United's season to catch on fire NOW?

It is without doubt that this is United's biggest week of the season

The double header against City on Wednesday and then at the Emirites on Sunday represent whether United are true challengers for silverware this season. If you could only win one then i would go for the Arsenal game..three points against them would be a vital blow to Wenger. But the game against our neighbours seems to take on new significance with every passing hour.

With the growing revolt against the Glazers, the filthy mouth of Carlos Tevez, Gary Nev's spiralled finger and the smell that there might be crowd trouble in what will be the most heated derby in a generation, the thermostat seems to be set to 'very very hot'...nothing new as you see..but the way this season has gone, nothing seems to be predictable and that makes it feel that we all sit on some sort of proverbial knife edge.

I think United have found their feet in the last few matches. Its been a slow process but that is typical of our team. The return of Rio Ferdinand is not only a welcome boost to the defence, but is also symbolic in the sense of what he represents. And that is on his day he is the best centre back in the world and no striker fancies facing that. Yeah i know his form has been indifferent this season, but the truth is that Tevez and co would rather face Brown and Evans, than have Rio patrolling them. I'm really pleased to have him back..its similar to Van Der Sar returning..no offense to the replacements, its just you get a warm fuzzy feeling when you see them on the team sheets..a feeling of hope.

I'm sure the boss will rotate slightly in these two games. The emergence that Nani may not be a pile of drivel is a boost, but the news today that Anderson has chucked his dummy out of his pram and gone AWOL is a kick in the guts. It could be a case that both now have their gooses cooked as far as having a career at Old Trafford, but you are only as good as your last game. We will see what Fergie thinks of both of them when he names his next two squads. And whats happened to Obertan? Seems to have fallen off the radar in the last few matches.

The key for us will be Wayne Rooney. His form is electric at the moment. But it has been the overall attitude of the whole team that has been pleasing on the eye just recently. For me, Wayne is the cherry on the cake, not the sponge and jam centre. We have to give him the opportunities like we did against Hull (even though that was a bit of a late show with a flattering scoreline) As ever, I want to see Owen play a part in the derby. In a game that we need to win by two clear goals, i wanna see him play central, giving Roo the room to roam. But i think the manager will go with Berba..its his favoured attack. Personally im not interested in all this one-man-team talk that the press are going on about. I dont care who scores the goals, just as long as someone does. Rooney needs ten guys playing with him. Its not his duty to carry the whole team. Just because he bagged all four goals against Hull doesnt mean that he beat them on his own. Far from it.

If we lose both of these games then it would be a mammoth attempt to gather any gold this year. It will knock the stuffing out of us and give all our competitors the edge. But I'm quietly confident..not shouting from the rooftops confident but just sitting back waiting for it to happen confident. If we can get Vida back soon, and Hargreaves (Ive forgotten what he looks like now) and maybe get the fringe players like Nani and Diouf contributing, then the season may be just about to catch on fire..its a slow burner rather than a forest fire, but the smell of smoke is in our nostrils..lets hope its the start of a United inferno.

An Ode to Manchester

A brilliant spoken word piece by Manc poet Mike Garry (@mikegarry on twitter)

Enjoy

Glazer's £500 million bond issue successful

So all week Ive been reading how NOBODY was gonna touch these United bonds with a bargepole...too high risk, too inflexible, way too deep in a recession yadda yadda yadda.

I understood the press would take this line. Its a very nice way to get us United fans backs arched up like a rabid dog. It doesn't take much for people to want to start bricking the windows at Old Trafford, if they think they have a valid excuse.

As it turns out, the bond issue was successful at a canter, just as i have been saying it would. Bonds in the biggest name in global football are very attractive to top line investors. There is virtually zero probability that United would ever go 'bust' even if the Americans sucked every last penny out of the club..and that is because the truly massive names of football are recession-proof. Profits may go up and down, but ultimately shirts will always be sold, TV rights will always be stupidly high, and even if bankruptcy was just around the corner, there would be a United fan with enough cash to take on the mantle. As for the bonds, the Glazers got their £500m from just 50 private investors who are all deemed as 'low risk' in financial terms. The money now means that the club can now quickly service its high interest debts such as the PIK loans and hedge funds..in layman's terms you cant under estimate how this moves the financial goal posts for the business

