United's nervous breakdown

A good piece from Hugh Mcllvanney.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/hugh_mcilvanney/article6394827.ece
Two things really worried me about the other night, the realisation that we really need to find a successor to Paul Scholes in midfield and the form of Vidic. When you pit that performance next to the nightmare he had against Torres in the disaster at old trafford you have got to start worrying about Vidic. One night mare you can write off, but two ? Having seen that first goal a couple of times since wednesday, his part in it just looks worse and worse. Thinking on, we haven't really played well against the top teams all season. Only Chelsea at home when they were in free fall and Arsenal in the semis when they had no defence. There is definitely work ahead in the summer. Idon't think we have the money to splah out with the debt and the credit crunch situation and i would sooner the future came through the ranks anyway. But unless Petrucci is the answer i can't see where the next Scholes is coming from.

Patrcik Barclay thinks the Rooney conundrum needs resolving
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/patrick_barclay/article6390730.ece

Berbatov worried about United future ?
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2009/05/30/dimitar-berbatov-considering-manchester-united-future-after-champions-league-snub-115875-21400190/

Giggs is worried that wednesday might have been his last champions league final
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/giggs-euro-defeat-will-linger-with-me-all-summer-1693462.html

Laurent Blanc wins the french title using methods learnt at United ?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/may/31/laurent-blanc-bordeaux-manchester-united-profile
He would be my choice to be the next United manager

There is somebody out there that agrees with my assessment of those "super" Geordie fans
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/matthew_syed/article6367739.ece?token=null&offset=12&page=2

Will Hutton's latest observer column
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/31/will-hutton-britain-economic-reforms

Barcelona 2-0 Manchester United

Well my confidence before this match was completely out of place as apart from the opening 10 minutes we were totally outplayed. There are some fans and pundits saying we were outclassed, but i wouldn't go that far. If we had played anywhere near our best and got taken apart like that then fair enough, but those opening 10 minutes aside we were woeful all over the pitch. We can obviously play far better than that. Whenever we play them again, if we put in a better performance than that and still get beat i would accept that they are a lot better than us. I had a sneaking feeling before the game that Ferguson would spring a surprise and play either Tevez or Berbatov up front and play Ronaldo and Rooney wide. Wrong again, my thinking had been that Barca had played us twice last season so knew the type of formation that we had beaten Arsenal with. Therefore they might either work out how to play against it better, especially as they have just had 2 games against Chelsea playing the same way. Even though we started, well i wonder whether he wishes he had done this now as he spent the last 60 minutes going from formation to formation in an effort to try and get some kind of performance going by the shirts.
Of course all this is being wise after the event, because if United had finished one of those chances in the opening 10 minutes everything might well have been different. The most disappointing aspect of last night has to be the way the goal just seemed to kill us as Barca took a complete stranglehold of the game that they never let go. From all pundits and a lot of us fans thinking that Barca had no plan B, it was shown that against opponents of the highest calibre neither did we. Or that at least that the team picked couldn't make any of the various formations work. I feel sorry for Rooney, i have read one article say that he should have disregarded Fergie and gone looking for the ball and given up on his defensive duties as the game went completely away from us. But this is a team game and he is a great team man, so he was never going to do that. But i can't disagree with the fact he was totally wasted last night, he never got into the game at all last night. You have to credit Barca partly with that as that man Iniesta called the shots in the middle of the park. But it has to be said that it was also partly due to the nightmare performance that we saw from our midfiled. Which couldn't protect the defence, couldn't keep hold of the ball and consequently couldn't create any pressure to open up the Catalan defence to give Rooney or Ronaldo a sniff of goal after out bright opening. How we missed Flecther last night. The disaster against Liverpool at home and now this must prove to that ever shrinking club of Fletcher doubters that he is a must start in all the big games from now on.
We were so bad last nght it is probably a bit harsh singling anybody out, but Anderson is not my idea of a United midfielder. His passing isn't good enough and he isn't a defensive midfielder. When he has had decent games playing in this position it has been either next to Fletcher or Hargreaves ( another player that would have been more than handy last night ). I like Park but i have to confess skill wise he didn't belong on that pitch last night, he obviously does a good job tracking back and makes up at times for Ronaldo's lack of workrate when he is on the other flank. But when they scored it turned into the type of game where he is far less useful.
As for the goals, just like the game against Liverpool they were so soft it was unbelievable and just like that game the midfield and defence were both culpable.Vidic didn't have a great game against top class strikers again and who knows whether Ferdinand was fully fit. Still though i am gutted it's not on the same level as being beaten last year would have been. That was why i wanted Barca to beat Chelsea in the semi. I have a lot of time for Barca the sporting institution and i love the way they play football, though i still prefer ours at it's free flowing dynamic best. So to be beat by them is not something that hurts like losing to a Chelsea would have done. And it goes without saying it is no disgrace.
This was also the icing on the cake for a lot of us, at the start of the season equalling that 18 titles was the target. And in that we have achieved what we all wanted, if we had won that it would have been dream time. Having won that title not really playing anywhere near our best for the vast majority of the time shows that what a good job Fergie has done. The signing of Berbatov looked like it might be the final piece of the jigsaw for the squad, a skilful front man with presence which is what the squad over the two years previous had lacked due to Saha's injury problems. But it hasn't worked out like that as Berbatov hasn't had the best debut season. And with Tevez seemingly on his way out, i wonder what the future holds for our front line.We are a team in transition with both Scholes and Giggs nearing the end of their careers and youngsters like Evans, the Da Silva's, Welbeck and Macheda coming through. So to have won a third title on the trot, a league cup, world club championship, a FA cup semi final appearance and a Champions league final defat has been some performance.

