Nasri a no, but youngsters could step up to the plate?

Fergie sounds like he has given up on his attempts to prise Sami Nasri away from the emirates in a press conference held not long after the squad arrived in the States, though some journo's have tried to interpret this as part of Fergie mind games. All the press talk and all the rumour was that it would be one of Nasri or Sneijder and that conference seemd to confirm that this was the case. It would seem from the weekend's Modric outburst that Chelsea will be the Croatian's destination, which is a shame because he was the player i would have liked, and he will obviously make Chelsea a better team.
Bryan Robson will be disappointed if the attempt to buy Nasri does fall through as he was the one that he fancied most to do a job at Old traffoed out of the players we have been linked with.
As for United i still don't see Sneijder leaving Inter for less money at United and don't really see where he would have fitted into the scheme of things at United. So if we have given up on Nasri because either Arsenal won't let him go or he will go elsewhere, it looks like the one position that needed addressing in the summer, won't be again.
Paul Scholes and Fergie seem to hint that the answer could well already be at the club with Fergie being quoted as saying that a youngster may come through to be the answer. Paul Scholes talks about last years youth cup winning team and thinks they are probably the best crop of youngsters to have come through since his 92 squad that has took us through so many years. He seems to think that they will be able to hand the physical side of the job and could enter the equation over the next two seasons. I hope he is right, but that does mean we would have to struggle along with a sub standard central midfieled for a while longer if that is the course Fergie follows.

The newly talkative Paul Scholes was at it again over the weekend giving us his thoughts on why England have failed so dismally over the years. He seems to have had a lot of time for Glen Hoddle as an England manager and blasts English players for being too selfish and compares them to the current Barca line up.
Which is why the next manager should discard the current failed lot and start to shape a new team and should be allowed to experiment in the knowledge that they won't be winning any competitions any time soon anyway so he may as well build a new team that can grow together as the Germans did under Klinsman. Of course i don't expect either the FA or our national press to accept that this is the way forward, it's too sensible and too honest about where we are as an international footballing nation.

One of the players that should be involved in that process would be Chris Smalling who is a cert to fill Rio Ferdinand's boots for United and England and United have shown how much faith they have in the youngster by awarding him a new five year contract.
In our excitement towards the end of season with the goals of Hernandez Smalling's brillaint first season tended to get overlooked, but it didn't deserve to be, they were two brilliant signings and with the addition of Jones the centre back position looks to be as strong in depth as it has ever been.
The under 21 tournament hopefully had five United youngsters who will carry the clubs high expectations lightly, they all look like they have the right character for the club. This North America tour will be worth watching if they get a couple of outings later in the tour. Clevrley and Welbeck both did well last season. It's also where we first started to think we may have unearthed a player in Hernandez. The Telegraph reckon he will be the next youngster to have his contract improved, again it will be deserved, well the lenght of it anyway, i don't want to start going on about how much footballers earn again.

Bobby Charlton declares Old trafford's heritage is too important for Manchester United to cop City's example with their £400 million stadium deal which has upset a lot of European clubs as well as Arsenal and Liverpool.
I can't believe that the Glazer's wouldn't do this if they thought they would get more money and could get away with it. But as far as i'm aware it doesn't fit in with their current strategy. Would Charlton come out against it if they changed their mind?

Graham Hunter looks at the two clubs chasing Barca and whilst he thinks it is possibly an impossible task, he is none too impressed by the way Real Madrid are going about it. The grass isn't always greeneris it Ronnie.

Investigative journalist Nick Davies, the man who has fearlessly exposed the wrongdoings of the Murdoch empire and the rest of the pressif you have read his brilliant book Flat earth news explains how the phone hacking scandal has escalated.


Murdoch biographer Michael Wolf explains why News Corp would do well not to keep it in the family. This couldn't have happened to a nicer lot, my heart doesn't bleed. Charles Moore claims that the spell is broken for the media sorcerer with a touch of evil.
Robert Fisk describes his experience of working for Murdoch whilst at the Times in the early part of his career. Paul Mason's view is that this shows once again that the network has beaten the hierarchy, though he is talking about the British establishment or what passed for it as for much as the possible defeat of Murdoch.
The Economist's Bagehot was as impressed and unimpressed with Cameron's performance on Friday morning as most other commentators. They all thought he handled the first part well but looked very unconvincing when asked to explain his decision to appoint Andy Coulson onto his staff. Peter Oborne thinks that Cameron hasn't escaped the sewer yet and after yesterday's non appearance in the commons he still hasn't. I notice fellow right wing columnists having sly digs at Oborne at times, maybe correctly poiting out his lack of consistency. He has been pretty consistent on the malign influence of Murdoch almost alone in the right wing press so i think he won't be worrying too much what his fellow tory hacks think about him.
Iain Martin, not a fan of Cameron argues that this is a disaster for Cameron and it's all his own fault and will last for the rest of this government's term, if not longer. Henry Porter must feel vindicated as he bemoans the fact that over three decades no one dared the perversion by and for Rupert Murdoch. Although all Murdoch haters must welcome the current Labour stance, if they think we have forgotten the way Blair and the last government bent over backwards to give Murdoch everything he wanted, think again.

Left foot forward argues that we mustn't forget the billions in tax that the amoral Murdoch empire has escaped paying whilst having the British establishment in its back pocket. 

Daniel Sift celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century Joseph Heller's Catch 22. I'm not much of a reader of fiction but i have read that and absolutely loved it.

Armando Iannuci interviewed in the Guardian explains the importance of being online and also branching out from the BBC.

The United states of America, classic 60's