Cornered

A corner is given for the most innocent of mistakes, but the consequences for the defending team can be disastrous. At United, we have quite a few tall players and, in Vidic, one of the best headers in the game. Yet, this season we have been very poor in converting corners to goals. Out of 75 corners so far this season, we have only converted 2. One of them was an own goal! Giggs was the provider on both instances.

Nani has to take some of the blame for this situation. For all the good performances he has put in this season, Nani has been terrible with corners. His corners don't go beyond the first man defending the ball. It doesn't seem to be a tactical ploy since it is usually O'Shea who is United's first man. Hardly the player you'll want to do the intelligent flicks across the goal mouth.

This inability to put in decent corners has affected the team already this season. In the game against Bolton, we had 12 corners and didn’t manage to score one. The team sheet that day boasted Vidic, Evans, O’Shea, Fletcher, Berbatov and Rooney. Players who are more than capable of sending the ball into the back of the net provided the ball gets anywhere close to them.

Opposition	Score	# Corners	Goals	Scorer	Assist
Newcastle	3-0	3	0
Fulham	2-2	6	1	Hangeland (o)	Giggs
West Ham	3-0	9	0
Everton	3-3	5	0
Rangers	0-0	3	0
Liverpool	3-2	6	1	Berba	Giggs
Scunthorpe	2-5	5	0
Bolton	2-2	12	0
Valencia	0-1	3	0
Sunderland	0-0	4	0
West Brom	2-2	3	0
Bursaspor	1-0	6	0
Stoke	1-2	6	0
Wolves	3-2	4	0
Total		75	2

Even in past seasons, Nani’s corners were generally below par. It used to bewilder me how this could go unnoticed with Fergie. But in the Stoke game, we finally saw a change in approach. 5 out of 6 corners were taken short. And one of them led to a goal. Nani exchanged passes with Evra and his left foot cross was met by Vidic, and Chicharito knocked it in with a reverse header. The actual problem hasn’t been addressed, but at least the problem has been acknowledged.

When Valencia is back, he’ll be doing the corner duties. Gibson, in the game against Wolves, delivered a few fine crosses from the corner spot. But Nani having clearly been earmarked for taking corners in the absence of Giggs, should be working harder in the training ground. Mastering the art of corners is crucial to any attacking player and Nani will be a better winger if he can add this to his repertoire.

Do you think we should try other players or should we persist with Nani since he has a guaranteed spot in the starting 11?

The importance of corners cannot be emphasized enough. After all, the most important goal in United’s history was scored off a corner!

Player Ratings: Manchester United vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

Amos (6) – At fault for Wolves’ first goal. Looked nervous and shaky initially. Grew in confidence as the game progressed and kept shouting instructions to the defenders. Good distribution with both legs. Little too harsh to say he’ll never be No.1 for United.

Brown (6) – Put in some solid tackles throughout the game and supported Bebe well on the attack. Was troubled by the excellent Jarvis and one of his slip ups nearly cost us when Hunt’s shot clipped the crossbar.

Smalling (6) – Very comfortable on the ball; delivered a few quality long balls early in the game. OK defensively.

Evans (5) – Not a great game. Made a lot of unnecessary fouls.

Fabio (6) – Most of Wolves’ attacks came through their right flank and Fabio dealt with them pretty well. Didn’t offer much on the attack though.

Bebe (7) – A goal on your first start, not bad at all. I was so looking forward to watching him and he didn’t disappoint. Ran at the defenders and got into good positions to cross. Scuffed a few crosses and lost the ball on a few occasions while attempting to beat the defender. Used his strong physique well to win a lot of 50-50s. We can expect him to make a few Premier League appearances this season.

Carrick (7) – Huge improvement from his past games. One touch passes, through balls, shots from distance, looked very much in form!

Gibson (7) – He was responsible for both goals United conceded. He was marking Elokobi who scored Wolves’ first; lost the ball just outside the box and it led to Wolves’ second. Yet, this was probably his best game in a United shirt (No, I haven’t forgotten the Bayern game). Along with Carrick, ran the game from midfield. Unlike his previous games, dropped deep to collect the ball and controlled the tempo of the game. In spite of the crowd calling him to shoot, on many occasions, took the right option of passing it to a player in a better position.

Park (8) – Man of the Match. Deserves a start against Spurs this weekend.

Obertan (6.5) – Made a few penetrating runs, showed good dribbling skills, good bursts of pace but poor close control. Lot of rough edges to be sharpened. Had a good first half but faded away in the second. Should work on his stamina.

