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