MAN UTD CURRENT FORM:-
Manchester United 2 Blackburn 3
DECEMBER 31: Barclays Premier League at Old Trafford.
Manchester United 5 Wigan 0
DECEMBER 26: Barclays Premier League at Old Trafford.
Fulham 0 Manchester United 5
DECEMBER 21: Barclays Premier League at Craven Cottage.
QPR 0 Manchester United 2
DECEMBER 18: Barclays Premier League at Loftus Road.
Manchester United 4 Wolves 1
DECEMBER 10: Barclays Premier League at Old Trafford.
Basel 2 Manchester United 1
DECEMBER 7: Champions League at St-Jakob Park.
MAN UTD - LAST FIXTURE:-
Manchester United 2 Blackburn 3
MAN UTD: De Gea, Rafael Da Silva (Will Keane 85), Jones, Carrick, Evra, Nani, Valencia, Park, Welbeck, Hernandez (Anderson 46), Berbatov.
Subs Not Used: Lindegaard, Diouf, Pogba, Fryers, Cole.
BLACKBURN: Bunn, Lowe, Samba, Hanley, Pedersen, Henley, Nzonzi, Petrovic, Rochina (Morris 55), Formica (Goodwillie 85), Yakubu (Slew 89).
Subs Not Used: Kean, Blackman, Vukcevic, Linganzi.
Att: 75,146
Blackburn gatecrashed Sir Alex Ferguson's 70th birthday celebrations to claim a stunning 3-2 win at the end of a quite amazing contest with Manchester United.
Goals from Ayegbeni Yakubu either side of the interval put the Barclays Premier League's bottom club into a surprise two-goal lead before United hit back through Dimitar Berbatov.
There seemed to be only one conclusion after the Bulgarian had scored twice to take his tally to five over the Christmas period.
But despite piling on the pressure, it was United who were undone as David de Gea failed to collect Morten Gamst Pedersen's corner, allowing Grant Hanley to head home the winner 10 minutes from time.
It represented Steve Kean's best win as Blackburn manager, taking them off the foot of the table, and left Ferguson to question the wisdom of not even putting a rested Wayne Rooney on the bench on the day he confirmed an intention to remain in his job for a further three years.
The party atmosphere at kick-off proved to be a false guide to what followed.
In a pre-recorded interview with MUTV, Ferguson confirmed his future plans, which would make him by some distance the Premier League's oldest manager.
The Scot then received a rendition of 'Happy Birthday to you' from the home fans in recognition of his 70th birthday, setting the scene for the slaughter expected to follow.
Except United, injury-hit to the extent of having to name Rafael and Park Ji-sung as central midfield partners, were not up to the task.
The fluency that had carried them to eight wins from nine league games since their only defeat, that 6-1 massacre by Manchester City in October, was so obviously missing.
Nani was an obvious attacking outlet but had one of his frustrating days and neither Berbatov, Hernandez nor Danny Welbeck could plot a path through the massed ranks of Blackburn's defence.
Twenty-four hours earlier, Ferguson had confirmed an intention to hand Berbatov an extra year's contract.
He must have felt like snatching it away, when the Bulgarian followed up his Boxing Day hat-trick against Wigan by hauling Christopher Samba over in the box.
At a club as unstable as Blackburn, one of the few certainties is that from the spot, Yakubu does not miss and the Nigerian promptly sent De Gea the wrong way.
United's response was strange in that, without playing well, they started to create opportunities.
Nani was off target with a couple of efforts then the Portugal winger was denied by Rovers' stand-in keeper Mark Bunn, as was Hernandez.
At one point, Hernandez also got in the way of a goalbound effort from Phil Jones, who had recovered from illness to face his former club for the first time since his £17million move to Old Trafford.
Pilloried by his own fans immediately before Christmas, Rovers boss Kean had now seen his side take first-half leads at Liverpool and United in a staggering six-day spell.
With no Rooney to assist his team, Ferguson turned to Anderson at the break, a move that triggered a number of positional changes, the most significant of which saw Valencia shifted into an advanced position.
But, before United had a chance to see whether the tactical switches would work, they fell further behind.
