It is not Fergie time anymore, Moyes' then?

It has been 7 games now since the season kick started and though it is still at infancy, I don’t recollect a season when you could not incline to bet on one of United/Chelsea/City topping the table. Instead we have Arsenal, Liverpool hogging the limelight. As said earlier, it is still premature to declare anybody a favourite but something tells me this season is going to a firecracker unlike the previous one where United romped home in April. Personally I am not happy with the situation as we are mopping up the last positions at the top half of the table. You will have to go all the way back to Fergie’s initial years to find United struggling like this in the early stages. However, I am not going to lose sleep on this as we in for a long season.

I could come up with a list of reasons as to why United have not started well this season but foremost is the retirement of the LEGEND. There are many who have not known United without SAF being on the bench and it is a bitter truth we need to grasp. You could actually see a SAF figure sized hole if you made it to the dressing room, so enormous was his presence that it instilled fear in opposition players and referees. Moyes, his successor, though has not won anything in his career seems to be a sane choice, least him being British. And it takes some time for him to acclimatize to the new job, probably the toughest if you ask me, which is not going to be Everton’ish in scale (no disrespect to the toffees).  He is coming to grips with managing the champions and making them play like one. Then, we had one of the worst transfer window anybody could imagine. The management failed to walk the talk about supporting the manager with a huge kitty and the gaffer was left high and dry. Ed, only if that t**t was to sighted someplace. Add to this a minor hiccup in the form of Wayne Rooney’s future with the club. It is hence not a surprise that United are limping after all these hurdles. Still, the team needs to pull its weight just because we are UNITED and the bar is high.

Looking back at the transfer window, our hopes were raised sky high about snaring the who’s who of the midfield stars from the Iberian nations to ze germans. Thiago was so close to joining us before moving to Bayern, Ronaldo flirted with us before committing his future to Madrid, Fabregas was openly wooed. When the window closed, we bought only one – the Belgian with an afro, funnily paying 4 mil more than his price if bought before August, and barely before the deadline at that. How sorely David Gill and his business acumen was missed. Till then it was only SAF being missed but the terrible business concluded in the summer just highlighted Gill’s worth to the club, an able ally to the manager lost (resigned to take over the chair in UEFA). When Ed returned from down under even before the game against the all stars, I was more or less convinced that one of the above mentioned scheming midfielders would be moving to Salford. Little did I realize how pathetic he was at his new role, signing one deal after the other in generating revenues but penny pinching when it came to invest it back on the players. Well it has to be lessons learnt and perform better in the subsequent transfer windows but I am still skeptical about Ed doing justice in adding strength to the team. When the deadline crossed, the major coup for us was retaining the services of Rooney which I was not keen though during early summer.

The season’s fixture list when rolled out had me thinking if it was designed specifically for United to compensate for the way we finished the last season, playing Liverpool, Chelsea and City in the first 5 games. We lost 2 games and drew one, thanks to cautious approach by Mourinho back in charge for the blues and derby was particularly humiliating. But, now that we have seen the back of these games, the players should take initiative to relieve some pressure from Moyes and deliver results. By Christmas, if we are in the top 4 then we can be confident of making the cut when the season ends. I have no hopes of winning the league or any cup this season as the new manager needs time to get his ideas across and have everybody on the same page. For the neutrals, the season could not have started in a better way as the London clubs are hugging the top table with Liverpool being in the mix. It is now 6 teams vying for 4 CL spots, a mouth watering prospect when we near the ‘sqeaky bum time’ with no clear favourites.

The Chosen One

Fergie asked the fans to get behind the new manager during his farewell at Old Trafford and that is enough for me not to gun for Moyes’ head even if we perform poorly now. I have convinced myself to be patient for at least 2 years and not doubt the new manager’s ability hoping the wise elder’s words come true. Manchester United inherited by Fergie is not the same as one now with Moyes. The great scot has seen to that the mechanizations are in place and all that is expected from the successor is to play the brand of football epitomized by Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson. History will be made.

