Manchester United 0-1 Besiktas

Well that is the end of United's unbeaten run at old trafford in the champions league and it has to be said if it was going to happen this was the best night it could have happened. With nothing at stake Ferguson rested most of his big guns and gave some of our promising youngsters some European experience. With Tottenham at home in the league cup next week as well this is a chance for them to show us whether they have got what it takes. Of course the down side of this is you usually get a disjointed performance as the team doesn't have that much understanding. Which is what we got at times.
Overall it wasn't too bad a performance, the defence did ok, Gibson and Anderson were ok without really staking a claim, Obertan looked promising again but Welbeck and Macheda don't seem to click as a pair when i have seen them and i thought they were a bit disappointing. ( having seen it again i got that wrong they did well until the ey scored then seemed to go off the boil ) If Macheda could have got a touch on Obertan's cross early on it could have been a different game. United played some decent football in the first half without having enough cutting edge. When they did threaten it usually came through Obertan. Park was back in the first team for the first time in a while and it showed he looked well off the pace.
Besiktas hadn't been showing much going forward when after 20 minute an innocuos looking attack led the only goal of the match. I thought Rafael gave Tello too much room and the Besiktas man accepted the invitation to shoot. The shot took a deflection of Rafael and beat Foster at the far post. Some pundits have blamed Foster but i'm not sure he was too much at fault. Both sides had further chances as the half wore on with Besiktas having a glorious chance to get a second just before half time but hitting the outside of the upright instead.
Ferguson showed he was going to let the inexperienced line up show if they had got the mettle to turn the game around by making no substitutions at half time. Besiktas now got everybody behind the ball and played for the 1-0 putting the onus on United to break them down. United kept possesion but didn't really look like breaking them down. Obertan looked most likely and his dribble and shot half way through the half was our best moment in the match. Owen and Evra came on near the end and Evra should have been awarded a penalty but the ref turned United's appeals away. United had two great chances right at the death as they desperately tried to salvage a point but Rustu saved brilliantly from Macheda and Wes Brown. So a disappointing night but not disastrous, just ask the bindippers


Paul Wilson with a pretty fair piece on last nights game
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/nov/25/champions-league-manchester-united-besiktas

Valencias improving form is not going unnoticed
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/sport/markogden/100003084/antonio-valencia-emerging-from-cristiano-ronaldos-shadow-at-manchester-united/

A Guardian piece on Michael McIntyre
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/nov/20/michael-mcintyre-comedy-success
I'm afraid i am with his peers, i can't stand him.

Larry Elliot on the tories economic plans
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/25/camerons-deficit-of-patience

An econmic discussion from the Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/audio/2009/nov/25/business-podcast-economics-john-maynard-keynes

Ben Mcintyre on the Chilcott inquiry and the example of Robin Cook
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/ben_macintyre/article6932403.ece

Deja vu, a review of the condition of England by Charles Masterman
http://www.newstatesman.com/books/2009/11/masterman-england-times-world