Now that the transfer window is closed for the beginning of the season, I wanted to post some long delayed thoughts on Manchester United’s summer signings. The reason I waited till the window shut down was to make sure I did not miss any late signings (though I was quite sure that there won’t be a repeat of last year’s tension) and gave my thoughts on the entire squad as it will be for the rest of the season.

Also I won’t be talking about the departures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. Both of them parted ways from United for different reasons and while I don’t agree with the latter’s reasoning behind his moving on, I have since come to grips with a Man Utd squad minus both of them. Plus, I won’t be talking about any of the people that remain in the squad because we already know what they are capable of. Rather I wanted to cool my nerves (and that of other United fans like me) by talking about the potential in our signings along with some really cool videos of them in action.

Michael Owen (Free from Newcastle Untied)

Imagine waking up very late on a summer’s day only to find you have quite a few missed calls from your father and sister. You return the calls hoping that nothing is wrong and you are told that some footballer named Michael Owen is at Manchester tying up a deal with Manchester United. You are so stunned beyond belief that you visit every site in the whole goddamn world to make sure it is not a joke. (And by God it was not.)

The above paragraph pretty much summed up what I felt when I first heard about this most shocking of all deals I have seen Sir Alex pull off. Just a few days before Owen put pen to paper, he was being linked to Stoke City, and it looked like he was moving from one failure to another. And just like that Sir Alex had swooped to complete one of the transfers of the summer and, in doing so, resurrected the careers of one of England’s most storied strikers.

While I certainly don’t think Michael will be able to produce the kind of goal he scored against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup R16, he is still one of the best goal poachers in the country. What’s more, nearly everyone has something good to say about him as a person and how a move to one of those smaller clubs would have been the last nail in the coffin of a great Liverpool career (something that fortunately did not happen). I certainly was (and still am) a very big fan of Owen from his Liverpool days and the past 4 years have been very hard on him playing in a very poor Newcastle side amidst some really bad injuries. So when you put all that together, this move could not have come at a better time in his career. He is going to be playing for one of the best clubs in the world during World Cup year, with probably the best club medical team in the world (which should curb his injuries to a minimum) and with England’s No. 1 striker (Wayne Rooney), which is going to further his chances of making England’s final World Cup 2010 squad.

But enough of that, we all want to know how he will perform in the Red of United. And, from what I’ve seen of him in said red shirt (and from before when he wore a red we all very much hate), I am confident of him producing the goods. And, by that, I mean we can all expect a minimum of 15 to 20 goals from him this season in a very substitute-oriented role. With the kind of service he is going to be having from Carrick, Scholes, Rooney, Berbatov, Nani, Valencia and Obertan, all he needs to do is make his kind of runs (the kind which he showcased against Wigan in the 5-0 drubbing), and he has just guaranteed himself a ticket to South Africa next year.

Luis Antonio Valencia (From Wigan Athletic for 16 million pounds)

This capture was not nearly as surprising as Owen’s because we always knew it was going to happen when Ronaldo vacated the right-winger spot. Still, it would be worthwhile to see what he brings to the table at Man Utd, along with a video showcasing his talents playing for both Wigan and Ecuador.

So far, what I’ve seen of him at United has been pretty underwhelming. And that is a big understatement. For someone who has been playing in the EPL for the past two years, I expected him to get some basics right, but it has looked like he is a cat amongst lions. However, I don’t think he has quite gotten used to life at a club as big as United. The fact that he doesn’t know the language is also a factor and from what I read at the ROM blog, he has only Anderson for company outside of football, which is a bad thing to happen for a new boy. In time, I think he will be a very good signing and take his game to the next level playing for us.

Looking at his video (and I have seen him in action for Wigan quite a lot so this is just a small sample), we can take note of a lot of positives. And don’t expect him to be the next Ronaldo; that is just an insult to both their widely different abilities. He looks to be very strongly built which means he will use that upper-body strength to good use to get past players easily and will also be very effective in the air, making those long balls from Van Der Sar to the wings possible. By now, we pretty much know that he is one of the best crossers in the EPL; so with Owen, Rooney, Berbatov and Macheda latching onto his balls, our source of goals is going to change from when Ronaldo was here. Finally, he isn’t one to shirk off his defensive duties and tracks back after every possession, so Rooney no longer needs to be deployed wide left, which is going to make for a much more lethal Wazza up front.

Gabriel Obertan (From Bordeaux for 3 million pounds)

First of all, I haven’t seen enough of this guy to make long-winding statements about his usefulness to us. However, I am going to let this video do the talking and show that Sir Alex could have produced one of the coups of the summer, and made one of his best young buys in a long time. By the way, watching this video was the final proof I needed to confirm Sir Alex’s statement that we don’t need any more players.

A few things to note from the video: He has very good dribbling skills and is fast like hell and can play on either wing. That pretty much screams to me like he is a perfect match for us because we have always been about fluidity and the ability of a winger to switch sides is critical to that (Ronaldo was best at it). Like Valencia, he is no pushover and demonstrates some good upper-body strength in getting past players which is a necessity in the EPL. In a way he reminds me of youngsters our rivals have – Theo Walcott at Arsenal and Aaron Lennon at Spurs – and much more certainly of a little known footballer called Thierry Henry. He is also going be receiving tutelage from the best manager in the league which is going to make a big difference. It wouldn’t surprise me in a few years if he is where Ronaldo is at right now, top of the world. Yes, it is a very bold statement but we are allowed one of those once in a while and this boy certainly has the potential. I cannot wait to see him in action in October when he returns from injury.

