Manchester, Munich, Moscow...

It's hard to sum up my feelings right now, hours after watching United seal a place in the Champions League final.

In 1999, I was a nine year old boy, I always expected United to win and although I was young I knew United achieved something great when I witnessed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sealing the Treble with his last minute goal against German giants Bayern Munich.

I'd always be down at the Theatre of Dreams and was lucky to be at the Nou Camp that night, getting in on the singing, admiring my heroes David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes not realising the importance of what I was watching though.

Nevertheless, I was rather blazé as a nipper, as any kid is, ask them what their predictions for a game is and it's "10 - 0 United" or something as farfetched. I didn't really understand the importance of the European Cup, the history or what it meant.

Then last season, as an 18 year old, I witnessed United beating Roma 7 - 1, Milan 3 - 2 with a piece of Rooney brilliance in the dying stages but unfortunately it all unravelled at the San Siro, we were beaten 3 - 0, outclassed and I was heartbroken - I'd longed to witness another Champions League final, I now understood what it meant to the club, it's history and most importantly us, the fans.

So when we made it through to the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona, the nerves built, I was shitting myself, the first leg started with Ronaldo missing a penalty and my heart sank - I really didn't want to go through the same agony again. We came away from the Nou Camp, the scene of our amazing 1999 triumph, with a 0 - 0 draw, the tie in the balance and Barcelona reclaiming their confidence.

The second leg came after a controversial 2 - 1 defeat against Chelsea at the Stamford Bridge which has left United needing to win their next two league games to make sure of the title I've so far taken as ours before then.

We were 'unfortunately unlucky' in the ballot for tickets to the semi final second leg at Old Trafford, no doubt our tickets were taken up by some executives of some big business in London somewhere or sold as part of some airline package in China I thought. I was gutted, nevertheless we got in the car, me and my dad, and travelled up to Manchester, primarily to soak up the atmosphere of a massive European night but in the back of our minds hoping to bump into some lucky cunt who had managed to get extra tickets.

On the way up, followed by all the lucky bastards who'd got tickets, we discussed the ongoings at the 'Battle of the Bridge' on Saturday, both in agreement that we'd still win the title but both unsure about the result we'd get against the Catalan giants.

We had to score more than Barcelona, it was as simple as that but the signs weren't good - Wayne Rooney was ruled out through a hip injury and Nemanja Vidic was ruled out with concussion - the signs weren't good at all!

We arrived in Manchester at about 6.30, the traffic was relatively steady going and we were just in time to soak up the pre-match atmosphere outside the ground, see all the fans, mixture of excitement and nerves at what was about to come.

Kick off was little over an hour away and I was constantly asking around for 'spare tickets', like those people who usually annoy the shit outta me and get me thinking, "why come to a game without tickets?"...now I know why though.

Manchester United does that to you, once you go, you're addicted, whether you've been once or a hundred times, you need your next fix and you'll go to any lengths to get that match ticket whether it be a game against Barcelona or Barnsley. I was heartbroken when I missed out on tickets to the game and I'd do anything for them.

The time rolled on, the nerves built, in my mind I'd settled for a seat in the nearest pub with a few other unlucky Reds. My dad told me we'd walk around the ground once more and head to the Bishop's Blaize to watch the game.

As we walked past the statue of Sir Matt, he pulled out an envelope (that same envelope that you wake up everyday after an application hoping it's on your door step) and handed it to me - in fact we'd not been unlucky in our application for tickets and there the fuckers were. Oh I could have cried with joy but the nerves wouldn't let me. I give the old man a big hug, called him a shithead and told him to move his arse before we missed the build up inside the ground.

So as we raced to our seats, still in disbelief at the old boy's tricks, the nerves, excitement all began to build again.

We took our seats, fifteen minutes til kick off and the atmosphere turned up a notch. We'll Never Die was sang, flags, scarves held high and the mosaics were a massive success, not that I could see ours, I know it said "BELIEVE" but the "68 - 99" one was excellent and it all added to the tremendous effort put in by the club and especially SEF.

