Sports: Football/Soccer: England's Manchester United wins over Blackpool

byBBC Sports (May22,2k11)

Respect for the writer, Phil McNulty, one of the best in sports writing in the English-speaking language, the "Chief football writer at Old Traffor".

Old Trafford, I learned thru Google, is the name of a township within the Greater Manchester Area, where I presume the ManchUs have their stadium and headquarters.  Anyway, the brilliant McNulty has an unsigned photo to enhance his page, a photo of such brilliant composition, precisely the ball is centered in the painterly sense, with the goalie an off-weighing figure juxtaposed radiatingly to two leading figures, the goalie's figure being less distinct becawz it's chunked out of the zone of the main force.

Read more ... click on the time-stamp below to read the best




The two leading figures, atheletic figures on the same team , clearest, the pack driving in but chunked out against the background of netting which hazes the force of the goalie's apparent advance to the ball, a golden ploy to ward off a score for the wolves, which is so loaded with narrative semiotic possibilities.  Here the pictorial aspect is itself beautifully complicated by what you see first, second, third ...

Here your 'social awareness' has to come into play as well, to see the bipolar radiation ruffly from the ball and its implied trajectory into the net, but freezing the snapshot (the element of duration, a snap of the fingers) then back to the diameter closest out from the football itself (North America usually "soccer ball"), the two sports figures (each a member of the same team -- read the color scheme of the difference between the two team's sports shirts - one is dominantly white from the goalie's team -- useless? -- the other is dominantly red; all taken into account, there's the goalie, then two face-on players -- who coud be frozen-still watching the ball makes its way into the net, or not.

Keenest defender on the goalie's team in red, the full-face guy; release him/them from the still frame, and he will burst forward ... to stop the ball?  Will the ball go in without assist?  Will the ball stay out without assist?  But who kicked the ball ... hmmm ... the player whose back we see, #26 it woud seem, swinging around and adjusting his footing soon after the swing -- he! -- kicked the ball, and then he is at the top of his rise in his jump to degend against the apparently incoming soccerball, defence the ball on one axis, while balancing the moons in a process of simulated diametrical opposition, but almost losing his footing as it were, he's floating in this instant of timeabove the green grass; was he, of all his team-mates now but cawt in the web behind him, the chunk of netting that slashes the visual field.  Yet, they are  like two moons at opposite ends of a diameter, orbiting at the bipolar ends of the diameter that coordinates the simultaneously-orbiting polarity of moons at the two polar ends of a radial diameter, ever describing a circle, I say in passing to my next thawt, and thus widens the pictorial geometries from ball to Red-shirted team goalieand woudbe defenders at hand.

Philip McNulty writes in this BBC News Sports article, Oh, I see now he's located in the community where this Premiere League match just happened, securing another ManchUnited victory.  I'm still mystified at the uncanny feeling of witnessing a visual work of art that the photo-artist must have snapped instantly, and in that stantaneous snap-moment captured so much, perhaps more than he could have possibly know except by an intuition and immediate response to it, with the finger-snapper on the camera that which contributed to producsing such excellent photographic results. It's a wow! of a picture, and it accompanies a wow! of a sports article, by Phil McNulty.

Manchester United   

4 - 2   

Blackpool

by Phil McNulty
Chief football writer at Old Tafford

Blackpool's one-season stay in the top flight ended in defeat and a rollercoaster ride of emotions as Manchester United celebrated their record 19th title with victory at Old Trafford.

Boss Ian Holloway knew only three points would give Blackpool a realistic chance of survival amid the dramatic twists and turns of the final day of the campaign, as five clubs fought to secure Premier League status.

And when goals from Charlie Adam and Gary Taylor-Fletcher turned around an early deficit after Ji-Sung Park put United ahead, the Tangerines looked on course to navigate an unlikely path to survival at the home of the newly-crowned champions, who have lost only two points at home all season.  Read more ...click on time-stamp just below ...


Sadly for Holloway, his players and the thousands of Blackpool supporters who travelled in hope of an escape, United ruthlessly punished the Seasiders in the closing stages, condemning them to relegation with West Ham United and Birmingham City.

