On the 3rd of January 1777 American general George Washington defeated the British general Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton. The Americans are still going on about this. On the 3rd of January 2010 Leeds beat Manchester United in FA Cup at Old Trafford. You fill in the blank.
Frankly, at this stage, I am willing to put climate change on the backburner, stop being concerned about the global financial crisis and ignore the beast of Bodmin. Why on earth did we lose to Leeds?
You can make as much hoo-ha as you want about the size of the rivalry - but this was a team 43 places below us in the football league and they beat us fair and square on our own ground. Not good enough.
Certainly, Fergie needs to light a few fires under some of the players but the team selection needs to come into account here. Last season the wizard was extraordinary in his ability to keep all the players happy and tinker the side in the right ways. We very nearly won five trophies and indeed won three. The last three seasons are arguably the most glorious in the club’s history but we’re not happy are we?
We did not learn the lessons of the Besiktas result and occasionally we field teams which are a mix of too much inexperience (Wellbeck, Gibson) and too many underperforming veterans (Berbatov, Scholes).
Santa’s sack has really been a mixed bag for us this year. The result at Villa had been coming for a long time. Our record against them is scandalously good and in no way reflects the disparity between the sides. It was owed and I can take it. Fulham on a good day are better than United on a bad day apparently. Make no mistake though, we were spanked.
I think more than one side in the Premier League has figured out that if you can stop Rooney you can stop United. Leeds provided a masterclass in how to do it. The Roonster had two men on him at all times and when he passed to a less effective colleague the team became less effective. Down the line these are the kind of frustrations that lead to Rooney collecting crimson cards, so it is even more of a worry.
I absolutely agree that Ronaldo was irreplaceable, and I absolutely agree that our defensive injuries are more than unlucky. I am also absolutely sure that we need to open the piggy bank in this transfer window. Is the money there though? I fear it may not be, not even a James Cameron movie could get us out of the debt we are in.
We cannot collect another result against City like the one against Leeds. Ladies and Gentleman, it is time to wash the lucky underpants, apply the red lipstick and get out the scarves. The team all the help they can get at the moment.
On a more cheerful note…
Some great United moments from the last decade:
1. 11 May 2002, at about twenty past four. Last game of a season when we'd won nowt. Miserable nondescript game against Charlton which ended 0-0. Denis Irwin substituted on the last of his 511 games for the club and the whole ground giving him a standing ovation as he went off. Great full back, great club man.
2. March 08, the Lyons home game. A couple of lads in front of us start singing the Adebayor song, only to find that other United fans turn on them and tell them to shut up. 'We're United, we're not racist'. Contrast that with games from the 60s and 70s and the monkey noises and bananas thrown onto the field when there was a black player on the pitch. It's an indication of how the fans are evolving.
3. The Roma fans in March 07, keeping singing and never letting up even when they were six-nil down.
4. Macheda's goal, perfect drama, really quite special and the moment we knew we’d make it to 18.
5. Rooney's debut hat trick against Fenerbahce (oh the promise that heralded...)
6. Giggs getting the BBC award (which I didn't see, nor vote in, but was so pleased to see justice done to a great man for this club)
7. "That's bollox that. There's always been pressure at this club." Alex Feguson calmly reacts to a question after we defeat Mourinho’s Chelsea.
8. Moscow.
9. Winning the league back from Chelsea.
10. Standing ovation for Fat Ronaldo.
Moments collected by Mark Payne, The Grimace, Jhonno, Underpantman and The Russian Red Lipstick Crusader.
Thank you for all of your e-mails whilst I was on leave, I shall endeavour to reply to all of you personally over the next week.
Wishing you all a prosperous 2010, Mark
Comments
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Posted by Patrice-Kigali on 01/05/2010
Happy new Year Mark and all u ManU fans.
Mark, all this makes me remember your answer to worries i expressed at the beginning of this season. My worries were that we needed at least three quality players to re-enforce the team so as to be able to compete favorably with the likes of Chelsea, Barcelona, Real Madrid ... Another worry was that Berbatov is not delivering to the expectations and therefore ManU needed a sharp shooter.
