Final Count Of The Collision Between Us And The Damned

Only one paper goes down the standard "devaluing the cup" route today, and that's Matt Lawton in The Mail:

Sir Alex Ferguson was giving the kind of press conference that succeeds only in undermining the competition. Not his fault when FIFA, UEFA, the Premier League, the Football Association and the Football League asked his English and European champions to compete for seven trophies at the start of the season. But the damage was nevertheless done, as much by what he said as what he did.Sunday might be a Wembley final, and the 25th final of Ferguson's incredible career, but the United manager does not consider it worthy of Dimitar Berbatov and Edwin van der Sar. They will not even travel as part of the United squad, Ferguson opting instead to rely on secondstring players like Danny Welbeck, Darron Gibson and Ben Foster.

Firstly, having read a few of the comments from the press conference, I think that this is a little over-the-top, and it also seems a trifle belittling to describe these players as "second-string", prominsing young players might be more appropiate. He even includes the fact that Carling have extended the sponsorship of the competition in his article, but makes it sound really downbeat:

Carling do not seem that bothered, even if they have spent millions sponsoring the competition. The association, say their PR company, has been good for the brand's 'personality' and the fact that their deal has been extended to 2012 would suggest they are fairly happy with their lot.

Everyone is surely by now fully aware of the status of the Carling Cup, a few seasons ago it really seemed to be on its last legs, but the last few seasons it seems to have settled nicely into its role as the, as Sir Alex describes it, "bonus" cup. It is enjoyed on its own terms. Surely an article like this the day before the final is demeaning the competition in itself: Instead of writing about the football to be enjoyed, the young players to be watched, he writes that the competition's rubbish. Wouldn't it have been better to write an article bigging the thing up if he's so concerned about its status?
Sir Alex's comments on the subject are a good riposte to this argument, from The Guardian:

It all began at Port Vale on a September's evening in 1994 ... Alex Ferguson had decided to play "the kids". They won 2-1, with two goals from a pimply 19-year-old by the name of Paul Scholes, but the headlines the next day were all about Ferguson's disregard for the competition.

"I always remember the local MP complaining about it in the House of Commons," Ferguson recalls. "He said the Potteries public were being denied the chance to see great players. He didn't realise they were being given the privilege of seeing even greater players. The young ones I used that night were David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Nicky Butt."

The storm blew over and over the years, United have begun to look like trendsetters as other Premier League clubs have fallen in line and developed their own policies for the League Cup. You could argue that it has devalued the old trophy, but Ferguson will not be moved.

His team for tomorrow's final against ... will be unapologetically young and experimental, with Darron Gibson in midfield and Danny Welbeck playing in attack. "The young players have got us to Wembley and they deserve the chance to finish the job," Ferguson explains.

"Don't get me wrong, we want to win it and you can be sure the bench will be laced with experience in case we need it. But we're very impressed by the likes of Gibson and Welbeck. They've come on a ton for us. They've earned the right to be considered first-team players. We've seen they have the temperament to do it.

"Yes, you could say they aren't regulars, but I could also tell you there are 16 or 17 other teams in this league who would happily have them. They deserve to play."

"You could argue that it devalues the cup", but as he's been doing it since 1994, it surely can't be devalued any further? Which is my point. Arguments like Matt Lawton's are ten years (at least) out of date. The Carling Cup has settled into its role, like it or not.
Most articles today do concentrate on our younger players and Sir Alex's comments on them. Ian Herbert in The Independent looks closely at Danny Welbeck:

Welbeck, who may well be playing out wide right tomorrow, in a role to which he is as accustomed as when he plays as a pure centre-forward, has been compared to the Portsmouth and former Arsenal forward Nwankwo Kanu. Welbeck's languid style, unusual for a taller player (he is 6ft 1in) but equally visible in 6ft 5in Kanu, has something to do with it. His confidence on the ball was on display in the run and thunderous finish he executed against Stoke at Old Trafford this season. Welbeck can evidently beat defenders with either foot and his stature provides a foil to Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez, with their lower centres of gravity.

Oliver Kay in The Times looks at the youngsters more generally and includes a line from Sir Alex having a dig at Man City:

Ferguson bristled yesterday when it was put to him that Manchester City are having more success developing local talents, his response — “that depends on the quality you’re talking about” — hinting at a belief that few of the youngsters who have made the grade across the city would do likewise at United.

