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Posted

I had originally intended to use the title ?A Cross (Word) from Conspiracy Corner?, but thought better of it, as Liam would have had a field day! Nevertheless, this appraisal still contains more than its unfair share of whines from the sour grape slopes of the runners-up region, even though, in keeping with the philosophy of our manager, I?ll make no apology for their inclusion.

For the club as a whole this was to be a season marked by a series of unprecedented injuries on the pitch and self inflicted wounds off it, all of which was underpinned by a fixture schedule that, quite rightly, showed us no favours, but, with hindsight, ultimately undermined our ambitions. Throw into the mix the inordinate number of early yellow cards we picked up compared to our rivals, plus a derailing red one dished out by Poll (the country?s leading pantomime Principal Boy) and you have the backdrop against which we played out our campaign. However, let?s not get ahead of ourselves?

Having eased into proceedings with a comfortable opener against Citeh, we then put in a particularly poor performance (yet again) against Boro, only to recover with typical determination to record three straight wins. Like many fans at that time and since, I failed to realise that the dual away fixtures oop t?north (Blackburn followed) were to become a recurring theme, with Blackburn again (albeit the League Cup this time) and Sheff U before the away leg to Barca and, of much more concern, ManU and Bolton within three days of each other in November.

Worse was to come in December when the fixture computer had said ?yes? to another away days northern duopoly trip (Everton and Wigan) and we contrived to make life even harder for ourselves by still trying to win the League Cup and ending up with a trek to the Barcodes outpost squeezed in between these games. Miraculously, we won the lot, but, as we all know, the pressure told and we dropped points over Christmas and just after against Reading, Fulham and Villa. Okay, the greater impact may well have been as a result of there being no JT and Cech, but who can deny that a these monthly double hits, were, like all computer glitches, getting to us.

Defeat to the Scousers followed almost inevitably, due to the worsening injury crisis, and just how we were keeping ourselves in the Premiership race remains a mystery to most of us, bearing in mind that we were to be denied the chance to land a telling blow on the Mancs due to both teams reaching the FA Cup semis. Not beyond the wit of man that this might happen to at least one of us, but apparently way beyond the wit of those in the Premier League fixture-setting department. We can only pray that next season will be different.

Any review of the season would not be complete without comment on the unprecedented number of injuries, many requiring immediate surgery, that we have sustained. The Reading game will not be forgotten for a long time, if at all, by Chelsea fans, nor anyone who holds dear the belief that goalkeepers should be protected from tackles that go under the misnomer of ?letting the keeper know you?re there?. Sorting out the keeper on an early, or in Carlo?s case, late cross is cowardly enough, but to leave a knee or boot in unnecessarily can, as was all too evident, be life threatening, whether it be with intent or reckless abandon. If I thought for one moment that we, as Champions, were being singled for special treatment?well, I guess we will know the answer to that when teams like Reading tank into ManU next season. Yeh, like that is going to happen, eh Steve? Incidentally, wasn?t it good to see Jose congratulate Jens Lehmann so warmly after Sunday?s game? Bet that conversation had a word of thanks in it for his support of Petr, in contrast to Bob Wilson and his idiotic declaration that 'it's all part of the game'.

It would seem that, looking at our card count this season, we have been no angels either and, unless you are a Sky commentator asked to review a Paul Scholes missed tackle, that?s no laughing matter. That said, we do appear to have taken some serious stick during the course of a season in which we reduced the size of our 1st team squad and we can ill afford the self inflicted wounds of in-house squabbles as well. These enable the Media to do what they do best - focus on Chelsea negatives - and for this reason alone regaining the Premiership title must be the priority, as opposed to pandering to their preconception that Roman wants Champions League success and, by implication, nothing else compares. To put it bluntly, the CL is a lottery and I haven?t wasted my money on one of those for years. Even though we may be forced to buy a ticket for it and our number might come up one day, it is the Premiership that really matters and potential new signings should reflect that fact. Second place hurts, as the Mancs will tell us after their three seasons of looking up at top spot, but I am confident that we wont have to wait quite that long to knock them off their perch?surely we can?t have another Premiership season like this one, can we?



Posted

Another corker, Dors.

And, yes, i agree. Surely we can't see a repeat of what has happpened this season?

It's been inexplicable really?

Considering the fixture list, severe injuries, United getting their biggest points haul, and add to the fact that we are going to add to the squad and get rid of some dead wood, you can only see that we will be nearing the peaks again as we have during previous seasons.

It's not a point of excuse making, United fully deserve their title, however the events of this season can only be marked as a 'one off', and with United being THE new club to be shot down, there can only be good times ahead.

Posted

When you think of it like that, you have to admit that Jose has got a point when he says he's amazed by what's been achieved this season.

Howver, I have to disagree that United will be next season's team to be shot down. Of course I'd like to be mistaken, but what I think you'll see is more of the same old "all that money and they still couldn't win the title" side by side with accusations of buying success if we happen to win another trophy or three.



Posted

Lofty, WE will never be able to escape that tag, you and i both know that.

What i'm saying is, United being the New Champs, will have the spotlight firmly on them next season, as any Champ's do?

Whether it be on the front or back pages.

Posted

I don't think they will - I think the media will bask a little longer in this ridiculous idea that United winning the league is great for football, almost as if they have come out of nowhere to achieve unimaginable glory. I think next season we will still see a big media desire for Utd to keep the (T)rouble of Chelsea at bay - if they were to win back to back titles then we may see more of a shift in the third season.



Posted
I don't think they will - I think the media will bask a little longer in this ridiculous idea that United winning the league is great for football, almost as if they have come out of nowhere to achieve unimaginable glory. I think next season we will still see a big media desire for Utd to keep the (T)rouble of Chelsea at bay - if they were to win back to back titles then we may see more of a shift in the third season.

It may start out this way Loz, i agree, but i dont think it will last.

A couple of incidents here and there?...

The media are a fickle bunch.

Posted

Let's see if media wants to see the champions lose next season...will they say it's boring if ManU win the title again next season? Somehow I doubt it. icon_rolleyes.gif

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