Where Did That Come From Part II......Manu vs Norwich

-Rahul
................Speechless..........That's what this blogger was...After Macheda's winner against Aston Villa a few years back, this blogger never thought his heart would ever come so close on the verge of stopping...But the Old guard rising, did worse than that, just ask this blogger's poor mother who had the misfortune of sitting next to him when Giggsy's late winner crept in.


   Winning late has always been in United's DNA, but this season they showed one more characteristic....underperformaning  on special occasion-- Roo's birthday and a 6-1 defeat to City, Fergies 25 years and a scrappy win against Sunderland courtesy of a Wes Brown own goal. Today was Ryan Giggs 900th appearance for Manchester United, but United ignored their newly found habit and stuck to the older one.


   Scholes opened the scoring at the 7 minute, after playing a ball to the wing, and then running into the D to receive the return and head it comfortably from close range with Ruddy at the other post. The Canaries decided to fly a little after that and slowly got into the game and would have felt heartbroken heading into half time still down after David De Gea made a string of spectacular saves to deny Pilkington and Holt. The Spaniard was indisputably the man of the match.


  In the final 20 minuted  United almost looked to go 2-0 ahead as a ball into the final third found Giggs whose shot hit the crossbar while creeping in. The game was always going to be a tactical battle and after Paul Lambert adapted the diamond formation seen so many times this season, with the introduction of Wes Hoolahan for Jackson, Sir Alex decided that he had to have some more balls supplied to the attacking third by bringing in Young for Hernandez (The latter wasn't having his best game, his first touch and power often deserting him). Lambert countered pace with pace, bringing in Bennett for Johnson. A few minutes later (83 minute)the ball was back in United's third and Grant Holt had City fans all over the world celebrating, after his shot after a turn crept past De Gea into the top corner. He has now scored against Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United. As the commentator reminded us, two years earlier at this time Norwich were in League One winning against Oldham 1-0 with Holt in the team sheet. What a story! Every last person in the stadium assumed that United will go home 4 points behind City.


   United, if in any way were devastated, didn't show it. They suddenly played with the swagger of Champions, that had people thinking, if they had played this way through the match, they would have trampled Norwich. The Canaries hardly ever got the ball. Approaching extra time, Norwich hd to hang on for only 3 minutes more indicated by the 4th official's board. 91st minute bought an Ashley Young cross into the D near the far post. And guess who was there......Ryan Giggs on his 900th appearance for the club he has served for 21 years, slotted it in as Carrow Road nearly erupted. Even he couldn't have written the script any better......

Where did that come from....

-Rahul

     Last season around this time, Manchester United were in the quaterfinals of the F.A cup where they faced Arsenal. Sir Alex's team selection comprised mainly of defenders and highly(at that time) inexperienced players. United came out of that match unscathed and with a suprising 2-0 victory........Fast-forward almost a year and United face Ajax in the Europa League Round of 32, second leg. Leading 2-0 from the first leg at Amsterdam, a week ago, the job was supposed to be finished with minimal fuss. Sir Alex's team sheet had a high number of in-experienced players and it showed.


     The tie was thought to be done and dusted within 5 minutes as a beautiful through-ball from Berbatov found Hernandez who swerved around the defender and placed it away from Vermeer. 3-0 up....surely they could'nt blow this. United looked like they were about to score on every offence, the penetration was high and in the 13th, Hernandez and Berbatov again linked up, to almost put United 2-0 up but Verthongen cut out the final pass with a slide. 

  The first half was very eventful. United's passes were sloppy and misdirected, the crosses from Young were blind and didn't look puposeful a attack after attck broke down around Ajax's goal. The Dutch made most of it exerting pressure for huge period's and exploiting Phil Jones's bad positioning and Rafael's bad clearances. In the 37th minute, it paid off. The United defence failed to clear their lines properly after breaking down an attack and the ball fell 

kindly to Ozbiliz on the edge of the area, with the right-winger lashing a low, left-footed half-volley into De Gea’s bottom right 
corner.


    United replied with a large spell of pressure leading to the end of the half, but again the final something was lacking. So the hosts went to the break level. 


