So David De Gea has finally made his 1st mistake in the Manchester United shirt that has cost us the points.
It was always going to happen, that at some point the young Spanish keeper would be at fault for a defeat, the goalkeeping position is a thankless one.

Regular readers will know I wasnt keen on the idea of signing David and making him our number 1 because of 2 reasons, his age and lack of experience at the very highest level.

I must admit hes impressed me so far, hes made a couple of top saves and his distribution has been the best ive seen since the days of the Big Dane.

To begin with De Gea has made a few errors but none that have cost us the game, the errors have been highlighted by the press because of who hes now playing for and of course the huge transfer fee - Expected Criticism that to be fair hes handled well.

De Gea has been "rested" a few times for Lindegaard who has also been impressive thus far and has, I think, 5 clean sheets to his name, hes a presence in goal and looks sturdy especially on crosses, something that De Gea needs to work on.

So our new years eve defeat against lowly Blackburn was a sickner, a depleted squad, our best and only midfielder playing at center back and of course De Gea fumbling on a cross and allowing Blackburn to score and take all 3 points.

Since that game United fans have urged, and rightly so, Ferguson to dip into the transfer market and buy some players, of course Ferguson is still towing the line of the Glazers, bleating about "no value" , "no players available" and the craziest "Our squad is strong enough"

More calls from fans have been to drop De Gea and give Anders a run between the sticks.....

From what we've seen from Lindegaard I think hes a fantastic keeper and to be honest id be confident going into any game with him keeping our goal, more so than De Gea at the minute, however this is where I think dropping the spaniard would be a huge mistake.
Theres no hiding from the fact that De Geas mistake cost us on New Years Eve, we know it, and he knows it, it will now be interesting to see how he reacts from this set back, his 1st calamity in the shirt.
Before De Gea signed we were told about his mental strength, about how he could cope under pressure when the going gets tough. We need to see it.

United play tomorrow against a Newcastle team that like to put the ball into the box from the flanks, Jonas and Obertan will be running at our fullbacks all day long and putting balls in for Ba. De Gea must play in this game as a chance to prove to himself and to us that the Blackburn game was just a blip.

His confidence will be low but not as low as dropping him would take it. Ferguson must stick by his man and give him a run of games, if he carrys on making mistakes then fine, pull him out, but long term dropping him now will ony do more harm than good.

Look back at the days of Tim Howard, he was doing fantastic for us until his 1st mistake, dropping the ball for Porto to knock us out of the Champions league. After that Howard was never the same, Ferguson chopped and changed between him and Carroll, neither keeper knowing from 1 week to the next if they would be playing or not and importantly neither of them performing at the level required at Manchester United.

Ferguson should have learnt from that error of the mid 2000's and keep the faith in David De Gea. For Now.

Shambolic is the only way to describe last night and in fact the majority of our Champions League campaign this season.
In a group that we were expected to win it would have been a slight embarrassment to finish runners up, but to not qualify at all and to suffer the shame of dropping into the Europa league is inexcusable for a club our size. Manchester United dont have a divine right to qualify or to win every competiton they enter, but with the quality of teams we were up against and our experience of the competition you would expect the best from our club, something we didnt get close to.

For a season that started off so promising it really is starting to turn into one to forget, a poor quality of football on display that doesnt entertain, players not showing passion for the club, an ever increasing injury list and at least 3 patheticly limp dispalys from United this season in the form of City, Palace and of course Basle.

So whats wrong then? where can the finger of blame be put? the answer is probably we all have some blame.

The group stages didnt throw up any "massive" games, the fans that turned up didnt feel that usual Champions League night feeling and sat there waiting to be entertained, we've all been guilty of it at some point its human nature. The fans sat there waiting, the atmosphere didnt (not that it should) inspire the players... is that a possible excuse? maybe had something to do with it!

