I wonder if there are a few pundits who are regretting handing the title already to United earlier this week in the press. Henry Winter put our likely triumph to Fergie's man management skills, claiming that the game is about character as well as about tactics and skill. Actually that is part of his skill, it was interesting watching his response to the press after the game and noticing the marked difference to Mancini's bumbling efforts recently. Unlike earlier in the season, all the praise was for the opposition, you wouldn't have thought we had got totally outplayed by a team near the botton. Keep clam and carry on was the message, which of course is experience that he himself had to learn after the 91-92 title run collapsed under the wight of expectation.
The season's saviour will return to the team for Sunday's encounter with Villa on Sunday afternoon. I wonder if Fergie regrets not having him on the bench at least during Wednesday's clash at Wigan. Before he made his comeback i had lamented the fact of his retirement after the home defeat to Blackburn as the kind of game we probably wouldn't have lost with him in the team. Of course that's a pretty damning indictment of the rest of the squad, but there you go.
Fergie also said that Wednesday's defeat should be put into context after the excellent un we have just had. As bad as Wednesday was i'd go along with that to the extent that we really had no right to expect the kind of run we have just gone on, given the fixtures involved, the injuries we have suffered and really the mostly moderate form we have shown.
Andy Mitten writes how United themselves are shocked that they are in the position they are in after the season of injuries and squad transition. Interesting to note that within the club there is a recongnition of what a fair few of us believe that the premier league is as weak as it's been for some time. I can't really believe that anybody can argue the case against, i have read Gary Nevilee explain he thinks that it's a blip, can anybody seeing it being that much better next season. If we spend some money we may be better equipped, the same could go for Arsenal if Van Persie stays and maybe with one season's more experience, City will be better equipped for European top level football. But will we be that much nearer Barca or Real, it's hard to see.
Ferdinand is close to ten years at the club and claims he aims to play and stay as long as he can. Well maybe, he has been absolutley vital to our title challenge this season, but when Vidic comes back next season you would expect our Serbian captain to be the ever present at the back next season. After the season Evans has had and the progress he has made during the title run in, and as along as he carries on the good form the long term future of the club demands that he partner him really. Of course there are those who argue Evans plays better with Rio rather than Vidic and i wouldn't really dissent from that view myslef. In fact i would even say that Vidic plays better with Ferdinand next to him. We could do with Smalling having an injury free season next year so he can start to make the progress we need to see in his game.
With season ticket renewal time just around the corner and any price increase also near MUST call on the Glazer's to cut ticket prices. That's obviously never going to happen, which they must know, but will they keep ticket prices basically frozen as they did last year. My bank balance certainly hopes so. Would ticket price freezes be good news for the supposed IPO that we keep being told is going to happen later in the year.
Andy Cole disparages the notion of playing semi finals at Wembley in an absolutely bang on column, and he is as right for the fans as for players in saying that semi finals are usually better than the finals that follow them. That is obviously even more the case now as if you get through the semi it just feels like one more trip to make instead of the big day out it used to be, however umemorable most finals were.
I'm no fan of Alan Davies but i can't see what he said wrong of Liverpool's refusal to play football on the anniversary of the Hillsbrough disaster. As far as i know every other club that has suffered disasters throughout their history manage to do it.
Talking of which David Conn looks at the actions of the South Yorkshire police and it's handling, should that be mishandling of the battle of Orgreave and the Hillsbrough tragedy. The allegations have the ring of truth about them.
The budget aftermath just keeps on coming as fuck up after fuck up is picked up by interested parties and the press. Richard Murphy asks if we have reached a tipping point on tax avoidance. Whilst Polly Toynbee harps back to an old hobby horse of hers asking for the tax and finances of every citizen to be made open to public scrutiny. Camilla Swift looks at the case of Norway, one of the Scandanavian countries that alreay operate a scheme like this.
The Euro nightmare has resurfaced this week, Amrose Evans- Pritchard reports that Spanish Bond yields head back to the dangerous 6% mark. Jonathan Portes describes the European commision as doing its best to destroy the Spanish economy. Charlemagne in the Economist warns the Europe must think the unthinkable, as the worst outcome would be a disorderly break up of the Eurozone.
Paul Krugman argues we are already in a great depression and it could be a long time before we get out of it.
It' been an interesting couple of months in China to put it mildly, Martin Jacques explains why Beijing's current power struggle is more important than the forthcoming US presidential election. Jonathan Fenby argues China is deeply flawed and its future domiance is not inevitable. I have recently bought a couple of his books on Chinese history, though it will be a while before i get around to reading them as i'm trying to rip through everything i have got about Lloyd George at the moment.
