English FA Community Shield
Millennium Stadium | Cardiff, Wales

Arsenal 1-2 (PK, 4-3) Manchester United

Goals: Mikael Silvestre (15); Thierry Henry (19)
Penalty Kicks: MU [Scholes, Ferdinand, Van Nistelrooy (saved), Solskjaer, Forlan]; A [Edu, Van Bronckhorst (saved), Wiltord, Lauren, Pires (saved)].
Man of the Match: Tim Howard, GK, Manchester United

Hey-el hombre--I know its early,but this cannot be the same Tim Howard you said would get raped in the EPL that has impressive showings over Juve,Barcelona and Arsenal.

you mean in a bunch of glorified friendlies?

Just wanted to see if you were man enough to admit you MIGHT have made a mistake about this young man.I got my answer.Friendlies or not,ALL the big boys were playing.I am sure you have seen the highlights.
Like I said in a previous post-Sir Alex and his Keeper Coach do not know what the hell they are doing--right?

"Just wanted to see if you were man enough to admit you MIGHT have made a mistake about this young man.I got my answer.Friendlies or not,ALL the big boys were playing.I am sure you have seen the highlights."

i actually watched most of the games (except the charity shield)...he had a few quality stops but then there's the stuff you dont see in the highlights, like Howard bobbling a ball six or seven yards in front of him; you can get away with stuff like that in MLS or even the champions world tour, but in England that can cost you matches...

of course the weather becomes another matter, MLS doesnt even play in the American winter, which is nothing compared to what they have in England...it was about this time Brad Friedel started screwing up when he was at Liverpool, and wound up getting benched for David James of all people

also keep in mind this is Manchester United he's playing for, a team whose fans see them as the best team in the world, and everyone else despises the same way we do the Yankees, only 100 times as much, and just want any excuse to crucify him (look what they did with his Turette's syndrome)...i just think it'd have been better for him to go to a situation with a bit less pressure, say maybe to Charlton or Manchester City then work his way up to the big boys...he'll make it, but i seriously doubt it'll be at Old Trafford

"Like I said in a previous post-Sir Alex and his Keeper Coach do not know what the hell they are doing--right?"

these are the same guys that thought Massimo Taibi was good enough to start in the premiership, right? that splashed 28 million on Juan Sebastian Veron? that resigned Blanc? theyve only had one good keeper since Schmiechel, and we all saw what happened to Barthez

whether im right or wrong remains to be seen, but at least wait until midseason and dont try and call me out over some friendlies

let me reiterate: i want Howard to do well, and i sincerely hope he does well (and that the rest of his team sucks, of course) but i dont think going into such a high pressure situation is the way to do it

but apparently Barthez humiliated himself against Stoke today and given that Ricardo fella isnt that great, it looks like Howard'll be starting