A brace against AC Milan last night took Wayne Rooney’s goal tally for the season to an incredible 30 goals and he is now closing in on Ronaldo’s amazing 42 goal tally of 2007/08.

My own feeling a couple of months ago was that Rooney would get 33 this season but it is looking very much like I am going to have to revise that figure.

We have nine Premier League games to play and at least two more Champions League games so we have at least eleven more games to play and a potential fourteen games.

His goal scoring ratio has been almost one goal every time he has started (he has started 35 games and appeared in 37 so far this season).

That would suggest he is going to finish on 38 or 39 goals… but I wouldn’t want to back against him going higher.

A lot will depend on how much Fergie plays him. As we saw last night, he was brought off after around an hour in order to keep him fresh and ready to go again in our next game against Fulham. Had he stayed on, I wouldn’t have backed against him getting a hat-trick last night.

I think one thing is certain: if Rooney DOES beat Ronnie’s record then it could well mean that we’re on target for another Domestic and European Double, just as it did when Ronnie got his record.

A few weeks ago, I suggested backing United at 10.0 to win the Champions League and followed this up with another post after our first leg win against AC Milan recommending that you hold the position until we had completed the job against AC Milan.

I felt that our price could come down to 5.5 or even lower should Real fail to get past Lyon.

Well, as I look now, we can be laid at Betfair for 5.5 and I think I will be laying off some of my bet right now.

The draw for the Quarter Finals takes place next Friday and depending on who we get in that, the price could fluctuate once again but backing at 10.0 and laying at 5.5 will do for me for now.

The Iceman Cometh...(as soon as he sorts his dodgy foot)

Scans have apparently confirmed that Wes Brown did indeed suffer a broken metatarsal in his left foot following a fairly innocuous looking challenge with Matt Jarvis in our game against Wolves at the weekend.

Brown played against Egypt for England last week and seemed to have forced his way into Fabio Capello’s plans for South Africa.

The curse of the broken metatarsal has struck again though and what is it about England footballers and their dodgy feet at this time of year? There doesn’t seem to be a major tournament goes by without at least one of them suffering the same injury on the eve of the tournament!

The injury itself should take 6-8 weeks to fully heal and then a couple of weeks getting back to fitness will take us to around mid-May.

This obviously means that it looks unlikely that Brown will feature again for United this season but he should be more than ready for action if needed by the time England kick off on June 12th.

I do hope that Wes gets to go to the World Cup because he missed out in 2006 and this might well be his last chance. He’s a solid, dependable pro who has never let us down. His chances have been few over the last couple of seasons as Fergie has gone with the attacking style of Rafael but prior to that, I thought Wes Brown was our second best player of the season during the 2007/08 double winning campaign.

All the best, Wes!

The real title for this post was going to be FIFA Decide to Remain Undecided on all Matters Except the One That Matters Most but that seemed a bit long but it more accurately reflects what appears to be happening at the Zurich FIFA Headquarters as IFAB convened to discuss various issues over the last few days.

If I remember correctly, there were around eight or ten items on the agenda which included things that every football fan has sleepless nights about such as whether players should be allowed to stop and start their run when taking a penalty kick!

The other thing was the red card/professional foul/penalty thing (a great example of how this law can be misinterpreted came in our Cup Final against Villa last weekend). I must admit, this probably does need a bit of clearing up.

The other thing was something to do with the fourth official and seemed to be along the lines of – “The Fourth Official – What does he do?”

IFAB couldn’t really decide what the best thing is to do with any of these things so they will be discussed again when the board meets again on 17th-18th May.

I don’t know where to begin. Here we have some very highly paid individuals who must surely be at the head of some of the greatest think-tanks in football who are there to make the decisions necessary to take the game forward and they can’t do it.

“We’ll have a think about that one”, appears to be the answer.

However, the one thing that is MAJOR and overshadows every single one of the other things combined is the use of video technology and FIFA have NO problem making a decision on this subject. They have dismissed it (again) and it will not even be discussed.

As an aside, I am going to continue to campaign for the use of video technology although the term seems to have been changed to “goal line technology” – I do not want just goal-line technology although that would be a start, I want full-blown video technology to be used to enable the officials to get it right 99.9% of the time.

As always seems to be the case (it is not coincidence, it is just that this kind of thing happens far more often than FIFA would like to admit) there was yet another incident over the weekend where Birmingham scored a goal but it was deemed not to have crossed the line (video technology showed quite clearly that it had).

Now, this example won’t get quite the headlines that others will get purely because it happened between Portsmouth and Birmingham (and not, for example Manchester United and Chelsea). The “goal” probably would not have been decisive in the outcome of the match either as it came in the 81st Minute with Portsmouth already 2-0 up. Of course, we’ll never know now…

I have mixed feelings about what I am about to say because on the one hand I know that I am bang out of order but on the other hand it might be necessary to get the issue through the thick skulls that sit around the FIFA table but I hope that this summers World Cup Final is decided by some really dodgy incident that is immediately picked up on TV but missed by the officials.

