They'll Never Walk Alone

Just one post from me today. Liverpool out Of the Champions
League, Chelsea through to face Barcelona in the semi final
and tonight Manchester United play Porto in their second
leg match of the last 8 needing to win to get through, but
do you know what? Who cares? Who really cares about all
of this when we remember that today, Wednesday
15th April 2009 is 20 years since Hillsborough.

That day 1000s of people attended a game to watch the
team they love, Liverpool, play in the Cup Semi Final at
Hillsborough football ground, Sheffield. Ninety six of
them never returned home again.

One day justice will be done for the families of those who
lost their loved ones that day. It's been a cover up of huge
proportions and it is still going on now.

The sad fact is the Hillsborough stadium should never have
been used in the first place, as the ground did not hold a
valid safety certificate. The FA moved games from
Hillsborough for six years after 38 Spurs fans suffered
crush injuries during the 1981 semi final against Wolves.

In the inquest after the accident Lord Taylor had also
documented evidence of crushing in the Leppings Lane
End pens during the 1987 and 1988 semi finals. Liverpool
football club had objected about being allocated Leppings
Lane after complaints of crushing the previous year.

Well, here's news for Lord Taylor and all those involved in
the enquiries, people want the truth; just give us the truth
and clear the Liverpool fans’ names because people
around the world still think the Liverpool fans caused the
disaster, when they were the heroes that day.

These people didn’t just die in an accident, they died through
lack of care, lack of care from the police, and they were all saveable !!

There is no way on God's earth a Liverpool badge would ever
be published on this blog, it would get me blasted by United
fans worldwide. But on the 15th April every year I'm sorry,
but that badge will be here and it will be BIG.

Ninety six people lost their lives that day and they will
never be forgotten.....and THEY WILL NEVER WALK ALONE !!!!

The Justice Bell

A schoolboy holds a leather ball
in a photograph on a bedroom wall
the bed is made, the curtains drawn
as silence greets the break of dawn.

The dusk gives way to morning light
revealing shades of red and white
which hang from posters locked in time
of the Liverpool team of 89.

Upon a pale white quilted sheet
a football kit is folded neat
with a yellow scarf, trimmed with red
and some football boots beside the bed.

In hope, the room awakes each day
to see the boy who used to play
but once again it wakes alone
for this young boy's not coming home.

Outside, the springtime fills the air
the smell of life is everywhere
violas bloom and tulips grow
while daffodils dance heel to toe.

These should have been such special times
for a boy who'd now be in his prime
but spring forever turned to grey
in the Yorkshire sun, one April day.

The clock was locked on 3.06
as sun shone down upon the pitch
lighting up faces etched in pain
as death descended on Leppings Lane.

Between the bars an arm is raised
amidst a human tidal wave
a young hand yearning to be saved
grows weak inside this deathly cage.

A boy not barely in his teens
is lost amongst the dying screams
a body too frail to fight for breath
is drowned below a sea of death

His outstretched arm then disappears
to signal thirteen years of tears
as 96 souls of those who fell
await the toll of the justice bell.

Ever since that disastrous day
a vision often comes my way
I reach and grab his outstretched arm
then pull him up away from harm.

We both embrace with tear-filled eyes
I then awake to realise
it’s the same old dream I have each week
as I quietly cry myself to sleep.

On April the 15th every year
when all is calm and skies are clear
beneath a glowing Yorkshire moon
a lone scots piper plays a tune.

The tune rings out the justice cause
then blows due west across the moors
it passes by the eternal flame
then engulfs a young boys picture frame.

His room is as it was that day
for thirteen years it's stayed that way
untouched and frozen forever in time
since that tragic day in 89.

And as it plays its haunting sound
tears are heard from miles around
they're tears from families of those who fell
awaiting the toll of the justice bell.

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Fernando Gets His Knickers In A Twist

Fernando Torres, who I think looks better in a dress personally, has warned Manchester United "You're Next" !!! It's good to see that he keeps a close eye on the fixture list and is aware of his next opponents.

The Liverpool ladyman scored the first goal as Rafa Benitez's side blasted into the quarter-finals of the Champions League last night. With confidence sky high at Anfield, Liverpool travel to Manchester United on Saturday where they will meet a team of a slightly higher calibre than that which I saw them play last night. In fact, Real Madrid were dreadful. Little wonder tehy have never managed to limp past the last 16 of the CL for the past 5 years..

