About six weeks ago I did a piece predicting West Ham to win the Premier League based on their league position this year and Manchester United’s league position last year after 5 games.

That prediction hasn’t been working out too well (hopefully you didn’t think I was serious…although I’m pretty sure I still managed to annoy some Millwall fans…) and so I thought I’d take a look once again at where things stood last season in comparison to this season. Plus, Liverpool lost for the fifth time this weekend, and, well, you’ll understand why I want to take a look at the table exactly one year ago today when you see it.

14 Possibly Interesting Facts About The 2008/2009 Premier League Season Compared to the 2009/2010 Premier League Season That You Might Like (Redundancies should be reported to the Redunancy Department of Redundancies):

1. This time last year, Liverpool was atop the Premier League with 8 wins from 10 matches and 3 points clear of Chelski. This year, the Blues hold a two point lead over Man United for the lead while Liverpool have stumbled to their fifth loss of the season and find themselves in 7th place.

2. Wigan (8 points), Bolton (8 points) and Tottenham (6 points, 2 from 8 games if you recall…that stat will never get old) populated the wrong end of the table in the relegation zone. This year, Hull (8 points), West Ham (7 points) and Portsmouth (7 points) find themselves in the same predicament.

3. The three teams that were eventually relegated, Middlesborough, West Brom and Newcastle, stood in 9th, 16th and 17th place, respectively. Place your bets now on Stoke (9), Wolves (16) and Blackburn (17) to find themselves in the Championship come next year as they find themselves in the same spots as well. 

4. Chelsea owned the best goal differential at +18. At +20 this year, their goal differential still tops the league.

5. The worst goal differential in the league was -7, a tie between Stoke and Blackburn. Phil Brown’s (for the moment anyways) Hull City currently owns the worst goal differential at -16.

6. Chelsea stood in 2nd place. Manchester United currently stands in 2nd place. I’d tell you to place your bets on Man United to win the title, but as a Liverpool fan, I’m sorry but I simply cannot bring myself to do that.

7. The 3rd place spot was occupied by Arsenal. It still is.

8. There have been 19 1-nils this season.

9. Bolton had failed to score in 6 of their first 10 matches. Doing their best imitation of the Wanderers, Portsmouth have failed to score in 6 of their first 11 matches.

10. Chelsea have let 8 goals in this season, doubling the amount the had let in last season (for those not too savvy at math, that means they let in 4 last year). Coincidentally (and NOT ironically, as some would say), they still have allowed the least goals this season.

11. West Ham was the only team to be drawless after 10 games last season. This season, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Burnley have all taken the 3-points-or-no-points approach in each of their 11 matches as well.

12. Nicolas Anelka (19), Cristiano Ronaldo (18) and Steven Gerrard (16) lead the league in scoring last season. Fernando Torres (9), Darren Bent (8), and Didier Drogba (8) are on pace to lead the league in scoring this season. Torres is in line to score 22, with Drogba and Bent on pace to gather 19.6 goals (if you would like to know how to score 0.4 goals, go ask that blasted beach ball).

13. Robin Van Persie lead the league in assists with 11 last season. Fabregas already has 9, putting him on pace to have a hand in 22 goals by the end of the year.

14. The worst discipline belonged to Wilson Palacios and Marouane Fellaini, who both gathered 12 yellow cards to their name all of last season. So far this season there is a 9 way tie for the worst discipline. They’re all on pace to gather up 11 yellows.

11 games down and 27 to go. Who knows, maybe Portsmouth will go on a 27 match win streak and win the league. And maybe Abigail Clancy will break up with Peter Crouch and marry me. But as Andy Gray of FIFA10 likes to tell me, the table after 10 games is usually very similar to the table after 38.

There’s ridiculous, and then there is this.

A self-proclaimed ‘witch’ is enjoying his 15 minutes of fame after making the bold claim that he had placed a ‘hex’ on Cristiano Ronaldo at the request of a jaded ex-lover. Pepe (that’s the witch, not the ex-lover) is positively gloating after watching Ronaldo injure his ankle during the international break and is predicting that CR will be forced to stop playing football in four months.

For all the abuse Cristiano Ronaldo has received since the 2006 World Cup (when the blind lead the blind when the English press declared open season on him and the rest of the world followed), and there were plenty of kicks, shoves, shoulder barges and what not in between, this has got to be the worst of them all.

He now has to contend with every news report about him and his injuries accompanied by a mention of a non-existent curse put on him by a witch with a craft marketing plan.

Pepe is a smart one. He’s picked the Paris Hilton storyline, and he’s prefaced it by saying that he was also asked to put a curse on Lionel Messi but that he ‘refused’.

Of course you can’t claim to attack the baby-faced Argentine when your primary audience is superstitious mothers and jaded housewives. On the other hand, that’s the exact same audience that hates CR’s womanising and all that represents, so let’s put all our needles into him.

There’s no curse, there’s no spell, there’s nothing going on with Cristiano Ronaldo other than him getting a knock on his ankle that will keep him out of football till next month. The man will be back and will be scoring for fun all over again before the year is over.

As for Pepe – he’ll make some money out of it, for sure, and maybe resurface in 5 years going after yet another world-famous celebrity. He’s not the first hack trying to make a fast buck off a big name, and he won’t be the last.

Next.

The season so far has had its ups and downs for the Reds. A shock defeat to Burnley certainly wasn’t in the script, as the world looks on intently to see how the reigning Premiership Champions set about life after Ronaldo and ‘that’ final in Rome, to defending their domestic crown to make it four League titles in a row and surpass the record of their long time Merseyside rivals Liverpool.

The summer saw a great deal of upheaval at United with the long and protracted saga of Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Real Madrid finally concluded, thoughts turned to the future of one Carlos Tevez who had established himself as a real fans favourite at Old Trafford during his two year stay. Life at United is never far from the back pages, but never before have the Reds had to share so many column inches with the blue team of Manchester, and in the end so it proved a controversial move to Man City was to unfold for Tevez leaving United seemingly short in the striking department.

Ferguson then proceeded to bring in Michael Owen and Valencia assuring the slightly disgruntled United faithful that youth players like Macheda and Welbeck would be given more playing time and responsibility to produce a goal return for the senior side in the coming season. Now five games in, we are in a position to take stock of the state of play at Old Trafford and assess what can and should be expected for the remainder of the campaign.

Firstly, I can see no argument to suggest that a team can improve by selling its best player. Ronaldo was just that for United and although we have seen Rooney respond fantastically to the increased responsibility of leading the team, there should be no confusing the fact that the sum of all the parts is less with Ronaldo out of the side.

However United are a different proposition now, and a team still trying to feel it’s way into a new system. For the first time in many seasons there could be a genuine debate as to what United’s best 11 is. Aside from Rooney, Vidic, Evra and Ferdinand, Alex Ferguson can and has picked a variety of different player combinations based on a number of factors, namely: form, fitness and which players have the best characteristics for beating the opposition in question. This rotation approach has the benefit of making life harder for opposing teams to predict how best to set up against United, however it should also be considered that this has not helped the continuity of the transition to the new way of playing either.

The Premier League race this year is proving to be one of the closest run in a very long time. Man City in particular are off to a flyer, and even after their loss to United at the weekend Tottenham are still considered by many as genuine contenders to crash the Top Four party.

The upcoming Manchester derby provides a mouth watering prospect of duels and battles both on and off the field with United looking to inflict City’s first defeat of the season and the Blues desperate to get one over their long time dominant local adversary. With a resurgent Arsenal and Chelsea looking as strong as ever, it may prove to be Liverpool that come the end of the season suffer the embarrassment of Champions league exile, only time will tell.

The Reds certainly still have the tools to compete for trophies on all fronts, and the squad will be looking to prove that despite the loss of the current Ballon d’or holder they were by no means a one man team. With Owen Hargreaves set to make a long awaited return from injury to bolster the midfield, along with Anderson finally breaking his scoring duck things are looking up for United.

Dimitar Berbatov continues to flatter to deceive, showing moments of brilliance and then disappearing for large parts of games. Owen is also seemingly still trying to find his feet in a team that is expected to win every match, although he has stayed clear of injury thus far which will have surprised some.

It would be foolish to suggest that United won’t be at the sharp end of things when that time of the season rolls around for the medals to be handed out. Like the rest of the contenders though, United know they are going to have to fight and earn every point in this campaign even more so than the last.

With a big part of the artillery gone from the successful team of last season, question marks still hang over United’s ability to deliver consistently when it matters. With wins over Arsenal and a high flying Tottenham since the Burnley defeat, any self doubt that may have crept into the minds of the United players will be slowly seeping away.

Perhaps the question is more will the pretenders to the thrown have enough to take the title away from United this term, because they will certainly not be surrendering it lightly.

