West Bromwich Albion 0-5 Manchester United

At last we got the kind of performance away from home that we had been lacking so far this season. And it has brought our goal difference equal with Chelsea if probably for only one night.
It was the performance more than the five goals that pleased me most last night. The passing was pretty good all night, the movement was excellent and once United got into the box they always looked like scoring and when they didn't it was more a case of Carson making a good save than a forward wasting a chance.
The big surprise of the night was the inclusion of Ferdinand in the back four, and what a welcome one. Evans has done great in his absence but Ferdinand has still been missed for his passing at the back and out of defence as much as his defending. And when we heard Brown was on the bench it just emphasised the depth of the squad. When Evra is fit again it is going to be a question of players not even making the bench.
United started reasonably brightly although the baggies did have one slight chance as Van Der Sar flapped at a cross with a poor punch that saw the resulting tame shot cleared off the line. Berbatov then was almost put through but Carson was quickly off his line to smother the Bulgarian's effort. The goal wasn't far from coming though and this time Berbatov made no mistake following a one two with Carrick that put him through. Ronaldo and Tevez amongst others had more chances to add to the lead but the quality build up play wasn't getting the finishing touches that it deserved.
When Robinson got sent off not long before the break it looked like the 3 points were probably in the bag. With all the different TV angles it may have looked a harsh sending off, but when you saw it from the view the ref had i don't think he had much choice as he just lunged in with both feet. When Carson dropped the ball invitingly at Tevez's feet in the last minute of the half and the Argentine made no mistake with the gift it was definitely all over.
But credit to West Brom they kept trying to play football in the second half and were unlucky when Donk hit the post after about an hour. But of course that meant they left themselves open to United to attack which they did with real purpose for once away from home this season. The form players of the last month offensively have definitely been Carrick, Giggs, Berbatov and finally Tevez showing us the form he showed last season and at the beginning of this season. It would seem Tevez is one of those players who has to be playing all the time to show his true form. Though of course whenever Rooney is fit again i would think he will have to settle for a spell on the bench again.
The third goal was a pretty poor one for them to concede defensively as Vidic met a corner unmarked to head home. He has scored a few goals over the last couple of months now. The next goal followed a neat passage of passes that eventually saw Giggs tee up Ronaldo who made no mistake to make it 4-0. Brown was now introduced to have a gentle run out to emphasise the depth of the squad at Fergies disposal. Berbatov now took the opportunity to show us that he is as good at making goals as scoring them as fed Ronaldo who again made no mistake to notch the 5th. United seem to be stepping up another gear at just the right stage of the season. Will anybody be able to keep up with us, i think i rather doubt it.

Henry Winter in the Telegraph on the match
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/4360272/Manchester-United-stroll-past-West-Bromwich-Albion-as-Edwin-van-der-Sar-sets-record.html

Van Der Sar hailed as defence breaks premier league record, it's a nice record to have. I know a mean defence is essential to winning the league but United are all about attack really aren't we, so let's hope last night is the start of a goal scoring rush for the rest of the season. I know you can't win 5-0 every game but a few more goals would be welcome and this squad has surely got them in it. Berbatov in particular is really starting to look the part now.
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/manchester_united/s/1093425_hero_edwin_hailed_by_reds

Should Chelsea be ruing the fact that they didn't go after Alves. Sid Lowe thinks he is almost as important to Barca as Messi, high high praise
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/jan/26/dani-alves-barcelona-leo-messi

BBC to keep match of the day package. I'm not a fan of the smug Linaker or the boring Shearer, but ITV is pretty woeful so i can't complain.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/bbc-extends-premier-league-highlights-deal-1518768.html

Johann Hari on repressive religion
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-why-should-i-respect-these-oppressive-religions-1517789.html

Craig Murray has a good piece on the lords scandal and includes thsis piece on foreign policy
http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2007/08/theres_good_mon.html#comments

