ESPN Soccernet - Correspondents - Manchester United

Posted by Mark Payne on 03/03/2011

Let me be the first to congratulate Chelsea on their victory. If things keep going like this for them they have a very strong chance of scraping a Champions League place for next season. Well done them. And who can begrudge them this? They are a rootin’, tootin’, student shootin’ group of gentlemen who deserves all the best that life can bring them. Watching them play you would think the sport had been invented for dodgy penalty calls and cynically holding the ball up in the corner of the pitch. What a joy it is to watch them practice their art.

As you might have noticed, I am not best pleased by the result at Stamford Bridge. Fergie has a real point when he says that it is three years on the bounce we have been robbed there. Indeed, it is very easy to argue that Rooney should have been hung, drawn and quartered after last weekend but an elbow is an elbow and a penalty is decisively game-changing. They are different things.

Personally, I never bought into any of this ‘Invincibles’ or ‘Indominatables’ rubbish. The thing I look at with any sense of care is the league table. It is now looking far more favourable for Arsenal than it did a while ago. Obviously, it is better to focus on United, rather than our rivals, but it is galling that a side with a defence as dodgy as theirs should be on the verge of catching us at the top. United need to bounce back. Now.

And so it is that we drive our bus into Hubcap city this weekend without the central defensive partnership that has served us so well and carrying a sense of injustice the size of London. It is going to be interesting. My worst fear is that Gerrard will be a terrorising influence and that we won’t be able to keep track of him.

Again, we need big performances from Messsr’s Scholes and Fletcher. Chicharito had earned his start at the Bridge but looked sadly out of his depth. Berbatov’s ball holding skills will be needed at Anfield instead. Carrick can put out the corner flags for all I care.

The last 24 hours at work have been most unpleasant, it is amazing how half the country turns into fans of the other team after United are beaten. If it happens again on Sunday, next week will be unbearable. But I’ll still be here, writing away about United and crossing my fingers when they step out onto the pitch. Well anyway, when did they not make us suffer on the way to winning something?

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Comments

Posted by danny on 03/03/2011

Mark,

For the first time since the lose to Bayern, I am completely gutted. Here's to a London sized dump placed in the half circle at Anfield.

Posted by danny on 03/03/2011

Mark,

I felt Carrick had a decent game in the middle. If not Carrick, then who? He is a decent holding mid, and I say he's served the side well for the majority of the season. Alanso he is not, Toure he is not, but he's a capable player and will run his socks off for a victory. I'm tired of seeing United fans chanting for a player to be strung up because we lost, or they had a dip in form.

Posted by The Devil In Me on 03/03/2011

You're spot on there about supporters falling from the sky after we're beaten. Quite painful stuff. Carrick might be a nice lad, but he's not regular first team material.Carling and FA Cups sure, but not games against the big 4. Scholes and Fletcher marshalling the center, with Nani and Giggs out wide. Fletcher's dogged determination can mark Gerrard out of the game, and let Scholes pull the strings like he did in the first half against Chelsea.

Top Article.
Cheers

Posted by ahmad ziadeh on 03/03/2011

As much as carrick is a badbad passer. Fact is he is the only one capable ,in the center, of defensive duties. We've been robbed again at the bridge, and i am putiing my money of one of these weird arsenal slip ups. Maybe after a defeat to barca. Glory man utd

Posted by Trevor on 03/03/2011

@ danny

I agree with you, I don't think Carrick had a bad game. But honestly his passing is lacking in confidence. We need Valencia back so we can play with two real wingers. Rooney and Scholes both love bombing that long diagonal pass down the wings. Lately our counterattack has looked a bit disjointed by the fact that the only real pace in our midfield has been on whatever side Nani is on. Once we get Valencia and Anderson back we should be okay. Anderson maybe inconsistent but he runs very hard and he beats the shite out Darron Gibson.

Posted by Drew on 03/03/2011

I'm sorry, is that a United fan bemoaning the abundance of another team's fan base?

Posted by Steven on 03/03/2011

Mark,
You are right it is tough to be an united fan sometimes. I tried not to watch the live but eventually gave up and switched my alarm to wake up at 3:45 a.m. my time! But overall for past 30years I enjoyed and would wonder what my life is and how my weekends, and time after work. Yes Carrick and Flecher has drop in form, including, we have no choice but to continue supporting them. In the late 90s and early 21st, "we never lost, but we run out of time". We always scores and look likely to score anytime especially to towards end of 90 minutes. These days we "still" do with attacking-is-the-best-defense mentality - we never lost, but we lost on referees' decision.(remembered Bayern munich Rafael's red carded) We are not worry about our opponents/rival but the referee! TK

Posted by Tashi Paljor on 03/03/2011

I didn't on whom should I burst my anger on.... manager who despite seeing a flowing first half game allowed his players to sit back and defend... or the referee who wasn't decisive and never in command... ran away from making harsh decisions against Chelsea... or on Chelsea players... who showed that they can bully you and take advantage of the poor referee....
But then all I could do was anger chocking anger... and sleeplessness... I am a manchester united fanatic and this club makes or ruins my weekend... I am sure Manchester United do much better against Liverpool...

Posted by rafaman55 on 03/03/2011

Mark, I can't believe you think that "an elbow is an elbow...". If the right people and fair judges of the PSL see that elbow, then they should ban Rooney, or whoever commits an aggrassion like that without ball, for 2 to 4 games. On the other hand, I understand Fergie for his outburst because he is an experienced person that knows that now United might not win the league. He has already projected probabilities of the remaining games. By the way, Luiz should of been expelled and the penalty was a penalty.

Posted by OZ on 03/03/2011

contentious decisions at chelsea again- its becoming a normal part of the season. Hope it does not cost us the tittle like last year.

When Valencia is back to his best - probably next year- then Giggs might be moved back to the centre mid to help spark the attack, leaving Nani and valencia out wide- Even so, its a long season in the prem, and we cant rely on Giggs all the time, so PLEASE bring in an attacking mid!!!!

Posted by geoff on 03/03/2011

the boys played well against chelsea, its just we failed to bounce back after chelseas 1st goal. the 1st half was the best ive seen from us all season, and thank goodness Rooney is scoring again. United will definetly win d league and chelsea as well as arsenal will still lose matches. pak, valencia, anderson, ferdinad will all be back soon and i c us having an unbeaten run to d end of d season. those of u blaming carrick r not seriouse, he was great out there. chelsea were just lucky & their subs changed d match. losing d match is not d problem but d ref made decisions & ignored bad tackles dat changed d fate of d game

Posted by Tapiwa Mubonderi on 03/03/2011

Its a shame that Atkinson played the way which he did, it would have been ok to lose against the blues not to have the game stolen. I back SAF over his analysis, To Loserpool I can only backlash time Hell Hath No Fury.

Our team is good and the way Chelsea was pinned shows how good our midfield is. The aim of our play is to go for the kill and hold off the opponent with our defence which Atkinson interefered in.

Posted by Jeff Alli on 03/03/2011

Mark, the fact is Man U only played for 45 minutes, fact is there were to many games in this period the body can only do so much, fact is Rooney should be dropped and Berbatov should be given preference, i was happy when i saw him on the bench. If Berbatov is allowed to play his game and not ordered to always service spoilt brat Rooney he would be more consistent you will see, just like he did for Tottenham. Fact is Man U should have beaten Chelsea quite easily and let them come back into the game before all the hargy bargy of the referee. The great Brian Clough said " You got to put your onions in the Bag " if you do that consistently then there is no doubt and refereeing errors do not apply becuase the game is already won. Man Utd were muscled out at the end by their own choosing becuase they did not do enough.

