Wembley chaos

Fergie spoke for most United fans when he talked of the chaos that will ensue for the semi final weekend at Wembley and puts the traditionalist case for semi finals to be held at neutral venues. I'm totally behind that, though it would be nice if we had a stadium in the midlands or the north that held more than 60,000 apart frpm old trafford, for semi final purposes anyway. Maybe the Arabs supposed plans for enlarging the boo camp will have a purpose, to always be full when United visit, for derbies and semi finals, just like the old days.
The late England call up for Danny Welbeck showed that Fergie was on the right lines when he said he thought that Welbeck would be a late call up for last years world cup. Maybe he should have gone out on loan last season. When Welbeck comes back, which i'm absolutely sure he will, it will be interesting to see what fergie does with Josh King who looked a top prospect last season. After his injury curtailed spell at Deepdale will he be headed to a premier league club next season. Would Sunderland want to take another promising United youngster or would it be nearer home. A loan spell would seem to be the way to go, anyway.

Mark Ogden and his Telegraph headline writer don't seem to be in synch in this article about Fergie's summer spending strategy. A spending spree, but Fergie insists that United will persevere with their focus on youth. That doesn't sound like it's going to have City and Chelsea worrying their little heads off.
I can go along with this as long as we have identified a solution to our worryingly average midfield. Cleverley could be a part of the answer, but if Scholes were to retire, it would be far too soon to heap all the creative needs of the squad onto his young shoulders. If Scholes retired i would definitely like to see us in the market for an experienced creative midfield player.

Ferdinand is still battling to regain match fitness after supposedly being upset with Fergie for writing him off for the season. Will he be here next season still after fergie's comments and with United being linked with Cahill and even Jack Rodwell who may well end up at centre half.

During his midweek visit to the States Fergie spoke of his relief that Antonio Valencia had returned to the squad and how much we had missed him. Can't argue with any of that, i can't wait for him and Nani to exploit City's injury problems at full back in the forthcoming semi finals. Valencia certainly seemed to enjoy the Wembley experience with a superb display against Villa in last years League cup final victory. His pace and physicality will be much needed against the rent boys in those three vital encounters stiil to come.

Mark Ogden wonders if Wayne Rooney has really turned the corner in his bid to regain the form that people talking about a possible European player of the year award nomination during the second half of last season before the night everything feel apart in Munich. Will he even be the same player ever again, good question? His first touch has never been aboslutely first touch but even though he seems to have come out of that early season trough it is still miles away from where it needs to be judged alongside the very best players in world football.
David Sadler believes we still aren't seeing the explosive Wayne Rooney of old who could change games. I suppose you could argue that the goals against City and at stamford bridge show that it hasn't totally disappeared, but his overall performances are still a bit too in and out for me as well.

Andy Cole warns people to stop talking about treble's and waxes lyrical about Hernandez who he warns will get better and better and who will score a lot more goals for Manchester United.

Fergie is being victimised by the FA accroding to Graham Bean, he is being punished because of his profile, not because of his crime.

Paul Mason looks at the Euro and writes " one currency, two souls " as he contemplates a testing forthcoming few weeks, which could see it tested to destruction.  Peter Oborne talks of the divergent histories of the European continents economies and why some European countries are in the habit of going bankrupt. Spaniard Migel Boyer reminded north European critics that Spain entered monetary union having complied with the Maastricht requirements which neither France of Germany did. He thinks and is surely right that the ECB has to be concerned with more than just inflation. Albert Marcet writes that Spain is not Portugal and their economies are not the same.
Faisal Islam thinks the missing elements of the Irish bank deal show that the Eurozone zone itself is under severe stress. Robert Peston asks if the Irish banking sector could be any more bust and answers himself in the affirmitive. Larry Elliott predicts that Ireland is a dead cert for default after being saddled with unpayable debts from the banks which is grotesque and economically stupid. Whilst Peston also thinks time is up for Portugal and that it is only a matter of time before it seeks a bailout from the EU but not before it has a new government.

Adam Posen of the MPC talks of the decisions that keep him awake at night as he defnds his stance that inflation will come down to 1.5 % next year and talks of resigning if he is wrong, but is sure that he won't have to.
After last weeks " budget for growth " economist Stephen King looks at why rebalancing the British economy will be easier to talk about than actually achieve. Roger Bootle uses his Telegraph column to look at the same problem and seems equally pessimistic about rebalancing our economy. He doesn't seem too impressed by Osborne's budgetary growth measures either by the sounds of it. Governments can bring about growth but never through quick fixes, he can't be talking about Osborne can he.
Faisal Islam must have been reading up on some economic history from the 50's as he coins up the phrase OsBallsim to pitch the theory that the government an poosition's economic policies, ie cuts strategy are nearer than they would have you believe.

Joseph Stiglitz harks back to Keynes and Bretton woods to suggest a new global reserve currency to kick start the urgent reform that the international economic system needs to help avoid another 2008. Nicholas Shaxon wonders whether Jeffrey Sachs has been reading his book Treasure island about tax havens and tax avoidance. He uses an article in the FT to argue against a race to the botton on corporate tax. He is too late in this country. Sunny Hundal has just read and counts it the most important book this century so far. He claims that tax avoidance is amongst the biggest issues of our generation, no arguments from me there. Sounds like a must read book.
I would argue the reform and even the role of auditors wouldn't be far behind. If the banks and the financial industry was basically corrupt in the run up to 2008 as inside job claims, and i would totally agree can't the same claim be made for the Auditing giants and their role in the crunch. It would be nice if it had been a commons committee instead of an unelected lords committee that had called for an inquiry.

Lance Price reveals just how obsessed with Rupert Murdoch Gordon Brown actually was as he argues in a new book that argues the scrapping of the 10p tax band was done to win the support of the US Aussie. And to think that his minnions, Balls being one of them don't forget tried to represent Brown as a real Labour friend of the left whilst Blair had the premiership.
John Kampfner looks at Lib dem hints that they would like to shift the burden of tax from income to property and warns that a mansion tax wouldn't just hurt the super rich. Steve Richards looks at Lib dem influence in the coalition and dismisses claims that they are irrelevant. Of course this influence is the kind of thing that us supporters of PR always thought might happen. What we weren't to know was the Lib dems would be taken over by fellow travellers of the free market small state orange bookers. And although i support tax simplification, lib dem policies aren't always as progressive as they look.
Bennedict Brogan worries that the weak and the lame will put Cameron's strenght to the test as the government prepare to crackdown on incapacity benefit. This always makes me laugh, anybody with the slightest bit of historical knowledge know it was the Thacther administration who encouraged people to go on incapacity in the 80's to make the unemployment figures look less horrific. In other words they are trying to clear up their own mess.
Martin Kettle suggests that a yes to AV vote could make the Greens a force to be reckoned with. I would go along with that and it's another worry for the future of the Lib dems or for those Lib dem supporters like me who hail from the Lloyd George Keynes tradition. With the orange bookers dominant in the party the greens could mop up the anti labour left of centre vote which would leave the Lib dems as a free market German FDP rump. Which to me would mean they would eventually split with the orange bookers going to the tories and those on the left splitting between labour and the greens.

Barry Adamson