Ronaldo won't let it lie, i suppose we shouldn't be surprised.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/5398293/Manchester-United-v-Barcelona-Cristiano-Ronaldo-blames-tactics-for-Rome-defeat.html

Rooney pays credit to Barca
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/

Cascarino thinks Rooney was wasted, can't argue
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/european_football/article6375271.ece

Ferdinand reckons the reds will bounce back
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/manchester-united-can-handle-defeat-says-ferdinand-1692298.html

James Lawton on beautiful Barca
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/james-lawton-beautiful-barccedila-strip-the-fallen-of-their-crown-1691943.html

Henry Winter on the real United not turning up
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/5394857/Manchester-United-0-Barcelona-2-Champions-League-final-2009-match-report.html

Hull City 0-1 Manchester United

Even though i wanted Newcastle to go down, i still wanted United to win, just so there could be no moaning from the barcodes. So yesterday was a pretty satisfying day all round. As i had expected, our reserve come youth team was still too good for the Yorkshire outfit who were pretty terrible it has to be said. They are lucky there were still three teams worse than them, they are not a premierleague oufit. They will need to wheel and deal in the transfer market in the summer if they are to stay up next season.
It took ten minutes or so for the young lads to find their feet but when they did they took complete control of the game and there never seemed much danger of us not getting the three points once we took the lead. And what a goal it was, the one thing Gibson has going for him is his shooting ability. When i watched him in the youth team he always had a great shot. And i am glad to say when he has been given the chance to play in the first team this season he has not been shy in having a dip. If he doesn't make it at United i am absolutely certain that he will make a premiership player as a goalscoring midfielder will be worth his weight in gold. How Hull could have done with someone like him as they were totally toothless up front and all over the pitch in fact. I thought Welbeck had a good game and he showed how good a player he will become with a couple of mazy runs where he beat three or four men. It was nice to see Wes Brown back, will he be on the bench on Wednesday. If O'Shea was to have a hard game i could think of worse things than Brown coming on to replace him. Rafael is going to be a top player but his defensive work is still coming on, he is not there yet.
I would be a worried man if i was Nani, the fact he strated yesterday makes me think he might not make the bench on Wednesday. Though he will probably pick him just in case it goes to penalties. Once again though, he was a pretty annonymous figure on the pitch.
What gets me about the Newcastle debacle is how everybody still goes on about them be great fans. When to my mind they are part of the problem up there. They have never given any manager a chance, not even Bobby Robson. They had a good team in the fifties and a good team for a couple of years under Keegan and yet they demand that the team be a mixture of Brazil and Barcelona from the moment a manager takes charge. We all know football doesn't work like that. You have to build your team up from the back, make yourself hard to beat and then start to add the flair. Unfortunately it looks like the owners of City have took that on board and are going to let Hughes do it the right way.

