Barcelona 3-1 Manchester United

Another final against Barca and another defeat by a two goal margin, but if we are being honest if it had been a five goal margin we couldn't have complained. If we thought we had been played off the park in Rome, we hadn't seen anything as we received a real football drubbing even if the scoreline doesn't really show it. For some reason i'm not as gutted as was after the 2-0 in Rome, i can only think it's because at least Fergie selected a team to try and take the game to the Catalans. The one thing i didn't want us to do was pack the midfield and defend like mad hoping to replicate Real Madrid Copa del Ray triumph. I didn't want United succumbing to the anti football tactics of Mourinho even if it meant getting a thumping that we got.
Don't get me wrong i'm not against a 4-3-3 and i don't want to see us conceeding the majority of possession as we did on Saturday night. But to play that 4-3-3 you need three interchangeable forwards as we had with Ronaldo and without better central midield players we may have had more possession but would we have been any more dangerous, i couldn't see it.
We may well have received the lesson we received anyway as that Barca team is truly something else, but we all worried about the lack of a midfield signing at the beginning of the season. And the one thing Fergie must surely take from that final is we have strengthen that central midfield with real class not just with numbers. I suppose he will have to decide how far from first team action Pogba, Tunnicliffe and Morrison are and decide how many players he really needs to buy in the summer. With Scholes intentions not known but thought to be favouring retiring and Giggs showing that at the very top level he didn't have the legs to match Barca's phenomenal work rate surely Fergie must go all out to buy a Modric or Sniejder. To be honest if he can't snare either of those two i'm not sure he will buy anyone as there just don't seem to be world class central midfiled growing off trees. He could always unearth a midield equivalent of Hernandez but it's an experienced ready made man we really need not an unpolished diamond. Hopefully we have got the unpolished diamonds in our victorious FA youth cup team.
As for the night i was disappointed with the poor atmosphere at our end and the amount of muppets in our end. There seemed to be a lot of people who weren't proper fans and even worse some who weren't United fans at all. I'm still not sure how we were successful in the ballot looking at the make up of our end and even the type of reds i saw in the two boozers i went in before the match. It was no Nou camp 99, but this is the United of the Glazer's and it won't be going away any time soon i guess.
My thoughts on the game were that unlike some journalists who thought we played well for the first ten minutes and though we just managed to stop them playing for the first ten minutes. Slowly but surely Barca took a stranglehold of the game with United reduced to long punts which apparently was the tactic. With Hernandez up front and Berbatov not even on the bench i'm still struggling really to understand that. We needed to try and keep for as much as we could if only to try and interrupt their rhythm. Poor defensive play aside the first goal had been coming, the one surprise of the first half was that we went in level with such a great goal. Rooney and Hernandez lived off scraps all night so it's hard to judge their games except to say Rooney did as much as he could but we needed all eleven starters to play somewhere near their best.
Park ran around a lot but unlike in the premiership his energy was totally unproductive against the tiki-taki of Guardiola's Barca and then we were left with somebody who doesn't really offer much of an attacking threat. Valencia was a big disappointment, i'm a big fan but he had a bit of a shocker. Giggs was anonymous and showed how big a miss Fletcher was in midfield even if we would then have been short of any kind of creativity in the middle of the park . At the back i thought Evra had another very iffy game, he definitely isn't the player who had two such outstanding displays to his name against Barca in the 2008 semi. Van Der Sar was blamed by some for the second but ihad a pretty good view of that on the night and the TV pictures don't reall show how hard Messi hit that, add to that Vidic blocked his view and i wouldn't have that down as a mistake.
The second half was the reason i wanted Barca to win the semi final against Real, because there was always a chance that our midfield would be showed up on the big stage. And boy were we shown up, but for it to be Barca to be killing us with their beautiful game softened the blow a bit. I have to say when the third went in i thought it was going to be a humiliation, thankfully they couldn't find the net again to leave the scoreline looking less like the thumping which in reality it was.
I suppose it has to be mentioned that whoever the opposition was, this was yet another underwhelming performance by us at the new Wembley, I have yet to see us win there.

Gary Neville and Roy Keane both TV pundits for the night were blown away by the brilliance of the Barcelona performance on the night. Neville mentioned how important it was that seven of those players had come through the ranks at the club. Keane rated Barcelona as the best team he had ever seen and thought that might help soften the blow. With Fergie in charge i hope that isn't the case. Fergie joined in the praise on the night though, hailing this Barca team as the best he had ever faced and joining the chorus of pundits hailing Barca as the best team in Europe and the world. It must be hard being a Madrista at the moment. He also admitted we never got near Messi all night, but we aren't the only ones to complain about that. He has used Saturday night as the moment to resurrect his old arguments about the structure of Academy level football in this country. Martin Samuel thought it was possible to come away with even more admiration for Ferguson even after a night such as that as all Fergie could think about was the challenge ahead that Barca have posed. Andy Mitten wrote credit Barca, brilliant but not arrogant.

Alex Stepney doesn't blame Edwin van Der Sar for the second goal and praises the big Dutchman's career at United and his career overall. He has been a magnificent, a big big factor in our defensive excellence since 2007.
Daniel Taylor wonders what now for Dmitar Berbatov after he couldn't even make the bench in front of Michael Owen on Saturday night. Which is still only understanable to me as being Fergie's message to Berbatov that he would like him to leave the club. Michael Owen wants to prolong his spell at the club and the rumours are that Fergie may grant his wish.

For all the gushing praise, rightly so, Paul Wilson was the only journalist to look at the manager's reluctance to address the central midfiled that almost every United fan can see is not good enough. As he points out we can't go on and on relying on Giggs and Scholes. I still don't want Scholes to retire but if that led to Fergie having to spend money to bring a Modric or a Sneijder in at least there would be some good to come out of it. I suppose in the piece above i never mentioned Cleverley, i haven't forgotten about him, i just don't want to see him burdened with the pressure of being the new Paul Scholes. I'd like to see him being given time to find his feet with the first team next season, and i'm hoping that he lives up to the promise some of us have invested in him.

I can't really say i felt like watching the parade to nowhere yesterday , thanks council, but i'm glad i and the tousands of others made the effort. As someone mentioned on red iss mesageboard yesterday, the difference between the way the United players seemed to enjoy it, even in the lousy weather and the the way the City squad seemed to be bored out of their minds at their's shows the spirit at our club.
Pictures from yesterday, the bus being accompanied by a decent following of reds

Me waiting in the rain
And finally the team heading towards talbot road from Warwick road

Peter Oborne wasn't impressed by our parliamentarians and the establishment's star struck reaction to the state visit of President Obama claiming that this isn't a special relationship it's sinister and sychophantic.

Vince Cable gave an interesting interview to the New Statesman last wekk where he voiced the reasonable assumption that the public have not been really told how sick our economy now is after the credit crunch. The country is poorer and all of us as individuals are poorer for the bail out of the bakers. It's pretty obvious he doesn't think the economic transformation has even got started yet and his claim that we may yet have another crash tells me that he thinks the financial elite have still not learnt their lesson and the politicians have still not took the neccessary measures to bring them to heel.
Larry Elliott looks at how the forces of economic orthodoxy have fought back since the crisis and how putting the country at risk of stagnation.
Will Hutton argues that we know what Labour is against, now it must show the country a vision of what it is for.

