Man United vs Kansas City HD Highlights

Kansas City got the better of an exposed Manchester United.

You will notice the new manchester united goalie - Ben Amos who makes 1 or 2 good saved but otherwise showed that he needs more nourishment as a young player.

I liked Berbatov's intelligent penalty kick, I guess this is the only penalty kick we've seen him taking for United. Other good aspect of the game was the partnership between Tom Cleverly and Welbeck. Really some nice 1-2 attacking displays.

FT score KC 2-1 MU

HD Highlights

(Pre-Season Game 2) Manchester United vs Philadelphia Union 1-0, 75th minute Gabriel Obertan's goal + HD MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

Highlight of the game! Obertan-Welbeck partnership really did wonders for the team against Philly

Lincoln Financial field, Philadelphia. Equivalent to the Old Trafford in England

Red Devils gather before the game

Overwhelming Red Devil support outside Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia

Thomas feeling bored standing close to the goalline

Paul Scholes holding the midfield in a fine manner

Thomos Kuszchak in action, he was rock solid with some fine goalkeaping

Glory Glory Ryan Giggsy, the classy Manchester United veteran

A tired Man Utd team goes back to the dressing room, they really deserved to be in front with atleast 2 goals

Some exciting stuff for the juniors going on...

The game was pretty uneventful until Obertan's goal

Gabriel Obertan, fine winger with great energy and dribbling ability

Massive Manchester United's USA support was overwhelming!

Game in Action

Dimi Barbie brought great support at the end with a fabulous chance to score his 2nd pre-season goal.

Star of the game! The name is Gabriel Obertan.Remember his name!

Match Reviews
They said in the papers that the mighty Manchester United would easily demolish the local MLS 7th seeded team - Philadelphia Union. But in grass, it all turned out to be a rather hard fought and deserving win.

Mwanga in action!

It was not all about Manchester United's decent attack and great counter-attack but also some exemplary stuff from the Congolese striker - Danny Mwanga. That guy did create some panic alarms in United's back 4 especially the goalie himself.

Let's start off with the playing XI for United
In attack we had, Danny Welbeck, Kiko Macheda and Gabriel Obertan. In the midfield there was Paul Scholes, Giggs and Cleverly. The starting defenders were Wes Brown, Johny Evans, John O' Shea.

Sir Alex made 5 team changes from what we saw against the Scottish team - Celtics in Toronto. He put Dimitar Berbatov and Fletcher on the bench who were brought on for Federico Macheda and Paul Scholes respectively. Also some new faces to feature were the Belgian defending winger Richie Da Laet, Chris Smalling and the debutant Corry Evans who all featured as subs.

At the gate entrances, 70% of the jersies spotted were RED and worn by supporters of Manchester United. It was amazing to watch so many Red Devil fans across the Atlantic. There was a fairly elderly drummer at the entrance of the Camcast gates...

MAN OF THE MATCH was Gabriel Obertan who put up a fine show and last the whole game which is something rare to watch.

The game started with full vigour as Manchester United rarely gave any time to the opponent to relax. The 3rd minute saw Gabriel Obertan missing a dream opening by missing a touch chance. Then came another chance from Danny Welbeck which was well saved by the Philly goalie. As the game progressed, Philly got handful of chances which were well saved by Thomas Kuszchak - a very talented Polish goalie who is barely given any chances in the presence of Dutch veteran Van Der Sar.

Paul Scholes received a yellow card for a wild 2 feet challenge. The whole crowd was rather observed to be enjoying the booking as though it's a typical thing! Way to go Paul Scholes! You're NEVER gonna improve... The whole of the crowd was hooting and supporting the old guard - Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs - who really played with immense partnership. Ryan Giggs's appeal for a penalty was put down and all you could hear in the stadium was "F*ck you Ref* It was great to have United States fans booing their own country and supporting the English club. In fact, the stadium played the English national anthem at the beginning.

The Second half saw some more attacking display from United, Dimitar Berbatov was warmly welcomed by the crowd. There were a group of people wearing B E R B A T O V shirts with everyone of them wearing each of the letter. It's astonishing but not surprising how much support Berba has and yet he fails in many games, no doubt he's a great and an elegant player but you really gotta live up to your fans and win a place in the starting XI. I reckon if Dimitar Berbatov continues to carry this form, he'll atleast find the goal 20 -25 times, somethign that is expected from a 30 million GBP transfer from Spurs.

