ABUism part 999

I couldn't quite believe my ears when i heard that Rooney had been given a two match ban and just a day to appeal. A two match ban for that, it would be comical if it weren't so serious. Some United fans are back in the worlds against us mode, but i usually steer away from that view. We are targeted, i wouldn't dispute that, but we do get the rub of the green from time to time as when Rooney escaped a ban for his elbow at Wigan. But that was because the rules are the rules and with the ref not reporting it, there wasn't much the FA could do about it.
But this is either a case of the suits revenge on Rooney and United or, and more likely for me, it's a case of a weak and inconsistent FA. Not that it will help our case but if they could trawl through the video vaults they would almost certainly find mountains of evidence of other players committing similar offences.
He surely has to appeal, he does not deserve to miss a semi final appearance at Wembley because of Saturday's outburst. I don't believe there is a serious chance of getting a three match ban, and if the did increase it, at least we would then know that they have got it in for us. So as the old song goes, you can stick your fucking England up your arse.

Just when did Harry Redknapp become the arbiter of sporting morality by the way, a man under investigation from her majesties police force. Of course Bobby Charlton didn't have a sky camera or microphone stuck in his face after scoring a vital goal.
Kevin McCarra gets to the crux of the matter, the influence of Sky's financial input into the sport, and the carte blanche given to them from our footballing authorities.

Ian Herbert seems to think Chelsea head into tomorrow's champions league quarter final as favourites. They may have beat us in the last three encounters down there, but we have had no luck in any of them and we always manage to score a goal. I would take a 2-1 defeat and an away goal on the night but i really fancy us to get a result. I suppose i should await team selection before getting too confident but i just really fancy us tomorrow.

Back to Saturday as David Pleat describes a victory that favoured the brave and was the performance of champions.

Steve Richards compares Lansley's NHS proposals to the poll tax legislation introduced under Thatcher and asks whether cameron forgotten that experience. Peter Oborne is impressed with Milliband's performance so far as the leader of the opposition as Milliband had a mixed week amonst the commentariat. In the Economist the blighty column asks whether the labour party know what it stands for when money is tight and do they think pre credit crunch public spending was sustainable.

AC Grayling on why you can't be a militant aetheist

Lynyrd Skynyrd

West ham United 2-4 Manchester United

The return of the real Manchester United, this was one of those days that only United do and make us all love them all the more. I actually thought that we played well all 90 minutes, first half included, i certainly didn't recognise the match Hansen watched in which he described United as abysmal in the first half. Compared to some of our away performances away from old trafford this season the first half saw us play some pretty good stuff only to be let down by two pieces of abysmal defending.
Evra didn't cover himself in glory on the first West Ham goal, letting Cole get clear through and giving away a penalty when he had seemed to retrieve the situation. And Vidic had one of those games that he seems to have every now and then. If he was going to bring Cole down he shouldn't have waited until he was almost stood in the penalty area. And another referee may well have sent him off when he had one of those moments and brought down Ba after another long punt caught the big Serb out. The worrying thing about the first half performance was out of a defence made up of Fabio, Smalling, Vidic and Evra it was the two more experienced defenders who had me worrying.
Going forward though, United were looking good with Valencia on the right hand side reminding us of just what we have been missing since the injury sustained against Rangers. He was giving Wayne Bridge all kinds of problems and put in a series of crosses inviting a finishing touch, but West ham defended pretty well with Green in good form when United did manage to create the chances that their play deserved, making decent saves from Smalling and an excellent save from Park. I thought the 2-0 half time scoreline was a travesty, but saying that if you gift the opposition two soft penalties you can't really complain.
I actually thought that Fergie should have brought Berbatov on for Park at half time but he came up trumps again with a half time substitution that completely changed the game. Evra can't have been happy to have been took off at half time to see Giggs move back to left back but he couldn't have much complaint after his poor first half showing. With Hernandez giving the home team a problem with his pace United started to take a total grip on the game.
The first goal took it's time in coming but when it did through a superb dead ball strike from Rooney you just knew the three points were there for the taking still. With 25 minutes still to go there was still plenty of time and just 8 minutes later it was Rooney again who after rediscovering his first touch hit low and hard to level the score. The penalty that Fabio then won was harsh on the home team, i would have been gutted if that had been gutted if it had been gutted if it had been given against us, but when Rooney sent Green the wrong way to make it 3-2 and seal his hatrick that was the last thing on my mind.
Berbatov's introduction really took our game onto a different plane with Rooney nominally going out to the left but with license to roam the home team were under pressure on all fronts. The fourth was the icing on the cake as Rooney drove forward to feed Berbatov who delivered to Giggs and Hernandez made no mistake tucking away Giggs driven cross. The results later in the day have once again put the title into our own hands. As much as i am not one for saying it's all over, the fact that it's Arsenal with the only realistic chance of now catching us means we really have now got an outstanding chance of making it 19.

