Manchester United 4-0 Wigan

At last the real Manchester United has turned up, exciting football, goals and all. But the most pleasing aspect of Saturdays encounter was the performances of the three youngsters Anderson, Pique and Simpson. They did brilliantly to score four goals as well considering they were playing 11 blue and white shirts and one in black in the first half. Riley is a really poor referee, and he had a terrible first half, how he missed Browns challenge on Ronaldo early doors, i can't fathom because he had a pretty good view, it was as blatant as you could get. In fact i was amazed the United players didn't really seem to protest too much.
I wasn't too surprised to see saha not in the starting line up when i got to the ground, after a pretty anonymous midweek performance, but when i heard after the game why he was left out, well what can you say. I don't know how long he has on his contract but i can't possibly see how he will be offered another unless he starts putting these injury problems behind him, that's if they really are injury problems. You can't see too many clubs queueing up to give him a contract if he did have to leave here, unless at vastly reduced wages.
The way the second half went you wonder what the score might have been if Riley had given that early penalty, but as it was Wigan defended reasonably well, and United were unable to make the breakthrough. I thought united played reasonably well in the first half though, there was good movement and the passing was better than it has been in some of our recent games. To me the problem was we were trying to walk it into the net, or they were trying to get in the perfect position to shoot and allowing Wigans defenders those extra vital seconds to get there blocks in. A prime example of that was Rooney, when he is really on his game he takes one touch and lets rip, but on Saturday he was taking two or three touches trying to get into the perfect position, and it wasn't really happening. I am not singling him out though, Tevez had a great chance to shoot at one stage but instead back heeled it out to Ronaldo who was in a less favourable position and the chance eventually came to nothing. But to be fair with all the chopping and changing that was done, first Vidic having to go off, and then O'shea, that saw Anderson coming on to partner Scholes in midfield, Pique going to centre half and Danny Simpson coming on at right back i thought it was reasonably encouraging performance.
I can't help feeling we will look back and be thankful for those injuries, for the three relative newcomers all had excellent games. I have always thought right from his youth team days that Pique had the talent to be a United player. The only doubts i had about him were over his pace, and whether he would be tough enough, because he is more of a footballing centre half. But that season in Spain has been absolutely brilliant for him, if only Rossi could have had a loan like that. He is definitely tough enough, he is excellent in the air winning almost everything, and he is plenty fast enough. He always had a great first touch and an eye for a pass as he showed with excellently weighted ball through for Rooney that led to the third goal. I knew that people in Portugal really rated Anderson, and it was regarded as something of a major scoop for United, signing a player that all the big clubs in Europe were said to be looking at. On Saturday he started to look the part. He looked almost the complete midfield player, a great engine, he can tackle, though i don't think he is ever going to be a defensive minded midfield player, but you have got to do your work there if you going to play in the middle. He has got tremendous vision and the skill and touch to bring off the passes to realise that vision. Apparently he has got a great shot but we have yet to see that. But one thing that really excited me especially late on in the second half were some of the late surging runs through the middle, we have not really had that in our game since keano in his prime and the real master of it, in my time watching United Bryan Robson. Unfortunately he never received the ball when he made these runs, probably because no one was expecting him to get up there and weren't looking for him, but the more i see of him the more he reminds me of Giggs rather than Scholes. Lastly Simpson, he was real revelation, his biggest asset has always been his pace and he seems to have a good engine. But i have never been too sure about his first touch, or whether his skill level is high enough for the top level. But it wasn't just that it was a great cross for the goal, i liked the way he took it in his stride and without panicking just delivering a super ball for Rooney to power into the net. His defending was on the money too, getting in a few good tackles and seeming to read the game reasonably well. Ronaldo seemed to enjoy having a proper overlapping full back operating with him too in the second half.
Before i get too carried away it was only Wigan, and we do seem to enjoy playing against them, but it was easily the best, and most encouraging performance so far this season. I am still not that certain about Tevez, but he took his goal brilliantly. Knowing the centre half had the legs on him the way he shielded the ball from the defender, keeping him from getting past him, and then cutting in and slotting coolly home was absolutely top notch.It was typical of this season so far though, that the game where we actually to started to look the part again, was the last game for two weeks as the latest round of internationals start. Lets hope that the momentum hasn't been lost when we get everybody back, and as usual that we don't get any injuries.

Entertaining interview with Eamon Dunphy, whose A strange kind of glory is being re released ( one of the best football books ever wrote, and definitely the best Manchester United orientated book ever wrote )
http://www.rednews.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=23470

Good interview with journalist and United fan, columnist in United we stand, he has a new book coming out, sounds interesting. I can't watch kids football, the way parents react, and it's not just men. They watch match of the day and they all think they are an expert when they probably don't know the first thing about sport, not just the sport.
http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article3035937.ece


Big brother
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2185415,00.html

Let them eat cake, inheritance tax, Will Hutton argues the case for it
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2185431,00.html

Brown says no election
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article3038384.ece
What a monumental cock up, i can't get my head round the way Brown has messed this up. Mind you, it is good for democracy that there isn't going to be one. This government was elected just two years ago, even though more and more people seem to vote for party leaders instead of political parties, it is still the case that we are a parliamentary democracy, and it is parties that are voted for in general elections. So just because the labour party changes its leader, and we get a new prime minister that is no reason for another election, just two years into a five year term.