Alex Ferguson fielded an inexperienced team for last nights championship league match, with qualification all ready assured this was something of a non game. The only thing too look forward too was an opportunity to cast an eye on Manchester united’s future stars, in particular from an Irish perspective Darren Gibson and his development.

Manchester United youngsters started with an attacking intent, in fact they should of scored as early as the second minute, Park claimed possession in the middle of his pitch and spotted the run of Obertan out on the right, he put him through with a superb through ball, Obertan tried too cross for an oncoming Macheda but Macheda missed, surely Obertan should of taken the ball on himself and had a pop.

Fergusons young guns kept on the pressure, after six minutes Park had a go from twenty five yards out a shot which the keeper spilled an oncoming Macheda though he was in but was waved offside and the replay was conclusive and that the linesman got it right.

In the eleventh minute vidic misdirected a free header from seven yards out, obertan crossed from a corner but it seemed Vidics mind was elsewhere, and if the rumours coming from the Manchester press are too be believed then his mind was most definetly elsewhere as Manchester is riff with stories that Vidic wants off in summer too sunny Spain.

Despite United’s pressure it was Besiktas who made the break through, in the eighteenth minute, A cross field ball from the Turks finds Rodrigo Tello just outside the United area to the right and he curls in a left-foot shot that takes a crucial deflection off Rafael and leaves Ben Foster diving in vain as the ball sneaks in at the far post.

However Obertan had a chance too equalise for the host in the twenty-ninth minute, Danny Welbeck put him through one and one with the keeper his low shot never really bothered Recber in the Besiktas goal. From their it stayed nip and tuck till the half way point.

In truth the second half was something as a let down, the only spark came from an Obertan attacking run in the 60 minute, after getting possession close to the half way line, he duly went on a mazey run, beat four players and shot but recber was equal to it.

Ferguson tried to inject some urgency into a flagging untied by introducing Carrick, Evra, and Michael Owen, it took until the 90 minute till this came to affect, in the ninety second minute Anderson played a  one two with owen at the edge of the box, Anderson crossed for Macheda, Recbec saved well from the header but Macheda in truth should of scored, from resulting corner Wes brown raised above everyone headed to bottom right hand corner but Recbec pulled off a world class save.

Pros for United tonight will be hard to come by, maybe Obertan is one to keep an eye on, very good at taking players on and running with ball has close control and very skilful but his final ball as it stands now is very poor indeed just like the whole of the Manchester team tonight.

Owh, what a sad thing to watch Man U lose to Chelsea by a goal which shouldnt be allowed.. even after conquering the match on the 2nd half, but still the much needed goal was out of sight.. hmm.. owh well, we still have a long season to enjoy. Glory glory Man United!!

Nevertheless,  Ferguson had only himself to blame after tactical mistakes were made against such quality team. How can he possibly put anderson against Chelsea knowing that he cannot perform above par?? Cant he remember when IT WAS ANDERSON’S FAULT for the 1st goal they conceeded against Barcelona and how badly he played against big teams? Thus, when I saw the formation and the line up Ferguson used against Chels, deep down I knew there would be a big problem in midfield and it was proven indeed. Man U was catching Chelsea’s shadow in the 1st half especially in midfield (with anderson at fault of course) and Giggs was not at his best (he performed very well in this season, thumbs up to him!). Valencia also looks like he didnt know what to do to break chelsea’s wall. In 2nd half, they increased their tempo and started to attack but yet, no goal until the controversy goal scored by anelka(originally claimed by John Terry).

What was driving me mad was when he took until the 85th minutes to put Owen in. Owh man, Owen should has been in starting line up or at the very least, at the start of 2nd half. A man with pace and good reading of the game, equipped with deadly finish inside penalty box, Owen is the predator Man U need to put the ball behind Cech. I bet most of us still remember the cool finishing that end up to be the winning goal for Man U against man city; scored by him. Ferguson should start to put more faith in players that he signed, Owen(awesome goalscorer) and Obertan(he was fast!!).

Not to worry or anything, let us enjoy a season of entertaining football…

Sir Alex Ferguson went all fitness guru on referee Alan Wiley and is now banned from his bench for 2 games this season, plus 2 more next season, for saying Wiley was unfit… aka ‘a fat lump o shite’… after Man U’s Oct. 3rd draw with Sunderland.  Ferguson said that he was convinced after he saw Wiley sneaking bites of a Luther Burger from inside his uniform.  It was further confirmed when Wiley was twenty minutes late for the second half because, as he said, “Blimey, the line at concession was bloody long.”

