A tale of two trebles: Manchester United v Barcelona

By winning the Champions League on Wednesday evening Pep Guardiola could stand (be chucked in the air) safe in the knowledge that he had become the first manager in Spain to have won a treble that comprised of a league and European Cup double.

Even though they failed to retain the Champions League it’s still been a truly magnificent season for Manchester United too and while it may be considered something of a ‘poor man’s treble’, a treble they have won nonetheless.

So Barcelona are the kings of Europe for this season at least but can it really be said that they have had the better of campaigns? I’ll leave that for you to decide.

Domestically Superior

While Barcelona have been an irresistible force in La Liga this season, breaking records left, right and centre, Manchester United have gone about their business somewhat more quietly but just as effectively in the Premier League.

An overall points tally of 90 put pay to Liverpool’s impressive title charge and is a total that they have only surpassed once before in a 38 game season back in 1999/2000. Lest we forget it has been a draining season that has seen United exceed 65 games and as well as going off to Japan to win the World Club Championships, Ferguson’s side also won the Carling Cup and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup too.

Of course you can’t argue with Barcelona’s supremacy in Spain this season having comprehensively charged towards the league title, staving off the once prominent threat of Real Madrid along the way. Add the Copa Del Ray and of course the Champions League to the reckoning and when you bear in mind that this has been achieved with a pretty minute squad as well, it makes Barca’s achievements this season all the more remarkable.

Results against Rivals

It’s always a good idea to look at a club’s results against their closest and often bitter rivals as a decent benchmark for comparison and against the current top four teams in Spain, Barcelona have pretty much wiped the floor with the lot of them. Back in September Guardiola’s side smashed Atletico Madrid 6-1 and a couple of months later they travelled to a decent Sevilla outfit and beat them 3-0.

Despite narrowly losing to Atletico in the return meeting at Vicente Calderon, Barca brushed Sevilla aside at the Nou Camp and need I even mention their two meetings with Real Madrid? Well for those of you who may need reminding, a late surge in the first El Classico of the campaign saw the Catalans triumph 2-0 and in a performance of real zest and potency, Barca made a mockery of their fierce rivals by humiliating them at the Bernabeu 6-2.

In contrast Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez masterminded a double winning feat over Manchester United, embarrassing them in the process with a resounding 4-1 win at Old Trafford. While Sir Alex Ferguson’s team rallied to take Chelsea apart in January, a defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates in November didn’t bode well. Add to that a further couple of draws against both the aforementioned London clubs and Ferguson was left with just five points from a possible 18 against his closest adversaries for the title.

Defensive credibility

Despite their less than impressive showing the other night, I don’t think this one’s even a contest and while most of you would probably be forced to agree with me, the statistics do go some way to question my judgement. Yes while on paper Barcelona possess a somewhat weaker defensive unit than United, the La Liga champions have only conceded 34 league goals this season and can boast the best defensive record in Spain.

Although compare that to United and you begin to realise exactly why Sir Alex Ferguson has such a fervent case for defence. In England’s top flight United have conceded a mere 24 goals while on average in the Champions League they afforded their opposition just over half a goal every game since they began the ultimately unsuccessful defence of their crown back in September.

Let’s face it, no game in the Premier League is easy these days which demonstrates just how impressive Edwin van der Sar’s domestic clean-sheet record of 21 hours without conceding proved to be.

In Ferdinand and Vidic United have arguably the strongest centre-back partnership in the game at present although even young Jonny Evans has proved a more than capable replacement at numerous stages during the season. The form of Rafael and John O’Shea at right-back has forced Gary Neville out of the reckoning for the most part and while cutting a figure of inconsistency at times, Patrice Evra has been an ever-present at left-back.

Attacking style and flair

Sir Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola are clearly blessed with an embarrassment of riches when you look at their respective starting elevens. Littered with some of the finest footballers in the modern game, just a brief look at some of the attacking options both teams have almost brings you to salivation.

Barcelona have this extraordinary three pronged strike force of Messi, Henry and Eto’o while United look to Ronaldo, Rooney, Berbatov and Tevez as their primary attacking threat. But just listen to this. The Catalans, with that fearsome threesome at the forefront, have conjured up an astonishing 104 goals in La Liga this season with the aforementioned trio contributing 71 towards that tally alone.

While Manchester United are a fluid and at times breathtaking counter-attacking side, that fascinating front four I mentioned earlier have only mustered up 44 Premier League goals between them. Of course that’s not catastrophic by any stretch of the imagination but it doesn’t even come close to matching what Messi, Henry and Eto’o have achieved as a unit.

It would be easy to argue that the Premier League is a far tougher environment than La Liga and United have often opted for a far less attacking but effective outlook throughout the season but in my opinion you can’t take anything away from that Barcelona front line. As long as Guus Hiddink isn’t in sight, it’s pretty unstoppable.

Messi vs Ronaldo

It has been a fundamentally decent season for both Messi and Ronaldo and separating them is a difficult task but when you look at his goals and influence on the Champions League Final, the little Argentine takes it for me.

Yes while Ronaldo finished as the second top scorer in the Premier League and at times single handedly carried United to the Final of Europe’s premier club competition in Rome it was Messi who stole the show when it mattered most.

Messi’s performance was simply sublime the other night. A menace if you like as he glided past challenge after challenge, contributing a goal to his team’s cause too. Despite a surprising look of desire and determination, Ronaldo just couldn’t get his side back into the game, however hard he was trying.

Throughout the season Messi has been the main focal point for Barcelona and with 38 goals, the World Player of the Year crown surely awaits.

Soccerlens Podcast: A Pep talk, Iniesta and the brilliance of Barcelona

On the fourteenth episode of the Soccerlens Podcast, Stephen Darwin is joined by the editor of TEAMtalk.com, Simon Wilkes to look back at Barcelona’s triumph over Manchester United in the Champions League final in Rome.

The show will be debating exactly where things went wrong for Sir Alex Ferguson and his side and Simon will be offering his thoughts on just how good this Barcelona team is under the leadership of Pep Guardiola.

Download link (mp3, 20mb, 22 mins)

Messi to Moutinho, Iniesta to Iaquinta: Top ten Champions League goals of the season

After months of scintillating football, tremendous goals and a fair bit of controversy too, the Champions League reaches its climax in Rome on Wednesday but who could possibly take the crown of goal of the tournament?

The ball has hit the net a total of 327 times in Europe’s premier club competition this season so there’s certainly a fair few to choose from. Well I’ve been locked away in a dark room for the past few days (well sort of) trawling the archives to pick out the very best of a quite brilliant bunch. So sit back, relax and feast your eyes on ten truly remarkable strikes that have lit up the Champions League over the past nine months.

