The Re-Anglicisation Of Manchester United

[Mark Snellink]

Ow, rough start to year 2

[Spav]

21st August 2010 – Premier League

To be honest this was a poor excuse for a game of football. West Brom were abysmal and they pulled us down to their level – or maybe well allowed ourselves to drop down to their level. Either way, there were some shocking performances, not least from Rooney who looked uninterested for the second match in a row before Welbeck took his place midway through the second half. Thankfully we scored early on when Hargreaves fired a free-kick through the home side’s poorly-organised defensive wall from thirty yards to make it 1-0 after 6 minutes. We managed a few wayward shots in the remainder of the first half whilst only a tame effort from Koren in the 37th minute reminded Foster that he was keeping goal for us. An ankle injury to Young saw him replaced by Osman at the break and the substitute proceeded to set up our best chance of the second half after 53 minutes, releasing Cole with a fine pass that saw the striker get one-on-one with Carson, but the West Brom keeper saved well. Koren then produced the home side’s only decent chance of the second period after 64 minutes, smashing a shot straight at Foster from sixteen yards that our keeper battered away with his fists. Welbeck did have the ball in the West Brom net in the 84th minute, but he was clearly offside from Cole’s pass and only the slowness of the referee in spotting the linesman’s flag allowed the play to go on for as long as it did. All in all it was a shocking effort, but at least I can be grateful that we picked up all three points with our 1-0 victory.

West Brom 0

Manchester United 1 Hargreaves 6

Foster; Brown, Shawcross, Ferdinand, Shorey; Young (Osman), Hargreaves, Carrick, M.Taylor (Davies); Rooney (Welbeck), Cole.

[Spav]

27th August 2010 – UEFA Super Cup

For the UEFA Super Cup against last season’s Europa Cup winners Genoa I decided that Rooney and Matty Taylor needed wake-up calls following their poor performances so far this season, so Welbeck and Osman were selected in their respective places in what was otherwise a full-strength team for Manchester United.

Within 8 minutes Acquafresca had broken free on Genoa’s left wing and he crossed for Floccari to volley past Foster at the near post for a 1-0 lead to the Italians. Acquafresca himself then bought a great save out of Foster after 18 minutes as we struggled to get into the game. Zapater’s miscued header from Young’s 21st minute corner forced his own keeper Amelia into a good save before the first chance fell to a United player as Carrick played in Welbeck after 23 minutes with Amelia saving well from close range. We started to get back into the game, but a lucky deflection in the 38th minute suddenly played in Acquafresca and only Foster’s brave dive at the forward’s feet saved us from going two-down. From the resulting corner Esposito was given a free header, but it flew inches over the crossbar. We hadn’t shown much inventiveness to be honest, but when Welbeck was bought down on the edge of the box in the first minute of injury-time for a free-kick it was a superb piece of dead-ball work from Hargreaves as he brilliantly curled his free-kick over the Genoa wall and into the top corner to draw us level at 1-1.

A quiet start to the second half give the fans little to cheer about until we won a 54th minute corner following Amelia’s save from Davies’ shot. Young sent over the corner firmly and Ferdinand rose at the near post to head it in. It looked perfectly legitimate to me, but the referee ruled it out and gave Genoa a free-kick for an apparent foul by Davies on the keeper Amelia. Little occurred for the remainder of the second half other than a half-chance for Floccari in the 72nd minute which he blasted straight at Foster from twelve yards out. As the clock ticked down I sent on Rooney and Matty Taylor for Welbeck and Young in an attempt to force the result, but it made little difference and the ninety minutes ended with the scores still tied at 1-1 and so extra-time now ensued.

If the second half had been quiet then extra-time was positively deafening. In the 93rd minute Rooney and Davies fashioned a chance for Matty Taylor and although the ball was on his right foot he struck it perfectly into the top corner from twenty yards to give us a 2-1 lead. Only two minutes later Genoa won a corner and Papastathopoulos got himself in front of his marker Davies to power a home a header to make it 2-2. Our response was just as quick as Genoa’s had been with Carrick and Davies playing in Rooney who rammed the ball past Amelia for his first goal of the season as we led 3-2 after 97 minutes. In the 114th minute Floccari burst into the box and was just about to shoot, only for Foster to save bravely at his feet. Our keeper injured a finger quite badly in the incident – in fact it may have been broken – but with all three substitutions having been made Foster had little choice but to battle on. Only two minutes were remaining when another Genoa corner caused us a problem as Floccari got high to head goalwards. Foster saved well with his good hand, but the ball fell for Bolzoni to crash home the rebound to tie things up at 3-3 and force a penalty shootout.

Genoa won the coin toss and decided to go first in the shootout with Figueroa scoring easily. Matty Taylor replied comfortably with our first spot-kick before Palacio squeezed in his shot via the post for Genoa to lead 2-1. Hargreaves then struck his penalty too straight and Amelia saved with ease. Criscito and Osman traded spot-kicks to move the scoreline to 3-2 before Foster guessed the right way with his dive and saved Floccari’s low effort. Rooney then backed up our keeper’s effort with a shot into the roof of the net to make it 3-3 after four attempts to each team. Bolzoni and Carrick took it to 4-4 after five spot-kicks each and now it was down to sudden death penalties. Zapater, Shorey, Papastathopoulos, Ferdinand, Rossi and Brown all scored confidently to make it 7-7 before Bocchetti rifled in his penalty via the crossbar to give Genoa an 8-7 lead. Shawcross was our ninth penalty-taker, but his sidefooted shot to Amelia’s right hand side lacked power and the Italian keeper made the save that won the UEFA Super Cup for his club.

Genoa 3 Floccari 8, Papastathopoulos 95, Bolzoni 119

Manchester United 3 Hargreaves 45+1, M.Taylor 93, Rooney 97

Genoa wins 8-7 on penalties

Foster; Brown, Shawcross, Ferdinand, Shorey; Osman, Hargreaves, Carrick, Young (M.Taylor); Welbeck (Rooney), Cole (Davies).

[gavrenwick]

Talk about an extra time thriller. Imagine the scenes when Bolzoni knocked that late equaliser home!

[mark wilson27]

Well at least your English side are doing what all English sides do best...lose on penalties...lol.....

[Spav]

Talk about an extra time thriller. Imagine the scenes when Bolzoni knocked that late equaliser home!

Then imagine the scenes in my lounge-room when that late goal went in - I nearly put my fist through the computer screen.

Well at least your English side are doing what all English sides do best...lose on penalties...lol.....

I never feel confident in FM when one of my teams has to take part in a shootout - and the case was proven yet agin with this match.

[Spav]

After spending last season on loan at the same club in the Championship they decided to make the move permanent as they’d lost Taylor to us earlier in the month:

Danny Simpson – D R – £3.2M

Newcastle paid me a handsome price for a youngster that was never going to see first team action, despite being English.

