US tour ends

Well that's it they can come back and concentrate on the start to the premier league rather than trying to drum up money. It was hard to expect too much good football as they trained for a day, played a game then hopped on a plane to the next city to play out the same scenario for two weeks.
There were some positives to come out of the trip, Cleverley looks like a real player, Welbeck looked good, though it's the correct decision to send him out on loan and the timeless Scholes and Giggs look set to give us another season of class and experience.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7920122/Alex-Ferguson-applauds-Javier-Hernandez-after-Manchester-United-lose-to-Chivas.html

Ferguson talks about his striking options for the frthcoming season. Mark Ogden interprets what Fergie says completely different to me. I read that as Fergie thinking he won't be pairing them up too much to start with. And if they do play together i would think Fergie will be asking Rooney to be going back to playing in the hole.
Macheda may have scored two goals the other night but he has stll impressed far less than Welbeck. Saying that i definitely agree with sending Welbeck away on loan as he does need to play a full season at a good level of football, something he won't get at United at present. As for Macheda, he has got talent, but his decision making on the pitch is nowhere near where you would want it to be yet. Will he have enough games to see his career progress if he stays all season at United. It's hard to see him getting many games ahead of Rooney, Berbatov, Hernandez and Owen.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7917236/Sir-Alex-Ferguson-to-pair-Javier-Hernandez-with-Wayne-Rooney-in-new-look-strike-force.html

The Independent looks to the future with a profile on Hernandez and Macheda
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/the-odd-couple-look-to-strike-it-lucky-at-united-2040764.html

United in link with Danish goalie Lindegaard.
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11667_6284904,00.html

Hamann rightly blasts City's transfer policy. I don't know why some United fans are so gloomy about the season ahead, on the pitch anyway. Chelsea haven't really bought anyone yet, Liverpool's summer transfer outgoings haven't been as bad as i expected yet, but they won't challenge for the title, it's hard to tell what Spurs and Arsenal will do, but with City it isn't hard. They will find it hard to to finish in the top four again, never mind any nonesense about challenge us for the league. He is exactly right, you can't go changing your entire squad around every summer. For all the players they have bought, they are now going to have sell and sell big to meet the 25 man rule. And from the sound of it, the players who will be going will be their best players from last season, who unsurprisingly were men Hughes had bought.
This will be a big season for Mancini and the people at the top at the boo camp. If Mancini does struggle and then they do fail to finish in the top four, or do they really believe they will challenge for the title, what happens then. If they replace another manager next summer and go through this process all over again, they will make Real Madrid look like the ideal model of stability.
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Manchester-City-old-boy-Didi-Hamann-blasts-big-spending-policy-and-claims-they-have-no-chance-of-winning-the-title-article541377.html

Jim White talks about youth football.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/7917311/England-Under-19s-face-barren-future-in-a-wasteful-system.html
I don't think that's quite fair on Fergie when he talks about Pique. At the time Pique was allowed to leave, United had Vidic and Rio playing together both fit and rarely injured and they were the best central defensive partnership playing in Europe. United had Jonny Evans coming through the ranks as well, so at the time there was no way Fergie could keep them all happy.
I was a big fan of Pique in the youth team and thought he would go on to be the player he has become. But once he let it be known he wanted to go back home, what could Fergie really do, but let him go. The problem, was the same problem Arsenal are having with Fabregas now, nicking promising youth players from Barca must have seemed like a good idea at the time when Barca were going through a bit of a lean spell. But it doesn't look like the greatest move in retrospect does it.

The Mail looks at football in the USA
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1298386/On-tour-Manchester-United-Wizards-left-spellbound-Kansas-City.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Two differing views on Cameron and the tories foreign policy, because it doesn't show much input from the Lib dems.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/29/david-cameron-obamas-useful-idiot
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/adrian-hamilton/adrian-hamilton-back-to-the-past-with-foreign-policy-2037833.html

Jeremy Warner asks what happened to rebalancing the economy, er the tories won most seats at the elction and the hedge funds are big donors to the tory party.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/jeremy-warner/7918098/Whatever-happened-to-the-rebalancing-act.html

Andreas Whittam smith talks about Gove's new academies bill. New boss, same as the old boss. don't forget Cameron, Osborne, Gove and co watched and modelled their approach on Tony Blair and new Labour. Isn't Cameron once supposed to have called himself Blair's heir. So it's not that much of a surprise they should treat the house of commons with such blithe disregard. The question should be what were the lib dems doing when this was announced, did they argue or did they nod it through.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/andreas-whittam-smith/andreas-whittam-smith-a-case-of-contempt-of-parliament-2038891.html

Classic Steely Dan

United tour comes to life

Well that was more like it, the first game i don't stop up for and United really turn it on. I suppose the early goals helped, but that was easily the best performance of the tour so far. It probably helped that it was a bit more like an exhibition match, end to end stuff, than a proper MLS side wanting to show that they could stop United playing their normal game.
But there were plenty of good things to come from it. Macheda took his goals well. Giggs and Scholes, whilst on the field showed that they are still our best central midfield men for the vision of their passing. Of course that is both a blessing and a curse as we have got to have either someone coming through or the money to buy a replacement for both of them over the next two years, and how much would that cost in todays market. Once again Cleverley looked like a proper Manchester United player and took his goal superbly. Welbeck was another who impressed again, doing superbly well when he came on and looked like another with a big future at the club. And lastly Hernandez came on and looked the part and topped it off with a superbly executed goal with a great finish after being found by a superb Scholes pass. It would have been a nice way to end the tour, but now it's off to Mexico.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/sport/markogden/100011170/mls-all-stars-2-manchester-united-5/

Little pea Hernandez was to be the big draw for United's trip to Houston. That's as maybe, but he was bought to do the business in the premier league. Doubtless Dong would have got a heroes welcome in China and we know what happened there.
One thing that Hernandez will recieve when he plays for United is good service, far, far better than he received with Mexico on South Africa that's for sure. He made a decent start last night but the real test is to come. It will be interesting to see who he can strike a partnership up with. It might seem odd, but to me i would think it best for United if he struck up a rapport with Berbatov. That would leave Rooney free to concentrate on his own up front in the big games,to start with at least.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7912818/Javier-Hernandezs-Manchester-United-debut-is-headline-material-in-Texas.html

The reserves got back to winning ways on Tuesday night with a 2-1 win at Oxford United. This report from United youth
http://manunitedyouth.wordpress.com/2010/07/27/reserves-oxford-1-united-2-reds-ride-their-luck-as-ajose-nicks-the-winner/
I saw some of United's 2-1 milk cup defeat by Aspire the same night. It wasn't very impressive i'm afraid. The first half was alright, they kept possession and looked neat and tidy but didn't have enough penetration. Though the game could have been different if a first half goal disallowed for offside been given. But the reaction to conceding the first goal in the second half was terrible, they just fell apart. It could have easily been more than three before United's late consolation goal.

