NANI

So according to SAF David Gill has been in contract talks for a few weeks with Nani's agent about the signing of the new contract that Utd have offered which is believed to have been on the table for some time but as yet they have been unable to reach an agreement as Nani wants to be guaranteed a starting position. Well i would have loved to have seen SAF face when he had that put to him in fact it may well have been the moment that Sir Alex thought this boy does not want the fight,where is his desire? Where is his hunger?

Of course Sir Alex has said publicly that he wants Nani to stay and there is no doubt that the boy has an abundance of talent the only trouble is this season that talent has not been shown anywhere near enough but last Monday against Reading after coming on as a sub he put in a rare man of the match performance of which we know that he is more than capable of.

 

  

For me over the last few seasons Nani has been the most frustrating player we have ever had at times he can be quite brilliant, with his strengths being his ability to run with the ball at great speed his trickery and of course his shooting skills with either foot which even in this day and age is a rare talent. But more often that not we get the inconstant Nani who gives the ball away cheaply and too often our attacks break down because of one of his lazy passes. By far and away the most annoying part of his game though is his final ball (or lack of it) and his quite atrocious crossing which time and time again his cross fails to get past the first defender.

It really does bug me that a professional footballer who gets paid an amazing amount of money can fail to deliver a decent cross on so many occasions now this could also apply to Valencia this season so it's not just Nani that is guilty of this most simple of football tasks.

So what happens to Nani now? Well Sir Alex has said that he wants him to perform consistently so the challenge has been put to him and we shall see if he is up to that challenge. I personally don't think he is and with the imminent arrival of Zaha in the summer the fight for the wing positions will become even more fierce and i am not sure if Nani has the stomach or desire for that fight and i think Sir Alex knows it.

So over the next few games i think that Nani will play a prominent role in the team especially if his level of consistency increases in no uncertain terms Sir Alex has told him to prove himself worthy of the contract which may well have a positive affect on his level of performances but i think deep down Sir Alex knows that he has to and will sell him in the summer which if he does we will still get a good price especially if he up's his game over the next few weeks.

It's a shame as he has so many times promised so much but not delivered but like every other united fan if he plays well and scores against QPR on Saturday all the bad games will be forgotten.......Well until he miss hits another cross anyway!!        

Madrid,Rooney & De Gea

Well it was the Champions League match that the world was waiting for and the two teams didn't disappoint with a pulsating game from the Bernabeu Stadium. It finished 1-1 but in truth both teams had chances to score more. So what did we learn about Madrid? Well personally the 1st half i thought they were excellent going forward with slick quick passing and at a pace that at times was quite breathtaking. In particular Di Maria down the right was a real handful and with Evra not being the most gifted of defenders Madrid played  the ball out to Di Maria regularly who caused no end of problems as did the very impressive Mesut Ozil who really caused Utd problems all over the park appearing on the right and left flanks. We have been linked with him in the past and if we ever got the opportunity to sign him i would snap him up as in my view he is the sort of midfielder that we are in need of.

As for Ronaldo he gave Rafael a torrid time in the 1st half and was at the heart of most Madrid attacks and of course scored the magnificent equalizer, at the time i found myself moaning at Evra's lack of a challenge but as SAF said in his interview after the game what possibly could he have done to stop that? And after watching  several replays i tend to agree. In the 2nd half though Rafael played a lot better and apart from a few scares from Ronaldo including a ridiculous effort from a long range free kick we limited him to few chances mostly long range at that and a lot of that was due to the magnificent performance from Phil Jones who done an excellent job.

He was one of quite a few positives that we can take out of the game along with the shaky Madrid defense and the way at times how we got behind them with ease can only give encouragement for the 2nd leg. Danny Wellbeck had a fantastic game even though he was to many a surprise inclusion but he fully justified the faith in which SAF showed by giving him the start. Rvp will be disappointed that he didn't take one of the chances that came his way but his all round play and ability to hold the ball under pressure was immense and he showed what a top class player he really is.



On the downside was the performance of Wayne Rooney who was asked to play out of position on the right hand side of midfield to help combat the threat from Ronaldo at times he looked really out of sorts and was clearly frustrated by his own performance with his 1st touch and passing often letting him down. But you cannot question his attitude and desire and work rate and he ran himself into the ground before coming off just before the end. What we have to remember is that we can all have off days and after showing good form in recent weeks i will be very surprised if he doesn't play up front for the 2nd leg as Kagawa was very infective and i am sure that Wazza will want to prove his critics wrong particularly Steven Howard from the Sun newspaper whose article on Wazza today was nothing short of laughable i can't believe he gets paid to write that drivel. Wayne will bounce back i am sure of it.

  

Man of the match was the magnificent David de Gea who has always found himself under intense media spotlight from the moment he joined Utd. The media seem to enjoy pointing out and highlighting any sort of mistake and i was so pleased for him as he showed he has the potential to be a top class keeper. The save that he made early on in the game which he somehow managed to tip onto the post was world class,at times his saves can be unorthodox but as long as you keep the ball out of the net who cares? I think the media forget and don't take into consideration his age, being in a foreign country  it can't be easy but he seems to be really coming into form and growing in confidence and i am sure that in 3-4 years time he will be one of the top 5 keepers in the world.

In De Gea we trust!

That boy Ronaldo

In just under 24hrs time Manchester United will take on Real Madrid in the Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid for what is quite possibly the most eagerly awaited Champions League fixture in years.The build up seemed to start ever since the teams were drawn against each other back in December.

