Tuesday, 30th March 2010 – KO: 19:45

The German Bundesliga has always struck me as a funny old League. Wolfsburg were last year’s Champions with Schalke 04 finishing in 8th place. At the time of writing, Schalke 04 lead the Bundesliga whilst Wolfsburg are down in ninth place.

As for Bayern Munich, they won the Bundesliga in 2007/08, finished second last season and are currently in second place again.

What I suppose this shows is that the Bundesliga is mental but Bayern Munich are pretty consistent and over the years have probably been recognised as the standard bearer for German football.

Our own record against Bayern is pretty mixed on the whole. We have met them seven times but have only won one of them (can anyone remember that game? what happened?). We did, of course, have them in the group stage of the Champions League that year and the two games between us produced some pretty decent matches with the two games finishing 2-2 and 1-1.

Bayern got some measure of revenge for the 99 CL Final when they knocked us out of the CL at this stage in 2001 with a 3-1 aggregate scoreline.

All of this is a long, long time ago though and it is over eight years since we last met them.

We go into this game on a great run of form. The 3-1 defeat at the hands of Everton in the Premier League being by far the stand-out result in a pretty long streak of victories.

Bayern, by contrast, come into this game having lost their previous two matches. I also think they can count themselves extremely fortunate to even be in this Champions League quarter final. They won their first leg against Fiorentina 2-1 thanks to a late, late goal which was a mile offside and then lost the return leg 3-2 which of course meant that they scraped through on the away goal rule.

It is worth noting that Fiorentina are currently in eighth place in Serie A, a long, long way behind the likes of AC Milan.

Fergie rested Rooney in the game against Bolton but I fully expect him to be back for this one and Rio Ferdinand who was also rested should resume his partnership with Vidic in the centre of defence.

There have been all kinds of reports that either or both of Ribery and Robben could be missing for this one due to injury but reading between the lines, I would say that Ribery will definitely start and it is Robben who is the doubt.

It’s going to be interesting to see if they do play and who Fergie chooses to put up against them.

Whichever way I look at this one, I can only see Bayern as distinct underdogs here. They do have some great attacking players but so do we. They have some decent midfielders, we have some very good midfielders. They look a bit suspect at the back, we have a very solid defence.

If Bayern can somehow sneak a goal and keep us out for ninety minutes then they have a chance here tonight but as far as I am concerned it all depends on how ambitious Fergie and the boys are here tonight. We could put this one to bed right here tonight and make the return leg almost a formality. Or we could settle for a score draw which is often as good as a win in the away leg.

I think we need to go for this one tonight. With Chelsea now out of the Champions League, they have a slight advantage in the Premier League as their players can have more rest between games. If we can put a couple past Bayern tonight, Fergie might even have the option of giving a couple of breather in the return leg.

The bet is going to be 3 points United to Win @ 2.41 with Canbet.

Review to follow…

Saturday, 27th March 2010 – KO: 17:30

As I type this, we are sitting at the top of the Premier League but by the time this game kicks off, we could find ourselves in third place. That is how tight the Premier League is at the moment.

We seem to be really coming into good form at the moment and the injury situation seems to be improving game by game.

Bolton have been hovering around the relegation zone for much of the season but just seem to have opened up a bit of a gap between themselves and the bottom three. They’ll still need to pick up a few more from their remaining games though and Manager Owen Coyle who was at Burnley when they beat us at their place at the start of the season will be hoping that he can do something similar again here.

The stats go against them though and Bolton’s record against us is not great although they did beat us 1-0 at their place in 2007.

I think we will have too much for Bolton today but I can’t see a big scoreline. Bolton have been conceding very few goals in recent home games (they do ship a fair few away from home though). The shocker against Everton aside, our own defence has been very mean home and away recently.

I can see a 1-0 or possibly 2-0 win for United here but I would be surprised if there was much more in it than that.

What this means is that picking a decent bet is tricky. The bookies seem to think that this will be a 2-1 win for United but I am not convinced Bolton will score.