Will Hutton thinks employers are getting too little help
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/27/jobs-government-help


Simon Jenkins thinks the Government are still in awe of bankers, you know the ones who fucked everything up
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/28/credit-crunch-comment

Anatole Kaletsky on the Davos World economic forum
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/anatole_kaletsky/article5607339.ece

Putin blames the US for the economic crisis, fair enough up to a point i suppose, but they are a nice scapegoat for his own inept handling of his own economy aren't they.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/wef/article5607474.ece

Manchester United 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur

Although it's hard to go about the performance or the game there were a fair few encouraging aspects to take away from yesterdays game. The way United fought back after conceding an early goal from the visitors was one but the two big pluses to emerge form yesterday were the performances form the two teenagers in the starting line up. I know all about Welbeck having seen him play for the youth team and i have been desperate for him to get a start on the right whilst Ronaldo starts on the left instead of playing up front. Yesterday that is what happened and he took the chance big time, especially in the first half giving a very good performance that he almost capped with a goal after a fine dribble and exchange of passes. His second half performance didn't live up to the first half as he played a lot more conservatively as did the whole team of course. But for me the right wing is where he should be played for the present. Of course he did move to the centre at times as the players rotated positions but his starting position should be on the right. The other exiting prospect to emerge from yesterday was the first appearance of the other Brazilian twin Fabio Da Silva at left back. Wow what a player it looks like we have got ourselves here. I think we were all took a little bit by surprise by just how good his brother Rafael was when he got an early chance in the first team. But if anything it looks like Fabio is going to be even better. He gave an oustanding perfomance yesterday on his debut. To think that we will have him as understudy to Evra, that is some cover for the left back position. When Fergie was going on about this being the best squad he has ever had he was not kidding and the balance of ages is absolutely billiant as well.
As for the game the first half was pretty entertaining as the opening goal brought the best out of United as an attacking outfit with Berbatov and Tevez giving two tremendous performances in totally contrasting ways. In fact they really looked like a very good combination with Tevez giving every ounce of effort and no little skill of course . And Berbatov giving the kind of performance that we used to drool over whilst he was at Spurs, rarely giving the ball away finding space and using it superbly.
The opening goal took us all by surprise as Pavlyuchenko did what not many forwards have done recently and stole a march on Vidic to get in front of the big Serb and touch a fine glancing header that gave Foster no chance. United gave us a fine response as they hit Spurs with attack after attack and chance after chance. First Tevez hit a magnificent effort that struck the top of the bar as it screamed over the goalie. Then the goalie made a great instinctive save to deny the Argentine again. Next it was Ronaldo's turn to hit a screamer again it was just a little too high, but it was superb effort with his left foot and no back lift. Scholes and Berbatov both had efforts go just wide before Welbeck produced one of the moments of the match as his mazy dribble saw him beat man after man but once again the United couldn't beat the man between the sticks. That is until the ginger prince struck after 35 minutes. It wasn't pretty but it was deserved as the shot struck from the edge of the box following a corner saw Tevez let it through his legs to flummox the goalie as it entered the net to bring us level. Two minutes later a great ball from ex Spurs man Carrick found fellow ex Spurs man Berbatov racing through on goal and he made no mistake puttin g us deservedly in front.
The second half was a bit of a none event really as both sides seemed to settle for the result which from our point of view i didn't mind too much with the amount of games we have played and the trip to the Hawthorns on Tuesday. But it was disappointing from their point of view i suppose although with one Wembley trip and Premiership survival utmost on their minds maybe it was understandable.. The one negative of the day was the injuries to both of our young starlets, with the amount of injuries we have got at the moment there is a fair chance they would have both seen some action on Tuesday though i suspect Welbeck would have been on the bench.
So 5th round here we come, and the results of Arsenal and Liverpool won't do our title chances any harm as they both now have to play replays and in the bindippers case a third derby in a couple of weeks.

