Cup Fever

I've left this a few days after a week of Cup Fixtures captured my, and a few others', imaginations in order to let it all sink in.

It started off full of hope and optimism as we took our seats on the Saturday to watch Lancashire in the Quarter Final of the Friends Provident Trophy against Essex. We'd been beaten twice already in the group stages by the southern gits, so surely this had to be our time? Right. A superb victory meaning we've got a home draw against Hampshire in the semi-finals. Lord's beckoning? I hope so, no trophy (I'm not counting second division titles as trophies, not for anyone) for ten years means you start to get a little desperate for success. It's been a great start to the season on all fronts, here's hoping something comes off in one competition. Although if we win the Twenty20 I hope there's also a more meaningful trophy to go with it...

Then we got to Wednesday... The final of the European Cup, Champions League, Coupe des Clubs Champions Européens, whatever you want to call it. Manchester United's fourth final, the chance to win our fourth European Cup. To join an elite list of clubs at the top of European football. Only someone didn't seem to tell United this. Outplayed and outclassed by a superb Barcelona side who deserved their win. Nothing more to say. Funnily enough, it didn't hurt as much as it was clearly going to when we on the cusp of losing in Barcelona and Moscow. Maybe because we've now got a respectable number of European Cups. Hah. How arrogant does that sound, considering most people will never see their side play in Europe? Oh well, you know what I mean. Either way, Cup Fever was a little dampened at this point...

And so, Friday. Salford's Challenge Cup Quarter Final tie away at Wigan. The giddy-o-meter was off the scale amongst Salford's support and we took a following of around 1,500. Typically, though, we came up against a good, in-form Wigan side who took us apart. Wembley? It's the shittest ground in London that we'll never get to see, as the song goes. The club as a whole met the ground below them again with a fucker of a bump. Still, concentrating on league form improvement isn't a bad thing, I just hope we can kick on from the good few weeks we've had.

So - after all of that, the only club left that's giving me any hope is Lancashire. Makes a change. Let's just hope I'm not back on here in a few months bemoaning the way it's all gone tits up...

Obla Di, Obla Da, Man. United, Champions of Planet Earth

Some say it was a poxy, mickey mouse tournament. But that's only because they're either dicks or jealous that their own team wasn't there. Manchester United were, though.

Champions of England. Champions of Europe. Champions of the World.

A pinnacle already reached in 1999, now it's been done in a tournament which truly separates the Champion of each continent instead of just those of from Europe and South America. Manchester United Football Club are officially the Greatest Club side in the World. Marvellous.

Once again United lead the way, the first English side to win this new edition of the tournament, nay, first British side to win it. And not only that, we will forever stand as the only British side who ever won the Intercontinental Cup version of the tournament.

World Champions twice. That's one more than England. Proving once and for all that United > England.

Worthless? Poxy? I don't fucking think so.

Manchester United - Champions of Planet of Earth.