The Theatre of Tears
Friday, October 29, 2010 at 12:22PM Continuing on from this, United truly wind me up. But equally, so do Spurs on occasions (so many occasions) when they allow self-defeatism to drag them towards the inevitable empty points haul that we leave Old Trafford with.
The last time we won there can probably be found in the depths of the Spurs Shop store room on a dusty Betamax in a damp corner. Long forgotten about other than the mouse chewing away at the tape. Until said mouse notices a far more appetising VHS.
So with no Howard Webb in the equation, what will give way and will it give way our way?
Potential scenarios (based on historical depression):
1) We start brightly, pressure United, score, United come back into it, make it 1-1, we go on the back-foot and then go 2-1 down, and then United score a third to kill us off.
2) It's a scrappy match, both teams struggling to get a stranglehold on the midfield, United get a penalty which they score, the game continues to be scrappy, United get another goal, this one a screamer from about 30 yards out. Misery. Heads down. Still nothing since 1989.
3) United steam-roll us, we never get into the game. They turn it on. Tabloids proclaim the return of majestic form for the biggest club in the universe.
4) We score a legitimate goal which gets disallowed for no apparent reason other than incompetence. And lose 1-0 to goal from a defensive lapse.
5) We start brightly, take the lead, then take a position that suggests there is simply no way back for them and then we…choke. Textbook 'flatter to deceive' performance which sees United shove us aside nonchalantly as we fall back to our textbook position - on our arse at OT. Four or five home goals. Match of the Day removed from Sky+ series link.
6) We turn up. Boss the midfield. Play with confidence and belief. Score. Score again. Remain strong. Make clever tactical substitutions. United get a goal back. But it's too late. We win. We end our miserable away to a 'top 4 side' record. Spurs fans across the forums and blogs of the internet rejoice with suggestions that one striker in Jan will mean = title contenders. Fans in the away end French-kiss. I get a tattoo on my back of Harry eating the Champions League trophy. Man Utd fans in tears, Bale signalling to the home crowd 'I will never join Utd, you prawn loving losers', whilst Modric plants a flag in the centre-circle of a Cockerel and ball.
I've stuck £1000 on number 6. This is the best chance we've had in years of getting something up there. Sure, I'm not naive enough to believe United are suddenly worthless, far from it. They have enough players of quality on their day to beat anyone - even with their light-weight midfield and lack of Rooney circa 2009. The difference is, we've improved. Probably not massively this season in terms of stepping up a gear, but this game on Saturday, its one that can define our season for sure.
Step up Harry. Step up Bale, Modric, Huddlestone, van der Vaart, Lennon. Sandro. No matter who starts. Step up Crouch or Pav (I've sort of ruined the speech now haven't I?). Step up not just guile and tenacity - but for once, let's see some of that relentless never say die we're going to beat you any which way we can belief that them in the Red we face churn out season after season.
Get in their faces. Invade their personal space. Show no respect. Dish out to them what they routinely dish out to us. And never - not for a second - take a single moment for granted, no matter the score.
Want to play in the big boys playground? You need to kick 'em in the nuts first, show them you can handle the pace. Make their eyes water.
To dare is to stick it up the bollix of Berbatov. COYS.
Reader Comments (119)
sorry, meant to say to catch Chelsea. and don't worry cause you won't ...
@ Big Fish, I assume you haven't watched our clashes with Chelsea last season, because they are PRIME examples of daylight robbery. In the crucial games last season we didn't get any favours towards our way. This whole Fergie and OT shite 'influencing' and 'pressurising' referees is so fucking pathetic and old, pack it in lad. It was probably moreso in the past but not anymore. Clattenburg would have allowed it had Bale scored it because it first of all it was LEGIT, and because the linesman would have made sure Clattenburg allowed it, the exact same linesman who wrongly didn't call Drogba's goal offside last season at OT despite him being yards offside. If you have been watching one of your rivals closely this season who refs have dished out penalties to on a consistent basis you wouldn't say we get crucial decisions in recent times.
Don't worry, I'll fuck off indeed, I wanted to see if Spurs' fans reaction were what I expeccted them to be and was proven right. But not to Surrey, because I am not from there son. :)
@nycyid, yep I have no problem of saying it was our best performance of the season. There's no shame in admitting we have been below par this season up until today. And yes we did outplay you. Look at the stats.
MU-Spurs
10 Shots on Target 2
8 Shots off Target 6
Apart from a couple of long range chances you weren't threatning at all. We created the best chances and should have done better with them. Just accept we were the better team. And yes victory is sweet.. shame you still haven't got a taste of a win at OT since 1989, eh?
