If you missed the excitement this evening, Sir Alex’s hope of retaining the Carling Cup were ended courtesy of a fabulous goal by United fan Freddie Eastwood that gave bottom of the Championship Southend a 1-0 win. Sadly for Freddie, Steve Bruce is no longer managing in the Premiership so his hopes for a premature transfer in January are rather slim. But the Shrimpers…yes, the Shrimpers…should be partying well into the night after seeing off the Premiership’s flying leaders.
Although Chelsea, Arsenal and especially Liverpool supporters will be laughing heartily at another cup embarassment for United, this loss in addition to the Champions League defeat to Copenhagen will likely only put a fire up the arse of Sir Alex and his players.
During a week where the plaudits have been pouring in for one of football’s greatest ever managers, we should remember that Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United tends to respond to defeat by taking apart whoever they play next (it’s Blackburn).