Owen Hargreaves (From “injury” for free)

I promise I will keep this one short. The main reason why I believe Sir Alex did not plunge into the transfer market with the remains of Ronaldo’s 80 million (and whatever newspapers say, it has nothing to do with the Glazers’ debts) is because of the progress (we all hope) Hargreaves has made in his rehabilitation from a dual knee surgery. Insider thoughts from ManUtd.com pretty much confirms this fact and I cannot argue much. We all know what he is capable of and if anyone wants their memory refreshed, watch the videos of the 2008 Champions League semi-finals and finals to remember how much important he was in our European conquest that year. The sooner he returns (fully fit), the better.

In addition, we also have the likes of Adam Ljajic, Zoran Tosic (both of whom have skills but need to really develop on the physical side) and Mame Biram Diouf who looks to be an interesting proposition when he returns in the January transfer window. I don’t see a lot of reason to argue with Sir Alex’s assessment that he has got all the players he needs to go for an unprecedented fourth consecutive Barclays Premier League title (19th overall topping the scousers), a third consecutive Champions League final appearance (with the trophy to add certainly) and a few more trophies to the cabinet.

Let’s prove all the doubters wrong again (remember when Van Nistelrooy left in 2006, we weren’t given a chance, but we have won 3 consecutive league titles since then) and show that the Manchester United bus always moves forward no matter what happens.

The 2008 Champions League final is one of the most nerve wracking football matches I have watched since I became a Manchester United fan. Of course, the last time United won Europe's most prized title in 1999 was thanks to a brilliant comeback as we left it until the final two minutes to clutch victory from the jaws of defeat. I was not a footie fan then, but even watching Youtube videos of that amazing night gives me the goosebumps. The 2008 final was not as tense but being an all English final gave it some much needed spice and it turned out into an amazing football game besting the previous all-Spanish and all-Italian finals.

United dominated the entire first half and turned in a wonderful attacking display which gave us the lead through Ronaldo on 26 minutes. A brilliant counterattack ended with a Tevez header being saved by Cech and the Carrick follow-up also tipped over by the Czech Republic stopper. It really hurt because it was a wonderful move with Rooney picking up the ball near the United penalty area and producing a majestic cross-field pass to Ronaldo who crossed to Tevez before Cech produced those stunning saves. Eventually, a couple of missed chances by Tevez meant that Chelsea still had a chance to level things which they took and went into half time 1-1 thanks to a (lucky!) Lampard goal.

Second half domination by Chelsea ensued as Drogba struck the post and Essien and Ballack wasted good opportunities to seal Chelsea their first Champions League title. United yet again produced a gritty defensive display to keep the Blues at bay. Extra time followed, in which the game again see-sawed between both teams. Lampard struck the post again with a wonderful strike and Mr. Chelsea, Terry cleared a Giggs stub off the line to keep the match at 1-1. Extra time ended up with a display of insanity by Chelsea striker Drogba as he slapped Vidic right under the referee’s nose to get himself sent off in his most important (and possibly final!) appearance for Chelsea.

The teams finished even after 120 minutes – though some would say Chelsea deserved to win in normal time given their two post hits (I obviously disagree!). The penalty shootout that followed gave me quite a few scares. The first two penalties were converted by both teams. Ronaldo’s brilliant season was to be underlined by another penalty miss as Chelsea took hold of the title 3-2. With the teams tied 4-4, Mr. Chelsea stepped up with the Champions League title only a kick away. However, his slip meant that the ball struck the post again and the teams remained tied at 4-4. Another round of penalties were converted to make it 5-5. Giggs marking his 759^th appearance for United converted his penalty to make it 6-5 and Van Der Sar saved Anelka’s penalty giving United their 3^rd European triumph on the 50^th anniversary year of that dreaded Munich air disaster.

And now, personally, I am telling you there is no better feeling than watching Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs lifting the Champions League trophy high in the air. In hindsight, it was destiny that led to United winning the European title. It was really heart-wrenching to see Terry in tears after the match because he is a player I really admire. However, Chelsea struck the post 3 times – so, in reality, maybe fate did play its part and maybe the spirits of those legendary players who passed away in Munich were watching over this similarly young side in their quest for European glory.

It is going to be hard matching up to such a successful season in 2008-09 (only a treble could be better than an European double). But this young side has a wonderful collection of talent which could go a long way yet. Add to that, we have experience in the form of Giggs, Scholes and Neville as well as strong shoulders in Ferdinand, Hargreaves and Rooney – it really does look like anything is possible. And if Sir Alex does add a few players in some positions to the squad, then God bless the Premier League.

Again, thanks Sir Alex for another memorable season!

After a two month layoff due to exams and other stuff, I am finally going to start posting again regularly, hopefully.

I wanted to write on and on (like I did last year) about how Manchester United remained the best team in England by retaining their Barclay’s Premier League title and how they proved that they are almost the best team in the whole of Europe by winning the Champions League title. However, I realized that there are already many articles in the net covering another magnificent season for us and so, decided to only point out some key moments in the season that ultimately led to United’s double delight.

