The Theater of Nightmares...

       
         So, you all had a great weekend then? The weather was lovely, wasn't it? Many of us might've had a nice picnic. Or did you catch any new movie over the weekend? There were quite a few on TV this week, too. Watching "Just Dance" can be a great experience too, to relax. What else? Anything nice on TV? No, I have talked about that already. The weather? Nope, I've been through that as well.
   

          Okay, can't beat around the bushes any longer now. All of us saw what happened at Old Trafford this Sunday. It wasn't Chelsea's first defeat of the season that got the headlines, nor United's rolling juggernaut despite a less than commanding performance. The only thing the world media is talking about now, is THAT moment from Fernando Torres. As the commentator rightly said, you wouldn't wish that on anyone.Seriously. Not even on Emmanuel Adebayor. You can defend, saying all great players have crazy misses sometimes, but for someone who was finally finding some confidence after a marathon break, you just pray the miss doesn't prove to be catastrophic.

One didn't really want to look at Torres's face after that miss ! "Shattered" is the only word there...

                   Talking generally about the game, it was far more open than expected. With a bit better finishing from both sides, it could easily have been 6-5, or better,6-7! But, the Torres miss overshadowed rest of the game so much, that no one even talked about both of first two United goals being offside. Yes, United were the better team in the end, but can you imagine the same silence on refereeing standards, had Fergie's team been on the receiving end ? AVB knew that his team were just as much to blame though, as it was really a lesson from the Red Devils in finishing games off. Chelsea were creating dozens of chances in first half, and still United incredibly led 3-0 at half-time, with 3 shots on target. That's called ruthlessness. They aren't the 19-time Champions for nothing.

        But, what for me was one of the biggest decisions of the match, which can have a massive impact on Chelsea's season went almost unnoticed. Lampard, the legendary 20-goals-a-season-from-midfield Frank Lampard was substituted at half-time by Villas Boas for Anelka, a decision that paid dividends in just about 30 seconds! Had it been any of the former Chelsea managers still in the Blue's dugout, Torres or Sturridge would come off to make way for Anelka. AVB made his statement right there. No one is safe at Chelsea anymore without performing. And unlike most of his predecessors, he really means that. That's why Roman Abramovich took the massive gamble on this relatively inexperienced guy from Portugal. There are radical changes happening around at Stamford Bridge.In Game-play. In discipline. And most importantly, in the personnel. Earlier, no one would even dream if Resting (!) Terry and Lampard in the opening game of the Champions League. No one would start Daniel Sturridge against Manchester United in favour of Anelka or Malouda. Villas Boas is bold and fearless, there are distinct similarities with Mourinho there. The delicious  unpredictability in substitutions is back. The team that looked jaded and tired for much of last season, looks suddenly revitalised now.They are hungry, they are pacey, and they want to win. They might be 5 points off the pace already, but write Chelsea off at your own peril.

              Meanwhile, giving due credit to the devils, they were indeed magnificent. They may not have dominated the game, but when on a roll, Fergie's men are as merciless as a Genghis-khan or a Tamerlane.  Chelsea did threaten with a comeback. But even after Rooney doing his own version of the "Moscow-miss" and Berbatov showing his own prowess at missing chances-one-can't-miss, United ran out deserved, if not comfortable winners. 15 points, 21 goals, a goal difference of +17, all this from just 5 games, this United team are going to need some stopping from romping to another title.

Even with a Moscow-like miss, Rooney is far ahead of competition in this year's EPL!

                                       

         Just a word to all those Chelsea fans lashing out at Torres though, AVB is building something big here. And even if you find it hard to believe, Fernando Torres is the man much, much likely to lead his charge, rather than a Didier Drogba or a Nicolas Anelka, and at least for the time being, even Daniel Sturridge. The entire league is being sliced open like never before. Get ready for the ride with your seat-belts, for it's going to be far more bumpy and unpredictable than you can ever imagine!

Landing the Big Fish : Ashley Young

     
            Friends, this week we're beginning a new Series titled "Landing the Big Fish" to discuss about all the Big acquisitions by the top European clubs, with the club's very own ardent fans explaining exactly who's their best buy of the summer and why.
          So for the very first post, we welcome Akash Nair, a die-hard Red Devil, as he talks about Fergie's summer dealings and who might end up as United's best buy this summer.
                                              

Ashley Young....the next United super-star in the making??