10. Joao Moutinho vs Bayern Munich

Judging by Joao Moutinho’s rather reserved celebration, you can tell that this particular tie was already over as a contest. With Bayern 8-0 up on aggregate at the time, up steps the Portuguese international to smash home a rasper from 25-yards. A player who despite being dubbed one of the hottest prospects in European football hasn’t really lived up to the hype and has thus slipped off the radar somewhat. Although with a few more strikes like this one, David Moyes may want to open his cheque book before some of Europe’s giants start sniffing again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMk955wWVH8

9. Juninho Pernambucano vs Barcelona

It has turned into something of a cliché these days but Juninho Pernambucano really is the master of the free-kick. He’s proved it time and again against some of Europe’s top clubs and this goal against Barcelona goes even further to prove that he is the king of the dead ball situation. In fact Barca are probably getting sick of the sight of Juninho’s right boot as he’s done it to the Catalans before back in 2007 and I wouldn’t bet against him doing it to them again before he hangs up his boots.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ML-Waj0yXI

8. Giorgos Karagounis vs Werder Bremen

It’s rare for a team to be a threat from a throw-in, unless of course you’re Stoke City. Although afford Giorgos Karagounis this sort of room and he has the ability to punish you. The beauty of this strike is that it’s clearly not just an aimless and hopeful punt at goal. Oh no, the Panathinaikos star knows exactly where the goal is as he executes a stunning volley to leave Tim Wiese stranded in the Werder Bremen goal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjgByOuJafs

7. Vincenzo Iaquinta vs Chelsea

You may be wondering how I’ve come to the conclusion that this goal merits a place in the top ten greatest goals from the Champions League this season. Well while Iaquinta doesn’t hammer the ball home from 40-yards or trick his way through an entire defence, the build-up and exquisite touches that create the space for the Italian to burst through and score are stunning to say the least. In a move involving David Trezeguet and Iaquinta himself, the two combine beautifully to leave John Terry and co trailing in their wake.

http://uk.truveo.com/Juventus-22-Chelsea-Iaquinta-goal/id/924514526

6. Lionel Messi vs Lyon

What can you possibly say to do justice to the unbelievable talent that is Lionel Messi? A terrific footballer and always a joy to watch, a statement amplified by this dribbling masterclass against Lyon. So how do you deal with Barcelona’s Argentine maestro? Well it’s a question that every opposition manager has probably mulled over for many a sleepless night. Whether you stick one, two or five men on Messi, he will inevitably still get the better of you as this goal aptly proves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLEnb270tfM

5. Fernandinho vs FC Basel

As long range free-kicks go, this one from Fernandinho is undisputedly up there with the very best you will ever see. The Shakhtar Donetsk attacking midfielder shows all the ability and guile that his Brazilian nationality demands as he belts an absolutely unstoppable effort into the net. Unfortunately Shakhtar failed to make it past the group phase of the Champions League although Fernandinho’s goal will undoubtedly still go down as one of the highlights of this season’s competition.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6q3rkLfpk8&feature=related

4. Michael Essien vs Barcelona

The game’s on a knife-edge. 0-0 after the first-leg in the Nou Camp and Barcelona and Chelsea are toying with eachother for first blood at the Bridge in the return encounter. Although with nine minutes gone cue Michael Essien to hammer home an unstoppable volley past a hapless Victor Valdes that sends the Chelsea fans bonkers. What makes it all the more special is that this is Essien’s habitually weaker side. He certainly won’t hit a better shot with his left-foot again that’s for sure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRlfBMY1ANI

3. Emmanuel Adebayor vs Villarreal

It wouldn’t be harsh to say that Adebayor has had something of an indifferent season this campaign. What with the spate of injuries he’s had to endure and lengthy periods of iffy form, he’s hardly set the world alight at the Emirates. Yet you have to admire the man for this piece of sensational skill against Villarreal that will help remind Gunners fans that he is still such a valuable commodity to possess. His first touch and execution of the volley in this instance was simply sublime. Who knows, his inspiration to try such an extravagant piece of skill may just have come from this man.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AhgxLnb_20&feature=related

2. Andres Iniesta vs Chelsea

A show of hands now - how many of us were poised to see a Chelsea vs Manchester United re-run of last season’s Champions League final? I know that with stoppage time ticking away, I for one did not see Barcelona pulling off the great escape. Although you should never, ever write off the unexpected as with seconds remaining step forward Andres Iniesta to spark scenes of utter jubilation and chaos. It may not have flew in from 35-yards but the magnitude of the goal that sent Barcelona to Rome adds further merit to what already is a tremendous strike.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSHKcEup69w&feature=related

1. Cristiano Ronaldo vs Porto

Ronaldo himself claimed that this is the best goal he has ever scored and it’s not difficult to see why. I’d be tempted to say you’d be hard pressed to find a better strike in open play as the ball literally flies past Helton in the Porto goal. How the Portuguese superstar generates so much power with such little back lift is beyond me and from all of 40-yards too. Need we forget that the goal proved vitally important for Manchester United as they edged through to the semi-finals of the competition with that 1-0 away victory in the Estadio Dragao.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_KMSmBEkTo

O’Shea deserves his place in the spotlight

Before Sir Alex hands over his team-sheet to UEFA officials on Wednesday evening, you can’t be quite sure on the exact eleven that will take to the field in Rome. Will Carlos Tevez be afforded his United swansong? Will Rio win his fitness battle? Will Giggs or Scholes be given the nod? These are all realistic questions that will remain unanswered for a few a days at least.

Although one man that already knows he’s definitely going to be rubbing shoulders with the likes of Messi, Eto’o and Xavi is John O’Shea and boy does he deserve it.

Prior to this season (and on rarities during the current campaign too) I had always struggled to understand just how the Irishman warranted so much playing time in a Manchester United shirt. Defensively I would habitually worry whenever O’Shea faced up to anyone who could dribble even slightly better than the big man himself. Going forward he would frequently be caught in possession, misplace passes left, right and centre and at times he would be guilty of outright rupturing our attacking flow. How my opinion has categorically changed over the past eight months.

If there’s a player deserving of a starting berth on Wednesday night then O’Shea is a nailed on certainty. In a season where we’ve had so many problems at right-back, he has more than capably filled in and excelled in a position that, to be fair, probably isn’t even his strongest.

While Ronaldo makes a career of chucking his toys out of the pram, O’Shea is the perfect example of a player that simply gets his head down and concentrates solely on giving his all for the club. No he won’t offer spectacular 40-yard blockbusters or raking cross-field passes but what John O’Shea will guarantee you is 100% effort in every game, whoever the opposition, whatever the circumstance. You may be surprised to hear this stat but in 2009 I’ll have you know that the Irish international appeared in more matches than any other player at the club, missing just two games. So is he here just for the medals? You bet your life he’s not.

