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anything about now · 17th May 2008, 07:10

This is a good article from Goal.com.

Graham Lister charts the shifting sands of a gripping battle for supremacy in the 16th campaign of English Premier League football...

It is easily forgotten, as Manchester United celebrate their tenth title success in the 16 seasons of the Premier League's existence, that they actually got off to their worst start to a campaign since the first of those seasons in 1992-93 (when they also finished as champions).

Back in August, as defending champions who had added Anderson, Nani, Owen Hargreaves and Carlos Tevez to their squad, United struggled to recapture the winning formula.

The Red Devils started the season with by surprisingly dropping two points at home to Reading, who frustrated Sir Alex Ferguson's side with a disciplined defensive display. Despite creating plenty of chances, United couldn't break the Royals' resistance, and matters were exacerbated when Wayne Rooney limped off with a broken bone in his foot.

There was little for United fans to cheer about in their next game, either, as Portsmouth came from behind to draw 1-1 at Fratton Park and Cristiano Ronaldo picked up a red card for a head butt.

Worse was to follow at Eastlands on 19th August in the Manchester derby. United had plenty of possession but without Rooney and Ronaldo they lacked a cutting edge, and Sven-Goran Eriksson's ebullient Manchester City, infused with exciting new players and bags of enthusiasm triumphed 1-0 thanks to Geovanni's 31st minute strike. After three games the champions had a mere two points. Cue talk of a crisis at Old Trafford.

League Positions on 19th August
2nd Chelsea Pld 3 Pts 7
7th Arsenal Pld 2 Pts 4
9th Liverpool Pld 2 Pts 4
16th Man Utd Pld 3 Pts 2
Manchester City led the table with a 100% record.
(Get your league table out for the lads)

Ferguson commented: "We've got ourselves an uphill fight now. Ten years ago we could have handled it because we were always good in the second half of the season - now we are going to have to be."

Fortunately for United, though, the fixture list did them a favour by having Tottenham visit Manchester for their next game. Spurs were busy making all the pre-season hype about their top-four potential look ridiculous, though even so, United were far from convincing as they scraped a less-than-pretty 1-0 win with £19m summer signing Nani hitting a spectacular winner from 30 yards.

It proved to be the first of three consecutive 1-0 victories for United, as Roy Keane's Sunderland and David Moyes's Everton were despatched by the same scoreline, substitute Louis Saha proving the Black Cats' undoing and defender Nemanja Vidic flinging himself to meet the ball with an 83rd minute header that unwrapped the Toffees' resistance at Goodison.

Another 1-0 win marked the start of United's Champions League campaign, as Sporting were beaten in Lisbon, Ronaldo scoring against his former club.

By September 23rd, when United were due to host Chelsea, the League had confounded the pundits with some surprising developments. Arsene Wenger's exciting young Arsenal side were still unbeaten, top of the table and playing scintillating football, their only dropped points having come at Blackburn in their second game, when a Jens Lehmann error gifted Rovers a late equaliser and ended the German's tenure as the Gunners' first choice keeper.

Meanwhile, Chelsea were having a major wobble of their own. An away defeat at Aston Villa, followed by uninspired home draws against Blackburn and Rosenborg, had prompted the unthinkable: the departure of Special One Jose Mourinho. Avram Grant was charged by Roman Abramovich with picking up the pieces and delivering the 'expansive' football that Mourinho hadn't. With dismayed and disgruntled players threatening to quit Stamford Bridge, Grant's task at Old Trafford was a thankless one. United won 2-0, with goals at the end of each half by Tevez and Saha (a penalty), respectively. But the dismissal after half-an-hour of John Obi Mikel by Mike Dean, in a controversial display of officiating, was a turning-point - claimed Chelsea, who were without Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack and Ricardo Carvalho.

League Positions on 23rd September
1st Arsenal Pld 6 Pts 16
2nd Man Utd Pld 7 Pts 14
4th Liverpool Pld 6 Pts 12
6th Chelsea Pld 7 Pts 11

Fergie gave the kids a chance in United's next game - a Carling Cup tie at home to Championship Coventry City, but they let him down in a 2-0 defeat. However, in the League and in Europe, things were going well, as Birmingham (away) and Roma (home) were both beaten 1-0, Ronaldo and the fit-again Rooney, respectively, on target.