Posted by Sam on 03/03/2011

We mustn't forget that luck is a major factor in any tight ball games...tennis, pingpong and especially football as it's a team sports. Rooney was lucky to hit the ball right so he scored, Davis Luiz was lucky the ball fell to him and his volley was just right, and above all, Chelsea were lucky the referee gave them a penalty. Man United have been lucky many times as well. 1999 UCL Champions for example. So, the easiest way to handle this huge disappointment is, I suggest, to accept that Man United were not lucky at the Bridge... it wasn't their night.

Posted by bayo on 03/03/2011

chealsea really robbed man u

Posted by Josef O on 03/03/2011

You are right United like keeping us on our toes and that makes them a joy to watch. You should not be surprised though that everyone is happy that we lost but what makes Man U is their character they always bounce back, cheat, rob and kick them and they will not lie down. That is what pains everyone because in the end they will arise and take the trophy and leave chelsea dreaming. Watch this space.

Posted by CJ on 03/03/2011

Mark,
Every time ManU loses it is fault of referee or fault that other team is playing physically, or even that they are trying to keep ball at the opposition corner flag for last couple of minutes (even we used to do this in school days as well...!ha...!)...!
Rooney should not be on the pitch in first place after Wigan incident. But ManU had deserved goal during 15 mins when they dominated the match. For rest of it, it was tight, pacy, well-balanced or perhaps slightly in favor of Chelsea - as simple as that!

Posted by Steve on 03/03/2011

Any neutral watching that game (I was sat with many watching it) would have been totally bemused by the inept performance of a man placed in charge of managing fair and proper play.
The media also have a huge part to play in this. All the talk last week was of Rooney's strike on another player, I totally agree that it was uncalled for and warrented a booking, yet what wasn't mentioned was the two footed, potentially career threatening challenge on Patrice Evra.
The decision is with the man in the middle, the one who commands respect.
Blatant hand ball
Strike on Hernandez
Blatant foul on Rooney
You tell me the difference between Vidic pulling a shirt and Luiz striking and tripping an opponent. There is none, they are fouls, they all warrant a ythey all warrant a yellow card.

Mr Atkinson had an absolute shocker. SAF is spot on. The truth hurts. This is not about Chelsea v Man Utd. It is about being competent to perform the job.

Atkinson clearly is not.

Posted by El Tri 2014 on 03/03/2011

An attacking midfielder cries rise again! I admire Paul Scholes to death and hope he'll be back next year, but he has lost pace and you worry about him having to go 80 mins plus. Giggs becomes a good midfielder-winger and it shown in recent past games, but I would do anything for a Schwiensteiger or the kid from Borussia Dortmund, Mario Goetze. Oh, and sign Chamberlain for Fergie's sake!!

Posted by Scouser on 03/03/2011

LOL, The sky is falling! The sky is falling! Rooney's elbow was worth 3 games, 'nuff said. The fact that someone called a penalty AGAINST ManUre was amazing. Also the fact that ManUre lost as a result was spectacular. For once a ref was not bullied into making favorable calls for Sir Purple Nose. The tides are changing and ManUre are now certain to bottle it. Lets just hope that the ref at Anfield isn't wearing a ManUre kit.

Posted by cristian soto on 03/03/2011

Perfect read on what we MANUTD fans are feeling;a sense of injustice, anger, frustration and simply not understanding what happened by the end of the game. Rooney's elbow in the match b4, NOT THE POINT! This was another ball game (although I agree he should've got red carded). Once again, dubious calls at the bridge and chel$ski supporters jumping around like cabaret dancers on a Saturday night show!! Either way, time to bounce back. Hub cappers BEWARE!!

Posted by Zap on 03/03/2011

Face it mancs, you were second best. Period. Was Luiz fortunate? Perhaps, but so was shrek. And Im referring to the shoulder barge he commited against Ramirez in the first half, not his thuggish elbow at the weekend. Not to mention the blatant dive he took in the penalty area (Ill say it, as if Ashley shot him) moments before he scored. So there, yap yap yap, you lost, get over it. Everyone gets the benefit of the doubt - no one should know that better than united. Heck, even the announcer on tv called it "fergie-time." And the pen, whether soft or not, is still a pen. Lastly, about Drogba running down the clock with Ramires, I dont see that any worse than nani taking over head-diver duties from ronaldo. Pathetic. You lost. I love it! Can you hear the man u sing? No!! Noo!! Can you hear the man U sing? I cant hear a $%^& thing! Up the Chels!

Posted by evan on 03/03/2011

I thought we played a hell of a game, Chelsea were no where to be found.Fergie is right three years running to be on the end of bad decisions! Some thing is wrong with that well at least Atkinson can show some consistency making bad calls three years running.I must admit however that we could still have come back from that penalty.I find that when we got the ball in good areas and had Chelsea stretch we fell victim to bad decision making by both Rooney and Nani and i'm sure that had they made better decisions in those areas they would have scored.We have fallen vitim to that all season really but it has really come to bit us in the ass now. We should have won even with the bad calls and I think it should be Atkinson being banned and not Fergie if he has to be accountable for his words then the ref should explain his decisions and all three years!

Posted by sam on 03/03/2011

who ever complains about rooney not being punished by FA, they should not forget that bosingwa was offered the same leniency after kicking benayoun...its of no use complainig about the ref no matter how crap and biased he is..we should move on hope that we will have a good game against the scouse

Posted by Gavin on 03/03/2011

Mark,

I could agree with you more. For if it werent for incompetent officials we would have won the league title last year as Drogba's offside winning goal would not have counted and we have gotten at least a point from that game and have won the title. The officiating in Tuesdays match was very inconsistent. I hope Park, Valencia and Anderson will be back soon as their work ethic is certainly missed

Posted by Haz Master on 03/03/2011

Mark,

Stop making excuses! Rooney shouldn't even played in the first place due to the elbow against Wigan. So, subract Rooney's goal and subtract Lampard's penalty and guess what we still have, David Luiz's goal. Also, David Luiz getting a red card for the foul on Rooney, well again Rooney shouldn't have been playing. Fergie is a cry baby just like Wenger. Why can't they be a man like Ancelotti and take a loss? They are great managers, but their grumpiness makes me lose respect for them. Finally, how many teams have lost at Old Trafford for wrong calls against team?

Posted by nas on 03/03/2011

Useless and unworthy comment from Fergie, just good for the trash. Losers. Keep whining and cry me a river.

Posted by Todd on 03/03/2011

You said it here Drew. Poor guy has to bump into a Chelsea supporter after a loss. Perhaps the tiny United fanbase can cry on each others narrow shoulders

Posted by Drew 10 hours, 57 minutes ago

I'm sorry, is that a United fan bemoaning the abundance of another team's fan base?