An interview with Charlton from Saturady's independent.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/charlton-alex-the-old-man-and-me-1689688.html

And with Scholes from the Observer
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/may/24/manchester-united-barcelona-paul-scholes

Carrick the unsung hero, he is vitally important to us, i would have to agree.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_united/article6349573.ece

Hugh McIlvanney seeems to favour United on Wednesday
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/hugh_mcilvanney/article6349778.ece

Mourinho thinks it will be a good final.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/european/championsleague/5374409/Jose-Mourinho-Sir-Alex-Ferguson-can-become-the-greatest-in-Rome.html

It looks like all the injury doubts for Wednesday's big night will be alright on the night.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/8060878.stm

Better late than never i suppose, Johnson urges electoral reform referendum
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/may/25/alan-johnson-proportional-representation-call

Larry Elliot on the economy, we have got to start to living within it means.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/may/24/economic-policy-political-crisis

Manchester United 0-0 Arsenal

Well that was the trophy that i wanted most of all this season, and it feels great to have equalled the scouse record. A win in Rome would be an unbelievable way to finish off the seson. That would mean we have almost caught up with their European cup haul as well. How sick would they be if that does happen, especially as they must know that this was their best chance to end their title drought . Because if we are honest United have been nowhere near as good this season as they were for the two previous seasons. But we just seem to have the knack of winning games when playing nowhere near our best.
It was a weird game, Arsenal were always going to be a different propostion after the mauling we gave them over the two legs, and they were. It looked to me that the players knew that they had virtually won the title at Wigan and their performance levels dropped off. They never really got going and didn't really look like scoring, the best chance we did create fell to Rooney who should have at least hit the target with his header. Van Persie had their best chance and his header was even worse than Rooney's, it was a really bad miss.
The atmosphere was poor again, with an unbelievable amount of day trippers who seem to think that we have a divine right to win and play great football every game. The chants of Fergie sign him up got on my tits too. As far as i'm concerned the club are right to part with Tevez, which i'm almost certain is going to happen. He is a good player but he is not worth anything like the figures being quoted. And all that chanting will look pretty silly as all the signs are he will go to either Liverpool or City, with my money being on City. The second half was a bit of a non event with Arsenal not really threatning us but with United unable to click and eventually deciding to play on the break and concentrate on getting the draw.
The trophy presentations just seem to get worse and worse, it took an absolute age to get the set knocked up and it just killed the moment for me. Playing songs to get the crowd to sing along was just embarrasing. It has to be said that whilst on the whole the football we have seen over the last couple of years has been as good as i've ever seen, i don't feel the pride that i used to at our fans. There so many clowns that watch United now it's untrue.

Paul Wilson's match report
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/may/16/premier-league-manchester-united-arsenal1

Tevez does his masters (Joorbachian, it will be a nice pay day when he get's the next transfer of course )bidding claiming United have treated him badly, yes of course they have.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/may/17/manchester-united-lack-respect-says-carlos-tevez


Hugh Mcilvanney on Sir Alex Ferguson
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_united/article6300338.ece

Des Kelly on the whinging fat Spansh waiter
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-1182871/DES-KELLY-What-actually-Rafa.html

The ungrateful Tevez

Henry Winter wonders what Tevez is thinking, unfortunately it's obviously money.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/5342281/Manchester-Uniteds-Carlos-Tevez-must-recognise-the-genius-of-Sir-Alex-Ferguson.html

