Manchester United 2-1 Arsenal Highlights (Video)

Goals:

Robin Van Persie (3') – MUFC 1-0 Arsenal

Patrice Evra (67') – MUFC 2-1 Arsenal

Santi Cazorla (90' + 5') – MUFC 2-1 Arsenal

Michael Owen Injury

Photo Courtesy: www.teamtalk.com

Michael Owen started for Manchester United in their 2-0 win over Otelul Galati yesterday. Sadly, only ten minutes after the start of play, Owen was subbed off with Chicharito coming on. At first it was unclear, but replays showed that after Owen attempted to reach for a cross he missed and pulled his muscle. It was actually beneficial that he missed the cross because as it floated past the face of the goal, Valencia tucked it away to make it 1-0 in 8 minutes.

Sneijder to Man United?

Manchester United have been given the green light to bid on Dutch midfielder, Wesley Sneijder. Sir Alex Ferguson has been keen on bringing the Inter man to Old Trafford for some time, but has finally placed a £35million bid, according to Talksport. Fergie has refrained from bidding in the past because of their manager, Leonardo, but he quit for PSG. Newly appointed manager Gian Piero Gasperini agreed to consider selling the world cup runner up to the Red Devils.

Gary Neville: A True Red

Gary Neville’s Testimonial match took place this evening, where Old Trafford welcomed the Class of ’92 with some returning stars including David Beckham, Phil Neville and Nicky Butt. Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes also joined the Reds’ captain. They played Juventus who brought out a familiar Alessandro Del Piero.

“Come back when you’ve won 18”; We’re back and about to make it 19

In 1994, Liverpool fans made the famous banner saying “come back when you’ve won 18.” Well in the 2008/2009 season, United conquered that request but came in second the season after (last season), unable to make it 19. The clash between Manchseter United and Chelsea took place today and it was at the point where this game was going to make or break one of the two teams in first and second place. Winning would bring United closer to the 19th EPL title.

The Long Awaited Clash: Manchester United v Chelsea

You might have read our posts on the Manchester United and Chelsea clash a few months ago, but probably just like us, you were shocked when it was postponed due to weather conditions. Well the game will take place tomorrow and we will have the chance to see the league leaders against last year’s defending champs.

Photo Courtesy: DoneDeal.com

United Legends

Photo Courtesy: The First Post

www.thefirstpost.co.uk

G. Neville Retires

(Photo by John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)

Giggs Wins the award for the Greatest United Player

After six weeks of voting and thousands of submissions, United fans have crowned Ryan Giggs the club’s greatest ever player, topping a poll held by the club’s official magazine, Inside United, and ManUtd.com.

Giggs– already the most decorated player with the most appearances in the United's history – took yet another accolade by a healthy margin, confirming the esteem in which he is held by Reds fans young and old.

Second place in the poll went to Eric Cantona, who fractionally edged George Best into third position.

Welsh winger Giggs was typically magnanimous when he found out he’d won. “When I got told I was really chuffed,” he said.

“I couldn’t believe it to be honest, especially when you look at the list of other players who are up there.”

5 Point Difference: United and Arsenal Each Take a Win

Wayne Rooney waited a month to do what he did on New Year’s Day. He scored against Aston Villa today in the first minute, when goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar booted the ball across the length of the field to Rooney. He took two touches and blasted it past Brad Friedel, Aston Villa’s oldest player ever. After such an early goal, United played very calmly without any hesitation. Aston Villa on the other hand couldn’t seem to hold on to the ball and even when they did, United just picked up the pace and took it back. Ryan Giggs and Nani were controlling the game, making the plays and holding the ball. With only one minute left in regulation time of the first half, Nani send in a prefect cross across the goal to give Rooney an easy tap in and give him his second goal of the game.

Photoshopped by: Kevin Tedesco

Another Survived Nightmare: Manchester United v Southampton

United found themselves down against Southampton today during the F.A. Cup 4th Round. This is the second time this week that United were losing at half time, the first one against Blackpool, where they were down by two, but came back to win the game 3-2. United found themselves in a bit of déjà vu in this match. The game started of pretty slow and United started off pretty sloppy. In this match they found themselves down by one as the man with the golden boots, Richard Chaplow drilled one into the back of the net in the 45th minute.

100 Minutes of Glory: Manchester United v. Blackpool

Manchester United faced one of their toughest opponents of the season yesterday, and surprisingly it was Blackpool. Blackpool have had a great season for a team who has just been promoted from the championship. I'm going to start off by saying; Ryan Giggs should have been in the starting line-up. He has been playing phenomenally for the past few games and with an undefeated record that United have, they must play the best possible line up at all times. On the other hand, every player needs to get their rest, and Ryan has been playing a lot since Valencia is out with an broken leg.