Fergie was a happy man after the game, lauding the performance as the display of champions.

Press outrage as Rooney uses industrial language after his hatrick goal, the press just love to have something to moan at. It's not often Shearer is the man to get it right, but he did last night as he said , he he was wrong and has aplogised, now let's move on. Shaun Custis appears to think he is a psychologist, well he aint much of a journalist as he opines on Rooney's state of mind.

United fan Jim White takes his biased hat off for a minute to make the case for a one game ban for hatrick hero Rooney.  

Yet another Berbatov article, this time from Daniel Taylor of the Guardian, i can see the story but the fact seems to be that he is happy to be part of the squad. There doesn't seem to be any sulking, and every time he has been brought on lately he has delivered the goods.

Liam Collins goes over Fergie's least glorious hour with a rehashing of the rock of Gibraltar saga. Painful reading, he was totally out of his depth and how it has cost the club, and us as fans, how it has hit us in the pocket and in so many other painful ways.

Matthew D'ancona argues that Nick Clegg is ready to use shock and awe tactics as he aims to make Britain a more equal society. He will have to take on entrenched interests and not just in the tory party.

Another article looking at Nicholas Shaxon's influential book about tax avoidance Treasure island. Joseph Stiglitz warns that Americans will come to regret leeting the 1% of the US population own 25% of the nations wealth in article titled " of the 1%, by the 1% for the 1% ".
Liam Halligan is not impressed by the so called recovery of the US economy and warns that it is little more than an economic sugar rush. Ben Chu blogs that the banks really did cause tthe deficit, and we shouldn't forget it.

The Indy interview Fleet foxes Robin Pecknold ahead of their new album Helplessness blues, whilst the Telegraph looks at the recent folk revival.


Stuart Jeffries travels to Copenhagen to find out more about the show everyone was talking about, the killing.

Morphine

Wembley chaos

Fergie spoke for most United fans when he talked of the chaos that will ensue for the semi final weekend at Wembley and puts the traditionalist case for semi finals to be held at neutral venues. I'm totally behind that, though it would be nice if we had a stadium in the midlands or the north that held more than 60,000 apart frpm old trafford, for semi final purposes anyway. Maybe the Arabs supposed plans for enlarging the boo camp will have a purpose, to always be full when United visit, for derbies and semi finals, just like the old days.
The late England call up for Danny Welbeck showed that Fergie was on the right lines when he said he thought that Welbeck would be a late call up for last years world cup. Maybe he should have gone out on loan last season. When Welbeck comes back, which i'm absolutely sure he will, it will be interesting to see what fergie does with Josh King who looked a top prospect last season. After his injury curtailed spell at Deepdale will he be headed to a premier league club next season. Would Sunderland want to take another promising United youngster or would it be nearer home. A loan spell would seem to be the way to go, anyway.

Mark Ogden and his Telegraph headline writer don't seem to be in synch in this article about Fergie's summer spending strategy. A spending spree, but Fergie insists that United will persevere with their focus on youth. That doesn't sound like it's going to have City and Chelsea worrying their little heads off.
I can go along with this as long as we have identified a solution to our worryingly average midfield. Cleverley could be a part of the answer, but if Scholes were to retire, it would be far too soon to heap all the creative needs of the squad onto his young shoulders. If Scholes retired i would definitely like to see us in the market for an experienced creative midfield player.

Ferdinand is still battling to regain match fitness after supposedly being upset with Fergie for writing him off for the season. Will he be here next season still after fergie's comments and with United being linked with Cahill and even Jack Rodwell who may well end up at centre half.

During his midweek visit to the States Fergie spoke of his relief that Antonio Valencia had returned to the squad and how much we had missed him. Can't argue with any of that, i can't wait for him and Nani to exploit City's injury problems at full back in the forthcoming semi finals. Valencia certainly seemed to enjoy the Wembley experience with a superb display against Villa in last years League cup final victory. His pace and physicality will be much needed against the rent boys in those three vital encounters stiil to come.

Mark Ogden wonders if Wayne Rooney has really turned the corner in his bid to regain the form that people talking about a possible European player of the year award nomination during the second half of last season before the night everything feel apart in Munich. Will he even be the same player ever again, good question? His first touch has never been aboslutely first touch but even though he seems to have come out of that early season trough it is still miles away from where it needs to be judged alongside the very best players in world football.
David Sadler believes we still aren't seeing the explosive Wayne Rooney of old who could change games. I suppose you could argue that the goals against City and at stamford bridge show that it hasn't totally disappeared, but his overall performances are still a bit too in and out for me as well.

