-term England servants as well as United ones. Chris Smalling also has a long international career ahead of him and will be a key figure for United this season as the personification of the new dynasty in development.

It is therefore worth listening to any opinions that the 37-year-old midfielder has to give about the club, and this week he has been staunchly defending the current form of the Premier League champions, who have come in for immense criticism despite stealing the league crown away from Chelsea this season. Those following the in-play betting will know things haven’t been as straightforward as they might have been.

A record of just five wins in 19 away league games has caused some to accuse the champions of lacking the flair and creativity that previous United squads containing the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo have been able to boast. However, with Giggs believing that the nervy and unpredictable nature of the current season has forced the side to be less flamboyant in attack while sometimes appearing more vulnerable at the back, it is nevertheless fair to say that a never-say-die attitude has pulled United through on more than one occasion this season, wins from losing positions against Blackpool and West Ham notable examples of this and those following the online betting will know how much this helped.

With United’s 19th league win pulling them clear of Liverpool‘s previous record of Premier League titles, surely it’s the case that such a dominant side in the modern era deserves untainted respect, even if they haven’t been consistently dazzling this season.

Despite winning a record 19th domestic league title to make them the most successful English club in history there seems to still be discussions about how good this United team is.

Many onlookers reckon this is the weakest United side in many years under Sir Alex Ferguson, but they could be on for a remarkable league and Champions League double if they overcome the challenge of Barcelona. The Champions League betting may make them underdogs, but they could still chalk up a win.

The Catalan side are regarded from most sides to be the best side currently playing across the globe and United could be out for revenge after Barcelona beat them in the 2009 Champions League final.

Ferguson, has led United to their 59th trophy in the Premier League, reckons beating Barcelona and making it 60 for the club would “end all arguments” about how good the team really is. Those who have placed a Champions League bet would agree with this.

He claims his side possess “great quality” and they are capable of winning the Champions League final at Wembley.

“I know we are playing a terrific team in Barcelona, but would you back against us in a big way? I don’t think you would,” the veteran Scot added.

“We are capable of doing very well in the final. There is nothing wrong with accepting challenges, we are good at that.”

With the Premier League title wrapped up, Ferguson could rest a lot of players for the final game with Blackpool to ensure they are fit for the Champions League final later in the month.

With United now in a strong position for his successor, whoever that turns out to be, to take over, and with Fergie well aware that he can’t really do much more than he has already done at the club, he must surely be thinking about how easily he could slip away from Old Trafford and yet still be remembered as the greatest manager in the club’s history, even surpassing Sir Matt Busby. Those looking at mobile betting sites would have to agree.

However, should the United manager continue to find himself watching on as Manchester City spend more and more cash and perhaps begin to overtake United in terms of silverware, then surely he will have left it too late to give up when he is at the top of his game, and will instead be remembered for leaving a legacy that was impossible to live up to for his successor due to the state he left the club in. Fans of football mobile betting will be wondering how the side will get on when he eventually does go.

With many fans worried about the future of the club while the Glazer family remains in control and continue to suck as much money out of their investment as they possibly can, despite the problems it will cause United for years to come Sir Alex‘s departure will be a tough time for the club, no doubt about it.

One of those assets comes in the form of midfielder Darren Fletcher, who Ferguson believes is a big game player comparable in stature and influence to the likes of Mark Hughes and other former United legends. With Ferguson seeming to blame United’s 2009 defeat in the final to the La Liga champions on the absence of Fletcher in the middle of the park, the importance that he places on the Scot is clear for all to see. Anyone following the Champions League betting should keep a close eye on his fitness.

Unfortunately for United fans, though, the Scot has been forced to miss much of the last couple of months after struggling with a stomach virus that has resulted in him shedding more than a stone in weight. Fletcher made his comeback against Schalke in the Champions League but the United manager is well aware that his team’s opponents in the semi-finals didn’t, unfortunately for neutrals, end up providing the sort of stern test that you would normally expect in such a crucial game.

With Ferguson therefore handing the midfielder a trio of games in which to prove his match fitness, including the team’s remaining league fixtures against Blackburn and Blackpool, it remains to be seen whether he recovers in time to make the starting line-up at Wembley.

If Fletcher fails to do so could United end up blaming another Champions League final defeat on the Scot’s absence in years to come?

Not being the favourites an uncommon occurrence for United but Barcelona are the greatest team in the world and they will be looking to that 2009 Champions League final in Rome for motivation.

That day Lionel Messi, Xavia and Andres Iniesta ran United ragged and it is something the English side will be looking to avoid happening again.

United captain Nemanja Vidic reckons his team are more prepared for the Barca threat than they were two years ago as the Spaniards play the same style of football and will offer them “no surprises” this time around.

The defender told Serbian website b92 that United will not be thinking about the Champions League final until it is mathematically assured they have won the Premier League title, which could happen this weekend against Blackburn. Anyone planning to bet on Champions League games should remember they may play a weakened team in their final league match of the season.

“They haven’t changed their style in years but they will be a tough prospect and definitely the favourites in the final,” added Vidic.

“Maybe we have a little bit of an advantage in logistics because we are closer to the venue, but we know that their fans will turn up in numbers just like our own.”

Sir Alex Ferguson recently claimed he was planning to go all-out attack on Barcelona as he looks to play the Spaniards at their own game.

The United boss said his attacking options could cause the problems to Barca that people expect they are going to give to them in the Champions League final.

Barcelona however are clearly the best footballing side on the planet, not just in this era, but possibly ever. One just has to look at the number of completed passes that they managed over their two-legged semi final in comparison to their opponents and bitter rivals Real Madrid to see that the play the game in a different way to most sides, and again this is bred into them from the moment they take their first tour of the Nou Camp.

Both sets of players have a clear idea of what their club expects from them, but only one side can emerge from the Wembley showpiece as the continent’s finest side and the Champions League betting suggests it should be an excellent match.

Mourinho clearly went the wrong way about defeating them in the semi finals. Perhaps buoyed by his side’s ability to play ugly and win in their recent meeting in the Copa Del Rey final, he seemed to see a 0-0 home draw as the key to defeating Guardiola’s side but in a one-off final Ferguson will have no such luxury, and must have a go at Barcelona from the first whistle and those following the football betting should remember this.

Stand off them and they will pass you to death, but get in their faces – not in the cynical and overly-physical manner in which Jose Mourinho instructed his players to compete – and playing them as equals, rather than simply as a force to be stopped at any cost, and they will become as mortal as any side United have faced and defeated in the Premier League this season.

But looking back on this season, why?  May is going to be hectic, for sure, but this is Manchester United we’re talking about. This is what Manchester United thrive on.  The pressures of a title decider against a team who has clawed back a 15-point deficit in two months of league football or a Champions League final against perhaps the one side in world football that can dictate the way the match will be played.

Of course, things at the moment are very real, anyone ready to place their free bet in the final stages of the season will tell you that.

Dreams of a treble are over and in the Premier League, it certainly has not been all guns blazing from Fergie’s men.  But can you really say it has been all season? The Manchester United class of 2010/11 is a well-oiled machine of good players who compliment each other well enough to grind out a result if things are not going to plan.

Yes, Sir Alex has admitted there is no ‘Ronaldo factor’ to this side, perhaps a sign that as a whole they have improved since his departure.  It’d be disrespectful to suggest that Ronaldo alone won the Premier League title in 2009, but he certainly played a starring role.

This year, who could you say has played that starring role, in a season which they should end as champions for the 19^th time?  Giggs? Valencia? Nani? Hernandez? Vidic? Van der Sar? It’d be hard to single any individual out, as this has truly been a team effort.

Chelsea arrive at Old Trafford with their tails wagging, having gone on such a strong run in the league.  This culminated in the sort of lucky win over Tottenham Hotspur that is synonymous with champions.  But lest we they also visited in the Champions League a few weeks ago.  The Blues were valiant on that evening, but in reality were rather outclassed.  Should the worst happen come Sunday; the Reds can afford themselves the knowledge that their domestic season will still have some life left in it.

Fast-forward to the end of May and Manchester United vs Barcelona II, the clash which has everyone talking.

How do those placing regular free bets think United can topple the Catalans?  Admittedly, man-for-man the La Liga side are probably stronger than United.  But in one key figure, United have an advantage.  Of course, that advantage is the most important individual in their history, one Sir Alex.

Make no mistake, the next few weeks will sleepless for the Scot, who will be going into overdrive plotting Barcelona’s downfall.  He’ll no doubt be better for the experience of defeat to them in 2009, but as wonderfully pointed out by Gordon Strachan on Wednesday’s television broadcast, it’s time for Fergie to unleash the psychological superpowers that has so often had his foes running scared.

This means that, if you want to purchase a top-price season ticket at the club, you’ll have to fork out a whopping total of £950 just for the luxury of watching 19 Premier League games (Champions League games aren’t included in this sum), a figure that many fans will deem unpalatable at this time of economic doom and gloom. Most people make Manchester United betting tips for the title, but it’s getting harder for the average fan to afford to see them in action.

However, with club officials stating that the price increase is in line with VAT increases despite absorbing the initial increase when the VAT rise came into play earlier this year, and with Arsenal also angering their fans by raising ticket prices for games at the Emirates Stadium, it would seem that fans don’t have much of a voice when it comes to changing the minds of those who make the financial decisions.

One of the elements of the latest price increase that has angered United fans the most is the fact that it has come at a time during which the Glazers have managed to cut prices at the NFL franchise they own, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with some ticket prices there reduced for American fans by as much as 30%. United fans following the transfer rumours will at least be hoping to see the side splash some cash this summer.

By failing to replicate this price cut at United, the Glazers have once again left themselves open to criticism that United is just their toy and a financial investment with which to make as much money as possible, rather than a club that they well and truly care about in the long term.

It would take almost a sporting miracle for Schalke and Real to make it through, meaning a repeat of the 2009 final – and 2008 semi-final – is almost a certainty.
For United then a revenge job is in their sights after they were completely dismantled in the2009 final in Rome.

That day Lionel Messi led Barca’s charge in a complete performance by a truly world-class side. United boss Sir Alex Ferguson believes he knows what went wrong in that game, so his belief will be put to the test. Anyone looking to place a Champions League bet will be keeping a close eye on things.

Real Madrid‘s recent success over their great rivals was – in typical Mourinho style – based on tight, stifling defensive play with the hope they can nick a goal at the other end. I don’t expect United to do that but nor do I see them open up against Barca either. The Catalan outfit will out pass anyone so if you are open at the back they can rip you apart.

However, as Mourinho found to his cost, you can’t sit back and hope for the best either. If they have any weakness it is at the back and a relative lack of height and weakness from set pieces mean there is an opening there for United.
It should all make for a fascinating contest and against two top sides and a game worthy of Wembley Stadium. Just don’t ask me to guess the result!

Sir Alex Ferguson‘s teams rarely lose twice in a week and so after that frustrating defeat to rivals Manchester City at Wembley last weekend and a weary draw with Newcastle on Tuesday, the pressure was on against in-form Everton on Saturday. Those who bet on Champions League games should bear this in mind.

The Toffees didn’t offer much in attack, but David Moyes’ team have a reputation for solid and determined defending, if there is anyone who could hang on for grim life for 90 minutes it was them.

And so it almost proved as wave after wave of Red Devil’s attack were repelled by the Blue wall. United’s title rivals Arsenal had found to their cost what can happen if they fail to convert chances and pressure in home draws with the likes of Blackburn and Sunderland.

But there appears a fierce will to win in the United side, something that is drilled into the players by Ferguson and almost transcends who is actually playing in the team – they have always had this attitude ever since their first Premier League title under the Scot in 1993. Anyone looking to bet on Champions League winner this season should remember this.

And so it proved again with Javier Hernandez – the baby faced assassin for the 21st century- finally broke the deadlock with yet another perfectly timed header to send Old Trafford into euphoria.

It was the least that United deserved on the day given their dominance and Everton’s increasing lack of attacking ambition into the second half, but points in the Premier League aren’t won by having more possession or shots on goal. You need substance over style sometimes and United are masters of it, especially as this stage of the season.

Games against Arsenal and Chelsea may still mean there is a twist in the title tail, but given United’s form going into the business end of the season – a champions league semi-final awaits too don’t forget – not even they can stop United’s charge to a record 19th title.

Fortunately for Sir Alex Fergusons men, they are still in the run in to pick up a Premier League and Champions League trophy as the closing stages of the season heats up.

In true Man United fashion, you can expect them to bounce back strongly from the disappointing weekend defeat, and Newcastle United will fear it will be them who will be on the end of a Red Devil backlash at St James Park tonight. Fans looking at the live scores goalwire will be expecting this. United have shown time and time again this season how difficult they are to beat and their team is filled with players who know how to respond and how to win games.

After Arsenal failed to reduce the deficit with their game in hand on Sunday, a win for United tonight will almost nail down the record breaking 19th English Title for Sir Alex’s men. A win would see United 9 points clear if Arsenal who face a hugely difficult tie with North London rivals Tottenham on Wednesday and such a margin will be very difficult to close with few games remaining and livescore fans will realise this.

Man United will also be boosted by the return of Wayne Rooney tonight after his two-game suspension for swearing. Had Rooney played on Saturday it could well have been a different story, his recent form has been very impressive as he is finally finding his feet after a difficult year, Newcastle will certainly have to be on the very top of their game to deal with him, as I’m sure Rooney and United will produce an excellent performance tonight.

Their relatively low points total at this stage compared to previous season should not be seen as a sign of regression, but rather an indication of how much the standard of the teams in the Premier League has improved. But although a nineteenth top division title would have been Sir Alex‘s main ambition at the start of the season, the collection of silverware doesn’t look as though it will finish there.

The fact that Manchester City – their opponents in this weekend’s FA Cup semi final – are coming off the back of a morale crushing 3-0 loss at Anfield on Monday, and in the process lost their talisman Carlos Tevez following a hamstring injury certainly appears to stack the FA Cup odds in the Old Trafford outfit’s favour, and after their 3-1 aggregate win over Chelsea in the Champions League, morale will be sky high even with Wayne Rooney suspended. Following a victory there, a somewhat more routine win against either Stoke or Bolton would be viewed by many as a mere formality.

Their Champions League quarter final victory lines up an intriguing fixture against the winner of the Inter Milan vs Shalke tie, and then a potential final, against either Real Madrid or Barcelona. One thing is clear: winning against such opposition will not be a matter of doing just enough – a skill they have honed so well this season. Against either Spanish side, there will be nowhere to hide and even with home advantage, Man United will have to be at their absolute best to take home the trophy – luckily for them though, being the best comes very naturally to them.

With this in mind, it is worth considering the implications of his absence from the United side as the title race reaches its exciting and unusually unpredictable climax. Those looking at the Premier League odds should certainly bear it in mind. If Rooney’s absence helps Fulham in their upcoming battle at Old Trafford this weekend, then we may just see the striker’s odd decision to express his joy in what many deem to be a despicable way come back to haunt his club and finally make Sir Alex Ferguson think twice about whether he can turn the thug that is Wayne Rooney into a man who can be a top professional and a nice guy (although the latter may just be a stretch too far even for a master like Ferguson) while helping United in the process.