Giggs to get new contract implies Fergie, i should think so, he has given some vintage performaces this season.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/7850068.stm

Not a Guardian journalist i bother reading but it seems the proposterous Garry Cook is not just a joke figure to reds
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2009/jan/22/marina-hyde-kaka-manchester-city-garry-cook

Larry Elliot on the problems facing Obama Barrack
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/19/obama-us-economy

It seems he stole a few lines from one of the great radical figues of British history Tom Paine
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/ben_macintyre/article5562543.ece

Will Hutton's latest Observer column, it must be hard to resist the idea to scream from the rooftops i was right. I read The state we are in when it came out, maybe the government should go back and dig a copy or two out and actually read the thing.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/25/economic-policy-gordon-brown

Not before time a big shake up of the top jobs at the RBS
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article5580988.ece

A mojo article asking what happened to the great rock drummer, a good question. When i first got into music it was always guitarists that i listened out for, it's only as i have got older that i realise that almost every group that i really love have had great drummers. And as for John Bonham, well rock drumming just doesn't get any better does it.
http://www.mojo4music.com/blog/2009/01/whatever_happened_to_the_great_1.html

An interview with Elizabeth Moss star one of the stars of returning series mad men. The first series must watch TV so i can't wait for the second series.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2009/jan/25/elisabeth-moss-interview-mad-men

Meanwhile the Times interviews fellow mad men star John Hamn aka John Draper
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article5247450.ece

Manchester United 4-2 Derby County

Well it's Wembley but at what cost. The defence has been decimated, with Ferdinand already out of the reckoning for who knows how long. Evra still a couple of weeks away from being fit as far as we know and then came last night. To lose Da Silva the Gary Neville then th have to have Jonny Evans hobble his way htrough the latter stages was not what the doctor ordered to say the least. Is this competition really worth all the hassle? And what will our defence look like on Saturday.
It has to be said when you look at the weakened teams all the big four play in this competition, it isn't really right that the clubs that make into europe are still given a bye. This used to be a competition that the lesser teams did reasonably well in. But i would say that law change has helped the big boys take a stranglehold on this competition over the last few years. If your United's and Arsenal's had to fight their way through every round i'm not sure you would be seeing one of the big boys in the final every year.
As for the game Fergie kept to his word and played mostly kids , i had felt sure Scholes would play in this after not playing the last two matches but he sat on the bench whilst Anderson was partnered by Darren Gibson. Deby started off where they left off in the first leg trying to play football and if they got anywhere the box they weren't shy of having a pop again. They had one decent shot that was gifted to them by a mistake form Gibson but it flew past the post. Then out of nothing Nani picked it up on the right, cut inside and unleashed one of his thunderbolts that Carroll got his hand to but couldn't keep out. Now United started to dominate and after a poor piece of defending from the visitors O'Shea of all people was left all alone just inside the box to coolly slot home a second goal for United. Another disastrous piece of defending saw a corner go to the unmarked Da Silva who put a great cross in for Tevez to have the simple task of nodding it home. Another great move saw Giggs put a superbly weighted ball through fro Da Silva but ht eyoung Brazillian blasted it over the ball. So though we lost Rafael Da Silva just before the break to an injury we went in 3-0 up and as good as through. It hadn't really been a 3-0 performance though it has to be said.
United were content to saunter through the second half, justifiably with the heavy schedule of games we are in the middle of. Ronaldo came on for Giggs on the hour though at the time i couldn't see the point of that to be honest. Neville went off about 10 minutes later to be replaced by James Chester you thought at the time he might be injured because that seemed a strange decision. Sure enough we heard after the game he was injured. Then when Evans got hurt went off, then came back on limping heavily it started to feel like not such a great night. Whether the injury contributed to Evans giving away the penalty with 10 minutes to go i don't know. Anyway it was slotted by Foster by Barnes and the dreaded prospect of extra time reared it's ugly head. Now Nani went off injured but a nice move that saw Welbeck put Tevez into the box unmarked saw Carroll bundle him over and Ronaldo make no mistake withe spot kick. Even then the game wasn't finished as Barnes hit a superb free kick that Foster couldn't keep out of the far corner. So it's Wembley but to be honest i think i could live without a league cup final if all these defensive injuries come back to haunt us in the league.