Something like Thierry Henry’s handball against Ireland would be great. It would make a farce of the competition and it would ruin the Final.

I would love to see Blatter and his cronies squirm out of that one.

(P.S. My love of the game outweighs my dislike for the people in charge to the extent that I don’t REALLY want to see the above happen but I can say with 99% certainty that there will be some incident at some point in the tournament that will cost at least one team their place. It will give me no satisfaction when it occurs.)

I must admit, I have had a lot of sympathy for Sir Alex Ferguson and the position he has found himself in over the last few weeks.

He has avoided a lot of the questions regarding the ownership situation and the debt situation over the last couple of months by simply banning reporters from asking about them during the Press Conferences.

He’s quite at liberty to do this because that side of things really does not come under his sphere of influence and whilst I am sure he has a private opinion on things, that is all it is. When/if the Glazers decide to sell the club, Fergie will have no role to play in the decision. When the Glazers decide to refinance or when the Glazers decide to pay themselves a few million in “Management Fees”, he will have no say in those decisions either.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s main concern has always been and continues to be the performances on the pitch.

So long as the players are doing what is necessary to pick up the prizes on the field, what the bean counters do in the boardroom is of secondary importance to Sir Alex.

However, he was asked what he made of the Green & Gold campaign during a Press Conference last week and I suppose it is a pertinent question as people want to know what effect, if any, it is having on the players.

Fergie was drawn in and made quite light of it all saying that the fans are entitled to voice their opinion if they think something isn’t being done right at the club and that he had no problem with it so long as they are supporting the team.

“We take all sinners,” he said. “I would even take City fans. I have no problem with protest. There were plenty of green and gold scarves on Sunday and I was delighted to see them supporting the club.”

“We are quite happy. As long as they are supporting Manchester United they can wear whatever they like.”

There are so many ways to interpret that it is untrue and it is no wonder the Green & Gold Campaigners took it to mean that Fergie is right behind their campaign.

The other way of looking at it is what is actually said, “As long as they are supporting the team, they can wear what you like“. In this regard, it is quite dismissive of the campaign.

It also gives a nod towards what the Glazers themselves might be thinking – that people are turning up in their droves to protest… and paying the Glazers for the privelege. If they could increase the seating capacity tomorrow to allow all 100,000 MUST members in, I am pretty sure they would!

It also issues a slight sideswipe at Keith Harris who has urged fans to boycott their tickets and club merchandise.

Fergie was quite explicit in his contempt for Harris and his notion when he said recently “Now that’s a great idea. That’s come from an intelligent guy, has it?”

Basically he seems to also be saying that he would rather a crowd of protesting supporters than an half empty stadium when he states, “As long as they are supporting the team, they can wear what they like“. He really doesn’t want anyone to start boycotting games.

I have absolutely no idea what Fergie is thinking privately but he is an intelligent man and no intelligent man can be totally happy about dedicating 24 years of his life towards making something the biggest and strongest in the world, only to see some other guys come along and undermine all of that hard work by putting the club in what appears on the outside to be a pretty weak position financially.

However, I also think he found himself frustrated at times by the constraints working under a PLC imposed upon him. Particularly when it came to the signing of players. I do believe several players have slipped through his fingers over the years because of the inefficient workings of the PLC setup.

I do believe he prefers the way that the Glazers can OK a deal almost immediately and provide the funds. As far as we are aware, this has been the case over the last few years and I do believe that every transfer target Fergie has set his sights on has been delivered.

What people have to realise about Fergie is that he values loyalty probably as highly as any other virtue. He expects loyalty from his players and shows loyalty towards them in return (hence why you will very, very rarely hear him criticise any particular player in public).

Once you leave Old Trafford, no holds are barred and he will rip into you like you never even played there but while you are part of the team, he is your number one ally.

This extends to all parts of the “team” and includes the bean counters and the owners. Solidarity is key for Fergie and you cannot allow your opponents to detect one area of weakness. A chink in the armour can be exploited and turned into a gaping hole.

This is why it has been difficult for Fergie though.

He has to be loyal to the Glazers and the other senior staff at Old Trafford such as David Gill. Not because he has to “toe the party line” (he’s above all that) but because of his pathological loyalty and the need to show the world that everyone at the club is pulling in the same direction – onwards and upwards.

At the same time, he does not want to alienate the fantastic Manchester United supporters. The ones wearing the Green & Gold are not the prawn sandwich brigade, they are the real hardcore Manchester United fans. The fans have been around for long time before the Glazers arrived and they will be around long after they have sold up and gone. They are the ones who were with Fergie during his dodgy opening few years and they were around to share the enormous success and the many great evenings and afternoons we have enjoyed over the last 17 years or so.

