The few years between our league title wins in 2003 and 2007 were fairly dark for United. We went on to the win the FA Cup in 2004 after beating Arsenal at Highbury in the semis and Dennis Wise’s Millwall in the final, but we finished third in the league, a massive 15 points behind Arsenal. The following season was just dire, with our football appalling, us crashing out of Europe at the group stages before finishing third again, this time 18 points behind Chelsea.
It’s hard to recall these dark days when thinking about the three league titles, European Cup, League Cup, Fifa World Club Cup and consecutive CL finals between 2007 and 2009. How can a team go from getting by to domination?
Our new team got a taste for glory and success. The League Cup win in 2006 was the first Manchester United trophy for Wayne Rooney, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Edwin Van der Sar, Park Ji Sung and Louis Saha and it gave them a feeling they wanted more and more of.
Michael Carrick confessed this week that being a United player makes you greedy for trophies, it gives to an unquenchable thirst for success, with every win pushing you on to achieve more, and every following defeat pushing you even harder.
That summer we sold Ruud van Nistelrooy, who had finished the season the second highest scorer in the league with 21 goals, and a total of 24 goals in 47 appearances in all competitions. We didn’t buy a replacement. Yet we went on to win the league, reached the European Cup semi-finals and the FA Cup final.
I’m not suggesting that the League Cup 2006 holds the sole responsibility for the success we’ve gone on to enjoy in recent years, but I’d argue it definitely had an impact.
Whilst the fans often used to refer to this trophy as the Worthless Cup, history would tell us that Manchester United have taken the League Cup more seriously than any team in the top four. Since Jose Mourinho deemed it a trophy worth winning, we’ve seen Chelsea win it twice, United win it twice and Tottenham Hotspur once in the past five years. Whilst of course it is still the lowest priority after the league, European Cup and FA Cup, any trophy is worth winning, despite the names we’ve given this competition.
“As soon as I have won something, I have wanted more,” Carrick said. That’s exactly the frame of mind we want our players to be in as we get to the business end of the season.
It’s not the end of the world if we don’t win, it won’t hurt like losing to Barcelona in the 2009 Champions League final or Chelsea in the 2007 FA Cup or Arsenal in the 2005 FA Cup, but the effects of winning this trophy could be massive for our season, which is why we should all be fairly desperate for Gary Neville to be lifting the League Cup high this afternoon, four years after the first time he did this as Manchester United’s captain.
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Completely agree!!
Let´s take the first trophy of the season today. Bring on Villa!
A pot is a pot at the end of the day and I am looking forward to it, this could be the catalyst for us move on to the bigger, better trophies at the end of the season.
Quite a few people have said that the win in 2006 was the platform we needed. I think Wazza said so in one of the season reviews.
At the moment, I would say that the Carling Cup’s significance mathces that of the FA cup. The big 4 go for it just as much.
Today is a big game in deciding United’s season. A win today will be a great boost to drive the lads on. The League Cup seems to be usurping the FA cup. Higher crowds and much more drama this season.
Off topic – I fucking loathe the Wenger loving Paddy Barclay. Spewing his anti united drivel on Sunday supplement again. One of the baby faced cunts from the Independent was saying how O’Neill will be in line for Fergie’s job. He replied “well who says he would want to go to United”? They said every manager would but he said “there are alot that wouldn’t” Bullshit you cunt. He says Managers would not want to come due to the debt, the owners and the SQUAD! What is fucking wrong with him?? Any manager would jump at United. He reckons Villa will be “far too strong” with it “being windy” What does that mean? “being windy”? What a abu cunt. Come on United a win to shut these bitter bastards up!!
Didn’t Ronaldo play and score in the 2004 FA cup final against Millwall. I’m sure that counts as his first silverware…
Actually Scott, I am surprised you missed this – your posts are normally near perfect!
This should be a good game! Hope it gives any younger players a taste of what they want their future to be!
@Drabik
Good point. The 2004 FA cup was the first piece of silverwear for Ronaldo. And Fletcher as well. Also, Darren hasn’t played in a final since the 2005 FA cup final.
@Costas.
I did not know that about Fletcher. I bet he’s itching to play. I am personally hoping Fergie goes all out. There’s no doubt Aston Villa will be playing their best team, and if we play a weakened side, we might be well beaten.
