What did I say about jinxing the football? I knew I should have kept quiet! Within one day we’ve gone from being eight points clear and looking dominant over a lacklustre Man City to losing dismally and seeing City win 4-0, bringing them right back into the title race. Mancini had a wry grin on his face when he said after their game that it was, nevertheless, ‘finished’ – mind games of the highest order and he knows it. With five games left each it’s going to be a nerve-wracking end to the season; interesting, from a football perspective, but not necessarily as a fan. I’d rather we just won it easily.
The most interesting game will obviously be when we play City away on Monday 30 April but there are loads of different scenarios that could play out with the remaining fixtures. I’m no statistician but I do like to think about what needs to happen for us to win the Premier League title and make us champions for a record twentieth time. Here are a few thoughts:
City need to win at least two of their remaining games, and for us to not win any, to take the title.
Assuming we draw with City, for arguments sake, we need to win two other games and at least draw another to be sure of taking the title, regardless of what they do.
Goal difference could play a part if we draw level on points, so we need to get some good winning margins over the next few games.
The most important thing for us is not to panic and just play our football – the results will come naturally then… hopefully.
A great weekend for Man United and (without wishing to jinx anything) it looks like we’re starting to run away with the title this year. A decent 2-0 win over QPR along with Man City’s current poor form means that we’re stretching away at the top of the Premier League, now eight points clear. They really are having a bad time of it at the moment, City, but they’ve only got themselves to blame. A bit like Liverpool really, who have surprised me with their performances recently – it’ll be really interesting to see how Dalglish tries to turn their current run around.
I’ve got some work on this week and also some car shopping planned as well. The studio is being used by a death metal group for four days, Tuesday to Friday, but they’re bringing their own sound guy in for the first two days, which means I don’t really have to be there. I’ll be around on Thursday and Friday to help them with the mixing and mastering. Me and a mate are going to look at cars again this week. His daughter decided she didn’t like the used Vauxhall Corsa we looked at the other week so we’re going to check out a new Peugeot 207 this time, to see what sort of deal we can get. Sometimes it’s worth looking at a new car for the insurance, MOT and servicing savings you can make but we’ll have to see.
I have to say I have been enjoying looking at new and used cars recently and I think I’m going to miss it a bit when we all finally get them sorted. I can’t see that happening for a little while though because none of us can make our minds up at the moment, so there’s a bit of time left for looking at cars.
He didn’t buy the Honda Civic in the end, but not because I found a fault with it – like me, he’s decided he wants something bigger. There must be something about getting older that makes you want a bigger car! So the search goes on for both of us – I’ve still not found the right used car for my needs but I’m in no great rush so I don’t mind taking my time. We had an interesting chat about Manchester property on the drive down. He’s got a flat in the centre of town and a small house in the student area that he rents out. He bought them with some money he inherited a few years ago, thinking that property was the best way to invest it. He makes a reasonable amount from them but they are really more like a pension for him.
Anyway, I’m winding down to the long weekend now. Although I work for myself with the studio, I still make sure I take Bank Holidays off and will be taking advantage of the full four day weekend this Easter, just like everybody else. It can be easy to slip into work on supposed days off, when it’s as close to home as mine is, but after I lock the door this afternoon I’m not going to open it again until next Tuesday. I’ve got a busy weekend anyway, away from work, with Man United playing on Sunday and the 2012 Masters golf to watch from today. As you will know if you read about my appalling day on the course with my mate the other week, I’m not much of a golf player but I do like to watch a bit, especially the big tournaments. It’s an interesting field this year too, with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy as the favourites. I’ll be cheering on Rory, hoping he doesn’t make a mess of it like he did last year.
A great start to the week with Man United taking a late 2-0 victory over Blackburn on Monday night. That moves us five points clear at the top of the Premier League, over Man City, and our goal difference is only one behind them now too. I know I’ve said it before but it is at times like this that we really show why we’ve been champions over and over again – not just keeping going but actually improving all the way to the end of the season. I’m not one to gloat too much but it is in quite a contrast to Man City, who seem to be falling apart a bit now. They were arguing amongst themselves at the weekend, playing Sunderland, and there really doesn’t look like there’s much harmony in the team. Balotelli always seems to be at the heart of it too but I think that gives a bit of a false impression – he seems a genuine person to me and not a liability at all, but that’s just from the outside looking in.