Ferguson forgets he is supposed to be a man of the left as he says nice things about the Glazers again.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7915206/Sir-Alex-Ferguson-tells-Manchester-United-fans-he-has-no-complaints-about-the-Glazers.html

I watched the excellent Spanish under 19 team defeat England yesterday and there was no disgrace in getting beat by such a good side. But that doesn't disguise the fact that the English side put out were that far behing in terms of first touch, technique, vision, movement and tactical awareness it was hard to believe that in football terms we are a first world nation. It has to be said the coach who could be heard continuosly barking out the same instructions over and over again throughout the game didn't cover himself in glory either.
But back to the Spanish and the quality of their play. The second and third goals were just wonderfuly inventive and perfectly executed goals. As with the national team the vast bulk of the side came from Barcelona and that must help with team understanding. It looks like Barcelona and Spain's time as competitors for the top prizes will be long lived not a flash in the pan.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/27/spain-england-european-under-19-championship

Just what is going on at Barcelona as they confirm bigger losses than expected. As Andersred's blog says you always have to take politics into the equation with the Catalan club.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/barcelona-confirm-huge-financial-losses-2036610.html
http://andersred.blogspot.com/2010/07/be-sure-to-be-prudent-fc-barcelonas.html

Gill tries to convince us that is black is white as once again as he trots out the line that we do have the money to buy, if the quality is there.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7912661/Manchester-United-might-rather-than-will-buy-more-players-this-summer-says-David-Gill.html

Will the war of stadiums between Cas and Wakefield help Salford become a serious super league force wonders Dave Hadfield.
http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2010/07/28/rugby-league-salford-could-be-the-winners-of-castleford-and-wakefield-stadium-battle/

Simon Jenkins explores the role of technology that the Afghan war logs reveal.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/jul/27/folly-war-wikileaks-afghanistan
As he says war is war regardless of technology, it was always be muddled and deadly. And this war also happens to be completely unwinnable. Maybe it will take twenty years of hindsight for the general public to face it, but it's a fact nonetheless every western soldier that dies or gets maimed in Afghanistan or Iraq for that matter will have done so, for no better reason than our politicians don't want to lose face and admit defeat.

Interesting speculation from James Macintyre as to if and what Bank governor King said to Clegg during coalition talks.
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/public-accounts/2010/07/clegg-establishment-coalition

CBI in common sense talk shocker
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jul/27/cbi-calls-for-takeover-rules-tightened

Steve Richards on the contortions that all three main parties are currently going through as they prepare their positions ahead of the referendum on AV.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/steve-richards/steve-richards-a-debate-that-turns-politics-upside-down-2037832.html

Martin Kettle wonders whether the shadow cabinet's current strategy means they are a party of reform at all.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/steve-richards/steve-richards-a-debate-that-turns-politics-upside-down-2037832.html

I was sorry to read that BSkyB have bought the exclusive sole rights to HBO's entire catalogue. Just as they bought there way into the world of sport it would seem they will try to challenge the BBC with the best of US imports. Let's hope the BBC can oversee a renewal of homegrown British TV.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jul/29/bskyb-buys-hbo-tv-catalogue

This new five part series of a Maddox Ford group of novels turned into a screenplay by Tom Stoppard sounds like a start.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/stoppard-back-on-the-bbc-after-an-interval-of-three-decades-2038077.html

Roy Harper

Scholes not sure

The ginger prince is not sure he made the right decision over whether to accept the invitation to join Fabio Capello's world cup plans. I think he's right to infer that Rooney would have lover to have him there.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/26/paul-scholes-england-comeback

Ian Herbert warns critics of United's chances over regaining the title next season after the defeat in Kansas to not discount them too soon. It's a good point about our post world cup record. Though the main reason to not discount us is that we won't get hit by disastrous injury crisis again. He is also right about Carrick, we need him to come good again and whilst it's hard to forget his terrible latter part of last season, there is no reason why he shouldn't be able to come again. You just wonder if it's in his character to fight back and show just what a good player he can be. For all the talk of taking Scholes to the world cup if Carrick had showed anything like the form of his first two seasons, it could have been him pulling the strings for England in South Africa.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/united-suffer-in-the-states-ndash-but-dont-count-them-out-just-yet-2036225.html

Ferguson reveals he may have to leave Hargreaves out of his 25 man first team squad and he has some decisions to make over the final make up of that 25. There can surely be no way that Hargreaves appears in that list. It's hard to see how Fergie can ever take the chance of putting him on that list ever again, especially when you look at what happened last year to our defence.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7911631/Manchester-United-manager-Sir-Alex-Ferguson-to-leave-out-Owen-Hargreaves.html

Are United's world cup stars to be rushed back into action earlier than planned?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7908377/Manchester-Uniteds-fitness-coach-flies-home-to-work-with-World-Cup-players.html

Scholes looks at United's title challengers and spoken like a true red says he preferred it when City were in the second division.
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2010/07/27/2043337/manchester-united-midfielder-paul-scholes-the-last-thing-we-want-

Steve Richards looks at the coalitions that are starting to appear in the coalition from a centre left viewpoint.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/steve-richards/steve-richards-the-tories-are-running-the-show-2036235.html

And ex tory MP Paul Goodman takes a look from the right.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/7911201/Cameron-and-Clegg-have-entered-a-partnership-thats-too-civil-for-the-Right.html

The new statesman report on the tory right's manouvering to get itself organised in the battle to gain control of the party.
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2010/07/tory-davis-coalition-planning

The Guardian's Afghan warlogs show more light on the coalition forces unreported actions. The US troops aren't shown in a flattering light but i have a lot of sympathy for them. They are in a country they don't understand fighting an unwinnable war without knowing who the hell the enemy are as Channel 4's Alex thom pson reports in the piece below
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/26/afghanistan-war-logs-us-marines

http://blogs.channel4.com/world-news-blog/what-the-wikileaks-documents-tells-us-about-life-in-afghanistan/13480

Nine black alps who were the next big Manchester thing, where did they go. I thought the first album showed a lot of promise.

Ferguson blames inexperience for last nights setback in the 2-1 defeat against Kansas citywizards. True up to a point, but once again the worst defender by a mile, for me, was Rafael. I've said it before, there must be a serious worry that he will not be the answer to filling Gary Neville's shoes. It's not so much that he keeps on making mistakes, it's that he keeps on making the same mistakes as if he never learns anything from match to match. Worryingly Smalling looked very shaky at times too, but it's early days for him
Were their any plus points, not many, nobody really stood out. I think Fergie is right about Nani, he looked pretty rusty, it was probably a bit early to bring him back. Clutching at straws, I suppose Welbeck and Cleverley once again looked the part when they came on in the second half. I don't really see why he wants to send Cleverley out on loan again. There must be a good chance that he will see at least 15-20 games starting and coming on as a sub this season, especially with him being able to play so many different positions. I would definitely like to see him stay, he will bring skill, drive and most probably goals to our midfield. It's not like we are blessed with goalscoring midfielders any more.
He seems to have more going for him than Gibson who started the game by getting the ball robbed off him and it didn't really get much better for him. I know he has had a hard time having to go back to Ireland for the funeral and then jet back, but he didn't stand out in the first game. This season must be make or break for him at United, you can't have a career at United based on unfulfilled promise forever.
I'm not getting carried away by last night, it was only a friendly, and that type of performance can happen when the side is being rotated so heavily. It wasn't pretty to watch though. Of the youngsters it would seem obvious that Cleverley and Welbeck are certs to be first team squad members of the future. I can't say any of the others have really made a case yet.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7909966/Sir-Alex-Ferguson-inexperience-the-reason-Manchester-United-lost-to-Kansas-City.html

Gill announces that he has shook hands with Vidic on a new £90,000 a week contract. A bit weird, why not announce it when it's actually signed, like you usually would.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/23/manchester-united-nemanja-vidic-new-contract
Still if it's true, and they are not just trying to force his hand, it is excellent news.

