Game of Two Halves

It truly was. United started sluggishly in the first five minutes, misplacing passes and getting out of position. This was not helped by the combination of Phil Jones and Tom Cleverley in the middle of the park. Some might think that it was a defensive ploy.

United then got a lucky break and before Fulham could get themselves organised, they were three down, there was barely twenty minutes on the clock.

United then put their feet off the gas pedal, with thoughts of the looming Champions League game midweek. The rhythm then became stagnant and the game just rolled on towards half time.

Along the way, United picked up some injuries and had to make three substitution at the restart. This further disrupted the flow of the game and frankly, United became completely flat and was left hanging towards the end. I really couldn't really complain if Fulham managed to score more than the solitary deflected goal they got as return.

I was not sure United would be able to pick up the gears if Fulham scored again. In the end, I thought we were lucky .......

Games Night

So, Irfan wanted me to set up both the PS3 and 360 at his room at the apartment. He had been bugging me all morning. After the movie trip in the evening, I obliged. And for the past one and a half hour, both Irfan and Idlan had been camped in the room, playing with the Kinect unit. Both of them covered with sweat!

Since they had just finished their end-of-year exam, this would be a respite. They would skip Monday and only be back in school on Wednesday. We would be staying at the apartment until Tuesday, since I would be on call on Monday. Not far for me to travel.

As for me and Anita, it would be football night tonight. United would be away at Fulham! GGMU!

An Important Win

It has been a while since I rang about football. Truth be told, the last few Saturday nights had been agony. Somehow, the mojo seemed to be lost in the closet in the last few months and winning seemed to take more than just effort. But tonight, hopefully the turnaround win would galvanize the team and would be the first step in finding our mojo back.

I had to admit that little Adnan made the impact tonight. Since coming in, we seemed to be more balanced as a team, and the pace of the attack seemed to pick up. I thought that Carrick were the one who tended to slow the lace down, but Cleverley was clearly was not clever last night. He was the weak link.

With Adnan replacing Nani - who had a promising opening few moments before fleeting off the game when Stoke scored - and Rooney dropping into midfield when Chicarito took over from Cleverley, we started to tick. As soon as the equaliser arrived, there was only one winner. And Chica did not disappoint.

It nay just appear to be a home win on paper, but the manner of the victory meant a lot for the team's morale. We need to cope better physically - Stoke was just plain nasty at times - and must be stronger at important moments of games. Hopefully this win would be the turning point to David Moyes' reign at Old Trafford.

Downhill Cafe

Shame that the service wasn't up to the billing. In fact it had got worst. And I think the main issue was inability of the staffs to communicate either in Malay or English.

They messed up the orders big time. The instructions were simple, to make sure that the children's food were not hot or spicy. Forget it! It was both how and spicy!

We ordered again, and they messed things up a second time. And we can't complain since the waiter near us could understand us. But when it came to the bill, they were right fluent. They charged us for both orders obviously and I couldn't be bothered to explain that they botched the order first time.

So, the message to management is simple. Make sure your staff can speak either Malay or English. Hire some local people!

Another Loss

On paper, it looked like it was going to be a routine win. But it wasn't to be. The way the team was set out, showed that we were confident to get a result. Not fully fit, I could understand why van Persie was on the bench. But Fellaini not starting, and both Kagawa and Nani on the field at the same time. We could afford one passenger at a time. But with Anderson really showing his weight, the team had to carry three. Tough ask.

And the result was no surprise. We really struggled to protect the back four. Anichebe was giving Old Man Ferdinand hell. And today, he didn't have Vidic to mop things up after him. The midfield was easily bypassed with long passes and our passing in the final third really needed sorting out.

We should be more critical in attack and not just depended on Rooney. Fellaini should start the next few games as to develop understanding with Carrick. We desperately need a good spine in the team to build the around.

Two wins, three losses and a draw in the first six games. Not the best of starts but this is the time that we need to get behind the new manager. Slagging him would not get us far. We have to rally behind him. And march on forward. GGMU.