    The second half the inexperience showed more, but Nani almost put United ahead but his left footed shot hit the crossbar. Sir Alex took off Young and put in Evans, with Jones moving from defence to a midfield role where, he looked significantly more comfortable. Scholes replaced Cleverly and Berbatov was replaced by Danny Welbeck, but still Ajax pushed and 3 minutes before time Scholes came up with one of those trademark late challenges, and the free kick led to a goal by Alderweid.
  
     United managed not to concede again, if they had they would have been knocked out by the virtue of away goals. So United lost the battle and won the war, but where the hell did that come from. That was supposed to be an easy victory for the hosts. Well the last time United made things difficult for themselves, they won the Champions League, so this is hoping for screwing things up in the Round of 16 first leg, against Athletic Bilbao and then do it style in the second leg......That would be classic.

Utd Vs Ajax

Manchester United: De Gea; Rafael, Jones, Smalling, Fabio; Nani, 


Park, Cleverley, Young; Berbatov, Hernandez.

Subs: Amos, Evans, Evra, Giggs, Carrick, Scholes, Welbeck


Ajax: Vermeer; Van Rhijn, Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Koppers, S. 


De Jong, Anita, Eriksen, Lodeiro, Ozbiliz, Sulejmani.

Subs: Cillessen, Ebecilio, Ooijer, Blind, Serero, Aissati, Klaassen.

Did You Know...

• The last time Manchester United won the first-leg of a European tie and were knocked out came in 2007 as they defeated AC Milan 3-2 at Old Trafford, before an injury-ravaged side lost 3-0 in Italy.

• Paul Pogba (pictured right) will make his European debut if he features at any point.

• United haven’t lost any of their last 11 home European matches. Their last home loss was against Besiktas in November 2009.

• They have lost just two home matches in Europe since losing to Deportivo La Coruna in October 2001.

• Ajax have lost just five of their last 20 away Europa League matches, but have only won four of their last away matches in the Champions League.

• Of their 13 goals so far in Europe this season, five of United’s have been scored in the final 15 minutes of matches.

• Reported United target Christian Eriksen currently leads Ajax’s assist chart this season with 11.

• If he features, Ryan Giggs will make his 900th appearances for United.

Sir Alex Ferguson targets 'two or three more years' at Manchester United

The legendary Manchester United boss also reveals that he turned down the opportunity to sign a 17-year-old Joe Hart from Shrewsbury Town in 2005

Sir Alex Ferguson has today revealed that he hopes to continue as manager of Manchester United for another "two or three years".

The 70-year-old, who has been in charge at Old Trafford since November 1986, has won 12 league titles, two European Cups and five FA Cups during his time at the club.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Sir Alex spoke of potentially staying in the club’s hot seat for a few more years, and hopefully ending on a high.

"I think you always want to go out on a winning note," said the Scot.

"Hopefully we can do that. I don't know how long I can last now, but if my health stays up, I don't think another two or three years would harm me."

In addition, Sir Alex also revealed that he regrets not taking the opportunity to sign England goalkeeper Joe Hart for a mere £100k before his switch to Manchester City.

Hart, then 18, joined the Citizen’s in 2006 from League Two outfit Shrewsbury Town for an initial fee of £600k, having already made first-team 54 appearances and being named in the 2005/06 'PFA League Two Team of the Year'.

"I could have bought Joe Hart for £100k, so we all make mistakes," Sir Alex added.
"If you look at the England goalkeeper situation for the last 20 years, I would think he's easily the best.”

The Genius who scores....

  -Rahul Raj
     

    It not exactly the easiest thing to be forced out of retirement, and return to your job, which you incidentally were a King Pin, and put in the same effort that you did to get to that position in the first place. It takes something special to do that, a tinge of genius, not exactly something you can buy with those barrels of oil harvested trillions. Well a tinge of genius is what United needed after a fairly decent run of results dating back to that day in October when they lost 6-1 to their neighbours City. A 3-0 loss to Newcastle and a 3-2 loss pushed United fans to their limits of patience.


   There was a man at Carrington, every working day morning. He worked with the youth team, ran and trained with the lads. He was once a king of the same turf and a bigger one at Old Trafford. The man was once the finest midfielder to walk the lands, but his glory days were behind him.......... or so he thought.


