ESPN Soccernet - Correspondents - Manchester United

Posted by Mark Payne on 10/26/2009

I have a lot of affection for the eighties. John Hughes was making quality movies such as this, knee socks were in fashion and United didn’t lose to Liverpool. The days of Whiteside nobbling Steve McMahon and wee Gordie Strachan's cigar celebration are a distant memory on the horizon.

We are missing Fletcher at the moment. I am big fan of the Scotsman, solid pro, wears the shirt with pride etc., but Bryan Robson he ain’t. If that is not an indictment of our midfield at the moment I don’t know what is.

I have a sneaking suspicion that we will not be able to win the league without hitting top gear as was done last season. We need to not lose to Chelsea.

It is considerably easier to win football matches when you have a full team of players. That’s three on the trot we have lost to these lot and three on the trot when Vidic has been sent off. It’s probably part of their team talk now.

Benitez “Who wants to get Vidic sent off today?”
Hands go up around the dressing room.
“One of you will have to do some real work too you know.” Rafa replies.

Not only should Carragher have been sent off for hauling down Michael Owen, he should have been hung, drawn, quartered, dismembered and fed to a pack of rabid dogs. Maybe even that would have been too good for him. He got a yellow card. “This is Anfield” indeed.

It is not just losing that really grinds, it is the fact that we never really looked like winning. This team can play. The performance we put in at Spurs was majestic but it was the exception rather than the rule. Two points from the top at the end of October is nothing to get sniffy about but I want to see some football out there too.

The beach balls raining down on the pitch were hilarious, but that was just about the only smile I was able to raise all afternoon. It was Chelsea’s weekend, and that is annoying.

Comments

Posted by joseph ndowa on 10/26/2009

l think there are some missing links in our man utd team and the fighting spirit which we had last
season seem not to be there .

Posted by Darius on 10/26/2009

We really need to work hard,really hard to replicate the success of the past three seasons.

Posted by Henri LO on 10/26/2009

The strategy of Liverpool is disgustingly well-planned, see how they intercept our passing and win every possible loose balls from our players, like Scholes...

Posted by yunus on 10/26/2009

owen was not in the box and not that clear on goal either.as i saw it,owen was holding carra as much as he was holding owen. but all i ask is for utd fans, players and manager to accept that they did not have the desire that liverpool had on the day.

Posted by Godfrey S on 10/26/2009

We're missing the fear factor! Teams r willing to have a go at us.. Sometimes we look good (even magnificent at times) going forward but lacking the killer punch! Nevertheless, We're United!

Posted by fallies on 10/26/2009

Although there is no excuse for the lack of fighting spirit from our side, i just feel that Liverpool had an extra two players in the referee and the one linesman who's decision making was pathetic.

Posted by taona on 10/26/2009

Liverpool had 2 defensive combative midfielders(mascherano lucas) then a defender on top of that in their midfield,Man u had no muscle and our midfield was a highway, I dont kno about you guys but i think MAN U seriously need a defensive midfielder urgent.and Sholesy ...ferguson please lucas looked like Fabregas on steroids,hw shouldn`t play giggs and sholes next to each other(pace and age).

Posted by yuriy on 10/26/2009

I think the missing link could be a striker. Berbatov might not make the starting 11 at Portsmouth nowadays. As for Michael Owen... the less said the better. Good luck.

Posted by Siggi on 10/26/2009

What about the penalty that should have been awarded to Kuyt when Berbatov did his best backpack impression on him? Does the yellow card on Carra not seem fair on balance then? Also, United whined a ton of cheap free kicks out of the ref. It almost felt like OT at times...

Posted by Bernard on 10/26/2009

our midfield is a major problem - for us to be missing Fletcher says it all. We lack gritty ball winners - Scholes is sublime but aging; Carrick is intelligent and sometimes puts in a telegraphic pass, but for the most part he is "invisible", non-assertive & slow. Anderson is the strongest amongst the lot, but usually gives the ball away after winning it. Fletcher & Park put in hardworking shifts but are truly not geniuses. Where does this leave us? we end up chasing the game whenever we come up against teams with quality midfields - Barcelona (in the Champ League final), Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool. Of the Big Four, we appear to have the weakest, non-domineering, non-inventive midfield currently. Finally some comments on Berbatov. Talented, skilful and innovative he is. But hardworking he is not. He needs to come to the party when united face quality opposition - not only when we play against mid-table teams. for us to win trophies this term, we need CREATIVITY & GRIT in midfield.

Posted by Matt on 10/26/2009

I understand that blogs are biased by nature, but at least be rational. I especially like how the writer seems to ignore all of the calls that go Man U's way, at Old Trafford or not. Not only that, but the assumption that it was a goal to get Vidic sent off is ridiculous. I think Torres has gotten in his head. He has been skinned by him so many times that Vidic feels the need to be overly physical, which obviously does not work. Being consecutively sent off in the last three encounters with Liverpool is laughable.

Posted by Brock on 10/26/2009

We need to accept our limitations. Rio is old and Vidic struggles against speed. World class strikers don't fear the backline of United. I hope Liverpool don't actually ever get Gerrard and Aquilani healthy, along with a fit Torres. We would never beat that squad.

Posted by Wil Southren on 10/26/2009

You sir are a moron stfu and get over ur loss you played liek absolute shit get the fuck over it , owww ive got an idea for the first half, play it down the right and see what valencia can do, whats that ? nothing!, ok in the second, how about we play it down the middle and try get an FK , oww how well did that work you fucking MORON! FUCKING IDIOT GET OVER YOURSELF YOU LOST FUCKING IDIOT

Posted by Wil Southren on 10/26/2009

Posted by Kenneth on 10/26/2009

It's true that United aren't at the same level as the past 3 seasons. But then again so aren't the big 4 (maybe with Arsenal the exception but then they just threw away a 2 goal lead). So perhaps we might just be able to nick infront of Chelsea come May.

In the meantime, we just have to suck it up and admit Liverpool WERE BY FAR THE BETTER TEAM on the day. United only tried to play when it's too late, hoping for another injury time miracle. Well, everyday isn't Sunday.

So let the Kop have their day. In a sense of deja vu, this (beating United) is their highlight of another otherwise dull season to come.

Posted by Seth Tan on 10/26/2009

"Not only should Carragher have been sent off for hauling down Michael Owen, he should have been hung, drawn, quartered, dismembered and fed to a pack of rabid dogs. Maybe even that would have been too good for him."

I cannot believe Soccernet can actually condone such language on their wensite. Please remove such a disgraceful writer.

Posted by DAVE on 10/26/2009

LET ME SEE..WHO WAS PLAYING INJURED ON SUNDAY..
WAS IT TORRES OR FERDINAND.? I MEAN REALLY..IS'NT IT ABOUT TIME FERDINAND GAVE HIMSELF A SHAKE. HE HAS CERTAINLY BEING DRIVING THE BLUNDER BUS LATELY WITH SCHOLES AS A FREQUENT PASSENGER..GET WELL FLETCHER..SOON.

Posted by Yi Jie on 10/26/2009

How about Berbatov dragging Kuyt down in the box and ripping his jersey in the process? Conveniently forgotten by most of course.

Posted by Smithy on 10/26/2009

Sir Alex has been trying (unsuccessfully) to find a replacement for Scholes, Giggs and even Roy Keane. Carrick? Nope. Ji-Sun Park? Nope. Nani? Nope. Anderson? Nope. Valencia...maybe. Do I have to keep going? United needs (has needed) a couple of truly quality midfielders for quite some time; oh, and a goalkeeper, too. Why is it so impossibly difficult for such a huge club to have a competitive sucessor for Van de Sar?!?

