United were better than Chelsea

United were the better team in the goalless draw against Chelsea on 26 August 2013. I thought United dominated most of the time, albeit without creating many chances. Chelsea had a rather defensive strategy, which made things difficult. Rooney's strong performance was the most positive surprise.

It seems like a tradition that referee decisions - more than anything else - decide the outcome of the matches between United and Chelsea, and this match was no different. To me, to looked like a clear penalty when Lampard handled the ball. That said, I admit that if Carrick had done the same  on the opposite end of the pitch, I would probably have felt that t was no penalty. Such is the twisted reality of football fans...

I was happy to see the United line-up, and I believe Moyes made the right picks. However, his decision to bring on Giggs as a substitute when United were chasing the winner, was odd. Why not Kagawa, who is much more creative than Giggs? Perhaps Kagawa was not yet fit, as he has lost most of the pre-season. But then, if Kagawa was not fit, what was he doing on the bench?

I hope United will start with the same 11 players against Liverpool. I know that Sir Alex used to always change the team from one match to the next, but believe that United at teh moment would benefit from some stability, in this regard. The performances of players like Cleverley and Valencia against Chelsea suggest that these players perform better now that they have been allowed to start a few games in a row. Either way: against Liverpool, we will go for the 3 points!

And the Red Go Marching On

What a satisfying result! A 4-1 win away against Swansea was a better than most United fans dared hope for. Robin van Persie once more showed that he is a world-class striker. And Welbeck joined in, with two goals as well. If Welbeck continues scoring, there is no way Moyes can leave him out of the team, no matter how much negativity any benched player may create. Did you hear that Wayne Rooney? 

United were solid in defense, and clinical in attack. They played well enough, but were rarely brilliant. In other words, they performed in the way most champions do. Suddenly, the match against Chelsea can't come soon enough for United fans. Bring it on!

Good start against Wigan

United beat Wigan 2-0 in a sold performance at Wembley today. United were not always brilliant, but played well enough, and showed signs of even better things to come. They dominated the match, without creating very many chances. Wigan played "knuckle football", and the referee let a number of late, ugly tackles pass without blowing his whistle. This made things more difficult for United, who were loth to pick up more injuries at this stage of the season. For United fans, it was great to see Van Persie find the back of the net right from the outset. In my view, Jones, Cleverley, Zaha and Welbeck also stood out for United, in addition to Van Persie, in what was a good team performance. Swansea, you're next!

Finally, the season starts!

The Charity Shield game against Wigan marks the beginning of Man United's 2013-14 season. I do nt know about you, but I am completely fed up with meaningless exhibition games in faraway places and endless media speculation about transfers. Finally, everbody will have real games to focus on.

Before the season gets underway, a final word on the Suarez saga, which gets more and more bizarre by the day:
As I have written before in this blog, even though I am a United fan, I can admit that Liverpool is a big club with proud traditions. For this reason, I have argued that Liverpool should have parted with Suarez a long time ago, given his poor behavior on and off the pitch. Somehow, Liverpool managers and fans seem to have only recently discovered what a selfish shitbag Suarez really is. And they may still forgive him, it seems, if he pledges to stay at the club. Given the history of this player, I think I speak for many fans of English football when I say: the further away from England Suarez goes, the better.

Transfer madness

The 3-month period between the end of one season and the start of the next is always hard for many fans of English football. But what makes this period extra hard to endure, is the absolute rubbish being published on a daily basis in the news media, particularly regarding possible transfers.

United fans have suffered through many long 'transfer sagas' over the years. Remember Wesley Sneijder? Say no more.

This summer, the media have fed us daily updates on Rooney, Thiago, Fabregas and Ronaldo, with no end in sight. I will therefore set the record straight.

Rooney: he is staying at United. Period. The media (and perhaps Rooney's agent) are trying to fan the flames of discontent, but it won't work. As far as I know, Rooney himself has not said anything publicly about wanting to leave the club (unlike a couple of years ago). Moyes wants to keep him, and knows what a great player Rooney is at his best. Therefore, my conclusion is that Rooney stays, at least for now.