I may have given the impression that I don’t see the Waterford-born star of versatility as a goal scoring threat. Yet who needs to be deadly in front of goal as when you’ve hit the winner against Liverpool, you’ve pretty much earned cult status at the club. Fast forward a couple of years and O’Shea is at it again as he’s in the right place at the right time to hammer home another crucial winning goal against Arsenal. Did I really say he wasn’t a goal scoring threat?

Whilst the 28-year-old may not be the most technically gifted player of his generation, O’Shea is a valuable member of this magnificent United squad – and who would have predicted that a few years back!? I wouldn’t be surprised if he smashed home the winner in the Champions League final. It would certainly be a fitting way to mark a really impressive season for the lad.

Soccerlens Podcast - Survival Sunday, Manchester United’s banner season, Wenger’s future at Arsenal and more

On episode twelve of the Soccerlens Podcast, Stephen Darwin is joined by the founder of EPL Talk, Chris Harris to discuss the final day of the Premier League and of course that intriguing relegation scrap.

The show will be looking specifically at Manchester United and their unprecedented success, Newcastle’s woeful season, the future for Wenger and Arsenal, the remarkable work of Roy Hodgson at Fulham and Chris also offers his tips for the drop.

Download link (mp3, 28mb, 30 mins)

In a (Premier) League of their own: The top five signings of the season!

A top five list comprising of the signings of the season that includes just one player from the big four? I must be barmy right? But in all honesty there hasn’t been that many truly remarkable signings across the board during a Premier League campaign that has certainly been one of the best ever.

But even with the introduction of world class players to the Premier League mix, there were still a couple that deserve to be noticed for their ability to make an impact for their new club. Some made the switch from one Premier League club to another — while others made the jump from an entirely different league where the playing style was significantly different from that of the rough and tumble in England.

Although I’m not too hard pressed to come up with five and while you will be sure to contest them, here they are for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

5. Wilson Palacios

I’ve got nothing but praise for Palacios especially when you consider that he has been playing superbly well for Tottenham during a season in which his younger brother had been held in captivity before being brutally murdered. I don’t think I would have coped to be honest.

I ridicule anyone that calls this a sympathy vote because the Honduran has been a tremendous acquisition at White Hart Lane, protecting the back four and affording the likes of Modric and Lennon the freedom to probe forward.

The industrious former Wigan star has made that holding midfield berth his own at Spurs and at £14 million, Harry Redknapp will surely do a lot worse than that in the market.

4. Marouane Fellaini

The Belgian may deserve to be on this list purely for sporting such an impressive afro but Marouane Fellaini has proved there is so much more in his locker than just his excessively big hair.

It had seemed that David Moyes was taking something of a gamble when he made the decision to land this relatively unknown 20-year-old from Standard Liege for a club record £15 million.

Although fast-forward eight months and Fellaini’s signing appears a master stroke as his debut season with the Toffees has yielded an impressive eight league goals, relinquishing some of the pressure from a certain Australian in the process. A striking presence too (no I’m not referring to his barnet again), Fellaini has often more than capably helped cover in the centre forward position too.

3. Andrei Arshavin

He was being tracked by every manager and his dog (yes even Roy Keane was probably interested) after his successful campaign at that tournament that England failed to qualify for. I forget the name now. Fortunately for Arsenal fans, their trusty French leader realised the former Zenit man’s potential and eventually stumped up the £15 million odd required in January.

Arshavin has revitalised the Gunners since moving to the Emirates and we can only begin to ponder how different their season may have been had he signed during the summer months.

They say the Premier League and English football can be the toughest environment for a foreign import to adapt to. Well obviously no-one told Arshavin as made a mockery of that statement with his six goals and ten assists in just eleven domestic matches.

2. Abdoulaye Faye

You’ll no doubt look at this selection with an element of surprise and I’m sure many quarters would be pushing for another Stoke player to make the list. One James Beattie ofcourse.

And yes while Beattie has clearly been a huge catalyst in propelling Stoke up the table since January, the contributions of Abdoulaye Faye from the off have arguably been of much greater significance.

Having started all but two league games this season the Senegalese international has been a commanding presence at the back for City in easing any pre-Premier League relegation fears. He was recently voted the club’s Player of the Year by supporters and his team-mates and he has also aptly stood in and captained the side on many occasions. Not bad for a debut season eh.

1. Mark Schwarzer

In all fairness, this Aussi stopper was probably gearing up for a season of fighting against relegation when he first opted to join Roy Hodgon’s revolution at Craven Cottage.

Yet after a terrific season by all standards and estimations, Fulham have found themselves flirting with the European places and Schwarzer has undoubtedly played a massive part.

Often unbeatable between the sticks this season, the former Middlesbrough goalkeeper can proudly state that he has started every game in the league for the Cottagers, with Fulham conceding less than anyone else outside of the top three (even Arsenal). Take a bow Mr Schwarzer as you are my undisputed (well we’ll see!) Premier League signing of the season.

Walker to Wilkins, Beckham to Baker - Five of the best and worst Englishmen in Italy

It’s somewhat rare these days to see an Englishman trying his luck in Europe’s top leagues, especially in the tactical cauldron that is Serie A. In fairness, for many, life seemingly begins and ends with the Premier League where visions of a move abroad are often distorted by what many perceive as the ‘greatest league in the world’.

Although of the very few over the years that have exchanged Blackpool tower for the leaning tower there have been significantly contrasting results. So without further ado I present to you a rundown of ten very good and shockingly bad moves that English players have made to the land of Calcio.

Five successful Englishmen in Italy

David Beckham

To say he raised a few eyebrows when he made the switch to AC Milan would be an understatement. Desperate to revive his international career, Beckham has not only firmly edged his way into Fabio Capello’s plans but he’s also proved an asset to the Serie A giants too.

Since joining the club on loan in January, Golden Balls has established himself as a vital cog in the Milan machine that has attempted to keep abreast with rivals Inter in the race for the Scudetto.

At 34-years-old it would have been easy to hide away in the shadow of the likes of Kaka, Ronaldinho, Pato and Seedorf but with two goals and five assists in 16 Serie A outings, Beckham has certainly adapted well to life in Italy’s top flight.

Paul Ince

Ince’s performances in a Manchester United shirt indisputably earned him many plaudits at Old Trafford and after Sir Alex Ferguson had had enough of his ‘big-time Charlie’, Inter Milan were quick to snap him up for £7 million.

The Guv’nor went on to make over 50 league appearances for Inter where San Siro fans warmed to his combative style akin to an Esteban Cambiasso of today.

Although he never won a trophy in Italy, Ince undoubtedly made a decent impression on Serie A before he returned back to England in 1997.

David Platt

As one of the only Englishman to have won anything in Italy, Platt can safely say he enjoyed a fruitful period in the land of pizza and pasta.