If this does not come to pass and United manage to triumph with ease against both Fulham in the league and Manchester City in their FA Cup semi-final tie, then Rooney may once again get away with it, something that surely is not a good thing for either Rooney or fans of football in general.

However, the fact remains that even if Rooney’s absence doesn’t hurt United in the short term, his actions have already done plenty of harm to football as a whole and to people who argue that the sport is still very much open for families and people of all walks of life.

With the club preparing to honour his career with a testimonial at Old Trafford against Italian giants Juventus, it’s sure to be a special night for all involved with the club and all involved with the development of a man who made his debut at the age of just 17. After making a total of over 600 appearances for the Red Devils and boasting a full to bursting trophy cabinet including Premier League trophies, FA Cups, League Cups, and of course a Champions League medal, the defender made the right decision to retire earlier this season after a run of games that had threatened to take some of the gloss off an otherwise glittering career.

Neville’s decision to retire has opened the door for a number of youngsters including Rafael to state their claim for a long-term place in the starting line-up at the back for United but Sir Alex Ferguson will no doubt be breathing a sigh of relief that the transition has been such a seamless one. With Chris Smalling repeating the ease with which Rafael has slotted into the first team, Smalling replacing Rio Ferdinand seamlessly in crucial games, it seems a safe bet that United wouldn’t be in such a comfortable position in a trio of competitions as they are now if a couple of new faces hadn’t made the step up so easily. Most people make Manchester United betting tips for the title and it now seems this could be the start of another great era.

Whether these faces can turn into a golden generation for Fergie and repeat the heroics of Neville’s generation does, however, remain to be seen.

With United criticised before their Champions League tie with Marseille earlier this week for lacking an element of fantasy that has characterised their starting line-ups in years gone by, Rooney for one doesn’t seem too bothered with that sort of claim, which was made by Didier Deschamps before kick-off. After all, the football betting odds suggest United are headed for glory.

For Rooney, the manner of victory is clearly unimportant, with the former Everton man simply focused upon writing the history books, with United still hopeful of creating a successful next chapter at the end of this season. Manchester United may be lacking the spark that they’ve boasted in previous seasons, when the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo lit up the Old Trafford stage, but they are still in with a chance of winning what would be an extraordinary treble this year.

The Champions League quarter-final draw later this week will provide us with more clues as to the likelihood of this being achieved, but still being in contention for the treble at this stage of the season is something that the Red Devils players should be very proud of regardless of the end result come May.

With Javier Hernandez one man who has injected a touch of magic into the United squad this season after making an instant impact at the club, could it be that the young Mexican forward finishes the season in a manner that befits his strong start, scoring the goals that propel United to a magical treble?

With Gibson obviously keen to fight on work his way into the first team, the question now is whether or not those at the club deciding upon the exact intricacies of his potential new contract will be equally as keen for the player to do just that. Perhaps one of the most alarming signs from Sir Alex Ferguson‘s point of view will be the comment from the 23-year-old that he is “happy enough” with his form and has “no complaints” about the way things are going. If Gibson’s involvement in and influence on the team so far this season really is enough to satisfy him, will he fit nicely into Ferguson’s definition of a player motivated enough to make an impression at the club and be representative of the future of such a famous institution? After all, the Manchester United betting always suggests they will challenge for trophies, and an attitude like that doesn’t seem good enough.

Perhaps Gibson is taking solace in the fact that Michael Carrick has been offered a new deal at the club recently, despite coming under intense criticism this season and being a perceived weak point in the starting line-up. If Carrick is some of the main competition keeping the midfielder out of the first 11, then perhaps the future may be bright for the youngster after all.

If the likes of Rooney and Nemanja Vidic display the kind of performances that they are more than capable of, then we all know that they can be a real contender not only to defeat Marseille on home turf but also to go on and win a third European Cup under a man who would then surely be indisputably known as the club’s greatest ever manager. That said, those who have placed a Champions League bet on United will be a little worried now.

However, if the Red Devils continue to frustrate and perform in a pedestrian manner that has seen top sides rip them to pieces whilst allowing the minnows of the league to get decent results against them when they are not at fortress Old Trafford, then a plucky Marseille side could be enough to see a team that regarded reaching the semi-final as a minimum expectation dumped out against unexpected opposition.

Although Fergie may think that his side are immune to this scenario as they look to continue to dominate against weaker sides who find themselves daunted by the atmosphere and surroundings of Old Trafford, you only need to think back to a lucky, but hugely determined and unfancied Porto side to remember a team that went to Old Trafford, failed to be intimidated, and then rode their luck all the way to a Champions League crown that United fans know could easily have been theirs. United must be on their guard, or complacency could be their downfall.

The 37-year-old midfielder has committed to the club for the 2011-2012 season, taking him into his 22nd season with the club. After Alex Ferguson snapped the ‘Welsh Wizard’ from the clutches of rivals Manchester City in 1987, Giggs has been the focal point of Fergusons hugely successful teams which spans over two decades.

In his record breaking 862 appearances for United, Giggs has won 11 Premier League titles, 4 FA Cups, 2 UEFA Champions League trophies, 1 UEFA Super Cup, an Intercontinental Cup as well as the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup. Making United the most dominating, successful clubs in England and Europe. Goalwire live score fans will know just how influential he has been.

A true role model in every sense of the word, Giggs is the ultimate professional. With the amount of accolades he has achieved, he is one of the most decorated players in the History of the game. And so he could be forgiven for taking his foot off the pedal with nothing else to win or achieve within a career that has produced so much.

It his to his admirable credit however, that he is as motivated now as he ever has been, as he continues to produce unbelievable form at the very highest level of world football and still has an impact on the goalwire live scores.

With the motivation and professionalism, it has allowed him to build and maintain immense levels of fitness. He is such an influential figure both on and off the pitch at Manchester United, who will have possibly the biggest void to fill in the clubs history when he does decide to retire.

At his current rate however, Manchester United fans and the footballing world will believe he has the potential to play into his forties.

An inspiration to the footballing world, long may his career continue.

In truth the United defence were extremely comfortable in the Stade Veledrome. The closest Marseille came to scoring wasn’t even a shot on goal. A cross-shot from Andre Ayew that just avoided Brandao at the far post during a brief spell of Marseille pressure early in the second half was the best they could muster.

At the other end United were similarly unadventurous, with a deflected Darren Fletcher strike the sum total of their efforts, despite the presence of Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney in the starting XI.

In the end it was a performance befitting of United in Europe this season. They have only conceded one goal in the tournament and progressed through their group with the minimum of effort, but they really need to play better if they are to feature in the Champions League final betting.

With three consecutive away matches and a FA Cup quarter-final with Arsenal or Leyton Orient to come, Ferguson perhaps needed his players to conserve energy levels in this game.

Their ‘not playing well but winning’ strategy has kept them in the hunt for three trophies and you wonder what they can achieve if they do ever step it up a gear.

They certainly need to do that in the second leg of this match, but given Fergie’s track record of managing his players in a season run-in, I thoroughly expect them to do so.

In contrast to these rather daunting fixtures, Arsenal have home fixtures in the Premier League and the opportunity to win the first silverware of the season by defeating an underperforming Birmingham side in the Carling Cup final at Wembley. Although this season has shown that no fixture in the Premier League is ever going to be an easy one, the chances are United come out of this spell having lost at least a percentage of their lead unless they can really show that they are a great side by going to Anfield and Stamford Bridge and defeating two sides determined to show that they are not just also-rans. The Betfair Football betting suggests this will be a really tough task.

However, with United having shown time and time again, both this season and in previous years, that they are the only side in the country that really can handle the pressure when they need to, the odds have to be in their favour to see them end the season securing a record 19th title. That is, of course, if the likes of Nani and Rafael are able to show that they understand the history and mentality of a club that still boasts the likes of Giggs and Scholes, who of course helped to bring United back to the summit of English football.

If Rafael can start to show that he can be a longstanding part of a defence that could go on to establish United as the single most successful club in British football, whilst also starting to generate an intense hatred on the behalf of Liverpool fans (something Neville managed throughout his successful career to the delight of United supporters), he may just have the talent to one day rank alongside the now retired Neville as a United great. The Premier League best odds certainly suggest he will help the side claim the title this season.

However, if Rafael starts to allow his existing defensive frailties to be exposed by some of Europe’s (or the Premier League’s) top attacking players, he may find that he is no longer seen as the only player who has successfully managed to take over from the Neville, Giggs and Scholes generation and make his position his own. With Ferguson never a man to keep a player at the club out of sympathy, Rafael will need to show that he is capable of continuing to show the level of improvement that had left Ferguson more than happy to see Neville retire without an experienced replacement brought in. Those who like a Premier League bet will know that United are never ones to sit on their laurels when players don’t work out.

With Rafael still at the start of his career in relative terms, only time will tell if he can realistically be talked about in terms of eventually enjoying a testimonial game in honour of his services to United in the same way that Neville is at the moment.

But you have to have a modicum of sympathy for the Scot and his Italian counter-part Roberto Mancini, whose preparations for this weekend’s Manchester derby (with a early kick-off don’t forget) have been hampered by their players jetting off to all  corners of the world for a clutch of international friendlies. Plenty of fans will be following the livescore goalwire, but they’ll be more worried about this weekend’s games.

Therefore I can understand why many of their players have been instructed to stay behind, either though negotiation or apparent ‘injuries’.

Ferguson has negotiated an agreement with the Serbian football association so that the club captain, Nemanja Vidic, can stay in England while City have done the same for Carlos Tevez and Edin Dzeko.

But, perhaps highlighting the difference in the relationships between Premier League clubs and domestic FAs, the likes of Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling have ‘knocks’. Watch them magically recover in time for Saturday though.

It just proves though that the timing of international matches needs to be looked at, otherwise International coaches will be frustrated as they will keep having drop-outs, therefore weakening their squads. People’s interest in the live football scores also wanes.

Alternatively we will have cases like Steven Gerard last November when he injured a hamstring late on in the England v France game – when he was only supposed to play 45 minutes – and missed three weeks of Liverpool‘s season, angering the club’s management.

Unfortunately it is just another issue to add to the already lengthy FA/Premier League/UEFA problematic relations list and one I can see being solved anytime soon.

United’s unbeaten run in the Premier League stretched back to last season and stood at twenty-nine matches, and so far this term – until their game at Molineux anyway – they had accrued fifteen wins and nine draws from their twenty-four matches. Now with their record broken however, it only remains to be seen whether or not they can muster the spirit to continue on a campaign which has seen them open up a lead at the top of the league. Next up they face a tough test at home against their most bitter of rivals, Manchester City, and will need to show that they can bounce back during a campaign in which they have been more resilient than resplendent. Still, those who have placed a Premier League bet on the side winning the title won’t be too upset at the way things have gone.

Despite Roberto Mancini’s complaint last week about his defence shipping too many goals this season, so far this campaign they have conceded pretty much the same number as the side they re secretly hoping to emulate – twenty-two compared to United’s twenty-four – and as a result, should pose a far more challenging test to break down than any other outfit that Manchester United have been pitted against of late. And all the signs are that this showdown will be a low-scoring affair, as in the only games that Ferguson’s team have faced other sides from within last season’s top four – at home against Arsenal and away to Tottenham – there has only been the one goa and the Premier League tips suggest another tight game.

Almost certainly, Fergie will again be setting up a disciplined outfit, armed with the knowledge that as league leaders, the impetus will be on the visitors to claim the three points and whittle down the gap that the Old Trafford outfit have opened up at the top.

The form of Dimitar Berbatov and super-sub Javier Hernandez though – with 20 and 11 goals respectively this season – has meant Rooney’s goal drought has not had much of an impact on the side.

But with their rival’s reinforcements set to liven up the title race Rooney’s two goals against Aston Villa signalled a spectacular return to his best and reminded those at Stamford Bridge and Anfield that United didn’t need to strengthen their forward line as they have plenty of attacking talent already.

The Red Devils have now gone a club record 29 league games unbeaten and talk of a complete unbeaten season – like the Arsenal invincibles side of 2004 – are beginning to emerge excited from the United terraces and messageboards. Anyone looking to bet on Premier League winner should give serious thought to backing United.

To have got so far without the best form of their star striker is remarkable enough – remember he apparently ‘carried’ United for much of last season before his injury against Bayern Munich in April coincided with stuttering finish to the season that allowed Chelsea to eventually finish top dogs. The Premier League betting now suggests the title is United’s for the taking, but they can’t afford to slip.

So with a fit and firing Rooney on board, United are an even more fearsome unit and appear well set to push on and claim yet another Premier League title, regardless of what has been spent elsewhere.

This season has been unpredictable in just about every way – Chelsea have blown a clear lead in the title chase, newly-promoted Blackpool have done the double over Liverpool and tongues have barely stopped wagging over the future of just about every manager whose team has suffered a prolonged spell in the lower half of the table – but one reassuringly familiar aspect is the irrepressible Red machine, which just rumbles on and on. To be fair, most football predictions take the side’s ability to ground out results these days, but it’s still a sight to see.

Sir Alex Ferguson‘s team remain unbeaten on their quest to overhaul bitter rivals Liverpool’s record number of top division titles, and despite Harry Redknapp’s claims that he simply could not see Man United continuing undefeated until May, what he and every other fan in the country has not seen is just what the Reds are capable of once they hit top form.

Their best players in each position – Ferdinand in defence, Nani in midfield and Rooney up front – have still not managed to hit top form for consistent periods of time, and should they do so, then Ferguson may end up making his opposite number at Spurs eat his words, something the football odds suggest could happen easily.

Manchester United invariably finish a season stronger than they start – a scary statistic for their potential rivals for the title – and as a result, everyone’s best chance at beating them may have already passed. On top of that, with a run of fixtures which sees them face Birmingham, Blackpool, Aston Villa – a side they historically do very well against – and Wolves before they have to face Man City, they could well have clear sky between themselves and any chasing pack before their rivals have a chance to do anything about it.

Ferguson doesn’t know how to lose, and his history of success in the Premier League speaks for itself, and as a result it would be a brave man who bets against them this time out.

The two have history. Yolkie, the warrior in question, claimed back in October that Jordan Henderson would be signing for United and that Karim Benzema would join him if we could find a buyer for Michael Owen.

“Ok, Jordan Henderson is basically a done deal & Benzema is the forward who “will sign” if we can find a buyer for Owen,” he said via his Twitter account.

Yolkie’s claims were met with much scepticism. After all, how can a simple United blogger acquire inside information like that without having a source within the club to feed him information? He was laughed off as a nobody.

Fast forward a few months and we’re now heading to Liverpool fans forum RAWK, where a member started a new thread comparing Liveropol’s plight under the stewardship of Roy Hodgson to the Hillsborough disaster where 96 people tragically lost their lives.

The ridiculous and offensive text was soon copied and pasted to various forums, including RedCafe, to a thread dedicated to laughing at the deluded ramblings of RAWK members.