Injuries mar the night
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/7841390.stm

The comedy club just gets funnier and funnier
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/jan/21/manchester-city-robinho-brazil-hughes-kaka

Simon Jenkins on mad treasury disease
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/21/treasury-banking-keynes-demand

Obama gets down to business, let's hope he does the business
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/21/barack-obama-president-first-day-in-office

Sterling is finished says market investor
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/jim-rogers-sell-any-sterling-you-might-have-its-finished-1452384.html

Repeating the early 80's ?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7841349.stm

Back on top

Fergie happy to be back a the top according to James Lawton
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/ferguson-content-in-his-natural-habitat-1419313.html

Is Scholes on the wane asks Oliver Kay in the Times
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article5543052.ece?token=null&offset=12&page=2
You can't be sure but it is a bit early to be suggesting it he has only just got back from a couple of months out and hasn't really had a run of games to show whether he has still got it or not.

Benitez seems to have a lot to say for himself at the moment and seems to have a rather inflated belief in himself.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/sam-wallace-control-freak-benitez-picked-the-wrong-week-to-go-to-war-with-the-boardroom-1419309.html

Is a depression around the corner as the banks face meltdown again.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article5546850.ece

Is this what to expect if the stupid party win the next election
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tory-chiefs-firm-cost-councils-163470m-1419272.html
I would obviously be gutted if they did win the next election but one bright side would be watching them fall apart as they would be forced by the economic meltdown to do things they completely abhor, namely trying to buck the market. This would of course be a complete anathma to the majority of the party but especially the euro sceptic right which would assuredly revisit it's mid 90's phase of tearing the party in two again.

The Madoff case gets even more embarrasing for the US regulatory authorities
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jan/16/madoff-ponzi-scheme-investor-shares

Larry Elliot on what he thinks Obama needs to do at the start of his presidency
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/19/obama-us-economy

Music
Bad brains - Bad brains: I wasn't sure what i would think of this, the black US hardcore and reggae act from the 80's . But after a few listens i quite liked it i'm not mad on all the hardcore tracks but there are a few pearlers and all the reggae tracks hit the button.
Blonde redhead - 23: Pretty good indie pop from the US outfit.
David Crosby - If i could only remember my name: A good album that fits into the west coast scene of the early 70's that you either love or hate i suppose.
Eric Dolphy - Out to lunch: It's abit since i listened to some out there free jazz from the 60's. This takes some getting your head round but when you do it's superb. As long as you like 60's free jazz that is.
Field Music - Tones of town: I had read good things about this and indeed about each of their solo outings since. It lives up to the hype, there is an element of the Futureheads sound about them. But that is probably as much about the vocalist retaing the geordie accent whilst singing. Myself i heard bits of the Beatles floating around in it.
Loenard Cohen - Songs from a room: A classic that i have heard before so i don't know why i put on this list.

