Otelul Galati 0-2 Manchester United

This was one of those games to be endured rather than enjoyed, but at least we came away with the three points. Even though the game was very important, sandwiched between the trip to Anfield and the weekend's little local tussle it was understandable that the players never really rose above doing more than was necessary.
It was nice to see Vidic back, though not so nice to see him sent for an early bath, maybe it was a good thing he didn't appear at Anfield on Saturday. Only kidding, it was a joke of a decision from the man in black. I know European refs don't like to see a foot raised but there was no danger or malice in it, he totally over reacted.
At least by that stage of the game we had got the goal that had looked like it might never come. It was as blatant a penalty as you will ever see and with the Vidic sending off in mind how the hosts defender didn't see a red for that i don't know. Last time i read the rules a deliberate hand ball was an automatic sending off. Rooney tucked it away nicely.
The first half had been dreadful viewing, as the home team got everybody behind the ball for the most part and a United team with one eye on Sunday struggled to show the skill to open them up. The passing, first touch and movement were all mssing in action,the only real chance came when the reds best player on the night Evra cued up Carrick who blazed over the bar when he should have at least hit the target. That aside i thought Carrick had a fair game, he impressed more than Anderson anyway.
I'm not sure 4-4-2 is working in Europe, it certainly won't work with a central midfield pairing of Carrick and Anderson, i really fucking hope that Cleverley if fit for Sunday. I don't think the pairing of Rooney and Hernandez really worked either. In games like these Chicarito doesn't really offer to much, as it's the box he comes alive in. If Fergie was saving Welbeck for Sunday, which i think he may well have been i would have started with Berbatov and brought Hernandez on when the home team had tired.
Yet again one of the twins couldn't last the ninety minutes as Fabio had to come off to be replaced by Jones at right back. The twins future prospects aren't looking as bright as they were at the back end of last season. What with the competition for places at right back and their inability to last ninety minutes or put a run of games together.
The referee evened things up by sending off one of the Galati defenders for a second bookable offence right near the end. Nani was very unlucky to hit the upright in an otherwise forgettable day for him. And Rooney put the game to bed with a second successful penalty, converted in injury time.
So at last we are up and running in the group, hopefully the group will come down to the Benfica game at home where if we win we would top the group. The way we are performing in europe this season though, that Basle game seems to me to be a tricky proposition.

Fergie was already looking forward to the weekend's derby when quizzed by the press after the game. I don't know where he gets the idea that Anderson was one of three players that helped change the game in the second half. That must have been an alternative reality viewing of the game i watched.
There isn't much i can argue with this piece on United's encounter and the group stage in general, it aint going to change any time soon though.

Richard Evans of the LMA alleges that foreign owners are looking to alter the premier leagues rules to stop relegation .That should come as no suprise really. From foreign owners to foreign managers the Indy report on France's realtionship to it's most successful managerial export, Arsene Wenger. Jonathan Freedland compares the state of our national sport to the state of our economy.

Well i thought this would never come to pass, but last week's rumours were proved to be well founded yesterday when the Stone Roses confirmed that they are to reform to play two gigs at Heaton park followed by a world tour and the best news for me, that they are working on a new album.
Rob Hastings asks was it Ian Brown's divorce that sealed the deal after Sean Ryder's weekend joke, Ian Brown didn't have a pop back. Dave Simpson claims that last Reading disaster is the reason why the group should reform, to show the world the world how good they really were. They have made his day.

Stephen Pinker argues we are becoming less violent in his latest work, reviewed here by John Gray who is less than convinced. Well the next ten to twenty years of economic crisis will give us a good idea if Pinker is really on the money.
John Naughton interviewed the man himself in last Sunday's Observer where he argued why he thought mankind had turned its back on brutality. I have to admit to being pretty sceptical myself, it seems a very western idea, and even the west itself maybe on the brink of revisting its darker past.
But China faces problems with the communist party fighting to stay in control, Burma is no nearer an end to military dictatorship and Afganistan will probably revert to a warlord era when the US finall decides it's no longer worth it. And as for the Arab world who can say where that is heading. Will the Army really relinquish their grip on Eygpt, will Syria descend into civil war, will Israel ever establish a peaceful co-existance in the Arab world and perhaps biggest of all, how will the Saudi Arabia-Iran cold war resolve itself.
There seems more than a hint of Francis Fukuyama's end of history nonesense about it.

