I said before kickoff Sunday that it would be a tricky game, Sheffield United have been performing good this season. And you can never take easy on a new team in the Premier League. Going up to this level means they have played good and that their team is well balanced. Absolutely not an easy game, I also said I was afraid our injuries would ruin for us, we never get the chance to be consistent because we don’t have our preferred lineup. And I was right… We really didn’t have many choices except from Fred and Pereira to start, and they have been taking big steps lately so I understand the reason by starting them. But McTominay was our biggest loss, we had no one to control the midfield and Sheffield United dominated. It was terrible to watch. It was the worst first half and then BOOM what a comeback! Whatever Solskjær said in the break must have worked and correct subs got us back in the game. So of course massively disappointed it ended with a draw when we actually managed to fight back. I gotta admit we didn’t deserve to win so it was a fear result.
Solskjærs United is far from where he wants it to be, every game is hard now because of our thin squad and especially our midfield. But Solskjær have to rotate the squad when injuries occur and it’s very easy for us to sit here and say this and that afterwards. I love the fact that Ole is letting the youth play which people have been screaming for! But at every obstacle they are complaining like they don’t understand how big progress it is for them to play in the toughest league in the world. Our biggest problem is our experienced players that haven’t performed at their expected levels combined with players that at their best will only be good enough as a squad player suddenly needs to be a part of the starting 11 because of injuries. That, and fresh young players that needs to get used to playing at this level gives us a unbalanced Manchester United team. It will take time to get all of the ‘deadwood’ out and we can’t get rid of them all at once, the youth players will not perform at the same level every game and there will take time to get the correct players to United. Time and patient people, if you only follow your team for success go support someone else because you must have misunderstood what the word supporting means..
Over to something more positive and fun! I met RYAN GIGGS this weekend and it t was such a nice weekend. I traveled to Tønsberg on Friday and few hours later I met my all time favorite player! As I said in my last blog post, I don’t really get star struck when meeting players, they are people just like me and you. But it’s a little bit different when it’s Giggs. He is the reason I became a united supporter! And I dedicate all my life to this team, so getting the chance to meet him, say hello and having pictures with the person that has contributed so much to the fan I am today was big. He was really nice and down to earth, had a chat with everyone and in a good mood. Saturday it was the main event with hundreds of fans traveling from everywhere in Norway, I was so more relaxed that day and enjoyed seeing everyone so excited over what I experienced the day before. I met so many nice people and it was a really fun day and it ended with a two hour long Q&A with the Busby Babes and Giggs on the scene. Hans George from the Busby Babes did a very good job this whole weekend, he’s so professional and calm in his job. It was a very fun and interesting talk he had with Giggs. I won’t write too much about it because this is his job and it’s for the people that buy tickets so I won’t get in the middle of all that, but if he have an event close to you it’s absolutely worth it.
Jeg spurte på Instagram og Facebook i går om hvem deres favorittspiller gjennom tidene var og jeg fikk enorm respons. Jeg elsker å høre fra dere om slike ting, jeg blir så glad av andres opplevelse rundt United! Og herregud så heldige vi er. Å lage en topp 10 liste er nesten umulig.. Solskjær og Beckham var en stor grunn til at jeg for det første hørte om Manchester United og at det faktisk ble det laget jeg holdt med, men når jeg tenker på ordet favorittspiller så er det Giggs som popper opp i hodet mitt. Jeg elsket spillestilen hans og han som fotballspiller. Og måten han endret treningsmetode og spillestil for og alltid klare å henge med i den stadig tøffere serien er så bra gjort. Jeg kjenner ikke et Manchester United uten Giggs, han har vært der så lenge jeg har vært supporter. Han har vært i klubben siden han var 14 år og endte karrieren med å ta over midlertidig som manager etter Moyes.
Målet mot Arsenal er noe av det sykeste jeg har sett. Jeg kan ikke beskrive følelsen det ga meg, det var bare helt sykt. Og det er sånn fotball skal være. Van Gaal kaller det horny football, og om fotball er porno så er det målet det ultimate klimaks.
Og denne helga er min favorittspiller i NORGE! Jeg skal møte Ryan Giggs!! Jeg har kun blitt star strucked av å møte Ferguson, men dette er jammen ikke langt unna altså 😁
Even though I have many players I really like, Solskjær and Beckham played a big part of me becoming a United supporter, when I think of my all time favorite it’s Giggs that pops up in my head. Growing up we didn’t have internet or the chance to watch the games like we’re used to now. So it was the newspaper and the sports news on tv. Being from Norway of course it was a big deal that Solskjær played for Manchester United so it was the team that I fancied. The few games I could watch United dominated everything. And the goal against Arsenal is my favorite goal by Giggs. I can’t describe the feeling because it was insane, seeing Ryan running towards the goal and smashing player after player and puts the ball in the net and ripping off his shirt…. HELLO, that’s how football should be. If football is porn, that goal is the climax.
