RED11.ORG

Posted by PaulJ on 2008-12-12 @ 1:56:05 -0700

World Gone Wrong

The master plan was simple. Get up early, drive West to Salisbury to see my grandson Felix in his Nativity Play, drive North to Manchester to eat, see United reserves dispose of Aalborg and then drive home and have a bit of a rest from all the travelling; a six hundred mile round trip, the third game in a week but this one the last before Christmas. I risked my timetable by staying behind in Salisbury but I had the smoothest possible journey Northwards and made up time. The meal was fine, we left in good time for the match and arrived at the perfect moment, when thirty two boys were still shaking the European blanket and the action was imminent.

According to Ferguson our team selection was a chance to give games to those who needed it but we also needed to match Villarreal’s performance if we were to win the group. Tomasz Kuszczak was in goal, Gary Neville and John O’Shea were at full back and Jonny Evans was in for Vidic so the only regular defender was Rio Ferdinand. Darron Gibson and Anderson were in central midfield with Ryan Giggs and Nani outside them and Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez in front. To rub in the gap in money and the alleged gap in class, the Ballon d’Or was presented to Cristiano Ronaldo before the match began. Tom spotted that Denis Law and Bobby Charlton were the only United players applauding.

The match kicked off in a fairly good atmosphere with the travelling spectators in the packed Danish corner clearly out to enjoy themselves thoroughly and before three minutes was up the fastest goal of this year’s tournament had been scored. What a goal it was, too; Rooney headed Giggs’ ball back to him and the veteran clipped an exquisite chip with the outside of his boot over the back line where Tevez, just onside, was through at full pace to finish decisively on the volley into Zaza’s left hand post; 2 minutes 1-0.

So smooth had been the attack, so clinical and thoughtless its finish that it looked as if we were in for an old fashioned seven or ten goal European roasting. When, two minutes later, Anderson found Rooney whose reverse ball was perfect but Tevez sidefooted the ball wide of the post; the thrashing looked on but in fact the tenor of the game altered with that miss and the master plan began to unravel. The players believed that they had already won and we took our foot off the pedal.

Two or three of the United players kept it going; Anderson in particular looked class; Tevez and Giggs and Rooney worked hard but flicks and passes just would not come off. The big problem was midfield. Anderson apart it was as if we did not have one. Gibson and Nani looked unable to get involved usefully at all and Aalborg began to impose themselves. Kuszczak saved a Danish free kick brilliantly diving to his right but his innate lack of authority led to increasing indecision at the back and their baldie, Kasper Bogelund, caused us all sorts of problems up their right wing. When the equaliser came it might have been a shock to those in Europe watching their scoreboards but it was no surprise to anybody at Old Trafford. Nani was adjudged to have fouled Jeppe Curth, out on their right touchline. Curth curled a lovely free kick into the area and our defence stood like a line of statues as Michael Jakobsen moved across them unmarked into an acre of space in the area and dived for it, deflecting it with the back of his head. Kuszczak’s dive was more pathos than slapstick, Charlie Chaplin rather than Keystone Kops; the ball glided over his camp flap and nestled in the net; 30 minutes 1-1.

The thousands of Danish supporters who had been chanting and jiggling up and down in perfect unison like some mechanised model in a Legoland stadium, were ecstatic. Where was a captain? Gary Neville had the armband, Rio is the club captain elect; neither of them seemed capable of organising the defence as the Danes persisted and the United performance continued to stutter. With temporary coach Allan Kuhn, unbeaten in his twelve match stint at Aalborg, screaming for the half time whistle so that he could consolidate the position, Anders Due trotted all the way down the left wing without a single serious challenge to worry about and was free to chip a fine ball to the far side of the area, to the same spot from where Jakobsen had scored. There Curth was unmarked and directed a superb curling header back across the goalkeeper. Kuszczak was nowhere near in a position to save this one and stood and watched it go in; 45+1 minutes, 1-2, the world gone wrong.

Now the Danes really did have something to sing about and when I tentatively ventured the opinion that their lead was thoroughly deserved those around me in the North Stand agreed. Half time offered the welcome news that Celtic were winning and it saw Paul Scholes and Ji Sung Park warming up. Sure enough, at the restart Giggs and Gibson were off and Park and Scholes were on. Though Park played well enough the real difference was Scholes; the accuracy and range of his passing was breathtaking. Not only was Anderson free to strut his stuff but Nani, whom I thought had been lucky to stay on, blossomed into a dangerous and effective winger for a while. It was only when we pushed them back I realised that their winger Bogelund and the scorer Jakobsen had been the two full backs.