King Eric, I watched that as well pal, all of the twats said Villa would win bar one, really who would bet against us in a final?
Wenger has showed again what a classless French cunt he really is, saying that Shawcross should be banned for more than three games ect what if Gallas had brokrn the fellas leg the other week, would he say the same?
Stephen – Unbelieveable aren’t they pal. It was Custis who tipped us. Who the fuck is that baby faced cunt? He looks about 12 years old and probably remembers United as far back as 2007!
King Eric, I saw that peadafiles dream spouting his crap on there, if anyone who knows anything about football backs Villa ahead of us today they are either as Villa fan or an ABU, I did not hear too many Brummie accents on there this morning.
Wenger doesn’t have the ability of looking at ANY situation from the other team’s perspective. We have seen that time and time again.
Apparently, we have never retained a domestic cup before. Premier leagues, yes. FA cups or league Cups, not once. Would be nice to break that little fact.
Drabik, spot on they press totally hose him and his team off at any chance, I was watching the ESPN countdown of the best managers ever to manage in the English game Fergie was second and Wenger was first??!?! He hasn’t won a pot since 05? He didn’t deserve that one either.
I soo care bout the Carling Cup this season….. Its nt as if the Premier League is in the bag, anyway. Go United, bring the cup home!
@ Stephen.
OMG. Even the most dedicated Arsenal fan would surely admit that Ferguson is the greatest manager in the Premier League era.
I think the press are finally starting to cotton on that Wenger never praises the opposition. Especially when he called Aston Villa a long ball team. He is a bad loser and cannot accept criticism.
My opinion on the tackle (and Eduardo’s) is that Arsenal players pass/move/touch the ball at the last possible moment. This draws in tackles, which (malicious or not) can be dangerous. It has nothing to do with the physical play of the opposition, or the strength of the Arsenal players. It’s just risky play. Simple as.
Drabik, Good post pal I agree with that totally, Taylor and Shawcross are certainly not dirty players and Wenger calling them that is slanderous, if Fergie had said the same thing the press would be all over him.
@Stephen.
Yes. Someone of Shawcross’ stature and size would be ridiculed had he not made that challenge. It was just very unfortunate that Ramsey was brave enough too. I feel so sorry for Ramsey – he showed great bravery – I sincerely hope he makes a quick recovery. I also hope Wenger retracts his comments (although that possibility is very low).
Every win is definitely a great catalyst for player’s development. Heard about a study that showed that brain develops based on success. Failure shows no growth in brain patterns. Whoever that said you learn from failures are not coorrect. Definitely agree with Alex’s view that this competition is to provide experience for the players but as we get close to the final you of course want to win it. Hoping that Rooney rests but Berba and Diouf to score!
Great blog. Just one small correction- it was Ronaldo’s second trophy with us, not first as he won the fa cup in 2004.
RE: King Eric
I stopped paying attention to the media a long time ago. Most of them are ABU (even if they won’t admit it) and so i decided I couldn’t care less. The only reason they are going mad over Rooney at the minute, instead of looking for ways to bring him down, is because they see him as the key to their precious world cup hopes. Problem is, they will be the first to knock him down when he can’t win them it because the squad as a whole aren’t good enough to be world champions!
Drabik, Wenger does want the FA to sanction a law that the opposition are not allowed the tackle Arsenal players, if you have a side of good footballing dwarfs who have the heart of a fly then what are you going to do? You set your team out to make tackles and disrupt their play, if Delap, Whelan or Whitehead tried to out football Arsenal they will lose.
I am not saying fowl them, I am saying get stuck into them as they simply don’t like it, you play the side in front of you are take advantage of their weaknesses, see Gary Neville v Jose Reyes for an example.
I will add Ramsey is a cracking player and we missed a trick there, wish him all the best in his recovery.
Good comments Drabik.