Macheda (6) – Was caught offside a few times, when, if he had remained onside would have had acres of space to exploit. Credit to Fergie for letting him start as lone striker; will do a world of good to his confidence.

Neville (6) – With all due respect, his appearances should be restricted to cup games.

Chicharito (9) – Ole reborn!!!

Morrison – The 17-year old is tipped for greatness. Fergie is on a mission to prove that United's future is indeed safe!

Preview: Manchester United vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

The Carling Cup is back and the youngsters would be rubbing their hands in glee knowing full well that they will get an opportunity to impress tonight. Sir Alex has put complete faith in them for the cups in the previous years and the reward has been the wins in the last couple of years. And United must be fancying their chances given that Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City are already out of it. United legend Bryan Robson thinks that we are on our way to a hat-trick of titles but Arsenal are still in with a shot with a difficult away trip to Newcastle and Wolves are no pushovers as their display against Chelsea on the weekend showed. Wolves have had a bad start to the season and are just ahead of West Ham on goal difference in the table and they have City visiting them next. So, there is a decent chance that Mick McCarthy could field a weakened starting line-up making survival in the league his priority as he did at Old Trafford last season, choosing to virtually lose the game before it started. But let us assume that he will not do the same. Stephen Hunt returned from injury to make his debut for the season against Chelsea and will start. So should Serbian midfielder Milijas who had a good game at Stamford Bridge. Kevin Doyle remains a threat to any defence with his mobility and predatory instincts and he scored twice in the previous round to put them through.

Expected Team(Wolves): Hennessey, Ward, Stearman, Foley, Edwards, Berra, Jones, Jarvis, Milijas, Hunt, Doyle

United will certainly continue with fielding youngsters in the team and Obertan, Bebe, Gibson, Amos and Macheda should start. Owen is back and could be making his first start in a while. We could also see Hargreaves in the first team for the second time in 2 years after his prolonged battle with knee problems. That would be a big boost for the team in terms of not only this competition but also the league where we need to strengthen our midfield.

Expected Team(Manchester United): Amos, Brown, Smalling, Evans, Fabio, Obertan, Anderson, Gibson, Bebe, Macheda, Owen

Wolves passed the ball pretty confidently against Chelsea and kept possession for significant amounts of time. They could do the same especially if our midfield does not hold the ball which is certainly a worry but we have pace upfront which will trouble them. The defence also is pretty strong and can hold against the Wolves attack. Overall, we have too much quality all over to see beyond a win for United.

Prediction: 2-0

Preview: Stoke City vs Manchester United

Sir Alex Ferguson would be glad that the Rooney affair has been put to rest after a harrowing week and the players can focus on the business at hand. But it won’t be easy. As it is not only Wayne who has to prove himself to the fans all over again when he returns in 3 weeks, but the squad, whose potential and capability have implicitly been questioned by Rooney, will look to show they have what it takes to win titles. Stoke City can be expected to make them work hard every inch of the way. Britannia stadium is a tough place to look for our first away win of the season though we have to go all the way back to 1993 when Stoke City took points off United so we at least have that working for us. As always, Stoke can be expected to be tough all over the park, maintain their structure and use their big strikers. Oh, and the very very long throws from Delap. Ricardo Fuller is a major doubt for the game, but otherwise, they have their whole squad at their disposal. Etherington has been a crucial player for Stoke this season providing half of the assists which is the best record in the league by proportion. Kenwyne Jones, bought from Sunderland this season, has gelled well with his new team mates and scored 4 goals already. The Potters would be hoping to route their attacks through him and his strength could be a handful for the United central defensive pairing.

Expected Stoke City Team: Sorensen, Huth, Faye, Collins, Shawcross, Delap, Etherington, Pennant, Whitehead, Walters, Jones

This is the second least productive beginning to a Premier League season for United. With Chelsea winning last evening, the gap between United and them is 8 points. Three draws in the last 3 games have dented hopes of a record 19th title and except the Sunderland match, those have been points that have been thrown away. Clinical is a word that has been conspicuous by its absence this season for United and they have to take their chances to maintain their hopes of chasing down Chelsea. Sir Alex has been giving opportunities to the hitherto overlooked pair of Anderson and Carrick in the last few games and Scholes has been rested (he did make good use of that rest, allegedly injuring Rooney in training that will keep him out for some time). Expect Scholes and Fletcher to be given preference for this game along with Nani and Park in midfield. Ferdinand has been given the nod by the manager a couple of days back ahead of Smalling who started in the Champions League. The attacking pair of Berbatov and Chicharito is likely to be retained against Stoke but Rafael could be sacrificed for the more solid right back in the form of John O’Shea. Giggs, who provided both the assists for the 2-0 win at Stoke last season, is a big miss and limits the attacking options for us, should we need a goal from the bench. Tony Pulis has said that Rooney signing a new deal is a big lift for United and would encourage them but I think that players would be a bit shaken from all that happened last week and therefore, predict a 1-1 draw.