Being a left winger (yes look at me comparing myself to Giggs haha) I just loved his style. And the way he managed to change his physique and style of playing to adapt to the always harder type of playing is amazing. I don’t know a Manchester United without him because he has been a part of it since I become a fan. He’s been in the club since he was 14 years old, and ended it all by taking over for Moyes as manager for the biggest football club in the world.
This weekend he’s in NORWAY and I can’t wait! I’ve never focused on trying to meet as many players as possible, but during the years that’s gone by I have met a lot. Only time I’ve been star struck is when I’ve met SAF. He’s my GOD. But the rest is just fun, of course some players are more special, Solskjær, Neville, Scholes etc – and Giggs! As I said he is my all time favorite player so it will be fun seeing him and listen about his career😁
Things happens fast in football! Got a message yesterday about Poch being fired and ‘we got to sign him now’ and I was like, no no no! So I tweeted ‘Stay away Poch. Stay away’ and I couldn’t be more on twitter that night because I knew what everyone would say.
Let me just start with saying I really like Poch. He’s a top manager and I like his style! If this happened one year ago I wouldn’t hesitate at all. But you know what, that ship has sailed. United’s board have messed up ever since Ferguson left and every manager we’ve had after him, deserved more time- and respect. Not saying they were the right people, Moyes was a disaster, but also, none of our managers had ever got a fair chance to succeed. The sacking of Mourinho was unfair, he deserved way more respect and everyone can see now that the team he got was a mess. But it’s important to add that Jose contributed to his own sacking. Outing players and being negative is never the key to success so it had to happen. And now, United got a new manager and the board has stated that he’s safe. Solskjær got a long-term strategy which the board has confirmed. Sacking him now would be the most ridiculous sacking in our history and I can’t go into how upset and pissed off I would be.
I think I mentioned it in my previous blogpost that Solskjær is slowly getting progress. We have had a horrible midfield but three players have grown so fast it’s like getting new players, the signings he did in the summer has been top notch. The injury list is getting shorter and we have won and scored six goals the last two games. The squad is what it is, we won’t get consistency before we can sign new players and therefore we need to be patient. Sacking him now is ridiculous. I guess the only players that want Solskjær out are the ones that’s shite and know they’re time is running out, and they can’t really perform any worse then they already does so I don’t see them as a big scary factor in the dressing room.
But, it’s not good news for Solskjær at all and I believe the haters will be full on the upcoming weeks so hopefully Poch will give a statement soon, I reckon he will go to Germany and get a break from the English League.
Of course, I thought about Jose taking over Tottenham last night and the scenario of Jose back at Old Trafford and Pogba starting the game against his old boss. First thing I read when I woke up is that he’s confirmed! As I said, things happens fast in football. I can’t really wish him all the best as his again a rival, but it’s very exciting having Mourinho back in the Premier League! It will definitely not be boring.
Jeg ble intervjuet av mitt kjære Oppland Arbeiderblad i dag og en del av intervjuet gikk på at jeg er jente og så stor supporter av Manchester United. Og mange synes dette er rart, litt spesielt og lurer på hvorfor jeg er det. Så jeg tenkte å lufte noen tanker om det, selv om det er litt rart for meg fordi det er lidenskapen min og sånn har det alltid vært.
I starten da jeg ble kjent med flere Unitedsupportere fikk jeg ofte høre ‘er du liksom United-fan?’ ‘Fortell meg startoppstillingen til United og hvordan forrige kamp gikk’. Jeg måtte bevise at jeg var supporter ved å kunne sangene og diverse info om spillerne. Og dette er noe de aldri hadde spurt en gutt om. Dette skjedde rundt 17-18 års alderen da jeg var mer ute og ble kjent med nye folk.
Jeg hadde min første fotoshoot i et magasin i 2008 der de brukte ukjente jenter på cover og de vinklet ofte bildene til noe jenta er interessert i. Så da de intervjuet meg og det kom fram at jeg hadde spilt fotball i 10 år og elsket Manchester United så foreslo de at bildene skulle ha fotball-tema syntes jeg det var kjempekult! Jeg tok også med drakter dagen vi skulle ta bilder og stylisten ville klippe draktene til med kløft og magetopp- men der gikk grensa, man klippet ikke i drakter!
