Southampton 1-2 Manchester United

It's getting ridiculous, our away form is embarrassing, the performance in the first half was yet another shocker. Gibson, Owen and Obertan might as well have not been on the pitch for all the influence they had on the game in that 45 minutes. It's getting cruel having to watch Gibson's limitations shown up and then see him hauled off to get some real United players on. But in that first half he wasn't alone, the plan to play Owen behind Obertan and Hernandez may have looked good on paper but it didn't work out on the pitch.
Once again we couldn't dominate possession in the middle of the pitch and apart from the first ten minutes we posed the home teams rearguard no real problems. I wouldn't go as far as to say they deserved to go in at the break a goal up, but Southampton definitely took all the plaudits for their first half performance as they played some nice football and created one or two decent chances.
Having picked Hernandez he was given aboslutley no service in a midfield where there was only Scholes playing to any kind or acceptable level. Anderson's run of form seems to have fizzzled out and he was no more influential than Gibson. Ferguson picked the right two men to take off, as once Giggs and Nani came on we really started to play and dominated the game.
The reversion to 4-4-2 after the bizarre decision to start with a diamond shaped midfield undoubtedly helped us change the game as well. Once again it took the introduction of Giggs to completely change the game, this time playing alongside Scholes in the middle of the park.The first goal had an element of fortune as Nani's cross took a slight touch which put it straight onto the head of Michael Owen who made no mistake. The winner was more like it though, as Giggs stole the ball and set Hernandez free with the kind of service he hadn't seen in the preceeding seventy five minutes. Hernandez made no mistake prodding home with his left foot, and United saw out the game reasonably comfortably.
Lindegaard had a pretty useful debut, looking confident and making no errors. He looks like he could be a good addition to the squad. Whatever happens during the rest of this season i'm looking forward to next season when we get Cleverley and Welbeck back and hopefully we'll see some transfer activity with regards to our central midfield. Even if Scholes stays, which i hope and think he will, we are in desperate need of strengthening  in that area of the squad. It would be nice if we had something coming through the ranks, which indeed we have but Pogba, Tunnicliffe and maybe even Petrucci if he can get over his injury problems are two to three years away from the first team squad yet. I'm not sure how good Matty James is going to be i haven't seen enough of him.
I'm expecting to see more exciting football next season and who knows may be even a dominant away performance or two.

The Telegraph's match report

Are United going to go Dutch again as Stekelenburg seems to have emerged as the favourite to replace Van Der Sar as United's next number one. I haven't seen much of him apart from last years world cup but i have read that he is good with his feet. He seems to have impressed Van Der Sar when he has been with the Dutch squad which is a feather in his cap.

The Guardian's new secret footballer column gives us a football insiders view of Gray and Keys sacking and their views of football pundits in general, they aren't much impressed. I turn off as soon as the games finish as they never tell you anything you can't already work out for yourself. They are all as bad as each other, though maybe the BBC is unfortunately the worst with its jobs for the boys approach. I mean how bad is Alan Shearer.
Paul Hayward argues that the British public is short changed by its football TV punditry and wonders why Sky can't replicate its Excellent cricket coverage over at it' football department.
A very interesting article on the all Jewish football club Hakoah Vienna that eventually bit the dust under the Nazi's. I find the inter war years Danube football school fascinating. Though i'm not really a fan of a Jewish football club, or a muslim one or whatever. You will eventually end up with a Glasgow situation, Celtic and Rangers and the sectarian overtones involved with that, which is not what football should be about.

I don't know credibility this report has but if there is anything in it, United will lose another tranche of real fans who they will never get back this summer. My ticket will be getting perilously close to unaffordable that's for sure.

Lancashire's horrible ground redevelopment plans saw the club lose £2 million last year as the delays hit the club hard.

Roy Hattersley has been impressed by Miliband's low key start as Labour leader but warns him that now is the time get noticed and be heard. To be fair that is what he and Balls have started to do, Osborne seems to be more than a little rattled to me.Andrew Grice uses his Indie column to tell us that the coalition is rattled as the fears of a double dip stalk the coalition, but there is still no sign of a plan B. It's not as if they would announce it if there were though, is it.
The bad news came thick and fast for the coalition last week as Friday saw consumer confidence stats hit the floor. What happens when the cuts really start to bite.
Mehdi Hasan argues that Labour has regained it's appetite for power again.
Paul Mason gives his overview of where the economy and where the political situtation are at in his latest BBC blog. I read that as him thinking that the coalition will break up if the economy does double dip.

Bernanke told the financial crisis inquiry commission that all but one major US bank was on the brink of failiure during the 2008 credit crunch meltdown. That's probably what they wouldn't have wanted to come out during their attempts at reputational rehabilitation at last weeks Davos get together.
David Blanchflower certainly gave his critics both barrels last week after the weeks bad figures gave credence to his views that the coalitions policies will send the economy into a double dip recesion. He certainly gave Torygraph political writer Bennedict Brogan a going over.

Mark Mardell highlights the tricky issues that arise from current events in Egypt. Let's hope he puts his faith in democracy and the people of Egypt however messy that may be. As Peter Oborne argued yesterday this is for the people of Egypt to decide, that will go against the grain for that portion of the US political establishment that led the neocon project.
Robert Fisk reports from the streets of Cairo as the people rise up against Mubarak, even Fisk seems taken aback by the strength of the uprising.

Bruce Guthrie gives an insiders view on why Murdoch's word is not to be trusted. You only have to read Harold Evans book on his editorship of the Times to know that his word is never to be trusted. Stephen Glover writes how about Murdoch lost control of his own story and praises Nick Davies even though he doesn't agree with Davies's views on the rotten state of the British media. The new statesman's resident Tory argues that News international is now Cameron's problem. Whilst Alexander Chancellor asks why Cameron like Blair before him is so deferential to Murdoch. A lack of cojones.

The Guardian interviews the Coen brothers, the makers of a host of my favourite films, as their remake of True grit is about to open. Maybe i shouldn't call it a remake as apparently they have stayed closer to the book. It's bound to be worth watching they always are.
The Telegraph talk to Steve Buscemi star of HBO's latest probable hit Boardwalk empire, a pity it's on Sky, i'll have to find a way of watching it. The storyline sounds great.
News that a new film is to be centred around the legendary Stone roses Spike island is interesting. I didn't go to the gig which according to many wasn't actually that legendary, but the premise of the film sounds promising.

The filmakers behind the Folk Britannia and other Britannia music documentaries look like they have come up with another gem with this new effort, Reggae Britannia.
Jon Savage remembers the Roy Harper classic Stormcock, 40 years on. It certainly is a classic.
The Quietus interviews the main man of heavy rock Lemmy.

Roy Harper