 Sir Alex's criticism of the January transfer window is well publicised, and so after the drop in form and after majority of his midfield arsenal laid in stretchers, he had to resort to his old guard. The man at Carrington was still running around wasn't he........What was the tinge of genius doing at Carrington when the team needed him the most.....get him a red jersey and put him on the pitch as soon as possible. Scholes was a Devil again.


 When Paul Scholes, came out to warm up this January in the FA cup tie against City, the shutterbugs went crazy. The mood around Old Trafford hadn't been so high since the days of the holy trinity of Law, Charlton and Best. When he came on, United fans around the world went ballistic. Their Ginger-headed wizard was back. Surely this was Salvation.


 Admittedly his first few touches were sloppy, and one lead to a goal, but the Englishman slowly got a tight grip of the game's reign. His second game, he continued where he'd left off controlling the tempo of the game, and scoring. The legend was back, and the man who had always been spotlight shy was now the centre of attention of every person involved in the beautiful game. He secretly would have wished that he hadn't made such a big bang, but his impact, even to the eye of the harshest, cruelest critic was impossible not to notice.


   They say you realise the importance of an asset only when it's gone. United didn't need a remainder of Scholes value after missing him for half the season, but they got one nevertheless. Roll back a few weeks, United were playing Liverpool at Anfield. Inspite of going a goal down early, United had perfect control of the game and by half time they were all square 1 all. Adam, Bellamy and Kuyt who didn't start the game were introduced by Daglish, but United were still the dominant force, arguably due to the pressure on De Gea being relieved by Daglish opting to play through the wings, but Scholes clearly was the main reason United stayed on top. His distribution was perfect, and his sight of the game was flawless. With 15 minutes to go, Scholes was substituted. Suddenly the United midfield was ripped apart. Runs were all scrambled, and the passes were shambolic. In one word chaos. So United resorted to the quick shifts from defence to attack with through balls being played every time they got the ball, but the penetration was absent. Bellamy and co's power became evident. Kicked and battered repeatedly, United defence gave away and Caroll, of all the people, layed a beautiful ball for Kuyt for to finish coolly. Scholes disappeared, United mid-field disintegrated.


    The man known as Scholes is one of those few men who have that rare blend of talent, modesty, selflessness, and the most of all in these times, controversy free.....He is genius in the purest form....
                 PAUL SCHOLES, he scores goals..........

Why England are not likely to get an English manager.

Nationalities of managers in European leagues

    Why the chances of England getting an English managers are slim?????? Take a look at the managers in the english leagues and compare them and u get to know.

The England graph may soon change to 16-4 here, if  Mick McCarthy is replaced by an English-man after getting fired after these stats were taken. 


This means that in the English league there are just 15 to 20% managers of the English nationality. Compared to the other leagues, it seems like the Premier League is outsourcing managerial skill. Money is not an issue in the premier league, does that mean that the English managers don't live up to expectancy of the rivers of foreign money flowing in. England clearly need to look into their Coach coaching facilities...............

Here are the highlights from last night's match......

Kings of Leon and the conquest of Amsterdam.

 -Rahul

   Bordering on dissapointing, and with an awful cover version of Kings of Leon to put up with at half time, United took a long time to slay Frank De Boer's men. However they took two unanswered away goals that, in paper, all but puts them into the next round of Europe's rubbish and excuse for making money by UEFA(as if they already don't have enough) second most elite competition.


   The first half was frustrating at best. Nani and Rooney couldn't get their passes right and the pair couldn't have hit a wall with a machine gun if you'd asked them, as shot after shot sailed over of wide of target. Ajax were allowed to control and test De Gea whenever they pleased from long range. The Spaniard and his defensive unit was probably the only positive Sir Alex could have taken from the first 45. Their possession was abysmal. For god's sake this was against a team that are sixth in their league and have won only 1 league title in 7 years. And their league isn't even that great.

  And then came half time entertainment in form of a Dutch cover band performing Kings of Leon.....Ajaxxx is on fiyarrrrrr.....Sad is the only word for it.


