After more than a year of being sidelined due to a broken leg and a dislocated ankle, the United Red’s striker Alan Smith has officially returned to active duty and made his first start for the Red’s lineup in Old Trafford at the FA Cup. Smith played a pivotal role in helping the Reds take a 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough, making a good account for him in the 70-minute performance that he was gave. It also marked his first start at Old Trafford since 2005 and what a way to come back in style.

Smith readily acknowledged that it was not easy to take the field once more after such a long layoff. Fortunately, he made a good account for himself and is happy to be back but is still working his way back to the Alan Smith of old. In the midst of it all is the continued support of Sir Alex Fergusson who has been giving him all the support he needs to be able to get back to form. Given a few more games, Smith is expected to be a big help to the United Reds club.

[tags]alan smith, reds, united manchester, players, injuries[/tags]

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Henrik Larsson played his final game with an emphatic 2-2 FA Cup quarterfinal draw against Middlesbrough. Larsson has bid farewell the United Reds to return to his hometown of Sweden where he will continue to honor the contract that he had signed with his mother ball club last year.

While his departure will indeed be a big loss to the United team, Larsson believes that the team can still achieve a lot despite his loss. His brief but memorable stay will always be remembered by the Reds fans for his countless contributions.

An emotional sendoff was given to Larsson by his teammates and even Sir Alex Fergusson knows it all too well that he is losing one of the great contributors to the game. It is just too bad that Larsson has to go because if Fergusson had his way, he would surely not let go of his prized player to continue to rack in more championship trophies for the team.

[tags]henrik larsson, united reds, fergusson[/tags]

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Despite the talks that were held between Henrik Larsson and Sir Alex Fergusson regarding his continued tenure with the team, Larsson has made up his mind to go back home to Sweden and honor his signed contract with his hometown last year. Despite his large contribution in helping the United Manchester club, the decision has been set and accepted by Sir Fergusson.

Larsson has made a valuable contribution and headway for the team. The timing couldn’t have been worse since the team is still saddled with injuries to its chief star players such as Ole Gunnar and Louis Saha. There were speculations that he would be convinced to stay longer, at least for the meantime that most of the key players are recuperating from injuries, but the decision needs to be done on Larsson’s part.

Despite his departure, Larsson is convinced that the team can still make it through the quarterfinals where he was a key figure in reaching this stage. With the experience that United has, it will not be surprising if they actually achieve the goal.

[tags]larsson, manchester, football, sweden, united manchester[/tags]

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Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has not been able to score in Europe for his team ever since his astonishingly strong debut when he pulled off a hat trick against Fenerbahce way back in September 2004.

Rooney is now going through a 15 match scoreless spell in the actual tournament, not counting the one goal he made during the Old Trafford qualifying match against Debrecen in 2005.

Despite this relatively lackluster showing though, Sir Alex Ferguson is confident that Rooney is about to go through a scoring blitz in the very near future. Sir Alex has expressed his belief that Rooney, which is going back to his old form, is set to explode soon. He points out that in the match with Bolton at the start of the season, everyone was talking about how he has not scored but then came out to do that impressive hat trick that has served as the spark for Manchester United’s remarkable run this season.

Fergie is also confident that Rooney’s infamous temper is now also under control and that he has already grown up into a more cerebral and thoughtful player.

[tags] Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, Old Trafford, Debrecen, Fenerbahce [/tags]

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The bad news for the week was Manchester United’s 1 – 0 defeat against FC Copenhagen during their Champion’s League meeting in Denmark. The defeat has ended ManUtd’s perfect Champion’s League record.

The deciding goal happened late into the 73rd minute with Marcus Allback’s goal. The Red Devils never got to retaliate with their own goal. The defeat wastes a game where the team could have finally qualified for the round of 16. They now need to at least draw with Celtic on November 21 or Benfica the month after that in order to ensure their inclusion in the round of 16.

But aside from the defeat of ManUtd another development during the game against FC Copenhagen worried Sir Alex Ferguson and the fans. This was when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer started limping during the final minute of the game against FC Copenhagen. There were a lot of fears that the injury may be a recurrence of the knee problem that contributed to Solskjaer being sidelined for most of last year. Fortunately, it was found out that it was only a hamstring strain.

Nevertheless, he will still be sidelined for a few weeks in order to recuperate from his injury. A small price to pay for his return. And it could have been much much worse if it had been the knee that had the problem as it could mean him being sidelined for a longer period. As it is, the Red Devils need his talent and skills especially since they need to get through to the round of 16. Sir Alex said that they will not be taking any chances and that he will field as strong a team as possible in order to get that entry to the round of 16 at the earliest possible time.