Bryan Robson says Hargreaves has to believe that he will play again. I think we all know that he almsot certainly won't play again.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7909681/Owen-Hargreaves-must-fight-to-save-Manchester-United-career-says-Bryan-Robson.html

Gill is hoping that Rooney and his agent will follow suit shortly.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7908101/Wayne-Rooney-close-to-new-Manchester-United-deal-says-David-Gill.html

Chris Smalling reveals that Ferguson told him that he was being bought for first team action, not to make his way as a squad member. He has looked reasonable so far, though he hasn't really been tested defensively.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7907484/Chris-Smalling-ready-for-the-big-time-at-Manchester-United.html

News that would seem to contradict that piece of pure Glazer propoganda t'other day, as United put 4,000 season tickets on general sale.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/8850768.stm

The Mail report MUST spokesman telling them to take their unwanted ugly faces elsewhere.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1297207/Glazers-urged-quit-Manchester-United-season-ticket-sales-slump.html
I'm still confident that it's a matter of if not when.

This may well just be paper talk, but if they did pay anything like that figure quoted for him, the lunatics have well and truly taken over the asylum. I have seen him a few times, and whilst you can see that there is talent in there somewhere, it still hasn't made an appearance any time i have watched him in an Inter shirt.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/mancity/7902020/Manchester-City-in-23-million-bid-for-Inter-Milans-Mario-Balotelli.html

Wikileaks reveal secret Afghan files
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/25/afghanistan-war-logs-military-leaks

Mick Hulme writes that Mandelson's memoirs are the last rites of new Labour.
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/9276/

Larry Elliot reports on the surprise rise in the growth rate of the economy announced last week.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jul/23/economic-growth-larry-elliott-comment

The CPS decides not to prosecute polive officer caught on film attacking Ian Tomlinson. I don't know whether it's a cover up or not, but it stinks, that's for sure.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/family-alleges-coverup-as-police-officers-escape-charges-over-g20-death-2033456.html

Alex Petridis on the resurgence of prog rock
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/jul/22/prog-rock-genesis-rush-mostly-autumn
I thought that this was a fair point made by Jonathan Coe
"It grew out of rock music and that's why it was written about in the rock press, but it's a shame it ever became regarded as part of rock'n'roll, because it's not, the ethos is completely different," novelist and prog fan Jonathan Coe memorably told the Prog Britannia programme. "If you judge it by the criteria of rock'n'roll, then it fails.". It's like everything else really there's good prog rock and shite prog rock, ie ELP.

Kings of convenience remixed by Royksopp

Obertan to the rescue

United continued their tour of North America to another less than capacity crowd with a 1-0 victory courtesy of an Obertan goal quarter an hour from the end. They were that bad up to half time as a cohesive unit that even Fergie was shaking his head and looking pretty unhappy. For all the talk of Welbeck going out on loan and Macheda stepping up to the plate this season, it was Welbeck who was the far mor impressive and the man who looked far more like a potential United first teamer. Cleverley started this time, and admittedly not against the stiffest opposition, looked the part to me, he looks a proper player.
Against the positive signs from Welbeck and Cleverley, i thought Fabio did alright, but still dives in too soon and tried to anticpate passes instead of just getting into position. Obertan started well for the first five minutes but for the rest of the half didn't put a foot right. He improved in the second half by keeping things simple and linking up better with his team mates. But Macheda was a big disappointment, his touch wasn't good and he almost invariably made the wrong decision.
There can't be another major team who have had as many pairs of brothers that have played together in the first team as United as after the Da Silva's staring together in Canada, Corry came on to join brother Jonny in the second half. He didn't look out of place to be fair.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/sport/markogden/100010988/philadelphia-union-0-manchester-united-1/

Fergie sounds as if he is trying to get Vidic to decide whether he wants to commit to United or leave. Or he's inviting bids.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/22/nemanja-vidic-united-future-uncertain

Fletcher is confident United can regain the title next season as long as we don't have to see him and Carrick playing at centre half because of injuries again. He is unperturbed about the lack of new faces and feels United's squad is good enough given a bit of luck. He does concede that we can't rely as heavily on Rooney as we did last season.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/22/darren-fletcher-manchester-united

Schholes reveals the main aim next season next season will be to regain the league title. I will believe that when i see it, because as soon as we get through the champions league qualifying stages, Fergie always seems to get the scent for that trophy above all others as far as i can see. To be fair after we had qualified from the group stage last season, with all our injuries, lack of form and relative decline i thought we would have no chance of getting to the final. But after beating AC Milan the draw handed to us gave us a great chance. But for the injury to Rooney and the stupid dismissal of Rafael in the second leg we would have surely have got to Madrid because Lyons were a joke in the semi against Bayern.
With the team and squad at our disposal it would seem it's an either or situation. Just as last season we weren't strong enough to go for both, it doesn't seem we will be this season either. Which is not exactly a disaster really is it.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1296284/Paul-Scholes-vows-Manchester-United-win-Premier-League-crown-Chelsea.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Gigs won't dismiss Liverpool for the title during the forthcoming season. I can't see that and i fucking obviously hope he's wrong as well. However the appointment of Hodgson was a decent move for them and could yet see them recover a top fourth birth. He needs to strengthen at the back though. It will be interesting to see how the kop take to him. I think they knew after last season and with the state of their squad, minus any departures that i still think will happen, they needed a pragmatist. Someone who could work with what he has got without complaining.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/giggs-says-liverpool-can-challenge-for-title-2031933.html


The guardian business podcast looks at the record and legacy of new labour's economic record, as usual Larry Elliot sums it up best. The tory Glover makes the point that as bad as it's legacy has been if the economy does go into a double dip there is still a chance labour could return to government at the next election.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/audio/2010/jul/20/the-business-podcast-labour-economic-legacy

Mary Riddell argues we have now reached the end game of western involvment in Afghnistan. It's not will we leave but when. It would seem the Americans want to get out whilst saving as much face as they can. I wonder what has been the biggest influence on this turn of events, the impossibility of victory, whatever constitutes victory that is or the huge drain on US resources. There must come a time when economic reality hits even the US military.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/maryriddell/100047913/this-is-the-beginning-of-the-end-in-afghanistan/

David Blanchflower takes a pop at MPC member Andrew Sentence again in his new statesman column.
http://www.newstatesman.com/economy/2010/07/committee-consumer-june-index

Bagehot's column in the economist doesn't buy the Obama-Cameron love in.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/bagehot/2010/07/lockerbie_bombing

Steve Richards thinks Labour are deadly serious about replacing the coalition at the next election and if the next leader doesn't cut the mustard he will be out with removed and replaced.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/steve-richards/steve-richards-labour-cant-go-back-cant-go-forward-2031973.html
Maybe so, but the question for me is what would they want to do if in power again. It's all very well them moaning in opposition about the coalition cuts but we all know new labour's economic policies were Thatcherite in all but name. Are they really going to rediscover Keynes or not.

