Another away draw

Another away game, another draw.

Thankfully this time it's a two-legged match, so the draw actually suits United fine. Now we have the advantage as we'll be playing at home in the return leg. A score-draw would have been better, but I'm confident we'll be through to the next round.

It was not, however, a good game. Utterly boring. Our midfield was just non-existent as far as I'm concerned. The back four did relatively well. The front three of Rooney-Berba-Nani I think would have done a whole lot better if they had better support from the middle three of Fletcher, Carrick and Gibson.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. We need better midfielders. We need a general in the mould of Keano or Robbo.

The midfield did much better though when Scholes came in and we reverted to a 4-4-2 formation. Scholes has, according to newspaper reports, told Sir Alex that he will sign a one-year extension to his contract and I'm glad he has, but I don't think he'll last longer than that year. Not to mention the fact that he can't figure in all the games. So we'd better bring in someone new soon. Someone good, of course.

But now that the game is over, it's time to focus on the next away game. Wigan. It's the EPL (I hate calling it the BPL) again, so we can't afford another draw.

Away days

That lacklustre FA Cup tie against the other Red Devils is now behind us, and now we have a home match against either Leyton Orient or Arsenal in the next round.

That aside though, we have to concentrate first on a tricky first leg encounter in Marseille, a team that has only lost twice at home all season, once in the French Ligue 1 and the other in the CL group stages. A score-draw against Marseille should be enough for us to qualify for the next round as I believe we'll win it at Old Trafford. Still, there can be no discounting any team in the CL at this stage of things.

Marseille, mind you, is only the start of a series of tricky away matches for United. At the weekend, the Devils travel to Wigan. In previous meetings, MU has found games at Wigan to be easy wins, but the Wigan players did well in Old Trafford this season until they went down to nine men. Who knows what they'll do on home ground.

After Wigan, on March 1, United play their rescheduled match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. It doesn't matter that Chelsea have not been doing too well of late. When the big teams play each other, the games are still tough no matter what form the teams are in.

Five days later, a trip to Anfield is on the cards and like any MU-Pool game, it promises to be a cracker. Liverpool have been doing well under King Kenny and will pose a serious problem. Frankly, I'm glad Liverpool are doing better. They are a team with history and it would be a shame for them to be doing badly. I have a grudging respcted for them.

MU's away form has been quite horrendous and hopefully they'll be able to do well against these teams. They need to because four points over Arsenal is not that big a gap.

Was it the greatest?

Was Rooney's goal the greatest at Old Trafford?

Let's just say it's definitely up there with the best. But to say it was the greatest, well, it's arguable at best. There are those who swear they've seen better. There are those who say they have not.

Sir Alex's comment was that it was the greatest he had ever seen in the time he has been at Old Trafford. That's not saying it was the greatest ever, is it? I think it was just the media blowing it all out of proportion.

It was spectacular, mind you. I'm hard pressed to come up with a better goal at Old Trafford. I recall a similar spectacular goal from Berba this season but I can't seem to remember whether it was at OT or away.

Leaving that aside, let me apologise for not writing for such a long time. Amazingly, my last posting was in November. This is my first posting of 2011 and it comes midway through the second month of the year!

I have been busy but I don't want to use that as an excuse. So please, forgive me.

It that time, I have gotten several "heart attacks" thanks to the antics of the United players. Thankfully, the old ticker is still working fine! At least, until the next game.

Also in that time, poor old Gary Neville has quit football. Some call him the greatest rightback England has produced. I highly doubt that, but certainly the best of his time. He's received glowing tributes, and although I believe he should have retired a long time ago, it's still nice to see him get what he deserves.

Thankfully, I believe United have a great replacement for the long run in Rafael. The boy impresses me every time I see him, but he still needs to mature a little. His youth makes him reckless and that attitude may just get him in hot soup a couple more times before he finally realises he needs to control his emotions.

Anyway, that's it for now. It's an FA Cup weekend before the Champions League next week. We should be able to make it past this round, but more on that later.

Ciao!

