MUTV commentator Stewart Gardner refuses to
be downbeat after Saturday's narrow defeat to Aston Villa. After
all, Chelsea are hardly pulling up any (Christmas) trees at the
moment...
Losing at OT is always a bit of a jolt so I’m
going to take it upon myself to come up with some reasons to be
cheerful.
Firstly, it’s always far better when another game
comes along very quickly after a defeat. We had to wait two long
weeks after the Chelsea game before we could get our teeth into
Everton. This time, we’ve only got a matter of hours before Wolves
arrive in Manchester. I can’t help feeling they will be on the end
of an almighty United backlash.
Secondly, United really didn’t play too badly on Saturday. It could
all have been so different had Wayne not hit the bar or if Vida's
header hadn’t been cleared off the line or if Brad Friedel hadn’t
come up with his usual brilliant save or two. And, of course, Villa
are a more than decent team. They are pacy and dynamic and have
already seen off Chelsea and Liverpool. Their simply abysmal record
against United had to come to an end sometime – sadly it was at OT
on Saturday.
Thirdly, United are two points better off than at exactly the same
stage last season and we still strolled to the title. A big thank
you to Louis Saha by the way - the ex-Red's head was in the right
place at the right time to deny Chelsea all three points on
Saturday and prevent them going five points clear of United again.
A couple of weeks ago, Chelsea were apparently champions elect and
we were told they were unbeatable. Not now. Their defence makes Man
City’s back four look watertight!
Fourthly, a look at the fixture list makes good reading. Our next
seven Barclays Premier League games look very winnable indeed. We
play Hull
twice, Wigan, Burnley, Birmingham, Fulham and Wolves. We need to
go on a run of victories and you wouldn’t be at all surprised if
the Reds picked up an awful lot of points between now and the end
of January. Plus we play League One minnows Leeds in the FA Cup and
have the chance to book a place at Wembley in the Carling Cup by
beating City.
So, there you go... my best attempt at cheering you all up.
However, if we don’t beat Wolves on Tuesday night, I’ll be asking
you to repay the favour!