In a terrific first season with Serie A club Bari in 1991/92, the Lancashire born goal-scoring midfielder managed an eye catching tally of eleven goals which consequently alerted the attention of Juventus.

Despite not firing on all cylinders for the Old Lady, mainly due to being played out of position, Platt still went on to win the UEFA cup with the club in 1993.

The England man, capped 62 times for his country during his career, then moved onto Sampdoria where he won the Coppa Italia and finished second top goal scorer in Serie A during his second season with the club.

Gerry Hitchens

Our younger readers may not know too much about Gerry Hitchens but he’s certainly worthy of a place in this top five list and arguably at the peak of it too.

Hitchens made his name in England with Aston Villa during the late 1950’s although a brace for his country in a 3-1 victory over Italy in Rome persuaded Inter Milan to part with £85,000 (how the transfer system has changed since then eh) to secure his signature.

At a time when Serie A was experiencing an influx of players moving over from England, Hitchens embraced Italy’s top flight scoring goals aplenty along the way (including 16 in his first season with the Nerazzuri).

The former Cardiff centre forward went on to spend the best part of a decade on the Italian peninsula representing Torino, Atalanta and then Cagliari during a nine-year spell that asserted him as one of the greatest ever Englishman to have played in Italy.

Trevor Francis

Fabio Capello labelled him the best English player to have ever played in Serie A. And to be fair it’s hard to argue with that assessment.

As England’s first £1 million player Francis invariably had to live up to expectations when he joined Sampdoria in 1982.

In his three years spent with the Blucerchiati he scored 17 goals in 68 appearances, helping the Genoa club win their first ever Coppa Italia in 1985.

Even after having enjoyed varying levels of success with Sampdoria, Francis was hungry for more and he would go on to play for Atalanta for another two seasons before joining Rangers in 1987.

Five unsuccessful Englishmen in Italy

Paul Gascoigne

Undoubtedly one of the most technically gifted players of his generation, Gazza looked as though he was set to conquer the world when he agreed terms with Lazio in an £8.5 million deal from Tottenham in 1991.

Unfortunately Gascoigne sustained a serious knee injury in the final of the FA Cup when he lunged in knee-high on Gary Charles in the early moments of the showpiece Wembley tie. That challenge plus a further accident at a night club would keep him out of the entire 1992/93 season and would delay his move to Italy, knocking £3 million off the eventual price-tag too.

A spate of injuries and a failure to settle in Rome ultimately took its toll on Gazza and after only 41 appearances for Lazio he was on his way back to the UK and Rangers.

Yet wedged in between three years of inconsistency and injury heartache were some rousing moments too, including a fantastic run and finish against Pescara.

Joe Baker

Baker may have found life easy in England and Scotland but a press infused Italian lifestyle certainly proved a different kettle of fish for the Merseyside-born England international.

Despite a relatively impressive scoring record of seven goals in nineteen matches (including one against Juventus) during the one sole year he spent with Torino, Baker was lucky to escape back home to England with his body still intact.

In February 1962 Baker and teammate Denis Law were involved in a serious car crash that left the former needing seven operations that would inevitably cut short his Italian adventure.

Luther Blissett

A legend at Watford and Soccer AM may have named a stand after him but he certainly didn’t receive too many standing ovations in an AC Milan shirt.

Whatever possessed Milan to shell out £1 million in 1983 on this bustling English centre-forward is beyond me and the Italian club soon realised their mistake.

After 30 appearances in his first season yielded just five goals, Milan had shipped Blissett back to the Hornets for nearly half the original fee!

Des Walker

You’ll never beat Des Walker…apparently. Although during his time with Sampdoria you would have certainly fancied your chances.

These days you can find this former England international hanging inside closets and perhaps that’s exactly where he should have stayed when making the decision to join Sven Goran Eriksson’s team back in 1992 for £1.5 million.

On his debut against Lazio, Sampdoria conceded three goals with Walker at the heart of the defence and the Italian job soon became the Italian sob when it became arrivederci for Desmond after just one season in Serie A.

Ray Wilkins

It’s a tad harsh to comprehensively claim that Butch was a failure in Italy so I’ll let the statistics do most of the talking instead.

During three years with one of Europe’s biggest clubs, AC Milan, Wilkins only managed to pick up a runners up medal in the Coppa Italia final of 1985.

In fact Wilkins time with the Rossenari coincided with a barren trophy spell for the club as a whole and in a total of 73 Serie A appearances, the current Chelsea assistant manager notched up a somewhat uninspiring two goals.

Champioles! Champioles!

On this week's episode of the Manchester United Football FanCast Steve, Dan and Dov are in celebratory mood as United are confirmed as Premier League champions for the third successive season!

The lads will be looking at the victory over Wigan and the draw with Arsenal that sealed the title and look out for a big and somewhat heated debate surrounding Carlos Tevez and his future at Old Trafford.

Dov will be looking at exactly how the reserves faired in the Manchester Senior Cup Final, and Steve will be bringing you details of all the winners from the club's annual Player of the Year awards ceremony.

Stay tuned for all that plus much more in another unmissable week of the Manchester United Football FanCast!Remember if you want to contact the show then you can e-mail the lads at unitedpodcast@gmail.com and make sure you sign up to the Manchester United Football FanCast Facebook group too if you haven't already done so!

Steve, Dan and Dov would like to thank you once again for your continued support and we hope you enjoy this week's show!

An Italian invasion: Five of the best and worst Italians to ever play in England

There haven’t been too many Italians that have made that considerably bold step leap of moving from the proverbial comfort zone of Serie A to the Premier League. Although if young Federico Macheda needs any advice on how he may be able to forge a long and fruitful career at Old Trafford then he may be best served having a quick glance at my run down of five of the best (and worst) Italians to have plied their trade in England’s top flight.

Some of the names on this list are remembered with fond memories of success and silverware. These Italians made a difference when they stepped on the pitch. Some of the other names, however, make some supporters cringe to this day. One look at a couple of these names will have some people throwing their hands up in disgust.

It’s time to take a look at the best and worst Italy had to offer the Premier League. Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the Italian invasion!

Five successful Italians in England

Gianfranco Zola

If you had to compile a list of the foreign players that have changed the face of the Premier League I’m pretty sure this ‘clever little so-and-so’ would rank towards the top of nearly all of your selections.

Zola was Chelsea’s creative spark during the late nineties helping guide the West London club to their first FA Cup triumph in some 27 years.

The diminutive, pocket-rocket playmaker would go on to win another FA Cup in 2000 as well as a UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1998 (Chelsea’s first European trophy since 1971 would you believe) amongst many other personal and team accolades.

Paolo Di Canio

The king of controversy, whether you loved him or despised him, Di Canio certainly made a significant impression in English football.

