Manchester United 1-0 Sunderland

It's been a while since we have a late late show so it's good to know we can still keep going right to the end. You never know how an opposition are going to perform after they lose a manager, they either just go to pieces or rally and give a performance. Unfortunately the Sunderland players chose the latter option getting every body behind the ball and fighting for everything.
United didn't play badly, it just seemed to be one of those days where if we had got that first goal then there could have been an avalanche. But the longer the game went without that first goal the more belief that the mackems got that they could actually get something from the game.
United had chances with Rooney, Ronaldo and Berbatov all having reasonable chances, but an inspired performance by the stand in goalie Fulop and some determined defending kept United out in a not very memorable first half. The second half saw United step up a gear and take complete grip of the game with Sunderland defending with absolutely every body behind the ball and not even really bothering to even hit us on the break.
I thought Carrick had a good game and he was constantly the one that made the probing passes. Fletcher didn't have a bad game but as the game went on it was becoming obvious we needed somebody from the middle to make some forward runs and drive at them. So the substitution of Anderson for Fletcher seemed the correct move to me. This was the time i thought we started to look like we might actuaally get that all important goal. The introduction of Tevez for Park was important too as he added some much needed work rate up front. Losing Ronaldo with 20 minutes to go should have been a big blow but to be honest he wasn't really having a great game and the introduction of Giggs didn't harm us any. To those of us that always thought the signing of Berbatov would be the final part of the jigsaw it has got to be admitted these are worrying times. Yet again he didn't really make much of a contribution to the game and missed one glorious header from a great Carrick cross that he should have buried. When we bought Berbatov and City bought Robhino on transfer deadline day i thought we had made the shrewder acquisition knowing that the Brazillian was regarded as a good player but too lightwight. Where as we all knew that Berbatov had done it in our league and against the top teams. But i can't say i am as confident that we made the better signing at the moment.
Anderson was denied by by a great block as United kept knocking at the door as time started to fly by. The announcement that there would be 4 minutes of injury time was greeted with some relief. And then the goal came, and it was no thing of great beauty but as the saying goes they all count. I'm not sure why Vidic was up there to hit the rebound in but who cares. As we knew all the results before hand we knew we had to win and win we had.

The telegraph on Ronaldo's walk off
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/3629130/Cristiano-Ronaldos-bizarre-walk-out-overshadows-late-winner-by-Nemanja-Vidic-Football.html

Robert Peston's BBC blog which is always pretty interesting
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/

Trouble brewing in Amsterdam
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/07/amsterdam-crackdown-prostitution-drugs-crime

Will Hutton on the US car industry
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/07/car-future-general-motors-bailout