Word of the Day: Tight

Amongst the numerous definitions of "tight" on Dictionary.com, such as “closely constrained or constricted”; “affording little or no extra room; fittingly closely, especially too closely”, the obvious-choice today is “closely contested; a tight match” as in United 0 - Villa 0.

Maybe I could have chosen “wasteful” as the word, but “tight” best describes both the game and the United supporters’ tension yearning for a goal that wouldn’t come.

I don’t know why, but for some reason, the game’s flow caught me off-guard. Somewhere in my brain I suspected Villa might open up and attack United with full force, especially after last weekend’s comprehensive victory over Arsenal. There were hidden expectations for breathtaking back-and-forth action in the football compartment of my mind.

But in retrospect, Martin O’Neill’s disciplined, counter-attacking football shouldn’t surprise us, given the flashbacks from Nam he must relive when conjuring up tactics for United, especially after a 14-match loosing stretch. Give full credit to Villa for keeping shape and fully earning their point today.

Looking back now, there are two primary observations about this match for United moving forward.

First, United sorely miss Berbatov, as Rooney and Tevez lacked form and understanding today. Both players need to check their natural tendencies to always retreat for the ball and ensure that somebody pushes forward. Today, their temptation to come back too far, too often was exacerbated by inconsistent ball-winning and creativity from central midfield. United didn’t have a consistent presence pressing Villa’s center-halves today, which made defending everything else much easier.

Second, the Ferdinand-and-Vidic-wall returned from exodus this week. Hallelujah, brother! Both were brilliant - they didn’t have a single, solitary misstep the entire match against the speedy Young and Agbonlahor. It’s an absolute delight watching them make a demanding position look relatively easy. Hopefully, this trend continues.

Looking to next weekend now, let’s hope United saved the word “champions” for City, where Rooney takes his golden chance late and the away supporters get to sing “That’s why we’re champions!”

Ah, what a lovely vision indeed, and besides, no blue moons are forecast anyway. Here's to beating the Middle Eastlanders. Cheers!

Stoke Match: Viva Ronaldo

"Running down the wing" perhaps should be "Line up the set piece king, hear United sing 'Viva Ronaldo'". Oh the joy in a comfortable, dominating performance.

Granted, Stoke are brutal, which only confirms the fall from grace (top 4) for Wenger-worshipers. At our pub, each time Villa scored a group or United supporters ran down to the other TV screen and confirmed the Gooner-misery - an added benefit in a very easy Saturday morning stateside.

My only disappointment now is not having much time for commentary here. I'll simply do my job with echos of Viva Ronaldo playing in my mind for days to come. Can't wait for the Villa match. Cheers Ronnie! Congrats on 101.

Arsenal Match: Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

Not even memories from Monty Python improve the mood here. What an utterly frustrating performance, and from blogging perspective, I’m peeved that the title “Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda” got used up last week because it’s more apt today. This one is so disappointing on so many levels – let me count the ways.

First, we won’t even worry about the missed opportunities, as they shouldn’t concern the truly discerning United fan the least right know – we know that this worm will turn, especially for Rooney when he relaxes after finally netting his 100th for the club.

Second, the midfield spine has gone missing. With our wide midfield so far up the pitch, it places a tremendous burden on the two central midfielders. Carrick, Fletcher, and Anderson haven’t been up to the challenge lately – not enough bite, shape, and composure in our half of the pitch. Too many times you saw midfielders backing off a dribbling Gunner. You must close them down, and if they get by, foul if absolutely necessary. Space came way too cheaply today, as you need to make Arsenal at least think you’ll pinch them from time to time.

Third, we witnessed more keystone cops from our back line, and now, Van Der Saar decided to get into the act, appearing nervous and tentative. Did anyone else wonder if he was Fulham in disguise today?! What a useless punch straight to the penalty spot. And, did anyone else feel a curse descend upon Rio after being tagged with “best in the world” by pundits? Arrrggggghhhh...

Last and most gut-wrenching, both United and Mr. Captain-extraordinaire must realize that Gary-the-Red can’t keep pace with top-half Premiership football, let alone critical Champions League matches. It’s bittersweet watching Rafael blossom into our future right-back while feeling that the Gary Neville testimonial may be coming all too soon - he's not the same player anymore by leaps and bounds.

Even with these frustrations and concerns this game could have easily been a draw, 3-2 or even 4-2. Our attaching football should strike fear into any club in the world, and on a given day, we can score in droves. And we can take solace from the reflection that we’ve got our away matches out of the way against Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal. We relish the rematches at Old Trafford. We trust in SAF’s ability to take us on our customary run of form yet this campaign.

Remember: always look on the bright side of life.

Hull Match: Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda

United throttle Hull by six or seven goals on a different day, but with the current form of both squads, a 4-3 result makes some strange sense. Give Hull full credit for playing their tails off and making things nervy, but it should never-ever come down to a one-goal margin.

This is getting repetitive and irritating: we feel the joy from tremendous attacking football mixed-in with troublesome defensive gaffes, and now, abject-poor tracking back during the final 20 minutes. This blog entry could easily been named “Tale of Two Halves, Part 3” (see the previous two posts). Frustration is setting in here.

Looking back a day later, I’m actually quite pleased that Hull came back. Fergie now has abundant ammo to galvanize and sharpen the lads’ concentration and defensive form. You can almost hear Fergie demanding, “You must shut-up shop AND take your chances, boys. We can’t afford these lapses. If you won’t track back, we’ll find someone else who can.” The Hull performance could “shock” us into a serious run in form here.

We’ll take the 3 points and sit in the delightful afterglow of Liverpool’s gut-retching defeat to Spurs. You can just feel a tight, three-team race – sorry Arsenal – to the finish this year. Should make for a wonderful ride.