Torres added: "We now have the belief for Saturday against United. That is a massive game. I hope to win that and have more chances in the league. We know it's very important to win there - if not they will be many points ahead. I am very proud. I am proud at the performance of the team and the performance of the fans. We knew the atmosphere would be amazing but it was even better than we thought. This was a big night for Liverpool and for English football as well. We showed Real Madrid that this is Anfield and that Liverpool can win against any team here. It was a fantastic performance. After the first goal they knew it would be difficult because they had to score two. The penalty finished the game."

"The plan before the game was to play with intensity and with a high-tempo. Spanish football has quality but it is slower, so we knew it would be difficult for them if we played with intensity. I think we prepared the game better than them. The boss was brilliant in explaining how to play against them."......Back To Home Page...

Rafa Beneathus Smells Blood......

Rafael Beneathus claimed that his side could have scored more than the four goals they got against Madrid tonight. and he is now keen to get on with the mundane task of Premier League football again, against Manchester United at high noon on Saturday. Fernando Torres, Andrea Dossena and a Steven Gerrard brace helped the Reds to a 5-0 aggregate win, which still left their manager calling for even more.

I would have thought The Fat Spanish Waster would have kept hush hush after his last attempts to say he was keen to have a go at United. He went ten games without a win after that effort. Bearing in mind after his Bindippers won in Madrid they came to back to mighty Middlesbrough and duly got beaten 2-0. Just exactly how does Rafa conjure up these bizarre results, it's a rare talent indeed.

Benitez was mostly satisfied with his side's display, and was keen to talk up morale in the Liverpool camp in the wake of the win. He insisted that the Saturday lunchtime clash presents his side with a realistic chance to close the gap on Sir Alex Ferguson's side at the top of the Premier League.

He told a press conference at Anfield, "We played really well, and I am happy for the players and fans. The team was very good. We tried to put them under pressure from the start, and today is another good day for us. If you play so well against a team like Real Madrid it is good, but we could have scored more goals and we have to improve. We have a few days to prepare for the Manchester United game and hopefully we can reduce the gap. Manchester United are a good team, but we will approach the game with confidence."

Manchester United are a damn sight better than these wasters from Spain you played tonight Mr Benitez !! .....Back To Home Page...

Rafa Has Hope But Arbeloa Knows The Truth

Rafa wont give up the fact that it is now almost impossible for him and his boys to catch Manchester United, but this is not a view shared by Alvaro Arbeloa. He does accept overhauling Premiership leaders Manchester United is a long shot for Liverpool.

"The challenge to win the league is not lost, but every time it is getting more difficult for us. To give so many points to Manchester United and we still have to play at Old Trafford is very dangerous.

"We are not going to give in and will continue to challenge until the very last moment.

"Manchester United are not showing any weaknesses and we all thought there would come a time where they would slip up, but that has not happened," admitted the Spanish fullback.

I am an avid United fan, each and every time they have won the league over the past 16 years I have always had a niggling feeling that maybe, just maybe, they might get caught on the run in and we lose the title. This year and for the next few years though I feel just so confident of this United squad.

Even when the injuries come knocking at the door, United just replace those injured with youngsters, who play like they are seasoned first team regulars and the Manchester United juggernaut just keeps on rolling along. Things are looking better than they ever have at Old Trafford right now.....Back To Home Page...

William Hills Slash Manchester United Odds After Liverpool Lose (Again)

WITHOUT EVEN playing, Manchester United's Premiership title odds have been slashed from 1/12 to 1/25 by William Hill after Liverpool's unexpected defeat by Middlesbro.

Hills now make Chelsea 10/1 second favourites for the title with Liverpool out to 16/1, Villa 80/1 and Arsenal 400/1.

MANCHESTER UNITED are now 13/8 with Hills to win the title by 12 or more points; 5/4 by 7-11; 7/2 1-6; 20/1 on goal difference; 10/1 to fail to win it.

CHELSEA are now 8/11 favourites in Hill's market on who will finish best of the rest, excluding United and Hills also offer
Chelsea
8/11

Liverpool
11/8

Aston Villa
8/1

Arsenal
33/1




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Rafa Benitez And Liverpool Remain Defiant About Manchester United

Liverpool manager Rafa Beneathus is adamant Manchester United are not untouchable. Every season begins with 20 teams all filled with their dreams and ambitions for the forthcoming season. Maybe only 6 teams include winning the Premier League in their list of desires. But as the season progresses the six become five, four and so on and so forth.

