Sunderland 0-4 Manchester United

A much easier win than i expected against a worryingly poor Sunderland side ( if you want Keano to be a future United manager that is ). United huffed and puffed a bit for the first twenty minutes not creating any chances of note, but once Rooney broke the deadlock in the twentieth minute, any threat from the mackems vanished into the air, and it became very very easy. It's usually hard to say after a game like this whether United played extremely well or the opposition were very poor, but not this time United hardly broke sweat. The second half was a glorified training session really as United settled for 3-0, the late penalty an added bonus.
If ship goals as easily as the first against the teams around them in the table in the second half of the season they will be headed straight back down. The way McShane and Higginbotham conspired to leave Rooney all alone in the middle doesn't bode well for their premiership future, saying that the finish was cool as you like. The weakened team, there was no Evra, Anderson, Hargreaves, Giggs or Tevez now took a vice like grip of the game. Sunderland started to look in big trouble every time United counter attacked. And ten minutes later that is how United made it two, as Ronaldo found Rooney breaking down on the left hand flank, Rooney cut back in and crossed with his right foot and Saha popped up in the middle to slot home a ridiculously easy second goal. That really was game set and match and much as Sunderland tried the chances were occurring in their half of the pitch with Ronaldo and Nani having decent shots saved before Vidic went pretty close with a close range volley from a corner. Then just when Sunderland thought they were going to escape at half time with just a two goal deficit, they gave a needless free kick away just outside the D. Up stepped Ronaldo and instead of trying to make the ball wobble in the air as he usually does he curled an absolute beauty into the top left hand corner of the net. So a great finish to a great half for United and we wondered how many it might end up.
But United took it easy in the second half , taking Ronaldo off with more than half an hour to go and replacing him with Park. Park played reasonably well for a man who has been out so long, though the quality of the opposition has to be taken into account. United were still a constant threat on the break, but the urgency and quality of final pass were missing for the most part. Pique got a run out, coming on for Vidic with a quarter of an hour to go, he probably won't get an easier 15 minutes for the rest of the season. The penalty decision in the last couple of minutes given against Collins may have been a bit harsh, i thought he did make contact, but unintentionally, sealed a pretty dismal day for the home side as Saha made no mistake to drive it home for his second and United's fourth of the afternoon.
With Arsenal and Chelsea only managing to draw and the rentboys having two men sent off, this was one of the best days of the season so far for us. And who could have foreseen us having a goal difference six goals better than anybody else at this stage of the season when we were struggling to score more than one goal a game in September.

How to take penalties the Ronaldo way, from the times
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_united/article3101578.ece

Hull want Frazier Campbell to stay for the season
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hull_city/7160842.stm
Good to see our youngsters out on loan doing well. I would like to hear how Cathcart is going on at Antwerp, he looked a real prospect in the youth team last season.

More from the infamous party from the mirror before Xmas
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/2007/12/24/police-doubt-man-u-rape-89520-20264770/

Benazir Bhutto assassinated
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3099534.ece
An article from the indy describing why her murder will not be solved.
http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article3289239.ece
And even if it were would her supporters or opponents believe it anyway
What Pakistan should do next, or what the Americans should encourage them to do
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/paul_cruickshank/2007/12/plan_b_for_pakistan.html
Sympathy vote ?
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/paul_cruickshank/2007/12/plan_b_for_pakistan.html
Christopher Hitchens with the most balanced summary of her life so far http://www.slate.com/id/2180952/




The last ever episode of Extras was on last night and excellent it was too. It has been just as good as as the office for me.http://www.slate.com/id/2180952/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/dec/28/television