Showing posts with label United reserves. Show all posts
Showing posts with label United reserves. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Cleverley to come back

Ferguson has told inside United magazine that though Cleverley was going to stay all season he is now going to come back in the new year. I'll bet Wigan are not impressed, but will keep quiet to kepp well in with United for future loanee's. Great news for United, you won't be surprised to hear me say. Fergie's reasons for letting him go still sound more than a bit hollow to me. He will be like a new signing, how long before we here that.

All the papers are reporting on United tracking Danish goalie Anders Lindegaard as a possible replacement for Van Der Sar, with the news that goalkeeping coach Erc Steele has been scouting him last week.

It looks like Richie De Laet has made a decnt start to his loan period at Bramhall lane with the news that Gary Speed wants to extend his loan. I should think that Fergie will be happy with the news and would be happy to let him stay.
Scott Wooton had a dream debut for Tranmere scoring a an equaliser and impressing as centre back on his first start.

United's indifferent premier league start seems to have cajoled agents into linking their players with a move to old trafford, Diarra is the latest.

From the farcical to the surreal, Liverpool board agrees to sell the club to Boston red sox. But wait there is a catch, there is a boardoom civil war over the civil war with the two yanks set to start legal proceedings. I can't see any of that going down well with the fans. Who would joinn that club, i bet Gerrard and Torres wish they could turn the clock back. Robert Peston writes that Hicks and Gillet are perched precariously between the devil and the deep blue water and that administration is still a live option.
David Conn explains the mess that the club are in.

It sounds like the Mancini - Tevez truce that that was sealed by making the Argentinian captain hasn't worked with the news that they has a another row at half time on Sunday. Whilst i wouldn't want to hazard a guess to Tevez's motives, ulterior motives knowing the way he and his owners work, he does have more than a point about Mancini's tactics which are unbelievably negative.

Joseph Sitglitz is pessimistic about the future of the Euro and the world economy in general, he is worried about the prospects for Spain as well as Ireland following the Greek debacle.
Stephen King completely disagrees, wondering how Greece, Ireland and Spain would go about reinventing defunct currencies. In fact he thinks it could in fact be the catalyst for greater integration.
Jon Snow blogs on the links between property specualtors, the banks and government officials in the lead up to Ireland's economic meltdown.
After praising the coalition governments cuts programme, the IMF admits that western economies may be stuck in near depression conditions. And it says that is a good time cut!
Larry Elliott explains why trade wars may seem like a good idea to central banks that have run out of all other policy options. Paul Krugman thinks whilst it mat seem like a good idea, the parallels with the thirties in this case would be misleading and in his opinion whilst they won't be as harmful as some economists imagine they won't be as helpful as it's protagonists claim either.

The right seem to be as up in arms if not more, over the child benefits cuts announced by Osborne yesterday for those earning over £44,000. I don't know whether this is an attack on the universal welfare state, but i am in support in of a simplification of the system and fully expect whoever forms the next government to stick with the broad principle of this reform, the universal credit. It doesn't necessarily have to be a regressive reform.
Hopi Sen writes on his blog that the tories have got themselves in right old mess and are apeing Gordon Brown at his worst, ouch! 
Benedict Brogan of the Torygraph is less than impressed by number tens inept handling of affairs wondering if this is how it handles a single measure what will happen when things get really tough.
Bagehot reports on a tory party conference that doesn't know what to make of it or what it thinks of it.

Spiked contributor Natalie Rothschild looks at the recent Swedish election and see a political class remote from its electorate. She thinks the countries historically successful social democrats have completely lost touch with the parties roots and the success of the far right should be read in this light.

Hated by the daily mail praises Stephen Fry for sticking up to the Daily hate

Peter Salmon, head of BBC north compares the opening of media city to the canal that it sits next to and hope it can match the historical importance of the glory years of the Manchester ship canal.
Meanwhile the government has revealed that its predecessors plans for a high speed rail from London to Manchester will get the go ahead but it will have to done in phases. I'm pleasantly surprised, i didn't think that would survive the cuts.
Manchester university has got itslef onto the news pages thanks the nobel prize award for physics that went to two Russian scientists working there who discovered the two dimensional material graphene.