Fletcher came on for Scholesy and was a great player to watch. His leadership skills are commendable.
We also saw some great dribbling abilities from Gabriel Obertan all through the game and Danny Welbeck's amazing partnership. Berba's elegance proved worth when he gave a back heal pass and created a scoring chance out of nothing! He was ruled outside once when he was clearly on-side, I gotta admit the refereeing was BAD!


Cleverly and Richie Da Laet were in action too. Welbeck gave a lovely pass through the defenders which was wisely picked up by the Frenchman who scored a magnificent goal through the goalie's legs. It was a suicide from Philly's point of view but a goal well earned. The way Gabriel celebrated reminded me of Thierry Henry and so did the goal. Berbatov missed a great opportunity when his hit rebounded from the inside of the cross-bar! How unlucky.. but it was a great game for all the players - especially Danny Welbeck, Gabriel, Giggs and not to forget - Dimitar Berbatov - the "getting there but not quite there yet legend"

Manchester United team on the famous Rocky steps. Why the hell does Dimitar Berbatov have to dress differently?

Player Ratings

Kuszchak - 9 - did a great job!
O'Shea' - 7
Richi da Laet - 7 - should have scored!!!
J Evans - 7
Fabio - 7
Rafael - 8
C Evans - 6 - nice opener
Wes Brown - 7
Giggs - 7
Scholes - 7 - Good overall, -1 because of Yellow!
Cleverly - 7 - clever runner
OBERTAN - 9 - awesome!
Berba - 8 - elegant play
Welbeck - 8 - good play maker
Macheda - 5 - arrogant display, get him off
Fletcher - 8

Match Videos and more

-> Match HD Highlights


Gabriel Obertan's Goal LIVE from the stadium


That's it for today. Join us back for the Sunday's game against Kansas City!
Take care!

Manchester United brutalize Hull City at home.. Thanks to 4 wonderful goals from Wayne Rooney

Wayne has scored 20 goals so far this season!

Manchester United 4-0 Hull City

Old Trafford

Goals: All 4 were scored by Wayne Rooney (8', 82', 86', 90)

United go on top of the Premier League table after winning in a very stunning fashion against Hull city at home. It was a really intriguing contest between the two teams with Hull City constantly breaking United's possession and looking dangerous at times too.

This was Rooney's fourth hat-trick, the last one coming against Porstmouth last year in November. He scored a hat-trick on his Champions League debut in 2004. He has also scored a hat-trick against Bolton Wanderers a few years ago.

With this win, United go on top with Arsenal and Chelsea behind. Now all the 3 teams have equal Goal difference (=34) and have exceeded 50 goals so far this season. All is going good for United. According to me, whoever hits form at this stage of the season takes the title. Now what United needs is a significant run of victories...

United have a huge uphill task of defeating Arsenal next weekend (31st January, 2009 - Sunday) at their very home to cement their top position. On the other hand, I will be hoping Chelsea loses a few games ahead. Chelsea has a a very challenging month ahead. They face Birmingham City the coming Wednesday. They have highly crucial games in February. They face Arsenal on 7th Feb and Manchester City 20 days later. But the sad news is that both the games are at Stamford Bridge, which leaves both the visiting teams with a huge task.

Now moving our focus back to today's game and stop thinking about future fixtures, I have plenty to remark on United's performance today. They were really menacing out there and greatly urged and motivated by Sir Alex to go there and grab a win. They've scored a total of 7 goals against Hull City this season. The minnows have been really badly beaten this time.

So who played for United today? Van Der Sar was in the box this afternoon. United had Rio Ferdinand back from injury who was supported by Jonathan Evans as a Central Defender. Rafael and Evra played as right back and left back respectively. Fergie played Fletcher and Scholes as Central mid-fielders and Park on the left and NANI! (surprisingly) as a winger too! But no doubt Nani was awesome and those 4 goals came somewhat due to his rare extra-ordinary performance too. He justified his £15 million transfer fee from Sporting Lisbon in 2007. Michael Owen (another shocking player) was partnered with Wayne Rooney up front to completely murder Hull City!

