MANCHESTER "UNITED" AT LAST...........................

Manchester United sealed a third successive Premier League title by getting the point they needed against Arsenal - but the Old Trafford celebrations only started after an afternoon gripped by tension.

Sir Alex Ferguson's side knew a draw would ensure they equalled Liverpool's long-time record of 18 titles, but Arsenal ensured they did not earn their prize without a fight.

Robin van Persie and Cesc Fabregas both wasted opportunities to drag the title race into its final week and leave United with more work to do at Hull City on the last day of the season as nerves jangled in the closing stages.

But United's defence, so often the bedrock of their success this season, delivered another clean sheet when Ferguson needed it most and Old Trafford erupted in ecstasy at the final whistle as an 11th Premier League success was confirmed.

Old Trafford title win extra special - Rooney

Wayne Rooney missed United's best chance with a first-half header, and there was an intriguing cameo when Old Trafford voiced its resounding disapproval when the popular Carlos Tevez was substituted in what could prove to be his final home appearance.

But nothing could overshadow United's achievement - or the joy of players, fans and management - as the presentations were made after the final whistle with club captain Gary Neville lifting the Barclays Premier League trophy.

United saw off a stirring challenge from an improving Liverpool this season to once again set the standards their rivals must meet, despite a stumble when defeats against Rafael Benitez's side and Fulham threatened to undermine their challenge.

And as so often during this campaign, United got the result they needed when not at their most fluent, with the industry of Darren Fletcher and the defensive solidity of Nemanja Vidic taking centre stage as Arsenal kept Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo on the margins.

More to come from young side - Giggs

United's squad were introduced individually as the presentations began, but the biggest ovation of all was reserved for Ferguson, whose hunger, drive and desire have again been the inspiration for this triumph.

And as the pyrotechnics flashed around Old Trafford, Ferguson could start the preparations for further glory as he attempts to make United the first club to successfully defend the Champions League when they meet Barcelona in the final in Rome.

Tevez's spectacular equaliser at Wigan earned him a starting place ahead of Dimitar Berbatov - with Ferguson clearly unmoved by continued speculation surrounding the Argentine's future.

Andrey Arshavin was restored to Arsenal's side after illness, and he saw plenty of possession in a first 45 minutes that saw Arsene Wenger's side acquit themselves far better than when the pressure was on in the recent Champions League semi-final against United.

The Russian provided an inviting cross for Van Persie after 13 minutes, but he headed off target with United's defence unlocked.

United's response was a Rooney header from John O'Shea's cross four minutes later. He should have at least tested Arsenal keeper Lukasz Fabianski, but directed a low header just wide.

Arsenal had a foothold in the game without putting United's defence under concerted pressure, but there was enough on show to subdue the atmosphere of anticipation inside Old Trafford.

United had one final opportunity as the interval approached, but Ryan Giggs, who would later collect his 11th Premier League title medal, shot well over the top after good work on the left flank by Rooney.

Van Persie had already been booked for a reckless challenge on Ronaldo, and he was fortunate to escape with a lecture from referee Mike Dean early in the second half for another poor tackle, this time on Patrice Evra.

United had struggled to create clear-cut opportunities, but Fabianski had to be alert on the hour to block Tevez, with Ronaldo firing the loose ball yards over the bar.

It was the final contribution for Tevez, who was replaced by Ji-Sung Park. Ferguson's decision was not well received by Old Trafford, in fact it was met with open derision as the popular striker made his way to the touchline.

Tevez milked the situation for all it was worth, waving to all sides of the ground in apparent farewell - going a step further by acknowledging the fans after taking his place on the bench.

Ronaldo thought he had scored the goal that rubber-stamped the title with 12 minutes left, but his 20-yard angled free-kick dipped just wide with Fabianski beaten.

We did it the hard way - Carrick

Fabregas almost stunned Old Trafford with seven minutes left and the clock ticking down towards the title triumph. He found space inside the penalty area but, to widespread relief from the home support, could only find the side-netting.

Van Persie then shot straight at Van der Sar as United looked to have settled for the stalemate that would see them retain their crown.

The Dutch striker gave Old Trafford one final scare when his free-kick was bravely blocked by Michael Carrick.