Hansen thinks Ronaldo is irreplaceable, his goalscoring record obviousy is, but then again we all thought Van Nistelroy was. A new team will have to be built without him sooner rather than later even if he does stay this summer, so i just hope Fergie has got his thinking cap on.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/5339996/Manchester-Uniteds-Cristiano-Ronaldo-is-simply-irreplaceable.html

Richard Williams on the long term vision of Ferguson, i am one of the few who always thought that Fletcher had something about him.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/may/18/alex-ferguson-manchester-united-richard-williams

Vidic on the continuing quest for trophies at United
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/may/18/nemanja-vidic-manchester-united-champions-league

the Ken loach film starring the king shows at Cannes to a warm reception. Eric chose a top director to work with, i thought Land and Freedom and the wind that shakes the barley were both cracking films.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/cantona-scores-at-cannes-1687107.html

Messi thiks they are just that bit better than United and will become the best Barca team ever. The performance against in last years semi and against the rent boys in this years semi. So with most of their defence missing on the 27th i'd like to think his confidence is misplaced.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/our-football-is-better-than-uniteds-says-messi-as-barccedila-lift-title-1686816.html




I only saw the highlights but it seems Jimmy Anderson is finally starting to live up to the promise when he first got into the England side. His pace and swing bowling both ways were superb, far too good for another dismal West indies side away from home. An with Stuart Braod doing very well and hopefully Freddie to come back firing on all cylinders we look like we have got at least three decent bowlers to take on the Aussies later in the summer.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/may/18/england-west-indies-second-test


Anatole Kaletsky on the economic woes facing continental Europe and whether the Germans will be up to the challenge of abandoning their economic history.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/anatole_kaletsky/article6308164.ece

Larry Elliot with an interesting column on energy resources and how it will affect the economy
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/may/17/larry-elliott-energy-crisis

A column by the woman who set the ball rolling on the MP' S expenses scandal
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/may/15/mps-expenses-heather-brooke-foi


Andrew Bird - Noble beast: I wasn't sure what i expected of this, but i was pleasantly expected. He is labelled as indie but there are loads of folk and pop influences and he seems to be totally original. He is a bit of a musical prodigy playing a multitude of instruments, violin and guitar included.
Bruce Springsteen - Working on a dream: The boss is still going strong with a strong follow up to the excellent Magic. I don't think it is quite as strong as the last effort but he is still a tremedous artist.
Franz Ferdinand - Tonight:I am not sure about this, to be honest. I like bands that take chances and try to broaden their musical horizons. But some bands can pull it off and some can't and at times on this album they fall into both camps. The one thing that was definite to me is that they sounded better when the guitars were to the fore.
Morrisey -Years of refusal: Although he is never going to revisit the glory years of the Smiths in his solo guise and with his backing band, it has to be said he recent solo albums have been consistently solid efforts. This is no exception, straight ahead rock with that singular voice that you couldn't mistake for anyone else.
White Lies - To lose my life: I had read the rave reviews for this debut album and so i was looking forward to listening to it, though i am usually wary of groups likened to Joy Division as they tend to be one dimensional. And that would be my citicism of this, whilst it is a reasonably good album, and there a couple of cracking tracks on it. There is no light and shade, it doesn't vary itself enough musically for me.

