Manchester United 3-1 Middlesbrough

I really enjoyed last nights game, it was just a shame the injury to Possebon marred the night. With Da silva starting at right back, Possebon in central midfield alongside fellow Brazilian Anderson and Welbeck up front with Giggs just sat behind him it was a night we saw a bit of the future hopefully. There seemed to be no nerves as with a nice mixture of youth and experience United went out and tried to express themselves and play with a smile on their faces. It was an excellent performance especially in the first half as United took a total hold on the game and were unlucky to go in at half time with only the one goal to show for the invention they had showed. The returning Ronaldo was eager to make up for lost time and although i thought he was a bit rusty and still needs a few games to get his real touch back he still popped up with a goal. A big part of his goalscoring record is his prowess in the air and he nodded in yet another header from a 25th minute corner from Giggs.
It was a bit of a shame the goal had to come from a set piece after some of the excellent football United had played. But as with all United performances this season United had struggled when it actually came to converting the superior play into clear goalscoring chances.
I was very impressed by Da silva, he looks the real deal, it's a pity he is not a bit bigger. It could be a problem if we had him and Evra as the two full backs as you could see there being a lot of crosses aimed at the back post. He is excellent going forward and will probably only get better, he was caught out a few times at the back but he will learn. And he showed a good attitude in trying to get back and atone for his mistakes. His fellow Brazilian Possebon won me over as well, whilst i have liked the look of him in the reserves i have wondered whether he would be quick enough for the first team. Well all you can say after watching him last night is it looks like he will be, he looked for the ball all the time and generally kept hold of it and generally used it well. It was a pity about the way the night ended for him. Welbeck was equally impressive showing that alongside his undoubted skill he also certainly got the football brain to make at first team level. His strength and speed enable him to not look out of place at this level even at this age. It makes you wonder Frazer Campbell will actually get the chance to come back to United after his loan spell as Welbeck is definitely the better prospect.
The second half wasn't as impressive as the first half although the Boro goal came from completely out of the blue. A big deflection took a speculative Johnson shot past the wrong footed 18 year old debutant Ben Amos. He can be proud of his nights work too, admittedly he didn't have that much to do but when he did he did cleanly and effectively. United couldn't find as much cutting edge and were struggling to create any clear cut chances although Welbeck had a great chance at the beginning of the second half but he couldn't find the back of the net forcing the goalie to save.
Tevez perked things up when he came on for Ronaldo on the hour and United started to look menacing again. But it was the Pogatetz foul on Possebon that changed game. I have to say that i didn't think it was that bad a foul when i saw it live, it was only when i saw it on the TV after that i saw the Austrian had took ball and then most definitely man. It still took a bad mistake from substitute Riggot that allowed Giggs a free run on goal that saw him cooly chip it over the goalie to put United back in the game. There were then 9 minutes injury time alloted due to the Possebon injury and right near the end a poor back pass form Wheater allowed Nani to intervene and put the ball in the net to make it 3-1 and i thought a more realistic scoreline. It was another so so performance from Nani, he does some really good things then gets other things badly wrong. Another thing i have noticed about him is his total inabiltity to either spot or enact the cross field ball, he just never does it. Enough of the erratic Portugese wide man though, it was a very encouraging night for the future of Manchester United.

Pogatetz to say sorry
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/7634379.stm

West Ham to appeal over Tevez case verdict
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/sep/24/tevez.west.ham.appeal
Henry Winter on the case
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/3069183/A-star-performer-like-Carlos-Tevez-made-all-the-difference-to-West-Ham---Football.html

Lccc unveil new proposals for Old Trafford cricket ground and they are truly truly awful.
http://www.lccc.co.uk/index.php?p=news&id=2380

Bush to appeal for public backing for his administration's bail out of his rich chums
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/sep/24/wallstreet.georgebush1
How can there be any worse US President than Georgw W. Bush, foreign policy disasters and now economic implosion, not bad going.
Irwin Stelzer argues the economic crisis is going to be bad news for his would be Republican successor McCain
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/09/24/do2404.xml
He is already feeling the backlash according to the polls
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/obama-surges-ahead-over-financial-crisis-941278.html

Hamish McRae on Gordon Brown
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/hamish-mcrae/hamish-mcrae-how-brown-blew-his-big-chance-940202.html