The hairs on the back of the neck were up as the players come out...the Champions League music...76,000 fans...need I say more.

It was an amazing atmosphere but the game started off poorly, we rarely had the ball until just after ten minutes when BANG!...the man who missed out on our day in Barcelona in '99, struck only his second goal of the season and possibly the most crucial of his glittering career. It was a delight to see, right in front of me as the ball rippled the net and the crowd went wild. "He scores goals galore" sang the fans...well nowadays thats not entirely true but that goal was worth all of his goals prior to it.

From then on, as they say, the rest was history - United were through to a Champions League final again, now I appreciate what it means fully, I look forward to the final in Moscow, I won't get tickets, I won't be in Moscow unfortunately that's how it goes, I was lucky enough to be at the other final and to be lucky enough to go to Old Trafford for the semi but nevertheless will go up to Manchester to watch it somewhere and soak up the atmosphere that only Manchester can create for a United game and hopefully the magic of 1968 and 1999 can be resurrected in 2008, 50 years on from the Munich Air Disaster in what will be the first all English Champions League final.

But I know what it means, I've never felt so happy as a United fan, my first choice every season is and will always be to end the season as LEAGUE CHAMPIONS but the European Cup has finally, if I ignore the Scouser's chants of ''5 times'', taken a spot in my heart that I never thought it had.

Will the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez join the likes of George Best, Sir Bobby Charlton, Ryan Giggs and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer into United's hall of fame?

It'll be a nerve wracking day, the 21st May 2008, the eve of George Best's birthday (and my very own may I add!) but the history of this club, the magnitude of the game, the quality of our players, manager and fans means we can be confident of succeeding in Moscow whether it be Chelsea or Liverpool we come up against.

They wrote us off after the first leg at the Nou Camp and the handbags at the Bridge but we bounced back, this is what dreams are made of, we WILL be the English Champions going to Moscow and on the 22nd May we WILL also be European Champions.

The history of this club demands nothing less.

Carlos' Vital Contribution

Carlos Tevez's move to United took over many a back page in the Summer, headline after headline his on and off transfer to United was one of the most talked about moves in the last few years.

When the talk about MSI, Kia Joorabchian and who owns him settled Carlitos' United career could finally kick off but lack of match fitness and featuring in the Copa America meant he'd have to wait his turn.

In the opening league fixture against Reading, United dropped two points and Wayne Rooney was ruled out for a month or so with a foot injury meaning Tevez was thrust into the first eleven sooner than expected.

It took a while for his first goal to come but it come in the biggest game of the season up until that point, United had been poor and Chelsea had just lost their 'Special One' when Carlos Tevez popped up with opening goal as the Red Devils beat Chelsea 2-0. Since then the Argentinian 'lion' hasn't looked back.

Despite critics that he wasn't the most prolific of goalscorers he's scored 15 goals in 31 games which have included 26 starts.

But a striker who wishes to be world class, wishes to be successful at a club like United's true worth is shown in their knack to pop up with a vital goal, like his first for United against Chelsea. And there's two goals which spring to mind straight away.

With minutes remaining at White Hart Lane, Carlos Tevez popped up with a vital, dramatic equaliser which meant United grabbed a point from the jaws of defeat.

Then last night, with minutes ticking down on the clock, United down 1-0 thanks to a brilliant Benzema opener the substitute was in the right place at the right time to fire the ball into the roof of the net and give United an away goal which make United hot favourites to put the 1999 European Champions through to the last eight.

Unlike his transfer to United, the performances of his peers; Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Anderson, Nani, etc. have meant he has not been in the limelight, not won much praise and not won the plaudits that some other stars have.

He's quiet off the pitch but on it he let's his feet do the talking, and the volume of his performances are loud.

There is no doubt that despite how little tabloid coverage this man gets the United fans are appreciative of the little man's contribution.

A contribution that could prove vital when the trophies and medals are handed out in May!

ARGENTINA! ARGENTINA! ARGENTINA!

2008: The Champions' Preview

Manchester United see out the year as English Champions having witnessed Sir Alex Ferguson over the past eighteen months completing his jigsaw that is a fourth all conquering team and a squad described by the man himself as ''the best'' he's had.

