Some Fergie Worship, Some Rooney Bashing and a Little Preview

Sir Alex Ferguson returns to his hometown for the Champions League encounter against Rangers, the club he grew up supporting. The turning point of Sir Alex’s playing career is said to be his hat trick against Rangers while he was a part time footballer with minnows St. Johnstone. The result came at a time when he was complaining about lack of playing time and was contemplating emigration to Canada to take up a position he had been offered in toolmaking, which was then a great trade. Had he taken up the job, no professional football à no managerial career à no Manchester United! And no That Night In Moscow. So, thank god for that hat trick! He became a professional footballer the following season and later realized his dream of playing for Rangers. In the two seasons with his boyhood club, he had an incredible return of 25 goals from 41 appearances.

Having had such strong connections with the club, one would have expected him to grab the opportunity of managing Rangers with both hands and legs. But, according to Alex McLeish,

"Alex declined the chance to manage Rangers – but that was only for one reason. Even then he had this big vision of going to England and managing Manchester United. Rangers weren't the only club he declined at that time. There was Arsenal and Tottenham too. In my opinion, the boss was waiting for one club and one club only – United. The rest is history."

If only every player valued the club as much as him.

“Sir Alex still has a soft spot for Rangers after all these years. He loves walking into Ibrox and being inside.”

So, Sir Alex still has a soft spot for the club. Maybe he will want them to win tonight? He has confirmed that Rooney will start today.

That brings us to Rooney’s farcical, clearly scripted interview with MUTV. He claims that, “I’ve always made people aware that I want to be at this club”. Does he honestly believe that we’ll still buy this shit? And he also declares that his “long-term future is at Manchester United”. It’s not in his control anymore, is it? And despite audible jeers from the crowd on his return against Wigan, he says, “Overall I thought the reception was brilliant”. Bizarre! By the way, where is the fucking apology?

Walter Smith, in his second spell now with Rangers, was assistant to Sir Alex twice; with Scotland during the 1986 World Cup and a short spell with United towards the end of the 2003-04 season. Sir Alex commented on Smith, saying, “There are few people in the game with his experience, knowledge and technical ability.” Smith will take on his former boss’s side with one eye on the Valencia-Bursaspor game. Rangers have to beat United to stay in the competition if Valencia beat Bursaspor at home. United, though, need only a point to qualify to the knock out stages. Rangers will be looking up to their star striker Kenny Miller to do the job for them. Miller is in sensational form with 18 goals from 14 games in the SPL this season. He scored his second hat trick of the season on Saturday and should be quite a handful to United’s young defenders.

United are without first team regulars Rio, Vida and Fletch. Smalling and Evans will play in the centre of defence alongside Rafael and Evra. I would have gone with a three man midfield had Fletch been in the squad. Since Gibson is unavailable and Anderson is coming back after a month, Fergie may be forced to play a 4-4-2 with Chicharito partnering Rooney up front; Giggs and Nani in the wings. But, Fergie hardly leaves Park out of European games, so it could be a 4-3-3 with Park featuring in the narrow midfield and Chicharito playing wide. I wish Fergie starts Giggsy though. Can’t wait to see him in action again!

Expected Lineups

Rangers(4-5-1): McGregor; Weir, Broadfoot, Foster, Whittaker; McCulloch, Davis, Fleck, Lafferty, Naismith; Miller

United (4-4-2): Vandy; Rafael, Smalling, Evans, Evra; Nani, Scholes, Carrick, Giggs; Chicharito, Rooney

Form

Rangers: DLWLWW

United: WWWDDW

Prediction

Rooney not to score in United’s 2-1 win

Preview: Rooney v the fans

We are unbeaten for some 20 odd games since the loss to Chelsea at Old Trafford last season. Does it really matter if you go without winning the away games and consequently, lose the title? We might set a new record but it would be the most worthless if our game play stays the same. The Villa game was a new low by any standards let alone United’s. So many of our players were so horrific that I cannot even begin to fathom how they got to where they are. Evra was the worst of the lot and did absolutely no backtracking when Albrighton managed to get past him in off-the-ball incidents. Berbatov seems to be in a place where strikers go when they are low in confidence, extremely irritable (his usual self), frustrated and frustrating in equal measure. Missed an absolute peach of a chance early in the game which he never looked like scoring. Hernandez started diving and giving away fouls when he did not get his way. I like both of them but only when they were gone did we make something of a match of it. Expect both of them to start the Wigan game but don’t be surprised if Macheda gets a chance by dropping one of them. He was the catalyst for us in the late charge at Aston Villa. Scholes should be back and partner Fletcher in the centre of midfield. Rafael is out with a dead leg (happens a lot with United players) and Brown should be on the right of defence. Rest of the back 4 should be the same as the one in Villa. Nani and Obertan could start on the wings given that Park was one of the main culprits in the last game and was barely moving.

