Manchester United v. Arsenal-The Rivalry Resumes

This sunday when Manchester United entertains the table toppers Arsenal a certain missing rivalry will again restart. When I started supporting Manchester united our main rivals were Arsenal. Game against them was the most important one to look forward to. They  had Henry We had Nistelrooy,  they had Viera we had keane, they had Bergkamp we had Giggs, they had Pires we had Scholes, they had Fabregas and we had Ronaldo. Both teams had many ugly fights like the famous tunnel fight between Viera and Keane just before the match, Nistelrooy being mobbed by arsenal players after he missed a penalty, The Pizza Incident where a arsenal player ( Fabregas according to reports) threw a pizza on Sir alex . The Rivalry was so intense that their match at Old trafford in 2004-2005 season was termed as Battle of the Buffet.

But as the years have passed by,the rivalry has cooled down significantly which Sir alex himself has said. With the emergence of Chelsea and Manchester City, Arsenal are no longer considered as our main rivals. On one hand where Manchester United have won Trophies after Trophies, Arsenal haven't won a trophy for more than 8 years. Arsenal have not won a premier league match at Old trafford in their last 6 meetings. 2006 was the last time where Arsenal beat United at Old trafford. The 8-2 thrashing and RVP joining United has also not helped  arsenal. The clashes between the two clubs in recent years have been either one sided or insignificant(Like last years 1-1 draw at emirates).

This season is looking somewhat different for arsenal. They are sitting pretty at the top and have not lost a game since losing to Villa at the start of the season. They have bought one of the best play maker in the world in Ozil and he has been really good for them. They Defeated Dortmund this week at their won turf so that is worth appreciating.  This season where Manchester United have struggled , Arsenal have been in full flow. One player for arsenal who has really come out of age this season is Aaron Ramsey. He has been scoring goals for fun.

 Unlike last few seasons this game against Arsenal will be very important. I know a win or loss in November wont hamper your chances of winning the league but this time it may. Moyes and his boys cannot afford to lose this game. Moyes have somewhat performed better in last month or so. Manchester United have not lost in their last 8 games in all competition. So if they lose this one then all the momentum will be over. Manchester united's situation will be back to square one. Arsenal will be 11 points clear of us if they win the game on sunday. So no way could Moyes and his army afford to lose. This Sunday we will be having after a long time a mouthwatering clash between Manchester United and Arsenal. It is an important game for both the team. I still have my doubt over arsenal. I still feel it is too early to say they are back to their best. Like Rooney said this week " Let us see where are Arsenal in March". It is not an arrogant comment but it is a true comment. So far Arsenal have been good so this clash will also be really good.

I just Hope we see some real good football Acton this sunday. I have always wanted  Arsenal to be our main rivals . They are a club like Manchester United who have not come at the top with the help of Money like Chelsea or Manchester City have. As far as the prediction for the game goes my inner feeling says this will be the game that officially kick starts Moyes's career. I have a feeling we will win. Anything can happen. All I can say I hope this game bring back the missing Rivalry between Arsenal and Manchester United.

Let The Rivalry Resume

Preferred Line up v. Fulham

Fulham away wont be an easy tie by any means. We cannot afford to drop any more points . With Arsenal coming next week it is important we get 3 points from this game. One thing Moyes should do right is field a strong and correct Line up. My preferred line up will be

                      DE GEA

Rafael      Evans         Smalling           Evra


       Carrick                    Fellaini

                     Kagawa

      RVP                            Rooney

                    Hernandez

I know this is not your typical line up but this could be very helpful. I dont want to see Hernandez Benched. He deserves to play more. Assistant Manager Steve Round also said Rvp, Rooney and Hernandez all three can play together, I think this is the best way. Janujaz could replace one of Top 4 attackers. Kagawa also gets to play in his preferred position. What do you guys think? 

Stand by our Manager

This is what Sir Alex told all us fans before leaving "Your job now is to stand by the new manager." Most of the fans are even failing in this job. It has only been 3 months since Moyes has joined and we fans are calling for him to be sacked.