The 2007 season ended in disappointment having come up short in the Champions League semi-final and FA Cup final but had you told anyone before the season started that United would've performed as they did you'd have been laughed at.

Now I've always been an optimistic fan, always believed we'd win the league every season since I can remember but had you suggested we'd be on course for a second Treble in May, I'd have struggled to believe you.

Winning the Championship was something that filled me with joy that meant the pain in failing in Europe and the first FA Cup final at the New Wembley was not long lived. We played free scoring, free flowing, attractive attacking football and nobody could live with us.

Yet before the season the only people who believed we could do it were a small percentage of United fans, critics wrote Sir Alex Ferguson was not good enough and should jump before being pushed.

Rob Smyth wrote in the Guardian in May 2006 that Fergie's legacy was falling apart at the seams and "Ferguson’s brilliance famously knocked Liverpool off their perch. Now his incompetence is doing the same to Manchester United...United could finish fifth."

Smyth also found time to criticise the likes of Patrice Evra, the same Patrice Evra who pushed the whinging Gabriel Heinzé out of the team and out of the club, the same Patrice Evra who was named in PFA's XI - it was just one article that was predicting the end of Fergie's United career and the end of United's dominance over English football.

How wrong they were.

Now we enter 2008, confident in the knowledge we're going to retain our league title despite falling two points behind Arsenal on the weeked and confident that this could be the year, 50 years on from the Munich Air Disaster, we conquer Europe again.

Ferguson has built a squad that has everything in the locker.

In defence we have the World's best defender in Rio Ferdinand (and my choice for future United captain) alongside Nemanja Vidic, who together form a formidable partnership with Patrice Evra and Wes Brown (while current skipper Gary Neville is out) filling the wide defensive positions - supported by an experienced head in between the sticks, Edwin Van Der Sar.

Protecting the defence we have either Owen Hargreaves or Michael Carrick, Hargreaves the man who can be the difference between us being a success in Europe - imagine if we had him against Milan standing up to the brilliance of Kaka.

In attack we have Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez, Louis Saha, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes (currently injured) players who would get into any team in the World and players who can change the game at the drop of a coin.

Then we have 'squad players' such as Anderson, Nani, Danny Simpson, Gerard Piqué, Tomas Kuszczak, John O'Shea, Darren Fletcher and Park Ji-Sung all of whom are young, able and willing to fight for a first team spot at the club.

Anderson is the one who stands out for me. He has been given a lot of game time recently with there being injuries to Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves and he has shown that he is worth every penny we paid for him.

Young, skilful and strong. He dominated the midfield against Liverpool and Arsenal. Up against Steven Gerrard and Cesc Fabregas respectively you would have expected less from a player some have renamed 'Kleberson II'. Mark my words, in a few years he will be the best all round midfielder in the Premiership and it looks as though Fergie has found the impossible, an eventual replacement for the brilliant Paul Scholes.

Ferguson has proven everyone who wrote him and the club off wrong..again. He has built a
team, a squad that is coming together nicely - with experienced heads and bags of potential. We have filled in the weaknesses and built on them, injuries and suspensions are no longer feared as obstacles which may ruin our chances of silverware as we have a capable squad now.

In 2007, the critics who said Fergie should walk have been silenced - the critics who said United would finish fifth have been silenced too and it's fantastic to watch.

Whats more pleasing is Ferguson has again reiterated his stance that retirement is NOT on the cards as he wants to continue developing this squad and I can't wait to see it unfold.

2008 will be an even more successful year for Manchester United, I'm sure of that. We're even better than most and favourites tag for both the league and European Cup this year is richly deserved, all that is left now is the hard part - for Fergie's boys to go out there and prove their worth, prove themselves as the best team in Europe which is a tag they richly deserve.

2008 will be a sombre year for United with February 6th marking 50 years since the Munich Air Disaster but it will also be a year of celebration and joy as United continue their domination over English football and with a little bit of luck, Europe too.

Happy New Year, as a United fan I know it will be! ;)