Sad though it is, this sort of deluded posting is not a rarity over on RAWK. In fact I’ve even written about them in the past.

Credit to the staff on RAWK, they quickly deleted the post and banned the user. However, in what would appear to be a way of distancing themselves from the post, the administrators are now claiming that it was the result of a hacked account.

Now let’s get back to Yolkie. Today he waded into the situation by claiming on his Twitter account that it “looks like someone from redcafe did it”. A bold claim I’m sure you’ll agree, but Yolkie was undeterred from attacking a United forum with nearly 40,000 members.

Many headed over to the Twitter battleground to ask Yolkie to explain his actions. Some thought he was trying to be controversial to gain recognition. Others thought his unsubstantiated claims were retaliation due to the ridicule his Henderson/Benzema claims received.

Yolkie though would not explain his comment. Instead he went on the defensive by claiming that he had been attacked by members of redcafe, then accused others of lying about his comment while simultaneously deleting his Tweets to hide the evidence.

The Tweet that Yolkie denies making

He also claimed to have “never even heard of the place until they targeted me”, but later added that his claim “wasn’t defamatory or a statement, and it was based on their disgusting track record.” This being in defence of the comment that he now claims he never said.

The whole situation has now descended into a ridiculous stand off, with RedCafe still awaiting an explanation from Yolkie, and Yolkie unable or unwilling to provide proof of his claim.

One thing is for certain, nobody has come out of this looking good, but the prize for village idiot of the day goes to Yolkie, for turning on one of the largest online communities of United fans because his feelings were hurt after his claim to be in the know regarding United’s transfers was rightly questioned.

As one RedCafe member put it, “I’d be surprised if he’s ITK about what’s in his pockets.”

With direct comparisons made to the largely incomparable Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani was never going to find it easy to win over the United faithful quickly but it would seem that, slowly but surely, he’s doing just that after a solid start to the season that culminated in a stunning curled winner last night against Stoke.

The winning goal ensured that United stretched their impressive unbeaten run to 20 games, Nani’s goal wiping out Dean Whitehead’s headed equaliser that pulled the away side back into contention after Javier Hernandez’s flicked opener and the football predictions suggest they are only going to get better. The goal from Nani came just seconds after a spell of play that appeared to sum up everything that is wrong with the player, Nani waiting far too long when in a decent position to play the ball to Dimitar Berbatov in the box.

In that respect Nani still has much to learn about the urgency of the English game, along with the fact that selfish play doesn’t fit well with the mentality of most English football fans, but last night wasn’t the first occasion that the United faithful have had Nani to thank for keeping their unbeaten run intact this season and the football betting now indicates they can push on.

United are now being spoken about in the same breath as Arsenal‘s historic invincible team of 2004, the Gooners then going 38 games unbeaten. Nani, now back to full fitness after suffering a hip injury that kept him out of the side over Christmas, himself believes United are in a “great position” to match the feat of the North London club and one thing’s for sure, you wouldn’t bet against just that happening.

But back in 2003 there was another Ronaldo strutting his stuff on the Old Trafford turf – only this one was wearing a Real Madrid shirt.

The 27-year-old Brazilian plundered a marvellous hat-trick in a truly exceptional performance to send the Spanish side through to the semi-finals and wreck United’s Champions League dream.

Taking a 3-1 lead into the game Madrid pushed further ahead after 12 minutes when Ronaldo converted Guti’s defence splitting pass before Dutchman  Ruud Van Nistelrooy brought United back into the game a few minutes later, although it would have needed the home side to pull off one of their Champions League specials if they were to get back into the game.

But with United pressing Madrid were always confident they were just out of reach and sought to exploit the spaces at the back early in the second half.
On 50 minutes Roberto Carlos was played in by Figo and the Brazilian laid the ball off to his compatriot Ronaldo for a simple finish.

Despite another equaliser from Juan Veron, Ronaldo was not to be denied and he all but sealed the game and his hat-trick with a rasping 25-yard drive after 58 minutes. The Champions League best odds already indicated United were down and out, so the watching fans could only appreciate his genius.

David Beckham came off the bench to score two late goals which gave United a win on the night but it was too little too late. The real hero was the man who departed the field to a standing ovation mid-way through the second half – the fans knew they had seen a world-class performance from a truly gifted player.

Although disappointed after the game Sir Alex Ferguson probably echoed the fans sentiments when he said despite going out it was a special match to have been involved in.

The Ligue One outfit will be no pushovers of course, they did beat Chelsea at the Stade Velodrome earlier this month after all. But a side of United’s experience in the competition should be good enough to make it through and the Champions League predictions reflect this.

United have yet to really reach top gear this season but Fergie has them well drilled and they are experts at pulling out results when it matters, last Monday’s narrow win over Arsenal on Monday is a case in point.

Much of the build-up to the tie will be dominated by Gabriel Heinze, who will make his first return to Man United since leaving under a cloud three years ago.

The 32-year-old, who moved from PSG in 2004, took the Old Trafford club to the court of arbitration for sport in August 2007 after they had rejected an offer for the defender from bitter rivals Liverpool. Heinze hoped to force through the move but the court upheld United’s claim. Heinze eventually joined Real Madrid before moving to Marseille in the summer 2009.

The tie will be tough on the French South Coast, coach Didier Deschamps is doing a great job in reviving the 1993 European Champions, but I feel United will have enough to finish the job off in the second game at Old Trafford.

The football transfer rumours suggest Bruce hopes to sign the youngster on a permanent deal when the January transfer window opens, although it remains to be seen how keen United are to sell Welbeck. The 20-year-old has been impressive in the first half of his season-long loan deal at the Stadium of Light, scoring five goals.

Welbeck’s latest eye-catching performance came in one of the few games this weekend, when he the winner against Bolton, talking the Black Cats up to sixth and keeping the club’s European hopes alive. The striker was part of an intimidating front three and linked up well with Darren Bent and Asamoah Gyan on numerous occasions to cause the Bolton defence plenty of problems. Welbeck’s predatory instincts were on show as he reacted quickest in the area to score with a diving header to give his side the win and the football tips suggest he could even help drive Sunderland into Europe.

Sir Alex will certainly be aware of Welbeck’s form this season and won’t be overly keen on offloading the young English forward. A season of Premier League football was always going to make or break Welbeck’s United career and so far he has done all he can to impress his United boss, with a string of quality displays for his loan club.

Welbeck has shown his ability to play in a number of positions and has definitely proved he can bring something to Unite next season. There are a number of quality young forwards already at Old Trafford but a full season of first team football will add plenty to the striker’s game and his power and pace would give Fergie another option in attack.

No matter what Bruce buys Sir Alex for Christmas, it looks as though Welbeck will be heading back to Old Trafford come the end of the season.

Vidic has revealed that being handed the captaincy has allowed him to think more closely about his responsibilities on the pitch, and in particular his behaviour, his training, and the way in which he communicates to the other players and organises the back line, helping them to upset the fixed odds week after week. Whilst Vidic should be applauded for the manner in which he’s helped United keep their fine unbeaten record going so far this season (make sure you’re starting to seek out the best odds for this team to go unbeaten this year), it’s also great to see Ferdinand play like a true captain on the pitch when he is fit enough to make the starting line-up.

With Ferdinand’s man of the match performance on Monday night against Arsenal a real case in point in this respect, United should count themselves lucky that they have leaders across the pitch who perform for the good of the team whether or not they’re in possession of the captain’s armband. If a toothless Arsenal side could have said the same on Monday, perhaps the result wouldn’t have gone the way of the efficient Red Devils.

Those following the latest scores last night will know that they weren’t at their best again against Arsenal, but they did just enough to grab the win and go two points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Ji-Sung Park was the hero, heading home Nani’s deflected cross mid-way through the first half for the only goal of the game.

The South-Korean is one of Fergie’s most trusted players, always finding himself in the starting line-up in the games that matter. His goal yesterday was his 4th goal against the Gunners.

His other trusted pairing is defenders Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic. The duo have had their injury problems in recent years but when they are fit United are a much tougher nut to crack. They comfortably held Arsenal at bay on Monday night – no mean feat when you consider the Gunners had the likes of Samir Nasri, Andrey Arshavin and Marouane Chamakh in the starting line-up.

Their title win two years ago was based around a record run of clean sheets – 14 in succession between November 2008 and March 2009. Ferdinand, Vidic and goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar were all key components of that run two years ago and Fergie will hope the trio remain fit this season because if Monday is anything to go buy they remain as solid as ever.

Another huge clash awaits the Red Devils on Sunday when they travel to Stamford Bridge to play Champions Chelsea, who are without a win in seven league games. This is certainly one to keep an eye on when following the latest football scores this weekend.

Another three points there and United could be five points clear at Christmas.

Not bad for a side who apparently haven’t played well all season.

I have taken at look at the approximate ages of players in five years time. The aim is to look at who we have coming through that can replace these players.

Van Der Sar 45, Rafael 25, Rio Ferdinand 37, Vidic 34, Evra 34, Valencia 30, Nani 29, Anderson 27, Fletcher 31, Rooney 30,
Berbatov 34.

Here is how things look like in five years time with the players we currently have available.

Man Utd team in 2015

Kuschak 33 / Lindegaard 31, Rafael 25, Evans 27, Smalling 26, Fabio 25, Nani 29, Anderson 27, Fletcher 31, Obertan 27, Rooney 30
Hernandez 27.

What I think is clear is that the foundations are there for this team. However of course, it depends on how well the defence in particular develop as players.

There are obviously players I have missed out, but I have selected the first eleven as opposed to a whole subs bench. As we all hope, there are three of four young players to come through during the five years. They can potentially fill up the substitutes bench for the club.

Sir Alex is leaving the next Manchester United manager is a good position, with a decent squad and room to improve it. Every Manchester United fan will arguably have fears about how well the next manager does. Whether they have the experience for example or whether they can handle the big players. All perfectly valid questions as I am sure you would agree.

The policy of not buying players over and around the age of twenty-five on this evidence is looking strong and logical. If we can also get some return in the twilight years of the careers of Berbatov and Ferdinand for example, (like Giggs and Scholes) then there is every reason to be positive.

If the club are able to sign two or three big name signings along the way to add to the squad, then there is potential for United to continue to challenge for the title.

What do you think? Do you share my optimism?

To establish who is the better defender we have to assess their various strengths and weaknesses

The categories will be:

• Aerial abilty
• Positional sense and anticipation
• Recovery
• Speed
• On the floor
• Strength
• Errors
• Leadership

Aerial ability

Given that Vidic’s main strength is his ability to connect head with ball like a magnet, it’s no surprise that he comes on top in this battle. His aerial dominance helps us repel long ball tactics as well as crosses from the wings. Having said that, Rio is also excellent in the air, just not as good as Vidic.

Positional sense and anticipation

Both players have excellent positional sense, but for me this is a trait that Rio excels at. His ability to anticipate attacks and be in the right place at the right time to step in and relieve an opponent of possession is one of his strongest assets. Vidic isn’t half bad either. But he does find himself out of position from time to time and that’s why we sometimes see him diving in for those last ditch sliding challenges or his trademarked rugby tackle when the defender has got past him.

Recovery

This is one Rio’s, hands down. While the England skipper has the pace to recover from errors, Vidic is often left with only the option to bring down his opponent, leaving us facing a free kick in a dangerous area, or worse having 10 men, though the red cards usually only happen with Fernando Torres, who seems to have Vidic in his pocket.

Speed

No contest in this one. While Rio isn’t as quick as he was before his injury, he’s still faster than Vidic.

On the floor

This is another one that’s Rio’s. While Vidic dominates in the air, so does Rio on the ground. I have no fear when through balls are played to strikers when Rio’s on the pitch, because more often that not he’ll simply glide in and take possession.

Strength

This is a close one. While Vidic is known for his all acton style, Rio is a beast of a man and seldom gets knocked off the ball by a striker. If I had to choose who’s the strongest I’d say Rio, but I’ll call this one a draw.

Errors

While errors used to be Rio Ferdinand‘s only downside, he has now cut them out of his game and been excellent for the last three of four seasons(when fit). Vidic has shown a tendency to struggle against quick strikers who can turn him and then outpace him. This again leads to either a goal or having to deal with a dangerous free kick as Vidic as to resort to bringing down the attacker.

Leadership

Nemanja Vidic may be wearing the captain’s armband these days, but it’s clear that Rio Ferdinand is our leader on the pitch. Vidic tends to take a backseat while Rio dishes out orders and organises his back line. He’s often the one leading from the back too, with inch perfect long balls out to our wide men, playing it over the top to our strikers or brining the ball into midfield, such is his confidence and ability on the ball.

Current form

On current form, Vidic has not reached the heights of the previous two campaigns and has had some very dodgy moments to say the least. He’s still having a good season and is up there mong the best in the world, but by his own standards his performances have dropped a little this season.

Rio is having an excellent season. While he hasn’t played as many games s Vidic, he has not put a foot wrong when he has played. Looks to be back to the usual calm and composed defender he was before his long term injury lay off. No coincidence that the shaky looking defence that dropped silly points to late goals earlier in the season has looked almost inpenetrable since his return.

Recent history

2007/008 was undoubtedly Rio’s best season in a United shirt. In the absense of Gary Neville he captained the team to Premier League and Champions League glory, leading by example every step of the way. He barely put a foot wrong all season and was by far the best defender in world football at that time. To find a player who has matched or exceeded Rio’s level of that season you have to look at Nesta and Maldini.

Vidic’s standout season was 2008/2009. While Ferdinand spent much of it injured, Vidic was staking hsi claim to be the best defender in the world. He helped United to a clean sheet record and a third consecutive Premier League title. He was also excellent in the 2009/2010 season, but it has to be said that he never reached the performance levels of Rio in 2007/2008.

Some bonus tackling stats:

Rio Ferdinand has not given away a single free kick this season. His last foul was against Blackburn at the tail end of last season. That’s 810 minutes without committing a foul.

Some might argue that that’s because he doesn’t put in many tackles. Wrong! He has made 44 tackles this season, while Vidic is just ahead on 53.

While comparisons can be drawn between the two and people generally have a favourite, I think it’s important that they’re both United players and we’re very lucky to have both of them. Together they form the best central defensive partnership in world football and have formed the base of our recent success in the Premier League and Champions League.

So there you have it. I’ve made my case and Rio Ferdinand comes out on top. Now you make yours. Who is better?

That leads me to suggest that in the next two matches (West Ham and Blackpool) he should be dropped to the bench. I think Rooney could do with having sixty minutes on Tuesday night and his partner needs to be Javi Hernandez. They need to strike up some sort of partnership, especially as we have the busy Christmas period and the New Year, which means games will come thick and fast.

So that means also giving them a game together on Saturday against Blackpool away. As due to injuries they have had very little time to form any sort of understanding. Giving the pair this time together will mean that during the season later on, Hernandez can step in for either Roo or Berbatov and make an impact.

