As we’re (I’m) asking questions: who was it who said, Sometimes when you think a game will be one way, it’s another. Obviously someone with the massivist football brain … oh, that was me, before this game.

Who’d have thought freeing Shinji again, would prove to be such a progressive move again?

Are there actually any superlatives left to describe Giggsy? I mean it. It’s a serious question. Go check … I’d check but research is against all of my principles. I know! I’ll ask the Rant Cast.

Rooney continues to be very useful as a stop gap.

Good stuff about Tony I won’t say, so it doesn’t curse it.

Good to see Good Nani.

I’m all Gooded out.

Shame Danny didn’t get minutes, but that could indicate he’ll be playing a part in the Spurs game on Sunday – let’s hope so (I’ll do all the hoping for us all).

Much praise has to go to David Moyes: that was one of our very best European performances for time.

Paul Gunning (@PaulGunning1)

‘It’s All Over Now, Baby Boo. ‘

So it’s come to this. Booing one of our own. I’d hoped this day would never come. Presumably it’s only a matter of time before we’re all holding up A4 sheets of paper with ‘Moyes Out’ hastily scribbled on them in biro, or racing onto the pitch at half time to tear up our season tickets (well, cutting them up with scissors we’ve smuggled past the stewards, before being arrested on terrorism charges), then giving a bile-ridden interview to the Manchester Evening News on a rainy Sir Alex Ferguson Way.

What’s weird is that I could have sworn we were all laughing at Arsenal fans on the opening day of this season, for the chorus of boos that greeted their loss to Aston Villa, at The Emirates.

Not to mention the constant jeering we’ve subjected Manchester City fans to over the years, for such shows of ticket-tearing disappointment.

What’s also baffling is that it was Nani that was on the receiving end of a sizeable number of the supporters’ ire.

Granted, he can, without doubt, be an incredibly frustrating player to watch; sublime one moment, who’s-given-that-toddler-a-football woeful the next. Still, he’s never submitted a transfer request, or questioned the club’s ambition, or whinged about his team mates or sloped about like a sulking teenager.

Indeed, I would even go so far as to say he seems like a fairly nice, harmless chap. Not a great deal between the ears, perhaps, but hardly a player that naturally attracts unabashed vitriol.

The boos aimed at Nani against Stoke, on Saturday, struck me as being even more ludicrous given that the crowd had been enjoying that old Old Trafford refrain of ‘Attack! Attack! Attack, attack, attack!’ during the match. If there’s one criticism you can’t really level at Nani, it’s that he’s guilty of constantly passing sideways; that his approach is conservative, or anti-United. If nothing else, he’s never afraid to try things out, to try to entertain, which is surely to be admired and encouraged at the Theatre of Dreams.

Perhaps he’s finally paying the price for having turned up in England declaring himself to be the next Cristiano Ronaldo, having demanded that United pay Sporting Lisbon the princely sum of £25.5m to form a tag-team with his Portugese compatriot. Hang on, I don’t think any of that was him, was it?

Well, maybe it’s Nani being booed because we’re tiring of his unadventurous starting line-ups and late, negative substitutions against lowly opposition, not to mention the arrogance he showed in sweeping into Old Trafford and firing the back-room staff as if they were bar-workers who’d just been caught, drunk as hobos, with their hands in the till. No, wait…

Then it must be his decision to sell the club to the Glazers, thus knee-capping Manchester United’s power in the transfer market, that has made him so many enemies. Hmmm…

The truth is, I can’t really see any justification for jeering Nani. He’s a player that tries hard and who is suffering some early season lack of form. He’s hardly on his own on that count.

It’s like coming home to find your wife in bed with another man, and kicking the dog down the stairs in response.

Using Nani as a scapegoat for United’s unconvincing start to the season only serves to make us look like the very fickle fans of other clubs we’ve spent the last two decades mocking with all the derision they deserved.

Save your boos for the referee or the opposition. Or just don’t bother turning up in the first place. Because if we start turning on our own, it’s just about all over.

Catch more of Paul’s excellent bloggings here: The Right Irreverend Blogger

Oh dear.

If Nani was being judged on that game alone and we were in a different time, he’d be taken down to the old pond round the back and drowned; Fergie would count himself lucky not to be following him. The players were awful, but Fergie’s team selection and the way he set us up was embarrassing and ultimately the reason for how bad we were. I’ve been applauding the teams Fergie’s been putting out this season, but that one smacked of an arrogance and pig-headedness seldom seen during this campaign.The injuries to players is not an excuse.

The ONLY thing of note were the brief flashes of Danny brilliance. Don’t talk to me about Chicha’s header – he shouldered it.