Posted by Josh on 03/03/2011

How come no one is talking about Roney's elbow and no red card. I think you should be fair when passing judgement. Ferguson didn't complain or the referee is unfair when it happens to a Man. Utd player. No you all Man. Utd fans are crying. The last time i checked, Man. Utd have not beat Chelsea @ home even whenever they win the league.
I will encourage you and all other Man. Utd fans to focus on Arsenal rather than crying over 3 points that is already added to the league table.
CHELSEA 4 EVER

Posted by ugo issa on 03/03/2011

fergie is right, he deserves an apology either

Posted by fritz on 03/03/2011

An elbow is just an elbow and a penalty is game changer? Granted it was a penalty against Luiz. However if the rules had been applied correctly, United would have been down to ten men before even having scored a single goal vesus Wigan. That's not to say they wouldn't have won anyway, but who knows? As far as the leaky defense of Arsenal's. fact is they have not had their BEST defender (vermaleen) all season and a defender that was hurt for the last 18 months playing brilliantly for them. United have drawn against West Brom, Bolton Everton, and were down 2 nil to Blackpool before making a miraculous comeback and winning. And Arsenal has a leaky defense???? Check yourself.

Posted by Inshan Suliman on 03/03/2011

Well,clearly we all expect some level of biasness in this article. People can complain about the refereeing decision, its not the first and wouldnt be the last. Countless times manu have gotton decisions in there favor, which would have led to a title. So instead of wining about it, consider the overall picture....Chelsea were the better team....Manu after controlling the game lost there way in the second half.....and yes it was a penalty, the faintish of touches can be a pk...your once beloved god Ronaldo was a king diver and even he got pk's his way. So accept it Manu were well beaten by the better team.

Posted by ABU on 03/03/2011

Am I reading this correctly? You people are saying it's tough being a Man U fan? Yea, it's gotta be brutal constantly winning trophies every year. Poor souls, you. Mop up those tears and realize that everything evens out. How many games have you won on dodgy penalty calls? How many of your players have avoided being sent off when they should have? (see last weekend)

Posted by Lord on 03/03/2011

what's all these crumbling and mumbling about the ref's decisions, just because it didn't go on man us's favor? hasn't man u benefited immensely on refs clumsiness in recent and times past? and what if the refs decide it's about time man u started getting on the other end of officials bad judgement? wouldn't that be some sort of 'poetic justice' or better still, 'what goes around....'? Let me make it clear that i'm not in support of refs getting things really sour whether it's my team or not, but Ferguson, of all people, should know better to complain when the ref thinks it's the other way round. let's have some peace with all these robbery talk, because the only reason man u isn't prosecuted is because they aren't carrying fire-arms around!

Posted by Chandi Fred Opeli on 03/03/2011

If u take the comments of fergie and that of Whelan, I think the FA is just unfair to Man United. Any way they think a new record is about to be set by United so they should find all means to halt them. But the team game was the best I have seen from United in many years. They handled the referee's unfortunate decisions in the very best way.

Posted by dubs on 03/03/2011

same arguments everytime there's a loss. remove so and so cause he's not fit to start important matches (champions league final 2008 starter no less...) buy a CAM...sorry, we don't run formations typically that warrant only 1 extra attacking option but rather opt for flanking attack from a variety of positions (as is the case when we run a 4-5-1 - LWB/RWB overlap the attack of LW/RW middies, LCM/RCM provide support to the top of the 18, while CDM holds center circle with center halfs).

yes players coming back into the fold (Park, Valencia, etc.) will bolster attacking options. but i will wait til a fletcher/carrick type midfielder has an outstanding crack that turns a game on its head. then the lads better run back to MP's message board and recant previous sentiments.

always enjoy your blog updates, Mr. Payne. tell your coworkers to bugger off. it's never easy having a target on your back. but rather that than be the team running out of ammo trying to hit a moving one.

Posted by King on 03/03/2011

Sore losers blaming their loss on referee atkinson.How many time has Man U not Benefited from such decisions( though i see nothing wrong with this decision). you can name a whole lot of this penalties won by Utd. LOSERS

Posted by Josh on 03/03/2011

Wow...I seriously cannot believe what I just read. A Manchester United fan bemoaning officiating? Firstly, it was a penalty, cut and dry, no argument should be made there. Secondly, the other contentious decisions surrounded Luiz and whether he should have remained on the pitch regarding situations that occurred off the ball. If I recall correctly, the same situation occurred last weekend with Rooney. You win some and lose some...and United generally get the good run of it, and their fans know it. So much of what has propelled United to winning in recent years has relied on luck. When that luck isn't there, half the world blame officiating or holding the ball in the corner - which Berbatov will do this weekend if United have a one goal lead late in the game at Anfield, I assure you. Chelsea thoroughly outplayed United in the second half and the blues deserved the win. But it's not surprising United fans cry foul...they do so after a loss as often as Nani hits the deck and cries.

Posted by FANATIC on 03/03/2011

cliche and worthless article.

Posted by mick on 03/03/2011

3 years in a row robbed. Can't deny that.

Posted by sir_alex_of_trafford on 03/03/2011

Gareth Bale and Luca Modric - team sorted.

Posted by Taha Samad on 03/03/2011

Are you kidding me? You have to be one blind or biased or stupid football fan to say that that was not a penalty. You are clearly biased and perhaps the other two too. Sure, Luiz should have been sent off but Rooney should never have started. On the day Chelsea was the better team. They completely dominated the second half and deserved to win. No surprise you are a United fan. A sore loser just like Ferguson.

Posted by IslanderKop on 03/03/2011

What I say is this: sore losers...

Yes indeed, remember Howard Webb's partial refereeing v Liverpool? Well win some and lose some. Remember hairy caveman Roo's elbow? Remember last year's victory against Man City where more than 5 minutes overtime was played.

So spoiled brats need to stop complaining as if they are owed. I would recommend Martin Atkinson referee more Man U games to teach them a lesson of humility.

Cheers to "scraping to your 19th title"

Posted by TrueBlue on 03/03/2011

Josh is absolutely right

Posted by Mike on 03/03/2011

I think Rooney was to selfish for that match.He had at least two occasions to pass the ball. Rooney needs to play for the team & Fernandez was not ready at all. Berbatov should have started the game because we need strong & experience strikers. Anyway, hope MU will not drag down and lost against Liverpool. Finally, Ferguson need to invest in players, MU needs at least one "joker" otherwise Mu won`t go till the end.

Posted by Molar on 03/03/2011

United fans chanting crap about decisions not going their way. You folkseem to forget all too soon how many lil sides you have scraped through just this season with such dudgy decision. why didnt any of u guys chap about that in all of em moments. United where second best to every ball on teusday and jsut couldn't keep up with the physicality at the Bridge, shut ur mouths and pray your team faces their remaining games square if they expect Arsenal not to steal their lead away. Stop being sorry losers

Posted by neutral on 03/03/2011

from my neutral standpoint:

1) united dominated 1st half, totally deserved 1-0 lead

2) chelsea took the game to united in 2nd half and boy David Luiz was so crucial.

3) David luiz should have been sent off. no doubt about it.

4) the penalty claim was LEGIT

5) united will still win the prem league because:

6) arsenal cant win the important matches.(there is a difference between a big match and an important match...a match against spurs is big, but the carling cup final is important)

7) chelsea will finish top four along with city, arsenal and utd

8) This has to be THE greatest season of the decade.

