Rooney Spares United's Blushes

Manchester United 1 Sheffield United 0

Wayne Rooney's 93rd minute spot kick sent Manchester United into the draw for the FA Cup 4th round after another dismal display that had the fans voicing their dismay at the final whistle.

United put their Premier League pursuit on the back burner to concentrate on the FA Cup as they welcomed Sheffield United to Old Trafford for the 3rd round.

It has been too long since United lifted the oldest club cup competition when they defeated Millwall in 2004. Since then Arsenal has gone on to take over the record of most wins so a run to the final is long overdue for the Red Devils.

Van Gaal and his players had spoken of their desire to win the cup in the build up to the clash so it was interesting to see how they approached it starting with a tie which on paper they should have, like the weather, stormed through.

The side that van Gaal decided to put out had a strong look to it: De Gea, Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Borthwick-Jackson, Schweinsteiger, Fellaini, Herrera, Mata, Rooney and Martial.

With Young in the 'red zone', there was another chance for youngster Borthwick-Jackson to join a recalled Darmian in the back four and Fellaini received the nod in midfield with the duo of Carrick and Schneiderlin being given a rest.

Recalled loanee Will 'Mike' Keane joined the squad on the bench with other youngsters Lingard and Pereira. Memphis was once again made to bide his time as he was named as a substitute.

It was a rain lashed Old Trafford that welcomed the two sides who last met at this stage of the cup on the same day in 1995 when United prevailed 2-0 at Bramall Lane.

United got the match underway with hopes of seeing off the League One side without any nerves or jitters that have blighted their season.

The travelling fans of around 8,000 made themselves heard around the Theatre of Dreams which had plenty of empty seats.

United passed the ball well in the opening minutes without creating a clear chance on goal. Fellaini was too slow with his distribution from midfield when he had plenty of chances to spread the ball wide to increase the tempo of the move, but his lack of intensity gave the away side time to readjust.

After a quarter of an hour, it seemed that United's tactics were to bore the opposition to death, maybe the weather dampened the proceedings but even so this was awful from the home side.

De Gea was called into action when he tipped over a drive from Sammon but the Sheffield striker was penalised for a hand ball in the build-up.

Rooney then ballooned an effort high over the bar, then in the next attack, he failed to evade two defenders as Mata desperately waited for a cross.

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Manchester United Views is a Manchester United blog written by Miles Dunton, with lost of blog posts all about Manchester United. Check out his full blog at http://milesduntonmufc.blogspot.co.uk/.

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Has the FA Cup Runneth Dry?

The FA Cup 3rd round begins this weekend and it's a competition that evokes good memories for Manchester United fans even though they haven't won it since 2004 it has always held a special place in the club's illustrious history.

On a personal note, the cup brings up a feeling of warmth from my younger days in a time when if United wasn't involved in the final then you rooted for the underdog and sometimes they prevailed against all odds.

In 1973, as a youngster I watched Sunderland defeat the mighty Leeds United, and yes, they were a big side then. There I was eating a meat pie stood outside Granada Rentals in Manchester watching the match through the shop window after I had been dragged out shopping by my mum and elated that the cup holders Leeds had lost in what was then a huge shock.

The romance of the cup has never left me since that day and even though it doesn't hold the same appeal as days gone by, it is still the FA Cup, the oldest club competition in the world of football and should be taken seriously by all clubs and fans as it is a chance for the 'David's' to take on and defeat the 'Goliath's' of football and become giant killers.

It is true that the coverage of the final by the TV networks doesn't exactly mirror the past and it did kind of lose its appeal when the finals were moved to Cardiff when Wembley was undergoing its transformation, but none of that can detract from the sense of anticipation when the draw for the rounds is being made. I still remember the excitement that it brought when myself and my school friends huddled around a smuggled in radio at school waiting for United's number to be drawn with hopefully a home tie.

I distinctly recall on FA Cup final day in 1983 United played Brighton at Wembley and the coverage started on TV early in the morning and ran right through to the kickoff, which was the cup final tradition in those days.

The BBC and ITV had cameras in the team's hotels, not to show staged interviews, but to follow the players around and get a sense of what they were feeling in the build-up to the final. I can still see the United captain Bryan Robson being interviewed as he was shaving in his hotel room.

This all day coverage brought the fans unique access to their heroes and gave us a glimpse into the world of a footballer and you know what it made us realise that apart from the money and fame the players were also fans like us.

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Manchester United Views is a Manchester United blog written by Miles Dunton, with lost of blog posts all about Manchester United. Check out his full blog at http://milesduntonmufc.blogspot.co.uk/.

Don't forget you can promote your own blog by submitting articles to the Football Blog Directory.

FA Cup 3rd Round Draw

The draw for the third round of the FA Cup has taken place.