Expected Starting line-up: Van Der Sar, Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand, Brown, Nani, Scholes, Fletcher, Obertan, Berbatov, Hernandez

Wigan are again stuck in the pack of teams fighting to stay out of relegation places. Under Martinez, they have oscillated from the sublime to comical football. On one hand, they are thrashed by 6-0, 8-0, 9-1 scorelines and on the other, they have the ability to eke to results like 1-0 at White Hart Lane. Against United, they have conceded 35 and scored just 4 and have lost each of their fixtures. Roberto Martinez believes that they can spring a surprise despite all that has previously happened. Teams that have been positive against us this season have reaped the rewards and Wigan will look to do the same. They have the pace in N’Zogbia, Rodallega and Moses upfront and the steel in Gomez, Diame and Thomas in midfield but rarely do they not concede.

Expected Starting line-up: Habsi, Alcarez, Caldwell, Stam, Gohouri, Thomas, Gomez, Diame, Moses, Rodallega, N’Zogbia

Player to watch (Manchester United): Nani in the scorching form that he has been in this season, could rip apart Wigan and moments of brilliance are expected.

Player to watch (Wigan Athletic): N’Zogbia can harass Evra big time especially when the latter seems disinterested in playing and one brilliant move could be our undoing.

Form Guide (Manchester United): DDWWWD

Form Guide (Wigan Athletic): WDLLDD

Rooney is back and his appearance as a substitute would give us an indicator if he has been forgiven by the fans (I know our blog owner will boo him in the privacy of his home forever). This is the match we know could be the return of the free scoring United and if this is not then nothing could ever be. Chelsea have luckily slipped up and we are still in the hunt for the title but Arsenal are looking ever more dangerous and are the dark horses. So, we have to up the ante now. I expect this is the game that we do and I predict a good win for us.

Prediction: 3-0

United take on a Villa Under Construction

United take on a young Villa side that was involved in a midweek game in complete contrast to the borefest that was the Manchester derby. Albrighton, Bannan and Clark, aged 20, 20 and 21 respectively, started in midfield in the 3-2 win against Blackpool. The inexperienced midfield trio is set to start against United as well; Sidwell, Petrov and Reo-Coker being still out injured. Villa have two in-form wingers in Young and Downing. The latter has scored 5 goals in 14 appearances this season and will be hoping to get the better of Evra. Agbonlahor has signed a new long term deal with Villa and will be eager to show the Villa faithful that he is worth that fat contract. (Or, will be visiting the most exotic locations in the world, if he thinks like Wayne Rooney.)

Rafael is doubtful for the game and Brown is expected to take his spot. Evra might make it into the 11 if he recovers in time from his injury, but if he doesn’t, I would like to see Fabio start instead of O’Shea (wishful thinking, I know). Carrick was outstanding against City and will partner Fletcher in central midfield. Park has played 5 games on the trot, so Obertan might start along side Nani on the wings. But, we all know Park has a dozen Duracell batteries on his back, so don’t be surprised if he plays another 90 minutes today. I would like to see Fergie go with both Berba and Chicho; fielding 5 in midfield will be showing way too much respect for Villa.

Expected Line-Ups

Villa (4-3-3): Friedel, L.Young, Dunne, Collins, Warnock, Albrighton, Clark, Bannan, Downing, Agbonlahor, A.Young

United (4-4-2): Vandy, Brown, Rio, Vida, O’Shea, Nani, Fletcher, Carrick, Obertan, Berba, Chicho

Form Guide

Villa: LDLDDW

United: DDWWWD

Players to Watch

Villa: A.Young

United: Nani

Prediction: United to boss the midfield and win 2 nil

WHEN DID THE BIGGEST DERBY™ IN ENGLAND HAPPEN? WAS I ASLEEP?

