King Eric, Twelve Years On

He swaggered into Old Trafford like someone who thought he had a God given right to be loved and hero worshipped, and he was right. He was an artist, a poet, an enigma, a philosopher, a genius. He could play football on the right, on the left, down the centre. Stick him in goal and he would probably save four penalties in a shoot out.

I used to watch him as a kid with my mouth wide open, I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing from this guy. Even now, twelve years after he retired, a clip will come on TV, an advertisement might appear with him in it or I see a clip from his movie “Looking For Eric” and I can still feel the excitement in my stomach, the butterflies that used to fill me with anticipation, it’s all brought back by just hearing Cantona’s voice, just seeing him is enough for me to have a head full of memories of him playing for United. He had such a presence on the field and in so many of our hearts.

After a nomadic career in France involving six clubs in eight years,Eric Cantona made a shock move to England, ‘L’Enfant Terrible’ signed for Leeds United in 1992 – and helped the Yorkshire club to the title Fergie then announced he had signed Cantona for £1.2 million and I was dumbstruck, what a bargain, maybe the best bargain in the history of football.

In five seasons at Old Trafford, Cantona won four Premiership winners’ medals and the FA Cup twice, scoring the winner in the 1996 final against Liverpool. His only season with no medals was in 1994-95, during much of which he was suspended after his most infamous act – a karate kick at a Crystal Palace supporter who taunted him as he left the field after being sent off.

True to form, the eccentric Cantona told a press conference afterwards: ‘When the seagulls follow the trawler, it’s because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea’ After being persuaded to carry on playing by Fergie who flew over to Paris to see Cantona, he led United to yet another title in 1996-97 before retiring abruptly aged just 30. His final match for United was against West Ham on May 11, 1997.

He lived football as it is supposed to be lived. Like a game you have to play honestly. The first thing is to work hard, without losing the notion of pleasure. That is what he did. More players need to do the same. There is the ‘football’ Manchester United and the ‘merchandising’ Manchester United, these two worlds coexist, but for Cantona Manchester United is the club, it is football. A culture of the “beau jeu”, a philosophy that has been existing for years.

Manchester United always show us how to win with class, with fire in their bellies, with attacking, fast football that sweeps sides aside with ease. Eric Cantona revived all of these things in Manchester United, and then some. He was so convinced of his own abilities and talents that he would score an outrageously difficult goal, then just stand there hands on hips and wait for the crowd to explode in ecstasy at his brilliance.

Even the other players would run up to him and stop, waiting for him to allow them to mob him, but only after he had milked the applause from the supporters.Twelve years on they still sing his name loud and clear from the terraces! He was the catalyst that finally dragged United over the finishing line in first place after a long 26 year wait for the title. Down the years there have been some truly great United players…

…I could list 50 of them right here, right now. But for me the best of the best is Eric Cantona, ‘L’Enfant Terrible, Le Roi du Monde’.

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Rafa Not Worried Being Second

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is putting on a brave face now his team have been knocked off their f*cking perch by Fergie AGAIN!

He maintains their title bid is still on track.

United beat Bolton 1-0 on Saturday which in turn lifted them a point clear of Liverpool with a game in hand and Liverpool have the small matter of a Merseyside derby to contend with in order to take poll position again. For the next 48 hours I am a big fan of David Moyes and his team.

Benitez said: "The situation does not change, no matter what they do. We have to get three points in every single game and especially in the derby. I think it is important to understand when people talk about the title and your position in the table that I didn't expect in August to win the title in January. No-one can expect this. If you keep calm and analyse the situation you will know if you want to win the title it has to be maybe in May and to have Chelsea, Arsenal, now Aston Villa, and United in the title race is normal.

"We will try to stay there and if we cannot be [top] one week then the next week we have to think about getting three points and getting ahead again. I have a lot of confidence in my team."

More confidence than I have I'm sorry Rafa. Manchester United are renowned for putting on a prolonged good run after new year and Liverpool are famous for falling away as the season progresses. History tells us it is all over now. I feel very confident of winning the Premier League again this year. Confidence like this can often leave you with egg on your face though, but hey.....Glory Glory Man United.....Back To Home Page...

A Year To Remember For Manchester United

As Sir Alex Ferguson watched Ryan Giggs sprint towards the jubilant Manchester United supporters packed into one end of Wigan's JJB Stadium, a look of relief spread across his face.

Giggs had just scored the goal that wrapped up United's 17th English league title and their 10th during Ferguson's reign.

Despite holding a substantial lead over their London rivals at one stage, United had been made to sweat all the way to the finish line by Chelsea and eventually ended only two points clear.

Taking the title by such a narrow margin could be a sign of things to come in the Premier League as the global credit crunch begins to level the playing field.

United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal will all finish the year at the top end of the table again, but the emergence of Aston Villa as serious challengers to the big four underlines the closing gap between the league's superpowers and the chasing pack.