Yakubu had too much strength for makeshift central defender Michael Carrick as he turned on the edge of the area, then nipped past Jones before drilling his shot through De Gea's legs.
Disastrously for Blackburn, they conceded themselves within 20 seconds of the restart as United advanced, the ball eventually finding its way to Rafael whose bouncing cross-shot was nodded home by Berbatov.
So often have Ferguson's teams recovered from such unpromising situations down the years, Kean must have felt sick.
His side started to get overwhelmed by the tide of red attacks, with Valencia to the fore.
It was the South American's burst of pace and subsequent cut-back that provided Berbatov with the opportunity to side-foot United level.
Minutes later, Bunn almost unbelievably prevented Grant Hanley from turning Berbatov's cross into his own net. He did not know much about it though, as the ball flew over off his outstretched foot.
The weight of attacks on the Blackburn goal was immense. Yet United's commitment was so great they forgot to defend, and once again the questions were raised over De Gea, who came to collect Morten Gamst Pedersen's corner.
Instead, Hanley won the first header, then found the bottom corner with his second.
United resolve was sapped and their hopes of snatching the point that would take them top of the table disappeared when Bunn and home debutant Will Keane got in the way of Jones' injury-time effort.
PREMIERSHIP HOLIDAY PROGRAMME
Monday 02nd January 2012
Aston Villa v Swansea City 15:00
Blackburn Rovers v Stoke City 15:00
Queens Park Rangers v Norwich City 15:00
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Chelsea 15:00
Fulham v Arsenal 17:30
Tuesday 03rd January 2012
Tottenham Hotspur v West Bromwich Albion 19:45
Wigan Athletic v Sunderland 19:45
Manchester City v Liverpool 20:00
Wednesday 04th January 2012
Everton v Bolton Wanderers 20:00
Newcastle United v Manchester United 20:00
NEWCASTLE UNITED 20011/12
PREMIER LEAGUE
LIVERPOOL 3 NEWCASTLE 1 (Agger og)
Krul, Simpson, Williamson, Coloccini, Ryan Taylor (Santon 46), Obertan (Sammy Ameobi 84), Tiote, Cabaye, Gutierrez, Vuckic (Ben Arfa 65), Ba.
Subs Not Used: Elliot, Perch, Best, Shola Ameobi.
BOLTON 0 NEWCASTLE 2 (Ben Arfa, Ba)
Krul, Simpson, Coloccini, Williamson, Ryan Taylor, Obertan (Shola Ameobi 84), Cabaye (Perch 88), Tiote, Gutierrez, Ba, Best (Ben Arfa 61).
Subs Not Used: Elliot, Sammy Ameobi, Vuckic, Ferguson.
NEWCASTLE 2 WEST BROM 3 (Ba 2)
Krul, Simpson, Perch, Coloccini, Santon (Ryan Taylor 46), Obertan (Shola Ameobi 72), Vuckic, Tiote, Gutierrez, Best (Ben Arfa 61), Ba.
Subs Not Used: Elliot, Williamson, Abeid, Sammy Ameobi.
NEWCASTLE 0 SWANSEA CITY 0
Krul, Simpson, Perch, Coloccini, Santon, Obertan (Sammy Ameobi 82), Cabaye, Tiote (Vuckic 82), Gutierrez, Best (Shola Ameobi 71), Ba.
Subs Not Used: Harper, Williamson, Ben Arfa, Abeid.
NORWICH 4 NEWCASTLE 2 (Ba 2)
Krul, Santon (Ferguson 90), Simpson, Perch, Ryan Taylor, Obertan (Sammy Ameobi 80), Cabaye, Gosling, Gutierrez, Ba, Shola Ameobi (Smith 90).
Subs Not Used: Elliot, Ben Arfa, Lovenkrands, Best.
NEWCASTLE 0 CHELSEA 3
Krul, Simpson, S Taylor, Coloccini (Perch 27), R Taylor, Lovenkrands (Sammy Ameobi 71), Guthrie, Cabaye, Obertan, Ben Arfa (Shola Ameobi 46), Ba.
Subs Not Used: Harper, Santon, Gosling, Best.