I have only once been bored to sleep during a match. I have slept through some other matches too, but it happens when one team makes the game insignificant very early and apparently loses interest after that, e.g. Barcelona FC, or when you try to watch a match that has absolutely no bearing on the team(s) you support. Now, I do not need to be told, especially in the comments section (you can call, it’ll be less embarrassing that way), that “you have a sad life”. That is assumed. Anyway, to the one and only match that did not fall under either of the categories. It was the 2006 world cup first knockout round. Ukraine v Switzerland. That should have set the alarm bells ringing. Ukraine played a “3-5-2”, which almost certainly means that at any point of time there’ll be at least 4 defenders in the last line even if one has had the audacity to venture beyond the half way line. Four in the midfield, because one of the 2 strikers will be a “second striker”. This fantastic attack minded team up against the miserly Swiss, who had not conceded till then, was going to be a feast for the neutrals. Shevchenko was the only guy on the field who could conjure up something. So, 2 teams dead scared of losing played a game bereft of any clear-cut chances and God knows I tried to watch but made it only to the half-time whistle. Sleeping through the match, I woke up with 10 minutes left in ET to realise that it was still 0-0 and heading to penalties where the Swiss proceeded to miss all of their spot kicks to become the first and only team ever to be knocked out of the WC without conceding a single goal.

I have to accept, Wednesday’s match was arguably the worst match I have ever seen including the above mentioned game (whatever I saw of it). UK tabloids had gone gaga over City having a great squad and tipping them for the title at the beginning of the season. Never in the history of the game would the title contenders have played a game as this. It made City out to be more respectful and fearful of United rather than the other way around which the football pundits predicted. “We were fatigued”, said Mancini(0), sincerely wishing that the Sheikh in Abu Dhabi would find it in his heart not to fire him after an adventurous outing, when asked the reason for the City setup in the game. Betraying his lofty ambitions, he added, “I would be very happy if the season ended tomorrow”, talking like his captain has been for what seems like eternity. They are apparently very tired of football ten games into the season. Ending fourth is obviously great after spending a zillion petro-dollars (there is plenty more from where that came from) and building a squad that should be able to challenge on all fronts. City started with Zabaleta(7) at left back who was without a license to bomb forward and in a similar situation was Boateng(6) at right back. Zabaleta, after he switched to right back late in the game, even managed a shot at goal when the ball fell fortuitously after hitting O'Shea to him when he had given up already. The defense was competent when supplemented by the only black belt(7) in the team alongside the player Benitez wanted to replace Alonso with(6) in Liverpool (haha). Yaya Toure(5) yet again had the responsibility to link midfield with the attack in a chasm larger than all of Sheikh Mansour's oil wells combined. But that attack had only Tevez(6) and try as they might, they were crowded out when foraying in United's half with even the wingers going AWOL. Toure made runs after beating a couple of players but Milner(7) and Silva(5) were largely instructed to assist the full backs than be in the opposition half. Johnson was more forthright when he came on, Adebayor might have had one touch of the ball and Joe Hart(6) had one shot by Berbatov on target to deal with. That was all City did.

Surprisingly, United began with Rafael(6), Evra(7) and Nani. I had not expected Nani(to recover from his injury (as I am privy to the internal goings on at Old Trafford) and the two full backs rarely start away games together. Sir Alex (6) did not risk Hernandez playing the full game and compensated for the single striker by having 2 attacking defenders. The centre of the field was packed by City and another striker would have added more than Fletcher(7), who tried to make forward moves but was largely ineffective and failed to occupy De Jong so that space in the centre could be freed up for others. The full backs could have put in more crosses to pressurise the home team and Hernandez(5) would have been in the box to try to get to the end of those as Berbatov (4) tended to fall back much more than was good for the team. The 2 strikers would have made it a lot more balanced and attacks could possibly have been routed through the centre of the field. As it was, Nani seemed to be the only threat coming in to the centre to take shots which he curiously avoided at some instances. Park(6) was all over the field passing well without any penetration. Carrick(7) is well and truly back and I back him to do very well over the coming weeks. Scholes(6) was pressed by Toure who gave him little space to work in and the diminutive wizard was average. Vidic(8) is looking at the top of his game snuffing out runs made by Toure and generally not losing any City player and he was ably supported by Ferdinand(7) who is perhaps entering the dusk of his top flight career. Van Der Sar(7) was forced into one good save from a free kick by Tevez and that was his contribution to the game. Wes Brown (7) and O’Shea (5) had enough time on the pitch to make their mark but it was a tough night.