Seconds later, referee Dean sounded the final whistle and United were crowned champions again.

---

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson:
"The great challenge now is to try to win it next year because that would be something special.

"A 19th league title would give us a special place in the club's history."
Man Utd reaction in full

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger:
"United are worthy champions. They did well in every single competition and that is very difficult.

Defensive record the difference - Wenger

"It was a very interesting championship. I think United won it because they got more points at home than any of the other teams in the top four.

"Our ambition was to win the game. United were very cautious, and we did not find an opening.

"We lacked sharpness and quality in the final third but overall we dominated the game.

"United's strength is to defend well and that is what they did today."

Details courtesy : BBC Sports

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I was delirious, maddened beyond happy comprehension.... If there were any active volcanoes present anywhere in the vicinity of Mumbai , I would have bound up all the horrible Liverpool and Chelsea fans (who have been nothing short of lice in my hair for the past 10 months trying to suck my blood and brand me with a red hot iron proclaiming that Liverpool/Chelsea were going to win the Premier League this time) and flung them into the boiling hot lava..................

Anyway, I am the one laughing the loudest and grinning the widest at the end.... Liverpool fans end up being Livery Livered, The Blues end up drinking Dormex and the Gunners finish with a cannon poking up their a**es and a bazooka pointing up Arsene Wenger's backside :) I do not hold anything against these fine teams but their "loyal" fans who whip my backside everyday in the Lecture halls whenever Manchester United slips up :) Be at peace brothers...while I rob the candy store... CIAO all...

AVE THE INDIAN CAESAR....AU REVOIR MAHARAJ... BECAUSE SOMETIMES YOU NEED THE QUANTUM OF SOLACE :)

Stars are often the hardest to reach when you try to infallibly reach them, by standing on tiptoes. The ones who jump up and grab them are the real heroes. Having fought his way through a million wagging tongues, apprehensible experts, homicidal critics and brutal marshes, Sourav Ganguly has finally called it a day.

If Kumble was subtle, Ganguly was overbearingly loud in his approach to the game initially, quite literally :) The ardor of the man was bordering on apocalyptic madness. His desire to succeed was raging through his veins like lava. Arguably one the best left handers the world has hated and loved at the same time leaves us with a legacy that could help bald men grow back their hair.

“When Sourav was discarded from the Indian team, he put up an extraordinary display of resilience and imbibed superhuman determination to prove his detractors wrong. He often used to get up in the middle of the night and awaken his house help. He used to clear the drawing room area and ask his help to throw plastic balls so that he could practice. This would often continue into the wee hours of the morning”

Sourav Chandidas Ganguly, the immortal controversial figure, the universal dada, the god on the offside, the arrogant brat who refused to carry drinks onto the field when he was the 12^th man, the man who showed us that wrestlers are not the only people in the sports arena who can take off their shirts, the man who practiced in a park with two small bricks as stumps when he was unceremoniously dropped from the team….the man who gave Indian cricket the saber toothed edge…..

The essence of a hero lies in the manner in which he picks himself up bloodied and battered with sand crusts sticking to his face to fight one more battle. Sourav was the Julius Caesar (with something extra) of Indian cricket. Both were extraordinarily ambitious men, born leaders and arrogant in their own rights. Caesar defeated Pompey and took hold of a politically unstable Rome, while Ganguly took over the reins of the Indian cricket team when the country was recovering from the shocks of a grave match fixing scandal. Both Caesar and Ganguly accepted the crown of thorns. Caesar introduced a string of superfluous and excellent policies and commercial decisions which changed the face of Rome. Ganguly with his youth policy and his devil may care attitude infused the brash fighting spirit into the beggarly and defused Indian team. Caesar was betrayed by the man he trusted, Brutus, He was cornered from every side, stabbed and humiliated and finally laid to rest in a bloody mass on the very land he ruled. Ganguly was betrayed by the very coach whose job he himself had helped to secure and was humiliated badly.

But Ganguly did not die….he stitched his wounds back up and returned to the battlefield, hungry, bloodthirsty for runs and determined to cross out Lady Fortune’s curses which had affected his brilliant career.