Andy Cole warns people to stop talking about treble's and waxes lyrical about Hernandez who he warns will get better and better and who will score a lot more goals for Manchester United.

Fergie is being victimised by the FA accroding to Graham Bean, he is being punished because of his profile, not because of his crime.

Paul Mason looks at the Euro and writes " one currency, two souls " as he contemplates a testing forthcoming few weeks, which could see it tested to destruction.  Peter Oborne talks of the divergent histories of the European continents economies and why some European countries are in the habit of going bankrupt. Spaniard Migel Boyer reminded north European critics that Spain entered monetary union having complied with the Maastricht requirements which neither France of Germany did. He thinks and is surely right that the ECB has to be concerned with more than just inflation. Albert Marcet writes that Spain is not Portugal and their economies are not the same.
Faisal Islam thinks the missing elements of the Irish bank deal show that the Eurozone zone itself is under severe stress. Robert Peston asks if the Irish banking sector could be any more bust and answers himself in the affirmitive. Larry Elliott predicts that Ireland is a dead cert for default after being saddled with unpayable debts from the banks which is grotesque and economically stupid. Whilst Peston also thinks time is up for Portugal and that it is only a matter of time before it seeks a bailout from the EU but not before it has a new government.

Adam Posen of the MPC talks of the decisions that keep him awake at night as he defnds his stance that inflation will come down to 1.5 % next year and talks of resigning if he is wrong, but is sure that he won't have to.
After last weeks " budget for growth " economist Stephen King looks at why rebalancing the British economy will be easier to talk about than actually achieve. Roger Bootle uses his Telegraph column to look at the same problem and seems equally pessimistic about rebalancing our economy. He doesn't seem too impressed by Osborne's budgetary growth measures either by the sounds of it. Governments can bring about growth but never through quick fixes, he can't be talking about Osborne can he.
Faisal Islam must have been reading up on some economic history from the 50's as he coins up the phrase OsBallsim to pitch the theory that the government an poosition's economic policies, ie cuts strategy are nearer than they would have you believe.

Joseph Stiglitz harks back to Keynes and Bretton woods to suggest a new global reserve currency to kick start the urgent reform that the international economic system needs to help avoid another 2008. Nicholas Shaxon wonders whether Jeffrey Sachs has been reading his book Treasure island about tax havens and tax avoidance. He uses an article in the FT to argue against a race to the botton on corporate tax. He is too late in this country. Sunny Hundal has just read and counts it the most important book this century so far. He claims that tax avoidance is amongst the biggest issues of our generation, no arguments from me there. Sounds like a must read book.
I would argue the reform and even the role of auditors wouldn't be far behind. If the banks and the financial industry was basically corrupt in the run up to 2008 as inside job claims, and i would totally agree can't the same claim be made for the Auditing giants and their role in the crunch. It would be nice if it had been a commons committee instead of an unelected lords committee that had called for an inquiry.

Lance Price reveals just how obsessed with Rupert Murdoch Gordon Brown actually was as he argues in a new book that argues the scrapping of the 10p tax band was done to win the support of the US Aussie. And to think that his minnions, Balls being one of them don't forget tried to represent Brown as a real Labour friend of the left whilst Blair had the premiership.
John Kampfner looks at Lib dem hints that they would like to shift the burden of tax from income to property and warns that a mansion tax wouldn't just hurt the super rich. Steve Richards looks at Lib dem influence in the coalition and dismisses claims that they are irrelevant. Of course this influence is the kind of thing that us supporters of PR always thought might happen. What we weren't to know was the Lib dems would be taken over by fellow travellers of the free market small state orange bookers. And although i support tax simplification, lib dem policies aren't always as progressive as they look.
Bennedict Brogan worries that the weak and the lame will put Cameron's strenght to the test as the government prepare to crackdown on incapacity benefit. This always makes me laugh, anybody with the slightest bit of historical knowledge know it was the Thacther administration who encouraged people to go on incapacity in the 80's to make the unemployment figures look less horrific. In other words they are trying to clear up their own mess.
Martin Kettle suggests that a yes to AV vote could make the Greens a force to be reckoned with. I would go along with that and it's another worry for the future of the Lib dems or for those Lib dem supporters like me who hail from the Lloyd George Keynes tradition. With the orange bookers dominant in the party the greens could mop up the anti labour left of centre vote which would leave the Lib dems as a free market German FDP rump. Which to me would mean they would eventually split with the orange bookers going to the tories and those on the left splitting between labour and the greens.

Barry Adamson