Yet another article on the wealth disparity that exists in this country, the richest 1%.

Giggs in the news still !

James Lawton writes that the fans will forgive Ryan Giggs if he does the business on Saturday, he has enough good will in the bank. He has nothing to forgive, his personal life is his own, i have never moralised about other people's private lifes, especially when it comes to sex. I think most United fans wouldn't be a million miles away from that position.
How much money has he been paying his lawyers for such rank bad service though, without the challenge to Twitter the rumours would almost certainly have just stayed internet rumours. Max Clifford a man with his grubby fingers all over this episode, thinks without the superinjunction none of this would have come out, are we really expected to believe that she didn't want to name him.
David Allen Green of the New Statesman asks if there is now any point to a privacy law or do we just let the tabloids and their grubby owners win. Alistair Campbell claims that the lack of reporting on the phone hacking scandal and the media frenzy that has accompanied this shows theit true agenda, sex and celebs. Or the dumbing down that was the thesis of Nick Davies's brilliant analysis of our current media in Flat earth news. John Lloyd of the FT hopes that we resist the tyranny of the media and the web. It's hard to be confident of that with our craven political class, Cameron showed his true colours over this episode, firmly in Murdoch's pocket.
At least this lot of shithouses got what was coming to them, hilarious. That MP seems to have got off lightly so far.

Mark Ogden thinks that Ryan Giggs will need all his ruthless single mindedness to weather this storm. But you get the feeling from that piece that he believes he is capable of, i think and hope he is right, because he is going to be one of our key players on Saturday.
Ian Herbert thinks the issue could destabilise United's preperations for Saturday if they allow them to. I really cannot see that happening. If we lose it will be because we were beaten by a better team. As his colleague James Lawton wrote attacking the press is his trusted way of defending his players and Robert de Niro couldn't have done it any better.


Nemanja Vidic told the press that United are ready for the challenge of the opposition's different mentality at Wembley. We'll see, but i find it hard to believe that we will see anything like the perfomance we saw from both sides in El Classico. If United really do outnumber them in the stands by as much as some people think it probably wouldn't be a very good idea anyway.
At the same press event Fergie told the press that we will be able to handle Messi, but Barca have other great players too such as Xavi, Iniesta and Villa. He doesn't thin them being favourites gives them any advantage. If Rome is anything to go by that's right, because their defensive injuries that night must have made us favourites and in the end we were comprehensively beaten.
Fergie keeps on pointing out that we have great players too and they will have to be wary of us too. And that is the way i want us to approach this game with Hernandez up front and Rooney in the hole spraying the ball about when we have it. Our best performances and best results have all come when we have played with that team and in that formation. With our current personnel we just don't seem to click as well in a 4-3-3, i am not saying we can't win with that formation, we probably can, i just think it's ore likely that we will give Barca more problems with a 4-4-2 and Hernandez up front.
Jonathan Wilson looks at the tactical options that are available to Fergie on Saturday and i think presumes that Fergie will play Hernandez with Rooney behind in a 4-4-1-1, fascinating as ever.I still think he will play Giggs in front of Fletcher as i don't think Fletcher is match sharp enough anyway.

Sarurday will be Edwin Van Der Sar's last ever game and what a way to end it, we all know from the past you don't always get fairy tale endings, but if anyone deserves one, he does. The rumours from Spain over the last coouple ofdays were confirmed by Fergie yesterday, our new number one will be David de Gea of Athletico Madrid who will sign on July 1st. I'd be lying if i pretend i have seen much of him. I'm surprised Fergie has gone for someone so young and whose grasp of English isn't so hot apparently. I hope we have got this right, i haven't read how good he is with his feet, because to me that's nearly as important as how good with your hands as a goalie nowadays.

The Independent looks at the next generation of United youngsters after United's 10th FA youth cup final victory and gives a quick profile of the five most likely to make it. I love the fact that four of those five are Mancunians, i don't know all five will make United's first team but they all have a real chance. The one with the biggest challenge would be Thorpe, it will depend how he fills out and grows as much as his development.
I must admit as terrific a prospect as Morrison is, even with all the baggage that seems to go with him at present, Tunnicliffe is the one really exciting me. If he makes it he could be the domineering box to box midfield we have been praying for.

Ahead of Saturday's game the Mail have a couple of pages devoted to Sir Bobby Charlton, the most interesting part of which gives his all time Manchester United X1 he still thinks that Duncan Edwards was was the greatest player he ever saw.
Another hero of the 68 Wembley final Nobby Stiles talks to James Lawton about doing what has to be done and how he thinks will be ready for Saturday night.

Evra reveals that the rumours were true that he wanted to leave last summer, but he is glad that Fergie perusaded him to stay. I'll bet he is, he hasn't been the same player this season though, and i'm sure that Fergie will have his eye on that.
The republic of Sila household is interviewed in the Guardian, i didn't realise they all live together, i hope Fabio is picked at right back.

United in new treating fans like shit shocker

Manchester United 4-2 Blackpool

A strange game really, i expected us to be better than that. A better team than Blackpool might have come away with something from that game. We have seen it before, when United have nothing to play for, the intensity drops and the result you expected doesn't always happen.
I was surprised that Park played as i thought he would be rested for next week, but it was the Korean who opened the scoring after getting on the end of a Berbatov flick on with a little help from a terrible piece of defending from Evatt that showed why Blackpool have lasted just one season in the top flight. They have tried to play football the right way but you just can't defend like that. Presuming that there best players look for pastures new it's hard to see them playing in the premier league again any time soon.
United got sloppy though and Blackpool got the equaliser they probably deserved when Vidic gave away a free kick just outside the area in Charlie Adam territory. The Scot made no mistake with a brilliant left foot shot. United didn't start the second half any better and it wasn't that much of a surprise when the away team took the lead. The didn't hold the lead very long though as the all of a sudden goal hungry Anderson helped Park's left wing cross into the back of the net.
Owen came on for Park as United took control of the game finally and United took the lead with quarter of an hour to go as the unfortunate Evatt put through his own net. Owen finished the scoring with ten minutes to go. It wasn't Berbatov's day as he looked for the goal that would have made him the league's top scorer. Two good saves from the Blackpool goalie Gilks and a poor attempt that never threatened the goal late on meant that he ended all square with Tevez who also couldn't find the net for City at Bolton.
As usual the trophy presentation dragged on for far too long but it was nice to see Van Der Sar get a nice send off. Hopefully that was the first of three trophies to be claimed by the club this season.

I managed to get tonight off work and went along to see the second leg of the FA youth cup final at Old trafford. It was the first time i had seen the present youth team in the flesh. Despite the scoreline United didn't really play that well and were pretty fortunate to go in at half time 2-0 to the good. The second half was far better though United were still not playing anywhere near as well as they are capable of. They did start to carve out chances though with Pogba hitting a great shot that was well saved.
Morrison had a mixed night scoring two goals with two excellent finishes but losing possession carelessly at times. I was disappointed with Pogba, it just didn't seem to be his night and he knew it. Keane didnt affext the game as much as he can, but he was as cool as a cucumber taking the penalty and he took the second goal like a veteran. The man of the match for me, and by a long way had to be Tunnicliffe. He was superb, in almost every facet of the game, his passing and vision were a revelation to me. I have seen him drive the game and force himself onto a game, but he was also the conductor tonight directing the play with some great lomg and short range passing. I'm really excited by him and a local lad to boot.
I always love to see youth given its chance and next season promises to be exciting from that point of view. I didn't realise that we have marked another milestone and broken another record with this tenth FA youth cup triumph.