He may well be most remembered for that now rather infamous push but there was certainly more to Di Canio than petulant behaviour and goaded reactions.

Despite failing to claim any silverware during his time in British football, Di Canio’s goals and bad boy attitude made him an instant hero with West Ham fans and who can forget one of the greatest goals ever scored in the Premier League.

Gianluca Vialli

It’s hard to categorically state that Gianluca Vialli was an overriding success during his playing career in England because at the end of the day, he wasn’t.

This was mainly due to the fact that he rarely saw eye to eye with his then manager Ruud Gullit which was a shame as Vialli definitely possessed the ability to warrant more playing time in Chelsea blue.

Although I am going to tepidly place him in this category purely because when he was selected, he rarely failed to disappoint. As well as winning the FA Cup in his first season with the Blues (including two goals in the 4-2 comeback victory over Liverpool), Vialli scored 40 goals for Chelsea and went on to do a pretty decent job as manager of the club too.

Fabrizio Ravanelli

Don’t tell me you’ve never done it? You know, the Ravanelli! Park football was never to be the same again after this ‘white feather’ revolutionised signature celebrations with his shirt over head routine.

Ravanelli announced himself in England with a hat-trick on his debut for Middlesbrough against Liverpool in 1996 and despite enduring an ultimately disappointing season of relegation, the silver haired hit man notched up an impressive tally of 31 goals.

The Perugia born striker would go on to join Derby County later in his career and although he managed nine league goals in his first season with the Rams, he couldn’t prevent the club from sliding into the First Division.

Roberto Di Matteo

Another one of Chelsea’s Italian trio who adapted superbly well to his new English surroundings and was one of the main catalysts behind the clubs 1997 and 2000 FA Cup successes.

Di Matteo was the master of the pass and he wasn’t half bad at finding the back of the net from range either. During six years with Chelsea, Di Matteo made 175 appearances for the club, scoring 26 goals and winning six trophies along the way.

The Swiss born midfielder was sadly forced to retire from football in 2002 after failing to recover from a serious triple leg fracture but he’s since shown that he’s something of a dab hand when it comes to the tactics board too!

Five unsuccessful Italians in England

Massimo Taibi

Manchester United fans look away now! Massimo Taibi, the somewhat calamitous Italian goalkeeper will be rather regrettably remembered for his disastrous one year spell with the English giants.

Sir Alex Ferguson splashed out £4 million to bring the Venezia stopper to Old Trafford and despite playing a blinder in his debut against Liverpool, the signs thereafter were pretty ominous.

It would be against Southampton in only his third game in England that Taibi would make his most glaring blunder. A gem for every conceivable football gaffe DVD released ever since as he allowed Matt Le Tissier’s tame 35-yard effort to spill under his body and into the empty net.

Taibi would play only one further game in a Manchester United goalkeeper jersey. A 5-0 defeat to Chelsea which ended United’s 29 game unbeaten run. Need I say anymore?!

Rolando Bianchi

It all looked rather good for Bianchi when he first joined Manchester City. A goal on his debut against West Ham was followed up with a 20-yard strike against Bristol City in the Carling Cup a few games later but his Eastlands career effectively failed to come to life thereafter.

With Sven Goran Eriksson shelling out nearly £9 million to land a player who the season before had been one of the top scorers in Serie A with lowly Reggina, you perhaps would have expected a better return than five goals in 24 games.

Bianchi will blame injuries and a lack of playing time for his failure to adapt, although I’m sorry Rolando but I just don’t think you were quite ready for the hustle and bustle of the Premier League.

Marco Materazzi

You never hear too much about Materazzi’s time on Merseyside. A controversial World Cup winner who went on to become a mainstay in the Inter back four but not before an ill-fated spell with Everton.

Yes back in 1998 a fresh faced Materazzi joined the Toffees for £2.8 million and manager Walter Smith was confident that the Italian had all the credentials to ‘handle the Premiership, no problem.’

32 games and four red cards later and Marco was on a plane back to Italy, never to be seen at Goodison Park again.

Pierluigi Casiraghi

It’s difficult to label Casiraghi as an undisputed flop and failure of English football as, to be fair, he suffered a serious knee ligament injury that ultimately brought an end to his playing career.

One goal in 15 games didn’t exactly represent a prolific goalscoring record for Chelsea and Casiraghi’s luck seemingly ran out in November 1998 when he collided with West Ham goalkeeper Shaka Hislop that would prove to end his days a player.

The now Italy under 21’s gaffer didn’t help his cause at Stamford Bridge when he lashed out at the club for not offering him sufficient support. Although after ten operations, you can’t help but understand his frustrations.

Bernardo Corradi

Although not quite as bad as a Jonathan Woodgate debut, Corradi hardly left City fans with any real room for optimism when in his first competitive match for the Manchester based club he was sent off after 63 minutes.

It would take 13 games before Corradi would find the net for City, a brace against Fulham in fact, but only one further goal would come for the Siena-born striker during a pretty horrendous spell with the Eastlands club.

To compel the misery of Manchester City fans, Corradi received his marching orders once again, this time for diving in the derby against Manchester United. Not the best thing to do when you have Stuart Pearce as a boss.

Soccerlens Podcast - Cheerleaders, takeovers and getting to grips with MLS

On the eleventh episode of the Soccerlens Podcast, I'm joined by US soccer enthusiasts Mark Fishkin and Lisa Eisenmenger to discuss MLS.

The show will be looking specifically at the structure of MLS and how the league can be improved, MLS and it’s connections with the English Premier League and there’s even a chat about the merits of cheerleaders!

Download link (mp3, 32mb, 35 mins)

Wayne Rooney - The only option left?!

It’s been quite a regular occurrence of late hasn’t it? No I’m not talking about Ronaldo winging or even a Carlos Tevez transfer story. I’m specifically referring to Wayne Rooney, his versatility and this endearing quality he possesses to play left wing.

Ok so it’s not the biggest revelation since the discovery of electricity as it has been tried and tested before. Although there’s no denying that what it does provide us with is options, affording Ferguson complete freedom to tinker and tweak his attacking line-up however he pleases. And boy has it worked admirably the last few games.

With Rooney operating on the left we have seen Berbatov and even Ronaldo flourish as the central striker. Who knows as Ferguson studies this alternative system, he may even see sense and grant a certain Argentine a future with us that he so desperately craves. With a tighter more compact system and Rooney as an out and out striker, surely that wouldn’t have been the case.

In fairness Wazza squandered the simplest of chances against Wigan on Wednesday, a simple header that he would normally have buried in his sleep. Although since being deployed on the left Rooney has rarely failed to excel and fears that his talents were being wasted out wide were quickly put to bed.