I want to give some serious respect to Sir Alex, or as Sean calls him “Big Daddy”, for this honest reproach of Wiley.  I hate a culture that demands pc behavior, so if a ref is fat you should be able to call him fat… regardless of whether the Queen has knighted you or not.  Cheers to you Sir Alex.

What do you mean we're out of chips?!?!!

It’s that time of the year when the years two best teams face head to head at Stamford Bridge,home of Chelsea FC to prove that only one of them is “THE” BEST. I would be tricky for Man Utd considering the fact that they are away from home and Chelsea are on a roll. Stamford Bridge is no walk in the park for Man Utd since they haven’t won a game there for atleat 10 years staight. But everyone could be in for a surprise today. Anything could happen. Sparks will fly, Words exchanges at the heat of the moment, Flashes of brilliance and that is what will help either team win the match. All we fans hope for is that we get a great game of football that we can relish for the rest of our lives. It should be “The” Best Game.

Rajster’s Prediction:

Hmmn. This is a tough one. Being a Man Utd Fan i hate to see my team lose but at the same time it would be a fierce contest and i go for a 2-2 draw with Rooney & Valencia on the scoresheet for the Red Devils & a brace from Drogba for the Blues.

it’s old, but kinda fun:

First of all, lagi satu tajuk merepek yg mmg x ada kaitan dgn post yg aku nk taip hari ni

Ohh mlm tadi lyn match antara Man U and Liverfool.Ohh, kamu bernasib baik liv.

They score 2-0, goal by Torres n Ngog.(x perlu besar sgt)

Tak kesah, Hero kalah dulu okie

Adieff cakap, Chill sudah

Sedang menghabiskan sisa cuti yg masih berbaki lebih dr seminggu.OK, enjoy.

Ok lah.sebenarnya tak tahu nk ckp ape lg.Will continue later yah

Take care, Salam, Ouh picture :

* ♥ is around the corner.Hope for the best

WE SHOULD ALL VOTE. We know that, but we, the so called educated elite have found certain excuses to skirt the issue.

Excuses for not voting:

1) My 1 vote does not count!!

Ask Shri. C.P. Joshi,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._P._Joshi

Shri. C.P. Joshi, currently Minister of Rural Development in the Union Cabinet under Manmohan Singh, lost his election to the Nathdwara Assembly seat in Rajasthan in 2008 by one, yes, ONE VOTE!!

HIS MOTHER, WIFE & DRIVER NOT GO TO VOTE that day!!!

He was the President of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee at that time and was credited with the Congress victory in the 2008 Rajasthan Assembly Elections. He would naturally also be a contender for Chief Ministership, but I guess that 1 vote made all the difference.

2) Whom should we vote for, they are all the same !!

Select the best candidate, not necessarily the best party…

3) Why waste our vote voting for those Independent Bankers and Professionals when they are not going to win…..

How many seats did Raj saheb Thackarey and his Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) win, 12/13 ….
How many seats did they make others loose. Many have put that figure close to 40 seats.

So, if for example, the Professional Party of India, or the like, are able to garner more votes than the margin of victory or defeat in many of the 38 Assembly segments in Mumbai alone, won’t that be a big chattering point on our news channels.

Politicians try to sway a block which is decisive in their victory or defeat.

Just visit any slum and see if Coastal Zone Regulations or CZR regulations are a speed breaker in an extra slum or an extra floor coming up near the sea shore.

Just visit your friendly neighbourhood slum to see if:

a) It has paver block tiles (or newspaper reading stands, or a temple, mosque or whatever) installed thanks to Corporator / MLA / MP LAD funds,
b) at a time when your tap runs dry to see if water is flowing through theirs
c) to have cold sherbet with water from their fridge, sitting on their sofa and coffee table set on a marbled floor watching your favorite cricket team playing on their telly (I have visited more than 1 such “slum”)
d) Try buying a slum, it may cost you more than 10 lakhs. They are truly slumdog millionaires! and they got their slum for free. oops, sorry, they voted for it !

If you, or your building, or club or community or ALM has the power to make some one loose an election, you will be wooed. Your problems will be heard and redressed.

So, we must learn from the MNS and make it matter where it hurts. If not in “our” victory, then at least in “their” defeat.