I hope, that Hernandez can use the Blackpool game to fill his boots, get some confidence. He has showed ability and confidence but we will need to rely on him to score at key times. You also give Javi a start in the Valencia game. This is alot to ask for such a young and new player, but with Owen out, Javi has a big role to play this season.

Berba can still have a role to play but you bring Berbatov back for the big one the Arsenal game, on Monday the 13th of December.

If he Nani and Berbatov can put together some kind of form and partnership then there is a case for United winning the title. I think him returning will raise everybody’s game as they will want to and enjoy playing with Wayne. He is someone who everyone looks up to as an example in relation to effort and to win them the game.

The return will bring pace to the United forward line which has been missing. It might also allow Hernandez to form some sort of partnership with Rooney. He may be able to improve Javi, if the two are given a regular run of games. I also hope it will lift Nani’s game, after his decent start to the season.

One area in which he won’t be able to have any effect is probably the back line. Who look a very long way away from keeping five or six cleansheets on the bounce. It is definitely a worry and Rio Ferdinand looks far from his best so far, he simply looks off the pace.

Last night’s bore draw was about par for the course for City’s season. Mancini regularly opts to play not one, not two, but three defensive midfielders on the pitch, restricting City’s attacking options considerably.

It’s the Italian “we must defend well and try to sneak a goal” attitude that will ultimatey hold City back from becoming real title challengers.

The derby last night was about the most boring I’ve watched in recent years. City were highly defensive, showed very little in attack and had no real desire to try and win the game. More than half an hour had passed before they had a meaningful effort on target, and even that was from a free kick.

It honestly felt like a home game, where one of the relegation battlers is visiting Old Trafford and their tactic is to put every man behind the ball and try to play for a draw.

It actually feels disappointing to come away from their often half empty stadium with just a solitary point after completely dominating possession of the ball.

City’s players will be in no doubt about what the fans thought of their performance as they were booed off the pitch at the final whistle by arguably the worst fans in the league. All that money spent on big name signings and even now they only fill the stadium when United come to town. And we were treated to glorious renditions of “Carlos Tevez is a blue, he hates Munichs” all night. A couple of our own fans didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory last night, but it’s a bit different when the entire stadium is mocking the dead of years gone by. utterly classless from the City fans, but that’s exactly what we’ve come to expect from them.

So here’s to 34 more years of turgid, defensive, unimaginitive football and being booed off the pitch by their own fans.

The one in queston is the amazingly simple, “You’re not singing anymore”. It’s one that can be fun to sing to opposition supporters after taking the lead. And it’s one that everybody can join in with, even those bloody daytrippers who don’t generally bother to learn the more complex chants.

However, you usually find that it’s sung by supporters who have been quiet for the majority of the game, so to sing it to a set of supporters who have been backing their team vocally for nigh on 70 minutes is ludicrous.

The most recent example of this was at Liverpool tonight. European nights at Anfield used to be special nights, as we’re so often reminded by the terrible commentary team on Channel Five (somebody please put Graham Taylor out of my misery). Over recent seasons though, the once great stadium has become as quiet as Old Trafford.

The Napoli fans, enjoying watching their team play Liverpool off the pitch in the first half, were in full voice throughout the first hour, while the Kop lay silent. And it stayed silent until Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard levelled the score in the second half. Only then did we hear a murmur from the crowd in the form of the wonderfully ironic “Steve Gerrard Gerrard, he’s big and he’s f*cking ‘ard”

Shortly afterards, Liverpool took the lead from the penalty spot and somewhat predictably, chants of “You’re not singing anymore” came from the Kop end after 60 minutes of deafening silence from the watching Dippers.

Now I may appear to be singling out Liverpool for special abuse in this article, but idiotic fans of most teams are guilty of this chant and it’s one that always leaves me scratching my head.

Perhaps the next time someone sings it to us at Old Trafford we can all respond with, “We weren’t singing anyway”?

The Rooney situation has a particular bad smell about it. It is different to the Beckham, Nistelrooy, or Stam departures. They all wanted to stay and were forced out by the manager, whilst Rooney is demanding a no compromise move away from the club. I hope this doesn’t set a precedent for the Premier League.

What it could do, is show in theory how easy it is to leave a big club. We don’t need to mention the stars who could do a ‘Rooney’ but there are many who could leave, in the same manner. United meanwhile, are losing their only star, at a time where they are at the weakest they have been for years.

The other thing too is that United in real terms never saw any of the Ronaldo transfer funds, so it is unlikely they will see any of the Rooney funds. This suggests that some of Wayne’s claims are indeed correct. What I think is the most shocking however is that the demand is being made by an English player at one of the top English clubs.

This is often the behaviour of a foreign star that has a dream of playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona. What we don’t know is the complete truth about the saga but we’ll never know that until the books come out. Yet what we do anticipate is that Rooney has been driven potentially by the media attention on recent allegations and his agent’s determination. Plus cold hard cash.

I for one don’t think United can afford not to play him from now till January. Both from the financial viewpoint and to get points on the board.

*Rooney Reaction Extension

A turn of events has seen Wayne Rooney change his mind and sign a new five year deal with Manchester United. A more spectacular saga that the one that saw Steven Gerrard close to a move to Chelsea. What is almost guaranteed is that Rooney has spoilt his chance to become a United legend and be spoken of in the same regard as Giggs,Scholes et al. Once again I think it will be years until we find out the truth. I have no doubt that his agent was influential in Rooney’s decision making.

Worryingly the last youth team player to make in as a first team player is Darren Fletcher. He took until the age of twenty three, twenty four to really make it at United. As a side point perhaps that’s why Fergie has shown so much patience with Darron Gibson. So that is more than five years since the last home grown talent graced the turf of Old Trafford.

It is however fair to suggest that the scouting system has improved in all leagues at all levels. Clubs outside the Champions League level elite are much more ­­­capable of holding onto their better players. That is why United now and for the last ten years have paid a premium on most of their new signings. To name a few Rio Ferdinand (30m) Berbatov (30m) Anderson (17m) Nani (18m) which is a varied premium of five to ten million pound added on to their true value.

Using the example of Bebe and Chris Smalling. Both players were picked up from non league football and within 12 months (weeks in Bebe’s case) were sold to United for more than 6 million pound clear profit each. This demonstrates how the club are still charged a rather large premium, when making a low profile, low cost signing. However further still these purchases are designed to ensure United avoid paying twenty million pound plus a player. The theory of course is a low price is a paid for a young player, who is then developed into a first team player.

So unfortunately we are left relying on a piece of scouting brilliance. Examples are in Vidic and Evra. However once a small club finds out a bigger club is interested they will quite simply start to alert other global clubs about their young star. To drive up the price, this is ultimately fair game.  This was reiterated with comments from David Gill about the respect he had for Javi Hernandez’s club keeping quiet about the deal to bring him to United.

All we are left with is nobody who looks anywhere near ready for the first team, just an embarrassment of young players who play in the carling cup. That is until they go on loan for about three seasons and either run out of contract or get bought by a Championship club. This is not good enough but what can anyone do about it. United’s answer is clear buy young, buy low, develop into high value, but when will it bear fruit?

Now though, it appears the lack of competition in the current squad could be hindering United’s chances of reclaiming the Premier League crown from Chelsea.

In defence we’ve got the barely adequate John O’Shea at right back. Even he must be wondering how he’s managed to become United’s number one choice for the position, yet that’s what we’re seemingly lumbered with until Rafael can make the step up. Wes Brown is an option there too, but injuries have plagued him recently, meaning O’Shea is comfortable in his position and has no real threat to his place in the team.

Similarly with Jonny Evans in central defence, Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown have been constantly injured over the last year and during that time Evans has become more and more prone to errors. He at times looks like a rock alongside Nemanja Vidic and can make the absence of Ferdinand almost unnoticeable, but complacency may be a factor in his recent poor displays that have meant dropped points late on in away games.

Moving into midfield Paul Scholes has been the one pulling the strings for us this season, but with Darren Fletcher in a run of poor form the defence is left vulnerable. Scholes hasn’t got the les to chase back anymore and let’s face it, he was never much good at tackling anyway. Michael Carrick has been out injured and Owen Hargreaves …. he’s alive …. I think. Anderson has recently come back into the side but there’s still not the level of competition for places that there has been in previous seasons.

Now onto the position that should have strong competition for places: strikers.

Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen and Federico Macheda should all be competing for places in United’s front line, but it seems only three of those players actually have to compete.

While Dimitar Berbatov (along with Nani) have carried us so far this season, Owen has shown he’s still got his goalscoring touch in the Carling Cup and at Bolton. Macheda is full of energy and effort, albeit without much of an end product at the moment. The only one not actually competing is supposedly our star striker, Wayne Rooney.

It doesn’t matter how badly he plays, he keeps his place in the team. I’m usually all for him keeping his place because he often goes on these runs with no goals and then goes on a scoring spree. The problem this time though is that his problems aren’t just down to his form, they’re down to off the field issues that are affecting him mentally. This in turn translates to poor performance (and attitude) on the pitch.

News that Rooney will miss the Valencia tie through ‘injury’ makes me hope that Sir Alex Ferguson has decided to give more deserving players a crack at the whip and leave his misfiring striker on the sidelines until he sorts his head out.

The bottom line though is that all through the squad there’s simply not enough competition for places, meaning less motivation for the players to play well and keep their place in the starting line up.

United play Rangers in a weeks’ time, with the battle of Britain tag looming large. Even though there is an assumed gap between the leagues the Old Firm in general have put on a good showing, against English sides.  This is an ideal time to test some of our younger players in what will be a low risk big game for them.

Chris Smalling should get the nod to start his first game, partnering preferably Vidic. He has been fed little bits and pieces here and there, but I am not sure how much he can learn from twenty minute substitute appearances. The boy needs games and I am sure he will be looking to Fergie for his set of guaranteed games. It would therefore be great to see him tested in all our Champions League group stage games.

Javi Hernandez could do with getting very much the same opportunity. However it’s fair to accept that United have a big problem. Rooney looks as if he is still suffering and needs in my eyes about another month off. Whilst Berbatov has made a steady start to the season. So should Javi be given the chance and risk disrupting Dimitar’s decent start.

Darron Gibson for me is a man playing on borrowed time, had Anderson not got injured I think Gibson would no longer be at the club. The player brings shooting ability but after that I am not sure which distinct quality or qualities he has to back that up. Some chances in the Champions League are definitely what he needs to prove one way or the other. If he can shine there, then it proves Sir Alex is right to keep him on.

Now let me give you my line up for the Rangers game. It’s based on the fact that the group stage is a formality. Therefore United should be able to make two or three changes and still see themselves through. However perhaps fielding a full strength side against the mighty Valencia in both games.

Kuschak

Rafael

Smalling

Vidic

Evra

Valencia

Carrick

Gibson

Nani

Hernandez

Berbatov

We all know that having all the ingredients doesn’t guarantee that you can win football matches. That’s where I think this United squad is falling down. We have the same old issues as we did at the end of last season. This is quite embarrassing when you consider how long we have had to sort it out.

The first issue has to be our lack of quality going through the middle of the park. We no longer have a quality central midfielder player who can beat two or three players at a time. We have our one outstanding central midfielder in Darren Fletcher and the rest generally fill in the gaps according to the opposition on that particular match day. ( I will definitely concede that a 25 year old Paul Scholes would be more than sufficient as his partner. Even though he didn’t take players on his ability to score goals replaced that need) This leaves us with an aging Scholes, who sits very a deep and then more often than not a Fletcher. Who is asked to go box to box without having the necessary skills to hurt teams offensively. In our strange modernised way we ask Scholes to hold and Fletch to drive on.

What should happen is Fletcher provides everything that Scholes can supply to the team ie goals but NOT his four yard passes. (As Fletcher on the ball, has significantly improved his game) Added to the defensive qualities that Fletcher brings to team. This leaves a void for a skilful attacking midfielder, capable of picking out defence splitting passes and taking players out of the game by taking it past them.

The only player who comes near that type of player is Anderson, who for me had his best season in United shirt in his first season at the club. I do however subscribe to the belief of some, that after Andersons bad injury which I believe he suffered at Porto he has lost some of his killer pace. Of course the proposed signing of Ozil would have been the solution or at least provided the potential for a credible antidote.

I wonder though whether the crowds would flock had Scholes and Giggs not been involved in this tour. Is that the real reason why they are playing? United look at their most vulnerable when Scholes and Giggs start together in the midfield in a competitive match.

Back in the summer of 2007, when we signed him and Nani in a double deal worth a combined £30m I was uncontrollably excited by the prospect of both rising stars. After several months settling into their new environment, the Premier League, while Nani was taking it by storm it was Anderson who really caught my eye. After a dubious enough debut in the 1-0 victory over Sunderland at Old Trafford, he came into his own. Game by game his confidence was soaring as he thrived being Hargreaves’ partner in a dynamic central midfield. Only for Scholes’ injury earlier in the season, Ando would never have gotten this chance, but he took the bull by the horns and one of his greatest moments was to follow. He outplayed, outshone and outfought Cesc Fabregas on 3rd November in the Emirates that season. I couldn’t help but think he was the new Roy Keane. Premature it may have been at the time but I’ve always believed in that since up to this day. His season went from strength to strength from there as his swashbuckling, all-action style of play earned him cult status among the OT faithful where a genius little chant was drummed up for him! His wide range of passing ability from defence-splitting balls, to nippy, short passes to accurate 50 yard diagonal passes the lad had it all along with his seaing pace and willingness to get stuck in for the tackle. He even made a mockery of Steven Gerrard when Ando made his Anfield debut. And his season ended on a major high when he netted a crucial sudden death penalty in that magical Moscow night where he added a Champions League medal to his newly acquired Premier League one.

After such a memorable maiden season, it wouldv’e been hard to expect him to surpass a better one at the tender age of 20. And unfortunately he didn’t live up to the heights of the 07/08 season despite winning the title yet again. It was looking like he missed his partner, Owen Hargreaves, as they destroyed teams up and down the country as well as abroad.

Then his 3rd season came and went too too fast.

Again, he started off subtly and then he sparked into life in our 3-1 win at White Hart Lane as he finally slammed home his first ever Manchester United goal in a competetive fixture. (Earlier in pre-season he scored a perfect free-kick in off the intersection of crossbar and post and celebrated with a Maichael Jackson style dance!)  It set us on our way to another victory. It started off a spell in which Anderson captured some great form where he got 1 goals and 7 assists in 9 games which is outstanding for any midfielder, particularly one which is deployed usually to protect the back four. However, the fairytale ends there as he went over on his anterior cruciate ligament and straight away we feared the worse. 6 months out and to add insult to injury, his World Cup dream over. I think it’s more of a coincidence that we ended trophyless when Ando wasn’t there to drive us on from midfield.

So I don’t sound completely biased, he did have his share of shocking performances which you can expect from a youngster learning their trade in the very physical Premier League. But it was his maiden season form which to this day makes me still wholeheartedly agree that he will be the king of midfield for the coming years. The highly energized Brazilian will terrorise the like of Gerrard and Fabregas once more (Unless they jump ship this summer!) and we’ll hear the United fans from the Stretty End chanting

Anderson-son-son

once again!