A non-controversial win

Last night's game against Bursaspor, thankfully, was not as controversial as the one against Spurs over the weekend. Three well-taken goals from three beautifully-worked moves showed United's true class, even if they weren't exactly playing at full speed.

It would be difficult to pick out a man-of-the-match as it seemed like everyone was playing well, except perhaps Berbatov. The Bulgarian seemed out of touch with his surroundings!

But what really struck me about the game is not what was happening on the field. It was the stands that caught my attention. Despite being three goals down, the Bursaspor fans were singing their hearts and lungs out. I don't think a single person left the stadium before the final whistle.

I know Turks are fanatical supporters of their respective teams. But if you compare the Bursaspor fans to the fans of Galatasaray, for instance, during their European matches with United in the past, there is a whole lot of difference. While Galatasaray fans did not have any sportsmanship, the Bursaspor fans did. What an incredible experience listening to them sing and cheer despite being down.

You can't say the same for many United fans. They tend to boo and hiss if MU play badly. Granted, United fans are a spoilt lot since the team win a lot, but it is a welcome change to hear the Bursaspor lot having a great time. It's not just United fans either. I'm sure a vast majority of the world's teams have such fans.

In Malaysia, the best fans used to be the Selangor fans. They, too, jeered their team when they were down. Now, Kelantan fans are arguably the most fanatical, but they too would run amok if their team didn't perform to expectations.

So, Bursaspor, your fans rock.

As for the controversial goal against Spurs, I have this to say: It was a legitimate goal, as the whistle was never blown for handball (isn't that what we're always told, play to the whistle?), so don't blame the ref, people. Blame that fool Gomes.

I do, however, think that, perhaps, Nani could have not taken advantage of Gomes' idiocy, thus showing a little sportsmanship. I don't know. The jury is still out on that. One thing is for sure, though. His celebration after scoring the goal was a little too much, don't you think? With that kind of celebration, anyone who missed seeing the goal would have thought Nani dribbled past the entire opposing team to score an amazing goal!!!!

What is happening?

Another week, another draw. Can we take consolation in that we are the only team left unbeaten in the league? That, so far, is the only consolation. We lost our perfect record at home in the league. We have yet to win away. We have conceded 11 goals, although we have scored 18, the same as Arsenal with only Chelsea scoring more.

Again we had the game in the bag this weekend. Again, we let it slip. And in what fashion? A badly defended freekick turned into goal by our own player, and a howler like no other from VDS leading to the equalising goal. We should have been more than 2-0 up by half time. We were cruising and WBA had no answer.

But kudos to WBA for coming out with all guns blazing. They hassled and harried until the MU defence gave. Even the introduction of Rooney and Scholes in the second half of the second half proved fruitless.

But by far the thing that did the worst damage was Giggs going off in the first half. After that, there were hardly any attacks down the left flank. Most of the play came down the right with Nani.

Now the Brit papers are saying Rooney wants out and has refused to sign a contract extension. He has 18 months left on his current contract and big teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid are said to be keeping tabs on him. Quite frankly, if his heart isn't in it, he should just go. MU should just sell him. If he can't perform because his heart isn't in it, then there is no use keeping him.

I'm hoping he won't go, of course, and that he'll get back to form and start producing again, start loving playing for the club again. But if he is really adamant, then let him go. No one is bigger than the club.

But a great goal-getter needs to be brought in to replace him. Berbatov is back to not scoring. Hernandez has all the markings of a good player but at present is more a Solksjaer than anything. And Macheda is still not there yet. I can't seem to think of who it is could be brought in at this point in time. No striker that I can think of seems to be worth the prices being thrown about these days.

At present, Bursaspor should be all we think about. Let's whip them and then think about the next game.

What's happening, Sir Alex?

This post is one that is long overdue. What in the world is happening?

MU are notorious slow starters, but four draws out of four away games in the league is a record that can only be considered atrocious from the likes of a first-class team. Sir Alex has blasted the team for lacking killer instinct, and I have to say he's got it spot on. But is it just that?