Posted by Murf on 10/26/2009

Need some improvement from Nani out there on the pitch. He may have the Ronaldo dribbles but he doesn't have his speed, power and goal threat. Glad to see Valencia doing good but he does seem to drift out of games. Need these players to draw out the defenders more so berbatov can work his magic and rooney to start scoring again. I think Fergie should try playing Evra at the wing..

Posted by fletch on 10/26/2009

How anyone can say that shouldn't have been a straight red on Carragher is beyond me. Forget about where he was on the field, it was an NFL tackle. I doubt it would have mattered, but it would have made it interesting and probably saved Vidic.
That aside, United were not good and didn't deserve to win. The game is moving too fast for Scholes and he has become a liabilty against the top 4. Pairing him with Carrick was a mistake also as they are too similar. Anderson, or as Mark said Fletcher when healthy, would have been a better choice, imo.

Posted by hongkie on 10/26/2009

having giggs and scholes in the starting line up told us we were not going to win this game.....

Posted by tai on 10/26/2009

the name on the shirts alone can't get it done these days or whatever badge, even for a team as massive as united they still have to show up and play. Liverpool simply wanted it more. OH yeah, that Torres guy's pretty good huh? Ferdinand didn't even belong on the same pitch as Torres. Bottom line is "small" club like Liverpool simply hammered the so called "big" club United...it was a beautiful thing indeed!

Posted by dav on 10/26/2009

Man U was simply not Man U on Sunday. They let Liverpool dictate them around like a bunch of school kids.... Simply disgusting.
I simply do not know how Ferguson could play Scholes in a game with such high tempo. A player like Anderson would have done the task of protecting his defense much more efficiently.
That's the reason of our defeat. Our midfield was too weak in the second half. No fighting spirit, no skill... Nothing.

I just know that Man U won't let such a poor performance repeat itself.

Posted by Adnan Qiyas on 10/26/2009

henri LO,

You've got to be kidding me. Disgustingly well-planned? Is it that hard to get a fair compliment for playing it right nowadays?

What about Darren Fletcher's systemic fouling of Arsenal players & plays during their match?

If we were disgutingly well-planned, I suppose then Darren deserves a much bigger praise. But I also suppose, that's only possible for a Man Utd player, because that means they display heart, grit, determination and everything else used to rationalize their playing style but when another team plays it that way, it's unfair.

You've earned grudging respect and admiration from your challengers, rivals and all in the past 20 years. Be a bit more gracious than you are up there when it comes to them learning a thing or two from your book.

Posted by nanak on 10/26/2009

i don't think it's strange Carragher did not get a red for fouling owen. And Utd fans shd be the last to complain of unfair decisions. The officials almost alwalys go ur way!

Posted by Will on 10/26/2009

Antonio Valencia. We already have one speedy winger with outstanding dribbling skills, poor shot selections and an uncanny ability to give away possession. His name is Nani. Its bad enough how we grossly overpaid for Valencia. No reason to see it on display with Valencia and Nani on the pitch at the same time.

Scholes is done, at least in big matches like this one. It hurts to say it, but tis true.

Why is Rooney lining up on free kicks? He's no business being there. Giggs is the dead ball man on this club. Rooney needs to quit acting like he's a viable option on spot kicks.

Rio Ferdinand is quickly attaining Rotting Corpse status. At this point, the Sir Matt statue outside Old Trafford can mark better than Rio.

Posted by nanak on 10/26/2009

i don't think it's strange Carragher did not get a red for fouling owen. And Utd fans shd be the last to complain of unfair decisions. The officials almost alwalys go ur way!besides this utd team was neva good enough to beat liverpool.

Posted by Tony Gee on 10/26/2009

Anyone want to admit that we are missing a certain somebody? Wazza looks completely lost out there, like he is looking for something, he doesnt pair up well with Berb or Owen. Other squads have sorted out that they can now either mark up one on one or in zones and not have to worry about getting beat. SAF needs to get a very dangerous hitman in the January period, or things might get a lot worse in the Spring.

Posted by Adrian on 10/26/2009

“This is Anfield” indeed. - lol right mate, because teams goin to Old Trafford always get a decision going their way..! Liverpool were the hungrier side pure and simple. Not even Fergie added time can save ye on those occasions ;)

Posted by Teddy on 10/26/2009

"Not only should Carragher have been sent off for hauling down Michael Owen, he should have been hung, drawn, quartered, dismembered and fed to a pack of rabid dogs."

This is way to typical of Man U fans and to think that this is even allowed to be posted in Soccernet, what the world is becoming???? This is football, and it should stay that way, cursing some person that way doesn't make you better, though I doubt you will have any conscience about it....

Somemore, Vidic's red card was well deserved and he should been yellow carded way earlier than the first 1....

Posted by joe O'Neill on 10/26/2009

Man U was a one-man team (similar to Arsenal with Thierry Henry). Without Ronaldo, you're just not that scary.

Oh, dare I mention Liverpool was out Steven Gerrard.

Carragher's foul on Owen - it looked like two players holding on another and certainly not worthy of a penalty.

Posted by Barry J on 10/26/2009

Its a crisis at Old Trafford ....
Torres only part fit is a better player than a fully fit Berbatov and that was the big difference today. It was always going to be difficult for United to get a result with the pressure that was around Anfield on Sunday....could well be a case of playing LFC at the wrong time!!!
I still reckon the title will be beetween United and LFC again though!!!

Posted by Brad on 10/26/2009

how can fergie justify replacing ronaldo with two guys from teams that finished at the bottom of the table? valencia (wigan) and owen (newcastle)!!! cmon, who is he trying to fool? we need someone who will shoot first, pass second - like an andy cole or yorkey or nistelroy or ronaldo!! i am sorry but rooney or berbatov arent that kind...

Posted by Juan Sebastian Veron on 10/26/2009

coudn't agree more with you: "We are missing Fletcher at the moment. I am big fan of the Scotsman, solid pro, wears the shirt with pride etc."

Despite so called Two-Man team, and with only 1 man playing and only on his 80% fitness United beaten 2-0. I wonder what they can do if the Two-Man playing with full fitness. Maybe 1-4 at OT again?

I miss Fletcher so much... United a 1 man team now!

Oh, Vidic was my MOTM. He's absolutely brilliant! a HATTRICK!!! not even mascherano can do that... absolutely amazing... What a performance...

-With Love-
David N'Gog

Posted by vik on 10/26/2009

it's beyond a joke that united fans can complain about refereeing decisions. despite the fact that most united fans will probably now require eye surgery, they can spot out a discrepancy when they see one apparently. hmm...berbatov on kuyt in the box, that was a special case wasn't it son?
enjoy your dreadful boring post match discussions.

Posted by tony on 10/26/2009

with the decisions going liverpools way on sunday it was a bit like old trafford except for the atmosphere of course.

Posted by Rishi Dayal on 10/26/2009

I admire the fact that we are always patient in attack. It proved an important skill in many games. However, sometimes, we NEED to be more urgent. The way we were running at Liverpool the last few minutes of the game, that's the way we should have started off, as Liverpool did! They were pressuring us the whole time, and it eventually paid off (albeit they did score off of ANOTHER Ferdinand mistake, when will he up his game?). Against teams like Liverpool, we can't sit back and just wait for a chance to pop up. We have to create chances ourselves!