 I finally got around to watching the final part of this England 86 last night and as this blog rightly says the series finally took off in the final two parts when Meadows apparently took over the directorial chair. The first episode was awful. I know the first episode of a series can be slow as you get to know the characters or in this case reaquaint yourselves with them, but that was similar and about as bad as Shameless has become. The second part wasn't bad but it really got interesting during the third part before last night's gripping finale.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Carrick to start?

Michael Carrick could be in line to make his reappearance at the Mestalla tomorrow night according to skysports. With the news that there is no Scholes in the squad that has travelled out to Spain alongside the absentees we already knwe about, Rooney and Giggs, there must be every chance that he will indeed start. The fact that Fergie started with probably our strongest line up on Saturday, makes me think that despite what he said in defence of his absence at Scunthorpe he doesn't think this is quite as hard a game as he has tried to make out.
I will be interested to see how we approach the match, will we go and keep it tight, taking a draw but hoping to nick a goal or will we go for the three points and try to play our normal game. I suppose the team selected will give us a good idea.

Darren Fletcher is glad to see Owen Hargreaves back in full time training with the first team. I'm afraid i will still have to see him in action for the first team for sixty minutes or even a whole game before i'm prepared to believe we have really got our midfield man back for good. If he was really back  he would be as invaluable to us as a right back as he would in central midfield.
Continuing on our defensive woes Vidic once again calls for the defensive errors to be eradicated from our game, pointing out how sloppy we have been in defending set pieces so far this season.

The reserves last game for a month saw them grab an equaliser in the fourth minute of injury time to salvage 2-2 draw away to Blackburn at Leigh sports village in front of a bumper 3000 plus crowd. I think they probably just about deserved the draw though it was hard to see them coming back when Deviln's slow dash from his line ended up in him conceding a penalty that Hoilett made no mistake dispatching to give the home team the lead.
Eikrem's last gasp equaliser was absolutely top draw and is one of the reasons some people rate him so highly. I can see the talent, he has a great right foot and tremendous vision, i still don't think he has the physique for top level football though. Morrison had a decent game but i thought Vermijl was the standout considering he is a right back playing out of position on the right hand side of midfield.

The news that Terry Newton has took his own life was a bit of a bolt from the blue. He was a fair player but could be one hell of a snide forward at times.

Roy Hattersley calls for a new intellectualism to shore up the labour party and to stop it drifting into centre right territory through a lack of an ethical framework. Will Ed Miliband be the man to lead them there? Will Hutton has a new book out exploring how to repair our broken economy using fairer methods than the free market consesus of the last thirty years have left us with.
Mary Ann Sieghart thinks the red Ed scare stories being spun by the tory right are bogus nonesense, and thinks he should not be underestimated.
I don't really know enough about to him to have any strong opinions but suspect she is right. He obviously had to run to the left of his brother in order to win but that does not mean that that is where he will lead the party from. I have to admit i like some of the things he has campaigned on and like the fact he is prepared to admit new labout got some things badly wrong. I am hoping and presuming he is taliking about civil liberties and it's obeisance to the city and the free market amongst other things there.
Larry Elliott thinks that he will have to make the case for the state as the coalition cuts will give him an open goal to aim at. Robert Peston's latest blog tells us why the Irish can't afford to upset the bankers and will continue to take it's neo lib medine, come what may.

Stephen Glover can't see the problem with Murdoch's buyout of all BSyB on a commercial level but can see the political problems.

Roland Hunford sets out to debunk the myth of Captain Scott, apparently he is regarded as a bumbling amateur in the rest of the world. He can't see why he i so much more well known than Shackleton. I have to say after learning about Shackleton's exploits through that Brannagh film and various documentaries that's always absolutely escaped me as well, now he was a hero.

I watched Bronson at the weekend the film about the guy who is usually known as Britain's most dangerous prisoner. I thought it was superb, but whether you like the film or not, the lead actor, Tom Hardy gives one hell of a mesmorising performance.