Wigan 1-2 Manchester United

Well that was a much harder game than i had expected, in fact that was probably as tough, if not tougher than the two semi finals against the gooners. Wigan defended well and made life hard for us and in addition they got forward when they could and had a real go at us. In fact the game was only a couple of minutes old when they caught our defence cold and Valencia was put through on goal only to fluff his lines trying to chip Van Der Sar and missing the target.
United picked a pretty strong line up, stronger than i had expected, it was probably a good job the amount of effort the home team put into it. After the wobbly first couple of minutes, United got into the game and though Wigan were harrying and trying to close down everything they could, we did create a couple of great openings. The first followed a piece of great play by Berbatov on the right that saw him skin his man and cross only for Rooney to horribly misjudge his header to send it well wide. The next chance followed a super piece of movement and passing that saw Ronaldo put a lovely cross in for Carrick, but his effort went just over the bar. Whilst we were playing nice football Wigan were causing us a few anxious moments at the other end. But when Wigan did get their goal it was a bit soft from our point of view really. Vidic was outmuscled to a long punt into the box by Rodallega and when the ball broke the Columbian was the first to react and fired it past Van Der Sar.
United seemed to wobble a bit for the next ten minutes or so, blaming the ref for everything instead of getting on with it. The composure seemed to come back for the final few minutes and they created another really good chance that Rooney hit too high under pressure from the Wigan defence.
The second half saw no substitutions and the game continued in the same way until the introduction of Tevez on the hour. All of a sudden United's players seemed to have more time, whether that was tactical or them tiring after putting in so much effort i don't know. In no time at all United were level and it was that man Tevez with the equaliser. Carrick made use of the space now available to make a run and unleash the shot that was going well wide across the face of the goal when Tevez pulled of a superb flick to deflect it into the back of the net. Cue a mixture of relief and jubilation knowing we only needed 4 points from our last 3 games. Now it was all United, but it was only 4 minutes from time when the winner finally came. It was another cracker, but, more conventional this time. O'Shea made a great run and threaded the ball back to Carrick at the edge of the box who took his time and picked his spot and thumped it into the corner of the net to really get the red hordes and the players alike doing cart wheels, knowing this probably means we will be able to lift the trophy aloft at Old trafford on Saturday.

I think we can probably see by this why United are having a hard time over Carlos Tevez and why i still think he won't be hear next season.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/8042344.stm

Fergie wary of Arsenal, it depends i suppose, if we score early they could easily fall apart again because that defence is not up to much.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/5322766/Manchester-United-wary-of-Arsenal-threat-says-Sir-Alex-Ferguson.html

Nationalise the premier league?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/may/14/nationalise-premier-league-steven-wells

As in every proffesion, business or whatever it may be self regulation doesn't work. Vernon Bogdanor in the Times argues ousiders must be involved in sorting out the current mess.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6282598.ece

Anatole Kaletsky on the prospects for deflation and inflation
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/anatole_kaletsky/article6282701.ece

Henry Porter on liberty
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/henryporter/2009/may/14/privacy-internet-government-database

Manchester United 2-0 Manchester City

At last United gave the derby the importance we fans attach to it, though given the circumstances there wasn't much chance they wouldn't. You could argue leaving Rooney out was taking it too lightly but when you remember the work he had put in at the Emirates and the fact they had said he was ill before the game then i thought that it was fair enough. And to be honest when he came in the second half he didn't quite look himself. The pairing of Berbatov and Tevez looked to be good enough to me and Fletcher paired by Giggs had a nice look about it. The omision of Ferdinand wasn't a big surprise, i would think he will be nursed through to the final in Rome now the league has virtually been won.
United started well but the game settled into a reasonably even affair, possession wise, for the first 20 minutes or so. Though saying that, City never really threatened Van Der Sar's goal, whereas Park went close for United and Ronaldo was given the opportunity to hit a couple of free kicks from distance. But when Ireland brought Berbatov down just outside the box he made no mistake this time. It took a slight deflection and wrong footed Given to go in off the post. From here United took control of the half and Tevez hit the post with a magnificent right footed shot. But the does he want away or doesn't he, made sure right on the stroke of half time after a brilliant piece of first time control from Berbatov saw him set Tevez up and he hit his right foot shot in off the post to send us in with a comfortable 2 goal cushion at half time.
The second half was a pretty forgettable affair as United settled to save their legs for Wednesday and City weren't able to seriously threaten the United goal apart from one great chance that Robinho criminally couldn't hit the target with at the start of the second half. And a great left foot shot from the one City player i would have at United tomorrow, Petrov, near the end of the game that was thwarted through a great flying save from Van Der Sar. The only real talking point was the reaction of Ronaldo to getting taken off with half an hour to go.. My take on it was that he was upset because he thought he might get another goal or even 2. I am afraid that is why he has not been and never will be as loved as the Eric's or Ole's of this world. At the end of the day he can give interviews bigging up the team performance but we all know all he is really thinking about is himself. I thought he looked a bit leggy in the first half so it seemed a sensible decision to me. I can't deny we would miss him as a player but i wouldn't miss anything else about him i'm afraid. When you look at what happened to Fletcher and then his reaction to it last week, can you just imagine what Ronaldo's reaction would have been, Gascoigne times 10 probably.

