United stroll in Dublin

It was great viewing but it's hard to see if it served much purpose other than giving Irish reds a glimpse of the shirts on their home turf. It was a total mis-match as a United eleven that was the nearest thing we have seen to full strength team were far too good for the Irish league x1.
The plus points were the performances of Valencia and the first glimpse of Hernandez on this side of the Atlantic. Valencia had an operation at the end of the season and didn't go to the States so i wasn't sure where he would be up to in his recuperation from the injury that caused it. But after watching last night he seems to be fully fit as he caused havoc down the right hand side and capped his performance with a second half goal.
Henandez was the other big success of the night, though the quality of the opposition has to be taken into account, before we get too excited. He came on as a second half substitution and scored with almost his first kick and definitely the first chance of his appearance. He is razor sharp in the box and to be honest i can't wait to see him in the premier league against decent opposition so we can tell if we have got the steal of the season to the club.
It was a blow to see Carrick go off injured in the first half as he needs to get some games and form under his belt to try and take away the memory of a season to forget last year. This could be a big season for him at Old trafford because he surely can't have a future at United if his form carries on it's downwards trajectory.
The Guardian report seems to be critical of Rooney and must have been watching different game to me. Sure he missed a sitter and he was knocked off the ball a bit too easily early doors, but the longer the first half went the more he took control of the game. Let's put it this way i have absolutely no worries that he will be back to his best this season in the red of Manchester United. Playing with better players, getting better service will see him in his element sure enough.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/aug/05/wayne-rooney-javier-hernandez-manchester-united

Rooney to return to first team action for United tonight in Dublin will be hoping to put South Africa this season. Fergie thinks the challenge for him will be to improve upon last season. And Fergie's challenge will be to find an attacking combination that can carry the team when he is injured and so we can rest him a bit more than we did last season to rest him from the burn out we witnessed last season.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/aug/04/wayne-rooney-manchester-united-aviva-stadium

Corry Evans on his hpes for a future at Manchester United playing alongside his brother Jonny.
http://menmedia.co.uk/sport/football/manchester_united/s/1312983_corry_evans_fights_to_join_brother_jonny

Vidic tells the press he never had any intention of leaving the club.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7927653/Leaving-Manchester-United-was-never-an-option-says-Nemanja-Vidic.html

Rooney thinks the new home grown rule is a step in the right direction.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/aug/05/wayne-rooney-home-grown-players

It looks like the dippers may be about to see the back of their debt laden owners. With the premier league's record i can't see these new " tougher " ownership rules being too strenuous.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/premier-league-told-that-club-sale-is-imminent-2042374.html

Chinese government to buy Liverpool claim the Telegraph, should that really be allowed. And are Liverpool fans really happy with that, i know they hate their owners as much as we do, but does that mean they want some of the people behind Tianamen square partly in control of their club.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/liverpool/7927305/Liverpool-set-to-be-bought-out-by-Chinese-government.html

Hughes has a go at City as he takes overt the reins at Craven cottage. I expect he will do well in west London, but it will only fuel the suspicion that smaller clubs are about his level i suppose. Obviously i didn't want him to do well at City, but it would be good for the game to see some young managers coming through to take over at the bigger clubs and gaining some success. Just not at City or Liverpool that is.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/fulham/7925063/Mark-Hughes-takes-a-swipe-at-Manchester-City-on-first-day-with-Fulham.html


Will Flintoff ever play first class cricket again must be the question after the news that he will not be appearing for Lancashire at all this season.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/aug/03/andrew-flintoff-not-play-season-lancashire

The Guardian reports on London's reputation as the PR capital of choice for dodgy regimes.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/aug/03/london-public-relations-reputation-laundering

Matthew Norman wonders whether Obama is going to live up to the hopes that were invested in him.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/matthew-norman/matthew-norman-obama-an-enigma-instead-of-a-leader-2042315.html

Stephanie Flanders with an interesting blog on how the budget favoured the baby boomer generation and how the government and all recent governments have ducked the hard decisions about how the younger generations will fare if cuts are always aimed away from the elderly.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/stephanieflanders/2010/08/spreading_the_budget_pain_2.html

David Blanchflower turns his guns onto Nick Clegg
http://www.newstatesman.com/economy/2010/08/unemployment-clegg-rise-fiscal

Simon Jenkins tells us there is no point in moaning at rising bank profits if the government is running the economy into a double dip recession. It's a good point, banks are there to make a profit, if they don't, the way we live falls apart. It's about how they make a profit and how they reward those that help them make it. I still can't believe with all it's history and past ideology the labour party didn't take the crisis as an opportunity to start a state owned bank or a state funded co-operative bank. Unless we have another bank meltdown which of course can't ruled out as the finacial sector has been largely unreformed the chance for such an imaginitive innovation would seem to have gone.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/aug/03/treasury-banks-bonuses-obscene-recession

David Quantick talks about the revelation that Monty Python was nearly pulled after one series. I have actually just started to rewatch this and whilst people say it hasn't aged that well, i'm not that sure this is true. What is true is it's hard to laugh out loud too hard at something you have seen so many times. The best scenes are still classic, and whilst i too loved Spike Milligan's Q, though is saw it later on, you can still see how revolutionary it was.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/7926913/Its-not-surprising-that-Monty-Python-faced-the-axe.html

Nice to see one of my favourite ingredients may be good for my health.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/chilli-may-lower-blood-pressure-scientists-say-2042490.html

The Clash