The struggle to rid the club of the Glazer family continues as AON comes under fire.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7884299/Manchester-United-fans-plan-to-snub-new-shirts-in-protest-against-Glazers.html

United have flown out for their north American tour, but quite a few bodies will be missing as injuries and the world cup mean that a few of our youngsters will probably get a chance or two.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7885287/Manchester-Uniteds-Nani-and-Chris-Smalling-part-of-squad-for-US-tour.html

Simon Kuper with a piece on Wesley Sniejder.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/jul/11/world-cup-final-wesley-sneijder-holland
Well at least with the deserved defeat at the hands of the Spanish his ego won't explode into the stratosphere.
Johann Cruyff lays into the Dutch tactics and has a go at the ref. I'm no fan off Webb and i would agree he didn't have a great game last night. But the way the Dutch played last night he didn't have a chance.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8812484.stm

James Lawton is thankful the negative tactics employed by the Dutch last night didn't end in success. I totally agree, but they did help to give us an absolutely terrible first half and though it did get better after that, unless your Spanish it won't be a game that lives long in the memory.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/james-lawton-defeat-of-dutch-spoiling-tactics-is-a-victory-for-all-who-dared-hope-for-more-2024508.html

Jonathan Wilson analyses the world cup from a tactical perspective, interesting as ever.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2010/jul/09/world-cup-2010-tactics-the-question
One noticeable aspect of this world cup to me was the lack of quality wide men. Going off that, we are doing well to have Nani and Valencia. The only really quality left footed wide man seems to be Robben, but as is the vogue he seems to want to play on the right and cut in and shoot all the time. I don't think Rooney would get such good service from the flank anywhere other than United.

Alan Hansen thinks Mourinho is wrong to claim that the champions is bigger and more important than the world cup. Well i thought Hansen had a piss poor world cup from the studio, the one time that BBC's analysis came alive for me, was when Hodgson covered a couple of games. Hodgson actually didn't trot out the same old soundbites and actually knew what abilities most foreign players had, good or bad.
Shearer is just poor full stop, everybody bar the BBC seems to know that, but maybe it's time for the BBC to bring through new faces better versed on the football world outside of the premier league. Would Hansen have agreed with Mourinho if he had said better, because of that there can surely be no argument.
Lawrenson was no better i'm afraid and his nadir was five minutes into the second half of the final when he said Spain have got to change it as nothing's happening for them. Anybody who has watched Spain or Barca would have known that is not how it works for them., that they will play the same way and try and grind you down through their passing. Sure enough, the next Ten minutes saw Spain start to dominate the game and start to create chances.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/7885743/Alan-Hansen-Jose-Mourinho-wrong-to-say-Champions-League-is-bigger-than-World-Cup.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/7885743/Alan-Hansen-Jose-Mourinho-wrong-to-say-Champions-League-is-bigger-than-World-Cup.html

Mary-Ann Sieghart takes aim at Mandelson as his new memoir starts to get newspaper serialisation.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/mary-ann-sieghart/mary-ann-sieghart-mandelsons-vanity-came-before-the-party-interest-2024406.html

Larry Elliot warns the coalition to take its once in a generation chance to reform Britain's financial system.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jul/12/bank-regulation-reforms-needed

Richard Grayson on the future of social liberalism.
http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2010/07/liberal-democrats-social-party

Steve Richards wonders where the coalition's policies will leave democratic accountability. He is right it will abolish it unless you have money.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/steve-richards/steve-richards-who-exactly-will-we-hold-to-account-2025134.html

An interesting piece about Apple and it's future in competition with Google.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/could-apples-first-mistake-come-back-to-haunt-it-2022128.html

The Flamin groovies

Neville misses pres season tour

Yet another injury. To be honest i would be happy if Wes Brown, John O'Shea and Rafael are the players battling it out for the right back spot with Gary Neville coming inat right back or centre half in the carling cup. I think a bit too much was made of Gary Nevill'e revival towards the end oflast season. He has been a great servant and can come in and do a job against the lesser lights but he has become, sad to say, a passenger against the better teams.
In fact this could be a big season for Rafael, if he in fact going to become a top class right back, surely this is the season he has to start showing it consistently. After the way Evra's form dipped unsurprisingly towards the back end of last season, and the events of this summer's world cup debacle with France, it would be a good thing if either O'Shea or Fabio came in onthe left hand side to make sure Evra doesn't burn himself out towards the business end of the season again.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/10/gary-neville-manchester-united-summer-tour

The red knights have met again according to the Telegraph. Hmmm, why now and what do they know, hopefully good news
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/7883424/Manchester-United-bid-resurrected.html?

Paul Hayward reports on tomorrows final between the two heirs of the Cruyff dynasty.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/jul/10/world-cup-final-spain-holland
Of all the really great footballers, Johann Cruyff is undoubtedly the only player to have had almost as great an influence after his playing days were over as when he dazzled us in the sixties and seventies. I'm not sure that this Dutch team play the game the way the great man would appreciate though.