Last season Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona thrilled Europe with their fluid, vivacious, irrepressible brand of football. Led by the combined talents of Xavi, Iniesta, Henry, Messi and Eto’o, Barca surged to an exceptional treble which established the Catalan club as the most formidable on the planet.

With the start of the new campaign just a fortnight away, Barca will be keen to continue their good form of 2008/09 and dominate La Liga for a second consecutive campaign. Hot on their heels will be a reinvigorated Real Madrid, their squad replenished with a new generation of galacticos keen to win the trophies their talents are surely capable of challenging for. This could be one of the most fascinating campaigns Spain, or indeed the whole of Europe, has seen for a long while.

La Liga for dummies

La Liga, the top-flight of Spanish football, is home to a number of world football’s most glamorous, most attractive sides and is generally considered, along with the English Premier League, to be one of the highest-calibre competitions the game has to offer. Barcelona and Real Madrid, two of the game’s most successful clubs, traditionally battle it out for the title, with the likes of Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Villarreal forming a highly competitive chasing pack.

Real Madrid’s recent decision to revive their famous (or infamous, depending on your viewpoint) galactico transfer policy has ensured that a substantial number of the world’s finest footballers – including Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Karim Benzema amongst others – will be plying their trade in La Liga for the foreseeable future.

Last season in a Tweet

Barca dominate in Pep’s first season. Real struggle under Schuster, improve under Ramos. Valencia short on cash. Betis, Numancia, Recre relegated.

If La Liga was a footballer…

Socrates. A cultured, skillful footballer in possession of an incredible natural gift and  an intelligent and political nature.

Title contenders

Having so thoroughly dominated La Liga last season, Barcelona will start the new campaign as favourites to secure a second consecutive domestic title. In terms of personnel the Catalans have retained the vast majority of last season’s squad, Samuel Eto’o being the only regular starter to have moved on during the summer.

The Cameroonian striker, one of La Liga’s top scorers in 2008/09, has been replaced at the Camp Nou by the immensely talented Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the Swede having proved his goal scoring capabilities for Inter Milan in recent years. If Ibrahimovic can integrate into his new team and important players such as Xavi, Iniesta and the superb Lionel Messi can continue their rich veins of form, then Barca will be well on their way to securing yet more silverware.

Real Madrid, not used to being so comprehensively outplayed by their Catalan rivals, will look upon the 2009/10 season as a chance to reassert themselves as the primary force in Spanish football.

A new manager in the shape of Manuel Pellegrini and the arrival of some of the world’s best players over the summer have certainly signaled Los Blancos’ intent for the coming campaign. Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso and Raul Albiol are just some of the players Madrid have signed in an attempt to revisit the triumphs brought about by the first wave of galacticos in the early part of the decade.

Much rests on the ability of this collection of superstars to gel and learn to play alongside one another. If they can integrate quickly and Pellegrini can find a system to accommodate such an embarrassment of footballing riches, then Madrid will have an excellent chance of claiming the title and, perhaps, honours on the European stage. If not, then Los Merengues might have to wait a little while for their investment in talent to see a significant return.

European hopefuls

Such is the high quality of La Liga, there are a number of clubs capable of vying for places in the various European competitions. Last season it was Sevilla and Atletico Madrid who finished third and fourth to claim the remaining Champions League places, with Villarreal and a cash-strapped Valencia qualifying for the Europa League.

Sevilla have bolstered their midfield with the signing of Tottenham’s Didier Zokora and, despite being set to lose Luis Fabiano, if young players like Jesus Navas and Diego Capel can fulfill their burgeoning potential, Los Palanganas will almost certainly be in and around the top four come the end of the season.

Atletico, one of the league’s most attractive teams in 2008/09, have added more defensive guile to their undoubted attacking prowess, signing Real Betis’ Juanito on a free and snapping up the talented goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo from Real Valladolid. If the prolific pairing of Diego Forlan and Sergio Aguero can continue their scintillating form then Atletico might just improve upon their 4th place of last season.

Villarreal will also be looking to improve upon last year’s 5th place, although with manager Manuel Pellegrini, the architect of the club’s recent success, having moved to Madrid, the coming campaign might prove more difficult than anticipated for El Submarino Amarillo.

Similarly, Valencia, who have endured a catalogue of financial disasters in recent times, may have to lower their expectations for the coming season. Although it was widely presumed that Los Che would be forced into selling their best players this summer (and they still might be), thus far they have managed to keep hold of David Silva and David Villa and retained a competitive squad.

If Unai Emery, the club’s talented young manager, can keep his squad together, Valencia will no doubt be one of the best sides in La Liga. However, if his hand is forced by the club’s prevailing financial conditions, then Valencia’s fans may have to gear themselves up for several seasons of mid-table mediocrity and financial survival. It could go either way.

Outside bet

Espanyol. Barcelona’s “other” team endured a terrible start to the 2008/09 season, finding themselves rooted to the bottom of the table for much of the first half of the campaign. However, the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino in January acted as a catalyst for an upturn in the club’s fortunes, an improvement in form which eventually saw the Periquitos finish in 10th.

Espanyol are undoubtedly a strong side, their triumph in the 2006 Copa Del Rey and appearance in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup final is testament to that, and they are well capable of European qualification. The death of captain Daniel Jarque this summer was a devastating blow to all involved with the club, but if they play to their potential this season there is no reason why Espanyol can’t compete at the top end of the league table and do their old captain proud.  

Relegation candidates

Xerez, Real Zaragoza and Tenerife have all been promoted from the Segunda Division and may struggle, but Zaragoza in particular have a squad more than capable of competing at the top level, so I’m going to stick my neck out and predict that the Aragonese side will survive relatively comfortably this season.

Getafe struggled last season, staying up only by virtue of their head-to-head record with Real Betis, and will need to fulfill their sizeable potential if they’re to avoid a similar situation this season.

Osasuna, Real Valladolid and Sporting Gijon also laboured towards the foot of the table last term and will have to keep their relatively fragile squads in tact to ensure survival this time around.

Joker in the pack

It’s hard to know what you’re going to get with Malaga. After promotion back to the top-flight in 2007/08, the Andalusian side exceeded all expectations last season to finish in 8th place, just seven points shy of a place in the Europa League.

Astute signings such as Milan Stepanov and Albert Luque should serve to improve an already industrious side and, with Juan Ramon Lopez Muniz back at the helm, Malaga might just be looking to challenge at the top end of the league yet again. The side’s development will be watched with great interest.

Solid gold gaffer

When Pep Guardiola took over at the Camp Nou at the beginning of last season, a newcomer to the business of management (albeit with the status of a club legend), there were doubts over his ability to guide Barca to any sort of success. Guardiola quickly silenced his critics and, in the space of just nine months, turned himself into one of the hottest properties in management, inspiring his side to a treble whilst playing some truly wonderful football along the way.

Frighteningly, the Catalan icon is still learning his trade as a manager and, if it’s possible to imagine, there might be even better things to come this season.

The man with the golden boot

Diego Forlan, who scored 32 league goals last season, was the 2008/09 Pichichi winner and the Uruguayan will again be amongst the favourites to claim the golden boot, as will his Atletico Madrid striker partner Sergio Aguero.

With Samuel Eto’o having moved to Inter there will be pressure on his replacement at Barca, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, to do his fair share of goal scoring, with his teammates Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry also likely to finish the season with sizeable hauls.

Several of Real Madrid’s stellar signings, not least Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, are also likely to challenge Forlan for his place at the top of the scoring charts, as will some of La Liga’s usual suspects such as David Villa and the evergreen Fredi Kanoute.

In short, there might just be a few goals this season.

Three to watch

Nilmar (Villarreal)

Long considered one of Brazilian domestic football’s finest players, Nilmar has consistently shown himself to be a great creative attacking talent for both Internacional and Corinthians. A two-season spell at Lyon five years ago yielded little, a move which dented his reputation in Europe somewhat, but his recent form for Internacional has done much to restore belief in his talent. Still only 25, Villarreal have signed Nilmar in the hope that he can provide the sort of creative spark which was the trademark of the now departed Nihat. It could be one of the transfers of the season.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

Whilst at Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo established himself as one of the best, if not the best, player in the world. With an £80m transfer to justify, Real Madrid fans will be expecting their club’s marquee signing to reproduce a similar level of performance to that which he displayed at Old Trafford. If he can, Madrid’s chances of winning silverware will be massively enhanced and that transfer fee will seem a veritable bargain.

Diego Capel (Sevilla)

Last season Diego Capel began to show the level of ability everyone has known the young Spaniard to be capable of for a long time. Giving Sevilla an added attacking dimension down the left flank, Capel’s pace and aggression has made the 21 year-old one of La Liga’s best young players. His form will be crucial to Sevilla’s success this season and, if he continues to develop at his current astronomical rate, he could well become a key player for Spain at next summer’s World Cup and in the years to come.

Yes They Can Can…If the Gaffer Reads the Writing on the Wall!!!