Posted by Siddharth Mehra on 10/26/2009

United are missing a creative playmaker. Thats simply why we cant penetrate defences like have done in the last three years, I cant think of a convincing win this season besides the wigan game, when we came good only in the second half. We have too many solid holding players - carrick,scholes,fletcher,hargreaves - and valencia and nani arnt first team players for united.I doubt they will be.Fergie needs to think about buying ... our squad is deep but not balanced.

Posted by Siddharth Mehra on 10/26/2009

Posted by Cozza on 10/26/2009

Why the argueing when Liverpool were transparently the better team on the day? ManUre haven't replaced Ronaldo & Tevez in any form and are looking a shade of last years team because of it. This title will unfortunately go to a strong Chelsea side.

Posted by Jim on 10/26/2009

Very nice 'pool. Going to be an interesting season this one!

Posted by REDWINE on 10/27/2009

i feel ashamed at the loss to liverpool.When can we always raise our game without the likes of ronaldo.the game showed our lapses and the fact that 30 million on berbatov to me is a waste.Ther are players to buy and the earlier we do that,the faster we will get to retaining the title.Ferguson,please do not make us a laughing stock!!!

Posted by REDWINE on 10/27/2009

Posted by didier14 on 10/27/2009

not a man utd fan, im an arsenal fan and to me, utd seem to have been affected more than i thought by the departure of ronaldo and tevez. didnt watch the game but i am not convinced that owen can deliver the goods. replacing tevez and ronaldo with owen and valencia was folly. and i think this season you guys will suffer more to find the back of the net consistantly, especially against the other big four.

Posted by TD on 10/27/2009

United fans complaining about refereeing decisions at other grounds. Its disgraceful. So many of your titles in the last decade have been won with the help of the most blatantly biased refereeing decisions at Old Trafford. Its not only the big decisions, visiting teams are also frustrated regularly with every small 50-50 decision going ManUtd's way. Not to mention malicious tackles, Rooney's arguments with the referee, Evra's acting tutorials and dives all around (Read Carrick against Tottenham, Rooney against most teams). Manchester United should actually be called Man-Cheater United. YOU LOST BECAUSE YOU WERE SECOND BEST, AND NO OTHER REASON.

Posted by Narj on 10/27/2009

Just face it lads... you were well beaten...

Posted by CJ on 10/27/2009

I really like that Man-Cheater United. Referee should give all decisions in Man-Cheater's favor else he has to face Alex Ferguson rant!
I think Man-Cheater should get 2 penalties per match by default. kick-off - here you go - two penalties, now play game with some gamesmanship for 90 mins. Still you cannot win title with grace and dignity!
Man-Cheater United! ha ha ha

Posted by godfrey on 10/27/2009

we were beaten by a better team on the day, simple as that...

scholes and carrick were the weakest link, being dominated by liverpool's midfield...Carrick seems to be not himself this year.

Posted by bernard careca ogei on 10/27/2009

Well done Liverpool, MANU didnt come to play that day, we were following shadows.Lets give credit where due, we were facing a wounded side.

Posted by chris on 10/27/2009

Plus the 5min injurytime,... maximum time must be alocated if Mu needs another goal for fear of the Ferguson verbal tirade =P 4min max would've been fair

Posted by aloysius on 10/27/2009

its the arrogance & the insane lunatic behaviour of fergie that lets MU down always. Football should be played with passion but not with the kind of enimity that caused by fergie

Posted by a fan on 10/27/2009

if man u decide to play scholes, carrick should never be partnering him.
Carrick is invisible all game and he is lazy, don't do any tackles which he is suppose to do.
I think anderson will do much better than him in any sense.
It's all tactical error from fergie, he should have play nani and anderson right after the break. One more thing, Valencia is not doing any explosive dribble that he used to do. Man utd need players to drag defenders away to create space for berba and ronney.
As for defensive problem, it clearly expose the weakness of man utd defense. To be honest , i think vidic did a not bad job, but Ferdinand is way off form.
The Man utd now is like the 2001-2002 man utd team. No fear factor, no determination to win.
One more thing, I do think carragher should get a red, But even so, as a man utd fan. Man utd don't deserve to win sunday's game. A credit for liverpool, Agger is back in first team. He is great defender and he should be place ahead of stupid skertel. LOL

Posted by Kareemon on 10/27/2009

Man Utd are disadvantaged by their midfield, Scholes was playing like a clown, losing the ball at places he shouldnt have and passing inaccurately, nani and valencia have came no where close to replacing CR7, being just your average type wingers who put in a 100 crosses with one or two being accurate, a friend told me, anderson would have made a differences, but really, how much of a difference could he have made? The young brazilian who has so often faltered in big matches is no solution to Man Utds problem, and Carrick is no Big team player and would have done better staying at Spurs, as such, Man Utd's hopes lie on an ageing Welshman who is way off his prime..

Posted by Ron on 10/27/2009

how was it possible that no one seems to feel O'Shea is the weakest link??? He is never comfortable with the ball and is consistantly breaking up the momentum of the team...

Neville should have played after 2 great performances. Our captain would have woke up the sleeping Midfield way before the last 10 mins of the game.

Yes Man U always gets decision their way in the past. But that does not mean they should be allowed to be unfairly treated.

Liverpool supporters can celebrate all they like but one-off performances like this do not win you League Titles... League Cups maybe...

Posted by bolariye on 10/27/2009

"Just face it lads... you were well beaten..."

Are u all deaf??? or just blind and stupid?? Dont u read previous posts befors shooting off??From SAF down to the players and every last fan we've all been saying Pool were better.
United did not play as well as they should have, as we've seen them play this season and thats y they lost. Gigggs was marking Johnson when it should have been the other way round and scholes wasnt in it. There's still a long way to go though and after 3 more matches we'll all be wondering what all d fuss was about. So get over ur joy ppl, it wont last anyway.

Posted by Puni on 10/27/2009

It's time we stopped rattling our boys. Fair play to the pool, we were beaten fair and square. We lost 4-1 at fortress Old Trafford last season and it became a crisis, ronaldo was a selfish twit, vidic wasn't good enough.. blah.. blah... come end season, we ended up battling for the entire lot of tropies and that defeat was a distant memory. Why not this year too?

Sure, we had an awful day at the office, players didn't turn up, gaffer made some wrong choices. World doesn't end here. We're United, we just simply don't know how to quit. The carricks, the rios, the berbatovs will show up. Just gotta keep the faith guys, it's painful losing to liverpool but we'll be back. United till death.

Posted by Beachball Triumph on 10/27/2009

''Not only should Carragher have been sent off for hauling down Michael Owen, he should have been hung, drawn, quartered, dismembered and fed to a pack of rabid dogs. Maybe even that would have been too good for him. He got a yellow card.'' Hey you wanna talk about football fine, why the fuck are you getting personal. Get over the loss and shut your trap eh. Maybe that would do you some good you scum.

Posted by AlexFaggotson on 10/27/2009

Well, Next time back in OldTraf Man u gonna win it back, The UNITED WAY!

Taunt the reff, talk him out, and scream at him so he knows how to make judgments or else... feel the wrath!

WELCOME TO THE UNITED WAY!

99 min and still going, till united scores at the end!