And now there are two.

Manchester United are stringing together a remarkable run of games in which they have broken the record for the most consecutive clean sheets. Currently they have gone 14 games with out conceding, the previous record was a mere eleven by Chelsea. They remain unbeaten since the World Club Cup in Japan and Edwin Van Der Sar has become the holder of all records for golakeeping in the process. Chasing United has cost Luiz Filipe Scolari his job and has made the usually defiant Arsene Wenger bow down and say United are untouchable. Rafa Bentiez remains unbowed though, for now.

The Spaniard has good reason not to cede defeat, despite United's imperious form. In his second title season with Valencia in 2004, with 12 games to go, Benitez's side stood eight points behind Real Madrid. Valencia, of course, went on to win that title, and win it in style. They finished five points ahead of Barcelona, with Real seven points adrift.

Despite the bad news that Steven Gerrard has not recovered from a hamstring strain to face Manchester City tomorrow and will only know on Monday if he will make Wednesday's Champions League tie with Real Madrid, a five point lead is not nearly enough for Benitez to follow Wenger's lead and throw his shield at Ferguson's feet just yet.

He said: "It would be better if we had a five point lead on them, but clearly you can manage it if you win some games in a row. We did that at Valencia and it gave us more confidence, and it is the same here. It is too much to say United are untouchable. They won a lot of games 1-0 and then they have scored three or four in a couple of games and everyone has been talking as though they were playing well for the whole season. But you can see a lot of games where they were not playing well. Clearly we cannot say we think they are unbeatable. We have to think we can win our next games, then go to Old Trafford and win."

If Liverpool are to catch and overhaul their great rivals, then Benitez knows they must start to take games by the scruff of the neck early on, rather than leaving it until the last minute to snatch victory, as they did against Portsmouth two weeks ago. Tomorrow's visitors have already felt the full effect of a Liverpool late show, losing 3-2 at Eastlands thanks to a last minute Dirk Kuyt strike. Refusing to give in is a fine characteristic, but if Benitez is to protect his players from burnout, he needs them to kill games off.

He said: "It would be easier for the team, for the fans, for my heart if we scored early. It is better to score in the first half when you have had plenty of possession, as we did at Portsmouth. I watched the tape and there were three clips in the first 10 minutes. We have been controlling these games but it would be so different if we scored the first goal. If you do, they open up and you have more space.".....Back To Home Page...

Manchester United, Liverpool And Real Madrid Chase Middlesborough Starlet

Manchester United, Liverpool and Real Madrid are set to lock horns over the signature of Middlesborough winger Adam Johnson. Rumoured to be valued at £12 million. Which seems to be rather expensive as he is unable to get into the Middlesborough first team because of the presence of a certain Stewart Downing. Downing's future at the club is hardly set in concrete as he himself had a recent transfer request turned down by the Boro management team.

Johnson has played for the England U21 side and was spotted by the big guns of Manchester United, Liverpool and Real Madrid while on a loan spell with Watford.

So right now Middlesborough are in the situation of deciding whether or not to sell Johnson for about £10 million or hold out for their valuation of the guy, thought to be around £12 million. The other option is to part with Stewart Downing, probably to Spurs, and let Johnson take his chance in the first team.

Johnson has already been taking some jibes from his team mates, he said: "It was the usual banter from them. I was getting all of it, calling me a Galactico and getting shouts of Raul. I don't know if there was anything in it - the manager never said anything to me. Who knows?".....Back To Home Page...

Scolari Trying To Blag It

Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari is cliaming he is not under pressure despite losing 2-0 to The Bindippers AND trailing United by 5 points AND United have a game in hand.

Chelsea are thrid now and Scolari, who concedes he has had no money to spend in the transfer window, maintains that Chelsea's predicament "is not a problem in my life" but he acknowledges that the title is no longer in Chelsea's hands, as Manchester and Liverpool look to have turned it into a two-team race for the prize.

The Brazilian coach said: "There has been no money, but I agree with Chelsea on that. I have a good enough squad of players. I do not feel any pressure. I have my job, I do my best every day, that is not pressure. It is not a problem in my life, I laugh when I win but sometimes we lose. It is now more difficult at the top. The title is more distant, we have allowed Liverpool to go ahead of us and Aston Villa are close. We need to play game by game and see what the situation is like at the end. But it is not in our hands."

I'm actually beginning to feel a bit sentimental having Chelsea so far behind and not up at the top chasing United week in and week out......but my sentimentality only lasts for about 30 seconds because I then begin to laugh my ass off.....Back To Home Page...

