Weekend Prem Acshun

Necronomicon

Richardson in for Giggs.

pp_me129

1-0 united 3mins richerdson

MisterAnarchy

1-1 ,Viduka scores.
Goal was coming along time.
United are sound asleep.

kaisersose77

well utd playing like crap as usual, same in nearly every match this season.

MisterAnarchy

kaisersose77 wrote:

well utd playing like crap as usual, same in nearly every match this season.

United started well but once they scored they went back to their old lazy ways instead of finishing the game off.

kaisersose77

well all of 3 minutes

Royale with Cheese

Boro definitely the better team in this half, therefore United will win this game.

Shutup Andy Gray. Henry's done that at least twice and it's never been allowed. Stop trying to argue it was a legitimate goal.

United getting on top now.

chump

Royale with Cheese wrote:

Boro definitely the better team in this half, therefore United will win this game.

Shutup Andy Gray. Henry's done that at least twice and it's never been allowed. Stop trying to argue it was a legitimate goal.

United getting on top now.

take the finger out lads and score...

mike65

Was that a peno or what?

Mike.

The Muppet

mike65 wrote:

Was that a peno or what?

Mike.

I've seen them given . Very difficult for the ref to be certain.

Royale with Cheese

1-1 FT. If United had won that in the last minute after another clear peno was denied I'd have had to have shot somebody.

kaisersose77

jesus they were terrible, one shot on target! I'd say Milan cant wait to play them.

kaimera

Peno claim for who?

'Boro get some revenge for the last few games v Utd I suppose.

Could be 1 point in it after tomorrow.

PHB

That was a defo peno, no doubt about it.

****ing injuries in defense is just ****ing unreal, Rio would gotta to that cross if he had been fit, and if he had stayed on, we woulda been fine.

Shocking performance in midfield from United today, showing up United's desperate need for a ball-winning midfielder.

I still don't understand why Giggs was on the left and Ronnie up front, if Ronnie has his back to goal, it's like 9/10th's of his game gone.

Either way, deserved result for Boro, they easily could have won it.

1 point is a ****ing disaster, and just encourages Chelsea on.
It's going to go down to the tie at the Bridge now, gona be very very interesting.

Currently we're playing with

Fletcher-Brown-O'Shea-Heinze as our defenders.

Since Rio is prob out for a week at least, Evra is out for a bit too, Neville/Vidic still injured,
we could see the following defence against Milan:

Fletcher-Brown-O'Shea-Heinze

Gee, I wonder if Kaka could pick that apart.

PiE

I find it funny that Southgate was somehow shocked that a last minute peno was denied to the away team at Old Trafford.

Enjoyable game though.

Royale with Cheese

I always thought if United were going to drop points it would be at Everton next week, I'm sure Chelsea would have thought something similar. This could be a very nice bonus for them.

adox

Hate to say it but theres only one team going to win the league now and they dont wear red.

It really is all over bar the shouting.:(

Pepe LeFrits

lol!

Pleased to see United drop points as it makes the run in that much more interesting. Not sure who I want to see win the title now really. If Chelsea make it 11 league wins in a row tomorrow, United will be under serious pressure. Bad time to suffer an injury crisis.

leninbenjamin

mike65 wrote:

Was that a peno or what?

Mike.

should have been.

Ronaldo looked like he wanted to emulate Messi, kept the head down and never looked up for the pass in the second half. Giggs' passing was woeful, Rooney should have scored, Scholes and Carrick failed to impose themselves. Middlesborough's midfield were great through out though, won all the 50 - 50s, they didn't have much of an attacking threat, although Viduka really should have put that chance away. The Boro goal was a bit unfortunate, if Ferdinand wasn't crocked you would imagine he'd have been able to cut out that cross.

very disappointing performance from United.

i'm confused on the whole Goalkeeper issue. When a goalie throws a ball out to the defender it's in play as soon as it leaves his hands right? So instead he throws the ball up to himself to kick, now why does that not count as being in play, as he has effectively released it from his possession? I vaguely remember goals like that being given before...

mike65

The momentum is with Chelsea more than Man Utd. The head-to-head will proberly decide it.

Mike.

Royale with Cheese

leninbenjamin wrote:

should have been.

i'm confused on the whole Goalkeeper issue. When a goalie throws a ball out to the defender it's in play as soon as it leaves his hands right? So instead he throws the ball up to himself to kick, now why does that not count as being in play, as he has effectively released it from his possession? I vaguely remember goals like that being given before...

I remember Henry doing it twice, and vaguely remember somebody else doing it in the premiership in the last couple of seasons too. All three were disallowed. It's in the rules somewhere and United can have no complaints about that decision.

Villain

irish1 wrote:

Man Utd v Middlesbro', 17:15

---

DRAW

FFS why didn't I put money on that!

Great result for the league makes it all the more open now.