  The second half was a stark contrast. United seem to have got some energy into those boots, and after assault after assault on the Dutch team, United won a series of corners. One of them at the stroke of the hour mark, though poor, lead to the ball being played to Nani who barely crossed it to Ashley Young, who pinged it in from 10 yards. United continued to dominate as Scholes came on for Cleverly and Boilsen replced Koppers for Ajax. After a series of dives Young came off for Valencia. 5 minutes before time Valencia, Hernanez and Rooney combined to feed the Mexican who shot it under Vermeer's arms.
Rooney had a chance to make it 3 but his shot curled wide from the top corner. Aissati and Eriksen threatened as they had the whole match, but David de Gea, well seasoned in this competition, showed why he is such a good shot stopper every time threateaned.


       So United left the evening with 2 away goals, and unhurt egos, oh and yes Valencia got injured in the build up to the second goal so that is a let down. And United will try pretend that this competition still is worth a damn............only if we had got through the easiest group in the Champions League

Ajax’s Christian Eriksen: I had trials at Chelsea but why go somewhere you might not play until you’re 21?

The Danish midfielder has revealed that he chose to join the Eredivisie club due to their tradition of handing opportunities to young players

Ajax midfielder Christian Eriksen does not regret his decision to join the Eredivisie club as a teenager, despite spending time on trial with Chelsea.

The Danish playmaker, who will feature for Ajax against Manchester United in the Europa League on Thursday, opted to move to the Netherlands instead of one of Europe's biggest clubs, believing that first-team opportunities would be more readily available.

"I always thought it would be better to go to Holland first, especially because of the position I play and the football I wanted to play," Eriksen told the Daily Mail.

"Ajax have a tradition of good football and play 4-3-3, which suits me. They also spend lots of money on youth players with the aim of putting them in the first team.

"Top sides in England have to get into the Champions League every year so they are not going to buy a 17-year-old and put him straight in the first team.

"They buy players who can play now. You might not get a game until you are 21. So why should you go there?"

Eriksen got a taste of English football during Jose Mourinho's time in charge of the Blues while still playing for Danish club Odense.

"I went to Chelsea twice when I was 14 and 15," he said. "I was at Danish club Odense at the time and came across with a friend to Cobham. We played against West Ham youth away and the year after we played Millwall away.

"It was a bit of a shock playing against Millwall. I knew the reputation of English football was tough but my first thoughts when we started were, 'Wow, this is different to Denmark'.

"They kicked a little more and made crazy tackles but I wasn't injured when I returned to Denmark so I guess I did ok."

Last year, Eriksen showed Chelsea what they might have missed when he starred in Denmark's narrow 2-1 defeat to England at Wembley.

"I liked playing against England because you had a 4-4-2 and there was space for me to go into between the defence and midfield," Eriksen continued.

"It was a big game for us, special. Maybe for England it wasn't. I had fun and decided to keep my own shirt as a memory of playing well rather than swapping."

Eriksen did admit, however, that he retained ambitions of joining one of Europe's elite clubs in search of Champions League success.

"You can learn so much from training with the top guys," Eriksen conceded. "You don't learn from playing against them.

"When it's time to leave Ajax, I'll try to go to a bigger team who do well in the Champions League every year and win trophies. But I'd make sure it was somewhere where I wouldn't just sit on the bench. Right now, my mind is only focused on Ajax."

At the forefront of his focus will be the two-legged tie against Manchester United, with Eriksen excited by the opportunity to impress against the English champions.

"When we were sitting watching the draw, we thought, 'Oh no, that's the team we wanted to avoid'," Eriksen admitted. "But now we're excited."

Team News

 Manchester United (4-4-2): De Gea; Jones, Ferdinand, Evans, Fabio; Nani, Cleverley, Carrick, Young; Chicharito, Rooney.
Manchester United Subs: Amos, Smalling, Park, Pogba, Scholes, Valencia, Welbeck.
Ajax (4-3-3): Vermeer; Anita, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Koppers; De Jong, Aissati, Eriksen; Ozbiliz, Bulykin Sulejmani.
Ajax Subs: Subs: Cillessen, Boilesen, Blind, Lodeiro, Serero, Van Rhijn, Lukoki.

