The past week and a half was great for United except for the obvious loss at Goodison. I knew the Everton game would be hard, but hardly would have predicted a 3-1 loss at the hands of the Toffees. The West Ham victory was a much needed response, and was in line for my prediction at 3-0. The Carling Cup victory was excellent, and I really enjoyed the game. The only disappointment was the injury to Owen which marred an otherwise excellent start from the United number 7.

Everton 3 – United 1

It was not a good game for the United faithful, and our star man did not seem in his ruthless form of late, and indeed on most visits to his old stomping ground. Evra conceded the lads were tired from the AC Milan San Siro heroics, but he did not leave it as an excuse. As he said, and I agree from what I saw, the Everton players were just much more up for it.

The first goal by Berbatov was a nice quick reaction shot from the Bulgarian. Their response was quick and came from a mistimed tackle further up the field, the finish was spectacular but the chance was gifted. The next goal by Gosling was after the break and followed shoddy defending by Evans and Evra. The last was a nice goal by Rodwell, breaking free of Evans and slotting it across Edwin. Both of the youngsters from Everton did well with their goals.

United 3 – West Ham 0

United wasted no time getting onto the front foot and did a great job against West Ham. The first goal was a great interplay between Berbatov, Valencia and Rooney. The Buglarian floatd a delightful cross and Valencia one-timed the pass back across to Rooney who powered the header into the bottom corner. The second was much the same with a reverse pass by Berbatov, a cross from Valencia and a steered header by Rooney.

The last goal was an exact carbon-copy of the dramatic winner in stoppage time against Manchester City, except that Scholes was the creator instead of Giggs. Owen took a deft touch and curled it around the on-rushing Green. There were other great moments in this game, such as the charge by Rooney who easily pushed Green off the ball before attempting a curled shot back in at the net which was cleared off the lines.

CARLING CUP FINAL: United 2 – Villa 1

It was a great final, and I enjoyed it a lot. I was worried in the opening minutes when the penalty was awarded. It was so early in the game and it could either be the start of a cascade or the point where Untied turned it around. I for one never even thought about Vidic getting a red card, but that is all in the media today. It was neither until the latter stages of the first half; when after a tackle by Dunne chopped the ball up to Owen who calmly slotted it into the bottom corner.

It was an expert finish from the ex-England international, and Capello looked pleased in the stands. Owen played very well in the first half, and was pushing and battling along with the ever-industrious Berbatov who was flicking and tricking at his best. Rooney had to come on for Owen on the 41st minute, which will be disastrous considering the audience. Park had a glorious opportunity off the post before packing in for the first half.

The second half was all United and Rooney headed in a lovely cross from Valencia, by floating it up and over the out-stretched Brad Friedel into the top corner. It was a great goal. There was another chance to pile on the misery for Villa when Rooney was again dug out by a Valencia cross, where Rooney fired in another header off the upright.

I don’t think O’Neill and Villa can have too many complaints about the loss. United deserved the victory and showed why they are a cup winning side.

Even Richard Dunne conceded that with 10 men when United came to Villa, they still did not manage to score (in fact, United were the more likely). Have to say, Dunne is stand-up guy to say that considering his managers comments. He felt it would be a better final to not have Vidic sent off, and I agree.

Next Week

The international break may or may not see Wayne Rooney rested. He is fit to play, but really why would Capello even risk it? He knows Wayne is in great form, and he needs to find his supporting players and other combinations if god-forbid the star man picks up a knock before or during the tournament.

Then we face Wolves away, which should be a comfortable victory. I would hazard a 2-0 score line, but it may be more. Wolves will either be dismantled or provide a stern test until the latter stages. Either way I feel the result will be inevitable.

It appears Chelsea will not be playing in Gameweek 29, so it gives us a chance to put some pressure on them. Arsenal, however, are hot on the heels of both United and Chelsea, and we definitely have to keep our wits about us.

The game at Portsmouth was great for a few reasons. One it made own goals our second top scorer, which is hilarious and shows the pressure we exert on teams. Second, Rooney again got on the score sheet, something that is becoming more and more expected, and it was also a warm–up for the mid–week clash with Aston Villa who is also our Carling Cup Final opponents. Finally it was the much anticipated Champions League match against the old foe AC Milan, and I for one was nervous so it’s no surprise to hear Ferguson say he was nervous along with his players in the San Siro.