“So come on David Moyes!

Play like Fergie’s boys!

We’ll go wild, wild, wild!”

Victory parade; POTY; The final bow from Fergie and Scholes

Alright, with the trophy presentation done and dusted and covered in our last post, we had an eventful week culminating in the end of season with a 10 goal thriller at Hawthorns and the MANAGER bidding adieu to the game he so dominated. Before we go in to the game, let us look at the highlights of the week and rightfully to start from the open top bus parade for the champions. As I mentioned in the last post, I was so eager to catch the action Live and to be frank, it was a nice experience too and enjoyed the celebration. This being the last season for Sir Alex, no doubt the city of Manchester was in full attendance to say goodbye. The streets looked like they were given a fresh paint in red.

Manchester is RED

MUTV were covering the event Live and they were pulling aside the players for their comments on the season, triumph and of course on their thoughts on Sir Alex’s retirement. The younger players were overwhelmed with the occasion and why not, having tasted the league triumph for the first time after agonisingly losing to Man City in 2012. Rio and Ashley were the leaders in the pack belting out one song after the other for the fans to pitch in and sing along. It wasn’t surprising to hear a lot of “oh Robin van Persie..” or “He scores goals galore”. At the end of the parade, Fergie addressed the gathering and pretty much covered the same points that he gave out at the last home game. There was one point however that Scholesy and Fergie kept repeating – “I thought that ’99 could not be beaten, but I think this was better than that”. We know the reason behind an unprecedented crowd swelling up the streets of Manchester largely due to the manager’s decision to retire from the game.

                Couple of days later, it was the team’s end of the year party where the POTY and other awards are dished out to the deserving. When it was time to announce the awardees, I was right on 4 of the major awards. Adnan Januzaj was announced as the winner of the “Reserves player of the year” and this was hardly a surprise if one was following the reserve team in action for the last few months. Goal of the season – who else could it be if not for RVP having fired 25+ goals. He bagged the award for scoring a peach of a goal against Aston Villa, yes the game that mathematically confirmed us to be the winners of the league. “Sir Matt Busby Player of the year” is given to the player chosen through fans’ voting. Since it was RVP who grabbed the headlines for all the right reasons and completed the United puzzle, also becoming a crowd favourite instantly, garnered most number of votes to pocket this trophy as well.  I was a little bit disappointed as I had voted for Michael Carrick. L The last but the most important of the personal awards is the “Player’s player of the year” and I don’t recollect if there had been a unanimous choice for this in the last 10-15 years. Sitting deep and dictating the game for the whole season and being the heartbeat of the team, Carrick was more than deserved in receiving the award from Sir Alex. It has taken quite a few seasons for many people to acknowledge the talent that he is, rightfully the successor for Scholes.

MU awards

                On Sunday, the season came to an end with United travelling to West Brom, an occasion that would also mark an end to the careers of Paul Scholes and Sir Alex Ferguson. Giggs and Scholes started from the bench while Rooney was given a leave of absence to be with his wife at her bedside as she went into labour. It was a young and untested eleven that was fielded to mark 1500^th game of Sir Alex as a manager for Manchester United. To mark the occasion, both the set of players gave a guard of honour for Sir Alex. It was also unheard off that a club dedicates 40 pages in the match day programme to the visiting club or its manager which underlines the respect and adoration that Fergie commands across the whole of Britain. Thanks to the West Brom club, its manager and especially their fans who were equally applauding and saluting Fergie when he walked into the pitch, they made it special.

