Manchester United 1-0 Everton

 This was one of those grind them out days that win titles, not pretty, but three points at the end of the day. Despite the changes, all five of them, including the suprise inclusion of Jonny Evans for Vidic this was a pretty strong team. Of course central midfield was the exception, Anderson and Gibson won't be striking fear into the hearts of any side any time soon. Though to give him his due Anderson had a fair game yesterday, it would be kinder to Gibson to skate over his performance. All i'll say about him, is he surely won't still be here next season, for his sake, as well as ours.
Once again our tempo was too slow and once more the whole team seemed leggy, if we do go on to lift the title, the way we are playing at the moment, we will crawl to the title. Saying that, this was never going to be an easy game, Everton were on a decent run and they always seem to raise their game against the top teams. They weren't very adventurous though, and during those last twenty minutes i was glad of that. If they had decided to have a real go at us after Rodwell forced Van Der Sar into a brilliant save i'm not sure what the outcome would have been. Ferdinand certainly didn't look fully fit to me, it will be interesting to see if he travels to Germany.
United certainly seemed to have picked a bad time to start missing sitters, Berbatov against City, Rooney and Giggs against the barcodes and the whole front line seemed to want too much time in front of goal yesterday, especially in the first half. The most comical miss being Nani's effort that hit a prostrated Hernandez. Nani had another indifferent game yesterday, it's not the best time to misplace your best form.
As well as Everton defended yesterday and as ponderous as United were at times, for some strange reason i always fancied us to score. I just felt that the chance would come and we would stick it away. I'm glad the chance, when ti came to Hernandez though, as Linekar and Shearer said last night it was a great header, down and with pace giving Howard no chance.
So another game can be ticked off, if and it's a big if we gain the three points at the Emirates next Sunday, that 19th title will be as good as ours. There is just the small matter of a champions league semi final to think about now. I can't say i know much about Schalke except that Raul is there, and they are having a very average time of it in the Bundesliga. I won't be taking anything for granted though with our record of champions league semi finals against German opposition.

Fergie thinks United could wrap the title up in the next couple of weeks and sees no reason why we can't beat both Arsenal and Chelsea. It's been a weird season, so i won't be predicting anythingexcept i hope we lose the goal shyness we seem to have picked up in the last three games. It sounds like he expects Chelsea to come second, he isn't the only one. I'm not sure about the line describing Arsenal as better footballers, but Chelsea as the better team, i'd have Chelsea as both.

Paul Wilson talks up the champions league woth of Park Ji Sung to Manchester United, he is a decent player whose work rate allows others to play. His record in the champions league is excellent, even at PSV he had two superb games in their close semi final defeat to AC Milan. But it has to be said that he didn't have a great night in Rome, but in fairness to him, who did.
Mark Ogden talks about the rising worth of Hernandez and how he has turned Berbatov into a bit part player at Manchester United.

Nemanja Vidic sings the praises of Michael Carrick claiming that over the years he has done that dirty job well. 

Raul is enjoying his time in Germany at Schalke as he tells Sid Lowe in this interview in the Guardian. Ferguson admits that there was contact with his agent in the summer and that if we hadn't have had Michael Owen at the club, he may well have bought him. He was a top top player in his prime.
Henry Winter looks the rivalry between Jose Mourinho and Pepe Guardiola as the El Classic reaches it's biggest stage with the champions league semi final beginning on Wednesday. Real warmed up nicely last night with the demolition of Valencia in their second game at the Mestalla in three days. Paddy Crerand is dreaming of a United Real Madrid final he tells Steve Tongue.
Hansen writes in the Telegraph that had Ferguson been in charge of any of the other teams in the top four, they would have gone on to have won the title. And claims that this would be his biggest achievement as this is a poor relation of the 99 and 2008 teams. Fans of the 1994 double winning squad might take exception to the omission of that side from his greatest teams. I won't argue with the theory that if he had have been in charge of any of the other top four clubs they would have been likely champions, but can you really place that higher than the treble, not for me.  

There have been a whole raft of stories linking Carlos Tevez with a move at the end of the season, according to Twitter, there is definitely something behind them. Not exactly a surprise, i always felt that all they did was call a truce until the end of the season. They will need to replace him, not sure with whom though.

Nick Clegg rages against Cameron lies, but is it all to late to stop him going down with the ship as rumours of a leadership battle rumble in the undergrowth. James Forsyth reports that the AV referndum is beginning to shake the coalition with even the Cameron-Clegg partnership under strain. Alistair Campbell asks what that Liberal titan Lloyd George would have made of Nick Clegg and the modern inheritors of the liberal flame.
Jackie Ashley joins the growing group of commentators who see an election later on in the year becoming increasingly likely. She feels Cameron has shown a surprisingly sure touch and has trapped Clegg and the Lib Dems.

Anne Applebaum tries to make sense of the Russian political scene as she asks is Russia's puppet president ready to stand up to Vladimir Putin.
Will Hutton claims that the United States if facing its biggest crisis since the great depression. Stephen King agrees, claiming that the credit ratings agencies may have got things badly wrong before the credit crunch, but its action towards US fiscal inaction seems absolutely right.

Philip Aldrick asks if George Osborne can turn it around, i wouldn't put my money on it would you. This is the man who has got almost every big call on the great economic events of the last decade wrong.