Thiago: I don't think United ever bid for him. And frankly, I am not sure that English football would be such a good fit for him (he seems to agree, having chosen to team up with his old coach in Bayern).

Fabregas: he would be a good signing for United, but I don't see how Barcelona could sell two top midfielders in such a short time span. They don't need the money. And with a new coach, Fabregas has a new chance to carve out his place among Barca's starting 11. My conclusion: Fabregas will stay at Barca.

Ronaldo: he is the second best player is the world. There is zero chance that Real will sell him, even after dishing out an absolutely ridiculous amount of money to sign Bale. So Ronaldo will stay where he is as well.

As we football fans know too well, most of the possible transfers we read about in the media will never materialize. However, we keep buying these stories, perhaps because they allow us to dream of great success in the upcoming season. For my part, I believe United already have a strong, balanced squad, which is in a position to win trophies this coming season, even without the arrival of Fabregas.

Here is my starting line-up (4-4-2 formation), for the away game at Swansea:
De Gea
Jones, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra
Zaha, Carrick, Kagawa, Young
Rooney, Van Persey
Subs: Lindegard, Rafael, Smalling, Cleverley, Nani, Chicharito
(sorry Ryan Giggs, but you will sit with the coaching staff)

What do you think? What does your starting line-up look like? Let me hear from you!

United should not play in blue shirts

Yes, I know that Charlton, Law, Best and the other United players wore blue shirts when they beat Benfica in the 1968 European Cup Final. Nevertheless, I can't help but feel that blue - whether dark or light blue - is the color of Man City, not United.

If anything, United's third shirt should be yellow (as it has been occasionally), not blue. Firstly, United's club logo has red and yellow in it. Newton Heath also initially played in yellow. Secondly, in the 30+ years that I have follwed the club, United seem to have played many poor games in blue. I don't have the statistics to prove it, but I am sure that, during this period, United has a lower win percentage when wearing blue shirts than when wearing other back-up colors such as white, yellow or black. As some fans will remember, for a few away matches some years ago, United tried out grey shirts, but they proved to be even worse and were discarded.

If United were to stop wearing blue shirts, black could be another alternative. Over the years, particularly when Cantona was at the club, United have played several good (away) games in black. Thus, maybe a daring combination of black and yellow should be United's third shirt?

What do you think? Please let me know your thoughts.

The firing of Mancini is madness

Manchester City's decision to fire Roberto Mancini, exactly one year after City won the League for the first time in ages, seems crazy to me.  No club can expect to win multiple trophies every year, and if City's owners think they can find a manager who can guarantee such success every year, they are badly mistaken. Not even Sir Alex could guarantee that.  Most football fans will agree that Mancini has done a fairly good job at City, with considerable resources at his disposal.  Mancini also has a record of success from Italy, and will no doubt soon land a job with another top club.  City's decision to sack Mancini reminds me of Chelsea's decision to sack Mourinho a few years back - a decision Chelsea soon came to regret.  It is also a stunning display of the unrealistic expectations of some wealthy owners in today's football.  If City and Chelsea continue like this, at least one of those two clubs will change manager each season, as there will not be enough trophies to go around to satisfy their respective owners (I, of course, hope that most of the silverware will continue to end up in Man United). 

Thank you, Sir Alex!

We knew it had to happen at some stage, but nevertheless, Sir Alex' retirement came as a bit of a shock to many United fans.  How will our club fare now, without him at the bench?  Sir Alex is among the most successful managers of all time in the world of football, and managers like him only come around once a century.  So at the outset, we know that he can't be fully replaced.  We can also safely say that Sir Alex successor will likely not be as successful as him, as this is nearly impossible.  However, the successor may still be very successful!

I believe David Moyes is the right man for the job.  If United wanted instant success, then somebody like Mourinho or Ancelotti (if they are available) would perhaps be better.  However, none of them would be likely to stay at the club for more than 3-4 years.  Moyes, on the other hand, will likely stay for 10 years or more (unless he is sacked - let's hope that does not happen!).  I believe the right question should be: which manager would bring the most titles over the next 10 years, while taking Sir Alex' philosophy in terms of youth development etc. forward?  The answer, in my opinion, is Moyes.  Let's cross our fingers for a good start to the next season.  He'll need it!

