Flecther the lastest midfield pin to be bowled over !

I can't say i was amazed by the news that United have officially announced that Darren Flecther is taking an extended break from football for health reasons. As i have wrote, the fact that he was left out of the Basel game was the most obvious sign yet that something was amiss.
As the Telegraph writes he is basically fighting to save his career and after reading up on the illness on Wikipedia you have got to wonder how much chance he really has. It's amazing that he managed to get back to playing at all this season after what he must have been going through. But we have to be honest, it's been all too apparent he hasn't been the player that made him a player Fergie always went to for the big games. We all know how much we missed him in the 2009 defeat in Rome, even if after our defeat last May at Wembley we now know we aren't on the same level as Barca.
It seems that he is very well thought of as a man as well as a highly regarded footballer if that is any comfort to him as he faces his fight to regain his health, as much as, hopefully save his career. Henning Berg talks about his first appearance in the United squad and how the first teamers were taken aback by the quality and self confidence of the young Scot. It's easy to forget that Fergie wanted to put him into the first team at just 16. Of course he then suffered injury after injury and i have often wondered if we would have seen the best of him in a red shirt earlier if he hadn't basically missed two to three years of football.

Of course this was probably the last news that Fergie needed at this particular moment in time, the loss of yet another central midfield player. If we are going to be critical, we would wonder why Fergie didn't make at least one midfield acqusition in the summer, when he must have had an inkling that Fletcher had every chance of a relapse. On this it's hard to be too critical, we know he tried to get Sneijder and Nasri, and that financial demands meant we had know chance with those two. I can't say i am a fan of buying for buying sake, they have got to be United quality and have the kind of character that Fergie wants in a player. I know we laugh when Fergie says no value in the market, but there is something to that.
I can't see us buying in the transfer window, all the rumours suggest that is the last thing the Glazer's will sanction. But the summer will have to see business done or City will start pull away from us, and the rest, to dominate the English game the way we have done. How much faith can you have in the gimps though.
Given that papers are in the business of making money, more than selling us facts, it aint going to stop them speculating and that has already begun. The Telegraph look at Rodwell as a player that United have looked at in the past and could go back in for. I'm in two minds on him, he can obviously play but what is his position and will he be consistent or good enough for us. Everton are in a mess financially and would probably have no option to sell if we went in with a big enough bid, but i really can't see it happening. Is yet another young player of potential really what is required at this moment in time, probably noteven if fuds were available.
If we weren't still suffering the financial pain of paying for the priviledge of the Glazers borrowing to buy us the ideal signing would be an experienced player, 28-30 years old who could see us through until the youngsters start to hopefully make the grade. But how does that fit in with the Glazer's ridiculous policy of not buying players of 27 or over because they would have no sell on value. This current period of time is making that look like the totally preposterous nonesense it always was.

Paul Ince thinks United need to spend to take the pressure of Wayne Rooney, and he has some shopping list, fuck me, is he even partially aware of the financial state of the club. When he mentions Modric and then Iniesta he shows he seems to have lost all touch with reality. I agree that those are the standard of player we should be looking at, but even if we could afford them, doubtful as that is, Modric apparently wants to stay in the smoke and why the fuck would Iniesta want to leave Barca.

I would have loved the draw we have just had in the Europa league if i wasn't skint, Ajax aren't the club they were and having watched a bit of Dutch football in the last couple of weeks, even in our straightened circumstances it's a tie we should win. But a trip to the Dam, that would be shit hot, i haven't been there since the 2006 pre season tournament that saw Rooney get sent off. It's certainly an easier tie than City's trip to Portual and holders Porto

The Mirror think that Cleverley will be the man Fergie looks to see us through our midfield crisis. I'm not doubting him as a player, i rate him highly, even if as others have pointed out it's ridiculous to be relying on a 22 year old who has about 5 or 6 first team starts to his name, but the bigger problem is so far in his career he has proven to be pretty injury prone.
Mark Ogden reveals that Fergie has ralled his troops ahead of the run of games in December that could see us make ground on City. The ironic thing reading that, is that Fergie's motivational speech was given ahead of the Basel debacle. Still this is the time to try and put some pressure on the divs, it will be interesting to see how they respond to their first league defeat on Monday night at the Bridge.
That was a weird game, there is no getting away from how far superior as a team, City are to Chelsea and for the first 25 minutes, City showed it, taking the lead after a minute and then having a blatant penalty knocked back. If that had gone in i would have feared the worst for the rent boys, it could have been another big Cuty away win.
But after that bright opening City coasted and allowed the home team back into it, even if Chelsea didn't particularly look like scoring. The equaliser came out of the blue and if i'm being honest so did the rent boys winner.
City didn't really come out of the traps in the second half, but when Clichy was correctly sent off i thought Mancini would revert to type and set City up to not lose. That he did and to be honest i couldn't see the home team scoring and barring the penlty i don't think they would have.
City's game against Arsenal couldn't have come at a better time for us, we will get a glimpse of how they will fare at the business end of the season. If Arsenal score first how will City react to the first bit of pressure they have faced this season. It's usually a pretty good ground for the gunners so there is some hope for us. After saying all that though, and even allowing for the form Arsenal are in, thanks mainly to Van Persie's current hot streak, i would be suprised to see Arsenal come away with anything.