They have shared every joy and every agony that Fergie has experienced over the last 24 years and that amounts to something like 120000 shared minutes. You don’t throw that kind of relationship away over an argument that hardly concerns you.

With his loyalties being stretched to breaking in all directions, it is no wonder that the messages coming from him appear to be so mixed and probably why he would be best advised to keep conversations strictly to what is happening ON the pitch from now until the end of the season.

I don’t normally watch much Spanish football because, quite frankly, it bores me but I decided to check in on a couple of the teams last night who lead the betting for this season’s Champions League (prompted by a little conversation I had had with Red Football Guru earlier in the day).

First up was Barcalona who travelled to Almeria. Barca were two points clear at the top of La Liga and were thoroughly expected to beat Almeria but it was Almeria who took a shock 1-0 lead. No panic for Barca though and they plodded on but as the half drew towards a close, things were starting to look a bit desperate until they were awarded a free-kick just outside the area and up stepped Messi.

The free kick he took showed just why he is such a great player. Most players, perhaps younger players, would have hit the free kick with pace but Messi showed incredible composure and maturity to rely on his skill and basically dinked the ball into the net with hardly any pace. The Almeria keeper was rooted to the spot and could only stand and shake his head in disbelief.

So, the second half started and Barca were expected to go on and press home their superiority but Almeria again took the lead via a Puyol own goal. Normal order was resumed a few minutes later however when Messi again brought Barca level. Barca huffed and puffed for the remainder of the match but were unable to break the deadlock and Almeria took a well deserved point from the match.

Immediately after this match, Real Madrid were up against Sevilla at the Bernabeu.

They knew that a win in this match would take them top of the table.

Imagine the scene then when Sevilla went 1-0 up after just ten minutes. Like Barca, there were no panic stations but Real could not seem to break down the strong and organised Sevilla defence. 1-0 at half time what could they do in the second half?

Well, whatever they had planned, it didn’t work and it was a complete stunner when Sevilla stretched their lead to 2-0 after 53 minutes.

This was where Real Madrid got impressive though and what happened in the next forty minutes has me believing that they are not only the team to beat in Spain now but in Europe too.

I hate to admit it but it was Ronaldo who inspired the comeback and got one back after 60 minutes and then Ramos brought the scores level after 64 minutes. Higuain could have scored a couple of his own but luck deserted him. It was basically wave after wave of attack from Real Madrid as they battered Sevilla looking for the winner.

Sevilla looked like they had been poking a sleeping Rottweiler with a stick and it had suddenly woken up, very angry and had broken free of its chain. In other words: Brown trousers time.

With the clock running out and the referee twiddling with his whistle, Real eventuall got the third for a remarkable 3-2 win.

And I thought Spanish football was boring! This was one of the best matches I have seen all season.

The thing that struck me about Real Madrid though their never say die attitude. They played to the final whistle. They left gaps at the back but such was their control and possession that Sevilla never had the opportunity to exploit them and besides, it is hard to hit back when you’re a cowering wreck huddled up in a corner.

Dare I say it? The way Real Madrid played to get themselves back into this one was not a million miles away from the Manchester United spirit of 1999 when we blew away everything in our path on the way to the Treble.

I know that you can’t judge a team on one performance (anyone who saw our performance against Wolves yesterday would hardly be going overboard on our own chances in the Champions League this season) but if this is squeaky bum time in England and Spain then it looks like Real Madrid are coping with it better.

I think the winner of the Champions League will come from us three (I would normally include Chelsea in the mix but with Hilarious in goal, they are looking very vulnerable at the moment – if they can sneak through against Inter Milan and get their players back, they might be back in business though) but Real are looking the better, I have to admit.

We have Rooney, Barca have Messi and Real have Ronaldo. Three of the best who can single-handedly change the course of a game but behind them, I just feel that Real have more.

I was thinking tonight about how far we have come under the Fergie regime and that little comment he made many moons ago about “knocking Liverpool off their perch”.

At the time, it seemed like an act of bravado and few believed he would actually accomplish it but here we are with a 19th League title so near and yet so far away from our grasp. It is the one that will knock Liverpool off their perch. It is the one that will mean more to Sir Alex Ferguson than all the rest with the possible exception of the very first.

Of course, to truly knock Liverpool off their perch, we would have to overtake their domestic haul AND their haul of five European Cups. That Fergie has not been able to at least equal them on that score as well despite having some excellent teams down the years will probably irk him to his grave.

The fact that Liverpool won it for that fifth time despite seeming to be second best throughout most of their campaign just doesn’t seem justified to me and had they not won it that year then they would be on four with us capable of winning four this season.