Score board Courtesy: Fox Soccer Channel

Manchester United v Tottenham: Full Analysis

I know this should have posted a few days ago, but I have been busy with studying for midterms in school. Despite the fact, I didn’t want to skip over this post, because I had been looking forward to the game so much. It was a rough start for United, because as the pass backwards from the kick was immediately intercepted be Gareth Bale, whose run down the field almost lead to a goal. For the first few minutes, it was attack after attack by Tottenham. United slowly took over the attacking position. Soon enough, it was United who was taking shot after shot, but they still didn’t have the cutting edge to score through. Although Totenham didn’t have enough to break through United’s defense, it was because of United’s constant fouls committed on the Spurs. Van Der Vaart had plenty of opportunities to score from a set piece, but with Van Der Sar in goal, returning from the flu, there was no getting past him. He had no trouble with any of the set pieces. After the first half, United just focused on defending which was a good tactic considering they want to stay undefeated. Tottenham, being a team who focuses a lot on attacking, having the two wingers, two forwards, two attacking mids, and two wing backs, leaving just the two center defense and goalie, just couldn’t break through. All in all, the two teams were pretty equal.

Looking at United’s main defensive players, they were a mess. Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, all experienced players, did not play up to par and for Rafael, the Right Wing Back, getting a red card wasn’t in the best intentions for United either. The first yellow card he got was undoubtedly a yellow, but the second was debatable, but either way, he got it and United needed to make up for it. Wayne Rooney kicked his defensive skills into high gear and took over Rafael’s position. Vidic was alright, but he didn’t seem as experienced because he would rather just kick the ball out of bounds rather than passing it up field. As for the midfield, Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher were decent in midfield, but they weren’t as effective as they normally are. Edwin Van Der Sar had a huge effect on United’s tie. If it wasn’t for him, there would have definitely been a goal for the spurs. Nani on the left wing had some nice plays but was subbed off in the 62nd minute for Anderson. Ryan Giggs on the other hand played his 600th club game, and played phenomenally. He continues to surprise everyone who has been watching United in their past few games. When Rooney took over the defensive position, Giggs took up a forward position as well as the wing position. I think Giggs was United’s best player on the field because he also had to defend against Lennon. Looking at United’s forwards, Rooney, played a great first half as a forward, but broke down in the beginning of the second, but when he had to play defense, he played well. Berbatov on the other hand, didn’t play a good game at all. It seemed like he was one step behind of the play every time he had someone pass to him. Tottenham could easily pick off the ball every time. He was subbed off in the 79th minute for Chicharito, who played a decent match, but to be honest, I expected more attacking opportunities from him.

When you look at Tottenham’s team, there wasn’t a player who I thought didn’t play well. Goal keeper Heurelho Gomes played a great game. I caught myself yelling at my TV every time he snagged the ball from United’s forwards. Hutton and Dawson were great, and it was hard for United to get through their defensive wall. Gallas and Assou-Ekotto made some great runs forward. Especially Assou-Ekotto, he gave Rafeal lots of trouble, which ended with Rafael’s sending off. Midfielders Lennon, Modric and Bale all had an awesome game. They had great passing with each other and set up great opportunities for the forwards. Modric was the center of the passing, controlling a lot of the attacking opportunities. Bale was the main crossing player. I have noticed that Lennon has trouble crossing. He does occasionally, but would rather try to get around the defender and give a short and low pass. This didn’t work that well for him this game, but he still held the ball well against Giggs and Evra. In my opinion, Palacios didn’t play that well because he didn’t seem to cause us that much trouble. He didn’t make many mistakes so it wasn’t the fact that he didn’t play well, it just wasn’t threatening. Peter Crouch was another average player against United. He didn’t any threatening opportunities in front of the goal. The Spur’s other forward, Van Der Vaart, was a huge threat against United. Not so much with the free kicks, but definitely with open play shots. All in all, Tottenham should have been the better team, with one extra player and attacking most of the game, but they couldn’t shut down and in the end it only got them one point.

I think Ferguson planned for just one point by defending because he knows how much of a threat Tottenham are this season. He didn’t want to expose their defense by focusing on attacking, instead he was okay with taking a tie, and I think in United’s position it was a smart move. They are two games behind and tied with title contenders and rivals Manchester City and they are unbeaten this season. It was definitely a smart move. Redknapp was also smart about setting up his team against United by telling the team to focus on attacking. He knew United don’t want to lose a game, so they would normally go up against title contenders, trying to tie, rather than go for the win. Even though United managed a tie against the Spurs, Redknapp doesn’t think this unbeaten streak will go on for long.

“I couldn’t say they (United) are on another level and are going to walk away with the title. I can’t see them going to year unbeaten. There are lots of teams who could beat them on any given day.”