Gary Neville gives his views on the champions league final with Barca

United on defensive over Giggs super injunction ahead of Saturday's game.

Nev the red is a green

Gary Neville's passion for ecological issues is the main feature of this Independent profile yesterday. For all the Neville haters out there, it looks like you are going to have to get used to seeing him on your screens and possibly in print to make your blood levels rise dangerously high.
I thought he was a little bland on Sky last week during the game against Blackburn, but i suppose there wasn't much to get your meat into with a game like that. It will be interesting to see and hear him next season, because i know he has a lot to offer after listening to him during youth and reserve games on MUTV.

Fergie argues United should only be criticised for fielding a weakened team against the seasiders tomorrow if we lose the game. He also told the press that he will be picking a team with energy levels in mind for the final against Bara. I think i would have slept better knowing Van Der Sar wasn't going to play tomorrow. If anything happened to him tomorrow and we had to rely on the PIG next week i would be mortified.

Arsene Wenger thinks Barca's small squad size may play it's part next Saturday as he thinks the games against Real may have taken their toll and three weeks may not be enough for them to regain the energy levels required for next Saturday night. Fergie has mentioned more than once this season how Barca manage with such a small squad.
All of which says to me that the first goal next week could well prove to be crucial, if they get it they may well be able to try and keep hold of playing their usual possession game. But if United get it and they have to chase the game United could end up winning the game more comfortably than anyone currently envisages.
To be honest United seem to be flying at the moment so maybe it wouldn't be as disastrous as in Rome if we were to concede the first goal. My main worry is still our poor away form and our poor record and poor form at the new Wembley. Looking on the positive side we are due a performance at the stadium, so let's hope they have saved it for the most important night we have had their so far.

Daniel Taylor writes that Fergie is still hopeful of persuading Scholes to stay on for one more season. He is to have one more meeting with the ginger prince after the season finishes. As this Iniesta of Barca interview shows he still commands enormous respect within the game. If there were two players in Europe you would take to replace him it would be either Iniesta or Xavi. As great a player as Messi is, and he is the best player in the world for me, those two are just as important to the way the Catalan giants play. You only have to watch the performances Messi puts in for Argentina where he doesn't have those two around him to see that.

The FA slaps Rooney's hands over his Twitter " banter " as Fergie say United may have to look at it's use by our players.
Fergie and Vidic won the Barclays manager and player of the year awards, can't be much argument with that. Thw riters players of the year has become a farce, how many times does it go to a London based player. I wouldn't mind, but if London based Modric had won it i could have understood, but Scott Parker, he is decent player and an honest pro, but absolutely nothing more.

Four four two's talentspotter asks if United have found their very own Patrick Vierra. I can see the similarities, but all i will say is we look like we have got ourselves one very good player in Paul Pogba. He has great technique, a great physique and a commanding presence not forgetting an knack of hitting some wonder goals. And that knack of scoring from long range from midfiled would be a great addition to our current midield where our lack of goals is alarming.

Shane Warne played his last game yesterday as his Rajasthan royals beat the Mumbai Indians in the IPL. Possibly the second greates cricketer of all time, but definitely the best bowler, never mind spinner of all time. I was a big fan, we all know why he never became the captain of Australia, but if he had become the captain i'm sure that their would be no debate about him being the second best cricketer of all time.
In this Telegraph article he goes through some of the highpoints of his career.

This Guardian piece looks at the current political scene in Iran and claims that "Ahmadinejad's enemies scent blood" and he may not even finish his second term it's that serious for him. How much good news that is for the opposition forces of a more open democratic Iran i'm not sure.

Prospect asks if liberal faith in India misplaced whilst Vivek Dehijia asks what next after the robber Barrons in India's economic transformation. The Economist looks at China's princelings, the countries revolutionary aristocracy.

Martin Wolf writes about the Bank of England's inflationary nightmare, as he wonders whether it has a grip on inflation. He still believes on balance that it should not raise interest rates but argues it is becoming harder to judge.
Vince Cable in an interview in the Guardian claims that the serious deterioration in the British economy caused by the credit crunch has still not been convincingly explained to the British electorate. We are a poorer country and we are only at the beginning of the reconstruction of the British economy.
Whilst i don't agree with his and the coalition's argument in favour of its economic policies and the cuts, there isn't anything else in that article i could quibble with.

Robert Skidelsky looks at a future where economic growth has gone and looks at job sharing as a cure to unemployment.

Paul Mason looks at why the arrest and now resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn matters. Larry Elliott's Monday Guardian column also looked at the Euro as he asked could Greece be the next Lehman brothers, he thinks it could and it would be even worse.
Morgan Kelly declares that Ireland's future depends on breaking free from the bailout, if it doesn.t it faces economic ruin.

Music
Astrudo Gilberto - Beach Samba: A decent album that gets better with each listen, there are a few numbers that a little bit twee, but more that are cracking tunes.
Esperanza Spalding - Chamber music society: I wasn't sure what to expect from this and it took a few listens to get it, but when id did get it i loved it. She is some musician and some singer. It's classed as Jazz but are elements of all sorts in it.

Liars - Sisterworld: Not an easy listen but a reasonably rewarding one from the US indie band. Not the type of music to break you through to the big time though.
Midlake - The courage of others: Mojo seemed to big this up and whilst i do like the album, i can't say i think it's that good. It seems to mix in a lot of folk influences with their usual indie sound.
Mugstar - Lime: This is cracking stuff, they sound like a cross between Hawkwind and Neu amongst others. I love that kind of driving space rock and they do it very well. Another cracking scouse oufit.
The Volebeats - The Volebeats: A US indie act influenced heavily by the Byrds and other country rock and folk rock acts this is the first album of their's i've listened to. And it's a pretty good album with some memorable tunes on it.

Sheffield United 2-2 Manchester United FA youth cup 1st leg

Well they lost away at Chelsea and delivered the goods at Old trafford so here's hoping they can emulate that feat in the second leg. In front of an impressive 30,000 crowd United took the game to the home team.
United played the better football and eventually got the goal that their play deserved through Jesse Lingard though the ball clearly never crossed the line. Unfortunately Sheffield United equalised with the goal of the night just before half time as Macfazdean's surging run ended with an unstoppable finish. United managed to regain the lead as Pogba's super ball found Lingard on the right and his cross eventually landed at the feet of Will Keane who made no mistake to tap home and give United the advantage. Again the home side hit back with a long range effort that this time took a cruel deflection.
United didn't play as well as they can, though they merited the draw at the very least. Still a draw away from home in a two legged tie must be seen as a fair result with the home leg to come at Old trafford.