Ah, Dimitar.

Like, I would imagine, all of my fellow United supporters, I had very high hopes for Mr. Berbatov when he arrived at the club. An alternative to the direct, destructive capabilities of Ronaldo and Rooney and the hard work of Tevez. A more composed, elegant attacking force which would surely provide the key ingredient to unlock the tightest defences.

You don’t need me to tell you how the past two seasons have gone. Berbatov has not exactly set the world on fire, but nor has he been, by any stretch of the imagination, a ‘flop’ as some have suggested. Up until the second half of the season just gone, there were, it seemed, two distinct factions between Manchester United supporters. Those who adored Berbatov and thought the team should be built around him, and those who thought he was a worse than useless waste of money who was detrimental to our play.

And then Rooney got injured.
With key games left to play in the title run-in, Berbatov had to step up. “Now he’ll really show the doubters,” was the opinion of the pro-Berbatov camp. “Well, here’s his chance. It’s now or never,” mused the anti-Berbistas.

As we know, it generally didn’t work out. The most glaring failure was our 0-0 draw at Blackburn, which had we won, would’ve surely seen us win the title. And yet Berbatov worked harder than perhaps he ever had before. But the clinical edge of Rooney was absent, and the rest is history.

Now, people have often spoken of Berbatov’s scoring record. Scott of the excellent Republik of Mancunia has defended this on several occasions, but the fact is that we knew we weren’t signing the next Alan Shearer, even if the Bulgarian did allegedly used to sleep in a Newcastle shirt (we all have our foibles.) He was a creative, deep-lying, playmaker sort of striker. Not a non-goalscoring striker in the Emile Heskey mould – perish the thought – but rather a striker who could do things besides scoring goals better. The Bulgarian Totti, perhaps. And so he was always going to be unsuited to being a lone striker.

Or was he? Speaking of Totti, when, in the 2005-06 season, (largely due to circumstance, in a similar manner that Berbatov was) he was thrust into being a lone striker for Luciano Spalleti’s Roma side, the new ‘strikerless’ formation was remarkably successful, and hugely influential throughout football. Particularly on our very own Sir Alex Ferguson.

Our Champions League-winning team of ’08, then so dependent on the fluid attacking force permitted by Ronaldo that, despite posessing many of the same players, it has effectively been dismantled – was often referred to as ‘strikerless’, but it was in an entirely different way. It was more that it lacked a permanent, obvious striker, not that we were simply never playing with somebody looking to lead the line, as Roma were. But then after Ronaldo left, we played Rooney centrally in a 4-3-3 when it came to the big games. And Rooney is no Kevin Davies either.

As is illustrated in more depth in this article by the superb ZonalMarking, Rooney’s effectiveness as a lone striker does not come from his energy and physicality – although this helps when he does want to act in a more traditional manner – but rather from his movement, and his dropping deep and pulling defenders out of position – acting as a ‘false number nine.’ Also on that article is the perfect example of this, the goal against Arsenal at the Emirates this year.  Rooney is perfect for this role, as he is, despite what we are frequently told by know-nothing media sorts, an intelligent and disciplined footballer, and has the right attributes – an ability to make calm, short passes under pressure, excellent movement, and the ability to drop deep and play more creatively.

But hold on, doesn’t that description remind you of someone even more? Like Berbatov? This is why his ineffectiveness in the role was such a mystery – in theory, he was perfectly suited for it. There are many reasons that could be posed as explanations for why it failed – perhaps he was simply out of form at the time, or that unlike Rooney, he did not have an understanding of the role. But his natural attributes appear to make him an even better candidate for the role than Rooney. So why did it fail?

To compare Rooney and Berbatov this season, we will first have a quick look at their statistics.

ROONEY

Overall

Played: 43
Scored: 33 (5 of which pens)
Assists: 6
Total Involved: 39
Goals per game: 0.77
Assists per game: 0.14
Goals involved per game: 0.91

BERBATOV

Overall

Played: 42
Scored: 12
Assists: 6
Total Involved: 18
Goals per game: 0.29
Assists per game: 0.14
Goals involved per game: 0.43

It may be quite surprising, given that Rooney, when in a 4-4-2, has generally played as an out-and-out striker, and given Berbatov’s creative instincts, that they both have the same relatively small number of assists. But statistics will rarely tell the whole story. Anybody who has watched United regularly this season will attest to Berbatov’s excellent build-up play that can occur before the goal or assist. The combination of Berbatov playing Valencia into space with a clever pass before the Ecuadorian crosses to Rooney for a goal is one that has happened very regularly this season.

But now, we will compare the statistics of the two players when operating as a lone striker in a 4-3-3, and see how they compare.

ROONEY

4-3-3

Played: 17
Scored: 13
Assists: 2
Total Involved: 15
Goals per game: 0.76
Assists per game: 0.12
Goals involved per game: 0.88

BERBATOV

4-3-3

Played: 5*
Scored: 2
Assists: 1
Total involved: 3
Goals per game: 0.4
Assists per game: 0.2
Goals involved per game: 0.6

*Berbatov has made numerous substitute appearances in games that have started with a 4-3-3, but his arrival is rarely in replacement for Rooney, and therefore usually signifies a switch to 4-4-2. Because of this, in addition to the fact that many of these substitutions are very late on, I have chosen to discount these.

As we can see, Rooney’s statistics are scarcely any different when performing in a 4-3-3 to his overall stats. Perhaps surprising, given his role as a ‘false nine’, he does not have a higher rate of assists. But again, if we look at Rooney’s goal against Arsenal at the Emirates, we see that although it was Nani with the assist, the goal was started by Rooney dropping deep. Again, the stats do not show the vital, creative build-up play.

Berbatov, on the other hand, appears to operate much more effectively in a 4-3-3, although the argument can be made that he did not play here enough for the statistics to be very reliable. Certainly he was not as effective as Rooney. This will need a deeper investigation.

Let’s compare the passing patterns of Rooney in a 4-3-3. Being in a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3 isn’t a simple case of Rooney looking to be attacking himself or creative, respectively. In a 4-3-3, he contributes more to the build-up play. His creative passes generally go out to the wings, and are unlikely to be assists because of that. We can see here that Rooney generally tries to drop deep and distribute his passing out wide: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/chalkboards/1w5aHWX02c03bR2Y0r1y

The difference between Rooney in a 4-3-3 and a 4-4-2 is seen best in the home game against Aston Villa, where we started with a 4-3-3, only for Michael Owen to come on at half time and force a switch to a 4-4-2. In the first half, Rooney make very few passes into the box:http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/chalkboards/014Ht58S3C2iVf6V324b

But in the second half, he puts far more balls directly into the penalty area: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/chalkboards/4N3N9BkD5ZRYt2s4QQ85

Arguably Rooney is therefore more ‘creative’ in a 4-4-2 as he is looking to set other players up – the difference is that he does not contribute to the overall build-up play as much.

All this still points to Berbatov surely being able to fulfil this duty. So what’s the problem? Well, let’s take a look at his passing.

Against Blackburn, the most obvious thing to point out is that Berbatov’s passing is generally a lot shorter than Rooney’s. When Berbatov plays up front on his own, we can see here that he generally takes the short option. And crucially, unlike Rooney, he almost never passes the ball from the centre out wide – the wings have been the basis of our creativity this season, as we have become a team that does everything best, defensively and offensively, out wide. He does not compensate in other ways either – only four of his passes are into the box, and these are all around the perimeter: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/chalkboards/3P1M5I19GB4J8K836k0t

Against Chelsea is even more astonishing – the same is true, but the sheer number of passes Berbatov makes, as the focal point of a team who was on the pitch for 90 minutes, is astonishing. He failed to impose himself on the game and had a lower pass completion rate:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/chalkboards/89K3u7m5323E73Kh63xj

Ultimately, Berbatov again takes the safe option – but in a game where we had little posession, we needed to use it when we had it in as dangerous a manner as possible. Whether it is a lack of understanding of the role or a mental problem, we do not know, but it is clear that Berbatov is too eager to play the safe option when thrust up front on his own.

What this also points to, however, is that Berbatov is a very strange sort of player. Generally, the ‘second striker’ will not play a huge amount of passes, but will look to provide key passes that will lead directly to goals. You can have two players who are very good at passing, but will still be very different – a classic example would be Sneijder and Xavi, or our own Giggs (playing in the centre) and Scholes. Whilst the former will play farther forward, and generally contribute a lot more assists, the latter will generally have a better range of passing, and make a lot more passes but look to keep play ticking over and take control of the game. Berbatov is unique in that he appears to be a hybrid – he plays very far forward, but he also, if you watch him, actually contributes very few ‘defence-splitting’ passes – his game is generally to keep attacking play ticking over, to keep posession in tight situations, and to generally keep play progressing without necessarily providing the killer move.

Having said that, against all but the best opposition, we still tended to play well without Rooney when we played with two strikers, Berbatov and a goalscorer like Macheda or Owen. With both unlikely to be injured at the same point next season, and the addition of the prolific Hernandez, this will hopefully be a problem which we will avoid next season.

We’ve heard it all before – our players aren’t good enough. Whoever our best player happens to be is carrying the side, and we’d be mid-table without him. Our kids aren’t good enough. Ferguson is too tactically naive. We need three or four players to improve our squad or we’ll do well to finish in the top four. Whoever our last best player was hasn’t been replaced.

We’ve been linked to a large number of players in the summer, the majority of them attacking midfielders or strikers. Rafael Van Der Vaart, Edin Dzeko, Mikel Arteta, Joe Cole, Karim Benzema, David Silva and others have all been mentioned, and a lot of fans (and it seems, the vast majority of pundits) seem to think that Ferguson’s assertion that ‘maybe we’ll get one player in’ is hopelessly inadequate.

What these people need to realise, is that our squad is undeniably at least a good size. And when you have a good-sized squad, this means that when you buy another player, somebody has to leave. We have a vast number of strikers, with three established players in Rooney, Berbatov, and Owen, and four youngsters vying for first-team football in Welbeck, Macheda, Hernandez, and Diouf. Hernandez and Diouf are also both 22, and thus aren’t exactly the most youthful of youngsters.

In central midfield, we have Paul Scholes, Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick, Owen Hargreaves, Anderson, Darron Gibson all in the first team. Out wide, Valencia, Nani, and Obertan, and of course Giggs and Park who can play in either role.

So if we do buy Benzema, then because we realistically have too many strikers anyway, this will cost one or two of our strikers the possibility of making it at the club. If we buy Van der Vaart, then the development of players like Gibson and Anderson will be compromised, and we can forget about bringing through some of our other exciting midfielders like Cleverley.

We have to ask – is this worth it? The list of established great players in their mid-to-late twenties that we’ve bought who have gone on to be Manchester United greats is as short as it is pretentious and French. The reason clubs place such importance on youth development is not to save money, but because if we do produce great players like Giggs and Scholes, then they are far more likely to stay at the club for as long as we like, and become more important figures in the dressing room, learning to gel over a long time, and becoming accustomed to our style of football.

If we sign Dzeko or Benzema, are we happy to sacrifice the careers of Manchester-born prospects like Danny Welbeck, or the obviously tremendous potential of Macheda? If we sign Van der Vaart, are fans happy with us losing one of Anderson or Gibson, players who are both unique within our squad? A lot of bad press has been written about these two players, but people appear to have a short memory, because Anderson has always consistently done it in the big games for us – he was arguably man of the match at Stamford Bridge this season – a quality that is rare in youngsters, and that bodes extremely well. As for Gibson, didn’t we all speak about the importance of goals from midfield in the wake of Ronaldo’s departure? He has proven his ability this season, and his all-round game goes far beyond his shooting.

Last season, we lost the title by a single point. I’d argue that there were two key reasons why we lost the league. The first was that we had a huge defensive crisis which caused us a lot of problems, but it would be ludicrous to suggest this is because we don’t have enough defenders – it was an insane injury crisis which is extremely unlikely to happen again. Wes Brown, John O’Shea, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Jonny Evans, Rafael, Fabio, Gary Neville, and even Edwin Van der Sar – none of whom are regarded as being particularly injury-prone, with the possible exception of Ferdinand’s recent problems – were all injured for the same period, but ask yourselves, which other team in the league boasts so many defensive options anyway?

If our first-choice back five is presumed to be  Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, then even if all were injured we could field Kuszczak, Rafael, Evans, Brown, O’Shea. Or a number of other combinations which are all superior to anything our rivals can put together. Chelsea‘s second-choice back four would presumably be Hilario, Ivanovic, Bruma, Alex, Zhirkov. Not bad, but which back line would you rather go into a tricky away game with? Arsenal have Sol Campbell as backup before they have to start playing midfielders in defence, and the laughably error-prone Fabianski as reserve keeper. Again, I think I know who’s winning there. And with the addition of Chris Smalling, we can be reasonably assured that nothing like this will happen next season.

The second reason that i’d argue we lost the league is because of Rooney’s injury. Now, one can argue that we became too dependent on Rooney very easily, but I have always been of the opinion that Berbatov, accompanied by a goalscorer, is a fine replacement for him against all but the toughest opposition – his partnership with Owen was arguably more effective than with Rooney, despite it’s rather obvious and outdated ‘creator-poacher’ blueprint. The problem was that we were unlucky in that Macheda and Owen were both injured at exactly the same time as Rooney, and that Berbatov is completely unsuited for playing the lone striker role. Once again, this is extremely unlikely to happen again, and once again, the problem will be alleviated by the addition of another player in Javier Hernandez, who has been nothing if not prolific. Add to this the fact that the team looked a lot more comfortable in Rooney’s absence after he had been missing for a few games, and I don’t see this as being anywhere near as much of a problem next year.

Despite all this, I do think that – surprise surprise – Ferguson may be right and that making one well thought-out signing might be the best way of going forward. I would argue that Rafael Van der Vaart, David Silva, or Joe Cole would be the best prospects for the same reasons – they all naturally offer something that we arguably lack – creativity in midfield. Perhaps a criticism of our midfield is that whilst we have players who can play defence-splitting passes (Scholes, Giggs), make driving forward runs (Park, Anderson) and score goals (Gibson), we do not, until these younger players develop, have anyone capable of doing all three. The players mentioned above are all capable of doing all three of these. And importantly, they are all also capable of playing on the left (David Silva is left-footed and has played here regularly for Valencia, and Van der Vaart and Joe Cole both play on the left for their countries), where we have limited options. In addition, Giggs and Scholes will play fewer and fewer games and retire soon, so this is probably the best area of the squad to invest in.

One might argue that this doesn’t entirely alleviate the burden of goals on Rooney, but for reasons I have mentioned before, and the fact that these players should bring more goals from midfield, I don’t think this will be a problem. Benzema would help that, but it is doubtful whether he and Rooney would ever be able to play together effectively, he has had a much poorer season than any of the others, and I haven’t seen any evidence that he can play well on the left, so loses out here too. If I had to choose, I think the most sensible option is Joe Cole. The reasoning is simple – he has something to prove, he won’t need any time to adapt to the premier league, we have seen him work well with Rooney, he is the oldest of the lot and would represent a stop-gap in the transition from our current players to our youngsters, and because he is free, we wouldn’t need to worry about recouping the money.