The smiling Maharaj started off brilliantly at the beginning of his career, scaling new horizons, sailing like a Columbus, conquering and discovering territory when India toured abroad, following unbound precedents, dancing like a ballerina down the pitch and launching the ball into the crowd as if to say that the ground was not big enough for him and the ball together. His cover drives, like scones and tea on a sunny British afternoon, his square cuts like a Deverish swordsman aiming for the neck, his sweeps like the avenging Tsunami sweeping over helpless lands…punishing the opposition bowlers, literally all the off spinners of the world retreated back into the shadows on seeing him.

The man who spent lonely afternoons in a coffee shop on the South African tour when he was ignored by the rest of team, the man who preferred the company of a packet of chips and a stroll by the riverside to quell his anger at the injustice was in fact a stubborn man who hated failure. Sometimes when you hate failure badly enough, you end up winning. The man who tamed the Kangaroo, wrestled the Pathan and made the Jamaicans dance to his calypso was at one time the Don Juan of the cricketing world. Umpires were his least favorite animated objects on the cricket field and match referees were amongst his choicest friends. His policy of win the toss and bat first was simple and devastating enough. His aura was confidence personified….his sheer brutality in terms of giving it back to the opposition was stunning.

“Apne Dada ko to nahin bhule ???” the one television commercial which I am sure must have made true cricket lovers and Sourav fans cry or atleast have moist eyes once…. How earnest were his words!! How humbled was the man who once was the undisputed Lord of Indian cricket!! How mellow was the man who was once the king of brashness!!

From glory to dust, Sourav Ganguly has seen everything. From a prince to a pauper and then again back to being the Maharaj, the man with the magic touch has fought the eye of the sandstorm, been rudely polite :) and has also taught people how to pick up the towel once you have thrown it down. Straight talk and self assuredness are his greatest assets. India’s greatest ever captain ended his last test match at Nagpur in a most befitting manner. A mature and wonderful gesture on Dhoni’s part to allow him to captain the side towards the end for a brief interval , infused into him the lost energy and child like enthusiasm as the Maharaj for the one last time took to captaincy as a duck takes to water. As someone close to me rightly said that it was sad to see him not being interviewed during the prize distribution, but the prince did take his shirt off for the last time and closed the chapter on one of the greatest success and comeback stories in sports history. The Muhammed Ali of cricket has finally hung up his gloves. It made me cry….because I would never get to see the chequered bandana, the green yellow goggles, the nail biting and the play of a man who selflessly put his own successful opening slot on line to give India one of it’s current heroes : Virender Sehwag….. play in Indian colours. The man who quit tennis and football to turn to cricket deserves a tribute…..

Let us pay Sourav Ganguly the tribute he deserves. The man who was liked by some, hated by many but adored by millions has finally gone…..His memories will roam on the offside forever and his story will inspire generations to come…..His shirt will be firmly on his back and he will, I am sure give much back to Indian cricket because he has amassed so much from it…..

GOODBYE....JUMBO, THE SUPERMAN : ANIL KUMBLE

I feel very sad today, as every other true Indian cricket lover will be….. The JUMBO of Indian cricket has decided to call it a day. I got a real shock when the giant screen proclaimed that Anil Kumble had decided to hang up his boots. I was expecting his retirement decision to come after the series but certainly not on the last day of the Kotla test.

His relentless commitment and on field aggression have been thoroughly talked about and discussed by people worthier than me and by people who have shared the dressing room with him. I remember Anil Kumble as a perfect gentleman, the cricketer with a big heart and steely resolve. I met Anil Kumble in Lucknow when India was playing England at the KD Singh Babu stadium way back in 1994 - 1995 and Mohd Azharuddin was the Indian captain. He made me sit on his lap and signed my cap for me….that is how I remember Anil Kumble…the man with a golden heart…he had offered me some sugar coated chewable candy as well and I remember divesting him of his entire strip of candy. My dad still reminds me of the details :)

The determination with which he took the field with a broken jaw against the West Indies and got Brian Lara out lbw is a part of cricketing folklore. His 10 wickets against Pakistan at the Kotla is a ballad sung by cricket lovers even to this day. He has been a wonderful statesman of the Indian cricket team.

