The legendary 18 titles
I have more fantastic wallpapers of them, so if any of you want please gimme a message lol.
Now the interesting part comes in. Celebrations are over as the title was already clinched, but now, inspired by StarSport's Football Crazy program, which is the "Asia Decides" program, it is certainly entertaining to analyze why Manchester United are a cut above the rest once again.
Here are the key moments en-route to winning the league:
1) MU's stuttering start to the season
For the second season in a row, MU started horribly wrong in the league, and their defeat at Anfield seemed to signify the shift of power to the Kop-ians. But in the end, does it matter?
2) No it doesn't! thanks to Liverpool's stuttering mid-season!
By the end of November, Liverpool seemed to be in pole position to land their first EPL title for many many years, and with MU's involvement in the Club World Cup and Super Cup, it seems like MU's tasks of chasing Liverpool were made harder as they will play 2 games lesser than them.
But guess what, that did not happen. NEVER a chance. While MU were jubilating in becoming the World Champions for the first time, Liverpool stuttered under pressure as lack of experience haunted them. By the time MU touched down at Old Trafford, Liverpool were only 3-4 points ahead, with 2 games more. With questions of fatigue arising for Sir Alex Ferguson's men, their league fixture against Stoke City right after Japan's victory was certainly tough. But they duly obliged by gaining a precious 1-0 victory, which then kicked off a string of consistent results to knock Liverpool off the top spot.
That goal, was scored by?
your guess is as good as mine.
3) A British record of consecutive clean sheets
As most football fans would enjoy the attacking side of the game, not many of us appreciate the important of team's defensive abilities in laying the foundation for the team to get a victory. And that's what MU did. Keeper Edwin van der Sar achieved a British record of keeping 14 or 15 consecutive clean sheets for the team, in which 90% of them ended up in victories. See?
Personally, i feel though the keeper got acclaimations for the record, it was the defensive partnership of the ice-cool Rio Ferdinand and especially, the particular Serbian, Nemanja Vidic.
Oh before I forget let me mention this.
When the record was achieved, Ferdinand did not play 80% of the matches!
At Ferdinand's absence, Vidic was the key in mastering the defence with his exceptional speed, and yes, his heading abilities. On top of that, MU had a talented cover in the form of Jonny Evans, who took Ferdinand's position and did brilliantly with Vidic.
+Indeed a partnership for the future =)
4) The most lethal in the last 15 minutes of a match
MU vs Middlesbrough 1 - 0 (75th min)
MU vs Sunderland 1 - 0 (90th min)
Bolton vs MU 1 - 0 (92nd min)
Arsenal vs MU 2 - 1 (88th min)
MU vs Tottenham 5 - 2(the 5 goals starting from 62nd min)
AND OF COURSE,
5) MU vs Aston Villa
This, perhaps was the most key fixture to United's league triumph. Starting the match with injuries to defenders, which saw Gary Neville (of all players) starting as centreback and more importantly, at the wake of 2 straight losses to Liverpool and Fulham, MU seemed to head for a 3rd consecutive defeat after going 2-1 down at the 60th minute. Fear not, as a legend was born.
The Italian Boy.
HE came on and brought more spice to United's attack, and with Ronaldo pulling back to 2-2 with 8 minutes to go, the stage was made for HIM to score this all-important winning goal. Miraculous enough, at the 93rd minute, HE took a pass from Giggs, another inspired subsitution, made a turn round Villa's defender, and lashed a curler towards goal.
The rest was history.
6) Experience is the key
Yes, you are leading in a game. Yes, you have the players to score goals, but it is experience which tells you what to do to influence and close out games. This is what separates MU from the rest, with players like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes.
Ryan Giggs, to me was particularly excellent this season. Surpassing more than 800 appearances since his first start decades ago, he excelled in his newfound role of central midfielder as he combined his skill and passing finesse to his game. Remember the match against Chelsea?
And remember the goal against West Ham?
So that is the end of the post. With the season coming to an end, I truly hope Newcastle can survive the relegation battle, as I truly think they are still a good team.
