I couldn’t really think of opponents more suitable than Sunderland on the 25th anniversary of Sir Alex Ferguson being appointed as the manager of Manchester United.

A team managed by one of Ferguson’s early signings, a former captain and a man who lifted the Premier League trophy for the first time for our club. Not only because of the manager, but Steve Bruce’s Sunderland team consisted of Phil Bardsley, Keiran Richardson and Wes Brown who all came through the ranks at United, along with John O’Shea who unfortunately missed the game through injury.

Like the previous game against Everton, there wasn’t a lot to cheer about during the game, even Wes Brown’s unfortunate own goal on his return to Old Trafford since his move in the summer didn’t really inspire the team to do much more in the game. Perhaps the second half performance was slightly better than we had seen recently, it certainly wasn’t anywhere near the form we showed at the start of the season.

On a positive note, it was another clean sheet despite Sunderland’s best efforts in the last minutes of the game. Maybe Saturday’s game is an indication of where United must continue to improve if we are to have another successful season.

I think the statisticians had informed us that there had been seventeen different combinations in United’s defence this season which would back up the other favourite statistic of the moment of United have the most attempted shots against them in the league. Last week Fergie had announced that he told Rio Ferdinand that he was no longer an automatic first choice with the emergence of Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and with Jonny Evans finding his way back to some kind of consistency. With Chris Smalling now injured, and perhaps Jonny Evan’s being rested before the international break, Sir Alex resorted to the tried and tested combination of Vidic and Ferdinand at the weekend, and it was quite a welcome return.

Although the last few minutes of the game were slightly nerve wracking as Sunderland pushed forward to get an equaliser, United seemed to be in control and without the panic defending like we saw against Everton last weekend.

The presence of Ferdinand and Vidic in the centre of defence looks as though it instilled some familiarity and stability within the team as a whole.  Rio may not be the automatic choice in future games when the other defenders return from injury, but he’s not a bad choice to wheel out should United become defensively inept further down the line.

Much had been made of United’s midfield and how poor it is with the persistent calls for Fergie to sign Wesley Sneijder; it may just paper over the cracks in the short term, but a strong defence which isn’t leaking goals combined with the threat of goals from Rooney, Hernandez and Welbeck will keep United in contention for the Premier league at the very least.

I’m sure there were more than a few eyebrows raised when the team was announced on Saturday lunchtime, a team without Rooney and Nani, Phil Jones in midfield to play against one of United’s most bitter rivals, had Fergie lost the plot?

The preceding international matches and the players who had been involved along with the forthcoming European and Premier League matches will have undoubtedly been in the Manager’s thoughts when deciding on the team to play at Anfield. Perhaps, United’s poor record against Liverpool at Anfield in the past few seasons may have come into Ferguson’s reckoning which could have persuaded him to play the more defensive minded players.

Of the team that started the game, Ferdinand, Smalling, Giggs, Park, Evans were not on international duty, with England having only played one international game there would have been no issues with Jones and Welbeck starting. It has been well documented that Rooney was not starting due to his state of mind after receiving, what some considered, a surprising three match ban as a result of his red card against Montenegro. It would suggest that the starting eleven had more than enough in terms of energy to beat Liverpool as collectively; on the pitch there was little in terms of minutes played internationally and the amount of time spent travelling with their respective countries.

This week is quite probably the most important week of fixtures of our season so far, an important Champions League game where we definitely need to get three points plus the two games against our biggest rivals especially with City so far the being the immediate threat to our title. The fact that Rooney was only on the bench on Saturday and the subsequent reasoning behind it would indicate that Ferguson was not prepared to gamble on Rooney’s temperament at a ground where he would have faced the most hostile of receptions and seeing the way he reacted for England and on previously after allegations regarding his father and uncle, there could have been every chance that he would see red again and be banned for the City game.

Manchester United haven’t managed to take any points away from Anfield since December 2007, and the defeat there last season was one that I certainly wiped from memory whilst I hid away from the world for a few days to avoid any contact with Liverpool fans as they basked in their teams glory. Another defeat at Anfield would have surely been a disaster; statisticians would have been looking back to the 1970’s to find a worse run of defeats at Liverpool if we had lost on Saturday. The way the team set up until Gerard scored from the free kick was one that looked to be out to avoid defeat
as the worst case scenario; if we had played the way we did after going a goal down for the whole game, we may very well have been looking at another defeat at the hands of the Scousers.