It has been rightly said that the BCCI should award Anil Kumble a lifetime pension for the services he has rendered. The hundred which he got at the Oval and the manner in which he celebrated shows the passion with which he played the game. Shane Warne and Muralidaran may have more wickets but they do not have a test century to their credit, do they ??? :)

A golden hearted man in real life as well, Anil has made himself available for several social causes.

A truly gifted individual with determination that can move mountains, it is shameful that towards the end of his career, critics took hearty digs at him now that their sitting duck Sourav Ganguly was gone. All of us should take our hats off to the wonderful cricketer, brilliant spinner and marvel that Anil Kumble is….He is truly one of the greatest of all time. I salute him and wish him all the best for his future. Godbless you Anil…..

“When you look at India as a team, their record at home probably compares to Australia's as best in the terms of win record. But our performance outside gets highlighted only because the difference between our show at home and abroad is too much.” : ANIL KUMBLE

"Anil Kumble has been a great servant of Indian Cricket and I use the word servant carefully because he has never tried to be the master. " : HARSHA BHOGLE

THE PRINCE....MY DADA AND HIS DADAGIRI......

He was Indian Cricket's biggest revelation...... No...I am not talking about Sachin Tendulkar or MS Dhoni..... He is the Prince of Kolkata.....the King of Behala.....He is my Dada, my idol and inspiration...Sourav Ganguly...

MS Dhoni became only the second Indian Cricketer to be awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna...I feel happy for the guy...but somewhere down the line I am stung by the injustice of it all. How could India's most successful test captain ever, the man who led India to the 2003 World Cup finals and the man who started the trend of bearding the Australians in their own den ....not be given the Khel Ratna??

The only answer which comes to my mind is dirty politics or biased politics.




Dada..after winning the Natwest series final at Lords


I am still branded with the legendary and immortal image of Dada ...twirling his shirt, bare chested after India had won the Natwest Series against England at the Mecca of Cricket - Lords
...He was shouting and screaming and hurling one "fuck off" after another and rightly so...because the English team was fucked off and Andrew Flintoff had disappeared from the scene....



Dada in full flight during his knock of 183

His innings at Taunton where he decimated a full strength Sri Lankan attack with his mammoth 183 still holds a special place in my heart....he helped India reach a huge score of 373 and squashed the mighty Lankans...




Dada acknowledges the crowd at Brisbane



His innings of 143 against Australia in the first test at Brisbane...spurred India on to achieve a miraculous retention of the Border Gavaskar trophy and blew away the myth that the Australians were invincible on home soil.......

Dada during the epic test match


Dada's insistence of including a rookie spinner Harbhajan Singh in the epic Test Match against Australia at Kolkata ,helped India create history..... Agreed that it was the Laxman,Dravid and Harbhajan show...but Dada's captaincy and a brave decision to declare ,completed the superb victory....


His first two hundreds....on debut at Lords and Trent Bridge against England took the world by storm and the haughty prince who refused to carry drinks out onto the pitch ( Because he was the 12th man) became the God of the offside...taking over the reins from David Gower...

He has been Indian Cricket's bad boy as well and has been involved in numerous altercations with the on field umpires and match referees....but then who doesn't love a bad boy :)


Dada after scoring his double hundred


I was infinitely happy when my Dada scored the first double century of his career against Pakistan and the relief on his face was evident.....I am very touchy about my Dada and I cannot take criticism aimed at him....Being a Bengali myself may have something to do with it...but he is my inspiration...


Dada with Greg Chappell

I still remember the period when Dada was ousted from the team following a face off with Greg Chappell which went on to become one of the most scandalous chapters in the history of Indian Cricket.....He showed tremendous resilience, courage and determination and fought his way back into the team...only to find himself being ill treated by his team mates..The glum and morose look on his face killed my heart..... but he roared and silenced his critics once again....He is a lion..my Dada...he never gives up....


And...........he is the only cricketer to have danced with Hrithik Roshan (Dancing God) in a Hero Honda Ad.....He is a dasher....my Dada he really is..............