Well, having had his head handed to him twice last season, Sir Alex Ferguson still seems bound and determined to ignore the handwriting on the wall. The sheer depth of talent in his his squad, however, will always allow the Gaffer to peek into the abyss, throw out some appropriate barbs meant to psych out the immediate opposition and still find a way to pull a nineteenth trophy.

Nevertheless, slightly weakened, at least psychologically, by the departure of Ronaldo and Tevez and the shrill clang and rattle of coin resounding from the deep deep oil money-filled pockets of Manchester City, the grand old geezer of British football and his squad really do have their work cut out for them this season.

“You need a new leader!” the handwriting says.

And we do. Rio’s magazine is very nice (the bird on the front cover is nicer). I am impressed. He has also become, in partnership with Chelsea’s Ashley Cole–yes, the Cashley Grrrl and her bad left-footed self–a film producer. This is all splendid and wonderful. I’m sure Rio’s thinking ahead to retirement.

Still, the absolute howler Rio committed for England on Wednesday while making a simple back pass may be the sign of a return to old habits and vices, or even a flashback. Neither Rio nor Ryan Giggs owns either the moxy or personality to be the truly great captain United need. Sir Alex needs to step in now and force the responsibility on Wayne Rooney, Patrice Evra , Nemanja Vidic, or… someone new!!! Picking Wazza may sound daft, but I think it would help force him to grow up.

I was kind of disappointed to see a strong character like Lorik Cana sign for Sunderland on the cheap. Cana, a decent post-to-post midfielder and an inspiring gung-ho captain for Olympique Marseille, would have made a wonderful skipper and definitely would have made a more natural successor to Roy Keane than the Gaffer’s pet, Darren Fletcher.

Now don’t get me wrong, Fletcher is definitely what Ferguson calls a ‘trier.’ To be sure, Fergie was referring to Carlos ‘el traidor’ Tevez at the time, but , I say, if the shoe fits… Darren has been learning on the job for six seasons now and his diligence is to be applauded. As a sort of super substitute, I think Fletcher is fine and capable of being even more adaptable than Johnny O’Shea.

For some reason, however, Fletcher’s diligence and hard graft is mistaken for quality. I have never been enamored of the Scotsman, but have seen a steady incremental improvement. There are those who believe he was the missing link in the ECC final against Barcelona. This is absurd! Whether we’re up against Xabi Alonso, Stevie G and Javier Mascherano or the even better midfield of Xavi, Iniesta and Messi, the fact is that we just don’t have the horses in central midfield to take it to the next level.! In a nutshell: Anderson is still being forced to play out of position and Fletcher simply isn’t good enough. This is United’s single biggest problem.

“You need a truly great hard midfielder if you want to win everything,” the handwriting says.

Now that Xabi Alonso’s gone, I’m not really worried about Liverpool. His replacement, Alberto Aquilani, is a fine footballer; but , but beyond his constant ankle problems, it will take him a season for him to get acclimated to the speed of the EPL. Buying Glen Johnson will improve their right side a lot, but, ultimately, Liverpool are completely dependent upon Fernando Torres and Stevie Gerrard remaining fit.

I hear Rafa Benítez is a deeply religious man who prays every morning with his daughters. If Torres manages to stay fit throughout the season, I, too, may become a believer in miracles. I won’t make too much of ‘Pool’s 2-1 mugging by Spurs this weekend, except to make note of the fact that they only lost two Premiership games in all of last season.

As I write, I hear on Spanish language radio that Arsenal are trying to squeeze 45 million quid out of Barcelona before agreeing to fllog Cesc Fabregas next year. Even with Fabregas, even if there were to be a miraculous shopping binge before the window closes, I can’t see the Arse staying in the top four. Having massacred Everton 6-1 at Goodison in their first game, Gooner fans are already talking the talk. Yesterday I got eight e-mails from different Arse men. Promises and predictions! The usual! I say sssssh! Same old Arsenal: No testosterone!

Are Chelsea good? Sure Chelsea are good, but they’re getting really old. If Chelsea stay fit, particularly my darling Michael Essien, they have to stand a good chance. Anyone watching the Community Shield match clearly saw that this cynical group of mercenaries are going to grind out victories any which way they need to. Carvalho, Terry and Ballack are gristled, mean, dirty and past their pomp, but they will well and truly mount up for this their last serious season as a group and go for it. Clearly, this season Chelsea will be very physical, like Big Sam’s version of Bolton Wanderers, only with a touch of class.

Aston Villa and Everton will hang in there on the periphery, but just don’t have good enough squads. Both teams got badly beaten in their first match, and, although there shouldn’t be too much made of it, Joleon Lescott moping for a move to Manchester City for a whole season will poison the Toffees dressing room in much the same way Gareth Barry’s whinging to be a Scouser hurt Villa last season.

This leaves Manchester City. Despite their still being a little aenemic-looking at the back, I have to believe their depth of talent will tell on the opposition after January, especially if Robinho is happy. It is imperative that the old big four need to put them to the sword early in the season before they’ve gelled as a unit , or else they really may sneak into the top three.

This brings me back to United. As I said earlier, United’s only two major defeats of last season were very public, totally humiliating and telegraphed our weaknesses to all and sundry. We have three potentially brilliant attacking midfielders in the wingers Valencia, Nani and Tosic. Old man Giggsy should be able to make his mark as a substitute, although the energy machine, Park ji-Sung. may have already overstayed his welcome and is probably due for a move to a club where scoring isn’t important. by next season.

What I expect to happen in game after game is the Chelsea model from the Community Shield match. Everybody will try to beat United up in central midfield, and, even though the red devils will never be turned into the kind of passive, testosterone-free team Arsene Wenger has fashioned in his own image at Arsenal, I expect the squad will be battered and become tired early enough in the season to have to trot out Darron Gibson and Tom Cleverly regularly in the Spring. In United’s first game, a 1-0 win over Birmingham City, neither Ginger Scholes nor Darren Fletcher kept possession for long. This is worrisome.

“Berbatov is a load of rubbish!” the handwriting on the wall says.

In my heart of hearts, if United can just hold on until January, I think everybody around him will ultimately convince the Gaffer to swallow his pride and go out and spend big money on a midfield general. Ideally, I’d like Ferguson to splash big on Daniele De Rossi or Hernanes; but, more realistically, I’m sure he’d rather gamble on the youth of Javíer Martínez, Blaise Matuidi, Steven Dufour, Anthony Annan, Axel Witsel or Scott Brown. Out of the six, although he may not be as good a technician as the others, Dufour looks to have the best leadership skills.

We may mourn the exit of Ronnie and Carlitos, but I truly believe that Wazza, Macheda, Welbeck and little Mickey Owen can get the job done if Berbatov keeps out of everybody’s way. Dmitar Berbatov, like the League of Nations, America in South Vietnam, the Concorde, Massimo Taibi, Eric Djemba Djemba, Juan Sebastian Veron and Kleberson, exists to illustrate the folly of owning absolute power.

Sir Alex Ferguson, easily the most successful manager in British football history, and a fine motivator of young men, has been calling the shots at Old Trafford since the last old school club chairman, Martin Edwards, stepped down in 2002. To be fair to Ferguson, he has truly been a mostly benevolent dictator since Edwards walked away from the club. Despite his habit of teasing Jose Mourinho, Carlos Queiroz and the press about his ‘imminent retirement,’ most of us true believers think he will never quit, and end up being carried off the field of play on a stretcher, exactly like his mentor, Jock Stein.

Even if Taibi, Djembax2, Kleberson and the fitfully brilliant £28M Seba Veron could be written off as honest mistakes on the Gaffer’s part, the whole circus involving Berbatov has stunned many fans. Slow, lazy, selfish and beguiled by his hubris-driven ego to a point of ridiculousness, the shrugging Bulgarian is truly the Gaffer’s weakness.

The almost perfect diamond formation of the 2007-2008 season may have been the hardest working football team ever. They smothered a brilliant Barcelona team at the Nou Camp in 2008. The full-frontal battering ram effect of Tevez and Rooney up front allowed Cristiano the freedom to score 42 goals. Clearly, we can see now, this team was brilliant, but often rejected pretty football for the sake of practicality. The cliché is: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Unfortunately, Ferguson wanted a new kind of aesthetic perfection last season. Dimitar Berbatov, a big man who can dribble, flick and dish, can be a dazzling technician who, at his best, reminds you of Eric Cantona on Paxyl. Perfect for the slow, deliberate system at Tottenham Hotspur, like some big-ticket chatchke at Fortnum & Mason’s, Berbatov was truly the object of the Gaffer’s lust and desire.

Without ever fitting into the system, Berbatov was trotted out week after week. Well, £32M is a lot of money to spend and the Gaffer wanted to get his money’s-worth. Fortunately, United are such a good team that they kept winning anyway. The disenchantment of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez was clear for everybody to see, yet Fergie’s righteous band of committed professionals still managed to hold onto the premiership crown by the skin of its collective teeth and can do it again.

