QPR 0-2 Manchester United

Three points nearer the title after an afternoon where United never really hit the heights, but to be fair never really had to. As the second half wore on we always looked comfortable at 1-0, even though you always know that's a slender lead that can be wiped out at any minute. You just couldn't see that QPR team providing the moment of inspiration or even luck to bring it about.
Whilst the performance may not have been memorable the first goal was up there with the goals of the season, the second wasn't bad either. United started the game pretty slowly feeling their way into the game, with United seeming as though they were all about doing a job, not taking the opposition apart as they doubtless could have tried to do. United had a couple of chances which Cesar dealt with reasonable easily, a Hernandez header being one of the better chances.
When the goal came, it was definitely worth waiting for. Van Persie twisted his way past his man and got a shot in from a tight angle that Cesar parried clear only for it to fall to Rafael outside the box who didn't think twice, just putting his foot through it and watched it fly into the back of the net. It was a magnificent goal, and topped of possibly his best performance for the club. Later in the half he produced the pass of the match with a magical cross field ball that put Van Persie through only to see Cesar save again. To top it off Rafael then turned goal saver as he cleared of his own line.
It was a slight worry that Van Persie had to go off, not in the context of this game, but in the weeks ahead. Apparently it's not too serious an injury, so we can all breathe a little easier. Welbeck came on and put in his usual stint of hard work, though he had two pretty good chances in the second half and should really have taken one of them. He has definitely developed a bit of a mental block in front of goal at the moment. Rooney came on for Hernandez in the second half, and to be honest their didn't luck much wrong with him to me.
When the second goal did eventually arrive, it was that man Giggs again, Nani feeding him and Giggs hitting a left foot shot across Cesar giving him no chance, a cracking finish capping another excellent performance.
Pity about yesterday's result from the boo camp, but if there was one silver lining from it, going of that performance, Chelsea will have a fight on their hands to guarantee a top four finish

Capable hands is dead, long live the enforcer

So David Gill is off to pastures new in the summer, the only question seems to be whether it will be with the FA or with UEFA. Andy Mitten has wrote that his successor Edward Woodward has a hard act to follow. I'm not qualified to pronounce on that, i can't pretend to have any time for him or to wish him well in the future though, after the events of the takeover in 2005 and then his subsequent actions. I suppose the future will tell whether he is just a yes man, happy to take the money or is indeed the professional administrator some advocate.
As to his successor, we don't really know much about him, except he is from the world of finance that led us to the brink in 2008, indulging in financial smoke and mirrors such as the LBO with which the Glazer's managed to take control of United. And that he is very much the Glazer's man. We will definitely find out what he is made of when Fergie does indeed call it a day. Not just in finding and enticing the right man to succeed Fergie, but in how he will react if the new man takes time to get accustomed to the job, or if indeed they find the right man.
As for Andy Mitten's point, that United need to find better ways of communicating with its local fan base, i won't be holding my breath on that, this is the man that's been whoring the club around the world for the next Mr. Potato and telling the world we have a 600 million worldwide fanbase.

Music

Ariel Pink's haunted graffiti - Mature themes: California is producing some pretty good indie music at the moment and this guy gets better by the album at the moment. Plenty of 80's and even post punk influences to go with those out there lyrics.

Cate le Bon - Cyrk: I saw her a few years back supporting the Super furries at the Ritz a few years back and enjoyed her stuff, but have only just got around listening to her studio stuff. This second album is excellent, i love the Nico, first Velvets sound, she pulls it off well, she's no copyist though, she has her own unique sound.

Charles Mingus - Presents Charles Mingus: I love Charles Mingus, most of his tunes have a really memorable riff at the heart of them, yet they still manage to go way out, how could they not with Eric Dolphy in the band, before returning to that hook, these live performances are really excellent.

Holy Other - Held: Electronica of a superior kind, don't know where he's from, could be Manc, might not be, it's a mystery. Dark, moody stuff.

Laurel Halo - Quarantine: More experimental electronica, this time from the U.S, not as instantly accessible as Holy other, but it gows on the listener, the track Carcass is a superb bit of music.

White Manna - White Manna: Psychedelic/space rock seems to be in vogue at the moment and this is definitely a cracking example of the genre, turn up the volume and enjoy, they could maybe do with a tune or two more to be a really must see live band.