It seems as though Ryan Tunnicliffe is doing reasonably well at Peterbrough even if he isn't playing as much as he would like. Darren Ferguson wants to keep him for the rest of the season. I went on Red Cafe's forum, i'm not particularly a fan of it, but it's probably the best United forum for keeping up to tabs on United's youngsters, and Peterbrough fans were impressed with him, but though him best as an impact sub at the moment.
That's a fair enough performance at this stage of his career, coming on and being able to change games in the championship and getting the occasional 90 minutes is almost certainly a better learning curve for his career than turning out for the reserves on Thursday night's.
It looks like Robbie Brady will be staying at Hull City where he has impressed during the first half of the season. It's good news when the players can force there way into championship clubs and those clubs want to keep them, it can only do them good.

I watched the reserves stuff a ten man Liverpool 4-0 on a heavy pitch at Altrincham last night and we didn't really learn too much to be honest. It would be nice to see Will Keane and Pogba both going out on loan to get some proper first team experience, but looking at them i get the feeling that neither is really physically ready for it yet. At least that was the most encouraging performance from the Frenchman this season, who knows whether that is good news or not, his contract negotiations haven't appeared in the back pages for over a couple of days.
I was watching Larnell Cole in particular after seeing him in the youth team last season, Scholes singling out of his quality and his promtion to the first team bench for the league cup this season. But i'm afraid he didn't really catch the eye, he couldn't get into the game in the first half stuck out on the right. He was brought into centre of the pitch in the second half and got far more involved in the game. He was neat and tidy but i can't pretend there was anything that got me excited. I will keep an eye on him as i know he has talent and he seems to be well thought of within the club.

Brain McClair is happy with the new academy rules that has seen the 90 minute rule scrapped. I'm not so sure, we should be able to find player from all over England, i think that's right. But i wouldn't want us to go down to the route that he seemed to be suggesting we should go, when discussing that youth team from Barcelona that won one of our tournaments. It's no business of United or any other English football club coaching foreign under 16 players.
Surely we have learned our lesson through Pique, Rossi and maybe even Pogba that youngsters from aboard will have no loyalty to United, they will follow the money or hotter climate's. Of course under the present ownership the thinking may well be that this is good business. That would say something about where we are as a club.
Talking of which, no wonder the Glazer's chose Singapore to host the potential part float if Hong Kong see United as a risk not worth taking a chance on for a pre-season frinedly price of $3 million, i'd be a keeping an eye on that Chinese economy if i was the gimp family. Things aren't looking for a £2 billion valuation at the moment.

This was a pretty disastrous week for Clegg and Milliband, i was going to say leaders of bothe of Britain's centre left parties, but whilst the Lib dems may still just be described as centre left Clegg could never be described as that.
The week was far worse for Clegg, i couldn't believe his response on Friday to Cameron's veto and was sure that there would be some Lib dem response to this tactical disaster, whether resignations or leadership challenge talk. As it was it was Clegg who came out trashing the veto, though a few suspect that he was under orders from Ashdown amongst others to show the Lib dems disgust with what had happened.
Steve Richards claimed that Clegg must now realise to the true nature of his coalition partner, whilst Alistair Campbell thought his Monday no show was pathetic. Bennedict Brogan argued that Clegg's sulk made Cameron's veto look even better, the tories could brealey disguse their glee even if under orders not to show it.
Matthew Norman got to the rub of the matter in his Wednesday Indy column, Clegg is helping his enemies to annihilate his own party, or in even harsher words, he is just not very good at this politics thing is he, i would be winding if i was a Lib dem member every time i saw Clegg and naive in the same sentence at the moment. Frasier Nelson left it until Tuesday to look at where the fallout from the Cameron left the state of British politcs and to be honest it was pretty fair.

At least a bad week for Ed Milliband ended on a bright note with Labour's by-election win in Feltham, but once again the murmerings of unhappiness with his leadership became a talking point of the chattering classes.
As Frasier Nelson pointed out Labour didn't have a coherent response to Cameron's veto and vereybody knew it, once again it made him look indecisive. Then came Wednesday's PMQ's which turned into an utter disaster for the younger Milliband brother, it is not going unnoticed that elder brother David seems to " be on manouevres as one commentator put it, Nicholas Watt wondered if Ed Milliband had just suffered his Westland moment.
I was never a particular fan of either brother, both seem charisma free entities to me, but David does seem to have more gravitas. I have to admit i just can never picture Ed as prime minister in this TV celebrity age, not that that is a good thing. But even worse he appears to be completely out fo his depth when facing Cameron, he doesn't seem to be able to think on his feet.
Andrew Grice is far from alone in thinking that the backbench sniping over his leadership and the tory upturn in the poles should be worrying the labour leadership.
Peter McHugh thinks Cameron can't believe how his fortunes have turned from zero to hero without any planning. Bennedict Brogan appears to think that his present status amongst tory backbenchers won't last as reality bites in Europe.


I am not a fan of Facebook, i never really understood the attraction but i'm a fan of twitter and the death of Christopeher Hitchens is a good example of why it can be so useful. Article after article and quote after quote, serious and ferociously funny have just kept on coming today.
I have read a couple of books and the site that compiled his articles and he was a brilliant writer, nobody could ever agree with everything he ever wrote, but he was always worth reading. I remember the night that Clinton was first elected where he chose to go against the liberal triumphalism, claiming the Clintons were just lwayers on the make. He was way ahead of the curve on that, though whether he was as correct about Clinton's sexual shennanigans in his book No one left to lie to, i'm not so sure.
Of course he was probably most famous for his strident aetheism, especially in god fearing USA. I have always preferred his attacks on religion to Richard Dawkins for the humourous way he went about them. I suppse it was ironic that the last Bitish interview was conducted by Richard Dawkins in this weeks New Satesman.

What the secularist world has lost