The statistics this morning read; Manchester United joint top but still second in the table due to an inferior goal difference compared to that of Manchester City. Our neighbours lost thanks to a goal by an ex-Red Devil, the most recent one to move to the blue half of Liverpool, Darron Gibson. Ironically, his departure might have brought about some cheers among United fans all over the world and what is more ironic, is that perhaps his goal in the blue of Everton must have been cheered loudest by United fans; louder than any that he has scored while wearing the red of Manchester United. Read the full story

Sir Alex Ferguson has spent 25 years as the manager of Manchester United and he has won the Premier League 12 times, FA Cup 5 times, League Cup 4 times, the Champions League twice, 10 Community/Charity Shields and one each of the now defunct Cup Winners’ Cup, Intercontinental Cup, FIFA World Club Cup and UEFA Super Cup. In his time, he has build and rebuilt at least 4 teams that have contributed in a large part to the trophies he has won and the legacy he has built at Old Trafford. The biggest and the highlight of all his achievements would undoubtedly be the Treble of 1999.  Hours away from our big FA Cup tie against our neighbours and current Premier League leaders, Manchester City, let’s look back to understand how special the Treble triumph was. What better way to do that then by assessing the trophies that we missed out on, on a couple of occasions as one of Sir Alex’s great teams went close to winning the Treble before and after 1999. Read the full story

The final whistle is blown at the Etihad Stadium and it is safe and fair to say that Manchester United fans the world over breathed a huge collective sigh of relief. Pre kickoff, we had the shock news of Paul Scholes coming out of retirement to contend with. One way or another, United fans would in general be left wondering on why the sudden change of heart from the normally resolute Englishman and how will the quiet maestro do on his return which depended on him coming on in the game as he was named on the bench. Like many, I was shocked at his change in heart but certainly didn’t look at it as a step forward rather I looked at it as a step backward maybe a step in desperation. Read the full story

What do footballers and football fans have in common with the Mona Lisa? Well I wouldn’t be asking the question if the answer wasn’t “something”, would I now?

In his book Irrational Exuberance, the Yale economist Robert Shiller explains how the inherent psychological characteristics of human beings and their application to social situations and, well, life, cause irrational stock market and housing market bubbles, with a bubble being where an asset (such as a share in a company or a house) is valued at an amount that is greater than what it is actually worth (think of the famous Tulip-mania in 17^th century Holland, those silly Dutch buggers).

Read the full story

Season 1996/1997 ended with a disappointing surprise as Eric Cantona announced his early retirement from playing football – 30 years old that time- , but there were good moments that season such as United away title decider against Liverpool at Anfield.

Read the full story

First thing first. I must confess that I’m an unashamed Eric Cantona disciple hanging onto his every word – yes, even after 14 years of him departing Old Trafford at the relatively young age of 30. I have little doubt that the vast majority of Manchester United fans feel precisely the same so when The Kings latest interview was published on the ESPN.com website on Friday, it simply had to appear on Truly Reds just in case anyone missed it. It’s long and it’s detailed but I’m not about to apologise for refusing to edit it. Cantona was asked some difficult questions by David Hirshey who has been covering football for more than 30 years and has written about the game for The New York Times, Time Magazine and ESPN amongst other publications. If you don’t have the time to read it in one sitting, come back to it because it’s an interview not to be missed by any United fan.

Read the full story