Manchester United 2-0 Bolton Wanderers

Three points, job done. Fergie shuffled the pack a bit more than i thought he might, but the team picked were more than up to it, especially with Ronaldo on top form. Though it has to be said the team didn't really deliver in front of goal as Fergie had ordered. Without the captain for the nights goals it's pretty obvious we would not be top of the league. There were enough chances created last night to have won by 4 or 5, although Bolton did have a few chances themselves in the second half. It has been obvious for the last month or so that Rooney's confidence in front of goal has taken a bit of a dip, but to be fair to him the midfield aren't exactly pitching in. When you look at the contribution that the whole team to goalscoring last season, it's hard to know what's gone wrong. But we have been far too reliant on Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez this season. You only have to imagine if Ronaldo did a hamstring and was out for a month, i wouldn't be too confident of us getting the points that would normally be expected of us if that happens.
Fergie rang the changes last night with Pique coming into the back four and Hargreaves starting right back and O'Shea deputising for Evra at left back.
I have argued in recent blogs that Hargeaves should be used at right back, as he would be able to counter attack more effectively than Wes does. But if last nights evidence was anything to go by i will have to take that back. It has been a season to forget so far for Hargreaves as far as i am concerned. I know he didn't have a good start carrying that niggling knee injury in the first half of the season, and may have struggled to reach full fitness. But the most alarming thing about his game, and which i will have to admit i had not noticed it when i have seen him playing for Bayern or England, is his first touch. For a man who cost £17 million his first touch is shocking. When he receives the ball he never kills it dead, he kind of half volleys it away from his body and then uses his pace to reach it before an opposition player. This for me is one of the reasons we don't look the same player when he plays in midfield. Last season when we had Scholes and Carrick in midfield we had two superb passers of the ball who both had excellent touch. This season you can add Anderson to the midfield mix, he is going to be an exciting player, and a player who runs with the ball a bit more than Carrick and Scholes, but with a good enough first touch to slot in alongside either nicely. But Hargreaves slows things down too much with that first touch, giving the opposition more time to cover our forwards moves as well as of course knowing that he is never going to hurt them with his passing. I suppose i should have realised that you still need a good first touch at right back to control it smoothly as you overlap.
Pique is another concern i am afraid, i really rated him when i saw him in the youth team, he was good in the air, very good on the deck and read the game pretty well. The only doubt was whether he would be up to the physical side of the premiership. When i saw him play for Zarragozza last season he really seemed to have come on in leaps and bounds in that regard. When you can look an accomplished player as i saw him do twice against Barca you must have something going for you. But this season although i don't think it has helped him playing in fits and starts and then of course being out injured, when he has had his chance in the first team in the premiership he hasn't looked up to the physical challenge. Although he didn't make any mistakes last night, he wasn't totally commanding either. He has looked much better in the two European matches that he started. It worries me that Pique and Rossi don't seem to have made the impact at United that i had expected. Though to be fair to Rossi he was never given the chance and given his head at Villareal he is delivering the goods and who knows if the buyback clause is for real we might still see him in a red shirt. He is a real Manchester United player as far as i am concerned. The point is though we have had some more than useful youngsters coming through the ranks in recent years, but none have broken through into the first team squad and challenged for a first team spot. Looking at this years youth and reserve teams Welbeck and Brandy apart there doesn't seem that much coming through. I don't know what's happened to Cathcart since he came back from Antwerp, is he injured, he was another who looked like he had a chance.
As for the game those two early goals from Ronaldo killed the game really, it's a pity we couldn't have got a couple more, but with the arrival of our biggest rivals on Sunday, not too worrying. The first goal was a bit of a scrappy affair, but the second was a Ronaldo free kick special. I don't know how, but when he gets them just right you know they are going into the back of the net from the moment it leaves his foot. It will be one hell of a save if a goalie does manage to stop one that he has hit to perfection, that's for sure.
There were numerous other chances in the first half, but that second wouldn't arrive. I thought Tevez had an excellent game and that his performance merited a goal, but then again he had the chances and didn't put them away. It was tremendous watching him using all his footballing nous to keep the bigger and stronger Bolton defenders at bay. As for Saha, he didn't convince again I'm afraid, he plays as if not fully fit which he obviously isn't, but even worse as if he is scared of really putting 100% into a game in case he tweaks something else. There were countless occasions last night where a fit and healthy Saha would have scared Bolton to death. It will be criminal if he is still at United next season, i mean i know Rossi is pretty similar to Rooney and Tevez but if we had kept Rossi at least he would have been fit for the majority of the season.
Nani seems to have regressed back to his earlier season inconsistent form in the last couple of performances. His link up play in general was pretty good, but his decision making, whether when to cross or when to shoot wasn't all it could have been. If he had been on his game last night it definitely would have been 4 or 5. I think someone needs to have a word with Rooney and tell him to relax. When he came on last night he was like a man on a mission, except he kept forgetting the ball. When he slowed down and started to get his head up we saw the real Wayne Rooney and the ball that should have presented Tevez with United's third of the night was a peach.
I have read that Rio is a big doubt for Sunday, which is a bit of a worry, and i presume that is why Wes Brown didn't start last night. The defence did reasonably well seeing as though that was probably the first time and may well be the last time that they play together. I have got to say though i would miles sooner have Foster in goals on Sunday than Kuszczak if Van Der Sar is not available.
What a great result from white hart lane too, i thought Spurs might get something with it being a derby, but with their season virtually over i wasn't that hopeful. So when i heard they had gone 3-1 down i feared the worst. I am not sure what result i want from the Arsenal v Chelsea game on Sunday. I think Chelsea will prove more resilient than Arsenal in the title run in, so i wouldn't be that gutted if Arsenal won. So a draw it is then, and if we can finish off the double against the bindippers, Sunday might provide a few hangovers for Easter Monday.