Mark Ogden reckons that the champions league final at Wembley on the 28th will tell us how good this United team really is. That sounds a bit glib to me, it's a one off game and i don't think the most blinkered red would argue that this United team is as gifted a football side as the current Barca outfit. That said they are definitely beatable, and United are definitely one of the teams capable of doing that.
The really fascinating thing to watch is how Fergie is going to set us up to try and do that. Obviously i want to us to win as much as the next red, but not in the way Mourinho tried to do with Real. I'm hoping and expecting us to do it with Hernandez up front and Rooney behind him. I know that means we will see less of the ball than our opponents, but it will allow us to be far more dangerous to the opposition when we do have it. I still think if Barca have a weak link it is at the back, Puyol isn't the quickest and the left back aint the best.
Fergie was at the match himself and as we know he is hopeful that we may have one or two gems amonst the current crop. As the guardian says he hopes to find the next Giggs amongst the group, or maybe even the next Scholes.
Ryan Giggs lauds the next set of youngsters, though in this case he is talking about Smalling, the Da Silva twins and Hernandez. They will take the club forward.

Speaking of Paul Scholes, Gary Neville has urged him to continue for another season, not that he expects him to take much notice of him. Can't add much to that, he isn't the player he was but he is still good enough to play a meaningful role in the first team squad next season. But if as is thought he wants to play more often, it seems likely he will retire, i hope not.

David Sadler joins the chorus of pundits and ex pros to wonder how Nemanja Vidic missed out on the player of the year award. Up until the last couple of months i would have given it to Nani, but he has faded away back to his old inconsistent self over that period. He seems to be one of those players needs to play every week, but with Valencia back that was never and couldn't ever happen. A big shout could have been made for Berbatov during the first half of the season and Hernandez during the latter half.
But if we go over the season as a whole, our most consistent performer has definitely been Vidic. Fergie knew what he was doing giving him the captaincy at the beginning of the season.

Sam Wallace looks at that famous Fergie perch statement and looks at the challenges that United have faced and where they may come from in the future. Kevin McCarra looks at Fergie's handling of the squad through the season and pinpoints the run from mid November to the start of February as the key to the campaign.
At last nights MUFC player of the year award do at Old trafford last night Fergie let slip that they hope to make three signings to keep the squad up to standard. Cue all this mornings papers trying to guess said players. Obviously one will be a goalie to replace Van Der Sar, but the others? If he could get Modric i'm sure if Fergie was allowed he would splash the cash for him, but other than him i can't see another central midfield player available out there. Rodwell and Henderson are always talked about, both potentially good players, but how good, again i'm not sure. And Ashley Young keeps getting mentioned, i do like him, but unless he lets Nani go where would he play him.
So in conclusion i think it will be a goalie and i'm clueless to who else and what position the players he will be looking for.

Martin Bright looks at this countries record on further education and doesn't like the fact that degree's have been prized higher than apprenticeships. Spot on the money, we only to look at Germany to see how wrong that policy has been, it is a disaster in the making alright. And to think it was the Labour party that thought that up.

David Allen Green looks at privacy, the public interest and the woman called Imogen Thomas. I know the case may well be close to home but as far as i'm concerned the judge is doing the right thing. As long as someone hasn't been elected or sits in a position of power what right is it of the press or anybody else what goes on in somebody else's private life. It might even force to rport on things that actually matter, though i'm not holding my breath on that.

The current Euro crisis or whatever you would like to call has shown an alarming lack of leadership and Anthony Painter argues that we will crash again unless global leaders answer some fundamental economic questions. I'm reading John Lanchester's book explaining the crash Whoops and it's bringing it home to me in a big way how little has changer and the brazeness of the financial sector and the Lilliputianness of our political elite. Jeremy Warner is probably right that Gordon Brown would be a disaster as head of the IMF, but his stewardship of the credit crunch crisis, however slow and reactive it may have been looks Olympian compared to the current crop of leaders.

Robert Reich writes how the US's wealthiest financed the country mainly through it's tax payments and how a great switch has occured whereby they now finance it by lending it money. Getting rich of the state, how patriotic of them.

Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Manchester United

I wished we could have wrapped it up with a bit more swagger, but i suppose yesterday's 1-1 draw was more in keeping with the season. Not that United played that badly, they deserved the point, but after the highs of last Sunday it was back to the iffy form that seems to have afflicted us on our travels in the premier league this season.
I thought United started well enough, without really threatning the home sides goalmouth often enough, though if Nani had scored with a rare headed effort after just a few minutes instead of hitting the woodwork, tha afternoon might have been an easier affair.
Blackburn playing four full backs got men behind the ball when we were in possession but weren't totally negative getting numbers forward when they had the ball. Van Der Sar had been rested to give the PIG a rare outing and he gave a performance that showed why we are glad that's the case. Twice he hesitated with kicks that almost got us in trouble that gave the home team a lift as Blackburn's attacks got more dangerous. When the home teams pressure finally brought them a goal, it was Kuszczak's hesitancy again at the heart of things as first he failed to cope with Emerton's cross and it was Emerton himself who dispatched the return cross.
The youngster Jones was having an excellent game for the home team as United tried to get back into the game but couldn't find the killer ball or find a finish when the chance did present itself. Nani had possibly our best chance of this period but blasted wildly over.
Fergie didn't make any changes at half time as the second half belonged mostly to United, but for all our possession we weren't really testing Robinson's goal. A rare sortie upfield saw Blackburn hit the post with a chance that if it had gone in would have probably meant we would have had to wait until next week to lift the title. When our equaliser did come it was from the persistance of Hernandez as he forced Robinson into the rash challenge that saw the linesman correctly award us a penalty. Rooney made no mistake and i thought that would be the cue for us to go on and win the game. But we ended up with a ten minute keep ball session where both teams agreed to settle for the draw beneficial to both clubs, pretty it wasn't. So nineteen titles it is then, i suppose it was apt that a so so away performance saw the title finally delivered.
I can't go along with the thesis that this is Fergie greatest title because of the comparison between this squad which is obviously not one of our greatest and previous great squad's such as the treble year or the 2008 title and champions league double. You have to take a title winning teams competition into consideration when making comparisons, and it has to be said that the standard at the top this season isn't what it was. I expect City and Liverpool to be stronger next season so we can't stand still either. Looking forwards to next season all we can hope is we don't have a post Schmeichel scenario with Van Der Sar's replacement and if Scholes does retire either Cleverley lives up to our expectations or Fergie is given the funds to line up a midfield playmaker, unless he has another Hernandez style signing surprise lined up. Gill has come out and claimed they know who they want as Edwin's replacement and are confident they will get their man, but who that man is he wouldn't say. We have some great midfield prospects coming through and it will be interesting to see if they are sent on loan or are given snippets of first team action next season.
It was a pity that City finally broke their trophy drought, Stoke never turned up, but it didn't spoil a great day. Who ever dreamt that we would reach nineteen titles, never mind only take eighteen years to do it. This has truly been a golden era, and who knows it could get even better.