When the teams headed into the tunnel at half time and the score reading 1-3, it was like the players had planned for a great send off to the gaffer. I was imagining us winning by a goal difference of 5 or more. This being the last game for the gaffer, I knew there would be room for some sentiment. Giggs and Scholes (his last game as well) made entry into the game in the second half as substitutes. I was delighted to see Adnan in the bench and was expecting him to make an appearance as well. However, things took a turn at Hawthorns as home team took the game to the United players and they in turn were least bothered about their defensive duties. Anders was not afforded any protection by United’s defenders and I felt bad for him. With United leading 5-2 when Scholes came in, were trying to save some grace in the last moments of the match after Lukaku scored a second half hat trick to bring the score line to 5-5. I guess this was the reason, Adnan was not sent in and Rio was pushed instead to shore up the defence.

Bowing out

When the final whistle was blown, the away fans let out a collective sigh of relief for not losing game and embarrassing the outgoing manager. This was a game that we should have put to bed very early but the players slackened a bit and never looked to play like the champions that they are. End of the day, Fergie was not left embarrassing, but still it was a good send off with a 10 goal thriller. A thriller it was, that had come to define the manager’s reign at Manchester United. A goal in the “Fergie time” so fervently hoped by many fans including yours faithfully never came but it was still a wonderful game that I enjoyed (only because we had won the league already). Fergie took to the field and applauded the visiting fans for their support over the last 27 years. It was again a teary eyed moment for me reminding me that this giant will not be in the bench next year plotting for more glory.

We will look at the U21 action that happened this week and a review of how the season was in our next post. Until then....

Swansong for Scholes and Fergie; The trophy heads back home

An emotional day it was yesterday and Sir Alex who has been dominating the headlines from Tokyo to New York the whole week received a fitting reception and result for what was his last appearance at the theatre of dreams as a manager. Ever since he announced his decision to abdicate his throne, the highly anticipated weekend when the champions were to lift the trophy went up a notch in frenzy. I was all positioned before my television a good 10 minutes before the pre-game show and fidgeting around. Though it was all about Sir Alex, I didn't forget this was the last time our ginger prince would also weave his magic at Old Trafford. Now why would this not be emotional?

When the teams were announced, I was surprised to not find Rooney in the bench let alone the starting eleven. This confirmed the rumour that was also doing the rounds last week on his alleged request for transfer. However it was the neither the time nor the day to spare a thought for that cunning ba****d as it was all about the God of Manchester, God of Football. Given the occasion, Fergie fielded the best eleven with Scholes starting beside Carrick. Further, the gaffer was given a guard of honour by both the set of players, a deserving one or should I say it was the duty carried out. The crowd was in ebullient mood having secured the 20^th title and the fans created a mosaic featuring “20 CHAMPIONS 13”. All the fans were given a red flag to wave and the entire stadium was covered in red specks. MUFC were however thoughtful to provide the away supporters with white flags to celebrate their League cup win.

Guard of Honour

Once the game started, it was back to business for the Manager chewing gum and chatting with the assistant coach. Players in the field were all pumped up for the occasion and United were harassing the away team with continuous bombardment from all directions. If there was any occasional counter attack launched, they were swiftly hacked down. The reds were putting on a classy display to send off their manager on a high. And the home team was rewarded for their efforts with Chicarito doing what he does best – poaching a deflected ball from a free kick and slotting home a goal. It sent the rapturous crowd to their feet and Sir Alex was all gleeful. When the teams went in at half time, the tone was set for the game. Paul Scholes was the man pulling the strings in the middle of the park creating chance after chance and even came close to scoring one last time. Carrick was playing a second fiddle to the midfield magician who was constantly reminding us what we would be missing from the next season.