United's defence was proving exceptionally strong, conceding just two goals in eight Premier League games; but the attack had yet to click into gear. That suddenly changed with sixteen goals in the next four games as United consigned Wigan (4-0 home), Aston Villa (4-1, away), Dynamo Kiev (4-2 away, Champions League) and Middlesbrough (4-1, home) to crushing defeats.

Grant's Chelsea had ground out victories over Bolton and Middlesbrough before suddenly hitting the 'sexy' button with a 6-0 demolition of high-flying Manchester City on the day United beat Boro. It was a bigger Premiership victory than the Blues had managed in Mourinho's three-and-a-bit seasons at the Bridge, and furthermore Chelsea had not conceded since losing to United.

But Arsenal, with an impressive point at Anfield on the same weekend, had scarcely put a foot wrong either, and were matching United stride for stride in the League - still with the advantage of a crucial game in hand. And next up for United was a trip to Ashburton Grove to take on the Gunners.

League Positions on 28th October
1st Arsenal Pld 10 Pts 26
2nd Man Utd Pld 11 Pts 26
4th Chelsea Pld 11 Pts 21
6th Liverpool Pld 10 Pts 20

A week after their draw at Anfield came Arsenal's sternest test so far, against United. They passed with flying colours, though it took a stoppage-time goal from skipper William Gallas to earn a 2-2 draw from a game they largely dominated. It was a club record 25 games unbeaten in all competitions for the stylish Gunners, who extended it to 28 before a Champions League defeat away to Sevilla.

Meanwhile United thrashed Kiev 4-0 and beat Blackburn 2-0 - with two goals in a minute from the prolific Ronaldo - before unaccountably succumbing to their second League defeat, a 0-1 reverse at Gary Megson's struggling Bolton. The Red Devils bounced back with successive home victories over Sporting (2-1), Fulham (2-0) and Derby (4-1), with Arsenal suffering their first League defeat of the season with an unexpected 2-1 reverse at Middlesbrough.

United maintained their unbeaten Champions League run with a 1-1 draw away to Roma ahead of the first 'Super Sunday' of the domestic season. Tevez struck just before half-time at Anfield to give United a 1-0 win over Liverpool, but shortly afterwards at the Emirates Gallas headed the only goal as Arsenal defeated Chelsea 1-0.

On 23rd December United beat Everton 2-1 at home, 24 hours after Arsenal - still going strong in the Carling Cup - completed the double over local rivals Tottenham with a 2-1 win at Emirates.

But on Boxing Day, United nosed ahead of the Gunners, thumping Keano's Sunderland 4-0 at the Stadium of Light while Portsmouth became the first side to stop Arsenal scoring in a goalless draw at Fratton Park. Chelsea were held to an epic and explosive 4-4 draw by Aston Villa at the Bridge. Liverpool needed a last-minute winner from Steven Gerrard to overcome lowly Derby and cling on to the coat-tails of the leaders.

League Positions on 26th December
1st Man Utd Pld 19 Pts 45
2nd Arsenal Pld 19 Pts 44
3rd Chelsea Pld 19 Pts 38
4th Liverpool Pld 18 Pts 36

Arsenal reclaimed top spot on 29th December by humbling Everton 4-1 at Goodison, Eduardo hitting an impressive brace, while United surrendered a lead at he Boleyn Ground - Ronaldo untypically missing a penalty - as West Ham beat them 2-1. New Year's day saw the Gunners stay stop by beating the Hammers 2-0 at home; United secured an edgy 1-0 win over Birmingham at Old Trafford while Chelsea beat neighbours Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage.

Next up was the third round of the FA Cup. United and Arsenal both progressed with 2-0 away wins over Aston Villa and Burnley, respectively; Chelsea beat QPR 1-0 at home.

Chelsea and Arsenal both had Carling Cup semi-final first legs to negotiate before, on 12th January, United crushed Newcastle 6-0 at home. Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed a hat-trick to take his tally to 25 goals for club and country. Chelsea beat Tottenham 2-0 but Arsenal slipped up at home, being held to a 1-1 draw by Birmingham. The results put United top on goal difference.