Finally, Sir Alex' retirement means that all bets are off with respect to players coming and leaving the club.  I wrote earlier in this column that Rooney would stay at the club.  However, with Sir Alex leaving and Moyes arriving, I am no longer so sure.  Further, would Giggs and Scholes play for another year with a new manager?  What about Rio Ferdinand?  And, if there is any truth to the rumors about Ronaldo, would he want to come back if Sir Alex is not there?  We'll find out over the next couple of months.

The season is over

After United secured their 20th league title against Aston Villa, their performance has dropped markedly. The home game against Chelsea (1-0 loss) looked a bit like a Charity Shield match, with players from both teams seemingly taking it easy. Yet when the fixtures for this season were first released, this game looked like one that might decide which of the two teams would win the title.  In the end, it was a rather boring game.  United deservedly lost, but nobody seemed to care. It was particularly sad to see players like Anderson and Cleverley, who really needed this game to show their potential for next season, underperform.  Who could argue that we don't need another midfielder after watching this game?  Who would have thought United would end the game with the following midfield: Rooney, Giggs, Buttner?

I am already looking forward to next season, to be honest.  The last two games, against Swansea and West Brom, are likely to also be more like pre-season friendlies, with little at stake for either team.

Champions!

With the 3-0 win against Villa, United won their 20th league title.  It is United's 13th league title in 20 years!  Wonderful!  We knew it was coming, but nevertheless, this is a day for us United fans to celebrate and be proud of our team.  The match itself was good fun, and 5-1 would probably have been a more fitting result.  Robin Van Persie showed once more what a fantastic player he is, with a hat-trick.  If Suarez is voted Player of the Year ahead of Van Persie, there must be something seriously wrong, say no more.  I think Liverpool fan too would rather have Van Persie than Suarez in their team, even though they may not want to admit it. 

This United season has had two halves, in some ways.  In the first half of the season, our attackers often bailed out our defenders, who were even called "clowns" by some observers.  However, since Vidic's return in January, our defense has been outstanding.  It has been great to watch de Gea grow into the role of United's goalkeeper.  He is still very young, but already among the best goalkeepers in the world.  With more experience and confidence, his consistency will grow further.  Rafael has also made great progress this season. And Kagawa and Jones have shown great potential, despite injuries.  All in all, we have a young, winning team, which is well positioned to further improve next season, also in Europe.

Rooney is not leaving

The media is full of stories these days about Wayne Rooney leaving United over the summer, possibly to PSG. I do not trust these dubious reports, whose main purpose is to generate more income for the media. News about Rooney leaving United sell well, of course, but that does not make it true. Remember all the media reports a couple of years ago about Wesley Sneijder coming to United? The stories generated a lot of interest among fans, and were good business for the media, but turned out to be false, or at least misleading.

Rooney has not had a good season, this is true. However, as recently as last season Rooney was probably United's best player overall (together with Valencia, whose form has also dropped this season). And the season before that he was outstanding. What concerns me most, is that Rooney's  fitness level seems lagging. In fact, he is one of the few players who looked fitter before joining United than afterwards (most players have the opposite experience). It makes you wonder: is he eating, training and resting well, like a top athlete should? To make matters worse, Rooney is also picking up frequent injuries these days. He is no longer the "hothead" that he was earlier in his career, and is booked less frequently now. However, this change is a dual-edged sword, as Rooney also  seems to play with less passion and motivation now than before.

Can Rooney recover his top form?  I do think so, and hope that we will see signs of this even before the current season is over.  Picking up another Premier League will also be good for his confidence and motivation.  I also think Rooney is aware that leaving United may not be a boost to his career, rather the opposite. Is it that great to sit among the substitutes on the PSG bench? Probably not. Better for Rooney to stay in United and work his way back into top form, with the world best manager, Sir Alex, fully behind him.