All of this is part of the reason i personally haven't banged on about the debt per say. This bond issue was ALWAYS going to work and come to fruition. Now the trick is to see what the Glazers actually do with the money. Of course, i think this has done nothing to impact the rise in tickets and merchandise sales, on the contrary actually. But as long as the rises are acceptable in my eyes then you wont hear me get on a soap box about it. You see.. i view things like tickets and shirts purely as 'product' If i deem that product to be above its worth, i simply don't buy it. Having worked for many years in the music industry i have seen the same happen with CDs. When we were all 'boom and bust' rich 10 years back, you picked up a CD for £15..now those equivalent CDs are less than £7. Its simple economics that equates to supply and demand. If the day comes that i think my season ticket is too costly..i will bin it. Yes, with a very heavy heart but i would do it. The £1.50 a game rise from last year didn't bother me...as i said to many, I'm more bothered about the extortionate price of petrol or train tickets..these are things to get upset about in a recession.

Quietly I'm hoping that we see a bit of a splurge in the transfer market now but im not holding my breath. Klass Jan Huuntelar would be an interesting signing..and i think he would be easily tempted to come to United. But he would not be my first choice signing. All of this doesn't change the way i feel about how the club is being run. The Glazers need to be up front NOW about everything..they need to communicate with the supporters. They know they're on a hiding to nothing, but as owners its their duty to be vocal..even those muppets at Liverpool have a better dialogue (bar a stupid director son)

So today in financial terms, things look a tad rosier. Yeah i know there will still be fans who don't give jack sh*t about this and want the Glazers out unconditionally. I too want the Glazers to go, but this is gonna be a subtle and long drawn out protest. Id like to see those United fans that do give a sh*t to get into the ground early before kick offs to protest and sing, rather than taking their seats five minutes before kick off and then fcuking off ten minutes before the end. Id like to see them wear the green and gold NHFC colours and to make it known that WE are not going anywhere. I normally get into the ground an hour before kick off..mainly due to superstition..but i still get that buzz sat there in my seat observing the stadium i have grown up in. I do wonder why others don't. Maybe that last pint in the pub is way too important. So much for all this bleating on about the meaning of 'club' The Glazers have got it good and they know it.

I will leave you with this one last point: The Glazers have openly said that the ability for them to run the club well (and that means making THEM alot of money) is highly sensitive to the success of the team on the pitch. Do you think this means they wont invest in the team?!! If so, it would make them out to be a bunch of dodgy market traders rather than billionaire businessmen. The liquid cash is now there to spend. If i was them i know exactly what i would do next.

*no offense made to market trader*

Mike Dean plays a blinder to give City the edge

It was a night when i thought City may run riot over us, but instead they used their get out of jail free card to take the edge in the tie..

Simply put..Scouse referee Mike Dean had a shocker..or a great game if you are a Blue. Usually i put down bad decisions to the nature of margins in football..some you win and some you don't. So its my expectation that we are due a massive Roy Carroll ball-over-the-line sized slice of luck pie after last nights derby ding-dong.

Despite the result i was pleased with how United played. Its the first time in weeks that we have passed the ball with any authority. And for once we put our opponents under sustained pressure. Its still evident to me that we lack that bit of flair that our former Number 7 used to provide with gusto, but overall i thought we were the better team. But the truth is that the ref was their twelfth man last night.

Being no more than 15 feet away from Bellamy's 'fall' in the box, you expect a ref to not start 'imagining' fouls. What foul he saw after Rafa's initial tug 10 yards outside the box is one fuelled by Alice In Wonderland make-believe. Not much has been made of Bellamy winning the penalty, but dare i say its on a par with Eduardo? OK maybe not as theatrical, but none the less a dive and the same result. But of course he is a 'real honest pro' so we shall not talk of it (sickening)

And of course well done to the classless whore which is Carlos Tevez. People say he wants revenge on United. What revenge? For offering his agent the £25 million they wanted and Tevez the full contract requested. People are now overlooking this fact. The man was offered his deal in the February before he left. But he got offered double-bubble from City and scooted his way across the town. Via Stockport. So there is no validity of revenge. That's why we booed the fecker at the last derby. And thats why his United career has been completely devalued. If anyone should want revenge then it should be us..but players come and go. I'm not surprised that Captain Nev gave him the finger... Tevez should get over himself.