By Sunday evening we will know if Sir Alex’s team choice against Liverpool was justified if we get three points away from home on tonight in the Champions League and a home win against the noisy neighbours at the weekend. A point away at Anfield, three points away at SC Otelul Galati and three points at home to City, should it happen would make this week a very successful one!

One point for a draw away to Stoke City, not quite the result or the performance we’d quite hoped for especially considering the results and the performances in previous league games. Stoke are often labelled as being dirty and aggressive and for managers like Arsene Wenger they are a menace to football in its purest form.

Arguably they are a team that play to their strengths; they are not going to be transformed into a ‘footballing’ side such as Arsenal or Barcelona after three seasons back in the top division but they do have the ability to be disciplined and competitive with most teams in the Premier League. They were certainly competitive on Saturday and if it wasn’t for a couple of excellent saves from David de Gea we may well have got nothing from the game.

I felt that United were missing the strength and energy to match Stoke’s competitiveness, we looked a little lightweight in comparison; without Vidic and Rooney we certainly seemed to have lost that bit of something that would have give us a little more of an edge that may have powered us towards victory on Saturday. Perhaps we were unlucky to lose Jonny Evans just before kickoff and then Hernandez in the opening few minutes but I’m not sure if they would have made that much difference; obviously Hernandez is always capable of scoring but would Evans have had the strength to battle for the ninety minutes? I’m not sure, but if it had possible for Evans to have played we could very well have matched Stoke’s athleticism with four solid defenders rather than the three we had and Valencia as a make shift right back.

We really needed a Roy Keane or Bryan Robson on Saturday to really challenge the rough and tumble of Stoke, as impressive as Darren Fletcher can be in the biggest games this is not one of his better attributes and combined with Anderson, United were unable to find the drive to produce this kind of performance.

Looking at the results that Stoke have managed this season, a goalless draw against Chelsea and a one nil win against Liverpool, both at the Brittania Stadium, this was probably going to be the biggest challenge away from home in the early stages of the season. Stoke stuck by their hard working and hard playing principles whilst it was United’s job to try and impose their style of play and break through their barrier. Unfortunately we were incapable of doing this consistently throughout the game leaving United fans with a sense of disappointment.

United’s injury problems are escalating at quite a rate but thankfully there doesn’t appear to be anything too serious at this stage; luckily there is an international break on the horizon before the trip to Liverpool which should hopefully see Vidic, Smalling, Cleverley and Rooney back in time; they were certainly missed on Saturday.

The match on Sunday against Chelsea was definitely the most difficult test of the season so far and I can’t help think that we got away with it; on any other day we could very well have seen our first defeat of the season. At the end of the season, the only thing that will matter is whether we have won the league or not, it won’t record the margins of error or the luck that was afforded between Manchester United and whoever our closest rivals, I am certainly glad that we got this one out of the way early on.

The build up to Sunday highlighted that Chelsea would continue to be one of United’s biggest rivals for the title despite them already dropping a couple of points in a goalless draw away to Stoke – and after the match I couldn’t help but agree. 

Both United and Chelsea had plenty of chances, both Wayne Rooney and Fernando Torres could or maybe should have had hatricks with them both scoring one each, Rooney’s missed penalty and also hitting the post, Torres forcing a save from De Gea in the second half and I shouldn’t really need to mention what Torres did or more accurately what he failed to do with about ten minutes left to go.

If Torres had managed to somehow not miss the easiest of chances and the game was at 3-2 with ten minutes left to play, I am quite certain that United would have been put under immense pressure, but would our midfield and defence have been able to cope?

I don’t think there is any question that our goalkeeper did exceptionally well when you take into consideration his previous blunders; in some quarters he was given the man of the match award which indicates how well he has progressed in such a short space of time. In the last twenty minutes of the game we had Valencia, Jones, Evans and Evra in defence with Carrick and Fletcher in midfield. Defensively, this was definitely not the most preferred line up and naivety may have begun to show and mistakes may have occurred under pressure. United had been poor in midfield for most of the game (luckily for us so was Chelsea’s), a combination of Carrick and Fletcher didn’t really instil much encouragement for the majority of United fans either – they would have undoubtedly been the two to blame should the worst case scenario have happened.