When a derby has just one feisty moment like a face-off between Rafael and Tevez, you know it was dull (Rafael can do better than to look in the shadows on Manchester's streets for the rest of his life for a short, stocky man: I would not back him to win a fist fight against Carlos). These games need early goals for them to liven them up and the longer they go goal less, the more likely it is that the teams involved want to tighten their defences. City never intended to get more than a single point and kept their fingers crossed for the recovering Tevez to magically get 3. I thought United started with a similar mindset but realised later that they could nick it, resulting in a positive second half. Berba form has fizzled out now and Rooney would make us a potent force when he returns, goals or not. The Bulgarian was not expected to sustain his amazing initial form throughout the season and these games need a spark which a Rooney can provide. We are 4 points behind the leaders and Arsenal are again in the mix. We have a tough away fixture against Villa and thanks to our performances, every game is looking like a must win with Chelsea returning to winning ways. Hope we have a better outing this weekend.

P.S.: The numbers in parentheses are the ratings for those involved.

Preview:Manchester City v Manchester United

My TV’s not working..yet. Incessant FIFA 11 game playing had to sting somewhere. There is a slim chance that I will have to try to stream the match through my feeble data card which will be an exercise in futility and equally futile would be to guess the United team for tonight that has been hit by a mysterious virus leaving Evra, Vidic, Berbatov and Scholes struggling to make it. Or, they might all be starting tonight depending on which version of SAF you have faith in, the clever one or the foxy one. Apart from that, the injuries have done their part to ravage the squad and we could potentially be looking at a virtual reserves team playing in the first part of the Manchester derby.

Admit it. A defeat in this match would probably hurt more than any other during the course of the season. Not because it is a big match but it could spell the symbolic beginning of the an era for the blue half of Manchester. Frankly, I did not think we would have the kind of results against City that we achieved last year. The blame for those results was laid at the door of a phenomena called City-itis, proponents of which fear the onset of this disease whenever City are cruising along. “They will mess it up” is the usual retort when the fans start feeling good about the team. City have always been the underperforming club even when they won titles. For example, when City last won the league title in 1968, guess what United did?? Sheikh Mansour would probably be ignorant of City-itis and is looking to win everything no matter what. Money being no object, obviously. After decades of one-sided affairs, the Manchester derby has become the biggest derby in the Premier League; the London, Merseyside or Northern derbies notwithstanding. Simply because both the clubs involved are huge these days and United see City as a direct threat now.

Super Mario is missing after a typical rush of blood and has shown that he can be wound up by teams who look to do that. Vincent Kompany played as a defensive midfielder in Europa League last week and will return to his favoured centre back position with Toure with Micah Richards and Kolarov partnering them. Carlos Tevez is certain to start and could be joined by two out of: Johnson, Milner, Silva and Adebayor. Johnson has, in recent games, been preferred and could be the more likely choice alongwith Milner. The 3 man defensive midfield has been a hallmark during Mancini’s reign and Toure will play in a more advanced to counter Scholes or Carrick, whoever starts. Martial arts guru Nigel De Jong has been commenting on Balotelli’s behaviour on the pitch and he certainly can, given that he has not been sent off even once during his stay in England.

Expected Starting XI: Hart, Kolarov, Kompany, Toure, Richards, De Jong, Barry, Toure, Johnson, Milner, Tevez

United have a point to prove with them being written and stated to be in decline and not capable of mounting a serious title challenge. They are within 2 points of Chelsea and a win at Eastlands could make it a 2 horse race while a loss would throw another contender into the mix. The ‘virus’ has given City an advantage and while they were in crisis mode after 3 straight losses, they have a right to feel confident about this match. Van Der Sar will start in goal and in front of him(the virus being ignored) should be Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic and Evra. The United defence has settled down after shipping goals at the start of the season and would require to be at their very best to stop Tevez and company. Scholes will be required to run the game for United and he showed his worth at the weekend. There was an element of composure and control to the Wolves game after he came on and he could largely be credited for the win even though Park scored both the goals. Carrick and Fletcher could both start in opposition to the packed City midfield and would be important for keeping the ball in the face of unrelenting pressure from De Jong and Barry . Obertan, Park and Hernandez could be the front three for United. Fletcher would be hugely instrumental while making his forward runs and required to support Chicharito.

