Loge Level

To kill some time one afternoon LogeLevel.com created a Rocky invitational movie bracket.  We gave Rocky and Rocky IV byes and seeded the other four movies against each other. 

Our brackets looked like this (numbers represent the seeds)

1)  Rocky vs. winner of 4) Rocky II/ 5) Rocky Balboa

2) Rocky IV vs. winner of 3) Rocky III/ 6)Rocky V 

Next we got the Status Quo to break this down round by round; his breakdown is after the jump. (more…)

WOODSHED

That’s exactly where United took Watford today in their 4-0 victory.  The highlights aren’t available as of yet, but Larrson’s goal is supposed to be spectacular.  Ronaldo, Larrson, and Rooney all found the back of the net today, along with an own goal from Watford.  This was a display of dominance, even if it was against a last place team. 

FOSTER

On loan goalkeeper Ben Foster will return to Old Trafford after the season concludes.  Foster has been Watford’s first choice keeper this year, playing very well at times.    Sadly, this might be the nail in the coffin for Tim Howard’s future with United.

QUESTION

Ever wondered what the heck Status Quo means?  Wonder no longer, here’s a clip of the song that inspires this blog’s name.  Lyrics

STATUS QUO

Sorry about the lack of updates last week, Status Quo’s other job, (the paying one), was very demanding.  Let’s get right back into it. 

RECAP

Saturday’s 2-1 win against Portsmouth put United into the next round of the FA Cup.  Rooney scored both goals after coming off the bench.  If you haven’t seen the second goal, it’s worth watching. 
DRAWING

The drawing for the next round of the FA Cup was help today.  United drew Reading, a game that will played at Old Trafford on Wednesday. 

SUPER DUO

Ronaldo and Saha are both expected to start Wednesday against Reading.  Saha will be returning from injury, and Ronaldo from a mini-rest at the manager’s request.  This will be a huge boost for the team as the next few weeks a very busy. 

RONALDO

Chief executive David Gill has stated that United would turn down a possible 35 million pound bid from Real Madrid for Ronaldo.  Gill sees Ronaldo’s long-term future at Old Trafford.  Hopefully this is the case, as Ronaldo is only 21, and the best may be yet to come.

That’s all for today, there will be an update tomorrow, with an all new Random section.  See you then. 

HEARTBREAKER

The 2-1 loss Sunday to Arsenal will stick it the minds of United fans for a long time.  Captain Gary Neville described the loss as a “kick in the teeth”.  Well, at least Chelsea lost too.  Most people would take comfort in the fact that Henry is a world class striker, so at least they got beat by the best around.  Status Quo concedes nothing, except, that Thierry really is a stupid name.  That’s real grown up of us, eh?

LARRSON

The striker admitted that he would be open to extend his loan to Old Trafford until the season’s end.  This is the first time he has spoken on the matter.  Given his recent form, United would be wise to keep him around. 

DUECE

Sad news for music fans…Clint Dempsey is retiring from rapping.  He did play well in the time he was in the game Saturday.  I guess real does recognize real after all. 

MEET THE NEW BOSS…

Same as the Old Boss.  Rene Meulensteen return as technical skills coach from asn unsuccessful managerial stint in Denmark.  Welcome back!

DENIED

After reports yesterday that the deal was 90% done, Southampton rejects United’s bid for Gareth Bale.  They seem intent on keeping him, lets hope this doesn’t turn into a bidding war.

HERE TO STAY?

Heinze says that he wants to stay at Old Trafford amidst rumors he’s on the way out.  He vows to work harder to crack the starting lineup.  He has been one of Status Quo’s favorites on defense, lets hope his return is speedy. 

That’s all for today, tomorrow we’ll preview the Arsenal match, token rumors, and, an all new Random.  See you then.

Edited to add: The Sun’s reporting the United have bid £20m on Hargreaves. (Link)

TRANSFER???

If you love English Football, then you have to love unfounded rumors.  That’s just the way life is.  Today it is being reported that the United deal for Bale is a 90% done deal.  Yes, this is the exact opposite of what all the papers were reporting yesterday, but such is life.

LOANS

Giuseppe Rossi has been loaned out to the Italian side Parma until the end of the season.   And yes, this condradicts what Sir Alex said a few weeks ago about not letting anyone else be loaned out for this season.  The catch may lie in the next story…

DONG

Dong Fangzhou, the Chinese striker signed a deal that will keep him at United until 2010.  He is expected to see some first team action, and soon.  This signing could be the reason Sir Alex allowed Rossi to leave on loan.  He will be wearing jersey number 21, and Status Quo is eager to see him in action. 

TOKEN

The ex-England National coach Sven Goran Eriksson thinks Hargreaves is well worth the rumored 20 million pound price tag.  That’s all well and good, but Status Quo doesn’t remember anyone asking his opinion.  It’s these kinds of unsolicited statement that are sure to drive the already high price up even further.  I guess poor coaching isn’t all Sven is good at.  Does anyone else wonder if Sven and Bruce Arena sit around and talk about how not to attack? 

RANDOM

Today’s random topic is The Kinks.  If you haven’t done so yet, do yourself a favor and go buy the album Something Else.  You won’t regret it, here is a taste…

That’s all for today, enjoy! 

 STATUS QUO

WRAP-UP

Manchester United continued their recent dominance over Aston Villa with a 3-1 win on Saturday.  Ji-Sung Park, Carrick, and Ronaldo all scored.  This marked Carrick’s first goal in a United uniform since coming over to Old Trafford this summer. 

