Manchester a "hazard" free zone

So the circus isn't coming to this particular town, it's the rent boys for Belgian international Eden Hazard. I honestly don't know what to think about this whole episode. Firstly i haven't actually seen him play, i'm not alone there, i would venture to guess. It's hard to get too worked up one way or another about a player about whom you have heard so much, but seen so little.
Next what United really need is a central midfield player to take replace Scholes when he finally calls it a day, presumably at the end of next season. According to all i have read, he has played mostly out wide, but has told his suitors that he sees his future as a classic number ten orchestrating play in the hole. I'm not arguing we shouldn't be looking to strengthen all over the pitch, but when your'e working on Glazernomics, you have to prioritise. We already have Rooney to play in the hole, though not much back up, i'll admit i'm not a fan of Young in that position. But as we saw last season we are embarrrasingly low on mumbers and quality in the engine room of the pitch.
Some reds have wondered if we were ever really in for him at all or if it was all a ploy to keep fans happy whilst season ticket renewal time is in progress. I think we were probably genuinely interested in him, whether we ever really had a chance of landing him, is of course a completely different question. The circus that increasingly surrounded the drawn out saga, didn't reflect well on the player and his insistence that he would move for footballing reasons have tunred out to be totally laughable. Never mind the £6 million to his agent, and the eye watering salary for an unproven talent, going to a club without a manager and an owner known for virtually picking the team beggars belief. I don't think i'm alone in thinking that whilst he may have turned out to have been a class player for our club, it's hard to believe he was the type of individual that the Stretford end, as was, would have took to its heart. 
Still it's hard to get away from the signals this sends out to the world of football about where Manchester United stand stand as clubs attractive to the world's best football talent, and it is firmly on the second tier, alongside Arsenal, if anybody, i suppose. And we all know there is only one reason we have slipped from the top table. If the debt was removed we would be competitive with the oil money and the La Liga two, even if Manchester as a city would still probably mean we would never attract the cream of latin American talent. That's why yesterday's events still had the power to depress.


It seems we have Kagawa's signature all but wrapped up, though in the present circumstances, i'll believe that when i see it. I have seen a little of him and he looks like he will be at the very least a decent squad player. My only problem with that signature is i can't see him working in a 4-4-2 formation, he seems the perfect fit in a 4-3-3 formation as the central midfield player given most licence to get foward.
I saw Nick Powell, the 18 year old the media are saying will sign for us for £4 million playing at Wembley for Crewe in the play offs and he looked reasonably promising. Going off that performance he looked more of a classic number ten himself, than the midfield man some papers had described him as. The goal he scored was absolutely fanatastic and he showed a reasonable amount of vision and skill. It will be interesting to see what Fergie does with him next season, if we do end up getting his name on the dotted line. For all his promise he didn't look first team squad material yet. 

Chatter box Dave Whelan managed to hit the headlines again last week, claiming that after Ferguson's nose bleed episode that next season would be his last at the club. I have no idea whether he's on the money or not, but i'm sure that it was of more importance to Ferge himself and to the club, than the media have reported. Unsuprisingly and unconvincingly Whelan's words have been dismissed by a key ally, i wonder why the fears were dismissed on that side of the pond.
I have been arguing recently that all this talk of him carrying on for another five years was far too optimistic. Without this warning, i expected two to three years at most. I really can't see a 75 year old man managing in the premier league, never mind managing possibly the biggest club in the world. Of course the timing couldn't be much worse for the gimps. As someone mentioned on one of the United messgaeboards, if the IPO does get off the ground, Fergie health would have to be assessed and made public. For their long term plans to make as much money out of the club as possible, Fergie is absolutely vital.

Ryan Giggs is raring to get 2012-13 going, telling the official site he still feels good. It was notceable how Scholes return ended up meaning less minutes on the pitch for Giggs, i feel both will play more of a back up role next season, injuries permitting that is. Next season will be a biggie for Tom Cleverley, he started last season so promisingly and looked like he would be a shoe in to go to the Euro's, but those injuries cost him and us dear.
We need a injury free season from him next season, just to prove that we can rely on him to be a part of the clubs future. Of course this will probably mean Scholes won't be playing every game as he basically did when he returned from his retirement. With the introduction of Kagawa as well i'm hopeful that we can start next season as well as we did last season. Staying injury free and hopefully having a more settled back four will be the key to success or failure after that.