Some briefing on goals: Wayne Rooney opened the scoring from a lovely 8th minute goal. It could have been easily from Paul Scholes who shooted from a good 30 yard (maybe more) distance. The goalie managed to get a hand on it but Wayne Rooney did no mistake to poach the ball home very vigilantly and not hastily as he sometimes does. Whenever Wayne plays in a composed manner and doesn't shoot in a rush, he scores! I hope he remains fit throughout the season because United needs him... I won't be surprised if he gets 40+ goals this season.

The last 3 goals came in the last 10 minutes! The second goal came after Nani's free kick tremored the bar and Hull City still gave away the possesion to United. Nani then played wonderfully to Gibson who then passed to Wayne who was ever-ready to score. Rooney striked yet again and this time it was hammered past Myhill- the superman goalie!

The hat-trick goal came off from a wonderful header set by the fantastic winger - Nani. The 4th goal was absolutely fantastic! Berbatov set Rooney up with a lovely flick in the box and Rooney actually murdered the ball into the goal beating 3 players; the ball went right between the two defenders and beated Myhill too. Stunning effort!

The serious part of the game came in the 48th minute of the match when the the Linesman was tripped down by Craig Fagan when Johny Evans was defending the ball and was shoulder to shoulder with Craig. Incidently Craig was later battered by Rio Ferdinand (this wasn't seen by the Ref BTW) and funny enough, Fagan was later booked as well! Bad day for the lad.

Player Ratings:

Van Der Sar: 7- Made a couple of great saves, but otherwise didn't get that many chances to impress really.

Rio Ferdinand: 6.5 - I personally didn't admire his knock on Craig Faegan when darren Gibson had a wonderful chance to score. Had the Ref seen the offence, he would have been off I tell you.

Evans: 6- Again, looked vulnerable at times. Nearly conceded a goal after a stupid header back to Van Der Sar.

Rafael: 6 - Was Ok through out the game

Evra: 7 - The all-rounder. Did what he was supposed to do at the right instants.

Nani: 8 - I would like to congratulate him on his comeback after missing so many games. He was absolutely amazing.. I wish he had scored from the free-kick.. he certainly looked like Cristiano Ronaldo. I'm sure Ronaldo will be happy to see him perform well.

Fletcher: 7.5 - Typical good performance. Lived upto the expectations.

Scholes: 8.5 - He was the main guy leading United's attack, could have scored from the wonderful shoot in the 7th minute when Rooney poached the goal and did the job. He really was on top of his game and that's why he's still here at United even though he's 35 and really should have retired had he wished to!

Park 5.5- I was shocked he made it to first 11 this afternoon. He really played below average and should have been sub-ed by Valencia. But I think Fergie wanted some fresh legs against Man City in Carling Cup's 2nd leg.

Owen - 7 - Had two glorious chances to score. Guess what? (the guess is easy) He missed both the chances. His passing was amazing, he was vigilant. But can someone explain to him that you're really meant to shoot with a bit more power. I think he should try some Feng Shui to be honest!

Berba: 7.5 - Was substituted for Owen and really deserved to score when some people said he was off-side. But he proved to the crowd that he can prove to be a valuable substitute with his clever flicks and can easily outrun tired defenders. He flicked an amazing ball to Rooney with the help of which Rooney scored his 20th goal of the season!

Wayne Rooney - 10 - I rarely give 10/10 but this guy really deserved it! He scored his 20th goal of the 2009-2010 campaign.. He deserves to score 30 more!

A vote of thanks to Nani who was awesome today! I wished he had scored today.. He really deserved to score.

We have a couple of important games coming up next week:

United vs Manchester City

2nd Leg of Carling Cup Semi-final

27th January, 2010

KO 8.00 PM GMT

Arsenal vs Manchester United

Premier League

31st January, 2010

KO 4.00 PM GMT

So join us for the build up to the games and Hope United wins both of them.

GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED AND THE REDS KEEP MARCHING ON ON ON !!

I feel sad for Michael Owen for the way he's been treated at Manchester United

I don't know why Michael Owen hasn't been played in the last 3-4 games which included a 1-0 shocking defeat to ex-derby team - Leeds United.