Dada with SRK at the Knight Rider's promotional event


How can a man who has given so much to Indian Cricket not be awarded with India's highest sporting honour??......Give it a thought....And Dada...please guide the Knight Riders to a sensational IPL Cup victory....it will be another golden feather in your diamond cap.....Three cheers.....

The details below are furnished thanks to Gaurav Tomar....



AWARDS TO SOURAV GANGULY

• Sportstar Person of the Year - 1998 Awarded by the Sportstar Magazine

• Arjuna Award -1998 For outstanding performance in cricket

• CEAT Cricketer of the Year 99-00 , Cash prize of 5 lakh rupees and a trophy

• CEAT Indian Captain of the Year 01-02 For outstanding achievement as leader

• Award for Cricketing Excellence 2003 Presented to men who made "the difference"

• Padma Shri 2004 4th highest civilian award in India

• Rammohan Roy Award 2004 For outstanding performance as captain

SOURAV IN WISDEN

• Sourav has 4 of his innings in top 100 ODI innings declared by Wisden Cricket and 3 in top 25.
  

     21)Ganguly S C 141* Ind vs SA, 2000, Nairobi.

        24)Ganguly S C 141 Ind vs Pak, 2000, Adelaide Oval.

        25)Ganguly S C 183 Ind vs SL, 1999, County Ground.

        71)Ganguly S C 153* Ind vs NZ, 1999, Captain Roop 
Singh Stadium.

• Sourav has 3 of his innings in Top 5 ODI innings played by Indian batsman as declared by Wisden Cricket.

2) Ganguly S.C 141* 196.71 India Vs South Africa
2000, Nairobi Gymkhana Club Ground

4) Ganguly S.C 141 194.35 India Vs Pakistan,
2000, Adelaide Oval 5) Ganguly S.C 183 194.07 India Vs Sri Lanka,
1999, County Ground, Taunton.

SOURAV IN ODIs
·  Second fastest player to reach 10,000 ODI runs.·  Fastest to reach
multiples of 7,000,
8,000,  9,000 ODI Runs.·  Second Fastest after
Viv Richards to reach
6,000 ODI Runs in 147
Innings and Sachin
Tendulkar to 10,000 in
263 Innings.
                       
                  Sourav Ganguly... reaching the 10,000-run mark.

· In the Sahara Cup 1997, Saurav Ganguly set a World Record for 4 consecutive Man of the Match Awards and later he was declared as the Man of The series also.

· Sourav is the highest run scorer
in the world in the
calendar year of1997 - with 1338 runs1999 - with 1767 runs2000 - with 1579 runsin 1998, he was the 2nd highest
total run scorer in the
world after Sachin Tendulakr.
Sachin scored 1894 runs while sourav scored 1328
runs.Which means he ruled the world cricket in batting
for 4 years.He scored 1114 runs in year 2002 also.· Holds the record, shared withMahendra Singh Dhoni,
for the second highest score by an Indian cricketer
in an ODI — 183, against Sri Lanka in 1999.· Held the record, shared with Sachin Tendulkar, for
the highest first wicket partnership for India in a
ODI match, 258, against Kenya in 2001. This record
was bettered by Sri Lankan opening pair of Jayasuriya
and Tharanga in 2006 at Headingly.· Was involved in the first 300 run ODI partnership
with Rahul Dravid.· Sourav with Sachin tops the list of Highest overall
partnership runs by openers with 5799 runs(17
hundred runs partnership which too is a record).· Sourav with Sachin tops the list of Highest overall
partnership runs by a pair playing at any position
with total 7417 runs(22 hundred runs partnership
which too is a record) till date and while his
partnershipship with Rahul Dravid is on the 5^th spot
in this list with a total of 4245 runs.· Sixth on the all time list with 30 man of the match
awards.· First Indian to score an ODI century against
Australia in Australia.(who says he is afraid
of fast tracks ?? :P)· Sourav is among those 9 cricketers of the world who
scored a century and took
4 wickets in the same match.
He first scored 130* and l
ater took 4/21 against SL
in 1999 at Nagpur.· Sourav is among those 12
cricketers of the world
who scored a half century
and took 5 wickets in the
same match. He scored 71*
and took 5/34 against Zim
in 2000 at Kanpur.· Sourav Ganguly in ICC World Cup 2002/03
scored a total of 465 runs and this performance is on
5^th spot in the list of Most runs in an series by a
captain with unfornately Greg Chappell topping the
list :D· In Feb 2005: Climbed to the number 3 spot in the list
of most sixes hit by a batsman in ODI with 168 sixes
in 247 matches.