Expected Starting XI: Van Der Sar, Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand, Brown, Park, Fletcher, Scholes, Carrick, Obertan, Chicharito

Man to watch (Manchester United): Scholes would need to run the game alongwith Carrick and would be faced by Yaya Toure when doing so

Man to watch(Manchester City): Tevez, who has been in hot form, is the player United need to pay most attention and a goal from him would hurt a lot

Prediction: 1-1(and I hope we do not lose)

Player ratings: Bursaspor 0 Manchester United 3

Ikam had written about energy levels in the preview. United showed amazing energy levels in this game, especially the two fullbacks and the midfielders. Fergie employed a 4-2-3-1 making only 3 changes from the team that started against Spurs; Carrick and Scholes doing the holding role, Fletcher in a more advanced role beside Nani and Obertan forming a narrow 3 behind Berba. Nani and Obertan were cutting in to allow Rafael and Evra to overlap. Fletcher and later Park were given license to roam and they often found themselves in acres of space. Bursaspor, despite playing a high-pressure game, couldn’t dispossess or force the United central midfield duo into making mistakes which was were the game was won.

Vandy (7) – Perfect game but for one poor clearance which landed on the foot of a Bursaspor player just outside the box. Made a good stop on a one-on-one. The great man has no ego whatsoever; ran till the left end of the box to run the ball out of play rather than letting Fabio handle it.

Rafael (9) – Great performance. Wonderful positioning and tackling. We already know what he can do on the attack; pleased to see him do well at the back too, which is more important. Has put in two good performances on the trot. Would have picked him as the Man of the Match had Scholes not been at his imperious best.

Smalling (7) – Calm while defending, confident on the ball, he is of the Ferdinand mould. Might be preferred over Evans when Rio/Vida gets injured/rested.

Vida (8) – Dealt with ease everything that came his way.

Evra (7) – Played a sloppy pass which led to a one-on-one which Vandy saved. Made numerous overlapping runs and put in quality crosses. He was more excited than his compatriot Obertan when the latter scored.

Carrick (8) – Classy. Was happy to play second fiddle to the majestic Scholes. Played a lovely ball to Fletch who broke the deadlock early in the second half.

Scholes (9) – If we can keep this man fit, we can go all the way in the competition. None better when he is on song, like he was last night. Man of the Match.

Nani (7) – Hope his injury does not keep him out of the team and break his momentum. He displayed maturity by coming off early in the game. He could have overdone his injury if he had not curbed his enthusiasm, and United, at this stage, cannot afford an injury to Nani.

Fletch (7) – Good finish from a difficult angle to put United 1 nil up.

Obertan (7) – Good pace and aerial ability. Touches are a little too heavy. Stunning shot from outside the box to cap a good game. And, delivered a couple of good corners!

Berba (6) – Inconsistent performance. There were some moments of Berba magic midway through the first half, but, overall a disappointing performance.

Park (7) – 3 good performances in 7 days. Three-Lung Park is back!

Bebe (7) – A goal on his first Champions League appearance and his second in the space of 1 week. The whole squad looked happy for him when he scored. Ran all the way to the bench to hug Chicho. Glad that the two have gelled well so soon. Hope they do that on the pitch as well.

Fabio (6) – Fergie should give him more time on the field. Rafael and Fabio bombing forward on both wings gives me wet dreams.