But whether we do or don’t, don’t believe the knee-jerk hyperbole – there is nothing wrong with this squad, and remember that when Ferguson casts his opinion on the forthcoming season, he is rarely wrong. We have heard the same old ABU wishful thinking foretelling our impending decline trotted out time and time again whenever we fail, so do what we always do – remember it, and save it for later on, to have a good laugh when our lads inevitably prove them wrong.

The player had a good first season at the club partnering well with the many midfield partners available to the manager. His strengths were his ability to break up play without the fierceness of Keane or Fletcher and his wide range of passing. However he has struggled to claim the mantel of the teams’ first choice midfielder. ( a role in my view held by Fletcher) His four seasons at the club have produced an average of just twenty five games a season. ( in the league)  He has never been a regular contributor in the goals department but that was a well known fact before he joined, averaging just over four goals a season.

The guy was outclassed in the Champions League Final against Barcelona, where admittedly he wasn’t the only one but he badly let himself down. That night should have been his finest hour against the best midfielders in the business, they proved themselves (Xavi Iniesta) sadly Carrick did not.

He is someone who can control the midfield but only against much weaker opposition, where he has time on the ball. In theory he is a good foil for the talent of Fletcher but his lack of ability to beat a man or no longer find defence splitting passes, leaves the fans wanting so much more.

To add to that United have Darron Gibson coming through. He looks to be a player living on borrowed time and someone who for my money brings little more than his shooting ability to the show. If he thinks he will have the luxury of standing on the edge of the penalty area for the next ten years waiting for a United player to lay the ball to him ( like Lampard) I think he’s sadly mistaken. He could though provide the impact off the bench United need, instead of leaving an 18 million midfielder on the bench to rot.

I think in that case Fabio should leave Rooney on the bench for the first three group stage games so he is fresh and fit to take on whoever England face in the knockout stages. He can then play in non contact games in training against those not involved in the games. No disrespect to any of the teams England will face and I am well aware that teams can raise their game in a World Cup, meaning no easy games. However Rooney or no Rooney, England should qualify from that group.

I know you can talk about getting a rhythm together and all that jazz, however all of these players will have played around fifty games this season. So selecting young pacey players and resting our stars could play a key part in England’s success in this tournament. That is why players like Agbonlahor or Walcott have to go for me as impact subs, instead of the normal like for like replacements.

It seems in recent season all teams suffer from moderate sized injury lists with players like Rio Ferdinand, Michael Essien, Fernando Torres and Robin Van Persie regularly spending time on the sidelines to name a few. It looks like we ask too much of all our players, let us look at England’s key men.

Frank Lampard has already played fifty times this season, John Terry 55, Gerrard 42, and these lads are all reaching thirty.

It could just be a survival of the fittest….

So this leaves United with the more than capable stand in of Jonny Evans plus others like Wes Brown. Evan’s performances have seen him perform consistently for the team during difficult periods. I believe his performances were not given the credit they deserved despite a few wobbles. Wes Brown on the other hand has looked very shaky at centre half looking vulnerable against any player who has pace and is prepared to run at him

Realistically this means Smalling’s opportunities could be fairly limited in his first season with the club. Unless Sir Alex sees a future for him in another position like fullback or in the holding role. Therefore I suggest that he sends the young defender out on loan for at least six months of the season, where he can play every week.

If that is the case it has to be in the Premier League and I think it would be a great learning curve for him to join a team who will be potentially struggling near the bottom of the league such as Wolves or West Brom. That way he can learn his trade in the toughest of circumstances in order to develop him as a player.

The term ‘Club Captain’ is more relevant to a right honourable member of parliament is it not. I simply just believe we need to move on from having Gary Neville as captain because he does not look capable of playing ninety minutes week in week out.  He will still be an important person to have around the training ground there is no doubt about that. However for those young players coming through and being asked to perform, we need a captain who is going to be out there with them.

If Gary could perform to his max week in week out this would not be an issue but you have to ask how influential a captain can be who is not playing. This is a similar theme with other potential candidates for captain like Ryan Giggs (age) and Rio Ferdinand (injury). It is rare to have such a big club with captains who are in place on such a semi permanent basis.  This is not something associated with great United sides of the past.

I was so pleased with the fact this season we have decided to use Patrice Evra for the captains job. He has to be one of the most consistent defenders I have ever seen, his bad day is a lot better than most defenders around. The way we also rely on Patrice to run the left hand side both defensively and from an attacking perspective shows how reliable he is. He has to be a strong candidate.

I don’t subscribe to making Rooney the captain he is almost a leader up there on his own anyway. He seems to have a presence in which his team mates rely on. However I think the pressure that will come with being the official captain is unnecessary. So I would instantly rule out the option of selecting Rooney as a candidate for captain.

The next candidate has to be Nemanja Vidic he leads by example and his no nonsense approach will inspire his team mates. However you have to wonder whether his English and communication would be a potential problem. He could be a player who is simply better off sticking to his already important role as the lynchpin of the back line.

The final candidate is the formidable Darren Fletcher who has gained a reputation as our first choice central midfielder. He is completely at home chasing down the most talented ball players in the league, getting in their faces and making things difficult for them. I do however have the concern that I don’t think it would enhance his game and may add extra pressure to a player who is very settled with his role at the moment.

My final verdict for Captain is Rio Ferdinand if he is fit, if he is not Patrice Evra.

This season there is going to be huge reliance on Nani, who needs to be looking for twenty goals in all competitions as the teams total goals from midfield last season is very poor indeed. Valencia who has been good needs to develop his game to the United standard. I often believe that he simply crosses it and does not aim to pick people out hence the two goals scored from his deliveries in the second leg against Bayern. He also outright blankly refuses to take players on, which has severely hampered the threat of the United attacking unit.

To not have a United team which is capable of getting in behind the defence and exposing them is not the United way. It has stopped Berbatov from being a threat because when he gets the ball the runs are not being made so he can release players down the flanks. When he was at Spurs Aaron Lennon was getting in behind the opposition defence causing problems and this made it easier for Berbatov. It would give him more space and he would not have to work his way past an entire back four.

Another obvious problem is the fact United do not threaten through the middle from the midfield. The squad possesses not one single player who can drive through the middle at pace cutting opposition players out of the game. This is such a vital weapon that United have missed out on for many years now. Admittedly there are not many who can drive through the middle naming only players like Kaka, Fabregas, Gerrard and Essien, who are capable of doing so.

The only place I feel confident about is the backline for one more season I think the formula of Van Der Sar, Vidic and Rio will be ok. Although I think there are always going to be worries about Rio’s fitness. We have an embarrassment of riches at right full back and for my money have the best left back in the world.

Upfront another man is needed and I am not sure whether it is beneficial to keep both Michael Owen and Berbatov. They both only seem capable of holding down the third striker position i.e the automatic striker substitution. For both players their performance won’t have been to the level they have wanted hence leaving room for another striker to come in and take the second striker role. I believe both players this season were capable of scoring twenty goals with the chances they had.

So we are set for another bumpy ride as United fans with the World Cup perhaps taking our minds off the worry. But Fergie’s got something up his sleeve hasn’t he pleasssssse!!

Of course the answer is because I love football and more importantly I love Manchester United, but officiating like we saw at Old Trafford today really makes me lose a little love for the game.

Chelsea‘s winning goal was scored by Didier Drogba after what should have been one of the most straight forward offside decisions of the linesman’s career. Yet his flag stayed down and the subsequent goal gifts Chelsea a vital extra two points in the title race. And not for the first time this season.

At Stamford Bridge there was equally bizarre refereeing as I wrote about back in November.  That gave Chelsea another two points that they shouldn’t have had. And those 4 extra points could possibly be the difference between winning and losing the title.

It has to be said that the officials do have difficult jobs and they do get a lot of unfair stick from us as fans and even from the players and coaching staff. That said, they need to get the easy decisions right and at the moment they’re just not doing that. It’s not just against us either. We see ridiculous decisions every week from incompetent referees who simply look out of their depth in the Premier League. Are they affected by home crowds? Sometimes, but on today’s performance by Mike Dean and his assistants you’d have to say it wasn’t the case. It’s almost expected that Mike Dean will give a dodgy decision at some point in every game he officiates, and if he didn’t do it with that smug look on his oh so punchable face I could probably just put him down as incompetent, but he actually seems to thrive on being the villain and being in the spotlight. And he’s not alone either, several other “top” referees are the same.

The number of refereeing catastrophes that we see every week make the ‘Respect’ campaign a complete farce. Too often games are won and lost by the incompetence of the men in black, and at the end of the season it’s often the difference between winning and losing the title, getting a place in Europe or even being relegated to the Championship. Tens of millions of pounds are at stake, not just points, so we need to start training referees to a higher level of proficiency and start making them accountable for their actions. The linesman who decided that Drogba was onside today should spend a few weeks in the Championship as punishment for his mistake, and maybe when he comes back he’ll remember to stay alert for the whole 90 minutes.

At the moment the standard of officiating in England simply isn’t good enough. And only with accountability for the match officials will be finally get back the game that we all know and love.

1. Robbie Fowler celebrates in front of Manchester United fans, showing his  fingers to symbolize their success in Europe. No punishment. Gary Neville kisses the United badge on his shirt in front of Liverpool fans. Fined £5,000 and warned about his future conduct.

2. Steven Gerrard and Neil Mellor sent off in the 2003 Amsterdam tournament. No bans are handed out to the two Liverpool players. Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes are sent off in the 2006 Amsterdam tournament. Both players are forced to sit out the first 3 games of the Premier League season as the FA bans them for the red cards.

3. Javier Mascherano swings an arm at Leeds’ Jermaine Beckford, leaving the striker on the floor. No action was taken by the FA. Weeks later, Rio Ferdinand is involved in an identical incident with Hull’s Craig Fagan. He was banned for 3 games, which was extended to 4 games on appeal.

Today’s decision by the FA to let Steven Gerrard walk free just compounds the problem.

The FA have consistently shown that they’re completely incompetent and incapable of applying the rules properly. And that they continually like to ban Manchester United players while letting Liverpool players off with the exact same offences, and I haven’t even gone into his two fingered salute to the referee last week, another offence he got away with!

Is it so wrong to expect them to actually do their jobs and apply the rules?

The combative midfielder has been in good form for the bitters this season, but appears to have had one or two knocks on the head judging by his latest words.

“I noticed from the moment I arrived in Manchester how many Blues there were compared to Reds,” he told the club’s official website.

It’s a strange comment for a number of reasons.

The first reason being that it simply isn’t true by any stretch of the imagination.

The second being that City regularly fail to fill their stadium. If there are so many City fans walking around on a daily basis why are they not in the council house on match days?

The third and most telling reason why De Jong’s comments are full of delusion is that Manchester United have enjoyed higher attendance figures than their bitter neighbours for over 70 years. This included periods out of the top flight and even several years where United shared Maine Road with City. That’s right, we had higher attendances than them in their own stadium!

So a big well done to Nigel De Jong for playing up to the berties and admitting to the world that he’s as deluded as they are.

For those that don’t know what this means, it’s a reference to the fact that Liverpool fans’ actions that contributed to the Heysel stadium disaster resulted in the banning of all English teams from entering European competitions. Everton were considered favourites that year, but the ban meant they couldn’t enter and the winners were Steaua Bucharest of Romania.

In simplest terms, Liverpool fans are using the death of Juventus fans to mock Everton fans. Whilst not being altogether surprising, it is another show of contempt from Liverpool fans who will mock every tragedy going while at the same time calling for “Justice for the 96″.

Similar to the Spirit of Shankly (SOS) group calling for the dismissal of Tom Hicks Jr. for insulting one of their members which they described as “objectionable behaviour”, just months after having a good ol’ Munich sing song at their end of season party. Apparently their definition of “objectionable” changes to suit their agenda. If a more hypocritical set of fans exists I have yet to see them.

The Chelsea skipper has shamed the England captaincy with his antics on more than one occasion, and it could be argued he never deserved it in the first place. This isn’t the first time he’s cheated on his wife and as we told you in our catalogue of shame, cheating isn’t Terry’s only vice.

Debate has raged all week whether Terry would resign from the captaincy, face the sack by Fabio Capello or be allowed to lead England out at the World Cup this Summer. Capello answered the question yesterday by stripping Terry of the captain’s armband in a decision that shouldn’t have been needed to be made. the England captaincy is the single greatest sporting honour to aspire to in England and it has never been as disgraced as it has by Terry.

When the judge lifted the “super injunction” and allowed his antics to be published in the national newspapers it should have been followed by a statement from John Terry announcing his immediate resignation. It would have been the first and last act of honour Terry had done as captain of England, but as it happens he chose to ignore calls from the general public, pundits and journalists by insisting he wouldn’t resign. It was probably his last act of selfishness before Capello took just 12 minutes to give john Terry the bad news in a meeting yesterday.

The right thing has been done. the armband was disgraced and the offender has been removed from his position, but it’s hard to see who the winner is in all of this.

Terry has lost the armband. Wayne Bridge has had to suffer humiliating headlines in the press. Vanessa Perroncel has been portrayed as a bit of a slapper. John Terry’s wife has shown herself to be a bit of a silly mare for standing by the serial love cheat. And the children involved will grow up knowing that one of their parents is a dishonest love rat.

The only person to emerge with a bonus from this is Rio Ferdinand, who has been promoted from his position as vice captain, to full captain. It’s an honour I’m sure he’s always wanted and he was arguably a better candidate than John Terry from the start, but would he have wanted to ‘earn’ the captaincy under these circumstances? I highly doubt it.

The England national team too will suffer. When Bridge and Terry take to the pitch or even the training ground, there is sure to be a certain amount of tension that will cause unrest amongst the rest of the squad. some will remain loyal to Terry, while others who are friendlier with bridge will be sickened by What Terry has done to his team mate and long term friend.

There are still some Terry sympathizers though. Jason Cundy voiced his opinion straight from Terry’s arse on Talksport, while the feeling on several Chelsea forums I’ve read seems to be that Terry has been the victim of a witch hunt.

What it boils down to is that John Terry, as England captain, has negatively affected the lives of his wife, Wayne Bridge, his Chelsea and England team mates, his children and Bridge’s child. The mood the revelations has inflicted on the England dressing room remains to be seen, but it could potentially affect the morale of the team as opinion is bound to be split.

The England captain is supposed to set an example to the rest of the players and be the representative of the England national team. He has failed in his duties and has quite rightly been stripped of the honour. And while order hasn’t quite been restored, the sacking of John Terry is most definitely a step in the right direction.

While some ex Chelsea stars like Jason Cundy and idiots like Darren Gough have defended him, most neutral pundits and journalists seem to be in agreement that Fabio Capello should strip Terry of the captain’s armband. Of course if he had any sense of decency he’d have resigned as captain when the stories broke. The man has no shame, but that’s another debate entirely.