*** *** ***

Although there was still one day remaining until the transfer window closed I knew that I had now completed my transfer dealings until the mid-season window. The following Englishmen would now lead Manchester United’s challenge to retain the Premier League title and the European Champions League that we had won in the 2009/10 campaign:

|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Name            | Position    | Nat     | Height  | Weight  | Age     | Value   | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Ben Foster      | GK          | ENG     | 188 cm  | 79 kg   | 27      | £7M     | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Joe Hart        | GK          | ENG     | 196 cm  | 91 kg   | 23      | £2.2M   | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Ben Amos        | GK          | ENG     | 184 cm  | 78 kg   | 20      | £1.1M   | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Wes Brown       | D RC        | ENG     | 185 cm  | 78 kg   | 30      | £4.9M   | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Gary Neville    | D R         | ENG     | 180 cm  | 76 kg   | 35      | £500K   | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Steven Taylor   | D RC        | ENG     | 188 cm  | 81 kg   | 24      | £12M    | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Craig Gardner   | D R, M C    | ENG     | 178 cm  | 71 kg   | 23      | £3.4M   | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Michael Dawson  | D C         | ENG     | 191 cm  | 78 kg   | 26      | £5M     | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Rio Ferdinand   | D C         | ENG     | 188 cm  | 82 kg   | 31      | £14.5M  | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Ryan Shawcross  | D C         | ENG     | 196 cm  | 88 kg   | 22      | £8.75M  | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Nicky Shorey    | D/WB L      | ENG     | 175 cm  | 67 kg   | 29      | £1.9M   | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Matty Taylor    | WB/M L      | ENG     | 178 cm  | 77 kg   | 28      | £6.25M  | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Michael Carrick | DM, M C     | ENG     | 183 cm  | 75 kg   | 29      | £9.75M  | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Lee Cattermole  | DM, M C     | ENG     | 178 cm  | 76 kg   | 22      | £17M    | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Owen Hargreaves | DM, M C     | ENG     | 180 cm  | 75 kg   | 29      | £6M     | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Mark Noble      | M RC        | ENG     | 181 cm  | 76 kg   | 23      | £6.5M   | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Paul Scholes    | M C         | ENG     | 170 cm  | 68 kg   | 35      | £525K   | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Leon Osman      | AM RC       | ENG     | 173 cm  | 67 kg   | 29      | £6.25M  | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Ashley Young    | AM RLC, F C | ENG     | 175 cm  | 64 kg   | 25      | £15M    | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Kevin Davies    | AM RL, ST   | ENG     | 183 cm  | 81 kg   | 33      | £5.75M  | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Andrew Driver   | AM L        | ENG     | 176 cm  | 69 kg   | 22      | £2.6M   | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Michael Owen    | F C         | ENG     | 175 cm  | 70 kg   | 30      | £1.9M   | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Wayne Rooney    | F C         | ENG     | 175 cm  | 78 kg   | 24      | £26M    | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Carlton Cole    | ST          | ENG     | 190 cm  | 77 kg   | 26      | £4.9M   | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Danny Welbeck   | ST          | ENG     | 185 cm  | 73 kg   | 19      | £5.5M   | 
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[mark wilson27]

Not a bad bunch really there spav, will be following avidly as always

[Spav]

Ben Foster will be out for 4-5 weeks after the doctors confirmed that he had broken the index finger on his right hand in the UEFA Super Cup match against Genoa in Monaco. New signing Joe Hart will get the chance to start for at least the next month and I am hopeful that he will continue to show the form that he displayed whilst on loan at Birmingham (from Manchester City) during last season’s campaign.

*** *** ***

31st August 2010 – Premier League

I’d got into a slanging match in the media with David Moyes prior to our match against Everton after he’d started it by commenting that there was no way that Manchester United were going to retain their Premier League title this season. I vowed that we would beat his Everton side to prove him wrong and several of the players were keen to back up my comments with words (and hopefully actions) of their own.

Joe Hart made his league debut in goal for us after appearing earlier in the month in the Community Shield. Steven Taylor also made his debut at right-back and he was instrumental in the opening goal after 25 minutes as he marauded down the right wing before pulling the ball back for Hargreaves lurking just outside the penalty area. Hargreaves struck his shot sweetly first-time and the ball skimmed through a crowd of players and into the bottom corner to put us 1-0 up. Everton started to get more possession after that, but they did little with it. They did win a series of corners around the forty-minute mark, but after the third of those Matty Taylor’s long clearance released Rooney and he ran clear of Distin before drilling a shot under Howard to make it 2-0 in the 41st minute. There was a wave from Rooney for the Everton fans who had booed nearly every touch the former Toffee had made so far before we went in to the interval two-up and well in control.

Early in the second half Hargreaves’ poor back-pass let in Cahill, but Hart made a good block with his body to preserve our two-goal lead. Pienaar whizzed a shot across Hart that just clipped the post after 55 minutes and we replied with Rooney running onto Carrick’s fine through-ball, only for Howard to save well low to his left. In the 60th minute Young chased down a lost cause in the corner, just managing to keep the ball in play before sending a swerving cross over to the far post where Cole rose above Yobo to power his header through Howard’s hands to make it 3-0. I then decided to give Cattermole his league debut, taking off Carrick in the 70th minute to send on the former Sunderland man. Everton did pull a goal back after 74 minutes though as Cahill’s pass split Shawcross and Ferdinand and played in Vaughan who confidently slid the ball under the advancing Hart to make it 3-1. Hart then saved well from Bale’s free-kick in the 84th minute as Everton made their last push to get something out of the match. Rooney nearly had the final word three minutes from the end as he ran onto Young’s pass and fired goalwards, only for Howard to turn it onto the post from where Neville hacked it clear. The final scoreline of 3-1 was satisfying enough and I was generous in the post-match conference when I refused to lord it over a sheepish-looking David Moyes.

Manchester United 3 Hargreaves 25, Rooney 41, Cole 60

Everton 1 Vaughan 74

Hart; S.Taylor, Shawcross, Ferdinand, Shorey; Young, Hargreaves, Carrick (Cattermole), M.Taylor; Rooney, Cole.

[Spav]

With the transfer window now closed it was interesting to look at which key players my five closest rival clubs had bought and sold during the past season three transfer windows:

Chelsea:

In 2009/10:

Vincenzo Iaquinta – Juventus – £7.75M

Dimitar Berbatov – Manchester United – £24.0M

Angelo Palombo – Sampdoria – £16.75M

Out 2009/10:

Salomon Kalou – Manchester City – £8.75M

In 2010/11:

Nil

Out 2010/11:

Franco di Santo – Everton – £7.0M

Jack Cork – Aston Villa – £7.75M

Arsenal:

In 2009/10:

Juan Angel Albin – Getafe – £5.25M

Anderson – Manchester United – £7.25M

Nani – Manchester United – £7.0M

Out 2009/10:

Nil

In 2010/11:

Phil Jagielka – Everton – £7.5M

Ruben de la Red – Real Madrid – £3.8M

Out 2010/11:

Alex Song – Stoke – £5.5M

Liverpool:

In 2009/10:

Tom Huddlestone – Tottenham – £7.75M

Liedson – Sporting Lisbon – £5.5M

Out 2009/10:

Fabio Aurelio – Tottenham – £7.75M

Lucas – Manchester City – £11.25M

In 2010/11:

Juan Pablo Carrizo – Lazio – £4.7M

Mathias Jorgensen – FC Kobenhavn – £3.4M

Andreas Beck – Hoffenheim – £12.25M

Kevin Thomson – Rangers – £9.75M

Out 2010/11:

Nil

Tottenham:

In 2009/10:

Fabio Aurelio – Liverpool – £7.75M

Emerson Boyce – Wigan – £5.75M

Fabio – Manchester United – £4.8M

Out 2009/10:

Giovani dos Santos – Manchester City – £12.25M

Tom Huddlestone – Liverpool – £7.75M

Michael Dawson – Manchester United – £5.0M

Luka Modric – Aston Villa – £28.5M

In 2010/11:

Nenad Milijas – Wolves – £7.5M

Joe Mattock – West Brom – £8.0M

Chris Basham – Bolton – £5.75M

Out 2010/11:

Kyle Walker – Everton – £6.0M

Alan Hutton – Sunderland – £3.8M

Benoit Assou-Ekotto – Bordeaux – £2.8M

Manchester City:

In 2009/10:

Giovani dos Santos – Tottenham – £12.25M

Salomon Kalou – Chelsea – £8.75M

Joao Moutinho – Sporting Lisbon – £16.25M

Lucas – Liverpool – £11.25M

Out 2009/10:

Nil

In 2010/11:

Brede Hangeland – Fulham – £17.5M

Leighton Baines – Everton – £14.75M

Steven Whittaker – Rangers – £7.5M

Out 2010/11:

Joe Hart – Manchester United – £2.0M

Javier Garrido – Stoke – £2.1M

[Spav]

The international break meant the start of the qualifying matches for the 2012 European Championships and England began with a 1-0 win over Estonia at Wembley. Theo Walcott scored the only goal in the 85th minute as Lee Cattermole made his England debut in this match. Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Ashley Young and Wayne Rooney also started the match whilst Wes Brown came on as a substitute in the second half and Joe Hart and Owen Hargreaves were unused substitutes.