More on the Dutch link to Spanish or should i say Catalan football, this time surprisingly Van Gaal
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/the-man-who-taught-spain-to-play-2023864.html

Ossie Ardilles continues the them saying that the Spanish team resemble the great Dutch team of 1974.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/spain/7882642/World-Cup-final-Spain-resemble-the-great-Holland-side-of-1974-says-Ossie-Ardiles.html

Neil Forsyth thinks a Spanish win would save the world cup. I don't actually buy into much of the article, taken as a whole i think the tiurnament has been piss poor. I think everybodies fogetting that Spain didn't really play anywhere near their best until the semi final. And i haven't enjoyed a single Dutch performance so far and i have seen every one of them unfortunately. The one sentence that caught my eye was when he asked how United sold Pique for half of what they have shelled out for Smalling. That is a good question and i just hope that doesn't become an even bigger question once the season begins.
http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2010/07/09/world-cup-spanish-win-would-save-world-cup/

Arjen Robben tips Sneijder to join United and says he is the only player who could replace Paul Scholes, who is one of the outstanding players of his generation. Buy that man a drink. It's just a pity that i don't believe we are in for Sneijder and that i can't stand that diving cheat Robben.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=807833&sec=transfers&cc=5739

Fergie denies making bids for anyone.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/11/manchester-united-wesley-sneijder

A columnist i don't generally have much time for with a surprisingly good column on the rifts in all three parties but especially the lib dems
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/john-rentoul/john-rentoul-labour-must-leave-a-door-ajar-for-clegg-2023713.html

John Naughton wonders about the future of western employment, good article.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jul/11/apple-foxconn-start-ups

One of my all time favourite groups New Order

It's going to be an important season for the fit again Craig Cathcart. I had high hopes for the Ulsterman when he captained the youth team. He seemed to me to be at least as good a prospect as Jonny Evans, who at the time was having a good time on loan at Sunderland. My only concern was he was fairly similar in style to Evans, neither being a speed merchant. His loan spell at Plymouth went will but unfortunately last season's loan at Watford didn't go so well with Watford fans not being too impressed.With Ferdinand permanently injured and i would think in the twilight of his career, this would have been a great time for the club to have had another centre half coming through the ranks. Unless last season was a blip it doesn't seem likely it will happen with Cathcart.
http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={B4CEE8FA-9A47-47BC-B069-3F7A2F35DB70}&newsid=6650546&page=1

Jurgen Klinsman tells the BBC how he and Loew helped to turn the German national teams fortunes around. Very commendable, but not a cat in hells chance that the premier league would go along with much of that.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8789682.stm

Forlan's excellent tournament comes to an end as the Dutch reach their first world cup final since Argentina 1978. Forlan has been oe of the best players of the tournament and would walk in into that Dutch team for me. Once again i was less than impressed with either the game or the Dutch. I can't see it happening, but if the Dutch were to go and win the world cup at last it would be the final of evidence that this world cup has been extremely poor. This Dutch team isn't fit to lace most of the Dutch teams of the last 30 years never mid the great team of 1974.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/uruguay/7876355/World-Cup-2010-Diego-Forlan-combats-injury-but-is-left-devastated-by-Holland-defeat.html

Simon Hattenstone shows why Mick hume was right.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/06/footballs-debt-socialism-world-cup

What is the real story behind Sir Alan Budd leaving his post as head for Osborne's new baby the office for budget responsibility.
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2010/07/class-war-budd-thatcher-cuts
It's the end of Osborne's honeymoon according to Larry Elliot.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/06/alan-budd-george-osborne-shambles
A blow to the government's credibilty writes Sean O'Grady'
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/budds-early-departure-a-blow-to-government-2020118.html

Bagehot defends the BBC
http://www.economist.com/blogs/bagehot/2010/07/bashing_bbc?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BagehotsNotebook+%28The+Economist%3A+Bagehot%27s+notebook%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Jeff Buckley with a couple of acoustic numbers

James to rejoin Preston

Eric Harrison reckons the old trafford faithfull will get behind Rooney to help him put world cup nightmare behind him. We'll get behind him because he is our best player as much as anything.
http://menmedia.co.uk/sport/football/manchester_united/s/1280842_old_trafford_crowd_key_to_rooney_revival

Michael Owen backs Rooney to come back strong for England and puts himself back in the frame for the national side. Unbelievably Beckham declares his availability for the 2012 European championship campaign. If i was Capello i would keep him as far away from his squad as it's possible to get. What exactly does he bring to the party. Capello has said he will be looking to blood and bring through some youngsters and that is surely the right way to go.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/wayne-rooney/7869272/Wayne-Rooney-will-bounce-back-for-England-after-World-Cup-exit-forecasts-Michael-Owen.html

United youngster Matty James will rejoin Preston on a season long loan. It seems like a good move for him and both clubs.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/preston/8783280.stm

The Dutch go marching on as Brazil crash out and Dunga falls on his sword. Though it was a horrible game, full of cynical cheating and Holland weren't much better than Brazil, it was still a good result for football. Despite being one of the stronger teams Bazil have probably been the most negative team in the competition. They have played with vitually a back six at times as they have aimed to kill teams on the counter attack. When a country with such attacking traditions plays like that, just think what might have happened if they had gone on to win the tournament. How many teams would have picked up on those tactics and how disastrous would that have been for the game.
The trouble for me, was that the Dutch almost completely disregarded their traditions of total football as well. It was a really poor first half performance by the Dutch and the one time the Brazilians showed a little bit of magic they opened up the Dutch open to score so easily it was untrue. The Dutch got into the game in the second half because the Brazilian approach was so negative. When the Dutch got the two, pretty soft goals it has to be said, and Brazil had Meilo so needlessly sent off there was no way back for them.
Just to back up Fergie's crticism of this tournament, how many of that Dutch team would start in a top four team in this country or for Real or Barca in Spain. Aside of Sneijder, Robben and Van Persie i am struggling to name any.
The only disappointment for me in the Brazilian exit was the loss of the chance to see Brazil play Argentina. I had wanted to see that, hopefully to see Maradona's attacking approach come out on top against Dunga's negativity. Of the teams left, as it stands, i don't mind which of Argentina, Germany or spain win the tournament. Uruguay are a decent team and Forlan has been one of the outstanding players of the tournament, not that this is saying anything. But for them to actually win the whole thing would really show how poor the whole tournament has been.