And finally a track from the brilliant hot rats album by Frank Zappa

Fergie is comfortable

Ferguson tells the press he is very comfortable with the squad, regardless of what other clubs do. He has come in for a lot of stick on the various United messageboards for this, but it's been a bit over the top for me. Let's face it, if we hadn't have had the horrendous run with defensive injuries just before christmas there is every chance we would have won the league. I still think one of the reasons we didn't was because Carrick and Fletcher had to cover in defence, over that period and when we needed Anderson to come good, he got worse and then got injured, hence when the crunch part of the season came we just didn't have enough legs in midfield to chase both the champions league and the title.
I see no reason why we won't get a season at least on a par as last year from Scholes and Giggs again and whilst neither player are at their peak of their career both of them are still good enough to have still shined in the world cup just gone( not that big a task i know ). We have started to take their experience for granted. Fletcher dipped in the second half of last season but there is no reason to think he won't come back stronger this time round. Carrick is the worry, his nosedive in form towards the end of last season really cost us, he just didn't pull his weight, and to make it worse the bigger the game the worse his form sank. I am expecting a big positive contribution from Cleverley and that's where the worry is, because i would accept that if i'm wrong and he doesn't come up to scratch we will be short of numbers in midfield.
After watching the world cup we must be as well of as anybody in world football for wide players with Valencia, the second half of the season model Nani, and the versatile Park. If Obertan can start to show some consistency we would have decent strenght in depth. As for the forwards, on paper it's pretty strong really. The big question is can Rooney carry on last season's form, to which i would suspect the answer will be yes, with knobs on, and will he stay fit, and that is in the lap of the gods. If the first pre-season friendly was anything to go by Berbatov is looking to put the end of last season behind him. As for Hernandez, that's hard to know, i won't be taking the world cup as a guide, i mean look who kept him out of the team during the group stages. I have a feeling that Diouf will go out on loan with Welbeck. With Owen as a fourth striker, given the big if of whether he actually stays fit, i think i would send Macheda out on loan for the first half of the season to give him more regular football than he's likely to see at Old trafford
The big unkown is at the back, centre back to be precise. The days of Vidic and Rio being the top centre half partnership in the country and maybe even Europe are clearly over. In fact who knows if Vidic will be even here come the first game against Newcastle. I would like that to be sorted out quickly, if he is on his way out, i would like to think Fergie knows that and is using his pre-season preperations to lay the groundwork for a post Rio-Vidic era. I don't believe for a second there is anything to the rumours doing the rounds that Evra is offski.
Smalling obviously has potential, but he has to prove he can defend and i expect this to be a season for him to find his feet at United. It will be interesting to see whether Cathcart goes out on loan or Fergie keeps him at old trafford. At youth team level he looked as good a player as Evans and had a good loan period at Plymouth. Unfortunately he didn't have as good a time last year at Watford with a combination of injuries and poor form. If he came good that would give us some serious strenght of depth at the back.
This could be a big season for the Da Silva's, for Rafael to press a claim to be the regular right back birth and for Fabio to start to show that he can become Evra's successor at left back. Both have the talent, but the question is, have they temperament to start to learn not to dive in. If they can learn to cut out the needless shirt grabbing and diving in too soon they both have a great chance.
If this is to be Van Der Sar's last season we are going to have to start seriously scouting a replacement becaue Kuszczak whilst being a fair number two is nowhere near good enough to replace him. The big Dutch goalie's importance to the success of the team since he came has been woefully undervalued. As an actual goalkeeper he is not on the same plane as Schmeichal, but as a team member and organiser of his defence he is as good if not better. I have been convinced since i have watched Van Der Sar that he would have made a professional footballer as an outfield player. I am also convinced that most of the best goalie's of the future will also have to be pretty acomplished with the ball at their feet. If his last season at United is half as good as the giant Dane's was i would settle for that as my pre season hope for the season.
So for me the gloom is being ever so slightly overdone. With Pogba and Morrison who both look potentially top players to be gradually phased in over the next two to three seasons i don't see the point in going out and buying players for players sake. There is also Matty James and Drinkwater out on loan and looking like they have at least a chance of being given a go in United's first team squad. The fact that we all know we couldn't afford to buy anybody even if we wanted to doesn't mean that Fergie's strategy is wrong. If we forget the first four season at United when the youth system was being overhauled the only time when Fergie has got it seriuosly wrong was 2004-2006 seasons and it could well be argued and i am sure he will say it was a time when he was rebuilding for the success we saw for the three titles on the bounce.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/ferguson-comfortable-with-current-manchester-united-squad-2030676.html

That still doesn't excuse Kleberson, Bellion and Djemba twins obviously and the 2-0 defeat at Norwich still remains the nadir of the last decade. When anybody says that was terrible after we get beat i just compare it to that and i remind myslef it wasn't "that" bad. I suppose everybody has their worst " games seen " list. Ones that stick out to me are a 4-0 home defeat to Clough's Forest in Sexton's first season which was a taster of the type of football we were to see under that master of flair football. Ashley Grimes being cited as youngster to watch for the future. The 5-0 at Goodison under Atkinson that wasn't helped by a bizarre back four selection was another, at least we got some revenge for at Wembley later in the season courtesy of big Norm. There have been other terrible results and performances such as the 6-0 away at Ipswich when Bailey saved two penalties and of course the 5-1 at City. But for me it's those two that stick out for scoreline, ineptitude of performance and gulf of class between the two sides

The Telegraph pump out some pro Glazer propaganda with not a fact to be seen to back it up. Even if it they have reached that number, the fact that they have only been able to just publicize the fact that they have broken the 50,000 barrier shows what a struggle they have had. And how do you have a campaign when no organisation has openly come out and argued for a boycott ( IMUSA excepted and seeing as though the press seem to ignore them the rest of the time, do they count). I sill believe it will be the credit crunch that will see them forced to sell the club.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7901497/Manchester-United-season-ticket-sales-pass-50000-as-anti-Glazer-protest-fails.html

Fergie is on his winter break hobby horse again, as i have said before i am against it, the christmas calendar is a big part of the game for us supporters and the game is supposed to take us into account. And it's pretty obvious Fergie would like it for our end of season assault on the champions league rather than England's chances in whatever the press are giddily overegging their chances of winning it. If it ever comes in, and i'm dead against, but if it did, the best solution would be a two week break after the third round of the FA cup. What lose me about that solution still, is those games would still have to be caught up on.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/20/sir-alex-ferguson-fa-winter-break

David Conn with an excellent article on the funding of the grassroots cricket and the governments probable decision to allow the ECB to carry on selling the rights to cricket coverage to the highest bidder, i.e Sky. As one of the comments says Sky has virtually bought sport in this country and that cannot be good for anybody in the long term.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/david-conn-inside-sport-blog/2010/jul/21/ecb-sky-sports-hugh-robertson
I played Rugby league, Rugby union, football and cricket for my school all those many years ago and even then cricket was the poor relation. I played all age cricket in one of the minor lancashire leagues and that was where you got a taste of what proper cricket was all about. As far as i could see, even thirty years ago there weren't many schools that played cricket seriously.