Bolton Wanderers 0-1 Manchester United

It wasn't pretty , but it was job done again even if they left it late.Even more than the Wigan game this was the kind of performance that wins league titles. As gary Neville said after the game United kept on passing, kept on probing and eventually got their reward. United were never at the top of their game but they played well enough to deserve the win.
Bolton's tactics even at home were to get everybody behind the ball and hope for the best from set pieces and long balls. The Kevin Davies header aside in the second half Van Der Sar hardly had a save to make. Evans and Tevez both shrug off their injury problems to start the game, midfield saw the changes with Carrick and Anderson paired in the middle with Fletcher on the right hand side and Ronaldo on the left.
United had some good spells in the first half without ever really putting the Bolton rearguard under serious pressure. But it was only in the last 10 minutes where they really started to complately boss the game. Ronaldo saw a header well saved by Jaaskelainen and also had a cracking free kick brilliantly saved by the Bolton number 1. Anderson also had a long range effort saved, one of the better moments in a pretty poor performance from him again.
The second half was completely one way traffic, but we just couldn't seem to make that clear cut chance that was needed. Tevez didn't have the greatest game either but the run and cross for the winning goal made up for the rest of his performance. I thought Berbatov had a decent game although most reports this morning seem to suggest the goal was the only thing he did in the match. Top of the table for the first time this season let's hope Everton can get something from Anfield tomorrow.

Match report from the Observer
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jan/18/premier-league-bolton-manchester-united

Kaka not keen on the boo camp report
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jan/18/kaka-manchester-city-milan

Abramovitch wants out of Stamford bridge according to the times
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/chelsea/article5537222.ece

Maybe this is the reason as Russia' economic woes worsen
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jan/18/russians-hoard-cash

Ireland has seen better times also as the Celtic tiger starts to limp
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jan/18/ireland-economy-crash

A trio of reports on our worsening economic woes, first Will Hutton,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/18/recession-banking

Secondly William Keegan,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jan/18/economic-depression

Third Ruth Sunderland
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jan/18/barclays-equitable-life-salary-pensions

How did the ordinary man and woman fare under George W.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/jan/16/president-bush-workers-rights

Manchester United 1-0 Wigan

It wasn't a vintage performance, and it came at a cost but the 3 points were just as vital as Sunday's. A year ago who could have predicted that Giggs and Fletcher would be the first choice pairing against Chelsea and that Scholes and Carrick would be in the role the following Wednesday at home to Wigan. I think even fewer people would have guessed that the former combination would put in the better performance. Rafael came in for Nevillewhilst Nani was chosen on the left ahead of Park with Rooney and Berbatov carrying on up front.
It took just one minute for United to open up the visitors defence as a fine move ended with Ronaldo crossing for Rooney to score. I had hoped before the game that we might get a few and close the goal difference even more and after that start it looked on the cards. The away sides defending wasn't the greatest for the goal but that was the last time that United's forwards had an easy time of it. Unfortunately for United Rooney disappeared of the pitch almost completely unoticed by a lot of us and that was the end of his night. Not great news as the rest of the performance showed how we miss him and to have lost him and Evra over the last two matches and who knows how long we have lost Ferdinand for means we probably won't be seeing too much football that pleases the eye over the next few games.
I was surprised by Wigan's approach to the game as they lost no chance to get forward and yet worked extremely hard to close us down when they hadn't got it. But you have to hand it to them it worked up to a point. They did manage to get in reasonable positions once or twice in the match but were never able to produce a finish to trouble Van Der Sar. But they made it very hard for United to get any rhythm and the only real chance of note for the rest of the half came when Tevez was put clean through but his touch was poor as he took it round Kirkland and the defender was able to get back to force the ball out for a corner. Nani was Nani i'm afaraid one good moment followed by two bad ones and it didn't help our attacking prowess. Ronaldo wasn't on top form either it has to be said, Berbatov was the pick of the forwards on the night. Man of the match was easily Vidic who has had two stromers in a row and has helped Evans out massively in the process.
Decent chances were few and far between in the second half, Wigan were gifted a half chance after a bad throw form Van Der Sar but Figuero's shot went straight back into the big Dutch keepers hands. United's best chance of the second half fell to Berbatov who was just wide with his effort. Ronaldo had a couple of speculative shots that didn't trouble the goalie but United were just glad to get to the final whistle with 3 points that meant that we are now second above Chelsea and if we win on Saturday will go top for the first time this season if only for a couple of nights. Who knows maybe Everton will do us a favour on Monday night, let's face it they will be as desperate as us to stop them winning the title.