Adrian Chiles can't make sense of anything to do with this world cup and with the game of football.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/england/7868394/Premier-League-riches-have-failed-to-provide-the-England-team-value-for-money.html

David Blanchflower accuses Osborne of exacerbating the loss of confidence that he argued the emergency budget would halt.
http://www.newstatesman.com/economy/2010/07/confidence-government-spending

Mick Hume has had enough of columns equating the English football teams dismal showing with whatever the writers pet gripe happens to be. It's a game of football, and you have to be good and have some luck, England were neither.
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/9094/

James Forsyth writes about the dangers to the coalition when the referndum on AV is held.
http://www.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/6116678/a-decision-fraught-with-risk.thtml

The Guardian report tory and labour backbenchers to conspire to disrupt the campaign for a yes vote in the referendum for AV. This really will be a test of Clegg's qualities a politician, if he manages to lose this referendum the whole rationale for going into a coalition with the tories goes up in smoke.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/wintour-and-watt/2010/jul/02/nickclegg-davidcameron
Mind you, if labour or just a portion of it's MP's cause the referendum to be lost, the slim chance i might vote for them at the next election will go up in smoke. I would like to think other ex lib dem voters would think the same, either by abstaining or voting green maybe.

Dave Simpson loves Iam kloot's new album, i'll have to get round to getting that, i think they are shit hot.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/jul/01/i-am-kloot-sky-night

Sonny Rollins way out west

Capello wins friend

Capello desperate to stay according to the Telegraph.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/england/7862308/World-Cup-2010-Fabio-Capello-desperate-to-stay-on-to-avenge-Englands-failure.html

Are the Dutch up to their usual tricks at a big tournament. It came out before world cup started that Van Perise and Sneijder don't talk to each other.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/van-marwijk-clears-the-air-after-spat-with-van-persie-2013825.html

Ronaldo not a happy man as Spain knock Portugal out of world cup.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/ronaldo-flounces-away-after-villas-latest-strike-sends-portuguese-out-2014092.html

Markets dip on fears of world wide double dip recession.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/7862380/Warning-signals-of-a-double-dip-recession-flash-brightly-across-the-world.html

Larry Elliot forsees a return to the era of the boys from the black stuff
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jun/29/budget-deficit-unemployment-larry-elliott

Whilst Sean O'Grady wonders how long the country can avoid a crash in the housing market when the double dip recession happens.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/how-long-can-the-housing-market-avoid-a-crash-2014108.html

A leaked teasury report suggests they expect 1.3 million jobs to go after the emergency budget measures.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jun/29/budget-job-losses-unemployment-austerity

Stravinsky

England show true level

Well the totally predictable happened, England finally played a half decent side, and the defence was shown up for what it is, completely out of it's depth at this level. To be fair to them, Capello's refusal to change formation in order to give them more protection, didn't help their cause, but still they were always going to be found out. If anything they were even worse than i'd expected them to be, fucking hell, how bad would it have been, if they had faced Brazil, Spain or Argentina.
I know it won't happen because of their financial situation, but the FA should be sacking Capello, not allowing him to resign, which seems to what most experts think will now happen. As i have said in previous blogs he never had the squad to seriously compete with the Spain's and Brazil's. But i have to say, I never imagined before the tournament such a dismal performance against the Germans. But after watching the first three dismal displays, i can't say yesterday's performance came as that much of a shock.
Surely a managers job is to get the best out of the players you have got, and Capello has conspicuosly failed in that objective. His obsession with 4-4-2 has been embarrassing, with such a wobbly defence, he had to find a way to get some protection in front of them. The one system that afforded them the least protection and gave the opposition control of midfield allowing them the chance to get at our defence was 4-4-2. How he could keep on persevering with that system, shocking performance after shocking performance is beyond me, but what is not beyond me, was that was not the mark of a top modern manager. Capello has got almost everything wrong in this tournament as far as i can see. From players picked to the formation chosen and finally the ineptness of the substitutions, can anybody really argue that was any better than Sven, i can't.
But at the end of the day, a good manager could have only masked the fact that for all the newspaper and TV hype our best 24 players are nowhere near as good they like to think they are. As i have argued previously that squad was very light on real talent. And what good players he had, he has not played in the positions where they do their best work for their clubs. Add to that a Rooney whom i am sure we will find out in the next few weeks was never really 100% fit and England never had a chance.
Paul Scholes at 35 is head and shoulders above of every single one of the midfielders picked in that squad. The most damning indictment of English football over the last decade is the comparatively small amount of caps he received and the fact he retired so early. And i still think, that was as much about having to play out of position, to satisfy the newspaper and TV hype to pair two of the " golden generation " together as much as to Scholes desire to not being away from the family for long periods. It needed a real football man in charge to realise that England should have built their team around the most technically gifted player they have. But what England had was the ever eager to please Eriksson and he always pandered to the press. The press got their much more marketable dream team, the golden generation, English football is all about hype, and the ginger prince never did that.
The problem for the FA is where do they go now. If i was in charge i would scrap the policy of going for foreign managers, have Sven or Capeelo been any better than El Tel or Bobby Robson. The next step would be to give the next man the brief that as important as qualifying for the next tournaments is that the need to identify and bring through young English talent is of equal importance. There should be an acceptance that we have no chance of winning the European championship in 2012 and that to qualify and blood youngsters picked out as the future is the way to go.
And i know all that is absolute pie in the sky, because to admit all that would be to admit to too many failiures of the men in charge now. There is too much money, too many ego's and too much hype for such an honest brutal assessment to prevail.