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Aside from selling Ruud Van Nistelrooy to Real Madrid during the pre season, another decision that was made by Sir Alex Ferguson that made many Manchester United fans scratch their heads was the acquisition of Michael Carrick for £18.6 million. Many fans have been quite vocal about Sir Alex’s move. They have wondered why he would invest that amount of money on the former Tottenham midfielder who many say is not very quick, not a very aggressive tackler and one who hardly scores.

But with Manchester United’s 4 – 0 drubbing of Bolton last Saturday at the Reebok Stadium, Carrick has finally shown the kind of talent that Ferguson has seen in him and makes that acquisition more understandable in light of what Carrick has showed.

The midfielder, after a very slow start to the season, finally showed what he is made of. During the game versus Bolton, Carrick showed his superb passing skills as he set up Wayne Rooney’s first goal of the game. He then showed this kind of precision passing again when he passed the ball to Louis Saha for the third Red Devils goal.

Carrick’s performance means that the central midfield position of the team is very secure. Many people are now looking forward to how well he will be able to gel with Paul Scholes in order to beef up Manchester United’s defense.

With the team only needing just one goal in their next three games in order to ensure a spot in the final 16, the Red Devils are in a very strong position going into the round of 16. They are undoubtedly the team to beat this season.

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Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney is probably my most favorite player in the ManU roster – I think the lad has proven time and again that he is one hell of a player with an amazing sense for the ball and loads of talent to boot.

Many Rooney fans though are a bit concerned by the fact that Rooney has failed to score a goal ever since the first game of the Premiership season began way back in August.

Rooney, who has turned 21 this week, was able to score two goals against Fulham in their amazing 5 – 1 win before he was eventually forced to serve a three match ban.

Luckily, Rooney is not letting this fact get to him in any way. He has been tempered by the great expectations that have been put on his shoulders not only by Manchester united fans but also football fans all over the world. Rooney is aware that he has been seen as some sort of football prodigy ever since his explosive debut in the Premiership when he was just 18 years old. This is a fact that even Sir Alex Ferguson acknowledges. He has acknowledged that Rooney is truly blessed not only with immense talent but a huge desire to win and excel in the sport.

Even if Rooney has not been able to score a goal since August he has been able to successfully curb his infamous temper. And to many fans, this is a great improvement for him especially as a player. Rooney has said that his experience being sent off in the 2006 World Cup was a great learning experience for him and it really opened his eyes to just keep his head down and continue to work hard.

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Player Review:

Louis Saha

A rich run of form recently including a run of goals and assists, suggesting that Fergie leaving RVN on the bench is not some personal vendetta, but a decision based on genuine form.

Stats:
Appearances: 21

Breakdown:

Premiership: 10

Europe: 2

FA Cup: 4

League Cup: 5

Goals: 11

Cards:

1: yellow

0: red

Goalscoring – 9

The Daily Telegraph amongst others suggested that playing Saha ahead of RVN in the League Cup Final was a political decision, but the truth is that Saha had scored in every round and his goal in the final jutified the selection. He has had a hard road to recovery from a series of injuries, but is finally beginning to justify the price tag that came with his transfer from Fulham. Creating an excellent understanding with Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Ji-Sung Park – Saha is a power house in the air and chases down everything. Perhaps still not as clinical as he might be.

Attacking Play – 8

Strong on and off the ball- an excellent “front man”. His downside is perhaps his lack of versatility in crossing the ball from teh wings.

Defensive Qualities – 7

Obviously not Saha’s strongest attribute. Nevertheless, he is making more effort these days to track back and help out.

Passing & Link up play – 8

Ji-Sung Park and Saha are developing an excellent understanding- which bodes well for the future.

Fitness and Attitude – 8

Seemingly getting back to full fitness which is good news for the squad.

Overall Score– 9

With all the ups and downs and his reputation as being so injury prone, it is a welcome site to see Louis Saha getting back to his best. Manchester United Blog is happy to announce that Louis Saha is our:

Player of the Month.

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Player Review:

Cristiano Ronaldo

A rich run of form recently including a run of goals and assists, showing that he truly is a class act and late season bloomer.

Stats:
Appearances: 33 (9 as sub)

Breakdown:

Premiership: 21 (5)

Europe: 8 (6)

FA Cup: 1 (6)

League Cup: 3

Goals: 9

Cards:

7: yellow

1: red

Goalscoring – 8

Ronaldo’s scoring talents have not been demonstrated thus far- as recently pointed out by the King, Eric Cantona, in The Daily Telegraph. Often accused of being selfish and a show-off, when a simple pass would have done the trick- at least Ronaldo isn’t afraid to have a go. And with Ryan Giggs and Ji-Sung Park on the other flank, Manchester United are looking dangerous in terms of goalscoring threats from all sides. Ronaldo also has an excellent head and can be a real danger at corners. Needs to test the goalkeeper more from free kicks, though.