The Economist plots the recent downfall of Bo Xilai in what surely the most surreal political story around at the moment.
There is some cracking stuff on this psychedelic compilation from India of all places.
The season's saviour will return to the team for Sunday's encounter with Villa on Sunday afternoon. I wonder if Fergie regrets not having him on the bench at least during Wednesday's clash at Wigan. Before he made his comeback i had lamented the fact of his retirement after the home defeat to Blackburn as the kind of game we probably wouldn't have lost with him in the team. Of course that's a pretty damning indictment of the rest of the squad, but there you go.
Fergie also said that Wednesday's defeat should be put into context after the excellent un we have just had. As bad as Wednesday was i'd go along with that to the extent that we really had no right to expect the kind of run we have just gone on, given the fixtures involved, the injuries we have suffered and really the mostly moderate form we have shown.
Andy Mitten writes how United themselves are shocked that they are in the position they are in after the season of injuries and squad transition. Interesting to note that within the club there is a recongnition of what a fair few of us believe that the premier league is as weak as it's been for some time. I can't really believe that anybody can argue the case against, i have read Gary Nevilee explain he thinks that it's a blip, can anybody seeing it being that much better next season. If we spend some money we may be better equipped, the same could go for Arsenal if Van Persie stays and maybe with one season's more experience, City will be better equipped for European top level football. But will we be that much nearer Barca or Real, it's hard to see.
Ferdinand is close to ten years at the club and claims he aims to play and stay as long as he can. Well maybe, he has been absolutley vital to our title challenge this season, but when Vidic comes back next season you would expect our Serbian captain to be the ever present at the back next season. After the season Evans has had and the progress he has made during the title run in, and as along as he carries on the good form the long term future of the club demands that he partner him really. Of course there are those who argue Evans plays better with Rio rather than Vidic and i wouldn't really dissent from that view myslef. In fact i would even say that Vidic plays better with Ferdinand next to him. We could do with Smalling having an injury free season next year so he can start to make the progress we need to see in his game.
With season ticket renewal time just around the corner and any price increase also near MUST call on the Glazer's to cut ticket prices. That's obviously never going to happen, which they must know, but will they keep ticket prices basically frozen as they did last year. My bank balance certainly hopes so. Would ticket price freezes be good news for the supposed IPO that we keep being told is going to happen later in the year.
Andy Cole disparages the notion of playing semi finals at Wembley in an absolutely bang on column, and he is as right for the fans as for players in saying that semi finals are usually better than the finals that follow them. That is obviously even more the case now as if you get through the semi it just feels like one more trip to make instead of the big day out it used to be, however umemorable most finals were.
I'm no fan of Alan Davies but i can't see what he said wrong of Liverpool's refusal to play football on the anniversary of the Hillsbrough disaster. As far as i know every other club that has suffered disasters throughout their history manage to do it.
Talking of which David Conn looks at the actions of the South Yorkshire police and it's handling, should that be mishandling of the battle of Orgreave and the Hillsbrough tragedy. The allegations have the ring of truth about them.
The budget aftermath just keeps on coming as fuck up after fuck up is picked up by interested parties and the press. Richard Murphy asks if we have reached a tipping point on tax avoidance. Whilst Polly Toynbee harps back to an old hobby horse of hers asking for the tax and finances of every citizen to be made open to public scrutiny. Camilla Swift looks at the case of Norway, one of the Scandanavian countries that alreay operate a scheme like this.
The Euro nightmare has resurfaced this week, Amrose Evans- Pritchard reports that Spanish Bond yields head back to the dangerous 6% mark. Jonathan Portes describes the European commision as doing its best to destroy the Spanish economy. Charlemagne in the Economist warns the Europe must think the unthinkable, as the worst outcome would be a disorderly break up of the Eurozone.
Paul Krugman argues we are already in a great depression and it could be a long time before we get out of it.
It' been an interesting couple of months in China to put it mildly, Martin Jacques explains why Beijing's current power struggle is more important than the forthcoming US presidential election. Jonathan Fenby argues China is deeply flawed and its future domiance is not inevitable. I have recently bought a couple of his books on Chinese history, though it will be a while before i get around to reading them as i'm trying to rip through everything i have got about Lloyd George at the moment.
The Economist plots the recent downfall of Bo Xilai in what surely the most surreal political story around at the moment.
There is some cracking stuff on this psychedelic compilation from India of all places.
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