Having had a chance to calm down and get over the disappointment of United throwing away another lead late on in a game, I’ve taken advantage of the benefits of Sky + and re-watched the game against Birmingham from Tuesday night to try and figure out what went wrong and why in that rather damp affair.

Following the full-time whistle, my immediate reaction was to lay most of the blame for the teams mediocre performance mainly at the feet of Darren Gibson, a man I’ve often described as a “Champ Manager 14’er.” What this means is that, in Champ Manager terms, most of his stats (passing, pace, technique, tackling) would be 14 out of 20, with the possible exception that his long shots may reach as high as 16 out of 20. Another explanation I’ve heard to summarise his ability is that, “he’d do well at Villa.”

Read the full story

Having had a chance to calm down and get over the disappointment of United throwing away another lead late on in a game, I’ve taken advantage of the benefits of Sky + and re-watched the game against Birmingham from Tuesday night to try and figure out what went wrong and why in that rather damp affair.

Following the full-time whistle, my immediate reaction was to lay most of the blame for the teams mediocre performance mainly at the feet of Darren Gibson, a man I’ve often described as a “Champ Manager 14’er.” What this means is that, in Champ Manager terms, most of his stats (passing, pace, technique, tackling) would be 14 out of 20, with the possible exception that his long shots may reach as high as 16 out of 20. Another explanation I’ve heard to summarise his ability is that, “he’d do well at Villa.”

Read the full story

The big freeze may have cost Manchester United it’s place at the top of the table simply because Blackpool’s 110 year old Bloomfield Road Stadium is the only one in the Premier League not equipped with an undersoil heating system. The disruption and inconvenience caused by that postponement should not be acceptable in this day and age. United and its fans happened to be the ones to suffer this weekend but it could have just as easily been any other club.

Read the full story

With more talent than Sir Alex Ferguson can handle at Manchester United next season, many other Premier League clubs have been knocking on the door at Old Trafford in the hope that a short term move can be arranged for some of the Reds youngsters. Blackburn Rovers has been the first to benefit from that embarrassment of riches by taking striker Mame Biram Diouf on a season long loan to Ewood Park.
Read the full story

With more talent than Sir Alex Ferguson can handle at Manchester United next season, many other Premier League clubs have been knocking on the door at Old Trafford in the hope that a short term move can be arranged for some of the Reds youngsters. Blackburn Rovers has been the first to benefit from that embarrassment of riches by taking striker Mame Biram Diouf on a season long loan to Ewood Park.
Read the full story

First things have to come first. I must confess that although writing about Manchester United has never been difficult, this story is about as hard as it can get. The reason is that it’s not about the football club at all but about a man, someone who’s just like you and me. An elderly man who unlike Malcolm Glazer has devoted his life to the club and whose heart is about to be broken because some greedy bastard, thousands of miles away, is determined to squeeze every last dollar out of it.

Read the full story