Anderson's equaliser placed Blackpool under pressure they were unable to withstand, with Ian Evatt's own goal and Michael Owen's late strike setting the seal on a day that offered hope and finally heartbreak.

Click to play

Ferguson pays tribute to 'brilliant' Man Utd

Blackpool's attacking approach has illuminated the Premier League but the defensive deficiencies that have haunted them were still in evidence as their brief stay in English football's top tier came to an end.

At the final whistle, as United prepared to be presented with the Premier League trophy that would confirm their coronation as English football's most successful domestic club, Old Trafford spared a thought for the gallant visitors as both Blackpool and Holloway were afforded a generous standing ovation.

Blackpool's journey has been characterised by an all-out attacking philosophy and Holloway stayed true to his principles to the end, but it was to no avail as they return to the Championship a year to the day after they won promotion.

It was a day of contrasting emotions as Blackpool found themselves out of the relegation places then back in as results around the Premier League fluctuated on so-called 'Survival Sunday'.

And there was no greater illustration of this than the scenes after the final whistle, as Blackpool's tearful and dejected players trooped towards their followers while Old Trafford exploded in joy as United collected the trophy and looked forward to Saturday's Champions League final against Barcelona at Wembley.

Ferguson, who fielded a strong side despite leaving Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand on the bench, took the microphone to pay tribute to retiring goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar and Gary Neville, who quit earlier this season.

Blackpool's initial objective was victory - and they should have been ahead inside the first 30 seconds.

Adam pulled a cross back invitingly for the incoming Keith Southern, but he was gripped by indecision and pulled his effort well wide when a goal seemed certain.

Adam was confirming his status as Blackpool's main creative force and another swerving low cross, tantalisingly out of Van der Sar's reach, saw Taylor-Fletcher just fail to apply the crucial final touch.

Blackpool's positive intent was matched by defensive frailty and United almost took advantage twice early on, with Matt Gilks saving well from Rafael and, even more impressively, from Dimitar Berbatov.

There was no escape, however, in the 21st minute when Berbatov's pass released Park in the area.

Evatt was weak in the challenge with the South Korean, who escaped his attentions to lift his finish over the advancing Gilks.

The goal appeared to deflate Blackpool, and Gilks was in action again on the half-hour when Berbatov profited from more uncertainty.

The Bulgarian swooped on the loose ball but Blackpool's keeper was able to make a crucial block with his legs.

Click to play

Holloway proud despite 'cruel' drop






Just as it looked like all Holloway's motivational powers would be required at the interval, Adam provided the sort of inspirational moment that has been a trademark of Blackpool's season to open up the possibility of survival.

Referee Mike Dean punished Nemanja Vidic for a foul on Taylor-Fletcher and the Scot curled a superb left-foot free-kick past Van der Sar and in off the upright.

Adam demonstrated his quality from set pieces again after 48 minutes when he forced Van der Sar to punch away another free-kick - but another moment of sheer elation was not far away from the Seasiders.

Vaughan found space on the right side of United's area before setting up Taylor-Fletcher, whose glancing effort teased the thousands of Blackpool fans behind the goal before bouncing off the post and into the net.

The celebrations were short-lived as United were swiftly back on terms when Park's cross was swept high past Gilks by Anderson - immediately prompting Ferguson to send Owen into the action.

Blackpool were on the back foot after United stepped up the pressure, with Gilks saving acrobatically from Berbatov, and Nani somehow heading Chris Smalling's cross wide with the goal at his mercy.

Holloway's side were living on the edge and tumbled over the precipice in the cruellest fashion possible with 16 minutes left as Evatt, a stalwart of their season, could only divert Smalling's cross into his own net.

As the inevitability of their fate dawned on them, Blackpool became ragged and Owen showed some of the old expertise in front of goal when he raced through from Anderson's pass and beat Gilks with ease to wrap up United's victory and condemn Holloway and his players to the drop.

Even as they suffered in the final moments of this Premier League season Blackpool refused to go quietly, with Van der Sar saving from Adam and Luke Varney hitting the bar with a header.

Old Trafford delivered a heartfelt tribute to Blackpool as they made their way off - but there was no consolation to be found on a day of bitter disappointment.

-- End of McNulty article from BBC Sport News. --