There's also a lot of comment from our older players about. Michael Carrick is in The Telegraph talking of our strength in depth:

"The manager has been changing the team for a long time now and you can see how fresh everyone is. It has served us well to sit out certain games and it's a tribute to the strength of the squad.

"No matter who we put out, you can be sure it won't be a weakened team. We have shown with the run we've been on, even when the manager has made a number of changes, it has not affected the way we have played."

Gary Neville in The Mirror talks of the joy of trophies:

"There will be some players playing this time around like Ben Foster, Jonny Evans, Darron Gibson and Danny Welbeck, who could be the backbone of this club for years to come.

"This game represents a great chance for them to get the feeling and special buzz of winning silverware.

"For me there's nothing like winning a trophy. It's the best feeling in football. It's a memory you always cherish."

The Sun has quite a few quotes from Rooney on a wide range of things, I'll just pick out his praise of Scholes and talk of history:

Rooney said: “For me Scholesy is the best England midfielder ever — he is that good. The things he does with the ball are frightening.

“It’s a shame he doesn’t play for England any more because I’m sure the England players and fans would love to have him back.

“Him, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville are Manchester United. They have been there all their careers and it is important to have people who have played over the last 10 or 12 years still there.

“There is history in the dressing room and they are great role models for all us younger players.”

Ian Ladyman in The Mail has a long article praising Giggs, even though he's unlikely to play tomorrow, praise all over the place, including this from Nani:

'As soon as I arrived people told me how important, how special, Ryan would turn out to be for me. They were right.

'He is like a mirror for young players. We look at him and try to be the same. We try to mirror the quality of his passing and the pride he carries on to the field.'

There's some harsh words for Berbatov from Roman Pavlyuchenko, quoted in The Mirror:

"I heard tales he was an arrogant snob who after training would just throw his dirty boots to the kit man saying ‘clean them for me!’ No one likes such people."

Probably just jealous, as Berbatov plays for us and Pavlyuchencko only "dreams" of playing for us.
Finally there's a couple of transfer targets speculated about in The Sun (Stuttgart striker, Mario Gomez) and in The Mirror (The Brazilian "next big thing" Walter).

Sons of the Stage

Normal service resumes today with news that Real Madrid are after Tevez. It must have been at least a week since I read a story like this, it feels good to have it back... The Daily Star report that, "Madrid sporting director Predrag Mijatovic and Tevez’s representitive Kia Joorabchian met for dinner on Wednesday night following the club’s defeat to Liverpool." Very interesting. They also report that

Because United have the first option, Tevez is not free to hold talks with any club until that agreement runs out – unlike in a Bosman-style free transfer when a player can begin looking elsewhere in January.

And that

Joorabchian said: “I was in Madrid watching Javier Mascherano playing for Liverpool, as I watch many matches involving players I know.

“Predrag Mijatovic is a friend of mine and we enjoyed a dinner, along with other friends, after the game. It was nothing more than a dinner with a friend.”

So the usual rubbish then...
Our European performance continues to get kudos, with a couple of articles looking at the perceived dominance of the English game in Europe. James Lawton in The Independent argues that

Last spring beside the Moscow River there was a definitive statement on the balance on power in European football. This week there was another.

... its most eloquent passage was again written by Manchester United.

no one defined the difference in class and potential power more clearly than United when they toyed with Jose Mourinho and his Internazionale, the nine-point leaders of Serie A.

Helenio Herrera, the legendary coach of Inter whose tactical tentacles tied up all of Europe except for Jock Stein's rampaging Celtic in 1967, would have no doubt marvelled at the ability of Mourinho to retain some of his aura while in charge of a team so bereft of distinction and, for some of the time, plain wit.

...

United, with Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher running the midfield, sometimes seemed to have dazzled themselves with the range of their options. Mourinho, on cue, railed at the referee, perhaps in the hope that it might just distract from the absurdity of his pre-match claim that United would have to place their greatest faith in desperate defence.