As far as strikers go, I hope Ferguson stands easy until January. I really believe we have ample strikers. Come Christmas, if the Gaffer finally loses his faith in Berbatov, perhaps we can dump him on Athletic Madrid or Valencia in part-exchange for Sergio ‘el Kun’ Aguero or David Silva.

“We need a good goalkeeper NOW!” the handwriting on the wall says.

This is the least of our worries. EVDS will be back soon and our defence is still really solid. It’s very clear that, similar to Tim Howard before him, Ben Foster is turned into a nervous wreck by the pressure of big games. Howard has matured slowly at Everton and I expect Foster will improve somewhere else. Kucszak, although prone to mistakes in the air, looks to be a better choice as he gets far less flustered than Foster in pressure situations.

If Manuel Neuer is available, Ferguson has food for thought. Schalke will surely prefer to sell Neuer–who really does have all the tools in spades–to Manchester United rather than their permanent Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munchën. Is he worth £20M? I wish United would have bought Sergio Asenjo from Real Vellodidad before he went to Athletic Madrid for £3M a few weeks ago, because I think he has surpassed the aging Gianluigi Buffone as the second-best keeper in the world.

At 6’3”’ and around 17 Stone(238 lbs) Neuer is exactly what Ferguson has wanted for two seasons: A true successor to Schmeichel and Van Der Sar. Comparative theorems are a slippery slope, to be sure, but, if Diego Lopez is deemed to be worth £12M by his club, Villareal, then, yes, Neuer is worth £20M. Foster made four fine saves from Birmingham City this Sunday, which is cause for celebration. His footwork, however, was horrendous. Two weak passes fell short and United were extremely lucky that the hapless Brum forward line were too surprised to take advantage.

Clearly, Ferguson is committed to his two weakest starters, Darren Fletcher and Dmitar Berbatov. He is not the kind of man to cut his losses in the way Rafa Benítez did after the disastrous £20M purchase of Robbie Keane. As long as the lads win, he will keep trotting out Berbatov again and again. If the goals aren’t going in by January, however, stuck with a 29-year-old Jonah of steadily diminishing value, I would expect Ferguson to use him as swap bait for Agüero or to be sold back to Spurs for about 50% of the price he was purchased for.

“Manchester United will win again and Fergie will laugh as you swallow your humble pie!” (once again!)” says the handwriting on the wall.

As I said earlier, I can’t see anyone mounting a season-long challenge good enough to challenge United for the Premier League honours. United will not just survive without Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, they will thrive. With Adam Ljajic arriving from Partizan Belgrade in January our attacking midfield options will improve even more. I don’t think we will make it to Madrid this year for the ECC final, but I do expect United will have found a new, inspiring holding central midfielder by this time next year.

You know you’ve ‘made’ it when 6 and 7 yr girls start parodying you.

As they grow up, it’s a frighteningly massive target market. Well done Real Madrid for tapping him up at the right time

Watch the latest Manchester United v Chelsea match here.

Watch Manchester United v Chelsea in the Community Shield live on your PC.

Manchester United (Nani 10′, Rooney 90′ + 2) 2-2 Chelsea (Carvalho 52′, Lampard 71′) (Chelsea win, 4-1, on penalties)
Competition: F.A. Community Shield
Stadium: Wembley Stadium, London, England
Date: 9 August 2009
Kickoff: 14:00 GMT, 10:00 EST

Manchester United equalized late but Chelsea triumphed on penalty kicks to win the 2009 Community Shield! Soccerlens brought you the action live! Click below for the live-blog and feel free to leave comments below!

When the summer transfer window first opened, both Manchester United and Chelsea had grand plans to acquire some of the best and brightest available talent. Manchester United were resigned to losing Cristiano Ronaldo, but were looking forward to throwing around some of that king’s ransom they got from Real Madrid to replenish the ranks. Chelsea, meanwhile, finally lured Carlo Ancelotti from AC Milan and hoped that their newfound stability (as well as Roman Abramovich’s billions) would allow them to recruit enough world-class talent to finally overtake their bitter rivals to the northwest. Both clubs were maneuvering for gifted French playmaker Franck Ribery and both clubs had their eyes on rising young Argentine phenom Sergio Aguero. Chelsea also looked to acquire David Villa from Valencia and Andrea Pirlo from AC Milan while United bid for Karim Benzema and were linked to the likes of Samuel Eto’o and Klaas Jan Huntelaar. Indeed, it seemed as if the Community Shield would allow both clubs to show off their wares while introducing a number of European superstars to the English game.

Only that’s not what happened.

Chelsea were able to acquire Yuri Zhirkov from CSKA Moscow and Daniel Sturridge from Manchester City, however they struck out on all of their big-time targets (although Pirlo could be on the way). In fact, the biggest story at Chelsea all summer was not who might be coming in but who might be leaving. John Terry, Mr. Chelsea and long-time captain, flirted with Manchester City for weeks before finally declaring his allegiance to the only club he’s ever played for. His loyalty, however, came with a price: improved terms and a commitment to bringing in more big-name talent for the rapidly aging squad. The latter could be difficult, especially with Ribery looking like a future Galactico and Villa wanting to remain in Spain. Plus, it remains to be seen whether Terry’s actions will have any effect on the locker room.

As for Manchester United, they must have felt like a leper at a nudist colony since they had all the money in the world after selling Ronaldo to Real Madrid and no one to spend it on. They were outbid for Benzema, they never really wanted Eto’o, and they were rebuffed by Bayern Munich for Ribery. In the end, they were only able to acquire Antonio Valencia from Wigan Athletic and former all-world striker, Michael Owen, on a free transfer from Newcastle (as well as young Gabriel Obertan from Bordeaux and Mame Biram Diouf from Molde). Nevertheless, there’s reason to be optimistic if you’re a Manchester United fan. Owen and Dimitar Berbatov have looked sensational in the preseason and Ronaldo’s departure means Wayne Rooney can assume his natural position down the center. And, of course, Manchester United still have Sir Alex Ferguson, and if we’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that you count them out at your own peril.

These two squads are veterans of the Community Shield, with at least one of these clubs having appeared in 12 out of the last 13. They last met in the 2007 Community Shield, which Manchester United won on penalties after Edwin Van der Sar memorably pitched a shutout against Chelsea. Van der Sar won’t be around, this time, as he broke his hand and will be out for two months. Will that be enough of a difference for Chelsea to topple the defending champs? Or will Manchester United show that they’re still the kings of England? Tune in and find out!

Lineups:

Manchester United: Foster, O’Shea, Ferdinand (c), Evans, Evra, Park, Fletcher, Carrick, Nani, Rooney, Berbatov.
Subs: Kuszczak, Owen, Giggs, Scholes, Fabio Da Silva, Valencia, Gibson.

As expected, Van der Sar, Neville, Brown, and Vidic will all miss out with injuries. Anderson and Macheda will also miss out, which is a surprise. Also a surprise is that Sir Alex won’t start either of his new signees, Owen or Valencia. Foster despite making a horrendous howler against the Malaysian XI, will get the start over Kuszczak. All eyes will be on the front line of Rooney and Berbatov to see if they can start to make United fans forget about whats-his-name who plays in Spain now.

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Terry (c), Carvalho, A. Cole, Mikel, Essien, Lampard, Malouda, Drogba, Anelka.
Subs: Hilario, Ballack, Bosingwa, Deco, Kalou, Alex, Belletti.

As expected, new signee Zhirkov will miss out with an injury. Carvalho will start at center-back, which seems to indicate that he’s back in the team’s good graces. Mikel will play the role that was saved for Pirlo, sending Ballack to the bench. Bosingwa (who might be on the outs) and Deco (who is definitely on the outs) will come off the bench while Shevchenko (who would be on the outs if anyone wanted him) will miss out completely.

Minute-by-Minute:

Fourth Kick Deco steps up, but wait, he hands it off to Kalou. He steps up and he beats Foster easily to the top right corner. Chelsea win, 4-1 on penalties! Congrats to them for winning the Community Shield! If the season is as exciting as this game, then we should be in for a real treat.

Third Kick Drogba (who famously did not take part in the last shootout between these two) goes the same way Ballack did, and Foster was completely fooled. Evra will step up and he’ll try and beat Cech. His tame effort is easily saved by Cech and that was a horrible kick. That one made Berbatov’s against Everton look like a brilliant rocket of a shot. Seriously, I’m not sure what he was trying to do there. That was like a back-pass. Chelsea lead 3-1 and are clearly in the driver’s seat.

Second Kick Terry is talking to the troops, and I have a feeling he won’t be taking any penalty kicks unless absolutely necessary. Ballack is next for Chelsea and he deposits it in the lower left corner and Foster guessed correctly but couldn’t stop it. Carrick will try to get on the board for United. He goes to his right and Cech guesses correctly, but it’s just over his outstretched arm. 2-1, Chelsea.