According to the Mirror Blackburn boss Steve Kean wants to take Keane and Keane to the club to start a new legal firm, there is probably as much chance of that happening as there is of taking them on loan with the instability at the top of that football club. I'm a bit torn over a loan for Will Keane as i think he isn't far of being good enough for the first team squad as our fourth striker. Of course on the other hand he needs to get regular football and acquire the experience that both Welbeck and Cleverley took from their time away from the club on loan.
I'm not sure it's such a wise move for them to go to the same club though. I have got a lot of time for Michael Keane, but i don't think he is as near first team squad standard as his brother. If we are going to send them out on loan i would like to see Will go out to either a top championship club or a premier league team in the bottom half of the table where he would be sure to get plenty of playing time. Will's name has been linked to Stoke, i'm not too thrown on that, i would be looking at Wigan, somebody like that, a team that plays football but don't score enough goals.
I don't think brother Michael is ready for the premier league, it would be interesting to see him in the championship. I have a hunch he could turn into a decent over lapping right back and that would be an easier way for him to go out on loan and get the much needed experince required to get him ready for our first team squad. They are definitely too good to languish in our reserves. I'll be keeping my eye on who else Fergie sends out on loan next season.

Paul Parker draws the reasonable conclusion to last Saturdays narrow victory by England over Norway that England still have a long way to go. I looked at the team selected before the game and expected little and wasn't let down. I was a bit bewildered that the first half was seen as vaguely encouraging as i just saw the same old England who couldn't keep possession for more than five seconds against as poor a side as Norway showed themselves to be.
To see how far away England are away from being a serious proposition in international football at the moment, have a look at the midfield selected for the Spanish squad and compare them to ours, because the disparity is like looking at a team at the top of the premier league and a team relegated from the premier league. One thing is for sure, it won't be pretty watching our national team this summer, neutrals won't be wetting their lips at the thought of watching Gerrard and Parker in midfield with Carroll up front.
They will do well to get to the quarter finals, i supose with a bit of luck and a backs to the wall defensive attitude they could make the semi's, but to be honest English football needs to find out how really poor it is before it can get better. I'd expect Cleverley and Wilshere to be in that squad for the world cup, injuries permitting, but they need more coming through to give that squad some depth. Of course they have lost Smalling and Kyle Walker at the back as well, but the lack of depth in talent is shocking.

Utd after left back

The Mirror report that United are after Leighton Baines, going off twitter this afternoon, i know i know, they are probably bang on the money. He isn't top class, he won't be as good a player as Evra was for us at his best, but we couldn't continure with just one option at left back after Evra's desperately disappointing last two seasons. I expect him to estabish himself as the first choice left back if the deal does go through, i just can't see Evra re-discovering the form that made him one of the best left backs in the world at his best.
But Baines is pretty solid at the back and is probably better going forward as well, who knows we may even see some goals from full back for the first time since Denis Irwin left the club. £12 million seems a bit steep to me though, never mind the £ 15 million supposedly wanted by Everton.
Fergie obviously has doubts in his mind about Fabio being able to fill the role and i really don't see Fryers as United first team material, so we definitely need a left back this summer. Of course in my dreams, a Glazerless United, would be breaking the bank to convince Gareth Blae that his future would be in a red shirt at left back for Manchester United. Back in the real world Baines seems a fair enough option. It would be nice if we could get this all sown up before the Euro's begin.

The Mail reckon United have sealed a deal for the highly rated 18 year old Nick Powell from second division Crewe. The now usual scoffing has been doing the rounds on the various United messageboards rtegarding the deal. I have got no problem with United going in for young home grown potential, if we had only got Bale from Southampton. The Glazer's have a lot to answer for, but some times reds can sound off like some right spoilt bastards, we all know we need, and in an ideal world would be spending big this summer, but there is still roon for deal like this.

Miguel Delaney plots out United's transfer strategy for the summer,he has a decent track record apparently, and to be honest it sounds plausible enough. The proirities seem to be in the right order anyway, the left back we need and a couple of midfielders all within the, nice description here, Glazer era minimalism. My only question would be, if we are to get Nick Powell does that mean we are only now in for one attacking midfielder or is he indeed one for the future.