Posted by pablo on 03/03/2011

There’s always another shoe, foot and perspective. I often read about other teams to get some perspective on my fanaticism. Even with the weak attempt at irony at the beginning this piece promised, I thought it was going to demonstrate a little humility. However, a defence as dodgy as Arsenal’s – are you numerate? At last count ManU have as many goals scored against them as the Gunners. Discounting the four goals against Newcastle, all of which happened with a man (Barton should have also been) sent off, and with two very dubious penalties, that plus minus would look very different. Few games that the Gunners won were lucky in contrast to the points picked up because of the various pieces of refereeing luck that ManU now rue against Chelsea. And an "elbow is an elbow"!!--three games suspension, I believe, which would have no impact upon those games? Obviously, you are less weak at irony than I htought

Posted by Will on 03/03/2011

You and arsenal have both conceded 27 goals in the league this season, so calling their defence dodgy, only serves to make your claim that 'the central defensive partnership that has served you so well' is not that good.

Posted by Aaron on 03/03/2011

What a whiney, sorry loser. Grow some balls, Mark.

Posted by Madhan on 03/03/2011

Man Utd. cannot get lucky all the times!! They already had limitless luck this season!

Posted by sadat ali khan on 03/03/2011

sore losers... that is what united fans are including you... looney elbowing a player is fine while the opponents doing the same need to be hanged... wow ! great sens of justice... the very definition of diabolical and double standards is the you, manchester united, it's players and the fans... BOOOOYAAA !

Posted by Red Devils on 03/03/2011

Dear all,

Even i too accept the fact that one should not complain refress when you lose the game. All the teams benefit from refree decisions and also suffer.

Rooney's elbow,extra 5min during Man City game,Partial refree during FA cup against Liverpool all i accept.But remember that how many times Arsenal would have won the games because of offside goals.Never i can forget that...

But the truth is United should stop worrying all those refree decisions,offsides,penalties and start playing like UNITED. The moment thay score the first goal they back-up and start defensive tactcis. Even when they score first goal in 5th min from that time till 95th min. they defend and defend. This gives the opponent team more opportunities to equal them.

This has happened to United so many times.They should keep attacking till the game is over. If you see the shots on target by the opponents it will be 10.I am sure atlest 2 will hit the target and ManU loses becuase of that.I hope they WIN...

Posted by oz on 03/03/2011

appears that chelsea fans are no better than liverpool fans- why are they reading MU bloggs???

I wouldnt even think of reading there teams blogg

Posted by pablo on 03/03/2011

There’s always another shoe, foot and perspective. I often read about other teams to get some perspective on my fanaticism. Even with the weak attempt at irony at the beginning this piece promised, I thought it was going to demonstrate a little humility. However, a defence as dodgy as Arsenal’s – are you numerate? At last count ManU have as many goals scored against them as the Gunners. Discounting the four goals against Newcastle, all of which happened with a man (Barton should have also been) sent off, and with two very dubious penalties, that plus minus would look very different. Few games that the Gunners won were lucky in contrast to the multiple points picked up because of the various pieces of refereeing luck that ManU now rue against Chelsea. Clearly, the hack has some ability at satire after all.

Posted by kardajo on 03/03/2011

wow, some people.... ok all you people who are defending David Luiz beacuse "Rooney shouldn't have been there in the first place...." ummmm..... you do realize we still would have had 11 players on the pitch and Luiz may very well have fouled berbatov every time he touched the ball just like he did to Rooney. And as for the penalty.... I can't complain to much, there was contact in the moment I can see how it was rewarded, but in my book in order to get a penalty there has to be a foul, and in order to foul someone you have to.... move. Smalling however was stationary when the player came in.... what do you want him to do, dive out of the way and give the guy a clear shot on goal? No that's ridiculous. It's the attackers job to get past the player not the players job to get out of the way and not that the attacker dove, but he just ran over a stationary guy and got the foul. Yeah it's soft. not begrudging the ref for the award, I can understand how he saw it that way, but it was soft.

Posted by Joseph on 03/03/2011

Man U fans are notorious whiners and you, Mark, are no exception. Take after Ferguson I suppose, whose petulance is most pathetic and embarrassing.

Posted by Mike on 03/03/2011

I literally watch every Man U game and Real Madrid waiting and hoping to see them lose. People do the same thing in Germany for Bayern Munich

Posted by smalls on 03/03/2011

haters can keep on hating. tough loss for united. our away record is still terrible, and this was not an easy one to let go, but as a reminder we are still TOP OF THE TABLE! not to say we are playing the best football, but we have the experience and the quality to grind out "squeaky bum time" till we hold up title #19. Let's Go Red Devils!! the season is ours to be won or lost. and to all the people crying about how united are "sore losers," dont be mad that we have been winning for quite some time and you still struggle to pick up the scraps. LUHG from NEW YORK.

Posted by Mohan on 03/03/2011

Good luck to Chelsea, surely they will need it for the only trophy they will fight. Yes, I am talking about CL. I think you may have used up all your cards for a nothing match for you, and might be blanked by Barca again with all the ref calls going the other way.

United will still win the EPL, no doubt, and when we do I will forget this loss like any other. To bad you Chelsea fans can say the same things. Good luck with the 4th spot.

Posted by cris gonzalez on 03/03/2011

long before the game began i and other manc faithfuls knew the result would end with abramovic and the mercenaries fc comin tops with refree help.they never quite get what it is about man utd,most of world football don't understand why players get there and want to end their careers there.Even when they leave they still look up sir busby way wistfully..ask messrs ronaldo,beckham and gerard pique.no matter how many fans of united we have whenever we lose everyone else is an emergency fan of the other side,be it bayern,wolves or whoever.we are used to success cos we arent afraid to fight for it,something chelski would never understand.Refs come and go,SUPERTEAMS remain,ask the REAL refs of europe,not the premiership comedy club..viva man utd!!

Posted by Kem on 03/03/2011

"Hateration".utd deserves the outcome of chelsea game.enough said. IMO,it goes around & comes,that chelsea wins in controversial has bcme töo awfully consistent in recent yrs.finally,SAF hasn't shown patience in the development of Utd's young playrz.,greening,rossi,pique,eagles,kieran,chadwick,cleverly,gibson,welbeck,kiko,etc.the list is almost endless.

Posted by Raman on 03/03/2011

SAF has this amazing technique of taking the blame of his players and making the ref look like a culprit.
I think Chelsea played wonderful football in the second half. And deserved the 3 points.
Whenever a closely contested match won against ManU and the result blamed on the ref!!
Nothing new from SAF and MANU fans!! Lets Wake up!!

Posted by kdeezy on 03/03/2011

The ref completely robbed united of that game, terry ivanovic and luiz where allowed to bully nani rooney and hernandez into noexistance, luiz wasnt the only one to escape a deserved yellow. Carrick is no longer united quality, he hasn't had a decent game since we won the champions league. Maybe pastore, van der vaart, or modric should be brought in to inject some much needed creativity at the attacking mid spot espescially once scholes is gone and with anderson injured. Can't wait to see Cleaverly, Kiko, Welbeck, Smalling, Evans, and the da silvas on the pitch together, that will be the next united squad to win the champions league.

Posted by Amid Akhyani on 03/03/2011

Mark, if you think an elbow to an opponents face which deserves a red card is not game-changing, you don't just know nothing about football, but you're a fool and you have no place in sports journalism.
at the end of the day, Rooney shouldn't have started it and if you take the penalty away it would still have been 1-0 to Chelsea and would still have been a cracking game to watch. united supporters really need to grow a pair and deal with a referees decision when it doesn't go their way, which in truth is not all that often!

