Ducky's Note: As I stand suitably chastised for writing off our team in
Valencia, where they came back with a classic smash and grab, Ankur is back with his second post
for BFZ. While it's not an emotion we would expect after what should be a Serotonin-inducing
victory yesterday, we must admit it's something that's been on every Manc's mind for long.
At this point, pretty much every angle on the 2009-2010 Premiership Campaign has been covered.
Enough semi-sarcastic, semi-humorous award lists have been published that I have very little chance
of getting any new content up. So, instead, I've decided to give out my awards that combine the
past season with the upcoming transfer window.
The race to the top narrowed Tuesday night as Manchester United swept aside West Ham United at
Old Trafford.
Shades of 1966 early on as Man United's Ben Foster dropped Alessandro Diamanti's dipping shot
onto the goal-line. Did it cross? Sir Alex Ferguson's sometime nemesis, referee Alan Wiley, thought
not.
Vishwa's Note: Here is Aswin again but this time he has declared
war on all the Berba haters/doubters.
"He's a great player and you're all idiots.. I wish I had bought him for
10.
Dimitar Berbatov. Love him, hate him, sigh about him, throw your hands up in frustration about
him, but you just can't seem to ignore him. We certainly haven't, on this blog and I believe we've
now had enough on the subject that it's practically a trilogy now. On that note, you can catch Part
I here and a sort of a follow-on rebuttal in Part II here.
Guess who? Image via AP Photo
It's that time of the year again.
That window in the footballing calendar when we are sufficiently (if momentarily) distracted
from our pursuit of short tents and fash fails to cast an eye over the league tables and think
about who will win.
Trouble is, Kickettes, we've been in the pub for so long now that the title race is nearly
locked and loaded.
By Ollie Irish
◄ Back Next ► Picture 1 of 10
Manchester United's Nani (left) and Liverpool's Paul Konchesky battle for the ball
Photos: PA
Hi folks – you well? I'm back after a long weekend away in Cork for a friend's wedding, during
which time I consumed too much Guinness and sneaked into a pub to watch Sunday's big game the
All-Ireland football final, in which Cork overcame a dismal first-half display to roar back and
beat Down by the narrowest of margins.
After scoring the opening goal against Burnley, before setting up our second with a parried shot
from the keeper, Dimitar Berbatov limped off the field to a standing ovation from the Stretford
End.
Sir Alex Ferguson revealed that decisions would be made today in regards to whether Berbatov
would need surgery on his knee, rather than waiting until the end of the season.
So the wound caused by the defeat to the Yorkshire filth is starting to heal with a very faint scar
in place.
The reaction to the game has had United fans react in so many different ways..from total apathy to
manic hysteria..this is the norm whenever the reds lose. Many have started to point fingers at
individuals.
Yesterday Mr Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov was 29 years young.
Its a good age for a modern footballer. The age where you are at your technically best. Yes, you
may not we 21 anymore, but physically you are normally perfectly balanced with your mental
attributes. Its what managers like to describe as 'at their peak'
However, for Dimi its quite possibly the age that will convince Sir Alex to bin him.
At the outset, I should clarify that I did not watch this match fully. If a weekend fixture
against a mid-table side cannot inspire Maddy enough that he needs to find true love on top of it
to get his creativity flowing, then what chances did my midweek fixture against a bottom-feeder
have? Gianfranco Zola has done a lot with West Ham, but figuring out how to beat us is certainly
not one of them.
And the dreaded event for all United fans finally happened this weekend. Rooney not even in the
squad list for our journey to The Molineux. Two games in three days at that sorry excuse for a
pitch at Wembley finally took its toll on the Premier League's most durable player. At the rate
this pitch is taking players out, it should be banned for 5 games and the FA should draft a letter
of apology to Arsenal (it's always Arsenal isn't it) saying it was never intentional and they send
their best wishes for a speedy recovery.
One Chicharito. Theres only one Chicharito. One Chichariiiiiittoooo
So its clear we need new fresh blood up front. Berba is much maligned and cant even get a start
ahead of a one legged Wayne Rooney. And Fergie knows a striker when he sees one, having been a
centre forward himself.
Javier Hernandez is a 21 year young Mexican striker plying his trade at Chivas of the Mexican
league.
No such surprise here. Dimitar Berbatov misses a great chance and suddenly the hacks of
Britain rush to write off Manchester United's season. Certainly you wouldn't expect things to be
easy against Bayern Munich tonight (Rooney-less), anything but, although you feel this crunch game
is the perfect stage for the Bulgarian to prove his ever-growing list of doubters wrong.