If there was any doubt about Bebatov's future i think his recent interview cleared it up, he will be joining Michael Owen in looking for a new club. I think we can safely say that Berbatov will find it easier to have clubs lining up to take him off United's hands than our former number 7's who won't be joing the illustrious roll call of United greats to have graced that number. If that kind of thing bothers you, that is, it's all a load of bollocks to me, a shirt's a shirt.
There has been speculation that United have tried to sign Lewandowski from Dortmund and that they may try and use the Bulgarian in part exchange to get their man. I can see that would be attractive to Berbatov, but i'm not sure he would fit in with Dortmund's style of play. More to the point, i'm not really sure what the big pole would bring to our squad. He's a decent playerbut i'm not sure what he'd bring to the party for us.

Van Der Sar thinks De Gea did well in his first season and advises the Spaniard to become his own man as aims to become a worthy successor to the big Dutch nember one after noting the trouble United had in trying to find an able replacement for Peter Schmeichel. Don't remind us of that unhappy time, it was no coincidence that is took the arrival of Van Der Sar to allow United to dominate the premier league again as they had with Scmeichel between the sticks in the 90's.

Gary Neville explains why he couldn't say no to Roy Hodgson and England and assures his fans on Sky that he won't be quitting his punditry role. I can't say i was that impressed with the squad Hdgson chose, but then again he hasn't got the depth in talent that he would like and England probably should be producing.
Roy Keane and Gareth Southgate warn the press that Gary Neville won't be as influential as the seem to expect, with Southgate expecting him a to assume the role that Bryan Robson filled under Terry Venables during the Euro's in 96.

An interesting article in Prospect over the future political realities in the south Atlantic as Britain's diffculties are predicted to get even more complicated as Brazillian economic strength is about to translate into serious naval strength with construction of five nuclear subs. So much for all that oil around the Falklands.

George Monibot takes the fight to the genocide deniers of the usual suspects of the old anti US left. I like reading some of Pilger's and Chomsky's stuff, but i would be totally with Monibot on this.

Walter Ellis looks at the changing face of America and warns that like it or not, and i think we know Telegraph readers probably won't, the US is becoming a post white nation. The interesting thing about that for me is how that will affect the politics and how it will effect the ruling elite. Will Wall street and oil continue to call the shots.

Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the far left Greek Syriza is described as the only European politician talking sense on Greece and the Euro, well he is the only one addressing thr reality of the situation, that's for sure. Larry Elliott argues that the Euro is ripe for a bit of Schumpter's creative destruction or it will carry on in its zombie-like condition.

Mary Riddell see's Miliband's appointment of Jon Cruddas to head the parties policy review as a big gamble and argues if he gets it wrong, Miliband will be left without a prayer. I can't say i'm much of a fan of blue labour, i'm not saying he doesn't have some good idea's, he does, but i don't see him as particularly progressive. We'll see.

The damp squib of a reaction to his extreme neo-liberal report seems to have put Beecroft's noise out of joint with him accusing Vince Cable of being a socialist, get it right social democrat and tells the Telegraph he is setting the record straight. Let him carry on and drag his patries chances at the next election down with him.
Alex Brummer sees the latest IMF report as the possible beginnings of plan B and a less than enthusiastic thumbs up from the organisation on Osborne and the bank's naigation of the economy since it took charge.

It looks like the work to welfare fraud is worse than we thought as tory MP's basically gagged the sector's whistleblowers, ordering them to give the selct comittee looking into the abuses behind closed doors, now why would they do that.

The Glazer's money crossroads

The Guardian report that the Glazers have took £71 million out of the club in order to pay off the debt and buy back the bonds, yet still the tabloids will link us with everyone under the sun. That story about United sounding out clubs about the availibilty of Nani if he doesn't agree a new contract sounds feasible after those figures. To bring anybody in United will have to sell more than just Berbatov. Of course that makes absolutely no sense football wise. I'm not Nani's biggest fan, but when he is on his game he is a top European talent, he's far more talented than Ashley Young and more skilful though far less consistent than Valencia.
Still those are not the headlines that the Glazer's will be glad to see, i wonder if these kind of quotes make there way into the press in south east Asia, that would be most unwelcome for the hoped for IPO. The BBC report might as well have come from the Glazer's PR department, pitiful.
Andersred blogs why the Glazer's future strategy for the club and possibly for getting out of their takeover with a healthy proft is heavily bound up with the proposed far eastern IPO. If they don't buy and the IPO went ahead and didn't value the club at a price they are happy with, what then, for them and the club.  