While Kevin McCarra includes some praise of Sir Alex in his article on The Guardian Blog:

Sir Alex Ferguson does not merely go on dominating because of the aptitude he has shown since East Stirling employed him 35 years ago. He learns constantly from his foes. Each threat has galvanised and instructed a person who retains a curiosity about the world at large. Finding the answers to the problems posed by Jose Mourinho at Chelsea opened up a new front for United. The tactical shifts are not mere attempts at imitation by a person who is, at heart, out of sympathy with the trends. Ferguson's team is no pastiche and, at San Siro, its 4-2-3-1 formation operated with fluency and flair.

The knack did not come readily and United mishandled quite a few challenges between taking the European Cup in 1999 and regaining it last season, but there is mastery in every area at the moment. He alone has looked capable in maintaining command in both English and European football.

And the papers begin to look forward to the Carling Cup Final. The Mirror report that Anderson could be back for the game, having come through 45 minutes for the reserves yesterday:

Anderson was full of his usual flicks and had a hand in one of the goals as a young United side beat Manchester City 2-1. He looked sharp and lively after his spell on the sidelines.

On the down side, The Mail report that Rafael will be out for a month. The Independent report on some comments by Sir Alex on the way he and Carlos Queiroz decided to prepare upcoming young players:

"Some time ago, [Carlos and] I took a deliberate decision that the way forward with our youngsters was that as soon as we identified they had the quality and temperament to become first team players, then we would bring them into the squad and let them train with the seniors," Ferguson revealed.

"This has made a huge difference to their readiness for the big time and they are able to make the most of a first team chance as and when it comes along."

The strategy has had its challenges, not least congested training sessions. "Our sessions can be quite hectic and crowded at times but we have the coaching staff to cope," Ferguson said.

But with reserve team football, to Ferguson's mind, not offering an adequate test as it did in the days when United's fabled class of '92 was coming to the fore, exposure to the senior players has been essential. "It has enabled our young players to step up with more confidence than if they were coming straight out of the reserves and into the first team," the manager added.

And there's some comments from Ben Foster on the possibility of playing in the final doing the rounds as well today, from The Guardian:

"It is a good opportunity to win a medal. If I do play, it will be absolutely fantastic. All the lads are buzzing – those who are in contention for it are buzzing and cannot wait for it to come. It would be a special day for me if I could play in it and win it," he said.

"It has been an absolute nightmare from when I came back here from Watford. It just seemed to be injury after injury. Now I seem to be putting a run of fitness together. I am training every day, my body feels good, and I am playing the odd first-team game here and there which is good for me.

"Sunday could be a bit of a stage for me to remind people of what I am about," he added. "When I finished at Watford I had a little bit of a reputation as a decent up-and-coming goalkeeper and in the last couple of years because of circumstances I have faded away almost. It is a good chance to get my name back out there and people can see that I am still around and still a good goalkeeper."

Pain Language

Despite The Sun claiming that, "many observers feel Jose Mourinho’s men cannot be as bad again and believe the holders may have blown their best chance," most of the papers today put us as favourites to go through in the second leg against Inter, with general opinion that we are simply better than them. The fact that we did it to Barcelona last season, a team far better than this Inter side should be indication enough, the stats seem to be with us as well: out of the 20 Champions League games to be 0-0 going into the 2nd leg, 13 have been won by the team playing at home 2nd.
Ian Ladyman in The Mail puts it most concisely:

United have a psychological edge after Tuesday. They are at home. They have better players. They are clear, clear favourites.

The Guardian have two articles, one, taking the optimistic side, the other, on their Blog, taking the pessimistic:

Inter might have looked liked humdrum opponents but Old Trafford is facing a more difficult evening than was probably necessary, and their opponents will take encouragement from having accumulated 26 away goals this season compared to 18 at home. One away goal on 11 March could do untold damage given that, in Ferguson's 13 managerial contests with Jose Mourinho, United have never scored twice.

The optimistic side is more convincing however:

Manchester United's DNA means the club will always seek glory in performance and players. Yet a determined and quiet revolution staged by Sir Alex Ferguson, a manager whose lifeblood is winning, seems to have added a permanent tweak to Old Trafford's dominant gene.

At a raucous San Siro on Tuesday United controlled imposing opponents yet could not score. In previous seasons where the campaign for the Champions League has foundered in tight knockout ties against European giants with chess-like instincts, this failure to end Internazionale's hopes at the first attempt might have caused concern. However, the United players speaking directly afterwards all sounded supremely confident that they will glide through to the quarter-finals. Each of them, when reflecting on a satisfying evening, was relaxed and at ease, suggesting this is a squad playing with the simple rhythms of a freshly acquired maturity, as their manager repeatedly suggested before, during and after the match.