Fergie refuses to talk about Tevez's future
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/8042344.stm

Fletcher definitely out of the final. To be honest and hard headed, with both Barca's players both out as well this must suit us really.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/8037362.stm

A Guardian interview with Eric the king and director Ken Loach
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/may/09/looking-for-eric-cantona-ken-loach

The dream final according to the Spanish press
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/blog/2009/may/07/champions-league-final-barcelona-manchester-united

How long will Ronaldo get away with his rampant ego
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/markogden/blog/2009/05/11/ronaldo_lucky_to_escape_the_beckham_treatment

Will Hutton's latest column
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/10/green-shoots-economy-recession-intervention

Arsenal 1-3 Manchester United

What a result, i don't think anybody could have predicted it would be all over after just 11 minutes. But over it was and what horrendous goals to give away they were from the Arsenal point of view. But so what, luck just evened itself out as we should have had the tie finished in the first 90 minutes of the tie. It just took another 11 minutes of the second leg of the game for fortune to even out. I wouldn't say United were at their free flowing best last night, but tactically and experience wise they were streets above Wenger's men. Evra's post match comment about it being 11 men against 11 babies wasn't far off the mark. Although seeing as though we still have to play them in the league that remark might have been better left in the changing rooms.
All 11 players who started the match were immense but i have to say that Ronaldo was absolutely outstanding. That was, by an absolute mile, his best preformance in a big game. I think that playing up front is definitely going to be his best position from now on in. I had a sneaking feeling that he might play up front, and if he stays next season, a big if granted, i think that performance has sealed the fate of Tevez next season, he will be off.
Arsenal actually started quite well as i had expected them to and for the first 7 minutes it looked like it was going to be a game. I wasn't worried as i had expected a tough game but thought that their lack of an away goal would prove crucial eventually as i couldn't see us not scoring against that defence. But when Gibbs slipped to let in Park who kept his composure to give us such a dream start you could see them visibly wilt. And when Ronaldo struck that thunderbolt that Almunia should have at least got a hand to in my opinion, they were a completely beaten team. The free kick may have been a bit contentious, sometimes they are given, sometimes not, but you shouldn't be conceding shots from that far out anyway. Ronaldo was causing their patched up defence all kinds of problems. And Park and Rooney were both doing a job and a half getting up to support him and get back behind the ball when we didn't have it. Ferdinand and Vidic must have thought this was the easiest semi they had ever played in. The statistics at half time were unreal with United having all those shots on goal and off target and Arsenal barely threatening Van Der Sar's goal. The gooners looked leaderless and charactless with Adebayor again having a shocker, and last night i didn't think Fabregas showed that much, either as a creative force or by giving his players an example.
The third goal was just what this stunning performance warranted, a fine move from Vidic's header that fell to Ronaldo who started the move with a great back heal and then run three quarters of the length of the pitch to get on the end of Rooney's perfectly waited cross to get his second of the night.
The only downside was the sending off of Fletcher. It was unbelievably harsh, even if it had been a foul, which replays show itwasn't. It was obvious he was going for the ball so i don't know why the referee thought he had to send him off. He put in yet another great performance in a big game and yet another stormer against Arsenal and i am pretty sure he would have played in the final. Getting the third on the hour was yet another bonus as he could take off Evra and Rooney who were both one booking away from not playing in Rome and keep them fresh for Sunday. If we beat the premier leagues premier comedy club on Sunday things are looking seriously good.