Hamish McRae wonders if we are going to follow the Japanese model if tax revenues fail to recover. He has usually been one of the more optimistic ( or complascent ) economic commentators.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/hamish-mcrae/hamish-mcrae-what-if-revenues-fail-to-recover-2031076.html

New statesman show poll showing AV referendum too close to call. This does not surprise me, if you support proportional representation it's hard to get worked up for a referendum that is only slighly if at all more proportional. Of course Clegg has staked the Lib Dems participation in the coalition on this, so i expect more than a few people who voted Lib Dem tactically against the tories in the elction to vote no to give his leadership of the party a perhaps a terminal kick in the shins. To be honest i am sorely tempted to take that path myself. We will see.
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2010/07/past-support-reform-post-lead

Liam Fox says defence budget unaffordable, well there is an obvious cut there straight away isn't there. Something we will never use, don't even have first say on whether we can use it and can't even afford anyway. At some stage this country will have to learn that it has had it's turn in the sun and accept that the empire's gone, our place at the UN permanent top table will have to go and we will have to get used to the fact that it doesn't much matter what the British think anynore.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/jul/20/uk-defence-policy-unaffordable-liam-fox

Swedish auditor hurls damning verdict on UN general secretary as she leaves the organisation.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/deplorable-and-reprehensible-un-boss-savaged-by-outgoing-aide-2031240.html
This paragraph raises a wry smile from me "Privately, some senior UN officials expressed shock at the vitriolic tone of Mrs Ahlenius's memo and wondered if it should be taken seriously. "She has been something of a lone ranger", said one UN official who until recently worked in the UN's oversight department. "It's one thing to be independent, which I think people recognise to be a fundamental of leading an oversight office, it's another thing to be just wilful."
It seems to me that when somebody is prepared to go out that far on a limb, that's when to start taking something seriously.

Andy Gill argues that the mercury prize nominations don't begin to cover the cracks of the music industry.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/andy-gill-glittering-ceremonies-cannot-disguise-the-problems-of-the-music-industry-2030310.html

Some classic David Axelrod produced Letta Mbulu

Scholes was missed

According to the mirror Capello feels England sadly missed the ginger prince. Well he got that right, it doesn't really excuse the terrible decisiona and tactics he made in South Africa though.
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Fabio-Capello-is-convinced-that-Paul-Scholes-would-have-made-the-difference-to-England-s-World-Cup-campaign-article529467.html

Fergie fears that Evra is being made the scapegoat for France's dismal world cup.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7895600/Sir-Alex-Ferguson-says-Patrice-Evra-not-to-blame-for-French-players-training-boycott.html

He also let it be known that he has turned the England job down twice and thinks it's a rotten job, in fact a poisoned chalice.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/england/7894928/Sir-Alex-Ferguson-says-he-twice-turned-down-the-chance-to-manage-England.html

Trevor Brooking wants an Englisman to follow Capello as the next manager of the national team.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/17/trevor-brooking-fa-england-manager
But not Stuart Pearce hopefully.

United did the business on their first pre season friendly against Celtic. Berbatov was the stand out for me. It was intersting watching Smalling you can see what they saw in him, he looked very comfortable on the ball. We will have to see if can actually defend, because he wasn't really tested much in this game. Apart from giving a soft penaly away, that is. I was hoping for a bit more from Cleverley , not much went right for him. Still he seemed to get better the longer he was on the pitch, and he did get on the scoresheet. Even if it was a lucky deflection, it seems to be a nice habit that he has in finding the net.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7896182/Manchester-United-3-Celtic-1.html

Fergie will be looking to our youth to start coming through this season according to this Guardian article.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/17/manchester-united-sir-alex-ferguson

Giggs states the obvious and creates a headline.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7897428/Ryan-Giggs-says-moneybags-Manchester-City-still-have-a-lot-to-prove.html

Wes Brown gets a bit carried away talking about Giggs
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/19/manchester-united-ryan-giggs-best-player

Orlando Figes pays out damages in fake review case. Bizarre
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jul/16/orlando-figes-fake-amazon-reviews

Will Hutton talks about fairness
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/18/fairness-public-sector-pay

John Gray talks about Ayn Rand
http://www.newstatesman.com/books/2010/07/ayn-rand-greenspan-influence

Bomb the bass

Rooney will bounce back

Fergie tips Rooney to bounce back from world cup nightmare, and points out he won't be the only player with a world cup hangover to get out of his system. Quite right as bad as Rooney's tournament was, and it was, Evra's was probably worse and was almost certainly his last chance at least Rooney knows he will hopefully have one or two more cracks at the competition, form, injury and competent manager permitting.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/8823640.stm

Meanwhile back at the ranch, Rooney wins his court case against Proactive. To be honest i haven't followed this very closely, it involved everything i can't stand about the sport and maybe life in general.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/judge-kicks-case-against-rooney-out-of-play-2027361.html

Which seems to have led to contract talks to be reopened. I suppose one group of people, namely the gimps, were quite pleased he had such a terrible world cup as it lessens Rooney's agents bargaining power.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/wayne-rooney/7893042/Wayne-Rooney-contract-talks-to-be-stepped-up-by-Manchester-United-as-court-case-ends.html

Giggs thinks England got it's world cup all wrong basically, but they weren't on their own.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/14/ryan-giggs-england-world-cup

Mick Hume has a go at the BBC's coverage of the world cup and final in particular.
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/9188/

Fletcher looks at Giggs and Scholes and hopes he can have as long a career at old trafford. That's actually an interesting proposition, as it will probably be harder for him with his all action game. I suspect he would have to adopt his game when he gets into his thirties in able for him to carry on. Looking at his career so far, there is no reason to think he won't be able to do that.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/fletcher-longs-to-remain-a-red-devil-2026451.html

Sunderland want to take Welbeck to the stadium of light for a seasons loan. He needs to play a full season somewhere to start to bring his game on. But he also needs to go somewhere where he will get plenty of games. If he does end up there we need him to get plenty of hours on the pitch. It was a good move for Jonny Evans so lets hope it turns out to be just what Welbeck needs to start to develop into the player Fergie belives him to be.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/15/danny-welbeck-sunderland-manchester-united

United unveil new home kit. It's interesting that they have put Obertan on that photo. I read Bryan Robson saying that he thought one person he expected to break through next season was Obertan but as more of a central striker than as a winger. I thought he showed some promise when he first came, but he was one of the youngsters who had a mare during to the defeat to Leeds after which his first team chances were limited. I did see him play for the reserves after that where he ranged from far too good for that level to anonymous. So it looks like this could be a big season for him.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7891927/Manchester-United-unveil-new-strip-during-US-tour-in-pictures.html