Hamish McRae argues that in a world where the population continues to grow, Europe and the west will matter less and less. He is also not impressed by the higher than forecast inflation figures released yersterday arguing higher inflation means lower growth. Benedict Brogan focuses on the dangers of this for Cameron and his prospects of re-election.
Mary Ann Sieghart swims against the tide in thinking that Cameron didn't handle the Fox affair as well as he should have done. The Guardian report on the O'Donnell Fox report and the unanswered question's. Craig Murray thinks it was a whitewash.

It had to be really,

Liverpool 1-1 Manchester United

I think we can sum up Fergie's thinking ahead of this game as get in and out as quickly as possible, hope to snatch three points but be more than happy with one. I had expected Fergie to leave Nani out, i know some reds were less than thrilled with that decision, but Ronaldo never did anything at Anfield and neither has Nani. I didn't forget Nani's reaction to Carragher's admittedly diabolical challenge on him last season and maybe Fergie couldn't. You need to stand up tall in the heat of the battle at Anfield and that was what Fergie went for.
With our lack of real class in midfield, especially with Cleverley not quite ready, Fergie went for a mix and match engine room, with Jones enjoying a first outing there alongside Flecther and Giggs. For what Fergie was hoping to achieve, i thought it worked to an extent, especially in the first half as we contested the midfield and quietened the crowd. The problem as it was always likely to be, was we were unable to create much up front.
The big suprise of the day was the decision to leave Rooney on the bench and stick Welbeck up front on his own. With the lack of service that Welbeck received, Rooney wasn't really missing much. That said i thought Welbeck did excellently, living off scraps, as he was, he still caused the home sides defence some sticky moments.
It looked like one of those forgettable days where both sides cancel each other out, which of course was Fergie's aim. But then twenty minutes from time United gave away yet another soft goal at Anfield, we can't seem to help gifting them goals in this bad run that we are suffering there. Giggs of all people, the perpertrator as he peeld off the end of the wall to gift Gerrard the gap he needed from the free kick to give De Gea no chance.
It was pity for our young Spanish goalie because he had possibly his best game yet for the reds. He made some crucial saves, one from Suarez at the end of the first half and another excellent near the death from Jordan Henderson especially.
The goal was the cue for United to abandon the containing approach as Nani and Rooney were brought on immediately. Six minutes later Hernadez came on for Jones and Rooney was dropped deeper into midfield. At last for the first and only time in the second half United built up a little head of steam and a corner from Nani saw Welbeck glance the ball onto the incoming Hernandez who buried the header to put us level in the match.
I now expected United to go all out guns blazing in a search for the three points. It wasn't to be, it was the home side that had the chances with Rooney making one great saving header in the six yard box to salvage the point for us.
I had said before the game that i had hoped Smalling would be available for the trip and that his early season form had not been given the recognition it deserved. Well he was back yesterday and he confirmed how much we had missed him putting in a magnificent defensive display that made him our best player in my opinion. If we can get Vidic back for the derby i will feel a lot happier in the state of our defence.
I would have gladly taken the point before the game, even though it would leave City the chance to go top later in the afternoon that they duly took. City still haven't played anybody so i'm not worrying about them too much yet. Of course if they took the three points of us next week that would be a worry.
The one major disappointment for me yesterday was the way we failed to really create any chances to win the game after we had equalised. That must be partly down the lack of real quality in midfield that meant we could never really build any kind of real pressure on the home teams goal.
Ian Ladyman tweeted last night that United fans weren't taking into account that our European game this week was argubaly a bigger game. I don't know about bigger but it is big after the disappointing home draw to Basel, United could really do with taking 6 points from the home and away games to Champions league newbies Otelul Galati.