Posted by governor on 03/04/2011

SAF is the biggest whinger out there. The best team won on the day and the bloated red nose always blames the ref's. Hopefully the League will deal with him good and proper this time. After all without ref's at all levels we have no game. Grow up Alec! Was wonderful to get a penalty against Manure a very rare event indeed. May United get pipped for the title that would make my year top it off completely.

Posted by TinManUnited on 03/04/2011

Have fun in the Europa league next season you bunch of ABUs!!!

Posted by Joe Fernandes on 03/04/2011

Mark
I feel last year the championship was decided by two hugh games that were referee mistakes or else they would never have won even though they played good ,and again this time the result was what happened at Wigan ,Atkinson is not a fair ref at all he is a poor official

Posted by PoP on 03/04/2011

Arsenal's defence being poor is just media hype. They would probably have the best stats in the country if it wasn't for dodgy referees. And I acknowledge this even though I support Spurs.

Posted by Brent on 03/04/2011

United complaining about past decisions going against them is a funny thing, indeed. How vividly United fans remember Drogba being offside in April of last year, yet have no recollection of Macheda pushing the ball into the net with his arms in the same game.

In an ideal world, Luiz would have been sent off and the penalty wouldn't have been awarded. In that same world, Rooney would have been banned for the Chelsea match along with the next two. As for the John Terry handball? Please. No referee in the world, aside from Howard Webb and Mark Clattenburg, would have given that penalty. It was a Nani ROCKET shot and Terry didn't move his arm upwards or away from his body.

Instead of focusing on Atkinson's admittedly horrible performance, what about United's? No one to hold the ball up, ZERO play down the right side, and the only attacking came from counters. No team will win many games with only two shots on target. You also left the four goalline scrambles out of your assessment.

Posted by charvakan on 03/04/2011

If Man U plays as well the rest of the season as they have their last couple games, they're in fine shape. I support the Arsenal, but our stars are too brittle to play more than 30 or 35 games a year, and that just doesn't cut it down the stretch. You think the Gunners are going to run out the season without dropping points? I wish.

Your lot got a few bad breaks against Chelsea, but after the non-call at Blackpool that preserved the chance at a famous back from the dead win, you can hardly complain about a the officiating at Stamford Bridge. The penalty call was close, yes. But I think it's called at least half the time no matter who does it. What's Smalling doing there if he's not trying to get the ball or the man?

You have Chelsea at Old Trafford. I expect you to beat them handily. And you do get a crack at a goalie half the age of yours when you come to the Emirates. Talk to Birmingham about that.

Posted by Ashburton Grove on 03/04/2011

Come on guys !!! accept defeat ...we played rubbish against chelsea..........we r a rubbish team with rubbish bunch of players.We 've to accept that arsenal is leagues ahead of us..especially after watching them beat barcelona.

We manu fans are nothin but losers who cry foul after we lose a game....it hurts, but there is no option...we r sore losers and cant accept defeat so we always come up with excuses like blame the referees etc.

I honestly believe Arsenal should win da title.

Posted by jason on 03/04/2011

i can't believe this gets published. espn is something of a respectable name here in the states. that said, the chelsea blogger used to not be much better (he has improved). But c'mon. have some self respect, give some analysis. look how many people read and comment! they deserve something to actually think about.

Posted by Godwin on 03/04/2011

Mark, i know how you feel, i think it is difficult for you to believe the fact that Chelsea won,just like other Man u fans including their coach Fergie. The truth of the matter is that the game has been won and lost. Chelsea deserve to win and i respect Carlo Ancelloti composure in every game. Chelsea dominated the game. Man U only played for fifteen minutes, therefore we should give it to Chelsea.I have the feeling that people believe that the Premiership is United right and they are crying that Chelsea is probably trying to take away their birth right

Posted by tewodros yimer on 03/04/2011

what matters the game b/n arsena and man .utd but really the referee get back our world to the baised if you take the attack on Rooney by the defender firstly ,it looks to loose on football world and make him merchant.and to make him self popular with no hard working and contributing nothing to the spectators . please try to confront the referee what he has to get!!!

Posted by Jarod Jung on 03/04/2011

Chelsea done Arsenal a really huge favour. As far as being robbed, I really don't think so. Man Utd lost to a better team on the day, simple as that.

Posted by Rubin on 03/04/2011

As a neutral supporter and a lover of the game, I do think United were robbed. They weren't brilliant first on first half but they did what they were supposed to do, scored one and conceded none, defended(EDVS was marvelous) with all they had. What really was infuriating was the ref turning blind on occasions. Luiz ran rampant over Rooney and Hernandez and he got nothing for it, absolutely nothing. Specially the unnecessary shoulder barge on Hernandez was classless. His goal was a spectacular, true, but overall what he did with both strikers left me thinking about his true credibility. The penalty, first I thought was one, but the replay clearly showed that Smalling had his touch on the ball before Zhirkov came running. And I don't blame him, what other choice did he have? They needed the win, he dived. Overall, a very disappointing outcome from a very promising game. The match and the people who were watching it deserved better.

Posted by Joe on 03/04/2011

Stop calling United "man u"! Great article mark

Posted by Saimon Sanga on 03/04/2011

These frustrations caused by referees has great impact. I have been suffering for years because of these kind of unfair judgements from match officials. Managers get sacked, Teams get relagated but referees are always protected by laws. If a referee like Martin Artinkson get killed by frustrated fans, would you blame anybody. If money cant buy love,at least it can buy sex and if money cant buy trophies, it can buy referee.PERIOD

Posted by Viren Bhanot on 03/04/2011

I am a Chelsea fan, and I do have nothing new to say that you havent already heard, but for what it's worth:

A goal is a goal, and a player who doesn't feature in that match cannot score that goal if he has been suspended for, to use your word, "cynically" elbowing people around.

Next, watching some of united's greatest like Berbatov and CR7 would ALSO convince you that the game was invented for dodgy penalty calls.

Finally, how stupid do you think Chelsea would look if they conceded a goal in the magically created "fifth minute" of the four minute added time, while trying to "add" to their 2-1 lead?

Posted by Arzerouni23 on 03/04/2011

You guys want to talk about Man Utd being favored by referees this season? Ok. The count for penalties in favor of the big three, Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd is as follows;

Chelsea has received 8 penalty kicks
Arsenal 6
Man Utd 2

Arsenal has conceded 5 penalties making the count stand at +1 penalties

Man Utd has conceded 4 penalties making the count stand at -2.

I don't even want to count the Chelsea count cause I am positive it is in the + department.

Sure penalty kicks are not the sole measure of favorable decisions, but it is one of the most important ones because they usually result in goals and hence change a game immensely.

So let us not talk about Man Utd getting the benefit of the doubt more than the other big clubs, because every big club is favored by referees and Man Utd is not an exception. The FA favoring its top assets is the norm, so if anything, it seems like Man Utd is the least favored team out of the big three...

Posted by Doramon on 03/04/2011

Why MU always get robbed when match Vs chelsea? We lost the title last year, thanks to an offside goal by Dogba.

Posted by james on 03/04/2011

You are a douche, crap article

Posted by Ethan on 03/04/2011

You sound so ridiculously bias. I can't believe all these man u fans complaining because ONE GAME GOES AGAINST THEM. First off, yes, Luiz was lucky not to see red. But he's not the only one who body checked anybody. Rooney did the exact same thing to Ramires before that incident and there was no call. Rooney could have gotten a yellow in the first half as well for that obvious dive in the box.
You say that an elbow is an elbow and a pen is game changing. Really? So if Rooney is sent off in the 5th minute or whatever that was, man u still would have won 4-0? Really? Honestly? That's just sheer ignorance. Man u playing that game with 10 men for almost the whole 90 minutes and they would be scraping for a draw.