The defence in the first two draws -- against Fulham and Everton -- has to take the blame. And after that, I think the team lacked confidence when it came to away games. Even the away win against Valencia didn't serve to give them a confidence boost.

Whatever it is, the Red Devils need to move up a gear from now on or Chelsea is going to run away with the title without a challenge.

In other news, it looks like a recall for out-on-loan midfielder Tom Cleverley. Fergie thinks he's in the reckoning for first team action, and while I'm not as convinced as the gaffer, I do think he is a star in the making. So, yes, bring him back.

Hawkeye for football, anyone?

The papers also have it that FIFA will bring in goal-line technology soon. Thank goodness, I say. It is about time, don't you think? So many horrible calls have been made that I believe there should be some sort of technology used.

UEFA has included two more referee's assistants for the Champions and Europa leagues but these are still subject to possible human error, or even graft. What's the problem with bringing in technology? The Hawkeye system has worked wonderfully for tennis. As long as checks are made before every game, the technology should prove accurate every time.

What a match!

Berbatov is having one hell of a season, isn't he?

A hattrick against Liverpool, and what a hattrick it was. All three goals were difficult ones. The first, while being held back at first by Torres. The second, well, I really don't have to say anything about. And the third, climbing above a number of Liverpool defenders to power a header home.

The team played well, I thought. To be frank, a draw would have been a travesty after the way they played. VDS hardly had anything to do, but was powerless against the penalty and freekick from Gerrard. Speaking of which, I think Gerrard did really well. His penalty-taking is as consistent as anybody's and that free kick. Well, he picked a sweet spot, didn't he? Fletcher, though, should be blamed for letting the ball through. The Liverpool player next to him peeled away and that caused him to move to try to cover the opponent, but seeing the ball coming through that gap he left, he still could have blocked it. In fact, he moved towards it but at the last moment, moved ever so slightly away again!

As for the events leading up to the spot and free kicks, well there can be no doubt about the penalty and I believe it definitely was a foul for the free kick. Sir Alex thinks Torres made a meal of the second foul and tried to get O'Shea sent off. Did he? There's a slight chance, but I still think it was definitely a foul. As for arguments whether O'Shea should have been sent off as he was last man, I have to even if there wasn't a foul, I don't think Torres could have reached that ball. I think VDS would have gotten the ball a full three seconds ahead of the Spaniard, so a yellow card, yes, but not a red for O'Shea.

As for the next game, Scunthorpe should not prove too much of a threat against United, even though we all know Fergie will opt for his second stringers in the match. Bebe, apparently, may play a part. Let's hope Fergie's decision to break with tradition and sign the hitherto unknown player from Portugal without having seen him in action does not come back to bite him in the you-know-where.

Reds and the Devils

Easily the most awaited tie of the year. Forget MU vs Chelsea. Who cares about MU vs Arsenal. It's the Red Devils vs the Reds that captures everybody's attention.

MU go into the match on the back of two straight draws. The game against Everton was an utter waste, while the one in the Champions League against Rangers was a sham. A sham not because Sir Alex decided to make 10 changes to the starting lineup from the game against the Toffees, but that Rangers just came to park not only the team bus, but their supporters' buses as well. A sham and a shame!

No matter. Small hiccup, I say. But poor Valencia. You have to feel for the lad. Didn't really see how he was injured, thanks to what is now SOP for TV stations, not to show replays of horrific injuries, but the the look of pure distress on Broadfoot's face was enough to tell you how bad it was.

The side will likely welcome back Berbatov, Scholes, Evra and VDS and you have to believe that Vidic and Ferdinand will renew their partnership, which to me is always a good thing. Nani will likely be flying down the wings again, and it only remains to be seen who will on the other wing. Giggs? Not likely. He'll probably be on the bench. So I think it's going to be Park.

Liverpool will be delighted with their win in the Europa League, with a team minus their stars like Gerrard and Torres. They will be in confident mood for the trip to Old Trafford despite not having a very good start to the league, what more with the return of Gerrard and Torres.

No doubt the match will be close. It usually is. No matter how badly either one of the teams are playing at the moment, such matches usually are very close.