Manchester United, Chelsea And Liverpool: There's Nothing In It

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has said there will be many twists and turns during the run in to this season as they are locked in combat with Chelsea, Liverpool and, yes, Aston Villa.

United beat Everton 1-0 yesterday and stretched their lead at the top of the table and in the process extended their record number of consecutive clean sheets in the league to 12. However, with Liverpool beating Chelsea 2-0 at Anfield this afternoon, the lead is back down to 2 points but United do have that all important game in hand, and the superior goal difference which can be worth an extra point at the sharp end of the season.

Ferguson says he would rather be in front at this stage and is pleased with how his side has performed, however, he does not feel the gap United have established over their rivals is unassailable.

He told the Press Association: "It is an advantage [to be five points clear]. I can't say it is a great advantage with 16 games left. But it is always better to be top of the league than anywhere else."

Ferguson says there are still games where all the teams in the title race can drop points but believes his side are best equipped to not drop as many as their rivals.

"We have a difficult game away against West Ham next week and there are a lot of difficult games in the run-in and teams will drop points. We just hope we don't drop as many as the rest."

So, we're set for a great run in. I personally feel United are now getting stronger and stronger every week that passes, this defensive record they have shows this quite clearly. To win the league from here, United should really be aiming to go from now until the end of the chase without losing another game and that is very possible. With home games against Liverpool and Arsenal coming up too, they have a great chance to open up a nice gap at the top and then make a dash for the finish line. The future looks good right now, but we know it can go very wrong, very quickly, ask Liverpool.....Back To Home Page...

Zoran Tosic To Face Liverpool

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, manager of Manchester United's reserves for thise who don't know, has named a strong side for United’s Reserves match against Liverpool at Altrincham’s Moss Lane tonight.

Of the eleven he has chosen five have first team experience which, in this league, means a lot. The five 'first teamers' being Tomasz Kuszczak, Rodrigo Possebon, Brandy, Lee Martin and Serbian winger Zoran Tosic.

Tosic was actually in action Tuesday night as a substitute for the first team in the 5-0 mauling of West Brom but if he is chosen tonight it will be his very first start for United at any level.

Ritchie de Laet, who arrived from Stoke City recently, starts at the back, while Lee Martin makes his first United appearance since returning from a loan spell at Championship outfit Nottingham Forest.

I'm especially interetsed in this game as any match up against the Scousers means we MUST win. So come on guys, give them a good spanking.....

Provisional United side: Kuszczak; Evans C, de Laet, Chester, James; Martin, Possebon, Drinkwater, Tosic; Brandy, Macheda

Subs: Amos, Derbyshire, Eikrem, Petrucci, Bryan

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Mido Piles More Pain On Rafa As Manchester United Stay Top

Rafael Benitez again chose to leave out Robbie Keane and Liverpool duly went on to blow their chance of joining Manchester United at the summit of the Premier League.

The Dubliner was only introduced after Mido had cancelled out Yossi Benayoun's opener, remarkably replacing Steven Gerrard almost 20 minutes after Benitez had withdrawn the exhausted Fernando Torres. The logic behind this substitution was completely beyond me. Gerrard is the only player at Liverpool who shows a modicum of continuity and in the past he has single handedly saved Liverpool from some rather dodgy results. So what does Rafa do, he takes him off. Amazing!

Both Albert Riera and Dirk Kuyt were preferred as substitutes to the £20m signing from Tottenham as Liverpool sought without success to build on their lead. Instead, debutant Mido equalised from the penalty spot with eight minutes left. It leaves Liverpool two points adrift of United, treading water in the title race and Keane's future open to question.

Benitez insists he wants to keep the player but, with the feeling at Anfield that he will not play if Gerrard and Torres are fit, he will no doubt be wondering what point there is in staying if he is not even the Spaniard's natural replacement.....it's all going tits up for The Pool, as I forecast it would several months ago.....Back To Home Page...

Manchester United's Fixture/Injury Pile Up Gets Worse

Manchester United's clash with Everton has been moved forward 48 hours to Saturday January 31 due to Everton's FA Cup replay with Liverpool. Steven Gerrard's FA Cup derby leveller for Liverpool may have unwittingly handed Manchester United a problem.

United are without 12 senior players for Tuesday's Premier League trip to West Brom, leaving Sir Alex Ferguson to pick through his squad for a team of fit players.