Man to Watch- Manchester United vs Ajax Amsterdam

   Christian Eriksen
                  The newest talent to emerge from Ajax and the target for major club's scouts from all around the continent, most importantly Man Utd, the Dane has taken it all in his stride. Determined to remain in the Amsterdam Arena, the 19 year old has the touch and match awareness of a player beyond his years. Making his impact on games clear last season, the Denmark international helped Ajax to the Eredivisie title, their first in seven long years.  On 23 May 2011 he was named Dutch Football Talent of the Year, the second Danish player to win the award since Jon Dahl Tomasson in 1996. He was elected by a jury under command of Holland's all-time best player Johan Cruyff. "He's a player I really like with all my heart," Cruyff praised Eriksen. "This prize is just the beginning, a stimulus to get the maximum out of his career. The talent is there, the recognition also; now it is up to the player himself. He is a typical product of the Danish school. You can compare him with Brian and Michael Laudrup. Only time will tell if Eriksen can reach the same level as them."


 On 18 October 2011, Eriksen scored his first goal in the UEFA Champions League when Ajax beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-0 in the group stage, making him the 2nd youngest player to score in the 2011-2012 season. In the second match versus Dinamo Zagreb he provided two assists as well as being involved with a third goal. He was named Danish Football Player of the Year on November 7.
  
  Ferguson is well aware of the threat the youngster poses. "There's a lot of attention on the young kid, you know, the Danish boy," he told press last week, "We'll see what he's like and obviously everybody is going to be watching him".
   
   With the Danish football Player of the Year title,  a wonderful eye for goal, and an appetite for delicious passes, Christian Eriksen is the man to watch at the Amsterdam Arena this evening.

Heres some team news to suck up on....

  Giggs and Berbatov left back home in Manchester due to injury.
 Evra left due to emotionaly stresful last few days post OT clash with Liverpool

   United's 20-who boarded the plane to Holland
 De Gea, Amos; Fabio, Rafael, Evans, Jones, Smalling, Fryers, Ferdinand; Valencia, Nani, Carrick, Young, Park, Scholes, Cleverley, Pogba; Rooney, Hernandez, Welbeck.

  United are wearing blue and black tonight.
  Ferdinand is the captain  tonight in place of Evra.
   Hoping Pogba and Zeky Fryers will shine and make Morrison sorry for being such a idiot ............

The Lad who grew up.

  When Denis Irwin came off after 35 minutes against Everton, Manchester fans got their first glimpse of their new starlet, sneaked cleverly by Sir Alex away from arch rivals Manchester City. Then they had only one thing on their mind, the extent of Irwin's injury. However the 17 year-old who was substituted the Manchester United legend now has a legendary career of his own to look back on and is arguably his grown to be better than the man he replaced on that March evening, 1991. Now 38 years, 899 games and 162 goals later Ryan Giggs still terrorises European defenses with form and class which has not faded over his 21 year career. He is a anomaly of medical science and is the oldest outfield player playing in the Premier league.

    Over this large career, the Welshman is the only player to have scored in every Premier league season since the inaugural edition in 1992. He continues to baffle crowds and the club's personnel as he approaches his 900th game, a milestone unequaled in the clubs history, with the closest to him is the  England and United legend Sir Bobby Charlton. The Englishman made 758 appearances in a Red's shirt and. He was part of the team than Matt Busby created and survived the trauma of the most devastating moment in the club's history, The Munich Aircrash, at the tender age of 20 and returned from it to be better than he was.

  Giggs too has had his down points in his career and was even tipped to retire at the end of the last season with Edwin Van der Sar and Paul Scholes calling it a day, though the latter returned to the United team sheet in January. The veteran told the press that a hamstring injury coupled with his advancing years meant he considered calling it a day last term, but admitted the lure of pulling on the red shirt maintained his desire to continue. "When to retire is difficult. Do you quit too early or go that one too many games and let people see you on the slide? It’s hard for me, even with my experience, not to play or be involved and last season was difficult before Christmas," the Welshman told The Telegraph during an exclusive interview.

"I didn’t play many games, I had a hamstring injury and had a chat with the gaffer, saying I was frustrated, but he said I would get my games. I was thinking maybe it could be my last season, but towards the end, I didn’t want the season to stop."

  Not a bad decision. He has been instrumental in picking up points for the Reds this season and his almost flawless ball distribution continues to baffle already awe stricken admirers and defensive units. If Giggs had been an artillery gun, the army that possessed him would have won the World War. His timed   run against Arsenal a few weeks to supply Valencia and create United's opening goal showed why he is a precious asset to United and their title charge this season.