Vs Tottenham at Old Trafford – 26 Aug, 2007
After struggling in the first 3 games, Nani’s wonderful goal saved the game for United handing us our first win of the new season.

Vs Chelsea at Old Trafford – 23 Sep, 2007
Chelsea’s newly appointed manager, Avram Grant could not do enough to spark the Blues and United ended up winning the match 2-0 with considerable ease providing moral higher ground against title rivals.

Vs Liverpool at Anfield – 16 Dec, 2007
A match in which United were expected to slip-up turned out into a brilliant defensive display as we won the match 1-0 thanks to a solitary Tevez goal on 43 minutes.

Vs Newcastle at Old Trafford – 12 Jan, 2008
Cristiano Ronaldo’s first hat-trick (after having 11 double-goal performances) for the Red Devils added spice to a wonderful performance by the whole team that saw Newcastle United (who were notably very poor) being humiliated 6-0 in front of a packed Old Trafford crowd. Not a wholly significant game in terms of our chase for the title but still one that added a huge deal to our superior goal difference.

Vs Arsenal at Old Trafford (FA Cup) – 16 Feb, 2008
After two poor performances in the 1-1 draw at Spurs and a painful derby defeat to Man City at home on the 50^th anniversary of the Munich disaster, United were faced with a difficult 5^th round tie against Arsenal. But United’s powerhouse performance not only led to a 4-0 defeat for the Gunners but also proved crucial in wrecking their pole position in the league ultimately paving way for our 17^th league title.

Vs Liverpool at Old Trafford – 23 Mar, 2008
After Mascherano's determination to get himself sent off ended up with the exact same thing happening, United cruised to a 3-0 victory in what, before half time, looked like a very close game with a good performance by the scousers. The same day Arsenal lost at Chelsea 2-1, which meant Chelsea became United’s primary challengers for the title.

Vs Roma (Champions League quarterfinals) – 1 and 9 April, 2008
A clinical performance at the Stadio Olimpico with goals from Rooney and Ronaldo meant that United had a considerably easy progression to the semifinals provided no surprises occurred at home. As it turned out, a penalty miss by De Rossi for Roma (minus star man Totti) and a Tevez header on 70 minutes helped United to a 3-0 aggregate win setting up a semifinal clash with Barcelona.

Vs Arsenal at Old Trafford – 13 April, 2008
Arsenal – like much of their performance towards the end of the season – took the lead through Adebayor on 48 minutes but gave up a penalty less than 6 minutes later which Ronaldo duly converted to put United level. A wonderful Hargreaves free-kick on 72 minutes sealed the victory and also meant that United had a great chance of retaining their title.

Vs Barcelona (Champions League semifinals) – 23 and 29 April, 2008
When Ronaldo missed the penalty in the 3^rd minute which would have destroyed Barca’s morale, I feared the worst and memories of AC Milan a year ago began to creep in. But a wonderful defensive display even without Vidic led to a 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp – the lack of an away goal was still a bugging factor. Ultimately, a wonderful Scholes goal on 14 minutes in the home tie combined with another gritty defensive performance (keeping Messi, Deco and company at bay) led to an 1-0 aggregate win over the Catalans setting up the first all English Champions League final against Chelsea on 21^st May at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

Vs Chelsea at Stamford Bridge – 26 April, 2008
Sandwiched in between those two ties was a fixture where United could have sealed the BPL title (albeit not mathematically). However, two Ballack goals with the second one coming on 84 minutes led to a 2-1 victory for the Blues landing them right on par with United on the points table. However, United’s attacking spirit led to them having a much superior goal difference which meant the destiny of the title was still in our hands.

Vs West Ham and Wigan – 3 and 11 May, 2008
United came good in the home game against West Ham winning 4-1 even though only 10 men finished the game. The final day of the season was wonderful since the title was not yet decided. But a Ronaldo penalty and a Giggs goal – on the day he equaled Sir Bobby’s record of 758 appearences – led to United sealing their 17^th League title. With Chelsea ending with a 1-1 draw, United also won the title with a gap of 2 points and not on goal difference as had been anticipated.

Another wonderful BPL performance by the Red Devils. But they added to wonderful season by winning the Champions League title also, the final of which I look at in my next post.

The weekend that could have a pretty important bearing on the outcome of the title race is upon us. With all of the big 4 facing each other in two very important matches, today, the 23rd of March promises to be a Grand Slam Sunday.

Manchester United vs Liverpool

If you could say one match was less important than the other, then it would be this one. No matter what Liverpudlians or Rafa Benitez say, Liverpool are out of the title race. They are 11 points behind Manchester United whom they are facing and even if they win this fixture, it will still be quite impossible for them to get back 8 points with the form the other 3 are in.

Man Utd are arguably the strongest performers in contests featuring them against any of the top 4. With wins against Chelsea at home, Liverpool away and a near-win against Arsenal at The Emirates as well as 4-0 thrashing of Arsenal at home, we always get ourselves up for the big ones. So, I am hoping this one will be no different.

Liverpool are on a great run with Torres firing on all cylinders and Gerrard once again manning the middle of midfield and they come to Old Trafford with 7 continuous wins in all competitions. But, so are United. With Ronaldo’s fiery goalscoring streak helping United eek out wins even when the performance is not upto expected levels and with important players returning from injuries, things are looking all too good for us.