Manchester United 2-1 Reading

Well we're through to the next round, it wasn't a vintage performance, but given the team selected, that wasn't much of a surprise. Too be honest, as long as we get the performance's when it matters, i won't be complaining too much. It's got to that stage of the season, when it's all about the results, sad, but true.
I felt sorry for Cleverley, he misses out on the Bernabeu, and then has to share central midfield duties at home to Reading alongside Anderson, he must have pissed off somebody in another life. They did alright, but you don't half notice it when Carrick is missing. As usual the longer the game went on the less Anderson became involved, he made a couple of surging runs towards the end of his time on the pitch and then either couldn't be bothered to try and track back, or wasn't fit enough, I'll let  you decide.
United created chances but not as many as you would have liked. It took the introduction of Nani for the fairly anonymous Young to really set the game alight. Given the display last night, it looks as if he would like a crack at Real Madrid, putting himself in the shop window for the footballing world to watch. He's definitely an option, though i suspect if he gets onto the pitch for the home leg it will be as a substitute.
Hernandez and Welbeck didn't really shine, but then again they didn't get much service last night, so it's hard to be too critical. Yet Hernandez still ended the night with a goal too his name. Pity it wasn't Welbeck, he could do with a few goals before the end of the season. He had a fair game last night, but a few goals might get some of the critics off his back.
It was nice to see Vidic at the heart of the defence and good to see him getting more and more like the old Vidic with each game. I still don't expect to see him play regularly any more, but it will be good to have something like the old Vidic back, even if it's in alternative games. Smalling had another scratchy game, the ball doesn't seem to be his friend at the moment. I'm not sure what's happened here, when he first arrived, his use of the ball was excellent, but at the moment it's like a hot potato to him. Maybe he's one of those players who needs to play more regularly, that wouldn't really be great news were it too be the case, as i don't think he will get regular runs in the team at the moment.
So Chelsea at home, although the way the rent boys have performed this season, i wouldn't be amazed if Middlesbrough turned them over, especially with them having home advantage. At least we have home advantage for the next round, although my bank balance could have done without yet another home cup tie.

Club versus country ?

Henry Winter regards Phil Jones as too good to be involved in a club v country battle. What the fuck, i didn't even know he was involved in one, but saying he was, who the fuck pays the guys wages.
He may be on to something as regards him finding a settled position, but given his injuries, getting games where he can, would seem the best use of him, for his own career and for United at the moment. I suspect his best position will be centre half, but when he can a do the job that he has done for us recently against first Spurs, then Everton and finally in Madrid he will be getting plenty more games ite middle of the park for the rest of the season and possibly for next term as well. Let's face it, that's another summer where Fergie won't have to fork ou for that midfield dynamo that everybody seemingly craves.


Paul Scholes will be out for another two weeks according to Fergie, no doubt the rumours that have circulated recently, that he mighthave retired won't go away until he actually steps foot on the Old trafford turf again.

Music
Goat - World music: I don't do albums of the year, but if i'd heard this last year when it was brought out, it would have been one of mine. A wild clash of style's, it's a fantastic fusion of brilliance.

Maximo park - The national health: I loved their debut album, but whilst this is still a decent album with some pretty good tunes on it, they have never really threatened to better it.

The Cribs - In the belly of the brazen bull: Less Johnny Marr nowadays, but stll delivering the indie goods, one of the better UK indie groups about today, powerful and catchy tunes. Whilst they are no virtuoso musicicans, they don't plod like some UK bands i could mention.

The Jim Jones revue - The savage heart: I have read this group praised for a few years now, but hadn't heard them until this album. I get the hype now, this is an excellent set of tracks. There's no originality, but what they do, they do very well.

The Shins - Port of morrow: I can't say that i'm that big a fan of this US indie group, but this is a prettty good album. On the pop side of the indie world, they make pretty good radio friendly rock.