But wait a moment; You answer was simple. You concurred with me and stated that you did not expect ManU to win anything this season without re-enforcing and said that if it happens come May 2010, it will be a surprise bonus.I couldn't disagree More. Let us wait.
Since the Barcelona game in the Champions League final, any person cld see that ManU was lacking in a number of departments and needed serious re-enforcements.
I trust Furgie and think that soon he is gonna do something otherwise...
ManU 4ever.
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Posted by Tapiwa Mubonderi on 01/06/2010
You are right about on the strategy of stifling Rooney it really kills the team. However a team needs several players to come in support when two players are marking the main striker it means that there is an attacking player who is free. The recent defeats indicate that Ronaldo not only left with his cutting edge but took the teams will to conquer.
SAF needs to work out on getting several of the players to perform at the higher level. I also believe that Berbatov and Rooney are more effective as 2nd striker and a natural finisher such as Owen should play with them. However Berbatov has got a size advantage over Rooney, the younger players hould come through with the goals though.
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Posted by Butcher on 01/06/2010
Happy New Year everyone
I just wanted to say that i wouldn't be surprised if we didn't win anything this year. We lost a lot of strength from last year and now we have a lot of players injured. We lack the consistency that we had in previous years and i can barely remember a team performance this year where we outplayed a team which was playing well.
Arsenal should have beaten us, Liverpool beat us, Chelsea beat us etc etc. I can't remember an opponent playing well and us outplaying them, we just appear to be playing well when the opponent is playing badly or average.
It's barely 2010 and we already have 3 home defeats, 5 in the league and we are already out of the FA Cup. We were always proud of having depth but still i haven't seen a United performance where we outplayed an opponing which was playing well.
We claim to have defensive injuries but the problem i saw on Sunday was finishing. The score could have been 5-5 on Sunday but we couldn't score even 1.
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Posted by Dave Gearing on 01/06/2010
Have followed United since we left England in 1970, and this is the most challenging year thus far. All top clubs have slumps and injuries United included. Sunday's game against Leed's was a Manager's error to which he is entitled too also. The only problem i see with all the latest results are as a supporter which peice of hardware is most important, because based on the team and it's showing against Leed's it really left the impression this was hardware they where opting out of. Good luck against City
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Posted by Okenna muotanya on 01/07/2010
Sir Alex has works to do at they back. I believe this man u team can win something this season.
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Posted by Kip McDowell on 01/07/2010
ManU has showed their weaknesses this season, I only see them dropping points here and there as they make their way through to May. Wellbeck was a disappointment to me, and Berbatov as well, even with his new haircut. And Obertan? The Wolves game commentator kept calling him Berbatov. About as effective I think. Must have been the hair.
I would like to see ManU top Chelsea, but I am thinking Arsenal are on the streak.
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Posted by frederick asah-kissiedu(KOTORCH) on 01/07/2010
i was very shocked and surprised when Leeds United beat as on our own background and eleminated us again from the FA Cup but all is not lost yet. i really believe in my manager, the great sir alex ferguson, a manager who has achieve every thing in his career as a coach. God blss Fergie and God bless Man U. If the Lord permit us,
Man U will win the league again this year.I wish my darling club the very best of luck again this year.Man U , the best
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Posted by BCHY on 01/08/2010
Well it was a shocker to see us lossing to our old time rival - Leeds. But I think Fergie should seriously consider either 1.) To retire; or 2.) To change his tactics and spend some cash on new players.
I am still searching for the reason as to why Fergie resists to spend money on new players, like world-class ones and not like the over-rated youth players like Tosic, Nani etc or the ageing players like Scholes and Owen.
We are clearly lacking a DMF in our team - neither Fletcher, Carrick, Scholes, Anderson or Gibson are doing the job. We should have alook at the likes of Y.Toure and Gattuso, they won't be that expensive since they are struggling to hold a place in their respective clubs. Im afraid tat we wont be able to win any title this year unless this problem are resolved.
As Berbatov, Owen and Wellback are not providing the support that Rooney needed in the attack. We should weight our option at Dzeko and C.Cole in this transfer window!