Sizzler

I think Utd have blown it :mad: Expecting Newcastle do your team a favour, well lets not even go there

Id go as far as to say I think Chelsea might even be ahead by the time Utd go to Stamford Bridge. Oh well !

PiE

leninbenjamin wrote:

i'm confused on the whole Goalkeeper issue. When a goalie throws a ball out to the defender it's in play as soon as it leaves his hands right? So instead he throws the ball up to himself to kick, now why does that not count as being in play, as he has effectively released it from his possession? I vaguely remember goals like that being given before...

Whatever stream I was watching said the 4th official told them the 'keeper can't be obstructed when kicking the ball out from hand. Or something to that effect.

NotWormBoy

PHB wrote:

****ing injuries in defense is just ****ing unreal, Rio would gotta to that cross if he had been fit, and if he had stayed on, we woulda been fine.

...

Fletcher-Brown-O'Shea-Heinze as our defenders.

Kinda like Chelsea at Christmas. Except Chelsea didn't have a recognised CB like Brown.

Advantage still with United. Everyone expects Chelsea to beat United at Stamford Bridge... and while I really hope it happens, I don't see it as the foregone conclusion so many see it as.

ronbyrne2005

This is a wake up call for people getting carried away with United and Ronaldo after Roma fluke. United had no one to grab the game by the scruff of the neck like Keane or even Ronaldiniho in Spain.

daveg

ronbyrne2005 wrote:

This is a wake up call for people getting carried away with United and Ronaldo after Roma fluke. United had no one to grab the game by the scruff of the neck like Keane or even Ronaldiniho in Spain.

7-1 a fluke. Get fucking grip.

I'm more concerned about the defense than the result.

Dr. Nick

purplengold wrote:

Results I would love to see.

Everton win
Liverpool loose
Man united win (piss Liverpool off)
Chelsea loose (piss Liverpool off x2)
Reading win (and our local lad Kevin Doyle to score a hat trick)

that would do me nicely!

Although Liverpool were a little loose at the back, they still managed not to lose......:)

leninbenjamin

PiE wrote:

Whatever stream I was watching said the 4th official told them the 'keeper can't be obstructed when kicking the ball out from hand. Or something to that effect.

yeah, but i thought that rule means you can't challenge or tackle the goalie while he takes his kick [Edit: i.e. physically impede the goalkeeper]. In this case he had released it from his hands, Solskaer got the ball without really infringing on the keeper whatsoever.

meh, i guess precendent has been set on this issue, and that it's pointles discussing it, but i think it shows how keepers have too much protection in the modern game. I would prefer to see those type of goals stand meself. On another note, in the first half VDS spilled the ball, yet a free kick was given when i thought he had just lost his balance of his own accord.

between that and the penalty (that should have been) Utd were extremely lucky not to lose.

MisterAnarchy

United were woeful today and my worst fears are materialising.
I have a foreboding feeling that United will capitulate in the next few matches.
Scholes was woeful today,kept on trying the same long balls time after time.
He looked sluggish,seemed his legs were gone,just like against Portsmouth
Ronaldo on the left ,why ?
Dont know where Giggs was supposed to be playing
Heinze was abysmal yet again,like a headless chicken.
Boro were very assured on the ball and only for fine keeping by Van der Sar they would have won and prob deserved to .
I can see the smile on Mourinho's face now,I'd say he cant believe his good fortune.

The Muppet

daveg wrote:

I'm more concerned about the defense than the result.

me too but Chelsea have had thier injury problems over the season too. as it stands United have to get something at stamford bridge, That will be a massive game.

I'm still confident that United can win it but If Chelsea do pip them at the post they will have had a fantastic run in.

The Winners this season are the fans with it going right to the wire, great stuff.

Sizzler

Fergie blamed the injuries but in fairness gave Boro plenty of credit. Utd didnt deserve to win today and look like they are goosed for the Milan game as well as they dont have a defence. Im amazed at how shaky Heinze has been since he came back into the team :eek:

Chucky the tree

All these games are finally catching up.

Dun laoire

Absolutely wonderful. As a neutral this is just great. Squeeky bum time lads, squeeky bum time.

Sizzler

The Muppet wrote:

The Winners this season are the fans with it going right to the wire, great stuff.

Me bollix, I wont feel like a winner if Chelsea end up winning the league by a few pts now :eek:

zAbbo

Cherrio Watford

daveg

The Muppet wrote:

The Winners this season are the fans with it going right to the wire, great stuff.

Are you mad. I'm bloody hating this. My blood pressure is going through the roof. God damn my Sky Sports subscription.

Chucky the tree

jimmy mcgee on premiership now.. Good for some laughs.

PHB

Kinda like Chelsea at Christmas. Except Chelsea didn't have a recognised CB like Brown.

Sorry, at what point did Chelsea have their entire first choice back 4 out?

It's both in each teams hands now, both teams have really hard games, both teams will need to come through them.

I still think United will win it, but it could really go either way now.