Fergie wasn't happy with the soft free kick and presumably was as unhappy with the collapse of the wall. I didn't think it was a foul, but i'm afraid you always expect to be on the wrong end of decisions when you travel there. If the wall had done the job it should have done, it wouldn't have cost us.

Henry Winter argues that yesterday's performance showed why Rooney and Welbeck must be aboard the plane bound for Poland next summer. Rooney actually did reasonably well when he dropped into midfield. I still don't see that as the position he will eventually settle into though. It was interesting to see that Fergie left Welbeck on the pitch when he started to bring his subs on and started to reshuffle the team. This shows how highly Fergie must rate him and how versatile he can be and will obviously do his chances of being on that plane any harm.


This New York Times editorial accurately describes the coalition's economic policy as a deliberate ideological choice that has failed and will fail and could well lead to a lost decade of no growth. It argues that if the Republican party has their way the US will suffer the same fate.

As if the global economy wasn't in enough trouble the Telegraph reports that those who forecast a rocky time ahead for Chinese economy may be about to be proved right. China's carefully managed soft landing turns harder by the day, threatening to deflate the torrid credit bubble of the past three years.
This FT article also argues that China might have used up most of it's heavy artillery after the 2008 crunch and as with Europe and the US seems ill equipped to deal with any further economic crisis.
The bail-outs are coming thick and fast in China reports Ambrose Evans-Pritchard as its debt spree returns to haunt the authorities.
The Economist reports on the growing links between China and Germany, the big trade surplus countries of the world economy. Will either see the light and help to rebalance the world economy.
Peter Foster claims that the reasonable aspirations of the Chinese people cannot be denied indefinitely, spending money on it's own people would be one way help internal consumption and help recailbrate the massive trade surplus it runs to the detriment of the global economy.
The Economist reports on how Chine's hallowed "non inteference" policy is coming up against hard reality of the Libyan uprising. They haven't won any friends with the Arab world with their backing for the "Violent" Assad regime in Syria either.

It does seem that Craig Murray's source on the Fox-Werrity affair was definitely onto something as the drip, drip revealtions keep on coming. This Independent on Sunday report links Werrity to Mossad and the Iranian opposition. George Monibot is unimpressed by the accountibilty of free market think tanks masquerading as charities, lobbying and given free reign on the BBC.
Most commentators have been giving Cameron warm plaudits for the way he has handled the affair to insulate himself from blame amongst the Tory right wing. I'm not sure the public will care too much about that, they will though see that they are still the same old dodgy, sleazy tories with links to organisations that won't go down with the electorate come the next election, especially if the economy carries on flat lining or even implodes if the Euro goes down.

Roy Harper interviewed in the Guardian reveals how he fought like hell to stay alive and how he feels vindicated by the new artists who claim him as an inspiration. Stormcock is a magnificent album.

United protect future

United protect the future of the squad giving new more lucrative and longer contracts to Hernandez and Cleverley. That means United are really safeguarding the medium to long term future of the club, securing almost everybody bar Berbatov to the club for the next three years at least.
Reports circulated alleging Real Madrid were sniffing around Hernandez, who knows, how true those were but the guy is a born goalscorer. He still needs work on his all round game, but if Fergie is going back to a four striker rotation policy he fits into that very well. To my mind he would be a Solskjaer type squad member who has the potential to be even better than the baby faced assasin.
I'm glad Cleverley has also been sorted out, though i'm sure there were never ever any worries that he was looking elsewhere having come through the clubs ranks. Amazingly after just a handful of games he has shown himself to be our best and most important central midfield player. I have rated him ever since i saw him have a stormer for Watford in the championship a couple of seasons ago. I was a bit concerned the way that Wigan used him last season, but it seems to have been a great learning curve to his career.
He brings an energy to our midfield that we have lacked and that we will need if, or more hopefully when we come up against that great Barca team. Obviously he also brings great technique and a very clever football brain. The next step for him is to start to scoring the goals we know he is capable of. Given a decent run of games, i am sure they will come.