Hope you finish 4th again so as not to give City the privilege of CL football anyway. Bye for now!
er, your 2nd goal against fulham last weekend? heard of karma?
nice game btw
Comparing Hudd's goal to the Nani goal is a pretty desperate attempt to lol at us. Bless you.
Utdfan - back in the day, 2 years back and further, you'd have romped home and it would have been obvious to many that Spurs would not be able to win. As history tells you when you look back at performance and results.
You are deluding yourself if you think this United team are great. They are better than most which means you're safe for a top 4 and more or less there or thereabouts for 2nd place. The fact Spurs failed to step up a gear is far more telling a tale and shows we are not quite ready for anything above 4th spot (just 4th spot).
Shame on us. 2nd half you were there for the taking.
But hey, go wank yourself into a frenzy if it helps.
Probable United line up
Van der Sar
Brown
Evra
Ferdinand
Vidic
O'Shea
Nani
Scholes
Fletcher
Berbatov
Hernandez
All decent enough players but this is not the United of 1999 or even 2009.
We have nothing to fear from this lot.
..........
Hahahahah ....
U shouldn't fear any one other than your own players.
Utdfan
Can you read mate?
I said several times here that you were better today.
I said that the second goal didn't really matter either way except to confirm that your much vaunted "win at all costs" mentality includes cheating.
Congratulations on the stellar goal mate. Drink in the pride.
I actually hope City beats you.
I would feel ashamed if we had scored that goal and I did feel a twinge of guilt about the fulham goal the other week.
My sentiments EXACTLY DD.
But hey, go wank yourself into a frenzy if it helps.
I don't know Spooky, this may have to be quote of the week!
Saint nycyid -- you're an inspiration to us all mate.
On football matters --
There is no questioning Bale's quality, but he seemed unwilling to go at Rafael today. A pretty poor performance from him I thought.
And in the first half Lennon made Evra look foolish on multiple occasions (as he usually does at OT), but then in the second half he wasn't involved at all. That was very strange. Same could be said of VdV. He had moments of brilliance in the first half but was fairly quiet in the second, apart from one tame shot. I guess it doesn't help though when Jenas keeps giving the ball away.
Overall: entertaining first half with some good football. Second half was nervy and cagey. And then controversy
What do UTD players have to do to get booked at OT ?
Today we had Nani diving and then handlng the ball and in the aftermath of that Scholes grabs hold of the referee and Ferdinand then joins the Lino/ Ref discussion, but only after all the Spurs players have been ushered away.
And when Modric trys to speak to the Lino/ Ref he is booked.
Hopefully todays ref will now get the demotion he so richly deserves.
Trouble is, all this deflects from yet another loss to one of the Sky 4.
David -- I agree with the original question, but not those instances you mentioned. In the first half your two CBs were booked for late challenges on Hernandez despite the fact that they were the first fouls committed from both players. And then about 10 mins later Park had a tackle on Lennon that stopped a counter attack and wasn't booked. That was very strange I must admit.
Verily I say unto you, Drew Vader, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone ..."
On the subject of Rio, whom I despise, in fairness at Fulham Hudd did get up in the lino's face and clearly exerted influence on his decision. A lot of cottagers were complaining about that.
Who really knows what Modric said? It might have been a bit more hotheaded than Rio's approach and it probably was a dumb inflammatory thing in the heat of the moment.
Weird stuff goes on at OT though and I do think on balance the cards and calls went United's way today. As ever.
United were better than us, but not by much. Had Van Der Saar not pulled off that great save from Modric they might have wobbled.
We played well despite our makeshift defence. I look forward to a time when we can put out our best side. Modric and Lennon are getting back into form, even though the latter was so anonymous second half that I thought he had been taken off.
I am not sure who is the biggest twat, Clattenberg or Gomes? I think Clattenberg shades it. He's supposed to have a brain. Footballers are not noted for it. What I do know is that Nani is the second most arrogant cunt on the planet. I took a dislike to him long before the diving and handballing incident. I understand that he has the same nationality as the most arrogant cunt on the planet. Its enough to turn me racist, but they have something else in common that may be at the root of that arrogance. For all that I want Spurs to do well, I hope it can be done while retaining a bit of humility.
Roll on Tuesday. I fancy our chances.
I don't post very often but I'd just like to categorically state that as much as I love Spurs, I would never want them to win "at all costs". I hope that my fellow Yids feel the same way.
Losing is better than cheating.
Well said frontwheel!
I agree 100%
Clearly each one of you manc twats who've posted here have no sense of class.
If you troll an opponents' fans blog to gloat you are clearly a lowlife scum with no life. No wonder you can't understand how cheap and loathsome Nani's goal was because you have no perspective.
You c*nts deserve Rooney is all I can say.
wat bout ur goal against us(stoke fan here) huh dont see u protesting much bout that one