I will be shocked to know if the reason is politics since Fergie supports the cause of sending this brilliant England Striker who has been neglected since March 2008 by the Italian manager - Fabio Capello.

On the other hand, Dimitar Berbatov has been incorporated in the team a bit too many times. He doesn't deserve to be in United starting eleven for the 3 consecutive teams. I'm not saying he's a waste of a player but because there are better players than him (eg Owen) who must be given a chance often.

Berbatov has been shown the red flag too many times and it seems he has improved on his game a little (if nothing at all). He scores easy goals and celebrates as if he's scored a mind-boggling one! He has nothing more than 5 months to prove his value at United. Now is it intelligent to play him instead of Owen (who is a proven gem).

I really ponder why Owen is neglected by both Fergie and Capalo. Michael has been recommended Feng Shui by former England Cricketer and famous commentator - Geoffrey Boycott. Boycott wrote to Michael that he should try the Chinese remedy to help him give a little edge to spark up his game and attract the likes of critics and hopefully ruthless Fabio Capello too.

Hope Michael scores more hat-tricks and brings more glory to Manchester United.

Hail Michael! Hail Jersery number 7!!!

United's possible transfer list for X'mas

This Winter's Transfer Window is expected to be Hot for Manchester United as they look forward to sign some big names and spend the jingle in their bank account especially after Ronaldo's exit!

So who is expected to leave United at Christmas?

1) Nani- Perhaps he should have left last year itself, but seeing Ronaldo joining Real Madrid he stayed thinking that he might be able to take his role but he failed drastically! One should note that he was the first goal-scorer for United this season against Chelsea in the Community Shield Match at Wembley, but he has been in utter shit form since!

2) Maybe Berbatov- I am not saying he will definitely go, but since his arrival at United, he has never been happy with himself or with his performance. So maybe he would like to go back to Tottenham Hotspurs if they want him.

So who might United buy at Christmas?

Well this list will go forever, but I have cut it short!

1) David Silva and David Villa-Valencia- After Valencia clarified that if the financial crisis demand, it is ready to shed off both the players MAYBE to United. Both the chaps are really good and interested in joining United.

The lads fancy some Bhangra as well lol!

2) Frank Ribery-Bayern Munich- It was frustrating the way he responded in the summer transfer window. But now that Bayern Munich are ready to sell him, United have still got his eyes on him. United's fellow bidders include Man City and Chelsea (are they even allowed to buy/sell? LOL)!

3) Tom Cleverley-Watford- The 20-year-old has impressed since joining Watford on loan in the summer and has bagged six goals from 13 Championship starts to date. He left united during the summer and will surely come back if required by United..

4) Yaya Toure- Barcelona mid-fielder - Barcelona's Yaya Toure has been linked to several Premier League clubs after failing to hold down a regular starting place at the Nou Camp this season has admitted his respect for Arsenal and United.

5) Angel Di Maria- Benfica's striker- The Red Devils apparently see the 21-year-old as a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo, who left for Real Madrid in the summer.

6) Igor Akinfeev - CSKA's GK - He made some terrific saves against United in the Champions League and equally frustrated n impressed the Red Devils. Igor will solve the GK problems for United after van der Sar's departure.

7) Marouane Chamakh - Boardeaux's Striker- The Old Trafford club are looking to France for potential new signings, with two offensive players in their sights...

Manchester United vs Arsenal Special Review

MANCHESTER UNITED VS ARSENAL SPECIAL

FT SCORE -UNTD 2-1 ARS

Picture Match Highlights
(Check out the Video Highlighs at the bottom of the post)

Arshavin scored an awesome long range shot at the end of 40 minutes. Vidic was unable to stop him.

Rooney was unbeatable in his runs and finally stopped by the Arsenal goalkeeper which cost them a penalty kick!

He doesnt miss many! Scored an excellent and flawless penalty kick.

Giggs was certainly my man of the match because of his excellent role as an effective striker which revived my memories of his old-skool performances.

Foster at his best.

The ineffective and lazy Man united striker daydreaming on the field and looking fr inspiration.