Man Utd have the added incentive of putting pressure on Chelsea and Arsenal (who face later today) by going 6 points ahead of closest competitor Arsenal by beating Liverpool. I am hoping United win today because, as the stats prove, when United face any of the top 4 and both teams play to their best, United will always come out on top. The only problem United will have is if Ferdinand does not play (which looks highly likely), in which case we would have lost someone who could have handled the mobility of Torres with ease. Even then, Vidic and Brown/Pique would be a nice central defensive partnership capable of handling Torres. If all goes well, I think United will go 6 points ahead for a short period of time, at least.

Chelsea vs Arsenal

Arguably the more important of the two matches being played today. Featuring two of the three title contenders, this match could have a bigger say on where the BPL title ends up. A draw would be ideal for Man Utd fans like me, of course, as that would put both teams further behind us. With great pressure on both teams to not let United out of their sights, this is one mouthwatering fixture.

Arsenal are on a very poor run by their standards and that run is the reason they see themselves 3 points behind United. With 4 continuous draws after the match in which Eduardo got injured, the incentive is bigger for Arsenal to prove that they are no pushovers when it comes to the big games during the business end of the season.

They have thier task cut out for them, however. Chelsea have not lost a game at Stamford Bridge for over 4 years. With 57 wins and 20 draws in 77 matches, Chelsea are the strongest of the top 4 when it comes to home fixtures. But, Chelsea themselves come into this fixture on the back of a 4-4 draw with Spurs, a match they would have expected to come out on top. Spurs got their tactics right in that match, keeping two up front in Keane and Bent and withdrawing Berbatov to a free role behind them. That decision made the Chelsea backline go haywire and, for one time, we saw Chelsea’s defense not knowing what to do. Knowing Arsene Wenger, he would’ve noted the problems Chelsea faced in that match and would have something similar lined up. Arsenal, however, have only one main fit striker in Adebayor and he is going to have a difficult time beating Terry’s Chelsea defence.

Taking all that into consideration, Chelsea have the upper hand in this fixture mostly because of their home advantage. Add to that, Arsenal also don’t have anybody to take the physical battle to Chelsea, it does look grim for the Gunners in this fixture. I am still hoping for a draw to give United some more breathing space at the top of the table.

Whatever happens in those two fixtures, there is no denying the impact it will have on the title race. This is arguably one of the best title run-ins in years and the best I have experienced since I started watching football. It can only get better as we near the finish line and with United getting their act together at just the right time, I am hoping this season proves to be just as successful as the pervious for the Red Devils.

If you thought United’s exit from the FA cup (thus bringing to an end their treble dreams) was the most shocking aspect of Saturday’s game at Old Trafford, think again! Martin Atkinson’s performance as the match official was the stuff nightmares were made of (especially for Man Utd fans like me). From the opening whistle to practically the last kick of the match, he got most of his decisions wrong and thus ended up earning Sir Alex Ferguson’s ire. What is even more irritating is that, thus far, no action has been taken against Martin Atkinson whereas both Sir Alex and his assistant, Carlos Queiroz, have been sent letters asking them to explain their post match comments on refereeing standards which is bullshit if you ask me.

To begin with the decision that started it all was the penalty appeal against Ronaldo which was not given at about the 7th minute. Ronaldo’s reputation as a diver precedes him wherever he goes and therefore he ends up not getting most decisions which he should be getting. Harry Redknapp referred to Distin’s challenge as a casual shoulder barge and stated that he would have been disappointed had the penalty been given. From my minimal understanding of the game of football, a shoulder barge is when you use a little upper body strength to cover the attacker from the ball, not when you bash into someone inside the penalty box who is running full speed towards the goal and that is what exactly happened. So, I fail to see Harry Redknapp’s logic behind his and the referee’s reasoning.

It is hardly worth getting frustrated over one such decision especially when your team goes on to dominate the entire match but when you see your stand-in goalkeeper sent off unjustly for a foul and when pretty much every other kick of the ball is not going your way, then the anger will definitely go to your head. I have seen referees like Howard Webb and Alan Wiley think many times and confer with the linesmen before making the decision to send off a player even on the most obvious red card decisions. But the immediateness of the red card shown to Kuszack was what got on my nerve the most, especially when Rooney was on the goal line and Tevez was just behind Kuszack to stop Baros. That decision arguably had the most impact on the game. With our stand-in goalkeeper sent off, Ferdinand took his place and when you lose your most mobile defender just like that, it is difficult to get back into the game even when you are the world’s best team playing at home and United ended up losing the game 1-0.

None of these are excuses for United’s exit from the cup by no means; United had ample opportunities to put the game to bed with three shots cleared off the line and two shots off the post, so saying that refereeing decisions are the reason for the loss is by no means true. But it is true that such decisions are becoming commonplace especially in English football and it is surprising that neither the Chief of Reefrees, Keith Hackett nor the FA is doing anything about it.

Ronaldo’s post-match comments summed up the state of refereeing perfectly. With techinally skilled players not given enough protection by match officials, players like Ronaldo, Rooney etc. might have to change their styles a lot to prevent getting kicked because that is the only way to stop them. One of Arsene Wenger’s previous comments also comes to mind in this situation. During one of his post-match interviews (probably the one in which Eduardo suffered his horrendous injury), he stated that the opposition have finally figured out the only the way to stop Arsenal is to kick Arsenal. The same holds true for any team that plays entertaining and attacking football.

