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Paul Scholes seemingly ageless is very encouraging. (Photo by Phil Cole/Getty Images)

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Well another win in the bag against a weak opponent in West Ham has United right in Chelsea's slipstream where we like to be. SAF always seems to favor being just on the shoulder of the leaders and then at the start of the new year United kick it into gear. So far so good as far as United are concerned. Would we have liked to have gotten 3 points against Fulham? Obviously. And we should have gotten them. But other teams will drop points to Fulham this season so it could have been worse.

I thought in light of the fact that we are 3 games into the new season I would get a feel for what you have liked so far about United. What you are most encouraged about. So a poll question is in order.

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Wayne Rooney will be looking for goals for the first time since before the World Cup (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

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United host West Ham and need to score some goals. No one needs goals more so than Wayne Rooney. Here's hoping United run riot.

Game Thread On.........

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The old master still knows how to protect and motivate his players (Photo by Jason Cairnduff-Pool/Getty Images)

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I thought I would start with a classic example of why Sir Alex is one of the top managers in the history of the game. The man is just an absolute genius when it comes to man managing and his reaction to the reports surrounding Bebe were pitch perfect. This is why the players at this club perform to such a high level so often. Even if the reports were true by coming out strongly in support of the young player Fergie has shown Bebe that he is at a club where the manager will protect him. I mean honestly at this point who could this young man not give everything he possibly has on the pitch to try to thank Fergie. The other players see this as well and most of them have experienced it. It's very rare when Fergie gets this sort of situation wrong. He supports them when they need it and kicks them up the back side when they need it. It worked with Nani and I am hoping this season we will see the results with Anderson as well.

So on to the West Ham match this weekend. A match that we should win. A match that we need to score some goals in as well. But the thing with West Ham is that they really get up for United. We are their cup final as the old expression goes. We at Old Trafford though which helps so long as the fans don't get too anxious too early. West Ham used to be a bit of a bogey side for United including an embarrassing FA Cup defeat some years back when Paolo Di Canio made Barthez look a little foolish.But recent results really favor United. With 5 straight wins and only one goal allowed in that time. West Ham are also coming into the match in really bad form. So what does that all add up to? Probably a nail biting one-nil United win. Ideally a 3 or 4 nil victory and a goal for Rooney.

West Ham look set to go with a 5 man midfield and a lone striker and will most likely play defensively forcing United to break them down. It also appears as though Paul Scholes, our chief midfield breaker downer, could be rested with Ryan Giggs drawing into the game from the start. Rooney looks set to partner Berba up front. For West Ham the key men will be Parker and Noble two very good players in the middle of the park. If they can keep the battle in the middle of the park fairly even it will give West Ham an outlet for some attacks. If not? West Ham will spend most of the match defending in their own half.

Any predictions? I am going to say 3-0 with two for Rooney and one for Berba.

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She looks better in United Red. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

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OK so based on leghumpingjihadkiller's fanpost about the Champions League draw I figured we should do a pool. Guess the teams that United will face in the Champions League correctly to win a prize. I will provide the winner with a vintage Manchester United kit.

So it's simple. Pick the three teams that will face United in the Champions league group stage and you can win. This will be first come first served. So if someone already picked the teams you wanted tough luck.

UEFA has a page up in case you need a refresher on the rules for the draw.

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LONDON ENGLAND - AUGUST 22: Get the feeling neither of these men are capable of leading the English National team? (Photo by Phil Cole/Getty Images)

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First of all a big thanks to Scott K. for posting a game thread this weekend. My father is in town visiting and since I only see him 3 or 4 times a year and we very rarely get to watch a match together anymore I decided I would rather enjoy the game with him rather than blogging. I was also playing in a city championships tournament this weekend and with 4 games over the two days wasn't home much. So thank you Scott I owe you one.

Also, a big thanks to leghumpingjihadkiller for putting together his fanposts about recent United news. I am loving them and I hope you continue to post them. You guys are helping to make this blog a better place and the more you guys get involved the better this blog will be. And of course the less I will have to do. Everyone wins.

On the match this weekend. Ugh. I don't know what to say. It should have been all three points and I am very bitter about the way the match ended. It's easy to say now in hindsight but Ryan Giggs needs to take that spot kick. And Johnny Evans needs to be better. But in light of what happened against Burnley last season early in the year and what happened away to Fulham last season I am trying to frame this draw in a positive light. I guess as a Chicago Cubs fan I am an eternal optomist.

So today Liverpool continue their difficult opening to the season with a match against the other team I loathe the most. What do you want to happen tonight/this afternoon when Pool take on City. I am thinking nil-nil draw with both team picking up numerous injuries and red cards would be nice.

via img.dailymail.co.uk

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You might not have seen the recent comments from Arsene Wenger when asked about Paul Scholes. So I will fill you in. Here is a link to the entire article in the Telegraph. And here is the main quote I have a problem with. 

