The New Season

A new era would begin tonight. David Moyes would lead Manchester United in the Charity Shield tonight. Not exactly a competitive match, and it was against Wigan. The stakes however would be much higher than what it looked on paper.

Moyes' reign didn't exactly start in glory. They lost a couple of games in their recent Far East tour. The honeymoon period did not last long. So, we shall see how things pan out tonight  .....

I will be watching the game at my Mum's place. In the new United home strip of course! GGMU!

Farewell Dinner

Not the typical dinner. And nobody was actually leaving on a journey, at least in my household. But as per my weekly ritual of tandoori and mee ladna prior to a United match, I'm not sure if that's going to continue under the Moyes regime. Will it still work? Will my colleague Palmdoc has to up his alcohol intake from merely some shandy?

But for the moment, the tandoori and ladna had been arranged for old time sake. The boys would be getting to bed early, so that Mum and Dad can watch the game. And wish farewell to Sir Alex.

Happy Retirement Sir.

Fergie Time

Finally, Sir Alex's prepared his final team sheet at Old Trafford. The end of an era and all the tribute had been said.

I actually fell asleep during game, but Anita actually stayed up and recorded a the whole celebration for me to see. Bless her!

During all this party, Scholes kept his low profile whole playing his last game at his home ground as well. Media-shy, he slipped in the background while the headlines were being made about Sir Alex and Wayne Rooney's transfer request.

The celebration at the end was pure gold. The speech from Sir Alex indicated that he would be doing his utmost to protect the incoming David Moyes. It was great scene all around. Now, Anita had been has long me to sign up onto MUTV to see the celebration parade live from Manchester City Centre. Good luck to me.

Moysey!

It looked like the transition plan was already in motion. Last night, before I went to bed, this was the headline - I was too busy to blog earlier in the day. David Moyes. I thought that one day he would come over to United, but not straight away to manage. Maybe to be an assistant to Sir Alex before taking over. And would have joined up many years back. And since that didn't happen, I thought he would have missed the boat.

I was no secret that Sir Alex was a fan of Moyes. And me too, even when he was managing Preston, there was something about him which marked him for greatness. Not as a flair superstar manager in the Mourinho mould, but more of a grafter. The question moving forward now would be, does Manchester United want somebody with flair, or a working man. The fax that Motes was offered a bumper six year contract indicated that United was committed with a long term project. Mourinho would not have agreed to be tied down that long.

Listening to his interview on the BBC, it was very c,ear that Moyes was shell shocked with the whole development. But the fact that it came before the end of the season would help both Everton and United to start building for the future.

As a United fan, I have to admit that there is some apprehension to the appointment, mainly to the lack of European experience on Moyes' part. There is no doubting his temperament. What would be interesting would be how things would pan out if the results did not go his way in the first few months - Everton was a notorious slow started under Moyes. Will the fans started going on his back? No doubt about it. But his reaction then would be important. Otherwise, the job might just be too big for him. I would be more than happy to give him the benefit of the doubt though.

And on the same token, I would also like to welcome a certain Marouone Fellaini .....

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 ……