Perfect ending to a tumultuous week (vs Stoke)

SOCCER Stoke 19So, our week appears to have attended on a relatively positive note. Mulling over the madness of the past 7 days, I think we have much to be pleased about.

1.Rooney didnt sign for City.
2.Rooneys unwillingness to re-sign initially pushed the Glazers to commit funds for new high profile signings, which is something weve all been wanting since Ronaldo and Tevez left.
3.Well probably sign someone of quality in January and probably pick up another one or two after the season is up.
4.Nani continues to be a consistent threat for us in each game with another well taken goal against Bursaspor.
5.We picked up 3 points in our midweek CL game despite all the distractions regarding Rooneys future.
6.We got to see Sir Alex being incredibly candid, open and vulnerable.
7.We got to see Sir Alex work his magic and turn a seemingly irreparable situation with Rooney into a new 5-year commitment from the player.

And to cap it all off, we pick up 3 hard fought points against Stoke.

We didnt really dominate the game as Stoke had their fair share of attacks in the first half. An outstanding header from Chicharito gave us a slender 1-0 lead going into halftime. It seemed almost impossible for him to have gotten the right direction and power on the header with the way his body was positioned. Somehow, he managed to contort his neck and glance in a goal off the back of his head. For a player of his stature, he has shown a great ability to attack balls in the air and is proving to be a natural goal scorer. We were sloppy in possession and put ourselves under constant pressure by giving away too many free kicks and were fortunate that the opportunities were not capitalized upon. Neville, who seems slower an! d older each time he gets a game, was incredibly lucky to avoid being sent off after picking up a booking midway through the first half, then hauling down Etherington toward the end of the period. Im not sure how the ref didnt see that as a bookable offense, but maybe its a sign of some good fortune finally coming our way after weeks of being horrendous and throwing leads away.

In the 55th minute, a quick counter by United saw Evra chasing forward to pick up a diagonal through ball from Chicharito. Delap who was the last defender appeared to push him over for what seemed like a very obvious penalty. Strangely enough, nothing was given. There was no attempt to play the ball whatsoever. In the grand scheme of things, the fact that Neville wasnt sent off, maybe these things just cancel themselves out? Scholes and Fletcher seemed to give away the ball very cheaply at times and on one occasion, it looked like Scholes would have to lunge in to try and win it back. Thankfully, on a yellow card, he decided against it and the defense cleaned it up. He wasnt so fortunate in the 81st minute as his misplaced pass eventually found its way to Tuncay who curled in a stunning goal. For all of Stokes aerial prowess, Ive always wondered why Tuncay doesnt play more for them. It would appear that he would at least offer up a different dimension to their attack and increase the options they have around goal. Prior to Stokes equalizer, VDS made a long throw out to Berbatov who glided toward goal before playing a cross to Chicharito that was volleyed just wide of the left post-another promising move by our front 2 in what looks to be a very good partnership. After we conceded the goal, it looked another case of 2 points dropped. Thankfully, Chicharito showed up to save the day, this time turning in Evras cross/shot from close range. I know that the ball from Evra could have ended up anywhere and we were fortunate that it found Chicharito right in front of goal, but some credit must be given to Evra for not just blasting it over ! from tha t position. Despite a last push from the home team, which included Sorenson coming up for a corner, we retained possession long enough so that the equalizer they were searching for never arrived.

We can be encouraged that Berba looked dangerous everytime he had the ball at his feet and made plenty of positive contributions despite not scoring himself. Chicharito appears to have (a younger) Owens predatory instincts and Tevezs abundant energy/hustle. Not a bad combination at all.

So, we get our first away win of the season. Chicharito looks better with each game. We find the mental toughness (and good fortune) to come back and win a game despite conceding the lead (yet again). Rooney is healing up and apparently, raring to put on the red shirt again. We now have funds to spend on some quality players in the next transfer windows. Maybe things are on the up and up


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