Full credit to Germany they totally deserved their win and played some excellent football. How much it tells us about their chances to go all the way is hard to say as England's performance was so laughable. Still you can only beat what is put in front of you and they certainly did that. Ozil and Schweinsteiger have been two of the better players in the tournament. Ozil has come out of nowhere to me and looks a serious player but Schwinsteiger has impressed me with the national team and with Bayern Munich in last seasons champions league. In the past i have always thought he was over rated but he seems to be developing into the player the Germans had hoped he would become.

Jason Burt in the Telegraph writes that Capello has been aware of the lack ot talent and worrying lack of technique prevalent amongst English players since his first England training session.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/england/7857949/England-v-Germany-after-failure-of-golden-generation-it-is-time-to-give-youth-a-chance.html
The paragraph about Rooney makes for interesting reading, and i have a feeling it is a 100% correct. If so, it's hard to blame him, he has trained and played with them all so i think he would be a pretty good judge. I'm not sure how Burt tries to compare Lampard and Cole to Giggs and Scholes, they are not even close to the two lads of the class of 92. Gerrard is a player and from the way they lin up it's pretty obvious that he does rate him.
As for the future and going for youth, after that it is surely the only way to go. It wouldn't be under Capello though, if i were in charge.

David Pleat finishes his tactical assessment of the game with the lines "England offered nothing against this imaginative and lively Germany side. They leave South Africa in a destroyed state."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/jun/27/england-germany-world-cup

Alan rips into the " abysmal " defensive display and argues players Capello and his defensive coaches must share the blame for such a shambolic display.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/england/7858010/England-v-Germany-Englands-defence-was-worse-than-abysmal-says-Alan-Hansen.html

Andy Cole lays it on the line, our good players aren't as good as everyone says and the rest are just average. There isn't a sentence in that i could quibble with.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/andy-cole-our-great-players-are-simply-not-as-good-as-they-and-we-thought-2012158.html

Michael Owen said as soon as he saw the team and formation he knew England were going to lose and worries where the next generation of England footballers are going to come from.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/england/7858085/England-v-Germany-as-soon-as-I-saw-our-tactics-I-knew-wed-lose-says-Michael-Owen.html

El Tel does his populist bit in the Sun laying into Capello's tactics. I agree with him over the tactics but he is letting the players off far too lightly inthat piece. He must still think he's a contender.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/worldcup2010/3032214/Fabios-had-it-wrong-for-ages.html

The FA are coming in for some stick this morning, unsurprisingly. Having just finsished David Conn's 1997 tome, The football business, if anybody expects anything even remotely constructive from them, they are living in cloud cuckoo land. I always knew they were incompetent, but the picture of incompetence drawn in that book took even me aback.


Paul Mason on the big " ifs" of the budget.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/paulmason/

Joseph Stiglitz is another economist distinctly unimpressed with the coalition budget.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/osbornes-first-budget-its-wrong-wrong-wrong-2011501.html

Andrew Rawnsley' column on the pain of being seen as a tory poodle.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/27/andrew-rawnsley-lib-dems-coalition-anxiety

The Chinese economy is not all plain sailing as US-Sino tensions mount again.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/26/china-economy

Stephen King asks : to stimulate or not to stimulate.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/stephen-king-to-stimulate-or-not-to-stimulate-that-is-the-question-2012250.html

Larry Elliot reports that the chance to change the waythe global economy works has been missed.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/28/g20-summit-economics-global-imbalances

More reasons McCrystal had to go as the Indy unearth a confidential briefing from McCrystal showing a far from healthy state of affairs in the campain against the taliban.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/the-last-post-mcchrystals-bleak-outlook-2011730.html

Terry Jones with a funny but deadly serious column on the lack of cuts in the defence budget.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/26/defence-spending-cuts

The Doors

Knockout stages

Today is the first day of the knockout stages of the world cup and where we see what the fancied teams are really made of, it should be interesting. Roy Hodgson fancies Brazil to recapture the trophy they last won in 1994. He likes the look of the Argentinians going forward but is worried about them at the back.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/brazil/7852478/Roy-Hodgson-Dungas-blend-gives-Brazil-the-edge-as-Europeans-and-Africans-struggle.html

Marina Hyde on our one sided rivalry with the German football team.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/jun/24/england-germany-rivalry-world-cup-2010

Cannavaro laments Italy's lack of top class talent.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8762335.stm

Oliver Kahn wonders where all the English goalkeeping talent went.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/kahn-critical-of-english-keepers-2010553.html

Laurie Penney of the new statesman attacks the hypocrisy of labours opposition to the budget.
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/laurie-penny/2010/06/welfare-state-labour-8217