Then we have the players, some who are playing well within themselves. You have Wayne Rooney who just doesnt look "up for it" anymore, 3 times he lost possesion last night and made little or no attempt to get the ball back (transfer request coming!). You have Ashley Young who hasnt done anything of note since that Arsenal game after a very bright start. Patrice Evra whos form has gone - possibly for good in the colours of United.
There is without doubt a core group of players at United that arent up to the task but they havent been moved on, there is a stubborness that they will "come good" at some point, Anderson for example, picks up injuries every season and is massivley inconsistent yet his place at United seems secure.

I have no doubt that a debt free United would have moved these players on and brought in what was needed.

"But we spent millions in the summer!" - Very true, we brought in players that are young and can be sold on for bigger sums when the time is right - The typical Glazer signing.

The signings were great dont get me wrong but the position that needed a mass overhaul was neglected for another successive summer - The Engine Room!
Im fed up writing and talking about the midfield, its clear that at least 2 world class midfielders were needed and have been for a while yet for whatever reason nothings been done about it. Its a real shame that something like this has had to happen to highlight the fact.

This United team isnt as bad as whats been made out, we saw at the begining of the season that a United with Cleverley in the side is already a much better one. Its frightening to think what this team could achieve with 2 extra players in midfield, as soona s that problems sorted the better and United will be back to the team that we have been used to these past 20 years!

_


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Manchester United Champions League campaign thus far has failed to capture the imagination of the Old Trafford faithful. A stuttering start in Europe and as of yet no vintage football has seen the competition take a back seat to our domestic programme.

Manchester United will be hoping to be the first team this season to beat Benfica this season.  The  Portuguese giants have not lost in 20 games in all competitions, which includes the 1-1 draw with United in Lisbon.

In Javi Garcia and Nicolas Gaitan, they have two dangerous players who have both been linked with moves to United in recent months.  The experience and class of Pablo Aimar cannot be brushed aside either. Make no mistake this wont be a routine game for United tonight.

With both teams locked on eight points at the top, it is very likley that this is the game that decides who eventually finishes top of Group C and will be given "advantage" when the knock out draw takes place next month.
Winning the group would mean avoiding the "big teams" such as Real Madrid and Barcelona in the next round should they finish top in their respective groups.

Ferguson said: "It is a big game and a game we recognise as a real European game, with the history of Benfica and ourselves. The number of great games we have had in the past, of course, always sticks in your memory.

"In the first game against them back in September, I thought we did really well and I was pleased with our performance.

"Possession-wise it was good and I thought we deserved the result until the last 15 minutes, when Benfica threatened quite a bit.

"It is a really interesting game for both teams. We both want to win so it should make it quite an open match and, hopefully, we will get the result we want."

Wayne Rooney missed training with a knock yesterday and defender Jonny Evans sat out with a tight hamstring but both will be fit for tonight according to Ferguson.
I wouldnt be surprised to see Rooney not included tonight, yes hes our most important player but I dont think we should risk him (if injured) for the sake of one game. Look at Bayern a couple of seasons back when we rushed him back.

Rumours doing the rounds this morning are that on the bench for United could be 18-year-old Ravel Morrison.
Morrison tweeted last night "tomorrow could be a very good day" and those that are within the loop at United have suggested its time to start featuring the youngster.

Morrison is a  highly-rated midfielder, who is a product of United's youth system.
Ravel has made only one appearance for the club's first team before — in the Carling Cup but greater inclusion in 1st team matters could deter him from his off the field shenanigans.

Im predicting a close game and certainly cant see a run-away winner tonight.
United looked out of sorts at the weekend against Swansea but in the true vein of champions got the result, and thats something that I think we will see again tonight.
Im going for a 2-1 to United.