Today we’re talking about his potential replacements. The only alternatives touted at the time Terry was appointed were Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand and Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard.

Rio is no stranger to controversy, after being handed an eight month ban for missing a drugs test in the 2004/2005 season. It’s hardly in the John Terry catalogue of shame, but it’s a dark spot nonetheless.

Gerrard is no saint either. In December 2008 he was arrested for assaulting a nightclub DJ for refusing to play a Phil Collins song. CCTV coverage showed Gerrard attack the man without provocation, but a jury somehow found him not guilty.

If Terry does indeed lose the captaincy, neither Ferdinand or Gerrard are being tipped to replace him. Instead, striker Wayne Rooney is at the top of many people’s lists to lead England to the World Cup in South Africa.

In recent seasons he has sacrificed himself for the Manchester United team, at times performing a thankless task out on the left wing for European away games, allowing Ronaldo to hog all of the limelight. But since the Portugueser moved to Real Madrid in the Summer Rooney has finally stepped out of his shadow.

Whilst not always playing well in the early months of the season, he became a clinical goal poacher to make up for it. As the season has gone on he has added all of the other elements to his game that make him such a joy to watch. He has developed into the complete striker, capable of dropping deep and playing the creative role we’re used to seeing him in, as well as getting himself in the box at the right time to spearhead United’s attacks.

England boss Capello had spoken of his desire to see Rooney play in a more advanced role and it looks like the absence of Ronaldo has forced Sir Alex Ferguson‘s hand, allowing Rooney to grow into one of the best strikers in the world on current form.

His leadership skills are there for all to see. He leads by example with his hard work and dedication, and has the quality to inspire those around him.

He is not squeaky clean either, it has to be said. But after getting married and becoming a father he seems to have done something that John Terry will never do. Wayne Rooney has grown up.

He is the best person to take over from John Terry, should the Chelsea defender resign in disgrace or be stripped of the captaincy in even more disgrace.

Many will say England would lose a great leader. I say they’ll be gaining a superstar who will thrive under the pressure of leading England to glory.

The biggest and most idiotic lie of them all is that most Mancunians support City and all United fans are from outside of the City borders. You would think common sense would take hold of people being told such a lie, but alas the lie has spread and is repeated by  Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal fans and plenty of other clubs around the country.

Even on the face of it, the idea that Manchester United, arguably the biggest club in the world, cannot attract a local following is absurd. City fans will tell you that all of United’s fans are glory hunters, but even if that were true, would there not be any local glory hunters? This simple logic escapes most City fans, that’s why they’re affectionately known as “The Liars”.

Now for the facts.

Manchester United have had a bigger average attendance than City every single for the last 71 years. the last time City had a higher average attendance than us was in 1939. You can check this for yourself at the library.

It’s not just because we have a bigger stadium either. We shared Maine Road for eight years after the war and still managed to attract bigger attendances than them in each of those eight years IN THEIR OWN STADIUM. City wouldn’t come close to filling Old Trafford today. They only fill Eastlands when they play United.

I’ve lived in this City for decades and not once growing up, going through school, or in any place of work have I ever experienced an environment that had more City fans than United. We outnumber them everywhere I’ve ever been. In some parts of the City centre it’s even possible to find more Liverpool fans than City, that’s how ridiculous the lies are, but they continue to spout them.

So the next questions is obviously: Why do they put out such a poor lie that’s so easily shot down?

The truth is that it only became an issue once we became successful in the early 90′s. Before that point nobody cared where anyone came from because it didn’t matter. We were “also rans” in the league every season so City didn’t have much to complain about. Ever since Fergie turned us into the team that has dominated the last two decades of English football, City have come up with more and more lies about us due to their jealousy and bitterness.

They needed a stick to beat us with and because we do have one of the biggest fanbases in the world, possibly the biggest, they’ve turned that around into a bizarre theory that every United fan is a glory hunter from London or abroad. They conveniently forget about the half a century prior to our success where we still had much bigger attendances, even when we were relegated to the league below them.

So the next time you hear someone tell you that most Mancunians are City fans, ask them where they’ve all been hiding for the last 71 years because I’d love to know.

United are, have always been and always will be the best supported club in Manchester.

City played nothing like a side that’s capable of coming to Old Trafford and beating us or even leaving with a draw. They were camped in their own half for much of the game, while United dominated possession and mounted attack after attack. One of those attacks paid off when Ryan Giggs tapped in the deflection after a good save from Rooney’s near post effort and united were looking very much in control of the game. City had nothing to offer.

Things changed however, when the shambolic referee decided to award City a penalty for a foul that was clearly outside the box. It begs the question, what prompted Merseyside born Mike Dean to make one of the worst decisions of his error laden career?

However undeserved, it gave City some momentum and some confidence to actually play a little bit. They created one or two more chances after that and were more adventurous in their attacks. United were still dominating the majority of play though, while City relied on counter attacks from the often isolated Bellamy.

The winning goal came from a corner that possibly shouldn’t have been given. Dean apparently saw a flick off Rafael that was very hard to see on television replays. Nevertheless, United defended the corner badly and the kettle spiller was left free in the middle of the box to tap in the winner.

After my initial drunken rant last night though, I’m not feeling too bad about the defeat at all. We dominated City on their own turf. They looked poor for most of the game and if not for another shocking performance from smug looking Mike Dean we’d have come away with a draw minimum.

With the Stretford End behind us next week I have full confidence that we can overturn this deficit. There was another occasion in recent seasons where we brought a team back to Old Trafford and were carrying a 2-1 deficit. Does anyone remember how that ended up?

I’m not predicting the same result this time around, but with a more adventurous starting line up from Fergie and City inevitably camped in their own half desperately hanging onto their slender advantage, I can see us winning comfortably at home to those undeserving cretins who are under the mistaken impression that they deserve success.

Where do I stand? I have to admit I’m in the former category.

Neville has been a fantastic servant for both Manchester United and England. With eight league titles for us and 85 caps for England, he’s up there with the very best right backs this country has produced.

His willingness to overlap his winger and put pin point crosses into the box has been an asset for club and country for the better part of two decades. Put that with his defensive attributes and you realise what an amazing player Gary once was.

But the key there is in the word “was”, because he isn’t that player anymore. Far too often he’s caught dwelling on the ball, losing possession, putting the rest of the back four and the goalkeeper under pressure. So too is his lack of pace exposed as even average players are now able to out-run him. He has become such a liability to the team that I fear the worst every time I see his name on the team sheet.

I want to remember the Gary Neville of old, bombing down the wings with Beckham, putting quality balls into the box and contributing to attack after attack, whilst also being able to keep his wing safe from attack. If he stays on beyond this year I fear all I’ll remember of him are the days of poor positioning, lack of pace and getting out-muscled.

His reputation is tarnished in my head every time he puts on the red shirt and that’s why personally I think his retirement is long overdue.

He can play a part in our future success by becoming part of the coaching staff like Solskjaer, but this should definitely be his last season in a playing capacity.

Agree? Disagree? Have your say in the comments.

“We’ve only lost twice all season, despite everything that has been said and written about us, and that was one of them, in the 99th minute at Old Trafford,” Shay Given told The Times.

The official goal time was 95:27. More than three and a half minutes shy of the 99th minute.

The Irishman admits it took him a while to get over it. He went on to rewrite history by claiming Manchester City played well.

“It took me a good few weeks, even a couple of months, to get it out of my system,” he continued.

“We played so well that day and for them to get such a late, late goal – it was very difficult for everyone to swallow really.”

It seems Given has forgotten about United’s total domination of the second half. We had more possession, more shots, more corners, more territorial advantage, and the most important statistic of all – more goals!

The only reason the scoreline was so close is because Rio Ferdinand and Ben Foster decided to leave their brains at home that day. The scoreline flattered City when we could easily have won by 3 or 4 goals, such was our dominance.

And hopefully we’ll reignite that spirit on Wednesday and bounce back from the Leeds result by thrashing City.

It’s embarrassing to us fans to have been knocked out of the FA Cup to a League One team, but when that team is Leeds United it gets all the more unbearable. We’ve been knocked out by a few lower league teams under Sir Alex Ferguson, but this is the one that’ll hurt more than any other.

It’s not even like we can say we played a weak side that were beaten by experienced players. The manager put enough Premier League regulars out there to win a game against a team two divisions below us quite easily. The team selection was fine. It’s the players who need to have a long hard look at themselves, particularly the local lads Wes Brown and Gary Neville who should know the levels of passion and commitment needed in a game against Leeds.

But there was no passion. No drive. No determination. We were sloppy in many areas of the pitch and there’s no excuse for it.

Gary Neville is making it harder and harder to justify his place in the squad. Captain or not, he’s become a liability by constantly giving the ball away in dangerous positions and putting the rest of the defence under pressure.

Fabio put in a good shift on the opposite wing. His final delivery wasn’t great, but the rest of his game was fine and he showed more determination than most.

Danny Welbeck showed why he’s not a first team regular yet. His touch is far too heavy and it cost us possession a few times yesterday, not to mention the times he received the ball in good attacking positions only to lose it before getting it under control.

Gibson started well in the middle alongside Anderson, but faded pretty quickly and wasn’t seen much after the opening 10 minutes. Anderson was much better, but he offers very little threat to any opponents goal.

Rooney put himself about a bit, got stuck in and his general play was excellent, until it came to the most important part of his job, scoring goals. He wasted numerous chances to level the score with poor finishing. He created space for himself time and time again, as well as finding himself in fantastic goal scoring positions, but when you can’t hit the target from 6 yards out there’s something wrong.

Berbatov sparked to life in the last 10 – 15 minutes, but it was too little too late. He should have been ready from kick off, not wait 75 minutes before he starts playing.

We like to complain when teams stick every man behind the ball because it makes them hard to break down. Leeds did what we usually prefer and actually tried to attack us. That should have made it easier for us to find gaps in their defence, but in truth there was very little creativity from us in the final third and it’s been a common theme in all of our defeats this season.

Fergie needs to sit the players down and remind them what it means to play for Manchester United. There are certain levels of commitment required to play for this great club and we’re just not seeing it at the moment.

My only hope is that we bounce back with a win against City in the Carling Cup on Wednesday. Losing to two bitter rivals in the same week would be very hard to take!

To my surprise Owen has proved me wrong. He’s shown that he’s still able to be a fox in the box when the need arises, most notably with his injury time winner against the bitters and his hat trick away to Wolfsburg in the Champions League.So surely after proving how clinical he can be, he was certain to be pushing for a regular spot alongside Rooney some time soon? Not according to Fergie, who has only started him once since his hat trick at Wolfsburg.

Apparently Owen isn’t competing with Berbatov for a place, so it doesn’t matter if he scores more than the Bulgarian. Fergie has revealed that Owen is in fact in direct competition with Wayne Rooney for a starting place, thus completely eliminating any chance he ever had of becoming a regular at United. It’s a good job Owen likes coming on as a sub.

“It is difficult to leave out Rooney. That is the thing because I think Owen is identical to Wayne in the position he plays in terms of being further up the pitch, with Berbatov in the team.

“The combinations are more likely to be Berbatov and Owen, or Berbatov and Rooney. Rooney and Owen together, well then you have to have Rooney dropping in, I prefer him up the pitch a bit more, I must admit.”

Wayne Rooney is our best player, meaning Fergie is never going to drop him. Even when he goes through dry spells he never gets dropped because he’s the type of player who can produce something from nothing at any given moment.

It looks like Fergie’s comments could not only end Owen’s chances of becoming a United regular, but could also end his dream of making it into Fabio Capello’s World Cup squad.

While many so called ‘experts’ were saying Liverpool would kick on from last season’s second placed finish and seriously challenge for the title, Sir Alex had his finger firmly on the pulse, saying they’d struggle to replicate their achievements of last season.

“It will be hard for them to match last season, let alone improve on it. Other teams will know more about them,” Ferguson told The Sun.

“Liverpool had probably their best season for 20 years and still finished four points adrift.”

He was also spot on about who our biggest challengers would be this season.

“It has to be Chelsea as the main threat. Ancelotti will change how they play.”

The Chelsea boss says that while his team is top of the table he has no reason to worry.

“I know well the strengths of Manchester United. I know the quality of their players, the quality of the coach. But I don’t know why I have to be worried now,” he told The Mirror.

“Maybe in January, but now, no. Now I am happy to stay at the top of the table.”

He went on to claim that his team have performed better than us and that’s why they’re top of the table.

“I think that, until now, we have done better than Manchester United.

“We have two more points, we won against them and that is why we are at the top of the table.

“Of course we know very well that Manchester United are a fantastic team and that we have to race with them until the end of the season.

“I don’t know what will happen in the future but up to this point, we have to consider what we’ve done – and I say that until now, we’ve done better than them.”

It seems he has forgotten about the farcical refereeing decisions that helped his side beat us at Stamford Bridge, without which we would be top of the table, not them.

The main reason nearly every journalist gave for making Chelsea their favourites was that the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo would cause United to suffer. As one of the best players in the world at the moment Ronaldo’s departure would affect every team in the world majorly, and it’s true he’s contributed to our team massively over the last few seasons, where he’s been outstanding. We were always going to miss his goals, and there’s no getting around the fact that we lost our best player this summer.

However, some of the journalists went so far to say that the Chelsea squad was now much stronger than United’s on paper. With the loss of Ronaldo, I’d agree that, on paper at least, Chelsea might look stronger, but some of these writers took it too far. They’re not much stronger. If we go player by player we can see where each team excels with regards to their starting 11, but then there’s also the depth of the two team’s entire squads to consider.

In defence, we just edge them; VDS is a brilliant goalkeeper but his age means Cech would win, Evra and Cole are perhaps the two best left backs in the world right now, difficult to choose between them, but I love the extra attacking option Evra provides us with on the left. In Bosingwa Chelsea have a fixed and reliable right back who I think is better than United’s choice of Brown (good but injury prone), Neville (a bit of a liability these days) and Rafael (still unproven). At centre-back United have probably the strongest defensive partnership in the world in Ferdinand and Vidic, and although Chelsea have a formidable back two in Terry and Carvalho, I think United better it.

In midfield, ok, Chelsea win, although ours hasn’t been doing too badly of late. But Chelsea have Essien, a player I rate very highly, and who is better than any of our midfielders. They also have Lampard, a player who, up until this season anyway, could get them up to 20 goals a season, and Ballack, another very strong midfielder. That beats Fletcher, Carrick, Anderson and Scholes. Scholes was better than all of them once, but he’s getting on now, Fletcher is important to us but he’s no Essien and neither are Carrick and Anderson. When you look at our wingers, we have strength. Chelsea don’t really play with them and it gives us pace and width and another attacking dimension. We’ve got Valencia, who’s started to come good and provides us with a lot of pace, and the evergreen assist-machine that is Giggs.

In attack Chelsea have the fantastic Drogba, the ultimate centre-forward in my opinion, but I think a forward-line of Rooney-Berbatov-Owen is just a bit better than Drogba-Anelka-Kalou. We can also play with any of our wingers as a second striker.