*** *** ***

Four days later England travelled to Zagreb to face Croatia and came away with a tight 4-3 win. England had gone 3-0 up in the first half through Steven Gerrard (5th) and Wayne Rooney (26th and 31st) before an Ashley Cole own goal (34th) and a quick-fire Ivica Olic double (55th and 59th) made it 3-3. The winner came 2 minutes into injury-time from Frank Lampard (92nd) as England triumphed 4-3. Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Lee Cattermole, Ashley Young and Wayne Rooney all started the match with Joe Hart, Wes Brown and Ryan Shawcross all being unused substitutes.

*** *** ***

11th September 2010 – Premier League

Middlesbrough’s start was enthusiastic and their early pressure culminated in O’Neil playing in Lita after 8 minutes, but Hart saved well with his legs. In the 18th minute a swift counterattack involving Cole and Rooney was supplemented by the late arrival of Carrick and the midfielder surged into the box before placing the ball wide of keeper Jones to put us one-up with his first goal of the season. The Chilean centre-half Ponce then twice went close with headers from corners, but luckily for us his aim was slightly off. After 30 minutes Lita broke free again, but Hart saved well as he held a shot that flew high to his left. Eight minutes later Hart did even better, tipping Digard’s dipping volley onto the crossbar when it looked as if it was definitely heading for the top corner. Having weathered the storm that Boro created in the second half of the first period we then started the second half more assuredly and soon doubled our lead. Jones did well to tip away Matty Taylor’s low shot after 58 minutes, but from Young’s resulting corner Ferdinand rose high to thump a rising header into the net to make it 2-0. That knocked the stuffing out of the home team and it was soon 3-0 when Carrick split open Boro’s defence to send Rooney darting into the box to finish with style for the one-hundredth league goal of his career. A casual moment from Ferdinand after 77 minutes gave the ball to Emnes and he quickly fed O’Neil, but Hart saved the skipper’s blushes with a fabulous save low to his right side. The game ended with Shawcross making a superb sliding tackle after chasing down Emnes and flicking the ball away with an outstretched toe just as the Dutchman was about to fire goalwards. That fine effort kept our clean sheet as we won 3-0 to climb to 6th place on the Premier League table.

Middlesbrough 0

Manchester United 3 Carrick 18, Ferdinand 58, Rooney 68

Hart; S.Taylor, Shawcross, Ferdinand, Shorey; Young (Osman), Hargreaves, Carrick (Cattermole), M.Taylor; Rooney, Cole (Davies).

[mark wilson27]

A couple of good results there Mr.Spav.. keep it up mate

[Spav]

As holders of the Champions League trophy we have been seeded through to the group stage and the draw had been reasonably kind to us. Amazingly though we have been drawn against Spanish giants Real Madrid who were the team that we defeated 3-1 to capture last season’s crown. Dutch champions Ajax were the third team in our Group B and Romanian outfit Unirea Urziceni made up the numbers. It should be us and Real Madrid to go through, but we will need to watch our step against Ajax, especially if the Dutch side manage to play up to the reputation that their history has created for them.

*** *** ***

14th September 2010 – Champions League Group B

Our first European tie of the campaign takes us to Romania to take on Unirea Urziceni who are managed by the former Chelsea star Dan Petrescu. Noble makes his official debut in this match whilst Cattermole and Davies start their first matches of the season.

Brown’s low cross from the right wing finds Matty Taylor free at the near post after 8 minutes and the winger drags the ball past the keeper Botezatu, but with it now on his right foot he can’t get a sufficient angle on the shot and he screws it into the side netting. Noble has been involved in everything in the opening twenty minutes and he opens the scoring on his debut with a fine turn and shot from sixteen yards after strong lead-up play by Brown. On the half-hour mark Rooney catches his studs in the turf as he turns with no player within ten yards of him and he goes down clutching his ankle. As a precaution I immediately substitute him with Welbeck. The home side gets back on level terms after 39 minutes when Semedo is allowed to advance down the right wing unchecked and his cross his headed home deftly by Popa at the far post for 1-1. Into the second half and Hart must save well from Semedo after 52 minutes to keep us level. Good pressing in the middle of the park yields a mistake from the home side and Noble capitalises on it with a fine through-ball to release Davies in the 59th minute. The left-back Neagu manages to come in from his wing to block Davies’ shot, but the ball rebounds kindly for Welbeck to sidefoot it home from twelve yards to make it 2-1 in our favour. The game is made reasonably safe after 71 minutes as Shorey and Davies combine to play in Young and he slips it past Alexandru before shooting across the keeper Botezatu to make it 3-1. Davies nearly ices the cake in the 85th minute as his header crashes against the crossbar, but it bounces down on the goal-line after nice lead-up play by Osman. Unirea’s last chance falls to Marinescu in the 88th minute, but he batters it straight at Hart and our keeper fists it away. In injury-time Noble plays in Welbeck for a one-on-one with Botezatu, but the keeper saves well with his legs. I’m well satisfied with the final 3-1 scoreline as the German referee ends the match.

Unirea Urziceni 1 Popa 39

Manchester United 3 Noble 21, Welbeck 59, Young 71

Hart; Brown, Shawcross, Ferdinand, Shorey; Young (Osman), Cattermole, Noble, M.Taylor; Rooney (Welbeck), Davies.

[Satio]

Enjoying this Spav, good and interesting to see how the whole thing develops.

[Spav]

19th September 2010 – Premier League

Hargreaves and Carrick are back in the key midfield roles as we face our old rivals Arsenal at Old Trafford. The Gunners are 10th on the table and are coming off a shock 2-1 home defeat to Wigan last week. It’s early days in the Premier League campaign, but the result of this match will be as vital as it always is.

Only 4 minutes have passed when Shawcross loses sight of Arshavin’s corner as Bendtner and Ferdinand challenge for the ball in front of him. The ball strikes his thigh and deflects goalwards with Senderos applying the finishing touch from a yard out to give Arsenal a 1-0 lead. We are struggling to get a foothold in this game as Arsenal play their slick passing and possession game. Fabregas is running the show and he strikes a shot after 14 minutes that Hart has tip acrobatically around the post for a corner. Nani’s cross-field pass from the left finds van Persie on the right after 21 minutes and he cuts inside Shorey before unleashing a superb curling shot that finds the top corner from twenty-two yards to make it 2-0. We finally construct a decent attack in the 28th minute, but Almunia is equal to Davies’ low shot and all we get is a corner. A tremendous scramble in the six-yard box after 34 minutes sees Brown and Ferdinand both clear shots off the line as Nani, Arshavin and Bendtner cause chaos in our penalty area. Late on Davies sends Rooney clear, but Almunia beats his shot away as we fail to capitalise and go in 2-0 down at the break.

I give the players the hairdryer treatment at the break, hoping to shame them into improving their performances. Immediately we generate two gilt-edged chances as Davies’ glancing header from Matty Taylor’s cross flicks against the post when he really should have found the target and just a minute later Rooney shoots straight at Almunia from just eight yards out with the goal beckoning. The Gunners come back at us as Bendtner’s header crashes against the crossbar in the 53rd minute, but it is Fabregas who drives a stake into our heart as his magnificent thirty-yard drive rockets into the top corner, giving Hart no chance as the scoreline moves out to 3-0. The sublime long-range shooting of Arsenal continues after 64 minutes as Anderson unleashes a twenty-five yarder that curls just inside the post to make it 4-0. A chorus of boos begin to ring around Old Trafford as the stands start to empty. Hart has to be on his toes to deny substitute Eduardo’s low shot in the 81st minute before our substitutes Noble and Cole fashion a chance for Rooney which our star man finally takes, stroking the ball past Almunia in the 88th minute to pull the score back to 4-1. A second consolation goal should be Rooney’s in the second minute of injury-time, but again he hammers his shot straight at Almunia as the game ends 4-1 in the visitor’s favour.