_Manchester United find themselves about 1/3 of the way through the 2011/12 Premier League Season.
What started out with a bang for the Red Devils is now starting to turn into something of a whimper and in recent games a severe dip in performance from the United boys.
Here at MUFC Blog we will take a look at each player that has played a significant part thus far and see how they have/havent progressed

Danny Welbeck
Im really pleased Danny has been given the chance to shine this season. Watching him for the youth team and reserves he reminded me a bit of Andy Cole, gliding over the pitch with pace and a terrific finisher inside the box.
Its clear his season loan at Sunderland did him the world of good and hes proven that he can score goals for United on all stages.
Injury has been cruel to Welbeck, just as he was getting into the swing of it and in the goals he suffered an injury during the Arsenal match which ruled him out for quite a period.
Now hes back to full fitness and being handed starting roles its clear that Sir Alex sees him as the future of the club, last seasons top scorer, Dimitar Berbatov, has had to take a back seat to the quicker, younger and more energetic Welbeck.
He still has some way to go before I'd class him as a genuine United player but so far so good and I really hope this local Manchester la

Wayne Rooney
Finally back to his best, well almost!
A great start to the season, scoring and providing goals has to a certain extent died out a little. In recent weeks Rooney has been deployed into a midfield role and although it has looked at times like a square peg ina  round hole it has worked to a certain degre.. Worryingly hes also looked our best midfielder in these games! Theres little doubt Rooney is looking more like his oldself and much better than he did this time last year. 12 goals from 13 starts proves this and when Rooney doesnt play well neither does the team. Easily our most important player and his amazing form at the start of the season was the driving force behind our fantastic start.
The likelyhood is that we will have Wayne all to ourselves for the rest of the season now due to his international ban and Capellos'  experimenting, this will only be a good thing.
Season Rating: 8.5/10

Javier Hernandez
A season thats been rather stop start for our little pea and rather frustrating has seen him in some quarters rather foolishly written off.
The in-famous "2nd season syndrome" has apparently kicked in, Ive even heard some reds suggest that Hernandez isnt what they thought he was and is a 1 season wonder. Idiots.
Truth be told its not been a vintage start for Chicharito but as stated earlier hes had concussion to deal with as well as that nasty leg injury suffered against Ashley Cole.
All in all Hernandez has managed to score 4 goals from 7 starts, not an amazing record but one that isnt a cause for concern.
We've seen he still posses his pace, fantastic finishing and his wonderful off the ball runs, he will beback to his best no doubt about it.
Only criticisms I have are that he needs to learnt to stay onside more regulary and get more involved in games, too many times this season Ive seen him isolated upfront and not have a sniff of action.
Season Rating: 7/10

Nani
A genuine world class talent of that there is no doubt but yet remains to frustrate at times.
Out of all our players in the squad, Nani is probably the only 1 that can make something out of nothing, he has the tricks, the pace and a great shot on him and when he doesnt perform thats when the fans can get on his back as they know whats in his arsenal.
Nani, like the majority of our team, started the season with some top class performances but has gone back into his shell in recent weeks, failing to deliver crosses when the time was right, picking the wrong options and just generally not taking games by the scruff of the neck.
In my opinion, as much as he denies it, Nani is wanting to be our new Ronaldo, he wants to entertain the United crowd and score the kind of goals Ronaldo did, all we want is for Nani to be himself, like he was at the begining of the season.
He seems to be cutting out his theatrics which can only be a good thing but now over these winter months he has to knuckle down and bring to the table what he did during the 1st month or so of the season.
Season rating: 7.5/10

Phil Jones
"The new Duncan Edwards" has been one of the most popular phrases when it has coem to describing young Phil Jones in a united shirt so far this season.
Jones has played a key roll thus far and probably featured in more games than he thought he would because of the injuries to Rio & Vidic at the back. It remains unclear what position he was signed to fill for United, our midfield misses a "bite" and that something Jones posses but like I said because of injuries hes been playing at the back.
Positionally at the back Jones does leave a lot to be desired. If you watch him closely you will see hes out of position for a lot of chances that we concede, but his powering tackles and last minute sliding blocks seem to paper over it.
Jones of course is far from the finished article and its obvious the best is yet to come from him. Im hoping over the comign weeks to see Jones in midfield so we can asses where is future is in terms of position.
One thing does remain clear that he has the potential to go on to be a United great.
Season Rating: 7.5/10