David Blanchflower's latest new statesman column blasts the coalition yet again and even mentions an l shaped recovery. Which would surely be disastrous for the coalition and wipeout time for the lib dems in the north at least. And it would be well deserved.
http://www.newstatesman.com/economy/2010/07/growth-budget-cuts-recovery

Anthony Howard is not impressed by the modern political memoir as new labour tomes start to flood the market. Mandelson's serialisation being tha leatest and the least informative going off the printed excerpts so far according to those who have read them behing the Times paywall.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/labour/7891634/Mandelson-memoirs-History-memoir-or-malice.html

Frasier Nelson writes about Cable's plans for a graduate tax. I agree with the Cable's plans for a graduate tax but i would go along with Nelson's argument about the con of worthless degree's being peddled to youngsters..
http://www.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/6144208/vince-useless-degrees-would-have-been-a-better-target.thtml
Unfortunately, unless we start to manufacture products in this country again where are the jobs for the youngsters of the future going to be though.

The Torygraph learning nothing offer free market remdies still.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/telegraph-view/7893205/Cables-graduate-tax-would-be-a-bad-business.html
Reading the comments sections of the torygraph and the spectator always kill me. You would think the credit crunch had never happened and the economic ideology of the last 30 years, since Thatchers revolution in other words, had never happened. Obviously our economy is in a far worse position that it needed to be because of Brown's mishandling of the nation's finaces during Labours last 5 years in power. But we would still have had the credit crunch and whoever was in power would have had to bail out the banks. Which of course the tories opposed, the wrong decision just like the budget will send us into a probable double dip recession

Ed Balls backs it, oh well i still think it's a good idea
http://www.newstatesman.com/2010/07/graduate-tax-cable-costs

Has the the city's importance to the countries wealth been exaggerated asks Larry Elliot
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/14/banking-risky-business-economy

Even the ludicrous Mehdi Hasan is not impressed by the leadership contest of the Labour party.
http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2010/07/labour-leadership-candidates

Wild beasts discuss writing their new single
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/video/2010/jul/15/how-i-wrote-wild-beasts

I've not put a Miles Davis clip on for a bit

Reserves start new campaign with 4-0 win

A match report from United youth, I'm not one for buying shirts, but it's got to be said that the new shirt is the best top we have had whilst Nike has been in charge. Still I wouldn't buy one, even if we were a Glazer free zone. The shirt seems reminiscent of the late seventies and early eighties with the collar, maybe it's my age, but those were the best United tops to me. Ahh the old days of Admiral and the early United days of Adidas, you still can't beat classsic Adidas.
It will be interesting to see who plays for the reserves this season and if any of the youngsters get fast tracked there. I hear people who watch plenty of our youngsters sing the praises of Eikram, but i have to say i have never seen enough of him to really judge. I have never seen him stand out and wonder what this season holds for him, let's hope he has a relatively injury free season. King is a player i have seen enough of to know that he continues to improve he will definitely be first team material, he could be outstanding.
It would be good to see Morrison get plenty of action this season, then maybe go out on loan next season if he shows the ability that most club insiders seems to think he possesses. The other hot prospects seem to be Pogba and Will Keane so i will be watching out for them.
http://manunitedyouth.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/reserves-curzon-ashton-0-united-4/

Paul Scholes tells the press this may not be his last season. He will see how his form and fitness holds up and make a decision at the end of the season.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/14/paul-scholes-manchester-united

Fergie lays out his plans for the players during the pre-season
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/ferguson-fears-his-world-cup-players-will-miss-start-of-season-2025882.html

James Lawton thinks Spain are a great football team but don't score enough goals to join the immortals. That is a very good assessment that i would go along with totally. As most observers can see Spain are basically Barca minus Messi and with a few real madrid players thrown in. I have often wondered would i sooner watch the best United teams or the present Barca team. It's a hard call because Barca do play great football, but at the end of the day i think i would have to go against Barca and for United's best teams. As pleasing on the eye as tiki taka is, it's is very methodical, you hardly ever see a pin point cross field ball straight to a wingers foot a la Scholes. Of course Xavi and Iniesta can probably both execute it as well as Scholes does but the system commands them to always look for the short pass.
In the first couple of games there were times when they were being stifled and there were opportunites to change the play with cross field passes but they never took it. I prefer the best teams, players and formations to have more freedom of expression and more flexibility. And to me when United have been at their very best, they are more exciting to watch. I wouldn't argue better, just more exciting and more unpredicatble.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/james-lawton-will-spain-join-the-immortals-one-day-perhaps-but-not-until-they-bring-more-goals-2025117.html

The Guardian go with the fuss caused by Ballack's agent, who in an apparent off the record remark alleged there were a " bunch of gays " in the national team. Lahm must have really pissed off Ballack when he said he wanted to keep the captain's armband.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/13/germany-footballers-gay-michael-becker

It would seem according to this piece in the Independent it's not, will BBC Breakfast move to media city, but when. I don't watch the TV at breakfast, but if i had to i would sooner watch the Beeb than the horror show that is GMTV.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/bbc-breakfast-to-relocate-to-salford-but-will-the-stars-follow-2025987.html

Isobel Hilton sees western companies losing their faith in ever making any money in China as the harsh economic climate prompt a bit of economic nationalism. There must be a chance the Chinese would have done this anyway.
I watched the timewatch edition about the boxer rebellion at the turn of the 20th century which was fascinating. I didn't realise how big a disgrace that was and still is seen as in Chinese history. As the programme made clear the lesson of that episode to the Chinese was to make sure nothing like that could ever happen again. And the key to that was to become strong economically and militarily.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/13/google-china-business-with-the-west

Matthew Norman is unimpressed by the labour leadership campaign. There a couple of comments where the senders seem to have had a sense of humour by-pass, oh dear.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/matthew-norman/matthew-norman-the-least-inspiring-contest-ever-2025785.html

Simon Jenkins is worried about the dangers of a double dip recession and even as someone who wants to cut the public sector he thinks the timing of Osborne's cuts couldn't be worse.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/13/george-osborne-hold-hike-double-dip

Boards of Canada

The struggle to rid the club of the Glazer family continues as AON comes under fire.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7884299/Manchester-United-fans-plan-to-snub-new-shirts-in-protest-against-Glazers.html

United have flown out for their north American tour, but quite a few bodies will be missing as injuries and the world cup mean that a few of our youngsters will probably get a chance or two.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7885287/Manchester-Uniteds-Nani-and-Chris-Smalling-part-of-squad-for-US-tour.html

Simon Kuper with a piece on Wesley Sniejder.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/jul/11/world-cup-final-wesley-sneijder-holland
Well at least with the deserved defeat at the hands of the Spanish his ego won't explode into the stratosphere.
Johann Cruyff lays into the Dutch tactics and has a go at the ref. I'm no fan off Webb and i would agree he didn't have a great game last night. But the way the Dutch played last night he didn't have a chance.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8812484.stm

James Lawton is thankful the negative tactics employed by the Dutch last night didn't end in success. I totally agree, but they did help to give us an absolutely terrible first half and though it did get better after that, unless your Spanish it won't be a game that lives long in the memory.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/james-lawton-defeat-of-dutch-spoiling-tactics-is-a-victory-for-all-who-dared-hope-for-more-2024508.html

Jonathan Wilson analyses the world cup from a tactical perspective, interesting as ever.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2010/jul/09/world-cup-2010-tactics-the-question
One noticeable aspect of this world cup to me was the lack of quality wide men. Going off that, we are doing well to have Nani and Valencia. The only really quality left footed wide man seems to be Robben, but as is the vogue he seems to want to play on the right and cut in and shoot all the time. I don't think Rooney would get such good service from the flank anywhere other than United.