Bar the scoreline, the main downside for us was the performance of the centre back pairing, and particularly Jonny Evans. The Irishman has looked a bit of a mess lately. He looked nervous last night and his decision making is shot. The fact that he chased the ball down at the corner for City's second goal, smacks of a player who is not mentally all-together. He is still young so i don't think anymore than that he had a bad game. But like Ben Foster and Nani, he is having a chance at the first eleven and is not doing a great job of it. But lets not do a Gerard Pique with him, eh?

Anderson also baffled me last night. It seemed that he was given the freedom to support Rooney and he did a very average job of things. However i want to see him given this role more as it is what he was signed to do. At Porto he was an attacking midfielder but as we know Fergie's used him in a more conventional manner. Along with Berbatov, i think he has got til the end of the season to prove if he is worth the hassle.

Last point is about Wazza. He was excellent last night. But I was proved right in the last 20 minutes about my theory of what we should do upfront..and that is play Owen centrally and Rooney off him. Roo looked so dangerous playing inside left, and the fact United hammered City in that last period shows that we can play that system. I still have no clue why Fergie doesn't trust Owen, but long term i want to see Rooney playing off a lead striker. He is less effective when he has a centre back right up his arse..let him have that 5 yards of room to weave his magic. Its too simple not to do.

So yes, City won the battle..but not the war. I'm not bothered whether we progress in this competition, but i was scared before the game that the balance of power had shifted and that City would muller us. That didn't happen. We were more than worth the ticket price...oh and what happened to that wonderful City support?? All very very quiet in the second half, even for the BBC commentator to say "By the crowd reaction, you would think we were playing at Old Trafford as its United doing the cheering. The City fans sound dumbstruck like their team is!" Brilliant fans them Bitters, eh? Whatever next? Scousers booing their team off the pitch?

The first seeds of form were sewn last night, and that is the solace i take after the game. It stings to lose..but then again it always does. Bragging rights are rightfully with the Blue half today cos they got the result. However if we are holding the Premier League or Champions League trophies at the end of the season, then their words will be hollow. With Rio and Vida back soon, maybe our season is only just beginning.

MUFC Green & Gold Army! United Against The Glazers

So Ive just had to rip up the article i wrote due to be published today.

It was about what we can realistically do to show our support for Manchester United Football Club against this mess which is brewing and being lived out in the press and on the seated terraces. What could be done without aggravating stewards at Old Trafford and more importantly, without resorting to violence and vandalism.

The original piece was quite open-ended, as my writings tend to be..more suggestion based than a demand. I spoke of having a visual effect at games to get the point across. If you regularly read this blog, you will know that i am a bit of a moderate when it comes to the subject of Glazer's ownership, but now there is talk of ground sales and whatnot, and my fellow fans are genuinely upset, I'm starting to get itchy feet. I feel I'm more dedicated to my fellow supporters that walk up the Warwick Road to The Theatre with me every other week than i am to a boardroom of suits.

I suggested in the original article that we use both social networks and an anti-glazer t-shirt to highlight our issue..a peaceful, yet visual, noisy and CONSISTENT protest. One which will grow week by week. One which the media will jump on...for its also about manipulating the press..God knows they try and manipulate us all the time.

So this morning i get an email from MUST (The Manchester United Supporters Trust)

I will admit i am not their biggest fan. I totally get the sentiment, but i suppose i don't know enough about them (as people) to really give them my full backing. The email contained the first thing that has fired my imagination regarding all of this. It explained an idea by the lads at Red Issue. The idea was about a visual impact that we could have at games. They suggest that we revert back to the clubs original colours of Green and Gold, as in the Newton Heath days. This would stand out against the Red and White of Old Trafford, and allow us to be individually identified as those against our club being dragged through the mud..

..and that is the reason that im gonna go for this idea.

The Glazers are making us a bit of a PR disaster. As Ive quoted previously, i don't know who should own the club. I'm not convinced that an Arab or Chinese consortium could do a better job. But i object to the feeling that their ownership is having on the bread and butter supporters of my club. Opinion is split on what we can do to Unite against them, but i think this is a bloody great start.