(cont'd)

17th May 2008, 07:10	#1 (permalink)
anything about now MUFC lad living in a matriel world Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 2,514	How The Premier League Title Was Won This is a good article from Goal.com. Graham Lister charts the shifting sands of a gripping battle for supremacy in the 16th campaign of English Premier League football... It is easily forgotten, as Manchester United celebrate their tenth title success in the 16 seasons of the Premier League's existence, that they actually got off to their worst start to a campaign since the first of those seasons in 1992-93 (when they also finished as champions). Back in August, as defending champions who had added Anderson, Nani, Owen Hargreaves and Carlos Tevez to their squad, United struggled to recapture the winning formula. The Red Devils started the season with by surprisingly dropping two points at home to Reading, who frustrated Sir Alex Ferguson's side with a disciplined defensive display. Despite creating plenty of chances, United couldn't break the Royals' resistance, and matters were exacerbated when Wayne Rooney limped off with a broken bone in his foot. There was little for United fans to cheer about in their next game, either, as Portsmouth came from behind to draw 1-1 at Fratton Park and Cristiano Ronaldo picked up a red card for a head butt. Worse was to follow at Eastlands on 19th August in the Manchester derby. United had plenty of possession but without Rooney and Ronaldo they lacked a cutting edge, and Sven-Goran Eriksson's ebullient Manchester City, infused with exciting new players and bags of enthusiasm triumphed 1-0 thanks to Geovanni's 31st minute strike. After three games the champions had a mere two points. Cue talk of a crisis at Old Trafford. *League Positions on 19th August* 2nd Chelsea Pld 3 Pts 7 7th Arsenal Pld 2 Pts 4 9th Liverpool Pld 2 Pts 4 16th Man Utd Pld 3 Pts 2 Manchester City led the table with a 100% record. (Get your league table out for the lads) Ferguson commented: "We've got ourselves an uphill fight now. Ten years ago we could have handled it because we were always good in the second half of the season - now we are going to have to be." Fortunately for United, though, the fixture list did them a favour by having Tottenham visit Manchester for their next game. Spurs were busy making all the pre-season hype about their top-four potential look ridiculous, though even so, United were far from convincing as they scraped a less-than-pretty 1-0 win with £19m summer signing Nani hitting a spectacular winner from 30 yards. It proved to be the first of three consecutive 1-0 victories for United, as Roy Keane's Sunderland and David Moyes's Everton were despatched by the same scoreline, substitute Louis Saha proving the Black Cats' undoing and defender Nemanja Vidic flinging himself to meet the ball with an 83rd minute header that unwrapped the Toffees' resistance at Goodison. Another 1-0 win marked the start of United's Champions League campaign, as Sporting were beaten in Lisbon, Ronaldo scoring against his former club. By September 23rd, when United were due to host Chelsea, the League had confounded the pundits with some surprising developments. Arsene Wenger's exciting young Arsenal side were still unbeaten, top of the table and playing scintillating football, their only dropped points having come at Blackburn in their second game, when a Jens Lehmann error gifted Rovers a late equaliser and ended the German's tenure as the Gunners' first choice keeper. Meanwhile, Chelsea were having a major wobble of their own. An away defeat at Aston Villa, followed by uninspired home draws against Blackburn and Rosenborg, had prompted the unthinkable: the departure of Special One Jose Mourinho. Avram Grant was charged by Roman Abramovich with picking up the pieces and delivering the 'expansive' football that Mourinho hadn't. With dismayed and disgruntled players threatening to quit Stamford Bridge, Grant's task at Old Trafford was a thankless one. United won 2-0, with goals at the end of each half by Tevez and Saha (a penalty), respectively. But the dismissal after half-an-hour of John Obi Mikel by Mike Dean, in a controversial display of officiating, was a turning-point - claimed Chelsea, who were without Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack and Ricardo Carvalho. *League Positions on 23rd September* 1st Arsenal Pld 6 Pts 16 2nd Man Utd Pld 7 Pts 14 4th Liverpool Pld 6 Pts 12 6th Chelsea Pld 