United squad talk

The Mail report that Gary Neville will retire at the end of the season. I had almost forgot about him as far as the first team has gone, he seems to have fallen of the radar. I haven't read what tha injury is, whether it's one of the niggles he has been prone to since his injury problems first started or a more serious one. Will he be the man to take over running the reserves from Ole?

Numerous reports are suggesting that Owen Hargreaves will be allowed to leave at the of the season with United deciding not to offer the player a new contract. I'll be honest i always thought he would announce his retirement at this club., with United picking up some insurance. I'm not sure who will be brave enough to take the chance and offer him another contract. Will the full story of his injury and even the state of it before United actually bought him from Bayern come out then, i wonder.

Berbatov's agent claims that his client wants to and expects to see out his career at ManchesterUnited. He has one more year on his contract so you would be expecting United to opening negotiations if they were wanting to extend it. I think this will be a summer where a few go out and a few come in so he will have to be consistent for the rest of the season. Mind you when i say that a few will be coming in Welbeck and Clevrley will be two coming in so i am not saying the Glazer's are going to be getting the chequebook out.
Fergie is happy with Welbeck's form and confirmed that he will be coming back to United at the end of his loan. No suprises as he lauds the young Mancunian as a "fantastic talent".

The Mail link us with a bid for Shawcross as his signature for the potteries club had a buy back clause in it. I'm not sure there is much in this other than the press know Evans isn't playing well and so they are going to link us with any available centre half going. I don't particularly think he is United quality myself, he is a good solid defender but i'm not too sure he would be good enough with the ball at his feet for United. He certainly won't be gaining a football education in the United way at the Britannia, that's for sure. It has to be said that Stoke probably play the ugliest football in the division. 

More on the fall out of England's world cup bid. Alisatair Campbell writes that if FIFA were a country the counrty it would be would be Russia. Openess and democracy are an anathema to both outfits. Paul Hayward looks at England's options post failed world cup bid and suggests revenge and retreat. He was as sceptical as me about everything to do with the bid.
Why the fuck do the BBC stll need to justify the airing of last Monday's programme when they should be applaudeda nd encouraged to get to the bottom of the rotten core of that corrupt organisation FIFA and take down Blatter at the same time.

Kevin Davies brands City as embarrassing, well i can't add anything to that.

Peter Oborne fears for Miliband, as he wonders whether his leadership has been holed under the waterline before it's before it's barely begun. 
The Economist's Bagehot column has picked up on the rumblings, the Economist view sems to be that he too left wing for the British public. That may or may not be the case, but surely they have not been given the chance to form a view yet. This is an internal Labour party problem at the moment.

The latest revelations show the US mocking Britain's paranoia about the special relationship. The standout paragraph in that report must be Liam Fox telling the yanks that the tories promising to follow a much more pro-American profile in procurement. How much more pro-American could actually get than new Labour. These British establishment, tory and new labour together are truly ridiculous in their failiure to see that Britain's national interest does not and should not mean being an American sister, whatever the hell that means. The US should be an ally where it's in our national interest, not when it's the establishment's interests and that is definitely the same thing.
The Chinese government was behind the hacking of Google that led to the US firm withdrawing from the Chinese market, according to the latest batch of Wikileaks. Now this is an area where the US are definitely an ally, that's a pretty worrying piece of news.

Andrew Rawnsley reports on the mess that the lib dems have got into over their student fees policy. He is right that they would look pathetic with a party abstension , better to split two ways than three. But they totally deserve the opprobrium that they are currently receiving and whilst Clegg may not deserve shit through his letterbox he deserevs the shredding his reputation is taking. Regardless of the policy being right or wrong, to sign a pledge and make a promise before an election and for it to then come out that you never believed in it anyway and to being a party to breaking it in government is the kind of thing that gives politicians a bad name.
John Rentoul argues that Clegg has been a lucky politician so far in his career, but it lucks like his luck has run out and his misjudgements have come back to haunt him.  Matthew D'ancona tells Clegg to stop wobbling and to get his troops whipped, but he isn't leading the tories is he.

William Keegan raises a good point in his Observer column, who is governing the country, the governor of bank of England or our elected politicians. Recent events does make you wonder. Roger Bootle looks at the problems in the Eurozone nad notes that the bank failures of 2008 are poised to become the sovereign failures of 2011 as the toxic debt has still not found it's way out of the system. The problem is who is going to take the hit.
Stephen King warns that what the US economy needs most to beat its present slump is a good dollop of realism. Is that really possible when , what is it a third of the population gets its information from Fox news. Martin Wolf of the FT saw that as one of the reasons why he thought Murdoch's plan to take control of BSkyB should be rebuffed.
Paul Krugman argues that Obama should decline to do a deal with the Republicans, he should let taxes go up and put the blame where it belongs with GOP. 
Thomas I Palley argues that Obama is wasting his and American progressives golden chance to rebuild the system that the collapse of the Neo Liberal paradigm. The problem to me though, is what Democrats actually believe in progressive economic policies anymore. Hilary Clinton would probably have hand picked exactly the same economic team, she was a fully paid up member of that third way claptrap.
Gavyn Davies thinks that the EU has the means to save the Euro but has it the willingness, or should that be will the Germans go along with it.

Is the Chinese economy heading for an almighy cold shower? If this theory holds true what does it mean for their strategy of using state owned firms to go on a shopping spree buying up strategic assets.

Madhusree Mukerhjee's new book Churchill's secret war: The British empire and the forgotten Indian famine of world war 11is given a Spiked review by James Woudhuysen. I wouldn't mind reading this book, i am no stranger to Churchill's antipathy, even hatred towards the hindu people's of India, but this book seems to go into far more detail than anybody has before into a very dark side of the great war leader's character. With our decline and India's rise will this prove to be an embarrassment to us in the future?

Music
Calibro 35 - Calibro 35: An excellent debut album from this Italian band with bits of all sorts of styles thrown. Some great funk and prog come psychedelic rock thrown in.
Kings of Leon - Come around sundown: The US act carry on with their stadium rock sound that brought them so much commercial success on their last album even though for some of us they abandoned the rougher edges of the first thre albums that we had enjoyed so much. I notice that the critics weren't too keen on this, which loses me as it sounds pretty similar to me. As with that album it's ok but formulaic.

R.L. Burnside - A ass pocket of whisky:  The bluesman teamed up with Jon Spencer to record this loud elecrtic blues in the mid nineties just after he eventually found recognition. I like it.

Reboot - Shunyata: More excellent electronica form Deutschland, the dance end of techno it certainly would get you off your feet.
Smoke fairies - Through light and trees: Another excellent debut album this time from this British female duo who mix folk blues and leftfield rock to produce some great sounds. I can't wait to hear the follow up.
These new puritans - Hidden: I haven't heard their debut before, but know it was well received. Apparently this is a totally different beast, whereas their first was totally guitar based this isn't. Brass opens the album and electronics and brass would be the two dominant sounds thereafter. The NME have made it their album of the year which may or may not be a good thing. But it is the album of a group who have total confidence in themselves and this is an excellent album.