I'm shocked at the response to this. One single game isn't handed to man u on a silver platter and you guys complain about it more then any other incident this whole season.

That pen was a pen anyways. How was that soft? Seriously? Zhirkov had both legs taken out...

Posted by Terence on 03/04/2011

If any of you observed the penalty incident closely you would have realized that Smalling was marking the space as Lampard cut in and only switched his attention to Zhirkov when the pass was made. Its no fault of his that Zhirkov chose to run at him and fall over. I should also highlight the fact that Zhirkov simply miscontrolled. If Terry could not have avoided Nani's shot, then Smalling could not have avoided Zhirkov's run. Period.

P.S. Zhirkov might just try to run into the post and call for penalty next time. Just saying.

Posted by Wilde on 03/04/2011

Im suprised that Man. Utd feel so suprised about the soft penalty given against them. A penalty is a penalty. Non argueable.

Posted by Jinyan on 03/04/2011

Alright fine! So fergie is now charged for his comments about a certain dodgy referee(*). The perfect icing on the cake for all anti MANU legions out there - we lost a match we were by far superior on the day, lost our captain and standout player thus far for this season, and now we are going to lose our gaffer.

Apparently the context in which fergie's comments were made questioned the integrity of * and thus he was charged. The FA must have failed to consider these - a sense of deja vu of injustice dished up at the Bridge by men who were tasked to eliminate or rather from our view, uphold it; penalty against Carrick's ball-to-hand the season before last; NO penalty when Valencia was hauled to the ground by JT, and free kick awarded against Fletcher when he won the ball fair and square which Chelski scored from and Drogba impeding Brown in the aftermath from last season; IN CONTEXT to events that further transpired on the pitch at the Bridge not 3 days past.

Context, right!

Posted by jsg on 03/04/2011

Thanks for the article Mark, I was beggining to think I was the only one who felt that United were hard done by. Most United fans I speak to think Chelsea deserved it. At least now I know I'm not crazy... or at least I have some company in this category ;)

p.s. I'm wondering why someone who claims to be a United fan has the username "Ashburton Grove". And he tipped Arsenal for the title. Coincidence, yeah?

Posted by Martin on 03/04/2011

Let us be frank. United have not been playing well this season and a finish ahead of Arsenal, Chelsea and even City would be a great achievement. Chelsea played their usual physical game and outwitted United, as they have done in nearly all encounters between the two teams. Comparing player quality, Chelsea are far better than United in every single position and it showed on the field. United don't have the money to spend on stellar players and Fergie has been trying to adopt Arsene's approach of identifying and buying young talent. Arsenal's talent has now matured. Fergie's boys in Fabio, Rafael, Anderson, Gibson, Diouf, Bebe, Welbeck, Obertan need to come big if this club is to have a future. As for that 19th title - forget it. Losses against Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool are certain given the way United is playing. And we are likely to lose points in every other away game as well. So, realistically, we are fighting for the 3rd place.

Posted by Jono on 03/04/2011

Sounds like Utd fans are suffering horribly from sore loser syndrome... Shame on you Mr. Payne, you sound more like a fanatic, uneducated in the game, than a good writer who looks at things objectively... Shame on Mr. Fergie too, I have always had so much respect for him but that is dwindling swiftly, amazing how his ego can bring him to look at rooney's elbow, see that he'd done the lad and say theres nothing in it... Let me define decisive for you right now - A rooney red at the start of a game before any goals when wigan were playing better ball. Or against blkpool when that penalty would've surely sealed the game, or when u came to us baggies - Neville red + penalty = 2-1 when we were outclassing you. The more I see and hear of Utd on and off the field the more sick I get of such unsporting bias, thats leaking from team to fans. Utd might have had a better first but they were clearly outdone in the second without a chance. Man up is all i can say to you 'babies' in Evra's language.

Posted by Godwin on 03/04/2011

Posted by cletus on 03/04/2011

what else do i say. the blues are always favoured in league games.sure, i've not forgotten the pen awarded against spur which the african goat (drog)lost.mr Atkinson does not know his job and believe me, he would be killed one day by an angry and frustrated fan.the prem is for the red devils.chelsea will have to spend so much buying off refs such as Atkinson in order to get the 4th spot becos spur and Man city would give them a tough fight. Man united for life.

Posted by AAK 009 on 03/04/2011

Martin Atkinson...the same referee who judge the same game and make the same mistake 3 times successively...maybe someone pay him to don't let United win at Stanford 'Beach'...

Posted by Ebuka Nduanya on 03/04/2011

All id say is We got it coming and this is exactly what happened at the bridge last season when we were robbed. ManU had the opportunity to kill the game in the first 25mins when we should have been at least two goals up. Chelsea were looking dazed and confused at their backyard and couldnt take what we were throwing at'em. Somehow we couldnt find that lethal dose

Posted by Deano on 03/04/2011

I am not a United fan, however, if Fergy is banned fromt eh sideline then that useless excuse for a ref should be banned from doing games. Someone should teach him how to keep up with play for one. Second, I would hazzard a guess that he never played the game himself as he has no natural feeling to what is happening around the pitch and off the ball. He has to be blind to miss what he missed on many occasions. To add, how the hell do the assistant refs get paid for not seeing anything either. All three should be fined and they should say sorry to Fergy. Thank God their is a coach that is trying to deal with these useless refs that these days think their celebreties.....

Posted by Bomba on 03/04/2011

Stop crying over spilt milk you losers, you just never want to concede defeat. Whenever Man U loses, Ferguson always points it to wrong refeering, does it mean all referees have been against Man u whenver they lost? You should learn to stand up when you fall, learn to analyse soccer and never to support. How many times has decisions gone against chelsea?, Champions league defeat to barcelona, did you hear Guus Hiddink rant like AF on the referee? This doen't mean the end of the world for Man U. mistakes are part of life, but whenever a mistake favours another team apart from Man u then for you it is injustice. Look at Rooneys incident against wigan, look at man u penalty against liverpool in the FA competition. All these should click to your mind and imagine how many times manchester has benefited from such kind of decisions. Learn to be men in life, learn to stand up and move in life.

Posted by Dee on 03/04/2011

Sometimes I wonder whether some peeps watch the match with the back of their heads. Martin Atkinson is a bloody excuse for a referee. Yea...ManU has also benefited from such erroneous ref calls, but so has every other club at one point in time.
The three points in gone thats that.
ManU need to get their game back in check against Liverpool and Arsenal (though I must say their play for the first 45 mins was the best I've seen all season).
@Chelsea fans: Yea luck was on your side, so admit it. I have no issue with you guys, but when u go around talking like a superior team...then I begin to wonder whether u were watched the match with the back of ur heads?

Posted by Joe Charly on 03/04/2011

I wonder why when coaches or players agonises over poor decisions by referees, they're often punished.why would FA equally not investigate some of these officials and try to find out the reasons behind those complaints.LIke it happened in italian serie A(match fixing), it would soon happen in EPL if referees like Atkinson are allowed to carry on this without caution.If penalties are awarded in that manner(at the slightest contact), then messi would be getting an average of 15 per match.Terry used hand/elbow to block a good shot yet atkinson overlooked it,ignored all the fouls by essien,luiz,terry,ramires which some deserved a red.vidic committed frankly but consistency shld've been maintained.I think atkinson is a partaker in abromovich millions or else how come.FA should also watch the replays of these blunders committed by atkinson intentionally before rushing to ban ferguson, atleast the reasons for this provocations should be looked into or one day, the bribery scandal in serie A?

