Tottenham 0-0 Manchester United

Well that game didn't live up to the Sky hype did it. The first ten minutes looked like it might provide the entertainment hoped for but it quickly fizzled out into the kind of game where defence is king with neither set of forwards ever really looking like breaking the deadlock. I would have took a point before the game, so i can't complain too much, but it would be nice to see us really turn it on again in a game that really matters.
As with a few other reds i suspect, i was fairly excited when i saw the line up, it was hard to see that eleven line up as anything but a 4-4-2. But i'm afraid what the season so far should have told us, that against a quality team we haven't really got enough creativity in central midfield to make the system work. It didn't help that Nani was almost non existant for the second game in a row. For all the stick that Rooney got for his performance, he was still involved in most of the good things that we managed to create. His touch wasn't great but he contributed more to the game than Berbatov managed.
In the middle of the park, Fletcher gave us another sub standard performance, it really hasn't happened for him this season. Granted he was given the hard job of trying to stop the impressive Modric down, no easy task, but that was no excuse for his sloppy passing and poor first touch. Carrick gave a good defensive display but didn't offer much creatively and it was left to Giggs in the main to try and give the front men some service.
Ten out of ten to the back four and Van Der Sar though, Vidic and Ferdinand gave another masterclass. They seem to be back to their 2006-2008 peak at the moment, which didn't seem very probable at the begining of the season. I thought Rafael had another excellent game until that very harsh sending off. He struggled at first against Bale, but who wouldn't, but importantly he had quietened the Welshman down before Dean gave him the red card.
I suppose the best chance of the match fell to Crouch in the first half when he managed to beat Ferdinand to Hutton's cross only to see his effort beat Van Der Sar but go inches wide. Rooney had the best chances for United early in each half. At least the point keeps us top of the table and it ws nice to see the ginger prince back on the bench. It would have been even nicer if he had been able to come on as he was primed to do until Rafael's sending off changed Fergie's plans.

Fergie was not happy about the red card handed out to Rafael yesterday, unsurprisingly.

It was nice to read Evra say that the unbeaten record has not been mentioned by the players, the objective is to win the league, if they are unbeaten at the same time, then great, but winning the league is what matters. Exactement.

Before yesterday's game Fergie had had a bit of a dig asking for a bit of respect for the team and claiming United had to be perfect to be given any credit from the press. Unfortunately yesterday's game did give credence to the popular view held by the press and a fair section of United's support, i'll include myslef in that, that this is a sub standard season.

Paul Hayward looks at Ferguson's emphasis on youth for the future of Manchester United, i'll have to admit that whatever happens this season, i am looking forward to next season and expect us to play far more entertaing football next season.
With Welbeck and Cleverley to come back from loan periods and Valencia to come back from his injury before the end of this season, next year will see us having far more of a goal threat going forward. It would be nice to see something coming through in the middle of the park, or to see us bring in someone to add some creativity for Scholes when he has to be rested or gets injured as he has just been.
United had probably hoped that Morrison might be the eventual answer to that, a couple of years down the line. But with the rumours doing the rounds about him, it doesn't look like they are going to be able to rely on that anymore.

The press seemed to get excited that Giggs may be thinking about returning to international football on Friday. It didn't take long for him to put them right.

Stephen Bayley asks why it took an American newspaper to appreciate the worth of a great British city. Because for the press of this country, London is the country.

Matthew d'ancona argues that the Tory right should be careful what it wishes for. Without the lib dems the tories wouldn't have been able to pass a thing, whilst they are getting most of what they want from the coalition. Which is exactly why people like me that voted for the Lib dems are so annoyed.
Which might go some way to explaining why Ed Miliband is more popular amongst people that voted Li b dem at the last election than Nick Clegg. Not that he or the Labour party have convinced me of much so far. Jackie Ashley wonders whether the lib dems are on the verge of splitting as the social democrat and orange book wings grow further apart.
Peter Oborne doesn't think Ed Miliband should get too excited about last weeks Oldham and Saddleworth by election victory. He sees the government at ministerial level as united and strong but backbenchers of both parties as fractious.
Frasier Nelson of the Spectator asks where is it going right for Ed Miliband, the mass desertion of lib dem voters is the answer he comes up with.

Cameron is standing four square behind Lansley, how wise will that prove to be?

William Keegan looks at the tory part of the governments inflation scaremongering and wonders whether they know where their own interests lie. 
Larry Elliot warns the bank to ignore the inflation nutters, to raise intrest rates to soon would kill the economy. He argues that the headline inflationary figures are overblown.

The Telegraph report that the latest hedge fund trend is to bet against China where they argue that the economic fundamentals are unsound. If they are right, and they could be, that would be bad news for everybody, in the short term at least.

Paul Harris asks if the IPhone is losing its cool as it loses out to Android in the US market.

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