Blackburn 1 United 0
WHITE butcher's coats, scarves tied to the wrists, toilet rolls cascading from behind the goal and choruses of 'Skip to the Lou Macari'.
Could it be United fans sending out a warning that the 1970s are on the way back for the Reds?
The 40-somethings generation among the Old Trafford support get all dewy-eyed about that era when United weren't so great, had another super power lauding it over them in the league but always had a Wembley FA Cup Final or two to enjoy.
Apart from providing an entertaining nostalgia trip at Ewood Park, it is probably not a period Reds' fans want to revisit for any length of time.
It was all good fun from United's raucous travelling support, to whom we are eternally grateful for making this dire match tolerable. But it's on the pitch where you really want to see the gala performances.
However, with a large slice of United's heart, quality and goal threat unavailable at Blackburn, the Reds' strength in depth was exposed.
Thank goodness that 24 hours earlier United had put on that unprecedented show of defiance and solidarity at Carrington to cement the futures of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Roy Keane.
Thank heavens La Liga have been told to leg it where the Dutchman is concerned because without him - and the potential potency of the partnership with Louis Saha - United looked bereft of finishing power.
Without Keane they lacked fist-pumping leadership and without Paul Scholes and Cristiano Ronaldo they were brutally shorn of craft.
Unless those currently on the periphery and being afforded late run-outs are to suddenly give the first choices a real run for their money next season, then injury lists and disciplinary points will be worryingly scrutinized again as the next campaign unfolds.
Obviously there could be a quick fix to United's questionable depth via the transfer market.
The Reds invested '29m in Jaap Stam, Dwight Yorke and Jesper Blomqvist in 98 when they lost seven league matches and finished a point behind Arsenal. In 2002 they invested '30m in Rio Ferdinand when they lost nine Premiership matches and ended up ten points behind the Gunners.
Another defeat in the remaining two matches against Chelsea and Aston Villa and it will be the Reds' worst ever Premiership defeats tally. Meanwhile, Arsenal's final title-winning margin is growing.
What price the cost of catching Arsenal up next term? It threatens to be astronomical.
United truly were a shadow of their former selves in this the latest of some lacklustre post-FA Cup semi-final displays. They simply had no spearhead to threaten Rovers' defence.
United's passing was largely neat and tidy. But with no attacking power as an outlet it never hurt Rovers.
It was Blackburn's lively young striker Jon Stead who provided the game's only goal, beating Tim Howard from close-range after being sent clear by Paul Gallagher.
In contrast, United's lack of a finisher was highlighted when Diego Forlan headed over the bar from a yard out.
The offside flag, thankfully, saved him complete humiliation.
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Staedy on lads this could almost be misconstrued as journalism.
i'm sorry but i think utd are now comming to the end of which i regard as a fantastic era,the tide always changes and now looks set for a long time in london what is happening at highbury is amazing and think it will take old fergie more than a few years to rebuild-by which time he may well be pussed about in a wheelchair,,so come on fergie move over and let some young blood have a go your out of sell by date xxxx
The season is over and that's it, so let's get over it and start offering advices for the benefit of the entire team and fans and start preparing for next season. The first thing to do is to get rid of Forlan and Butt, and if the emotional strings can be broken, a million thanks but I think it's time for Ole, the Neville brothers and probably Giggs to go as well. The first player we should bring in Milner from Leeds now that they are relegated. Then, we should also look towards other young and upcoming players as well and rebuilt a solid team similar to the one we had in the mid to late nineties.
ha ha ha ha ha ha you RAGS wont even finish second and the Cup final is the biggest ever non event , millwall? they are absolutely useless and who is interested in such a boring final as this years promises to be? perhaps its a punishment for the disgraceful way the GREEDY club snubbed the same competition a few seasons back WHAT A FALSE FINAL IT IS!!!!!!!!
This summer will be the most important for a long time for United. If we sign 3-5 quality players we might have a chance of catching Arsenal, if we only sign a left-sided winger and a defender and hope that bellion, kleberson, djemba and fletcher will develope into top-class players then we'll end up 15 points behind Arsenal again. I would like to see the following line-up come August: Howard; Trabelsi, Rio, Silvestre, Avre; Ronaldo, Emerson, Scholes, Rothen; Saha, RvN. Avre and Trabelsi should be available for 5-8m each, Rothen for 10m, Emerson maybe 15m. We should also consider to sign vdWaart or maytbe Smith or Tevez. Sell forlan and Butt and naybe kleberson.
