" I knew the pressure would be huge. Manchester United are a massive club and I knew it would be a big challenge for me. But I’ve said before I’ve always believed in my ability and hopefully I’m proving to people that I can rise to that challenge. I'm really enjoying myself here. All the lads have been brilliant to me and really helped me along. Training with world class players week in, week out has only made me a better player and I’m thankful for that. I wanted to play a part in all these big games. I enjoy the challenge and am looking forward to the ones we have ahead. The thing that’s stood out since I’ve joined United is the desire to win every single game. It means to everything to win at this club. I’m just glad to be a part of it."
- Phil Jones
"For me United remain one of the best teams in the world. Nothing changes that — even losing 6-1 at home to City."
-Pep Guardiola
“We realize how much this result has hurt the fans and how they’ll go into work on Monday and get a lot of stick, but the players are hurting just as much. We live in the city too and we’re going to have to deal with it as well. No-one wants to lose by the margin we did today, but you’ve always got to look at positives and say you can lose by that score or lose 1-0 and it’s still the same amount of points [to lose]. I said to the lads in the dressing room afterwards that we need to remember how it feels to lose a game like this, but to remember that no medals are handed out now. There’s still a long way to go in the season. It’s a bad result, but by no means is the league over. We’ve got to respond and win our next game.”
-Darren Fletcher
“You have to recover. In the history of Manchester United, it is another day and we’ll recover from this, there’s no question about that. But that kind of defeat will make an impact on the players. There’s a lot of embarrassment in the dressing room and quite rightly so. Hopefully they’ll show that next week. For the first 10 minutes, we absolutely dominated the game and played some brilliant football so it was hard to believe when we went 1-0 down, But that was retrievable. The sending-off was a killer blow to us. The player (Balotelli) didn’t control the ball, but the fact Jonny tugged his jersey gave the referee plenty of reason to send him off. It was a killer, a really bad blow to us because City are so strong defensively."
-Sir Alex Ferguson
"The derby is always an event where emotions run high and today was no exception. We are grateful to the vast majority of people that attended today, whose conduct was exemplary and they enjoyed this fixture in the true spirit of the game."
-Chief Supt John O’Hare, of Greater Manchester Police
I read this article today morning and i could not stop crying! I haven't seen a person as brave as this guy is! He is a true United fan! Courtesy: Mirror Football(Oliver Holt)
Little Jack Marshall is lying in his bed in the front room of his parents' house.
His head is resting on a Manchester United pillow case. He is wearing his Manchester United shirt.
A giant United flag covers the wall behind him. His mum and dad put it up for the Champions League final last month and they have not been able to bring themselves to take it down.
Jack is five years old but because of the severity of the treatment he has endured for the cancer that is killing him, he can only speak in a whisper.
So when I ask him who his favourite player is, I can see his eyes sparkle but I have to kneel beside him to hear his answer.
"Rooney," he says. "When I met him, I told him he was the best player in the world. And I asked if I could give him a kiss."
Rooney bowed his head low that day a few weeks ago at United's Carrington training ground so that the brave little boy's wish could be granted.
But then football has brought Jack joy throughout his short life. It fills many of his family's happiest memories of him.
He learned to walk by kicking a football. His mum, Tracey, held him by his hands as he staggered round the house as a toddler, swinging his foot at a ball then tottering after it and kicking it again.
Then there was the time his parents took him and his older brother, Josh, to Old Trafford to watch his first game against Blackburn Rovers when he was three.
Jack rode down Sir Matt Busby Way on the shoulders of his dad, Craig, and even though it was a cold December night, he refused point blank to wear a jumper over his United shirt.
Craig and Tracey worried that people were looking at the shivering little lad and thinking they were bad parents but Jack was so proud of that shirt, he wouldn't let it be covered up.
At home in Scunthorpe, he lived for football even then. He went to the local Footy Monsters kids' group every week without fail.
The coaches there said they had never seen a little boy who loved the game so much.
Even after all their lives changed in October 2009, somehow it was football that brought them the most comfort.
Jack kept waking in the night, being sick. The doctors thought it was a virus. It kept happening. They still thought it was a virus. Then, one day, Jack lost the use of his legs.
So he had a scan and they discovered he had a brain tumour and an aggressive form of cancer that had already spread to his spine.
He survived a 10-hour operation to remove the primary tumour. Then he had to endure drastic chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment to try to stop the disease raging.
While he was recovering from the trauma of the operation, the doctors made special arrangements for him and his family to watch a United-Chelsea game on the television.
"It meant we could just sit as a family and watch something Jack loved," Craig said. "It brought some normality to the most extreme of abnormal situations."
