derry

Influencing referees, Mike Riley over a 7 year period in 27 matches gave Utd 13 penalties and sent 7 opponents off. 1997/2004. We saw what happened the other night, an offside goal, a back of the head penalty, and a sending off for both players going in studs up and Paterson got the ball. Interestingly he needed stitches and wouldn't have been fit this week.

I think you'll find 39.375 x 1.9 = 74.8125 or 6' - 2.8125" to be even more precise.

Da Silva last man, just pulled Commons back, Phil Dowd bottled it with a yellow. Nobody wants the Ferguson hairdryer it seems.

Utd are a lot weaker tonight without their own referee.

Didn't the Gas Co. who sold the ground, place covenants on it, restricting it's change of use without their permission?

Frank/Ron, there is no question that what Lowe, and with his direction, the board, does, is intended to improve things, however it is beyond their level of competence. Lowe would probably be a very able financial bean counter subservient to a competent chairman. However he is pretty incompetent when it comes to dealing with people. He is even more incompetent when it comes to actually running a football club. It bears no resemblance to running a financially related business. There are lots of people, personalities, fans/supporters not customers, history/tradition, tribal/area feelings, none of which he seems to have grasped. His ego and inability to ever admit that he is wrong, all add up to him being the most incompetent chairman possible. The real problem is that he only owns 6% of the shares and possesses 100% of the power. He or his supporters are not ever going to invest. Trying to run a football club outside the Premier on income, without outside investment is a slippery slope. Unless we bring through enough surplus players and sell them on every year at a vast profit, we are going to continue to drop until we find our level. This is happening now.

Get rid of Moore, appoint another coach, drop Pietersen from the West Indies squads, pick the captain from the squad, leave Vaughan at home until he can start performing.

Paul Wotton I understand, let rip at everybody, at Burnley, I believe at half time. If so, seems to have worked. He was suspended for two weeks and was supposed to be training at Brighton.

Not if we were relegated on his watch, just when the Sky billions was coming on stream. Looks pretty stupid to me.

He is just another bloody bean counter. How many good companies have been ruined by their lack of anything but the ability to think of the bottom line. Perks, Salary, Shares, Dividends, Profits, Costs etc it is all they know. They don't know how to build successful companies, look after the people who work for them, speculate to accumulate. Saints demise has been a typical bean counters balls up.

This was posted on here at the time he wasn't picked right at the start of the season. He was told if he didn't go to Ipswich, he wouldnt play for us again. This was rejected by many on here maybe they would like to comment now.

Come off it, an hour with 10 men and poor refereeing decisions from a referee who has given Utd a penalty every two games and sent an opponent off every four games, leading to two goals out of three. A Utd side with 9 current full internationals, plus Rooney. Give a bit of credit where it's due. They did their best against a top class team.

Manchester Utd and their favourite referee, about 1 penalty for every 2 games, and 1 sending off for every 4 games all in Man Utd's favour.

Derby have the £11m from the Premier this year and next year and their average gates are about 27000, In two leg semi final v MU in the Carling Cup and play Notts Forest in the 4th round of the FA Cup. They probably have a large wage bill, but we are a basket case by comparison.

Slow motion proves you and Riley wrong on every decision. The first goal was offside. Welbeck was offside at the precise moment O'Shea headed the ball. Paterson, actually connected with the ball, admittedly one foot studs showing, but Vidic also was slightly lower, missed the ball but one foot studs showing. Vidic's foot and shin went under and across Patersons. Both should have been booked for the studs up but it wasn't a sending off. Riley has record for sending off players in MU games and has given twice as many penalties all in favour of MU. The penalty decision was a joke the slow motion shows it hit McGoldrick on the back of his head. It missed his raised arm completely. The referee was close enough to see that but was gesturing with his elbow, however he got it wrong. In my view if the decisions were against MU. Riley wouldn't have given them.

He is the best centre forward to play for Saints in the last 55 years. He would have been first choice in any team he played for. In the team picked with Paine to cross, as he was probably the best attacking header of a ball ever, not just the Saints, he would be a shoe in. Nobody in the list is in the same class. He also played with Channon. Keegan is a little unfortunate, but leaving as he did I think devalued him.

The young players certainly have talent. Unfortunately because of mismanagement they have been thrown in collectively before their time. Young players need help from better players to be able to break through. It is a learning process and our young players in the end will be better for the experience, however collectively we are not performing teamwise. Our team shape together with a lack of discipline and direction is the reason we are not more successful. If the team can look back at yesterday's match and see how they were outplayed and beaten by a very disciplined team, containing many experienced full international very expensive players, they could benefit enormously. Copying the way Utd play would be a good way to go. They were wide on the touchlines for a start, we play narrow. They attack with width, primarily with seven with pace and defend with seven basically. Their wide men don't allow themselves to be sucked in, they wait and allow the defence to move towards the immediate attack, then attack the undefended back post, outnumbering the overloaded defence. We attack in smaller numbers and our narrow shape sucks the wide men to the near post allowing the defence to compact. They defend from the front delaying, therefore allowing their basic seven to get goalside. If we did nothing more than copying what we could, and adopting the clear principles that are used by Utd, we would improve immensely. Man Utd are brilliant players, playing in a totally disciplined framework, dominated by a manager nobody dare cross.

Riley was Utd's most effective player today, The first goal was offside, Paterson actually made contact with the ball, I know it was one footed studs showing, the penalty given when Mcgoldrick was hit on the back of the head, I know his arm was raised but the ball missed it.

I am not saying that it wasn't a one footed studs showing tackle, what he did do was connect with the ball before glancing off Vidic.

The pipes are in but the pumps haven't been fitted.

It wasn't the mistakes, it was the fact he almost never came off his line, when he did, he just flapped at the ball, or just got nowhere near it. He never passed short and kicked everything towards the big centre backs. By putting those things right he has made himself a much better keeper. I was a big critic and if he hadn't improved, I would still be.

If any MU fan makes the mistake of sitting near me, I will make sure they are kicked out.

Ron Davies by a mile.

He is playing much better than last season. Now passing short, and long kicking to the wings, coming and getting crosses, added to his shot stopping is a much better goalkeeper. In last years form he would have been no loss. Now he is vital.

Dyer was on about £5k a week when he was arrested, clearing that out of the way may help to keep Saga. Though I'm not holding my breath.