Stephen Colbert addresses Congress, what a performer.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Fergie refuses to even negotiate

Fergie won't entertain the thought of Giggs taking on the Welsh job. There is now way he can do both jobs at this stage of his career. Fergie also said that he hoped that he will still be playing next season.

The press also got told that he will not be discussing the personal lives of any of his players. Besides being the right thing to do for the club it is surely the right thing to do by the player.

Michael Carrick has been ruled out for three weeks with a recurrence of an achilles injury. His season hasn't even started and now he is out for three weeks. The author of this article obviously wasn't watching the reserves last night as Anderson went off on the hour with a slight hobble. And i'm afraid to say he didn't do much when he was on the pitch.
I know he is coming back from injury and i know Ravel Morrison is very highly thought of but it's a bit embarrasing when a 17 year old totally eclipses in the middle of the park surely. Saying that what a prospect Morrison looks, he seems to have that gift which great players are blessed with, time on the ball. Will he get a look in during the league cup tie at Scunthorpe i wonder, i'm pretty sure he would be ready for that.
It was a fairly comfortable 2-0 win with United hitting the bar twice as well as a string of fine saves by the Stockport goalie. De Laet looked good and maybe it's time that he was sent out on loan.
Ferdinand doesn't think that youngsters are taught well enough how to pass the ball and just as importantly pass the ball under pressure. It's a pretty good interview that it does end up a bit " when i were a lad".

Paul Hayward speculates that if Rooney were to ever think of leaving United now would be the time to do it. I did say yesterday that this episode meant the chances of Rooney staying at United for the rest of his career were now less than they had been before it.
It will be interesting, to say the least, to see how Fergie deals with this. Who knows maybe he will come to the conclusion that we have seen the best of Rooney and let him go at the end of the season. Lets face it would that would keep him well in with the Glazer's.

Gary Neville is the latest to be interviewed by Paddy Crerand, and in the interview he reveals he doesn't think his temperament is suited to becoming a manager, he is too emotional. He also has a bit of a pop at City, he loves to stir it up nowadays.

Evra has lost his appeal against the five match ban that was handed down to him by the French FA. I'm afraid i don't really know why he bothered, there was never a chance they were going to rescind that.


An exclusive in depth interview with Giggs, so says the BBC.

Andy Wilson argues that whoever wins the superleague crown at old trafford next month, the real success story of the season will have been the Celtic crusaders.

Larry Elliott thinks the latest report from the OECD should give Osborne pause to think about his austerity plans. And does he really want to be so out of kilter with the rest of the world and take such a big risk. David Blanchflower gives us three reasons why a double dip recession is now getting closer.
Osborne appoints one of his critics to head the Office for budget responsibility, Robert Chote the director of the IFS will take over Alan Budd in October.
Jeff Randall argues forecasters may argue but some harsh truths are unavoidable.

Jon Snow wonders the modern day state is big enough to take on the likes of Goldman Sachs after it was fined just £17.5 million. And tells us that he will be interviewing John Le Carre for his last ever interview shortly.

Mehdi Hasan asks why the lib dems are using tory economic positions to attack the labour party when defending the forthcoming cuts.

Irwin Stelzer, Murdoch's man, tells the New Statesman why the country should be grateful for the Tony Blair's premiership.
Simon Hughes tells the house of commons that other MP's were too scared to join him in testifying in court against the news of the world journalist because they didn't want to upset news international. That is one very sad state of affairs, i'd bet my bottom dollar the ex cabinet minister mentionedis from the labour party. Mick Hume isn't impressed with the opposition attacks. I can't agree with that i'm afraid, it's important the public see how Murdoch and the rest of the red tops actually work. Whether they take any notice or actually care is another matter of course.
Menawhile Labour MP's use the affair to criticize Rupert Murdoch in the house of commons, that will give more than one or two ex ministers red afces, i should imagine. Andy McSmith goes with a commons declare war on red tops.

Freebass ends before they have even released their debut album, as Mani lays into Peter Hook.