SOURAV IN WORLD CUP


· Sourav jointly(with Mark Waugh, Sachin Tendulkar and
Ricky Ponting) holds the record of scoring maximum
number of centuries (4) in world cup.· Sourav holds the record of scoring maximum number of
centuries in a single WC (3 centuries in WC-03) jointly
with Mark Waugh and Mathew Hayden.· Sourav holds the record of scoring most runs through
boundaries in an innings in any World Cup match.
He scored 110 runs by boundaries in his mammoth 183
score against SL in taunton in WC-99.· Sourav’s 183 is the second highest score in an inning
by any cricketer with Kirsten topping the list with 188*.· Sourav with Dravid holds the record of heighest
partnership of 318 runs in WC while the 2^nd spont in
the list too goes to Sourav with Sachin who scored 244
runs together against Namibia in WC-03.
SOURAV IN TESTS
· One of 3 batsman who made tons in their 1st two Test innings.· Sourav was only the 3rd batsman
in the world to score a century
on debut at Lords.· His 131 still remains the
highest by any batsman on his
debut at Lord’s.· In May 2004: Joined the top
20 list of players whohit the
most sixes in Test cricket,
with 41 sixes.


SOURAV AS CAPTAIN


· Captained India in a record 49 Test matches.· Led India to a record 21 Test
wins.· India's most successful Test
captain.· India's most successful ODI
captain.· In the 2nd Test vs. Australia
at Kolkata in the
Border-Gavaskar Trophy,
Sourav became only
the 3rd captain in Cricket history to lead a team
to victory after following on. India went on to
win the series 2-1.· In Mar - Apr 2004: Became the first Indian captain
to win an ODI and Test series in Pakistan.· In April 2005: Became only the 3rd cricketer and 2nd
Indian after Mohammed Azharuddin to make 5000 ODI runs
as skipper in the Pepsi Cup vs. Pakistan.

CRISTIANO, THE RED DEVILS AND LIFE THEREAFTER

Just look at the picture above.... that's what Manchester United is all about.A superb red winning machine which has been in the past one year in one word... unstoppable...The Barclay's Premier League and the Champion's League firmly in it's kitty...the current squad looks every bit capable of regaining the magic double once again....but then one issue pops up CRISTIANO RONALDO.....Do you spot him in the picture above.Yes, he is there but not as an individual...but as a part of the entire Red Devil's squad.

I do not get what the brouhaha is all about??? Why is everybody at United going crazy over this Portuguese superstar??? Well, yeah! he was unstoppable last season...yeah! his free kicks were amazing and yeah! his accent is likable but he is a human being after all. Demi gods like David Beckham have been tempted away to Real Madrid...so why are we baying for his blood if he decides to quit Manchester United. Being a hardcore United fan myself, I can understand what the fans feel.But why all this talk about modern slavery and banishing him to the reserves??? He is after all a man of flesh and blood and the desire to play in a Spanish club tempts some of the world's best players.We should not grudge him his wish.It is his choice after all.Let us be the great Manchester United fans that we are and applaud him as the West Ham fans applauded Tevez and as we applauded Van Nistelrooy.Let us not in our moments of selfishness forget what contributions Cristiano has made to our club's great history.All said and done we do not even know whether he will be going to Real after all.Let us wish him a speedy recovery.

If Ronaldo does go, Manchester United will be short on ammo yes...but never on talent.Nani can be groomed to take up Ronaldo's role and with patience and hard training Fergusson might have a good team on his hands.With no new signings this season and with Giggs and Scholes retiring next season...we will have to replenish our bench strength and delve into the youth academy...after all we are the champions and once Rooney and Tevez find form,their partnership can be lethal.

Let us look forward to a season of triumph,a season of romance with English football and it's favourite child MANCHESTER UNITED. VIVA MANCHESTER......