The Thought of Our Red Army

[gravedigga]

Dedicated to all United Indonesia members....


Berisi interview antara gue dng sesama United fan.
Pertama kali gue interview salah satu dr penulis blog ttg United yg berasal dr UK.
Interview berikutnya sedang gua pikirkan siapa orangnya...pastinya giliran pengurus atau member United Indonesia.

For the very first time let me introduce Rob Blanchette from the www.viewfromtier3.blogspot.com and www.thefaithfulmufc.wordpress.com

Rob has wrote many football articles in his blogs.


gravedigga: Hi Rob! How u doin? how does it feel to wait the season to start?

RB: As ever its a very very exciting time. This pre season we have already seen a glimpse of what Chicharito could be. We've had a sniff that Berbatov may be about to deliver, and there's been some very competent displays from Cleverley, Smalling, Gibson and the other youngsters. Just cant wait for it to all get under way now!

gravedigga: What's your thought about renewing the season ticket? i know u did renew it but u decided not to buy our new kit.

Its a complexed situation, but with a simple longtime philosophy. My personal belief is that we need to stop 'feeding' the Glazers via all the merchandise sales and other things we buy because of the Man Utd brand. However the one thing i think everyone should still buy is the season ticket..for two reasons: Firstly and most importantly, I think if the core fanbase boycotts the games and gives up thoses tickets..then we lose our voice..and ultimately our opportunity to protest. I understand that if every supporter in the world boycotted games then the Glazers would soon pack up and leave...however, this is not a realistic goal. So it is my opinion that we keep the tickets..support the team as we intend to do forever, and boycott absolutely every other line and product that the Glazers endorse. So yes that includes the kit...and match day programmes, and food/drink at Old Trafford, and anything sold by the megastore or online, and also no subscribing to MUTV. The long term survival of the Glazers ownership is a numbers game. It will take years of reduced profits for them to go, as the assets of the club are worth more to them than the discontent of the fanbase, and the knock on effect of that. However, we shall continue to protest..for the honour of the club. We support Manchester United and no owner can ever effect that...However, we can make life for them uncomfortable even if it doesn't make them sell immediately. I truly believe in one small step at a time and not some mythical Red Knights solution. It may take us ten years to make the Glazers think selling is the best option, and if that is how it happens, then i will be proud that I stayed consistent and contributed to that.

gravedigga: What do you think about our first match to be rescheduled after we all waiting for months?

Its become par for the course now. All our games are televised and that means we get all these silly time slots. Id rather not travel to Old Trafford late on a Monday, but you do what you've got to do...

gravedigga: Chicharito, Berbatov, Kiko, Owen...which one do you choose to play with Roo up front? ( You can choose Berbatov, its okay.. )

At the moment, i would like it to be Chicharito, due to his exciting and prolific style. However, I think half the time we will play with a solitary striker and that will be Roo. But if we can keep Owen fit, and Berba in some sort of good form, the manager will have plenty of options to play different systems

gravedigga: Berbatov. Yes or No?
We never boo and never insult our player do u agree? ( FYI, am a fan of him but i agree this is his last chance at the club. He did good or he will out )

In contrast to popular opinion, I do not dislike or hate Berbatov. I was joyous when he signed for us as i had been calling for it publicly for a year. But since, he has greatly disappointed me and everyone at Old Trafford. We have never booed Berba at Old Trafford, and are not about to...but if a player deserves criticism then i see no problem in this. It takes ALOT for the United Faithful to lose patience with one of our own, and Berbatovs constantly average performances in the last two years have amounted to a great deal of pent up frustration. But i still want him to succeed greatly. I would be so pleased. We all want to love the guy, buts he has got to prove himself..week in and week out, and not with random flashes of skill once a month.

gravedigga: Since when you became a United fan and how long you become a season ticket holder? Your first match at Old Trafford was? The first player you like?

I started supporting United in 1985 when i was 9, tho id casually supported them previous to this as my Mother is a Red. The first game i attended was a Full Members cup game at Old Trafford where United beat Everton 1-0 with a late goal by Gordon Strachan..I remember it like it was yesterday. I have regularly attended games since the late 1980s mainly in the Stretford End, but getting a season ticket back then was impossible. As a teenager i would que at the turnstile for hours before a kick off and somehow get in the stadium for most games. I finally managed to get a season ticket in 2006 when the Quadrants at Old Trafford were built and I was lucky enough to get a ticket as i had been a club member for 16 years. I sit in the North Stand Tier 3 adjacent to the Stretford End opposite the tunnel. I LOVE the view from my seat and after sitting/standing in virtually ever corner of the ground it is undoubtedly my favourite view

