the Class of '92 ReUnited on familiar ground ..

It just had to happen, didn't it ? Sir Alex Ferguson has been working so hard on bringing back United alumni to the club in various capacities that it was just a matter of time before the most famous of his Fledgelings flocked together at Old Trafford and Carrington. It's just that most of us had not figured that it would happen quite so soon. Or in such sad circumstances.

 Still, the sight of these guys puts a wide smile on my face; with Phil having survived the cull of Moyes' staff due to his Class of '92 ties.

It's time to bring my United back - Attack! Pace! Power! Attitude! Fergie Time!
Have these elements in place, and most United fans can live with defeat (just not too often!)

For the first time in a couple months, I'm actually eagerly looking forward to United's next match. What will a Giggs team look like ? How will he set them up ? Who will he select ? Will he play himself ? Will the team actually be happy and play like the United team I know they are capable of ?
What I do know is that Giggs has asked for a return to the United way of playing. It has been greatly missed.

Finding the unexpected ....

Many, many things could count as unexpected pleasures. In this case, I heard this particular Carpenters song for the first time tonight -  it was a Pleasure.

as Bad as it Gets ... only it gets Worse ..

I'm not talking about results or performances on the field. The time for that has long past. And anyway, Moyes has proven that he can extract one terrible performance after another out of this squad. I've pretty much given up and the latest performance against Everton was just another in a long, long ..... long ... list.

It's this photo doing the rounds which draws the ire

Losing 0-2 against Everton - and really, it could have been much worse - and Steve Round responds by whipping out a booklet of set plays. Powerpoint slides and clip art with bells and whistles, no doubt. Is this part of the much ballyhoed improvements behind the scenes that I keep hearing about ? Is putting in a few iPads enough to convince the Glazers that Moyes deserves more time ?

Not that the set plays booklet made much difference anyway, as United didn't change their pattern of play at all. Nor did Moyes respond when Seamus Coleman was steaming through the inside left channel causing havoc. That Martinez had targeted that area was obvious within the first 10 minutes of the game. And boy, did it look potentially damaging. But Moyes didn't respond - and potential became reality.

It is beyond doubt now - and has been for some time - that Moyes is making Man United a much, much lousier team than they actually are. It is also becoming apparent that the United job is turning Moyes into a lousier manager than he was at Everton. The guy's been found out. He's out of his depth. Please put him out of his Moyesery.

Why The Journey is Worth It .....

I admit that my interest was only piqued because the show seemed to be generating a lot of box office in Malaysia. And it's iconic cold air balloon popped up in several locations on billboards and even the concourse of a shopping complex.

Checked out the trailer - no big deal, but the plot seemed relevant in a Malaysian Chinese context. Fair enough in itself but it was a draw for a banana like myself. And to be frank, I was hoping that it would be a close enough facsimile of a Yasmin Ahmad movie - goodness knows, I've missed her movies. So when the chance came to watch The Journey .....



No regrets. Ended up with all four of us watching the movie and a little lady pottering around on the mat. It was really good. And rather unusually The Journey seems to have gained a sizable Malay audience even though a huge chunk of the movie is voiced in multiple Chinese dialects. Crossing racial boundaries was rather a speciality of Yasmin Ahmad's ..

Quite apart from the plot - simple yet effective - watching the movie was like a huge product placement for Malaysian tourism. The scenery ... the landscape shots ... it made me want to visit Malaysia. It made me want to grab the DSLR and go out in all hours of day, in varied locations of splendour and gaiety and isolation .... and snap. It's been tooo long .....

And even though there weren't many songs in the show, this one spoke loudly in hushed tones.