Just a few observations to make….

(1)   It’s the passing stupid! Every time Man United lose or play badly the passing is dreadful, and therein lays the causality. I don’t think there’s anything more frustrating than watching, not just professional footballers, but those who are supposedly at the peak of the game not be able to play a pass 10 yards in order to be able to start an attacking move. This has been a feature at United for the past few years now, and it’s even more frustrating considering how good the passing had been in the 5-0 wins against Wigan and Fulham, and even QPR and Wolves.

I’m not trying to take anything away from Newcastle here, of course their pressing was great tonight (particularly when compared to ours), but we made them look like they had 15 players between their defence and attack.

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Welcome to the tenth episode of the Red Dead Podcast, the infallible Manchester United podcast for Truly Reds, brought to you as always by Tom “Darren Fletcher” Addison and Liam “Wrestlemania” Brown.

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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).

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Welcome to Liam “Wrestlemania” Brown’s Barry Norman/Claudia Winkleman impersonation.  Finally, I have been asked to join the likes of Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert and become a film critic.  Ok, maybe not, but we were kindly handed a copy of Rooney Goal Machine for our consideration, so after popping it on  during a lazy Sunday Evening, I’ll tell you what I thought if you should lend me your ears…

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The 2011/12 football season is revolutionary in more ways than one. Not only are we seeing the rise of the next great Manchester United team under the stewardship of Sir Alex Ferguson, and not only is Joey “Nietzche” Barton now the captain of QPR, but this season represents the first in which football clubs finances come under the scrutiny of the much talked about UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations (FFPR).

As you’d expect, FFPR is a subject that has thus far caused much discussion, controversy and confusion. Based on my jaunts to the pub and yonder, many good folk appear to understand what the general rules are (that, financially, clubs have to break-even), but beyond that their knowledge has been clouded by ignorant reporting and wishful thinking. Many City fans would have you believe that because of United’s Glazer induced debt, we have no chance of complying with FFPR, and many United fans would have you believe that, due to mass transfer expenditure by the Lottery Winners (City) in recent years, the Gorton Globetrotters too have little chance of complying with said regulation.

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Amidst all the drama that surrounded the Man United – Chelsea clash at Old Trafford last Sunday, is the least talked about and perhaps most significant outcome. A little reminder that despite Manchester City’s abyss of resources, Chelsea remains the number one threat to United rolling on to a 20th league title come next May.

With Arsenal constantly perfecting the art of self- destruction and hitting new lows of defensive ineptitude, and Liverpool’s revival ride on the Kenny Daglish wave hitting real snags, it is clear that the days of the “top four” are gone never mind what threatened to be the “top six”. It is now the ‘top three’ and will be for a few years to come. It is quite obvious that the Manchester City and Chelsea are the only sides with the squads and the quality to challenge Manchester United for the title this year. Read the full story