We play next on Sunday against QPR but I might have a look at the Champions League and Europa League games in the week, just to see how Chelsea and Athletic Bilbao get on. Otherwise I’ve got a quiet week ahead. The studio is booked out on Wednesday and Thursday for a local band doing a demo and other than that I’m just going to be doing some chores and running a few errands. A friend of mine wants me to go and look at a used Honda Civic with him this afternoon so maybe we’ll stay out for a game of snooker or something after that. The last time we looked at a car together he was about to buy it when I noticed a serious fault in the bodywork, which showed that it had been in an accident previously. Maybe that’s why he’s taking me this time too – he thinks I’m his lucky charm.
I realise that I talk a lot about domestic football on here, specifically Manchester United and the Premier League, but I am also a big fan of our national side and 2012 is going to be a big year for them too. Things are a little different this year, however, because we effectively have two international football teams – England and Team GB, competing in Euro 2012 and the London 2012 Olympic Games respectively. This has never happened before because we haven’t entered the football competition in the Olympics since 1972 – the first year that footballers were able to turn professional in the UK. But with London hosting the 2012 Olympics, it’s time for a change.
There has been a bit of discussion over who should play in the Team GB side. Great Britain is officially made up, as we all know, of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, so it would seem natural that players from all four nations form the team. The Scottish, Welsh and Northern-Irish football authorities didn’t want to take part in discussions, however, so it looks like it’s been left to England to field a side. Whether players from the other nations will be eligible to be selected – Ryan Giggs from Wales, for example – isn’t clear at the moment. As with most things in football, it’s a bit complicated.
What we do know is that it’s an under-23 competition but three players over 23 are allowed to be in the team, which is why there’s been a bit of hype around David Beckham playing. The squad hasn’t been selected yet though, so we’ll have to wait and see.
The other national side, England, which, of course, only contains players with English heritage, are playing in Euro 2012, which kicks off on the 8 June 2012, just over a month before the start of the Olympics. It’s being played in Poland and Ukraine and, as ever, hopes are high. Or at least they are for some people – I’ll just be happy if we get past the group stages without too much embarrassment.
Had a really nice, chilled weekend in the end and did a few things I’ve not done for a long time. I went out with some of the lads on Friday night, to a few Manchester bars, then we all came back to my place for a bit of a party in the games room with a few people we’d met around town. We kept going till about 5am, with most of them staying over on the sofas. A few sore heads in the morning but nothing some cups of tea and bacon sandwiches couldn’t fix.
Did a bit of shopping on Saturday afternoon and went to the cinema in the evening with my daughter. I don’t think I’ve been for about ten years as I’ve got such a good movie system at home but I quite liked it for a change – their popcorn is better than mine too. I didn’t realise Manchester cinemas were so good these days and we were even allowed to take a beer in to drink while watching the movie. I’m sure that never happened when I was a kid.
Football tonight and four full days in the studio for the rest of this week. It’s normally the other way round, busy at the beginning of the week and quiet at the end, but the band I’ve got in wanted it specifically Tuesday to Friday. They’ve been in before though so I know them and it should be good fun. Last time they even let me play on the record a bit – only some tambourine but I still got the credit!
I had a bit of a mixed weekend in the end. I was obviously pleased we put in an outstanding performance in the Premier League against Wolves on Sunday. I said we needed to make sure we stayed strong until the end of the season and it looks like we’ve go the right attitude to see that through. It was shocking to hear of the events at the Tottenham vs Bolton game though, with what happened to Muamba. It makes you realise that at the end of the day it’s just a group of blokes kicking a football around and there are bigger and more serious things than that.