This game was made infinitely more depressing as the camera panned to the United bench, only to find Mike Phelan mirroring my body language exactly. I feel wrong.

 Iwan (@IwanLehnert):

Monday was almost an example of the start of the season in reverse; we started well, built up a head of steam, took the lead comfortably, gave away a silly goal and looked nervous. Just as well the result is mostly the same. Reading didn’t make it easy, but that first goal was looking inevitable and we deserved to go through. Potentially facing Chelsea five days after the second leg of the Real tie….it’s the sort of week that you live for, isn’t it? It could be amazing, or it could be heartbreaking. Or a bit of both. Or a lot of both. ENOUGH GUESSING.

Nani’s had a lot of press inches dedicated to him this week, most of which hasn’t necessarily been encouraging. If he wants to go, and the right offer comes in, then I think it’s a case of cutting our losses (assuming that he doesn’t have a blinding end to the season). Fact is that I don’t hate the guy and I rate his skills, but he is woefully inconsistent, and there comes a point where that just isn’t good enough when you’ve spent six seasons with a club. The boss has played it perfectly, offering him a new contract whilst reasoning that if Nani wants first team football, then he needs to be worthy of it. No one’s going to hand him a place. He can do it, no doubt about it. Whether or not he will is a different story (called Whether Or Not Nani Will Actually Produce Consistent Performances, fyi).

Not looking forward to this one. Draws with City and Spurs along with a win at Stamford Bridge are not easy to come by when you’re 12^th, let alone 20^th. QPR have had a fortnight to get over that mauling in Swansea, and Redknapp will have spent a good chunk of time figuring out how he can stop us from scoring. It’s been great watching Cesar in the league this season, even if it is one of the most transparent deals you’re likely to come across. I still think that there’s enough quality in this side that their last league win really shouldn’t have been in December, but I doubt that that’ll change this weekend. They’ll want to play for a draw, and we need to be ready for it. I’m not overjoyed at the prospect of a team containing Park and Fabio being relegated, but it’ll have to be the most miraculous escape for them to survive because every team around them has more to offer.

I just wrote a stirring paragraph where I decided that it was worth throwing caution to the wind and predicting when we could start believing in a 20^th league title. Then I deleted it. Get to 31 games, then we’ll talk.

Brett:

I’m sometimes wary of teams who are in a bit of a rut: the transitorial (is that a word? – let’s say yes.) nature of football dictates that at some point, most struggling teams will “get that one big result” that breaths renewed life into their flagging hopes. This could be one of those times. Oh no, wait, they did that thing the other week against City. Phew! An away banker then. Oh no, wait, but then they nosedived back into the rut again. I can’t keep up.

We’re in as good a shape as we have been all season – which isn’t always saying something -, but the potential swing in momentum, if we were to leave Loftus Road without all three points at this particular point, could be massive. Why now and not next week, or last week? Next week is too late, last week was too early?! Hey! I find it hard enough remembering all my thoughts, without remembering the reasons for them aswell* *Thanks Mike Skinner.

Will Nani be thrust into action after his FA Cup exploits (Did I just say that? Who am I?)? Why not. Tony’s still doing his best impression of someone who doesn’t want to be a footballer anymore.

QPR have, of course,  got players who can wound us, but we’ve got players who can can do them some real damage … and David de Gea.

Prediction: 1 – 2

Goals: Carrick, Nani (Come on! As if anyone ever really gets goalscorers right anyway.)

I think this picture taken about 200 BC (2oo days before Christmas 2011) was the last time Nani did anything any good. At least when he does do anything any good, it’s kind of worth waiting for. Providing a great cross and neat finish – that in effect won the game -, as he did, I’d still say the impact of RVP as sub was the key to the victory. Now there’s a surprise.

In spite of myself, was pleased to see Ashley Young back and looking like he’s saving up his very worst form for when it really counts. TV, Nani and Ashley Young make a really good case for the diamond.

Danny was decent enough. Was there anyone who didn’t expect Chicha to bag at least one? He looked nice and sharp too. Cleverley looked the best of the bunch, as you’d expect from the player with the most first eleven experience, of the past few months, out there.

Reading did enough to make it competitive, which made it a good work out for those trying to force their way into the first team – hopefully all of them.

The Jones’ injury isn’t great news. (Though, I personally prefer Cleverley in midfield with Carrick for the “big games”.)

Bring on Middlesborough!!!

MOTM: Cleverley

Iwan (@IwanLehnert):

I think one thing that last season’s League collapse has done for most United fans  is make them more guarded. We’re currently nine points clear, the squad’s in good shape and we’re still challenging on three fronts. But I get the feeling that we take less for granted now. I look at every weekend, plan out scenarios and imagine how our lead will look at the end of it. Nine points is a healthy lead, but it’s not nearly enough to guarantee anything with three months of the season still to come.