Posted by ben briggs on 10/27/2009

lets get one thing straight. Alex ferguson is the best manager in the world and he has been for a very long time. You never doubt anything he does, even if you don't agree with it. As much as i hate losing against liverpool, sometimes it is good for any team to lose, even United. This defeat will bring them all back to reality, i'm certain of it. The past 3 seasons in a row United have always started of dodgy, but then dominate in the second half of the season and its not going to be any different this year. We are still the best team in england by far and we deserve that 19th title more than any other team.As for the ronaldo and tevex affair, i think at the moment United is proving that they can cope without them. Don't get me wrong, i miss ronaldo's goals, but its rooneys' time to shine now, some people underrate him so much. We've also got some very promising young stars coming in

Posted by Henri LO on 10/27/2009

Adnan Qiyas,

It is obvious that your command in English is not as strong as your love for Liverpool. Search the web on the use of the word "disgustingly". This is a compliment! I just can't see what the fuss are you making. Does it represent the level of my respected Liverpool fans?

Posted by chinekwe joel ejike on 10/27/2009

MAN-CHEATER UNITED INDEED....I wonder what might have been the scores assuming TORRES is fully fit, Gerrard Fit, and Aquilani fit...It might have been another WHITEWASH AT ANFIELD...
LIVERPOOL 4-1 MAN-CHEATER...
HAH HAHHHAHHAHAHAAAA

Posted by kenny on 10/27/2009

its feels so good to see that the game actually has given pain to many people...

Posted by hong on 10/27/2009

"This is Anfield" so carragher not being sent off?

No excuse, losing is losing. The better team won indeed.

What about visitors at old trafford for the past few years?

"This is Old Trafford" so visitors never get penalty against man utd? Seems far more true than "This is Anfield" theory

Posted by Jason Arman on 10/27/2009

Agree with everything in your blog mate - the ref was horrendous and how Carragher was not red carded i dont know (remember he shldve given a penalty away earlier and been carded)

---------------------

Firstly to those criticising Owen: If you have watched the games owen is making ridiculously good runs into the box (but he needs confidence to finish) with the ball to him lacking. Look at the liverpool game - he came on and set up Valencia for what should have been a goal. Made a few excellent runs which weren't picked up.

Next re our issues: We need Fletcher, Brown and Hargreaves back and fit.

Then we need the senile fergie to buy someone in January if we want to contend. Personally i think he's willing to let this year go (by his poor team choices, etc) and probs will buy end of next season when the prices arent inflated.

Finally, United need to give Nani more game time. They messed up by not loaning him out in the last few years and leaving him to stagnate on the bench/reserves

Posted by Andrew Shafombabi on 10/27/2009

I say again, this is the coach's fault. Ferguson is a good coach but sometimes makes poor decisions. Our last draw and the defeat at anfield are cases in point. Our good prospect in midfield at the moment is Anderson and in both games he was benched. It is high time Fergusson realise that you cant rely on Scholes and the like of Giggs together agaisnt strong opponent. Giggs has been far impressive though save for the last two games.

The replacement was also pathetic, Nani for Scholes, when what we needed is someone to control the game. Let's give our youngsters a chance. Gibson is another prospect as he fears no tackles and he shoots well. Otherwise go get Silva or players with creativity. As for Ferdinand, I thought he was going to be the first to be replaced. I thinkt Fergie has a problem with his replacement decisions, he get mixed up when things not going his way.

Liverpool were probably the better team, but weren't as impressive either, man u were ust not playing at all.

Posted by hong on 10/27/2009

"This is Anfield" so carragher not being sent off?

No excuse, losing is losing. The better team won indeed.

What about visitors at old trafford for the past few years?

"This is Old Trafford" so visitors never get penalty against man utd? Seems far more true than "This is Anfield" theory

Posted by JJ on 10/27/2009

I think SAF is a manager with a winning mentality but that lacks an eye for quality when it comes to players. He believes in loyalty than quality. That's why he keeps Giggs and Scholes. Remember the days of Keane? For two seasons he could not let go of him. why? he was loyal. what happened was that we lost the league 3 years in a row. The days of loyalty in football are gone. Since the days of van Nstroy we are nowhere near identifying a natural goal scorer. where do others look for them? i don't understand what he was looking for in Beba. Ball control? and what else? L'pool games we lose in the midlle - no two ways about it. their midfielders can harass. our midfielders can't withstand the harassment (Anderson, Fletcher and Hagreaves can match L'pool midfield) None of them was there. Rio was struggling even last year. the manager should have seen that and to keep playing him just to keep his national team place is not on. I agree MU's midfield is the weakest of the BIG 4. Not safe!!!

Posted by milan on 10/27/2009

mark payne....it is clear that your are very very bitter about the liverpool result and its obvious you are a massive manutd fan who claims that manutd just didn't show up. they did show up and im sure they put as much effort into winning as any other game against a top side but the reason it appeared as if they didnt show up was because liverpool stopped them playing thanks to lucas and mascherano....as well as kuyt torres carragher and agger all putting in the hard yards in closing down!! liverpool have already played spurs away chelsea away villa manutd and a tricky game at sunderland (congrats to them for taking points off scum as well) clearly we have not hit top form but we are still only 4 points off manutd---chelsea will slow down as their ageing squad gets tired as well as losing players to africa in january.....i know this is often said but never materializes so i will be cautious....liverpool will be VERY VERY VERY close to winning the title this year

Posted by wale on 10/27/2009

well the truth is our team does need overhauling and we really havent played well this season but im still glad to be a united fan.we are envied and hated by the fans of almost every other team and the proof of this is in the amount of other teams fans read and criticize this blog every other week.

NEWS FLASH!!! this is a manutd blog and not arsenal , liverpool, chealsea or mancity so please GET A LIFE!

Posted by va on 10/27/2009

LIVERPOOL!!!

Posted by Fab on 10/27/2009

hahaha! well, mark, it's dirty - but true. I like how all the criticisms in the comments are just pouring. eh, pool has no chance at the title, their worst start in how many years? Mind you, United have only lost 2 games thus far, oh yea, pool? 4. The only team I really have a fear of this term is Chelsea. They are they only squad showing real CONSISTENT quality. Yes we are United, but we are lacking something in midfield. and defence - Rio has not been doing his job, maybe time to let Evans start building a partnership with Vida. As far as our wings go, give the guys time. Nani is in only his what, 3rd season with United? How long was it before Ronaldo REALLY started to become a threat? And Valencia is just expected to gel with a new team? be patient everyone. It's tough to swallow the idea that we may just not win the league this season, but don't be surprised if it doesn't happen. Hopefully we get a good signing in January. If they look...

Posted by coldmoon on 10/27/2009

I can't believe that people try to make a judgement without looking into the picture thoroughly. Should Carragher be sent off when he was not tackling Owen? Please look the replay carefully. He was in front of Owen most of the time before he fell. Owen only fell after. Carragher had one hand blocked the path in the direction Owen was running towards. Basically, they were chasing the balls. I tend to believe his version that Owen was the one pulling him first.

On the other hand, we should be humble that Carragher's tackle on Carrick was debatable. He barely touched the ball and changed its direction slightly; however, he also caught Carrick's knee pad.

Returning to Vidic, should he be sent off at the time he got yellow card? His first strong tackle did not touch the ball but caught Torres and knocked him down. He soon fired the second tackle when Torres was close/ down on the ground. Don't forget that the ref had blown the whistle after the first. Vidic's intention was obvious.