To be fair to Wenger, I think we’d all be pretty emotional after Ramsey’ horrendous injury. Just look at the reactions of his team mates as well as Stoke players. I’m glad the Stoke fans applauded Ramsey off the pitch. Rather better than the Dippers when Alan Smith’s leg was smashed…
Giles, To be fair mate he was still going on about Taylor and that was two years ago.
the Shawcross tackle was a hundredth of a second late of being a fifty fifty ball….. at the time i thought it wasn’t a foul, just two players going for the same ball…. slow motion has shown that it wasn’t a malicious tackle as Shawcross was not showing his studs and was attempting to kick the ball with his laces part of the boot …pity that Ramsey had just moved the ball as the tackle was being made and the Gooner s team reaction was disgraceful, especially Campbell who was jumping around like the fucking queen that he is giving it large. You could see from Shawcross’s reaction that it wasn’t premeditated and for Bum-boy Wenger to state otherwise is typical of the french queer. Maybe he should look at some of his own sides antics rather than commenting on stuff like this
When you get to a final of any competition, you go all out to win it. But the key thing for me in all this is the stats; every trophy we win is another notch on the dirty vermin. If we win today, then we have surpassed them with the number of domestic honours won – this will be our 33rd domestic trophy, compared to the dippers 32. So there are incentives.
Also, any player worth their salt would want to try and build up their medal collection, something which was emphasised by Carricks recent comments
Winning the cup will be a good as shoving a red hot poker up the arses of all those bitter cunts in the press and twats like vinging venger. With the season we’ve had so far it would instill a lot of confidence in the team at the right time. Stick it to them lads.
@Giles
I can understand the emotions that may come with this sort of injury. Let’s not forget, this is someone that Wenger works with. Most managers have great connections with a lot of their players – and these sort of injuries are akin to how we might feel if one of our friends were subject to a similar career-threatening injury. I for one would not like to see my friend’s leg broken in such a manner.
But, as Stephen said, Wenger (and other Arsenal players) were referencing Diaby’s and Eduardo’s injuries. As I said, above, I can understand Wenger’s comments at that time, and I hope he retracts them.
The FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal was at Villa Park
.
@TonyBee
I would go as far as saying that it wasn’t even a red card offense. As you said – a split second earlier and he would have been applauded for the challenge. Similarly, if it was *just* a foul, and not a broken leg – I do not think that the referee would have given a red card. He was probably caught up in the emotions – which is understandable.
However, Shawcross wouldn’t have been able to play on anyway. He was distraught. Can you imagine what Shawcross felt/saw/heard. That would scar me for life. I hope both players can bounce back!
Giles Oakley mentioned Alan Smith at Anfield. What happened there? Didn’t the dippers applaud after he went off on a stretcher? I have heard a wild rumor that a few dippers started shaking the ambulance while he was in it, but no one has ever confirmed that for me.
As if things weren’t bad enough for tiny tears:
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11668_5991246,00.html
@Costas.
Unfortunately, a ‘few fans’ is often expanded to include ‘all fans’. I have heard about the ambulance incident, but also remember the fans applauding him off the pitch.
@Costas
With Terry’s form recently, wouldn’t it be hilarious if he was no longer first choice for England (not that many England centre backs have been consistant).
@Drabik
Good point. I think that’s what saved his butt. Rio is constantly injured, Brown as a CB is unreliable and Lescott’s form is poor. Who else is out there? Perhaps Upson. Or Micah Richards. But I can’t see them taking Terry’s place.
But the whole scandal is starting to take its toll on him. This was the 3rd game in recent weeks where he was directly responsible for their opponents scoring.
The thing that gets me abut John “JT” Terry is that the worse he behaves the more the club and fans support him, it begs belief would that happen at our club?? We know the the answer don’t we , no.
Costas, Dawson is playing well for Spurs and is unlucky not to be in the England squad and if Woodgate was/ever fit bar Rio he is Englands finest centre half, the same could be said about King both are better than Terry.
And let’s not forget Ryan Shawcross. I was at first surprised when he was called up for the England squad, but he is not a bad defender, and is very useful in corner situations.
Shawcross could be a future England regular I agree.
Stephen, some interesting names there. I am not too high on Ledley, but I like Woodgate. It’s a shame that he is injury prone. And that’s the problem right now. The only defender who is fit as a horse all the time, is John Terry.
I usually don’t really care much for the Carling Cup until the team is in the semi finals. If you’ve gone that far then you want to go all the way. Although other trophies are higher on the priority list the Carling Cup is still a trophy. Destroying City’s hopes for a trophy along the way was also sweet.
