Cheech has straight man love for Rooney. He attacks him after every goal. Or perhaps this is his way of making sure he stays in the starting line up.
Love Chelsea in a 4 4 2. Suits us. I guess in the Champions league, the are just too many refs to pay off Was a pen by Evra, but Karma counts and that doesn't really begin to redress the balance. Hope Rafa ok. Halfway there.
That was a really nice win for us tonight, obviously. Rooney is playing with the skill of last season combined with the edge and "******** you world" intensity that he had as a young'n. He was our best player tonight. Michael Carrick suddenly decided to show up! He was great for us tonight. The rest of the team worked their asses off for the result. Someone mentioned prior to the match today that the team sheet looked industrious. Well, that's exactly what it was. If we can't wrap this up next Tuesday at Old Trafford then it will be our own fault. Still, we've made our job significantly easier this way.
When Carrick outpaced Drogba the first time and drew the foul, I knew he was going to have a good game. That said, he surpassed my expectations. Brilliant. Edwin was clutch as usual, and Wazza has continued his good run of form. Away goal and a win, I'll take it! WHAT FOOOKING WHAT!!!???
True. Both Chelsea and ManU spend something like three times the money Schalke does on players. But the truth is on the pitch. And Schalke can on a good day beat either of them. And Chelsea strikes me as the better bet.
That as a Schalke sympathiser I rate Chelsea as the less fearsome opponent and hence wish 'em well in the second leg? I have this notion that on BigSoccer fans come together to freely discuss the beautiful game. And if there's a thread about a game, fans from all camps are welcome to engage in it, rather than segregating themselves. I find it rather sad that some fans feel so overly proprietory about "their" thread. Do we really need this thin-skinned and tribal "Get off my lawn!" attitude? IMO, this sort of pretty hostile attitude some harbour really gets in the way of truly interesting discussions.
I saw this thread when going to the English clubs section. You're offended by me voicing my view that ManU's the more fearsome opponent I'd rather avoid? Really??? If so, I guess the Chelsea fans would equally be offended by me rooting for them as I rate ManU a more dangerous opponent!
I felt like Carrick was out best player in the first half, maybe first 55-60 minutes but then faded badly. I suppose he was just as guilty as everyone else for giving the ball away but I was not impressed. I thought we missed Scholes and just as Chelsea brought on Anelka and Malouda together, I thought Scholes and Berba would have come on together to help with our possession. Evra had a tough match, but I don't think people fully grasp what he was up against. First off, Giggs refused to track runs today, leaving Carrick unable to help either fullback out like he usually does. Secondly, Park at times seemed to be man-marking Ramires which meant he was often away from his flank. This is not to mention that he faced Drogba numerous times. Evra is gonna get rag-dolled by Drogba, I thought he did a decent job. I was screaming at Giggs to close down players and track runs but he didn't. Evra had to walk a very tight line between playing up the pitch but not too far because he had no help. He had by FAR the toughest brief of any player on the pitch. I thought Cheech's movement was superb. He would have scored too, but for a great last ditch intervention by Cech on the beautiful cross by Nani. His passing and hold-up play though left a bit to be desired as usual. He'd be so much more effective off the bench in these types of games, but I'm glad he got the start.
I wonder if DS makes and appearance? I've missed him round these parts lately... And no match comment from SM??
I would love to have Ando and/or Fletcher back for next week. They could offer some more steal like qualities in the middle of the park. i was a little surprised Fergie didn't bring on Scholes for the last 20 minutes or so. I think he would have help shore things up a bit in midfield thus leading to less stupid turnovers like we did near the end of the game.