   The Welshman has won every trophy that lay in front of him in a Red shirt, the Europa league being the only exception and he looks to win it this season after a premature exit from the Champions League."There is definitely a sense that it would be great to win because it is something I have never won. It was disappointing to go out of the Champions League, you never want to go out, but we’re out of it and there is nothing we can do about it, so let’s go and win the Europa League now." he told manutd.com.


  Ryan Giggs signed a contract extension last Friday that ensured he would keep playing till the end of the next campaign. The most senior member on the team sheet he could see himself smash the milestone of 1000 senior games, seeing that he already has 64 caps for Wales.

  "Manchester United believe we may be seeing the start of a very special career this afternoon," announced Clive Tyldesley, commentating for ITV back in March '91. 

'Special' it seems, is an insult to the legacy that the Welshman leaves the club, when he leaves that is, by the time of which this blogger would be an owner of a walking stick, dentures and the thickest spectacles you have ever scene.

Disgraceful Luis Suarez should never play for Liverpool again' - Sir Alex Ferguson furious after Patrice Evra handshake snub

The Manchester United manager slammed the Uruguayan's behaviour before kick-off, insisting that he "could have caused a riot" given the tensions between the two clubs

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has slammed Luis Suarez 's refusal to shake the hand of Patrice Evra, insisting that the striker should never play for Liverpool again.

Two goals from Wayne Rooney, before a late consolation from Suarez, handed United a 2-1 victory in a match that was overshadowed by the tension between Suarez and Evra.

"I couldn't believe it," Sir Alex told Sky Sports following the match. "I just could not believe it.

"I had a chat with Patrice this morning, and he said 'I'm going to shake his hand. I've got nothing to be ashamed of and I want to keep my dignity.' And then he [Suarez] refuses - he's a disgrace to Liverpool Football Club.

"That certain player should not be allowed to play for Liverpool again. With the history that club has got, and he does that in this city today - he could have caused a riot.

"I was really disappointed in that guy. It was terrible, what he did.

"It created a tension - you've seen the referee, he didn't know what to do about it. It caught him off-guard, and it was a terrible start to the game. There was a terrible atmosphere created."

Sir Alex added that the debate over the wisdom of pre-match handshakes should not be allowed to hide the issue of racism in the game that has arisen this season.

"That's a different issue altogether. That started when the Premier League started, of course, and it's never been a problem really until this season, with regards to racism. It's never been a problem.

"So really we better get our house in order in terms of fighting racism - it's an issue, it's absolutely an important issue in this country. Football's come a long way from the days of John Barnes and throwing bananas to where we are today - we can't go back.

"We have to go forward, in a positive way, and ban it altogether."

The United boss did admit, however, that Evra shouldn't have celebrated in front of Suarez at the end of the match.

"He shouldn't have done that," Sir Alex said.

Sir Alex Ferguson: Manchester United were far better than Chelsea and could have easily had four penalties

The Old Trafford boss also hailed the impact of Javier Hernandez and maintains David de Gea has shown his talent since his arrival last summer

Getty Images

Sir Alex Ferguson insists Manchester United were the better side after securing a three-goal comeback against Chelsea on Sunday and is adamant his team should have been awarded four penalties during the match.

A Jonny Evans own goal had given Andre Villas-Boas' side a half-time lead at Stamford Bridge, before Juan Mata's stunning volley and David Luiz's header within six minutes of restart handed the hosts a commanding advantage.
United were thrown a lifeline after Daniel Sturridge brought down Patrice Evra in the box to allow Wayne Rooney to score from the spot, while the striker secured his brace through a second penalty after Branislav Ivanovic's challenge on Danny Welbeck.
Javier Hernandez secured a point for United with six minutes of time remaining with a header from Ryan Giggs' cross and Ferguson maintains Howard Webb's decision to award two penalties were correct.