You ask me was Scholes a fair player: I say no,” said Wenger. “I’m sorry, for me he was not a fair player. There’s a little bit of a darker side in him, sometimes, that I did not like. I respect him highly as a quality player but I did not like some things he did on the football pitch and I have the right to say that. It’s not because you are older suddenly that you are a saint. “The regret I have personally is he was not always the fairest player.

First of all Wenger's complaints about guys like Fletcher have gotten old. We get it Arsene. You want your players to be able to run around and pass in beautiful triangles without being touched. Well guess what? Too f*ucking bad. Football is a man's game and tackling is as much a part of the game as passing and shooting. If you had a Darren Fletcher at the heart of your midfield you may have won a title in recent memory. I mean seriously Arsene. Get a grip. Tackling and defending isn't 'anti-football' IT IS FOOTBALL!!!! As much as attacking and scoring are.

Secondly Arsene, you used to be the boss in charge of the dirtiest team in the Premier League since Billy Bremner strapped on the boots for Leeds. How many red cards did the teams with Henry and Viera pick up? Yellow cards? More than any other team in the league is how many. By a large margin. So what? Now that your team is spineless and can't hold onto a title challenge once the weather turns cold you have realized the error of your ways? Nope. You are just a hypocrite.

Seriously. This is Paul f*cking Scholes. Paul Scholes!!!! He is the worst tackler in the league. And you could maybe argue he knows what he is doing. But calling Paul Scholes dirty? Or 'unfair' which is the word you used cause you are too much of a coward to say what you mean? That's ludicrous. Roy Keane Paul Scholes is not.

I mean no one asked you if he was fair. You were asked to talk about how great he is. How wonderful he has been as a player for so many years and how professional he has been to stay in top form all these years. If SAF was asked to talk about how great Viera was do you think he would go straight to the dirty player card? Probably not.Sure you went on to say nice things about Scholes as a player but sorry it's too late at that point.

Oh and sorry Telegraph hacks. The stats don't support Wenger. Scholes has been booked 81 times, 5th most in Premier League history, but he has also made over 400 league appearances. He has been booked at a rate of once every 5th match. Patrick Viera was red carded 8 times, twice as many as Scholes and he did it in just 259 appearances. Lee Bowyer has been yellow carded more than anyone in the history of the Premier League with 94 and he has done that in just 365 league appearances. Scholes isn't anywhere close to as 'unfair' as those two players. Or others like Keane, Michael Brown or Robbie Savage.

Paul Scholes is a class act on and off the pitch who is widely celebrated for his professionalism and ability and rightly so. Arsene Wenger is a has been manager who can't win trophies anymore and has always had an inferiority complex about United and our players. So I ask is he a tosser or a wally?

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Who will replace this little genius? (Photo by Abelimages/Getty Images)

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Last night's match was a wonderful start to the new season. A comprehensive victory that still left SAF with some areas to improve moving forward. But how about that performance from Scholesy? Vintage. I mean can we even call it vintage if he is still doing it? Whatever fountain of youth Giggs found let's all be thankful he is sharing it with Scholes. He was maybe even better yesterday than he was in the Community Shield.

But his performance has lead to an interesting quesiton. One posed by Soccernet writer Richard Jolly. What do United do when Scholes retires? Who replaces the midfield maestro? There are certainly lots of candidates within the club from the unlikely, Anderson, to the ridiculous, Carrick. Who will United turn to after Scholes moves on to pull the strings in midfield and unlock even the stingiest of defenses? I think I know the answer. I believe I am sitting on the key to long term success at Old Trafford in the era after Scholes. An era by the way that I am NOT looking forward to. I will miss watching the genius of Scholes and Giggs when they are gone. Let's make sure we appreciate watching them this season whether they are in form or not. Cause they won't be around forever.

Now this isn't a post about how we won't be able to replace Scholes. Players come and go and this club moves on. Cantona and Keane left and were replaced or the style and structure of the team was changed. So Scholes retiring isn't the end of the world. It will be sad and I wish it never had to happen but alas that's not how the world works. But this club will cope and survive and hopefully thrive in a Scholesless future.

But back to the matter at hand. The replacement. The new Scholes. Gibson, Cleverley, Anderson, Possebon? Are any of these players the answer? I am not so sure. Maybe it will be the uber-talented Paul Pogba or the gifted Magnus Eikrem? It wouldn't surprise me if it was one of those two. It wouldn't surprise me if it was neither. So who is this mystery man I have discovered at the club currently who can replace the greatest ball playing English midfielder of his generation? One of a small handful of the greatest midfielders in Premier League history.  You may want to sit down.

