Manchester United 1-0 Bursapor

Well the future was on show last night and it wasn't pretty, but at least we won. A goal that was far too good to grace this encounter probably ensured that we manage to get enough points to reach the last sixteen. An early goal was just what was needed going off the diaplay for the remainder of the match which was almost as painful to watch as the Rangers game had been. The atmosphere was as weird as i had expected it to be, but i hadn't expected that many empty seats. That was the lowest crowd we have seen for a European game for a long time, there was nowhere near the 72,000 claimed at the attendence. After Rooney's statement was announced a couple of hours before the game, Fergie chose to go with a fair few of the players i would think Rooney had in mind that he obviously doesn't think are up to it. And they couldn't have proved his point much better with a pretty listless performance.
Fergie gave another start to Smalling who looks like he could be the answer to finding Ferdinand's replacement. But i would like to see him get a few outings in the premier league before i am sure about that, there is no way we can judge him in games against a piss poor Rangers and if last night was anything to go by, an even worse Bursapor. Macheda came in to start up front and whilst he wasn't disastrous he didn't show much to reveal why Fergie supposedly thinks so much of him. Anderson came into central midfield to give a slightly better performance than of late but still not good enough to suggest that he is anywhere near good enough for Manchester United. Or should i say good enough for the Manchester united we would like to be seeing. Nani had one of his frustrating games but he was the one player with the ability to hurt the opposition and another goal will do his confidence no harm.
The action virtually finished with the goal which on the coldest night of the season which wasn't ideal. A pretty low key night in a far from low key week in the history of Manchester United football club.

As Paul Wilson observes whatever the true motives for Rooney's desire to up sticks his observation that United lack ambition can't really be faulted. As i said yesterday if he went to Chelsea or Real and came out against the gimps i would keep some respect for him. So it's just where he ends up now that will affect how i will think of him in the future. If we take the red tinged glasses off for a minute, we can't grumble too much. He is a scouse Everton fan who only came to us because he thought we were the biggest stage in the country, he would play alongside great players and would always be competing for honours. We can all see that is not in the Glazer's game plan so to slag him off for upping sticks is tad hypocritical of us. Of course fuck all that if he goes to City, he will be a fat scouse cunt of the highest order.
Jim White writes that Fergie will win the propoganda war but we all know that Rooney has hit hard with home truths about the owners. The comparison between that front six in Moscow and the front six last night just about sums our current situation up.
Jeff Powell despairs of Rooney's ego and thinks this episode will convince Fergie to carry on the fight of rebuilding another great United side. Not with no money he won't.
The Sun, who i had presumed were on Rooney's side dig up the past of Paul Stretford with snippets from Jonh Sweeney's Rooney biography. Not a nice man, but to be fair how many agents are.
Ferguson, Gill and the gimps are in talks as i write this blog on how to put an end to the issue. I read somewhere yesterday that the Glazer's had gave Ferguson a free hand in dealing with the issue, i just laughed. This is disastrous for them, however you look at it, the thought that they wouldn't be involved in it's resolution was comical.

Various players have had their say on the matter, Carrick says they have just got to forget about it and do their stuff on the pitch. Vidic told Sky that this was not good for the players or the team. Darren Fletcher has told the press that United will cope as they did when Keane blew his gasket and was shown the door at old trafford.

Away from United it was the coalition's defining day, the comprehensive spending review, and most commentators seem to think whether it works or not, and most are sceptical, one thing it wasn't was "fair".
Paul Mason tries to find a narrative to yesterday's speech but struggles to find one from either the coalition or the opposition benches and doesn't think we will find an answer soon. Martin Wolf of the FT reports of a spending review fro a diminshed country. As other columnists have observed, just as Cameron regards himslef as Blair's heir, it looks as if Osborne has been studying Gordon Brown in the way he delivered yesterdays speech rushing through the nasty bits. He doesn't agree with the speed of the cuts and warns that we are going to really find out whether pre Keynsian economics really work. Larry Elliott expects Osborne to get the blame when his policy gamble starts to go wrong as his assumptions go up in smoke when we enter that double dip recession.
David Blanchflower, on the same side as Wolf over the timing of the deficit reduction thinks we will find out that they don't and warns that the coalition has just thrown the country over a cliff. A guardian columnist panel all fear the worst for the countries less well off and all think that the middle class and elderly fared comparitively well. Tim Harford also sees a lot of Gordon Brown in Osborne's political approach to the chancellorship. And is another not convinced that these cuts will not harm the recovery. Steve Richards thinks that Osborne has passed his political test though he doesn't buy the arguments for the pace of the cuts. He was not impressed by Jonhson or the oppostion's response and neither was Laurie Penny. Opinion on Johnson seems to be split with others thinking he did a reasonable job. Iain Martin wonders whether Osborne has been and is too clever by half and is yet another to make the comparison to Brown. But he thought that Johnson did a reasonable job in the circumstances
The spectator reports the tory party was happy with the budget  whilst Jeremy Warner argues the country has entered a more conservative fiscal era at government and household level. Well at household level that is a good thing but i doubt we will find the outcome much to our liking at government level.

Earl Hines