Bryan Robson appointed as ambassador for club
http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={B4CEE8FA-9A47-47BC-B069-3F7A2F35DB70}&newsid=542529
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article3589934.ece
Great news, his outstanding contribution to Manchester United doesn't seem to be properly appreciated these days. As great a player as Keano was, i would have Robbo above him in my all time United team ( that is of the players i have seen obviously )

Unfortunately i agree with some of this, though not the ludicrous slagging off of Rooney
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/03/19/ronaldos_brilliance_masks_unit.html
Midfield is a worry, which must seem odd with the riches at our disposal. But last year when we just had Carrick and Scholes, we saw much more consistent performances from us in this area. Of course it could be argued and it may well be right that United are adjusting themselves to the eventual disappearance of the ginger prince. If that is the case, i still don't think we have found his replacement, though Carrick and Anderson will more than do for the present. But if we want to be the undoubted best team in Europe we need either a Keano, Robbo type or a Scholes replacement. I'm not totally sure where Anderson is going to end up playing so it's hard to predict a future United midfield. I love Iniesta at Barca, but there is no chance of us getting him. Besides i think we are going for too many foreign players as it is.

No more cheap holidays on the continent predicts Hamish McRae, actually he predicts the pound to follow the dollar, down in value.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/hamish-mcrae/hamish-mcrae-after-a-decade-riding-high-the-pound-may-have-a-long-way-to-fall-798419.html

It was a tory, Ted Heath who coined the phrase " the unacceptable face of capitalism" and as long as we live in a capitalist system it will always be needed.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/jeremy-warners-outlook-outrage-as-the-speculators-sip-champagne-on-the-proceeds-of-yesterdays-hbos-killing-798474.html
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/columnists/article3587215.ece
And especially as long as we live in a de-regulatory market worshipping era such as this

The Liberal intelligensia speak out on the Chinese suppression of Tibet
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/vclav_havel/2008/03/tibets_peace_of_the_grave.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/mar/20/tibet.china