Men bildene ble kjempekule og fine og det endte med at jeg ble kåret til årets forsidepike hos dem og jeg fikk en kickstart ved og også vinne den andre største konkurransen hos det største magasinet i Norge på den tiden. Vi snakker 2008 og jeg hadde da allerede vært Unitedsupporter i over 10 år, men siden hverdagen min handlet om å ta bilder av hverdagen min ble det helt naturlig at det ble mange bilder med Uniteddrakt på. Og som jeg sier, det er bare helt naturlig for meg. Jeg har blogget om United i over 10 år nå så dette er liksom ikke noe nytt for meg, men jeg merker en stor forskjell og det er Norge versus England (Twitter)
I Norge vet de fleste hvem jeg er når det kommer til fotball og United, jeg trenger ikke bevise noe nå lenger. Men det er blitt en stor trend i England nå at mange jenter promoterer seg selv ved å legge ut bilder av seg selv i fotballdrakter og selvfølgelig har jeg vært deres inspirasjon fordi det var ingen andre som gjorde det da jeg startet med det. Noen er fans, andre ikke. Og mange hater dette, at jenter bruker United for å få likes. Og mange spør meg om jeg får mye hat fordi jeg legger ut bilder av meg selv i drakter og blir en del av disse jentene. Og svaret er nei, jeg får noen kommentarer nå og da at jeg er desperat for oppmerksomhet og at jeg er en fake fan. Men altså, da bare ler jeg. Hovedpoenget mitt når det kommer til fotball er at dette er en sport for ALLE. Og alle uttrykker seg ulikt, og det er bare kult! Folk må da få lov til å gjøre det de vil, jeg blir ikke sur fordi andre ‘hermer’ , det er bare moro at flere jenter viser sin support! Jeg vet at mine blogginnlegg har bra innhold, at folk er uenig hender selvfølgelig fordi det er jo fotball og følelser jeg skriver om. Og mitt hovedfokus i mine sosiale medier er å vise MIN passion for Manchester United! Ingen kan komme å si den er feil 😀 skjønner? Om de ikke liker det eller er enig er jo en annen ting, men da er det bare å bla videre liksom, jeg ber ingen om å kommentere eller like bildene mine om de ikke er interesserte! Og dette er jo et fantastisk fenomen, disse Internett-haterne. De gidder altså å bruke tiden sin på å kommentere til meg- at de ikke liker meg eller at jeg er fake fan eller ditt og datt. Heldigvis så vet jeg at dette ikke har noe rot i virkeligheten, altså- ikke kom til ei dame som bruker flere timer om dagen å skrive om et fotballag, som har sesongkort og reiser over så mye hun kan, som virkelig bare vil bidra til positivitet og supporter-glede at HUN er en fake fan. Altså da tar jeg en Bea og sier bitch please! 😂 alle er ikke misunnelighet på meg, men det ligger dessverre noe i enkelte mennesker at det å unne andre noe godt er vanskelig. Og da er det lettere å skrive noe stygt om personen og om det er noen som henger seg på og liker det man skriver så gir det en god følelse. Jeg lar ikke det stoppe meg, jeg forstår at den personen virkelig ikke har det noe bra med seg selv, og jeg vet mine verdier og hvordan jeg er som både menneske og som med-supporter så jeg svarer ikke på slike kommentarer lenger. Fordi det er nettopp en respons de ønsker og hvorfor skal jeg please en person som for det første ofte er anonym, men også en person som sprer negativitet? Nei vet du hva, jeg får så mye god og positiv respons fra de 99% andre så det er nettopp de som fortjener å få svar og jeg elsker å ha en god relasjon med følgerne mine!
Nå startet jo dette innlegget om å være dame og fotballsupporter, men man kommer dessverre ikke unna med at man får mer hat på sosiale medier da. Men som jeg sier, det er bare en dråpe i havet, det er alltid mer positivt enn negativt, men vi er alle mennesker så selvfølgelig er det noen ganger kjipt å lese noe dritt, jeg hater urettferdighet så det gjelder også kommentarer jeg ser andre får. Skulle ønske folk kunne bry seg mer om det/de likte og bladde seg forbi det de ikke likte.