I think there’s some value in going for the Under bet here.

The bet is 2 points Under 2.5 goals @ 2.1 with Paddy Power.

I think this game, more than any other, typified Manchester United’s season a whole.

Some quarters have been suggesting that we are a “one man team” with Rooney “carrying” us this season.

Well, there was no Rooney today as Fergie rested him citing a “bruised foot” as the reason. Rio Ferdinand was also rested.

There was nothing particularly spectacular in the game as Bolton made us work extremely hard for everything in a typically fesity encounter. The fact that this game ended with no one booked remains a mystery as there were tackles flying in all over the place and I’m pretty sure half of the players from both sides will have been nursing a few bumps, bruises and sore heads on Sunday morning.

But this is what United have been doing better than anyone else this season. When a fight is called for, we have eleven warriors on the pitch ready to step up to the plate.

And despite nothing spectacular happening we still somehow manage to come away with a 4-0 victory.

The Bolton people will be wondering, “How the hell did that happen?”

Most agreed that the 4-0 scoreline “flattered” United and Bolton didn’t deserve to come away on the end of a drubbing like that.

This is the difference between United and Bolton though. The battle is the means to the end not the end in itself. Bolton seemed to think that working hard and battling hard was all that was needed. United have the focus to compete in the battle and still maintain focus on the ultimate aim which is to win the game.

When that little bit of extra quality was needed in the final third, we were able to produce it.

When Bolton produced that bit of quality in the final third, Van Der Sar was equal to it and pulled off two magnificent saves to deny them.

Having said all this, the Under bet was looking good with the score 0-0 after 37 minutes and just 1-0 after 67 minutes before a three goal blitz within the space of 13 minutes made a mockery of the prediction.

Berbatov was again given the role of lone-striker but he was dropping so deep and going so wide on occasions that the formation looked more like 4-6-0 for much of the game. He still managed to bag a brace and probably should have had a hat-trick but he lost his boot when through on goal and ended up slipping at the crucial stage.

Nani provided two assists, one for Berby and one for Gibson after some great play bamboozled his defender and left him enough time and space to get the ball to his teammates.

Fletcher was again immense in the midfield and Vidic was the unpassable wall in the heart of the defence.

I could go on an mention every single player here because they all did their jobs brilliantly.

A one man team? Don’t make me laugh.

Just a quick post to apologise for the lack of posts recently and an explanation for the reasons behind this.

Like so many others last Saturday, I was the victim of a very strange incident involving my virus checker.

Basically, anybody using BitDefender or any anti-virus program that used the BitDefender anti-virus definitions (I was using BullGuard) found their computers self-destructing as a poorly programmed update began moving perfectly legitimate files to quarantine. This meant that critical Windows system files were moved so that in the end, all I was left with was a black screen.

After a couple of days of messing around trying to get it back to normal, I decided it was dead and took it to someone to format the hard-drive and re-install Windows for me.

This was all done and sorted by Wednesday however, the backlog of work caused by not having a computer for the best part of five days added to the fact that I had to re-install everything onto the computer, configure email accounts etc etc meant that time has been very limited this week.

However, I am pleased to report that everything is now back to normal and normal service will resume today when I do my pre-match analysis of the Bolton game.

What this has to do with Manchester United and football, I don’t know but if it means that just one person does not give any money to the idiots at BullGuard (who were wholly unhelpful despite breaking my computer) then that will be good.

Saturday, 21st March 2010 – KO: 13:30

Well, what a season it has been for Liverpool. Barely able to string a couple of wins together, they have lost to just about everyone at some stage and are out of the running in all competitions except the Europa League.

They do appear to have found a little bit of form of late however and have won their last six games in all competitions.

Not that any of this really matters. Liverpool could come to Old Trafford on the back of ten straight defeats and still play like superheroes for 90 minutes.

We go into this match with a serious chance of winning the Premier League again which would make it an historic four in a row and nineteen titles in total – one more than Liverpool.