Ferguson was hoping the situation might have eased in time United's next league game against Everton - with both Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown tipped to be available after long-standing back and ankle problems respectively and Park Ji-sung on the brink of a comeback from a minor hamstring complaint.

But the Old Trafford encounter with David Moyes' men will now be played 48 hours ahead of schedule - moving forward to Saturday January 31 from Monday February 2 to clear the way for Everton's FA Cup replay with Liverpool on February 4.

It robs Ferdinand, Brown and Park, or anyone else among United's walking wounded who might have had a chance of returning against Everton, of two extra days' preparation.

The late change is part of a confusing February fixture list for United.

Their remaining outstanding game against Fulham - originally postponed in August because of United's presence in the European Super Cup - has been pencilled in for February 17. But that will be dependent on neither side requiring a fifth-round replay.

In addition, United's home match against Portsmouth on February 28 has been postponed because of their appearance in the Carling Cup final the following day

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The Sweetest Thing

As Manchester United were outplaying, out thinking and totally outclassing a lacklustre Chelsea side last week, the United fans at Old Trafford and the 11 on the pitch were making all the right noises – something Rafael Benitez had failed to do on the previous Friday.

Benitez had claimed at his press conference that United’s result against Chelsea would not matter ‘if we (Liverpool) win at Stoke’. Unfortunately for Benitez, Liverpool failed to beat Stoke (17th in the table) for the second time this season and United went on to thrash Chelsea.

United’s fans and players seemed inspired in what was arguably our strongest performance all season. It was as if they had been given the motivation and inspiration to show the rest of the Premiership exactly which team are the Champions. Coincidentally this came after Benitez’s untimely press conference.

For the best part of two months it has seemed like Liverpool fans have been becoming increasingly confident, smug and celebratory as their team has occupied top spot. Despite only being January, the majority of Liverpool fans have been happy to announce how sorry United would be in May and how disappointed Fergie was going to be that he hadn’t equalled Liverpool’s 18 titles. It was after watching Benitez’s press conference in full and having noticed the premature celebratory mood from Liverpool fans that I thought to myself that when United inevitably lift the title in May, this years Premiership title will be the sweetest yet.

Then I got the feeling I wasn’t the only one. In between the ironic cheers for John Terry, Old Trafford roared and asked; ‘Are you watching Merseyside?’

At his press conference Benitez told the waiting press what he thought about Mr Ferguson as he had scrawled a few ‘facts’ on a piece of A4 which he wanted to share. Admittedly, the timing could have been great, Liverpool could have battered Stoke and United could have lost or even drawn.

Upon first seeing the ‘Rafa rant’ I thought aspects of it were quite funny, particularly the suggestion the Fergie should compile the fixtures and send them to other Premier League managers. I am sure even the most ardent supporter would have chuckled at some of his comments. Then, the hilarity of it really began to sink in as Stoke held Liverpool to a goalless draw the following day.

The suggestion made by the press that Benitez was having a Kevin Keegan moment is perhaps a little inaccurate - inaccurate because Keegan could be forgiven. He was caught at a highly emotional moment without the opportunity to prepare a detailed response like Benitez did. He exploded in a rash moment of madness. The fact that Benitez went to the effort of finding examples, scenarios and ‘facts’ shows the man has been truly affected by the mind games from the master.

This carefully documented tirade would surely not have come from a man who is confident that his table toppers will continue their excellent form and win the Premier League. The bait laid by Ferguson should have been brushed of with a simple ‘we are top of the league, end of story’. If Benitez would have left the press conference after his first remarks then his credibility would have most definitely remained intact. Claiming Ferguson was nervous that Liverpool are top of the league would have sufficed in gaining an advantage in the mind-games stakes. As it is, Benitez has heaped pressure upon himself and his team by embracing Ferguson so early in the season.

While United have endured a disjointed spluttering start, Liverpool have, the majority of the time, been playing their best football and have built a small advantage at the top. Recently it had been suggested in some quarters that United were scared and worried about Liverpool being top. This was probably true of the majority of United fans, but, after the annihilation of Chelsea and with Benitez seemingly back to his ‘Tinkerman’ best, United fans are now filled with a sense of anticipation and excitement.