Brendan O'Neill reviews This is England 86 and isn't impressed and wishes it had been a more faithful version of the 80's. I have to agree, i was losing interest in it half way through. I suppose we have got to hope that the first episode was just settint the scene for the final three parts. That was the first time i have watched something by Meadows and not been bothered whether i saw it through to the end or not. 

I love this clip of Chris Bryant telling Kay Burley she's being a bit dim.

Charles Mingus

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Utd reserves beat the Elite 3-1

That must have been the strongest reserve eleven United have put out in a while. Maybe it was down to the fact that quite a few of them haven't played that much football that it took them most of the first half to get going. I'm not sure how much we learnt, though. Macheda took his goals well but is still nowhere near the finished article outside the box. Cleverley looks a first teamer and the sooner he starts appearing on the bench and in the team the better.
The Telegraph reporter must be the only spectator of that game that thinks that the sixty minutes or so from Anderson makes him anywhere near a first team recall. His appearance recalled our first sightings of him in a United shirt, where the size of him made us wonder just what kind of athlete we had bought.
Gibson doesn't even impress me even at this level, surely somebody striving to get into the first team squad should stand out more at this level than he does. Shooting aside, and even that is a hit and miss affair, i really can't see what the coaching staff see that makes them think he could be United first team material.
Smalling played well but given the opposition, City didn't take the opportunity to give their squad an outing, it was all youngsters, so he should have done. Gary Neville showed a willingness to get forward and overlap that is sorely missed at first team level where O'Shea just seems to go through the motions sometimes. Carrick did alright and i would like to think West Ham at home is the kind of game where we might get away with two creative central midfielders, either him and Scholes or Giggs.
Of the youngsters that came on, Will Keane showed a few nice touches, but the game was finished as a contest really by then.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-united/7962896/Manchester-United-midfielder-Anderson-returns-to-action-for-first-time-since-cruciate-injury.html

I didn't expect all the twitter and messageboard rumours about Bebe to make the back pages so soon. It's a bit soon to say we are worrying about signing a flop, though obviously it wouldn't be the first time.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1305825/Manchester-Uniteds-7m-man-Bebe-fails-make-reserve-squad-mini-derby.html
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Manchester-United-s-Bebe-pulled-out-of-reserve-game-over-fears-that-he-could-be-a-flop-article563497.html

Glazers shopping mall operation facing even more difficulties, according to Andersred's latest blog. I would think he had done most of that research before the terrible US economic results that have come out during the last two weeks. Something will have to give, but will it be the Bucs or United.
http://andersred.blogspot.com/2010/08/first-allied-corporation-watch-no-2.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/aug/24/manchester-united-glazers-mortgage-malls

Mourinho thinks it's crazy Scholes isn't playing for England, hailing him as still one of the best midfield players in the world. He then goes on to have a bit of a dig at United's tactical approach in Europe, thinking it not conducive to winning champions league titles. I would read that as meaning we are not defensive enough, exactly why i would never want him in charge at old trafford.
http://foreign.peacefmonline.com/sports/201008/74474.php

Evra will appeal against his five match French international ban. From a United perspective i'd rather he didn't bother, but after what happened in the summer i don't think he will have much chance in overturning it anyway.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1305749/Patrice-Evra-appeal-game-France-ban.html

Bear shits in the woods moment as the IFS claim the budget is regressive and will hit the poorest hard. As if the tories were ever going to do anything else. Osborne won't be able to label them as labour loving lefties, and it will be another weapon for the lib dem left to use against the orange bookers.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/budget/7963080/Budget-hits-families-and-pensioners-twice-as-hard.html

Is the economy on the path to a perfect storm as yet more gloomy news and forcasts appear by the day.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/double-dip-concerns-send-gilt-yields-to-an-alltime-low-2061133.html

Hopi Sen wonders what lib dem leader labour could work with in the future. I agree with him that there is no reason for labour not to let everyone know now that there is no way they could work with a lib dem party led by Clegg.
Maybe Michael White was right yesterday, a liberal split is the most likely result of the coalition. Unfortunately if that turns out to be the case, Cameron will have secured a brilliant result for the centre right from a poor general election performance.
Instead of being a country with an anti conservative majority, Britain that is, not England, he could well position the tories and orange book liberals, if they haven't gone the whole hog and repeated the history of the national liberals as the majority in the country.
http://hopisen.wordpress.com/2010/08/19/ed-miliband-is-right/

