Post by staggerstag on Apr 13, 2019 15:58:17 GMT
Mrs Doggett and me are on the concourse of Old Trafford finishing off our snacks before she heads off to find Mr Doggett who has gone off to the club megastore. She is devouring a quadruple cheeseburger with ketchup, American mustard, pickles and onions and she has run out of napkins for what is definitely a ten-napkin job. The juices ooze out of her burger dripping down her chin onto the chest of her United shirt. I am enjoying a roast chicken wrap, with crunchy salad, jalapenos and Cholula sauce. It's very tasty and is drip-proof as it came wrapped in foil. It's a 3-napkin job at the most.
"Who will win?"
"Eh? Well, us, you daft apeth!" She laughs heartily, revealing a mush of burger meat and assorted ingredients inside her big mouth.
"Good luck, then, Mrs Doggett."
"Aye, lad. Now let me go and find that daft bogger of an husband, eh."
And off she waddles, leaving a trail of soiled napkins and burger remnants in her wake.
Man U : (4-2-3-1) De Gea; Dalot, Smalling, Jones, Rojo; Fred, Pogba; Lingard, Mata, Martial; Lukaku.
Substitutes: Romero, Lindelof, Rashford, Pereira, McTominay, Greenwood, Darmian.
West Ham : (4-2-3-1) Fabianski; Zabaleta, Balbuena, Ogbonna, Masuaku; Noble, Rice; Snodgrass, Lanzini, Anderson; Hernandez.
Substitutes: Adrian, Obiang, Diop, Fredericks, Antonio, Holland, Diangana.
Man U 1/3
West Ham 17/2
Draw 5/1
Preamble by Rob Smyth :
"Who will win?"
"Eh? Well, us, you daft apeth!" She laughs heartily, revealing a mush of burger meat and assorted ingredients inside her big mouth.
"Good luck, then, Mrs Doggett."
"Aye, lad. Now let me go and find that daft bogger of an husband, eh."
And off she waddles, leaving a trail of soiled napkins and burger remnants in her wake.
Man U : (4-2-3-1) De Gea; Dalot, Smalling, Jones, Rojo; Fred, Pogba; Lingard, Mata, Martial; Lukaku.
Substitutes: Romero, Lindelof, Rashford, Pereira, McTominay, Greenwood, Darmian.
West Ham : (4-2-3-1) Fabianski; Zabaleta, Balbuena, Ogbonna, Masuaku; Noble, Rice; Snodgrass, Lanzini, Anderson; Hernandez.
Substitutes: Adrian, Obiang, Diop, Fredericks, Antonio, Holland, Diangana.
Man U 1/3
West Ham 17/2
Draw 5/1
Preamble by Rob Smyth :
Good afternoon. Let’s proceed to Sunday 18 February 1990. That was the day Manchester United won 3-2 at Newcastle in a brilliant FA Cup fifth-round match. After the game, which was live on the BBC in the days when live football was an event, they were drawn to play away to Sheffield United in the quarter-finals.
Gerald Sinstadt interviewed two of United’s goalscorers, Brian McClair and Danny Wallace and asked them what they made of the draw. “It’s another away tie,” said Wallace, “so we’re very happy with that.” It was a striking comment, given the established home advantage in association football. But at that stage, Alex Ferguson’s United hadn’t won at Old Trafford in over three months, so Wallace’s comment was understandable.
Things are nowhere near as bad this season – ‘Three weeks of excuses and it’s still crap, ta-ra Ole’ hasn’t been seen on any banners – but there is a similar sense that they are less comfortable at home. All of their best results and performances under Solskjaer have come away from home, a reflection of a team who are at their most dangerous on the break.
The upshot is that what would normally be a decent run-in, with four home games out of six remaining, is harder to appraise. Even today’s game at home to West Ham doesn’t look like a sure thing. But United really need a win – to maintain their challenge for a top-four place, to restore some order run of four defeats in five games, and to remind themselves that playing at home can be an advantage.
Gerald Sinstadt interviewed two of United’s goalscorers, Brian McClair and Danny Wallace and asked them what they made of the draw. “It’s another away tie,” said Wallace, “so we’re very happy with that.” It was a striking comment, given the established home advantage in association football. But at that stage, Alex Ferguson’s United hadn’t won at Old Trafford in over three months, so Wallace’s comment was understandable.
Things are nowhere near as bad this season – ‘Three weeks of excuses and it’s still crap, ta-ra Ole’ hasn’t been seen on any banners – but there is a similar sense that they are less comfortable at home. All of their best results and performances under Solskjaer have come away from home, a reflection of a team who are at their most dangerous on the break.
The upshot is that what would normally be a decent run-in, with four home games out of six remaining, is harder to appraise. Even today’s game at home to West Ham doesn’t look like a sure thing. But United really need a win – to maintain their challenge for a top-four place, to restore some order run of four defeats in five games, and to remind themselves that playing at home can be an advantage.
. Might do a smaller steak on them getting to the final, I'll be dreading it if we have to face them in the semis