Best luck for Man Utd
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Posted by Sam Cassidy on 01/09/2010
Us United fans need to start seeing realistically. The amount of ill-informed opinion flying around has reached overdrive. We have operated within our means, struggled massively with injuries and had a couple of poor performances in high profile games (always seems to be Liverpool, and Leeds was a particularly nasty surprise). However, the idea that this is a utd team in terminal decline is absurd. We are competing against teams operating outside the jurisdiction of rational economics and still excelling. We are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with our injuries and elimination from the FA cup could be a blessing in disguise, allowing us extra time to rest and prepare for the important games in europe and domestically. Our youngsters are looking great and getting important experience (lessons can be learned from defeat). So don't be too defeatist! We are Utd and post Christmas we always seem to up a gear! Happy 2010!
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Posted by MU Fan. on 01/09/2010
Well, I agree that once Rooney is off-form, we have hardly any players to be our main man. However, I still do not agree that we MUST buy new players. I know that we are not performing well now, but you all must think, even if SAF buys a new player, C.cole, Dzeko, Villa, or whatever, can they adapt to the team? Can they adapt to the tactics that Man Utd use? If they can, then it will be good to us. But if its bad, you all will be flaming SAF again. Unless you work in Man Utd, I believe you can't know which players can shine in Man Utd. You can't just look at the line-up and say, EH, we need Villa. Also, any new players may hinder the development of our young prospects. Also, I believe there's no one in the team that is irreplaceable, including Ronaldo. The thing in Man Utd for the past few years, the focus was ROnaldo. Free Kicks, Penalty, Corner were all taken by Ronaldo. So of course once he leave, the team will surely be affected. But I believe the team will show that they can do it
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Posted by MU Fan. on 01/09/2010
without Ronaldo. And don't forget, we have a new striker, Mame Biram Diouf, and I believe he can be a great striker, with great heading skills, great finishing. Red Devils may not be this year's champion, but we are the Hungry Devils, the lost of the title will push us further, and win it back, the next season.
Man Utd, Forever.
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Posted by Jeff from Oz on 01/11/2010
I really hope the new year delivers what it has in the past in terms of United performance because the first half of the season was disappointing to say the least. I can't honestly recall a game were we played well. Yes, we won both games during Xmas but, let's be honest, there was little resistance from either Hull or Wigan in those games and we should consider ourselves lucky that we weren't up against the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal or, dare I say it, man City!
We desperately nedd to strengthen the central defence - Vidic's heart just doesn't seem to be in it and Ferdinand hasn't been the same since his back problems. Jon Evans is still young and needs a mature defender to play with, Wes Brown is a great full-back but is NOT a central defender. SAF needs to sign a class C D so we can start playing with confidence again - confident defending builds confidence throughout the team. Also, when Macheda is fit he should be rotated with Berba, Rooney and Biram Diouf - forget Owen - too old.
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Posted by Westone Munguya on 01/12/2010
I have always trusted Sir Alex in all his life time at the Theater of dreams, including moments when 'great' players are allowed to depart.
The departure of CR7 ofcourse has left some cavity to be filled, but i strongly think a striker like Villa or Silva to partner our own Rooney can do some difference on our score boards. Long live United.
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Posted by Daredevil1805 on 01/12/2010
we are really struggling to get back on track!
but though, manu will win the title in the end,
injuries and bad weather conditions are affecting the team.once the team got recovered, it will be difficult to stop the killing machine.manu has to fight very hard to win the league and will eventually win in style
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Posted by Net_Coach on 01/13/2010
Rooney needs to be more selfish and go for goals, snapshots or one-touch at most, he's wasted too many chances trying to lay it off to teammates. Ya gotta score to win! Assists don't count!
Secondly, ManUtd has no aerial threat so why all those wasted crosses into the penalty boxes hoping for a lucky header? Stats: how many goals this season resulting from corners or headers? Pretty scarce. Keep it on the ground and lay it off for low shots (eg. Evra forcing the own-goal in Birmingham match).
Set pieces or free-kicks: sure miss Cristiano's imagination & skill on this. Giggs is about the only one left (except Hargreaves or even Nani). Rooney only seems to blast his shots into the wall.