Of the 10 Premiership trophies won since Liverpool last claimed the title, there have been a few which have stood out as being sweeter than the rest. Winning it the first time, winning it in the treble year, last years victory and the title which ended Mourinho’s seemingly unstoppable reign were all special. For me though none of these would compare with the delight United fans will have when we beat Liverpool to the title. United and Ferguson seem to be finding some form at just the right time as Benitez and Liverpool are firing blanks. I suggest Liverpool fans and Rafa Benitez make room in the record books as Mr Ferguson is coming to collect United’s 18th title and, like many other United fans, for me this one will be the sweetest………………………………Back To Home Page.

THE SWEETEST THING..........

Rafa Not Worried Being Second

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is putting on a brave face now his team have been knocked off their f*cking perch by Fergie AGAIN!

He maintains their title bid is still on track.

United beat Bolton 1-0 on Saturday which in turn lifted them a point clear of Liverpool with a game in hand and Liverpool have the small matter of a Merseyside derby to contend with in order to take poll position again. For the next 48 hours I am a big fan of David Moyes and his team.

Benitez said: "The situation does not change, no matter what they do. We have to get three points in every single game and especially in the derby. I think it is important to understand when people talk about the title and your position in the table that I didn't expect in August to win the title in January. No-one can expect this. If you keep calm and analyse the situation you will know if you want to win the title it has to be maybe in May and to have Chelsea, Arsenal, now Aston Villa, and United in the title race is normal.

"We will try to stay there and if we cannot be [top] one week then the next week we have to think about getting three points and getting ahead again. I have a lot of confidence in my team."

More confidence than I have I'm sorry Rafa. Manchester United are renowned for putting on a prolonged good run after new year and Liverpool are famous for falling away as the season progresses. History tells us it is all over now. I feel very confident of winning the Premier League again this year. Confidence like this can often leave you with egg on your face though, but hey.....Glory Glory Man United.....Back To Home Page...

'Rafa's Cracking Up' As Manchester United Hit The Top

'Rafa's cracking up,' rang out around Old Trafford last Wednesday night, it was not a concerned cry from Manchester United supporters, they were merely laughing at Rafa and his recent antics in trying to upset Sir Alex Ferguson, the 'King Of The Mind Games'.

Benitez's outbursts are more an act of mental disintegration and as Gideon Haigh pointed out, this is a unique talent of the England cricket team that they were able to inflict mental disintegration on themselves rather than their opponents. Many believe Benitez did the same thing when he produced his piece of paper last Friday week, seeing it as an act of appeasement on a par with Neville Chamberlain.

Nobody knows anything and they know even less when dealing with Alex Ferguson. Last week a Sky reporter admitted that he hadn't wanted to ask Alex Ferguson his views on the latest revelations in the Patrice Evra case having already asked him about Ronaldo's move to Real Madrid. You get out while you're ahead was the general tone of his report, suggesting that while enjoying an audience with Alex Ferguson you don't want to do anything that would upset him so it was one tricky question per turn. Nobody ever feels that way in a Rafael Benitez press conference. They ask him anything they like and feel comfortable diong so. With Sir Alex they tread very carefully indeed!

At a time when Liverpool and Chelsea should be enjoying 'relative safety' from United after their trip to Japan, they find themselves both behind them as the New Year celebrations are left behind and the run-in to the season is about to begin.

Chelsea and Liverpool could have been 16 points clear of United on their return from the World Club Cup but they blew it big time. Since Japan United have won five straight league games and have not conceded a goal for ten straight matches either, equalling Chelsea's record.

The fact that United again scored a very late winner yesterday against Bolton doesn't mean they are the luckiest team in the world either as most opposition fans seem to think. Why do you think Chelsea and Manchester United do this so often and with consistency? It's because neither team will give up for one single second during a game and they will fight until the final whistle. This is why the two supposed 'luckiest' teams score so many late winners.

Against Bolton yesterday United had a hat full of chances any one of which could have gone in. It just so happens that it was a late effort from Dimitar Berbatov that won the game for them.

Now, instead of still being well clear of United after the Japan adventure, both Chelsea and Liverpool find themselves chasing them again and if you ask me, it will be a futile chase once again. To beat United you obviously must score and for the last 900+ minutes of football, no one has managed to figure out how to do this.

The writing is on the wall..........Back To Home Page

Carrick Convinced Manchester United Are In Good Shape To Catch The Leaders

Michael Carrick is of the same opinion as me and is convinced Manchester United, narrow winners over struggling Sunderland, can chase down Liverpool and Chelsea in the title race. The reigning champions were staring down the barrel of a yawning eight-point gap between them and Rafa Benitez's side until Nemanja Vidic's last-gasp winner against Sunderland last weekend.