The 4-1 loss represents my worst defeat as the Manchester United manager as we slump to 7th on the Premier League table and it means that I will need to reconsider my tactics if I am to perform better against the other top teams.

Manchester United 1 Rooney 88

Arsenal 4 Senderos 4, van Persie 21 Fabregas 55, Anderson 64

Hart; Brown, Shawcross, Ferdinand, Shorey; Young, Hargreaves (Cattermole), Carrick (Noble), M.Taylor; Rooney, Davies (Cole).

[mark wilson27]

Sack the Manager

[Fionnbarra]

Owen Hargreaves is hardly English. Try Canadian, if anything Giggs is more of an Englishman.

[gavrenwick]

He still plays for England and has English citizenship, which fits perfectly in with the task Spav set himself. Utter shame about the 4-1 defeat to Arsenal, Spavster. </3

[Manxie_Ash]

Ahh people who have no idea what they're talking about

Gutted about the loss, Spav. At OT too.....

[Spav]

Gutted about the loss, Spav. At OT too.....

...and Arsenal beat us 1-0 at Old Trafford last season as well in our only home defeat.

That result has prompted the review that follows this post.

[Spav]

Sunday’s 4-1 defeat to Arsenal got me thinking on how the team has performed against its biggest rivals in the Premier League (and other competitions where appropriate):

Chelsea:

0-1 N Community Shield

1-1 H Premier League

0-1 A Premier League

3-3 A Champions League

1-1 H Champions League

W0-D3-L2

Arsenal:

0-1 H Premier League

2-2 A Premier League

1-4 H Premier League

W0-D1-L2

Liverpool:

1-0 H Premier League

2-1 H Champions League

2-1 A Premier League

2-2 A Champions League

2-2 N Community Shield

W3-D2-L0

Tottenham:

2-2 H Premier League

1-1 A Premier League

W0-D2-L0

Manchester City:

0-0 A Premier League

2-1 H Premier League

1-2 A Premier League

W1-D1-L1

In short, I have not led Manchester United to a win over Chelsea, Arsenal or Tottenham in a total of ten games against those three clubs whilst I have only one win in three games against Manchester City. Liverpool seems to be the only club that I have any dominance over with three wins and two draws in five matches. My overall record against the five big clubs is W4-D9-L5.

Despite my poor form against my five big rivals the one redeeming factor has been the team’s ability to put together wins against most other opposing teams whereas some of my rival clubs have only been able to achieve draws. Last season both we and Chelsea lost only three matches, but we drew eight times to their eleven. Our eight draws were either against one of the five big sides (Tottenham twice, Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal) whilst only three draws (Fulham, Wigan and Aston Villa) came against other opposition.

Perhaps things aren’t as bad as they seem. I don’t seem to be getting the results I’d like against my biggest rivals, but the end result is what matters and a Premier League title combined with a Champions League triumph isn’t failure as fair as I’m concerned.

[mark wilson27]

Perhaps things aren’t as bad as they seem. I don’t seem to be getting the results I’d like against my biggest rivals, but the end result is what matters and a Premier League title combined with a Champions League triumph isn’t failure as fair as I’m concerned.

Very true,but we would like to celebrate you doing one over on the top teams please Gaffer

[Spav]

22nd September 2010 – League Cup 2nd Round

For this League Cup 2nd Round tie at Sunderland I decided to rest Rooney and give Welbeck another start as the youngster was really beginning to improve now. Dawson also got a start after not featuring from the beginning in any match for a few weeks.

Cattermole lasted only 8 minutes against his former club before picking up a groin strain and being replaced by Noble as Carrick dropped back into the defensive midfielder’s role. Nevertheless we went 1-0 up after 15 minutes when Matty Taylor produced a rare header at goal from Young’s corner and Gordon got his hands to the ball, but couldn’t keep it out. Sunderland equalised ten minutes later when Bent set up Inler and the Swiss international produced a sublime chip over Hart from just inside the box to make it 1-1. Ferdinand went close to restoring our lead when his header from Young’s corner skimmed the top of the crossbar after 32 minutes. A calamitous Dawson error after 41 minutes saw him lose the ball to Inler and with our defence on the wrong foot Inler sent Richardson running free at goal. Hart came out to narrow the angle, but Richardson slid the ball under his body and just inside the right-hand post to put the home side 2-1 in front. Welbeck had been very quiet, but his chance came in the 51st minute when he was set free by Young, only to hastily drive his shot straight at Gordon’s body. When Bent shrugged off Dawson in the 62nd minute and fired goalwards with Hart pushing it away for a corner that was the signal to replace the misfiring former Tottenham defender with Brown. Welbeck’s largely anonymous display also ended at the same time as he was replaced by Owen. The changes made little difference though as Sunderland kept things tight, particularly in the centre of the midfield through the determined displays of Cana and Inler, whilst Noble and Carrick failed to provide any serious influence on the play. Cole had a half-chance late on to find an equaliser, but his shot was bravely blocked by Nosworthy’s diving tackle. Sunderland took the tie 2-1 as we lost for the second consecutive match and tumbled out of the League Cup in the process.

Sunderland 2 Inler 25, Richardson 41

Manchester United 1 M.Taylor 15

Hart; S.Taylor, Dawson (Brown), Ferdinand, Shorey; Young, Cattermole (Noble), Carrick, M.Taylor; Welbeck (Owen), Cole.

[SWalton]

Looking good Spav. Unfortunate about the last two results though.

[Conman14]

Currently trying the same thing with Arsenal....fun stuff!

[Spav]

25th September 2010 – Premier League

It was imperative that we got a victory at St Andrews if our season was to stay on track. Scholes was drafted into the centre of the midfield to add some steel with Hargreaves and Cattermole both out injured whilst Rooney was back in the forward line.

The early play showed that United’s confidence wasn’t completely gone as the team defended solidly and showed some grit and inventiveness in attack. The first clear chance fell to Cole in the 24th minute as he got his head to Young’s cross, only to see Forsyth tip it away for a corner. Ferguson then whizzed a shot a foot wide from twenty-five yards in the 28th minute before Cole’s glancing header flew just wide of the post after 34 minutes. It was really against then run of play then when Birmingham took the lead after 37 minutes. Lee Chun-Soo swung a high floating cross into the box and for some reason Hart stayed rooted to his line, allowing O’Connor to climb above Ferdinand and send a downward header in at the far post to give the home side a 1-0 lead. We deserved to be level though and we got the chance to do that in the first minute of injury-time when we were awarded a penalty. Personally I thought referee Clattenberg’s decision was a touch harsh on Ridgewell as he tussled with Rooney to reach Young’s cross, but our forward went down when he’d got in front of his marker and he certainly wasn’t given a decent chance to attack the ball. Matty Taylor did his usual confident job from the spot, placing the ball low to Forsyth’s left to make it 1-1 at the break.

Hart redeemed himself for the earlier hesitation that had cost United a goal when he dived bravely at the feet of Benitez in the first minute of the second half with the Ecuadoran clean through on goal. The team then took control of the midfield and started to push the ball around confidently. Matty Taylor sent an angled swinging cross arching into the box in the 61st minute that caught out the defence and found Rooney rising high to power a header past Forsyth to give us the lead at 2-1. Hart then continued his improved second half in the 69th minute as he directed O’Connor’s fierce close-range shot onto the post when it seemed easier for the Scotsman to score. Birmingham’s keeper took some inspiration from Hart’s efforts as he emulated our goalie in the 79th minute. Rooney robbed Murphy on the halfway line and raced clear, but Forsyth superbly palmed away his effort as Rooney looked to seal the match. It wasn’t a calamity however as five minutes later Rooney did score to make it 3-1, darting it at the near post to crash home a header from Matty Taylor’s left-sided corner. That was the last key moment of the match as we triumphed 3-1 to get ourselves back to winning ways and move up to 5th on the Premier League table.