Posted by Mike Tooley on 03/04/2011

This is an absolute crap article. Holding the ball up in the corner is common place among any team and match coming down to the wire. Not Drogba's fault no ManU players could take the ball off him. Second about the penalty...It was a penalty..Zhirkov got a touch in toward goal and got both his legs taken out. Seriously go whine somewhere else. Why don't you look at your own teams problems instead of blaming the refs like that little girl of a manager SAF you have. Rooneys allowed to run 30 yards up field and elbow someone in the face off the ball but when Chelsea get a legitimate penalty the billions of red devil fans start crying. Being a manU supporter obviously means that you believe that winning the title is your given right every year...spoiled bunch of whinos you are

Posted by Mike on 03/04/2011

It's funny how they tried to ban Rooney after the Wigan game, but couldnt because the ref gave a kick to Wigan for it, and no one is going after Luiz for the two obvious attacks that the ref didnt acknowledge. Instead they go after SAF. This game is fixed I tells ya. I'm glad SAF is going to fight the charge.

Posted by Jinyan on 03/04/2011

Sore loser syndrome, sour grapes and what-have-you. Enjoy your moment of triumph while you can because judging by your performance against us, it is no more than a temporal reprieve. The best chances Chelski created? All were courtesy of the blues' beloved ref Mr Atkinson. Now all you blues fan hear this out:

1.first you got this match postponed when it could have went ahead claiming frozen pitch (the real reason being your team was down on form and personnel)

2.your best player of the night Luiz got subbed because even dear Carlo himself realized he was walking on a knife's edge, stray but a little and he would be off

3.VDS triple save at the end of the first half courtesy of a free-kick against Evra for letting Torres run into him

4.soft penalty (Ivanovic admitted as much), contact yes but Smalling never moved. Oh right, he should have gotten out of the way so Zhirkov can have a clear sight of goal

5.Lampard was anonymous for all but 2 minutes of the match (pen)

PERIOD!

Posted by armin on 03/04/2011

"Indeed, it is very easy to argue that Rooney should have been hung, drawn and quartered after last weekend but an elbow is an elbow and a penalty is decisively game-changing. They are different things."

Rooney's "elbow" should have been a red card at 0-0. Might have lost that game. How is that not game-changing?

Posted by Spurs Fan on 03/04/2011

Its funny hearing Man Utd fans whine about a loss and being "robbed" how many teams have been robbed at Old Trafford?! Nani handball goal and Pedro Mendez/Carroll blunder are the main ones sticking out for me -- Spurs fan.

Posted by Steeven on 03/05/2011

Guys and Gals.. a man u fans will stay and manu fans same for chelsea and others. but the truth is Martin atkinson needs to get a life if you understand what i mean. now i being a man u fan i know other wont agree me saying this but chelsea really did not deserve winning the match. ok now how come FA has not charge luiz any fine or ban for the tackles her was making on the pitch??? at some points i thought i was watching monday night raw like john cena is doing some slams. you are saying rooney rooney rooney thats nothing compare to others act on the pitch that other players do but ofcourse you wont agree. Manu is the best team in england even after ronaldo and tevez left they are still at the top. now keep on blabla..ing as nothing can be changed. Thanks for reading.

Posted by critical eye on 03/05/2011

why do manu fans always cry after losing? for the last three years every game manu loses, the fans have some excuse or the other. cant u just defeat? i agree tht some decisions were not correct but it happens with all the teams. sometimes decisions are given in favour of manu and u guys dont say anything then. its the same out here. so stop all the cribbing and try to be positive and look towards the future. try to have some courage if u can.

Posted by Jinyan on 03/05/2011

I find it incredible how weak and ill-thought many of the comments left here by Blues fan are. So they are saying Rooney deserved to be sent off against Wigan and should never even have started against them. Firstly, how many of you actually saw the incident live and deemed it a sending off offense? Or did you belatedly jumped onto the bandwagon in light of comments after the match from Martinez and Whelan? Depending on your locality and coverage of match you are watching, the truth is many of you perhaps didn't even see the incident, and for those who did, you might not have had such a strong opinion at the time. I know I didn't, not because I am a MANU fan but because the incident was not highlighted from the match coverage I was watching. In fact, I only have a faint recollection of the incident when I saw the outcry in the media clamoring for retrospective action to be taken against Rooney the following day. Whether Rooney deserved a sending off is besides the point. (continued)

Posted by Jinyan on 03/05/2011

The crux of the issue here is Chelski fans saying that well since Rooney by rights shouldn't have featured in this game, then by extension, we do not have the credibility to claim we were hard done by the referee. And herein lies the whole fallibility of their arguments - that 2 wrongs are the equal of 1 right. According to their logic then, Luiz and Chelski should be singled out for some special treatment by officials in their next match (I by no means is advocating for this to happen). Obviously, there can be no end in sight if retrospective justice is to be administered by referees.

Secondly, to be a soccer fan is to be biased, albeit to varying degrees. If one claims to be free of all prejudices, then this person is not a fan but a saint. Mark was only expressing his grievances and exasperation for the way we lost due to poor officiating. Every fan has the right to express his discontent at losing a fixture like we did 3 times on the trot where big decisions went against us.

Posted by Jinyan on 03/05/2011

So cut him some slack. To be a writer is to be opinionated and when you are writing on something close to your heart which you are passionate about, opinions do tend to sway one way more than the other. However you can't dispute the fact that poor officiating cost us dear and anyone who claimed otherwise, is watching the match through blue-tinted lenses. And yes, we have been the beneficiaries of dubious decisions in the past, but that does not deprive us the right to begrudge future contentious decisions. If you follow my first argument about 2 wrongs not equating to 1 right, you will undoubtedly agree. Furthermore every fan is entitled to cry foul over a erroneous decision, because for a simple fact, it ain't right. That doesn't make us whiners or sore losers. Chelski fans should have the grace to admit that their team won by sheer grit and a not inconsiderable dose of Atkinson's antics.

Posted by Jinyan on 03/05/2011

The least they could do is not call us names and begrudge our entitlement as a fan to make known our frustrations.

Posted by Gary Neville on 03/05/2011

There is a difference between incompetence and downright bias. I could almost tolerate incompetence (Mark Clattenburg, Wiley, where is he by the way. Did he referee another season after being accused of not being able to keep up with the play?) Just call it both ways and have a free for all, instead of handcuffing one side and let the other team lunge in two footed, bodychecking and handling the ball in the penalty box. People always refer to Atkinson as the one who gave the 7 minute Fergie time against City. Well, he was incompetent then, he has been consciously trying to "atone" for it ever since by "balancing" the calls, and that just plain bias and that's just plain wrong. Love how they overhype the Anfield game, against disillusioned Liverpool side on their "revival". If not for fear of jinxing the match, I'd would say we'll trash them.

Posted by Brad on 03/05/2011

How many times does Manu get the calls, how often does Fergie influence the refs, how often does he get away unpunished. Before you make excuses why not look at the game for what it was. Chelsea beat manu, doing what manu does best, cheap calls and a influenced ref. I hope fergie gets a lengthy ban.

