Manchester United move 3 clear of Arsenal, 5 clear of Chelsea, teach Liverpool how to rotate a squad
It’s not time to gloat yet - no way even near that.
But after an assured performance by a distinctly second-choice Manchester United backline and a cracker of a game over at White Hart Lane (Tottenham v Chelsea seems to be the new Liverpool v Chelsea, albeit a lot more fun), Manchester United move 3 points clear of Arsenal at the top of table with eight games to go (3 of them against Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool and none of them that could be considered easy, apart from Wigan away perhaps).
United are also 5 points clear of Chelsea, who thrice blew a perfectly good lead and let Tottenham back into the game. Would Mourinho have let that happen? Answer us, Mr Grant! How could you blow such a great chance to draw level with Arsenal on points ahead of your weekend game?
And Mr Benitez, if you’re watching…THIS is how you rotate your squad against lowly relegation-material opposition. There’s a reason why Liverpool spent 20m+ and made Torres one of the highest paid players in the Premier League (let alone Liverpool) - use him.
Cristiano Ronaldo - take a bow, you son of a bitch. 33 goals in a season, and with at least 10 games left to go, he could easily hit 40. And here I was thinking we were missing Ruud. Ronaldo was stand-in captain (in the absence of Neville, Giggs, Rio and Rooney) but despite scoring both goals Ronaldo played down his contribution to the team:
“The important thing is to win and get three points. My confidence is high and I feel in good form. We now have a good advantage and need to think about Sunday. If we win against Liverpool we have a good chance of winning the title.”
I think that despite the importance of the Liverpool game, the result of Chelsea v Arsenal will be just as crucial. Another United win coupled with a draw at Stamford Bridge would, theoretically speaking, give United a cushion of 5 and 7 points (respectively) against both teams, and at this stage of the season that’s as good as wrapping up the title.
Grand Slam Sunday won’t be a footballing classic, but hopefully it will decide (to a large extent) who takes the title. For all we know, Arsenal and Liverpool could win and throw the title race wide open again. And a result (Arsenal winning at Stamford Bridge) that would not have been possible under Mourinho might just come about under Grant - and for that reason he has perhaps the most important role to play on Sunday.
Grand Slam Sunday Preview:
Manchester United v Liverpool
Chelsea v Arsenal
“And Mr Benitez, if you’re watching…THIS is how you rotate your squad against lowly relegation-material opposition. There’s a reason why Liverpool spent 20m+ and made Torres one of the highest paid players in the Premier League (let alone Liverpool) - use him.”
Yet more uneducated tripe. Fernando Torres, when fit, has played in every game this season bar 2. The 2 games he was rested were before he had injuries, suggesting there were niggles or doubts about his fitness for those games.
Maybe you should concentrate on your own fact-finding, rather than copying and rehashing the same old rubbish the ill-informed masses have been sprouted for months.
I believe the Chelsea Football Club Committee and Board need to stand up and take responsibility. Under Jose Morinho we would definately be in contention for at least one trophy of some sort. Remember, Jose came in and in his first and second year won us the Premiership. Because we did not win it one season and because of issues between Abromovich and Morinho over Schev, Jose decided to call it a day. Last time I looked it was the Manager’s job to choose the squad for each game not the owner. Anyway, Avram Grant has been given the task. This is his first year here and we are going to win . . . . . nothing. We lost to a second rate team in the FA Cup. We have now lost the opportunity to win the Premiership because we lost to a second rate team in the last match. Why? Because we played a second rate game and the second rate team played a first class game. Twice. It would take a miracle to win the CL. So basically, we walk away with nothing this year. I guess Grant will stay on even though our trophy cabinet wont be renewd this year. Strange really, do a great job, get kicked out, do a naff job and get to stay on. I wonder if the CFC Committee would like to comment on this. I am sure there are loads of true blues out there like me that deserve an answer since it is our support and our hard earned wages that is lining the pockets of the Committee and the Owner.
Ty - the concept of tongue-in-cheek is lost on you.
However, your point is noted. Thanks for the correction. On the other hand, if I take out the Torres mention, the point on rotation remains quite valid.
Ty you’re spot on mate. Bilal rushed in with his ‘recieved wisdom’ of course, which is a regular feature of his writing.
The rotation point is valid to a certain extent however. Benitez will not change his rotation methods hence we pray as Lpool fans that next season will bring greater resources from which the manager can alter his team selections without affecting the results as badly as it has this season. Replacing ‘like for like’, or somewhere close to it will be the ‘key’ in the club’s assault for the leauge title and NOT rotation per se.
It’s like Arvin’s learned a new word or something….wait, he has!
Bilal, are you on your period again…? C’mon mate, what do you expect a staunch Liverpool fan like myself to do when I see immature statements like ‘Manchester Utd (teach Liverpool how to rotate a squad)’…and in case you’ve missed it, the operative word being ‘teach’. You do yourself no favours by denigrating Liverpool. I can understand the points you’ve made, but be more sensible about it okay..?
U might reach your menopause then.
Whatever happens, i want RVP to score a fucking goal this Sunday!!!
Ahmed:
Good to see that you can now bring yourself to contemplate Liverpool beating United.
It won’t happen of course, but the fact that you admit of the theoretical possibility is a mark that you’re making progress …