I have heard many say We should have appointed some other manager, You know what it would have been no guarantee that he would have had a flying start here. If 3 months was the criteria for determining a persons Quality then Alex wouldn't have been Sir  Alex, Cristiano Ronaldo wouldn't have been one of the best player in the World, Evra and Vidic wouldn't have been Man United captains and Theiry Henry would have been dubbed as an Ordinary player. 

Moyes is learning fast whether we agree or not. He has dropped Young and Rio. He is not starting with Giggs like Sir Alex used to do. He has given a young 18 year old a chance to sign and convinced him to stay here for long time.  Rome was not built in a day and same way building a team is not done in 3 months. Every manager needs atleast 2 seasons to do that. We do not have a squad like that of Bayern or Barca , we need some quality players which needs time. 

Moyes did not even have a full summer period to analyse what players would be best for us. He knew we needed a midfielder. In January he will have time look for the players we need. His main goal was to keep rooney and he did that. Our squad has been crying for a midfielder for many years and Sir alex didn't buy one so now Moyes has to go and buy and for that he needs one full season to look out for the player we need. He himself has admitted that we need 2 or 3 players so at least that's good. I am confident we will buy quality players.

Even great Sir Alex has made mistakes, Th team selection against Blackburn two seasons ago where we lost was really bad, The game against City at etihad which let them Overtake us was also bad, So let us stop behaving like Sir Alex has never made mistakes. Instead of blaming Manager alone Why not look at our senior players performance. None of the senior players have played well. Moyes needed their help badly in the pitch and they have failed him so far. Some fans really want him to fail because he is not expressive, he is not your typical stylish guy. He did more than a decent Job at Everton, lets see how Martinez does for 38 games. Doing well in first 10 games doesn't make you a top manager. Chelsea, arsenal and city have to face each other so they will drop points. 

We have faced 12 games so far this season and we have Won 6 Lost 3 Drawn 3 so that's not anyway a disastrous start. Give Moyes time, he will do well. I will wait till February at least to comment about Moyes's progress. 

We don't want a Chelsea like situation to happen here, We make fun of them when they keep on changing managers now we are also restoring to the same thing. Let us support our manager, Like Sir Alex said Stand by our Manager. 

BELIEVE

Players Rating v. Southampton

Another Bizarre performance by our players and yet again points dropped. There were times when it was us who used to score goals at the end but yesterday it was opposite. Lets see how our players performed

David De Gea 6.5- I really felt he could have done better for the goal conceded. He did a decent job prior to that though. Its surprising that he is not even getting selected in the Spain Squad.

Rafael- 6 Not his best games by any means. It was not like he had an awful game but his crossing from the flanks reminded me of Valencia's crossing. He was not able to give one proper cross. Having said that he is still our Number 1 Right Back.

Phil Jones- 7 I was very happy to see Jones playing in his preferred position and he did pretty well. His clearance on many occasions were worth appreciating. Unfortunately he made one mistake and we conceded. Overall he did well.

Evans- 7.5 He is one of our most underrated players. I am happy that Moyes took a bold decision and dropped Rio. Evans needs a run of games. He can be our First choice Center Back. I lost count on how many clearance he did with his head. Good performance Jonny.

Evra 6.5 He had a mixed game.  He showed a lot of passion but he was caught out on many occasion. He was decent going forward and nicely linked with Janujaz. Tidy performance but nothing great.

Nani 7.5 He was our best player on the pitch yesterday . He is by far our best winger in the squad and happy he is getting consistent run of games ahead of Young and Tony V. He created many opportunities for our strikers who just couldnt finish. Pretty surprising he didnt finish the whole game. When he was gone it affected our game.

Carrick- 6.5 Unlike last season he is not able to boss the midfield. He did his work yesterday OK but with carrick we expect a lot. He is one of many players who has not found his form this season.

Fellaini 3.5 Ohh God that was an awful performance. Its one thing to have an off day but when you perform like this you really dont know what to say. He kept stranded on his position while Southampton players eased past him and on attacking front he got a really good opportunity but he just shot the ball far away from the goal. I am not saying he is shit or he has been a flop but he needs to improve. Performances like this wont help him.

