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United get fewer penalties than Arsenal and Liverpool, and score fewer than Chelsea

There's a fantastic statistical snippet in today's Sunday Times, showing the number of Premier League penalties that top sides have been awarded over the past ten years, and how successful they are at converting them.  Here are the stats for the "top four":

Manchester United

Penalty success rate since 1999-2000 season: 78.3%
Penalties awarded: 46
Penalties scored: 36

Liverpool

Penalty success rate: 75.5%
Penalties awarded: 53
Penalties scored: 40

Chelsea

Penalty success rate: 94.9%
Penalties awarded: 39
Penalties scored: 37

Arsenal

Penalty success rate: 81.8%
Penalties awarded: 55
Penalties scored: 45

So we've been awarded fewer penalties than both Liverpool and Arsenal, but no-one comes close to Chelsea's daunting 94.9% success rate.

Pete

11 points about the Wigan match

1. The perfect response.  Even though there are still some doubts and worries (see below), you can't really argue against 5 goals, scored away from home, and with all of your main strikers getting on the score sheet.  This was pretty much the best response we could have expected after the Burnley game, and sets things up nicely for the Arsenal match next weekend.  We've got six points now, only 84 more to go by Fergie's reckoning.

2. Well done, Wayne: goals #100 and #101.  Remember that debut against Fenerbahce?  Goals 1, 2 and 3 in a United shirt for Wayne Rooney?  Well, four years on he's the Old Trafford hero we all thought he'd be, and he just smashed in goals 100 and 101.  Here, for your viewing pleasure, is the magic hundreth:


Original Video- More videos at TinyPic

3. Owen's goal.  To my eyes, Owen's goal was the pick of the bunch.  Not just for the crisp pass by Nani and the pinpoint finish from Owen himself, but for what this could mean for our season - a confident Owen could well start banging them in from now on.



4. Berbatov's genius.  Lazy?  Doesn't add much to the team?  Geddaway.  Especially in the second half, Berbatov's neat touches and cushioned passes were the impetus behind many of United's best attacking moves.  The goal - complete with a chip over the keeper - capped what was an impressive performance.



5. Valencia Watch.  Now, that's more like it.  Against his old club, Valencia looked much more like the player we all got excited about in pre-season: a danger down the flank, peppering the opposition box with plenty of threatening crosses.  There are still question marks about whether he can pull it off against stronger oppostion - Ashley Cole, for instance, coped easily with him in the Community Shield match - but this was encouraging stuff.

6. The New Nani.  Last week we had the Old Nani: wasteful, frustating and lazy.  This week we're mostly back to the New Nani we saw against Chelsea: controlled, constructive and central to much of United's best play.  Again, a player who capped an impressive performance with an equally impressive goal.



7. Solid-(ish) defence.  Aside from a few wobbles - and, yes, a goal conceded against Burnley - one of the great positives that Fergie can take from the opening three games of the season is how our defence has coped with the injuries which have decimated it.  Vidic was back yesterday - which immediately made us look more solid - but none of the stand-ins, from John O'Shea to Wes Brown, have particularly embarrassed themselves or the team.  Special mention must go to Patrice Evra, who has been our player of the season so far, and Jonny Evans, who is one of the most composed young defenders that these eyes have ever seen.

8. The great Wigan run.  Don't you just love it when United play Wigan?  In nine league meetings now, United have come out winners every time - scoring 26 goals, and conceding only 4, in the process.

9. Doubts and worries.  Ok, so everything above has been a positive.  But there's no masking the fact that United looked distinctly off the boil in the first half of the match yesterday.  The main problem was the same one we had in the last two gains: an inability to convert chances into goals, the lack of some vital spark (or the 'X-Factor', as Piers Morgan puts it in the Sportsmail pages today).  Hopefully, the second-half performance will give the team the encouragement it needs, but there's little doubt that a better team than Wigan would have punished us before the first 45 minutes were up yesterday.

