Manchester United

After an incredible season in which Manchester Unitedd completed the double of Premier League and Champions League, one wonders whether there is a need to strengthen the squad. But, there is.

Right Back

United need a right back in the mold of left back Patrice Evra - capable going forward and supplying the crosses. They were chasing Jose Bosingwa of Porto but Chelsea beat them to his signature.

Striker:

A striker is also a top priority since Saha will be sold to the highest bidder. Wanted - a tall striker with a good physical presence and excellent finishing capabilities!

Meanwhile, there is daily speculation about Ronaldo leaving and the latest rumor is that a bid for 64 million pounds along with Robinho would make Man Utd sell their most valuable asset and the likely European and World Player of the Year.

Possible Ins

In: Dani Alves (Sevilla), Micah Richards (Man City), Philip Lahm (Bayern Munich), Miguel Veloso (Sporting Lisbon), Miguel (Valencia), Huntelaar (Ajax), Benzema (Lyon), Luis Fabiano (Sevilla), Ashton (West Ham), Berbatov (Tottenham), Aaron Ramsey (Cardiff), Valencia and Palacios (Wigan)

Possible Outs: Pique (to Barca), Silvestre (to Bordeaux), Ronaldo (to Real), Fletcher, Kuszack, and Saha

Manchester United Utd have reportedly made bids for French teen sensations Jeremy Helan and Darnel Situ. It would be great to get Richards and Benzema, but the possiblity of getting Richards is extremely remote. Aaron Ramsey looks promising and could be one for the future. Ferguson must be looking at offloading two of Fletcher, Saha, and Silvestre. If Ronaldo were to leave, I would splash the cash and buy Ribery from Bayern.

Chelsea

For Chelsea, the season began and ended in disappointment. One expects Roman Abramovich to splash the cash and get some of the best but 500 million pounds in investment, it remains to be seen how much further he wants to go.

The manager:

Avram Grant is likely to be sacked and replaced by either ex-Barca manager Frank Rijkaard, Roberto Mancini (Inter Milan), or Guus Hiddink (Russia). I expect wholesale changes to the squad that failed to win a trophy this season, after losing out to Manchester United in the Premiership and the Champions League and to Tottenham in the Carling Cup.

Frank Lampard is being linked with Inter Milan but I am sure Lamps is just holding out for a huge bumper deal. Chelsea will give him that deal as it plans to build a team around Terry and Lampard.

Didier Drogba looks certain to leave after whining through the season about how much he misses Jose Mourinho. Milan should be his likely decision but whether its Inter or AC remains to be seen. Whats going to be the fate of Andrei Shevchenko? Will Shaun Wright Phillips finally leave? Its going to be an interesting summer at Stamford Bridge.

Possibe Ins

Ribery (Bayern), Ramos (Real Madrid), Ronaldinho (Barca), Van der Vaart (Hamburg), Mario Gomez (Stuttgart), Dos Santos (Barca), Huntelaar (Ajax), Richards (Man City)

Possibe Outs

Drogba, Malouda, Bridge, SWPhillips, Belletti, Shevchenko, Kalou, Sidwell, Pizzaro, Ben Haim, Cudicini

In a tense but pulsating final in Moscow, Manchester United beat Chelsea 6-5 on penalties. The match had ended 1-1 after 120 minutes with Frank Lampard’s goal on the stroke of half time canceling Ronaldo’s headed goal earlier in the first half. After United dominated the first half only to be played off the park by Chelsea in the second, the match went to extra time. And after an incredible clearance by John Terry to deny Ryan Giggs and an moment of sheer lunacy on the part of Drogba which resulted in him getting sent off, the match went to penalties.

After Ronaldo’s miss and 8 successful spot kicks, it all came down to “Mr. Chelsea” himself- John Terry stepped up to take the final penalty knowing that Chelsea would win if he scored. What happened next would remain etched in the minds of fans everywhere, Terry lost his footing and ended up missing the penalty despite sending Van Der Saar the wrong way. Unbelievable stuff. And in sudden death, it was Nicolas Anelka who saw his spot kick saved by Van Der Saar to give the title to Manchester United. Their third European title overall and their first since 1999. A particularly memorable achievement considering this came on the 50th anniversary of the Munich air crash.