First Kick Chelsea will go first as Lampard will start it out against Foster. Lampard fires a shot down the middle and beats Foster, who dove to his left. Giggs will go for United and he went right against Chelsea during the CL Final. Giggs turns and fires his shot down the middle, but Cech kicks it away. Advantage Chelsea, 1-0.

The book on Cech is that he’s not good at stopping penalty kicks. He’s lost the aforementioned Community Shield and Champions League Final. He also came up short against Liverpool in the 2006 Champions League semifinal. Foster is 1-1 in shootouts, winning the Carling Cup Final but losing in the FA Cup Semifinals.

Penalty Kicks – No extra time in the Community Shield, so we get a shootout. Manchester United have triumphed in their last two shootouts against Chelsea. Will that hold up today? Or will Chelsea finally atone for the 2007 Community Shield and the 2008 Champions League Final?

90′ + 3 Well, we’re getting some bonus football as we’re going to penalty kicks! Don’t go away!

90′ + 2 GOAL! Wow! Just when you thought it was over, Wayne Rooney begged to differ. Giggs springs him with a great pass and Rooney beats Bosingwa into the box and draws Cech out. He slips it under the diving keeper and it’s level! It looks like Rooney might have been offside, but Cole was slightly off the line and may have been playing him onside.

90′ + 1 Valencia sends a nice pass down the right for Owen. Carvalho impedes him and United will have a chance from about 35 yards out. He sends it into the box and Cech catches it easily. That’s probably all she wrote.

88′ Valencia gets fouled by Kalou and United try to take it quickly. Foy blows it dead, though, and will make them set up from about 35 yards out. Sir Alex is not going to be happy about Chris Foy, I can tell you that. Giggs sends it into the box for Owen and Cech comes out for it. He punches it up into the air and he gets stranded in no-man’s land, but luckily for him, Ferdinand’s header is nowhere near the mark.

87′ This ref is a little card happy today. Do these cards carry over into the season?

86′ Long pass to Owen and he and Terry both go for it. Owen touches it with his hand and he’s booked.

85′ Poor pass from Kalou into the United box and Fabio gets it. He nearly gives it back to Lampard, but is able to get it away.

84′ Anelka will come off for Kalou. Fabio sends a long cross from the right flank and Rooney heads it just over the cross-bar.

83′ Ballack and Evra clash again and Ballack is called for the foul. Well, the Germans and the French do have a lot of history with each other…

82′ Really long pass to Owen, and he catches up to it, but it’s too deep and he can’t do anything with it. Good pace, though, and that’s an encouraging sign for United fans. Maybe he didn’t lose his pace during his years at Newcastle. Maybe he was just dogging it.

80′ Evra hits Ballack with a hard and late tackle that sends Ballack flying. Evra is clearly wound up and he’ll be lucky if he can avoid a red here. Foy gives him a yellow, which is a little surprising, and Evra will get to play on. I bet that was a makeup call for earlier, when he failed to call a foul by Ballack that led to Chelsea’s goal.

79′ United have been unable to do much in the final third of the field. That lack of creativity will surely sound some alarm bells for Sir Alex. Someone get Franck Ribery’s agent on the phone!

77′ Malouda comes off for Chelsea and he’ll be replaced by Deco.

76′ Drogba catches United’s defense napping and he fires a dangerous shot that forces a great save from Foster.

75′ Four Manchester United subs at once as Giggs replaces Park, Owen replaces Berbatov, Scholes replaces Fletcher, and Fabio comes on for O’Shea.

74′ Berbatov does his best Ronaldo as he kicks the ball up to himself and fires it towards goal. It’s blocked, though, and Chelsea escape.

73′ Evra charges down the left with intent and he wins a corner for his troubles. Rooney’s corner goes towards Evans, but his shot is weak and easily taken by Cech.

72′ Well, United have to play to the whistle, but they’ll have a case here since Foy stopped play a few minutes earlier when Ballack went down in his own half, short-circuiting a United surge.

71′ GOAL! Evra is down on the pitch after Ballack shoves him to the ground and the ref won’t stop play. Drogba leads the counterattack and Chelsea have a three-on-two. He sends it to Lampard who is unmarked on the inside right edge of the box, and he fires a shot that Foster gets a glove on but can’t keep from going over the line. Evra is fuming at the non-call and he has to be separated from Foy by some of his teammates, including Rooney (which is somewhat ironic).

69′ Fancy play from Berbatov, but Park gives it away. Park hasn’t done well this half and should probably come off soon.

68′ Valencia shows his pace and bursts into the box. He tries to send a cross towards Berbatov in front of goal, but he can’t handle it.

67′ Evra and Ballack collide and Ballack stays down smartly as Evra had broken into Chelsea territory. The ref stops play and, sure enough, Ballack is okay. Chelsea give it back to United, of course, by booming it back towards Foster.

65′ Ballack will replace Mikel. Not sure if Ballack will take Mikel’s defensive midfield role or if Essien will switch over and Ballack play down the right.

64′ Valencia’s first touch is a forgettable one. He tries to work on Ashley Cole, but the defender easily picks his pocket.

63′ Drogba gets it down the left and he centers it to Lampard. He sends it back to Essien, who is on the edge of the box and has put those away in the past. Evans rushes out and is able to block his shot.

62′ Nani is finally up and he’s favoring his shoulder. He’ll be replaced by Valencia, and we’ll get a look at the new-boy.

61′ Nani has it and Terry tackles him from behind. Nani is down on the pitch but Terry got the ball, so no foul. Meanwhile, it looks like Valencia will be coming on for United.

60′ Lampard flicks it into the box for Anelka, but Ferdinand is there with him. Anelka has to send it back out and eventually, Cole sends a dangerous pass into the center of goal for Drogba. Evans impedes him just enough for Drogba to miss the header attempt, otherwise it would have been 2-1, Chelsea.

59′ Evra works on Essien down the left and he sends a cross to the far post that is easily handled by Cech. A lot of guys are warming up along the touchline, but I can’t see who they are.

56′ Anelka with a hard shot on goal that Foster is able to parry away. Very shaky outing from Foster so far. He’s not going to be the England Number 1 if he keeps playing like this.

52′ GOAL! Evans tries to pass it to Evra, but it’s long and Chelsea have it in a dangerous area. Evans atones for the mistake by hitting Lampard with a hard but clean tackle on the edge of the box. Malouda gets it and works around Evans and gives it to Lampard in the box. He gives it back to Malouda, who chests it down to his leg and serves it up to Drogba, who is in front of the net. He and Foster collide and the ball trickles to an unmarked Carvalho. He heads it into the open net and there’s the equalizer!

50′ Berbatov chips a clever ball into the box and Park taps it to Rooney. He has some space to shoot, but his shot gets blocked by Cole. Great piece of defense there by the much maligned Cole.

49′ Bosingwa gets it and has some space on the right flank. He tries a cross it into the box for the trailing Drogba, but he puts too much on it and Foster has it easily.

48′ Fletcher tries to challenge Bosingwa down the left, but Bosingwa is equal to it and Fletcher loses it for a goal-kick.

47′ Lampard sends it through into the box for Malouda. He tries to create some space inside the box, but Carrick stays with him and forces the turnover. Good defensive play by Carrick there.

46′ United kick off and we’re underway with the second half! Berbatov with another great touch as he always seems to be able to control those long passes. Anyway, he gets fouled from about 30 yards out on the right side. Nani serves this one into the box and Drogba heads it away. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Nani should have gone for goal there.

46′ It will be Bosingwa coming on for Ivanovic and we’ll see if the Portuguese international can do a better job against his countryman, Nani.

46′ Not sure what’s going on with Bosingwa. I thought he played well for Chelsea last year. However, Chelsea seemed keen on dumping him for Glen Johnson before he ended up going to Liverpool. Now Bosingwa starts out on the bench in favor of Ivanovic. Not sure who he pissed off at Stamford Bridge. Maybe it’s the unibrow.

It was an eventual first-half and both sides had their chances. United probably deserve their lead, but Chelsea certainly looked dangerous at times. Ivanovic is getting torched by Nani, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Bosingwa in the second half (in fact, I’m not sure why the latter didn’t start today). United have some issues at goal as Foster had a shaky first half, and they’ve had some problems defending corners. Sir Alex might be concerned about that, but not enough to do anything about it. After all, their best guy on corners (Vidic) is injured. I’d expect to see Valencia and Owen at some point, especially the former since he’s hardly played in the preseason.

45′ + 2 Nani takes it short once again and it’s nothing doing as O’Shea loses it out of bounds for a goal-kick. Cech booms it away to see if Chelsea can make one last charge. They can’t do much as there’s the whistle and we’re at halftime!

45′ + 1 United win a corner and they take their time setting up There will be two minutes of added time.