Preview: Bursaspor vs Manchester United

Anderson, Darren Gibson, Johnny Evans, Rio Ferdinand, Federico Macheda, Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Antonio Valencia, Michael Owen and Owen Hargreaves are not in Turkey at the moment. The first two starting in a 2 man central midfield would be, for me, a sign from the Gods to switch off my TV. Let’s leave them be, I will probably write some choice words about them another day. So, we are carrying a very limited squad to an away game which we do not need to win but would virtually guarantee us qualification if we do and enable us to concentrate on the league for the next 3 months. We only have 2 strikers, Berba and Hernandez, and 2 central defenders, Vidic and Smalling,available and by my reckoning, only 1 in the former and both in the latter category will play. The Bulgarian could be the one given that he was subbed in the Tottenham game relatively early and Chicharito put on the bench to give playing time to Obertan or Bebe. Carrick is slowly finding his feet again and should join Scholes and Fletcher to form a trio in the centre of midfield. After a fabulous game at the weekend, our player of the season so far is expected to start on the right and we can look forward to some more sparks of brilliance from Nani to put us in the knock out rounds. John O’Shea, unfortunately, may be seen on the right side of defence owing to Sir Alex’s tendency to give everyone a chance and Evra on the left. Kusczak will be hoping he gets a run out in this game though he knows his days are numbered at Old Trafford especially when Amos gets a game and he does not.

I have nothing to say about Bursaspor. Erm, I have something to say about Bursaspor after reading what Sir Alex had to say to the press. He is still going on with comments about Rooney when he usually shuts the door to the journalists in similar cases and I do not remember him being so open about any affair related to the club. I forgot, Bursaspor then. Their stadium is located somewhere in the mountainous areas in north-west Turkey. The visiting fans at OT would have been seriously pissed off by their team’s insipid performance and aversion to giving any trouble to the home defence on match day 3. They only hope that it is better tonight. That’s it about Bursaspor. Sorry.

The previous game between these 2 teams was played in the shadow of one Wayne Rooney and lacked any sort of momentum after the early goal was taken beautifully by Nani. United, in previous years, in these sort of away games with a depleted set of players has lacked the energy levels we are used to seeing, and usually huffed and puffed their way to one goal margin victories which is great from the point of this tournament. And that is what I expect will happen tonight in a 1-0 victory for us.

Probable Team(Manchester United): Kusczak, O’Shea, Smalling, Vidic, Evra, Obertan, Carrick, Fletcher, Scholes, Nani, Berbatov

Probable Team(Bursaspor): 11 people, I know none of their names

Man to watch(Manchester United): Brilliant goal scoring and assists run should continue for Nani

Man to watch(Bursaspor): The keeper, who hopefully should be kept busy

Prediction: 0-1

Interesting Manchester United connection to Turkey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=aqTcL1A3fNM

Player Ratings: Manchester United 2 Tottenham 0

Vandy (7) – Dived full stretch to stop Modric (should sign him). 40 years old!

Rafael (7) – Did very well against the in form Bale (should have signed him). Made a Messi-like run past 4 defenders before shooting wide. I thought he should have played the full 90 minutes.

Rio (7) – Didn’t sort out the problem of players dropping into the ‘hole’. Or is it Fergie’s duty to help the players sort it out? Van der Vaart (should have signed him; should sign him) and later Pavlyuchenko both dropped in between Carrick-Fletcher & Rio-Vidic to take shots at goal. Good game otherwise.

Vidic (7) – A couple of major errors that could have cost us the game. Compromised with that thunderous header.

Evra (6) – Wasn’t comfortable against Lennon; was beaten a few times by the pacy winger.

Nani (8) – He should have grabbed the headlines for the right reasons. But that incident ruined it. You can’t fault Nani though. He tapped it in only after confirming with the ref if he can play on. It took the sheen out of his Man of the Match performance.

Carrick (6) – Was marking Van der Vaart (not 100% sure) and didn’t do a good job of it. Passing was good. Will soon start fighting with Fletch for a spot in the first 11 alongside Scholes.

Fletch (6) – Was frustrating with his misplaced passes early in the game. Made amends and played some fine passes later.

Park (7) – Great movement. Unlucky not to get his name on the score sheet.

Berba (6) – Not really in the game. The Berb maybe didn’t want to hurt his former club.

Chicho (7) – Good game. Fergie opting to play him lone striker for about half an hour should have boosted his confidence, not that he is in need of any at the moment.

Obertan (6) – Didn’t do much. Good to see him get some minutes in League games anyway.

Brown (7) – Solid at the back. Supported Nani well on the attack. Played a fine chip that led to the Nani incident.

Scholes (8) – Magnificent cameo. United had complete control of the game once he came on.

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)