Birmingham 1 O’Connor 37

Manchester United 3 M.Taylor pen 45+1, Rooney 61, 84

Hart; S.Taylor, Shawcross, Ferdinand, Shorey; Young, Carrick, Scholes, M.Taylor; Rooney, Cole (Davies).

[Conman14]

God it's actually proper tough fielding an all English team!

First couple of Arsenal games I had James Shea in nets because Paul Robinson was injured. Although he was born in England so I think that's okay...

The only non-English player I've had in the squad was Sean McDermott (another Arsenal U18 goalie, sadly not linked to England in any way)

[Spav]

29th September 2010 – Champions League Group B

Ajax are the key opponents that we must beat if we are to ensure our progression from Group B of the Champions League qualifiers. The team is unchanged from the one that got us back on track in the Premier League with a 3-1 at Birmingham on the weekend.

Poor marking allows skipper Ferdinand to have a free header at goal after just 3 minutes and he powers Young’s right-wing corner past Stekelenburg to put us 1-0 up. However within moments of the restart Pantelic is cutting in from the left past Steven Taylor and Shawcross and firing in a low shot which Hart saves superbly. A period of sustained midfield battling sees little created up front by either team until Suarez heads just over in the 28th minute. Cole is sent clear on our left wing by Matty Taylor, but with Rooney unmarked and screaming for the ball in the middle Cole completely miskicks and sends his cross out harmlessly for a goal-kick. Shorey sets up Rooney in the 38th minute with a firm pass into his chest and the striker traps it and swivels to shoot in one movement with only Stekelenburg’s great reflexes denying us a goal. We’re ahead 1-0 at the break and are good value for our lead.

Ajax start the second half playing deeper and looking to hit us on the counterattack, but our defence is really on their game and any possible danger is quickly snuffed out. Unfortunately though, United is having trouble penetrating the Dutch team’s massed defence. Noble and Welbeck then come on for Scholes and Cole in the 67th minute in an effort to liven up our attack and a push for the clinching goal. In the 76th minute Carrick, Noble and Rooney fashion a move to release Young on the right wing and when the cross comes in Rooney had the edge on Alderweireld and is positioned well to head at goal. The defender hauls Rooney back by the arm and the referee spots the offence, giving us a penalty. Matty Taylor goes low to Stekelenburg’s right and although the keeper gets a hand to it he cannot keep it out as we go 2-0 up. Eight minutes later Stekelenburg does get a hand to Young’s curling free-kick to tip it around the post and brilliantly deny us a third goal. The Dutch keeper heroics are in vain however as a fine team performance gives us a 2-0 win. This keeps us at the top of the group alongside Real Madrid who also have a 100% record.

Manchester United 2 Ferdinand 3, M.Taylor pen 76

Ajax 0

Hart; S.Taylor, Shawcross, Ferdinand, Shorey; Young, Carrick, Scholes (Noble), M.Taylor; Rooney, Cole (Welbeck).

[mark wilson27]

Thats better, keep it up mate

[Spav]

Thanks for the ongoing support, Mark.

[Spav]

2nd October 2010 – Premier League

Sunderland are our visitors today and they are still grinning after their 2-1 League Cup win over us ten days ago. Noble begins in place of Scholes today as three games in eight days is just too much for the veteran’s legs these days. I’m also taking a gamble on a Rooney-Welbeck forward line as Welbeck’s recent improvement is crying out for more game time so that it can continue.

I demand that the players give me a much more dominant display than that of ten days ago and I insist on a win as nothing else would be suitable. Their response is good as Sunderland are penned back by some quality midfield play, especially from Young on the right wing. Carrick and Young go close to opening the scoring, but we get a wake-up call when Campbell runs onto Inler’s pass to score after 8 minutes, only for a favourable linesman’s flag to rule it out for offside. Shawcross volleys wide when unmarked from Young’s free-kick after 14 minutes, but then the linesman makes a bad call in deciding Bent is onside (when he is at least a yard offside) and the striker scores from close range from Geovanni’s pass to make it 1-0 to Sunderland after 20 minutes. We resume our stranglehold on the match, but it takes until the 44th minute to fashion an equaliser. Cana fails to note that his man Noble has stayed forward after an attack and Carrick’s clever headed pass releases the former West Ham man who runs free before sliding the ball low to Gordon’s left side to make it 1-1.

In the second half we keep up the pressure as Ferdinand and Young both head straight at Gordon when presented with decent chances. Unfortunately for Welbeck he has struggled to get into the match, so I decide to go with the experience of Owen after 63 minutes to see if he can crack Sunderland’s stubborn defence. Only a minute later Young takes a knock to his thigh and I have to replace our best player on the day with Osman. As the final fifteen minutes roll around our visitors are defending desperately. McCartney does well to block Osman’s shot with a brave lunge in front of the ball, Rooney sees his low shot tipped around the post by Gordon and Matty Taylor sends an inviting low cross skimming through the Sunderland penalty area with three of our players just failing to get a touch. In the 88th minute Noble squeezes a pass beyond Turner’s desperate attempted block and Owen is free inside the penalty area. The veteran striker instantly drills the ball from fourteen yards under Gordon before his can react properly and finally we are in front at 2-1. In the first minute of injury-time Noble turns provider again, sending Rooney clear for a belting shot which Gordon somehow blocks with an outstretched right arm. This time the rebound is favourable for us and Owen gleefully strokes the ball into the unguarded net for his second goal and the clincher at 3-1. It was a tough match, but the players achieve what I ask of them and we climb up to 4th on the Premier League table.

Manchester United 3 Noble 44, Owen 88, 90+1

Sunderland 1 Bent 20

Hart; S.Taylor, Shawcross, Ferdinand, Shorey; Young (Osman), Carrick, Noble, M.Taylor; Rooney, Welbeck (Owen).

[pooman2279]

Owen looks to be a great option for you. How many goals has he hit now?

Great story Spav, keeping my eye on this one. I love the concept as well, might try it with Tottenham or a team of that ilk.

[porthillshrew]

Great story, have bookmarked it to keep an eye on. Am looking at doing this kind of thing with Man City when FM2011 arrives on my doormat.

KUTGW.

[Spav]

Owen looks to be a great option for you. How many goals has he hit now?

Those were Owen's first goals this season, so 2 in 2010/11 so far. He also got 7 goals in 2009/10, all in the Premier League as well.

[Spav]

5th October 2010 – Premier League

With the international break bearing down on us, we had one additional mid-week match to play as we hosted West Ham in a game that had been previously postponed in late August due to our European Super Cup commitments. Owen earned a start in place of Welbeck on the back of his two-goal effort as a substitute against Sunderland on the weekend.

Frustration was the key word that described the first half as United totally controlled the play, but failed to seriously test Green in the Hammers’ net. Owen headed wide after 8 minutes from a decent Young cross with probably the best chance of the opening period. We won eight corners as a result of the pressure we put on West Ham, but none of those were down to saves by the goalkeeper. After 33 minutes Rooney cut in from the right wing and rolled a delightful ball through the six-yard box, but Owen, Matty Taylor and Carrick all failed to get a touch to it. When half-time arrived Hart had not had a single shot fired at him by a player in a claret-and-blue jersey. The second half kicked off and West Ham nearly caught us cold after 46 minutes with Bresciano surging forward from the midfield and teeing up Parker who crashed a shot against the crossbar from twenty yards out. More good possession was wasted by poor final passes; that was until when the 75th minute was reached and Rooney produced a wonder strike from thirty yards that swerved past Green and buried itself in the roof of the West Ham net to finally put us 1-0 up. The Hammers bought on a Brazilian striker called Claudio Pitbull, but he didn’t any bite to their attack and we ended up grinding out a 1-0 victory that pushed us up into second place on the table behind league leaders Liverpool.

Manchester United 1 Rooney 75

West Ham 0

Hart; S.Taylor, Shawcross, Ferdinand, Shorey; Young, Carrick, Noble (Scholes), M.Taylor; Rooney, Owen (Welbeck).