45′ Great counterattack chance for United as Nani is all by himself in the Chelsea box. Rooney’s pass is cut out, though, and Chelsea escape. They come back and win a corner and Lampard decides to test Foster’s mettle by sending into the six-yard area. Foster is up for it, though, and handles it easily.

44′ Lampard heads Nani’s corner away and Chelsea go on the attack. Everytime Ashley Cole gets it, he’s booed heavily by the crowd. It helps with the play-by-play, that’s for sure.

43′ Great burst of speed from Evra and Rooney makes a nice chip pass into his left-back’s path. Evra sends it to Berbatov at the center of goal, and he wins a corner. On the ensuing corner, they play it short to Fletcher, who fires a great shot from inside the left edge of the box. It’s about to tuck in at the top right corner, but Cech just gets a hand on it to concede another corner. Great save there.

41′ Great try by Anelka as he gets a pass from A. Cole on the edge of the box. Fletcher is late to close him down and Anelka fires a low shot at the far post that beats Foster but just trickles wide.

36′ Dangerous moment as Ferdinand heads it away for a corner and nearly puts it past his keeper. Lampard sends in the corner, but Carvalho is called for the foul.

34′ Nani tries to take on three defenders and ends up hitting the side netting from a difficult angle. Clearly, his confidence is sky-high right now. Not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing for United.

33′ A couple of shaky moments for Foster as he muffs his clearances and nearly gives it to Drogba on two occasions. Is it nerves or lack of experience? United hope its just nerves.

31′ A. Cole slips on the pitch but still gets the cross from deep down the left. Essien gets a free header, but it’s just over the crossbar.

29′ Malouda crashes into Fletcher, and Fletcher is down on the pitch. He looks okay, though, and United will kick it away.

28′ Lampard sizes it up and then hits the wall. Drogba gets a cross on the right edge of the box and volleys a cross to the far post where an unmarked Malouda just shanks it wide of the mark. Nani then comes back on the counterattack and he’s causing all kinds of problems down that left flank. Park gets it on the right edge of the box and he takes his time to set up his shot. It’s wide of the near post, though, and, well, they don’t pay Park to score goals, do they?

27′ Mikel gets it and makes the run towards the United box. Berbatov bumps him from behind, and Chelsea will have a chance from about 35 yards out.

26′ Nani sends a corner into the six-yard box, and Cech take it easily.

25′ Park somehow gets into the box and splits the defense. Carvalho is able to knock it out before Park can go for goal and he concedes the corner.

23′ Berbatov’s touch fails him here as he tries to bring it down and ends up missing most of the ball and giving it to Mikel. Hey, not all of his touches can be silky smooth, right?

21′ Atypical selfish play from Rooney as Berbatov shows off his great touch and eases it to Evra. He gives it to Rooney and he takes a shot from long-range when he really should have passed it back to Berbatov. Rooney’s shot is easily blocked and Chelsea have it.

20′ Berbatov already looks like a different man from last year. If he plays up to his potential, then watch out.

18′ Great move from Berbatov as he lulls Mikel to sleep and then beats him into the box and gets the return pass from Park. Berbatov can’t beat Cech, though, and Park whiffs on the follow-through as Cech sacrifices his body to dive on the ball. Wow. What a breathtaking couple of plays by both sides.

17′ Great passing from United as Berbatov sends a great cross from the right to Rooney at the far post. He heads it into the center for Park, but Park can’t handle it. Cech was all tied up there and if Park had put anything on it, he would have beaten him. Chelsea come back and Drogba makes a run into the United box. He gets around Evans, but his low shot is saved by Foster.

16′ Evans and Drogba collide in midair, and Drogba goes down like he’s been shot. Some things never change. Who had 16 minutes in the pool?

14′ Great chance for United here as they’re right on the left edge of the box. Nani tries to serve into the box for Ferdinand, and Chelsea clear it away. Not sure why he didn’t go for goal there.

13′ Nani’s low effort finds Rooney, but he can’t do anything with it. He heads it down feebly and Chelsea easily clear it away. United gets it back and Evra makes a great run towards the box after receiving the pass from Nani. Ivanovic fouls him on the edge of the box, and the Serb will go into the book here.

12′ Ivanovic fouls Evra deep down the left and United will have a dangerous free kick here.

11′ Wow, to say that goal came from nothing at all is an understatement. The run of play was strongly in Chelsea’s favor and United had barely mustered any kind of rhythm on offense.

10′ GOAL! No question about it: Chelsea are outplaying Manchester United right now. Just as I say that, Nani gets it on the left edge of the penalty area after getting the cross from Fletcher. He runs across the edge of the box and fires a low shot to the far post that easily beats a shocked Cech! Wow! That’s one way to make the fans forget about whats-his-name.

9′ Great pass from Essien near the center line that nearly gets through to Anelka. Ferdinand does well to cut it out, otherwise Anelka would have been through on goal.

8′ Evra chips in the shot/pass from the left flank and he forces an overly acrobatic save from Cech.

7′ Fabio Capello is in the house. No doubt he’s there to ignore Michael Owen.

6′ On the ensuing corner, Ivanovic gets a header on target but Evra heads it against the underside of his own crossbar. United are able to clear it from danger, but that put a charge into the game.

5′ Rooney sends it into the box for Berbatov, but Terry is able to clear it from danger. Malouda sends it to Drogba down the left flank and the pressure causes Ferdinand to make the mistake as he tries to kick it back to Foster. He concedes the needless corner and Chelsea will have a chance here.

4′ Early booking for Berbatov as he gets hit in the back of the head on a free kick and he takes exception to it. A yellow card four minutes into the match? For that? Are you kidding me?

3′ Berbatov tries to get around John Terry and makes a run across the edge of the box before losing it over the touchline.

2′ Lampard gets it near the centerline and sends a long pass to Drogba, who is on the edge of the United box. He fires a shot on target, but Foster makes a diving, albeit comfortable, save.

1′ Chelsea will kick off and we’re underway! Great to be back! Should be a great match today! Chris Foy is our ref. Rooney gets it in Chelsea territory and tries to spring Park. Park sends it back to Carrick, but it’s out of his reach and Carrick slips on the pitch. This pitch was heavily criticized during the F.A. Cup last season, so we’ll see if it’s gotten any better today.

0′ Man, those new United kits are ugly. That black “V” really does nothing for me.

0′ Big season for Nani. He’s going to have to step up if United are to have any chance at winning silverware. It’s not fair to put it all on him as Rooney, Berbatov, Anderson, Carrick, and Owen are all going to have to step up as well. But Nani’s going to be the one under the most pressure since he’s Portuguese and possesses a lot of the same talents and skills as Ronaldo. Plus, he regressed last year to the point where Sir Alex wouldn’t play him in big games. Ronaldo went through the same issues during his first couple of years at Old Trafford, and I think it really helped him to have Carlos Queiroz around. Nani won’t have that luxury (although it Portugal continues playing the way they are, then Carlos might be back at Old Trafford before you know it).

0′ So, no new signings in either team’s starting lineup. That’s weird. I guess these two teams wanted to see what would happen if they played with last year’s squads. You know, other than that guy who used to play for United. I can’t think of his name. The one who likes to take off his shirt and hit on anything that moves.

0′ This is the year that order is restored in the Community Shield. It was weird seeing Pompey in the Shield last year, wasn’t it?

0′ Sometimes, I think Michael Ballack is finished, and then he goes out and shows that he’s still world class. Sometimes, I think Michael Ballack is great, and then he goes out and is a complete nonfactor for the entire match and nearly assaults a referee (or a teammate). I guess the lesson is to manage your expectations when it comes to Ballack.

0′ And, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that this will be the first real test for Michael Owen since he turned into Judas in the eyes of Liverpool fans. He missed a few sitters against Valencia that probably didn’t do him any favors with Fabio Capello. It’s one thing to score against the Malaysian XI and the Hangzhou Greentown. It’s another thing to score against Chelsea at Wembley Stadium.

0′ Looks like Andrea Pirlo won’t be coming to Stamford Bridge after all. That might be good news for Chelsea. They already have a crowded midfield, and adding Pirlo would have been a case of having too many chefs to cook the soup. They look like they’re going with a diamond formation with Lampard at the head of it, Essien on one side, Zhirkov on the other and then Pirlo would have been at the base, thereby relegating Ballack, Mikel, Joe Cole, Malouda, and Deco (assuming he stays) to the bench. That would be a headache that Carlo Ancelotti would not want.

0′ Should be an interesting match between two teams that could finish first and second in the EPL this season. Chelsea has to be the favorite for the EPL title right now, but you can never count out Manchester United. They still have all that money to play with and they’re probably not done shopping. It could very well be Sergio Aguero, who looked great against Liverpool yesterday for Atletico Madrid.