United 5 – Portsmouth 0

The doom and gloom for Portsmouth is becoming almost too hard for me to read. I read an article this morning that went on about the wind–up from the HMRS for 7M and now they are trying to get a policy removal for selling players outside of transfer windows by using the “club in crisis” clause. Well that clause sums up life at Portsmouth right now, and I can’t but imagine that poor Pompey fan that goes to every game ringing his bell, and what he must think about all this.

Either way Untied did the business and gave us a superior goal difference to all other teams. That is something that may or may not be a deciding factor during the run–in. The league has never been decided on goal difference to my knowledge, but you don’t want to risk it. The game itself wasn’t noteworthy, except for the score line. Most goals were tap–ins, but it was good to see Berbatov on the score–sheet.

Villa 1 – United 1

The score line doesn’t fully give justice to how the game unraveled. Martin O’Neil may have come out saying he was proud of his players, but that pride can only be in that they were able to hang on despite United having 10 men. United should have been thoroughly happy with the performance, which is why I have dubbed it a victory. Cuellar headed them in front early on, and then an own goal from Collins after Pat put in a low cross made the only goals scored in the game.

The drama came when Nani performed an elephant ballerina tackle on Petrov. The tackle may have been a yellow card offense, but its hard to say, as his studs were down but it was with two feet. These days you can’t go in with two feet even if you win the ball, and as Nani is a winger he should be aware of that. The worst part was that it was in the middle of the park, or perhaps worse still it was so early in the match.

Either way United carried the game, or for long parts it seemed as if it was Villa who had the 10 men. As the commentators kept saying, United would have undoubtedly put them to the sword if they had 11 men on the pitch. You could just tell the match was there for the taking. Nani needs to learn, but due to his recent performances with the club I don’t think it will cost him his spot when fit. Although, that was before the European match…

AC Milan 2 – United 3

The cauldron of the San Siro was hot on Tuesday, and I was looking forward to this match more than I have for a while with European nights. AC Milan is the old foe, and not in the good way either. It’s hard to forget the 3–0 drubbing of 2007 where United fell apart to the pressure of the atmosphere created by 80,000 fans. We’re used to it at home, but out there is a different story.

This night started the exact same way, an early goal that came from waves of AC Milan passing and pressure. The lads looked nervous, and Ferguson gave Evans a rollicking as he walked by. The defense was all over the place, and Ronaldinho was in great form. His goal was a lucky deflection, but who can say that after watching Paul Scholes perform a miracle deflection of his standing leg to leave Dida sprawling.

After the break United came out the dominant force. The tiring AC Milan no longer looked sharp, and it was Rooney who was able to capitalize. As the papers have now suggested Rooney devastated AC Milan with his movement, and after Valencia came on to replace the wasteful Nani the change paid almost immediate dividends.

Rooney scored a wonderful looping header, and the second came from a neat short cross from Fletcher as Rooney times his run between the two centre–backs perfectly. We were 3–1 up and looked comfortable, but in the last 10 minutes it appeared the nerves came back into play and Rooney’s old foreshadowing of saying Seedorf was the toughest opponent he has met, came to realization. A neat pass from Ronnie put Seedorf in, and the Dutchman performed superb skill to put the ball past his fellow countryman Van Der Sar.

Next Week

After the great result at the San Siro the lads are likely buoyant. When you couple that with our ability to go ahead of Chelsea in the league, as we play Everton before the blues meet the Wolves; then we play West Ham for the same opportunity; you know Ferguson will have them eager and willing to please.

Everton will not be easy, but Rooney and Valencia will make it a one goal difference win. I presume 1–0 but it may be 2–1 or something of that nature. West Ham should be comfortable and I will say 2–0 or 3–0.

In the News – Wayne Rooney

The best of all the news is the media touting Rooney as Europe’s best player of the moment. Even the countries who have always spurned the English as technically–inferior players are harping the praise after his devastating role in AC Milan’s downfall in the San Siro. When you add the 25 goals he has scored with 13 games left in the league and perhaps more in Europe, it is no wonder why the man is finally getting the recognition his teammates, staff, and fans already knew.

I won’t harp about how I knew he would be up for this award this year, but I will temper my own prediction from last season with the realization that we need to at least make it to the semi–finals of the Champions League and that England need to make it to at least the Quarter–finals in the World Cup for him to truly be considered the best in–form striker of the year.