Philip Stephens of the FT is the latest to question the description of the budget as "progressive".
http://blogs.ft.com/westminster/2010/06/progressive-vince-and-nick-should-have-a-word-with-david-w/

Obama and congress have begun to tame Wall street, but wonder what on earth the European's, including the British government despite Cameron's protestation's, are doing.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/fresh-from-taming-wall-street-obama-takes-on-the-world-2010992.html

Peter Galbraith questions US strategy in Afghanistan.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/24/stanley-mcchrystal-afghanistan-rolling-stone

A guardian interview with the great Larry David.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2010/jun/26/larry-david-interview

Rodriguez

Rooney fit for Germany

I suppose that depends on your definition of fit. He is obviously nowhere near 100% fit, it's been crystal clear watching his performances so far. As someone who is far more concernced about Manchester United this doesn't make me a happy bunny. Anybody other than Rooney and i have a feeling they wouldn't have been allowed to go to the world cup. After the travails of Rooney in the last world cup, i suppose Fergie may have felt he had to allow him to go to keep him happy. And the last thing a cash strapped Ferguson needs is aun happy Rooney. How much of a price are we going to pay for that next season though, when he comes back and probably heads straight for an operating theatre.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/england/7850454/World-Cup-2010-Englands-Wayne-Rooney-expected-to-be-fit-for-Germany-contest.html

Richard Williams with a far more considered take on yesterday's contest than we saw from the BBC's analysts, who were a total embarrassment, i thought. You would have thought that they had been involved in a really hard game against tough opposition and had looked like potential winners. What i saw was a side that still didn't look like a team that would be able to retain possession against any of the better teams in the competition. And after the yanks deserved injury time winner, that is who they will be facing from here on in. I can't see Mexico beating Argentina, even though Argentina's defence surely means however beautifully they play the game, they can't win the tournament. So if they manage to beat the impressive Germans it will be Diego's Argentina next.
As poorly as Rooney has played so far, understandable as that is, given that he is nowhere near fit, when he went off after aggrevating his ankle, we saw what an England team without Rooney would look like. It wasn't very reassuring if you thought England had a chance to bring the world cup back. They looked even worse than United did at the end of the season without him. As soon as he went off, England's game went to pieces, there was no movement up front, they were toothless, devoid of idea's and the ball just kept coming straight back.
Although i have wanted to see Joe Cole get into the starting line up, that was only on the proviso that the line up was 4-3-3. There is no way i would start him on the left in a orthodox 4-4-2, in fact, his cameo performance yesterday gave Capello a pretty good defence for having not picked him so far this summer.
To beat the Germans on Sunday they will have to move up another notch. Are the Germans as good a team as they have been cracked up to be so far, though. I don't know to be honest, they have played some great football, far better to watch than England, but just like England the opposition hasn't been the greatest. I would suspect for the neutrals who belive in the beautiful game a German victory would be the desired outcome.

Macheda's agent has told Sky sports that he will not be going out on loan next season.
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_6224885,00.html

Solskjaer won't coach the reserves for ever, but he is happy to bide his time under Ferguson at United. He is ambitious, what's wrong with that. Let's hope he can fulfill those ambitions at United.
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2010/06/23/1991656/manchester-united-reserve-manager-ole-gunnar-solskjaer-eyes

United's French academy hope Paul Pogba has been described as a leader of men by his old clubs academy director Frederic Lipka. He has looked a useful prospect when i have seen him play for the youngsters. My only reservation has been whether his well developed physique has helped him stand out.
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2010/06/23/1989994/a-leader-of-men-meet-manchester-uniteds-new-signing-paul

It looks like the redevelopment of old trafford, Lancashire cricket ground, will be given the green light to go full steam ahead after the government decided not to review the scheme.
http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1263352_government_approves_32m_old_trafford_redevelopment

The respected independent institute for fiscal studies has declared the budget as "not progressive". I didn't expect it to be from everything that had been leaking out. If we do pay for this with a double dip recession the lib dems will be decimated at the next election and will deserve everything it gets. The question for me is, would it have been worse if the tories had won the elction and this had been a truly tory budget, or is the lib dem leadership that right wing that they are happy to put their name to this package. From what we have seen and hear it appears to be the latter.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/budget-is-not-progressive-declares-ifs-2008893.html

Whatever the answer to that is, i can't believe they are happy with the news that the banks seem likely to escape unscathed. The only justification for that could be that they are keeping their powder dry. The trouble with that is, if we do regress back into recessionary conditions, the banks will be untouchable again, especially with the tories in charge of the coalition.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/banks-set-to-gain-from-osbornes-tax-regime-2008692.html

The new statesman is unimpressed by the lib dems progressive credentials as part of the coalition.
http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2010/06/budget-party-clegg-liberal


Simon Jenkins on Thatcherism's great gamble.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/22/george-osborne-emergency-budget-gamble

Obama and Europe, especially Merkel at odds over cuts that will damage economic recovery. Who would have thought just three years ago that US would be carrying the mantle of a centre left progressive economic course against a European a conservative Luddite strategy.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/merkel-rejects-obama-warnings-that-cuts-will-damage-global-recovery-2008751.html

As Obama accepts Afghan war leader McCrystal's resignation, where does his Afghan strategy lie now.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/23/barack-obama-stanley-mcchrystal-afghanistan