Rooney out for 3 weeks
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/7829836.stm

Fergie thinks Berbatov is settling in nicely
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/4248918/Best-of-Berbatov-is-still-to-come-says-Sir-Alex-Ferguson.html


Henry Winter on the massive clubs pursuit of Kaka
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/mancity/4238977/Kaka-cant-be-Manchester-Citys-enforcer.html
I don't want them to get him obviously but i wouldn't be devastated if he was nuts enough to accept the money and go to a club that would extend his champions league less years to at least three. It looks for all their talk of letting the manager get on with the job and of not knowing that much about football they will be as clueless as we could have hoped about what it takes to build a football team and club. If there is anything in this report in the Guardian the comedy club won't have stopped making us yet.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jan/15/kaka-robinho-manchester-city-milan

James Lawton's take on the transfer
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/james-lawton-clueless-city-failing-to-pay-heed-to-the-first-rule-of-team-building-1366479.html

Manchester United 3-0 Chelsea

That was a pretty good weekend, Rafa says things which may or may not be true, but were almost definitely best left unsaid. Then they put in a pretty poor display by all accounts and drop a couple of points at Stoke whilst we don't just win but crush Chelsea in a big big six pointer. And after watching the rent boys capitulate so easily at the end it's very hard to see them figuring in the title run in.
The big surprise when we got to the ground yesterday was Giggs inclusion in central midfield ahead of Carrick and Scholes. And the big disappointment was the absence of Ferdinand meaning that Jonny Evans played against Chelsea for a second time this season. The good news was that both players went on to have outstanding games. The first half was a tight affair with few chances but the chances that were created were all in Cech's penalty area. I thought the referee had a shocker and it took just three minutes for him to give his first yellow card, Lampard being the recipient. It wasn't a great tackle but it wasn't especially dirty and when you book someone so early for something like tthat you risk ruining the game. I fully expected someone to get sent off but fortunately it didn't materialise. I had expected Berbatov to have a big game and whilst he didn't play badly he didn't put in the performance i had hoped for. The best chance of the first half was created for him after 30 minutes by Rooney but he didn't make a clean contact and Cech saved easily. Then the fun and games of the last minute as we all thought we had taken the lead following a corner that Rooney touched and the Giggs delivered a great cross that Ronaldo met superbly to glance home. Unfortunately the linesman decided he would join the referee in having a howler and flagged to say the corner had been incorrectly taken. TV pictures shown that it was a very cleverly taken set piece. Justice was done as the retaken corner was glanced on and then headed in by Vidic. Just before half time is always a great time to score and everybody of a red persuasion went into the half time break with a big smile on their face.
The second half started with Chelsea having as much possession as they were to have in the game but United just mopped up everything that Chelsea tried to throw at them which admittedly wasn't much. Chelsea had took the annonymous Deco off at half time replacing him with Anelka. Anelka saw a lot of the ball but didn't do much with it whilst Drogba played like he would rather be anywhere else. One shot that ended up going for a throw rather than forcing Van Der Sar was truly woeful. He is not my favourite player but about the only offensive player on their side who wasn't embarrasing was Lampard. The second goal followed great work by Ronaldo who fed Evra who crossed to find the right foot of Rooney who managed to beat Ashley Cole to the ball and get that vital second goal. United were then robbed of another legitimate goal as Berbatov timed his pass perfectly to send Ronaldo clear and finish nicely only for another bad linesman's call. Now it was just a question for me of how much United wanted a third as Chelsea were there for the taking. And with a couple of minutes left it duly came as Ronaldo crossed for Berbatov to slot home to give United the scoreline they deserved.
Now for Wigan and Bolton, lets just hope that this was not a one off and our season is now going to really take off.

Ronaldo lifts FIFA world player of the year
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/7822115.stm

Alan Hansen sees problems at Chelsea
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/7824728.stm
He makes a great point about Gary Neville, i wasn't alone amongst reds who thought his best days had sadly gone but all of a sudden he looks almost back to his very best. And that is magnificent news.