Fergie the master team builder, this BBC blog looks at United's title winning season. Jim White on Fergie's thirst for success means he won't be satisfied with 19 titles. After the game Fergie remarked it was not important surpassing Liverpool but becoming the most successful domestic club and keeping it going was.
Tim Rich identifies seven points why United are now champions, a pretty fair assessment. In the Observer Paul Wilson points out that vintage or not United were deserved champions because in the games that mattered they played like champions and fought like champions. Rio Ferdinand cites the victories at Blackpool and West Ham, both games where we were two goals down but went on to win as games where the title was decided.

Gill admits that the club won't be surprised if Paul Scholes decides to hang up his boots at the end of the season, but they would be more than delighted if he gave us one more season.

The Guardian big up United's Q3 results, on twitter Andersred described the results as nothing special, whilst Jim White sets the record straight correctly describing them as monumental leeches growing rich on a golden age for Manchester United.

Sid Lowe claims that Guardiola's Barca are better than Cruff's dream team, i would go along with that.

The Co-op group announced last week that it is to enter the gas and electricity energy service to challenge the big six providers, interesting, though my vision for this sector would be a none profit organisation, not outright nationalisation. As resources dwindle i'm pretty certain we will end up with something along these lines.

Robert Fisk asks was Bin Laden betrayed, and answers of course he was, Pakistan knew all along where he was. Declan Walsh asks whose side Pakistans ISI is on and big questions are posed for the country about where it goes from here.

John Pilger looks at how the Murdoch press keep Australia's dirty secret.

Matthew Norman thinks Clegg's critics have gone overboard and haven't been particularly fair to him but never the less thinks he should do the decent thing for his party and step down. I don't really go along with the first bit, but i definitely go along with the latter part. Nick Cohen claims the AV referendum showed how greedy the tories are, but thinks that they will regret their behaviour which looks good in the short term but may have negative long term conortations for the party.

Prospect magazine look how far to the right of the political spectrum economic orthodoxy has travelled. If he had gone back to Lyndon Johnson it would have travelled even farther. Will Hutton looks at the rise of the populist right in continental Europe and the dithering ot the left.

Faisal Islam blogs that the great stagnation is here, Chris Giles writes that the Bank of England now concedes that the impact of the recession may now be permanent. Duncan's blog looks at the impact of the VAT rise on the deficit, that's for the Labour and opponents of the coalition's economic model to get across to the electorate.

Joseph Stiglitz looks at the phenemonon of the 1% , by the 1% for the 1% an inequality even the benificiaries will come to regret.

Classic tune from Graham Coxon

I could have put Paul Hardcastle's nineteen on , but i'm afraid i think that's all a bit naff

Barca are beatable

And Fergie is convinced that United are the team to do it. I wouldn't go as far as to say i'm confident of brushing them aside on the 28th May, but i believe that we have a better chance than some would have you believe. After watching us play a high tempo game against Chelsea which the away side couldn't live with i came away thinking we couldn't beat the Catalan giants with the same game plan. But after sleeping on it, i may have been wrong, Barca play a high tempo themselves it's often forgotten and their game is as much about pressing from the front three as it is about their beautiful passing game. I think our fate will lie in how well we deal with their front three pressing our back four and midfield. Valencia could be one of the most important players on the night, Barca have not got as good as full back as Ashley Cole so they must fear the South American winger.
I'm not sure if he will play 4-3-3 or play Hernandez and Rooney, but i hope he goes for the latter. I want us to think about the problems we are going to give them as much as the problems we are going to face. I have always thought that they are not as strong at the back as they are up front and love to see Rooney and Hernandez try and get at Puyol. Of course the problem will be getting enough of the ball if we are going to be able to get into the game. Which undoubtedly means that Park will play on the left if we play 4-4-2 dropping into midfield to help out. I suppose the big question is will Giggs play in front of Fletcher if it's a 4-4-2. There must be no room for sentiment, but if Giggs can give a performance such as he did on Sunday, he really has to be in the starting line up for me.
It really is a good job that Fergie is the master bar none of keeping a squad happy, how Rooney must be glad he stayed, and how all of us that doubted this squad at the beginning of the season must eat a large helping of humble pie.
Rory Smith blogs on how United are in a position of strength in a area of weakness, there are still a couple of games left yet, so hopefully he is not being prematiure. I'm not sure Giggs will feature in either though, and if that was the case i think you can put money on him being in the final. I'm hopeful that we are going to see a midfield renewal over the next couple of years as Pogba and Tunnicliffe hopefully live up to expectations and Cleverley comes back from Wigan.

Ryan Giggs talks of the fantastic contribution that javier Hernandez has made to the United squad on and off the pitch. Sounds like he is a popular guy, great to hear.
Henry Winter applauds Nemanja Vidic his player of the year, i don't think he would swap the football writers player of the year for being captain of the champions and possibly champions of Europe.
Looks like Larry White is out of trouble for the time being anyway.

All the talk after the disastrous referendum setback and the even worse local council annihalation was about the future of the Lib dems and what next for Nick Clegg and rightly so as Cameron has rung rings around him and his fellow orange bookers. But the night wasn't much better for the Labour party as a few of their wiser heads have acknowledged. Neil Lawson describes their position as a mess. Mehdi Hasan takes issue with commentators who have questioned whether there really is a progressive majority and bemoans the Labout tribalists who sided with the tories over the electoral reform referendum.

Lib dem voice admitted Thursday was even worse than many in the party were prepared for. I really don't see how they could have expected anything else in the northern cities. Cleggs comments about the party not being centre left and being blase about the loss of votes on loan from the Labour party have got the answer they deserved.
He really has been a disaster for the Lib dems. I have read the argument that they won't get rid of him as leader and there would no point as there is no other strategy. How prepared are they are all to go down with a sinking ship, those comments show how unfit to lead the party he is. Thursday was as bad as it was, because of him and his advisors strategy. Cable was spot on to remind the party and the country what the tories really are, and to remind the party that he had no illusions about them, "unlike others". Yet the party seems to be happy to carry on being led by a proven political lightweight. As Paul Linford wrote is his only option now to join the tories, well he doesn't regard himself as on the centre left does he. Matthew Engel writes how last weeks political events proved the importance of personalities over issues as the public's dislike of Nick Clegg over the defeat of the yes campaing showed.

Maybe the night of glory enjoyed by Alex Salmond and the Scots nationalists also proves Engels point as Kevin McKenna writes that Salmond can do no wrong.

Interest rates were put on hold as fears over economic recovery is stalling wrote Sean Farrell last week. Jeremy Warner gives ten reasons why the world economy may be turning soft. David Blanchflower tells us why he is a fan of Ben Bernanke who he credits with saving us from a world depression. William Keegan writes about the light touch regulation that led us to the 2008 credit crunch implosion and the fact that our banks are still in denial about their role. Will Hutton believes the country needs a new economic vision but asks who will deliver it as he can't see where it is going to come from in either the Labour or the Lib dem parties.

Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea

I had been feeling pretty positive before this game thinking that our outstanding home form and the two champions league victories over the rent boys augured well. But even i wasn't dreaming we would put on such a storming performance, how we only managed to win by the single goal is still baffling me this morning, that scoreline was a travesty. If we had won 4-0 Chelsea could have had no complaints.
The line up was as expected, with the exception of the absence of Evra at left back. And the reason why Fergie didn't flood the midfield and play safe was answered after just 36 seconds as Park put Hernandez through and the Mexican made no mistake. Old trafford went wild, as that 19th, that special 19th got that little bit nearer.
The early goal was no fluke either as United really ripped into that Chelsea defence and when the second came via Giggs rolling back the years on the left hand side and Vidic providing the coup de grace it was no more than we deserved. Chelsea had a couple of half chances and Van Der Sar made one outstanding save but we were well and truly worth a two goal lead going into the interval.
The vistors came back into it a bit in the second half as at first United tried to play the killer ball a bit too often and ended up giving Chelsea enough possession for the away team to mount a little sustained pressure. But the fact that Chelsea had to try and chase the game left them susceptible at the back and with Park and Valencia both on top form the chances started to come for Hernandez and Rooney. We really should have had a third before the consolation goal scored by Lampard that gave them a little hope. But that just seemed to spur United even more as we threatened to score almost every time was counter attacked. It didn't seem to be Rooney's day in front of goal, on another day he might have had a hatrick. But when the final whistle went it mattered not a jot. That 19th title, hopefully gained next week ahead of the berties big day, is going to be so so sweet.
It wasn't really the day for picking players out because they were all absolutley outstanding, even the subs as Jonny Evans did a sterling job when he replaced O'Shea at left back at half time. But Park, Valencia and Vidic were magnificent and how on earth are we going to replace Giggs when the dreaded time comes for him to hang up his boots.

The BBC 's Phil McNulty feels that this title belongs to Fergie as much as it does to the players as he has expertly guided a less than stellar squad to another title. After yesterday's performance that sounds a little churlish, but then you think of last week and you realise that there is something in that. Daniel Taylor writes of Fergie basking in the euphoria of that 19th title and also writes correctly that you can't contrive an atmosphere as yesterday's scenes reminded him why Bobby Charlton had described Old trafford as the theatre of dreams.
James Lawton describes how United, once again, delivered when it mattered most and marvels at the extraordinary self belief installed by the man at the top.

Fergie admits that when he spoke of knocking Liverpool off their perch he never believed he would be standing there needing just one more point from two games away from making it 19 titles and making United the most successful domestic club in the country. Alan Hansen describes the pain that will be felt at Anfield at watching yesterday's events, i typed that with an enormous smile on my face, can't think why.
I love this picture of Ferdinand and Van Der Sar at the final whistle yesterday.

Dwight Yorke, king of pornography, believes Fergie wil go on and on, he knows nothing else and is still the master. Merseyside won't like reading that either. Denis Law is no fan of Mourinho and believes that the United faithful wouldn't put up with his style of football. I know where he is coming from and agree that Mourinho is not a "United style manager", but i'm not sure that half the glory hunting day tripper type fans we have nowadays would understand that.

I thought this was quite a good article from Alistair Campbell on the recent drama United about the events of the Munich air disaster. And it toally agree, that whilst it may well have been factually inaccurate at times, the overall tone of it was excellent and evoked the events superbly.

The tributes have flooded in for Seve over the weekend, Ian Ladyman reveals why we all loved Seve. Sam Torrance describes why he was an inspiration for all, whilst James Lawton talks of his fierce commitment. Compatriot Jose Maria Olazabal said no tribute could do justice to all he has done for us and golf. Colin Montgomerie spoke of him being golf's Muhammad Ali, Senna and Pele.

United go for three points to make it 19

Henry Winter gets carried away and calls to tomorrows supposed title decider El Climactico. Whilst their is absolutley getting away from the magnitude of this encounter i'm still not sure you can call it the title decider. That last Sunday of the season Chelsea have got to go to Goodison and we have Blackpool at home. The permutations that i take from that are we could lose tomorrow, not that i think it will happen and still lift the crown on the last day of the season. I wouldn't want to have to go to Everton needing to win and maybe to having to score three or four goals. So whilst if we win, it's good night Vienna for the rent boys, should the worst happen, it's not a totally lost causeas they are not playing Wigan at home this time.
Still as i said i'm pretty confident it won't come to that. In fact if i'm honest, i'm as worried about Blackburn away as i am about tomorrow. It's hard to be confident about any away fixture this season and i'm not sure if it would be a good thing for them to be completely safe or still in slight danger of relegation.
Fergie confirms that Rooney will be fit to face Chelski tomorrow and that the changes were crucial to give us the best chance tomorrow, unlike last year's encounter which i presume he is referring to. 
Lee Dixon thinks anything can happen tomorrow and agrees with me that we could lose tomorrow and still win the title on the last day of the season. He thinks we should fear Drogba, he is a good player, but he has never really been outstanding at Old trafford, in fact he has been quite the opposite on a couple of occasions. James Lawton thinks United will edge the game and title chase but believes Ancelotti will go out his own man, and that means including Drogba in front of Torres. The Mail looks at United's home form with just two points dropped and one goal conceeded.
Kevin McCarra wonders where the challenge to the top two is to come from, no doubt there are hundreds of Berties with pen in hands as i type this.

United's brightest young hope is in trouble again, there isn't much you can say about this, i mean the potential glory, affluenceand he seemingly is quite happy to fuck it all up. I can't see how United or indeed any football club could put up with this if he got anywhere near the first team, the tabloids would have a field day dragging the club through the mud. And you would have to admit if only half of it was true that they would be entitled to.

Ryan Giggs hopes to lay the ghost of Rome 2009 at Wembley, he still hasn't sat down to watch that game again, he aint alone, i haven't even watched any highlights just like i haven't and won't watch highlights of this years FA cup semi final. He didn't a great game that night, but who did, with Ronaldo in front of him, playing for himself and Carrick and Anderson having a night to forget he didn't really stand much of a chance of influening the game. I fancy he will influence this game, even if it's from the bench.
Kevin Garside believes United must stay true to their own traditions in their quest to defeat Barcelona and lift a fourth champions league final.

Is Laurent Blanc aka Larry White about to lose the top job in France over race quota row. He would still be one of the main contenders to succeed Fergie as his main point which was not racist about skilful players over strong athletic ones is something that United follow throroughly and look at this season's youth team.

What a start Lancashire have had to the season with an unbelievable third four day victory to top the table. Not many people saw this coming. Still let's not get too carried away too soon.

Tributes poor in for "the king of European Golf" as Seve loses his battle against cancer. Not the greatest, but surely the most exciting and most charismatic Golfer of the age.

Deborah Orr blames the Lib dems and implicitly Clegg for the humliation that the yes camp received in Thursday's referendum. It would some of the Lib dems can't wait to get their digs in at Clegg already as Cable describes the tories as ruthless and tribal something he admitted some of the party had understood all too well. And who prey didn't, the leader of the party? Gary Gibbon talks of a massive political misjudgement by the Lib dems.
Polly Toynbee argues that whilst the night was an unmitigated disaster for the Lib dems the night was pretty bad for Labour and wonders where it goes from here. George Eaton asks where did it all go wrong for Labour in Scotland which was almost as big as disaster for the party as the voting reform defeat was for the Lib dems.

