Archive → May, 2011
Champions League Special
This is my first blog post in a while, I’ve been very busy and since the last post so has football. This will include a little piece on AFC Wimbledon, United pushing for success and the Champions League Final. This includes Manchester United Supporters Trust information in ticketing events in Manchester and London on the day of the game. See the bottom of this blog post! For me seeing AFC Wimbledon getting promoted is a big first for a non-league fan owned football a club. Fans who were told forget your dream by the FA and football in general have proved otherwise. Promotion after promotion and now they are into the top flight. I find it interesting that the clubs in the non league levels of football which are now slowing starting to be fan backed such as AFC, FC United and in the last few months Chester are increasing becoming just more than a knee-jerk reaction. If there are power houses of non-league football who gain attention it’s those clubs. Not to forget many of the fan owned clubs even through they bring in bigger crowds than the clubs around them, don’t have anywhere near the funding or wage bills, that the clubs around them have. They aim to operate within their limits but their main goal is always set high. FC United didn’t gain promotion in their final game but they show other clubs around them that they can compete and sometimes dominate. If AFC Wimbledon can get to the football league with a crowd which is not too dissimilar to the one FC United can bring in without a real home stadium, it shows the only way should be up. Promotion was close and with two strong clubs being promoted and FCs form in the final part of the season. It does look promising for the club and if they can take that form from last season into next season, that could be the key.
The real Manchester United through have proven again it’s the power house of English football and I’ve noticed two very different things during the season. The team seems to have a very different reaction to playing away from home to being at home. United at home are unbeaten. They’ve also most beaten every team that’s stepped out on the Old Trafford pitch and it doesn’t matter what the team is or who plays. Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, all beaten at least twice and you can add nearly every other club in the league and most cup games. Away from home it’s a very different story. Many more draws and losses against Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal. There were many draws against teams United didn’t have a problem beating at home. Why this is? I really don’t know and I don’t think anyone can answer it.
This leads on to a more important game which isn’t at home. The Champions League Final. I can’t remember United ever having a really good game at the new Wembley, even when the result has been 3-1 in the charity shield. This game against Barcelona is one I hope use home form and preparation for rather than an away game. Nearly everyone watched the City game at Wembley and I can say that was a very average game. I didn’t see the quality or passion that would allow us to take the game as we all know United can at Old Trafford. I didn’t see it from either side during the game. After the Rome game in 2009 and our away form all over the country this season I hope the team that’s put out won’t just play the game but it can change the game. The plus points I can see are we’re almost at home in England, only 180 miles away from Manchester, this ash cloud seems to be affecting the Barcelona plans generally and we have almost a full squad of players who I believe are different from 2009. In 2009 in Rome, you could say the 30c heat wasn’t to out suiting and the team just wasn’t up to it. Rooney playing in that 30C heat looked like a bag of sweat. As soon as that first goal went in, you could feel Barcelona had already wrapped it up and it would take something very special to change that. Wembley 19c which is the weather forecast, with a side who play together more as a team will be a different game and we should be in our comfort zone more than they are. If United need to close down for long periods of time we are more suited to do that now as a team than 2009. The question is can United do that from the very start and keep control of the game. That for me is the key and the chance we need to seal the game will come. We saw how Madrid used the Spanish Cup final to effect and showed if you work hard, you can win. If the semi final, they more allowed cheating to take place and they allowed Barcelona to do what they do best. When United play at the weekend, I expect to see more Spanish Cup Madrid style defending, than the respect we gave them in 2009. We need the two types of game we saw in 2008 against them to certainly cause them an upset. In those two games.
For those wanting to watch the Champions League final in Manchester the best events are the Manchester United Supporters Trusts events. I expect nearly all local pubs around Manchester to be ticket only (this include most towns around Manchester), if you have anywhere in mind, I’d check now. For MUST events click here. http://www.tickettailor.com/all-tickets/170/de68/ They have almost SOLD OUT eight venues and are expecting to add more over the next few days. If you want to attend, currently there are tickets for the point at Old Trafford cricket ground. All the others are sold out. If there are any new venues, you should sign up here now for any emails on buying tickets. http://action.joinmust.org/index.php/content/splash
For those already travelling to London with either a match ticket or no ticket. MUST is expecting to put London events and coaches on sometime TODAY. THESE WILL SELL OUT FAST. To get first dibs you should sign up here now and they’l email out the details. http://action.joinmust.org/index.php/content/splash
#LUHG