Attacking Play – 9

One of the best. Silky, smooth and genuine pace. Perhaps goes down too easily and overdoes the theatrics, but Cristiano and Park are securing this part of Sir Alex‘s dream of his “third great team“.

Defensive Qualities – 6

Obviously not Ronaldo’s strongest attribute. Nevertheless, he is making more effort these days to track back and help Gary Neville out.

Passing & Link up play – 8

Ji-Sung Park could teach Ronaldo a thing or two about this department of play! Again, there is improvement, but he needs more faith in the ability of his teamates.

Fitness and Attitude – 7

Seemingly has the occasional emotional or psychological breakdown- but he is young still. His fitness throughout a particular game seems pretty good- but match-on-match, there is a lack of consistency that must question his mental as well as physical fitness- not seeming “up” for the task in certain games.

Overall Score– 9

With all the ups and downs, and the love-hate relationship we all, as Man United supporters- seem to have- the jury is still out on Cristiano Ronaldo. But at least for this month Manchester United Blog is happy to announce that Cristiano Ronaldo is our:

Player of the Month.

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Player Review:

Ji-Sung Park

Having broken his scoring duck in the League Cup quarter finals, Ji-Sung Park definitely merits a review. Obviously, his talents were well known prior to his transfer to Manchester United from his performances, most notably, in the World Cup and the Champions League, while playing for PSV Eindhoven. However, our reviews at Manchester United Blog are solely concerned with his performances with a MU shirt on.

Stats:
Appearances: 25 (11 as sub)

Breakdown:

Premiership: 17 (5)

Europe: 6 (6)

League Cup: 2

Goals: 1

Cards: 0

Goalscoring – 7

While not bought as a specialist striker, Park has certainly demonstrated an eye for goal in his career. To be honest, thus far, his goal scoring talents have not been demonstrated- seemingly just a lack of composure when it matters. This could be explained by the fact that players just have less time on the ball in the Premiership than, say, the Dutch League. It could also be explained that Ji has often been brought on to rescue situations when time is a factor and pressure is magnified. Let’s just hope that we don’t create another Diego Forlan complex. Also that the recent goal against Birmingham will be just the first of many to come.

Attacking Play – 8

Really excellent signs- both when Park has played through the middle or along the flanks. Has shown some marvellous tenacity in keeping the ball and sucking defenders in. Perhaps could do with a little more quality in terms of the crosses in the final third. But always sparky, energetic and chasing down every ball. Some lovely moments with Rooney and Scholesy as well.

Defensive Qualities – 6

Obviously not Ji-Sung Park’s strongest attribute. Nevertheless, cannot be faulted for effort in any way. Just lacks the basic height and physical strength to be considered a defensive asset. Also some evidence of naivety in chasing the ball down, rather than sticking to the man when required. This hasn’t been helped by the fact that we lack a specialist left back at the moment, following the injury to Gabriel Heinze and with Park often playing down the left side, along with equally inexperienced players such as Kieron Richardson- his defensive weaknesses are that much more exposed.

Passing & Link up play – 9

One of the most pleasing elements to the performances of Ji-Sung Park has been his link up play with the established players, such as Scholesy, Rooney, RVN and Giggsy. And also with the new breed- the likes of Smithy and Fletcher. Many would say that in this respect Park has far outperformed Cristiano Ronaldo and that when he plays, Man Utd are a much better and more cohesive unit. While he does sometimes make the wrong decisions and gives the ball away cheaply, one might be surprised to learn that he has one of the highest scores, in terms of percentage, for passing completion rate- in the whole squad!!

Fitness and Attitude – 10

I don’t think that even Man Utd‘s more vociferous critics could deny Ji-Sung Park a 10 out of 10 score in this category. And it is highly doubtful that any other player in the Man Utd squad could rival Park in this category either. His fitness is supreme. His engine just never stops- running up and down the pitch for 90 minutes and then looking fresh as a dasiy! And his attitude has proved to be equally as admirable- always positive, giving 100%, never giving up and having enough humility, rather than ego, to accept the Manager‘s decisons- whatever his personal feelings about them. What more can one say? A class act in this respect.

Overall Score– 8

Let’s hope that come the end of the season, we will be reviewing Ji-Sung Park for our Player of the Season award. In order for that to happen, he needs to play more games on a regular basis and not just as a substitute. Certainly, we have seen enough to know that this is not another “lemon” transfer, in the mould of recent midfielders brought in, such as Kleberson, Djiemba Djiemba, etc. Park also needs to score more goals and show that much more composure in the delivery of the final ball. Having said all of this, one has to be pleased with Ji-Sung Park’s initial performances and impact on the team. In lieu of this, we are happy to award Ji-Sung Park our Player of the Month award.

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