Tevez is offski

I'm just surprised United seem to have made such an effort to keep him. Unless they know they are not going to be buying anybody. He wasn't worth that money so i'm afraid i can't say i wanted him to stay. He was a good squad player but he shouldn't have been a guaranteed first team player. Will we buy anybody to replace him is the question now.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/5585951/Manchester-United-confirm-Carlos-Tevez-leaving-Old-Trafford.html

Will we get Benzema, or rather does he want to come,
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/5577332/Manchester-United-target-Karim-Benzema-likely-to-leave-Lyon-due-to-cash-tsunami.html
It's time to get a more British based or at least more northern European based squad for me. The lure of sun and money wouldn't be as magnetic then.


Lou Macari gives a correct appraisal of the player and his advisors real reason for leaving.

"Well, a five year contract, I don't think you could ask for anymore than that as a player from United, a fantastic offer, but it's simple nowadays isn't it, if the player or his agent don't want them to sign for a certain club then they don't sign. It's rather surprising because Carlos Tevez couldn't get a better club that MUFC. He didn't play regularly last season but I think that's one of those excuses, if you move on, 'I want to play regular football because I want to play for Argentina'. I mean when Gareth Barry was going to move onto Liverpool he said he wanted to play Champions League football. I keep hearing all these excuses, and believe me they are excuses. I'm not playing regular football, it'll affect my international career - it won't affect his international career at all, he's a regular for Argentina whether he's playing (or not) as he found out this season, whether he's playing every so often for his club, he's still going to be a regular for Argentina. I just wish these excuses wouldn't come out and they move on and take the money from wherever they are going and leave it at that. Carlos Tevez has been fantastic, it's simple, and I think you've got the facts... his agent and Carlos have decided they are going to move on and move on they will."

"I think SAF would possibly know what was ahead of him long before the end of the season. Certainly with Ronaldo, he would have known what the future was for him and I don't think it would have been any great surprise to him with Carlos Tevez's decision. I think we're in a day and age in football, where the club, and such a great club as Manchester United, doesn't really come as a main reason why a player signs, it's advisors, it's money, it's all the wrong reasons really and I'm just disappointed that Tevez won't be playing at Old Trafford next season and I do think that had he stayed he would have been a regular in the team. Ronaldo's gone, Tevez would be needed"

__________________

Tosic reveals Ronaldo had told the rest of the players he was leaving before the champions league final, surprise, surprise.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jun/20/manchester-united-cristiano-ronaldo-transfer

United won't but players over 26 years of age in the future.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jun/17/manchester-united-transfer-policy
If this wasn't so patently to do with the debt i wouldn't be that bothered as long as it wasn't set in stone and there could be the odd exception, because i think it would be a reasonable policy. Though whether it will survive Fergie stepping down ( whenever that is, and the gimps must hope it is a long time off ) and one or two years of no success or heaven forbid a failiure to qualify for the champions league, i rather doubt. Of course that could well spend the end of the Glazers anyway.

Robert Fisk on the latest in Tehran
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-secret-letter-proves-mousavi-won-poll-1707896.html

So much for the death of the city and it's malign influence
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/jun/17/alistair-darling-barack-obama-economy
Vince Cable says the recovery is too early to call and also bemoans the lack of re-regualtion of our finnacial industry
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/vincent-cable-this-recession-is-very-far-from-over-1706859.html

A rare Kraftwerk, Ralf Hutter interview in the Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/jun/19/kraftwerk-hutter-manchester-international


Polly Scattergood - Polly Scattergood: British leftfield female singer songwriter's debut album. It had a bit of hype on it's appearance if i remember correctly. It's not bad, it has it's moments, one or two stand out tracks. But there aren't really good moments enough for it rise above the vaguely promising.
Spaceman 3 - Playing with fire: Jason Pierce of spiritualised in his former life playing with the cosmic spaceman 3. I never really heard enough of them when they were actually going, what i did like i always liked. And this shows me that i would have really liked them. Pretty out there, Spititualised without the songs in fact but with plenty of distorted guitar wig outs, nice.
Talk Talk - Spirit of eden: I can't believe i have never heard this because it is truly majestic. I heard all their 80's hits and really liked the stuff that came out from the middle of the decade but never got round to the albums. What a mistake. Mark Hollis must have liked Miles Davis because he is surely one of the influences on this. Another one not for the three minute pop brigade.
The Orb - U.F.orb: I like the orb but i can't deny you have to be in the mood to listen to their ambient ouevre. This was one of the classics of the genre with some nice hints of dub in the electronic mix.
The View - Which bitch: Having seen them live on the box at a few festivals last year and not rating them at all i was pleasantly surprised by their debut album which was pretty good without being spectacular. So i didn't really know what to expect from them after reading the reviews of this follow up saying they had tried to experiment more on this offering. They didn't really sound like they had experimenting in them yet to me. And to be honest the best tracks on the album are the ones that would have fitted seamelessly onto the first album. The new style tracks aren't terrible and i can't criticise as i like groups that try to progress.
Goldie - Timeless: Classic drum n' bass ( not the commercial crap you would hear on crappy compliations). I had heard a fair few of these at the time but not the full album. It's excellent and the opening 20 minutes of the title track Timeless are superb and the rest of the album doesn't go far before those levels for the rest of the album