Janujaz 6.5- Another decent performance by our New prodigy. He is really talented and of you want proof just look at the 40 yard pass to rooney which ultimately led to the Goal. He can also shoot from long distance. He lost the control after 65 odd minutes and should have been subbed but he did well and showed what player we have in our hands. Pretty pleased that he has signed a 5 year Contract with us.

Rooney 5 Yes he was that poor. He lost the ball on countless occasion. It was like he didnt want to hold on to it. Its performance like this that makes me sad and angry with Rooney. Moyes needs to address this issue. If you are having a bad day then you need to be subbed off. Rooney on form can be the best thing for us.

Robin Van persie 6 Atlast he scored a goal for us from an open play. Like Carrick he is also not at its best this season and it is affecting our performance. He also lost ball position many times. He needs to up his game if we have to play well. Atleast he scored one so he will get some confidence back.

Substitutes

Giggs 5.5- Another disappointing performance by our legend. On first place he shouldnt have replaced Nani but having done that he performed pretty badly. He lost the ball and his passing were also not that good. Maybe like Young and Rio , Moyes should learn to use Giggs on a very rare occasion.

Welbeck 5.5 I have always felt that this will be welbeck's season. The confidence that Moyes is showing is worth admiring but he needs to play well. Last night he couldnt run with the ball. It was like there was no coordination between his feet and Ball. I know these things happen even with great players but Danny always does that. Whenever he gets a goal scoring chance he trips himself or fails to shoot properly. He really lacks confidence infront of goal. I still have lot of faith with him and still believe he will be a top player for us.

Smalling N/R- He should be starting more games. He had a good outing with England.

Man of the Match- NANI - Really good performance by our mighty winger. Hope he keeps his good form.

Team's Rating 6/10
If you look at the Substitute Ratings it would seem like they cost us the point and it is partly true also. Moyes made some bad substitution. He has been playing very safe. I know he needs win badly but you dont defend a one goal lead from 60 odd minutes, atleast not in Manchester United. When I saw the bench prior to the game I thought atleast today we may see one of Zaha, Kagawa and Hernandez if not all the three but again none of them appeared even when the situation demanded. He needs to show more trust on Kagawa and Hernandez. Maybe in next few games he will. He is still learning and finding what his best playing XI is. He should learn fast as our rival teams are settling down it seems. Moyes should act fast.

Having said that its not correct to put the blame solely on Moyes. What can a manger do when his players are not finishing the chances of, or his main players like Rooney and Fellaini are performing so bad. Players should take equal responsibility. We dropped 2 points at home but we should not forget that Southampton have been pretty good this season. They beat Liverpool at their turf and have only conceded 3 goals so far this season. So we should not get too upset . Let us stand by our players and manager. Its a long season. Its no guarantee that Arsenal will remain on top, same way its no Guarantee that We will be in 8th position when the season ends. Teams will drop points. Even after such a mixed start we are only 8 points below the leaders.

BELIEVE   

Prediction for this season

We have got some idea how our season may shape up. It has not been a 

great start by any means but honestly its not even that bad like many are 

saying. This is going to be a tricky season for every person who is involved 

with united. We are going to miss Sir alex. While predicting we have to be 

reasonable. But we have not started badly as we have won Community shield. 

I know many dont care about this one  but a trophy is a trophy.

You know as a die hard UNITED fan I would love if we win every competition 

that we are involved in  but we have to be reasonable. So I thought about it 

very carefully and came to a conclusion that this season we may not win many 

trophies. So My prediction for this season in each competition is-




League Cup- Semi Finals We have started very well by beating Liverpool. I 

am confident we will beat Norwich at home in next round. With one of Arsenal-

Chelsea getting knocked out for sure as they are clashing with each other , 

The top teams that will be remaining are one of chelsea or arsenal, City,Spurs 

and us. Semi finals is on the cards. I will be happy if Moyes wins the league 

cup for starter. It may be a mickey mouse cup but this season this also means 

a lot to us. 


FA Cup- WIN This is one trophy I want us to win. It has been almost 10 

years since we won FA cup. Now thats a long time. Moyes will be looking for 

winning in domestic competitions in his first season. 