John Harris thinks talk of lib dem upheavals are being undone.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/aug/25/lib-dem-civil-war-power

The latest film by the maker of the brilliant Belleville rendezvous is admiringly reviewed in the New Statesman.
http://www.newstatesman.com/film/2010/08/edinburgh-film-tatischeff

The brilliant Fleet Foxes

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Reserves start new campaign with 4-0 win

A match report from United youth, I'm not one for buying shirts, but it's got to be said that the new shirt is the best top we have had whilst Nike has been in charge. Still I wouldn't buy one, even if we were a Glazer free zone. The shirt seems reminiscent of the late seventies and early eighties with the collar, maybe it's my age, but those were the best United tops to me. Ahh the old days of Admiral and the early United days of Adidas, you still can't beat classsic Adidas.
It will be interesting to see who plays for the reserves this season and if any of the youngsters get fast tracked there. I hear people who watch plenty of our youngsters sing the praises of Eikram, but i have to say i have never seen enough of him to really judge. I have never seen him stand out and wonder what this season holds for him, let's hope he has a relatively injury free season. King is a player i have seen enough of to know that he continues to improve he will definitely be first team material, he could be outstanding.
It would be good to see Morrison get plenty of action this season, then maybe go out on loan next season if he shows the ability that most club insiders seems to think he possesses. The other hot prospects seem to be Pogba and Will Keane so i will be watching out for them.
http://manunitedyouth.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/reserves-curzon-ashton-0-united-4/

Paul Scholes tells the press this may not be his last season. He will see how his form and fitness holds up and make a decision at the end of the season.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/14/paul-scholes-manchester-united

Fergie lays out his plans for the players during the pre-season
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/ferguson-fears-his-world-cup-players-will-miss-start-of-season-2025882.html

James Lawton thinks Spain are a great football team but don't score enough goals to join the immortals. That is a very good assessment that i would go along with totally. As most observers can see Spain are basically Barca minus Messi and with a few real madrid players thrown in. I have often wondered would i sooner watch the best United teams or the present Barca team. It's a hard call because Barca do play great football, but at the end of the day i think i would have to go against Barca and for United's best teams. As pleasing on the eye as tiki taka is, it's is very methodical, you hardly ever see a pin point cross field ball straight to a wingers foot a la Scholes. Of course Xavi and Iniesta can probably both execute it as well as Scholes does but the system commands them to always look for the short pass.
In the first couple of games there were times when they were being stifled and there were opportunites to change the play with cross field passes but they never took it. I prefer the best teams, players and formations to have more freedom of expression and more flexibility. And to me when United have been at their very best, they are more exciting to watch. I wouldn't argue better, just more exciting and more unpredicatble.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/james-lawton-will-spain-join-the-immortals-one-day-perhaps-but-not-until-they-bring-more-goals-2025117.html

The Guardian go with the fuss caused by Ballack's agent, who in an apparent off the record remark alleged there were a " bunch of gays " in the national team. Lahm must have really pissed off Ballack when he said he wanted to keep the captain's armband.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/13/germany-footballers-gay-michael-becker

It would seem according to this piece in the Independent it's not, will BBC Breakfast move to media city, but when. I don't watch the TV at breakfast, but if i had to i would sooner watch the Beeb than the horror show that is GMTV.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/bbc-breakfast-to-relocate-to-salford-but-will-the-stars-follow-2025987.html

Isobel Hilton sees western companies losing their faith in ever making any money in China as the harsh economic climate prompt a bit of economic nationalism. There must be a chance the Chinese would have done this anyway.
I watched the timewatch edition about the boxer rebellion at the turn of the 20th century which was fascinating. I didn't realise how big a disgrace that was and still is seen as in Chinese history. As the programme made clear the lesson of that episode to the Chinese was to make sure nothing like that could ever happen again. And the key to that was to become strong economically and militarily.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/13/google-china-business-with-the-west