The contrast with the first half was quite marked and before long Nani put over the first of several good crosses; Tevez had worked himself into position at the edge of the six yard box but could not decide whether to head it or bicycle kick it and ended up twirling in mid-air like a rag doll with several limbs; it went begging. A minute later Anderson picked out Rooney’s movement with a weighted twenty yard through ball and Rooney drove it home on the run; 51 minutes 2-2.

All that was now required was for the Champions of Europe to go on and defeat the club from Denmark’s fourth largest city but we could not. We did not play badly and had several good chances; they played well. Steve Olfers’ tackle as Paul Scholes went through was as necessary as it was remarkable, Gary Neville ran onto a wonderful ball from Rooney only for the goalkeeper to spoil his comeback moment with a point blank save, and Tevez took a ball from Rooney every bit as good as the earlier one from Anderson, only to be forced wide when an early shot was required.

It was disappointing that we drew and needed Celtic’s win to finish top of the group, a point above Villarreal, but it was a fine match and we equalled the Champions League record run of nineteen games unbeaten. The Danes are in the UEFA Cup, their fans were celebrating into the night their famous point at Old Trafford; good luck to them.

There was a major accident on the M6 so that I did not get home until three, my master plan blown away in the flurries of snow. In the morning, too, there was sourness in The Times where Oliver Kay accused Rooney of stamping on Kasper Risgard and lunging at Jakobsen, said he was lucky to stay on the pitch and might anyway face UEFA sanctions. Kay is a senior sports journalist so I replayed both incidents In the first Rooney stands momentarily on the chest of the prostrate Risgard on his way to the floor. The referee is six yards away, sees it all, Rooney ends up offering a hand to the Dane, which is taken. In the second Rooney runs into the area for a ball, is nudged and goes flying with his front leg out, which catches Jakobsen. At the time I thought it was worth a shout for a penalty but in fact the nudge takes place outside the area. So what’s with Oliver Kay coming up with sensationalist garbage worthy of the Sun? Was he short of a story? Or was he just riled that we qualified with such ease, winning only two games?

Paul James

Posted by Barry on 2008-12-10 @ 23:19:18 -0700

Manchester United were held to a draw by Aalborg at Old Trafford - but still topped their Champions League group. Carlos Tevez gave United the lead after three minutes when he slid in a perfect pass from Ryan Giggs.

But Aalborg equalised when Michael Jakobsen headed home after 31 minutes and Jeppe Curth's header on the stroke of half-time gave Aalborg a shock lead. Wayne Rooney's powerful finish put United level after 52 minutes, but Aalborg held on bravely for a point.

It was a below-par show from Sir Alex Ferguson's reigning champions, but United's main goal was achieved as they finished at the head of Group E in readiness for the draw for the last 16 next week. But once again Rooney's temperament was questioned after a number of clashes with his Danish opponents.

Aalborg's caretaker coach Allan Kuhn celebrated at the final whistle, as he was entitled to do after a performance of huge courage from his players. With qualification for the knockout phase already assured, Ferguson was also able to rest some of his influential stars ahead of a crucial Premier League game at Spurs on Saturday.

Cristiano Ronaldo was sidelined by injury, but he received his Ballon d'Or European Footballer of the Year trophy on the pitch prior to kick-off, standing alongside Denis Law and Sir Bobby Charlton, who won the award in 1964 and 1966 respectively. With the formalities over, United's reshaped side made a perfect start early on to score the quickest Champions League goal this season.

Giggs was the creator with a precise through pass, giving Tevez the simplest of chances to slip a cool finish beyond Aalborg keeper Karim Zaza. Tevez then missed an easier chance to double United's lead two minutes later, when he side-footed wide with the goal at his mercy after being set up by Rooney.

United dominated the opening exchanges with almost embarrassing ease, but paid for their wastefulness in front of goal when the visitors equalised after 31 minutes. Jakobsen escaped the attentions of United's defenders in the area to direct Due's free-kick beyond Tomasz Kuszczak, who got a hand to his header and should have done better.

Remarkably, Aalborg then took the lead in the closing seconds of the first half when Due picked out Curth, who directed a clever header into the far corner beyond the stranded Kuszczak. United made a double change at half-time, sending on Paul Scholes and Ji-Sung Park for Giggs and Darron Gibson.