Posted by nikhil on 10/27/2009

we are good, we shall get better, as much as i hate to see us loose we actually ask for it, we need that ruud touch but none the less we are the greatest in the galaxy.liverpool did beat us but its jus the battle, the war was, is and will always be ours, GLORY GLORY MAN UTD!!!!

Posted by BerbatovSucks on 10/27/2009

Berbatov sucks, why did we buy him?

Posted by Soccer fan in East Africa ... on 10/27/2009

While I understand Mark Payne’s bias … even he cannot be totally blind! Even SAF admitted that Liverpool were the better team on the day (something he didn’t even say when United were thrashed 4-1 at OT … oops, was that also a no-show by Man U players?)

It seemed like both Rio and Vidic were scared stiff of Torres. Vidic has never gotten over the OT experience where Torres totally annihilated the Serb, and it appeared this game would be no different. Looks like Vidic seeks to be booked in every Liverpool game he has played, so that he can hit the showers early and save himself further embarrassment!

Perhaps we should give the United players a break … they are becoming too old to score (Owen); to lazy to score (Berbatov) and too old to defend (Ferdinand)! I never thought it possible for an un-fit Torres to skin Rio – the best defender in England! He didn’t look like he even had any passion for the game, let alone the United shirt!

[CONT'D BELOW]

Posted by Soccer fan in East Africa on 10/27/2009

[CONT'D FROM ABOVE]

For those looking for passion, look no further then Mr. Carragher!
For those of you whiners, still whining about the red card that never ever was, please know the rules of the game … or I would rather let retired FIFA ref Winter or his colleague do the honors below:

“Winter was highlighting Ferguson's insistence that Jamie Carragher should have been shown a red rather than yellow card for hauling down Michael Owen on the edge of the area during United's 2-0 defeat at Liverpool yesterday.

Another senior refereeing source, still officiating at Premier League matches, agreed with Winter. "Ferguson clearly doesn't understand the law about the denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity," he said.

"The fouled player has to have full control of the ball and has to be moving towards the goal but Michael Owen did not fulfil either condition.”

[CONCLUDING BELOW - Pt3]

Posted by Soccer fan in East Africa on 10/27/2009

[PART 3 - FINAL - I promise!]

SAF’s blaming the refs was again, yet another attempt to throw a red herring, blame the ref to cover up the inadequacies of the Ronaldo-less United team … talk about a 1-player team!

I detest managers who are sore losers … Wenger, Mourinho and seems like SAF is the biggest, sorest loser of the lot!

[There! I am done! ;)]

Posted by SAF on 10/27/2009

The no-call on the clear penalty when Berbatov assaulted Kuyt more than balances out the questionable yellow on Carra.

Oh, and "This Is Anfield indeed" is absolutely laughable coming from a United fan.

OT = over time

When needed, of course.

Posted by Rona on 10/27/2009

Typical Man U! Used to gifts from scared refs at OT without knowing that it cant happen every day.You have always enjoyed "robbing" teams with the help of referee's so it is very interesting and not surprising, reading the big Scot's post match comments.
This was a mere baptism of fire

Posted by vicksyg on 10/27/2009

I love how Utd fans blame Liverpool for that galoot Vidic getting sent off against Liverpool all the time.

Posted by red2death on 10/27/2009

What Liverpool has done is to simply prove that Utd are fallible just like any other team. Hopefully that inspires 'lesser' sides to put up a fight rather than give up the ghost whenever Utd strolls on the pitch. This Utd team is far from invincible and all premiership sides are in with a shout against them if they'd bother to give it a go. The league will be a lot more evenly balanced too.

Posted by Denny on 10/27/2009

We all praise and give Sir Alex all the accolades he so rightly deserves when we win and are successful. We get stick when we question his team selection when we loose. Fair is fair, without Anderson in the midfield we did'nt look like we stood a chance against Liverpool. He might get it wrong sometimes, but it is necessary to play our best midfield not our most experienced. Giggs was almost not there and Scholes was lost between the stronger, fitter Liverpool midfielders. Fletcher is in when he is fit, we now need to see the importance of Anderson to our midfield. He is our creative spark and he is combative.

Posted by ISZ on 10/27/2009

Today's Football Update: Liverpool outplayed and defeats Manchester United!

Oops, this is not today's news and the game was played over the past weekend. It still feels great though to have the feeling of Liverpool winning against Man U any day of the year!

Posted by Rafa on 10/27/2009

Dear Nemanja,

Let's please make it four.

Regards,
Rafa

Posted by Adnan Qiyas on 10/27/2009

Henri LO,

I didn't realize you were an English teacher/lecturer/expert to the extent you can gauge a person's command of the language via his own interpretation of a specific adjective you used, which was of course used in your own interpretation as well, while excluding all other aspects of the language.

Please re-read your remarks and check if it was NOT written in such a way where one could either take it as a sarcastic dig or as an obvious compliment (as how you've put it, although I very rarely spot compliments using the adjective "disgustingly", which is clearly the word that threw me off the compliment trail). Once you've got that answer, which I think is 50-50 at best, please realize that I'm not to blame for having such a weak grasp of my mother tongue that I couldn't have seen the obvious compliment in a sentence that was constructed with such perfect balance between sarcasm & admiration that everyone else wouldn't have made the grave mistake that I made - a big fuss.

Posted by Peter on 10/27/2009

Hi everyone, watched MU lose in a very poor game on tv in Barcelona and then went to Camp Nou to watch Barca play superb football on the deck against Zaragoza. Have been a Man U supporter since 1967.
But the Liverpool game was so low on technique I got depressed.
Too many straight line players with little ability or confidence to play the modern game.
ps I'm an Australian!

Posted by Avi Singh on 10/27/2009

Fancy Man U fans complaining about the rough treatment they were getting from the refs at Anfield re Carragher, considering the ludicrous bias towards them at Old Trafford in terms of minutes added on in injury time. Stop your moaning United fans, you and Fergie are always complaining about something or the other. And Vidic has got himself sent off 3 times in a row, not Liverpool.

Posted by Kudzo on 10/28/2009

Fact: Liverpool were the better team on the day and deserved to win!

Fact: Man U are a weaker team with the absence of Ronaldo and Tevez!

Fact: There is a long way to go this season and all the top 8 teams are going to continue to drop points!

Fact: All teams are gonna have a go against the top 4!

All teams have weakness and for Man U it is the centre midfield. Chelsea have Essien, LFC have Mascherano and Man U have Fletcher when he is fit. It is the Roy Keane / Makelele role that does the hard graft....the mongrel with the biggest bite. This is an area where Arsenal are lacking. Alongside you need a key creative midfield force - Arsenal have Fabregas/Arshavin, Chelsea have Lampard/Deco/Cole, LFC have Gerrard / Benayoun but sorely miss Alonso and Man U are lacking and relying too heavily on an ageing Giggs out wide in midfield. The supply to Rooney isn't there and he needs a decent partner in the mould of a Van Nistelrooy (strong in the air, holds the ball well, scores!).

Posted by footballfan on 10/28/2009

manu played real bad that day. midfield of scholes and carrick didnt have any imagination and vision. loosing ball cheaply not closing down was their game. not only rio, evra also had poor game. all players except vandesar played poor. need reinforcemnt on midfield, at least 3 players needed 2 in midfield, one creative one defensive and one striker.

Posted by football fan- not biased on 10/28/2009

Ok- liverpool were by far the better team, in midfield and in attack, they deserved the win no doubt about it- no one can take that away from them.

