So our season is up and running and in quite spectacular fashion.
Last night was a wonderful spectacle of football as United romped to a 3-0 win over Newcastle. Again Sir Alex pulled a surprise naming Patrice Evra in the starting line up and we reaped the benefits as he and Nani linked up on the left to cause havoc. Despite Evra’s inclusion in the team the night was only about one man as for the second week in a row Paul Scholes ran the show.
In his his 15th opening-day game in 15 seasons since making his debut Paul Scholes again showed his worth to the team pulling the string for United and then linking with Ryan Giggs to set up what can only be described as a golden goal. Last week he had Chelsea dancing to his tune and Newcastle didn’t fare any better as he spread the ball around at will. He even showed glimpses of the Scholes of old with unexpected bursts of pace attacking Newcastle’s goal and he was unlucky to not be awarded a penalty having broken into the Newcastle box before being fouled.
I’m pretty sure you will get annoyed with me fawning all over Scholes this season but as long as he keeps playing well, I will continue and long may the ginger prince rule!
United’s first goal was crafted by the boots of Paul Scholes but the finisher was just as important as Dimitar Berbatov opened his and United’s account for the season. His shot across the body of Steve Harper into the bottom corner and then his celebration were endemic of a confident man who is enjoying his football. He was very involved in the game today and probably could have scored more but at the moment I’m just happy to see him getting stuck into games instead of pointing out the chances he missed.
Wayne Rooney again looked a lot more active than he did at the World Cup but yet again still didn’t get onto the score sheet although he had an effort in the net only to have it unlikely ruled out for offside. He is looking like he is shaking off the rust and once he gets a goal it will massively boost his confidence especially as it is continually being highlighted that he hasn’t scored since March (oops I just did it!)
Javier Hernandez is continuing to gain fans and winning the ball back ahead of our third goal will probably gain him a couple more. Had a close offside decision go against otherwise he would have marked his PL debut with a goal. Word is his shirt is selling better than both Wayne’s and Nani’s and as he endears himself to United fans with his happy persona it’s becoming apparent why. Same age as me, same birthday too but he looks like he should be starting secondary school in September rather than playing for United!
Probably the highlight of the night was United’s 3rd as Paul Scholes swept a ball across to the left wing and Ryan Giggs coolly volleyed it across Steve Harper into the Newcastle net. As well as Scholes’ landmark appearance, Ryan Giggs extended his record having played and scored in every Premier League season.
The season is well and truly underway now United have played and although we didn’t bag 6 like Chelsea did on Saturday we will have given our rivals food for though with a good performance.
Now to overtake Blackpool and win the league!
What a joy watching that game and seeing promising performances for pretty much each of our players. Perhaps the only underpar performance was Rooney’s, but I’d rather see that than the alternative of him carrying the team again. I’m not very worried about Rooney re-discovering his form considering his long term consistency. Additionally, the whole “not scoring since March” needs to be taken with a grain of salt considering since that time he was unfit, then participated with an entire underachieving team for only 4 matches and then was given rest the entire pre-season.
Scholes continues to amaze; and while many have been fretting the last two years as to how we’ll replace him (and Giggs), I’d rather spend my energy enjoying watching him play. But on the subject, few come to mind as to who can replace him. Ozil is brought up, but he may be a prototype of a younger Scholes in a much more attacking position. Currently, Scholes is playing much deeper, directing traffic and using terrific long-range passing.
I can’t wait to see what our team will bring us this season.
I’m not getting in the least bid annoyed with you fawning all over Scholes. The guy deserves every bit of adulation that we give him. We’ll be singing Paul Scholes’s name to our graves.
Saw a snippet of an interview with him that’s airing on Footy Focus tomorrow (Sat 21st) which looks very frank and honest. Should be an interesting watch.
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