Alan Hansen thinks Mourinho is wrong to claim that the champions is bigger and more important than the world cup. Well i thought Hansen had a piss poor world cup from the studio, the one time that BBC's analysis came alive for me, was when Hodgson covered a couple of games. Hodgson actually didn't trot out the same old soundbites and actually knew what abilities most foreign players had, good or bad.
Shearer is just poor full stop, everybody bar the BBC seems to know that, but maybe it's time for the BBC to bring through new faces better versed on the football world outside of the premier league. Would Hansen have agreed with Mourinho if he had said better, because of that there can surely be no argument.
Lawrenson was no better i'm afraid and his nadir was five minutes into the second half of the final when he said Spain have got to change it as nothing's happening for them. Anybody who has watched Spain or Barca would have known that is not how it works for them., that they will play the same way and try and grind you down through their passing. Sure enough, the next Ten minutes saw Spain start to dominate the game and start to create chances.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/7885743/Alan-Hansen-Jose-Mourinho-wrong-to-say-Champions-League-is-bigger-than-World-Cup.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/7885743/Alan-Hansen-Jose-Mourinho-wrong-to-say-Champions-League-is-bigger-than-World-Cup.html

Mary-Ann Sieghart takes aim at Mandelson as his new memoir starts to get newspaper serialisation.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/mary-ann-sieghart/mary-ann-sieghart-mandelsons-vanity-came-before-the-party-interest-2024406.html

Larry Elliot warns the coalition to take its once in a generation chance to reform Britain's financial system.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jul/12/bank-regulation-reforms-needed

Richard Grayson on the future of social liberalism.
http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2010/07/liberal-democrats-social-party

Steve Richards wonders where the coalition's policies will leave democratic accountability. He is right it will abolish it unless you have money.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/steve-richards/steve-richards-who-exactly-will-we-hold-to-account-2025134.html

An interesting piece about Apple and it's future in competition with Google.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/could-apples-first-mistake-come-back-to-haunt-it-2022128.html

The Flamin groovies

Neville misses pres season tour

Yet another injury. To be honest i would be happy if Wes Brown, John O'Shea and Rafael are the players battling it out for the right back spot with Gary Neville coming inat right back or centre half in the carling cup. I think a bit too much was made of Gary Nevill'e revival towards the end oflast season. He has been a great servant and can come in and do a job against the lesser lights but he has become, sad to say, a passenger against the better teams.
In fact this could be a big season for Rafael, if he in fact going to become a top class right back, surely this is the season he has to start showing it consistently. After the way Evra's form dipped unsurprisingly towards the back end of last season, and the events of this summer's world cup debacle with France, it would be a good thing if either O'Shea or Fabio came in onthe left hand side to make sure Evra doesn't burn himself out towards the business end of the season again.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/10/gary-neville-manchester-united-summer-tour

The red knights have met again according to the Telegraph. Hmmm, why now and what do they know, hopefully good news
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/7883424/Manchester-United-bid-resurrected.html?

Paul Hayward reports on tomorrows final between the two heirs of the Cruyff dynasty.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/jul/10/world-cup-final-spain-holland
Of all the really great footballers, Johann Cruyff is undoubtedly the only player to have had almost as great an influence after his playing days were over as when he dazzled us in the sixties and seventies. I'm not sure that this Dutch team play the game the way the great man would appreciate though.

More on the Dutch link to Spanish or should i say Catalan football, this time surprisingly Van Gaal
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/the-man-who-taught-spain-to-play-2023864.html

Ossie Ardilles continues the them saying that the Spanish team resemble the great Dutch team of 1974.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/spain/7882642/World-Cup-final-Spain-resemble-the-great-Holland-side-of-1974-says-Ossie-Ardiles.html

Neil Forsyth thinks a Spanish win would save the world cup. I don't actually buy into much of the article, taken as a whole i think the tiurnament has been piss poor. I think everybodies fogetting that Spain didn't really play anywhere near their best until the semi final. And i haven't enjoyed a single Dutch performance so far and i have seen every one of them unfortunately. The one sentence that caught my eye was when he asked how United sold Pique for half of what they have shelled out for Smalling. That is a good question and i just hope that doesn't become an even bigger question once the season begins.
http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2010/07/09/world-cup-spanish-win-would-save-world-cup/

Arjen Robben tips Sneijder to join United and says he is the only player who could replace Paul Scholes, who is one of the outstanding players of his generation. Buy that man a drink. It's just a pity that i don't believe we are in for Sneijder and that i can't stand that diving cheat Robben.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=807833&sec=transfers&cc=5739

Fergie denies making bids for anyone.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/11/manchester-united-wesley-sneijder

A columnist i don't generally have much time for with a surprisingly good column on the rifts in all three parties but especially the lib dems
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/john-rentoul/john-rentoul-labour-must-leave-a-door-ajar-for-clegg-2023713.html

John Naughton wonders about the future of western employment, good article.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jul/11/apple-foxconn-start-ups

One of my all time favourite groups New Order

Hargreaves : the end

It looks very likely that this time there won't be any way back for the midfield man this time. I have never thought that he would play a serious part in United's future. So i don't really see this as a blow just time to face reality.
There are lot of injuries and recuperations from injuries going on in that squad.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/08/owen-hargreaves-injury-manchester-united

Ferguson doesn't think Rio Ferdinand will be fit either for the beginning of the season.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/hargreaves-and-ferdinand-to-miss-start-of-the-season-2022286.html

Holland, Ajax and Barca great Johann Cruyff would like a Spanish win on Sunday to reward the great football the best team in the world play. The great man does have split loyalties, but having read about him, it's not a major surprise that he would go for the team that plays the best football.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/7880884/World-Cup-Final-Holland-hero-Johan-Cruyff-pledges-allegiance-to-Spain.html

Angel Di Maria moves to Real for 25 million Euros. I wasn't very impressed by him in this world cup myself. To think we wanted to swap Nani for him last winter. As long as Nani continues his good form from the second half of last season we should be very glad that didn't come off. One thin that this world cup has definitely opened my eyes to is the deart of quality wide men. And by that i mean real wide men, not strikers that play anywhere along the front three. With Valencia and Nani in our squad we are about as well equipped in that department as we could hope to be. It would be nice to see United bring some homegrown wide men through the academy system. Beckham and Giggs development through the youth team seems a long time ago now.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/european/7879645/Angel-Di-Maria-completes-Real-Madrid-move.html

