Wolves 0-1 Manchester United

Not a great game, not a great performance but three points and that's the name of the game at the moment. That was the strongest back four we have put out for ages but of course it couldn't last with Wes Brown coming off at half time. It was nice to see Vidic and Rio combining again in the middle of the defence even if neither of them look anywhere near their best. With no Rooney who worryingly is supposedly a major doubt for Milan on Wednesday Berbatov occupied the lone forward role flanked by Valencia on the right and Nani on the left. Gibson came into the middle with Fletcher rested ahead of Wednesday.
The first half wasn't much of a spectacle with United never really getting going as Wolves played with enthusiasm woking hard to stop us getting any space. The midfeld couldn't get a grip on the game whilst Berbatov was playing well up front on his own but Nani was having one of those games where he just does your head in. Gibson had a few long range shots but United never really threatened to open them up. The best chance of the half fell to Wolves when Ward should have buried his header after a cross from Jarvis but could only head straight into Van Der Sar's hands.
The second half saw Brown go off and Gary Neville come on. Apprently Brown was injured, but i don't know what was wrong with him. It didn't affect the game much as United didn't improve too much. But with 17 minutes to go at last Nani beat his man and put a reasonable cross over that Wolves didn't deal with allowing Scholes to ghost in a make no mistake with a shot into the corner of the net. Now United started to create chances and should really have got the second to kill the game off. Diouf had come on for Gibson so United had gone 4-4-2 and after the goal Park came on for Nani. Diouf had two good chances that he should have done better with. The header especially should have been converted, he has shown a lot of promise in the reserves, but we need to see him do it in the first team.
But all the good work almost came undone in the last minute as United and Carrick in particular failed to clear their lines and the ball fell to the onside Voked who blazed over from just outside the six yard box. That was some miss and a big big let off. It would have been nice to have scored more than the one goal but the three points were the main thing.

The Observer leads with a piece quoting an annonymous red knight source as saying Fergie is behind the bid and may even put his own money in if the buyout is successful
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/mar/07/alex-ferguson-manchester-united-buyout

Ferguson denies it, he would though wouldn't he.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7388164/Sir-Alex-Ferguson-furiously-denies-supporting-Red-Knights-consortium.html

Red kights want as many supporters as possible to put their money into the takeover bid as support comes in from all around the world according to the Indy
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/red-knights-want-fans-to-join-old-trafford-bid-1917308.html

O'Neill is working on proposals to give the fans as much of a say as possible after the takeover.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/mar/07/manchester-united-glazer-red-knights

The Glazers could walk away with a tidy profit according to this piece from the times, that would stick in the craw, but if there is no other way, i suppose the red knights will have to hold their nose if they want to get them out.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/leisure/article7052561.ece

The Telegraph digs up Knighton for an interview, i don't want the red knights mentioned in the same breath as that balloon.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7387028/Michael-Knighton-fears-Red-Knights-Manchester-United-bid-doomed.html

Yeltsin's youngest daughter speaks out on her father's leagacy and says she thinks he was misrepresented in the west. He has left good legacies as well as bad and despite some of the hilarious drunken clips he has left of himself at least he was a democrat, and stood up for it. Which in that country is not to be sniffed at. Against that there is the legacy of the oligarchs and Putin of course, and she doesn't really put forward a convincing defence there.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article7052415.ece

Iceland vote no in loan repayment referendum. That's one countries population that has stuck two fingers up at the world's financial markets. Will it be the last.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article7052532.ece

Will Hutton reckons Baroness Ashton has to get her act together for the good of the EU as the weakness not the supposed strong federalist tendencies come to the fore.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/07/will-hutton-baroness-ashton-europe
I wouldn't hold out much hope over either.

David Mitchell sticks up for the BBC against the Murdoch's and Rothermere's of the world.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/07/david-mitchell-lord-ashcroft-bbc
Whilst Rod Liddle tells Mark Thompson that BBC radio 6 is what the BBC should be all about. He says if anything should have been axed it was the crap that is radio 1. But they don't get what public broadcasting is all about. Totally agree.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/rod_liddle/article7052477.ece

The Lib Dems couldn't work with Gordon Brown after the next election if a deal with Labour is on the cards. That must delight half the cabinet as half of them can't if we are to believe what we read
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article7052611.ece

Swede Lykke Li