Unfortunately, the next (& the most important) elections are the BMC Corporator elections and they are still 3 years away!!

So in true Middle Class Mumbai voter tradition, lets plan where to head to for a well deserved holiday when that E-Day comes.

Jai Hind,
Jai Maharashtra,
Jai Mumbai

(And for my dear football crazy fellows,
Go Man U !!)

The Official Man Utd Maths Workbook, which covers sums for practising Key Stage Two maths for 7-11 year olds. This has been introduced as part of the Government’s maths campaign.

1. ACCELERATION. Wayne is 78 yards away from the referee at Old Trafford and Gary is 65 yards away. If Wayne can run at 21 mph and Gary can run at 16 mph, who will be sticking their vein-bulging forehead into the hapless whistler’s face first, assuming Wayne does not stop to stamp on an opponent on his way.

2. TELLING THE TIME. If one minute of time is taken up in a game for substitutions and one minute for injuries, how much injury time the referee will add on if Man Utd are losing at home?

3. PROBABILITY (1). Ryan Giggs is a Welshman. Express, as a percentage, the number of internationals he has missed on a Wednesday evening, compared to the miraculous recoveries he made for the following Saturday.

4. SUBTRACTION (1). Manchester United are one of the giants of world club football. How many more European Cup Finals have they appeared in than Steaua Bucharest? (For one extra mark; How many more than Reims ?)

5. SUBTRACTION (2). How many more times have Man Utd won the European Cup than Nottingham Forest ?

6. DISTANCE. You are the referee at Old Trafford. How near to a visiting defender does a tumbling Christiano Ronaldo have to be to earn a penalty if he goes down in the box? (Note: Round your answers down to the nearest 10 yards.)

7. PROBABILITY (2). Express the statistical probability of visitors to Old Trafford being awarded a penalty. Compare this with the probability of opponents of Man Utd being awarded a penalty home or away, and then discuss if a penalty awarded to Man Utd would be awarded to their opponents in identical circumstances.

8. BASIC ACCOUNTING (1). Mark The Red lives in Guildford . How much does it cost for him and his two sons to travel to the Theatre of Silence every other weekend, including limited edition matchday programme, a few drinks and a prawn sandwich all round? How much could he save per week if he watched his local team instead? (Note; round your answers down to the nearest thousand pounds.)

9. BASIC ACCOUNTING (2). Alex had a hotel room booked in Athens for the Champions League Final. How much money did he lose when cancelling his reservation?

10. WEIGHT AND PRESSURE. Christiano is 6ft tall and very strong and fast. How much pressure need be applied to make him tumble over in the opponent’s penalty area? (Note: answers should be in lbs per square inch. However, answers such as “The same pressure as Alex applies to referee” are acceptable.)

11. MONEY. Juan was a lazy boy and often went missing. Alex was very cross and wanted to sell him. If Juan cost £28m to buy, how much do you think Alex sold him for? How many pennies did Alex lose?

12. SIMPLE ARITHMETIC. The average Man Utd fan can shriek at 35 decibels; the average visiting supporter can shout at 65 decibels. If, during a match, 5% of Man Utd fans are munching prawn sandwiches, 10% are stuck on the M1, 2% are asleep and 15% are still trying to work out which team is which, how many visitors are needed to out-shout 60,000 reds?

Vi rekar en lördagsmatch redan nu. Aston Villa tar emot Chelsea, ett Chelsea som kommer med en 1-3 förlust mot Wigan att ta revanch på. Chelsea är utan tvivel det bättre laget och vi ser värde i odds över 1.80 på bortaseger. Bra odds på Aston Villa – Chelsea finns också för resultatspel. Jag kommer inte att lägga något själv men har kollat lite på 1-2 till ca 9 ggr pengarna. Ett annat specialspel är X/2 dvs. oavgjort första halvlek, men vinst Chelsea totalt. 5.25 ger Unibet.

Lördagens första spel:

Aston Villa – Chelsea 2 @ 1.85 på Unibet

Fler spel kommer. Höjer dock redan nu ett varningens finger för matchen Man Utd – Bolton. Tycker det är för lågt odds på Man U. Låt vara att de är “helgens säkraste spik” på stryktipset. De vinner förmodligen matchen, men odds runt 1.23 är inte så kul. Någon som vågar spela krysset till 6.25 på Pinnacle?