The victory means they are just six points adrift of the top, but with a game in hand.

They also have the prospect of a much easier second half of the season in which they will face all their title challengers at Old Trafford.

Midfielder Carrick has only known success since moving to United for £18m in 2006, winning two titles and the Champions League and he has no doubts he can make it a hat-trick of titles, even if Sir Alex Ferguson's side are in the unusual position of being one of the chasing pack.

"It's a tough challenge to win the league any way, we've done it from in front before, so we'll try to do it from behind. That's what it's all about. It's always a challenge. We want to keep the run going that we started. We're playing pretty good stuff - it's just a case of things not dropping for us at times. But a win is a win and we can move on now. There is a growing sense that United's title challenge is gathering momentum, having picked up 10 points from a possible 12 since defeat to Arsenal last month.

With Liverpool and Chelsea faltering in recent weeks, it has allowed Ferguson's side to close the gap at the top and leave them poised for a concerted charge in the New Year.

Carrick continued: "Even without Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal winning, it was important we won the game, it was very late, but I think we deserved a win, you can't argue about that. The way it came was very exciting, but we should have killed it off a lot earlier than that. Everyone will do well to go the rest of the season without dropping points, it is a case of who can be the most consistent. We feel we've got the right players to do it, but only time will tell. We believe we are capable of winning the league for certain." .....Back To Home Page...

Each And Every One Of Us

.........should realise how lucky we have been to see the greatest manager ever to walk the planet, manage the club we all follow - Manchester United..

United did the double last year !! Champions of England and Champions of Europe but no one seems to have celebrated it or even recognised the fact they did it. Probably because we have had to put up with the precocious antics of Ronaldo, then listen to the idiot Sepp Blatter declare all players are becoming slaves, albeit on £100,000 per week !! Then we had Euro 2008 followed by The Beijing Olympics and voila, here we are, another season.

I hear a lot of people putting Sir Fergie down, pushing aside his records and all he has achieved with United. I think it's an English thing. They gave Capello 28 minutes into his first game with England before booing them !! They love failure for some reason they even court it. They expect to fail, then they fail, then they get bitter because they failed. In the same vein, they wont recognise anything Fergie does until he is long gone !!

This is sad, a great shame. The simple truth is, no matter who believes it, Sir Alex Chapman Ferguson CBE, is the greatest football coach/manager to ever walk this planet it's as simple as that and there is no argument possible to even contest it !

In statistical terms, Ferguson's career is, quite simply, incredible and would be so even if it were fiction. The end of last season brought him a tenth English league championship in 21 seasons as United's manager. No other manager in English history even comes close: Bob Paisley won six with Liverpool, Matt Busby five with United and Herbert Chapman four with Arsenal and Huddersfield in the 1930s. If we look outside England, Rinus Michels won five league championships (4 with Ajax and one with Barcelona) whilst Fabio Capello won seven (4 at AC Milan, 2 at Real Madrid and another at Roma; another two at Juventus were taken off him because he CHEATED !!!

Only in Scotland is Ferguson's achievement matched: Jock Stein, his friend and mentor, led Celtic to 11 Scottish titles. All due respect to Scotland and their FA, but it's not quite as competitive up there so I personally think Fergies achievements are a lot better.

In all, United have won 702 (58%) of the 1210 league games played under Ferguson to the end of May 2008. That surpasses even the record of Matt Busby: 576 (50%) wins out of 1141 games. And Ferguson's teams lost only 18% of their competitive games, compared with 26% under Busby. Since the inception of the Premier League, Ferguson's record has been even more remarkable, beyond belief in fact.

In the 16 years of the Premiership, United have totalled 155 more league points than Arsenal, their nearest challengers, 221 more than Chelsea and 244 more than Liverpool. That's nearly 10 points a season better than Arsenal on average,nearly 14 points better than Chelsea and more than 16 points better than Liverpool - astonishing margins. In the process, United also played the more attractive football consistently, averaging 1.97 goals per game (compared with 1.69 for Arsenal, 1.58 for Chelsea, and 1.6 for Liverpool) and defended better (conceding 0.87 goals per game compared with 0.88, 0.98 and 0.98 respectively for their main rivals).

