Sunday, October 23, 2011

a long sunday...

I've not written in ages - and when I do out of the blue, it usually means something bad has happened. As it happened, United got their a** thoroughly kicked today - and there was no one to blame but themselves. The only consolation is..er... I can't find any, really. United started the season so well but have been a shadow of themselves in the past couple of weeks. To be honest, I kind of expected a defeat today - but not to the extent of 1-6! The surprising thing is I'm not anywhere as upset as how I was last year when Madrid got manita-ed by Barca - perhaps I knew that RM were an amazing bunch of players not playing up to potential while United today were just lacking in potential on almost all fronts (except the GK position). In fact, Citeh didn't even put out their best 11 - they left Tevez, Dzeko and Nasri on the bench. On paper, I think they probably have the 3rd strongest team in Europe after Barca and RM. Some might argue that they are probably better than RM - but we shall find out in the Champs League, I suppose.

Even as a United fan, I've quite enjoyed watching Citeh play as they have so many technically gifted players (i.e., players I wish United had more of!) such as Silva and Kun, making their play really fluid and attractive to watch. While Mancini applied more defensive tactics last season, he has found the right combination of offensive and defensive players this season -> Citeh's results so far has been nothing short of stellar.

So what are the implications for United after the thumping today?

1) We're 5 points behind Citeh - and it'll be quite hard to close the gap as I don't expect Citeh to drop many points for the rest of the season (think Barca of EPL). IMHO, the EPL has now become a one-horse race - and unless Citeh capitulates, they will surely be the runaway league title winner this season - deservedly so.

2) United desperately needs to bounce back - quickly! Since we've never been beaten so badly in such a LONG time (the last time I personally recall was the 5-0 trashing by Newcastle back in the late 90s!), I've no idea whether the boys have the mental toughness or ability to overcome this hurdle. Of course, I should place my full faith in SAF (err...) but something tells me we won't be able to climb out of this slump immediately. I really hope Rooney can be the talisman of United, dragging the team out of this pit, similar to how Cristiano single-handedly pulled RM out of depression after the Barca fiasco last season (2-0 v Valencia -> what a match!). However, Rooney is no Ronaldo and unfortunately, we can't afford to drop any more points if we want to push Citeh til the end.

3) In a more positive sense, I think the results today was a good wake up call for the Gaffer -> HE SHOULD HAVE FREAKING SIGNED SNEIJDER IN SUMMER! Realistically, I don't see us adding any new players come January so we'll (sadly) need to make do with the current squad and pray that Cleverley comes good and plays a bigger part in the coming weeks. In an ideal world, the CMs I would absolutely LOVE to have in United are Schweini, Sneijder or Yaya. All are impossible-to-get targets (plus they are cup-tied anyway). United fans will need to accept that the 2011/12 (or perhaps a couple more) season will likely be an empty-handed one and that it will be mostly used to nurture our younger players for the future. Reading Gary Neville's and Paul Scholes' autobiography recently reminded me that United DID go through a couple of bad patches in the 90s and 00s. I guess the same thing is happening as I type...

4) Citeh aren't the only team to look out for. In fact, I think Chelski presents a strong (and surprisingly underestimated) threat to United. They were a bit unlucky to lose to QPR today - but on paper (and in recent weeks!), they definitely look a stronger squad than us and are playing very well. The addition of Meireles and Mata (plus an on-form Torres) has changed Chelski within weeks. I'm pretty sure they will be pushing us to the end of the season.

5) Bin Champs League and concentrate on the domestic league instead. I seriously can't see United going further than QFs this year (I did say the same thing last year though!). We'll likely end up 2nd in our Group, making us quite likely to draw one of the following teams: Inter, Bayern, RM, Barca. Tough draws and with the current squad, exit seems inevitable. Getting UCL out of the way would give us plenty of rest between matches and the green-light to use our better players more consistently for all of our league matches, instead of rotating players all the time. Squad rotation is good - but as can be seen from our woeful defence of late, it really ain't helping the team at all!