Chelsea’s manager claimed before the match that the result of this game would not mean anything at the end of the season, I couldn’t disagree more. From Manchester United’s perspective it has meant that we are still top of the league and more importantly we have yet to lose; whilst David de Gea and Phil Jones are facing new challenges in defence this can only breed confidence in them (and the established players) to go out maintain and improve on their own individual performances.

If United were to take the view that a big game such as this at the beginning of the season would not matter, that would also mean that the game next month against our other title rivals Manchester City would not matter either. The two points clear of City that we are could mean everything on 23rd October, assuming both teams win the games in between, it could mean that United would be five points ahead of City after the Derby should we win.

First game, first away game and three points in the bag, we couldn’t really ask for more than that especially with United’s reputation of being slow starters. By October last year we had only just recorded our first win away from home so this season is already looking like it could be a potentially better one.

I think it may be a little too early to draw any definite conclusions as to how well we will do this season but if you’d believe the commentary and Monday’s back pages it would appear as though we are going to struggle, with David de Gea labelled as the man who will cause our demise.

When we signed de Gea I certainly did not think he was going to get through the season unscathed, he was always going to make errors – new team, new country, different language it was never going be easy and I am sure that de Gea recognised that and still accepted the challenge.

We are well aware of the mistakes he made to concede the goals in the Community Shield and against West Brom but I do think that there were some positives to be taken from his performances. During both games defensive changes were made after the first half; there’s no doubt that Vidic and Ferdinand will be the first choice central defenders when fit but I felt that De Gea has coped extremely well with this; not a single goal conceded in either match during the second half. Granted the second half of the Community Shield there wasn’t too much for him to do but that certainly was not the case on Sunday.

West Brom certainly tried to pile the pressure on De Gea but I think he showed that he is made of stern stuff; after being clattered by Tchoyi and receiving an arm in the face in quick succession he got up and got on with it, producing a decent save towards the end of the game from Brunt. The final minute when Ben Foster came up for the corner I think we saw one of the reasons why Fergie brought him to United; he showed some common sense to hold onto the ball to keep possession rather than to adhere to the crowd and take a shot at goal – could you have imagined the headlines and the post match phone ins if he had attempted to take a shot and it had rebounded into his own net from one of the surrounding players?

You could see how disappointed the young keeper was with both of his mistakes which I take encouragement from; he knew the goals were his fault and he wasn’t looking to blame any of his team mates, there was nowhere for him to hide but he got through both games without too much else to damage his reputation.

Things can only improve for de Gea, the more games he plays the more he will learn about the Premier League, as he plays more games his English will certainly improve providing more consistency and understanding between him and the defenders. As with the majority of non British players that come to United, David will be put through a programme to bulk up to ensure that he can cope with the rigours of the Premier League.

David de Gea has had two tough encounters in his fledgling United career which may just stand him in good stead for the coming weeks. Spurs, Arsenal, Bolton, Chelsea and Stoke, not an easy start to the season and it will undoubtedly be a steep learning curve for the keeper but if we can come away from these games with the results and if De Gea shows improvement from game to game I think we can all look forward to a successful season.

We never do it the easy way do we?It didn’t sit easy with me as people continued to suggest the title race was over. I was talking to Ian Wright on Absolute radio last week and they laughed at me when I suggested we hadn’t won the league yet. The loss to Arsenal means we are now just three points ahead of Chelsea, hgo we still have to play. We are still in a really strong position and it is all in our hands, so there is no need for panic stations. On the back of the Arsenal game, here are some points to consider..

United Didn’t Play Well

It was strange. United were coming into this game on the back of some great form but never really got going in this one. It was an usually timid performance, with the incision so apparent in the previous games. At no point did we exert a dominance on the game or get into our normal stride.

Fatigue an Issue?

