Ian On The Red Dot

Yesterday, Owen Hargreaves scored the winning goal against Arsenal from a free kick just outside the penalty box. I think I’ve only seen him take two free kicks and he has scored from both. I’m pretty sure he must have taken more than 2 free kicks during this season - he has taken 28 shots this season - but whatever that number is, it is less than the number of free kicks taken by Ronaldo.

Cristiano Ronaldo has taken 230 shots and a good number of them are free kicks. He has scored a couple of sensational goals from free kicks but the question is whether he is scoring as much as he should to justify him being the first choice free kick taker.

Based on memory from watching the games, I think Owen has a better scoring ratio from free kicks than Ronaldo.

Which brings up an interesting question.

Which is the better player? The one who insists on taking the shots and scores a higher number of goals but with a low success ratio or the one who chooses to take only kicks from certain ranges and angles and scores with a higher success ratio.

I think you need both kind of players in a team but when does the first one start suffocating the second?

This guy has to be one of the luckiest guy in Singapore - a gf who enjoys football. Plus she has good taste - she is a fan of Manchester United.

I looked at the screen and saw Gary Neville (who was injured for 3/4 of the season) coming onto the pitch. Then I look at her and STILL see her standing up clapping. I swear to you she thought she was in THE stadium…

I didn’t exactly stand up and clap and cry, but I did give an internal W00t and could feel the emotion welling up inside of me when Gary Neville entered the pitch - similar to seeing Solskjaer returning after recovering from his injury.

It was also a nice touch by Rio give him the captain’s armband.

The 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster has passed. Two articles from ESPNsoccernet help illuminate the reason why Manchester United is so popular now and how the disaster added to, if not created, the romance of Manchester United.

1. The Busby Babes: Munich remembered

The Busby Babes were on the brink of greatness, the future was theirs. There seemed to be no limit on what they could achieve.

That they had managed to accomplish so much is remarkable in itself, but it was the manner in which it was achieved that endeared so many to that Manchester United team. It was a side that not only played with style and panache, but they did so with players who broke the mould.

Perhaps the sense of loss was so acute and is still remembered today because it stemmed from the loss of young, talented people not yet close to fulfilling their potential.

Another reason the Babes are still important today is that their legacy has always been at the forefront of everything Manchester United stands for and strives to attain, and it is as important today as it was 50 years ago.

From the ‘Flowers of Manchester’ banner inside Old Trafford to the ethos of fast flowing football, complete with an emphasis on youth, employed by Alex Ferguson today, the memory and achievements of Busby and his Babes informs and moulds the club.

I find it extremely tragic that the disaster could have been avoided if the governing bodies for England football at that time had been more supportive of Manchester United’s involvement in the European Cup.

2. Born In Dudley, died at Munich

Possessing a combination of power, strength, dribbling ability, an excellent range of passing and shooting accuracy made him almost the complete player. In terms of ability, no English player has rivalled Edwards since.

It is clear that for many, Duncan Edwards legacy lives on. This was not only a supremely talented player with an incredible work ethic and desire to improve, but also a modest, affable man with his feet firmly planted on the ground.