Honestly, I am doing everything I can here. I have stopped reading the newspapers, a brick has been thrown through the screen of the TV and I have managed to block out all radio broadcasts to my house. But somehow this word ‘quintuple’ keeps coming back into my consciousness. It is not going to stop. With performances like this one we are doomed to the build up for this outrageous trophy bid.
If you had asked any normal red what they wanted for this season they would have replied, quite simply, for that 18th league title and some way to erase the memory of Ronaldo’s antics during the summer. Our odds with betfair for the league title are now 1/33, which is utterly absurd, and some bright spark has even paid out on us collecting the domestic treble. How the hell do you keep calm in the middle of all this lunacy?
United are starting to resemble Alexander the Great’s lustful quest for power across the entire known world. Famously, after his billionth superb military victory, ‘big Al’ (as his generals liked to call him) “wept, for he had no more worlds to conquer.” Well diddums. Our own Alex (Sir, as his generals like to call him) does not seem on the verge of tears. He has, however, revealed something that has not been in his repertoire previously. Fear. What is Ferguson sacred of? Is it Chelsea under Hiddink? Barcelona’s goal machine? Sneaky Mourinho’s master-plan for Old Trafford?
Nope, none of the above. Ferguson is afraid of retiring. It is unlikely the rest of the management fraternity looks upon this with any kind of triumphant joy. I can see visions of heavyweight boxers punching long dead opponents hours after the bell has been rung before shrugging their shoulders and saying with tearful eyes “I’m sorry, I’m scared to stop hitting you.” Fergie is indeed a psychopath, but he is our psychopath and we love him. He is obviously so addicted to the adrenalin of winning that he can no longer stop. Perhaps if he ever does retire he could co-star with Jason Statham in Crank 2, the sequel to the movie where our hero had to keep his heart rate above a certain level to stay alive.
With the world gone quintuple mad, cats and dogs living together, oceans boiling, mountains crumbling and a decent president in the White House perhaps we do have a place for this United juggernaut. It will hurt me later, I am sure it will, but I give in. Okay, the quin-flipping-tuple is on!
Footnote: I reserve the right to amend this article after Wednesday night.
Fulham were supposed to be stronger at home but we swpet them aside with a compelling display of attacking, controlling football which must have brought more than another tear to Fergie’s eye.
There is only one question: do we actually play better without Ronaldo and Berbatov?
Ok there’s another question: why did we not play to this level against Newcastle, who actually are even worse than Fulham on this season’s form?
Let us debate things further after about 2.45pm on Saturday (when I will have been watching them in a Dublin pub)
Sir Alex. There should be talk of lordship now. Honestly. If the season ended now, the statistics would be, in all honesty, staggering. 7 points clear of liverpool and chelsea. Carling cup and world club champions in the bag. Quarter finals of the champions league having knocked out one of the two main threats- without breaking a sweat, mind you. Semi final of the fa cup against everton. It looks like the milky way, honestly. But the gritty truth is thus. We shone against fulham, were professional (at best) against inter, were simply more resilient than spurs, and have been grinding out too many results in the league. Where has the passion been? Or is that the price one pays for getting so close to greatness?
‘Some musings pre-Inter 2nd-leg
…’from one Devil to another…
‘Responding to some Fools comments on United…
*& yes, I do think Blackmore, Parker, Phil Neville, Butt & Ole (much like Ji-Sung currently) are unsung heroes for United over Fergie’s Reign these past 20+ years – (‘hopefully, as the Special One rightly puts it, ‘for another 20 hey)…
‘How wrong you are mate (liverpool fan – chris wrightson), & how right myxomatosis – a credible arsenal fan is…
Firstly, the damned Fifa Adventure in Brazil we get castigated for in 2000 was not even United’s doing – England was bidding to be WC hosts and it was much a PR gig more than anything that the FA signed United up for; United didn’t opt out because of some “higher than thou” approach to the beautiful competition that is the FA Cup…I’ve been a United fan since ’89 & the FA Cup was what (thank god) saved our beloved Fergie’s job of leading the dominant United we see today…*(even then, there’s no such thing as a free lunch; we’ve not been “winning the lot” season-in-season-out ya)…Giggsy was just starting up & I loved to see United (& a certain Ryan Giggs) in full-flight…Again, aside from that irritating pull-out@2000, we’ve been competing well every year, from as far back when, in the FA Cup…I agree w/fellow Devil Aaron Collins that we aim to be competitive for any three
major fronts (Premiership, FA Cup, Euro); with, maybe / perhaps, the exception to the rule being the league cup (like the win this year) always a welcome addition rather than a “must-do” – if at all one can “fault” the likes of United / Arsenal / (enter whichever club’s/(s’) name that doesn’t take the League-Cup competition seriously here) for fielding a “non-competitive” team – which, at some seasons, as we do see a host of Premiership teams fielding “weaker” teams for the League Cup…
