Manchester City 2-1 Manchester United

I hadn't been confident during the weeks leading up to this game. And even though City were dire i ended up being proved right. You just can't be confident with United at the moment. Even though we started off well and almost completely dominated possession in the first half we came in at half time level. Some reds have looked at the first half and said we played well. But i can't go along with that, we were the better team, yes, but because they were so bad. For all the possession they allowed us by dropping so deep and allowing us to pass it around, how many chances did we create. Apart from the goal, there weren't too many that i can remember. I have said it before on this blog, i just don't think 4-3-3- works with the players at our diposal. There just isn't enough goal threat.
What gutted me most about last night is that they were there to be killed off before we got to the second leg. Whether it was nerves or Mancini's tactics i'm not sure but the way they allowed us possession in that first period would have seen past United teams blow them away. Bu then again we aren't the team we were, as we are seeing almost every week at the moment.
Once again Valencia was in form in the first half and seemed to have his full back's measure. He was being found in space by the midfield and causing problems. Our problem at the moment is when we play this system the best player for the other side is Giggs. But Giggs hasn't the pace for this position any more, he is far better suited to the middle of the park nowadays. In fact in the second half our best provider, not for the first time this season turned out to be Evra. If he doesn't win United's player of the season this year that will tell you all you need to know about the muppets that watch United nowadays.
United's goal came from the right as Valencia beat Bellamy of all people and his cross was met by Rooney whose effort was saved by Given but diverted on to Giggs who couldn't miss. Unfortunately United seemed to settle for that as with City being so negative they just kept possession. With our defence at the moment you always get the feeling that this will be fatal. And fatal it turned out to be as we suffered yet another defensive blunder. I still have my doubts about whether the Da Silva twins will make top clas full backs as both seem to have no positional sense. And even more so if our coaches don't get them out of the habit of grabbing hold of forwards who have got past them. They have both been sent off for it and yet they both still instinctively do it. It may not have technically been a penalty last night but away from home in a semi final do you give the ref the opportunity. Once he had tried to grab hold of him outside of the box and failed he should have just tracked him. But to have another tug even if he didn't fully get hold of him was just asking for it. And of course that gave Tevez the chance to get one back at us and send City's divs delirious.
The second half started a more even affair though i still thought United were playing the better football. But we weren't enjoying the possession we had in the first period and City weren't sitting so deep. But the winning goal from Tevez was just a joke from a United point of view. I didn't need Hansen to point out how Evans and Brown were at fault for the goal. I had my eyes trained on both of them as they both approached Kompany leaving the six yard box to be defended by Valencia of all people. It was like watching a slow motion replay where you know the ending. This forced Ferguson to bring Owen on and we went 4-4-2 with Rooney slightly deeper. In this period we saw the real Rooney who with some support at last was absolutely world class and almost got us an equaliser on his own. Twice he nearly equalised with sublime pieces of football. City by now were just playing with ten men behind the ball which amazed me because Rooney and Evra apart nobody else in red was playing that well, even then. If they had tried to catch us on the break as we piled forward they could have killed the tie off. As the way United are playing at present i can't see City not scoring at old trafford.
Still it's a two legged tie and we have an away goal which will count after extra time at old trafford. I just have a nasty feeling that they will put everybody behind the ball next week and try and catch us on the break. And as even Burnley showed on Saturday we are vulnerable. If we have Vidic and Rio back for next week i will be more confident, but that is only if Ferdinand really is fit.

Gary Neville may be in trouble for giving Tevez's celebrations the midle finger. Can't the FA just leave it, we gave the abuse out so we have to take it back. Let's just let him know what we think of it next week. I am glad to see Ferguson didn't go all moral about the celebrations and describe it as one of those things that happen in football.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leaguecup/7030405/Gary-Neville-risks-FA-charge-after-alleged-obscene-gesture-to-Carlos-Tevez.html

Oliver Holt salutes the football fans fighting back against the forces trying to screw them. Which unfortunately is almost everybody earning a very fat crust from the game. Football club owners, football administrators, managers and agents together and players earning way way too much. And who are the mugs paying for all that, us.
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/columnists/oliver-holt/Oliver-Holt-column-Why-angry-football-fans-are-the-heroes-of-the-resistance-article293541.html

MUST are looking at trying to entice influential and wealthy backers as part of the campaign to get the leeches out of the club.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7029199/Manchester-United-supporters-unite-in-bid-to-unseat-the-Glazer-family.html

David Conn asks whether the Glazers other companies are actually maknig any money. How much money have the chancers actually got. There is no rosey future for Manchester United with them in charge, that's for sure.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/david-conn-inside-sport-blog/2010/jan/20/manchester-united-glazers-finances

Nothing is going right for Portsmouth as Campbell threatens to sue. It doesn't say much for Campbell, does it though. I am sure there are people at Fratton park lower down the food chain feeling the pinch who need looking out for before him.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/portsmouth/article6994848.ece

In the week when this country proves it still hasn't learnt the lessons of the free market disaster of the last 30 years. Yanks asset stripping one of this countries most famous institutions Manchester United and now hedge funds enabling a successfull progressive company Cadbury's to be asset stripped by Kraft. It makes me laugh how w hear ploiticians and unions for that matter calling on the new owners to protect the workforce. We all know what will happen next. In five, ten at the most fifteen years time there will not be any Cadbury's jobs left in this company. I have never been a big fan of capitalism, but the kind of capitalism we are living through now is just wrong full stop. As Robert Peston half alluded to on the six o'clock news last night why should a British firm that is almost certainly better run than the foreign company trying to take it over be lost to this country and to the workers who have done such a good job. For the enrichment of already rich people in the city over here and over there, the wotld really is not a fair place is it.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jan/19/cadbury-kraft-takeover-todd-stitzer
Hamish McRae tries to argue that on balance he thinks we are right to be comfortable with having so many British firms bought out by foreign ownership. One of the reasons given is the the amount of foreign firms that are British owned. But who exactly does that benefit, the city again. Where are the jobs that are going to sustain our economy and our well being in that. How many of those firms in 20 to 30 years time will still be British owned. And if they are sold where will that money end up, an offshore bank account?

As Larry Elliot says the city still rules and the labour party that has allowed this state of affairs to continue deserves to get annihalated at the election. Of course the problem with that is we will the get the cities and the hedge funds best friends who began the selling off of the manufacturing base of this company. There will have to be a reckoning one day.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jan/19/old-trafford-bourneville-business-usual
Who will feel the wrath though, probably not the wealthy.

Misha Glenny pedicts that the google confrontation with the Chinese authorities is the first act of a new cyber war.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jan/18/america-cyberwar-google-china-computer

Gaby Hinsliff breates the tyranny of the positive people. But it stops people thinking for themselves and that's got to be good hasn't it? Keep the masses infantile.
http://www.newstatesman.com/society/2010/01/self-positive-anger-injustices

Well i expected Obam to disappoint, but not quite this quickly. He campaigned from the centre and has tried to govern from there. Why do democrats try to do that when the republicans never do.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/shock-poll-victory-leaves-obama-reeling-1873387.html
That is unbelievable defeat really.