0′ Hello everyone and welcome to another exciting season of football! It’s been a long summer and I know I’m glad that football is back and that the action will be on the pitch instead of in the boardrooms. As always, I’m Victor and I’ll be your liveblogger for today’s match, which pits Manchester United against Chelsea for the 2009 Community Shield! I’m contractually obligated to inform you that if you wish to watch this match online, then you can go to the top of this page and click on the link for http://www.free-football.tv. If that doesn’t meet your requirements, then you can always consult this article for available streaming TV network options or this article for FREE P2P options.

Match Review:

It was an exciting Community Shield (which was a welcome change from last year’s snoozer) and both sides really showed their mettle. Chelsea came back from a 1-0 halftime deficit to take the lead and were within a minute of wrapping it up in regulation. However, as they’ve learned all too painfully over the years, it’s never over until the ref’s whistle blows, and Manchester United were able to steal one at the end. Both sides have some things to work on. After all, this is the preseason. United ran circles around Chelsea early in the first half and their lack of youth could come back to bite them as the season drags on. United have some question marks too, and they are sure to be concerned about their lack of creativity in the final third. Still, there’s plenty to be happy about for both sides, and as we’re all well aware, there are three weeks left before the transfer window slams shut.

Man of the Match:

Ricardo Carvalho

Both clubs had no shortage of worthy candidates. Lampard was quiet for the first half but responded with a dominant second half as he asserted himself on the United defense. Malouda, Drogba, and Anelka all looked dangerous at times, and Cole played very well at left-back. As for United, Rooney and Berbatov played well and gave Sir Alex some hope as they look to move forward after losing Ronaldo. Nani played well until he left with an injury while Evans did a solid job in the back. Still, the Man of the Match was Carvalho, which must have been sweet for the man who became a bit of a forgotten figure last year. He did his usual solid job in the back and snuffed out numerous opportunities while demonstrating his scoring chops on the other end. Carvalho went a long way towards reminding everyone that he, and not John Terry, is the team’s best center-back when healthy.

At first glance man’s best friend has little relevance to football. I mean let’s face it, if you’re sitting on the psychiatrists couch and he/she is doing that word association thing and comes up with the word dog are you likely to answer football (or vice versa)?

I didn’t .. err.. I mean… I think not! But scratch the surface a little and you’ll find that the canine world has infiltrated deeply into the football psyche whether you’re a fan, a player, a commentator or a manager and there are obvious links with WAGs.

Have I gone completely barking I hear you ask? Well hopefully not, although regular readers of this column may assure you that that happened some time ago. But read on and I’ll guarantee you a ‘treat’.

Dog Language

The world of the commentator is littered with clichés, facts and sometimes inane musings but on closer inspection you’ll find that they can’t leave the family pet out of things.

“Hanging on doggedly” is seamlessly interchanged with “dogged defending”, both feats generally carried out by “the underdog” while “what a howler!” is offered every time a decent chance goes begging.

Then there’s the pacey young substitute who’s “let off the leash” and defensive midfielders who are regularly “snapping at heels” or “like a terrier”; defenders can be “rottweilers” while wingers are far too often “as lean as (or fast as) a whippet”.

Or if you’re Joey Barton (amongst others) you’re regularly in the “doghouse”. Those whose careers have gone south may have “gone to the dogs” and the Champions are always “Top Dogs”. If you’re English you’ll want the national team to approach every match with the “British bulldog spirit” (works every time, as we’ve witnessed!).

Players like Michael Owen are the “fox in the box”, while referees need a “guide dog” according to most fans and managers stand on the sidelines and “bark instructions”, unless they’re incensed by a bad refereeing decision in which case they are “like a dog with a bone”, which inevitably leads to having a “bone to pick” with the ref at the end of the game!

Dogs on the Pitch!

In years gone by it was a regular feature of the football season to see some of our canine friends invade the pitch and display their skills. Unfortunately, ground changes and regulation has seen the decline of such cameos in recent years. These pitch invasions always added excitement to the occasion when they occurred, the referee having to stop the game as players attempted to coax the doggy visitor into their arms.

But how did dogs get on the field in the first place? According to Roger Titford, who has written on the subject:

“One suspects that men sometimes said they were taking the dog out for a walk as an excuse, when in fact they were off to the match. (Ah, the good old days!) This was much easier in the days of walking to a nearby ground and standing on half-empty terraces than it is nowadays. The dog got bored, startled by the noise or something, and escaped through a pitch-side gate or by leaping a low wall and ran for freedom all over the pitch, usually round in circles until rounded up by the referee or, for some reason, the goalie.”

And there was a famous incident during the 1962 World Cup in Chile in a quarter-final tie between England and Brazil. A stray dog avoided several players until Jimmy Greaves sunk to all fours and captured it. According to some reports, Greaves barked. This counterintuitive approach to calming the dog unfortunately (for Greavesy) sprung a leak, as the frightened animal pissed on Greaves’ England jersey. The dog, later named Bi (I assume because he was willing to play both ways!), is apparently, to this day, the envy of all German football fans!

“I smelled bad,” said Greaves, “but at least it meant the Brazilian defenders stayed clear of me.” Brazil’s Garrincha enjoyed the display so much that he adopted the dog after the tournament! (England lost and Garrincha scored 2!) A dark subtext to this anecdote is that both Greaves and Garrincha developed alcoholism in later life. I have it on good authority though that Bi was a teetotaler.

Jimmy Greaves does it doggy style

However, the pitch intrusion of our canine friends is not always as benign as the above. Check out this report and it may have you looking over your shoulder when next playing in the park on a Sunday morning!

Police Dog Feasts on Footballers

Deputy Dawg

Of all the sporting events in which dogs have interceded, few top the exploits of Pickles. The mixed-breed Scottish Border Collie became an overnight hero while out for walk with his owner, a Thames barge worker, one evening in South-East London’s Beulah Hill on March 27, 1966, as he drew the man’s attention to a package wrapped in newspaper.

Pickles’ owner David Corbett picks-up the story:

“I picked it up and tore some paper and saw a woman holding a dish over her head (you gotta think that it was a stroke of luck that he wasn’t down the pub all night as he could easily have mistaken that for the missus and run for his life, leaving the trophy forever lost!) and disks with the words Germany, Uruguay, Brazil. I rushed inside to my wife. She was one of those anti-sport wives. But I said, ‘I’ve found the World Cup! I’ve found the World Cup!’”

Unfortunately, it does not report what her response was but as an ‘anti-sport wife’ the potential is enormous! All suggestions welcomed!

One week earlier, the Jules Rimet trophy had been stolen from its glass display case at an exhibition hall in Westminster. The English FA consulted Scotland Yard and started ransom negotiations with the thieves. The FA also surreptitiously commissioned a replacement trophy in case the £30,000 (big money in those days!) solid-gold statuette could not be recovered in time

But Pickles saved the authorities from greater embarrassment. The theft, remembers Corbett, gained such attention that it “knocked [Prime Minister] Harold Wilson off the front pages.” Now there’s a bit of history! I thought only Posh Spice or Paris Hilton could do that….who would have thought that the tale [tail] of Pickles and WAGs [wags] could have such parallels in a single story?

Pickles was more newsworthy than Ronaldo at the time (he too could roll-over at will). He lived life as a celebrity dog, starring in a film, The Spy with the Cold Nose, earning medals from canine-advocacy groups and receiving a year’s food supply. The medals, attached to Pickles’ red collar, remain on view at the National Football Museum in Preston, England. But eventually enough was enough for Pickles and, like Ronaldo, he had to go to ground, sadly dying in 1973.

‘Pickles’… without him England would never have held the World Cup!

Dogs with Ability

Yes, there is no shortage of talented ball players out there in the canine world as Fernando Torres found out to his embarrassment. ‘Thou shalt not pass’ is the motto of this pooch!….Vidic at Old Trafford last season he is not!

And I’ll include this one on the condition that you promise not to show it to Florentino Perez at Real Madrid. This ‘youngster’ is better than Kaka or Ronaldo and could be bought for a daily walk and a bowl full of bones, leaving quite a bit of change from 80M! Note the body swerves, ball control, stamina, anticipation! He’s excellent with both feet and uses his head to good effect; get’s up and down all day, uses deceptive pull-backs, has a nose for reading the game and can sniff out a chance….and talk about pace…breathtaking!!

Of WAGS and Top Dogs

As already noted the term WAGs has a connotation directly related to our four legged friends but what is worrying in recent reports relating to some of our top players is the question as to whether the tail is wagging the dog a little too often (the WAG being the tail, so to speak.)

Rumour has it that Ribery won’t consider the PL because his wife prefers Spain. And Mascherano’s restlessness is supposedly linked to his girlfriend’s desire to move to a warmer climate where she can speak the language. Arshavin’s wife slagged-off London like it was the third world…and she from Russia for crying out loud! Am I losing the theme you ask?….no!…spoilt bitches all!