The press are speculating that Cleverley will be back for Saturday's biggie at Loonypool alongside the captain Vidic who hasn't been seen since the opening game of the season. The inclusion of both players would obviously be a huge bonus. I can't say i would be as confident as i would like to be if Fergie was forced to pick Anderson and Carrick. I saw Fletcher put in the best shift i have seen from him for a while for the jocks on Tuesday against Spain and if has come through that unscathed my midfield pairing if we go 4-4-2 would be Cleverley and Fletcher. If it's a 4-3-3 i would still have them as part of the 4-4-2.
Needless to say the return would be a big boost as well, even if Anfield has been a bit of a bogey ground for him in recent years. The form of our defence over the past few games has given cause for concern and he would help instil more confidence in it. Ther has been no mention of Smalling recently, i don't know why, out poor defensive form has also coincided with his loss to injury. The return of the big centre half would be almost as good news for me.
The presumed retirement of Vidic from international football for Serbia seems a bit premature, was it a reaction to the missed penalty. Is he looking at Ferdinand and looking to prolong his United career, i suppose some conspiracy theorists will think he is looking for a move for one last big pay day. We are going to need him at United for the next couple of season to help bring Smalling and Jones through, so i hope there is nothing to that.

United blogger Written offside looks at Danny Welbeck and hopes to see the local youngster partner Rooney up front if Fergie sticks with the 4-4-2 formation. I would totally concur with that we need energy, workrate and commitment before our superior skill comes to the fore, hopefully. And Welbeck provides that better than any of the available strikers to be paired with Rooney. Of course he isn't a bad player too.
I haven't been as suprised as the blogger has been with Welbeck's impact since his return from his loan season at Sunderland. I have watched him since he was 16 in the youth team and he has always looked the part. I have to admit though, even i did wonder if i had got it wrong after his dismal display during the FA cup defeat at home to Leeds a couple of seasons ago. He was hardly on his own that day though, and as he has said you need to be playing regularly to hope to make an impact in the first team when the chance arises and he wasn't playing regularly.
Along with Cleverley he is an example to all our youngsters that going out on loan is looking like it's the way to go if you want to make it nowadays as youngster coming through the ranks at Old trafford. Which stil makes me wonder why Macheda is still at Old trafford and not out on loan. He should be banging on Fergie's door asking to go out on loan, even to a championship club, he needs to be playing regular competitive football.

Ther was a lot of claptrap written about Rooney's sending off last week. Hansen warned Rooney he was risking it all if he doesn't learn to control his temper. I'm not going to sit here and condone what he did, but if we have learnt anything with Rooney it's that we are going to have to live with these moments and that's United as well as England. All we can hope for is that he doesn't do it when it really matters.
As for Capello warning Rooney he will have to fight to get his place back, well yeh of course he will, your only world class player. This is an opportunity for the Italian though, England are far too reliant on the number ten and he should be using this opportunity to experiment up front. I have nod doubt that Welbeck will be a big part of those experiments.

Liverpool's new owners break ranks to argue that Barca and Real Madrid are showing us the way forward. Despite United's statement that they supported the collective TV premier league deal they had been in contact with their fellow yanks about how to chart a way forward. Well there's a suprise.
Any fool can see why this would be bad for the premier league, where is Scudamore and his laissez faire attitude to foreign owners now. David Conn explains why this is just yet another plan for the rich to get richer or more to the point for rich foreign owners to make money from their purchses of EPL franchises (sic).
David Whelan has been angrily having a go in the papers this morning claiming what they really want is a European super league. That just holds so little appeal to tha average soccer fan it's a laughable idea, it would be the ultimate TV sport played in front of the prawn sandwich brigade. It would possibly kill football of in this country.
All this when the British government is at last threatning to get involved in the running of the British game, is it a case of too little, too late or are they just in time?

Of course some people couldn't care less about the wellbeing of the game as long as their cut keeps them in the lifestyle they have been accustomed to, of the back of the little players who actually pay their money, naturally.
Peter Harrison has fallen foul of his fellow greed merchants and is now threatening to name names. This was reported a few weeks back, still no sign of any broadcast though.

