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