10. Where's Carrick?  Like the Birmingham game last weekend, Michael Carrick didn't even warrant a place on the United bench yesterday.  You do wonder what's going on with him.  He's not injured, so far as any one knows, but he does seem to have been the target of some cryptic and critical remarks from Fergie.  Whatever's wrong, let's hope it gets sorted out soon - our central midfield is already looking a little thin, without us effectively losing Carrick.

11. The final word from Fergie.  Here's how the manager summarised the match:

"Overall I thought they played very well. We had six good chances in the first half, and you'd like to take one or two of them, but the important thing was to be patient, and keep playing the way they were playing."

So now back to Old Trafford, and the Arsenal next weekend.

Pete

Antidepressant statistics

Over at the indispensable Republik of Mancunia, Scott the Red has posted the only statistics that matter today:

92-93: LWDW. Champions.
95-96: LWWW. Champions.
96-97: WDDD. Champions.
98-99: DDWW. Champions.
00-01: WDDW. Champions
02-03: WDDW. Champions.
07-08: DDLW. Champions.
08-09: DWLD. Champions.
09-10: WL….

In eight of our last eleven title wins we have had somewhat dodgy starts to the season, dropping points in at least two games, and in half of those the dropped points included a defeat. Losing 1-0 to Burnley is a dodgy result and this is certainly a dodgy start to another season.

Now how's that for a restorative?

Pete

11 points about the Birmingham match

1. Rooney's goal.  We all know the story: now Ronaldo's gone, we're expecting more goals from Wayne Rooney - especially as he's playing in his preferred position through the centre.  In which case, it was good to see him open his account on day two of the league, with his 99th goal for the club (you can watch it here).  Hopefully, there are many more to come.  Fergie certainly expects.

2. United's Zidane. There are plenty of plaudits for Rooney's overall performance yesterday - in the newspapers, on the blogs and from Fergie himself.  But the most eye-catching comes from the Brum manager, Alex McLeish, who said after the match, "Every so often natural footballers come along. You get players like Zidane and Platini and now there is Wayne Rooney."

3. Injury-hit defence.  What's wrong with our defenders at the moment?  They're dropping like flies.  United went into the day without Vidic, while Neville and Rafael are still recovering from knocks.  And then Rio goes and injures his thigh in training, and Jonny Evans hobbles off the pitch after 75 minutes.  Rio will be out for 2 weeks, but there's been no confirmation on Evans - the Beeb are reporting that the young Northern Irish defender was taken off as a "precaution", so hopefully he should be fit for the games ahead.

4. Defensive strength in depth.  Having said that, the defenders that are fit put in a decent performance.  Sure, Birmingham are no Real Madrid.  Sure, there were some shaky moments.  And, sure, Utd will never look as solid as when they have Vidic and Rio paired together at the back.  But captain-for-the-day John O'Shea marshalled his forces well, and Wes Brown and Ritchie De Laet certainly aren't bad options to have on the bench.  The clean sheet is testament to their efforts, as well as to a couple of decent saves by Ben Foster.  Despite some hints in the Times this morning, I'm not sure we need to be looking to the transfer market for defensive cover.

5. Goal-line clearance specialist.  Evra stopped one on the line against Chelsea last week, and then repeated the trick against Birmingham yesterday; getting in the way of Franck Quedrue's goal-bound header.  It capped what was an impressive performance by our left-back - reliable in defence but, also, one of our most effective attacking forces.  Just don't let him take any penalties.

6. Missed chances.  Typical United.  They dominate huge swathes of the game; should have scored a hatful; but only put one away, and end up enduring a more uncertain finish than they need have done.  Nani, Fletcher and Owen all had gilt-edge opportunities - although, to be fair, Owen's came when the match was pretty much over.  It's been said a thousand times, but bears repeating: Utd really do need to start converting more of their chances.  After all, you don't always get Birmingham at home.