I still feel Man United will maintain their 100 per cent home record in the Premier League in this one. But it will definitely be a close one. A win by a solitary goal is what I predict.

The Number of the Beast

Three games, three zilches, and more importantly, three sixes. 666. The number of the beast.

It has been an amazing two weekends. Last weekend saw three games end in 6-0 whackings. More amazingly, Chelsea was one of the teams, meaning that they have scored an astounding 12 goals in two games, having had a similar scoreline the previous week.

They are also the only team left in the EPL with a perfect record, and this only after two games. Man City and Liverpool play later tonight, but it doesn't matter because both teams drew their opening games, so no matter the outcome, Chelsea will still be the only team with all possible points garnered in their games so far.

But before Chelsea fans start rejoicing, I have this to say. They are a fantastic team with a fantastic record so far, but these wins have come against not-so-fantastic teams in WBA and Wigan. It will be a lot more difficult to keep it up. But congratulations anyway, for doing a fantastic job.

Now, to United. What exactly were they doing last night? After a Community Shield win against Chelsea where the players showed their fire, and a good showing against Newcastle (no mean feat considering the Toon Army's ability to whallop the Villans 6-0), they looked middle class at Craven's Cottage. Fulham are fast becoming a bogey team for MU at Craven Cottage, but really, the Devils should have wrapped things up in the first half. Instead, they lost the plot.

To be fair, Fulham showed incredible willpower, especially after going 2-1 down. But Nani should have put the game to bed with that penalty. That was one of the laziest attempts at a penalty I've seen in a while.

By the way, did anyone think Davies' goal should have been ruled offside? I thought so. Dempsey was right in front of van der Sar, I thought, and that should have been called offside because he was interfering with play. I think the ref and his assistant probably thought the defender (I forget which one, but I think it was Evans) was playing Dempsey onside, but I believe the defender hadn't come back into play until after the shot was taken.

Anyway, what's done is done. Obviously, if Dempsey was indeed offside, it was an honest mistake by the ref and his assistant, but they are human. All credit to Fulham. They fought back and got their much-deserved point. I think no team in the EPL is going to have an easy time away to Fulham this season.

As for MU, they need to shore up the defence, in particular. Zamora ran Evans ragged. The boy needs to improve a whole lot. Perhaps giving Smalling a chance might be a better option for Sir Alex, especially at home to West Ham this weekend.

La Furia Roja or the Oranje?

Spain or the Netherlands? Reigning European champions or two-time World Cup finals losers? Countrymen or Oranje Men?

I am torn. I have no idea which of the two countries I should support tonight. My heart lies with Spain as I do have Spanish blood in me. But, I feel for the Dutch as they had two really good sides in 1974 and '78, but ended up losing to the host nations, Germany and Argentina, respectively. They have a good side in South Africa, too, although many will argue that Spain have the better side.

Spain's wins, especially in the knockout stages of the 2010 WC have been brilliantly executed. They have a number of good players like Villa, Iniesta, Pique, Xavi, Puyol and Alonso. You should also add Silva and Torres to that list, although the former hasn't really been given a chance to shine and the latter seems to have left his shooting boots in Liverpool!

The Dutch have also been doing a great job, causing one of the upsets of the tournament by eliminating the much-vaunted Brazil side. Sneijder, Kuyt, De Jong, van Bronkhorst, van Bommel and Robben have been great, although I still think Robben needs to be a little less selfish (the way he runs actually irritates me but that's a story for another day perhaps!). Van Persie, perhaps, also left his shooting boots in England, but he's still not doing as badly as Torres is at the moment.

So, we come back to the same question. Which team do I support? I'm going to go with neither, since I can't make up my mind. Either way, we will have a new country winning the WC, so that in itself will cheer me.

What do I think will be the outcome? On paper, it looks like Spain will come away victors by maybe a 1-0 margin, but my gut is telling me Holland will win. I'm going to go with my gut, since it is rather large!!!

The slightly clouded crystal ball says: The Netherlands 2 Spain 1