Real Madrid 1-1 Manchester United

I would have gladly taken this result before kick off, and to be honest it was a fair result, but we had a couple of great chances during the latter stages of the second half. I just hope we don't end up ruing them when the tie is over.
The starting line up wasn't far off what i suspect Fergie would regard as his strongest when coming up against opponents of this calibre. The only surprise, maybe, being the omission of Cleverley for Jones. Defensively the former Blackburn man more than justified his selection, he was superb in that respect. It was a pity his distribution wasn't as good as it could have been, and from that perspective we did miss Cleverley. But we were away from home against a top side with one of the best two players on the planet, that try and blow opponents away during the first half hour, so i have no arguments with the inclusion of Jones. I think the Mail gave him 5/10 this morning, he was better than that.
I thought Fergie would go with Kagawa playing furthest forward, of our three in midfield, with the instructions to try and get beyond Van Perise when he could, and that's what United tried to do. He managed to get forward three or four times before we got that all important away goal, but the ball never really bounced for him. I have to admit though, he was the one selection Fergie probably got wrong. It's not really happened for the Japanese international at United so far, next season will be a big season for him. In retrospect it may have been better to have played either Cleverley or Rooney there, either would have had more influence on the game and given us a better share of the ball in the first half,  easing the pressure on our back line.
United started reasonably comfortably, but it didn't take long for Real and Ronaldo to show that we were in for a tough battle. At the other end, United threatened to break a shaky looking real rearguard without creating a clear cut chance. The first decisive action of the night was De Gea's magnificent save of the night, as he got a slight touch that diverted Contraeo's shot onto the post and away from goal. That set the tone for the Spanish keeper's night, that was comfortably his finest display in a United shirt.
United weren't sitting back though, and after forcing a corner, the United man, loads seem to love to dismiss as not United standard went part of the way to showing just why they are so, so wrong as he headed home a corner to give us the lead. Fergie must rate Danny Welbeck, he seems to start all the really big games now, and he doesn't let the gaffer down, does he, he was easily the pick of that front three last night. Real Madrid know all about him now. Back Madrid came and when Ronaldo targeted Evra at the back post, we could guess how that would turn out. No blame attached to the Frenchman though, the leap and head from our former number seven was world class.
The home side really turned up the gas during the last quarter of an hour the first half and United were only just holding out at times, but due to great goalkeeping and solid defensive team work United go through to the interval all square.
Fergie tweaked his tactics in the second half playing Welbeck through the middle with Kagawa wide. It became a more even contest after that and though Real still managed to create chances, and forced De Gea into a few more great saves, it became a more even contest. We created some stellar chances as the half wore on though, Welbeck had another chance and late on Giggs chose to have a touch when he should have shot first time. The two best chances though fell to Van Persie, i can't fault him too much on his effort that hit the bar, though he felt he should have scored that one. The effort that he chested down only to miss hit, that was stopped on the line, though, he had to score that, didn't he. I had read a Spanish journalist accuse the Dutchman of bottling it on the big occasion before the match, i hope he puts that to bed during the second leg at Old trafford.
The big plus of the night had to be the performance of our younger lads, De Gea, Evans, Jones and Welbeck all showed they belong at this level. I couldn't really understand why anybody was surprised that Evans started ahead of Vidic. Not only was Vidic never going to play anayway, he still hasn't played back to back games since coming back from injury, Evans is surely our only definite starter at centre half nowadays as Vidic and Rio get further into their thirties. It was a pity that Rafael's form dipped in the first half, but i thought he managed to turn it around in the second half
Fergie was right to not go overboard about the result and the away goal, the second leg will probably be as tense and tight as this one. I expect us to sit back and try and play them on the counter at Old trafford, knowing that they are the ones that will have to try and force the game. So i can't see it being a game for the feint hearted. Who knows it may turn into one of those unmissable European nights where Old trafford wakes up and revisits some of its glory nights, here's hoping. 