The full draw is as follows:

Arsenal v Sunderland
Birmingham v Bournemouth
Brentford v Chesterfield/Walsall
Bury v Bradford City
Cardiff City v Grimsby/Shrewsbury
Carlisle v Yeovil
Chelsea v Leyton Orient/Scunthorpe
Colchester v Charlton
Doncaster v Stoke City
Eastleigh v Bolton
Everton v Dagenham & Redbridge/Whitehawk
Exeter City v Liverpool
Huddersfield v Reading
Hull City v Brighton
Ipswich v Portsmouth
Leeds United v Rotherham
Manchester United v Sheffield United
Middlesbrough v Burnley
Newport County v Blackburn
Northampton v MK Dons
Norwich v Manchester City
Nottingham Forest v QPR
Oxford United v Swansea
Peterborough v Preston NE
Salford City/Hartlepool v Derby
Sheffield Wednesday v Fulham
Southampton v Crystal Palace
Tottenham v Leicester
Watford v Newcastle
West Bromwich v Bristol City
West Ham v Wolves
Wycombe v Aston Villa

Ties to be played 8-11 January

Highlights

There are five all Premier League ties, including repeats of the 1961 FA Cup final (Tottenham v Leicester).

All Premier League Ties

Watford v Newcastle
Tottenham v Leicester
Arsenal v Sunderland
Southampton v Crystal Palace
Norwich v Manchester City

Non-League Teams

Elsewhere, all four remaining non-league teams in the draw should be reasonably happy with their potential ties, although three of them still need to make it through a 2nd round replay.

Cardiff City v Grimsby/Shrewsbury
Salford/Hartlepool v Derby
Everton v Dagenham & Redbridge/Whitehawk
Eastleigh v Bolton

Televised games TBC

FA Cup 3rd Round Replay Dates

Following this weekend's third round FA Cup ties, seven fixtures ended in draws and will require a replay.

The dates for the FA Cup 3rd round replays are as follows:

Tuesday 13th January

Bristol City v Doncaster Rovers (7.45pm)

Chesterfield v Scunthorpe (7.45pm)

West Ham United v Everton (7.45pm)

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Fulham (7.45pm)


Wednesday 14th January

Bradford City v Millwall (7.45pm)

Ipswich Town v Southampton (7.45pm)

Tottenham Hotspur v Burnley (8.00pm)



All of these replays will also count towards our FA Cup prediction game. It's not too late to join in - just click on the graphic below.

Hereford United: A Bad Week To Have A Bad Day

To talk about today being a bad day for Hereford United requires the perspective that this has been a bad year for Hereford United. Come to think of it, the teenies haven't exactly been a great decade for Hereford United, or their fans. Today is just another bad day, one of many that have come Hereford's way recently.

 Today the Football Association suspended Hereford United from all football activity, along with their majority shareholder, Alan McCarthy - or at least their previous majority shareholder, as once again ownership of the club appears confused  and the only thing that the club's fans can be sure of is the state of the club is not healthy.

 The Football Association have said that they understand the importance of football clubs to local communities and that they will be working hard to ensure that football returns to Hereford as soon as possible.

  "The FA understands the importance of football clubs to their local communities and will continue to work with all relevant parties to ensure senior football returns to Hereford at the earliest opportunity."

I am sure that statement will fill Hereford fans with joy as they contemplate the plight of their club. The 'relevant parties' haven't been doing a great job of looking after their club, and the Football Association haven't exactly had a great track record looking after grassroots football lately.

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F.A. Cup 3rd Round Draw In Full

Monday night's draw for the 3rd round of the F.A. Cup is as follows:

FA Cup third-round draw
Arsenal	v	Hull City
Southampton	v	Ipswich
Stoke	v	Wrexham
Charlton	v	Blackburn
Dover Athletic	v	Crystal Palace
AFC Wimbledon	v	Liverpool
Manchester City	v	Sheffield Wednesday
Aldershot or Rochdale	v	Nottingham Forest
West Brom	v	Gateshead
Blyth Spartans	v	Birmingham City
Aston Villa	v	Blackpool
Rotherham	v	AFC Bournemouth
Huddersfield	v	Reading
Oxford or Tranmere	v	Swansea
Cardiff	v	Colchester
Bolton	v	Wigan
Sunderland	v	Leeds
Burnley	v	Tottenham
Millwall	v	Bradford
Derby	v	Southport
Brentford	v	Brighton
Fulham	v	Wolves
Leicester	v	Newcastle
Scunthorpe or Worcester City	v	Chesterfield
Everton	v	West Ham
Cambridge United or Mansfield	v	Bury or Luton
Chelsea	v	Watford
Barnsley or Chester	v	Middlesbrough
QPR	v	Sheffield United
Accrington or Yeovil	v	Manchester United
Preston	v	Norwich
Doncaster	v	Bristol City
Ties to be played on 3-6 January