May 11 2008
Giggs Marks Tenth Championship With A Record And A Goal
The final day of the Barclays English Premier League, and all decisions are made final. Manchester United are crowned champions, cementing their place firmly, as Chelsea needed a win against Bolton to remain competitive, which they failed to accomplish, as that match ended a draw. In my opinion Manchester United deserved to win, they were the best club for all intents and purposes, for the whole of the season. Taking the top spot from Arsenal, and never letting go until they were champions. Ryan Giggs made his 758th appearance for United, tying Sir Bobby Charlton’s previous record for most matches as a Manchester Red. If Giggs plays in the upcoming Champions League final, he will overtake Charlton, becoming the most capped United player in the history of the club.
As it turned out, Ryan Giggs goal, nine minutes before full-time, proved to be the final say in United’s 2-0 victory. What a fitting end that a United living legend should be the one to take them to their tenth Premiership title. Also with this victory manager Sir Alex Ferguson closes in on Liverpool, coming within one title to tie Liverpool’s record of 18 titles, currently the best of any English side. With all the talk of Fergie possible retiring at the end of the season, I don’t believe a word, given the fact that he’s so close to cementing his place in knocking Liverpool down for good, why would he give up without the job done?
The battle to avoid relegation was concluded as well, with Derby County, Birmingham City and Reading, all falling victim to demotion from the Premier League. Fulham having just escaped with a 1-0 victory against Portsmouth. I actually feel bad for Reading this year, as the team just couldn’t click it seems, and their 4-0 thumping of Derby County has come just too late. I was hoping manager Steve Coppell was going to have more to offer in the Premiership, but now he’s probably going to have to wait for possibly quite some time for another showing. As we all know how badly former Premiership squads perform after being demoted to the Championship.
So, congratulations Manchester United on becoming champions for the second year in a row. And congratulations Fulham on narrowly escaping relegation. Now we all have the FA Cup final and the Champions League final to look forward to, with great anticipation.