“The two penalties in the second half were justified. I think we could have had four in the game,” Sir Alex told Sky Sports.
“The linesman has given two penalties against as at Old Trafford in the last two years, one against Arsenal and one against Liverpool. 45 yards away and he gave them. I don't blame Howard Webb, I blame the assistant.
“There was a pull on Ashley Young, inside the box, in front of the linesman and he doesn't give it. Yet he gives them at Old Trafford. There was a pull on Ashley's shirt so he's not diving, obviously. I can't understand it, where do they get them from?"
The draw leaves United two points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City and Ferguson, despite being unhappy with the way his players started the second half, felt his men could have come away with a victory.
“It’s two points dropped,” he continued. “We played so well, apart from the 10 minutes straight after halftime where we got off to a terrible start and lost two goals in five minutes. But, it's not easy to come back from two goals down. That is a massive effort from our players. I thought we were the far better team.
“For Chelsea's second goal we didn't close the cross down. It was a fantastic finish by Mata, a marvellous finish but their first was and third were own goals so that's a bit of bad luck. But it didn't affect the players that much. Once we got over those 10 minutes I thought we played very well.
“It was a massive effort from the team, and a great game. For a neutral watching that game it was fantastic.”
Ferguson concedes his decision to introduce Hernandez alongside Welbeck and Rooney after his side went three behind was risky but believes the Mexican had a strong influence on the game;s outcome.
“We had to gamble. To be honest with you I perhaps should have played Chicharito from the start as when he came on he had the Chelsea defence under pressure with his movement and positional play," he said.
“Danny [Welbeck] was terrific and is going to be a top player but when Chicharito came on in the second half, it was a different game."
Ferguson also praised David de Gea for his performance and maintains the Spaniard has shown plenty of promise following his arrival at Old Trafford from Atletico Madrid.
“The save [by De Gea] from Mata’s free-kick was unbelievable. There were two or three other saves as well," he said.
“He's played his part and I'm pleased as we can see the talent in the boy. In three or four years’ time we are going to see all of that but at the moment he's made one or two mistakes but the introduction has been difficult for him. It's not what he was used to in Spain.
“Today he showed that he is ready to get amongst it. He's done a great job today.”

Rio Ferdinand thanks Chelsea fans for inspiring Manchester United comeback with unsavoury taunts The centre-back was booed heavily at Stamford Bridge, but had the last laugh via Twitter after his side fought back to draw after going three goals down just after half time

Getty Images

Rio Ferdinand has thanked the Chelsea fans who taunted him for inspiring Manchester United’s comeback at Stamford Bridge.

    The Red Devils were 3-0 down just five minutes into the second half of the Premier League match but came back to draw 3-3 thanks to two Wayne Rooney penalties and a header from Javier Hernandez as reported by this blog in an earlier post.

And the United centre back, whose brother Anton is at the centre of the John Terry row after accusing the England man of racially abusing him, was booed throughout the match.
However, the defender later hit back via Twitter, commenting: “I got booed by the CFC fans today — well done guys. Thanks for inspiring me & the lads!
“That's like fuel to me! TeamSpirit.”
Chants of “Rio Ferdinand, you brother's a c***,” were alleged to be heard at Stamford Bridge in an unsavoury a show of support for Terry, who was absent due to injury, following the incident in October.
The FA recently stripped Terry of the England captaincy, against the wishes of manager Fabio Capello, after the centre-back’s trial was delayed until July 9, after the Euro 2012 finals.
Blues manager Andre Villas-Boas said: "You have to condemn it when there is discriminatory, aggressive behaviour but you don't expect opposing fans to cheer your players.".

United play out a classic premier league comeback.

 David DeGea showing signs of why he was bought on a British keeper transfer record,  2 well converted penalties for Wayne Rooney, a goal for Hernandez, and a comeback from 3-0 down to draw 3 all. What more could United have wanted off a night that promised to be one of the most spectacular this season.
 
  Just as the loss to Liverpool in the F.A cup was a psychological blow this was a lift. The young Spanish keeper shrugged off his label of being error prone and shrugged of all Chelsea assaults except for a supreme finish from Juan Mata and two rather unfortunate own goals.
  Here's a fun fact. Jonny Evans has scored more times against Manchester United than for, in a red shirt.

  Chelsea opened the scoring in a half of United domination. At the 36th minute a shot from Daniel Sturridge diverted by Evans's hand found the back of the net to make the Londoners take a glimmer of hope from a half in which they were always second best.

 !0 minutes later the men in blue were celebrating again. Just 24 seconds from kick off in the second Torres pulled something from his hat just as he had surprised the Devils in the reverse fixture. A glorious ball from the Spanish striker to the lurking Juan Mata who pumped the ball into the the ceiling of the net rendering De Gea helpless.
 