Aside from Anderson coming in for Giggs (who had flu), it was the same eleven that dispatched Schalke in Gelsenkirchen and started both Champions League games with Chelsea. In essence, our strongest team currently. I just wonder if there is some fatigue settling in. These players had been to Germany, played in a Champions league semi and then faced a hungry Arsenal side in London the next Sunday. Fergie should use the two goal cushion obtained in Gelsenkirchen to rest some of this team for the return leg, with an eye on Chelsea the following week.

Central Midfield Player Still Needed

No player divides opinion among United supporters as much as Michael Carrick. His form has improved considerably in recent weeks but he wasn’t impressive against Arsenal. We missed Giggs, for sure, but the sheer age of the Welshman means that he will not be playing in every game, so we need to do better without him. Anderson did ok but to me, still hasn’t fulfilled his undoubted potential. In my view, we are missing something still in the middle of the park. We look a little soft here to me and I wold not be opposed to a new signing in the summer.

New System Wasn’t as Effective against Arsenal

Some of our performances in the Emirates in recent years have been outstanding. It was a familiar system deployed in the fixture, all about pace on the counter attack. The formation would be a 4-3-3 or 4-5-1 depending on who had the ball, where typically Rooney, Nani and Park (also Ronaldo) would break with explosive menace. The new found system is more of a 4-4-1-1 with Hernandez playing beyond Rooney and it didn’t work as well for this fixture. It is not a formation which is as conducive for the counter attack football, which has been so effective here for United in the past.

Chelsea Match is Huge

As if anybody needed reminding but the magnitude of the Chelsea match has become massive. A win for United and title is as good as won. A loss, however, blows it wide open. A draw would obviously play into the hands of United more than Chelsea. The match is in Old Trafford, which is a huge advantage for us, given our home record this season. Chelsea will come with the kitchen sink in tow as they really represents their final chance. Presuming we negotiate Schalke in mid week, resting a few players, we should have roughly the same team eleven available who beat Chelsea home and away in the Champions League.

We are still in an incredibly strong position with one foot in the Champions League final and basically an opportunity to win the league against one of our biggest rivals next Sunday. No need to panic but it is now officially squeaky bum time.

Javier Hernandez bagged a brace to take his tally to 16 for the season as Man United saw off the challenge of French Champions Marseille with a 2-1 win at the Theatre of Dreams.

There was a general feeling of uneasiness in relation to this tie mainly down to the fact that United had not managed to bag an away goal in the Stade Velodrome. All that was required on the night was a win of any description and considering our home form this season United were hot favourites to progress.

Hernandez puts United through

The home side got off to the perfect start as Hernandez broke the dead lock after 5 minutes. Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs combined well on the left hand side before Rooney played a perfect cross across the face of goal which a man with the predatory instincts of Chicharito was never going to miss.

Rooney and Hernandez continued to link up well and their partnership really seems to be flourishing. While Berbatov will be disappointed to miss out, Sir Alex now has a real selection headache on his hands. Hernandez’s pace and movement is asking all sorts of questions of opposition defences and Rooney is revelling in the space he is getting playing just behind the Mexican.

Nani also looked dangerous in attack, however, United were nearly caught out numerous times at the back. Gignac missed an absolute sitter shortly after Hernandez’s opener and Diawara couldn’t hit the target either with a header from 6 yards.

In the second half it was the French side that came out on the attack. United soaked up the pressure and began to take control around the hour mark. Rafael (on for the injured John O’Shea) picked up an injury and was replaced with brother Fabio, while Antonio Valencia clocked up a few more minutes as part of his comeback when he replaced Nani. Giggs was involved again in the build up to the second goal as he combined with Valencia this time, who squared for Chicharito to apply the finishing touch.

With 15 minutes to go it looked as though we could sit back and relax as United looked to play down the clock. However, a dangerous corner was swung in and Wes Brown headed the ball into his own net to provide a nervy finish. Flashbacks of Porto in 2004 and Arjen Robben’s late winner last year came flooding back but United kept possession well and were never really in danger of conceding a second.

United have booked their place in the last eight for the 5th season on the trot. This game reflects a lot of what United’s season has been like so far. It’s a case of job done but plenty of room for improvement.