Expected Manchester United Team: Van Der Sar, O’Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Nani, Scholes, Fletcher, Park, Hernandez, Berbatov

Player to watch (Stoke City): Kenwyne Jones – Ability in the air, strength and form make him a danger to United

Player to watch (Manchester United): Dimitar Berbatov – His creativity could be the difference between 1 and 3 points on a day when space will be at a premium

Form (Stoke City): L W D W W L

Form (Manchester United): W D W D D D

Prediction: 1-1 (the fan in me is screaming a 1-0 win)

Loyalty

When I first heard that Rooney had signed a new contract, I didn’t know how to react. It had been a bizarre four days and this news took bizarreness to a completely new level. Like every United fan, I was absolutely disgusted with Rooney’s conduct and had resigned myself to seeing him in City colours. I didn’t want Rooney to wear the United jersey ever again and wanted him to be sold off at the earliest. So, when Fergie said he was ‘delighted’ at persuading Rooney to sign a new contract, it was disappointing to say the least. Sir Alex came across as desperate and it was unbearable, especially after what had happened.

For a while, Rooney had been a source of frustration for United fans. After a disastrous World Cup, he was caught smoking on holiday. Then the scandal broke out and it was reported that Fergie was shocked and felt let down by someone who he had valued highly and had earmarked for the captaincy. Rooney then showed utter disrespect by claiming he hadn’t had an ankle injury all season, contrary to Fergie’s claims. This acted as a trigger to Fergie’s press conference and post that, Rooney cited the club’s lack of ambition as the reason to quit, which sent out a message that he didn’t believe the current squad was good enough to win titles. And to cap it all, it was reported that he had a ‘done deal’ with City. Blasphemy, by any United player, let alone by someone who enjoyed legendary status.

Could Fergie really have forgiven Rooney after all this? Surely not.

To protect his reputation as someone who wouldn’t tolerate the slightest hint of disrespect/disloyalty, Fergie could have taken the easier route of asking the player to pack his bags. But with only an year and a half left on his contract, Rooney would have gone at a bargain price. Sir Alex clearly put the best interests of the club ahead of himself. Although it risked his reputation and let adjectives like vulnerable, desperate, embarrassing, etc. be associated with him, it has now allowed the club to dictate terms in the sale of its most valuable asset. The whole exercise was to do with Rooney’s marketability rather than his talent; if there is one person who would firmly believe the squad sans Rooney can win titles, it is Sir Alex. I don’t see Rooney stay beyond next summer even if he wishes to.

Rooney might win over the fans again, but not the gaffer.

After all, Fergie’s autobiography finishes with the words “Loyalty has been the anchor of my life”.

Football, Bloody Hell!

I first saw Manchester United in the summer of 1999. Not a bad year to start following this club I guess. What started off as a pastime slowly became an obsession. And became the reason for many friendships!

This is an attempt to stay in touch with my football following friends, United following in particular. I want this blog to be a community for sharing opinions; should be more about the banter in the comments section than the article itself. To keep the blog active, I'll be posting 2-3 articles a week to set the tone of discussion. I hope this blog witnesses some great exchanges and soon becomes the place to celebrate Manchester United's greatest moments.

Moments like these.

The Champions League is the most coveted prize in club football and it is no surprise that my favourite football moment came in the finals of the 2008 edition that United won. The stakes were incredibly high for United since it was the 50th Anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster. United simply had to win it. It was 1-1 After Extra Time and 3-4 in favour of Chelsea after 4 penalties each. Ronaldo, of all people, had missed one. Up stepped John Terry. Mr. Chelsea. British Bulldog. Captain Fantastic. The most loathsome player in football history was to condemn United to misery. As he walked up to the penalty spot, he pulled the captain's armband up his sleeve. Utterly nauseating. He took a confident run up and in the split second that I saw van der sar go the other way with the ball bound for the back of the net, I realized it was going to be the most depressing moment of my life...

Well, you know what happened next!

Football, Bloody Hell!

This blog is a tribute to that night in Moscow!