Fulham 0-5 Manchester United

I was hoping for more of the same, an unchanged line up and more of the free flowing football we have been served up over the last few games. But Craven cottage has become a hard place to go, especially for United over the last few years, so i would have taken any kind of win at kick off. So for us to come away with a 5-0 was beyond my wildest dreams.
Fulham were poor, there is no getting away from that, but the United of a couple of months back would never have wiped the floor with the west London outfit in such a manner. As on Sunday United started well, a high tempo and with attacking intent. But when Nani got the ball on the half line five minutes into the game, i don't think anybody would have guessed he would just head straight down the touchline to cross for Welbeck to get the goal his recent play deserved. It was yet another great start for the reds and they didn't take their foot of the pedal.
Unfortunately even when things seem to be going great we can't stop picking up injuries. It didn't look good when Jones went down and stayed down, he got back on the pitch, but eventually had to go off with what is suspected to be a broken cheekbone, which if confirmed will keep him out for six weeks. That would be a right bastard, because i have been looking forward to seeing him against City in the FA cup. It doesn't look like that that is going to happen, we are going to need all our best players for that.
The second came via the head of Nani, a collectors item surely, once again i suppose Fulham would be asking questions of their defence. Jones superb displays have been a standout feature of our recent run, but just as influential for me has been the return of Danny Welbeck to the team. He is going to be a great player and United have played almost all their best stuff this season with him in the team. He brings more to the table than Hernandez, the forward line has a lot more fluidity with him harrasing the opposition defence, creating, making space and getting on the end of things. I'm crossing my fingers that he can have an injury free run. It will be great to see him and Cleverley back in the team together, evidence that the future is bright.
The third goal from Giggs, if fortunate killed the game stone dead. I have to say i got a bit greedy at this point i was hoping for a hatful when at the start of the game i would have gladly settled for a 1-0. But to be honest most of the second half was a non event, United coasted through it, Fulham managed to show some fight and i ended up hoping we would keep the three goal lead to better our goal difference.
Then towards the end United picked it up again, Welbeck lifted over the bar when he probably should have scored and then Rooney blasted from distance like we haven't seen for ages. What a great shot, more of that and less of the silly chips please. Berbatov was suprisingly brought on near the end and ended things up to perfection with a lovely back heel type finish. I talk to a guy at half time at Old trafford and after the City debacle i proffered the thought that they would struggle to get that out of their system and we wouldn't see the kind of football we saw during the first six weeks until Christmas, fuck me i got it down to the very week.

It was a tad bizarre how most of the papers yesterday morning seemed to pile the eulogies onto Giggs after last night's performance. Yes he had a decent game but he has played better this season, Michael Crick made a good point on twitter, all the press have mentioned his goal and reported it as his 20th consective season scoring a goal. Try making that 22, there was a world before the premier league. It's sickening the way the pre-premier league are sometimes treated as if they never happened.

Good news on the Phil Jones front, Fergie has told the press this morning that he hasn't broken anything and could be in contention for Monday. Best news of the week that.

United have lost their battle with City over the 3rd round FA cup allocation, suprise, suprise, i suppose there was only going to be one winner. If the FA concede to the home team every time health and safety is brought up we'll end up with no the same allocation as for league games for every cup tie.

Andy Cole reminisces about his time with Roy Keane under Fergie, he was a winner, but knowing the two men he can't see them resolving their differences any time soon. I just can't picture Keano and Denis Irwin toe to toe.

Paul Hayward believes Liverpool's siege mentality over the Suarez case is misguided, they can't help its in their genes.

Peter Oborne sensibly doesn't think giving Margaret Thatcher a state funeral would be a good thing. If they go ahead and have one it should be interesting, i can see some former mining districts having street parties to celebrate her death. I'm no fan obviously and think Oborne is totally wrong to put her in the front rank of prime ministers.
Winning three elections on the bounce and a little war against Argentina, do not a great prime minister make. What will she have actually left behind her that will survive, she decimated british manufacturing, which Thatcherites said didn't matter, it was survival of the fittest. That was always bonkers and of course 2008 was the proof of that.
She liberated the city of London, an d once again we now know that this was a disaster. Her housing policy has proved to be a disaster, you can just go on and on. She set the political climate alright and led this country way to the right of where it was in 1979, but it can't be said to have had a happy ending. She was supposed to have got the country back on its feet after the Butskellite post war period of 1945-75, and here we are in 2011 after 30 years of Thatcherite economics in an even worse position than we were in 1979. And before tories try to pretend that was Labour's fault, get serious they didn't oppose any of the policies followed by Brown that got us into this mess.

Simon Jenkins warns that the cause of this recession was economic pundits ignoring histories voice. Adair Turner talks about shrinking the City, we can make banks safer, but not safe he admits, the big band was a really great idea wasn't it. You can call that admitting that the neo-liberal agenda pushed by all three of our political parties still has been a gigantic disaster.
Yet another arm of the economic consensus, the credit agencies come in for ridicule from Jonathan Portes. For such a useless industry how much do these people get paid, that's what makes me laugh or rather band my head against a wall, they get paid rather well.

Duncan Weldon reads the latest blog from the IMF's chief economist that seems to blow an intellectual hole in the coalition government's economic startegy.

Is Argentina set receive a new wave of European immigration, the guardian report on Europeans arriving in South America in search of a better life.

It's the best albums of the year time again, this is Piccadily records top 100.