ALL QUIET ON THE TRANSFER FRONT

Sir Alex came out and said that it is unlikely that Manchester United will make any signings in this transfer period.  There had been talk about Gareth Bale, a young defender, but his club valued him more than United was willing to pay.  Time will tell if this strategy is a winner or not, but given Sir Alex’s track record, Status Quo is definitely giving him the benefit of the doubt.  

SMART MONEY

Ronaldo seems confident that he will win his annual bet with Sir Alex this season.  Every year they set a number of goals that Ronaldo is to score.  After the weekend, he is now only 2 shy of the mark.  The bet is for an undisclosed about of money. 

RANDOM…

As readers of this blog may or may not know, Manchester United is not the only sporting team that Status Quo follows with some rooting interest.  When things happen to these various teams, it will be talked about under this “Random” column.  Today’s random pick is the Oregon Ducks.  Congratulations to them on cracking the top 10 for the first time this year.  They sit atop the Pac-10 Conference, which has the number one RPI rating, making it the toughest.  Go Ducks!

STATUS QUO
MARCH 12

Larrson is leaving on this date after his contract is up.  There was speculation that he would be given an extension to the end of the season, enjoy him while you can.

TOKEN

Remember one of the subplots in Godfather III, when Pacino keeps trying to get out of the business, but keeps getting dragged back in?  With that in mind, today’s rumor is that Chelsea may swoop in and sign Hargreaves.  Possibly giving Bayern Munich Robben.  At least Andy Garcia isn’t in this version.

PREVIEW

Isn’t this the 12th time United has played Aston Villa in the last 2 weeks? 

RIVALRY

With rumors that Jose might be leaving Chelsea at season’s end, Status Quo is ready to ice the champagne, and party.  Sir Alex disagrees, apparently he likes the rivalry he and Jose have built up, and doesn’t want it to end.  For the record, Status Quo still wishes Jose would quit, go away; get fired, anything but coach Chelsea.   

That all for today, have a good weekend and Go Manchester United!!!

STATUS QUO

Today we have awards, the last of a tradition, and a bit of another team’s news.  Trust me, it won’t become a habit. 

THE DOUBLE

Cristiano Ronaldo has earned his second strait Player of the Month Award.  This puts him in elite company with Berkamp and Liverpool legend Fowler as the only other players to accomplish this feat.  Cheers!

TOKEN

It seems for once Owen doesn’t want to talk about anything except getting healthy and returning to Bayern Munich.  That makes two of us, barring any major developments, this story is dead…hopefully.

THE DUECE IS LOOSE

Status Quo’s favorite American midfielder, Clint Dempsey has signed with Fulham.  With any luck this will elevate Duece’s game and the US National Team’s as well.  Status Quo wishes you luck.  If you haven’t seen his rap video, its definitely worth checking out. Don’t Tread On This.

That will do it for today; we’ll get to Saturday’s match preview, and all the news tomorrow.  

SMITH

Alan Smith, still trying to make it back from a terrible leg injury, is staying put.  Rumors have been all over about a possible move, but he is determined to make it at Old Trafford.

TOKEN

This story has gone on and on and on…. Today’s installment has Hargreaves “shocked” at his potential value on the transfer marker.  It has been reported that the price is up to 25 million pounds.  Does anybody think that it’s a really bad sign when a player doesn’t even know his own value?

LARSSON

Larsson fever may have met its first snag.  After scoring a goal in his game with United, rumors came out that he would stay the entire season.   As of right now, his contract is up in March, neither the player nor his agent has said anything beyond that.  So we’ll have to wait and see on this. 
On a side note, Status Quo would like to urge fans to stop comparing Larsson to Eric Cantona.  It’s only been one game, its ridiculous.  If you have forgotten how great King Cantona was, here you go.  It’s crazy to think a guy on a 3-month loan could replace Cantona, just crazy.

That’s it for today, check back tomorrow for more United news.

Hello again, we got rumors galore, recaps, and drawings. 

RECAP

Sunday’s 2-1 win over Aston Villa put United through to the Fourth Round of the FA Cup.  New striker Larsson got his first goal in a United uniform, and Solskjaer provided the game winner. 

DRAWING

The drawing for the next round of the FA Cup was held today.  United drew Portsmouth, to be played at Old Trafford, dates TBA.

HEINZE

Italian club Juventus, have expressed interest in the Argentine.  Heinze has been coming on slow after a leg injury that ended his season last year.  There was no indication if this was going to happen in January, or at season’s end.

TOKEN

Bayern Munich has now indicated that they might be open to selling Hargreaves at the end of the season, but not until then.  Things are moving slow, but they are moving, stay tuned.

Well that’s it for today, tomorrow we’ll have more on Larrson, more Sir Alex , and all the news.  

WELCOME BACK

The festive season is over and so is my hiatus.  Hope everyone had a good New Year’s and all that.  Let’s get back into it.

CLOSE CALL

Ronaldo’s agent revealed that he had offered the Portuguese midfielder’s services to Barcelona before last year’s World Cup.  Luckily they were not interested, and they now concede that it was an oversight on their part.  That’s an understatement.

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Hello, there is not much going on in the world of Manchester United today.  It’s such a slow news day that there isn’t even a token Hargreaves story.  Yeah, it’s that slow.

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Sorry about not posting on Monday, would you believe I was busy at work?  For today we have Sunday’s recap, Tim Howard, new edition, and of course, token Owen rumor.  It all about Man United, here we go.

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Hello again, as you might have guessed the early update did not happen, sorry about that.  Today is going to be all about Champions League, smack talking, token, and everything else Manchester United. Here we go.

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