Please explain then why we’re are the most successful club (most wins -11 + most runners-up – 7) in the FA Cup if we didn’t view it seriously (sorry my fellow Devil@Dave Mack; you don’t have to be in Old Trafford last season to feel the frustration from the players to the Management on the bench; ‘had we won that game, we may have set ourselves up to winning the Cup again (MAY, not a god-given right, we may have)…’heck, giggsy is both famous & infamous for having the best goal scored as well as likely the worst miss in the history of the FA Cup, & both honours against the gunners…
This quintet-talk is getting a bit much, agreed – ‘Fully subscribe to
League Title no. 18 being a good season for us at the beginning of
this season…’then we started our run; ‘Fletcher, Giggsy, Vidic
(even Carrick) being on some pretty-amazing + consistent form, + even the rest of our squad players standing up to be counted, the
“oxygen-tank” Ji-Sung, the brilliant Tevez; *sigh*, it truly is an
amazing season we’re having (so far)…’Now, closing in on the
business end of the season, it’s time to roll back to a time when we had a squad that was truly challenging on all fronts…’even w/form & luck & that Ole Good Feeling cometh the last 15 mins to get us back in the game / seal the points, we (the sane Red Devils) know it’s about taking it one game at a time…’let us survive this onslaught of heavy-fixtures (Inter, LFC, the game-in-hand, Everton@FA Cup Semis), only then can we really claim to be in pole position,’w/out a doubt…’a lot of good teams are exiting by CL round of 16 & we’re def got the team that’ll be prepared, once they’re closer to the Big Cup Final to *god-willing* defend our title…
The primary reason the wins this season are more 1-0s’ than anything is because it’s getting tougher all around…Christ, this season’s bottom table scares me; hate to bet who’s a shoe-in (‘minus West Brom – if the Baggies went on that mazy run like the one they had a few seasons back I may accept that a comeback-from-the-dead is in order) to go down…so little separates the teams at the bottom that these remaining ten games are tough for all & sundry…next season, as
rightly put by myxomatosis, will def be more challenging to say the least…On a general note, ‘gone are the heydays of the dominant Liverpool-era of league-title wins of which the titles were won / being sewn up before the league enter the concluding months of April + May…as SAF rightly puts it, it’s a marathon not a sprint (both United and Arsenal in recent memory – & even Arsenal and Liverpool not too far back circa Michael Thomas – have lost the league after having their respective “leads” clawed back with a run in the League’s most testing months – Nov + Dec & Feb-Mar – with the “make-or-break” period with league games sandwiched every way between, most of time being back-to-back 3-a-week & what have you….
I’m with Rafa on this though, give the man his due on the European front; ‘hate to admit it, but parking his rather successful Liverpool Euro Adventures aside, he was already proving his worth over two-legs with Cup Competitions with Valencia, both domestically & in Europe – it didn’t even matter who he was facing really…the league on the other hand is a marathon, plain & simple…’maybe because United’s not yet on title no 18, I don’t know; till he realises &/or he’s given a roasting on taking the league more seriously (like he proved earlier in the season), next season will def shape up to be a more contested
league…If Everton with no recognisable strikeforce can get
themselves in the top half, I can only think what happens next season when they put a run of wins themselves & maybe do an Everton circa 2005 & actually finish in the CL spots…Villa’s also ruing the long season but who can blame them for giving it a good go this season to get themselves in the CL…Arsenal’s hitting form + getting their top men back at just the right time, so the signs of Villa holding out are rather slim to say the least…’but really now, the league will be more competitive, the signs are encouraging…Rafa’s already made ground & if not for some patchy form against the Stoke City’s / Boro’s / etc @ the crucial periods of the X’mas back-to-back fixture-list, this 7-point lead of ours won’t be 7-points at all…*(no point assuming the game-in-hand is won, it never is)…
This time tomorrow, this quintet-talk may be just that, talk; but I’ll
be comforted that even a league-double by LFC on Sat is no guarantee (forget the bullish Rafa on this one) that we’ll lose the league, not with this current crop of form players…*god-willing*, we’ll be right up there come May, still challenging on all fronts…’One game at a time…Again, if we need to be reminded, only by sealing the wins in this crucial month (+ Cup Semi – as Everton will be going all out for it) can we really then re-visit this quintet-talk…Getting past Inter is one thing, but it’s fair to say this CL Q-Final line-up is def one of the best ever served up…the four from y’day are all deserved winners, with, hopefully, United & 3 more deserving winners joining them….
‘United we stand…’respect to Liverpool for y’day, you deserve it; I
wouldn’t be surprised if another Istanbul/Athens/Moscow Cup Final run is on the cards, or even another win…’but be warned that the business-end of this season starts from here on, for any team challenging for honours this season…No team in the last eight of the CL will be an easy ride like Madrid was last night…If fate would have it, it’ll be another Chelsea-Liverpool match-up in the Quarters / Semis’…If we play as well as the 1st-leg against Inter, a bloody likelihood you can count as in with a shout of maybe meeting the almightly 5-time winners Liverpool somewhere along the way (almost played out the final last season, maybe this season if both teams negotiate the remaining CL knockout-rounds)…
‘God-speed team, & please Giggsy & Co, let’s get some due over the Special One (whom I love to hate & hate to love) & give
Fergie instead a chance to run down the touchline, &/or, Stand &
Applaud us getting through to the next round…
mnoel