What do you think? Good to have Nani and Valencia back but will the injury problems at the back cause a slip? Rooney and Hernandez are looking like a dangerous partnership would you stick with them for Bolton this weekend or reintroduce Berba to the fold?

Who would you like in the Quarter Final?

Despite the result tonight at Stamford Bridge there is still positives to be taken from the game from a Manchester United perspective. The performance level was a lot better than recent weeks and some individuals deserve praise for their efforts. Other than a harsh penalty decision United would have drawn the game and taken another step towards the “knock Liverpool off their perch” 19th title.

1. Van der Sar

Van der Sar was again excellent pulling off some fine saves to deny Chelsea on a number of occasions. How this man is retiring in the summer is beyond most supporters as he is still a top class keeper and could have another season or 2 in him.

2. Vidic

Vidic once again was a beast at the heart of the Man United defense. His supposed nemesis Fernando Torres definitely lost tonights battle. His partnership with Smalling continues to improve and Smalling himself had another composed game. The only bad point was the referee’s decision at the end to send him off meaning he misses the next game against Liverpool. The sending off coming after David Luiz (aka Sideshow Bob as one of our Facebook Fans christened him) should have been given his marching orders.

3. Michael Carrick

Yes Michael Carrick! He has had his critics this year but after reading an article by @OSullivanMUFC showing some vital stats about Carrick myself and a friend of mine who his Carricks biggest critic decided to watch him with fresh eyes. And he didn’t disappoint, he made some crucial interceptions and provided a priceless shield to the defense all night. Not too many of his passes went astray and he kept the ball moving at all times. If you don’t believe me read the article (linked above) and watch him with fresh eyes in the next game yourself!

4. Rooney Scores Again

Although he didn’t have his best game he got on the scoresheet again with his first goal from outside the box since February 2008. This will give his confidence another shot ahead of some tough fixtures.

5. Ryan Giggs

Giggs didn’t exactly change the game when he came on but tonight saw him equal another record, playing his 606th League game for Man United which equals Bobby Charlton’s record before him. Another milestone for an absolute legend!

6. League Position

We are still top of the league and have our destiny in our own hands. Chelsea, despite their win, are too far behind in my opinion to come back. Our nearest competitors Arsenal have been a team of bottlers in the last few years so hopefully that will be the case again!

It is important now to regroup and prepare for a HUGE game against Liverpool next Sunday. Nothing but a win will be expected!

Do you agree with the list? Any other positives in your eyes?

United returned to Champions League action last night as they took on French Champions Marseille in the last 16. There had been much talk leading up to the game about how this fixture signalled the start of the run-in to the end of the season. With United still fighting for silverware on three fronts the levels of expectancy were high. What an anti-climax.

Rooney in action against Marseille

In reality we won’t really know whether 0-0 is a good result until after the second leg in three weeks time. Away goals at this level are priceless, however you have to fancy the Red Devils to go through when all that is required at Old Trafford is a win of any kind.

This game fizzled out around the 20 minute mark and never really got going again. Both sides appeared happy enough to put bodies behind the ball when the other had possession. There were no real clear cut chances and it was a pretty drab affair throughout.

Berbatov started only his second game in the knockout stages since he joined the club and while many will see Fergie playing Rooney out wide as accomodating playing an in form Berba up front, the Bulgarian didn’t do much to help his cause for inclusion in the big games as a lone frontman. In all likelihood Rooney was probably played out wide due to a lack of options with Park, Giggs and Valencia out injured. When Valencia in particular returns from injury Ferguson will most likely revert to Valencia and Nani out wide providing pace with Rooney up top alone when it comes to playing the big games.

Chris Smalling was solid again at the back and the £10 million fee spent recruiting the Londoner is looking like good business considering Fergie is grooming him to be Rio Ferdinand’s long term successor. It’s very much a case of so far so good with the youngster but with a lot more work to do.

The tie is finely balanced at the moment. United struggled at the start of the millenium when at home after drawing 0-0 away and went out of the competition twice in three years as a result. They appear however to have bucked that trend and have more recently accounted for both Barcelona and Inter Milan having drawn 0-0 away from home. Considering the home form United have shown this season I can’t see anything other than a United victory and progression to the Quarter-Finals.

How do you see things unfolding in Old Trafford?