In the News – Old Trafford Celebrates 100 Years

Old Trafford has been around for 100 years. It fittingly got kicked off with a United v Liverpool match on the 19th of February 1910. At manutd.com you will see the Top 10 games revealed by a panel of judges. The most recent game in the list was the thrilling Manchester Derby of September 2009 where Michael Owen grabbed a late winner in the 95th minute.

I hope to enjoy many more games at the great stadium, including the much anticipated return leg of the Champions League match with AC Milan. David Beckham will be returning for his first time since leaving the club in 2003 and I’m sure he will be crying, for joy and for the pain of being knocked out of the Champions League… again.

Ancellotti has come out to say that Manchester United needs Rooney. I’m not here to argue that fact, as it would be foolish to do so, as any team needs their in-form striker. Right? Well that is something that I wanted the facts to explain. The interesting part was when I stripped out the top scorers I found that Arsenal don’t have a top striker, it is actually Fabregas. Perhaps that is why their numbers least hold true, but I have included them due to their league positioning never-the-less.

Included below are the top 9 goal-scorers of the Premier League taken as of February 2nd. You will notice I didn’t include 10, as the 10th is a player from the same team. Included is “GD” which is the goal-difference when you take out the top scorer. The “GD%” is the percentage that player has scored. Then for the top 4 teams I have “PD” which is the points-dropped if the goals had never been scored. The “PD%” is the percentage of points dropped if those goals had not been scored.

What deductions can be made here? The following:

1. Rooney has a large effect on Manchester United’s goal scoring prowess, scoring 35.7% of all goals scored. He is solely responsible for 8 of 53 points or 15.1% of the total points from this season. This obviously does not include assists and general play.
2. The player who has influenced the goal-scoring the most in the Premier League is Darren Bent of Sunderland. He has a massive 46.7% of their goals, which would obviously have seriously injured their points gained (as they are outside of the top 4, this stat is not included).
3. The player with the least contribution is Fabregas, which we would expect. He has only contributed 11 goals of 60. Arsenal was scoring from all areas of the park in the early stages, with many high goal-scoring wins. That is why the influence has been less. He has only accounted for 1 point for his goals scored.
4. Ironically, Didier Drogba has the highest influence of all players. Makes Ancellotti’s comments very ironic. Drogba has accounted for 25.9% of all of Chelsea’s goals, and they would have dropped 9 points (16.4%) if he had not scored them. When you add on that he was away for weeks, it goes to show how vital he is.

A weird point that you can notice when looking at the current EPL charts is that Chelsea and United have been scored on the exact same amount of away (12), and at home (8). What are the chances of that?

Here is the graph that shows each fixture for the past 24 games, and the points with their top-scorers goals, and the points without them.

The conclusion? Every team needs their in-form striker, not one team more than another. It is definitely true that Rooney is in the form of his life in regards to goal return, and that is proved by his 5 goal margin at the top. It is however not true that he is the most point-influential player in regards to goal-scoring form, as this goes to Drogba.

Assisting

Now if we were to do the same thing for assists, Didier would come on top. I do know that Drogba had a great connection with Anelka early on in the season, but Rooney also delivers a steady stream of assists. Fabregas is listed as the highest Actim score at 481 so far this season, with Anelka at 426, Rooney 420 and Agbonlahor a close fourth with 419.

Fabregas has 13 assists, and is leading by 4 assists over Ryan Giggs in second spot. Frank lies third and Lennon fourth. In regards to our strikers, Didier is first (fifth overall) with 8 assists. Rooney has 4. #1 Assists for a United player? Valencia (6) in 22 matches, or an assist chance of 27%. That’s good for a winger, but Berbatov has 5 in 20, which is 25% for a striker. Rooney is 4 in 23, or 17% which is fine as he makes up for it in goals. Fabregas works out to a whopping 65% (13/20).

The past week has been formidable in doing a number of things for me personally as a fan, and perhaps the same for you too. First, it was nice to hear the comforting words (albeit perhaps rose tinted) from David Gill about our currently financial predicament. And then there is the resurgence of form from Nani and the ongoing world-class showings of Wayne. Coupled with a cup final on the horizon with a win over the noisy-neighbours and a win over one of our closest title rivals, could it get sweeter? Well yes, the news over the wire is Chelsea tied Hull!