So looking closely at the starting 11s, you can see that although Chelsea might just shade it, there isn’t a huge amount of difference. But you’ve got to take into consideration the strength of the depth of the squads of the two teams. United have a very deep squad, with a lot of youth being developed into the team.

We have many versatile defenders, with full-backs like the Da Silva twins and O’Shea that can play on either side and some like Brown that can play as centre-backs. We also have Evans, the best young centre-back in the country, to call upon if Rio or Vidic get injured. In central midfield alone we have a huge amount of options in who to play, with the young midfielder Gibson another attacking option to add to Fletcher, Carrick, Scholes and Anderson. In attack we have the young prospects in Macheda and Welbeck, both able finishers, to call upon.

There are other factors to consider when deciding what makes a team the favourites to win the title; the way the team works together, management, desire and experience. Both teams play together intelligently; Chelsea are organised cleverly and United have an interlocking attacking awareness but if it remains that Chelsea’s starting 11 is just that bit stronger than United’s on paper, the fact that United have won the last three leagues in a row could suggest that United have developed a method of playing together as a team that is just that bit more effective.

As far as management goes, there simply isn’t a better manager in the world for dealing with title races than Sir Alex Ferguson. Experience counts for a lot, but it’s too easy to say that just because Chelsea have a manager new to the Premier League they will struggle. Ancelotti is still very experienced, and an excellent manager, and he has a brilliant team at his disposal. However, Ferguson knows his own team better and does know the league better, so there must be something of an advantage there.

It could be suggested that after three successive league wins United players might not want it as much as Chelsea players do but I think that any players under Ferguson wouldn’t allow such thoughts of complacency to enter their heads. He wouldn’t allow for it. As far as experienced players go, both teams are full of Premier League winners but there are some players in United’s team who have been involved in title races for six, seven, eight years, possibly longer. Experience is not something we lack, although admitedly Chelsea have a few older players in their midst in contrast to our development on youth.

“Obviously I was disappointed, because I don’t think I deserved to be treated that way. When I was there, I was a hard-working and loyal player who gave my all,” he told The Sun.

The Argentine Labrador worked hard for us, scored some vital goals at vital times and was a valued squad player, but nobody can sign for our bitter rivals (bitter being the key word for those giddy fans) directly after leaving us and hope to be welcomed back to Old Trafford with open arms.

On top of that, he also slated our manager publicly on several occasions, promising to celebrate right in front of his face if he scored against us at OT.

Respecting the fans and respecting the manager go hand in hand. Claiming to respect the fans while simultaneously insulting our manager is a contradiction in terms and something Tevez has failed to grasp since leaving the club.

If he wants respect he should stop mouthing off about how badly he was treated. He won two Premier League winners medals and a Champions League winners medal during his two seasons at the club, so he doesn’t really have a leg to stand on.

On a somewhat unrelated note, his statistics at City are proving that Fergie was right not to shell out £25 million on him.

He has scored in just one Premier League game so far, the rest of his goals (a massive five in total) have come in the Carling Cup against inferior opposition.

His five goals in 1258 minutes give him a goal every 252 minutes.

Michael Owen‘s four goals in 687 minutes give him a goal every 172 minutes.

I think it’s now safe to say that we got the better deal.

I will start by quoting the ideas within the blog that I think has some worth, although the blog writer has perhaps expressed it in too strong terms.

“The biggest question mark at Old Trafford is one they have been facing for much of the past decade – replacing such an irreplaceable figure as Ferguson – but as he prepares to celebrate his 68th birthday later this month the elephant in the room cannot be ignored for much longer.” the blog reads “ With the exception of Jose Mourinho and possibly Fabio Capello few managers would relish stepping into Ferguson’s shoes, and a daunting task could be made even more difficult over the next couple of years by the confluence of a variety of inter-connecting factors.”

This is a point I can see has some weight. It’s true that Sir Alex Ferguson is one-of-a-kind, a legend, and it will be exceptionally difficult for us to replace him. We’re fairly patient as a club for success, but we still demand it eventually from our manager. A club of our size will need a manager of the highest level who can guarantee us success at some time. No candidates in world football are good enough to replace Ferguson totally 100%, and only a few managers can really be said to be an adequate replacement.

“To compete at the highest level these days requires the deepest of pockets, which where is fears over the club’s £700 million debt come in… Given the state of the financial markets the club’s £45 million-a-year repayment schedule is only going to get more onerous, and is likely to limit the extent to which they can spend their way out of any trouble.”

I agree that the debt is worrying, of course it is, and I think this links in with the trouble the club may have with replacing Ferguson. I feel that the debt is only not appearing as much of a problem now because we have the best manager in the world who is able to help us to win trophies season after season. When Ferguson goes it is possible we might not win the same amount of trophies every season and if the club does go through a period of winning less the debt might start to trouble us.

It is true that to compete at the highest level clubs need some outstanding footballers, and these days those types of players are ridiculously expensive. This club has been able to compete fairly well in recent transfer markets but, like I say, that is during our period of dominance. I fear that if we do go through a relative lull in success the revenue we lose out from may cause the debt problem to resurface, and that in turn might affect our ability to compete with clubs willing to pay silly money – like Real Madrid - for the very best players. All of this, however, is based upon the premise that we will see a significant lack of trophies at some point, which may not be the case.

Now I will move onto parts of the article that I think are too critical of United.

“…United’s existing squad is one of their weakest in recent times. While the back-four remain formidable the dearth of attacking options is little short of startling. Dimitar Berbatov has not settled and looks like he will only ever be an occasional contributor at Old Trafford, Michael Owen is a shadow of his former self whose impact could be limited to a match-winning goal in the Manchester derby, while other than the admirable Darren Fletcher United’s midfield looks worryingly lightweight.”

This is far too simplistic an assessment. Yes, we lost Ronaldo in the summer – a massive loss to even the very best teams considering he has been the best player in the world in his time here - but to suggest that our attacking options are so threadbare they’re ‘startling’ is going too far. We have Rooney, still only 24 and loyal to our club, and he is one of the most talented strikers in the world, and has already scored a lot of goals this season. This blog fails to mention him. Also, Berbatov is already more than just an ‘occasional contributor’. As a fan I would like to see him score some more goals but he has played well for a lot of this season, contributing with some goals, and really aids our attack. His technique is also fantastic. Owen has a lot yet to prove, indeed, but again it goes too far to suggest he is a ‘shadow’ of the player he once was. No-one would deny that he plays as well as he used to at Liverpool, but he still aids to our attack and has been relatively unlucky in recent games not to score. He has only been at the club for a few months, give him time and I am sure he will score plenty of goals for us this season. He was also completely free, so it was a very clever bit of business from the club.

If we look at the statistics, I believe it shows that our problems this season have been more to do with our usually excellent defence conceeding more goals than normal rather than our attack not scoring enough goals. We won plenty of games 1-0 last season, and I haven’t noticed a particular lack of goals scored from game to game this year.

As far as our midfield goes, I have been concerned with it in the past. It is true that we will probably be unable to completely replace Giggs and Scholes because they have been outstanding in their time at the club, but again it goes too far to suggest our midfield is ‘lightweight’. Like the blog says, Fletcher is playing well at the moment and is a vastly improved player and now very important to our team. Anderson has great potential, and although he still has a lot to prove, he shows signs of just how good he can become (he is only 21 at present, remember Scholes was still a striker at this time and later developed into a brilliant midfielder). On the wings we have the admittedly fairly disappointing Nani, but the signing of Valencia will prove to be an astute one in my opinion. He has pace, is a great athelete and has shown his ability in recent games.

I agree that long-term problems may be forseeable at this club regarding a replacement for our manager and the huge debt, but to suggest our team is weak is simply not true. We have a world-class defence and world-class attackers. We are a highly prestigious club in world football with an enormous fanbase and following – probably the most popular club in the world. Journalists have been constantly predicting an end to our dominance over the last 20 years and the team has proved them wrong time and time again. We will continue to be a huge club that wins the top trophies. We have just won the league three times in a row and got to 2 successive Champions League finals after all – we can’t be that bad.

‘You never know in football, but I see no reason to leave at all’, Carrick told the Daily Mail newspaper ‘I am delighted to be here. It is as high as you can get.’

Carrick’s words echo the belief amongst many United fans that playing for this club is as high as it can get for a footballer. Real Madrid and Barcelona fans may disagree, but it does seem to be true that often when United players leave United their careers go downhill because of a loss of form, or they go to smaller clubs with far less chance of winning trophies. A long career at United guarantees trophies - a mere glance at the extensive trophy hauls of United veterans Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes would confirm this – and the club is virtually always in a title race and progressing well in the biggest competitions in Europe.

Carrick has no reason to even contemplate moving. Why should he leave when in the three years since his move from Spurs in 2006 he has won the Premier League title three times in a row, won the Champions League and got to another Champions League final and also played in an FA Cup final and won the Carling Cup? This is a phenomenal amount of success in a mere three seasons, and it would be highly unlikely that any other club than United would provide a footballer with the same amount of chances to win the top medals in such a short period of time.

No disrespect to Tottenham Hotspur, but moving there would be a step down when Carrick has played in two Champions League finals in succession and won the league three times in a row in Manchester. He is also able to play under Sir Alex, probably the greatest football manager of all time, here at United and who better than the United manager to help develop and maintain the skills needed for a footballer to really make a name for themselves?

“From our point of view it is disappointing,” said Leighton. “The Football Association had a chance to make a point and they flunked it. To question the fitness of a referee is to question his ability to do the job and his integrity.

“We don’t think this is sending the right message to other managers. This is not a personal vendetta against Sir Alex but he has a particular stature within the game and, if he is seen to be getting off lightly, other managers may think what he said was not beyond the pale.”

The only problem with this is that the punishment isn’t lenient at all. On the contrary, the punishment is very severe in comparison to similar incidents.

Sam Allardyce hit out at referee Peter Walton last month following Blackburn’s demolition at the hands of Arsenal. He believed the decision not to award his team a penalty at a crucial point in the game affected the outcome, and made the following comment.

“They are fully professional now so if they are not good enough, we should find someone who is.”

Allardyce was not charged by the FA for making this comment.

Rafael Benitez took off his glasses and offered them to referee Phil Dowd after Liverpool lost 2-1 to Spurs.

Benitez was not charged by the FA.

Mark Hughes implied that Martin Atkinson had given Manchester United preferential treatment by saying he played more added time that he should.

“United were given a little more time than they should have been given to get the goal.”

Guess what? Hughes was not charged by the FA.

What we’re seeing here is a pattern of managers criticizing referees with no punishment whatsoever. Moreover, the three examples above have all questioned the referees integrity, eye sight and decision making skills. Sir Alex only criticized Wiley’s fitness. So why does he deserve such harsh treatment?

Sir Alex becomes the first manager ever to receive a touchline ban for comments made about a referee after a game. How that can be construed as lenient is beyond me.

Not a weekend goes by when there isn’t some sort of controversy in the newspapers because of a refereeing howler. Penalties aren’t given. Red cards are wrongly handed out. Goals are denied. These poor decisions are affecting the league position of football clubs that work very hard to win games. The decisions of a referee can be the difference between premier League survival or relegation. Between a runners up medal or a league championship medal. The job they do is hugely important to the game and they need to be getting the big decisions correct.

What the above three examples also show us, as well as many other comments made by Premiership referees, is a constant feeling that the standard of refereeing is simply not good enough. So instead of embarrassing the most respected man in football by dragging him up in front of a panel of stuffed suits who know nothing about football the FA should invest time, effort and money into improving the standards of refereeing in the country.

The respect campaign is an admirable one, but it’s doomed to failure. Respect must be earned, and while we have incompetent referees making consistently poor decisions every week it’s a campaign that will never work.

Two years ago we went out of the FA Cup semi final after the referee failed to award a penalty when Sylvain Distin blatantly floored Cristiano Ronaldo in the Portsmouth area. We won the Premier League and Champions League that season, but could we have repeated out treble triumph if not for incompetent refereeing? Impossible to tell, but we’d certainly have had a chance. Our semi final opponents would have been West Brom and the final opponent Cardiff City. We could probably put our reserves out and win that.

The following year and yet again a refereeing failure prevented us from progressing to the final. In the words of the BBC, “[Mike] Riley refused what appeared to be a clear-cut penalty when defender Phil Jagielka brought down Danny Welbeck“. If Riley had correctly awarded the penalty and it had been converted, we would have won the match 1-0 and progressed to the final to meet Chelsea.

Back to more recent events, another clear cut penalty was denied on Sunday, this time by Martin Atkinson. John Terry clearly had hold of Antonio Valencia‘s shirt and dragged him to the floor, but the referee and linesman waved away the protests. At the other end of the pitch, Atkinson gave a free kick for what is widely accepted to be a fair challenge. Chelsea scored from the resulting free kick with the help of Didier Drogba bringing down Wes Brown. Again, the referee saw nothing wrong.

Now I’m going to move away from specific incidents because every team can point to one off occasions where their team were wronged. We’re going to have to show that this isn’t just in isolated incident by looking at the statistics.

To get a fair sample group we’ll look back through four years of data. We’ve won three league titles during that period, so you would expect lots of red cards for opponents, lots of penalties for us and none for opponents.

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Penalties

United penalties: 19

Opposition penalties: 12

Difference: +7

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Liverpool penalties: 23

Opposition penalties: 11

Difference: +12

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Chelsea penalties: 17

Opposition penalties: 9

Difference:+8

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Arsenal penalties: 23

Opposition penalties: 9

Difference: +14

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The statistcs are clear. Over the four years covering 2005 to 2009, Manchester United have benefited from penalties less than Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal.

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Red Cards

United red cards: 10

Opponent red cards: 12

Difference: +2

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Liverpool red cards: 7

Opponent red cards: 31

Difference: +24

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Chelsea red cards: 17

Opponent red cards: 13

Difference: -4

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Arsenal red cards: 13

Opponent red cards: 20

Difference: +7

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So you can see from the results that both Arsenal and Liverpool have benefited more than us by having opponents sent off. In Liverpool’s case the difference is massive. They’ve had 25 more opposition players sent off than us in just a four year period. but if you go and read any Liverpool supporter forum, they’ll have you believe that the referees are working for United under orders from the Football Association.

Will these stats stop the myths being spread by bitter rival fans? Not a chance. But if a simple blogger like me can work out these stats, so can national newspapers. Why have we never seen these statistics on the back pages? Why have we never seen the conspiracy theories quashed once and for all?

The answer is simple. The name of Manchester United sells papers, especially when there’s controversy attached. Whenever United are the victims of a poor refereeing decision, it’s generally glossed over by the newspapers. Contrast that with when a decision goes in our favour and it’s the “same old United getting the decisions”.

The one positive we can save from this is that these theories wouldn’t be spread if we weren’t the dominant force in English football. Jealousy breeds bitterness and the fact that rival fans are willing to spread lies about our club, when they know very well how wrong they are, puts a smile on my face.

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Statistics accurate as of November 10th 2009.

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