We all know how rubbish that 4-4 felt last season, and the fact that it’s Everton visiting Old Trafford this weekend adds that extra layer of intensity to matters because of what that result meant for our season. But so far (touch wood), the manager and the team have seemed thoroughly determined to make sure such a collapse doesn’t happen again. Last weekend was perfect, sort of; Fulham played well, chances at both end, one piece of magic and we ground out a 1-0 win. That’s the biggest difference so far from last season; we’re battling. Just as well, because the match on Sunday will be a battle. Everton hadn’t won so much as a consolatory handshake at Old Trafford in ages before last year, and that result will make them think something along the lines of “hang on…..we can do something here.”

That’s why it’s hardly worth mentioning Real Madrid just yet. Not until 6pm on Sunday.

RVP’s been a little quiet on the goalscoring lately, so here’s hoping he can contribute to the scoresheet. Thank flip he returned from international duty without a scratch, too. Not that it’s the end of the world if he doesn’t score, considering that Rooney’s scored 5 goals in 4 games for club and country. He looks sharp, dangerous, focused and most importantly, fit. Great stuff.

If anyone has any clue as to who our best defensive pairing is at this stage, answers on a postcard, please.

Also, in defence of our little llama-faced goalkeeper, De Gea was superb against Fulham. The criticism after the Spurs match was crazy because he’s been much less culpable than our back four for the goals we’ve conceded this season. He’s got a massive week coming up, and I truly hope everyone gets behind him.

Sorry for the seriousness. That 4-4 still rankles like a perpetual cold, and even if we win this weekend, it’ll still be there. That’s why I cannot wait for this match to be done.

Prediction: Grind. That’s all I can foresee. 2-1, Gibson for Everton, late Rooney goal. That’d be quite lovely, given his record against them.

Brett:

After my abomination of a pre-match performance last week, I’m going straight…

We don’t need reminding of just how good Everton are do we? Good, cus I can’t remember. This game will be a good test and potentially one that nine point leads were established for. Yes, yes, I know I’m supposed to be the omni-grinning-always-positive-and-daft-gargoyle-you’re-all-mildly-irritated-by, BUT I’m also aware of how good Everton are. I just wish I could remember just HOW good (can you see a theme developing?).

They have quite a few players I’d like at United, which is always an indication of how much I respect a team. Fellaini will be a threat (if fit), having potentially rediscovered his goalscoring form, Baines has been super. Anichebe is playing so well, he’s keeping the Croatian Jellyfish out the team and other stuff I’ve forgotten (a recurring theme throughout this post – a great blogging device, especially in conjunction with a related killer conclusion).

For us, Rooney has the knack of scoring important goals back, and we’re now beyond reminding ourselves of what RVP bringeth. I would have expected a similar team, if not exactly the same, to the one that beat Fulham last week – possibly with Giggsy coming in for Nani -, had it not been for City’s result yesterday. Now, it’s all up in the air again.

I don’t remember what my memory based conclusion was going to be. *BOOM!* (Blogging gold)

Prediction: 3-2

Goals: All O.Gs

In answer to all our prayers – in a non-churchy way – Rooney was relieved of penalty duty and a goal was the result. As I’ve mentioned many times before, I don’t subscribe to the notion that players ‘should’ always score from the penalty spot, but Rooney definitely isn’t an artisan in the craft (especially the Rooney we see more of nowadays, who prefers form over function). I expect RVP will take over when on the pitch, but Giggsy certainly knows how to burst the onion bag from 12 yards. If the penalty had been given under different circumstances, there might have been a greater anxiety surrounding it, but it wasn’t; a moot point. Oh, dear! I’m talking myself into cul-de-sacs again…

Fulham didn’t exactly lay down and take it on the chin from there, but they did a good impression of a team who wanted to. Berbatov at least can be happy with some of his straight-to-slow-motion-Youtube-montage-clips touches. As predicted, when the pressure was on for him to perform, it just didn’t happen. I take absolutely no pleasure in saying that. Ruiz was busy, but ran out of steam as our midfield and defence coped with the threat relatively comfortably.

The defence led by Smalling did what was necessary for the most part and the central midfield were rarely asked any truly testing questions. Giggsy’s resurgence is now officially first team form, whereas Nani was putting forward a strong case for us paying someone to take him off our hands. We learned nothing we didn’t already know about Anderson, or Rooney – both still need to do more, more often. Chicha is Chicha, an inherently brilliant thing to be.

Fergie appeared to enjoy satirising himself in talking about winning it for Rio again. If that’s what works for him then I can get behind that.

MOTM: Chicha