I am sorry though for all liverpool fans and any other fans of football who say that Jamie Carragher should not have been red carded is ludicrous.

Now im not saying he should have been red-carded for his foul on owen. Prior to that on the halfway line rooney turned him inside out and he hauled him down with rooney breaking away- yellow card no doubt about it with the way the ref was dishing them out. Then, owen was behind him as he is yanking at him and literally rugby tackling him, to say owen was doing it back is crazy. He was trying to break free from the rugby tackle carragher was doing on him. Yellow card- but as the last man quite possibly should have been a red.

Carragher was lucky to be on the pitch simple as that and would that have changed the game, who knows, maybe maybe not.

Neither wonder fergie snaps at refs.

Posted by Christopher on 10/28/2009

ITS LIVERPOOL WEEK U IGNORANT FOOL !!
U SORE LOSER!! U WERE BEATEN !! 2-0 !!
SHOWED ALOT OF WEAKNESS IN THIS GAME !! EXPECT TO BE EXPLOITED.

Posted by We love Man U, dont we? on 10/28/2009

Mark Payne, Man Utd is just great. Stop whinning about why Carragher wasn't sent off. Vidic was just not good enough. Torres was strolling and yet Ferdinand couldn't keep up with him. Man Utd for the title? Rant at the referee for more extra time. Maybe it works.

Posted by jacky on 10/28/2009

dun worry....its just a game with a wounded animal...why so much anger on losing this game....this game for me is just to lose n giv benitez chance to be in Liverpool again....do u think Liverpool can realli won this tropy at last...the answer is NO...this year's Premier League....every best team will win n lose....u can see how chelsea lose to 2 not best team...u can see how arsenal can throw 2-0 to 2-2...n liverpool maybe can win MU this time around but they dun have the consistency to win the league...so dun worry...this league havent start the real game yet...it will start from december till march n u will see which team have the consistency....this year MU playing more as a team than last 3 years...so dun worry...we must believe in Sir Alex...he have won us so many tropy...dun upset we will be UNITED...if u think so bad u will know how many tropy BENITEZ won for Liverpool??? so pls be patient...we need to win tropy more than a game....MU FOREVER...

Posted by Joe-Reds on 10/28/2009

Most united fans are just like their pathetic coach Ferguson, i.e. sore loser and whinner!!!

Posted by sunder on 10/28/2009

When man u was given extra time to beat man city and draw against sunderland,we didnt hear fergie's rant.if it had being a man u player dat was hauled down and his clothed ragged as berba did to kuyt,fergie would have called the referee senile.When will u guys accept that owen cannot replace tevez neither would valencia,ronaldo(i wonder y he never went for ashley young if he wanted to replace ronaldo)i clapped for aston villa when we lost to them cos we had no bench and then for wigan when petr was sent off.Man u fans and their coach should learn to applaud other teams when they are outclassed.fergie should learn from ancellotti.and for your info you will never beat a first four team this season without that magic from ronaldo and tevez hunger unless ofcourse the referee does wat he did for u against man city-Up Blues

Posted by kop4life on 10/28/2009

as always, manure fans winning! dude we were the best team and completely dominated your side. and please dont come crying about decision not going your way, it's not because you have been on the good sides..at times dubbious sides of so many decisions that you will alll the time. united sucks.

Posted by johnf on 10/28/2009

2 years in a row, Utd have come to Anfield and thought that playing the experienced Scholes would be a good option. He is slow, can't tackle and occasionally makes a good cross-field pass. Anyway I thought it was a great game, you can't beat watching Fergie crack the shits because the ref won't give Utd what he wants. He forgets that Utd got a procession of freekicks for marginal offences. Suck it up Fergie, Liverpool will probably stuff it all up against the supposed lesser teams anyway. Lets face it, on their day, Chelsea are going to duff up both these teams.

Posted by MUfan on 10/28/2009

Firstly, indeed, Man Utd didn't deserve to win. Liverpool were a greater side, we just can't deny it. So to all Man Utd fans, please stop whining.

Secondly, for all those Liverpool fans, do you really think that you can win the League? Just after winning ManUtd? Dropping 12 points, and gaining 3 points from ManUtd won't get you anywhere near the trophy. Do you Liverpool fans really think that with Torres, Gerrard, and Aquilani, Liverpool can win the League? Use your brains, please. Liverpool only won Man Utd, and you guys are like they won the whole league, and insult ManUtd? I dare to say, this season won't be Liverpool's, it will be either ManUtd's, or Chelsea's.

Thirdly, to all those who insult Fergie for wrong buyings, have you all ever, ever thought of the right buyings he bought? Rooney? Ronaldo? This two examples is enough for you to be grateful of Fergie. All Manutd fans, just trust what Fergie is doing, or else, just find another club to support. Theres no use whining.

Posted by MUfan on 10/28/2009

Fourthly, to all those who think ManUtd are pushovers, just wait and see. Its too early to judge a team, a team like ManUtd. As I said, just wait and see, and see who will win this season's league.

Lastly, to all those people, who insult ManUtd, coming to other team's blog and rant like no one's business, be a shame of yourself. Spamming and insulting in your rival's team's blog is just a childish act. This only shows that you are emotionally unstable, or mentally unsound. So you guys expect us to write bad things in our own team's blog? So what if we are sore losers? We complain in our own page, is that wrong? Unlike you guys, spamming in other's blog, and acting like foolish dogs who bark at other people houses. Seriously, you guys should visit Mental hospital, and have a check.

ManUtd forever.

Posted by Manu4life on 10/28/2009

It was obvious that the game pace was too fast for scholes n giggs, anderson shooda replaced scholes at half time. Giggs n Scholes cannot be played in the same game if the opposition has fast n strong combative midfielders. It seems as if Valencia will come good on the right wing. As for the left wing, I seriously feel that Zoran Tosic is our answer. He's got a wicket left foot, great silky touch, wondeful close control, vision and creativity.

Posted by Mark Payne on 10/28/2009

Ah,
Thank you kop4life

"Manure fans are always winning".

You prove in one sentence what we all knew all along.

1. United fans will win in the end
2. They don't teach spelling in Liverpool

I can rest now.

Many thanks.

Posted by Dennis on 10/28/2009

Man U are in trouble. Yeah Ronaldo was great, but all he did was cover up the deficiencies. Man U lost to Barca last year due to the lack of a #10 player. SAF doesn't believe in that role...Now that Chelsea've got their Boss right, it will be tough for anybody to catch them, sadly.

Posted by Twisted Logic Scum on 10/28/2009

Why can't we put this result in another context, that is ManUtd can NEVER win against a big team WITHOUT the help from the referee? That pretty much explain why Red Nose (which turned purple) whining none stop when there's even a 50-50 not given to scum's way. Muahahahaha

Of course in his selective vision and memory he conveniently left out
1. Berbetov's foul on Kuyt (yellow card + pen)
2. Vidic's series of fouls = 1 yellow?
3. Vidic's 2nd foul is worse than Carragher's case. That's a straight red.

But of course, in the twisted scum world, maybe every match should have a 'Mike Riley' that awards 20 Pen to Scum

Posted by Repo Man on 10/28/2009

What puzzles me (besides Fergies team selection) was how Utd seemed content just to roll with the punches and reluctant to put up a serious fight. Skill is of little value without serious legwork. At times there is enjoyable flair, but to be able to produce that on a regular basis you must be prepared to get srcappy when necessary.