Champions League- Quarter Finals I have very low expectation in this 

competition. My only requirement this season in europe is clear the group 

stages. Eventhough Moyes himself has said that we dont have a squad to win 

this , I tend to slightly disagree. We do have a decent squad to create a upset. 

When chelsea can do why cant we. But I will say a quater final will be where 

we get knocked out.



League- 2nd This is tough to predict. We are 9th now but we will improve, it 

will be a shocker if we miss out on top 4. I would have predicted 3rd or even 

4th but other teams are also not performing that good. Chelsea and city are 

not bossing the league. Arsenal are playing good football but they still need 

couple of class players like Ozil. Liverpool are liverpool and Spurs need a 

season or two. I still believe we can win the league provided we remain 

consistent enough but at present I am going for 2nd or 3rd.


Yes this is what I Think. You know it may not what we like but I feel this is 

what may happen. I wont mind if this is what happens if  young players like 

Janujaz, Powell, Michael Keane, Henriques get chance in here or in loan  and 

Players like Welbeck, rafael, De gea, Smalling,Jones, Fabio, Cleverley, Zaha 

reach the next level and we play some exciting , free flowing football. I will 

remain happy then. But if moyes fails to develop new stars and doesnt give 

the young blood a chance and we play some dull football then I will say the 

season has been a failure. 

So what you guys think. What will happen this season? 

Players Rating v. Shaktar

This was one of the most boring performance I have witnessed by our time, that doesnt mean the result was bad. I would have taken a point from this fixture. Atleast We did not lose. Lets see how our players performed

David De Gea 7.5- If not for him we would have lost. He is a tremendous keeper. He has become more bolder. He couldnt have stopped the goal. Overall a very good performance by our spanish keeper.

Rafael 7- See how much difference he brings in Right back. He should be starting majority of the game. No Jones, No smalling. The way he moves forward with the ball is admirable. He created a chance for RVP also. Good stuff.


Vidic 7- Captain vida was at his best but he made one mistake and that cost us the goal. He would have got more if not for the mistake, But he really is still our best defender.

Smalling 6- I was surprised to see Smalling making some mistakes in defense. He was caught out of position on more than one occasion. Not a good game . But he will improve.

Evra  6.5- He also had an average game. He lost position quite a few time. He was good in defense though. He handled the pacy wingers quite well. SO good job on that part.

Valencia 6- For me Valencia is a defensive winger, yes that is an awkward term but if you look how he plays he seems to be a defensive winger. His crosses were poor. Only job he did well was defending. Nani is a better choice.

Fellaini  5.5- Now that was a horrid performance from Fellaini. Whenever he got the ball, ref blew the whistle against him. He needs to stop committing so many fouls on opponents. He will take time to get adjusted to play here. I still feel fellaini is an important player for us.


Carrick 6- He did well in defensive work but his passing is still below par. He has not been in his best this season thats for sure. He has not imposed himself into the game. He needs to be more involved in the game

Cleverley 6.5- People never appreciate Tom's contribution  , he was the better of the three midfielders we were playing yesterday. He doesnt bring that much impact but he does move the ball very quickly. I still feel given the chance cleverley can establish himself as a very good midfielder.


Welbeck 6.5- He was pretty good in the first half, scored a goal, defended well. In second half he was not to be seen. I felt he should have been subbed of early. Atleast he has scored more goals than last season.

RVP 6- RVP was hardly involved in the game. He got couple of  chances which he missed. He has not adjusted to Moyes play of style. Last season he was our main man but this season he is not. I feel Moyes should make use of RVP better.

Substitutes

Giggs 5.5- Now that was a poor substitution by Moyes. Why bring Giggs? He was no better than Fellaini. Please moyes, Giggs is not a midfielder. Have nothing more to say about him.

Jones-NA - He came for last 20 seconds. He should have been bought earlier replacing Fellaini and Giggs could have replaced Welbeck. I love Jones as a defensive midfielder, surprised Moyes did not consider it.

Man of the match- De Gea- Vidic was my man until he  made the mistake which cost us the goal.De gea was really good. Really happy for him.