[Spav]

6th October 2010 – Premier League Table:

|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|Pos   | Team          | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|1st   | Liverpool     | 8     | 6     | 1     | 1     | 13    | 4     | +9    | 19    | 
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|2nd   | Man Utd       | 8     | 6     | 0     | 2     | 16    | 9     | +7    | 18    | 
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|3rd   | Tottenham     | 8     | 5     | 2     | 1     | 17    | 7     | +10   | 17    | 
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|4th   | Arsenal       | 7     | 5     | 1     | 1     | 13    | 6     | +7    | 16    | 
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|5th   | Man City      | 6     | 4     | 2     | 0     | 12    | 3     | +9    | 14    | 
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|6th   | Chelsea       | 7     | 4     | 2     | 1     | 10    | 2     | +8    | 14    | 
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|7th   | Newcastle     | 8     | 2     | 5     | 1     | 6     | 6     | 0     | 11    | 
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|8th   | Middlesbrough | 8     | 3     | 2     | 3     | 6     | 8     | -2    | 11    | 
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|9th   | Stoke         | 7     | 3     | 1     | 3     | 10    | 9     | +1    | 10    | 
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|10th  | Wigan         | 8     | 2     | 4     | 2     | 8     | 9     | -1    | 10    | 
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|11th  | Everton       | 7     | 2     | 3     | 2     | 9     | 8     | +1    | 9     | 
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|12th  | Aston Villa   | 7     | 2     | 3     | 2     | 11    | 11    | 0     | 9     | 
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|13th  | Sunderland    | 8     | 2     | 3     | 3     | 12    | 14    | -2    | 9     | 
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|14th  | Blackburn     | 8     | 2     | 3     | 3     | 9     | 11    | -2    | 9     | 
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|15th  | West Ham      | 8     | 2     | 2     | 4     | 12    | 16    | -4    | 8     | 
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|16th  | Wolves        | 7     | 1     | 3     | 3     | 5     | 8     | -3    | 6     | 
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|17th  | West Brom     | 8     | 1     | 2     | 5     | 9     | 15    | -6    | 5     | 
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|18th  | Fulham        | 8     | 0     | 4     | 4     | 5     | 20    | -15   | 4     | 
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|19th  | Bolton        | 8     | 0     | 3     | 5     | 2     | 8     | -6    | 3     | 
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|20th  | Birmingham    | 8     | 0     | 2     | 6     | 8     | 19    | -11   | 2     | 
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[Spav]

The international break saw England resume their Euro 2012 qualifiers with a narrow 1-0 home win over Belgium thanks to an unfortunate own goal from Jean-Francois Gillet in the 34th minute. Ben Foster, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Young and Wayne Rooney all started the match whilst Michael Carrick came on as a late substitute and Wes Brown and Ryan Shawcross were unused substitutes.

*** *** ***

England cut loose four days later in Yerevan as they thumped Armenia 6-2 to maintain their 100% record in Group F. Joe Cole (25th), Ashley Young (29th), Steven Gerrard (37th and 45th), Michael Carrick (75th) and Wayne Rooney (92nd) were the scorers as Armenia scored consolation goals through Edgar Manucharyan (57th) and Arman Karamyan (85th). Ben Foster, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Ashley Young and Wayne Rooney all started the match. Wes Brown and Owen Hargreaves were second half substitutes whilst Michael Owen and Ryan Shawcross were unused substitutes.

*** *** ***

15th October 2010 – Premier League

I’ll be honest and admit I took the team to Stamford Bridge with the intention of getting a draw out of Chelsea. We soaked up loads of pressure early on, but Chelsea didn’t use their additional possession to its full advantage. A couple of long range efforts from Lampard, Drogba and Essien failed to trouble Hart in our goal and it wasn’t until the 28th minute that Chelsea really carved us open as Berbatov burst into the box from the right wing and lashed a shot against the top of the crossbar. Owen’s injury-proneness was revealed again in the 33rd minute as he walked awkwardly from the pitch holding his hamstring and he was replaced by Davies. In the 41st minute Berbatov beat Ferdinand and strode clear, but Hart save well low to his left when the shot came in from the Bulgarian striker. Straight from Shorey’s clearance of the loose ball Matty Taylor and Davies combined to put Rooney clear, but he fired his shot straight at Cech. In injury-time Essien’s through-ball sent Joe Cole running clear, but again Hart stayed on his feet and forced his opponent to choose the side for his shot and then he dived to block the ensuing effort with his legs. It was 0-0 at the break and we were lucky to be even.

Although we weren’t having as much of the ball our pressing, blocking and tackling was forcing Chelsea into making hasty decisions and Hart was not being continually called into action to save our skin. In the 69th minute Hart was beaten by Lampard’s curling twenty-five yarder, but the post came to our rescue as the shot rebounded across the goalmouth before Steven Taylor hacked it away. Most of Chelsea’s attempts were coming from long range, but when Iaquinta did manage to get a cross into the box after 75 minutes Drogba headed it well wide under pressure from Shawcross. Chelsea’s best chance of the second half arrived in the 85th minute as Iaquinta played in Drogba, but Hart magnificently thrust out his right hand to push the Ivorian’s shot from eight yards out around the post for a corner. In injury-time Matty Taylor twice got himself momentarily free just inside the penalty area, but both times Bosingwa blocked his shots just as they left Taylor’s boot. The game ended 0-0 and it was certainly Chelsea who had by far the better of the play, but I was most happy to leave London with a point from the match.

Chelsea 0

Manchester United 0

Hart; S.Taylor, Shawcross, Ferdinand, Shorey; Young, Hargreaves, Carrick, M.Taylor; Rooney (Cole), Owen (Davies).

[Spav]

20th October 2010 – Champions League Group B

Real Madrid will be looking for revenge after we defeated them 3-1 in last season’s Champions League Final and a packed house of just over 75,000 fans awaits us at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Real Madrid starts off on the front foot and we are penned back early on. In the 15th minute Barnetta cuts in from the right wing and appears to collide with Matty Taylor, but the referee decides it is a penalty. Former Manchester United superstar Ronaldo steps up to take the spot-kick and he arrows the ball high inside the left post to put Real 1-0 in front. There is little to bother the scoreboard attendant as the first half progresses and it isn’t until the 41st minute that another real chance arrives. We win a free-kick twenty-two yards and slightly to the right and Hargreaves drives it low through the Real wall. Casillas sees it late, but he reacts superbly to tip it around the post for a corner. From Matty Taylor’s corner Young gets his head to the ball at the near post, but again Casillas reacts instantly to parry the goal-bound header with Lass Diarra clearing the rebound just before Rooney can lash it home. It’s 1-0 to the home side at the break, but we could have been level.

Early in the second half a loose pass gives the ball to Barnetta and he instantly transfers it into the path of Higuain. The Argentinean sprints clear of Shawcross and drives his shot low across Hart and inside the far post to make it 2-0 in the 48th minute. Again the play tightens up with Real holding sway and having no issue with playing the ball around their backline and midfield without penetrating deeply into our defence. Unfortunately we can’t manufacture anything either and the Spanish giants are under little pressure. After 78 minutes Pepe’s long clearance drops over Shorey’s head and sets Ronaldo free on the right wing. Ronaldo advances ten yards before whipping a low cross into the box where Raul sweeps it home with authority to put the home side 3-0 up. A twenty-yard effort from Carrick after 83 minutes strikes the joint of the crossbar and post as we come as close as we have to finding a goal in this game, but it’s also the last meaningful action of the match. Real Madrid wins 3-0 and we have put in a performance that leaves a lot to be desired.

Real Madrid 3 Ronaldo pen 15, Higuain 48, Raul 78

Manchester United 0

Hart; S.Taylor, Shawcross, Ferdinand, Shorey; Young, Hargreaves, Carrick, M.Taylor (Osman); Rooney, Davies.