Guess who? Image via AP Photo
It's that time of the year again.
That window in the footballing calendar when we are sufficiently (if momentarily) distracted
from our pursuit of short tents and fash-fails to cast an eye over the league tables and think
about who will win.
Trouble is, Kickettes, we've been in the pub for so long now that the title race is nearly
locked and loaded.
So on one hand Manchester United are being linked will all and sundry as usual, and on the other
Sir Alex is saying he is not going to sign anyone...as usual. You will be used to this transfer
window role play by now if you are a die hard.
So on this tour of our American owners homelands, it's the normal pre-season chance for many of the
kids and reserve players.
As the rest of England catches its breath after the first full weekend of the new season, two
proud towns Manchester and Newcastle are still in anticipation as they wait for their clash later
tonight. Going by the games so far, the League has simply taken off from where it left last
season.
Tweet
DIMITAR Berbatov, who rarely moves quickly, is a good guess. It's almost right. But one United
star was even tardier than Berba, so much so that Fergie told him to get a move on...
Ten points if you answered Patrice Evra. Those Frenchies, they're trouble.
Hi everyone. To echo the sentiments of my fellow United Offside blogger, Ian, it is indeed a
pleasure to have been selected to write for this site. This post feels a little like the first day
of school where you're asked to introduce yourself. Or it's like a networking event where you wear
those incredibly fashionable stick on nametags like so
I'm Shaun and I've been following United for as long as I can remember.
The Berba, the man who signed for United for £30.75 million and then proceeded to do
not an awful lot, but unless you go and watch a game live, you cannot appreciate what this man does
for the team...
Berba, I despised him in his first season at Man Yoo. His famous languid style and his lack of
goals left me wondering what the shit had happened to that Dracula-looking fella who was banging
them in at Spurs.
The man cannot stop scoring. In what has probably been his biggest test so far this season
individually, he responded with aplomb knocking in 3 goals to help us edge out Liverpool 3-2.
There's always been a knock on Berba for disappearing in the big games. That argument has been put
to bed at least for a couple of days.
Dimitar Berbatov's hat-trick against Liverpool on Sunday, which included an audacious overhead
kick, sealed a crucial win for Manchester United. Moreover, it was the first hat-trick by a United
player in this fixture since Stan Pearson scored three for United in a 5-0 trot past their
ancient rivals on September 11, 1946 in a match played at Man City's Maine Road due to the
wartime damage to Old Trafford.
I'll start by confessing that I didn't catch the whole game. Due to numerous factors, I was only
able to catch snippets of the 3-0 win. I've tried looking for a replay of the game on the telly,
but haven't been able to find a showing as the Inter/Spurs game seems to be dominating the replay
telecasts currently.
Hmm, not really that much to say about this game. It wasn't the most exciting to watch although
it did mark the long awaited return of the Rooney/Berba partnership. Giggs in our starting 11 was
also a welcome sight. As expected, Vidic and Rio were given the night off and we had Smalling and
Evans at the back.
How quickly things can change in three weeks. The England cricket team went from comprehensively
winning their warm-up game to fighting to save the first Ashes test. Closer to football, the home
state of the new Blackburn owners (and current state of Yours Truly) changed its Chief Minister as
easily as Abramovich changes managers.
Dimitar Berbatov's season is really full of ups and downs as being scoreless for the last few
matches, the Bulgarian strike the jackpot once again on Saturday as he amazingly scored five goals
in a game against Blackburn Rovers to put his team winning with a 7-1 scoreline.
The striker bagged two goals in the first half and added a hattrick in the second period to cap
a brilliant performance that surely brings back the love that the ex-Tottenham Hotspurs bomber had
in the early part of the season.
By Ollie Irish
Five goals by Dimi Berba against Blackburn helped put Man Utd on top of the table, after Chelsea
failed to beat Newcastle at St James' Park on Sunday. Nice of Big Sam's teams to roll over and play
dead for his old mate Fergie, eh. Nothing like a free six points every season.
It felt like forever waiting to watch United play again. After that incredible display against
Blackburn followed up by the dismal showing against West Ham, I for one was eager to see which team
would show up next. Unfortunately, our game over the weekend got cancelled due to the weather. So,
our players were well rested and probably itching to get out there.
Its been a big year at the home offices of Only Time Will Tell from baseball games to football game
to soccer matches, its been a year of tailgating and enjoying what the fabulous world of sports has
to offer. During the past year the home office has grown with the birth of my wife and I's son, he
will be starting as a contributor in the coming years.