7. Birmingham's best player: Joe Hart.  Of course, it didn't help that Birmingham's keeper (on loan from City) put in an impressive performance between the sticks.  Scott the Red, over at Republik of Mancunia, sums it up nicely:

"11 shots saved by the former City keeper, 9 shots off target and a further 10 blocked shots is all you need to know about what a frustrating day it was for us today. Hart was on form and their defenders were eager not to be embarrassed, so whilst I’d like to see us looking sharper in front of goal over the next few weeks, credit has to go to Birmingham’s defence."

8. Owen Watch.  After the Valencia game, Owen won't have appreciated that missed opportunity in the dying minutes of the match.  But he'll have taken heart from the positive reception Old Trafford gave him when he replaced Berbatov in the 74th minute.  I think most people expect the goals to come.

9. A confidence-boost for Foster.  After his wobbly performance at Wembley last week, Ben Foster needed a solid match to reassure both the fans and - you assume - the manager, his teammates and himself.  And that's what he delivered: some fine saves - especially from Christian Benitez late in the game - and less jitteriness with the ball on the ground.  Indeed, Fergie paid tribute to Foster afterwards, saying that, "We know he has ability and he proved that again today."  The perfect tonic for our stand-in keeper.

10. Same old Nani.  The Portuguese winger looked quite good against Chelsea last week - he really did.  But yesterday it was back to the same old Nani: wasteful in possession, lazy when off the ball, and sloppy in front of goal.  He partially redeemed himself with his cross for Rooney's goal.  But this wasn't the performance to make us forget a certain other Portuguese flyer.

11. Mighty Spurs!  United's performance may not have been the best, but a win's a win - and that win was made infinitely sweeter by Liverpool's defeat, later in the day, at White Hart Lane.  Last season, Benitez's men only lost two games.  One match down, and they're already half-way there...

Pete

Rooney goal against Birmingham

So: one match, one goal, one win.  We'll have more coverage of the Birmingham game on MustBeRed shortly, but - for now - here's footage of Rooney's winning goal:


Original Video- More videos at TinyPic

Pete

Hat-tip: Republik of Mancunia

Match preview: Birmingham

After Chelsea's injury-time flukiness, and Arsenal's six-goal slickness, yesterday, it's time for United to open their Premiership account with a home game against the Brum.  Here are some pre-match thoughts:

Defence: Whether it's Foster or Kuszczak in goal, today's keeper needs to put in an especially solid performance - to boost confidence behind a defence suffering from injuries, as well as to stake their claim to deputise for VDS. Fergie has said that Foster may have recovered from the injury (wounded pride?) he sustained in his lacklustre display in the Community Shield - but is it time to give Tomasz a chance instead?

In front of them, Vidic and Rafael are both missing, but Neville could make the bench. Judging by Sir Alex's pre-match comments, the defence could line up: O'Shea. Brown, Ferdinand, Evra. Personally, I'd like to see another run out for Ritchie de Laet, given the opposition and his fine performance against Valencia.

Midfield: With Nani's shoulder injury not as bad as first feared, many Reds fans will be hoping the Portuguese can pick up where he left off at Wembley. Neither Park nor Valencia particularly distinguished themselves last Sunday, but my preference would be for letting our summer signing settle in. As with Nani, it's an important season for Anderson - he needs to start getting games if he is going to step up after an underhwelming 08/09 season.

Up Front: Could Sunday be the day for Michael Owen's first OT goal? Given the opposition, and the chances that came his way against Valencia, if he plays you'd hope he finds the net. The sooner he gets a proper goal (i.e. not against Asian teams in friendlies) the better.

But with all the talk of Owen, it's easy to forget that Dimitar Berbatov needs to start scoring more. Yes, there are the deft flicks and touches, but he needs to starts registering on the scoresheet - and what better time then Sunday afternoon?