Chris Smalling
Played for the most part of the season out of position at right back, Chris Smalling has put in some valiant displays.
A lot of reds have said hes been superb at right back but i think thats going a bit over the top turht be told, dont get me wrong hes been for the most part solid but I wouldnt put him down to be our next right back for the future.
After a great debut season Smalling, a bit like Hernandez, might be accused of "2nd season syndrome" but so far so good for the young Englishman.
When Rio or Vidic (at times both) have been out injured putting in Smalling at the back hasnt been a worry, hes rose to the occasion and truth be told we havent missed either as much as one may think.
Without a doubt Smalling has a great Manchester United future ahead of him and isnt that far off from becoming a name that features regulary on the Starting XI sheet.
Season Rating: 7.5/10

Manchester United find themselves about 1/3 of the way through the 2011/12 Premier League Season.
What started out with a bang for the Red Devils is now starting to turn into something of a whimper and in recent games a severe dip in performance from the United boys.
Here at MUFC Blog we will take a look at each player that has played a significant part thus far and see how they have/havent progressed.

David De Gea
Regular visitors to this site will know that I was a bit unsure of De Gea when we splashed the cash on him in the summer, actually reword that, not so much unsure on the signing but making him our number 1 from the off without a proven fallback if things were to go wrong. Luckily, so far at least De Gea is proving his critics wrong and has been arguably one of our most consistent performers since finding his feet.
As expected De Gea did take a few games to get used to the English game and has made only a couple of gaffs which again was inevitable.
Sir Alex is bedding him in slowly, pulling him from some games to give the impressive Lindegarrd some minutes too.
Although I dont feel as comfortable at the back as I once did during the Schmeichel/Van Der Sar days it is comforting to know we have 2 top drawer keepers on our books with their best days ahead of them.
Season Rating 8/10

Rio Ferdinand
A player whos taken his eye of the ball is a good way to describe Rio's form this season. In and out of the team due to injury, Rio has found himself with more time on his hands to talk the proverbial dog dirt on twitter and promote his ghastly t-shirts and "Brand Rio" time that would probably be better spent focusing on what he has to do to keep fit and on the ball.
Rio has been a fantastic signing for us and easily one of the best defenders to ever play for MUFC and its unfortunate that injury has now finally caught up with him. Hes lost a yard or 2 of pace that a center half needs in the modern game and as stated earlier doesnt seem quite "on the ball" with events around him. With Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and to an extent Johnny Evans all threatening to take Rios place for good its only a matter of time before United part ways with the former Leeds man.
Rumours are Spurs would be interested to take Rio off our hands and I think we would be foolish not to sell up during the summer. Keep him for the duration of the season, giving his invaluable experince to the youngsters but then im afriad next season give youth a chance.
Season Rating: 5/10

Tom Cleverley
What a fantastic start to the season for young Tom Cleverley, clearly having beneffited from his season long loan at Wigan he returned to United and grabbed his opportunity with both hands.
Unfortunatley Injury has played a part and robbed us of Tom Cleverleys talents for a significant chunk of the season thus far.
When Cleverley came on against the Bitters in the Community Shield he changed the game, he added a much needed energy to the midfield and kept the ball moving, palying delightful 1 touch passes, very much in the mould of barcas "Tiki-Takka" style.
The most impressive thing about Cleverley is his ability to bring out the best in players around him, Anderson for example looks like a world beater when playing next to Tom and im sure its no coincidence that the best football we played was when Cleverley was picked in the center alongside Anderson, the downside being both players attacked and didnt offer much protection to the back 4.
For me the return of Cleverley cant come quick enough.
Season Rating: 8/10