Rio Screamer

After the last half time talk by Fergie in OT, I was expecting United to pile on misery and carve Swansea out and scoring more goals. Unfortunately, it was the away team who started the half with intent to crash Fergie’s party and soon they were rewarded with an equalizer from none other than Michu. Was it complacency or being overwhelmed by the occasion, United started to lose the plot and were chasing the game in the second half. After an hour mark, as I expected, Sir Alex substituted Scholesy with Ando and the ovation given by the OT faithful was hair-raising. It was the gaffer’s way of thanking the genius for his contribution for the last 2 decades. It was also when Giggs was brought in to replace Welbeck – to soothe the nerves and create chances for United to win the game. It was not until 3 minutes from stoppage time that the matters were put to rest. Fergie found a saviour for his party in an unlikely source – Rio Ferdinand who latched to a poor clearance from a corner and thundered a volley in to the net. Yet another late goal from United that had come to define Fergie’s reign and the goal sent the OT crowd to delirium. We could also see Fergie doing his daddy dance, clearly delighted with the outcome after some nervy moments. On the whole, even if United slackened a bit in the second half, I could count everybody chipping in with their effort yesterday. There was a marvellous tackle from Scholesy without conceding a foul and winning the possession back. Kagawa was making some intelligent runs and showed glimpse of what he could offer the next season, RVP was determined to star in a play maker role, Jones deputizing for Rafael in RB hacking down any counter attack and Vidic and Ferdinand offering a composed back line. This was Fergie’s 1499^th game as a United manager!

Thanks to Star Sports for not thrusting any commercial breaks after the game as I was eager to follow the happenings in the pitch. But I guess that was because the manager was about to make a speech. Though he said he might ramble on without any prepared script, his oratorical side was at exhibition again as he made a heartfelt speech and requested everybody to support our new manager without naming him J. Of course we will be behind him the next season but today is about you. When it was time for the trophy presentation, it was Steve Bruce and Bryan Robson, ex captains of the United team who carried the trophy to the podium. Soon the gaffer and the team followed to collect their winner’s medals. As the trophy was presented to Vidic and Evra, captains of the season they chose to hand it over to the Manager who lifted it for the 13^th time in his career.

Not 20 forever?

As luck would have it, MUTV were providing a free link to follow further celebrations in the pitch and a lap of honour. The gaffer was accompanied by his eleven grandchildren, so cute, wearing a jersey that said “Granddad 20”. Awesome. It was another 30 minutes of celebration in the pitch which I did enjoy and that is when the gaffer opened up on when he decided to retire and on Rooney. He proved a point even at the end of his career by dropping the fat man and showing nobody is bigger than the club. I should however say, I didn't enjoy the studio setup of MUTV with Lou Macari and Ron Atkinson sharing their pearls of wisdom. Thank god, I was saved with some coverage of the dressing room where the players were enjoying posing with trophy and pulling other’s legs. David Gill and Malcolm Glazer were blindsided when the young kids opened the champagne on them who had joined the staff and the players in the title celebration. You could also spot Giggs and Scholes in the corner soaking in the mood in the room and happy for the ones winning their first medal. I guess that is what you expect when somebody wins for 13^th and 11^th time respectively. I could not write this up yesterday as it was well past midnight when MUTV stopped the telecast (well at least for free users LOL). I have whipped up this post now as quickly as possible to make it in time to catch the parade, again MUTV bringing it to us... J.

He scores goals galore; He scores goals.

Like how all good things have to come to an end, yesterday was perhaps an end of 2 glorious chapters in the history of Manchester United. You are never going to find another Paul Scholes. It was a shame he retired early from his international career – courtesy Erikson. The national team’s loss was the club’s gain I believe. Likewise, repeating a Ferguson is an impossible task and going by the present trend, if a manager could stay with the same club for more than few years the same will be celebrated – funny but possible.

           Let me sign off for the week with some piece of my mind.

• Thanks to Sir Alex Ferguson again for making an impossible dream made possible.
• Thanks to Paul Scholes for pure, unadulterated entertainment all these years.
• The little boy after all gets his flavour of ice cream, the one he wanted at the end of last season.
• For what it is worth, let us dump that twat to PSG or any oil sheikh bankrolled club outside PL. He is a piece of work, but if his heart is set elsewhere, why hold on to him and allow him to keep insulting us. What if Sir Alex will not be around, he deems Moyes fit to carry on with the work. So let us trust him to carry us for further seasons drenched with more glory.

          Another emotional weekend awaits, until then.