The FA definitely need to make a firm stand in situations like these. While it was nice to see Rob Styles suspended for a weekend for his unbelievable penalty for Chelsea against Liverpool early in the season, those kind of hard and strict punishments need to be enforced more often to make match officials understand the importance of their role on the field. Other officials should look up to people like Howard Webb and Alan Wiley who are content to let the game flow and give out as few cards as possible and take their example in making informed, proper decisions even if a few seconds are wasted in the process. Officiating a football match is by no means an easy job and I do understand that but the way the current situation is falling on a downhill slide (especially in the BPL), the future does look a lot less brighter for football in general.

Fabio Capello’s appointment as England’s manager came as a huge surprise to me when it was announced late last year. I was banking on the FA to get hold of Mourinho given his credentials in handling big names with huge egos at Chelsea (of which there are quite a few in the English team). I have since come to grips with Capello’s appointment and think it will work out well for England in the long run (in fact, I am pretty sure of this since watching Wednesday’s match).

The one thing that irked me about his appointment was that he never seemed like the kind of guy (he looked too soft spoken to me) who could manage a team full of big players. Juventus and Real Madrid had a few players like that and he seemed to manage them well but given the big heads in the English side, Mourinho seemed like the perfect choice and I thought it was a done deal when he left Chelsea. And since the Sven Goran Eriksson debacle I thought it was wiser for England to go for an English manager who would understand better the expectations of the English fans when it comes to football. With both Harry Redknapp’s and Martin O’ Neill’s (two names that would have been an instant hit with fans) denial of the post, the FA looked elsewhere and finally appointed Capello given his resume was one that would make other English managers hide inside their homes.

Wednesday night was the big day as far as Capello was concerned with his first international match (albeit, a friendly against the Swiss). Given all the hype before the match it was only natural that he delayed announcing the first team till the last minute. If absolutely anything at all had gone wrong on that night, I am pretty sure the English press would have lapped it up and ripped him apart to pieces. Thankfully, the team on display did a fine job and dispatched the Swiss army 2 to 1.

Capello’s first team sheet had quite a few surprises in it. His master stroke was in giving the captain’s arm band to a natural leader like Steven Gerrard (who also wears the famed No. 10 jersey nowadays) which looks like it will stay in his arm for quite a while. The defense looked very solid and balanced with two left footers in Upson and Cole on the left and two players who know each other well in Ferdinand and Brown on the right. Jenas in the center of mid field was a surprise to me, though that was merited based on his Tottenham form. Rooney up front was a natural choice given that is the role he is deployed in for Manchester United and Cole playing off him was also a good decision. From the team sheet, at least Capello looked to have gotten his tactics right from the word go which is what Steve McLaren was poor at.

The game itself was more entertaining than the qualifier in which England lost to Croatia which, even though it produced 5 goals, was quite boring in reality. Joe Cole was arguably man of the match in my perspective. He was quite lively from the time the whistle was blown and looked like creating chances for others every time he got the ball on his feet. Rooney was slightly subdued (like he has been for United off late) but got to play his natural role just off the striker in the second half and clearly had a better game there. David Bentley left me quite impressed with his workmanlike performance and great crossing ability. It seems like there will be quite a battle between him and Aaron Lennon as to who will be successor to David Beckham on the right side of mid field for England. The rest of the team came up with the trumps and barring Gary Neville and John Terry, this would make quite a first team against any opponent.

Capello clearly has to move forward from here and he seems to have gotten a big green light from the English press based on early reactions. With a decent win under his belt, he has got 2 years before the next big tournament which will be the 2010 World Cup (now that England are not playing any part in Euro 2008 after the disaster in the qualifiers) and he clearly looks like he is capable of putting out a team which will have each player playing to their strengths and which will play with the sort of passion that is on display in the Premier League week in and week out. He also has a natural penchant for success which he again proved as recently as last year in taking a poor Real Madrid side and making them regain lost glory in the form the La Liga title. Whether he can bring this clearly demoralized English side together and lead them to lost glory in 2010 (there is still a long way to go) remains to be seen.

The Champions League again kick-started with the 2^nd round in which United beat Lille under controversial circumstances. Giggs scored the only goal of the match from a free kick on 84 minutes but the Lille players were not ready and they threatened to walk off the pitch if the goal was allowed which it was and Lille were heavily fined for their antics as United claimed a crucial victory. Two weekends of Premiership football proved to me that the title was United’s this season. On 24^th Feb, United were drawing 1-1 with Fulham after Brian McBride had cancelled out Giggs’ first half volley. But, Ronaldo, who has undoubtedly been United’s player of the season, broke Fulham – and Chelsea – hearts as he scored a brilliant individual goal on 88 minutes to give United the victory. On 3^rd March, in another game in which United were expected to slip up (and should have) United beat Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield. Liverpool dominated the entire game and should have had the match done and dusted if not for United’s brilliant goal-keeper Edwin Van Der Sar who blocked efforts from both Bellamy and Crouch. United should have been awarded a penalty after it clearly looked like Saha had been caught by Daniel Agger in the box on 76 minutes but referee Martin Atkinson dismissed the claims. 3 minutes from time United were a man down as Scholes was sent off for flinging his arm against Xabi Alonso. Just as it looked like United were about to drop points, John O’Shea scored in the 92^nd minute after a Ronaldo free kick had been fumbled by Liverpool keeper Jose Reina to give United the most unlikely of victories.