Overall: Given the stalemates that started United's last two trophy-laden campaigns fans would be forgiven for not being too distraught with dropped points. Yetm given the doubts over our ability to cope with Ronaldo, and the new look to the formation, a winning start could give everyone a great confidence boost, and set up some early season momentum.

Patrick

The Great Premiership Predictions Round-up

Ok, before we get into a round-up of some of the main Premiership top-three predictions from across the good ol' information superhighway, I figured I should probably put my own top-three prediction for this season on record:

1. Manchester United
2. Chelsea
3. Liverpool

Long story short: I do have my concerns about post-Ronaldo United, and various players will certainly have to step up to the plate this season, but there's enough potential, experience and attacking verve in the United ranks to carry us to the title.  What's more - and I know I'm biased here, but - I don't think our main challengers have particularly great sides.  Chelsea look typically formidable, but lack pace and invention.  While, even allowing for more appearances by Gerrard and Torres, Liverpool are a weaker team without Alonso - and they still need decent attacking back-up players.  I expect Arsenal will finish fourth, but I'm interested to see if they can come even higher - to my eyes, Wenger has shed a lot of dead weight this summer and - as usual - has some exciting young players coming through.  And as for City: well, I genuinely can't see them getting much higher than 7th.

Anwyay, here's a round-up of top-three predictions from elsewhere:

BBC (Phil McNulty)

1. Liverpool
2. Chelsea
3. Manchester United

BBC (Mark Lawrenson)

1. Manchester United
2. Chelsea
3. Liverpool

BBC (Steve Wilson)

1. Chelsea
2. Manchester United
3. Arsenal

BBC (Season preview)

1. Manchester United
2. Chelsea
3. Liverpool

Sky (Andy Gray)

1. Chelsea
2. Mancehster United
3. N/A   

The Times (Season Preview booklet)

1. Manchester United
2. Chelsea
3. Liverpool

The Times (Jonthan Northcroft)

1. Chelsea
2. Liverpool
3. Manchester United

The Sun (Terry Venebales)

1. Chelsea
2. Manchester United
3. Liverpool

The Guardian (Paul Wilson)

1. Manchester United
2. N/A
3. N/A

The Guardian (The Sport Blog)

1. Liverpool
2. Chelsea
3. Manchester United

The Independent (Season preview)

1. Manchester United
2. Chelsea
3. Liverpool

The Independent (James Lawton)

1. Manchester United
2. Arsenal
3. Chelsea

The Independent (Neil Warnock)

1. Chelsea
2. Manchester United
3. Arsenal

Goal.com

1. Manchester United
2. Chelsea
3. Liverpool

Pete

The season starts here

So here we go.  Some eleven weeks since the Disappointment of Rome - and after a summer of massive departures, surprising arrivals and two penalty shoot-outs - the new Premiership season starts today. Or, rather, it starts today for most Premiership sides.  We'll have to wait until tomorrow to see Utd take on Birmingham at Old Trafford.

It's a new season for Must Be Red, as well.  We've been tweeting our way through the summer period (follow us here) but, sadly, the blogging went all too quiet.  We're determined to rectify that.  Not only will we have frequent blogs and tweets - bringing you the latest Utd news, gossip and analysis - but we'll also be continuing our campaign to have Ryan Giggs knighted, as well as developing some new features on the site.

So we'd be delighted if you'd drop by, jump in, and help us cheer on Utd to a fab fourth title in a row.

Tim, Patrick & Pete

Champions!

FA Premiership
MANCHESTER UNITED 0
ARSENAL 0

In the end, the actual match was a sideshow.  The 0-0 draw against Arsenal may not have been a particularly impressive United performance, but it did the job, and delivered our 11th Premiership title in 17 years.  With what space they do devote to the actual game, most football writers draw a parallel between the result and the manner in which United have gone about this title triumph.  Here's David Walsh in the Sunday Times:

"NOTHING became United’s campaign as much as the winning of it. One point was all they needed against Arsenal and, ultimately, it was all they wanted. They had plenty of defending to do yesterday but never looked like losing.

