Living for a New Tomorrow.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEWLY

CROWNED PREMIERSHIP CHAMPIONS

2006/07

MANCHESTER UNITED

First and foremost, i wanna congratulate my beloved team Manchester United for being crowned the newly Champions of the EPL 06/07 season. A warning, this post might be wee bit long for you guys so hoped that all of you could stand in my shoes and for once tolerate my long-windedness(doubt there's this word) Haha!. Especially those fellas out there who are a Chelsea, Liverpool or Arsenal fan as i wanna dedicate this entire post to my beloved Red Devils!!! Hee..

Quite rightly, there's only one team that plays football as it's meant to be played, with a swashbuckling pride, a thirst for goals and a desire to entertain. That is why English football should put tribal loyalties aside and rejoice that Man Utd are once more champions of England for the 16th time, and why no one, not even the self-proclaimed special one Jose Mourinho, should deny them their rights to their 9th Premiership crown. We are hot on your trails Loser-pool!

A bunch of players and coaches have been responsible for breaking the dominance bought by the billions of Roman Abramovich over the past 3 years. The evergreen form of Ryan Giggs gliding around creating mayhem and the full fitness of Paul Scholes are high on the list. Free from the burden of national commitments and with the mysterious eye injury which kept him out for most parts of last season behind him, Scholes remains a devastating midfield presence who's truly the one and only capable english player at the moment to spray those killer passes for the likes of Rooney to score, as Nesta and co. could testify to it. Speaking of Rooney, who could not have been thrilled at his supercharged bursts and his brilliance at crucial times of the season like the match against mighty Milan. The blossoming of Micheal Carrick too, whom playing alongside Scholes has matured into an elegant support, had been a factor, one that might well prove crucial for England in their quest to qualify for Euro 2008. I'm pretty sure Carrick has ended the debate about whether he's worth the 18.6 million pounds that Ferguson paid for him with his performances on the pitch.

At the back, Nemanja Vidic, the central defender whose arrival cemented the crack at the heart of United's rear, and Patrice Evra have emerged from the uncertainty of their first-half season with the Red Devils to confirm their status as the defensive equal of any Premiership peer. Rio Ferdinand may still make the odd mistake but surely he now should be recognised as the best centre-half England currently possess. Heard that JT? Behind him, Edwin van der Sar, with the exception of one or two shaky moments in the immediate aftermath of his return from a broken nose, has ended discussion over a supposed goalkeeping problem since the retirement of the legendary Peter Schmeichel. However, the reality may not quite back up the story but van der Sar would forever be remembered as the man who ensured United won the title at their local rivals, Man City.

The supporting cast can be proud of their contributions too. O'shea, Fletcher, Brown, Heinze, Richardson, Solskjaer and Smith all played their part at various times, while the likes of Gary Nellvie, Park and Saha would surely have been more regulor contributors during the run-in had injury not struck. Saha, in particular has to be complimented for he was the one who truly came into his own world this season, ensuring the Old Trafford faithful to be erased of the presence of goal-machine Ruud van Nistelrooy with some fantastic performances, most notably the crucial one against Chelsea at the beginning of the campaign. Henrik Larsson may be gone but the swede would never be forgotten for contributing at a time when United were down in the striking department. All the important names have been listed, with one notable exception.