Therefore, i will no longer wear my Red jersey to games anymore. I will now adopt the Green and Gold until this mess is sorted out. Personally, i don't have the solution as to to how and when this will all end, but we need to show vocally and visually that WE are Manchester United...and that we will not tolerate being the laughing stock of English football..cos that is what its beginning to feel like. "Do i not like that" as one turnip headed Englishman once said.

I hope many of you, both locally and globally pick up on this idea. And that you tell your friends..both United loving and hating. The idea will only grow by people talking about it and pinning their colours to their chest. Its a simple idea and easily executable, so theres no excuse not to do it. SCARFS are available for sale here for anyone who wishes to support this idea (click on the word scarf). Im sure we will also start to see them for sale at match days very soon.

As we seem to do, we look back through history for inspiration for the future. The football landscape has changed forever and i am accepting of that. But i cannot accept to stand by and watch my team sink because of in-fighting. I refused to support FC United because i support Manchester United FC. So i will wear my green and gold with pride. I still have my green and gold away kit from the 90s that i will dust off and rejuvenate for its new run out at Old Trafford.

Its time to get active. And if a moderate like me feels like that, there must be trouble on the way. So don't go out tonight, unless you're green and gold.



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The Most Important Manchester Derby In A Generation

I remember my fleeting phonecall to my Manchester City supporting wife the day it broke that her team had just become the richest on earth.

"oh have they?" she said with little interest.

See, City fans are used to having their confidence built up for it only to blow up in a dirty great big blue mess, in their faces. My missus has seen it all, so this for her was just another false dawn. Id been sat with her the day The Bitters were relegated to Division Three. I remember the tears in her eyes as i refrained myself from dropping to my knees in some sort of silent emphatic delight. It was run of the mill for her to hear of something as preposterous that City were now richer than any other..it couldn't really be true....later that day the club bought Robinho and her ears pricked up.

Despite this next Manchester derby 'only' being the Mickey Mouse Carling Beer Cup it is without doubt for me the most important derby game in memory. Not because of what is at stake..a place at Wembley. To be frank, i couldn't give two craps about that. What is important is its significance and that its played over two legs.

Manchester City are now officially 'Players'.. Yeah i know they have still won sweet FA, but its clear to see that the recent change in manager has cranked things up another notch. And as we enter a transfer window in which we will never EVER be able to compete with them in, its evident that we are now the poorer brother in bank balance, but also in form on the pitch.

With Tevez on fire, Petrov injury free and a supporting cast of impressive proportions, this derby could well be the litmus test of who goes on to dominate this next decade, from a Manchester perspective. The mess with the Glazers doesn't help things, but there is a real feeling with fans that we are walking some sort of footballing tightrope.

A two legged affair allows us to take away the old adage that "well you were at home..course you shoulda won" It gives you 180 minutes of aggregate scoring to see who is the best. As things stand, United lack the engine of inspiration that has carried us through choppy seas before. Confidence is an issue, and despite us still keeping possession of the ball well in a statistical capacity, its what you do with it in the last third that counts.

So will Fergie stick with the kids? I get the feeling he might. Is it worth playing your strongest team with a mounting fixture list, the restart of the Champions league and a worrying treatment room packed to the rafters? Im sure City will go for it. A win in this competition will give them the first bit of silverware they are craving. And if they can say they've slayed United on the way...well, what could be better.

Its not really in my nature to worry about things that haven't yet happened in football. However i can see a big Blue Monster on the horizon and its sharpening its teeth. Never could any of us have imagined (and i include City fans on this) that one day we would be living out this scenario. One where a derby match was more than just bragging rights..but is a watermark on defining and shaping the future footballing landscape. Call me dramatic..but i like my football dramatic!!

So in true supporter style..this is a call to arms. It feels like yesterday that United were the underdogs in almost every big match. And as supporters we loved it. Everytime we played Liverpool back in the day we were underdogs. Everytime we came across a European giant like Barca or Juve we were underdogs. And we would sing 'Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life' in their supporters faces, as we bucked the trend and ripped up the form book time after time. It was part of our fabric...before we started winning absolutely everything from 1993 onwards.