Full credit to Chelsea:

Chelsea’s season could have been so much more different today morning if either Drogba or Lampard had managed to score instead of hitting the woodwork. It probably would have been different if Drogba had not got sent off (a la Zidane in the 2006 final) but credit where its due, Chelsea had resurrected their season brilliantly. Avram Grant looks as clueless as ever on the pitch but his half time talk did have a positive effect. The team will see a lot of changes in the off season with players such as Drogba, Lampard, Carvalho all expected to leave. Whether Roman Abrahamovich will continue to spend money to get new players remains to be seen.

Best team in Europe

Much like Barcelona in 2006, this season has seen Manchester United dominate both domestically and in Europe. The team has played some attacking football with Ferguson using the 4-3-3 formation to great effect. Obviously, all the credit will go to Ronaldo, who with Tevez and Rooney contributed most of United’s goals. However, the success of the squad also has a lot to do with the incredible back four. The duo of Ferdinand and Vidic in the centre, the much improved Wes Brown on the right and the brilliant Patrice Evra at left back. Ferguson has added another trophy to the 31 accumulated in his career and watching him jump about in the rain, it was obvious that he will be in charge at Old Trafford for some time to come.

It was perhaps fitting that Ryan Giggs scored the goal that ensured the Premiership title would be staying at Old Trafford. Whether this is his last season or not remains to be seen, but the goal would cap a magnificent career that has seen him win, among other things, an incredible TEN league championships with Manchester United. The Welsh wing wizard might not have had the best of seasons, but along with Paul Scholes, has contributed significantly to the Red Devils’ incredible season.

Although their campaign got off to a relatively rocky start, United quickly established their place in the top two, along with the early pace-setters, Arsenal. They led the table on no less than 7 occasions during the season, overtaking Arsenal and holding off the threat of Chelsea – though it was a close run thing. Chelsea kept up with the points tally right until the very last game of the season – they drew, United won. In the words of Andy “I state the obvious and nothing more” Gray - “Game over, I guess”.

Ronaldo the diference:

Cristiano Ronaldo has enjoyed the sort of season most people could only dream of – 31 league goals. And what goals they were – long shots, tap-ins, beguiling back-heels, thunderous free kicks, and headers which center backs would dream of scoring. The success of this side has relied more than anything else on the efforts of one of the most phenomenal players on the planet. Goals against Arsenal and Liverpool should put to rest the ‘big game bottler’ tag he seems to have acquired, at least in the league, and the scary thing is that he is likely to get better. The mind boggles. In terms of influence on results, Rio Ferdinand’s superb marshalling of his defence came in a close second – 22 goals conceded in 38 games tells its own story.

Credit to Sir Alex and Carlos

Finally, credit must go to Alex Ferguson – aided by Carlos Queiroz, his tactical skills came to the fore. Solid in defence, sometimes playing with 2 holding midfielders, the team was set up to counter attack at lightning speed, leaving most defenses wondering what had hit them. Sir Alex has now won 10 (!) first division championships, taking United’s total up to 17, one behind Liverpool. Talk of retirement is misleading and, more than anything else, inaccurate – as long as blood flows through his veins, he’ll be taking his seat in the dug out at Old Trafford, waiting to unleash his “emerging” squad (or so he says) on their next victim.

“If you don’t put them in then you can’t know what you’ve got…if they’re good enough, they’re old enough” - Sir Matt Busby

February 6, 1958 - On that fateful winter’s day exactly 50 years ago, the plane carrying Manchester United players back from a victorious European match at Belgrade, crashed after a failed attempt to take off after a refueling stop in Munich. The club lost 8 players in that tragedy and this became a moment of profound significance not just in ManUtd’s history but also in English football’s.

Sir Matt Busby, the ManUtd manager, had envisioned a golden age for ManUtd after being crowned English champions in 1956 and 1957, with a team of young starlets including Duncan Edwards, the then golden boy of football and the youngest international in England’s history. Busby had dreams of European domination, but those dreams lay in tatters while he lay critically injured in a hospital, but more painful was the excruciating news that he had lost most of his squad.