 2-0 became 3-0 after a David Luiz header was diverted in a large angle by Rio Ferdinand who was getting booed by the Blue support after every touch not unlike Evra against the Reds. Chelsea were all ready to go home happy as 3 points would bring them more comfortably into the top 4. Andre Villas Boas sat and watched in joy as his side won him the biggest victory of the season. They were surely gonna go home happy. There was a slight flaw in the plan though.......nobody had told Manchester United.

 United launched attack after attack, wave after wave, and finally it paid off as Sturridge brought down Patrice Evra in the box. Rooney calmly converted it. The Chelsea boo boys seemed to have sparked an inferno as by every touch United got better. Rafael went out for Scholes. Paul Scholes displayed another masterclass range of passes, Giggs showed he still had brute strength in him, De Gea stood tall to the occasional Chelsea attack and United compressed Chelsea into a tight defensive unit with only Sturridge not behind the ball and with Rooney a 5th man in the midfield.

 Ivanovic then tripped Welbeck in the box and this time too Rooney calmly converted the spot kick. The game alive now Chelsea almost sored again as Torres made a great run only to take too many touches in the box and run into Jonny Evans. United however were not done yet. An amazing cross from old boy Giggs found Chicarito unmarked in the D with Luiz and Ivanovic unaware of the mexican and the little pea did what he does best. The comeback was complete but not the game. De Gea was pressurised now as Chelsea dominated stoppage time but kept out a whip from Mata, a strike from Raul and a hit by Gary Cahill. Jonny Evans appeared to be fouled by Luiz in Chelsea's D but Howard Webb said nothing doing.

    The game ended as they had started and with a result no team would have wanted before the break. But United deserved it not least cause out of the 6 goals scored 5 were by United's players.
 
   

• Chelsea are undefeated in their last nine Premier League clashes against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.

• But the Red Devils have the historical advantage, since they have beaten the Blues in their backyard on 29 occasions, losing 22 times in the process. A further 18 matches ended with points being shared.

• Andre Villas-Boas' men are at rock bottom in the Fair Play table, having seen more cards than any other team in the top-flight. This amounts to 50 yellows and four reds.

• Fernando Torres  has gone 12 matches in the league without scoring a goal, which makes it his worst goal drought since his switch to the Premier League.

• Manchester United have been the most miserly team in defence on their travels, having conceded only seven times away from home this season.

• They are also the most successful side on the road this season, having accumulated 26 points in 11 away games. Interestingly, the Blues' home record does not measure up to United's exploits on their travels, since Villas-Boas' men have managed 22 points in their 11 matches at Stamford Bridge.

• If all games had ended at half-time, then Sir Alex Ferguson's charges would have been on top of the table, five points ahead of rivals Manchester City.

• In total, the Red Devils have scored 263 goals against Chelsea in all competitions, conceding 191 in the process.

Head to Head

Premier League ‎(EPL)‎	18 Sep 2011	Manchester United 3 - Chelsea FC 1
Premier League ‎(EPL)‎	8 May 2011	Manchester United 2 - Chelsea FC 1
UEFA Champions League ‎(UCL)‎	12 Apr 2011	Manchester United 2 - Chelsea FC 1
UEFA Champions League ‎(UCL)‎	6 Apr 2011	Chelsea FC 0 - Manchester United 1
Premier League ‎(EPL)‎	1 Mar 2011	Chelsea FC 2 - Manchester United 1

Last Five Matches

Chelsea FC
31 Jan 2012	Swansea City 1 - Chelsea FC 1	EPL
28 Jan 2012	QPR 0 - Chelsea FC 1	FA
21 Jan 2012	Norwich City 0 - Chelsea FC 0	EPL
14 Jan 2012	Chelsea FC 1 - Sunderland 0	EPL
8 Jan 2012	Chelsea FC 4 - Portsmouth 0	FA

Manchester United
31 Jan 2012	Manchester United 2 - Stoke City 0	EPL
28 Jan 2012	Liverpool 2 - Manchester United 1	FA
22 Jan 2012	Arsenal FC 1 - Manchester United 2	EPL
14 Jan 2012	Manchester United 3 - Bolton Wanderers 0	EPL
8 Jan 2012	Manchester City FC 2 - Manchester United 3	FA