Henry Winter's match report
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/arsenal/5279338/Arsenal-v-Manchester-United-match-report.html

Patrick Barclay on Fergie and the art of team selection
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_united/article6229916.ece

Kevin McCarra on Ronaldo
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2009/may/06/cristiano-ronaldo-manchester-united

Evra gets a bit cocky, even if he is right
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/may/06/evra-manchester-united-arsenal-babies

Ribery to United?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/may/05/manchester-united-franck-ribery-bayern-munich-cristiano-ronaldo
He is a good playerwho would enhance us, but if he comes in players will obviously have to go out. So it would who depends who goes, to enable us to buy him, which would would decide for me whether it would be a wise move.
Mark Ogden comments on the possibilities this summer
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/markogden/blog/2009/05/05/ronaldo_holds_the_key_for_ribery_kaka_and_real

Cascarino lays into Arsenal
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/arsenal/article6229835.ece

Barca in the final, and they will have no defence, what a great couple of days.

Middlesbrough 0-2 Manchester United

At this stage of the season every win is vital with the performance sometimes not mattering. But with this game sandwiched between the Champions league semi that really was the case on Saturday morning. So to come away with the three points and a performance that had me thinking we might improve our goal difference at one stage you have got to be happy. I was pretty confident when i saw the team with both Giggs and Scholes playing. It was a bit of a surprise that Berbatov was partnered by Macheda up front but the young Italian did reasonably well not looking out of place at all.
I thought that some of the players who played against Arsenal last week might get another run out as i didn't think he would play basically the same team again on Tuesday night but after seeing the team picked here, it looks like there won't be many changes for the second leg. The game was a pretty comfortable run out and it is hard to see how Middlesbrough can stay up as they were never really a threat. Though after seeing all three of the north east teams at the bottom playing over the weekend it's hard to say who were the worst. I have a feeling Newcastle will go down, but if one of those teams has the firepower to get a result, it is them, so maybe i will be wrong. Whoever loses that game that derby next week must surely be doomed.
United didn't completely dominate the first half but when we did have it we looked more assured as you would expect and more likely to create chances. Rooney had a few attempts but hadn't got his radar set right. No such worry though for Giggs who took advantage of the room he was given at the edge of the box following a corner to hit his shot strong and true into the corner of the net giving the Boro keeper no chance. There was only ever going to be one winner after that. Whatever confidence Boro had got evaporated and United now did start to dominate. The second goal came after just 6 minutes of the second half following a great ball from Rooney found Park's run and the Korean hit his left footed shot first time to put us 2-0 up and killing the game from our perspective.
For a time it looked like United looked were interested in getting more goals as Tevez came on for Macheda, but this fizzled out as United played keep ball to conserve their energy for the semi final 2nd leg. So we go into the second leg still top, seeemingly back on form and hopefully with no injury worries.

Ferdinand back in training and ready for semi, Evra a worry though.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/8010853.stm

Henry Winter's match report in torygraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/5267790/Manchester-Uniteds-heady-mix-of-youth-and-experience-proves-too-much-for-sorry-Boro.html

A piece on Eric the renaissance man in the Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/eric-cantona-the-seagull-has-landed-1678544.html

That was some win of Barca's at the Bernabeu on Saturday night,
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/european_football/article6216942.ece
Patrcik Brcaly hopes they make it to Rome. So do i but Stamford bridge will be a totally different affair, though hopefully they will get more room than they did in the first half. But how bad are Real, and how nice to see.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/patrick_barclay/article6217087.ece


Brown taken to task over the economy by Hamish McRae and savaged over spin by Nick Cohen
http://www.standpointmag.co.uk/node/1132/full
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/hamish-mcrae/hamish-mcrae-a-bull-may-be-on-its-way-but-it-wont-save-labours-economic-reputation-1677854.html

The Labour party is in a mess accoring to Jackie Ashley
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/03/labour-leadership-factions