Posted by David Smith on 03/05/2011

Many of these comments are the tedious, unoriginal, childish ramblings of lonely ABU's, who've had to wait until MARCH to crow. Come May, when Manchester United are lifting their 19th league title, these Billy No-Mates will once again be consigned to the rock from which they crawled. For god sakes, put the blow up dolls away and get a life.

Posted by maxwell mozzyle on 03/05/2011

my take on the whole episode is that...Man Utd got paid with their own coin. when Man U wins the referee is good. but when they loose, sir alex resort to all kinds of lexicon like "soft penalty" to drive home his point. My question to you Mark payne is...is it a crime for man U to loose? the tricky free kick the ref gave to man U in their last meeting with Arsenal that eventually earned them a goal, did sir alex call that a soft infringement? the matches atkinson officiated and man U won, did it make head line? so man you should get use to loosing no matter the form... thats foot ball right there and thats the reality of the EPL.

Posted by Name on 03/05/2011

useless and utter disgrace article, just like fergie's words.

Posted by Webster on 03/05/2011

I hope chelsea wont be defeated again but united are still okay

Posted by seun k on 03/05/2011

Mark,

Man-u have always been used to being favored by the refs decisions, unwarranted penalties against their opponents, or the one not giving against them (eg sunderland, after sunderland were 2-0 up) i believe just like fergie, u didnt see any thing wrong there. right? Now u r now crying foul. Imagine armed robber calling a petty-thief a criminal. u were beaten. no story about that. take heart.

Posted by Nick on 03/05/2011

How is it that you can argue Luiz and not acknowledge that Rooney should not have even been at the game. Yes, an elbow is an elbow and should have been properly dealt with by the FA, but you United got their favor, now you complain when the calls go against you. Karma perhaps.

And for the penalty, it may not have been stonewall, but Smalling had contact with the Chelsea winger. Would have been a foul and midfield, and is also a penalty in the box. All calls aside, Chelsea bossed the second half, deserved their goals, and will be looking to make a charge now through the season.

Posted by amrutesh on 03/05/2011

Man united should learn to take defeat sportingly.
and not crib about poor refereing.ifunited were given a penalty fergie would praised the refree

Posted by Chris Serino on 03/05/2011

Man U cry way too much when something goes against them. 95% of the time Man U is on the benefiting side of bad calls. A bitter pill to swallow. FAGS!

Posted by OZ on 03/05/2011

Well if reports from Arsenals game are correct- then sounds like they got robbed today as well- so maybe the refs will decide who wins the prem this year? not the teams, so Chelsea may have a chance after all

Posted by Harris on 03/06/2011

OZ as you said it looks like the refs are deciding the title race this year but i am very happy to see Arsenal cheated as now they can feel the pain we feel after the Chelsea.Tomorrow we will humiliate Liverpool in their own Stadium we just need some maturity from some players and it's going to be a easy win

Posted by rajan musc malaysia on 03/06/2011

devastated ? absolutely no . yes we lost , but we are still top of the table .

the ref robbed us , and sir alex charged ? damn stupid decision . the ref has to be booted out of officiating anymore games . if the manager cant's say this or that , than who ?

rajan . musc malaysia

Posted by MJ! on 03/06/2011

Whats the use crying over spilled milk. I have learned to move on and focus on the next game. United is a great team. The reason why we remain champions is our unrelenting and never say die attitude. With that, we sure will go places. And i daresay the reason why everyone( well, almost) hate Utd so. Despite setbacks we move on and look up at the prize
The league is not yet over. Arsenal fans went to town after Utds loss at Stamford bridge as if they had already won the cup. Then receeded into thier shell after failing to get the much needed 3 points from thier next match to overtake Utd on the league table. This is the toughest period for Utd. But Utd being TRUE champions will overcome at the end. Try as theylike, Arses will only see the cup,as they saw the Carling cup. But will not get it to Emirates. Mark my words. And watch this space!

Posted by Red trev on 03/06/2011

I'm watching united getting slaughtered by a mediocre liverpool side. For all that Chelsea- won with a soft penalty this is a weak united squad and it is being embarrassed by poor teams. This is not the Liverpool of the 80s or anything like it. Even Chelsea are not the team they were. And yet they beat United. The United of 2-3 years back would have murdered both these sides but now they look toothless. No penetration and they can barely string a pass together. This is a poor squad and falls short against even competent teams, never mind great sides like Barcelona. it must be improved.

Posted by LL on 03/06/2011

Dun be a loser mark. they lost to liverpool again today. Are you going to be a cry baby again?? Man Utd is not going to win the title this season. Their crisis has begun.

Posted by sholima on 03/06/2011

will you also call liverpool victory over manU another robbery.

Posted by frank on 03/06/2011

Mark Payne, you should consider being Fergie's PR rep. By the way, you're a loser

Posted by Hong Mun on 03/06/2011

Well let's see how you explain the subsequent defeat to Liverpool, Mark.

Arsenal, from my observation, get a lot of decisions against them every game. For example, Arshavin was denied a penalty and a goal for being offside.

They drew the game right after the 3-1 victory over Chelsea to bad refereeing too. It happens all around.

Posted by Jono on 03/06/2011

boo hoo hoo... lets all blubber with Nani and make excuses for why we lost to Liverpool now - Man U fan

Posted by SonOfFergus on 03/06/2011

United played a decent (but not great) 2nd half, but the effort fell short. A completely different team without Vidic and Ferdinand. Suarez, despite his talents, would NEVER have skipped around the both of them (as he did for his setup of goal #1). Nani's miscue was horrendous. And the rebound off the free kick was yet another defensive mess. Utd, for the most part, lacked pace and spirit. No excuses. The better team won today.

Posted by BooHoo The Men United on 03/06/2011

United got all that they deserved, plus interest. Karma is a wonderful thing, and Fergie, and all the hypocritical United fans, need to "get on with it".

Luiz should have gotten a second yellow, but he didn't, hard luck. But take solace that the referee just didn't see it. Take solace that at least one of your players was not elbowed in the face, the referee saw and said, "no big thing", and just awarded a free kick.

Their was indeed a penalty conceded by Smalling, the referee spotted it, and rightly awarded a penalty, hard luck, justice was served, and the Men United had to pay.

Also, be happy that, Fergie, as usual, has sucessfully displace blame from his tatical decision, and his players efforts on the field to the decisions of the officials. You can't do that with the spanking that Liverpool put on you today!

Posted by dtn on 03/07/2011

Match after match United win dubious penalties and their opponents don't get deserved ones. Their opponents also suffer from the referee's lack of enough guts to give a United player a red card, or any card. And you guys have the nerve to complain

Posted by Red trev on 03/07/2011

Liverpool were the better team yesterday as Son of Fergus pointed out, but lets bear in mind how it stands overall this season. United and Liverpool have met three times throughout the season and United won two of them to Liverpool's one. Oh and what were those league positions again? Even taking into account United's last two results. I wonder how it feels to be facing the weakest United team for several seasons and still lag behind them in the league?

Posted by ken wood on 03/07/2011

i think chelsea is gaining their fitness back...and with this kind of effort,i think we can still go with the league..

Posted by Abdalla on 02/25/2012

I toghuht Bosingwa did well against Young. I dont recall Young creating much threat in open play. But agree with you on Cole, really surprised, he usually shuts Nani out.

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