Apart from Duncan Edwards, ManUtd lost their captain Roger Byrne, David Pegg, Eddie Colman, Tommy Taylor, Billy Whelan, Mark Jones and Geoff Bent. Eight journalists, 3 United staff, one crew member, the co-pilot, and two other passengers lost their lives.

Busby recovered from his injuries and so did a few other players including Bobby Charlton, Dennis Viollet, and Bill Foulkes, among others. Amazingly, ManUtd made it to the FA Cup final, where they lost to Bolton Wanderers. But then, the club stumbled into the wilderness for a few years but who would have thought that Sir Matt Busby would build another great ManUtd side, a team that played some of the finest football in Europe.

At a time when football was moving towards conservatism and tactical organization, Busby’s refusal not to compromise on the club’s attacking style of football led to the club winning its first European title in 1968, the first English club to do so.

It is not the Munich tragedy that propelled United into a club with a worldwide fan base but it is the way they regrouped under their manager Sir Matt Busby, deriving strength from adversity, building a great side that consisted of Bobby Charlton, Denis Law, and George Best, and winning the European Cup on the 10th anniversary of the Munich tragedy.

As I watched Manchester United’s match against Everton, followed by the el classico between Barcelona and Real Madrid, I could not help but marvel at Ronaldo’s magic at United and lament the fall of Ronaldinho at Barcelona. As a fan of both United and Barcelona, I want both my clubs to perform well. When Barcelona was winning trophies until just more than a year back, I was hoping United would follow suit.

When United was setting the Premiership on fire last season, I also had to witness the demise of the Catalan club. Will I ever see these two majestic clubs of Europe win their domestic titles in the same season? I guess not, considering the way the Catalan club is witnessing a downturn in its fortunes.

Ronaldo has already scored 17 times this season for United, while Ronnie has hardly made a significant contribution for Barca. I was aghast to say the least, seeing the latter’s abject performance in Barca’s home loss against Real Madrid.

Just more than 2 years back, Ronnie was given a standing ovation by Real fans for his virtuoso performance at the Santiago Bernabeau. Even last season, he scored about 21 goals for the club. But, what happened to that old Ronnie?

Did all that adulation get to his head? It is rumored that he missed more than 50 percent of the club’s training session last season and that he was given preferential treatment by everyone at the club. No doubt, Ronnie was instrumental for Barca’s revival but it is far more difficult to keep your act together at the highest level and in that aspect, he would do well to take cue from United legends such as Giggs and Scholes, who continue to perform at the highest level even after several Premiership titles.

On the other hand, Ronaldo is a star on the rise. However, he just has to take one look at the path taken by Ronnie and avoid that path at all costs. He is at a terrific club, surrounded by legends such as Giggs, Neville, and Scholes.

If Ronnie’s arrogance was his downfall, Ron’s might be his attraction to glamour and a constant craving for attention, reasons why he might quit United in a couple of seasons and head toward Real Madrid.

United would loathe to lose Ron when that time comes, but then no player is greater than the club, a fact being demonstrated by Ronnie at Barcelona.

A great win for the the gunners and well deserved i might add. IMO, Man Utd didn’t offer much and also looked happy with a draw. Arsenal on their part didn’t make heavy weather of the absence of Thierry Henry and Robin Van Persie and this vicotry sets up their season perfectly.

The First half was electric with both sides creating openings. Arsenal had the better of the half with a penalty being awarded in their favor. However, Gilberto Silva scoffed the attempt and it was still nil nil. The second half was insipid and the only interesting portions were due to the defensive lapses of the Man Utd backline….that was until Cesc Fabregas produced some magic, albeit assisted by some slack defending by United. His perfectly weighted pass found Adebayor who calmly slotted the ball past Tomasz Kuszczak. Despite his ungainly stature, Adebayor does add an extra dimension to the Arsenal style. The last few minutes were frantic but the Gunners did enough to hang on to the lead.

Its back to the drawing board for the Red Devils and for Fergie in particular. He got his subsitutions wrong and his tactics were a bit conservative, a far cry from the swagger of the late 90’s. But it was all about the Gooners today and as much as the Red Devils might hate accepting it, Arsenal are Back!

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