In between those two late victories United also progressed to the quarterfinals of the FA Cup after a 3-2 victory at Reading and United deservedly qualified also for the quarterfinals of the Champions League after beating Lille 1-0 on 7^th March. After a 2-2 draw away to Middlesborough left United facing a replay at Old Trafford for the FA Cup QF, United routed Bolton 4-1 at home to maintain their lead. Cristiano Ronaldo again proved to be the hero as United beat Middlesborough through his penalty at Old Trafford in the replay to set up a semifinal date with Watford at Villa Park. United ended the month of March with both bad and good news, with both influential captain Neville and Vidic, who had been the best defender in the team out with long-term injuries, it seemed as if United’s injury worries were beginning to show but it was Chelsea who still looked like faltering as United routed Blackburn 4-1 only for Chelsea to maintain the gap at 6-points with a late, later winner at Watford.

Manchester United began the month of April badly as they lost away to Roma 2-1 in the quarter-finals of the CL in a match where they played a major portion with 10-men after Scholes was sent off for two bad tackles. The following weekend came United’s major slip up as they lost at Portsmouth 2-1 after two calamitous mistakes from keep Van Der Sar and Chelsea who had beaten Spurs 1-0 at home previously in the day closed the gap to 3 points and the critics again murmured that United will eventually lose it because of their injuries. But United bounced back in style in an European night which will be remembered by everyone for a long time and in which Roma wished they had never played. Roma, who finished second in the Italian League, were demolished, humiliated and left in shambles by a Manchester United team with a point to prove. The match started with Roma in control of the tie, 2-1 ahead on aggregate but within 20 minutes, that situation changed as a Carrick lob, a delightful finish from Alan Smith (who proved crucial after Larsson’s departure and Saha’s injury) and a Rooney goal left United 3-0 ahead but United were not finished as Ronaldo’s first CL goal of the season helped United to end the first half 4-0 up and almost into the semis of the CL. 3 goals in the second half from Carrick, Rooney and Evra and a solitary goal for Roma from De Rossi saw the match end 7-1 for United which sent United through to the semis of the CL for a date with AC Milan and also sent shockwaves through Europe.

United made little of Watford in the FA Cup semifinal as they beat them 4-1 in Villa park to set up a final clash with Chelsea, who beat Blackburn 2-1 in extra time at Old Trafford (ironically) the following day, in the newly renovated Wembley stadium on 19^th May. In a weekend where Chelsea should have closed the gap within 1 point, United drew at home 1-1 with Boro on 21^st April because of a rare lackluster attacking display after Ferdinand was injured with a recurring groin injury but Chelsea failed to capitalize again as they drew 0-0 away at Newcastle in a match where they just seemed like they did not want to win. The Champions League semis began on 24^th April with United fielding a weakened defense against AC Milan at Old Trafford. The match began well for United with a header from Ronaldo tipped over the ball by Milan goalie Dida to give United the lead. But the chinks in United’s armour were spotted by Milan’s wonderful Brazilian Kaka as he scored within the space of 15 minutes to give Milan two crucial away goals. United went into half time 2-1 down. But a double from Rooney with the winner coming in injury time helped United to a 3-2 victory in the second half and United holding a minor advantage for the return leg at the San Siro.

The following weekend both the title contenders kicked off at the same time against Bolton at home for Chelsea and Everton away for (United on Saturday, 28^th April and the title race fluctuated over the course of 90 minutes finally ending with United having one hand on the trophy. Alan Stubbs’ free kick left United trailing at half time whereas Chelsea had come back after going a goal down to Bolton to lead 2-1 at half time and it seemed both teams would be level at the end of 90. Everton went 2-0 ahead through a wonderful strike by Manuel Fernandez and Bolton equalized through Kevin Davies in a wonderful seesaw of events. But United decided that this was their season and in a remarkable comeback won the match 4-2 helped along the way by Everton goalie Ian Turner whose howler led to the first United goal and former Red Phil Neville whose own goal was United’s equalizer. As Chelsea ended their game with only a point to show for it, they fell 5-points behind United and in doing so almost conceded the league to Manchester United.

The following mid-week that should have been sweet turned bitter as United were out-classed and out-played by AC Milan in every department when we lost 3-0 away from home which destroyed our hopes of a repeat of the 1999 treble in a match I don’t want to elaborate. The only good news out of that was Chelsea lost in their semi against Liverpool on penalties which ended their quadruple hopes and also the fact that the title could be clinched the following weekend. As it happened, in the following weekend a very tired United team scraped a 1-0 victory away at Manchester City in the Manchester Derby which meant they were 8-points ahead of Chelsea and which also meant Chelsea had to win away at Arsenal to keep the title alive. In a wonderful match at the Emirates Stadium, Chelsea went a goal and a man behind at the end of the first half when Boulahrouz was sent off for fowling Baptista in the box and Gilberto converted the following penalty to give Arsenal the lead. Chelsea played a brilliant second half with 10-men and scored through Michael Essien on 75 minutes to level and should have won it through a fierce Kalou shot which was tipped over by Arsenal goal-keeper Jens Lehmann. But the 1-1 draw meant that Manchester United FC had been crowned English Premier League Champions for the 9^th time and had won their 16^th English top-flight title.