Steve Richards thinks the seeds of Clegg's current woes come from his the moment of his seemingly greatest triumph. Richards always seems fairer or should that be more sympathetic towards Clegg than other centre left pundits. But it's hard to feel sympathy towards someone who has inflicted such momumental and long lasting damage to the liberal left cause.
Paul Mason looks at the most charismatic, successful and dominant British politician of the moment, Alex Salmond, who ironically enough would like to be the man to dismantle the British state. I think he is going to be the dominant politician in Scottish politics for years to come, and Labour's only chance to change their fortune north of the border would be to entice Brown or someone of that magnitude into the leadership of the Scottish labour party.

Cristina Odone tells us to watch out for Chris Huhne who has been positioning himself to take advantage of Clegg's self inflicted agonies. I would want someone more to the left, but if they fuck up their next leadership choice they may well be finished for years.
Nick Robinson wonders who has really won tonight, adding Cameron and Salmond may be wise to be careful what you wish for.

Manchester United 4-1 Schalke 04

Well Fergie was true to his word as he replaced 9 of the eleven starters from the first leg. I have to admit that i thought and hoped that he might give Ferdinand and Vidic the night off, but when he told the press that he was going to make changes he had stated that he would keep a strong defence. He really can't help himself sometimes can he, not only did Smalling and Evans come in for the pair he changed both full backs as well.
As suspected it was no real risk, they really aren't that good. I heard that somebody had described them as the worst semi finalists he had seen in the competition, they may well be but i presume he saw Lyon take on Bayern last season as they were piss poor as well. That was what made losing to Bayern so painful, because as poorly as we ended the season last year we couldn't have failed to beat them.
It turned out to be one of those nights as the men who came into the team all seemed to be on song, even Gibson had an excellent game. It was he who played the ball of the night to put Valencia for the first goal of the night. And it was the Irishman who got a second not long after, with more than a little help from German wonder keeper Neuer. I wonder whether Bayern were watching that.
The Germans did get one back before half time, but any dounts that United might stumble had long since gone. The second half saw United give as good an exhibition of attacking football as we have seen for some time at Old trafford as Berbatov led the line well and Valencia caused mayhem down the right hand side. It was Nani on the left who created the third that was slotted home by Anderson. When Anderson finished off another classic move getting on the end of Berbatov's excellent ball you really knew it was one of those nights where everything clicks.
So now for Wembley, Barcelona and the hope of getting a ticket.

Has Fergie started the mind games already, only kidding, i'm not sure what Mourinho can tell him that he doesn't already know though. All we can ask for is that this time we turn up and if we are to go down we at least show some fight, unlike Rome.
Jim White looks ahead to the final and makes the case for the inclusion of the man so badly missed in Rome, Darren Fletcher. He will have to play a few games before the final if he is to have a chance of making the final you would have though. I have to admit that i would be trying to find a way of getting him into the line up. If we are to play 4-4-2 with Rooney dropping deep the only way would seem to be playing Giggs on the left, we shall see.

Whilst praising Barca as a fantastic football team Fergie insists United are not scared of the Catalan giants and will have to work out a way of countering their magnificent passin game. I'm just hoping it's a positive response, not the anti-football that Mourinho tried to use with Real.

Daniel Taylor thought Scholes did enough last night to show that he still has one more season in him, though there is a feeling within the club that he might call it time at the end of the season. The fact he has announced that he will be bringing an autobiography out next September as well as having a testimonial isn't good news for all us ginger prince lovers either.

Andy Mitten looks back at el Classico.

Jon Snow contrasts the fortunes of presidents Carter and Obama and looks at why there are still dangers ahead for Obama. It would have been better if they could have got their story right first time, but i can go along with the fog of war argument.

Roy Greenslade looks at the arguments against super injunctions and privacy and isn't convinced the media is in the right.

Bennedict Brogan thinks that whilst Clegg looks like a loser, he is really a winner, well we will see after tonight. Steve Richards writes that the referendum is a big moment, whatever the outcome.

Party poopers are red

If United manage to defeat Chelsea for the third time in a row on Sunday, we can go on to secure the trophy on May 14th at Blackburn Rovers twenty minutes before the kick off of the FA cup final, that manages to involve which club? How ironic would that be, shades of 1967-68, still we have got to do the business on Sunday yet though, so i'll think about that after Sunday. The FA are confident that the FA cup final will not have its thunder stolen should that happen, they cannot be serious.
To be honest this is more what the FA deserve than City, the FA cup final should be last game of the season and in it's need to make as much money as possible to pay of the building of the stadium the FA was willing to trample all over tradition. I suppose at least they can't blame that on United. It would be nice to embarrass the FA and piss of City if we did lift the trophy at Ewood park it.
I'd like to see United put Old trafford up for a future Champions league final as that would get the FA back, in a small way admittedly, for them seemingly making the rules up as they have gone along against us this season. I presume that would mean that Wembley wouldn't see another champions league final for many a long year. You'd get a better atmosphere at Old trafford anyway.

Unsurprisingly United will ring the changes tonight with a two goal first leg cushion and Sunday's crunch encounter with the rent boys. As soon as we ended the first leg with a two goal cushion i expected this, i don't think Sunday comes into it, Fergie would have rung the changes anyway. Sunday does throw into stark relief as have other games that our squad isn't strong enough at the moment to cope with three big games on the trot.
I'd expect Smalling to start in place of Ferdinand, who is not 100% fit and hasn't really been since he came back to the squad, but his experience has been vital. He can't really believe that he is back to his very best though, surely, he's just about getting through games, that isn't the Ferdinand of 2008. Evra may well be rested and i expect Carrick will not start. Fergie has already made it clear Rooney will not start and has intimated that neither will Hernandez. Whether Rooney actually has anything wrong with him, you can only wonder.
That would leave Scholes to re-enter the centre of our midfield but who plays alongside the ginger prince? I would like to see Fletcher as if he is going to be properly match fit and 100% for a possible champions league final he needs to get some game under his belt. He will be vital for that game, he may not have had his best season, but i would want him in the team, or at least on the bench for a Wembley final. The thought of Anderson or Park in the centre of the park against Xavi, Iniesta and con would fill me with dread. Berbatov up front picks itself, though i'm not sure where the MEN gets its headline from. He will either be in Fergie's future already or he won't, i don't see tonight making any difference whatsoever.

After last night's sealing up of their semi final victory against their old enemy Real, Pepe Guardiola admits he expects to face United in the final and expects a different proposition to events in Rome. We fucking hope so, that was such a non event, it was untrue. It wasn't that we got beat so much as the lack of fight when we were trying to chase the game. Don't get me wrong they were worthy winners that night, but they didn't have to be at their best to beat us, they didn't have to play anywhere near their best. That was what hurt that night.
We couldn't keep the ball, were totally ineffectual up front apart from the first ten minutes and conceeded two soft goals. It wasn't our best night, at the very least you want United to go down fighting, and it has to be said that on that night we went down with a whimper.

How many games ban would Rooney have got for this!

It seems blindingly obvious that he meant that, one rule for us...