Fletcher committed the cardinal sin of getting sent off more than once. Needs to cool his head - his challenges are pretty outrageous and will become referees' bogeyman everytime.
Got to score more goals to win.
Go Reds!
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Posted by Tony Gee on 01/13/2010
MU Fan. Ronaldo didn't take corners, he scored off of them. No matter what anyone wants to say, his loss is huge. When he was on the pitch he drew 2-3 markers leaving others open. It was a matter of choose your poison. Without him, its easier for opponents to defend. Rooney desperatly needs a strike partner, so far no one has come to the forefront.
The backline injuries are killing this team. And Fletcher's role of "goon" or enforcer if you wish is going to kill when it really is least needed.
Fergie needs to come up with some new magic and quick. Unfortunately I don't think he can nor do I think any of his backroom staff will either.
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Posted by leroy on 01/15/2010
If Michael Owen has a better strike rate than Rooney and Berbatov in terms of his game time why isn't he starting!!!!! He clearly looks more dnagerous than any of our other strikers
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Posted by khai on 01/17/2010
glory glory man utd, hahaha, hi there, yesterday was fun 4 united. 3-0 trashing 4 burnley. Even though C.ronaldo and tevez r out, man utd still can cope really well. i would like 2 praise sir alex ferguson 4 his brilliant mind which lead to all the talented young players like diouf who scores yesterday.
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Posted by khai on 01/17/2010
I WANT TO C NANI PLAY ALL GAMES, HIS SKILL AND ABILITY ARE WICKED AWESOM MAN! WHAT ABOUT MACHEDA, HIS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN BE THE NEXT , EX PLAYER, CRISTIANO RONALDO.WHEN MAN UTD NEED A SCORE AGAINST A.VILLA, WHO WAS THERE TO HELP, MACHEDA! I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE OF NANI, OBERTAN,MACHEDA, GIBSON AND EXPECIALLY ZORAN TOSIC WHERE I HEARD THAT HE CAN SCORE FREE KICK. BEST WISHES 4 THE INJURED 1TO HEAL FASTER, I KNOW THAT THE RED DEVILS CAN WIN AGAIN! MAN UNITED PLEASE MAKE UR FANS PROUD AND CHELSEA SAD!
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Posted by Daredevil1805 on 01/18/2010
well, well, well!
SAF has the habit of creating demolishing attacking pairs!
Yorke n Cole?
Ole n Teddy?
and now, Owen and Diouf?
so, watch out guys! its going to be realllllly exciting!
the season for Owen has start now
its going to be hot, hot, hot
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Posted by hate chelsea, 4ever man utd! on 01/18/2010
LATER, MAN UTD WILL FIGHT MAN CITY, OFCOUSE MAN UTD WILL WIN RIGHT? HAVING VAN DER SAR MY FAVOURITE KEEPER IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD BACK ON THE FIELD IS A GREAT THING TO BOOST UP MANU DEFENCE. HOPE THAT MAN UNITED CAN TRASH MAN CITY MAN, SHAMELESS MAN CITY LOSE TO EVERTON 2-0 DONT DESERVE TO WIN!
Posted by hate chelsea, 4ever man utd! on 01/18/2010
SURPPORT MANCHESTER UNITED, HATE ARSENAL,CHELSEA, LIVERPOOL!
Posted by aka on 01/18/2010
I THINK Man U SHOULD NOT WIN ANY CUP BASE ON THEIR PERFORMANCE!!! JUst weak Man u...
Posted by hate chelsea, 4ever man utd! on 01/19/2010
who the hell r u aka, just thinking man u wont win any cup. think again nerd. if man u is weak, it be at portsmouth position!
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Mark Payne writes about football for a variety of media outlets. He reported on the 2010 World Cup for Australia’s ABC network and worked at one of the FIFA fan sites. He has been ESPN’s Manchester United correspondent for four years. His writing attracts a worldwide following and in 2011 this blog was nominated for an award. To contact Mark for football discussion e-mail him on markpayne.editor@hotmail.com at any time. He wears lucky socks on match days.
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