retired_w0lfpack1

Monday, 31st July, 2006.

retired_w0lfpack1

July Summary:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">W 4-1 a Antwerp Rooney, Giggs, Saha, Larsson (Friendly)W 2-0 a Walsall Larsson, Solskjær (Friendly)D 0-0 a Shelbourne (Friendly)W 2-1 a Ipswich Town Solskjær, Larsson (Friendly)W 3-0 a Bradford City Saha, Scholes, Rooney (Friendly)W 1-0 a Wolves Fangzhuo (Friendly)Players in: Manager Iain McCullough, 35Players out: AM RLC Park Ji-Sung, 25 - £5.0M, to Bayern MünchenInjury list: DR Gary Neville, 2 weeks MR Cristiano Ronaldo, 2 weeks ST Louis Saha, 1 month DL Gabriel Heinze, 1 month ST Alan Smith, 3 months</pre>

We were just stretching our legs.. next it was time to test them against some Premiership opposition!

retired_bbcarr

Hope you lose and get sacked :p

retired_w0lfpack1

Thanks, Terk!

retired_bbcarr

To be fair, I wish that upon anyone who takes on Man Utd. Nothing personal. Honest :p

retired_troyusmc1

quite good.

Brandon M

Must agree with you Terk. Especially after their dubious win against the boys in blue last week dodgy penalty and all...

GL Amaroq says Markyt not really meaning it.

retired_w0lfpack1

Thanks, joe bush, and the rest of you can go...

CENSORED

retired_w0lfpack1

Sir Alex gave me a number of pointers - its always good to talk to him.

One thing he suggested was putting a bit more pressure on all throughout the pitch.

"You've been letting 'em come to you," he said. "But if they're keeping men behind the ball, when you finally get possession, you've got six to eight guys to work through.

"Mount a bit more pressure, and you'll get the occasional turnover-and-quick chance.. plus you never give them a chance to catch their breath. Let our guys catch their breath when we have the ball - its always easier to play offense than defense."

Wednesday, 9th August, 2006.

retired_w0lfpack1

I told Ancelotti to get lost, too. Sell Cristiano Ronaldo! Hah!

I'm normally a supporter of Sheffield United, but we'd been working some of Sir Alex's suggestions into practice this week - if the Blades were expecting us to sit back passively, they wouldn't know what hit them!

Thursday, 10th August, 2006. Friendly, vs Sheffield United.

4-4-2: Van der Sar | Silvestre, Brown, Vidic, O'Shea | Giggs, Carrick, Scholes, Ronaldo | Larsson, Rooney

Rooney and Ronaldo made a public show of camaraderie - nothing so staged as a hug, but clearly joking and playing around during the pre-match warmups, and the Old Trafford crowd reserved their loudest ovation for Cristiano during the introductions, which clearly touched him.

The match itself could have started out so poorly, with Michaël Silvestre conceding a dubious penalty in the 15th minute. However, Edwin van der Sar made a heroic stop from Stephen Quinn's effort, and from there we were golden. Playing with an alacrity and verve which had been lacking through the first friendlies, we pushed Sheffield relentlessly back throughout the first half.

Cristiano Ronaldo, in his first match back from injury, was obviously enjoying the support of the crowd, and repaid them with a dazzling performance. He absolutely made the first goal with a sizzling run into space on the right, and Henrik Larsson duly headed home his cross.

Ronaldo picked up a second assist moments later when Wes Brown made it 2-0, heading home his corner, and we took a comfortable two-goal lead to the break.

Though we looked solid through the second half, the Blades did make a few chances, and Van der Sar reprised his first-half effort with a pair of brilliant saves. The Dutchman leaft Michael Tonge shaking is head in bemusement in the 71st minute, and denied Keith Gillespie in stoppage time.

Manchester United 2, Sheffield United 0
Larsson 31, Brown 34; - - - -
Hero: GK Edwin van der Sar (penalty save, 4 saves total)

Though some would be questioning whether there had been any challenge to it, considering the quality of the opposition, I was pleased - we'd completed an unbeaten preseason, and more importantly we'd looked a much sharper side in the final match. Peaking at the right time, I hoped!

"We must not get complacent," I warned my players. "Pre-season means nothing. We're bottom of the table now, dead even with everybody else."