However, they DID win it for the fifth time and we are stuck on three and it has taken Fergie 24 years to win two of those. At that rate, he will have to remain in the job well into his nineties! Personally, I think a Fergie with senile dementia and the loss of basic bodily functions could still do a better job than most but it ain’t gonna happen is it?

If we could win the Champions League this season then that magical haul of five would be tantalisingly within our grasp next season, just as that 19th Premier League title is this season.

So, whilst we are not guaranteed either trophy this season. What do you think Fergie would take if you offered it him right now?

The Champions League but you lose the Premier League or the Premier League but you go out of the Champions League against AC Milan?

Or do you think he would say “I would fight to win them both and if I fall between two stools and win neither, so be it!”?

For the record, I would go with the Premier League. No one has ever won the League four years in a row. It would be a special piece of history that would make winning it all the sweeter.

What would YOU say?

Despite not actually playing very many minutes so far this season, Michael Owen has always been a re-assuring option to have on the bench or at least waiting in the wings should Rooney or Berby not be available for whatever reason.

Now that we know we can count him out for the rest of the season, we look for those other options and, to be quite honest, there aren’t that many.

Rooney has been absolutely immense so far this season but I am almost positive that Fergie had tomorrow’s game against Wolves pencilled in as as good an opportunity as we are likely to get for the remainder of the season to give him a rest.

I think he would have been on the bench with Owen and Berby resuming the partnership that worked well in the Carling Cup Final until Owen’s injury called a premature end to it.

The word was that Rooney went into the England game with a minor knee injury. With this in mind and with the game being a meaningless friendly, we are all a bit pressed to understand exactly why Capello played Rooney for 85 minutes. It certainly wouldn’t have done his injury any good.

If the injury is still troubling Rooney then surely Fergie now has to let him rest. Imagine if it develops into something worse and he has to miss a couple of the upcoming matches?

if Rooney is rested tomorrow, who does he play? Berby is clearly not the man to do the lone strikers job so he needs someone alongside him (the slight predicament here is that Fergie does like to employ the 4-5-1 formation in away games!)

Kiko Macheda has become something of a forgotten man despite his heroics last season. He has been injured recently and Fergie has said that he is about to resume training so I doubt we’ll be seeing much of him for the next couple of weeks at least.

Danny Welbeck is, of course, on loan at Preston and I can’t see him being recalled as his longer term development is probably more important than a short term fix for United (he’s not exactly the solution anyway).

That leaves Mame Biram Diouf. I believe this player was brought in with next season in mind rather than this (he didn’t even come to us until January despite being purchased in the Summer) but at 22 years of age, he can hardly be considered a “kid” and physically, I think he’s ready to go into the first team right now. We’ve not had much chance to see him play for the first team but anyone who has been watching the reserves recently will know that this lad has many of the qualities required to be a top class striker.

Namely: Pace, shot power (right and left foot) , accuracy, a cool head, height and a willingness to chase down balls to keep an attacking move alive.

So if Rooney is rested tomorrow, that’s what I would like to see – Berby and Diouf.

Or even just Diouf with the midfield getting forward more to help him out. It’s about time a midfielder scored again (the last midfielder to actually score in a Premier League game was Park in January against Arsenal).

Sorted.

A little rumour filtering through suggests that Owen Hargreaves has finally said that he feels ready to make his long awaited comeback from injury and is being pencilled in for next Thursday’s Reserve game which I believe is against Manchester City (hmmmm….)

If this is true then it is obviously great news especially with Anderson out for the rest of the season but I think anyone connected with Manchester United will be watching him with one hand covering their eyes whenever he goes in for one of those crunching tackles.

I hope that his injuries are now all behind him but the news about Michael Owen this morning has just served to curb any great optimism I might have had that this will actually be the case.

It has just been confirmed that the hamstring injury Michael Owen sustained during last weekend’s Carling Cup Final is going to keep him out for the rest of the season.

It has been a very mixed bag for Owen all season. Whilst he has made 31 appearances for United, 20 of those were substitute appearances and even a couple of the starts have ended with him being substituted due to a variety of injuries.

When we signed him, many people were questioning his ability to stay free from injury but personally, I felt that he would fare far better at Manchester United simply because he would get the needed rest between games. This has clearly not proved to be the case and whilst this might seem a bit kneejerk, serious questions must now be raised about the future for Michael Owen.

It is clear that he can break down at any given moment and that is not ideal for any team.

However, despite not having an enormous amount of minutes on the pitch, he has managed to score an impressive nine goals for Manchester United. The equaliser in the Carling Cup Final was perhaps the most important but no one will ever forget the winner he scored against Manchester City earlier in the season.

It’s a shame for Michael Owen and we must now go into the most crucial stage of the season without him.