The last two matches against Chelsea which they drew 0-0 after fielding a reserve team and West Ham which they lost 1-0 at home helping the Hammers stay up were a mere formality as United lifted their 9^th English Premier League title, all under Sir Alex Ferguson on 13^th May. And Sir Alex Ferguson deserves it more than anybody as in the past three years where the fans and even some of the players lost their belief that we could win the title again, he was the only person who insisted that this team would go places after they mature and that they have done. I could not have asked for a better season when we went to the semis of the CL and put up a good fight with a depleted squad, have finished as Champions of England and are hoping to complete the Double (which incidentally would be our 4^th) of the League and FA Cup the coming Saturday against Chelsea in the New Wembley.

As a British newspaper put it,
“Sir Alex and his Manchester United have proved that footballing beauty can conquer the relentless beast”, the ‘relentless beast’ meaning Chelsea’s style of boring football.

Thanks Sir Alex and the Team for a truly wonderful season for Manchester United fans. Go win the Champions League next time around.

The noise from the 76000 and odd crowd is deafening, you would not hear an all mighty loudspeaker amidst this clamor. This is the last day of the English Premier League season at Old Trafford, home to Manchester United FC. The players on the grass all have medals around their necks which is their personal trophy for a season of hard work. Two legends of the club hold aloft the piece of silverware with the crown, the English Premier League trophy. And the fireworks begin in Manchester. Yet few would have predicted these events unfolding on 13^th May, 2007 when the season (at least from a Manchester United point of view) began in controversy on 20^th August, 2006.

I certainly did not believe it possible that United would be crowned champions at the end of the season. The problems surrounding two of the best young players in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney are well documented. Ronaldo was seen winking to his team-mates after Rooney was sent off in England’s WC exit against Portugal and was almost destined to end up with the ‘Galacticos’ of Real Madrid after that incident. Yet again – as has always been the case with Manchester United – Sir Alex Ferguson came to the rescue. He sent his right-hand man, United’s assistant coach, Carlos Queiroz to Portugal to have a friendly chat with Ronaldo and his family and Ronaldo decided to stay, still the cloud surrounding him did not move and he was public enemy No.1 wherever he went in England for the entire season. That, coupled with the off-loading of the prolific Dutchman Ruud Van Nistelrooy to Real Madrid and I personally laboured many doubts about United’s goal scoring abilities as well as our ability to pip a dominant Chelsea – who had further strengthened their already strong squad with German mid-fielder Michael Ballack and AC Milan’s goal poacher Andiry Shevchenko – to the EPL crown. Yet, pip they did with one of the best seasons I have personally had as a Manchester United fan scoring an amazing 83 goals (in the EPL alone) in the process.

The opening match of the season pushed out any lingering doubts on Ronaldo and Rooney’s friendship and of the United fans’ suspicious eye on Ronaldo, as Rooney and Ronaldo set each other up for goals in a 5-1 rout of Fulham, and the 76000 strong crowd cheered Ronaldo’s every touch. The Wednesday following that, United were handed a gift as Chelsea (then Champions) lost to Middlesborough away and United beat Charlton 3-0 away from home. And the winning run continued as United beat Watford, Tottenham and Celtic (Champions League) and then came the first blow. United were expected to beat an Arsenal side minus their star Theirry Henry at Old Trafford but Emmanuel Adebayor’s 76^th minute strike sunk United hearts and with Chelsea beating Liverpool 1-0, both the teams were level and United fell further behind when they failed to beat newcomers Reading away from home as they were only able to salvage a 1-1 draw with Ronaldo’s leveler on 73 minutes. In the past 2 seasons, United’s lack of consistency has been shown as Chelsea whose form never seemed to dip were able to comfortably outclass United. A defeat and a draw back-to-back left United 2 points behind Chelsea and these old thoughts began to creep in.

A magnificent European night at Benfica and United bounced back with a gritty display and were able to beat the opponents 1-0. Wins against Newcastle – in the same weekend where Chelsea drew at Aston Villa 1-1 – Wigan, Copenhagen (CL), a brilliant performance in a 2-0 victory against an out of form Liverpool and a 4-0 rout at Bolton with a special Rooney hat-trick meant United were level on points but ahead on goal difference at the end of October. With Chelsea’s primary goal-keeper, Petr Cech, in doubt for the rest of the season, Chelsea’s defenses began to fall apart.

At the beginning of November, United were dumped out the Carling Cup by no lesser a team than Southend United, who play first division football, after they lost 1-0 away from home but that also meant one less diversion for United as a team. A win against Portsmouth, a gritty performance at Blackburn for a 1-0 victory and another victory away at Sheffield coupled with Chelsea’s loss at Tottenham on 5^th November meant United went into their game with Chelsea 3 points ahead of their rivals. While the match at Old Trafford was a brilliant spectacle to watch with both teams trading attacks and counter-attacks, the result itself did nothing the show which way the title was headed as the match ended 1-1 and United blew a chance to open a 6-point lead at the top.