United 3 - City 1

It was a game that had the chance of bellowing over into a media frenzy with a bit of football on the side. Luckily for us, we got to see some football. The last three match-ups between the Manchester rivals have been quite excellent. The first was a terrific late gasp winner from new signing Michael Owen which I watched over 20 times in slow-mo. The next was a 2-1 win with an old friend Carlos Tevez, who looks more and more like Rambo with fangs. And finally a terrific performance that stamped our authority and also had a small tad of last minute drama (when really, it didn’t deserver it, as Untied were again the better team).

The match was a good one, with Scholes putting in a nice drive into the corner at a perfect time in the game. Not too early, and not right at the stroke of half-time. Carrick tied the scoring with a trademark “I’ll put it in the corner shall I?” pass or shot into the corner. Then that same little scurrying Argen-amian devil scored a bundled attempt to volley, or as some pundits wanted to believe “a great back-heel”, yea right, and I really meant to fall over when I pirouetted the other night.

It all ended with a nice cross from Giggs and a neat unmarked header past the failing Given, who can take heart in that he basically single-handedly kept them in the second tie regardless of this result. It was nice to shut up City for at least another month, until we go for another short bus ride to the stadium and have to watch that silly blue moon like some Michael J. Fox tribute.

Arsenal 1 - United 3

Now how is that for a score line? I had the score down as a 1-1 tie in my I Know The Score until the night before. After seeing Wenger resort to foolish ribbing of Villa naming them a “long ball team”, unless he meant his own French Lawn Bowling Team, I have no idea what he meant. That was the sign of man grasping at straws, and the 0-0 score line made me wonder about their form.

And indeed, it was time for the trademark Arsenal double-back-flop that they always perform about halfway through the business-end of the season in true “I will be great one day, but I’m only decent right now” mentality. Many papers had headlines referring to the “boys against men” and “girls versus men” comparisons. Let’s not bring schoolboy insults into the avenue of sports, but I can see their reasoning’s behind the jibe.

Wenger can go on and on about potential, but I saw a 24-year-old and a 22-year-old single-handedly rip his team to shreds. Nani was excellent, and made Clichy look like a slow Ryan Giggs (an old man joke, that just hasn’t worked with Giggs this season…). That one move he did to beat the double marking and chip Almunia was exquisite, and the millions upon millions of United fans watching will be putting their rolling eyes back in place when they saw his name ahead of Valencia.

The second goal was master-class between the two, and gave me shivers down my spine as I had flashbacks of another Portguse winger performing the same one-two with Rooney at the Emirates last season. It was scintillating and perhaps the most important fact was that in the key moment Nani released the perfect pass, something that we haven’t seen enough of from the slick-footed might-be-great.

The final goal from United was a great ball from Michael Carrick that left the Arsenal defensive line looking like old-dears in beach chairs down Portsmouth way and instead of passing or fluffing the boy scored! It was delight and astonishment for all of us. The Arsenal goal was even a fluke, where Jonny Evans who played excellent all game made a small error and took the ball from a had-it-covered Van Der Sar.

Fabregas to Barcelona in summer? I’d bet on it. Maybe Vidic can be his pal on the bench.

In the News

Yes, Terry may have cheated on his wife. Strip him of his captaincy and all that.

Rio wants to miss the Villa final. That’s his choice I guess. Yet, with all the ravages to our defense, doesn’t Ferguson need to give him a jab with the old hairdryer? Or boot?

Rooney wants to break 30 goals. Alright then, let’s have a go. Who was that smart man saying he could win European Player of the Year? Oh yes, me. I also remember saying this would be his most prolific year yet, despite his mate leaving. Wow, I’m good.

CHELSEA TIED HULL 1-1 AT THE KC STADIUM. Now we just need Arsenal to do another trademark move: recover from a dip in form when it seems all but lost for their title ambitions.

Next Week

Well, the game in mid-week for Chelsea has really set us up for a treat. If Wenger can get some steel in that midfield to combat Lampard and Co. then perhaps we have a chance of watching United perch back up where they belong. There is a definite chance that it will end in a goal scoring tie, but I’m not about to put any money on that match.

Either Arsenal show up invigorated and deliver, or they don’t. But I guess we could say that about all 38 games over the season. United will surely make up the goal difference against a woeful Portsmouth, as if it ends in a fortuitous result such as a draw or loss for Chelsea, we only have to win, and by 3-0 if they tie. Well, there you have it then; we’ll win 3-0.