We all feared that a fleet footed Theo Walcott would rip a confidence stricken Patrice Evra to shreds in the Champions League although on both occasions (at OT and the Emirates) Rooney played a part in thwarting the pacey England man to almost a non existence.

The spirited and industrious Rooney may not be the best tackler in the world but he’ll certainly put in a decent shift to aid forward thinking Evra who we all know can be prone to getting caught too far up the pitch. While it’s fair to say that Rooney’s defensive duties haven’t really been tested to the max this season, a meeting with Messi later this month will surely be a decent benchmark to determine his full credentials. Not to jinx it but I’m sure he’ll pass with flying colours.

There’s no doubting Rooney’s genius in the role just behind the striker but in my opinion he’s been given something of a new lease of life on the left. With Giggs a seemingly better option in the middle these days, Nani hardly being flavour of the month with Sir Alex and Tosic something of an unknown quantity at first-team level at least, Rooney is certainly the best viable option for me.

The way he cuts in with that bludgeon of a right foot and lashes towards goal, defenders will often know exactly what he’s about to do but stopping it is a completely different ball game. It’s certainly a joy to watch anyway.

To digress ever so slightly, Rooney’s aggressive nature has led to much criticism for years but to be honest I feel that it is a key component in his armoury that makes him such an unassailably brilliant player. Yes he needs to keep his anger in check in the most precarious of situations but a lot of the time he successfully channels his temper and he can often unfairly get into trouble purely for a reputation that precedes him.

While Ronaldo will never comprehensively commit his future to United we will all still justifiably admire his mercurial ability. At completely the other end of the spectrum you would have to literally drag Rooney out of the dressing room if he’s ever to leave Old Trafford - a trait that I think should draw much praise and adulation as I don’t know where we would be without this sublime scouser.

Manchester United vs Arsenal - Premier League Live!

The champagne is on ice and one more point against Arsenal will hand Sir Alex his eleventh Premier League title.

Join me on Saturday from 12:15PM (BST) to follow all the action from Old Trafford and hopefully we can celebrate lifting the Premier League trophy for the third successive season!

It promises to be an exciting afternoon of football that's for sure!

Derby Day Delight

On this week's episode of the Manchester United Football FanCast Steve, Dan and Dov express their delight following the derby victory over Manchester City.

The lads also look at Ronaldo’s petulance, they preview Wigan away and Arsenal at home and they will also be discussing exactly what Carlos Tevez has to do to start feeling a part of the family.

Stay tuned for all that plus much more, including an interview with Guardian sports journalist Rob Smyth and remember if you want to contact the show then you can e-mail the lads at unitedpodcast@gmail.com.

Make sure you sign up to the Manchester United Football FanCast Facebook group too if you haven't already!

Thanks again for your continued support and we hope you enjoy this week's show!

Old Trafford expansion just the ticket? Not a chance!

When the suits at the FA decided to build the new Wembley they probably envisaged, or at least hoped, that they would possess a stadium capable of eclipsing that of any other in the country. I imagine the conversation ran something like this: ‘Well Old Trafford stands at around 60,000, let’s make Wembley 90,000, just to be on the safe side.’

Nine years on from that time and Wembley Stadium will soon rather inevitably have to relinquish the mantle of highest capacity football venue in England, or so we are led to believe. Although it’s not gospel and is yet to be comprehensively confirmed, recent news suggests that Old Trafford will soon be extended to 95,000 seats.

Obviously this is fantastic news for supporters in terms of creating more opportunities to see United up close although is it fair to say that ticket prices will fall as a result? I beg to differ.

It is believed that Sir Alex has long lobbied the Glazer family for expansion, urging our American owners to improve the affordability of watching United in hope of attracting a new generation of supporters. Although with ticket prices set to go up even further once again next season, it’s easy to see why fans have voiced their frustrations.

So when the likely developments to the South Stand and presumably the South and East quadrants do take place, can you really foresee a drastic change in club policy?

In all honesty I can’t see why the Glazers wouldn’t want to squeeze every last penny out of us. They aren’t stupid and they know that Manchester United is a club, nay a brand, that has the potential to attract supporters from around the globe and will have little trouble filling even 95,000 seats on a regular basis. So why drop ticket prices when the market will, however begrudgingly, continue to fork out £40 odd a ticket to see the likes of Ronaldo, Rooney et al.

In 2004 the most expensive ticket at Old Trafford was £29. Four years on and that amount has risen to £49. Who knows what the price may be come 2014. A scary thought for the regular match-goer no doubt.

As much as our success on the field has provided an ideal smokescreen for the Glazers, there is no hiding the fact that the club is experiencing elevated levels of debt and that £700 million figure is rising every day.

The cost of stadium expansion will likely surpass the £100 million mark and with the need to maintain consistency on the pitch too, costs could quite worryingly spiral out of control in the future.

Who’s to say that when Sir Alex does eventually decide to call it a day we may initially struggle in a new era and spend a couple of seasons out of the Champions League? Imagine how damaging that could be for the Glazers in generating profit. Imagine the cost of a ticket then…

As featured on RedRants

Champions League Re-cap: Our Journey to Rome...

The dust has just about settled following our magnificent victory over Arsenal that has booked us a place in Rome to face Barcelona in the Champions League final. I wouldn’t say I’m relieved to be playing the Catalans but having lost the trophy in the manner that Chelsea did last season, revenge would have been very much on the agenda for Terry et al so in a way I’m glad we’re avoiding them. With the news that a Fletcher appeal may just be on the cards too, well it doesn’t get much better than this does it?

So what better way to celebrate then to have a re-cap of our tremendous run to the Stadio Olimpico which has comprised of twelve games and eighteen goals. Enjoy!

0-0 vs Villarreal at Old Trafford (Opening Group E fixture) - 17th September 2008

Having just succumbed to Liverpool at Anfield the previous weekend and thrown away the chance of silverware in the Super Cup prior to that, the defence of our Champions League crown started as frustration personified.

Despite this particular fixture yielding the return of Ronaldo, we failed to break through the resilient Yellow Submarine with both sides striking the upright during the 90 minutes.

Team: Van der Sar; Neville, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra; Park (Ronaldo 62), Fletcher, Hargreaves (Anderson 62), Nani; Tevez (Giggs 81), Rooney.

3-0 vs Aalborg at the Aalborg Stadium (2nd Group E Fixture) - 30th September 2008

Rooney 22, Berbatov 55, 79

I think we all remember this match as the evening that Dimitar Berbatov announced himself in a Manchester United shirt. There was also a debut for a once little-known Brazilian Rafael Da Silva too.

After Rooney gave us the lead in the first-half we kicked on after half-time and Berbatov atlast silenced some of his critics to score two goals, taking us to the top of the Group E table.

Team: Van der Sar; Rafael (Brown 66), Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Ronaldo, Scholes (Giggs 16), O'Shea, Nani; Rooney (Tevez 59), Berbatov.