[mark wilson27]

Ouch, bad result there spav,

[gavrenwick]

Probably just me but I'd much prefer to see an All-English side lose in Europe than a fully foreign laden English side win. Unlucky none the less, Spav, and congratulations on this story making the nomination list.

[Spav]

Thanks, Gav, but I think I'll try to disappoint you by winning with my all-English side in future.

[Spav]

23rd October 2010 – Premier League

This was a dire match as Wigan showed no intention of doing anything other than forcing a scoreless draw and we couldn’t find the spark to do anything about it. I shuffled the team slightly after our exhausting trip to Madrid, but the changes were not overly drastic and shouldn’t have caused us any concern.

A couple of long range efforts from Osman and Carrick were all we could muster in the first half whilst Wigan couldn’t even test Hart with anything resembling a shot. In the second half neither side caused the fans’ hearts to flutter as both teams produced some bland football. It took until the 72nd minute for us to fashion a shot on goal and we should have taken the lead with it. Owen ran hard at the Wigan defence from the halfway line before sliding a pass into the feet of Rooney and the forward was unmarked before driving a shot low to Kirkland’s left side, but the keeper brilliantly stuck out his hand to deflect it away for corner. Ferdinand then flashed a header inches wide of the post from Matty Taylor’s ensuing corner. Wigan’s first shot on target came in the 81st minute and it nearly produced a goal as N’Zogbia ran onto Rodallega’s headed flick-on and smashed a left-footed shot against the post from fifteen yards out. The sting in the tail of the game continued as Ferdinand headed against the crossbar in the 88th minute, but a goal wasn’t going to occur and the match ended all-square at 0-0.

Manchester United 0

Wigan 0

Hart; Brown, S.Taylor, Ferdinand, Shorey; Osman, Hargreaves, Carrick, Young (M.Taylor); Rooney, Davies (Owen).

[chesterfan2]

v.poor result there.

[Spav]

30th October 2010 – Premier League

After last week’s 0-0 home draw with Wigan I was looking for a much better performance from the team when we faced 15th placed Blackburn at Old Trafford. Ferdinand was out with a gashed leg, so Steven Taylor and Shawcross played in central defence with Brown at right-back.

Following a cleared corner in the 8th minute Steven Taylor knocked the ball back into the box where Rooney outfoxed Givet with a sharp turn. However the Frenchman’s right foot caught Rooney’s trailing left ankle and he went down, prompting the referee Alan Wiley to award us a penalty. With Matty Taylor on the bench the spot-kick duties fell to Hargreaves and he clinically despatched the ball from the penalty spot high into the top left corner of Robinson’s net to put us 1-0 up. Blackburn came back at us quickly with shots from Grella and N’Zonzi that required Hart to concede corners with his subsequent saves. Frustratingly it was Blackburn who were controlling the play now and they earned a series of corners, but luckily for us they failed to press home their advantage. In the 32nd minute Emerton dallied on the ball, allowing Cole to steal it and bear down on goal. Just as Cole was about to shoot Andrews came flying in with a tackle that seemed to take the man and then the ball, but referee Wiley ruled it legitimate as Cole was left lying on the ground appealing for a penalty. The first half ended with United 1-0 in front, but I was not at all happy with what the players had produced in the opening forty-five minutes.

Once again the second half was lacklustre from my Manchester United team. Carrick and Hargreaves seemed devoid of any ability to conjure up any decent attacking opportunities whilst Osman and Young on the wings were both subdued. Blackburn were more enthusiastic, but thankfully lacked the decisive touch when it came to their final pass or cross. I wasn’t at all confident being just one goal up and that concern was justified in the 72nd minute when Hoillet broke clear of Shorey on Blackburn’s right wing. His low cross to the near post found Roberts being the only player to really attack the ball and the Grenadian took a quick touch before lashing a shot in at Hart’s near post to square things up at 1-1. Blackburn shut up shop after that and we couldn’t force them open, so the game finished 1-1 with a chorus of boos from the United fans ringing around Old Trafford.

Manchester United 1 Hargeaves pen 8

Blackburn 1 Roberts 72

Hart; Brown, S.Taylor, Shawcross, Shorey; Osman (M.Taylor), Hargreaves, Carrick, Young; Rooney, Cole.

[ACFergie86]

HAHAHAHA

I'm a new fan of this (i will keep updated) and im on page one, i laughed so much when i read about Evras sale "Leornardo creams his pants as he welcomes Evra" so funny!

I love this thread, keep it up!

[Spav]

Since the international break at the start of October 2010 the team had played four matches in all competitions, scoring just one goal as they racked up three draws and a loss. Not being able to beat the likes of Wigan and Blackburn – teams who were currently sitting much further down the table than Manchester United – was most infuriating and I decided that the team needed to put more emphasis on attack.

I had been playing a 4-1-3-2 formation with standard back four, a defensive midfielder (usually Hargreaves), a playmaker (usually Carrick) with a licence to push forward, two wingers and a forward pairing of either Cole or Davies in tandem with the automatic choice Rooney. The tactic had certainly been successful in the 2009/10 season when we had done the Premier League / Champions League double, but even then we had not been heavy scorers, instead relying on a tight defence that had only conceded 17 goals in the league campaign.

I think that opposing teams were starting to come to grips with our style of play and were stifling us in midfield, therefore limiting our ability to set up chances for the front duo. It also wasn’t helping that we were relying too much on Rooney (seven goals currently) to find the net for us as so far this season only five goals in total had come from the remaining quartet of Cole, Davies, Owen and Welbeck.

The solution was to get more men forward and with that in mind I had the team start working in a 4-3-3 formation. The back four would remain basically the same, although the full-backs would have to get forward more to cover for the lack of genuine wingers. The three in midfield would have the bulk of the work to do with one of them designated to hold his position whilst the other two worked slightly higher up the pitch. Up front one player would play the key role of receiving and feeding the ball to the other two strikers, although he would not be playing as a true target-man in the sense that the ball would be lumped up to him to head on or nod down, but rather he’d come back slightly towards the midfield to gain possession before distributing it intelligently to the supporting midfielders or his fellow attackers. The other two forwards would be encouraged to stretch the opposition’s defence by moving into wide positions, but also doing it whilst staying pushed up on the defensive line.

*** *** ***

Introducing a new formation was never going to be an easy task as even the best players would need time to adapt to their new roles. I decided to employ it for the first time in the upcoming midweek Champions League tie at home to Real Madrid. I knew that putting a new formation out on the park in such a big match against quality opposition was a risky affair, but I figured that we could afford to lose this match and still clinch second place in Group B to ensure our eventual qualification. What I didn’t want to do was risk dropping unnecessary points in the Premier League when were already down to fifth place and trailing the leaders Liverpool and Manchester City by six points. Our next league match was away to Liverpool as well in a week’s time.

[Spav]

Author’s Note: I think it’s time for a refresh to the style and format of this story, especially if I’m going to keep my own interest going, let alone that of any readers.

Part of this is due to the fact that I decided to write this story as I played the game and I have never allowed myself to get more than three or four games ahead of where I’ve posted. This has made for a stop/start game of FM10 (where I’ve played just a season and a half in nearly eight months) which I’ve managed to achieve by having other saved games on the go at the same time. However this game has really got my interest at the moment and I’m keen to play it much quicker. The only solution is to therefore write it up much quicker as well.

I feel that I have gone a bit too much into the match report writing side of things and perhaps left the storytelling side behind. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy writing up my match reports as I feel it’s one of my strong points, but I want to get back to including some more fictional details about the players and what is happening at the club as the season continues.

As a result I’m going to scale back my match reports to a simpler style of summary and perhaps include two or three games in each post instead of devoting an entire post to just one match. Anyway, knowing me, as soon as an important match comes along the extra detail in the match report will automatically kick in as I can’t help trying to describe all the action to its fullest detail.

I’ll just finish this note by thanking everyone who has been following this story so far and taking their time to post a comment or to. I hope you find the new style enjoyable and hopefully we’ll see this story move a bit quicker over the upcoming seasons so that we can see if my all-English Manchester United side can maintain its place at the top of the Premier League and in Europe.

