Alan Smith – Given to Score

YEARS ago I remember thinking that pre season was the time that the squad got back together; the new players came in and you’d end up watching something that resembled the team you followed, in some poorly attended friendly in the rain at Marine FC.

Then it was like pre-season got all polished and United are invited to open Wolves’ new stadium (very impressive it was too) and play a team that included former United player and manager’s son Darren. Former as in, he used to play for United, not that he stopped being Alex’s son, you understand. I’ll move on!

Before you know it pre-season gets positively glossy, and we end up with Manchester United visiting South Africa for games against the Kaiser Chiefs (who later faired much better when they decided to focus on the music). Who remembers the year we went to Ireland for what must have been positive money spinners against teams like Shelbourne? Now the jet set Pre season is almost as hectic as the regular season itself. Commitments to fly here, there and open this stadium, and that car door, can weigh a team down.

Continue reading “Faster Sooner Now”

How do I even start to do justice to what I witnessed last night? I can’t possibly, however good at writing I pretend to be, but I can try. I will say it was one of the best nights of my life, ever, not just in the football arena. Unless you support Liverpool you cannot disagree that at least 45 minutes of that game was football perfection, not that the second 45 was a let down by any stretch of the imagination. Predictions going into the game were mostly sure of one thing, we’d probably score, but also there was a fair chance we would make it hard for ourselves and that we would end up going out of the competition. The build up in Mancunia and in the real world was unlike anything I have ever experienced. Those going to the game anticipated that it would be a great night and those not going to the game were all along with us, united like no other time I can remember. All predictions were blown well and truly out of the water!

Continue reading “Breaking Into Heaven”