That Chelsea will start 2009 firmly in the title race is no surprise, but there are signs that the financial meltdown is starting to make life difficult for Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Scolari made an impressive start after replacing Avram Grant as Chelsea boss, but the Brazilian, who was furious that Manchester City out-bid the Blues for Robinho on transfer deadline day, has presided over a series of spluttering performances in recent weeks.

To make matters worse, Scolari has been told he must sell before he can buy after owner Roman Abramovich called a halt to the extravagant spending that has marked the Russian's time at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea aren't alone in tightening their belts and only Manchester City, backed by their Abu Dhabi-based billionaire owners, will buck the trend and pay big money during the transfer window.

The financial implications of relegation from the Premier League are too catastrophic to contemplate now and inevitably chairmen are getting twitchy.

When Paul Ince was sacked by Blackburn after only 17 matches in charge, he became the sixth top-flight boss to lose his job this season.

Winning the League Cup in February wasn't enough to save Juande Ramos as Tottenham's form collapsed.

Harry Redknapp, tempted by a crack at his first big club, left Portsmouth to replace the Spaniard and sparked a remarkable revival, while Kevin Keegan's second coming at Newcastle ended in acrimonious circumstances.

On the field, the Premier League still has much to commend it. Giggs' goal at Wigan was the prelude to an even more dramatic Champions League final penalty shoot-out win against Chelsea in Moscow 10 days later that capped one of United's greatest seasons.

That double triumph could be the start of another glorious era for United, but before the champagne corks had even stopped popping, Cristiano Ronaldo, whose 42 goals had played such a key role in United's success, took the fizz out of their celebrations by unsuccessfully pushing for a move to Real Madrid.

Ronaldo has cut a forlorn figure ever since and his erratic form in the second half of 2008 has added to the impression that he is still at United on sufferance only.

But Ferguson's men still ended the year newly crowned as FIFA's Club World Cup winners and returned from Japan with Liverpool and Chelsea within touching distance.

The most encouraging trend of the year has to be the way newly-promoted Hull and Stoke have managed to make the critics eat their words.

After Derby's relegation in May with 11 points - an English top-flight record low - Stoke and Hull and were widely regarded as certainities for relegation. But both are clear of the bottom three and, not only was Hull's win at Arsenal was one of the most memorable of the year, it also contributed to the spectacular outburst from Gunners captain William Gallas a few weeks later that revealed the extent of Arsene Wenger's problems at the Emirates Stadium.

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"We Can Do The Double Again" - Carlos Tevez

CARLOS TEVEZ, talking to the Sun newspaper, has said Manchester United are dead certs for another Double. Even though they are currently trailing behind rivals Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal in sixth in the Premier League. But Argie ace Tevez, 24, expects United to be on top come the end of May and let's be honest, the end of May is the ONLY time it counts for anything when you are on top.

"I am convinced the entire squad is capable of maintaining the challenge throughout the season and staying at the top of the Premier League. After Christmas we have to play teams like Chelsea and Liverpool at home. We are going to be up there all the way throughout the season because we have the quality throughout the squad to be doing that. I think we have the squad capable of retaining the trophy [Champions League]. Whether we host teams here in Manchester or away we are capable of giving anyone a game and of beating anyone in the competition. The usual suspects - Real Madrid, Inter, Barcelona, Chelsea and Liverpool - will always be there. Retaining the trophy is a challenge we are looking forward to." .....Back To Home Page

So It's Between Chel$ki, The Bindippers And United Now ?

The Arse are up against it this year. According
to history in fact, us Manchester United fans
can write them off completely now. Which
sounds good to me but is it true ?

Well these stats suggest that Arsene Wenger might as
well raise the white flag now:

In each of the three seasons that Arsenal won the
Premier League, and in their near miss last year, they
were in the top two after seven games.

In two of their title winning seasons, as well as last year,
Arsenal went unbeaten through the first twelve games.

The last time Arsenal lost more than one of their first eight
games - 2005/06 - they finished fourth, 24 points off the
champions Chelsea.

Just one of the teams Arsenal have faced this season were
in the top half last year, compared to four of Chelsea, Man
United and Liverpool’s first seven opponents.

Using the previous play-off winners Derby in place of Hull
and last year’s 18th-placed side Reading in place of West
Brom, Arsenal took nineteen points from the equivalent
seven fixtures last season, compared to thirteen this year.

Arsenal started last season in blistering form and it wasn’t
until rain-sodden February that the cracks emerged in their
title challenge. With the fixture list giving them a helping
hand, everything was in place for another explosive start
this year but after losing at home to Hull last week and
escaping the Stadium of Light with a lucky point last week-
end, the Gunners could end the week as low as sixth, with
Manchester United poised to overtake with their game in
hand.

So are Arsenal out of the running already or are they just
doing things the hard way this season ?

Fergie Derides Al-Ciddeh Again !!

Ciddeh’s new owners may brag about their Gulf wealth being able to entice any superstar. But Fergie knows otherwise — and he showed off new signing Dimitar Berbatov on Friday to prove it.