So lets rediscover some of that! We are Manchester United. Both loved and hated in equal measures. Lets stare into the faces of our Blue neighbours and not budge an inch. Yeah, they may wipe the floor with us in this tie, but they will never ever BE US. As every gallon of oil that gets pumped out of the ground in the Middle East makes them stronger, it is our history which makes us unique. A uniqueness that money cannot buy. Roberto Mancini described us as "immortal" this week and he was one hundred percent correct.

We'll never die we'll never die. We'll keep the red flag flying high, cos Man United will never die.

Bring it on City.

Why The Glazers Should Sell United NOW

Anyone that has ever run a business, or had the responsibility of managing large sums of money, will tell you that at many points of these roles you will be deemed as unpopular. This is because you have to make horrible decisions that effect many people, and generally these people will not like them.

Buying the keys to the door of Old Trafford was always going to be a tricky affair for the Glazer family. Despite having extensive knowledge of sports franchise ownership and the marketing behind that which makes a company rich, they didn't take into account the fickle attitude of the English football fan. A foreigner owning United? Mancs would rather have a Scouser as chairman. And the fact that they originate from a country that we perceive to not be of the 'global football family' we straight away condemn them to hell...or Tampa Bay...or Disney World.

Malcolm Glazer was never gonna be able to charm his way into the United Faithful's hearts. An old decrepit weird looking gentleman, who openly has no interest in supporting the football club in the way we expect a man to support a football club (note: Geordies loved Mike Ashley when he first donned a black and white shirt and rehired their Godhead Keegan...look what happened there)

Personally i have and still do not care who owns the club. Having been born into the Martin Edwards era of club ownership, i had seen that they first and foremost cared about money and secondly about the fans. This is the commercial and corporate world that football sits in today. But back to the point of this article...

The Glazers should prepare to sell the club now. One thing that people do not recognise that at the end of the day Manchester United is an asset in the global business of the Glazer family. And the truth is that it is them that pay the bills...not the fans. Yes we contribute with our shirt sales, season tickets, etc etc but they control the purse..for example i am wearing a Nike shirt - does it mean i should have a say in their financing? Its of no interest to them to make a loss at the football club. Currently with their several hundred million pounds of debt, they could still make a massive profit on what they purchased the club for. No doubt in my mind that there will be an Arab or a Russian or maybe an Indian or Chinese-man who has a couple of spare billion that they would lose in order to have the worlds most expensive seat at The Theatre of Dreams.

The Glazers are fighting a losing battle. Business is not about popularity, but its long term popularity which fills the coffers. In a new world, where cash has become king once again, a cash bid of £1.5 billion would see them make a very handsome profit..and they could escape this stupid world where eleven blokes on a football pitch generates so much fuss.

It will always be beyond me why supporters take so much interest on what goes on behind the scenes in the politics of a football club. Fans wish to be part of some sort of 'family' and therefore think they have some emotional connection to absolutely everything. So when United sign a new player, its actually them who signs the player. Not the people who actually control the finances. But ACTUALLY THEM. Its incredibly short sighted beyond belief. I am 100% passionate about my team. But i can understand that someone has to balance the books, pay the team, buy the biscuits. And id rather have little knowledge about all that. I want the men on the pitch to perform and that is final. If the owner cant buy players then i will rise up against them, because that is the only responsibility that they have on the sporting side. The rest of the profit, well they can stuff it. If it ain't an American getting rich it will be someone else. Does that matter if they are from Salford or San Diego?

It wont be long before the Yanks have gone. In a World Cup year the planet goes football crazy. With many markets now coming out of recession, many playboy billionaires may think its time for them and their pals to gather together, in that magic word we always hear in football ownership..'consortium'..and get their grubby mits on our team. It is at that point i will judge Malcolm Glazer. And i will judge him on how many trophies he has or hasn't won, and what players he bought and sold. Because at the end of the day, Alex Ferguson doesn't have a magic wand. The man picks the team, but without the right owner backing him he is totally prostrate. The boss says the Glazers have done him good so far and that is good enough for me....for now.

Just think we could have ended up with Hicks and Gillett. Now that would have been worth crying about.