Sucker-Punch Missed

Could it go any other way this season?

With the eventual title-holders earning the honor, whomever that may be, with the fewest points in the past decade, the neutral observer knew it’d go down to the final weekend, even if that meant officials would gift-wrap victory yesterday for the Blues at White Hart Lane. Not one, mind you, but two non-goals allowed were required to keep Chelsea in the race…grrrrr…..

At kickoff, you knew United would frustrate Arsenal by playing compact, counter-attacking football which hath served the Red Devils so well on this ground the past two years. Play tight, force the Gunners wide, and defend – let Wenger’s men become frustrated around goal and lose composure. Surely Sir Alex’s eleven would get their chances against a mentally frail side.

Another good omen involved the appointment of Chris Foy to this match, as United have an unbeaten string running with the Merseyside-born referee going back something like seventeen matches.

And, Foy certainly played his part in evening out the refereeing controversy against the Blues by missing Vidic’s handball-penalty and getting in the way of three Arsenal passes all in the first half. Well done, Mr. Foy. You’ve single handedly sparked even more angst with the conspiracy theorists among the Gunner faithful regardless of the result.

By halftime, Arsenal had the majority of the possession and an additional chance or two created. However, the score line played right into Ferguson’s strategy, with the chance for the decisive goal and opportunity to win the beloved nineteenth title at home against Chelsea.

But, did you really think it would come that easy this year?

This is the United side that, any other year, would be on the outside looking in on the title race, as either Arsenal or Chelsea would be running away with it by now. Historically speaking, we’d be focused only on Champions League Final prospects.

This is the Jekyll-and-Hyde side that wins at home and drops points away. Such a disparity in form confounds football analysts and fans alike.

But did you really think the refs would play such a heavy hand in keeping Chelsea’s hopes alive? Not in your wildest dreams, which could be seen as foreboding omen for United.

The invisible hand of the football Gods, if you believed in them, seems to demand the most soap opera-like of finishes this of all years. Seemingly United’s nineteenth title mustn’t resemble the majority of the other EPL championships won thus far, instead it must come down to the penultimate date of May 22nd.

So, as we prepare for Champions League action on Wednesday and Chelsea’s visit to Old Trafford next weekend, consider this match a sucker-punch missed, one that has connected so many times in the past few years, it’s bound to miss occasionally.

It seems destined to last until the very last moment, with United and Chelsea tied on goal differential.

Besides, how could it go any other way this year?

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Back at you well after the Champions League clash on Wednesday. Cheers.