City tried to hijack Fergie’s year long pursuit of Berbatov on Sept 1 as the transfer window was closing, but the Bulgarian striker refused to be tempted by United’s less illustrious neighbours.

Ferguson, who has spent almost 22 years at Old Trafford now, knows that his club’s global pre-eminence and history can be as great an incentive to a player as wages.

“What you see here today has not been created overnight,’’ Ferguson said. “This club has been built up over many years and will be here for a long time.’’

The Abu Dhabi United group was undaunted about being rebuffed by Berbatov, instead signing Brazil forward Robinho and vowing to splurge its oil wealth on everyone from Liverpool striker Fernando Torres to Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas, plus an audacious plan to prize Cristiano Ronaldo away from Old Trafford in January for £135m.

“I disregard it really because it’s all talk at the moment when it comes down to trying to get players. There’s been a lot of talk about going for Cristiano, which is absolutely absurd. They may find it difficult to get the players they want. As we found with the negotiations with Dimitar, it’s not easy now.

“It depends how much money they want to throw at it to get all the star players they want, but we should not concern ourselves with what people are planning to do because it does not always work.’’

City manager Mark Hughes has even boasted that yesterday’s match with Chelsea will be a bigger attraction than the Reds Devils’ trip to Liverpool earlier in the day, branding it the “clash of the cash.’’

“I had better check what Mark has had for his breakfast because something must be upsetting him,’’ Ferguson said. “How many games did he play for United against Liverpool? Our game is the biggest. It is a great game.’’

The 66-year-old Ferguson has the historical perspective to know you can’t buy success, pointing to Sunderland’s relegation from the top flight in 1958 and the arrival of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich at Chelsea in 2003.

“Sunderland were relegated with the dearest team, every player was bought for astronomical fees,’’ Ferguson said. “You can buy 11 individuals but you don’t have a team. It’s difficult to say what’s going to happen to City.

“When Chelsea were doing the same thing, we were worried about it because we saw the quality they were bringing in. They got Michael Essien for £27mil, which was a level we could not reach. We thought they were going to be a handful and they were.’’

Chelsea’s revolution under Jose Mourinho didn’t rattle Ferguson, he just became more determined to topple the “new kids on the block.’’ After Jose and his boys won two Premier League titles, Ferguson responded by matching the feat and seeing Mourinho exit Chelsea.

“The great thing about my time at this club has been the challenge, there’s always a challenge for us,’’ Ferguson said, with Berbatov at his side. “Yes, we’ve bought big players — as we’ve done on this occasion again — but I don’t think it’s a cash cow that you’re seeing from Manchester United in the way that it could happen in other areas the way some clubs are talking at the moment.’’

What Now For Ryan Giggs ?

WHAT NOW FOR RYAN GIGGS ?

This guy has done it all, won it all, seen it all. Despite this, every
time he runs on the field people start reading the record books
and re-writing them. When I discussed the beginning of last sea-
son with people I was not too hopeful for Giggsy to play too many
games, never mind actually winning anything.

8 months later he scores the goal at Wigan to win the Premier
League for us but ..... in this same game he was also busy equa-
lling Sir Bobby Charlton's all time appearance record for United
at 758 games.

Two weeks later he springs forth from the bench to go and win the
European Cup and become the All-time appearance record holder.
Nice one Mr Giggs, you made me look a fool again.

That's the magic of the guy though, he makes everyone look fool-
ish when he carries on performing as he does at his age.

Now he's at it again. He's plotting how he, and United, plan to sur-
pass last seasons escapades. Challenge number one could be an-
other record breaker. Since the European Cup changed it's name
to the Champions League in 1992, not a single club has ever ret-
ained the trophy, can you believe that ? So that's challenge num-
ber one. If we're looking to do that, then we might as well say that
winning the Premier League 3 seasons in a row is rarely done !
So there is another target to aim for.

I could live with that, if that's all we won. Talk is cheap though.
It's hard to win the two trophies we did last season, but we did it.
The odds of repeating it are pretty high I imagine. Before they won
a single thing I said this squad is the best Fergie has assembled !
Others said the '99 squad. I stand by what I said back then. They
have only really been together for 2 years now. Anderson, OH, Nani,
Tevez, all new on the scene and they make up a quarter of the team.
So as a complete squad they have 2 years, 2 Premierships and a
Champions League !!

The team averages less than 25 in ages, and with that antiquity
in goal, thats pretty good. The new guys from the beginning of
last year have had one year to settle in, and have already impress-
ed if the truth be known. If I'm really honest, I would love to see
a big tall, miserable sulking Bulgarian git up front, but that seems
unlikely now. This team was good enough to win the two trophies
last year. I think they have an even bigger chance this year !!

Let's all pretend to be Liverpool fans ......

Oooooooh no, I couldn't. The depression of another year, in
which they will be out of the title race by the end of November
AGAIN, would be too much to bear.