There was a great laughter during the stoppage time after 90 minutes of play when Gunner's manager Arsene Wenger was Yellow carded and not just asked to leave the benches and also the dug out. This was a result of showing his frustration on the referee and kicking the water bottle lying on the ground on seeing the referee's offside flag when Arsenal nearly equalised. This shot was taken when Arsene Wenger was protesting and suddenly the Ref pointed towards the dug out! All the Man United fans around him started screaming and shouting in laughter at this rare football scene!

DETAILED MATCH REVIEW

Manchester United end the winning streak of Gunners with the help of Abou Diaby's disastrous own goal which put United on the 3rd Position a few places above Arsenal and Liverpool. Chelsea and Spurs remain unbeaten so far in the season and stick to their 1st and 2nd positions respectively.

The Gunners controlled much of the first half and took the lead through an excellent long-range strike from Andrey Arshavin five minutes before the interval.

United improved in the second period and Wayne Rooney equalised from the penalty spot in the 59th minute after being brought down by Manuel Almunia.

Abou Diaby then headed a Ryan Giggs free-kick into his own net five minutes later to put United ahead, while the game ended with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger being sent off.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has accused United of adopting "anti-football" tactics after this fiery meeting between the Premier League title hopefuls.

Arsene Wenger was sent off as Arsenal were denied a last-gasp equaliser in what was a thrilling encounter with Manchester United. Wenger must have already been raging at the injustice of it all as an outstanding performance from his team went unrewarded thanks to Wayne Rooney's controversial second-half penalty and an Abou Diaby own goal. But when what would have been an equaliser with virtually the last kick for Robin van Persie was ruled out for offside against William Gallas, it was too much for Wenger, who lashed out in frustration and was sent to the stands by referee Mike Dean. After a laughable delay as Wenger got as near to the action as he could by clambering onto the top of the dug-out, the Frenchman made his way to the tunnel, lingering long enough to witness the last dregs of an epic.

The Gunners were in front and on top when Rooney went down under Manuel Almunia's challenge just before the hour mark. There was at least some contact this time but it was limited enough to leave Wenger gnashing his teeth, especially as Andrey Arshavin had been denied a stone-wall spot-kick earlier. The outcome was the same as Eduardo achieved earlier in the week. Rooney sent Almunia the wrong way, ensuring the only blot on Diaby's fine performance turned out to be the own goal that sealed a win that wrecked Arsenal's 100% start to the season.

There was plenty of pace on the shot but England goalkeepers should really be doing better than pushing it into the roof of the net, as Foster did. Nemanja Vidic came close to levelling straight away for the hosts but, as they trooped into the tunnel for a dismal half-time debrief, the best they could actually reflect on was a Rooney free-kick that curled narrowly wide. Strangely given how one-sided the opening half had been, Ferguson did not try to change things during the interval. And his team were almost out of the game before he had retaken his seat. Arshavin sped past John O'Shea as though the Irishman was not there to reach the by-line and picked out Van Persie with a teasing low cross that looked certain to be number two until Foster stuck out a leg to make a magnificent save. At that point, there seemed to be only one winner. How wrong those doubters were as Ferguson's team surged back, Ryan Giggs the architect behind the comeback just as Arshavin had sparked Arsenal earlier. Rooney went straight for the ball, put it on the spot and promptly sent Almunia the wrong way and scored a perfect penalty kick to bring his 4th goal of the season. Any pretence at defence was now swept away amid the fervour of an occasion that threatened to become a classic. . A minute later, from a very similar position, United got their second. In truth, Giggs' free-kick would not have threatened Almunia if Diaby had not stuck his head on it and deflected it straight into the corner of his own goal.

Dimitar Berbatov came on for the the veteran Giggs who played marvellously well and created chances to seal the win for United. He was the one who let Diaby score an own goal! Berbatov missed some sitters as soon as he came on the pitch which was much expected from him. Till now, he hasnt proved his worth of £30m. As he said in his exclusive Manutd.com interview "I am still learning". Well you seriously cant be learning to take such easy chances and especially sitters like that! It was an excellent pass from Nani, who is in great form this season, and Berbatov just couldn't do better than kicking the ball high above the last stand of the crowd behind.. As if he pressed the X button on his 360/PS3 a bit too much.

Thats all from today.

Do catch us after the Spurs game and hopefully we beat them to move up a place in the Barclays Premier League table.

Video Highlights

Take care!