When Jack was finally allowed to go back home to Scunthorpe, still desperately ill and unable to walk, there was a surprise waiting for him.
His mum and dad had met Sir Alex Ferguson at the Tankersley Manor Hotel in South Yorkshire while they were having a couple of hours away from the hospital.
United were there preparing for a Carling Cup tie against Barnsley and Sir Alex had spoken to Tracey about Jack and asked for her address.
When Jack was wheeled back into the house, there was a box of United paraphernalia sent by Sir Alex. Amongst it, there was a football with the club crest emblazoned on it.
So Jack learned to walk all over again, using the same method he had used as a toddler.
This time, he had a walker, a kind of mini Zimmer frame, and he chased that United football all over the house until he could stand unaided again.
"He used that football every single day in his rehab," Tracey said, "because it had the United crest on it. His physios used to joke with him about it all the time."
By March this year, Jack had been brought so low by the cancer that doctors told Tracey and Craig he only had a couple of days left to live.
He came home again to the bed in the front room and the television and the football. And the couple of days turned into weeks and now the weeks have turned into months.
And as Jack lay there, surrounded by the love of his family, football began to give something back to the little boy who had given so much to it.
United have acted with great class, helping to organise the training ground visit in mid-April. Ryan Giggs, in particular, went out of his way to be kind to Jack.
Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and many others have helped to grow him an army of nearly 40,000 followers on Twitter and publicise the fact that brain tumours kill more children than any other form of cancer.
Jack Wilshere has shown a maturity and a concern beyond his years, staying in touch with Jack and his family and wearing a wristband to draw attention to fund-raising efforts on little Jack's behalf. Rooney wore the wristband, too.
Wolves fans took a huge banner with Jack's name on it to games so that Jack could see it as he lay in front of the television. The banner was signed by Mick McCarthy and the Wolves side and given to Jack as a gift.
And then there have been the messages on Twitter, from United fans, from Liverpool fans, from ManchesterCity fans, from fans of every team.
"People have written to us," Tracey says, "saying that they would never have believed it but they had found themselves wanting United to win because they knew it would make Jack happy."
The end of the season was hard for the family. It showed that time was passing and sometimes all Craig and Tracey want is for time to stand still.
They have poured as much energy as they can spare into raising awareness, highlighting the fact that 1 in every 2500 children will develop a brain tumour and that the UK has only a 14% five-year survival rate.
Now that the Premier League season is over, Jack watches MUTV and recordings of old matches, the England U21s, whatever snippets of football he can catch.
He is a beautiful child, still sweet-tempered and loving despite all the agonies he has been through, still blowing kisses to his mum's helper when she pops her head round the door to say goodbye.
Sometimes he wears an expression of heart-breaking solemnity as though he cannot quite believe his life has been stolen from him like this.
Sometimes, if you talk when he is trying to watch Peppa Pig, for instance, it is replaced by a flash of indignation. Sometimes, there are glimpses of the dashing, carefree kid he used to be.
When I have to go, I kneel by his bed again and confess to him that I once went to watch City regularly as well as United.
Jack's eyes widen. "I don't like ManchesterCity," he whispers. And then he smiles.
To learn more about brain tumour awareness go to www.jacksfund.co.uk or follow Jack on Twitter @Jack_Marshall_
The visitors started off the brightest, with Aguero putting David De Gea under pressure within the first minute, getting a touch on his clearance, which led to a chance that Aguero failed. Despite United having the possession, they could not find a way to get a shot at city’s goal and were made to pay when Milner got the ball on the left hand side of the area and crossed it to Balotelli, who placed the ball expertly inside the net to put City on the lead.
Balotelli had the ‘Why always me?’ message on his t-shirt underneath. Within the first minute of the second half things went from bad to worse for United as Aguero put a ball through towards goal, with Balotelli getting on the wrong side of Evans, with the Northern Irish international putting the forward’s shirt on the edge of the box, leaving referee with no choice but to send off.
Then started the rampage!
Just before the hour mark the, Manchester City were given further joy to celebrate as Silva stromed into the box before finding Milner on the right wing, who then crossed to Balotelli, who fired it straight to the back post to double their lead. SAF then decided to shake things up by bringing on both Phil Jones and Javier Hernandez for the ineffective pair of Anderson and Nani as the home side looked to find a way back into the Manchester derby. I don’t think replacing Nani was a good decision because Nani hurts the opposition much only in the second half. Jones has not been in good form in the recent past and replacing him for Anderson was the gravest mistake that SAF could have made.