Mervyn King warns than an interest rise would be be unwise for an economy facing massive challenges. Hamish McRae argues that one beneficial side effect to the news that the Obama ordered US operation to remove Obam Bin Laden will be the slighlt larger chance that Obama may be able to start getting measures through congress in an effort to start cutting US debt. I would imagine that will be a small window of opportunity and he had better strike whilst the iron is hot.
The Economist reports on the problem of the decline of the working man, will Obama getting to grips with the debt, be good news for these i wonder. On a similar note Jeremy Warner reports on the scourge of inequality which has been a growing problem all over the developed world effecting even Scandanavian countries. I can't accept that the long term answer is better training, it's miles more structural than that.

Caroline Proust, star of Spiral gives us the run through of the third series of the biggest French TV export that broke the mould in its native copuntry.


Music
Big star - Radio City: The follow up to the brilliant debut No. 1 Record, recorded after Chris Bell left Alex Chilton isn't as perfect an album as its predecessor, but it still has some great tunes on it.

Femi Kuti - Africa for Africa: Another excellent piece of afrobeat from one of the Kuti musical dynasty. His sons stuff is probably more accessible than Fela's stuff due to them leaving the extended jams out. Cracking stuff though.

Gil Scott Heron -I'm new here: This is a blinding album from the veteran protest singer, short but very sweet, in the right way.

Lobi Traore -Rainy season blues: Malian guitar blues and very nice too, in a similar vein to Al Farka Toure. Great guitar playing and some decent songs.

The Decemberists - The king is dead: The latest effort from the US indie folk rock, it's pretty good, i can hear the influences of Neil Young, REM, some Bruce Springsteen and British 60's folk rock. Peter Buck appears on the album so that explains the REM influence.

The Sand Band - All through the night: The latest scouse band to gain critical kudos, their inspiration is more US alt country than psychedelia. I have seen them to bands like Calexico, and that's fair enough. It's not bad but not as good as say Calexico at their best.

Warpaint - The fool: Debut album from the US all female indie quartet, and this really delivers the goods. I'm not sure who to compare it to, it's on the progressive art rock side of things and boasts some excellent tunes.

Arsenal 1-0 Manchester United

On Tuesday we saw the Dr Jekyll side of Manchester United and yesterday as if one cue away from home we reverted to Mr Hyde. I didn't expect a scintillating performance from us yesterday but i thought we would come away with at least a point. But a combination of the home team having a point to prove and another miserable performance from the engine room of our team left us coming away with nothing and facing a crunch game next Sunday.
United started slowly which was understandable enough, it's what generally happens after a big European night especially away from home. But for all Arsenal's dominance and possession they hardly tested Van Der Sar. Slowly but surely United got into the game but the fact that Fabio looked as dangerous as anybody in a United shirt probably summed up our first half.
In games like this where we struggle to control the game, Hernandez can become a luxury, his game is not about holding the ball up and bringing others into the game. Sometimes though, that's what you need. I'm not blaming Anderson for the defeat yesterday he was no worse than anybody else, but i still don't know where that self confidence in Saturday's Indy interview comes from. He didn't bring much energy, freshness or anything at all to the central midfield. We were screaming out for a Fletcher and then later on a Giggs or a Scholes to bring on later in the game yesterday. I can't disagree with this assessment from today's Guardian, we have all known we are too light in midfiled all season. It may be that we see some of the youngsters coming through, getting a game here and there next season and of course we have Cleverley coming back next season. Souness made a fair point before yesterday's encounter about whether Sniejder would be a sensible target when his position would be exactly the same as that that which has brought about the rejuvenation of Rooney. I can't really see us paying the type of money needed to buy a Sneidjer on a central midfield player anyway.
When we reached half time all square i was reasonably relaxed to be honest as i felt we woul get better in the second half. We certainly started to see more of the ball as the game progressed, but we still didn't really look like troubling their goal. It was ironic that they then went and scored when the game seemed to be drifting nowhere. I don't buy the notion that Arsenal were the better team and deserved the points yesterday. They started well and certainly defended better than they normally do, but they scored with virtually their only shot on target in the match against a very ordinary United side.
Fergie rang the changes in search of an equaliser but it just seemed to be one of those days when it was never going to happen. We certainly should have had a penalty when Owen we broguht down in the last ten minutes but that only evened things up after Vidic's first half handball that could have even seen him sent off. I'm still confident we will get a result against the rent boys next Sunday, but only if a few players are rested on Wednesday and that Giggs is in the starting eleven or at least on the bench. Against City and now Arsenal he was badly missed.

Whilst Fergie agreed that Vidic was lucky to not give away a penalty in the first half, he still thinks that United don't get the decisions in the big games. Evra says blame the players, not the referee, after yesterday's encounter, we didn't play the Man Utd way and didn't deserve anything.

Fergie is still talking to Scholes and trying to persuade him to carry on for one more season. We can see why after yesterday, not so much starting the game, but coming on when we were chasing the game. 

Ahead of yesterday's game Gary Neville wrote of his favourite five United Arsenal encounters, it's a great piece, and his opinion of the famous tunnel game is fascinating.


Alan Hansen thinks the current United squad is ill equipped to stop Barcelona in a champions league final should both teams progress after the mid week second legs. They are certainly a better side than us, i don't think the most blinkered red would deny that, but in a one off game, anything can happen. One of my biggest worries if we do face them, is our terrible record at Wembley, where we never seem to play well or look like scoring.
Rory Smith writes of the real motivation behind Fergie's quest for more champions league glory should we get to Wembley on the 28th May. Henry Winter looks at the career of Cristiano Ronaldo since he left Old trafford for the Bernabeu and how the grass isn't always greener.

The anti-Mourinho league grows by one as Otmar Hitzfeld slags of the special one, labelling him as a boor and his tactics as shaming Real Madrid, ouch.
Andy Cole looks at hatred off the pitch and how it affects professional footballers.

I'm glad to see a few more Republican articles and a bit less of the gut churning sychophancy that we saw in the press last week. Mary Ann Sieghart thinks the public won't put up with King Charles if he doesn't wind his neck in. Well that's what us republicans are lloking forward to, all the evidence suggests he is incapable of not meddling where his position demands he doesn't.
Nick Cohen takes issue with the notion that the royal family are neutral and non political, whilst Will Hutton groups them with the modern conservative establishment as its snub to Blair and Brown proved. Even uber Blairite John Rentoul has seen his arse over the royal family and the Tory parties machinations last week. Well i hope all thses people have long memories and the gumption to do something about getting even eventually.

Two differing views from the tory side of the predicament of the coalition, Norman Tebbit unsurprisingly thinks it is a coalition held together through fear, 
Tim Montgomerie thinks David Cameron should ready himslef for an early election.

With the news of the death of Osama Bin Laden, John Snow looks at the lessening of his influence as the Arab spring showed. James Forsyth points to the questions that will now be asked about the role of the Pakistani intelligence agency, especially with the location of where he had been holed up.

The Economist looks at a country on the verge of constitutional upheaval, well we can only hope. I didn't think i would be as gutted as i will be if the opinion polls are proved to have been right on Friday morning.

The brilliant Ray Davies of the Kinks gave a rare interview in yesterday's Observer, a riveting read. I love the Kinks. I saw him in town in the nineties touring with his one man show, which was actually two men. The anecdotes were great and the music superb, the book that the stories were taken from wasn't half bad either.