Rooney fit for Germany

I suppose that depends on your definition of fit. He is obviously nowhere near 100% fit, it's been crystal clear watching his performances so far. As someone who is far more concernced about Manchester United this doesn't make me a happy bunny. Anybody other than Rooney and i have a feeling they wouldn't have been allowed to go to the world cup. After the travails of Rooney in the last world cup, i suppose Fergie may have felt he had to allow him to go to keep him happy. And the last thing a cash strapped Ferguson needs is aun happy Rooney. How much of a price are we going to pay for that next season though, when he comes back and probably heads straight for an operating theatre.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/england/7850454/World-Cup-2010-Englands-Wayne-Rooney-expected-to-be-fit-for-Germany-contest.html

Richard Williams with a far more considered take on yesterday's contest than we saw from the BBC's analysts, who were a total embarrassment, i thought. You would have thought that they had been involved in a really hard game against tough opposition and had looked like potential winners. What i saw was a side that still didn't look like a team that would be able to retain possession against any of the better teams in the competition. And after the yanks deserved injury time winner, that is who they will be facing from here on in. I can't see Mexico beating Argentina, even though Argentina's defence surely means however beautifully they play the game, they can't win the tournament. So if they manage to beat the impressive Germans it will be Diego's Argentina next.
As poorly as Rooney has played so far, understandable as that is, given that he is nowhere near fit, when he went off after aggrevating his ankle, we saw what an England team without Rooney would look like. It wasn't very reassuring if you thought England had a chance to bring the world cup back. They looked even worse than United did at the end of the season without him. As soon as he went off, England's game went to pieces, there was no movement up front, they were toothless, devoid of idea's and the ball just kept coming straight back.
Although i have wanted to see Joe Cole get into the starting line up, that was only on the proviso that the line up was 4-3-3. There is no way i would start him on the left in a orthodox 4-4-2, in fact, his cameo performance yesterday gave Capello a pretty good defence for having not picked him so far this summer.
To beat the Germans on Sunday they will have to move up another notch. Are the Germans as good a team as they have been cracked up to be so far, though. I don't know to be honest, they have played some great football, far better to watch than England, but just like England the opposition hasn't been the greatest. I would suspect for the neutrals who belive in the beautiful game a German victory would be the desired outcome.

Macheda's agent has told Sky sports that he will not be going out on loan next season.
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_6224885,00.html

Solskjaer won't coach the reserves for ever, but he is happy to bide his time under Ferguson at United. He is ambitious, what's wrong with that. Let's hope he can fulfill those ambitions at United.
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2010/06/23/1991656/manchester-united-reserve-manager-ole-gunnar-solskjaer-eyes

United's French academy hope Paul Pogba has been described as a leader of men by his old clubs academy director Frederic Lipka. He has looked a useful prospect when i have seen him play for the youngsters. My only reservation has been whether his well developed physique has helped him stand out.
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2010/06/23/1989994/a-leader-of-men-meet-manchester-uniteds-new-signing-paul

It looks like the redevelopment of old trafford, Lancashire cricket ground, will be given the green light to go full steam ahead after the government decided not to review the scheme.
http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1263352_government_approves_32m_old_trafford_redevelopment

The respected independent institute for fiscal studies has declared the budget as "not progressive". I didn't expect it to be from everything that had been leaking out. If we do pay for this with a double dip recession the lib dems will be decimated at the next election and will deserve everything it gets. The question for me is, would it have been worse if the tories had won the elction and this had been a truly tory budget, or is the lib dem leadership that right wing that they are happy to put their name to this package. From what we have seen and hear it appears to be the latter.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/budget-is-not-progressive-declares-ifs-2008893.html

Whatever the answer to that is, i can't believe they are happy with the news that the banks seem likely to escape unscathed. The only justification for that could be that they are keeping their powder dry. The trouble with that is, if we do regress back into recessionary conditions, the banks will be untouchable again, especially with the tories in charge of the coalition.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/banks-set-to-gain-from-osbornes-tax-regime-2008692.html

The new statesman is unimpressed by the lib dems progressive credentials as part of the coalition.
http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2010/06/budget-party-clegg-liberal


Simon Jenkins on Thatcherism's great gamble.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/22/george-osborne-emergency-budget-gamble

Obama and Europe, especially Merkel at odds over cuts that will damage economic recovery. Who would have thought just three years ago that US would be carrying the mantle of a centre left progressive economic course against a European a conservative Luddite strategy.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/merkel-rejects-obama-warnings-that-cuts-will-damage-global-recovery-2008751.html

As Obama accepts Afghan war leader McCrystal's resignation, where does his Afghan strategy lie now.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/23/barack-obama-stanley-mcchrystal-afghanistan

Morphine