Manchester United 2-0 Everton

The weekend that saw a twentieth title edge that little bit closer to Old trafford was one to savour. Fergie had apparently told the press on Friday that he would be fielding two different teams for the forthcoming games against Everton and then Real Madrid. Yesterday he said he had changed his mind after City's debacle at Southampton. I can't say i ever really believed that he would field a weakened team against Everton, and sure enough he didn't. Though what kind of logic it is, that says he would have thrown out a weakened side to face Everton if City had won, loses me.
This is usually one of the tougher fixtures of the season, for any team near the top of the table, never mind us. Yesterday was no different, it had to see a convincing performance from United and it got it. The pitch is a bit of a leveller at the moment, so it has become a physical battle as well as a football battle, and you have to say United were right up to that from the start. Jones was picked in midfield, presumably to rest Carrick ahead of Wednesday night, but also to do a job on Fellaini, and he certainly did that, he completely snuffed him out of the game until he was forced off during the second half.
The 2-0 scoreline was probably about right, though we had more chances, Van Perise should have given us the lead early on, but hit the post when he should have really scored. He made amends though as a Valencia head on saw him beat one man before feeding Giggs who finished off the move finding the net via the inside of a post. You have to pinch yourself when your reminded of Giggs age, he was absolutely magnificent on the day. There seems no doubt anymore that Giggs will get another one year extension if he wants it, which it's hard to see him not.
Van Persie had toyed with Everton's high line all first half, and had been caught just offside a couple of times earlier in the half. But right on the stroke of half time he finally cracked it as Rafael put him through and he rounded the keeper Howard before stroking it home to give us a nice safety cushion. The second half saw United play pretty much risk free football, we had a couple of chances, Evans was unlucky when Howard made a great save and Van Persie had a great chance to make it 3-0, but hit the shot wide. At the back United were solid until Evans went off at least, when Everton had a couple of chances. The improvement in Rafael and Evans this season has been immense, they are both now commanding figures in the team, not just in their position. I hope there is nothing wrong with Evans, we'll need him in Madrid, Fergie has said Jones should be alright and hinted that he may start on Wednesday, that's good news, though I'm not sure about the man marking suggestion.
So on to the game, the world is waiting for, according to Mourinho. I'm fairly confident, there is so much riding on this game for them, that i can see them being nervous on the night, and those would be nerves their back four could do without, as that is their weak link for me.
The big question mark, obviously is whether we can stop Ronaldo, Bayern managed it last season as did Dortmund this, so it's doable. I'm presuming we will play 4-3-3, and look to play them on the counter, if so it will be interesting to see who plays where. I have a feeling Welbeck will play wide for his work rate and pace as much as anything else, with Rooney to the other side of a central Van Persie. The other question would be who joins Carrick and Cleverley in midfield, Fergie has suggested Jones, but i think it more likely Kagawa will play as the man to give Van Persie occasional support. Presuming Evans is fit, he must surely start, and as Vidic played yesterday, that would suggest it will Be Ferdinand who partners him. Let's hope the rejuvenated Evra carries the good form on as he is certainly going to need it as Ronaldo will surely target him at some stage.
What constitutes a good result is debatable, away goals are a must, so if we get beat we need to have those in the bag for the home tie. I actually fancy us to win, i do realise that i might look very silly on Thursday morning, but i think we have as good a team as they have, but more importantly we are a team, not a collection of ego's. Anyway, here's hoping.

Fulham 0-1 Manchester United

A pretty good weekend, we did the business in London town and City and Liverpool do the decent thing and play out a draw which wasn't particularly useful to either of them. It was always going to be a tougher game than last week's cup tie, it could hardly be anything else, but United were worth the three points, even if Fulham had their moments.
The first half was an excellent game of football with the upright seeing plenty of action and both keepers forced into excellent saves. De Gea fully played his part after the recent criticism which was nice to see. The team selection was fairly predictable, apart from the selection of Nani on the left. I wouldn't go as far as to say he justified being picked, but he played better than at most times he has been selected this season. United created the more numerous chances, but Fulham had a real go when they got the ball on the counter attack.
It was nice to see Jonny Evans back in the team and he gave another decent performance. It will be interesting to see whether he comes in for rotation, now he is fit again, or whether Fergie will build the defence around him.
Carrick was probably glad to have Cleverley partnering him after suffering at the side of Anderson on Wednesday. They did a reasonable job, though neither was as on top of their game as at other times this season. Rooney was picked to partner Van Persie and had one of his better games of the season capping it off with that superb winner, just when i was starting to wonder whether it was going to be one of those days. The amount of chances we created, it would have been criminal if we hadn't scored, but it can happen.
As we saw last season a big points gap means nothing, but ahead of the knock out stages of the champions league, it's a handy thing to have. And the way City played today, i wouldn't be putting any money on them to take all three points next week at Southampton. And after last season's 4-4 debacle and the 1-0 defeat at their place on the opening day of the season we owe Everton a bit of a seeing to, I'm looking forward to that as much as i am to The Real Madrid tie.