Manchester United 2-0 Tottenham hotspur

A good solid win in what was probably the best game of football we have seen so far this season at old trafford. Spurs played their part in a first half display which probably didn't warrent them going into the half time break a goal down. But the way United eventually picked it up in the second half controlling the game but for one great run and shot from Bale, i thought we just about deserved the three points.
I wasn't totally sure about our chances when i saw our team sheet, a couple of seasons ago i would have been reasonably happy with Carrick in the middle and Park on the left, but neither man has been brilliant in recent times. Though Carrick has shown flickering signs of some kind of return to form in recent outings and once again i thought he has a decent game. Park was more of a surprise, this was by far his best performance of the season. Mind you he needs to start putting some shifts in if he wants to stay at the club, if good form is what keeps a player at the club these days and not commercial potential.
The first half started as it meant to go on with Park hitting a long range shot that had Gomes beaten all ends up only to strike his right hand upright. That was just a couple of minutes into the game and it didn't take long for Spurs to respond with the impressive Van Der Vaart hitting an excellent shot from outside box that beat his compatriot Van Der Sar but this time hit the United post. Modric and Van Der Vaart were causing us problems whilst we were having problems on our left hand side. Fortunately Spurs didn't have as much quality up front as they had in their midfield. I was worried that Bale might give Rafael a hard time when i saw the team but the young Brazillian handled the dangerous Welsh left footer quite well.
United were as dangerous creating chances all half long, Barbatov, Park and even Rafael having reasonable openings. But the opening goal came after the impressive Hernandez induced another rash tackle by the Spurs defence and the vistors were punished by Vidic's emphatic header from Nani's cross.
The second hald didn't live up to the same high standards, United took their time to pick up where they left off. But they did start to nullify the opponents threat. When Scholes came on for Berbatov and United went with one up front and Spurs lost Van Der Vaart when he limped off injured it seemed we would close out the game fairly easily. And that was the way it turned out United were the only team really threatning with Nani finishing the game on fire. The second goal was bizarre, at first i thought it was correctly given but after seeing the replay if the penalty wasn't given Nani should have been penalised for hand ball. But fair play to Scholes for checking with the ref and telling Nani that the ball was still in play. It would have been a bit cruel if Nani's shot that hit the bar had made it three, but it would have capped a fine second half performance from a man getting better and better.

James Lawton thinks it was a decent win but still thinks that United's squad has got it all to prove. The fact that we still need Paul Scholes to come on to shore the midfield up to guide us to victory leads him to believe. In all the furore over Rooney and his lack of ambition statement, Fergie did mention that all teams have a four year cycle. By which he meant we are in a rebuiding phase. For all i want us to win something every year, i know that this can't happen all the time. Whatever doubts i have have had over some of his team selections this season, the one aspect of management where Fergie is totally unrivalled, and i include Mourinho here because he has never stuck with a club long enough to have had to have done it, is in the rebuilding of great football teams. If we go into the last couple of weeks of this season still in with some kind of chance of wining the title, it will have been a reasonable season.

Ferdinand stays at home as United fly out to Turkey, it should be a decent test for Smalling, i just wonder whether he will risk starting with Evans or Vidic.

Differing accounts and estimates of the size of the United against Glazer march before the game on Saturday. I was disappointed with the lack of media response to the march.
Ronaldo thinks now Rooney has sorted things out he will redicover his form and says he didn't start the campaign that well himself. After watching Ronaldo a few times myself this season it looks to me as if he is redicovering the very best of his United formfor Real. I wonder what part Mourinho has played in that. Portugese compatriot thinks that Anderson can still come good for United. He says that he has the skill and the character to make it at old trafford. Well i'm not convinced on either front.
Daniel Taylor profiles Edwin Van Der Sar in the guardian whilst Mark Ogden ponders the problems of replacing him.

Sneijder signs a new contract with Inter, so that is the one foreign player that i would have really liked at United gone. That's if, we had any money to splash next summer.

Peter Oborne thinks Osborne was wrong to exaggerate the amount of money lost to benefit fraud and was uneccesarily sinde in his spending review. I'm always lost as to how all our politicians are allowed to get away with blaming all our countries ill on the poor, when it has almost always been the rich to blame for most of our ills. Iain Martin wonders how well thought through the treasuries child benefit cuts were and whether they are even workable.

William Keegan argues that last weeks better than expected growth figures show that Labours economic approach which the tories disagreed with were working. Jeremy Warner thinks QE has run it's course and now is the time to consign it to the dustbin. Simon Jenkins thinks the banks have used QE have slashed it in their vaults to improve their balance sheet no doubt. Robert Skidelsky gives us an economic history lesson in the new statesman. And warns us where the coalitions economic policies might yet take us. The FT's Martin describes Osborne's pre Keynesian strategy as climbing without a rope.

Catriona Luke looks at the 21st century version of the great game this time without any western involvment. This Economist describes China as in a fragile state as it looks to a political succession.. This analysis describes a China as nowhere near as assured of its future as commonly assumed.
Is the Chinese economy overheating, that would be dire news for the global economy and pretty terminal for Osborne if he reall does have no plan B.

Is Berlusconi near the end of his political high wire act as once loyal allies increasingly desert him. I wouldn't be putting money on that just yet, knowing Italy.