That’s how it is with serial winners: they assess what needs to be done, they get it done and move on. United will have to be better against Barcelona a week on Wednesday and you can bet that they will be."

And beyond some individual mentions for the assured defending of Jonny Evans and John O'Shea (see, especially, Ian Herbert in the Independent on Sunday), that's largely it on the game itself.  The rest of the column inches are devoted to the title celebrations and one or two questions that are circling around Old Trafford.  The celebrations first.

Seeing the players circling Old Trafford with the Premiership trophy, few commentators failed to be struck by the strength of United's squad.  Paul Hayward spells it out in the Observer:

"The story of United's campaign, though, is not the loss of talent but its relentless acquisition, as Gary Neville testified on the pitch. Neville spoke of 'the quality and depth of the team, all 20 players', and pointed out that Federico Macheda, the 17-year-old Italian super-sub, 'could have won the league for us, and he's not even getting a medal today'.

The big-match stalwarts of Ferguson's latest creation have carried them over the line, as big-match stalwarts always do. Edwin van der Sar, Patrice Evra the centre-half pairing of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand (injured yesterday), Cristiano Ronaldo, Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney: these were the prime-time warriors in a season when United, curiously, won only one of their six games against fellow members of the league's immutable Big Four.

Around this core spun a constellation of older heads (Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes et al) and understudies who will offer imperilled Hull no rest on Sunday. Tevez is generally one of those invaluable back-up men, as are Park Ji-sung , Anderson, John O'Shea, Nani, Danny Welbeck and the precocious Macheda, whose stunning late goal in the 3-2 win over Aston Villa on 5 April helped jolt United out of a trough. Six days later Macheda struck again in a 2-1 win at Sunderland.

The debate about which has been the finest of Ferguson's championship-winning teams will fill the hours on flights to Rome. But this is surely his best and most well-balanced squad."

Fergie himself echoed this sentiment, speaking post-match:

"This is a great side, a really great side. Actually, it's a really great squad.

"I could have picked two sides today, I had to leave good players out like Paul Scholes, Dimitar Berbatov and Anderson. It is not easy."

But his emphasis was largely on next season, and mountains yet to be scaled:

"Asked if it felt special to have equalled Liverpool's record, Fergie declared: 'It will become a lot more special when we have got in front of them. And that's what we will be aiming for next year. We are going for it again.

'They were the greatest team in the land when I arrived. But we have built slowly and now we will go again.'"

And, in a great testament to the culture of success of Old Trafford, most of the players seem to have their eyes on next season as well:

"Club captain Gary Neville, who lifted the Premier League trophy even though he did not play against Arsenal, said Liverpool would be a huge threat next season.

Neville said: 'They pushed us very hard and next season we will have our work cut out.'

PFA Footballer of the Year Ryan Giggs, 35, who made a rare start yesterday, said: 'I hope we win another one next year.

'No one has ever won it four times on the trot so that is another record for us to break.'"

It takes something pretty big to overshadow all the title celebrations, but the continuing speculation over the future of Carlos Tevez threatened to do that.  The Argentinian seemed a bid a final farewell to the Old Trafford faithful yesterday, as he left the pitch in tears.  And there was a two-hour protest by fans after the game, urging Fergie to "sign him up".  Most of the papers go heavy on the situation, but the News of the World has a particularly thorough write-up.  It begins:

"ANGRY Manchester United fans hurled bottles and sprayed beer at the Old Trafford entrance in protest over the newly-crowned champions' treatment of Carlos Tevez.

Liverpool are ready to make a stunning £22million bid after the Argentine admitted in an exclusive News of the World interview that he is being forced to quit United.

And after yesterday's goalless draw against Arsenal which clinched a record-equalling 18th title, hundreds of fuming fans laid siege to the directors' glass entrance, chanting: 'Fergie, Fergie, sign him up.'"