ALl this talk of United's tough run in, Chelsea's is just as hard, and the teams they play are harder imo, but they have home advantage.

Newcastle A
Liverpool H [CL]
Bolton H
Liverpool A [CL]
Arsenal A
Man Utd H
Everton H

Compared to Uniteds

Milan H [CL]
Everton A
Milan A [CL]
City A
Chelsea A
West Ham H

Personally, i don't put too much stress on whether big teams or at home or away. If you look at the performance of United or Chelsea over the past couple of years, it doesn't really matter that much.

We have Everton in between our CL matches, they have Bolton. Bolton are a team that will beat the crap out of you, so I'd rather our tie, against a team that plays football. That said, much of a muchness.
We have City after, they have Arsenal. I'd rather play City than Arsenal, no doubt about it.
Then we play them at the Bridge.
Then we have West Ham, they have Everton. I'd rather play Everton than West Ham

The way I see it, they have a tougher run-in, but with our squad being really stretched, it's gona be tough.

Projected return dates:

Evra - 3 days (Milan 1st leg)
Ferdinand - 14 days
Vidic - 14 days
Park - 7 days
Neville - 14 days
Saha - Who knows?

With any luck, we'll have our first choice back four back for the City game, almost for sure for the Chelsea game.

This Everton game is going to be the biggest game of the season so far.
If we can get through it, and then get our defense back, I think we're still favorites.

herbieflowers

It's all about dropping points now for both sides. I thought Man U would win today but it's understandable that Middlesboro were well up for it what with the niggly encounters from earlier on in the season. Key game for Chelsea is the Arsenal one - like Middlesboro, Arsenal have a score to settle from the acrimonious League Cup final. The fact that it's a derby and that Arsenal are still "gunning" for a CL place will make this, imo, a difficult game for both sides.

Beating Arsenal will leave them in a great position for the Man U game. Although I still think that that match will end in a draw...just a hunch...which I'd be happy about of course

It's a battle of wits and bottle - both managers knowing what it takes to win the Premiership. One plus for Man U is that Gary Neville will be back soon, his experience is vital.

kaisersose77

van nistelrooy after scoring a great volley at the back post against valencia, just what utd were missing today

PHB

Actually, what United were really missing was Saha, somebody to hold up the ball and get people into the game.
While Smith has his virtues, everytime the ball went to him today, I had wished Saha was there instead of him.

herbieflowers

On the plus side, also, Man U are still top and Chelsea still need to get a result tomorrow ie a win, to increase the pressure. Although they look unstoppable they could be "too up" for the match, put themselves under too much pressure...wishful thinking from a Man U fan...

herbieflowers

PHB wrote:

Sorry, at what point did Chelsea have their entire first choice back 4 out?

But it's a nice compaison if you think what happened to Chelsea when their defenders and Cech started to return, they automatically returned to form...so if Man U get their defence in order by the Manc derby the title should be theirs...just!

Mossy Monk

herbieflowers wrote:

The fact that it's a derby and that Arsenal are still "gunning" for a CL place will make this, imo, a difficult game for both sides.

The chase for the Champions League is as good as over. All Arsenal need is one point.

daveg

PHB wrote:

Projected return dates:

Evra - 3 days (Milan 1st leg)
Ferdinand - 14 days
Vidic - 14 days
Park - 7 days
Neville - 14 days
Saha - Who knows?

With any luck, we'll have our first choice back four back for the City game, almost for sure for the Chelsea game.

Best news I've heard for a long time. We got 2 massive games in the next 7 days.

PHB

Yeh, I don't think Arsenal will be playing for a CL place, but I still think, at home, against Chelsea, they will put in a good performance.

mike65

Bolton! What on earth happened to them over Xmas that they have been so bad since New Year? Had thier early form been maintained they'd have proberly been fighting for 3rd not 5th.

Mike.

redspider

An easy win for Liverpool in yet another practice-like match against Wigan. They should have scored a lot more and 4 or 5-0 would not have been a misrepresentation of their dominance in the game. Arsenal are giving Liverpool the 3rd placed berth.

An interesting twist in the tale of the league title. With Man Utd dropping 2 pts against Boro, it opens it out. From a Liverpool perspective, the closer Man Utd and Chelsea are in the league and fighting it out the better it is for Liverpool's CL chances. If one or the other team gets ahead of each other in the league, they will both have much more time and resources to dedicate to the CL. So, therefore I'm looking for a Chelsea win this afternoon to maintain this close situation.

In terms of the relegation battle, West Ham got a very good result and have kept their chances of staying up alive. I think a bad defeat would have seen them psychologically gone. There are several head-tohead "6 pointers" which will determine who is relegated and who stays up. As for Watford, I wonder will someone buy Marlon King?

Redspider

herbieflowers

Mossy Monk wrote:

The chase for the Champions League is as good as over. All Arsenal need is one point.

True, but it's still a derby and they'll still want to win