“You can’t be as good a team as you were a year or two ago when you had (Cristiano) Ronaldo and (Carlos) Tevez. I think other teams have improved and gotten closer to them, but at the moment they are still top of the pile after losing players like that” (SingTel BPL for Blackberry)

Redknapp makes a good point about losing Tevez and Ronaldo, but I don’t agree with the statement that teams have gotten better. Besides Tottenham, there aren’t really any new title contenders. Liverpool have not been up to par, and really have looked like an average EPL team this season. Chelsea started of strong, but for some reason, they aren’t playing to their full potential. Man City are still a work in progress, definitely a threat, but still not the best, losing some easy games. Arsenal is a defiantly a team to watch out for, but we beat them earlier this season. I think it is possible for United to go unbeaten, but only if they start to play with some more threatening tactics by passing a lot more, but cut the sloppy passes that they have been known for in the past few games. If they get their act together not only could they go undefeated, but they could also win a lot more than just settling for a tie. Right winger, Valencia will be back soon and hopefully he will add a great attacking factor to the team that they seem to have lost.

Check out the full highlights here:


How do you think United will finish the season?
-JoeyB

Is Kaka on his way to Man Utd?

Kaka could be heading to Manchester United in a shock loan deal this month which could lead to a permanent £50million move.

The Brazilian superstar midfielder has been heavily linked to a move to Inter Milan – with Real Madrid wanting £50m.

Chelsea, too, are seriously interested in grabbing the playmaker who has now fully recovered from an ankle injury after surgery.

The link has already been established with Kaka, 28, winning a Champions League trophy with Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti when they worked together at AC Milan.

But United, according to reports in Spain, have now emerged as clear favourites with Real boss Jose Mourinho happy to do business with his old sparring partner Sir Alex Ferguson.

Mourinho would prefer sending Kaka to United rather than his previous club Inter. (Daily Star)

Manchester United and Real Madrid certainly have a good relationship, exchanging some of the biggest names in football and it’s true that Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho do also, so seeing Kaka move to United would not be the biggest surprise during this January transfer window. As stated above, Kaka has been in contact with Chelsea and Inter Milan, but considering that Mourinho likes Kaka as a person as well as a footballer, he wouldn’t want to send him to his old rival club Inter when fans already had a problem him leaving to Madrid. He also wouldn’t want to send him to Chelsea, the other club he once managed.

Sir Alex Ferguson has already stated he doesn’t plan on buying any players during January’s transfer window, but much like other major transfers, it will be denied until they know whether the deal will happen or not. Federico Macheda has signed a loan with Italian club Sampdoria, so Kaka might be the temporary replacement. It has also been reported that if Kaka does end up being loaned out to United that he might sign a permanent move to United. Real has offered to let Kaka go for £50 million. Manchester City has already offered £45 million, but there has been no recent new with a transfer to City.

It seems that Mourinho wants Kaka to go to Manchester United if he does end up leaving, maybe because if it’s just a loan, then it will be great training while his is gone from Madrid. But it the transfer is going to be permanent, it might be because Kaka will be I good hands, and not in any of Mourinho’s old clubs.

Comment your thoughts on this transfer!
-JoeyB

Manchester United: Ownership Under Review

There has been a lot of hype during the Manchester United games lately. You might have noticed the crowd of green and gold. These are the colors of anti-glazer united supporters. The Glazer family owns United, as well as the American Football Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Well it seems that these fans might get what they want because the Glazer family has been in contact with the royal family of Qatar.

Now what does this mean for United? Either they will become an even higher skilled team or, a team filled with superstars but no coordination, much like their rivals Manchester City or even Real Madrid. The only difference with Madrid is that they have been a team with unlimited amounts of money for a while now. This could either make or break United right now. Chelsea hasn't been at the top of their game lately, Arsenal’s young gunners are forming into a high skilled team, Manchester City is on and off, Liverpool have been struggling this season, Tottenham and New Castle are developing and Manchester United are undefeated in the premier league, but can't afford to break down now.

In my opinion, if the sale of the club does end up happening, the one way the club will stay as a contender for the title for the next few years is if Sir Alex Ferguson continues his role as manager and doesn’t forget about the basics of the club. If they look to get a new manager, it could be deadly for the club. Most likely, the new manager would shop the market for every expensive player but the team would lack composure. If Sir Alex remains the manager, he could buy new players of a high skill level but he will also know how to make an unbeatable formation. Basically, United could become a team like Barcelona, where there is a high skill level, but the team works together, or a team like Real Madrid where each player is looking for individual stats.

What are your opinions? Should the Glazer family sell, or keep ownership?
Leave some comments below
-JoeyB