Monday, February 24, 2014

Mata at bwin's Corner Kick Challenge



And a little interview:


It's impossible not to fall in love with this guy. He's just so cute and adorable! Oh, and he's not a bad player, too.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Wasn't even expecting this

It's only January, with only 20 games played, and it's not even a contest right now. Hope this post doesn't jinx it.


Surprised to see this though, Cesc Fabregas is currently on loan at Everton. He's only 30, a decent midfielder, so maybe that's why Everton is doing quite well, sitting 2nd on the table.

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Manchester United 2-2 Fulham: This really hurts

United just drew to bottom-of-the-table Fulham 2-2 at Old Trafford, after going a goal down for the longest time, turned it around after a 2 minute double, then conceding late into the 5 minute added time. If anyone can find me pictures of Mata and De Gea looking beaten at the end... I just... can't. Seriously, that was depressing.

Fair play to Meulensteen, he got his tactics right. Park the bus and counter. They have 6-8 players in the box most of the time. All 10 outfields stay inside their own half, except for the counter attacks. So, United got about 75-80% possession all night, passing it around trying to find a way through, and just got blocked. What ended up happening was crossing. United, couldn't get through the middle, passed the ball out wide and cross. But with 8 Fulham players in the box, and only 2-3 United players, pretty much all of those crosses were headed out by Fulham. It was insanely frustrating to watch.

The second half started, and it was the same. However, United seemed to be able to find more openings, and getting to the end of more of the crosses (still few though compared to how many crosses they put in). Even then, I was pretty much preparing myself for losing 1-0. But the goals happened (RVP from Mata assist, and a deflected goal from Carrick). There were 10 minutes to go, and I feared that United would take their feet off the pedal and start to back off. They kinda did, although they still tried to pass the ball around and attack.

But the inevitable –– seemingly inevitable this season –– happened. We conceded late in the game. I mean, what the hell? It was, again, a mistake in defense. In the first goal, Vidic decided to move towards Smalling and left a huge gap between them and Evra. Rooney, Mata, and Fletcher were ball watching and didn't notice Sidwell making the forward run. The second goal... it was a mess. I really don't want to be blaming Vidic –– his last season and all –– but I do think he's at least partially at fault on both goals.

You know what, I'm gonna try to stop thinking about the match and stop picturing that image of Mata looking really down at the end of the game... Oh, Mata, 3 assists in 3 games. Hopefully we'll get better.

Friday, February 7, 2014

Well, that didn't last long


David Moyes got fired from Arsenal, after only ~6 months on the job. Arsenal are 8th in the league; surprisingly, not that much different than United's current league position in real life.

Monday, February 3, 2014

2015-2016

I've just finished my third( season on FM14, with United winning the league and, unfortunately, nothing else. I lost to Arsenal on the 4th round of the FA Cup, and to Barcelona on the quarter finals of the Champions League. Honestly, the board's expectations of reaching the finals of both cups, while winning the league, is a bit too much. I've only won the league the past two seasons, so hopefully this will lower their expectations.