Matthew Norman is unimpressed by the labour leadership campaign. There a couple of comments where the senders seem to have had a sense of humour by-pass, oh dear.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/matthew-norman/matthew-norman-the-least-inspiring-contest-ever-2025785.html

Simon Jenkins is worried about the dangers of a double dip recession and even as someone who wants to cut the public sector he thinks the timing of Osborne's cuts couldn't be worse.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/13/george-osborne-hold-hike-double-dip

Boards of Canada

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

United's reserve side beat villa 3-2 on penalties after a thrilling 3-3 draw that saw Diouf equalise with just minutes to go to win the reserve league play off. Even though it was a great game to watch, the football wasn't to a standard we have seen from previous reserve outfits. Macheda was United's best player without really shining as he tends to give the ball away too cheaply for my liking. But at the game went on he did show good character grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck and driving United forward. On the other hand for all Diouf's pace and menace, he doesn't half miss some chances. For him to have any chance at first team level he needs to have improve his conversion level.
Though Foster was the hero in the shoot out saving two and converting the best taken spot kick, his showing in the actual 90 minutes once again didn't justify any faith that he is capable of succeeding Van Der Sar in the long run. The third Villa goal was not his finest moment as he came and completely missed the ball at the back post.
http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={B4CEE8FA-9A47-47BC-B069-3F7A2F35DB70}&newsid=6648614

Van Der Sar doesn't blame Liverpool for Sunday, saying they half expected them to get beat, If we come second it will be all down to us. The league table doesn't lie, we know that.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7674198/Liverpool-arent-to-blame-for-Manchester-Uniteds-title-woes-says-Edwin-van-dar-Sar.html

United's security cover themselves in glory again.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1271820/Manchester-United-fans-refused-entry-Old-Trafford-prevent-green-gold-protest.html
http://www.imusa.org/newsarticle.php?id=271

Giddy alert, City will buy the cream of the crop if they gain that fourth championsleague spot. Has anybody told the cream of the crop though.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1271350/Manchester-City-reach-stars-summer-spending-spree-certainty-Roberto-Mancini-seals-Champions-League-place.html

I watched England's opening twenty20 game against the West Indies and was very impressed. The batting performance was superb with a great start, decent consolidation in the middle and a tremendous partnership between Eoin Morgan and Luke Wright to post what surely would have been a match winning total but for the weather and the ludicrous rule that a result be be gained after just five overs of the West Indies innings. The odds are so stacked in the team batting second's favour as to make the whole thing a joke.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/england/7675100/ICC-World-Twenty-20-Paul-Collingwood-fury-as-England-denied-by-West-Indies.html

A thick of it election special, Armando Ianucci laments the over the top media frenzy of " bigotgate ".
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/armando-iannucci-the-duffy-affair-turned-the-media-into-a-pack--of-shrieking-gibbons-1961468.html
Whilst Chris Addison writes that the election is exciting not because of any candidates or neccessarly even policies but because we have the chance to change the way our politics is run.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article7114542.ece

Hain " offers " the Lib dems a four year partnership.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/hain-offers-lib-dems-fouryear-partnership-1961462.html

Mary Riddell favours a lib-lab coalition in the new parliament
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7674000/General-Election-2010-A-Lib-Lab-coalition-is-now-the-best-hope-for-Labour-and-for-Britain.html

Timothy Garton Ash writes that the institute for fiscal studies has been the big winner of the election campaign as the public still haven't been told by any of the parties how deep and savage post election cuts will have to be.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/may/03/economic-reality-hits-home
David Blanchflower disagees, saying the savage cuts orthodoxy will send us into a spiral of economic downturn.
http://www.newstatesman.com/economy/2010/05/spending-cuts-2011-growth-gdp

Geoffrey Wheatcroft writes of the historic enmity between the labour and liberal parties
http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2010/05/labour-essay-alliance-class

It's time to get serious on industrial policy and forget the argument that governments can't pick a winning industial sector to promote. After all it was us that invented the concept.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/may/03/uk-selective-industrial-policy

Bon Iver