Morphine

It's all gone Pete Tong

United youth puts the spotlight on Danny Drinkwater's loan spell at Huddersfield town. I saw him or once or twice on sky and i thought considering his age and size he did quite well. He is obviously nowhere near our first team yet, but then neither was Cleverley after his first loan spell at Leicester and i'm expecting him to be in the first team squad next year so Drinkwater still has time.
http://manunitedyouth.wordpress.com/2010/06/18/a-look-at-the-loanees-danny-drinkwater/#more-3342

England are on the brink of world cup disaster after an even worse performance last night, against Algeria, than they gave against USA in the opener. What kills me, i have to say, is that everybody is so shocked. Look at that team, is that really something to shock and awe opponents.As i have said before you can go through that team and squad and pick gaping big holes in it at will.
He has taken three goalkeepers, two of whom are definitely not real international class and have both prone to the unforced errors at club level in Green's case and at all levels in James case. The one keeper with no real big howlers in his career so far, short admittedly, and the keeper in form is the one goalkeeper that he hasn't played so far. It would seem the maxim if your good enough, your old enough doesn't seem to apply in Capello's universe.
The back four is nowhere near strong enough, and the fact it would have been better with injury prone Rio in it tells me just how poor his understudies are. Terry has carried on his indifferent Chelsea form into this competition and wasn't much better than Carragher last night. It's a good job Abramovitch is loaded, because if the Glazer's had beeen persuaded to give him a new contract worth £15ok a week and one year later saw his form deteriorate to this level somebody would be getting the sack. Ashley Cole is the only quality defender that England now possess. In four years from the last world cup when England had as good a defence as there was in the tournament that some decline.
Midfield has become the age old problem of how to fit Gerrard and Lampard in the same team. If Capello was worth the millions he is being paid he surely would have worked that out in the qualifiers. As we have seen, and under different managers it is not playing them together in central midfield and it's not playing Gerrard on the left. Has Capello really showed any better tactical nous than the ridiculed Sven or even Steve McLaren, not so far. It is obvious that the only way to fit them both into the same side is to play 4-3-3 with a holding man behind them. I'm not saying that will suddenly release them both and England will go to demolish all before them because it patently will not. What this world cup has confirmed to me is that England have 4 quality players in that squad and that is it.
Rooney up front doesn't look fit to me, his body language as well as display was something i have never seen in the red of United, that's for sure. He looked like he was protecting his ankle during that last 15 minutes. If i am right, i hope Slovenia put England out of their misery next week, so we can get Rooney right for next season. The last thing we need next season is to lose Rooney for a lengthy period of time because he has aggrevated that ankle injury for the lost cause that is England's world cup hopes. Fergie must be looking on anxiously, as if we lose him for the opening of the season our title hopes could evaporate in the first couple of months of next season. We're not going to be splashing out any money this summer and we all know it.
Add Gerrard, Lampard and Asley Cole to the list of top players and then look at the rest of that squad. Heskey that can't get into the Villa first team. And being kept out by John Carew, a decent player but himself hardly a player to strike fear into the oppostion. Defoe a decent premier league striker but not international quality and not a team player to boot. Then Crouch, who though i don't rate, has been unlucky not to start this wrold cup. Not that i would start with him in my wildest dreams, but if Capello is going toplay 4-4-2, Crouch has got more going for him than Heskey, an ability to put the ball in the net amongst others.
As for midfield the fact that the return of Gareth Barry was being welcomed back as if that would put every thing right says it all. He is a decent premier league player who will do a job, nothing more, nothing less. He is not Claude Makelele or Owen Hargreaves even. If Carrick had put in a half reasonable season at United i don't see how Capello could have left him out with his ability to play it short or long and protect the back four. But he was so poor, attrocious even in the last months of the season, that he was very lucky to even have been on the plane. What does that say for English strength in depth in the middle of the park.
As for the wide men, yet another headache i'm afraid. Just as the Lampard-Gerrard engima gets passed down from England manager to England manager, so does our lack of a class left winger or even left sided midfilder. Yet again i will have to question Capello's judgement. I think he was right to not take Walcott, he didn't play well for Arsenal and didn't deserve to go. But there is no way Shaun Wright Phillips should be there either, he is just not international standard at all, in fact he was just embarrassing when he came on against USA. Along with Carrick, he was a very lucky man to have been picked. What makes that worse though was that City do have a wide man who could have done a decent job, Adam Johnson did enough in the short time he was at City last season to have shown he could have done a job for England. He is not world beater, he puts a decent cross, a pretty essential skill to have in a wide man you would think. And moreover unlike Wright-Phillips he doesn't give the ball away for fun. Who knows, even though he seems to prefer to play on the right nowadays, maybe he could have done a job on that problem left hand side. And that leaves Lennon, he has potential as he has shown when giving Evra a couple of chasings for Spurs, but his final ball has always been too hit and miss. I would persist with him in this world cup and beyond because there is nothing better, but unless he gets more consistency to his final ball he will never fulfill his potential.
My simple way of juding a team is how many players would i like to see in the red of United. And when i look at England, i don't see many. Scholes would walk into that side, and i have to say that if all those years ago Giggs had decided to go for England instead of Wales so would he. And i mean the starting eleven, not just the squad, that is a daming indictment.