Cheers, Spav.

[Spav]

The new 4-3-3 formation means a complete rethink on each and every position and the players who can fill it.

Hart has done well in goal since getting his chance at the end of August and although Foster has now returned from his broken finger injury the former Manchester City man has done enough to keep his place. Amos will continue to be the third choice goalkeeper as he stays in the reserves.

At right-back I’m looking for someone who can run hard and cross well as I won’t be playing with a legitimate right winger. Steven Taylor has been the incumbent in the previous system, but I also have Brown and Gardner who can play the position whilst Neville’s ailing physical attributes mean that he has been consigned to the reserves at the age of 35. In the end I decide that Gardner will get a chance of a run in the team due to his better technical and attacking skills.

The left-back position needs to be similarly staffed as that of the right side and it falls to a straight decision between Shorey and Matty Taylor. With the left winger’s role being eliminated Matty Taylor will now fight for this role with Shorey who had been an automatic choice up until now. In the end I decide that Shorey has done enough so far this season to continue in the role, but he will need to excel or Matty Taylor will quickly be given a chance.

The two centre-halves will come from the grouping of Ferdinand, Shawcross, Brown, Steven Taylor and Dawson. Ferdinand is the club captain and he has been performing excellently, so he plays as long as he is fit. The other position is between Shawcross and Brown based on current form. Steven Taylor is concentrating on being a right-back whilst Dawson has failed to perform when given his chance and is currently number five on the list. At the moment I’m leaning towards Shawcross as Ferdinand’s partner, but the skipper isn’t 100% for this first match so Brown will join Shawcross in the centre of defence.

The strictly defensive midfielder’s role of the old formation has been replaced by a position that will sit higher up the pitch, but still require its incumbent to curb his attacking instincts. I have Hargreaves, Cattermole and Carrick who can fill the role, but in my mind Hargreaves is clearly the best choice and he will play when available whilst Cattermole will be his deputy.

The two offensive midfield roles fall to either Carrick, Noble, Osman, Young, Cattermole or Scholes with Gardner another possibility if his stint at right-back fails to bear fruit. Carrick and Noble have the edge on creativity and flair, but Cattermole runs a close third just ahead of Osman and Young with Scholes dropping down the list due to advancing 36 years. Carrick has been a first choice under the old system and he will continue whilst Noble has been impressive when given a run, so these two get the first chance to cement their spots in the new-look team.

Up front the key hold-and-distribute forward role appears to be a straight battle between Cole and Davies. Neither player has been in great form this season, but Cole gets the initial nod in a toss-of-the-coin decision. Rooney could also fill this position, but I believe it would constitute a waste of his talents in a more advanced striking role.

That leaves the two advanced forwards/poachers with Rooney, Owen, Young and Welbeck being the possible contenders. Rooney is a no-brainer for one of the spots whilst this role may finally suit Owen and he could well make it his own. Welbeck has improved this season and he stands a good chance as well whilst Young can also fill the role, although he may be too lightweight to stand up to the rigours. In the end I decide to go with Rooney and Young for the first game, but Owen and Welbeck will soon get their chances I’m sure.

Looking at the squad the two players that appear most affected by the new 4-3-3 formation are Young and Driver who are both seen as out-and-out wingers. Young has the advantage of being able to play centrally or up front, but for Driver this means a stint in the reserves or a possible loan move in order to keep him match-fit.

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2nd November 2010 – Champions League Group B

The team’s start is decent and we hold the early advantage as Noble and Carrick begin to probe the Real Madrid defence confidently. After absorbing some consistent pressure from us Higuain and Ronaldo launch a 34th minute counterattack which ends with Benzema driving a low shot across Hart to make it 1-0. Minutes later Benzema hits the crossbar with a curling left-footed shot. Early in the second half Brown’s header from Noble’s free-kick crashes against the crossbar and bounces down a few inches into play. In the 54th minute Ronaldo clears Hargreaves goal-bound header off the line as we turn up the pressure. Casillas then plays his part with a world-class save from Cole’s close range flick after 58 minutes. Having been on the back foot as they had been in the first half Real suddenly counterattack in the 74th minute through Ronaldo and Higuain has the goal at his mercy, but his shot is well saved by Hart. Higuain returns the favour to Ronaldo after 83 minutes, dribbling past four of our players before setting up the Portuguese forward whose shot is brilliantly saved by Hart. With hope dwindling for a United equaliser Real win a corner in the final minute. Shawcross heads it clear, but from thirty yards Marcelo rockets it back into the net to make it 2-0 and clinch the Spaniard’s victory.

Manchester United 0

Real Madrid 2 Benzema 34, Marcelo 90

Hart; Gardner, Shawcross, Brown, Shorey (M.Taylor); Noble, Hargreaves, Carrick (Scholes); Young, Cole (Davies), Rooney.

[Andy Anon]

This is tip top.

There must be an element of 'satisfaction' on a different level in building a squad of all one nationality.

Might try something similar with a Turkish club side on FM11 when it's out!

Nice one.

[Spav]

I didn’t want to cause any more disruption to the team than was really necessary, but if the new formation was going to be bedded in then experimentation needed to be done and players needed to be rotated.

Ferdinand was fit to return for the Premier League match against league leaders Liverpool at Anfield, so Brown dropped back to the bench. Shorey had not had the best of games against Real Madrid, so Matty Taylor came in for him at left-back. Up front Davies would get his chance in the “hold-and-distribute” position instead of Cole whilst Young was dropped so that Owen could come in against the club that he had made his name with.

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6th November 2010 – Premier League

Within a minute Hart is saving well from Torres and Reina soon follows that with a fine save from Owen. After 6 minutes Owen chips a cross to the far post where Davies sends his header back across Reina to put us 1-0 up with his first goal of the season. Two minutes later Torres and Gardner clash in the box as they chase Kuyt’s cross and the referee amazingly awards Liverpool a penalty. Worse still for us, Gardner is harshly shown a straight red card and we are down to ten men. Steven Taylor comes on for Hargreaves as I look to keep up the pressure by playing three forwards. Kuyt scores easily from the penalty-spot to make it 1-1. In the 14th minute Kuyt makes a goal as he crosses hopefully into the middle and Brown completely loses Torres who sidefoots home with ease to put Liverpool 2-1 up. Huddlestone makes the Reds’ third goal after 33 minutes, forcing his way between Carrick and Shorey before setting up Torres for a simple finish. A few minutes later only a wonderful Hart save denies Torres his hat-trick. It’s 3-1 at the break and I ask the players to give their all in the second half as I refuse to go defensive.

Noble responds to my half-time urgings with a free-kick from eighteen yards that he drives through the Liverpool defensive wall to pull the score back to 3-2. That is nearly cancelled out straight from the restart as Torres heads against the post with Hart well-beaten. We are living dangerously though as Torres breaks free on 64 minutes and Hart can only parry the shot. Benayoun follows it up to smash the rebound goalwards, but Hart is back on his feet to make a second brilliant save. Carrick is replaced by Cattermole as he tires and the new man has a hand in setting Owen free in the 71st minute. Owen battles his way to the bye-line and crosses into the middle where Davies forcefully attacks the ball, leaping above Reina to head us level at 3-3 in a magnificent comeback. Amazingly we are now dominating the play and Rooney is inches from giving us the lead after 77 minutes as he slides in at the far post onto Steven Taylor’s cross, but only finds the side-netting from a tight angle. Still, luck plays its part as Kuyt heads Babel’s cross against the crossbar in the 85th minute as Liverpool looks for a winner. The game ends 3-3 and considering that we played for over eighty minutes with only ten men I’d have to say that it been a reasonable success.

Liverpool 3 Kuyt pen 10, Torres 14, 33

Manchester United 3 Davies 6, 71, Noble 51

Hart; Gardner (s/o 8), Shawcross, Ferdinand, M.Taylor; Noble, Hargreaves (S.Taylor), Carrick (Cattermole); Owen, Davies, Rooney.