MAN UTD 1 NEWCASTLE 1 (Ba pen)
Krul, Simpson, Steven Taylor, Coloccini, Ryan Taylor, Obertan (Sammy Ameobi 65), Cabaye, Guthrie (Perch 74), Gutierrez, Ben Arfa (Lovenkrands 80), Ba.
Subs Not Used: Elliot, Santon, Gosling, Shola Ameobi.
MAN CITY 3 NEWCASTLE 1 (Gosling)
Krul, Simpson, Steven Taylor, Coloccini, Ryan Taylor, Ben Arfa (Lovenkrands 76), Guthrie, Cabaye (Perch 85), Gutierrez, Ba, Sammy Ameobi (Gosling 79).
Subs Not Used: Elliot, Santon, Smith, Shola Ameobi.
NEWCASTLE 2 EVERTON 1 (Heitinga og, R Taylor)
Krul, Simpson, Coloccini, Steven Taylor, Ryan Taylor, Marveaux (Sammy Ameobi 54), Cabaye (Gosling 37), Guthrie, Gutierrez, Best (Ben Arfa 73), Ba.
Subs Not Used: Elliot, Santon, Lovenkrands, Perch.
STOKE 1 NEWCASTLE 3 (Barr 3)
Krul, Simpson, Steven Taylor, Coloccini, Ryan Taylor, Obertan, Guthrie (Gosling 90), Cabaye (Perch 78), Gutierrez, Best (Sammy Ameobi 86), Ba.
Subs Not Used: Elliot, Santon, Ben Arfa, Marveaux.
NEWCASTLE 1 WIGAN ATHLETIC 0 (Cabaye)
Krul, Simpson, Steven Taylor, Coloccini, Ryan Taylor, Obertan (Marveaux 76), Cabaye, Tiote, Gutierrez, Best (Ben Arfa 46), Ba (Shola Ameobi 68).
Subs Not Used: Harper, Santon, Perch, Smith.
NEWCASTLE 2 SPURS 2 (Ba, Ameobi)
Krul, Simpson (Santon 77), Steven Taylor, Coloccini, Ryan Taylor, Obertan, Cabaye, Tiote, Gutierrez, Best (Shola Ameobi 71), Ba (Ben Arfa 71).
Subs Not Used: Elliot, Lovenkrands, Gosling, Marveaux.
WOLVES 1 NEWCASTLE 2 (Ba, Gutierrez)
Krul, Simpson, Steven Taylor, Coloccini, Ryan Taylor, Obertan (Marveaux 90), Cabaye (Guthrie 89), Tiote, Gutierrez, Best, Ba (Lovenkrands 71).
Subs Not Used: Elliot, Santon, Ben Arfa, Sammy Ameobi.
NEWCASTLE 3 BLACKBURN 1 (Ba 3)
Krul, Simpson, Steven Taylor, Coloccini, Ryan Taylor, Obertan, Cabaye, Tiote, Gutierrez (Marveaux 84), Ba (Ben Arfa 74), Best.
Subs Not Used: Harper, Guthrie, Lovenkrands, Perch, Sammy Ameobi.
ASTON VILLA 1 NEWCASTLE 1 (Best)
Krul, Simpson, Steven Taylor, Coloccini, Ryan Taylor, Obertan, Cabaye, Tiote, Gutierrez (Sammy Ameobi 85), Best (Shola Ameobi 69), Ba (Marveaux 80).
Subs Not Used: Elliot, Guthrie, Lovenkrands, Perch.
QPR 0 NEWCASTLE 0
Krul, Simpson, Steven Taylor, Coloccini, Ryan Taylor, Obertan (Sammy Ameobi 88), Cabaye, Tiote, Gutierrez, Best (Marveaux 82), Shola Ameobi (Ba 64).
Subs Not Used: Elliot, Santon, Guthrie, Lovenkrands.
NEWCASTLE 2 FULHAM 1 (Best 2)
Krul, Simpson, Steven Taylor, Coloccini, Ryan Taylor, Lovenkrands (Ba 62), Cabaye, Tiote, Gutierrez, Obertan, Best (Vuckic 78), Vuckic (Smith 85).
Subs Not Used: Soderberg, Marveaux, Sammy Ameobi, Ferguson.