We all agree, United are better than England
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/wayne-rooney/7840004/Wayne-Rooneys-unreliable-England-team-mates-bring-out-the-worst-in-striker.html

Rooney blasts England's fans, good on you lad. As United's messageboards have been saying we will have another world cup scapegoat playing for us. United against the world.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/rooney-nice-to-hear-your-fans-booing-2004847.html

Andy cole asks Capello to earn the millions he is being paid, because he hasn't so far. He doesn't have a world cup winning squad in my opinion, but he has a decent enough squad to have got out of this group easier than this. That's if they do get out of the group, and i certainly wouldn't be putting any money on that. I can see Slovenia's front men causing England's shaky back four big problems in that last game that Slovenia need a result out of, just as much as England do.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/andy-cole-i-understand-rooneyrsquos-anger-itrsquos-time-for-the-manager-to-earn-his-millions-2004589.html

Alan Smith thinks Capello has problems to address.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/england/7839513/England-v-Algeria-Fabio-Capello-has-many-problems-to-address-but-at-least-not-in-goal.html

David Pleat bemoans the lack of balance that meant Ashley Cole couldn't get forward.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/england/7839513/England-v-Algeria-Fabio-Capello-has-many-problems-to-address-but-at-least-not-in-goal.html

Tom Hyde in the Telegraph on the highs and comedy lows of Raymond Domenech. I think i would attribute that single high of reaching the world cup final in 2006 to Zidane who seemed to take over the coaching and tactics of the team on the pitch. Their performances since seem to back that up.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/france/7837299/Raymond-Domenech-profile-France-coach-another-sort-of-human-comedy.html

Robert Skidelsky asks who governs, financial markets or democratically elected goverments. We all know that after the hope that the one good thing that may come out of the credit crunch, the taming of the markets, it's the markets that are the masters again.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6c3604b8-798c-11df-85be-00144feabdc0.html

Will Hutton on dispatches earlier in the week attacking the banks conduct.


Frank Furedi stands up for permissiveness with an article that sounds almost as much a definition of social liberalism. If anything he is not strident enough in supporting permissivness for my tastes.
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/9006/

Gary Gibbon of channel 4 on more lib dem uneasiness.
http://blogs.channel4.com/snowblog/2010/06/17/spending-cuts-what-will-lib-dems-tell-their-constituents/
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2010/06/party-members-lib-coalition

And John Harris carries on in the same vein
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/17/liberal-democrats-prepare-for-bumpy-ride

An interesting review of Paul Addison's new book by Vernon Bogdanor
http://www.newstatesman.com/books/2010/06/british-britain-revolutions


John Cale with Paris 1919

Nobby Stiles suffers very minor stroke, nothing threatning according to the sporting life.
http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/10/06/18/SOCCER_Stiles.html

The dispute with French club Le Harve over youth player Paul Pogba has been settled. I have seen him play for the academy and he does show signs that he could well have been worth the trouble. Time will tell.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jun/18/le-havre-paul-pogba-manchester-united

James Lawton wants Capello to replace Green with Hart. I go along with that, but the rumours are he will replace Green with James. Yes calamity james.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/james-lawton-a-decision-that-could-make-capello-even-if-it-does-break-green-2003469.html

Domenech continues with his disastrous stewardship of the French national team with another dismal display but this time they get the result such an abject performance deserved. Our new signing Hernandez scored the opener after coming on as sub. Once again he wasn't given enough time on the pitch to seriously judge him as a player though. He took the goal beautifully though.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/news/7830657/France-0-Mexico-2-match-report.html

Sneiijder states the obvious truth that journalists will never touch, the champions league if far superior to the world cup.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jun/18/world-cup-2010-wesley-sneijder

Andreas Whittam Smith argues for breaking up the banks.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/andreas-whittam-smith/andreas-whittam-smith-the-dealing-room-had-it-coming-2003414.html

Jeremy Warner comments on the demise of the FSA and the banks attempted rewriting of history.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jeremywarner/100006312/brown-luvvie-says-fsa-was-a-dud-all-along/

Lib dems struggling to keep their independence in coalition wries Michael White.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/17/liberal-democrats-backbenches

Tony Hayward, BP boss infuriates congressional committee
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/bp-boss-plumbs-depths-of-contrition-but-his-critics-are-unimpressed-2003671.html

Republican shoots himself in the foot at BP hearings and is forced to back track by his party. Relief for Obama and the democrats.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/richard-adams-blog/2010/jun/17/joe-barton-bp-apology-oil-spill-republican

Cat Power on later

Nani mystery

There seem to be all kinds of rumours and weird goings on surrounding Nani's withdrawl from the Portugal squad. First there were rumours that he had failed a drugs test, that have been strenuosly denied and now Nani says he will be fit to play in a week, strange.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/portugal/7826070/World-Cup-2010-Portugal-deny-Nani-rift-rumours-ahead-of-Ivory-Coast-clash.html

Last night produced the first match that was an actual pleasure to watch instead of a chore to be endured as the Germans surprised with an oustanding performance of real attacking quality. The lack of quality in the Aussie side has to be remembered before anybody goes overboard on the Germans chances, but at least they tried and managed to play the game the right way. Mesunt Ozil gave the performance of the tournament so far.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/news/7814638/Germany-4-Australia-0-match-report.html

It looks like Ledley King's world cup is over as the injury picked up on Saturday turns out to be worse than thought. It's not going very well, so far.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/capellos-gamble-on-king-backfires-1999661.html