And they restored equality seven minutes after the break when Rooney steered in a low drive as he raced on to Anderson's pass. Rooney, who had been involved in some needless spats with Aalborg defenders, almost set up a rare goal for Gary Neville with 19 minutes left. The veteran defender arrived unmarked at the far post, but his shot was blocked by Zaza.

And Rooney was frustrated again seconds later when his cross into the box was headed on to his own bar by Aalborg defender Steve Olfers. Rooney was at the centre of all United's best work, creating an opening for Tevez with only six minutes left. The Argentine rounded Zaza, but the angle was too tight and he could only find the side-netting.

The draw enabled United to equal the record 19-match unbeaten run in Europe's top competition, also held by Ajax and Bayern Munich, and they can now set their sights on the knockout phase and a repeat of last season's triumph in Moscow.

Manchester Utd: Kuszczak, Neville (Rafael Da Silva 76), Ferdinand, Evans, O'Shea, Nani, Gibson (Park 46), Anderson, Giggs (Scholes 46), Rooney, Tevez.
Subs Not Used: Foster, Vidic, Fletcher, Possebon.
Goals: Tevez 3, Rooney 52.

AaB: Zaza, Bogelund, Olfers, Jakobsen, Pedersen (Sorensen 76), Curth (Caca 74), Enevoldsen, Augustinussen, Risgaard, Due (Kristensen 65), Saganowski.
Subs Not Used: Kenneth Nielsen, Nomvethe, Braemer, Ronnie Schwartz Nielsen.

Booked: Curth.
Goals: Jakobsen 32, Curth 45.

Att: 74,382
Ref: Laurent Duhamel (France).

BBC Sport Player Rater man of the match: Manchester United;s Carlos Tevez 7.60 (on 90 minutes).

news.bbc.co.uk

Posted by Barry on 2008-12-09 @ 6:31:08 -0700

Uefa Champions League, Group A
Venue: Old Trafford Date: Wednesday 10 December Kick-off: 1945 GMT
Cristiano Ronaldo could feature in Manchester United's final Champions League Group E match on Wednesday. Ronaldo limped off with what appeared to be a hip problem during the win over Sunderland on Saturday but trained with the side on Tuesday.

However, with United having qualified already, manager Sir Alex Ferguson intends to make changes and may decide not to risk the Portuguese winger. Michael Carrick and Patrice Evra missed training but John O'Shea is fit.

The Premier League champions need to match Villarreal's result against Celtic to win the group and secure a top seeding in the draw for the last 16. However, England defender Rio Ferdinand said it would not be a disaster if they did not take the top spot.

"The manager always likes it. But you have Real Madrid and Bayern Munich going to finish second, who are big clubs, so you can still get a massive game in the next round even if you win the group. "It would be nice to finish top but it would not be a catastrophe if we ended up second." Aalborg already know they will play in the Uefa Cup when the second-tier European tournament resumes in February.

news.bbc.co.uk

Posted by Barry on 2008-12-08 @ 9:20:00 -0700

Paul Scholes' Manchester United return has been pencilled in for a December 10 comeback against Aalborg.

The former England star has been out since suffering knee ligament damage against the Danish outfit in mid-September.

Scholes' recent recovery has been so rapid there had been suggestions he could feature against Manchester City next weekend.

That will not happen. But United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says the 34-year-old could be in action immediately before the visit to Tottenham on December 13, which precedes the Club World Cup in Japan.

"Paul is coming on fine," said Ferguson.

"He will be ready for the week of the Tottenham game.

"He has started to involve himself in some of the first-team training sessions because, as always with that type of injury, he has made good progress.

"It will be a few weeks yet but he is not far away now."

www.tribalfootball.com

Posted by Barry on 2008-11-18 @ 14:38:38 -0700

Good morning from little Aalborg in Denmark

by Barry

Good morning from little Aalborg in Denmark where the population is 120.000 people

To ALL REDS
Good morning from little Aalborg in Denmark where there is a population of only 120,000 people!

We had Manchester United FC as our guests Tues 30th Sept.
3-0 to United now for the return leg.

Welcome to the show,come inside, come inside, its the show that never ends
Manchester MANCHESTER UNITED bunch of bouncing Busby Babes they should all be knighted :)))))))))

Maddane