3-0 vs Celtic at Old Trafford (3rd Group E Fixture) - 21st October 2008

Berbatov 30, 51, Rooney 76

The Battle of Britain, or so it was billed, saw us ease past Celtic as a brace for Berbatov and a fantastic strike from Rooney handed us all three points.

Although with Villarreal beating Aalborg, only goal difference separated us from the La Liga side going into the fourth round of group matches.

Team: Van der Sar; Neville (Brown 60), Vidic, Evans, O'Shea; Ronaldo (Park 82), Anderson, Fletcher, Nani; Berbatov (Tevez 60), Rooney.

1-1 vs Celtic at Celtic Park (4th Group E Fixture) - 5th November 2008

McDonald 13, Giggs 84

It was always going to tough facing Celtic in Scotland and with Scott McDonald opening the scoring after 13 minutes, we knew we had a game on our hands.

On a night when Fergie opted to give Ben Foster his European debut fortunately Ryan Giggs came up trumps to head home late on following Boruc’s failure to deal with Ronaldo’s swerving effort.

Team: Foster; Rafael (Evra 66), Ferdinand, Vidic, O’Shea; Ronaldo, Fletcher, Carrick, Nani (Berbatov 46); Giggs, Tevez (Rooney 71)

0-0 vs Villarreal at El Madrigal (5th Group E Fixture) - 25th November 2008

Another meeting with Villarreal produced yet another stalemate but it mattered not as we secured our passage into the knockout stages of the competition.

The talking points from this one? Well a certain Italian referee that we’re all too familiar with took centre stage as he dished out a red card for Villarreal’s Spanish full-back Joan Capdevila (and rightly so too it should be noted).

Team: Kuszczak; O'Shea, Evans, Ferdinand, Evra; Ronaldo, Fletcher (Gibson, 80), Anderson, Carrick (Tevez, 86), Nani (Park, 84); Rooney.

2-2 vs Aalborg at Old Trafford (6th Group E Fixture) - 10th December 2008

Tevez 3, Jakonbsen 31, Curth 45, Rooney 52

With qualification already secure the final group game against Aalborg presented Ferguson with the perfect chance to rest some first-team regulars including Ronaldo, VDS, Vidic, Fletcher and Berbatov.

Celtic’s victory over Villarreal afforded us the luxury to be able to draw this one and still finish top of the group and with goals from Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney that is exactly what happened.

Team: Kuszczak; Neville (Rafael 76), Ferdinand, Evans, O'Shea; Nani, Gibson (Park 46), Anderson, Giggs (Scholes 46); Rooney, Tevez.

0-0 vs Inter Milan at the San Siro (First knockout round first leg) - 24th February 2009

It certainly looked a daunting task on paper. With no Vida and Wayne Rooney not included in the starting line-up we were facing an inform Inter Milan who were more than capable of causing us problems on the night.

Yet in a fascinating spectacle we took the game to the Italian giants and were unfortunate not to have nicked a goal, especially in the first-half.

With chances aplenty for the likes of Berbatov, Giggs and Ronaldo we were desperately unlucky not to be heading back to Old Trafford with an away goal but we were certainly in the driving seat with a draw.

Team: Van der Sar; O'Shea, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra; Fletcher, Carrick, Giggs, Park (Rooney 83); Berbatov, Ronaldo.

2-0 vs Inter Milan at Old Trafford (First knockout round second leg) - 11th March 2009

Vidic 4, Ronaldo 49

I think everyone inside Old Trafford that night had the lingering image of Jose Mourinho sprinting down the touch-line lodged somewhere in their heads.

Surely our defence of the European crown wouldn’t be brought to an abrupt end by the former Chelsea manager of all people!

Fortunately Vida gave us the perfect start and after Inter had squandered some decent chances to score that all important away goal, up popped Ronaldo to head us into the quarter-finals and send Mourinho packing.

Team: Van der Sar; O'Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes (Anderson 70), Giggs; Rooney (Park 84), Berbatov.

2-2 vs FC Porto at Old Trafford (Quarter-final first leg) - 7th April 2009

Rodriguez 4, Rooney 15, Tevez 85, Mariano 89

I don’t know where on earth they mustered this performance from but Porto looked potent and a worryingly decent outfit in the first leg.

We can make excuses about the players being tired but credit to the Portuguese side for coming to Old Trafford and having a real good go at us.

After Rodriguez' opener and Rooney’s leveller I think we were all just relieved when Carlos Tevez pounced and looked to have given us the win in a game where we deserved little.

But with Mariano snatching a late equaliser, the return leg in Portugal looked ominously tough even with the array of attacking talents at our disposal.

Team: Van der Sar; O'Shea, Vidic, Evans (Neville 72), Evra; Fletcher, Carrick, Scholes (Tevez 72); Park (Giggs 58), Ronaldo, Rooney.

1-0 vs FC Porto at Estadio Dragao (Quarter-final second leg) - 15th April 2009

Ronaldo 5

One magical swing of Cristiano Ronaldo’s wand of a right foot was enough to put us into an all English semi-final tie with Arsenal.

The timing of the goal was absolutely crucial and seemed to knock the stuffing out of a Porto side that had looked so threatening a week earlier in Manchester.

With Rio and Vidic in commanding form, nothing was going to stop us in Portugal as we made history by becoming the first English side to win at the Dragao.

Team: Van der Sar; O'Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Giggs, Carrick, Anderson (Scholes 78); Rooney, Berbatov (Nani 68), Ronaldo.

1-0 vs Arsenal at Old Trafford (Semi-final first leg) - 29th April 2009

O’Shea 17

Who would have thought it? Our only goal-scorer in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final turns out to be our versatile if not majestic defender John O’Shea!

Wenger claimed one goal wouldn’t be enough and after dominating from start to finish against the Gunners, Fergie and the lads were undoubtedly frustrated at having only beaten an in-form Almunia once.

Team: Van der Sar; O'Shea, Ferdinand (Evans 87), Vidic, Evra; Fletcher, Carrick, Anderson (Giggs 66); Ronaldo, Tevez (Berbatov 66), Rooney.

3-1 vs Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium (Semi-final second leg) - 5th May 2009

Park 8, Ronaldo 11, 61, van Persie 76

Cristiano Ronaldo effectively put those ‘not a big game player’ jibes to bed in a masterful performance that booked our ticket to Rome.

In all fairness the whole team was in imperious form as we brushed Arsenal aside, running Arsene Wenger’s young guns ragged for ninety minutes without reprieve.

Park got us off to the perfect start and then Ronaldo’s thunderbolt of a free-kick put us firmly in the driving seat before his second, a superb flowing counter-attack put the icing on the cake.

