Red Devils Hoping They Don't Get Made Into Sushi

A weary Manchester United arrived in Japan after an enthralling 0-0 draw with Tottenham Hotspurs on Saturday.

It was quite surprising to see an unusually cheerful Sir Alex after the disappointing draw with Spurs. But considering Spurs were tactically sound and could have grabbed a goal or two if it wasn't for their poor finishing and Gomes, Sir Alex wouldn't be grinning at all I bet. 

Gomes was undoubtedly the hero for Spurs, pulling off save after save, which would have done a world of good for his ego, manager, and teammates.

It could also have been the result of a few rice wines, that might have been sent to Fergie from his friends in Japan, that caused Sir Alex to be in a rather buoyant mood after the Spurs game. Or maybe he was excited about getting to visit the Tokyo Disneyland with Ronaldo and Berbatov. Maybe Rooney will stomp along (pun intended) considering he might be facing a ban for stamping on Aalborg’s Kasper Risgard

All is not lost, for Liverpool were held to a draw with Hull at Anfield, and notice I didn't say "shock" draw as we would have learnt by now it wasn't all that surprising considering Hull beat Arsenal at The Emirates and Spurs at White Hart Lane and they didn't do all that bad at Old Trafford, losing 3-4.

Luckily for Ferguson and company, Arsenal didn't do much better either, drawing with Boro 1-1. Apparently Professor Wenger still has title aspirations (surprise surprise).

Probably the biggest shock was at Stamford Bridge, where West Ham held the mighty Chelski to a 1-1 draw, and in fact could have sneaked a winner right at the death if it wasn’t for Carlton Cole's poor shot which went straight to Cech's arms. It would have been nice for him to have scored considering he used to warm the bench for Chelsea.

Now the weekend's results would have certainly pleased United considering they still have a game in hand. Paul Scholes said he would rather be playing for Premier League points than the chance to be crowned World Club Champions and in all honesty, he might have made a fair point.

United would be further behind when they return from the Japan trip and have to play catch up on Chelsea and Liverpool.

Furthermore the pace is different playing in the World Club Championships. Its not quite the same pace and it is not a required trophy for Fergie and Co. Well technically, who doesn’t want to be crowned the World's best club.

But whether they win the cup or not, United will still be the most popular club on this planet and still have their millions of fans. And its winter in Japan right now, which will suit the champions of England and Europe as compared to the Ecuadorians or the Mexicans.

United face Gamba Osaka in the semi-finals, and it looks like a straight win on paper but Gamba do have three Brazilians in their team.

The most dangerous of the lot would be Lucas who looks the most likely to cause United problems. He has some European pedigree with Rennes where he played 70 odd games. And he has scored six goals in 23 games for Gamba, which isn’t all too bad.

South America's representatives LDU Quito of Ecuador tackle Mexican quarter-final winners Pachuca in the other semi-final. With the winner likely to book a spot with overwhelming favourites Manchester United.

As with all opponents, Gamba, LDU, or Pachuca will be set to raise their game against United. And with a nine-hour time difference and the game against Gamba looming on Thursday, it certainly looks a tad daunting for United, especially when you know next to nothing about your opponents.

But fret not, Ronaldo, Rooney, Berbatov, and Tevez look set to be unleashed on the Japanese and, again, with either the Ecuadorians or Mexicans.

Whatever the outcome is, it is gonna be a huge commercial success purely because of the global name United is. There's going to be huge crowds at the stadiums, (at the United games at least) and hordes of gals screaming at and with Cristiano Ronaldo (let's hope he doesn't disappear literally like he did against Man City). 

I am as excited as any football fan, waiting excitedly for the semi-finals to begin and with the caviar of the football world, United, set to begin proceedings, lets hope the Red Devils don't get made into sushi for their sake, and the Japanese fans'.

Even if they lost, they already have a ready-made excuse, with the ever so versatile John O'Shea smartly adding: ''It would be so easy to use travelling as an excuse but we don't want to contemplate.''

So there you go, grab the sake, sit back, and soak in the Red Devils' Japanese adventure... or be made into Sushi.