7 Pts 11 Fergie gave the kids a chance in United's next game - a Carling Cup tie at home to Championship Coventry City, but they let him down in a 2-0 defeat. However, in the League and in Europe, things were going well, as Birmingham (away) and Roma (home) were both beaten 1-0, Ronaldo and the fit-again Rooney, respectively, on target. United's defence was proving exceptionally strong, conceding just two goals in eight Premier League games; but the attack had yet to click into gear. That suddenly changed with sixteen goals in the next four games as United consigned Wigan (4-0 home), Aston Villa (4-1, away), Dynamo Kiev (4-2 away, Champions League) and Middlesbrough (4-1, home) to crushing defeats. Grant's Chelsea had ground out victories over Bolton and Middlesbrough before suddenly hitting the 'sexy' button with a 6-0 demolition of high-flying Manchester City on the day United beat Boro. It was a bigger Premiership victory than the Blues had managed in Mourinho's three-and-a-bit seasons at the Bridge, and furthermore Chelsea had not conceded since losing to United. But Arsenal, with an impressive point at Anfield on the same weekend, had scarcely put a foot wrong either, and were matching United stride for stride in the League - still with the advantage of a crucial game in hand. And next up for United was a trip to Ashburton Grove to take on the Gunners. *League Positions on 28th October* 1st Arsenal Pld 10 Pts 26 2nd Man Utd Pld 11 Pts 26 4th Chelsea Pld 11 Pts 21 6th Liverpool Pld 10 Pts 20 A week after their draw at Anfield came Arsenal's sternest test so far, against United. They passed with flying colours, though it took a stoppage-time goal from skipper William Gallas to earn a 2-2 draw from a game they largely dominated. It was a club record 25 games unbeaten in all competitions for the stylish Gunners, who extended it to 28 before a Champions League defeat away to Sevilla. Meanwhile United thrashed Kiev 4-0 and beat Blackburn 2-0 - with two goals in a minute from the prolific Ronaldo - before unaccountably succumbing to their second League defeat, a 0-1 reverse at Gary Megson's struggling Bolton. The Red Devils bounced back with successive home victories over Sporting (2-1), Fulham (2-0) and Derby (4-1), with Arsenal suffering their first League defeat of the season with an unexpected 2-1 reverse at Middlesbrough. United maintained their unbeaten Champions League run with a 1-1 draw away to Roma ahead of the first 'Super Sunday' of the domestic season. Tevez struck just before half-time at Anfield to give United a 1-0 win over Liverpool, but shortly afterwards at the Emirates Gallas headed the only goal as Arsenal defeated Chelsea 1-0. On 23rd December United beat Everton 2-1 at home, 24 hours after Arsenal - still going strong in the Carling Cup - completed the double over local rivals Tottenham with a 2-1 win at Emirates. But on Boxing Day, United nosed ahead of the Gunners, thumping Keano's Sunderland 4-0 at the Stadium of Light while Portsmouth became the first side to stop Arsenal scoring in a goalless draw at Fratton Park. Chelsea were held to an epic and explosive 4-4 draw by Aston Villa at the Bridge. Liverpool needed a last-minute winner from Steven Gerrard to overcome lowly Derby and cling on to the coat-tails of the leaders. *League Positions on 26th December* 1st Man Utd Pld 19 Pts 45 2nd Arsenal Pld 19 Pts 44 3rd Chelsea Pld 19 Pts 38 4th Liverpool Pld 18 Pts 36 Arsenal reclaimed top spot on 29th December by humbling Everton 4-1 at Goodison, Eduardo hitting an impressive brace, while United surrendered a lead at he Boleyn Ground - Ronaldo untypically missing a penalty - as West Ham beat them 2-1. New Year's day saw the Gunners stay stop by beating the Hammers 2-0 at home; United secured an edgy 1-0 win over Birmingham at Old Trafford while Chelsea beat neighbours Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage. Next up was the third round of the FA Cup. United and Arsenal both progressed with 2-0 away wins over Aston Villa and Burnley, respectively; Chelsea beat QPR 1-0 at home. Chelsea and Arsenal both had Carling Cup semi-final first legs to negotiate before, on 12th January, United crushed Newcastle 6-0 at home. Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed a hat-trick to take his tally to 25 goals for club and country. Chelsea beat Tottenham 2-0 but Arsenal slipped up at home, being held to a 1-1 draw by Birmingham. The results put United top on goal difference. (cont'd)