Evra vindicated!

I can't say i was thrilled that this case got to this stage, not because i don't think racism isn't a serious problem and should be tackled, i do, but because this basically boiled down to one man's evidemce against another. Compare to the John Terry scenario, which seems to be an open and shut case for me, even if the police don't prosecute how can the FA not come down on him like a ton of bricks after this. It's hard to see hime going to European championships in the summer as captain, though given our FA, who knows?
From what evidence we have, all along United and Evra have observed the FA's intsructions not to talk to the press, you can only imagine that Suarez has effectively hung himself out to dry, unless the full details have not been made public that is. The Liverpool statement released after the decision was announced was farcical, as one wag said last night, Gary Cook is alive and well and back in football. Whether Suarez had been found guilty or not Liverpool FC's conduct during this whole episode is almost as worthy of investigation.
James Lawton wrote this morning that a completely independent panel found the cannibal of Ajax unequivocally gulity, so i think we should assume that the evidence was there.
Things are going to be hot the next time we play the fuckers, and even hotter the next time we play at Anfailed as needless to say this is more than a bit of a disaster for their season. Andy Carroll and Liverpool's transfer strategy is about to receive some unwanted attention.
Mark Ogden writes that Evra is bound to feel vindicated by the decision after his four game ban over the Chelsea groundsman incident.

On a more wholesome note Phil Jones tells the MEN that he is having the time of his life at United, it's got to be said he is making United fans life that bit more pleasurable at the moment. He tells them he can't believe that things are going as well, well i suppose he probably couldn't have imagined being such a big hit in the middle of the park.
Wilf McGuiness warns reds not to burden Jones with comparisons with the incomparable Duncan Edwards, he's good, very good but Edwards was a one off. Saying that he sees echoes of Keano and Robbo in him and argues that midfield should the position that Fergie utilises him in, like me he thinks you would be wasting too much of his game as a defender.
As for us tonight more of the same please, that means an unchanged team as much as performance. I know there are going to be plenty of chopping and changing over the new years period, but this is one of the harder games of this run and we need to keep the form going as well as keep the points coming. If Rafael is fit i would bring him in on boxing day as well as giving Hernandez a run out. Of course that means keeping Welbeck and Rooney together again tonight.

A decent piece from the Irish examiner that was on Red News website yesterday comparing the way Fergie operates to the way Keano still blazes about. The nub being that Keano is too honest, and whilst that makes him a brilliant interviewee, it's not going to help his managerial ambitions. That is pretty much the crux of the matter, i would find hard to disagree with anything Keane said about Fergie and yet, would i have any other manager at United to replace him? not on your life, i dread the day he goes.
Andy Mitten gives thanks for free speech and Keano's willingness to go where others won't, whether it incurs Fergie's wrath or not.

United have a decision to make over the future of Dimitar Berbatov, Mark Ogden wonders whether they will invoke the option they have on his contract or will they allow him to talk to interested parties. The option that allows the Glazers to recoup some of the £30 million sjelled out on him i suspect, so they will take the option and then sell him in the summer. Unless they are really desperate right now that is. With the plans to part float still on hold, who knows where we are at financially, with the state of the financial markets i can't see that going ahead any time soon. There no more popular in Florida these days it seems.

The Beckham bandwagon has stalled, it was assumed that his next decision would be gay Paris and PSG, but he hasn't made his mind up apparently. Maybe he is waiting for the word from Fergie, well we need a creative midfielder.

Lancashire CCC batsmen Stephen Moore shares his thoughts on last years success and hpo Lancashire are planning for long term success as pre season training begins. Pretty interesting to hear him talk about the small squad's part in the success, of course you have to have luck going in that direction.

Michael Billington reminds us that we should remember Vaclav Havel the playwright as well as Havel the statesman.
As one modern great dies, one modern tyrant shuffles of this mortal coil, i have to admit that every time i saw a picture of Kim Jong Il it always led to me thinking of the film Team America: world police. This Independent piece reminds us why we shouldn't falling into the trap of just laughing at such evil men.

David Hearst desribes Putin's rule of Russia as a giant car boot sale with its wealth and brains flowing out of the country. I'm not much of a fan of Mary Dejevsky's musings but this was worth a read, she wrote that there is a palpable concern in Russia's power structures that a decade of stability could be drawing to a close. That may well be true, but it doesn't really explain the booing and demonstrations that seem to have sprung up out of nowhere. It wasn't the power structure out on the streets demonstrating.
The Economist talks of cracks appearing which show that Putin should clean up the Kremlin and the Russian economy for the countries sake and for his own. With all those oligrachs and all that bent money, surely easier said than done. Jonathan Steele describes the protests as the end of an era as the people finally run out of patience with the rigid, lawless elites.

I have just finished watching the excellent City of men which was written and made by the same people behind City of god. It's more light hearted than the film, even though it still examines the tensions behind the surface of the Brazillian city. But one thing i do get from watching it is how alien Manchester must be to any Brazillians that end up at either of the Manchester clubs.



Music
Amos Lee - Mission bell: Decent stuff from the US singer/songwriter, not the best of the genre, but very listenable.

Battles - Gloss drop: The second album and first down to a three piece, it got middling reviews with most thinking it was step down from their excellent debut. I actually think it's almost as good, just one or two songs short of the debut.

Chilly Gonzales - The unspeakable: An orchestral hip hop album, doesn't sound promising, but it's actually pretty good. As usual it's the music that hits me first and that's excellent.

Grateful dead - American beauty: I had honestly never heard the San Francisco hippy giants before listening to this. From everything i have read this seems to be pretty atypical, but i really like the folk rock Byrdsian ytpe songs on it.

Gruff Rhys - Candylion: I 'm not going to suprise anybody by saying i love this, as with his recent Hotel shampoo this is on the poppier side of the super furries.

Wayne Shorter - Adam's apple: Excellent stuff again from Shorter not quite at the top of their game, but there's some brilliant stuff on the album.