Liverpool will say that they need the points here today and that it is just one more game but preventing us from overtaking their tally will provide as big an incentive as any for them to do well here today.

Fergie has also said that the 4-1 drubbing Liverpool dished out to us last season was forgotten the week after but I don’t think he’s fooling anyone. He won’t have forgotten and neither will the players. Vidic has probably been at counselling sessions ever since that day.

I’m not going to go into too much detail here on this one. It is not really a game I would like to bet on anyway. One to watch, I think.

Apart from the usual suspects, Fergie has no new injuries and it will be interesting to see if Giggs plays any part in this one.

Liverpool also have no major injury problems – not even Gerrard and Torres (surprise, surprise).

I think this will be the usual hard fought encounter, the odds red card or two wouldn’t come as a major surprise either.

We go into this game on an incredible run of not only winning our home games but we have done so without conceding a goal in all but one of the last ten (1-0 defeat to Villa in December).

I think that little record might go today and whilst we should win the game, I think Liverpool will also score.

The bet is going to be 3 points OVER 2.5 goals @ 2.05 with Bet365.

I’m writing this review over a week after the game because of various computer problems (see this post) so events aren’t as fresh in my mind as usual.

Anyway, United got off to the worst possible start when Torres put Liverpool ahead after just five minutes with a terrific header from a great cross from Kuyt.

Parity was restored just seven minutes later however when United were awarded a penalty.

I have to admit, it didn’t look like a penalty in the strictest sense but I think United deserved it for the cynical nature of Mascherano’s foul. Valencia was on the ball and was bursting towards the Liverpool penalty area but Mascherano was all over him, tugging and pulling from behind which undoubtedly affected Valencia’s run.

At the last second, just as the two were just about on the line, Mascherano let go of Valencia but Valencia took his opportunity to go down in the box. The referee pointed to the spot and, quite laughably, Mascherano pointed to a point some three yards outside the box as if to say, “But I fouled him there!”

No attempt to hide the fact that he had cheated and was deliberately fouling the player in order to prevent a goal-scoring opportunity, just an attempt to make the referee see he had done it outside the box.

Anyway, Rooney stepped forward to take the penalty and Reina saved it brilliantly only for Rooney to tuck in the rebound.

The rest of the half was quite uneventful really with neither team really troubling the other greatly. After the blistering start of the opening fifteen minutes or so, it was perhaps no surprise that the tempo dropped a notch.

The breakthrough came for United on sixty minutes when Fletcher put in a good cross which Park bravely headed home.

With half an hour still to play, there were plenty of nervy moments to endure but we held out.

This was one of those games that our title rivals probably felt that we would drop points in and probably not even the most die-hard United fan would have counted on three points from this one, especially with last season’s 4-1 drubbing still fresh in the memory.

However, we did come through it and now sit at the top of the Premier League.

Fergie looks like he will find himself in a spot of bother with the FA (again) for describing them as “dysfunctional” yesterday.

The comments came when he was asked if he had any views on the fact that Steven Gerrard did not receive a three match ban for blatantly elbowing Michael Brown in the back of the head during their game against Portsmouth on Monday whilst Rio Ferdinand received an initial three match ban (extended to four matches on appeal) for a similar offence a few weeks earlier.

It is probably worth quoting the dictionary definition for the word “dysfunctional” here:-

“Abnormal or impaired functioning“.

The FA have said that the reason they cannot hand Gerrard a retrospective ban (as they did in Rio’s case) was because Rio’s offence was initially missed by the referee and video evidence was used against Rio.

It appears the referee in Gerrard’s case DID see the incident as he made mention of it in his post-match report.

Because of this, the FA cannot take further action. It is deemed as “dealt with” by the match official.

So, because of their OWN rules, the FA have found themselves tied up in a knot which renders them impotent.

It was quite clear to anyone who saw the incident that Gerrard DID elbow Brown in the back of the head and it was not accidental. It was Violent Conduct. Violent Conduct is punishable by an immediate red card and a three match ban.