                                     

After  the mauling suffered at the hands of Barcelona at Wembley, plus the impending departures of some vital cogs of the first team, Manchester United FC needed some reinforcements…quickly.
The question was whether United had the money to invest and after  the circus by Rooney (the small matter of handing in a transfer request saying the club lacks ambition!!), this was going to be a summer which would clear some doubts.

The fans clearly wanted a midfielder(out of desperation) and a goalkeeper(out of necessity) and after numerous scouting reports,hard negotiations, some failed bids, countless spotting at airports and Bridgewater hospital and 2 months later we have a goalkeeper, a defender and a winger.

In David De Gea we have a 20-year old goalie with truckloads of potential, in Jones an inexperienced defender but a born leader ;a player who can marshal United’s and England’s defence for years to come, and in Young, we have an established Premier league winger. The best signing of the summer for me is Ashley Young.While DDG and Jones have lot of potential, whether they will fulfill it is another matter of fact. 

While much has been said about United’s need of a creative midfielder or a midfield destroyer,there is also a need for a left winger who can bomb down the flanks, put in crosses , cut inside and track back to help the fullback. This has been highlighted due to the fact that Ryan Giggs has become old now--old is an understatement—so much so that he is almost exclusively used in centre midfield by Ferguson as his pace has decreased. Some may argue that we have Nani or Park who can do the job in the left, but the fact is that none of them are primarily left footed.Nani tends to drift inside while deployed on the left forcing Wazza wide or Hernandez to run behind the fullback.

Technical  attributes of Ashley Young:

Young has searing pace, with a bucket-load of tricks to match. He's a great dribbler of the ball, who can tantalize the opposition. Even though being primarily right-footed, he has an excellent left-foot, which makes him an awesome "Inverted Winger" to have.Add to that his deadly Set-piece skills and pinpoint crossing, and you have a genuinely world-class winger in your ranks.

Mental attributes :

For a player who rose through the ranks at Watford offering to play without a contract just so that he can train, will and determination comes easily.
The desire to win is always there in a player who only has held the community shield aloft. 

Young is fast and deceptive, which is deadly attribute for someone who plays for a team known for super-fast counter attacks

                                             
The important thing for me is Young’s versatility.
He can play as left forward in a 4-3-3 ,as a second striker in a 4-4-1-1, on the right as well as the left wing, in the hole behind the front two in a 4-1-3-2.
This versatility opens the door for a revolving front 4 last seen during 07/08 season when the likes of Roo, Ronnie, Giggsy and Tevez  wreaked havoc.
Young was also employed by Gerrad Houllier in a more central role during his last season at Villa helping them to steer clear of relegation and also Fabio Capello’s England during the Euro 12 qualifying  campaign.
All this versatility won't be much visible during the initial stages of the campaign but it will be prominent during the latter stretches when games come thick and fast and injuries enter the picture.

If you still think he's not a Marquee signing United needed to formally replace the legendary Paul Scholes, just check out some of his stats in the English League.

• Ashley Young is10th on the list of all-time assist makers in the Premier League with 53 assists to his     name.
• In terms of assists per games, Ashley Young ranks 7th in Premier League history with 0.46 assists per game, behind Giggs, Bergkamp, Cantona, Fabregas, Henry & Beckham.
• Only Cesc Fabregas has more Premier League assists than Ashley Young since the 2006/07 season
• He has scored 62 goals and made 70 assist in 300 appearances in all competition.
• Ashley Young has scored 33 goals in the Premier League – 32 on his right foot, 1 on his left foot, 34.4% from outside the box & 37.5% from dead balls.
• From 07/08-10/11, Ashley Young has provided 30 dead ball league assists: 7.5 per year. #MUFC’s best Nani has averaged 4.25. Improvement.
• Young’s dead ball assist rate from the last 4 years of 7.5 per season is better than Beckham – who averaged 4.77 per season in his Man Utd career.
• He has only been sent off once in his premier league career.
•  Incidentally Young is also one of the most fouled players in the league, which creates more set piece opportunities  and also gets injured very rarely.

I m sure some United fans will still feel we could have done with an attacking midfielder in the moulds of Sneijder--- but that’s mainly from the need to match Barca after the dressing down they have given us last two times. It certainly would've added to the oomph factor, but the defeat was much more of a result of a midfield that was unable to initiate lightning fast counters which United are known for.And Young is much more likely to bring back those counters rather than a Sneijder or any such creative midfielder. 