Alan Hansen is worried about England's defence.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/england/7824852/World-Cup-2010-Fabio-Capello-must-find-a-solution-to-Englands-lack-of-defensive-pace.html

James Lawton points out that tournament winners often don't start out in a blaze of glory, after England's less than convincing start. That has sometimes been the case, but not always. One thing that generally isn't rectified though is an obvious defensive weakness that has no obvious remedy as long as the coach won't entertain changing tactics.
I think i have come to the conclusion that England's problems at the back are so bad that they would be better playing with two holding players in midfield if they are to have any chance in this tournament. That would make them very negative and i wouldn't want any team that plays like that to win the tournament, but it's the only chance they have as far as i can see.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/james-lawton-history-insists-winners-do-not-appear-in-blaze-of-early-glory-1999665.html


Larry Elliot bemoans the return of the deficit hawks wonders what influence Cable and Huhne actually put into the coalition government. None by the looks of it.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jun/14/lunatics-economy-cuts-frankin-roosevelt

Stephen King wonders whether we have reached the limits of Keynesian fiscal policies as foreign investors refuse to fund the debt.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/stephen-king/stephen-king-the-moment-of-truth-will-be-the-day-the-us-opts-to-default-by-stealth-1999792.html

BP under pressure from Obama and Congress
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/white-house-turns-up-heat-on-bp-with-flurry-of-new-demands-1999651.html

Ex soviet central Asia explodes again.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/14/kyrgyzstan-death-toll-ethnic-slaughter

Mock rock from the New York dolls

Defensive worries for England

Well i had said that i thought the first game against the US would show us how England would fare in the tounament. It certainly gave us more than a clue or two. I've written that the reason i couldn't see England getting to the final was because the defence wasn't good enough. And i saw more than enough from last night's game to think that i was spot on there. Of course the US goal came from a dreadful mistake from the goalie, not a defensive blunder, but there were enough worrying signs that better teams than the yanks will severley punish England's defensive deficencies.
In my first choice England side i had picked Hart because he has been the best goalie this season and more importantly in his short career so far, he has shown no tendency to gift the opposition soft goals, enough said. Last night's mistake has been described by Bob Wilson as a schoolboy howler and i can't think of a better way to describe it. It wasn't as if you could say you couldn't see it coming as just like David James he has been known to make the odd holwer. Add to that he has never played on the really big stage playing Hart was no more risky a choice because of his age and lack of experience than the two supposedly in front of him.
I wasn't impressed with anything last night and thought Capello had as big a shocker as any of the players on the pitch. The choice of goalie has to go down as bad mistake, the inclusion of Milner on the left and then his substitution was a big blunder and the tactics and shape of the team was all wrong.
I don't know what the truth of the Milner substitution is, whether it was due to the illness or the early yellow card, but it lessened his options to change personnel and tactics in the latter stages of the game when England finally got a semblence of a grip on the game. Bringing on Shaun Wright Phillips to replace him was truly unbelievable and the performance he gave confirmed my view that there was no luckier player to have made the final twenty two, he was truly abysmal. Of course picking King at centre half confounded that mistake when he had to go off at half time. Even though i think Ferdinand is becoming a shadow of the player he was, the lack of cover for him shows what problems England now have at the back. Carragher looked like a sending off waiting to happen in the second half and i really can't see how they can continue with him on Friday.
As predicted the shape of the team meant that England's most dangerous players couldn't get into or affect the game as England would have wished. It's not just than Gerrard and Lampard can't play together, the way football has evolved since the last world cup, most top teams and both of those player play a 4-3-3 with one or even two holding players. When you look at England's squad, it's dodgy defence and where its best attacking players play, that is the only chance of England getting anywhere in this world cup.
Commentators were effusive in their praise of Heskey's performance last night and i won't sit here and write that he had a bad game. But his inclusion in a 4-4-2 had the knock on effect of almost entirely making Rooney a peripheral figure on the pitch, and just as bad encouraged the usual English disease of htiing the aimless long ball from the back, hence people watching asking whether Lampard was on the pitch.
It's a good job it's such a easy group because i could see England being on their way home before the knockout stages if they had been handed a tougher draw.
One last thing, for all the praise of Capello since he took over, now we have entered the serious stuff after the cakewalk of the knockout stages, i haven't been impressed by what i have seen so far. Last night was so bad it was almost Sven like.

My main concern from this world cup is to get Wayne Rooney through this competition in one piece back ready for the new season. I would like him to have a good world cup to confirm his place as one of the best players inthe world, but my main concern is always United. After watching last night, if England don't change tactics he isn't going to get the chance to show the world much as he isn't going to see much of the ball.

Two of the better reviews of England's disappointing opening game against the USA. First Kevin McCarra aks if we are going to see the same old England. On that performance the answer would seem to be yes.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jun/13/world-cup-2010-fabio-capello-england

And James Lawton argues that if last night is anything to go by, England are asking too much of Rooney.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/james-lawton-england-ask-too-much-from-rooney-bursts-of-brilliance-1999228.html

Will Hutton uses his Observer column to describe how the banks have won the post credit crunch debate and the dangers that presents. There will be a dispatches version on channel 4, that is the biggest indictment of the last government.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/13/will-hutton-banks-crash-refuse-reform

James Graham is worried about the coalitions economic poilicies and the lib dems part in them.
http://socialliberal.net/2010/06/10/will-we-get-fairer-taxes-under-the-coalition/

Frank Black with Los Angeles from his first solo album that i love