The answer is Wayne Rooney.

Let that sink in for a minute.

Now I know what a lot of you will be thinking. "But he is a striker!!!!!" Well if we remember correctly so was Scholes in an early incarnation. Wayne Rooney is prehaps the only player at the club that has vision and passing range that can rival Scholes. his passion for the game and determination mean he could easily adapt to a more midfield role. Imagine Rooney as an attacking midfielder alongside Fletch with a striker force of Macheda and Chicharito ahead of him as an example. Doesn't that sound nice?

How many times in a match does Wayne spread play with a wonderful cross field ball? Not as often as Scholes but that's simply a function of the positions they currently play. Rooney also has one hell of a shot from range. Something Scholes also possesses and uses rarely. But what he does do is shape to shoot before releasing a pass. Players have to respect the long range shot and defend accordingly. Scholes uses that to his advantage. Rooney is more than capable of the same. Another reason I think this would work perfectly is Rooney's imagination. That flick from a Scholes feed that Berba in yesterday, only for Berba to put his shot wide, was sublime. Rooney's touch and vision and imagination are world class. Just like Scholes.

Now I don't think this is an immediate fix. In the short term I still think Rooney helps the team by the most by being further up the pitch. But as he gets older and youngsters like Macheda and Hernandez make names for themselves a seamless transition to midfield creator could, and I think should, be in Rooney's future.

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It was a trophy winning pre-season for United. But the real games start today with a 19th English title hopefully awaiting United at the end of the road. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

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Well it's finally here. After a weekend of mixed results for United, a draw between Arsenal and Pool mitigated by West Brom acting like a cheap hooker rolling over lying there and taking it against Chelsea, it's time for the real season to begin. The opponents today will be Newcastle United who are back in the league that frankly their wonderful supporters deserve to be in. Newcastle do feature former United striker Alan Smith and defender Danny Simpson and United killer Kevin Nolan who scores at OT for fun. Andy Carroll can be a handful up front and Vida will have to keep a close eye on the young striker. but this game is United's to lose. A statement of intent is needed after Chelsea's result this weekend.

I would like to see Danny Simpson get the start for Newcastle. He is a Salford boy and I always thought he was a little unlucky to only make 3 United appearances. I am sure the young lad will be dying to get a run out against his former club and the club he supported as a boy. He always looked dangerous going forward but I think he is a player Valencia could give the run around if they are matched up against each other.

I also have a soft spot for Alan Smith. Despite the fact he came from Leeds he was a player that gave his all for United when he played and he had a little bit of Sparky in him. A pitbull that would lead the line and was capable of the spectacular.And what about that goal against Fulham? Such determination.

I always thought he was unlucky at United. Imagine if Smith had been allowed to play as a striker more often and hadn't broken his leg. Put him up front with Rooney and watch defenders quake in their boots. Alas, it wasn't to be for Smith and United so he moved on to Newcastle where he is vice-captain. He was sent off on his last visit to Old Trafford.

For United the line up and who plays today is really important. Will Rooney start? How much time will Chicharito see? There are interesting questions as we get closer and closer to kick off but ultimately it doesn't really matter. The players who start today for United will be better than the players on the pitch for Newcastle. It's that simple. If we match their work rate and determination we should be able to win this match. But it's almost never easy for United on the opening day of the season and Newcastle will be desperate to prove they belong back in the top flight.

I can't find a picture so I went with a BB Gun. Unless his name is pronounced like Baby? Anyway Bebe is United's newest signing.

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Another striker has arrived at Old Trafford prior to the start of the season. But unlike Chicharito this new signing is pretty much unknown. Hands up if you had heard of this kid before today? Well I hadn't anyway. But this fits the MO at OT lately. Young players purchased before they are spotted by other teams and their price is driven up. Hernandez, Obertan and now Bebe have landed at the Theater of Dreams from relative obscurity in most cases. He is 20 and by all accounts raw. Will he spend a year in the reserves before going out on loan? Will he be the next Nani or Ronaldo? Or will he be the next Diouf? Speaking of which what does this say for Diouf's future? Welbeck? Macheda? Owen?

What little I know about this kid from the reading I have done in the last few minutes is intriguing. He has size at 6'2" and was raised in an orphanage. He represented Portugal at something called the Homeless World Cup. I can't even find a video of the guy on youtube. Talk about obscure.

Very interesting signing but obviously the kid has a load of talent for SAF to swoop this quickly. Have you heard of this kid? What do you think of the signing?

Here is a link to an article about the signing.

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LONDON ENGLAND - AUGUST 08: United's key man in midfield this season scores against Chelsea. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

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It's time for a quick preview of the new Premier League season which starts on Saturday for most but doesn't really start until Monday.

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