President of La Liga attacks premier league for the dominance of foreign players. I can go along with some of that, but La Liga is far from perfect and has problems galore itself. The success of this Spanish team is in reality down to one club, Barca the Catalan club the rest of Spain love to hate, not the administratots of La Liga. Against Germany Spain fielded just one player that didn't play for either Barca or Real, and of those ten, the majority and the most crucial play at the Camp Nou.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/08/jose-luis-astiazaran-la-liga-england

John Foot asks how anyone can justify the exorbitant wages of today's football stars. Well i can't.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/08/justify-footballers-wages-moral-outcry

Steve Richards on the lessons of the 1975 referendum on leaving the common market.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/steve-richards/steve-richards-the-convulsive-power-of-referendums-2021951.html

Simon Jenkins writes that our policy in Afghanistan is disastrous.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/08/afghanistan-catastrophe-chilcot

David Prosser thinks Tesco may have some real competition with Amazon's surprise move into the online grocery market.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/david-prosser-bet-on-amazon-to-give-the-grocers-a-real-fright-2021094.html

One of the men behind the idea of the off ice for budget responsibility is disappointed with chequered start, that has seen Sir Alan Budd depart prematurely. So it's common knowledge he walked because he was unhappy. A tad new labourish, if anything even worse than new labour, its hand picked men and women from outside the party didn't generally walk after just three months.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jul/09/office-budget-responsibility-reform

The Dead Kennedys with the classic Holiday in Cambodia

Sneijder paper talk

Darren Fletcher thinks the burden on Rooney has to be lifted by the rest of the squad chipping in with more goals.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/08/manchester-united-wayne-rooney-darren-fletcher

Mike Phelan likes the look of Hernandez and can't wait to see him join the United squad on their pre season North American tour.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/phelan-praises-manchester-united-signing-hernandez-2021533.html

United chase for Sneijder unlikely to succeed says Moratti.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7877982/Inter-Milan-determined-to-fend-off-Manchester-Uniteds-interest-in-Wesley-Sneijder.html
I find all of this barely credible.

United youngster Danny Drinkwater will go loan next season to Cardiff City. That's a big move up for him from division 1 to a championship team that will probably challenge for promotion. If he can improve we will see whether we have a player on our hands or not.
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2897/championship/2010/07/07/2014704/cardiff-city-sign-manchester-united-youngster-daniel

Jason Burt writes that Germany missed Bayern's Thomas Muller badly last night. I would go along with that, they missed his forward runs. On the evidence of last night though it still seems likely they would have been on the losing side. Even though Germany did have small spells of good possession in the game, for the most part, the Spanish midfield reminded us for the first time in this tournament why it's the best in the world.
I find it very hard to believe that Holland have got much chance against Spain on Sunday. And if we want the best team and more importantly the team that play the best football to win the biggest tournaments then you would have to cheer on the Spanish on Sunday. Credit to the Germans though, they have been the one team in this tournament who you would put down everything to make sure you watched them.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/7878321/Germany-v-Spain-Thomas-Mullers-absence-costs-Germany-dear-in-World-Cup-semi-final.html



It's America's war now, as if it wasn't from the start
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/afghanistan-now-its-americas-war-2021218.html

British troops pull out of Sangin, Afghanistan, it's not working and not worth it.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jul/07/sangin-pullout-british-troops-afghanistan
Whenever we actually finally pull out, let's hope this is the last time we send out troops to foreign countries to fight wars or struggle against insurgencies with no chance of victory, winning hearts and minds or anything beneficial to us or the country in question. We can't afford it, and come to that will the yanks think the expense worth it in years to come, it's hard to see it. Especially when Afganistan and Iraq start to act as independent countries acting as if the Americans had never been there.

I'm no fan of the writer but most of this piece about the lib dems reads horribly true.
http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2010/07/lib-dems-party-british-clegg
It reads a bit like Clinton's as well as Blair's capture of their respective parties. Is there a centre left party left that hasn't been captured by " the treasury view ".

The digital radio switchover will go ahead government confirms
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/digital-radio-switchover-confirmed-2021450.html

Is the climate change debate changing
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/9100/

Steve Coogan is a busy man as his baby cow productions team prepare to perform a four part series of Chekhov comedies. He is also going to be appearing with Rob Brydon in a new six part BBC comedy series starting in September. Sounds good.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/coogan-to-perform-chekhov-for-dramatists-anniversary-2021146.html

The Telegraph lists ten great music documentaries. It's not a bad list, i have seen most of them but watched the Anvil one only last week on BBC4 and was surprised just how good it was to be honest as i can't stand their music.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-blog/7873214/When-Youre-Strange-top-ten-music-documentaries.html


The classic Motorhead line up with Overkill

It's going to be an important season for the fit again Craig Cathcart. I had high hopes for the Ulsterman when he captained the youth team. He seemed to me to be at least as good a prospect as Jonny Evans, who at the time was having a good time on loan at Sunderland. My only concern was he was fairly similar in style to Evans, neither being a speed merchant. His loan spell at Plymouth went will but unfortunately last season's loan at Watford didn't go so well with Watford fans not being too impressed.With Ferdinand permanently injured and i would think in the twilight of his career, this would have been a great time for the club to have had another centre half coming through the ranks. Unless last season was a blip it doesn't seem likely it will happen with Cathcart.
http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={B4CEE8FA-9A47-47BC-B069-3F7A2F35DB70}&newsid=6650546&page=1

Jurgen Klinsman tells the BBC how he and Loew helped to turn the German national teams fortunes around. Very commendable, but not a cat in hells chance that the premier league would go along with much of that.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8789682.stm

Forlan's excellent tournament comes to an end as the Dutch reach their first world cup final since Argentina 1978. Forlan has been oe of the best players of the tournament and would walk in into that Dutch team for me. Once again i was less than impressed with either the game or the Dutch. I can't see it happening, but if the Dutch were to go and win the world cup at last it would be the final of evidence that this world cup has been extremely poor. This Dutch team isn't fit to lace most of the Dutch teams of the last 30 years never mid the great team of 1974.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/uruguay/7876355/World-Cup-2010-Diego-Forlan-combats-injury-but-is-left-devastated-by-Holland-defeat.html

Simon Hattenstone shows why Mick hume was right.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/06/footballs-debt-socialism-world-cup

What is the real story behind Sir Alan Budd leaving his post as head for Osborne's new baby the office for budget responsibility.
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2010/07/class-war-budd-thatcher-cuts
It's the end of Osborne's honeymoon according to Larry Elliot.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/06/alan-budd-george-osborne-shambles
A blow to the government's credibilty writes Sean O'Grady'
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/budds-early-departure-a-blow-to-government-2020118.html

Bagehot defends the BBC
http://www.economist.com/blogs/bagehot/2010/07/bashing_bbc?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BagehotsNotebook+%28The+Economist%3A+Bagehot%27s+notebook%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Jeff Buckley with a couple of acoustic numbers