The only sour point of the night arrived 14 minutes from time when Fletch was wrongly sent-off for a challenge on Cesc Fabregas but there could still be light at the end of the tunnel following today’s revelation from UEFA secretary David Taylor.

Team: Van der Sar; O'Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra (Rafael 65); Fletcher, Carrick, Anderson (Giggs 63); Park, Ronaldo, Rooney (Berbatov 66).

? vs Barcelona at the Stadio Olimpico (Final) - 27th May 2009

So this is it! Will we create history in Rome by becoming the first team ever to win successive Champions League titles?

Well with Abidal, Dani Alves, Milito and Marquez all unavailable, Barca will certainly have their work cut out trying to contain our frightening attacking line-up.

As featured on RedRants

Photo Credit: PA

All Tickets to Rome!

The latest edition of the Manchester United Football FanCast that I host alongside Daniel Lomax and David Schiavone is now available for your listening pleasure!

I hope you enjoy the show and Feedback is always appreciated!

Arsenal vs Manchester United - UEFA Champions League Live!

Rewind a week and one of the unlikeliest of heroes took the plaudits as John O’Shea smashed home to give us a one goal advantage going into the second leg at the Emirates.

Join me from around 19:15 (BST) tonight for Live Blog coverage of the match as we look to book our place in Rome for the Champions League final!

Wembley Stadium Tour

Nicola, my fiancee, arranged for us to visit the home of English football, Wembley Stadium, to carry out the Stadium tour!

I'm not usually too big on doing these sort of things but it really was a thoroughly enjoyable 90 minutes!

So without further ado, rather than describe the day in words please see below for some pictures from the experience and feel free to comment!

The original crossbar from the 1966 World Cup Final

Fantastic view!

A proud Englishman

Nicola enjoying the day!

Rio! Rio! Rio!

Nicola's favourite player Wazza!

Embracing the FA Cup

Nic with the FA Cup

Is it really time up for Nani at Old Trafford?

It doesn’t look good does it? Brought off at half-time whilst trailing at home to Tottenham which rather ironically then helps spark that tremendous comeback. I can understand why he wouldn’t be desperate to stay behind and encourage his teammates but it wasn't the wisest decision ever made and it’s difficult to defend a quite childish, sulky and rather petty reaction to yet another below-par individual performance.

It didn’t get much better for the Portuguese winger in midweek either. A quick glance at Sir Alex’s team sheet for the Champions League encounter with Arsenal and the four letters ‘Nani’ were absolutely nowhere to be seen, not even on the substitutes bench.

I appreciate that I have to be careful with what I say from here on in as I am aware of the seismic split in opinions on the Cape Verde-born man of inconsistency and what he brings to our club but I’ll throw in my ten pennies worth and happily accept whatever flack is bound to be coming my way!

For a start let’s deal with this season and what exactly has gone wrong for Nani in United red. Well in the handful of Premier League appearances he’s made (just five as a starter would you believe) he’s hardly set the world alight but you can’t ignore the fact that he’s not even been afforded a full-ninety minutes.

Ji Sung Park’s notably impressive form (despite having tailed off somewhat in recent weeks) this season clearly hasn’t helped Nani’s cause either. You can bet your bottom dollar that if our tricky left winger were playing for anyone else in the Premier League he would have started far more than six league games and would've surely had more of a visible impact.

This may surprise you somewhat but I can actually reveal to you quite a different statistical story, especially if you purely take into account domestic league goals and assists. Park, for all his work rate, endeavour and tenacity, has scored one league goal and picked up three assists in the 21 Premier League fixtures he has been involved in. Nani on the other hand has played in only 11 Premier League matches (most of which were as substitute with miniscule amounts of time left) yet still has a goal and two assists to his name. Make of that what you will.

However well he does to cover it up, I’m sure Sir Alex will have surely expected slightly more from a player he shelled out around £14 million for in the summer of 2007. It can’t be denied that our manager has stood firmly by Nani's side from the moment he stepped into Manchester, offering as much support as humanely possible. We saw it first of all with the Lucas Neill headbutt and since then Fergie has seemingly backed down in banning the 22-year-old winger’s somersault celebration too. Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha would certainly be wise not to take his current mentor for a ride as his patience is probably wearing pretty thin right now, however well he conceals it.

Incase you were wondering, Nani himself had this to say having been brought off at half-time against Spurs: 'I have no problem with the manager but I am still in my apprenticeship here.'

And it’s fair to say that at 22-years-old he is still learning his trade at a club where expectations are elevated like no other. Yet for how long can you keep blaming Nani’s immaturity and inept performances on age and how long will you give the apprentice to finally fulfil his massive potential?

Unfortunately for Nani, when you play for Manchester United, time is not something you can heavily rely on. With the acquisition of Zoran Tosic in January and rumours consistently linking Antonio Valencia with a move to the club, it’s really now or never if Nani is to grab his chance.

With all this relative negativity it’s about time I started talking about the strengths that Nani possesses and why he could still prove something of a valuable asset to us in the future.

Well we all witnessed exactly what he was capable of during his first season at Old Trafford last year and it was arguably one of the better debut season’s of any foreign import that has arrived at the club - certainly in recent times anyway. In 24 starts he scored four goals, created eleven and generally seemed much more confident in his own ability. He was no Stranger in Moscow either, coming on to play a part in extra time and then scoring in the shoot-out too.

Despite Nani’s lack of involvement in the league this season lest we forget that he has played a significantly important part in other competitions for us. Not only has he appeared in seven Champions League matches enroute to the semi-final but he was a major contributor to our Carling Cup success with three goals in six appearances. Add the couple of strikes he managed during our FA Cup campaign and Nani’s season starts to look less disappointing, even if ever so slightly.

Nani is now and always will invariably be stuck in the shadow of Ronaldo due to his style, potential and even nationality. It’s ultimately unfair as his Portuguese compatriot performed miracles last season and probably won’t ever achieve such lofty heights again during his career. Poor old Nani has come under stark criticism for not producing similar results but there is no other player in world football quite like Cristiano (bar Lionel Messi perhaps). To be fair you could argue that Ronaldo was some way behind Nani in terms of development during his second season at the club and look how our patience paid dividends then!

I’m going to stop rambling on now and place my cards firmly on the table by predicting that Nani will not only get a start in the lunch time game against Middlesbrough on Saturday but will also make an impression in the match too. Be it a goal, an assist or just a full-ninety minutes, Nani needs game time and when he has it, I’m sure he will produce.

Whatever your stance may be on Nani, there’s no question he’s been used in fits and spurts throughout this season and has clearly been unable to build up any real momentum as a consequence. I am by no means Nani’s biggest fan, far from it infact but hopefully Saturday will go some way to proving that the former Sporting Lisbon man does still have a future at Old Trafford. I sincerely hope he does anyway.

As featured on RedRants