United On Fire

Manchester United 2 (Ronaldo 60p, Rooney 77) Bolton Wanderers 0

There was no controversy over Manchester United’s decisive penalty,  it wasn’t one.  Rob Styles gave United the game on a plate, but Wayne Rooney was given a cake by a Ronaldo back heel, stuck some icing on it and stuck on the plate to give United a 2-0 win.

Rob Styles gave United the penalty after it started to look like United were going to have one of those days when the ball just wouldn’t go in.  A lovely cross field pass gave Ronaldo some space on the right, and he was able to pick up some speed and travel into the box.  As he went inside he showed too much of the ball to the Bolton defender, J Lloyd Samuel, who timed his tackle perfectly and stopped the ball.  Ronaldo fell over his leg and used his hands to protect his very expensive face from hitting the ground.  Even he couldn’t be bothered to try to claim a penalty because it was a good tackle.  But Styles, who isn’t inexperienced in the art of giving penalties where no exist, pointed to the spot.

Ronaldo duly put the penalty away with minimum of celebration and the game was more or less sealed in that moment.  Rooney, who had been rested ahead of another Champions League clash, came off the bench and linked up well with Ronaldo and scored a peach of a second.  Who knows whether it would have been the decisive moment.

If you ignore the penalty, this was a routine victory for United, if slightly laboured.  United are slowly moving through the gears and back up the table.

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I was listening to the Guardian’s football weekly podcast and was bewildered by Barry Glendenning’s remarks about the reception Christiano Ronaldo got the other night at Old Trafford.  Glendenning called the generous and appriciative reception Ronaldo got the equivilent of making your wife a cup of tea after finding her in bed with another woman.

Ronaldo was roundly cheered and applauded on his return, rather than the media’s hoped for boos and jeers.  For that would have made a good story for the press to get their teeth into.

In fact, rather than believing most of the media storm about Ronaldo’s transfer to Real Madrid over the summer, the Old Trafford crowd decided to thank Ronaldo for an excellent season and hope that he could help United get the goal that would win the game for United.

The other implication was that United fan’s only cheered and sang for him because United had struggled so far this season.  And that, had United won every game so far this season 5-0, Ronaldo would have been booed when he finally arrived on the pitch.

What do you think of the crowd reaction to Ronaldo’s return ?

Popularity: 31% [?]

Uefa Champions League, Group E - Man Utd v Villarreal
Venue: Old Trafford Date: Wednesday, 17 September Kick-off: 1945 BST

Just time for a very short preview today.  United have to bounce back from the defeat to Liverpool on Saturday with a good win against Villarreal in the Champions League.  Last night both Liverpool and Chelsea won, so it is even more important to get a morale boosting win before the game at Stanford Bridge.

Scholes is suspended following the Super Cup, Carrick is out with a broken foot and Berbatov is a doubt with knee trouble (I hope Dimitar isn’t a direct replacement for Louis Saha in the injury department as well).  However, tonight could see the return of Christiano Ronaldo after an operation and a summer of transfer rumoured discontent.  Virrarreal will be without ex-United player Giuseppe Rossi who would have received an excellent reception from the United crowd.

Popularity: 47% [?]

Manchester United 1 (Carrick 90) Manchester City 2 (Vassell 25, Mwaruwari 45)

A memorable day was ruined, not by City fans, but by a terrible United performance and a strong defence display from our Blue rivals.

Emotional, evocative scenes as the bagpiper lead the players out onto the pitch. The player’s shirts, free of advertising, badge, and names came from another age. The minutes silence was impeccably observed, saved for some fireworks from outside the ground. A very emotional start to the game, but I think it really got to the players.

City were as defensive and organised as they were in August. United tried to take the game to them in the early stages, but it was clear we were missing Rooney far too much for a team so full of stars. We missed Evra just as much; as much as O’Shea is a decent player, he doesn’t have the attacking verve of Patrice. Brown couldn’t put in a decent ball. Nani showed sparks but nothing came off for him. Only Tevez and Anderson really looked like they were up for the game.

Ferdinand had an absolute shocker today. Terrible. Could not put a single forward pass without hitting a City player. United were undone a fast paced City break which ended with Vassell able to have two attempts to get the ball in the net. The first was going wide, but Van Der Sar blocked it as he got back towards the goal; the second was coolly slotted into the corner. After that it was going to be nearly impossible for United to get back into the game. City scored again on the stroke of half time as Petrov crossed, Benjani Mwaruwari was able to glance his header into the net.

The second half was more of the same as United looked lightweight in midfield and up front. Fergie tried to rotate the personal but swapping one attacking midfield for another wasn’t going to work as Park was just as lightweight as Nani. Shame we’ve got no forwards left.

It was only when United got desparate and stuck Vidic up front and Carrick and Anderson into the midfield (Giggs ending up at left back) that United made some progress. Sadly Vidic is in the right place as a defender and whilst he was able to win the ball, he couldn’t make or score a goal. Only when Scholes made a wonderful pass to Carrick in injury time was the City defence opened up and Carrick struck the ball true and into the net. Too late for it to make a difference. When Rooney was absent through suspension, it was the absence of Ronaldo that hurt the most. On the pitch, but never in the game save for precious few moments of good play.

On a day when United played in 50’s style shirt, it was unfortunate that because of black and white TV, they never looked like their 50’s counterparts. They looked more like the 70s version that got relegated and lost to City at Old Trafford. A sad way to end a sad day.

Popularity: 34% [?]