United instead of getting back into the game they went further behind as Richards received the ball on the right wing, crossing it to Aguero to fire it inside the goal to celebrate City’s third of the day.
Edin Dzeko then replaced the Red Hot Mario Balotelli.
City kept going forward hunting their fourth goal, with Silva going close, then De Gea having to get down well in order to save from Dzeko as the skilled striker went one-on-one with the keeper, after being put through on goal. With ten minutes left in the game the home side finally had a goal to give their fans something to cheer about, as Fletcher played a one-two with Hernandez and then proceeded to curl the ball round Hart and into the top of the ManchesterCity goal to reduce the deficit. With two minutes left in the game City finally got their fourth goal of the game as a corner from the left found Joleon Lescott at the back post and he pushed it to Dzeko, who hit the ball with his knee and into the net. The rampage didn’t end as Dzeko turned from goalscorer to provider as he put through Silva, who pushed the ball through De Gea’s legs to give city their fifth goal. Then came the injury time where it became even worse as Silva found Dzeko, who blasted the ball past De Gea to complete a nightmare for SAF’s side as they were ripped apart by their noisy neighbours.
My Observation on United:
Rooney was hardly seen in the game. Substituting Anderson and Nani was the worst decision that SAF could have ever made in his career. De Gea is not worth a Goalie for United. Ferdy was not effective on the field with Evra in the defense. Fletcher and Hernandez were the only two players who did something for United in the match. And i have no idea why Vidic did not play.
"In closing, ManCity won the battle today, but they have not won the WAR. Form is Temporary, CLASS is PERMANENT."
300 Million and a change of name in stadium on which another 400 million and a silly Jonny Evans , thats what took them to beat us. I BELIEVE IN WHAT SAF SAID, THIS IS CERTANILY NOT THE END OF IT!!!!!!!
For All Barca fans laughing at us , tell them they aint the top of the Spanish league.
For All LFC fans laughing at us , tell them COME BACK WHEN YOU ARE 19
For All Arsenal Fans laughing at us , You need another hammering?? remember 8-2 ??
For all Chelshit Fans laughing at us , Remember 3-1 and last year defeats ??
For all MAN SHITTY fans laughing, it cost 260.1 million pounds for just a win. More to it, Trophies: Man Utd 32 - 1 Shitty
This has to be the most eagerly anticipated derby in years, any decades. Well certainly in my lifetime anyway. With no disrespect to Chelsea and the rest of the chasing pack, this is likely to be a match between this season’s top two.And it could very well be the first step in the final phase of the changing of the guard in Manchester and the Premier League.
Both sides have started the season unbeaten and already at this stage look a cut above the rest in the Premier League. Both look great going forward and have a solid dynamic core to their sides which most teams across Europe would give up billions to possess.
Should City win at Old Trafford for only the second time in 35 years, then it will be a huge step towards them claiming the league title for the first time since 1968.
City have only won one of their 12 trips to Old Trafford since the inception of the Premier League.
Both clubs have spent huge amounts of money on players.Now the game has reached the point where skills of both sides are pretty well matched and the margins or errors have become incredibly small. Now that match, the title, will be won in the mind.
Despite missing United’s midweek win over Galati, it would be a surprise if SAF leaves out Darren Fletcher.
United’s Captain Nemanja Vidic has only just made his return to the side after being injured and was sent off in Romania in the club’s 2-0 victory over Galati.
Rooney has been in exceptional form scoring two goals against the Romanianclub Galati and is expected to deliver his best. Not to forget, the Portuguese maestro Nani will have to put in his magic.
Sunday at Old Trafford one could see the collision of two clubs at two different ends of the mental journey to becoming Champions. I believe that this is going to be a tough match. It could go either way and a moment of magic or a mistake will probably decide the game. United having the home advantage, I think that will be a major factor and can see United winning the game 2-1 according to my prediction. It will be a terrific atmosphere inside Old Trafford-The Theatre of Dreams. One could only see RED RED RED all around the stadium.
It was all set at wembley this time for the community shield. Man United were already jinxed with the Champions League finals against Barcelona but they sure looked strong with the new young devils.
The game all started well with both the teams with the same starting 11.
David de gea made his debut for Man United.
United made the best start, forcing a corner in the first five minutes from which Chris Smalling had a chance to bundle the ball over the line but his effort was blocked on the line.
The first signs of derby animosity showed after twenty minutes when Edin Dzeko and Anderson clashed over a tackle by the Bosnian forward, each earning a yellow card for their angry reactions.
Soon after, Micah Richards was lucky only to receive a yellow for a wayward lunge on debutant Ashley Young just outside the penalty area, and Wayne Rooney went close with the free-kick, curling just over the far post from a tight angle.