Vital point at West Ham

Before the game at West ham, United needed seven points to be champions. Well, now they need just six points, with five games still left to play. So things are still looking good. To be fair, the West Ham game was quite balanced, and 2-2 seemed a good result. West Ham fans will feel that the Van Persie goal should have been disallowed for offside, but we United fans would retort that Carroll should have been sent off for his attack on de Gea late in the first half. As such, the game was balanced even in when it came to refereeing mistakes. West Ham were very aggressive, and made it difficult to play good football. In my view, Vidic, Kagawa and van Persie stood out among the United players. But our midfield struggled. Where was Anderson and Cleverley? I wish they would get the chance to play more often, including against Aston Villa next Monday. With a win at home against Villa, we will be extremely close to our 20th league title. Come on you Reds!

Solid performace against Stoke

The 2-0 win away against Stoke neatly sums up this United season, at least the Premier League part of it. United were solid once more, and Vidic proved what a positive impact he is having on the other players around him. United were certainly not brilliant, but did not need to be. Stoke never looked likely to score. Van Persie scored again, finally, and now that the bad spell has been broken, I would not be surprised if he follows up with more goals at West Ham. All in all, it was a satisfying game for United fans, as every win at this stage is a huge step towards the trophy. However, I admit that for a neutral observer, the game was probably a bit boring, with few chances created at either end.

Kagawa should play

If a player scores a hat-trick, he would normally expect to keep his place in the team. Not so with Shinji Kagawa. After he scored a hat-trick against Norwich on 2 March 2013, he was dropped for the next game against Real Madrid, and has since been in and out of the team (mostly out). There have been no reports suggesting that Kagawa has been injured, so presumably the decision to drop him comes down to 'footballing reasons', as they say. But since the Norwich game, we have played six games. Among those, we have won only two, drawn one, and lost three. Kagawa has only started two of those (the win against Sunderland, the draw against Chelsea). It seems to me that we are performing significantly better when Kagawa is on the pitch.

Compare that record to Danny Welbeck, who arguably has played only two good games the entire season (incredibly, both against Real Madrid), yet keeps being selected regularly as a starter. In my (subjective) view, we have to go back to Kieran Richardson to find a player that has played to so frequently for United, despite such a poor performance.  Like all United fans, I love it when players come through the youth programme and break into the first team (and even the England squad!).  However, it is also frustrating when there appears to be double standards in effect when players are picked for United's starting line-up (just ask Dimitar Berbatov).

Disappointing Manchester Derby

If you are a Man Utd fan, losing to City is among the worst things that can happen. That said, we are still 12 point clear and should be able to secure the league title without too much nail-biting at the end of the season. Sir Alex praised the players after the City game - he needs to keep morale high at this point - but most United fans will admit that we did not play very well. In fact, we have not played a good game since we lost to Real Madrid a few weeks ago. As unfair and disappointing as the exit from Europe was, it would be wrong to let it define the entire season. By beating Stoke this coming weekend, we can make sure that this will not be the case. Instead, United fans will remember 2012/13 as a season in which we were victorious despite not playing the most entertaining football Old Trafford has ever seen.

How I became a Man Utd fan

Ronnie Whelan made me a Man Utd fan. This sounds odd, perhaps, but yet it is true. I was nine years old and was watching the League Cup final between Man Utd and Liverpool on TV. Actually, I think the tournament was called the 'Milk Cup' at the time. United played well in the first half, and went 1-0 up through an early Norman Whiteside goal. It looked like it this would be the only goal of the game, but United suffered several injuries and were practically playing with nine men towards the end (each team was only allowed one substitution in those days). This seem thoroughly unfair to me, as Gordon McQueen was limping around, unable to play yet still out on the pitch. With a few minutes to go, Liverpool equalized, unfortunately, and the game went into extra time. And in extra time, Ronnie Whelan scored what must have seemed like a beautiful goal to Liverpool fans - a curled shot that left  Gary Bailey no chance - but which I felt was cruel and unfair. I decided to support the team that was struck by such misfortune. I then read about the club's history, and realized that the club had had more than its fair share of tragedy, most notably the 1958 plane crash in Munich. Since then there has been no other club than Man Utd for me.