Posted by dunzo on 10/28/2009

ummm.. United need a box to box midfielder, that' sit, Scholes is too old, Carrick and Fletcher are too defensive minded, Anderson... Anderson, Nani .. at best a winger, There is no genius in the middle, that's the problem, plain and simple, Ronaldo peppered over that fact last year with occasional help form Giggs, and momentary attacking outbursts from all these other dudes

Posted by dunzo on 10/28/2009

Posted by james on 10/28/2009

i do not think that fergie is a good tactician honestly. i think he may be good at addressing the dressing room ongoings. usually its not really his tactics that bring man utd through.

besides i do think that anyone is critising fergie as he shld have been like other managers.

being objective, i think that the whole of man utd midfield is certainly not world class. take a look at frustrating nani, hardworking but not-really-effective js park, old and cant play big games scholes (tho he is a great player last time), valencia who really cant make much of a impact and 17 million is overpriced, inconsistent anderson, the so called creative playmaker but i dont think he has much creativity which makes him unable to make it to eng squad carrick, however giggs and fletcher are good but not world class, for giggs at least not now! man utd cant even beat liverpool? a club that has many mediocre or even lousy player. to name a few LUCAS, reira, babel, voronin, ngog!!!! man utd has to improve

Posted by Ric on 10/28/2009

Really, the problem with Manu games is with its midfield.. there isn't any creative spark at all.. Carrick has time and again disappointed me in matches, big or small. Giggs and Valencia are probably the only 2 midfielders Manu can rely on now to link up offensive plays.

Posted by naseem on 10/28/2009

man what a sore loser, liverpool were the better of the 2 teams even saf admitted this, they won the 50/50's and the carra incident? what about the darren flecther incident when wiped out arshavin completely and he didnt even touch the ball, united get most of the 50/50 calls thier way... but at anfield they didnt, so have a winge you loser

Posted by Tony Gee on 10/28/2009

Since that night in Rome I sincerely believe the reason for the loss was nothing more then SAF squad selection, his selection of Park completely dumbfounded me. I understand you want to reward him, but against a fast passing team like Barca that was just wrong. Speed is going to be the future of football for the next 10 years. You need players who move very very quickly. Right now United is not a Ferrari, they are at best a fast Japanese import. The scoreline would have been worse if it wasn't for VDS. CR7 had great talent, but his talent was best used when he was given the room to improvise. Right now no one can really do that, Nani is close, but he is hampered down to play wide. Put Nani in the center, give him the room to operate like CR7 and I really do believe the magic can happen.
Everyone keeps mentioning Hargreaves, I think its time to put that experiment out to pasture. He is hurt more then he plays, and while we're at it, how about we start shopping Berb off in January!

Posted by MUfan on 10/28/2009

Nice one Mark, i love your comment. Oh Manu4life, perhaps Obertan can play left wing? Dennis, what do you mean by #10? A finisher?

Posted by Zac on 10/28/2009

The comment about Vidic is crazy, how many times should he have been sent off that game? His final yellow should have been a red in the first place, or 20 minutes prior when he purposely jumped into Reina when he was throwing out the ball? Did you watch the game or the last three bouts between Liverpool and Man U? What were the scores?

LFC 2-0
LFC 4-1 at old Trafford
LFC 2-1

We have yet to have a fit squad after acquisitions as well.. Man U has skimmed by thus far all year with medoaker wins. I don't forsee thier season going towards the top again.

Posted by NealR2000 on 10/28/2009

Berbatov was a huge waste of money, and I suspect he also lowers team morale. Get rid of him and replace him with a Villa and Silva if they can be bought.

Posted by Neutral on 10/28/2009

It's not United's moaning about refs that bugs me so much - it's the fact that for the most part the refs are quite biased - in their favour! Fergie talks about the Anfield 'atmosphere' that caused the ref to give a decision in Liverpool's favour - oh yeah, that NEVER happens at Old Trafford. And Evra complains that Carragher was not sent off but Vidic was. He overlooks that fact that they were treated equally - they both got yellows (just happened to be Vidic's second). And as for United players surrounding refs to harangue them - well they've got a patent on that one, and no-one does anything about it. Unbelievable. If United fans were honest, they would agree that they were completely outplayed on the day, and really didn't look themselves. Looks a case of too many 'nearly' players at the moment - they should give Da Silva a go in the team.

Posted by Puregold on 10/28/2009

While its common practice for fans to be fanatical in their followership, which unbraided fanatism usually blinds them and then freezes their ability to reason properly and judge rationally, I had long adopted the position of realism. I'm a sober fan. ManU is my team, will always be, but this season, I'm not too sure about their titleship credentials, which is nothing abnormal in itself. Infact, it becomes abnormal, unnatural, when one team wins everytime. Having said that, we must sensibly accept that ManU's seeming invincibility for the past three premiership seasons will one day end. If this season is that day, then so be it. We live to fight and contend another day. All I ask is, Lads, give it your best and if your best proves not enough, well, it happens to us all, ain't it? Sometimes it's just not enough.

Posted by The Really Special One on 10/28/2009

"The past 3 seasons in a row United have always started of dodgy, but then dominate in the second half of the season and its not going to be any different this year. We are still the best team in england by far and we deserve that 19th title more than any other team"
______________________________________

The Past 3 seasons included a freescoring wanker of a player formerly known as CR7, who not only had some of best skills in the world, but could also earn ALOT of penalties and score ALOT of goals, the past 3 seasons also included one of the best defenses in the BPL and an Argentinian supersub with a touch of magic.
Which one of these are still part of the current Man Utd? Face it, you WERE the BEST team in England and maybe even Europe, like Arsenal WERE UNBEATABLE at one time, but that, even a year ago, is a thing of the past, and saying Man Utd deserve a 19th title more than any other team is completely bullocks, no one is anything till end of the season..

Posted by Bob Chadha on 10/28/2009

Funny how the Carra/Owen instance has been hammered but no one recalls Berb dropping Kuyt, then theres "Rio isnt performing", "isnt fit" etc, thats why Torres scored, fact is a 100% fit Rio doesnt have the strength or power to shake of Nando!! Pool were hungrier & fitter, simple!! Despite ManU fans moaning AF admitted we were better on the day! Whats really interesting however is the stick Rafa and the team get. . A point of Arsenal(apparently play football from another planet),4 off Utd(who are of course never subject to criticism)& 6 off Chelsea who r apparently awesome & all this after 10 games!!! If Liverpool are that poor, shocking or any other superlatives the media or fans may want to use, it doesnt say too much about our rivals does it? Im not gunna use the old "stevie G" didnt play card, top teams have to cope, but more significantly we do have $20m worth of talent waiting in the wings, if he fits in(& if u know anything about this guy he will) you'll eat your words!!!!

Posted by Daniel on 10/28/2009

It was hilarious how the Kop stole Man Utd fans' thunder when they flooded the pitch with their own beach balls.

Posted by Pete Dapper on 10/28/2009

Darren Fletcher! Quit whinging. Liverpool owned the midfield WITHOUT Gerrard. Man-U even made Lucas look good. Not an easy thing to do.

Posted by Pete Dapper on 10/28/2009

Darren Fletcher! Quit whinging. Liverpool owned the midfield WITHOUT Gerrard. Man-U even made Lucas look good. Not an easy thing to do.