If all that were not enough, Ferguson has also brought United two European Cups, a European Cup-Winners Cup, five FA Cups (a record for a manager) and two League Cups, 20 major trophies in all. Against that, Michels won a total of 14, Paisley 13, Capello 9, Busby 7 and Chapman 6. But there's more. Before joining United in 1986, Ferguson led Aberdeen to 3 league championships, 4 FA Cups, one League Cup and a European Cup-Winners Cup in Scotland.

There's also the matter of two European Super Cups (one with each club) and an Intercontinental Cup (United became, so far, the only English winners of that trophy). That's 32 major trophies overall, ahead even of Stein's 29 in Scotland (and as I said achieved in a much tougher competitive environment). Along the way, there have been three English League and FA Cup doubles (the first to do it twice and then three times), and one League and European Cup double. Above all, in 1999 Ferguson led United to the treble of League championship, FA Cup and European Cup, the single greatest achievement by any club in English football history and something unmatched in Europe's main leagues (England, Italy, Spain, Germany and France).

You could not make it up. However much partisanship might colour our perceptions of the relative merits of the great managers, indisputably Ferguson stands pre-eminent in the history of English and European football. Yet statistics do not give us the full substance of the man. It is all too easy to forget, that Ferguson took over something of an empty shell in 1986, a club living on fading memories of the Busby era, as much about tabloid notoriety as football achievement.

With a ferocity that many found difficult to live with, he removed the drinking culture that he found, got rid of some outstanding players who had lost their way, confined the media to the fringes of the club's business, resurrected the club's youth development system, built a professional training and coaching system still unsurpassed in England, and demanded and got (as the price of being at the club) a unity of purpose and clarity of focus that turned talented players into winners.

Perhaps his greatest achievement has been that he has managed to blend the demands of a more tactical and defensive modern game with the attacking verve and individual swagger established by Busby as the United way of playing, a way that made a provincial club the best supported team in the world.

It was a challenge that defeated previous United managers (including even Busby in his late years) but Ferguson's teams have managed to provide plenty of scope for individual expression within the framework of team organization.

Thus, players like Cantona, Giggs, Rooney, Ronaldo, Scholes, Sharpe, Yorke, Cole, Beckham, Anderson and others have developed into artists who could stretch the imagination of those lucky enough to watch them while they still played winning football.

These skills have been paraded through four successful United teams built by Ferguson.

If the first (1990-2) was something of a transitional side, the other three - 1993-4, 1999-2001 and 2006-8 - have all been great ones.

The treble in 1999 must rank that side as the greatest of them, indeed as the greatest in English club history, not only for the magnitude of the success but also for the flair and style with which it was done. It exemplified what all Ferguson's teams are about - skill and flair embedded in a high level of organization and a ferocious team spirit.

All this makes Fergie something more than a successful coach and places him in the ranks of those great managers who can 'build a club', as the saying goes, men like Michels, Stein, Shankly, Clough, Nicholson, Wenger.

In this company, Busby stands supreme: we cannot begin to imagine what it took to turn a bankrupt, provincial club without a stadium into one renowned throughout the world, to change the idea of football in favour of youth and flair, to drag English football into Europe, to resurrect the club after the Munich air crash (by contrast, Torino have never recovered fully after losing their great team in a 1949 air crash) and to win the European Cup just a decade after Munich.

Yet Ferguson, too, belongs here, adapting the Busby legacy to new realities and taking the club to new heights.

It is only in his relations with the media that Fergie can be considered less than successful. If it is true he has had to deal with a more unscrupulous and contemptible press than any that Busby, Shankly or Stein faced, it is also true that his constant conflicts with them have done neither himself nor his club any favours. It has encouraged a sustained campaign against the club by the London media so that United's enormous contribution to the community and to Unicef and other charities gets a Chinese-government type media blackout !!! It has also led to a media caricature of Fergie with little basis in reality but with a life of its own.

The ranting bully terrorizing his players does not square with their fierce loyalty to him or with their unshakeable will to win games from seemingly hopeless positions or with the flair and joy they so often bring to their play.

Nor does it square with the esteem in which he is held throughout football, or with the appreciation by other managers of the support and generosity he accords them or, for that matter, with the help and friendship he has extended to individual journalists facing crises in their lives.

The wealth and fame he has achieved in football, and the political and business circles to which he has access as a result, have not altered his friendships, most of which go back to his youth, or his focus on family ties or his social values.

Perhaps that is a truer reflection of the nature of the beast than the media picture......

AND MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, ONCE HE'S RETIRED AND NO LONGER THREATENS THEM THEY WILL FINALLY GIVE HIM HIS FULL DUE !!!

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