The build up begins

The Telegraph has begun its build up towards semi final weekend with a couple of pieces on United. Rio comments on the togetherness of United's players as he underlines the fact that United are in the position they are through a squad effort where there are no cliques and everybody pulls together, Mark Ogden points out the contrast with a team not that far down the road. There will be some truth in that but after Rooney's early season outburst it can't be the whole truth. As the treble squad showed with Sheringham and Cole's dislike of each other as long as they do the business on the pitch it doesn't matter. Trust in the manager is all and that is where you feel City are falling down, who will follow Mancini is almost more important than any more big name signings City make in the summer.

Paul Hayward looks the at influence of Ryan Giggs inside Manchester United football club after yet another match winning performance this time from the centre of midfield. He considers him the custodian of the Manchester United way, on and off the pitch. He looks like he has got it in him to go past next season to me.
Also in the Guardian Daniel Taylor talks with Paul Scholes who admits that this could be his last Manchester derby as he still hasn't made his mind up whether he will retire or not. It's a surprise that he will be having a testimonial at the beginning of next season, but it's one i don't want to miss. He is funny when he talks about City.

Mark Ogden believes that Javier Hernandez is one of the big differences between United at the end of the last campaign and the crunch part of this. He puts the rediscovered form of Rooney and Carrick down to the Mexican's ability to play on the last man find space and leave space to enable Rooney to play in. Fair point and it's frightning to think the best may be two or three years down the line. And even more frightning for opposition to think that Welbeck will be back from his loan spell next season to link up with what could be as good as set of forwards as we have had in a while.

Martin Wolf looks at the radical right and the US state and sees a glorious chance for Obama to seize the opportunity their half baked plans present him. Hopefully by following sensible policies for the future of the US and the global economy not just trimming to the centre to win a second term.

Stephen King looks at one Gordon Brown and Ed Balls lest we forget economic innovations, inflation targeting and concludes that it is time we admitted that it has failed and that we ditch it. There was a debate on Newsnight where somebody argued this point against Ann DeJulius that seemed to leave without much of a defence. And that's because it has failed and we all know the MPC committe and the chancellor are happily ignoring it at the moment and rightly so.

Contrasting views on the Vickers report from Paul Mason who argues the report has left the door open to the government to enact a Glass-Steagal act if it concludes it is necessary to make sure 2008 never happens again and from John Kay who argues it is both too radical and too weak. Whilst Faisal Islam seems to be underwhelmed but agrees with Mason that the report has left the tough decisions with coalition government.
Will the coalition government last long enough to get round to that decision and could they come to an agreement any way.