As pessimistic (or perhaps realistic!) as I may sound, things aren't so bad. We're still in the running for 4 titles and if we can get out of the current dip, we shouldn't do that badly. The biggest hit is to the ego, nothing else. All the players need to do is to work with humility and harder in order to overcome this difficult moment.

Now that I've finished ranting, I'll go back to hibernate 'til the next surprise springs up - I sure hope it won't be anytime soon! :)

P/S: Stupid Bayern lost today as well - but it's not so bad as they're still top of the table. To cut a long story short, having two of your favourite teams lose one after another AND having your mom text you all the way from Spain just to laugh at the United defeat made this day pretty unbearable. Thank God, Madrid had a good outing last night...



Wednesday, April 27, 2011

sometimes you feel like digging a hole...

Yeah I know I shouldn't feel so bad when I am quite likely catching MU for UCL finals. but to see RM losing like this pains me. It all kinda went awry from KO...and the final 2 goals at the end of the match was like a stab to the heart (after all the fake diving/red cards/etc etc). Ozil was poor - or maybe we just weren't playing like how we were meant to. Anyway, probably one of the rare entries for a while. It'll take a while for me to bounceback....

Sunday, April 03, 2011

how is it possible...

...to be so happy....

Reaction To Victory Over West Ham

..and sad at the same time?


Sigh. Seems like after "giving up" on Bayern this season, the next to fail is RM. It's also probably time for me to stop worrying and start enjoying matches from now on. My guess would be RM faltering at the QFs, MU probably losing to Chelski but at least a good chance of finally overtaking LFC's haul of PL titles!

At least the sun is shining brightly today... :)

Thursday, March 17, 2011

:D

Enough said... :D

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

2 down...and barely surviving?

I'm filled with mixed feelings at the mo. Was too happy with MU getting through to QFs, but thoroughly upset with Bayern. Sigh. Looks like it's the end of a short winning cycle for Bay while for MU, we have been given another lifeline. I'm glad MU scraped through (HERNANDEZ!!) even without ANY of our veteran CBs. We desperately need Vida back soon. Also, I'm really worried that we have to rely on Scholes and Giggs in midfield.... I can't imagine the outcome if we were to play against the likes of Barca :S *yikes* On a positive note, Valencia is back!!!! And he played well today :D

A part of me is still in depression mode - but I think I need to cheer up. I'm still terribly disappointed with Bayern (and its lack of a proper defence). Perhaps losing everything this season (inc. a UCL spot) might put the team back to rebuilding it the proper way. With LvG leaving, perhaps things might get better from next season when there is no expectations of the team. Sigh again. Anyhow, tomorrow is another tough match. Might need to find a hole to hide for good after that so I'm apologising in advance IF I do go MIA for a while.

The news of Abidal having to undergo surgery to remove a tumour from his liver really came as a shock to me - and I feel saddened by the news - along with the other sad/tragic news happening in other parts of the world recently. Let's hope that tomorrow may be a better day...and that we, as humans, learn to cherish and love those that mean a lot to us much more than we do today...

*Listening to Coming Home by Diddy & Dirty Money*




do or die?

these 2 days would prove crucial for all 3 of my clubs. ARGH! anyway as a pre-warning, i may probably be too depressed for the coming months after tomorrow....


Sunday, March 06, 2011

a consolation...

madrid won away (without cr7) + MFP was AWESOME! :D

at least there's something to cheer me up for the next couple of days... and this pic posted by Sergio on twitter ;)

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the most comprehensive defeats...

one yesterday and another one in about 7 minutes from now. I have nothing to say except that the winners were a mile better than my teams.

i will definitely cry if madrid loses tonight...


Tuesday, March 01, 2011

uphill task...

As much as I love MU, I'm actually writing off the match tonight. I doubt we can beat them at home..and we haven't for the past 9 years I think. Sigh. Plus our squad this year (with all the injuries and roo being roo) is probably one of the worst in terms of quality that we have had in recent memory. Oh well.