Anderson
This was a do or die season for Anderson, for many United fans they had given him this last chance saloon opportunity, having joined the club back in 2007, Anderson is/was nowehre near fulfilling his potential.
The start of the season it seemed the penny had finally dropped with him, he had become a goal threat, he was finishing 90 minute games without looking shattered and most impressivley he was comanding games from midfield. Sir Alex's lack of midfield investment seemed justified. Then Cleverley got injured. Welcome back old Anderson.
With Anderson hes always been massivley inconsistent, something you can maybe get away with in other areas of the park but certainly not in the center of midfield. Alarmingly it looks as though Anderson has put weight back on, his huffing and puffing has returned and he is giving away possesion carelessly and needlessly. Can all this be put down to the absence of Cleverley? no of course it cant but its not helping. He doesnt look comfortable playing alongside Carrick or Fletcher.
I really want Anderson to succeed, ill never forget the way he smashed home that penalty in Moscow and got the fans roaring on the team in the shootout. He looks a fun type of guy to be around in the dressing room too, but thats not enough to be a key player at United and I have to agree with other United fans that this really is his last chance to impress.
Season Rating: With Cleverley 8.5/10 Without Cleverley: 5/10

Ashley Young
I was a bit dubious about the signing of Young during the summer, whilst I thought he was a decent premiership player I didnt think he was quite good enough for a top team like United. How wrong could I be?
Ashley Young has been a breath of fresh air down the left wing for us, he attacks, tracks back, scores goals and assists. Hes everything you want in a winger.
Another aspect of him signing is that its allowed Nani to move to the right wing where he is far more dangerous and a bigger threat or at least was at the beginning of the season.
I know a couple of Villa fans that told me in the summer we were getting a steal with Young and to ignore the scousers that were saying Downing was the better player, a huge sigh of relief so far going by both of their performances.
Season Rating: 8.5/10

Three points were required at Everton after last week's dismal derby defeat and the champions ground out a 1-0 victory to muster the right response.

Admittedly, the Reds weren't at their most fluent - and Tom Cleverley's injury after a bright return to Barclays Premier League action was a real setback - but Javier Hernandez's 19th-minute goal proved decisive. Any suggestion that the Merseysiders would tire after being taken into extra-time by Chelsea in a midweek cup tie proved ill-founded as United had to batten down the hatches for much of the second half.
Sir Alex made five changes to the team that lost to City last Sunday with Wayne Rooney starting in a withdrawn role alongside Cleverley and Darren Fletcher, and Jonny Evans returning from the suspension he served at Aldershot.

In a breathless opening, Seamus Coleman cut inside Patrice Evra to shoot at David De Gea within the first 18 seconds and Tim Howard pulled off a good stop at the other end when Ji-sung Park tried to convert a Danny Welbeck cross inside two minutes.

United took a firm grip on proceedings and some sustained pressure led to a well-worked opener. Cleverley and Welbeck helped the ball wide to Evra and the full-back's dangerous low cross was tapped home by Hernandez with his left foot. Although Welbeck nearly latched onto a risky headed backpass by Phil Jagielka, the champions were unable to carve out
too many openings and Everton came back into the match.

De Gea saved from Leon Osman after Marouane Fellaini beat Evans in the air and Jack Rodwell fired wide when afforded far too much space after Evra conceded possession cheaply. The hosts were unlucky not to draw level with 40 minutes gone as Fletcher's foul allowed Leighton Baines to curl a free-kick over the wall and past the stationary De Gea but against the bar.

Although Hernandez had a weak attempt at Howard following a slick build-up, there was no doubt Everton ended the half on the front feet as Louis Saha twice worked De Gea.

After introducing young Ross Barkley at the break, David Moyes' side continued to press but De Gea blocked a Rodwell drive after Evans gifted the ball to Coleman on the right. The champions were dealt a blow when the lively Cleverley was forced off injured and continued to make heavy weather of a tough assignement.

Welbeck finally brought Howard into action when the American pushed over the striker's shot from Hernandez's intelligent pass with the team's only real goal attempt of the second period. But, after making all three subsitutions, United struggled to find any rhythm and Everton built up another head of steam. Saha dragged wastefully wide when Coleman was better placed and was then blocked during a real goalmouth scramble.

