Tag: Rafael

From Serene To Surreal – Leicester 21st September 2014

Just in case anybody was getting too carried away after last weeks performance and result, this will calm down all those who were suddenly expecting a charge and challenge for the league. Whatever improvements occur over the next few months, title challenging sides don’t blow a 3-1 lead when beating a feisty pub side like Leicester City, no matter how unlucky the circumstances.

How it came to all this can be dissected by all but ultimately, it’s Louis van Gaal who is trusted to sort this out. After a sublime first sixteen minutes United were cruising with momentum gained from last weeks win against QPR. 2-0 up with a header from Robin Van Persie on 13 minutes and a brilliant chip from Angel di Maria three minutes later, Leicester looked lost and United looked like running riot. A minute later and Leonardo Ulloa was allowed a free header from five yards out with Jonny Evans and Rafael stood either side of him. Things calmed down for the remaining two thirds of the first half.

Three minutes into the second half, Continue reading From Serene To Surreal – Leicester 21st September 2014

He Has No Laurel

United’s pre-season has gone well. Wins against Roma, Real Madrid, Liverpool and, mostly recent, against Valencia two nights ago, are always welcome, if not exactly an accurate barometer of what the team’s real capability is.

Looking at the match the other night, there’s clearly the need for at least one new player in the squad. Fear not though, we can be rest assured that Ed Woodward is on the case in that regard. Like the good poker player he no doubt is, Woodward will get us a good deal. On the 20th of July, Woodward told MUTV “There is no fixed budget. Financially we are extremely strong, we have funds available”. Maybe he’s right, maybe he’ll surprise us all and pull a rabbit, or preferably a marauding centre half, out of the hat.

In the summer of 2013, United were linked with, amongst many others, Cristiano Ronaldo (The Guardian), Gareth Bale (Irish Independent) and Cesc Fabregas (The Guardian). Instead of those three, Woodward ended up in a blind panic paying Everton £27.5m for the hapless Marouane Fellaini. That’s four million pound more than he could have paid a few weeks earlier if he had activated Fellaini’s “escape clause” from Everton before it expired. It is rumoured that Bill Kenwright has only just stopped laughing after last Summer’s dealings. The less said about the bid for Leighton Baines, the better. Perhaps Woodward’s biggest difficulty is that though he may be a good Hardy, he has no Laurel beside him. Continue reading He Has No Laurel

A Night To Be Proud – Manchester 1st of April 2014

Nobody I know fancied this tonight. Bayern Munich are to my eyes the best team on the planet at the moment and it’s fair to say that United are a street or two behind them. The bookies were offering 1/2 on a Bayern win and I personally thought prior to kick off, they were relatively generous odds. Reds had all seen that video in the past week of Bayern literally running rings around City, the same City side that had outclassed United at Old Trafford exactly a week ago. Bayern Munich were confirmed champions of Germany the very same night that City murdered United. To say things didn’t bode well tonight was an understatement.

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View from the Scoreboard End (Photo courtesy of Joe Leonard) Continue reading A Night To Be Proud – Manchester 1st of April 2014

A Ring Of Boos – Manchester 29th of March 2014

Blue scarves, blue shirts and blue hats for a blue day were all I needed as the traditional Spring sight of daffodils was overwhelmed on Wednesday morning. By Wednesday night, the agenda had changed for the media. Some dickhead had decided to canvas contributions for an aircraft based at Barton Aerodrome to fly over Old Trafford with an anti-Moyes banner attached.

Years ago, we all laughed at attention seeking City fans who had arranged an aircraft with the legend “You’re The Pride Of Singapore” attached to it on the day United won the title. We all chuckled at how small time it was. Now a truth more painful than the defeat the other night has become apparent; there are some real pricks amongst United fans. I’m struggling to think what’s worse – that a small amount of United fans are prepared to pay good money on this pathetic stunt or a significant amount are prepared to chip in small amounts to facilitate it.

As some Reds had said yesterday, the publicity generated for a gleeful media over this whole sorry episode meant that it had actually become academic as to whether it happened or not. How many times has a ‘Glazer Out’ plane been hired since 2005? I suppose that a few bad results are fair game for something like this but the extracting of hundreds of millions of pounds on absolutely nothing is fine. David Moyes, a decent man who might be out of his depth, doesn’t deserve this (and don’t give me any of that bollocks about how much he gets paid). It is shameful. Continue reading A Ring Of Boos – Manchester 29th of March 2014

Call Off The Search – Manchester 16th of March 2014

I’ve seen Liverpool beat United at Old Trafford before. Quite a few times in fact and one thing I can guarantee after a Liverpool win at Old Trafford is that the forecourt that faces onto Warwick Road would be a bearpit. Especially after a result like today. These are different days though. Despite the protestations of protagonists from West London, North London and East Manchester, this fixture has the similar worldwide enticement of Real Madrid against Barca, Inter against AC Milan and Boca Juniors against River Plate. That allure resulted in the forecourt near the Megastore being flooded with smiling Oriental tourists after the game, all wearing half’n’half United/Liverpool scarves. Such was the numbers involved that Man United Fans Blog can exclusively reveal that they can call off the search for the missing Malaysian Boeing 777. The flight covertly arrived at Ringway Airport last night for this match. Continue reading Call Off The Search – Manchester 16th of March 2014