The game brings back together Manchester United and Cristiano Ronaldo but unfortunately for Utd fans he will be playing against us for the 1st time since his £80m move from Utd.So Ronaldo will be playing against the team that made him one of the best players in the world and will be up against the manager that he has so often referred to as 'like a father to me'.I am sure it will be a bit weird for him and Utd players as they take to the field as rivals.

Ronaldo has never been backward in coming forward when talking about Utd and the affection that he still has for the club,players,supporters and of course Sir Alex is still there for all to see, but as soon as that whistle goes for ko all that will go out the window as he will be aiming to take Real into 2nd leg with a lead that would be big enough to take them into the next round.

Now for Utd the problem will be how do we stop him? Can we stop him? The form he has showed in the last 3 seasons has been nothing short of phenomenal,but no other players will know him better than the Utd lads so lets hope that Cristiano has an off day.Certainly Utd's defence put in arguably their best performance of the season against Everton at the weekend and another performance of that standard will be required again.

The two sides have certainly had mixed seasons with Madrid only third in the league compared to Utd being an impressive 12 points clear in England.Both teams are excellent at going forward but both have had their defencive problems too so we could be in for a high scoring game and obviously an away goal or two would be most welcome.

So the waiting is nearly over and tomorrow evening i will probably be the most nervous i have been watching the game for a very long time but as soon as i hear that Champions League music the hairs on the back of my neck will stand up and my heart will be telling me that we can win this we have the players they are in great form and lets concentrate on our own game.

But THAT BOY RONALDO may have other ideas.



UTD V EVERTON PREVIEW

In just under 24 hours from now Manchester United will take on Everton at Old Trafford and with Sir Alex Ferguson promising to keep his team fresh before the vital Champions league tie in Madrid on Wednesday it will be very difficult to guess what the starting eleven will be for the 4pm ko tomorrow

 

 

And as i write this City are currently 2-0 down so i am now wondering if the impressive Saints manage to hold on to this will SAF be thinking of playing a stronger team than he originally planned? A 12 point gap between us and City could be to tempting for SAF to turn down.

 

 

Whatever team is picked tomorrow they will no doubt have a very tough game on their hands against one of the strongest Everton sides since the mid 80's a big tough physical team which always works hard for the excellent manager David Moyes and after last season's match i don't need to tell anyone what a bitter taste was left in the mouth of all Utd supporters in truth it was the day we lost the title.

 

 

The players most likely in my opinion to miss out tomorrow will be Rio,Vidic,Carrick,Hernandez,and Valencia but i would also not be surprised if Rvp would find a starting place on the bench.The players that i think will definitely start if fit would be Young,Jones,and Smalling.

 

 

But should we play a full strength team and rest a few players when we have a some what easier game? I would prefer the points on the board to be honest and we need to keep the pressure on City because any slip ups will just get them thinking of what happened at the end of last season.

 

 

The game itself will be a hard one but if we get off to a good start and score early i think it is a game that we can win and maybe take a few players off early ready for Wednesday night.It is also going to be a big game for DDG who is sure to come under intense pressure from an Everton side that likes to put the ball in the box if he comes through unscathed it could do wonders for his and the teams confidence.

 

 

After taking everything into consideration we would like to see a strong Utd lineup take all 3 points and go marching to Madrid in style.

 

Stretford End Views predicts a Utd 2-1 Victory!! 

 

 

 

 

RIP THE BUSBY BABES

Today is the 55th anniversary of the Munich air disaster where 23 people lost their lives including players,staff,journalists,and supporters. As a Manchester United supporter today is always a very emotional day as we remember the Busby Babes who lost their lives at a stage in their lives where their full potential as footballers were cruelly taken away from us.

Of course our thoughts go out to all the families that were affected in this tragedy and also to the survivors, for this in particular must be a very difficult day.

As a Manchester Utd fan it is heart breaking that i never got to see Duncan Edwards play and at a time when tv coverage was minimal there is nowhere near enough footage which shows Duncan's immense talent which he possessed .

I would also like to give a quick mention to the hero that is Harry Gregg although he wouldn't like me calling him that but all utd fans i hope will always see him as a true hero risking his own life in trying to save others i doubt very much that the modern day footballer would put himself in that position that the great Harry Gregg did. Harry Gregg the bravest of the brave!!

I was personally lucky enough to get tickets to the City game at Old Trafford on the 50th anniversary and i can quite honestly say that i have never experienced a game or atmosphere like it and probably never will again the emotion of that day will stay with me for the rest of my life.

And finally on a day when the FA are celebrating 150 years with a game against Brazil i wonder if they have organised something as in black arm bands or a minute silence? Now i maybe doing them an injustice here but i suspect that they are not which would be a real shame as it was a major moment in FA history as well. Also at the time the FA were very much against Utd and English clubs in general playing European ties in particular saying to Sir Matt Busby that in no way would the FA cancel or rearrange fixtures so that Utd could fulfill the European ties. 

Now of course this is now just speculation but if the FA were more accomadating and Utd would have been able to cancel the weekends fixture would that plane have even been attempting to take off on that tragic night in Munich.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to my MANCHESTER UNITED blog.

This post is my 1st ever on my new blog so please bare with me and hopefully i will soon get the hang of it and will be quickly up and running with all UTD related chat,comments and banter.

Here is a brief summary of what i intend to use this blog for.

Match reviews and analysis

Transfer gossip

My experiences of games past and present

Your match experiences

Utd memories and much more.

Over the next few days i shall be blogging about the mighty reds and i look forward to reading your comments.