The first player I loved was Bryan Robson. He was my hero and is still my favourite player of all time. Without him in the 80s United would never have finished above mid table...he carried us for so long in the pre-Ferguson years. A true hero who would die for the shirt. I cried the day he lifted that first Premiership trophy victory with Steve Bruce, as i felt it justified all the blood and sweat he gave to United in the years when we had no chance of overhauling Liverpool. The best English midfielder of his generation.

gravedigga: There are many United blogs nowadays. Your favorite blog and blogger? ( To be honest your blog "View From Tier 3" is one of my fave )

Thanks for the compliment. I actually do not regularly read any specific football blogs...id rather view Newsnow and Twitter daily and pick and choose articles that interest me. My two favourite writers are Sarah and Katie who I write with for The Faithful, and I also enjoy RoM, UnitedRants and RedRants, among others. Personally I love to write, and football is my favourite thing in the world, so it was only a matter of time before the two came together. It is surprising that with the worldwide size of the United fanbase, that there is a lack of quality blogs. There are a few who really do deliver, but many more who just rehash match results and transfer gossip. As a fan and avid reader im not really interested in any of that. Id rather read a writers personal opinion on a subject or plaayer, rather than some popularized piece written in an attempt to get more hits for their sites.

gravedigga: Newcastle United looked very easy for us 2 seasons ago. We bagged MANY goals home and away ( we did total 11 goals, didn't we? ). Your starting XI againts them and score prediction?

Id start this match 4-4-1-1. The team: VDS; Rafa, Evans, Vida, Fabio; Valencia, Fletcher, Scholes, Nani; Rooney; Chicharito. A very attacking line up. Sort of game we should really try and win in the first half alone ..sorry i dont do score predictions for United due to superstition, but im hoping for a few goals and a clean sheet.


gravedigga: Pick one of the player at the recent and why?

Tom Cleverley. He is a brilliant midfield prospect and I can see why the manager has kept him rather than loaning him out this year. I hope he gets an opportunity early this season. Its a big season for the DaSilva twins, Gibson, Macheda and Chicharito...all young talent who could save United a lot of money on transfers in the future...

gravedigga: I believe we'll lift our 19th this year, how about u? Your Top-4 and bottom 3 to relegate prediction are?

I think we have as good of chance of winning it as last season, and last year we lost it because of a poor performance at home to Chelsea. Its another of my superstitions to NEVER tip United to win anything...so I think we will come 2nd to Chelsea. With City third and Arsenal fourth. Going down I reckon Wigan and West Brom, and probably Blackpool despite their great win yesterday

gravedigga: What's your thought about Manchester City?

I think it is healthy that other teams outside the Big Four have money, but City are just glutinous. I dont know what their best team is and i doubt that their fans or the manager even do! But theres no doubt in my mind that eventually City will win a big trophy in the not so distant future...but its up to us to try and stop that.

gravedigga: Your fave chant at their away end?

What is my favourite United chant??? Oh I have so many! Last season the Big Bad Wesley Brown Chant was my favourite...and i think this year it will be 'Ancelotti are ya listening?'..which is a play on the Mourinho song we used to sing when Chelsea were last reigning champions. Really for a club like ours we should have our own equivalent of 'Youll Never Walk Alone'...in-spite of how that song makes my skin crawl! But unfortunately we don't. I guess my long term favourite is 'Footballs taught by Matt Busby' which dates back to the 1960s and has been sung by generations of United fans. United Road is always good as well. Im looking forward to a Chicharito one..sure someone will have invented it by now!

gravedigga: Last question. Have your thought about us...about the far far away fans.

I have always been very accepting of the United fanbase abroad. The club is so massive now, a hundred times more so that when i used to que at the gate to see games as a kid. I think everyone has the right to support who they want, as long as they stick with their club through thick and thin...As an example, I also like basketball, and have supported the Boston Celtics since i went to Boston in 1991. Anyhow up until 3 years ago the team was just hopeless for so many seasons..and alot of UK NBA fans supported The Chicago Bulls only because of Michael Jordan or The Lakers cos they are glamorous! But I stuck with them because they are my NBA team and the last 3 years have been great! Next year will be my 20th year a Celtics fan.

I hope all the global United fans stick with the club if things go wrong for us.. as they can do in football. Once upon a time i truly believed that i would never see United win more than the odd FA Cup once every few years, and the League title was just an unreachable dream...we were so far behind Liverpool, Everton and Arsenal in the 80s..I still think that those days may yet return because that is what happens in football...Liverpool's last twenty years of history point to that...anything is possible.


gravedigga: thanks a lot for your time Rob. Really appreciate it!