It was nice to see the reserves beat the divs last night at the council house to finish the season off by winning the Manchester senior cup 2-0 , last minute crowd invasion and all. United played reasonably well for the first 45 minutes, and just about deserved the lead given to them by Will Keane's goal.
The second half wasn't pretty to watch to be honest, United just seemed to sit back and hope to catch City on the break. Problem was you still have to play football to do that and too often our lads were just booting the ball anywhere instead of trying to build from the back to catch them on the break.
United still had all the best chances, Lingard had a chance and Will Keane set up Pogba superbly but the Frenchman couldn't finish it off. It was great to see the young sub, Salfordian Giverin brought on at the death, break free in the last minute to seal thw in and celebrate like it was the best thing to ever happen to him. What a week for him, he got a 45 minutes with the first team and then this. He will obviously never make it at the club, but he will have a couple of special special moments.
Nobody expected Pogba to play, and i suppose some will hope this was a sign that maybe he will stay. Of more note to me, was the fact that once again he couldn't manage to stand out at this level and yet his agent wants and United seem to be prepared to pay him a supposed £20 grand a year. That just seems totally unjustifiable and totally nuts to me.


Whatever happens over the summer, barring the exit of the Glazer family from the ownership of our football club of course, it looks like we are in for one more season of apalling atmosphere at Old trafford after the news that the setting up of a singing section inside the ground has been postponed.

Gill talks the talk about United being able to compete for the very best players, unfortunately for him it's the gimps that will have to walk the walk.  Ronaldo talks about losing money when City pipped us to the title, wow that must have hurt his bank balance  and then goes all coy when asked if he would come back to United. How can they write that with a straight face, i'm sure i'm not alone in fearing the day he comes back to Manchester, it would be in a sky blue shirt, not red.

Patrice Evra reflects on a difficult season, talking of the pressure surrounding the Suarez controversy and playing the Manchester derby after hearing that his brother had just died. I suppose it a bit hard, but the way he played in that gam, maybe Fergie should have left him out. Because in another sub standard season from the French left back, that was up there with his worst performances.We really must buy a left back or somebody who can do a job there like O'Shea did this summer, we can't put up with another season like the last two in this position.

Fascinating piece by David Winner on Wayne Rooney, if you didn't know who had written it, but had read Winner's book on Dutch football, Brilliant orange, you would probably be able to guess who had wrote it. I'm a fan of Rooney but i'm afraid a smirk appeared on this mush when i read the sentence "his close control is miraculous", when he is on his game it might be, but when it's not, for a top player, it can be fucking embarassing at times.

I'm not sure what to make of the possibility of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer taking over the reigns at Villa Park. I'm aware that to enhance the possibility of him succeeding Fergie he could do with establishing himself in the premier league. I'm just not sure that Villa park is the best place to start.
I haven't got much time for Villa's fans though i don't mind the club that much. They were always one of the potentially bigger clubs in the years before the money started flowing into the premiership. But they haven't really competed since, it said it all to me that the fans took Lerner's side over O'Neill. It was obvious to me that they were a club punching above their weight mainly due to the manager. The record since would seem to bear that out.
Going there at this present time with an unhappy fan base, what appears to me to be a piss poor squad and presumably only modest means to stengthen it means he is giving himself a really tough challenge. If he does take this, i suppose it shows two things, firstly he is up for a challenge and secondly he must have confidence in his own ability.
He is a top man, so if he does take the job, i will be watching out for Villa's results and hoping that he can turn things around for the Villaaa.

Rafael Behr looks at Europe's endgame and asks who will dare make the pro-EU cas, whilst Peter Oborne asks why on earth are we trying to save the Euro. Robert Peston tried to make that case with his BBC2 documentary tonight, an interesting watch.
We really could be at that much prophesied Lehman brothers moment as Ben Chu reports Europe and the markets have been spooked by a potential Spanish banking crisis. 

Jeremy Warner tells David Cameron he should admit the truth about the UK economy, i have noticed recently that the tory press have become even more critical of the coalition's competence over the economy than the usual subjects.
Zoe Williams can't believe Cameron and his tory chums, now we no whose fault the recession is, ours.