The most serious event yet in this tumultuos year in the middle east and the Arab world. It seems after the Wikileaks brought the emnity between Saudi Arabi and Iran out into the open things can only get worse after the US revealed a plan to assasinate the Saudi Ambassador who urged the US to "cut of the head of the snake".
Shashank Joshi warns that things will indeed only get worse in the Telegraph as both countries regimes feel under pressure as the Arab spring changes facts on the ground. And old alliances go to the wall.

Craig Murray reveals on his blog the real story behind the Fox/Verrity scandal that they don't want us to know. If true this would be dynamite, whatever the truth i don't see how Fox can survive, because it all stinks enough as it is and the changing defence just seems pathetic.

Steve Richards argues for a supposedly non ideological government it's ideology that is the biggest danger to its longevity and success. If the Health secretary won't be accountable, the who will?

Alistair Campbell takes aim at the herd mentality amongst the political press to argue that Labour are a lot more relevant than news-comment fused media think, and makes a persuasive case.

Bagehot explains why the tories are backing Euro zone integration and the answer is that they are as passionately anti Europe as ever but in an emergency, warily any lifeline will do.
Mick Hume describes why he thinks the bankruptcy of democracy in Europe is too high a price to pay for saving the Euro-elite. I can't really argue with most of that except to argue how long have some of these countries actually been democratic and i don't mean just eastern Europe. And who has helped them ovecome their past to embrace democracy, but his hated European union.
That is the tragedy of what is unfolding, Timothy Garton Ash puts the Europhile case whilst acknowledging the massive flaws that need to be addressed if the Germans see the light and save the whole project.
As for the financial plans he objects to, so do i, but they are not the sole preserve of Europe, bailing out the banks and the finaciers is the global elites answer to the crisis and it's why we are slowly sinking into another great depression.

Stephen King looks at the divergient views on the economy from Osborne and Balls and observes they can't both be right. But whilst not coming down on either side, though i assume he leans more to Osborne he does acknowledge that the so called economic rebalancing that Osborne stressed he was looking to achieve was pie in the sky.
Well that wouldn't have anything to do with austerity, cuts and a global lack of growth now, would it? I know it's a lot more complicted than that but it surely hasn't helped.
George Monibot contines with the economic doom theme arguing that if professor Steve Keen is right we are doomed to another great depression. I certainly wouldn't put my money on Bernanke, King et al getting us out of this mess, they have been as much part of the problem as part of the solution since this crisis began in 2008.
Larry Elliott is as down on the prospects of an economic recovery as the previous two commentators as he argues that Britain's rising cycle of debt and dependence on consumption to drive growth make it unlikely the economy wil bounce back any time soon. David Blanchflower argues the scale of the financial shock is getting clearer and that Osborne's mettle will be tested when Greece defaults as it surely will. Given Osborne's record in 2008 ans since where he has got every big call completely wrong, that is a scary thought.
Robert Skidelsy carries on explaining that the boom was the illusion and thinks that the best we can hope for is for a managed retreat from the wilder sgores of globalisation. The alternative being the collapse of the Euro, protectionism and war.
On a less serious note how does that fit in with the US vision of the future of British football.
And finally Martin Wolf of the FT is terrified of the prime ministers pre-Keynesian views, as are we all.



Dan Hartnett a man who encapsulates where the British establishment is rotten to the core, Private Eye has been on his trail for a while. Have they finally got their man, even a Tory MP has called for him to go after Goldmans appear to have been given preferential treatment over a bankers bonus tax avoidance scheme.
Richard Murphy blogs that a new report shows that the 98 of the FTSE 100 hundred biggest companies use tax havens. It truly stinks.
Paul Krugman thinks something maybe afoot as the Occupy Wall street grows and even spreads its wings. Well we have to live in hope, i'm just not getting my hopes up too much.

Brett Anderson picks his baker's dozen which is fairly predictable, but i can't deny that i also love almost all of his list.
Andrew Pulver asks quietly is a golden age of British cinema, well as he cites it's certainly an improvement on the sad state of affairs that led to sex lives of the potato men.

I saw this recently on one of the BBC programmes celebrating the old grey whistle test, it's a brilliant cover of a great song, Johnny Winter.