SUNDERLAND 0 NEWCASTLE UTD 1 (R Taylor)
Krul, Simpson, Steven Taylor, Coloccini, Ryan Taylor, Tiote, Cabaye (Williamson 85), Barton, Obertan (Gosling 85), Gutierrez, Shola Ameobi.
Subs Not Used: Harper, Lovenkrands, Ba, Best, Marveaux.
NEWCASTLE 0 ARSENAL 0
Krul, Coloccini, Steven Taylor, Ryan Taylor, Simpson, Barton, Cabaye (Lovenkrands 81), Tiote, Gutierrez, Shola Ameobi (Best 73), Ba (Obertan 46).
Subs Not Used: Forster, Williamson, Gosling, Sammy Ameobi.
CARLING CUP
BLACKBURN 4 NEWCASTLE 3 (AET) Guthrie, Cabaye, Lovenkrands (pen)
Krul, Simpson (Sammy Ameobi 70), Perch, Coloccini, Santon, Marveaux (Obertan 77), Guthrie, Cabaye, Gutierrez, Ben Arfa (Lovenkrands 79), Ba.
Subs Not Used: Elliot, Abeid, Gosling, Ranger.
NOTTINGHAM FOR. 3 NEWCASTLE 4 (AET) Lovenkrands 2, Simpson, Coloccini
Elliot, Simpson, Coloccini, Perch, Ferguson, Abeid, Guthrie, Gosling (Shola Ameobi 70), Marveaux, Ben Arfa (Sammy Ameobi 70), Lovenkrands (Obertan 80).
Subs Not Used: Krul, Best, Dummett, Henderson.
SCUNTHORPE 1 NEWCASTLE 2 AET (R Taylor, Sammy Ameobi)
Krul, Simpson, Coloccini, Williamson (Steven Taylor 45), Ryan Taylor, Marveaux, Gosling (Vuckic 70), Cabaye, Lovenkrands, Best, Ba (Sammy Ameobi 65).
Subs Not Used: Soderberg, Abeid, Smith, Ferguson.
PRE-SEASON FIXTURES
NEWCASTLE 0 FIORENTINA 0 (Ab 63 mins)
Krul (Forster 46), Simpson, S Taylor, Coloccini, Enrique, Gosling (Ba 46), Cabaye, Vuckic, Jonas (Marveaux 46) Lovenkrands (R Taylor 61), Best (Shola Ameobi 46).Subs: Sammy Ameobi, Ranger, Tavernier, Williamson.
LEEDS UTD 3 NEWCASTLE 2 (S.Taylor, Vuckic)
Forster, Cabaye, Williamson, Barton, Simpson, Gosling, Gutierrez, Ba, Shola Ameobi, Taylor, Tavernier. Subs: Krul, Taylor, Best, Vuckic, Sammy Ameobi, Dummett.
COLUMBUS CREW 0 NEWCASTLE 3 (Ameobi, Coloccini, Vuckic)
Harper; Tavernier, S Taylor, Coloccini (Dummett, 54), Enrique; Gutierrez (Abeid, 85), Tiote (Smith, 62), Gosling, Marveaux (Vuckic, 76); Ameobi (Best, 75), Ba. Subs not used: Forster, Krul.
ORLANDO CITY 1 NEWCASTLE 0
Forster; R Taylor (Enrique, 26), S Taylor, Coloccini, Tavernier; Gosling (Vuckic, 71), Smith (Abeid, 74), Tiote, Gutierrez; Best (Ba, 74), Lovenkrands (Ameobi, 74). Subs not used: Krul, Harper.
SPORTING KANSAS 0 NEWCASTLE 0
Krul, Gosling, Coloccini, S Taylor, R Taylor, Marveaux (Tavernier 46), Tiote (Abeid 46), Ben Arfa, Gutierrez, Ba (Best 72), Lovenkrands (Smith 46).
DARLINGTON 0 NEWCASTLE 2 (Barton, Sammy Ameobi)
Forster; Simpson (Dummett), S Taylor (Tavernier), Williamson (Henderson), Ferguson (R Taylor); Barton (Abeid), Guthrie (Cabaye, Donaldson), Smith (Gosling), Vuckic (Sammy Ameobi); Ben Arfa (Richardson), Best (Ranger). Subs not used: Soderberg, Newton.