Cristiano Ronaldo's absence was very badly felt when Rooney blasted the ball above the nets.
City finally created a chance on the half-hour mark, with a slick passing move. Yaya Toure surged forward to supply David Silva, who played a sumptuous through-pass for the advancing James Milner, who, under pressure from two defenders, had his shot deflected past the far post, but a goal kick was harshly given.
But against the run of play, City drew first blood when Joleon Lescott evaded his marker to meet Silva’s delightful in-swinging free-kick to place a precision header into the top corner.
Evra was exposed again seconds later as James Milner surged forward following the restart and was tugged down deep inside the United half. The City fans bayed for a red card, but the Frenchman was not quite the last man and the yellow card was brandished in his direction.
City appeared content to consolidate their slender advantage going into the break, but Dzeko had other ideas: the Bosnian unleashed a fierce drive from all of 30 yards in stoppage time and De Gea allowed the strike to breach his defences and United found themselves with a shock two-goal deficit as the half-time whistle sounded.
Man United were trailing by two goals after the first half.
Sir Alex Ferguson reacted by injecting youth into the team at half-time, with Phil Jones, Jonny Evans and Tom Cleverley all replacing more experienced heads at the break.
It seemed to work, with United again starting the half much brighter, and were rewarded quickly when Smalling pulled off a stylish mid-air finish, having been given a worrying amount of space in the City box to reach Young’s free-kick.
Welbeck and Rooney were all involved with a devastating series of quick passes on the edge of the box that loosed Nani for a decisive finish, giving the Red Devils their just reward for a barnstorming start to the second period.
The Portugal star just made it for Man United!!!
Dzeko and Nani also had late chances saved at either end but just as it seemed that the game was destined for penalties, a catastrophic error from Kompany allowed Nani to burst through one-on-one with Hart in the final minute of stoppage time, and he made no mistake, rounding the keeper to slot in a simple, and deserved, winner.
Sir Alex ferguson hugged Nani as soon as the match ended which looked so natural :)
Starting of with my first blog, I decided to blog aboutLife.
What is life?
Well, Defining life isn't as easy as we think. Everyone have their own definitions for life.
To me life is a mixture of emotions and attitude. I don't believe in physical strength and looks. Life is all about a person's character.
When talking about Emotions, the first thing that comes to my mind is Agatha Christie's "And then there were none". The way she has depicted each character's emotion is par excellence.The same is with every human. They have the same kinda emotions that she has described in that book. Almost every human has the same one dimensional thinking towards life.They let their emotions over rule them. The worst part is that they let others decide their emotions. They don't let their heart and mind to decide instead they go in for the help of others. A person fails to realize that its his/her life.
Its all about our attitude and the way we take life. Having a positive attitude just does not mean that we have to take failures light and move on. Positive Attitude is about analyzing our failure and making sure that we don't come out with the same outcome again.
We just have to remember one thing in life, "We live for ourselves". Live life for yourself in your way rather than living it the way others want you to live like.
Even though one may brag their whole lives, they never reach a sense of well being. They have sculpt their attitude in such a way that they are never satisfied with what they get or they keep thinking about the past and miss the awesome present they have. I don't blame it cos its human nature but one cannot remain the same through out his life. May be i could help it with my past experience.
"Nothing is Permanent" in life. Happiness , sorrows , people , friends , relatives everyone and everything is temporary in life. Never regret for what you have done, instead realize. Never bother about negative criticism. May be they do it cos they cannot do what you can do. Take them as your motivation in your life. And when you lose something or someone in your life , its obvious that you get dejected and start finding it hard to move on. At that instant , think practically. You cannot gain something that you have lost. It takes sometime to get over something but make sure you don't lose something better in that time.
Failing in exams , losing in a sport , failing in love etc is not the end of your life! They are just a few obstacles that retard your advancement in life. Only you have the authority to stop your growth(I din mean it physically :D).
Feeling good is a raised vibration cos your natural state is joy. And cleaning your vibration to bring it back to ‘good feeling’ is a really valuable thing to practice.The best way I know is, when you catch yourself experiencing something less than your natural state… take a deep breath and find something/someone to appreciate or find something that makes you laugh with pleasure.
I don’t know of any better vibration cleaners thanappreciationandhumor!That’s where I go when I need to get my energy into alignment.
Nothing Lasts Forever. So live it up ,drink it down, laugh it off, avoid the bullshit , take chances and never have regrets because at one point everything u did was exactly what you wanted :)
Love,
Aditya :)
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