Losses away to Celtic and Copenhagen in the Champions League meant United had to win their home match against Benfica on 6^th December to qualify, which they duly did to qualify in the enviable position on top of their group. Everything seemed well in the league as United beat Everton, Middlesborough and Manchester City (in the Manchester Derby) to open up a 8-point lead over Chelsea who still had a game in hand but had failed to beat fellow Londoners Arsenal on a controversial night at Stamford Bridge. Then came the big surprise as West Ham under the newly appointed Alan Curbishly (who took over from Alan Pardew) beat United 1-0 at Upton Park but a comfortable 3-0 victory away to Aston Villa meant that, with half the season gone United were leading Chelsea by 2 points. Still, with half the season remaining and having had an injury-free season so far, I had my own doubts as to whether United could keep that position till the end of the season. And with Chelsea scoring several last gasp victories against Wigan and Everton in spite of injuries to captain John Terry and goalie Petr Cech, I did wonder whether this could yet be Chelsea’s season.

Chelsea’s defensive frailties began to show and their late-goal luck began to wear out as a draw against Reading on Boxing day at home coupled with United’s victory against Wigan left the former trailing the latter by 4. And Chelsea fell further behind as they were again held at home to a 2-2 draw by Fulham as United defeated Reading 3-2 and opened up a 6-point gap at the top. On New Year’s day Manchester United drew 2-2 away to Newcastle at St. James’ Park and gave Chelsea a sniff at closing the gap. Though a Scholes double had given United the lead, a deflected shot from David Edgar off Scholes leveled it for Newcastle and United dropped two points in a match which they should have won. Chelsea (again without goalie Cech and influential captain Terry) failed to capitalize on United’s slip-up as they drew at home to Aston Villa in a lackluster attacking display.

The FA cup began in full swing on 7^th January as on-loan striker Henrik Larsson got his first start against Aston Villa in the 3^rd round at home in which United proved they could come up with late winners of their own as Solskjaer scored in injury time in the second half to help United progress to the 4^th round. In a weekend that should have had a major say in the title race, United and Chelsea traveled to Arsenal and Liverpool, both of whom had fallen far behind the top two due to inconsistency in the opening months. After Chelsea, devoid of Terry, had been outclassed by Liverpool 2-0 in the early kick-off on Saturday, 20^th Jan, it was up to United to beat Arsenal to put the destiny of the league in little doubt. An United victory looked on course as Rooney scored a fantastic header on 53 minutes to give United the lead. But a costly give-away of possession of the ball by Scholes near the edge of his own box led to Arsenal leveling on 83 minutes. Yet, it seemed United would end the weekend with a 7-point lead but some horrendous defending on their part left Henry free in the centre of the penalty box in injury time and the French striker duly converted Eboue’s cross to leave the EPL race at the end of the “crunch weekend” as it was before, with United having a 6-point lead.

A Rooney double helped United secure a 5^th round place in the FA Cup as they beat Portsmouth 2-1 at home and a victory against Watford the next weekend saw United maintaining their form. As United prepared for an away match to Spurs at White Hart Lane, murmurs were about that this could be the match where United drop crucial points as Chelsea had. But United silenced any critics with a stunning display of attacking football as they routed Spurs 4-0 and left them in tatters. Reading blocked United’s progress in the 5^th round of the FA Cup as they were able to salvage a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford which left United facing an extra trip to Reading.

And more follows in part 2 where I continue to take a look at this fantastic season for Manchester United.

The Indian team’s performance in South Africa has been well below par to what they are capable of playing. But in the first test match, they proved everyone (including yours truly) wrong with an amazing display of defiant batting, wonderful seam bowling and good fielding. Believe me when I say I am always the first one to criticize the Indian team when it comes to their performance. I always say they are over-hyped and lack the kind of team work that, for example, the Australians have.

India contains a bunch of very talented individuals in Dravid, Tendulkar, Kumble and the list goes on and on. But the best thing that could have happened to Indian cricket is the appointment of Greg Chappel as the coach. His record(and to a large extent Dravid’s as captain) as coach in tests affirms that with 7 wins, only 2 losses and 7 draws in 16 matches. With a win percentage of 43 and two away test series victories already (at a time when India was struggling to win even a test match away from home), you can’t ask for more from a coach. That said there are a few things he needs to get right like experimentation with the batting order especially with Pathan and specifically the opening slot needs to be tidied up. I would automatically drop Sehwag for a test or two and bring in Gambhir. We now have the effects of what happens when someone is dropped with some terrific performances from both Ganguly and Zaheer after their comebacks, same should be the case for Sehwag, Sachin and whoever is not playing to their potential or at least not giving a 100% effort.

And Chappel needs to be praised again for sticking with Sreesanth and not going the safe route by picking Pathan and Harbhajan in the first test. Because that was one amazing display of seam bowling from Sreesanth. And the refreshing thing about him was his character, he always did something to entertain and was always exuberant. Don’t believe me!, watch his reaction following the six he hit of Nel’s ball just after the latter had stared at him and asked him to show some heart. That kind of performance is never boring to watch but he has to curb some of it in order not to get in trouble with the match referee.

So, all in all, a very committed and energetic display from the Indian team after being murdered in the one day series. It was a good all around performance in all departments of the game. Now, the important thing to do is not to get carried away as Indians and their fans always do. Given that this is a historic win (the first in South Africa), focus should be on winning the next game as much as possible and winning the series. And repairing a few problems like the opening slot and the balance between spinners and seamers in bowling. But all said and done, this is a great moment to savor for any Indian cricket fan and any Indian in general. A first test victory is South Africa and today is one day I feel proud that I am an Indian cricket fan.