A " one man team " according to Fabregas

I hope Fergie pins that up on the dressing room wall before we play them next season. I think Rooney might be in the mood to show him, he is not quite right.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/5539203/Cristiano-Ronaldo-transfer-Manchester-United-nothing-without-him-says-Fabregas.html

Henry Winter on the way United should rebuild next season, putting Rooney back in the middle, that will have a lot of reds nodding their heads in agreement.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/5524811/Manchester-Uniteds-Wayne-Rooney-can-fill-gap-left-by-Cristiano-Ronaldo.html

Tevez next to go, according to the indy, it's what we have expected. I have to say United were right in the first place to think the asking price was too much. My only surprise are the reports that Fergie has tried to persuade him to stay. Anything over £20 million for a player who whilst he scraps and works hard for the team hasn't got that great a first touch and who's goalacoring isn't exactly prolific was not on.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/tevez-set-to-spurn-ferguson-1705345.html

I am glad we have finally got rid of the ego as well, i can't pretend we won't miss his goals, but i am certain we will be more of a team next season. Fergie won't have to structure the team to mask his his lack of defensive work. I can see our record against the rest of the big four being far better next season than it has been this season. Hopefully we will now see the best of Berbatov as well, i always thought playing him and Ronaldo was a luxury player too far. And with Rooney getting through his stint of work in the middle ( hopefully that is ) it won't matter as much that Berbatov is no Tevez, on the grafting side of things that is, of course. Where we needed that workrate was out wide where Ronaldo would have been and hopefully we will get someone to fill that right or left side. I just hope we are not going to be told that Nani is going to get another crack at that position. I have not seen that much of Valencia, but he did have a good game at Old Trafford last season. Supposedly he is fast, likes to dribble, puts a decent cross in and will track back to help out the defence. It would be nice if his goalscoring record was better, but the rest of it looks like just what the doctor ordered.



It's all kicking off in Tehran, i have read a lot of reports on the events leading up to the elction and since and nobody really seems to know what's happeing or what is going to happen next
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jun/15/rafsanjani-iran-elections

Robert Fisk on the aftermath of the elction
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-iran-erupts-as-voters-back-the-democrator-1704810.html

Brown shows how much of a reformer he really is, not a surprise really.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jun/15/iraq-war-inquiry

Will Hutton's interview with Paul Krugman in the Observer
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jun/14/economics-globalrecession

John Lanchester's account of the credit crunch
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v31/n10/lanc01_.html

Alan McGee on RodStewart and the Faces
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2009/jun/15/faces-reunion-rod-stewart
I'm a big fan of the Faces, a real rock n' roll band

Will he stay or we he go now

Ronaldo that is, as Real start the summer speculation yet again
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/real-claim-negotiations-have-started-over-ronaldo-1701897.html

The Spanish press seem to thik they have already got him
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_united/article6471565.ece
I wanted him to be sold last summer and even though i'm afraid it probably means we won't win the title next year i am of the same opinion this summer. We have got to get back to sharing the goals around the team. It's not Ronaldo' fault we have relied on him too much of course. But given that we all know his heart is certainly not in Manchester, let's use this moment and money to rebuild. I would rather use our youth system rather than spending big, but with football as the business it unfortunately is today there is no chance that they will be given the time. So my first priority would be to use the money received, if he goes, to buy Ribery, a proper wide man, with bags of talent, but also a real team man. I would like to see Rooney moved back inside to play more centrally and with Tevez almost certainly going to go they will have to look at whether Macheda and Welbeck will play enough games next season or whether we need to spend big for a goalscorer. We still need a replacemnt for Scholes, a man to go next to Carrick with Fletcher as the defensive midfield player. But i can't see where that player is coming from. It will be an interesting summer as if we do sell Ronaldo will Fergie be given the money anyway or will the gimps use to help pay off the debt. In times gone by i wouldn't have minded United not splashing out but if the Glazers did it, well nobody could tell us they have been great for the club then.