But stand-up the man who is certainly top dog in his relationship! Nemanja Vidic! While admitting that his wife has not settled in England he unceremoniously declared that he was going nowhere. Finally, the dog wagging the tail! A real man is Vidic.

Of course on the subject of WAGs I could milk it all day long. Some consider Posh Spice to be a bit of a dog, others think she’s a bitch but she certainly knows how to make Becks come to heel. Didn’t he stray once though?

And if Paris Hilton may be tentatively considered a WAG after her recent encounter with Ronaldo, one look at this lets you know what to expect if you get mixed-up in that relationship!

Dog Lookalikes

And of course no article on dogs and football is complete without the lookalikes. Here are some of the current top players and their canine equivalents, with 1 or 2 names from the past.

Fernando Torres

Cesc Fabregas

Lionel Messi

Cristiano Ronaldo

Bacary Sagna

Joey Barton

Rene Higuita

Liam Brady

Rio Ferdinand

Franck Ribery

Wayne Rooney

Diego Forlan

Kaka

Peter Schmeichel

Carlos Puyol

Karim Benzema

So hopefully I’ve made the case that dogs and footballers are inseparable. The next time you’re wandering down the street and the local mongrel approaches maybe you’ll stop to ask him has he been on any pitches lately, what are his skills like and who’s his favourite player (or WAG). He’ll look you in the eye knowingly, the neighbours on the other hand will assume that, like me, you’ve gone completely barking!

Who’s your favourite dog lookalike?

Cristiano Ronaldo has polarised opinions like few others before him – as a global icon his popularity is matched by few other footballers (David Beckham comes to mind) and on the pitch he dazzles and frustrates in equal measures. Unrealistic expectations? Unfulfilled ability?

What’s certain is that he has been, over the last 3 years, the best player at Manchester United and his impact in his 6 years at the Old Trafford is unquestionable. He had a guiding hand in all 3 league titles and in our 2 Champions League finals and 1 semi-final appearance in the last three years, and he leaves the club as a modern-day legend – even if he didn’t stay long enough to be considered an all-time United legend.

Here’s the official tribute to Cristiano Ronaldo, courtesy of MUTV and YouTube:

Good luck at Real Madrid, CR – we’ll miss you.

Cristiano Ronaldo will finally complete his world record £80m move from Manchester United to Real Madrid on 1 July after agreeing a six-year deal with the Spanish side.

Ronaldo joined Manchester United just over six years ago in 2003, he joined a United side that consisted of Roy Keane, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Nicky Butt, Phil Neville, Tim Howard, Mikael Silvestre and Quinton Fortune, all of which have since moved on to pastures new. There is a clear contrast though, they were all easily replaced, and weren’t sold for the staggering sum of £80million, but then again none of them were world player of the year.
 
He came to the attention of the club after United played his then team Sporting Lisbon in a pre-season friendly, and were beaten 3-1. After the game, the Manchester United players were so impressed by this kid Ronaldo, that they begged Fergie to sign him.
 
At just 18 he was bought for the sum of £12million, becoming Manchester United’s first-ever Portuguese player. Who knew that six years on the Premiership champions would be making a profit of £68million on him, not a bad return from ‘the mob he (Fergie) wouldn’t sell a virus to’?
 
Real Madrid came up with the trump card of £80million, after 2 years of courting for Ronaldo’s signature, this was an offer Manchester United simply could not refuse. United in turn accepted the offer on June 11th, but it was once he returned from his holidays in the US on Friday (26th June) that the deal was finally confirmed. As Real Madrid’s official website announced “The player will be tied to Real Madrid for the next six seasons. He will be presented on July 6th at the Santiago Bernabeu.”

After joining United he requested the number 28 shirt, the same number that he wore at Sporting, but was entrusted with the number 7 shirt, a shirt which was worn by United legends such as George Best, Eric Cantona, and David Beckham. He certainly lived up to all the expectations and filled the void left behind by David Beckham, his predecessor.

Not only did he live up to the expectations, he surpassed them, and etched his name into Manchester United history and will be remembered forever by the fans as he moves on to play for the club he has dreamed of playing for since he was a boy.
Before his death George Best said ‘There have been a few players described as the new George Best over the years, but this is the first time it’s been a compliment to me’

In his first season at United, he made an instant impact, picking up his first piece of silverware in the form of the FA Cup. From then on his career just got bigger and better, and in 2007, he became the first man since Andy Gray to win PFA Players Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year awards. United also won their first title in four years, but the best was yet to come.
 
It was in the 2007-08 season, that Ronaldo excelled beyond belief, scoring 42 goals, setting a new club single-season scoring record by a midfielder and thus topped George Best’s forty-year-old total of 32 goals in the 1967-68 season, and fell just four short of Denis Law’s team-record mark of 46 in the 1963-64 season. Ronaldo was rewarded, by becoming the first winger to win the 2007-08 European Golden Shoe, finishing eight points ahead of Mallorca’s Dani Güiza.
 
He was also part of the United side that won the Champions League, beating Chelsea in that dramatic penalty shoot-out, to win their first European crown since that treble winning season of 1999. Ronaldo was on form that night scoring a fantastic header.

He was rewarded for this fine form, by being named FIFA World Player of the Year, and winning the Ballon d’Or as the European Player of the Year. During his time over Manchester United, he has won many of these individual awards, along with, three Premier League titles, an FA Cup, two league cups, a Community Shield, the Champions League and the FIFA World Club Championship.

Ronaldo is not far short of irreplaceable in my view, scoring 68 goals in the last two seasons for Manchester United, but he’s not just a goal scorer, he’s a free-kick taker, playmaker, penalty taker, and can play in any attacking role that he gets on the field.
 
It certainly looks like Manchester United will start two men short next season, with Carlos Tevez also leaving the club. As a United fan I would question Ferguson on this whole Tevez saga, but, I have to say he has made the right decision to sell Ronaldo, irreplaceable or not, £80m was just too good to turn his nose up at, even if it was from that mob.
 
‘Nothing can stop him. Probably the only way to do it is to kill him.’ – Former team-mate Patrice Evra on Ronaldo in 2007.
 
While it’s easy to look at his moments of brilliance, they can nearly all be cancelled out by his moments of petulance, pure arrogance, and lack of respect for others. He’s too much cock of his own walk at times. RTE pundit and self-confessed Ronaldo basher Eamon Dunphy referred to him once as ‘the modern day brat’, due to his diving.
 
Probably one of the most remembered moments will be ‘Winkergate’ after team mate Wayne Rooney was sent-off when England faced Portugal in a World Cup Quarter Final in 2006, for stamping on Portugal’s defender Ricardo Carvalho. It was speculated in the press that Ronaldo was involved in getting Rooney sent-off as he was seen winking to the Portuguese bench after the red card was shown, but this rumour turned out to be untrue. Nonetheless, it didn’t stop the English media unsettling Ronaldo, who considered leaving United after this.

‘When they get back to the training ground, I wouldn’t be surprised if Rooney doesn’t stick one on him.’ Said BBC Pundit turned manager Alan Shearer at the time of the incident.

There were also many incidents of diving, and in particular, this petulant sulk after being substituted in the Manchester derby, which he somehow could not believe. He threw away the tracksuit top, and retreated to the stand, and held his head in his hand for the remainder of the game. This was certainly not his finest hour.

Since Florentino Perez returned as club president of Real Madrid on June 1st, the Spaniard has brought in Brazilian playmaker Kaka for a then world record £56m, Ronaldo for a new world record £80m, before signing centre-back Raul Albiol from Valencia for £12m, to bring the total spend, so far, for the summer to £148m.

What is he leaving behind though? A team that who very nearly completed a clean sweep last season. Winning the World Club Championship, Carling Cup and their third Premier League title in a row, equalling Liverpool’s record of 18 league titles, they also came painstakingly close to reaching the FA Cup final, but the amount of fixtures they had to endure proved to be too much, and this was shown in the Champions League Final where they were outclassed by Barcelona. Little did we know that would be his last game for Manchester United.

In contrast, what did Real Madrid win last season? Nothing. As Barcelona, had their clean sweep, becoming the first ever Spanish side to complete the treble, winning La Liga, Copa del Rey and the Champions League.

It has to be said all eyes will be on Real Madrid next season, as they will have to justify this spending by producing the goods on the field, and equalling, the success of their Catalan counterparts.

‘We have to do in one year what we would normally do in three’ – says Club President Florentino Perez.
Can they do it? Well it remains to be seen; money doesn’t buy you trophies, this is certainly true in the case of Chelsea who have yet to win the Champions League in the Abramovich era.

Real Madrid have not won the Champions League since 2002, the Copa del Rey since 2004, and La Liga since 2008, and with the beginning of the Perez’s third era at the club they are facing an uphill battle, even though they now have one of the most expensive sides in the world.

Farewell Ronaldo, you said you wanted to go to Madrid, but did you have to go via Paris?