Posted by steve on 10/28/2009

jeezzzz....
reading a Man U blog is exactly like listening to Fergie's post-match comments (or rants, depending on whether he won or lost). I can see other teams' supporters whinning about their own managers when the results are bad, but you guys are just like Fergie, whenever Man U didnt win its always other people's fault...

Posted by Jacky on 10/28/2009

MUfan u r rite...for all fans of Manchester United we just need to trust of SAF...he is the person which won use so many tropy...just get over the Liverpool game n we will see who will win the league...as for all those who just come here and insult MU Team...they r the sore losers...if ur team wan to win it just got the consistency n dun just win 1 game n then come in insult other teams coz ur teams just havent won the league yet...this year the title will be MU or Chelsea...u guys will see the difference when it comes december to march..

Posted by Ciaran on 10/29/2009

Get an education man!! Learn how to talk and spell!!!

Posted by Liverpool 2 - 0 Man Utd on 10/29/2009

fuck man utd... liverpool is the best

Posted by kop4life on 10/29/2009

Mark Payne, this is not a writing competition, but am sure you got what i said....by the way my first language is french, looser. time to stop crying and give praise to where it's due. liverpool were better than you on the day. enough said!

Posted by Kyaw Khine Oo on 10/29/2009

As you may aware, most of the players could not manage to control opponent(Liverpool)players' speed in the pitch. Instead all they tried to do to follow them only. Especially all midfield players of MU did not do their best at that time while defend players were lack of the spaces.

Posted by MUfan on 10/29/2009

To Liverpool 2 - 0 Man Utd: You are really a funny guy, winning Man Utd makes Liverpool the best? Dream on. Pure Gold, i agree with you. Man Utd won't win the league everytime, and perhaps, its time for us to lose. I am getting annoyed with the team, they are getting arrogant, and isnt really proving, that CR7's departure wont affect Man Utd. Our Midfield is weak compared to other top teams, but that can be improved. Hopefully, Hargreaves will come back earlier, and pair up with Fletcher, or Anderson. Oh and by the way, many are forgetting about Obertan. I really fancy him, and i believe he will make some impact. I think SAF did some wrong moves this time, by bringing young players this season, and brought only valencia and owen to replace Tevez and CR7. However, let us trust SAF, who brought in so many good players to Man Utd. How i wish, there will be another Peter Schmeichiel for ManUtd.

Oh and to those who says that referee sides Man Utd, just carry on saying that.

Posted by MUfan on 10/29/2009

Because we know, that you are just jealous of the trophies, and the glory that Man Utd won.
ManUtd Forever.

Posted by nick of Australia (tottenham fan) on 10/29/2009

to get into the debate a little bit, a few weeks ago Graham Poll was asked on the AUstralian football(soccer) show if there was a conspiracy with the favourable calls 99% of the time going to Man utd favour at old Trafford. His reply was its no conspiracy but a true fact that refs get really intimidated at old Trafford, and gave an example of his first game in charge at old trafford where there was a clear penalty towards everton (if remmember correctly) but he just froze and let the game played on, moments later saying to himself "WHy didnt you call a penalty it was a clear penalty"
so i think that man utd fans cant have both ways in all honesty, and what about the small clubs they neither get calls at home nor away, at least man utd and liverpool get them at home nearrly all teh time. so this time man utd donw whinge and next time liverpool dont whinge.

Posted by Sulaiman on 10/29/2009

Well, it is still October, and we, as people may say it, will not win the league, with this loss. Yeah, Liverpool will win EVERY GAME after this.. and will be duly crowned CHAMPIONS!!! YEAAYYY!!! Huh. As if we never heard it before.

Posted by killer instinct on 10/29/2009

Love this blog. I do believe that our (Manutd) squad is significantly weaker than Arsenal and Chelsea, but not Liverpool, please! But to put this in perspective, Manutd have won the last three titles on the trot, and had to come out of tricky situations in the process, so Fergie deserves respect, whatever he decides to do. For those complaining that refs favour Manutd, I really think this nonsense should stop, someone at the FA should stand up and put this to bed. But they won't, so jealous fans will always find an easy spot to pick on us everytime we win. At least we are not Juventus!!

Posted by LENNIE NAIDOO on 10/29/2009

Mark Payne stop whinning.It is you who stirs the man u supporters to the point of fanatical,that the man u supporters and the rest of the league supporters are at logger heads with each other.We should be gracious in winning and in defeat,remember that the are teams out there that on their day will give man u a run for its money.dont take away the fact that Liverpool is a great team, and so are some of the rest of the premiership.

Posted by shady on 10/29/2009

Ooh please lose against Liverpool is normal especially considering the fact that Liverpool had lost 4 games on the trot and they needed a win more.lets not forget that to be a true title contender you are suppose to win most of your home marches and at-list draw away especially when you play against the BIG 4..but what disappoints me is the manner in which man-utd lost.from the game we just realized that CR7 has not been replaced, Man-Utd lucks world class player especially in mid-field to be specific Park,Carrick,O'Shea. they have alot of overrated players in Nani, Valencia, Berb who make Rooney look worse than a division two striker. come January sell sum players and wen Liverpool visit O.T line up should read Van derSar, brown,Vidic,Rio,Evra,Hargreaves,Fletcher,Anderson,Valencia,Rooney and a new striker(the likes of Torres and Eto)

Players on sale
1.Berb
2.Owen

with the ronaldo money plus the little berba can cost

players to buy

1.Silva
2.Villa

Posted by MUfan on 10/29/2009

Hey Nick, I somehow agree that sometimes the referee seems to be intimidated in Old Trafford, but i don't think it just happen in Old Trafford, but also in other top 4 teams. But, I guess is just that its happening more at Old Trafford. Lennie, i feel that its not Mark's fault, but those Tards who just come to this blog, and spam like a dog. Oh and Shady, thats the line up i always wanted, but i feel that the new striker should be berbatov or Owen, not a new one. You see, the only real good striker that is on sale is villa, and Im afraid that Glazers Family won't want to spend too much money. So, I guess we should buy silva, and let owen or Berbatov perform the magic.

Posted by Johan on 10/29/2009

I'm a Man Utd fan since I was 18 years old and now I'm 36. Don't get me wrong Man Utd fans but we must admit that Liverpool was far more better team than us on that particular day, credit to 'em. Anyway, fans need to be professional too, admit your losses and move forward, don't blame on others for our mistake. Whatever it is, I support SAF decisions all the way, well, who am I to criticized him with his vast experienced in football. Last but not least dear fans, it's just another battle, war is not won yet by any team as we lost last season battle with liverpool 4-1 but we won the BPL war ;)

Posted by MUfan on 10/30/2009

Johan, i agree with you. Liverpool was a better team on that particular day, and we should credit them. However, some of the Liverpool fans are really annoying, and they thought that by winning Man Utd, they won the BPL. Again, Man Utd fans should really support Fergie. He was the one who raise Man Utd to a world class team, and he brought so many good players in, and train them into World Class players. For example, just take a look at CR7. Who was he when he came in to Man Utd? After Six years, who is he now? A world class player, or should i say one of the top players in the world now. So just trust Fergie, Man Utd fans.
ManUtd Forever.

Posted by Tintin on 10/30/2009

HOW CAN YOU AGREE WITH ALL HIS DECISINS!!!! Thats just crazy! I mean carraghers foul was DEFINITELY more than a yellow!

Posted by Garrr on 11/08/2009

All Liverpool fans are wankers

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