As this season of under-achievement, blown opportunities and downright dull performances peters out into a consolation FA Cup Final and a summer of Ruud rumours, I would say that the next 12 months nonetheless promise to be very interesting for all United fans.
Quite possibly, Ferguson will go out this summer and buy the handful of proven performers that we need to get us back on track. If that happens, the 'Fergie-is-God' crew on here will have a field day and moaning miseries like me will have to wipe considerable amounts of egg from our faces. If that does happen, I, for one, will be smiling nonetheless and shaking my head at how the old git has defied logic and turned water into wine yet again. On the other hand, if he goes out and buys 'potential' rather than proven quality, we may very well be witnessing his final season as United manager. Last night on the Monday edition of 'The Premiership', it was fully 10 minutes before the name of Manchester United was even mentioned, and then dismissively, rather like some ancient irrelevance that no-one could really be bothered to discuss any more. The national media are so in love with Arsenal and Chelsea and Thierry 'Walks-on-water' Henry that United hardly seem to matter any more. It's then only a question of time before some bright spark in Finance notices that sales of John O'Shea duvet covers in Thailand are 17.87% down on last year and the rot will well and truly have set in. Even our Board of corporate geniuses and yes-men may begin to perceive that finally, after 15 years of almost unbroken success, the Gravy Train is marooned in the sidings outside Levenshulme station and that the wheels are well and truly coming off. From that moment onwards, Fergie's days are numbered. Allegedly, he reversed his decision to retire because he wanted another crack at the Champions League. Right now I'd say that we're more likely to win the Eurovision Song Contest. I wonder if that pipe & those slippers are looking a bit more tempting these days?
The bad old days, please no! Standing in the United Road Paddock, filled with anticipation at the beginning of each season. One year Birtles would be the saviour, the next year Brazil. Awful matches, where the only entertainment was counting the number of square passes by Ray Wilkins or the number of misplaced passes by Colin Gibson. Each season would be made worse, coz by Christmas; the Scouce machine would rev the engine and head on towards another championship. Time will tell, whether this season was a calculated gamble that went wrong or whether it was the start of a wider failure. We have not built on past successes and carelessly we have lost momentum. I agree that the summer is the most important in United's recent history. Things can be turned around quickly: Ancelotti, Mourinho, Depor's manager have all proven that it doesn't take long to build a successful team. Unfortunately, Houllier and teams like Inter have proven that things can go horribly wrong too. Let's hope the summer is a period of positive change for United, starting with an accomplished coach, who can assist in the transfer market.
Well a time to recover
never felt like this
before !! Sometimes i
waited for the result
before i dared watch ?
Ballack..for Keene..
Carr.. for ???
Okocha a must !!! We
want some flair and at
the moment we are so
boring.Another Eric ?
YES..Fergy come on ??
Andy great comments mate, especially loved the part about duvets! Anywhy the bad old days, when players loved the shirt were payed a pittance but still had all the pride and passion of all the modern day primma-donnas.When we fans didn`t expect much success as long as we could beat the scousers.When we dreamt of another good FA cup run or even a visit to Wembley! Yeah the bad old days!!!!!
Just like that! Fergie did it just like that, one season thats all it took, to turn us from winners to losers, with the worst team in our history.
Come on now there must have been a worse team than this,but not one who earned so much money or lacked any passion.
I'll agree, however we must not lose sight of the fact that the season is in fact over.
Don't get me wrong I hate to see us lose like any true Red, but remember we fans especially the regular paying ones have had to watch our sorry 'performances' far too often this season so one cannot blame them for wanting some enjoyment.
I was at the leicester game in those dark, sad, sorry days all that time ago when we could unfortunately 'only' look forward to a cup-final apearance when "Que Sera" came into being.
United fans are always trend setters.
We can alas now shrug our shoulders, curse, moan and get on and support our team through good and bad.
Looking forward to next season already, hopefully after the Champs league qualifier is out of the way.
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