Benitez has a go at Gill now, didn't we have this problem when Dein was at Arsenal and the FA and did he say anything about that. He appears to be losing it ever so slightly'
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/liverpool/article5501570.ece

Geoff Boycott on the shambles of the double sacking
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/england/4218818/ECB-dinosaurs-must-be-removed.html

Lancashire linked with Moores
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/cricket/article5502073.ece

Anatole Kaletsky gives a forecast for 2009, seems too optimistic to me.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/anatole_kaletsky/article5497231.ece

Larry Elliot isn't
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jan/12/unemployment-gordon-brown-obama-stimulus

Derby County 1-0 Manchester United

A very poor performance , but not a disaster, and if there was a night to have a stinker this was probably it. That's not to downplay the embarrasment factor though, to be outplayed by a team near the bottom of the championship was terrible. I am not sure where the blame should lie to be honest. I thought Vidic and Evans had reasonable games, Da Silva had an in and out game making some good interceptions but at other times getting caught out of position. O'Shea didn't have as good a game as he would have expected to have especially as one of the senior players.
But midfield was where we never got to grips with the game. And when you look at that midfield, Gibson apart that was pretty inexcusable. Scholes has never been at his best in this type of game and especially if he hasn't got much support next to him. And i've got to say as peripheral as Scholes was when he was on the pitch Anderson was even worse, all night long he was giving the ball away. I'm afraid he still gives the ball away too much for me. It's alright giving him the benefit of the doubt because he tries the killer ball but not when he gives the ball away so much. Look at Scholes and Carrick, they are both brilliant at the exquisite pass that opens the opponents defence up but it's knowing when it's on. Last night and in a few games this season he has been trying at almost every opportunity. You would think playing next to those two he would be starting to learn when to keep it simple and when to try to open it up.
I'm not blaming the defeat at his feet though, From 1 to 11 no United player really turned up. Welbeck hardly had a touch in the match and given the quality of service to him it was no surprise. Tevez was a different matter though, he just didn't get involved as he should have done. At least when he is not having the greatest of games he gives his all and makes defenders lives diificult. Not last night, he was almost as annonymous as Welbeck, alright the service to him wasn't any better. But you would have expected him to drop deep a bit more to try and make an impact on the game.
You have got to give it to the Derby goalscorer Commons it was a great shot but it had been coming. The one thing that they had been doing straight from the kick off was taking every opportunity to shoot. And alarmingly United never seemed to take this on board, they didn't seem to get anybody to close the space down and they were getting a shot in almost every time they got to the edge of the box. The statistics at the end of the first half that showed that Derby had got more shots in than United tells its own story. I can't say i expected United to come out in the second half and take the game by the scruff of the neck, but i certainly expected a bit better than what we got. The fact that the nearest we came was from a Ronaldo free kick that was a whisker wide shows how little was actually raised our game in the second half. In fact it shows what a bad night it was that even when Rooney, Ronaldo and then Carrick had come on we still couldn't dominate the game or create a clear cut chance.
Still if we win on Sunday, this will be totally forgotten. Although i can't say i am that confident, the fact that Chelsea aren't in great form either gives me hope. If we lost this and Liverpool open a gap up, that would be a disastrous weekend as far as i am concerned.

Ferdinand back for Sunday's rent boy encounter
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jan/08/rio-ferdinand-manchester-united-chelsea

United sign Belgian defender
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jan/08/transfer-window-manchesterunited

Fresh inquiry into Tevez affair
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/fresh-inquiry-into-carlos-tevez-affair-announced-1232981.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jan/08/west-ham-carlos-tevez-affair-scott-duxbury

Mike Selvey on Pietersen's mistake
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2009/jan/08/kevin-pietersen-peter-moores-england-captain-andrew-strauss

Gideon Haigh on the Pietersen affair
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2009/jan/08/kevin-pietersen-england-australia
My sympathy goes with Pietersen in this mess, the authorities knew what they were getting when they appointed him.