Wouldn’t mind seeing Owen and Rooney start together today…
@ Drabik
Excellent analysis of the reasons for Arsenal drawing a high number of serious injuries. I feel that Wenger is obsessed with play that looks “pretty” and he’s turned what was one of the best clubs in England into a team of glorified freestylers!
Wenger has a habit of slagging off opposition teams and players without naming them, knowing full well that the media will speculate as to which individuals are his target – his attack on Darren Fletcher earlier in the season being a case in point.
If any other manager went on like this he would be charged with bringing the game into disrepute. I don’t begrudge Arsenal fans enjoying a side that entertains them but they and Wenger have no right to criticise the style employed by other teams – particularly when that style has won as many trophies as United’s has!
United for the Cup!
If we win i wont celebrate for more than 2 days, if we lose i wont mourn for more than 2 days. Its a final hence i want us to win but if we dont it wont hurt much at all. After yesterday we are back in the title race so it wont hurt much because the title obviously the priority.
Scott how can you say that it is the least important when you have ‘Carling Cup Winners’ at the top of the trophies we won last year on the homepage of the site.
spencer – Yeah I know they are cunts mate but I just cannot help getting annoyed. Spot on about Rooney. If it wasn’t world cup year and the darling of Ingerlund, like you say they would find ways to run him down. Bastards the lot of em.
Carrick out….. Carrick out….. selll carrick….or give him away for no money….. but please, let him go…. every year he is getting worse…..
Music Man – Are you having a fucking laugh pal?
Pretty sure the 2004 semi-final against Arsenal wasn’t at Highbury FFS.
Well done to the fellas today. Sorry to hear such sour grapes from O’Neill though. Good luck to Villa in their quest for 4th place and the FA Cup.
Great result for the lads today – JSP and Valencia were more than decent. Need performances like that from every player to the end of the season.
On the Shawcross tackle – watched the game and noted that Arse players were up to their usual ankle tapping routines all day. Fabregas did Shawcross from behind and did his knee – fuck all from the ref. Shawcross seemed to be a target all afternoon. Not surprised this happened – even “non malicious” professional players will sometimes loose their discipline. Shame for Ramsey – but if the ref had stepped in when he should have then likely this would have been avoided.
Still would not mind seeing Shawcross in an England shirt.
Would also not mind seeing him and Picque wearing our strip. The centre back options we have are worrying.
TorontoRed, we’ll never see Pique in a United shirt again. He wanted to go back to Barcelona, we couldn’t stand in his way. Seems strange that we let Shawcross go though when you see what a decent defender he is now.
I agree that the CB area needs an overhaul. We obviously can’t rely on Rio with his back problems and it seems likely we’ll cash in Vidic this summer (probably the right time to do so judging by his performance today – once again he was completely mugged by a pacy striker.)
Interesting comments on the Stoke-Arsenal game. I didn’t watch it but I can believe what you’re saying. Fabregas is a snide bastard, I can recall him putting “legbreakers” on both Evra and Ashley Cole. As I posted on the latest “ROM links” story, there are pictures showing Ramsey was the one who jumped recklessly into that 50/50 with Shawcross and it seems his leg might have snapped on impact with the ground, a split second before Shawcross even touched him, such was the force with which he lunged at the ball/Shawcross.
In fact, now that you mention them targeting Shawcross like that, I seem to remember Wenger making some remarks about Shawcross a previous time they played Stoke. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1083029/Cowards-Angry-Wenger-accuses-hard-men-Stoke-setting-hurt-Arsenal-players.html
I guess Wenger has it in for Shawcross and whipped up a hatred for him among his players. Sounds silly, right? Let me remind you of a little player called Ruud van Nistelrooy. Fergie himself once said Wenger has some kind of problem with Ruud. It seemed like Wenger and Arsenal were obsessed with him. Their intense hatred of Ruud came to the boil so infamously when he missed that penalty against l’Arse in 2004.
The media love to focus on Arsenal’s so-called beautiful football but let’s not forget that Wenger’s teams have always been snide cunts, terrible losers, arrogant tossers and have the worst disciplinary record in history.
Music man- Fuck off your brainless idiot