Despite their weary legs, the hosts ensured it was a nervous finale for everybody of a Red persuasion. Coleman managed a couple of efforts through to De Gea but the Spain Under-21 keeper was rarely over-extended, in truth.

Six minutes of injury time were agonising for the away fans and Evra escaped when Magaye Guaye went down under his challenge inside the box with Mark Halsey making the right call and waving away the desperate penalty appeals. It wasn't pretty but it's three away wins in the league already this term after only five were secured during the title-winning campaign last term.

*Match report taken from ManUtd.com

October has now drawn to a close for MUFC so now its time to choose your Player Of The Month.

Full match highlights of MUFC v Everton at Goodison Park

Where to start after yesterdays humiliation? Readers of my previous blog will no doubt be aware that I've been predicting for a while a beating like yesterday was on the cards, sadly never in a million years did I think it would be against City.
The lack of fight, the lack of effort from most of our players is unforgivable, as is some United fans leaving after going 3-0 down - you dont deserve a ticket or to even be there with that attitude.

Starting with City you have to hold your hands up and say the better team on the day won, they deserved their victory, with 11 v 11 the defeat wouldnt have been so bad but I feel we still would have lost because of that poor midfield we have.
Maybe 2 of our midfielders would make it into Citys XI, Young & Nani, the rest would struggle to even get on the bench which says it all about the quality and current form of our midfield.

David Silva yesterday was on top form, hes such a classy little player, up there with Iniesta & Xavi, & to think that the Spanish national team struggle to find a place for him in their starting lineup!
To think Silva issued a come and get me plea to United before his move to city...we ended up with Bebe!

Mancini got his tactics spot on, Toure & Barry holding and protecting the defence and nulifying the "threat" of Anderson & Fletcher.
Fletcher is without doubt a big game player but only when fit, yesterday he looked a few yards off the pace bar an exceptional goal which seems to have been forgotten about. Anderson for the past 4 to 5 games has been poor, looking a tad unfit, huffing and puffing after 50 mins or so of the game, his form is so up and down its frustrating.

Carrick, possibly our best player in midweek dare I say it was missed yesterday, hindsight being a wonderful thing but going against the 3 man City midfield with 3 players wouldve been hard enough never mind 2!

The 1st goal is an example of this, both Fletcher & Anderson a good few yards away from Balotelli, giving him time to make an unchallenged placed shot into the bottom corner. No protection.

So here we are talking about the midfield again, obvious to so many that we lack a true top drawer player there yet for the past 3 seasons have done nothing to sort this troublesome position out.
Sure we flirted with Sneijder in the summer, but even if we had him yesterday he wouldnt have changed anything, harping on again we need that midfield general, the hard man, the protector, someone who isnt afraid to smash into a tackle and ruffle a few feathers.
Why this problem hasnt been addressed im not sure, it makes no sense.

You may point to the fact that we have Tom Cleverley in our ranks & Paul Pogba about to break through but they are young, it would be unfair to put them in now and expect them to perform week in week out, it would possibly be the same with what we are seeing with Anderson at the moment, massivley inconsistent.

There are a couple of players in our ranks that if I were them id be concerned about my place in the team, firstly Rio Ferdinand, in and out of the team and having to be nursed through games, he looks like hes lost a lot of pace and yesterday after going 3-0 down barely showed any spirit, hardly breaking sweat to track back when city were on the break. Thankfully he didnt go down to Wembley with the Glazers, if he did I think he wouldve lost the fans support for good. Message to Rio now has to be forget about his android apps, his stay on your feet t-shirts and concentrate on United, if not ship him out whilst we could still get a decent sum for him. Something Ferguson wouldnt be afraid to do.