Glory days are here to stay at Old Trafford. Let's just hope Ashley Young owns the left wing of United first team for years to come !!

Written by:

Akash R Nair

A Tale of two Manchesters...

As the seventh weekend of the Premier League passed,with Manchester City leapfrogging past their city neighbours ManUtd in the League table,there is a buzz that City are now the main threat to Chelsea's title,and a shaking Man United will struggle to mount a serious challenge for the championship.I beg to differ.

Yes,City are 2nd in the standings,ahead of united,having already played Chelsea and Liverpool,and its clear that their bench-strength is way better than United's.But anyone who saw their edgy win over Newcastle will know they were far fro convincing.Newcastle haven't got the best away record and they sill almost escaped with a draw.But the worst part for me was Nigel De Jong! a completely reckless tackle on Hatem Ben Arfa,that broke his leg in 2 places,and yet the "kind" referee didn't even give a foul!!! For anyone who understands football one bit,that was a straight Red Card for De Jong.That tackle deprived Newcastle of their most talented player for the entire season.Now,is there anyone still convinced that had there been the dismissal of De Jong in 4th minute,would ManCity,forget the win,would they even have managed to avoid the defeat,playing with 10 men for the entire game??? I certainly don't think so.

In a way,the attitude of De Jong almost represents the attitude of ManCity...they just want to leave their mark on your face.Its unbelievable that De Jong has escaped a lengthy ban after so many horror tackles.Does anyone remember the Kungfu kick in the Chest of Xabi Alonso in World Cup Final???Just watch this horrific tackle on Ben Arfa that broke his leg:

After wins over Chelsea and Liverpool,De Jong was hailed as the best City player.That shows where City really are compared to United....De Jong is not a great Defensive Midfielder,not even a decent one,Claude Makelele never broke people's legs ,not at Real Madrid,nor at Chelsea.We recognise him as the Best Defensive Midfielder of this era.Same for Owen Hargreaves,or Yaya Toure....That's why people love to hate ManCity!!! City might fool themselves that people are just jealous of their newfound wealth,but its not true....You know what,I would love to see United thrashing City in a title-deciding match,even if it means handing out the title to Red Devils,simply because there is no bigger humiliation for City than being tormented by their most hated neighbours!!!!

Talking of United,yes,they are having their problems.But,I have no doubt they will be fighting tooth and nail for that title in the end.Fergie has been in enough of these situations,and he knows how to get out of them.So,let the entire world think what they want to,for me,its not the battle between the Blues and the Sky Blues,but the Battle between the Blues and the Devils!!!

The Final Hurdle

One point......thats all that separates Chelsea and Manchester Utd going into the last week of an enthralling Barclays Premier League Season.And that one point will be enough for Chelsea to win their first title since the "Jose Mourinho" era at Stamford Bridge,if they can beat Wigan at home on Sunday.

Chelsea are the clear favourites going into the weekend,as the Blues have amassed an amazing 49 points out of 54 at Stamford Bridge,but this season has taught us to expect only the unexpected.Especially.with Wigan having nothing to lose,and and ManU clear favourites versus Stoke,we could be in for a nasty surprise.

End of the season games are always tough,with relegation threatened teams upsetting the big boys,and it can really get tense,as Sir Alex Ferguson is known to have said frequently " Football, Bloody Hell" !!! So,what are the scenarios possible on Sunday?? A Chelsea win on the evening will win them the title,irrespective of the outcome of United's match.But,a draw or a defeat,paired with a United win,will hand the Red Devils their Record 19th title.But,it will take nothing short of a miracle from Wigan to achieve that,looking at Chelsea's terrific form ,which has seen them scoring an amazing 95 goals so far in the league,just 2 short of the record in the Premier League.

Although it should be a straightforward game for the Blues,there will be immense pressure till they take the lead.Just imagine the scenario of Image of Rooney just scoring Utd's 5 th goal versus Stoke flashing at Stamford Bridge,with Chelsea leading 1-0 with3 minutes to go,imagine the pressure!!!! The ball falls to Hugo Rodallega 10 yards out,he produces a fierce drive aaaaaaaand Cech parries it away.that's what tends happen again and again anyways,but it's an absolute nightmare for Chelsea fans like me!!!!

So,I can't wait for tomorrow's game ,because as much tension I feel in the adrenaline,I can't wait to watch John Terry lifting the Premier League Title to the heavens after 4 years !!!!!!!!