Så kan man jo også si at som dame så får man mer oppmerksomhet, at ting er lettere for oss. Men der er jeg uenig, ja- som to jenter alene i Manchester så kommer flere bort å slår av en prat, de vil by på en øl. Det hadde de nok ikke gjort til de to gutta som reiste over alene, men dette skjer over alt når man er dame. Jeg har fått muligheter jeg er overlykkelig for, jeg har fått frontet store eventer med x-United spillere, jeg har dratt på mange jobbreiser til Manchester og mye mer. Men jeg nekter å si at det er fordi jeg er dame. Det er nok en av grunnene, kan man markedsføring så må man faktisk skille seg ut og nå ut til mennesker, men jeg er også en utadvendt person. Jeg brenner for Manchester United og tror de fordelene jeg har fått er vel fortjent! Jeg vil heller påstå at som dame i denne ‘bransjen’ så må man ha bein i nesa. Det er ikke all oppmerksomhet som er morsomt, det kan være veldig ubehagelig og man må tale mye ‘banter’ også. Så om folk tror det bare er moro så tar de feil, vi er mer utsatte på godt og vondt. Heldigvis er jeg tøff, jeg er fra Toten og har bein i nesa, man må ha det om man er i en mannskultur.
Jeg er ferdig med å bevise ting for folk, når det kommer til fotball så er jeg 100% og som jeg nevnte tidligere så er det bare naturlig for meg, jeg tenker ikke over at jeg er noe mer spesiell enn andre fordi jeg har mange følgere. Det er ingen konkurranse om å være den største og beste supporteren. Vennene og kjæresten mine er like gira som meg de, men for de så holder det å poste et bilde nå og da på Instagram. For meg er det en rutine og gjøre det hver kamp.
Jeg får ofte spørsmålet hvorfor jeg er så stor fan, jeg er jente liksom og det er jo veldig spesielt..? Men det er jo ikke det, jeg har jo spilt fotball selv, det var i en divisjon med bare jenter det, ingen stussa på det? Men folk stusser på at jeg setter av en lørdag for å dra på pub for å se kamp eller at jeg drar til Manchester så ofte. Jeg skjønner ikke hvorfor det er spesielt? Det virker kanskje som mange jenter prioriterer bort fotballen da de blir eldre? For da jeg vokste opp elsket nesten alle i klassen fotball, uavhengig av kjønn. Men det endres med tiden og det er jo kjempekjipt! Så det er jo heller kanskje jeg som bør stille spørsmål om hvorfor det skjer? Hvorfor velger damer bort interessen da de blir eldre? Jeg kan jo bare svare for meg selv og det vil aldri skje, jeg vil jobbe for at det blir fler damer i feks Red Army Oslo, vi lager eventer alle kan delta på og jeg elsker å bli kjent med nye mennesker! Man må bare slutte å dømme folk, og heller bli mer inkluderende!
Vi er jo en stor, rød familie når det kommer til alt ❤️
Time flies and that’s good, I got five exams before Christmas so I should be stressed, especially when it’s getting closer and closer, but I can’t wait until I’m finished so I can leave the country again😂 it’s a tradition to go to Manchester in December for a game and visit the Christmas marked but I can’t make it this year unfortunately! But I have a long vacation (almost 3 weeks) after my exams are finished so I will travel then!
Weekends without the Premier League is so boring, even though international breaks happens every season it feels like a shock every time. Like wtf am I going to do this weekend 😂 I managed to fill this weekend with an early Christmas party with some of my best friends on Friday and since I got the mentality like an old lady I stayed home in the sofa with pillows and my duvet over me the rest of the weekend. Started (and finished) a show on HBO called In Between and it was really good!
I haven’t watched any of the international games actually, just the headlights. Nothing new though, Norway didn’t qualify and the earth is round.
What’s most important during the break is no players get injured, but I’m always happy to see the players doing good. Playing for their national team is big so hopefully it has given the chosen some extra motivation and for the other some well deserved rest. Can’t wait for the next game. I’m feeling a little bit optimistic and it’s a very good feeling after this horrible start..
Theres been two games since my last blog post, before the international break. Two games, two victories and SIX goals! We can chose to be all negative and complain about things we can’t fix, hate on others team or just keep on supporting United. I’ll chose the last option. No matter how much I hate other teams, United will always be my priority. So yes, Liverpool will probably win the league this season. But I really can’t be arsed about it now, it will ruin my daily life and mood if I’m stuck thinking about it so I won’t. But it’s clear VAR doesn’t live up to my expectations. The game against Liverpool and City was a perfect proof of that, when they don’t pick up on situations like those hands- and offside situations I give up. What’s the point with VAR then? In a big an important game like that the results could have been different if there was correct judgment, but nothing to do with it now.. that’s football I guess. Just hate technology that’s meant to help and the results are the opposite.
