United Road Take Me Home

He's our midfield magician...

About time too! When Anderson’s missile struck the back of net I jumped so high from the sofa I was in danger of hitting the roof. (Which means no, I wasn’t there. As previously discussed, if you think that renders the following worthless, go and ask Ed O’ Brian from Radiohead what he thought of the game or something). I suppose we should never be surprised by beating Spurs, it’s a routine element of every season. No matter how many goals start we give them, however unlikely and unpropitious the circumstances, we always reel them back and overpower them.
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Such it was again yesterday. There you go, have an early lead. Need more assistance? Allow the referee to reduce us to 10 men. Surely now you’ll give us a game? Once again, the answer being a resounding no. That said, out stuttering form so far this season has left me feeling worried about any fixture, so perhaps meeting Spurs was the ideal medicine for soothing the queasiness that rises up in me whenever I think about our chances of winning anything.
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And it was, by some distance, a magnificent performance. The Spurs midfield did its bit by playing like a bunch of immobile mannequins that we could just wander around at leisure and remind ourselves of the fantastic football we’re capable of. Anderson may well have been the chief beneficiary. Post-Rome, too many bad noises have swirled around his name, and considering that his was the limpest performance on that very limp night, the prospect of his exit looked realistic.
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Hopefully yesterday will fire his self-belief and we can see the return of the marauding magician of a few months ago. That said, it was another midfield alchemist who really caught the eye yesterday; a sprightly fella’ by the name of Giggs; stocks of superlatives are once again running dangerously low in the face of such a performance.
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Maybe there’s something to this weak squad, underdogs vibe – rarely does so routine a win feel as special as it did yesterday. Bring on city!

posted by Royton Red @ 10:20 AM