While, in the Sunday Times, Lee Dixon writes that Fergie should do all he can to hang on to Tevez:

"But an even bigger priority is sorting out the Carlos Tevez situation. I can’t believe he will be allowed to leave the club, because he’s a huge part of their play now with his energy and what he gives when he is on the pitch. Would I pay £32m for him? It’s a huge chunk of money, but if you sell Ronaldo you will have money and I don’t think there is anyone else like him."  

As for Ronaldo - the other big question mark hanging over the Summer - there's a typically mixed message.  In his post-match comments, Ronnie talked about how he "loves" United.  But he added caveats about how "In the future you never know".  So far as the Ronaldo situation is concerned, Fergie strikes a reassuring tone in an interview with the Sunday Times, and we'll more on that later.

For now, though, let's revel in yet another Premiership title while looking ahead at the challenges to come.  Congratulations, United.  Now, let's add to the trophy haul in Rome.

Pete

United 5 - 2 Spurs: A game of two halves

The old football cliche, has scarcely rung more true than yesterday at Old Trafford. United, at sixes and sevens with each other one half. were nearly hitting sixes and sevens past Spurs the other.

It was an amazing game to see, my only complaint can be that all seven goals were down at the other end!

United fans have seen many a great comeback down the years, but despite their air of inevitability, these are still among the most thrilling United games to watch. As Jonathan Northolt writes in the Sunday Times: "No matter how often Manchester United write the script their supporters will never tire of it".

The big decision

Having made few chances in the first half, United needed something to go their way. With Howard Webb deciding Gomes brought down Carrick we got that and it set us on our way. Though Harry Redknapp moaned, and even Fergie said it was fortunate, I would not side with The Sun in calling the decision "a shocker."

Instead as The Mirror put it: "Heurelho Gomes will argue forever he got a touch to the ball when he sent through Michael Carrick. Carrick will always know he got there first. The man who matters decided it was a foul."

Given the penalty we were denied at Wembley, few fans will be losing sleep over how our first goal came.

Our loss, Carlos?

Though it was Rooney and Ronaldo shared the bulk of the goals they were not the only people to receive praise from today's press. Rooney as man of the match may have been "the pivot upon which every action of United's comeback turned," but it was "the tonic of Tevez" that roused the Reds from their first half stupour.

As Duncan White in The Telegraph puts it: "Ferguson’s dressing room rhetoric undoubtedly played a role but it was the half-time introduction of Carlos Tevez for the insipid Nani that catalysed the whole team."

Even Fergie reserved special praise for our number 32:  "He won the game for us. He turned the game… although obviously everyone played their part", but will it be enough to keep Carlos at Old Trafford for another season?

All of Sir Alex's substitutions were spot on today. While Nani clearly failed to rise to the occasion given a rare Premier League start, Fletcher's passing was unimaginative and the introduction of Scholes gave us another huge lift. Rafael, showing exuberance going forward, displayed inexperience at the back, and will shoulder some of the blame for Spurs' second. Once United got their noses in front, trading da Silva for the less flashy mettle of John O'Shea was almost a no-brainer.

Closer to glory

"This is the stuff of which champions are made", writes Steve Tongue in The Independent. Three points clear with a game in hand five games from the end of the season truly puts United in a great position. But was this the day the title was in effect decided?

"It was here, in a match of unrelenting and enthralling drama, that the title race had its most significant moment to date. United deserve all the superlatives for the determination, drive and sheer guts," writes Daniel Taylor in The Observer, while in Paul Wilson's analysis, the title race is all but over:

"They will surely win the league from this position. With five games to play they still have their focus, their best players, a lead and a fresh head of steam. It's just a question of what else they bring home."

However, given the twists and turns that Old Trafford saw over the course of 90 minutes, it would be complacent to think the next few weeks be a smooth ride. Yet if it does come to be regarded as the season's pivotal moment, yesterday we saw a game more than worthy of the label.

Patrick