Jim Leighton has said Fergie was on the verge of going to the Arse in the eighties
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/5493028/Sir-Alex-Ferguson-turned-down-Arsenal-job-says-Jim-Leighton.html

Johann Hari gives his assessment of the political situation after last weeks elections and gets it pretty much spot on for me.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-the-three-ticking-timebombs-under-british-politics-1701047.html

Are the Iranian going to have an Obama moment as the elction nears
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/10/iran-elections-mahmoud-ahmadinejad

Is the German economy on the rocks, Europe is in big trouble, eastern Europe especially if it is. Will Hutton has got a very good record of getting these things right so we should be worried.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jun/09/angela-merkel-germany-recession

Death bed constitutional conversion by Brown
http://todayinpolitics.independentminds.livejournal.com/27449.html

John Keane on a radical isnpiration for today, Tom Paine. I have got his biography of this great English radical but have still not got around to reaing it. Of course one of the Blairites biggest faliures, Tony Blair's especially was their lack of respect and even disdian for history. Everything has been modern, modernise, new labour bla bla bla.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jun/09/tom-paine-political-reform

Premier league debt time bomb ?

£3.1 billion it's all wrong really and it can't last., and i am pretty sure the rest of Europe won't put up with it much longer. If we had a government with some gonads i'd like to think something would get done about here. I am not holding my breath.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jun/02/premier-league-clubs-debt

New shirt sponsors to help manage the Glazer gimps debts. What will come out of the woodwork about this lot. Let's face it they don't care too much where they get the money from do they.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/manchester-united-agree-huge-shirt-sponsorship-deal-1696088.html

Henry Winter thinks United should try to land Benzema, he is going to be a top player, that's for sure. But i think the economic realities of that debt will start to hit home this summer as Real Madrid, Chelsea and as unreal as it sounds City will be fighting over players this summer.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/5401914/Karim-Benzema-could-lift-Manchester-United-to-next-level.html

Comedy club starts to get serious. He is not a great player but it's probably a good place to start rebuilding the squad from, unfortunately.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/city-start-spree-with-rapid-16312m-barry-deal-1695409.html

Simon Jenkins on the current political mess and the need to decentralise, which he doesn't believe will be delivered.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jun/02/democracy-mps-expenses
He writes a lot of sense but i can't see how he belives you can deliver that without voting reform which he doesn't support. Both the tories and New labour have ruled for almost 30 years and are still busy trying to centralise everything either when in government or in opposition.

I hold no brief for the MP' with their fingers in the tills, and think they should all be thrown out of parliament, but it is very very small beer compared to what the economic catastrophe financiers almost brought us down to not that long ago. And the owners of the paper that is crucifying our politicians are as low as you can get. When all of this passed us and we hopefully we have seen the right reform let's hope some of our politicians have some sense, some balls and bring some of these wankers back down to size. Revenge might be the motive that actually makes it happen.
Robert Peston on the reforms that surprise, surprise aren't happening in the business sector. Leave it to the market, yeah, right
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/

John Pilger lays into the state of Britain, but does see some sign of optimism
http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2009/06/pilger-blair-iraq-british-mps

Music
Bat for lashes - Two suns: This starts of at the same level as the last album but fades a bit after half way. As a few of the reviews said when it was released this seems to have been aimed at a more mainstream audience and it does suffer a bit for that.
Clark - Clarence park: This was his debut effort and it's fairly good, it's obviously heavy duty electronica, not dancing to this. Turning dragon was more accomplished but a few years down the road it ought to have been, i suppose.
Fever ray - Fever ray: More left field electronica though of a more song based stance. It has to be said i love this kind of stuff nowadays. It's never going to bother the charts which suits me as i can't stand anything that i hear inthe charts nowadays ( not that i know who any of it is ).
Four tet - Pause: It's electronica all the way in this batch and this is another album that i love. Completely made on a laptop apparently you would never know as there are stringed instruments amongst the sounds sampled.
Howling bells - Radio wars: The sole indie group in this mix this Aussie outfit don't scale any heights, it's a decent listen but pretty forgettable once taken of your system.
Karen Dalton - In my own time: A cult album from the early seventies, this folk, come country rock at times, has some brilliant moments but a couple of duds for me as well. Her voice sounds great when she picks the right track but sometimes completely wrong. Opener Sometimes on your mind is a total classic and it's not on it's own.