Ferguson Retires

So, the end of an era. The era of the great Alex Ferguson. He is leaving my beloved team, Manchester United, after 26 successful years. And the transition will be painful. Who ever would be lucky enough to try and fill his huge shoes would be tested, both in and outside the club. Similar things happened when Sir Matt Busby left, and it took United a whole generation to find his replacement.

Sir Alex would be greatly missed. The rumour mills had been spinning in full speed since the announcement was made, and the hot favourite to fill the void would be Jose Mourinho and David Moyes. It was an open secret that Moyes had been highly rated by Sir Alex, but he lacked the experience at the highest level. Mourinho on the other hand would be carrying with him a lot of ego, and not to mention the question concerning his loyalty. He was not known to build up a team from scratch, and did not hang around too long at one place. This would be contrary to the very core of what made United tick. Longevity.

Either way, we would be watching the development in the coming weeks, and I am sure that whether you are a fan or otherwise, it would be an interesting one ……

Number Twenty

It was hardly a vintage season for the Fergie Fledglings of 2013. There did not exactly dominate games but the key for this season had been consistency. And we excelled in that to the T.

Fergie was clearly haunted by the late season league concession to our noisy neighbour last season. As a result, we emphasised on the individuals, making simple things perfect rather than going for the spectacular. As a result, the action for the season seemed rather muted.

The key signings for the season had really moved the team forward in van Persie and Kagawa. I was sure that Kagawa would be a revelation by this time next year. Now, we need a midfield force in the mild of Scholsey, but perhaps Fergie would like Rooney to step down to that position to play along Carrick. I would welcome a signing or two to beef up this area however.

Now that the season had been wrapped up, it was time to plan forward. Glory Glory Man United!

Sunday Duty

A win is still a win, even though it could have been more convincing. We were leading the Premiership by 18 points at one point before City put 4 past Newcastle the same evening. The lead remained at 15. And de Gea had not been breached for almost 600 minutes in the Premier League despite being considered as the weak link in our defence.

The return of football also brought a wanted distraction after a break for the World Cup Qualifiers. United would next be taking on Chelsea in the FA Cup replay on Easter Monday, about 48 hours after their last game. But to be fair, Chelsea was also in action last - being beaten by Southampton - which put more pressure on the already beleaguered Rafa Banitez.

As for me, in will be on call today. Always a pain to be on call on a Sunday, but somebody had to do it I supposed. One of my friend would be holding an Aqiqah on her baby later this morning. Would be trying to see if I could make it to the kenduri. Anita and the boys would be there as well. She was still not well from the flu.

Not-so-great Ending

It was a not-so-great end to a wonderful weekend. First, Dato' Lee Chong Wei appeared lethargic in what could have been his third All-England title in five years. He was clearly not in his best form, and quite rightly, was beaten by Cheng Long in straight set.

Then, I took a nap and set my alarm for then Man United-Chelsea match. It was already the second half when I woke up, and I caught Chelsea pegging United back from two goals behind. We were lucky that we did not get beat. At least there would be a return leg at Stamford Bridge. So, it could've been worst ....

Going for the Dozen

The Southampton win last night was a great result for us. But that would be meaningless if we did not capitalise on it. We must have to go for the win. Anything less would be a mini disaster. And we would not want any mini disasters at this stage of the campaign. We want to go twelve points clear.

We had been churning away results without really playing well. And with Fellaini in the side, Everton was more than capable of upsetting us. As they did last season. It was the late draw here at Old Trafford that put our title aspirations in tatters.

True enough, Uncle Giggsy just put us in front with a great team effort, marking him as they only player to have scored in every season of the Premier League since its inception. It was still early doors though. We only played 20 minutes so far, and Everton looked dangerous. I will be biting my nails through out the game.