19

The number 19 is not considered special by most people. It doesn’t get the glory of 10 or hold the importance of 100. But on Saturday, May 14th of 2011, the number 19 got a little credit.

Manchester United won their 19th league title this past Saturday. To most people, that does not seem to be a good enough reason to shave the number in to your chest hair, but for Manchester United star striker Wayne Rooney (pictured above) it was a great reason.

This league title now gives Manchester United the most league titles of any English club. Again this may not seem like a huge deal. But looking back it is a huge deal.

Before the 1992-93 season, United only had 7 league titles. This was not bad but compared to Liverpool’s 18 titles, it was quite small. But in only 19 seasons, United won 12 of their now 19. That is simply incredible.

With this new title United can now surpass their arch nemesis Liverpool as far as the most dominant team in history. All of the last 12 titles have come from Sir Alex Ferguson who took over a struggling team.

United had not won a title since the 1966-67 season. During that time they had been relegated and had lost much of their prestige. But Fergie changed all of that. During his reign, United have won many accolades including the Treble, the only team to have ever accomplished the feat.

Fergie should be credited with much of the rebuilding that has happened. He took over in 1988, taking over a club that was on the verge of relegation. He has now built them in to the largest team in the world.

United now hold 19 league titles, a number that for them seemed impossible to get to. They were weak and now they are strong. Now they can be the ones celebrating by carving numbers in to their chest hair.

Final Bound

Today Manchester United clinched itself a place in the Champions League Final. They will face Barcelona on May 28th at Wembley Stadium.

United pulled off a 4-1 win which is an incredible feat. What makes it even more impressive is that United started many of its bench players. Sir Alex Ferguson decided that it would be best to rest some of his key players for the season deciding game against Chelsea this Saturday.

Schalke had won 5-2 against last years champions, Inter Milan. For United to win 6-1 on aggregate goals…well to be honest it is shocking. I believe in United’s quality but this was something else.

Ferguson made 9 changes from his original squad that beat Schalke in the first leg. After the game he said that the team, “Did me proud.”

The win sets up a rematch from 2009 where United lost to Barca. Although I am hopeful that United can beat Barca, I am very unsure. Barca moves the ball so well and has so much talent that they are virtually impossible to stop.

If United wants to beat Barca they need to play very tight in the midfield as well as in the defence. They cannot allow Barca to dictate the tempo of the game by holding the ball. Whoever is playing out on the left must also find a way to shut down Messi, and I wish them the best of luck. I do not envy any footballer who has to face that man.

United has the talent to win the final but they will have to pull out a performance of the ages to do so. Glory Glory!

Back to Normal

This week saw a return to the “normal” Premier League scores, at least so far. Man City went “top” after beating a feisty Wolves teams 4-3. I put top in parenthesis because Manchester United has three games in hand and are only one point back.

Carlos Tevez

Arsenal grabbed a 3-0 win over bottom of the table West Ham. This came as no surprise as a competent Arsenal team passed West Ham off the field, showing their superiority. In my opinion Arsenal are the prettiest team to watch in the EPL right now, they pass and move, creating beautiful chances, many of which they finish.

Robin Van Persie

Chelsea managed to get a 2-0 win over Blackburn despite their mediocre play. Drogba does not look like he has the power and ability that he did before getting malaria and I hope to see him get that back. Blackburn showed why English soccer has gotten a reputation as playing ugly soccer, lumping the ball up the field for their strikers to run on to. Although this technique can prove to be effective at times, they would have had a better chance at beating Chelsea if they utilized their midfield more.

Branislav Ivanovic

I am very excited for tomorrow as Liverpool takes on Everton and Manchester United battle Tottenham. The Liverpool game will be Reds Hero Kenney Dalglish’s first return back to Anfield, trying to stop Liverpool from losing any more precious points. United looks to remain undefeated and regain their top spot in the standings. Tottenham must do something they have not been able to do in a decade, beat Sir Alex Ferguson.

To follow tomorrow’s United vs. Tottenham game go to: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/gamecast?id=293065&cc=5901

Blazing Berba

The Red Devils are at it again, proving that they are the best team in the world. Ok so that is an overstatement but a 7-1 victory is impressive.

Dimitar Berbatov

This Saturday, Manchester United faced an admittedly less than decent Blackburn Rovers side. United proceeded to score 7 goals, allowing only a late consolation goal by Blackburn.

Even more impressive was Dimitar Berbatov’s 5 goal scoring binge. he joins only 3 other players who have managed to score 5 in a game. I admit that up until this season, I had not been at all impressed by the Bulgarian. But his effort and his performances so far during this campaign make me proud to have him.

Dimitar Berbatov

This might seem like a statement based on one performance but it is far from the contrary. I have seen a large increase in effort and he has developed more awareness to the players around him. I feel that it is another example of the potential Sir Alex is able to release in so many players. he makes good players great.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Today I am faced with a dilemma. The question has popped up, if a player does not see his future at a club as being positive should he leave? If I was playing at a club, and the future was not filled with big and shiny trophys, I would leave, if I could. But what if that club raised me, got me where I was, and always has the potential of winning? Wayne Rooney has made up his mind, he wants out of Manchester United. Although I cannot say I am happy with his choice, I can not say that I would not do the same thing.

Wayne Rooney and Ferguson

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