It is not an understatement to say the best work Ferguson did all year came over a month before the season actually began, when he first sent his assistant Carlos Queiroz to see Cristiano Ronaldo, then flew to Portugal to meet the player himself. One man definately does not make a team. But it is difficult to imagine United's challenge being quite so strong without the flying winger with magic in his flashy Nike boots. Just like the Eric Cantona's incident a decade ago, Fergie approached the Ronaldo situation from a position of extreme weakness and akin to a father protecting and laying his strong, protected arms over his son, emerged a triumphant man. The rest as they say is history as Ronaldo not only came out of the shadows of those critics and fans who were biting at him and booing him at every possible stadium in England, he stepped up a notch and silenced all his doubtors with quite often scintillating performances from the amazing boy-wonder. Conventional defending does not work, neither does intimidation and, as Michael Ball discovered on Saturday, neither does blatant thuggery. Maybe his below-par performances against Milan undermines the argument that he's currently the best player on the planet ahead of Kaka or Ronaldinho but as the PFA and FWA player of the year holder (pic below), at least in Premiership terms, the Madeira born youngster stands alone in his own class as with 23 goals and treble the assists, he has been quite easily the key man for United the whole season. As Ferdinand best decribed Ronaldo's winning goal against Fulham in the dying stages of the game, "it was simple roy of the rovers stuff". Yeah!! I couldn't have agreed with him further.

All of the above are obvious reasons why the Premiership crown once more moves to Old Trafford. But one man, more than any, is responsible for protecting the United tradition as conceived by Sir Matt Busby and his famous Busby Babes: Sir Alex Ferguson. The fact that 21 years after the United manager walked through the gates of Old Trafford and at an age when many pensioners struggle to find their energy to do much more than pull on their slippers and sift through the tv listings, Ferguson has just performed quite possibly his greatest domestic feat. Yes, the Premiership 2007 is THE greatest of his league triumphs. Why? Because Ferguson might have been tempted to go down the power route after watching Chelsea ride across the Premiership horizon by Christmas in the previous 2 seasons with Mourinho's pragmatic approach. he might have been worn down by Chelsea's bottomless pit of cash, tempted to give it up altogether and retire with memories of that 1999 treble a shining light in a fabulous career. Instead, he chose to build one last dynasty in the image of the pioneering Busby.

The results have been so spellbinding that neutrals no longer need to worry about Chelsea dominating the Premiership for years on end. The blend of youth and experience in the current United side is such that the club too could be a force to come for the best part of the next decade. Considering the likes of Van der Sar, Giggs and Scholes in the twillight years of their career, and the blossoming of Rooney and Ronaldo, and quite possibly the best English goalkeeper at the moment Ben Foster, just entering the stage of adulthood, well, the future is really exciting for United fans all across the globe. Not forgetting United won the crown this year without their talismanic former captain Roy Keane makes this season all the more remarkable. Obviously, Ferguson would not stay that long as he has already indicated that he wouldn't stay beyond the age of 70 but he would be reluctant to give up a team in which he has assembled with such aplomb. Why should he hand such history-making rewards to a successor when he could enjoy them to himself? Why should he go when, with a little fine-tuning which might well be supplied by the impending arrival of further world-class players like Owen Hargreaves in the close season, the Champions League dream might once again be realised?

There will be many who will embrace United's glory grudgingly. In 34 years as a manager, Sir Alex (pic above) has upset plenty with his assertive manner and stinging dismissal of anyone who strays beyond the boundaries he is responsible for setting. Just ask the likes of Ince, Huges, Beckham, Stam, Van Nistelrooy etc. But no one could deny the fact that Sir Alex has brought back a style and excitement back to the Premiership, which was sadly lacking in Chelsea's twin title campaigns. And he has done so with a measure of good humour, sportsmanship and a relaxed manner, which, taken in isolation, should actually generate a feeling of warmth towards the most decorated football manager Britain has ever produced.

Last but not least, i would like to extend my congratulations out from the players, the manager, the backroom staff all the way to the board. Everyone who has helped make us champions. Thanks for making us United supporters all across the world a happy person once more. This truly justifies the reasons why we die-hard fans would forever be sticking to the team irregardless of how well or bad they performed. Lastly, i, personally would like to hail one of my heros of all-time, Giggsy (pic below), for being the most decorated player ever in Man Utd's illustrious history. This title triumph was his 9th overall. So what do u do next for a living legend like him? Go for a 10th Premiership title of cos!!! Cheers Manchester United!!! Ya simply the GREATEST club of all time!!!

&faded to grey at 3:49:00 AM♥