Jonathan Freedland on Obama's apparent willingness to talk to Hamas
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/jan/08/barack-obama-gaza-hamas

Robert fisk's latest column on the Israeli incursion into Gaza
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-why-do-they-hate-the-west-so-much-we-will-ask-1230046.html

Robert Fox on the rewriting of history
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/08/george-bush

Another undreamt of day in the world of economics
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/bank-cuts-interest-rate-to-15-1232685.html

Tevez spits the dummy out

Pretty unedifying as it's hard to believe either side in all this tactical manouevering, i definitely don't believe United. Either we can't pay his wages or Fergie thinks after this season he is going to play Welbeck more, maybe even Campbell if he is not sold in the summer and we that can do without Tevez.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_united/article5454844.ece

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/4127663/Carlos-Tevez-risks-Sir-Alex-Fergusons-wrath-as-Manchester-United-contract-talks-stall.html

Henry Winter on the rumurs Abramovitch wants out at the bridge,
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/chelsea/4127713/Is-Roman-Abramovich-tiring-of-Chelsea.html

The atheist bus campaign
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/06/religion-atheism
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/06/atheism-religion-bus-dawkins

Music
Bloc Party - Intimacy: Pretty good, it starts off more experimental techno than indie, which is no bad thing the first two tracks are pretty good. And then slips between their sound of old and more of the loud industrial techno sound.
Davy Graham - The guitar player: the late guitarist's debut album and a blinder. The mix of styles never seems to end, folk, blues, jazz, classical, flamenco, it seems never ending. The guitar playing is absolutely brilliant and you can hear some of the guitarists he must have influenced including one of my favourites Jimmy Page.
Dengen - 4: Another cracking album from the Swedish oufit. I have no idea how you categorise this, some tracks feel like Jimi Hendrix revisited others spaced out psychedelia with a jazzy influence.
Femi Kuti - Shoki shoki : Some excellent afro beat from the eldest son of the giant of the genre Feli. there is some great saxophone on the track Look around
Neu - Neu 2: Following from their debut Neu went further out there, from what i have been reading from this album. I can't believe it's as good as it is after finding out that they ran out of money half way through and so just experimented and re-edited the same tracks including playing some of it backwards. If you like krautrock it's a must have.
Ryan Adams and the cardinals - Cardinology: Another reasonable effort from Adams, good though never getting near to very good. There aren't many better at the country rock sound that he goes in for though.
The hold steady - Stay positive: Any song that seems to try to get as many Led Zeppelin song titles as it can in can't be that bad, and bad this aint. Some think that these are the best rock group in the States at the moment, well they are pretty good but i don't think this album makes that point. There some crackers on it though, Stay positive is great and the last couple of songs are brilliant. I have heard them being compared to Springsteen in some articles on them and though i could hear it in a couple of tracks overall i don't really get that comaprison

Tevez wants to stay

It's up to United he says
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/4074934/Carlos-Tevez-to-fight-for-Man-United-future.html
I am sure he does want to stay, i'm just not too sure how much United want him to stay past this season.

So does Ronaldo apparently
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/ronaldo-pledges-to-stay-at-united-home-1220957.html
Well Real Madrid can't look too enticing at the moment

United complete sisgning of the 2 young Serbs according to the Times
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_united/article5432772.ece

A look back at the original Fergie fledglings in the guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/jan/01/fergies-original-fledglings-manchester-united

Crackdown on tax havens says the union Unite, here here, better still outlaw all not transparent and above board
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2008/dec/31/tax-tradeunions

Robert Fisk on the self delusion on all sides in the middle east
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-the-self-delusion-that-plagues-both-sides-in-this-bloody-conflict-1218224.html