Finally we have Evra, whats happened to this player I do not know. There was a time I'd argue tooth & nail that he was the best left back in the world but over these past 12 months hes turned into not even being the best in the Premiership.
He bombs forward but now rarely delivers a telling cross, hes slow to track back and when he eventually does hes completley out of position.
An alarming amount of goals we've conceeded this season have come from around Evras area or from him not being there. Yesterday was a disgusting performance from him, made even worse that he had the armband on and was meant to set an example!
If it wasnt for the fact that Fabio & Rafael seem to be made from glass I wouldnt be against the idea of selling him, 30 years of age, his mind looking like its elsewhere.... starnger things have happened.

So where do we go from here as far as the league goes? well we have Everton away on Saturday, typically the Toffees seem to be picking up a bit of form just as we are about to play them and its a game im really not lookign forawrd to in the slightest.

Saturday will see our annual trip to Anfield with the hope that MUFC will be able to turn around their fortune after some pretty disasterous performances and results in recent seasons.

United havent won at Anfield since our 1-0 victory back in 2007, but it hasnt been past results that leave me with unease with the upcoming fixture but rather the lacklustre performances from the players themselves.

As a football fan you have to take the rough with the smooth and understand that sometimes your team is going to lose and although its never a nice experience if your team has tried well and put in maximum effort you can live with it. What fans wont tolerate are half hearted performances and thats exactly what we've had to endure on our last few visits to Anfield. No fight, no passion.

Why we've had these inept performances im not so sure, I'd hate to think that the players themselves now that we have a few "out of towners" dont know what a United v Liverpool fixture is all about or if the occasion is just too big for them and they bottle it?
Alex Ferguson has suggested the atmosphere gets to them which if true is a sad state of affairs as our group of players have played infront of far more hostile supporters and in bigger circumstances also.
Maybe the players know before they go out there that the game has already been lost because of the tactics....?

Take a quick look at the stats this season and you will see that United have allowed more shots at their goal than any other team in the Premiership and its easy to see why,  because of our attacking setup and our center midfield that dont abide by their defensive duties.
Arguably our 1st choice center midfield when fit and going by early season form is the Cleverley/Anderson combo, neither of whom are renowned for their defensive brain. The other combo of Fletcher/Carrick one of whom seems to still be struggling for fitness and match sharpness then other other almost scared to put his foot into a tackle.
Without sounding like a broken record its an ongoing problem since the end of 2008. Our midfield just cannot cope with an "in your face" battle from a quality midfield which Liverpool to a degree have.

Although they are far,far,far from the standard of Barcelona, Liverpool do close down quickly in midfield and thats exactly what our midfielders dont like, with the exception of Cleverley & Anderson who are both comfortable on the ball but then run the risk of your midfield cutting cut open like a hot knife through butter.
Add all this to the fact that we have a left back that is a regressing at an alarming rate and we have trouble. Look at the game against Chelsea when we easily could have conceded 4 or 5. We are only a matter of time away from a hiding and that could come on Saturday.

On paper the current Liverpool squad & Manager are a million miles from us in all honesty and only a very poor Arsenal will see Liverpool most likely slip into a Champions League position.
The "My Little Pony" that cost a staggering £35m has proved to be a massive flop and certainly doesnt look like justifying his transfer fee & status anytime soon (watch him score on saturday now!)
You have Jordan Henderson struggling to win over his own support nevermind everyone else who raised a brow with his move & fee, Charlie Adam who has done alright but makes Anderson look like an Adonis running on a duracell battery and finally Stewart Downing, the player that was apparently the best winger at Villa... *uhem* Ashley Young anyone?

On the plus side for the scousers they have Suarez, a gifted little player but also one of the dirtiest Ive seen. Hopefully its only a matter of time before the FA clamp down on his constant diving and theatrics, then again probably not after Queen Kenny had a nice cuppa over at FA HQ they now seem to be bussom buddies, look to the officiating during the Merseyside Derby for proof of that.
Scouse fans of course turn a blind eye to that and still bleat about Nani last season after the horrendous tackle from Carragher that left Nani with his shin bone visable. The proof is there what happend but dont let facts get in the way. Horrible bunch.