But United are showing progress and that makes me happy! We are far away of being a team like Liverpool and City, but can we all just try and remember back in time, every team goes trough a progress, a progress only time and/or money will fix and United are working on it. And as I said, were seeing progress, there’s been two really good games and I don’t care AT ALL that one team was Partizan. The boys played with passion, they had fun and for a supporter that’s exactly what I want to see! We are far from where we wanna be, but playing like this should be the standard! When you play forward you will get to chances! Kind of simple really, but I understand football is way more than what’s happening in the pitch. It’s young people dealing with their personal issues, they’re trying to fit in and that’s always hard. And being in a team where you know it’s a big change is of course hard on them because the psychological plays are a huge part. We can say they should bite their teeth together and suck it up, but when it’s psychologically it can’t be fixed that easily. We all know how much the players confidence matters and that’s a big part of that. Fred and Pereira are two good examples on that and look at them now!
I’m not convinced they are good enough, I still believe Pereira is a squad player at his best, but they have taken huge steps! Solskjær has given them time, they are starting to get comfortable out on the pitch and they have had a really good progress lately! I had almost given up on Fred, but look at him now. Now I can understand why we bought him and it’s like getting a new player in the team! He also looks so much more comfortable now, speaking up, taking shots and working hard- I love it!
Hopefully we can continue playing this way, I can’t see a reason why we can’t so I got high expectations for the last games in 2019
Have I lost my faith in Solskjær? Am I just a naive Norwegian that will support him no matter what? Absolutely not.
The media and the fans went quiet just a little bit, but it didn’t last long. When we lose, everything is wrong. And I got opinions, you got opinions, the ‘Ole out’ people got opinions, the ‘football experts’ got opinions and we don’t agree with each other- it’s opinions!
No one can say for sure that Solskjær will succeed or not, it’s just your opinion. And even if my opinion leads to giving Solskjær many years to rebuild this team and take United to a successful season, I can’t guarantee it. But- I honestly believe this so strong, Solskjær is NOT happy with this team. He loves Manchester United and want to play attacking football, that’s in his DNA. And that’s the reason I want him as our manager now and for years to come! But he doesn’t have the team for it so the players are outdated and not good enough which leads to playing the ball back instead of forward because they are not comfortable with it (the team isn’t balanced, they don’t trust their teammates, they are not good enough etc). And this won’t change before we can get some new players- which again will take time. So we need to be patient here, why do so many people want a quick fix? Let Ole rebuild this team to his own.
I’m tired of sacking managers when things are rough, maybe Solskjær isn’t the right man for Manchester United as many critics have claimed- but sacking him now and bring in another one to again rebuild this team will not work either. To judge a manager they need time to prove their philosophy and also enough money and help to get players that fits his team. No one after Ferguson have gotten that and it’s embarrassing how we sing about other clubs sacking managers then go online and ask for the same for your club. We need to be careful what we ask for and that brings
me to my next topic..
Mohammed Bin Salmans. And I hope this was the first and last time I ever wrote his name. You can see where I’m going with this. Take the Glazers and the campaign against them now- which I support- but not at any cost. My friends gets shocked when I tell them what people are writing to me because I chose to keep my season ticket for example. I’m against the Glazers and I hate the way they have used our club to earn money and put us in deep debt. And having a season ticket means I have put money in their pocket- fine, I won’t argue on that. But my point is, I support the team, and if I gave up my ST the club would have sold it the next minute to another fan!! There are thousands of fans on the waiting list every year so that would never help!
If you are Glazers out and consistent about it, it basically means you can’t watch United anymore. Just support them trough your heart and mind and read the results in the paper. And that’s not enough for me, it’s selfish but I want to go and support my team in Manchester.
For me, football stands for equality and compassion. So having rumors that a prince from Saudi Arabia wants to buy Manchester United makes me sick. Sick and angry! My boyfriend mentioned it last week and I couldn’t even go into discussing it because I was fuming. And the reason I’m angry is because I’m a human f…. being, I have traveled around the world and met so many people from different backgrounds and cultures. I know people that loves the same gender, I have people very close to me that’s been sexually assaulted, people that are discriminated because of their sexuality or religion and I’m a woman who knows my rights. If these people I have met had lived in Saudi Arabia THEY would have been put in jail, gone trough even more assaults and even killed! Because they were raped they will be punished with jail, not the rapist. Women can finally drive a car there! Wow! Revolution that. And yes- there are many places in the world where it’s injustice! I wouldn’t be happy if there was a Russian dictator that wanted to buy United either! And maybe this guy doesn’t believe in the regime of his country, maybe he is one of the good guys?! If so- use your money and influence to fix your country!
I know everything in life isn’t just black and white. As I said, for all I know this is a good guy. But he represents the part of the world where it’s a living hell for many people. Where people don’t have HUMAN RIGHTS. I will have a huge problem if someone who represents that owns my club. It goes against my principles in life so yes, it would be a massive issue for me if that happens.
The modern football has already wiped away some of our values, but if this guy buys United we have sold our souls forever..
