26 11 2006 Manchester United 1 Chelsea 1
A friend of mine said you should fight fire with fire. Unfortunately he was a fireman and lost his job. Thank God we have
a manager in Jose Mourinho who when things are not working for the team, manages to switch things around to the
team's benefit - and what a contrast to Ranieri who probably would have put Robert Huth up front in the second half.
The journey up to Manchester was a nightmare. Collecting a friend at 9am I hit a kerb while hailstones were thundering
down and from then on the car never felt the same. At a service station on the M6 I had to change the wheel, and
wondered if we would ever make it to Old Trafford.
The roads were pretty good up until Manchester. Then all the plastic Mancs clogged up the main road going into the city
centre. I took a scenic route through some villages. The car was still a bit wobbly but I parked it up and had the token
Northern chav ask if he could "look after" my car. I paid him £2 and told him I would give him another £3 if it was still
standing when we returned. So not only was I bricking it at the stadium as to whether I would return to London at all that
night, I was not sure if my car would still be left standing intact!
I always enjoy going to Old Trafford. Every game seems like a Cup Final due to the amount of people there. It is also a
game we rarely lose, but with all the bad luck I had that day I was seriously considering putting a massive bet on the
Reds to win.
The stadium now holds 75,000 fans... you couldn't tell though. The atmosphere was terrible compared to previous years
when I had been there. Chelsea fans were magnificent and sang throughout. It's the first time in a long time that I have
sat in a section where every fan was singing.
United tore us apart in the first half. Geremi had plenty of space on the right but was generally wasteful with his crossing.
The midfield lost out to Carrick and Scholes many a time, and when United scored you couldn't really argue. The United
fans only started singing and cheering then. I guess they were still a bit shell shocked after the loss to Celtic earlier on in
the week, but that's what you get when most of your supporters are glory hunting muppets!
We were discussing what Jose needed to change to the team. In the end we all guessed wrong - he took Geremi off and
put on Robben thus allowing Essien to push further up on the right wing. I don't know how, but it worked. United were
pinned back and after numerous chances Chelsea finally scored from a corner. United counter attacked very well.
Ronaldo looked phenomenally fast but gave no end product. Ashley Cole had his best game to date with some superbly
timed tackles. Ballack was disappointing again - as was Shevchenko. Sheva seemed to follow any Chelsea player who
had the ball - do you want to hold hands with them? He has to start getting into his game soon as there are already a
few moaners and groaners in the stands.
Rooney was bizarrely quiet this game. Of course he is very gifted, but like Ronaldo does not seem to be able to pull it off
in the big games. Having said that they are very young, and they are bound to improve with each year. You could see
the difference in the teams was the strength in depth. While Chelsea had Cole and Robben on the bench, United could
only bring on O'Shea and Silvestre!
Overall it was a fair result. These are the two best teams in England by a long way and the amount of respect shown by
the managers to each other - with no moaning and groaning - shows that the teams have far more class than any of the
other title pretenders below them.
On the way back, the car was intact and did not fall apart. A very joyful day - a draw on the pitch, but a victory for the
Chelsea fans off it. Bolton away will be a real test.
a manager in Jose Mourinho who when things are not working for the team, manages to switch things around to the
team's benefit - and what a contrast to Ranieri who probably would have put Robert Huth up front in the second half.
The journey up to Manchester was a nightmare. Collecting a friend at 9am I hit a kerb while hailstones were thundering
down and from then on the car never felt the same. At a service station on the M6 I had to change the wheel, and
wondered if we would ever make it to Old Trafford.
The roads were pretty good up until Manchester. Then all the plastic Mancs clogged up the main road going into the city
centre. I took a scenic route through some villages. The car was still a bit wobbly but I parked it up and had the token
Northern chav ask if he could "look after" my car. I paid him £2 and told him I would give him another £3 if it was still
standing when we returned. So not only was I bricking it at the stadium as to whether I would return to London at all that
night, I was not sure if my car would still be left standing intact!
I always enjoy going to Old Trafford. Every game seems like a Cup Final due to the amount of people there. It is also a
game we rarely lose, but with all the bad luck I had that day I was seriously considering putting a massive bet on the
Reds to win.
The stadium now holds 75,000 fans... you couldn't tell though. The atmosphere was terrible compared to previous years
when I had been there. Chelsea fans were magnificent and sang throughout. It's the first time in a long time that I have
sat in a section where every fan was singing.
United tore us apart in the first half. Geremi had plenty of space on the right but was generally wasteful with his crossing.
The midfield lost out to Carrick and Scholes many a time, and when United scored you couldn't really argue. The United
fans only started singing and cheering then. I guess they were still a bit shell shocked after the loss to Celtic earlier on in
the week, but that's what you get when most of your supporters are glory hunting muppets!
We were discussing what Jose needed to change to the team. In the end we all guessed wrong - he took Geremi off and
put on Robben thus allowing Essien to push further up on the right wing. I don't know how, but it worked. United were
pinned back and after numerous chances Chelsea finally scored from a corner. United counter attacked very well.
Ronaldo looked phenomenally fast but gave no end product. Ashley Cole had his best game to date with some superbly
timed tackles. Ballack was disappointing again - as was Shevchenko. Sheva seemed to follow any Chelsea player who
had the ball - do you want to hold hands with them? He has to start getting into his game soon as there are already a
few moaners and groaners in the stands.
Rooney was bizarrely quiet this game. Of course he is very gifted, but like Ronaldo does not seem to be able to pull it off
in the big games. Having said that they are very young, and they are bound to improve with each year. You could see
the difference in the teams was the strength in depth. While Chelsea had Cole and Robben on the bench, United could
only bring on O'Shea and Silvestre!
Overall it was a fair result. These are the two best teams in England by a long way and the amount of respect shown by
the managers to each other - with no moaning and groaning - shows that the teams have far more class than any of the
other title pretenders below them.
On the way back, the car was intact and did not fall apart. A very joyful day - a draw on the pitch, but a victory for the
Chelsea fans off it. Bolton away will be a real test.