We have been on the end of some debatable ref desicions in the past few seasons down at Anfield that would have no doubt changed the outcome of the games, as mentioned earlier Carragher should have seen red for his tackle on Nani and the season before he should have also walked after taking out Michael Owen as the last defender.

With the ref's clearly already on the side of Liverpool, United not having the right type of player for these games & the fact that we will most likely be letting countless shots at us then we do face a mammouth task to get anything out of the game on Saturday.

1 shining light however is our attack, we posses a front 3 that can create and score out of nothing, Nani, Rooney & Ashley Young will need to be on top of their game, if they are then Liverpool might score a couple yes but we should score a couple more than them.

We just have to hope that the game isnt ruined by the ref and that at no point will we see Queen Kenny smirking and dancing like one of those PG Tips monkeys on the sidelines.

Come on United!!!

Wayne, Wayne, Wayne, Mr Rooney yet again found himself in the headlines this weekend but unfortunatley for the wrong reasons. Rooney received his marching orders whilst on international duty for England in their vital qualifier against Montenegro for kicking out in frustration at an opposing player, putting Englands chances of getting a point and qualifying in the balance (England qualified)

United supporters (as always) closed ranks and supported our number 10 in readiness for the inveitable media backlash towards Englands best player.
The day previous Rooneys Dad & Uncle had been arressted and bailed with connections to match betting, something that could have been on Waynes mind as he swung a leg in anger at the Montenegro player? I dont think so.

For Wayne the red mist is never too far away and never more so than when he pulls on the 3 lions shirt. My personal opinion is that its there through sheer frustration when playing for England.
At United he looks happy the majority of the time, smiling, celebrating when scoring, I cant remember the last time Rooney looked happy or even content whilst playing for England. I genuinley think Rooney doesnt like playing for his country, if last years World Cup is anything to go by he has cottoned on to how fickle the supporters are with his outburst towards them.

Whilst frustration doesnt excuse lashing out at opponents it does go some way to explaining why one so talented would do this. Isolated upfront with arguably not the quality of player around him that hes used to at club level.
As soon as Rooney delivered the kick he knew he was off & had done wrong. A stupid moment that could have been disasterous for his country, however England held out and spared Rooneys blushes.

This time last year Rooney was going through the roughest time of his career to date and irked the majority of United supporters by handing in a transfer request & announcing it 30 mins before United were kicking off against Bursaspor. Rooney hid behind the Glazer regime as an excuse as to why he wanted out, a very clever move to get some support back onside.
The story goes that Rooney couldnt believe the signing of Bebe and his lack of talent that made him question the ambition of the club. In truth I think it was a mixture of everything, tapping up from City, problems in his social life & the poor advisement he got from 

The above left a sour taste in many United supporters mouths, I now dont look at him as "one of us" anymore and dont hold him in the same regard as Cantona, Beckham & Keane after they were all targeted by the media for various reasons, but thats not to say that I dont think hes a great footballer, I'd go as far to say hes our best player and certainly most important.

Wayne Rooney the footballer is almost perfect and I'd much rather him be at United than anywhere else for the rest of his career, I think the problem is Wayne Rooney the person. To put it bluntly Wayne just isnt a nice guy.
There's the cheating on his wife, the fouls on the pitch, the red mist, holding United to ransom. It all adds up that Wayne unfortunatley is a stereotypical modern day footballer, however his talent is so good you can over look it.

Can you imagine any other player to put in a transfer request and Sir Alex fight tooth & nail to keep him? No neither can I.
All great players have a darkside that you have to put to oneside because their talent is that good, Maradonna and Gazza being prime examples.

To sum it up incidents like Friday night are always close when Rooneys involved if things arent going his way. The supporters defence of him should be applauded, no one has said he didnt deserve a red card but the support for him is there no doubt about it.
The problem for me would be if he ever did that in a game For United, if he ever kicked out against someone and put our place in the final of the European Cup or vital league points at steak.

If he were to do that then no United supporter should stick up for him.Ever