Teams Rating 5.5/10

It was a boring performance. But happy we got a point. I feel moyes is playing too safe. Loss to West Brom and City have not helped him. He tried to be ambitious against WBA at home but lost the match, now he is playing safe. I hope he does field an attacking line up against Sunderland. Nothing but a win is needed. We need to get the season rolling now. The game against Sunderland reminds me of  the same situation of last season where we needed a win at this period against Newcastle away. We had just lost to Spurs at home and needed the win very badly against Castle. Same way this season we need to beat sunderland very badly. Moyes needs to be more positive and ask his team to play attacking football. Just settling for one goal or settling for draw is not United style.

Roll on sunderland

Players Rating: Manchester United v. West Brom

Another  Bad performance from the team. Its like some of our players have forgotten how to play.I will have take my frustration on few players today. Ok lets See how did our players do.

David De Gea- 6.5- He could have done decent for the first goal but he did make 2 or 3 good saves. He needs better support from the defense.

Jones- 5- I dont know why Moyes wastes Jones talent by playing him in RB. He doesnt run back and he is not able to prevent the Crosses. He is a very good defender but not a RB.

Rio- 4- This is one players I am really pissed with. I love rio but the way he has been defending this season is absolute joke. I said in my earlier post that Moyes should drop Rio. He is over depending on him. I dont know what Rio was doing for the first goal. It was very unlike him.I feel this could be the last season of Rio.  Not a good way to end his career.

Evans - 5- It was a poor game by Evans. He should have commanded the defense more. He should have done better for the second goal.

Buttner 4.5- His defending is very bad. Attacking wise he is better but his job is to defend and he fails in that miserably. Cant see Fabio doing Bad than this. Got an assist , good for him.

Nani 7.5- Was our best player. He could have had 4 assist in first half had Hernandez and Rooney finished their chances. In second half he became selfish but he was the most ambitious player in the pitch.

Carrick 5- This is another player who I am very disappointed with. He needs to step his game up. He had a decent start but in past 2 games he has been below par. I have always maintained that if carrick has a poor game we will be struggling and thats what happened

Anderson 6- He did have a decent game. He hit on the post once which was wrongly called offside. He attempted more shot than Hernandez. Not a bad game.

Kagawa 6- Surprised he got subbed so early. He played mostly as a left winger from where he was not that much effective but on few moments when he played from center he was deadly. I feel Moyes is not using Kagawa to his full effect.

Rooney 6.5- It was one of his poor games. Yes he scored but he lost the ball on countless occasion. He looked tired also. He missed some chances. He needs rest.

Hernandez 5.5- He was hardly involved in the game. He did try his best but got no support and when hid got the ball he made mistakes. I still rate hernandez as a top striker. Just keep on giving him chances he will score in every match.

Substitutes

Janujaz 7- He replaced Kagawa and did quite well. By now you all must be knowing that I have become a fan of this boy. He could have scored in the end moment if not for his poor finishing. He is not best as a winger. His play reminded me very much of Kaka of young. I never like comparison but he could be like Kaka for us.

Robin Van Persie 5.5- Rating may be very harsh on him but I expected a lot from him.I hardly saw RVP in the game. He did make some good passes though but We expect a lot more from RVP.

Fellaini 6- He is not your super sub player. He should be starting the match. He was just off side if not he would have got us a point. I still have faith in him and still feel he will become an important player for us .

Man of the Match- Nani -No second thought about that. With the contract talks done he is more motivated. He should be our first choice winger.

Team Rating- 5.5/10
Not a good performance. First half we were decent but in second half our defense got exposed. A home loss against a team like West brom is hard to take, but we have suffered losses like this and still won the league. I am very disappointed with the performances of some of our senior players. Blaming Moyes is not correct. Players like Carrick, Rio, Evans etc should help the manager but they are not doing that.I will say that when the team was announced I was happy to see the line up that moyes chose, but the team's performance was disappointing to say the least.
Only positive we can take is even after such a poor start we are only 3points and 4 points behind our rivals City and chelsea respectively. Arsenal are at the top but cant see them or spurs challenging gor the tittle atleast this season. After yesterdays performance I can only say one thing POOR MOYES AND POOR US FANS