If the referee saw the incident but did not send Gerrard off then the FA should still impose the three match ban and send the referee on some kind of course because he is obviously not fit to do the job because he doesn’t know the rules.

When an official makes a mistake but the men who appointed him can’t overrule him even when a serious breach of conduct has been made then I would say that that constitutes “impaired functioning”. The rules are not being enforced consistently across the board because of their own rules. I would say that is “impaired functioning”.

Fergie may well be asked to explain his comments. If so, I would suggest that he just takes along a dictionary to the hearing.

The only people who need to explain their actions here are the FA.

Gerrard wanted to win the game so was prepared to use any means fair or foul to achieve that objective. His agenda was plain to see.

As for the FA, when they throw the book at one team and let another get away completely for the same offense, you have to wonder what their agenda is.

Solksjaer!!!!

Just for a laugh, I think Fergie should name Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on the bench when we face Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter final.

Imagine the German’s faces when he shakes them by the hand before the games? Giving each a little wink as he goes along.

Franz Beckenbauer won’t see the funny side of it but Germans have never had a sense of humour… they are famous for it.

That and losing Champions League Finals by conceding two goals in injury time.

In this neverending stream of massive matches that seems to be commonplace for anyone connected with Manchester United, just have a look at out next few fixtures (can you spot the odd one out, by the way?)

Liverpool (Premier League)

Bolton (Premier League)

Bayern Munich (Champions League)

Chelsea (Premier League).

All those take place within a two week period. It’s hold onto your hats time again!

Manchester United have been drawn against Bayern Munich in the Quarter Finals of the Champions League.

The draw has been quite kind in that we play the first leg away from home which is always the way Fergie prefers it.

The full draw looks like this:-

Lyon v Bordeaux

Bayern Munich v Manchester United

Arsenal v Barcelona

Inter v CSKA Moscow

Should we get past Bayern Munich then we will play the winner of Lyon v Bordeaux (this time we play the first leg at home).

What this all means of course is that a repeat of last season’s final is on again.

With the shock of Real Madrid going out of the Champions League in the first knockout round followed by the shock of Chelsea going the same way, I was going to write this post yesterday but thought I would hang fire until Barcelona had played their game last night just in case there was a further shock on the cards.

There was no such shock of course as Barcelona ran out comfortable 4-0 winners in their home leg against Stuttgart who had bravely held them to 1-1 at their own place.

What this means now is that Barca are clear favourites to retain their title with United fairly clear second favourites.

I expect prices to change a little bit tomorrow as the draw for the Quarter Final stage is made because as well as the Quarter Final opponents, it is possible to determine who a team is likely to meet in the Semi-Final should everything go to form.

It is worth noting however that the Quarter Final draw is an open draw and any two teams can be matched.

I think this represents as good an opportunity for us to regain the Champions League as we are likely to get and I hope we get Barca in the quarters.

If we are going to win the Champions League then we will probably have to beat them at some stage and if they are too good for us then I would rather find out now than in the Final again. Besides, I think that over two legs home and away, we would have the beating of Barca.

Chelsea leaving unexpectedly early is obviously a blow for them but what it does mean is that they can now give the Premier League their full focus whilst we are going to be juggling the two. Not something new for Sir Alex (and certainly not in the last couple of years) but it does give Chelsea an advantage in the Premier League.

So, for me, it’s Barca in the quarters. Let’s get it on! As good as they played in the Final last season, we just didn’t turn up. Fergie has said that he knows what went wrong and knows what to do to rectify it should we be given the chance against them again this season (it probably involves tying Messi’s bootlaces together).

If we go out then we can give getting that historic fourth Premier League title our full focus.

We can’t lose. Not really.

Since starting this website, the stuff that arrives in my email inbox has always been quite “interesting” but every now and then something really good comes along.

Take this image, for example, sent to me by Fellipe Elias of Felldesign who is not only a big Manchester United fan but clearly not too shabby with the old Photoshop either.

You can probably see why it would appeal to me!

Hell Rooney!