So I’m a bit subdued heading into this week and I’m sort of glad there’s no football to think about until next Monday. I’ve got a bit of work coming into the studio and it’ll be nice to get absorbed in that – although, as it’s mainly voiceover stuff there won’t be much for me to do so I’ll probably end up playing no download slots while I’m waiting for them to do all the long boring recordings. That will all be finished by Thursday midday and I’ve already planned some car shopping in the afternoon with one of my mates. We’re going to head down to some dealers about an hour away and use the road trip for an excuse to go for a round of golf. I’ve not played for years but my friend is always out so I’ve got a feeling I’m going to get well beaten.
Well, I came into tonight’s game with a positive attitude but that’s obviously gone now. I am, of course, disappointed. Going out of the Champions League was a blow but I think we were a bit too arrogant coming into the Europa League. We’ve just not looked like we were that interested and, as Athletic Bilbao have shown tonight, you need to give it 100%, even in the so called ‘lesser’ league – especially in the so called lesser league, in fact. It goes to show how fine a point the game of football can turn on – I’m sure Athletic Bilbao could give many of the teams in the Champions League a run for their money.
The headlines will no doubt say that we were outplayed and I can’t take anything from Athletic Bilbao – they are a great side and really were the better team tonight. I can’t help being disappointed with our performance though. We were lucky not to lose 6-1 tonight and that’s not all down to the quality of Athletic Bilbao. I hope Sir Alex gives them a proper talking – I’m sure he will. More than anything I hope this doesn’t creep into our Premier League performances. We’ve got a small lead over Man City now and need to keep extending it, so the next few games – away to Wolves on Sunday and at home to Fulham the week after – are crucial. Positive attitude, lads. Europe will have to wait for next year. We’ve done it before and it will come again – this won’t be the last time ever…
A great weekend of football has set me up nicely for this week. We’re finally in the position we deserve, the top of the Premier League, after a great win over West Brom. Man City seem to be losing their nerve a little bit – I watched the highlights of their match against Swansea on Match of the Day and they seemed on edge as a team; irritable and just not working well together. Still, it’s all good for us and I hope we keep the top spot to the end of the season. It’s what Man United do best – 100% right to the end, when others are losing their nerve and cracking under the pressure.
We’ll be concentrating our efforts on getting a result against Athletic Bilbao on Thursday night now, in the Europa League. That’s going to be a tough game, away from home with a 3-2 deficit from last week’s match. It’ll be a nervy evening round my house I think. I’ve got a busy week in the studio before that though, with a signed band in to record for four days this week. They’re from Finland and their management have sent them over here to record, to soak up a bit of creative energy from the city, I think. They’ve put them up in some Manchester serviced apartments and are taking them on tours of the city, looking at the musical heritage, like the old Hacienda building and the Factory Records head offices, which are now the Factory251 nightclub. I think it’s great that they see Manchester, and my studio, as a destination for such a big project and I’m hoping we can produce a decent record for them.
I was looking forward to relaxing after a nice week – a bit of work in the studio and a good day today looking at some used cars with a mate, followed by a decent game of football tonight with a few beers and a solid win for United. Then Bilbao turned up and we lost 2-3.
I have to say they are a decent team and really brought the game to us tonight. We could learn a thing or two from them about how to approach this Europa League – they looked like they wanted to play and had a real desire to win, which we didn’t always. Sir Alex is really going to have to sort the defence out if we’re going to do anything in Europe this season; there were times when they just didn’t look interested.
Which brings me on to the main talking point and I’m sure I’m not the only one who learnt tonight that it’s an offence to play without two boots on, which is exactly what led to Athletic Bilbao’s third goal – a free kick given because one of Evra’s boots came off. The real travesty of that goal was our defender, Rafael, who could easily have cleared the rebound from a De Gea save but just stood watching while the Bilbao striker stuck it in the net – useless!
I don’t like ending on a negative note though and perhaps the one positive to come out of tonight’s game was David De Gea’s performance. He’s had some stick since he came into the team but he showed tonight what a great goalkeeper he really is, so here’s to him – and hoping for a result when we play the return leg next week.