The defending European champions departed Milan leaving no doubt who were the superior side

Kevin Garside in The Telegraph argues that the performance could help in convincing Ronaldo that his future lies with Man Utd:

Ronaldo was at the epicentre of a performance that underlined the shift in power and authority from the continent to the Premier League. Jose Mourinho outlined a vision that saw neither the technical mastery of the English champions on a macro level nor Ronaldo's domination in his micro duel with Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The merits of the Fifa World Player of the Year need little amplification outside Mourinho's office. But to those who argue that Ronaldo's best work has not always been seen on European fields, the evidence of Tuesday night puts the boot into their position.

When Sir Alex Ferguson met him last summer to put the case for his return to Manchester, the future he outlined embraced occasions such as these, when a young team with him at the hub would bestride the great stadiums of Europe and boss the show.

The joy of six goals experienced by Madrid against Real Betis last week would not sustain him long if Madrid were coming second in Europe to the team he left behind. The evidence before the Italian court on Tuesday points to a greater rate of plunder at Old Trafford by a team maturing into perhaps the best of all Ferguson's creations.

And Ronaldo's comments after the game seem to suggest that he is coming round to that way of thinking:

"We played nice football and showed we are a great team. If we play like that in Manchester I think we win. I'm very proud. The lads played brilliant, like a real team. The only bad thing is we didn't score, but that is football. We respect them but in my opinion we have a better chance at Old Trafford because we have a better team."

Oliver Kay in The Times follows this quote from Ronaldo with a comment praising the performance of our team:

That was a verdict that was hard not to reach at the San Siro on Tuesday night as Ronaldo alone tested Júlio César, the Inter goalkeeper, on four occasions. It was arguably Ronaldo's most impressive all-round performance on a big stage away from home in the Champions League, but he was only one of many United players who rose to the occasion, with plaudits also going the way of Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher, Ryan Giggs, the often unheralded Park Ji Sung and Jonny Evans, the 21-year-old Northern Ireland defender who did not put a foot wrong as he stood in for Nemanja Vidic.

Sam Wallace in The Independent looks at the Italian papers' view of the game and how they caught Mourinho contradicting himself:

Few of the major newspapers in Italy were arguing when Ronaldo said: "We played better than Inter last night. We created more chances, especially in the first half, and we deserved to win. At home I feel we have a better chance. I don't know whether Inter will be a better team in Manchester. We respect them but in my opinion we have a better chance at Old Trafford because we have a better team."

Mourinho was accused of changing his story to fit the way the game had panned out. In his post match interview on Sky Italia, he said that the pace of United had pinned Inter back despite their best attempts. But in his subsequent press conference for newspapers he claimed that it was him who had expressly told his team to sit back despite his pre-match stated intention that Inter would attack.

This article in The Mail has the best round up of Mourinho's comments. The Sun has some brief comments from Evra:

“It’s a bit frustrating because we had a lot of opportunities to score — particularly in the first half.

“But overall, we played very well. Now we are at home and we have to win — and I think that we have the power to do that.”

And The Daily Star have quotes from Jonny Evans who played the game with pain-killing injections and would like to do the same on Sunday, now there's dedication to the cause:

“Missing the final isn’t nice to think about,” said Evans, who ignored the throbbing in his ankle to blunt Inter Milan in the San Siro on Tuesday.

“The manager has tried to tell me if I miss it, it’s no big thing. But, hopefully, the manager will allow me to have a few more injections.

“My chances are a bit the same as Tuesday night. I am just trying to scrape through each game.

“Tuesday was more important because there weren’t many other options, so I was forced to play. I don’t think that will be the case on Sunday.”

He also sums up his approach to defending and makes it sound pretty easy:

“People talk about experience, but it’s not vital as long as your concentration is good and you do the basics right – and don’t get carried away on the ball and try to beat people at the back.”

A Million Miles Away

So the "Special One" may still be special but his team certainly aren't. Although he does have a "special" dug out apparently:

"My dug-out is a special dug-out," said the Special One. "I have a special door in the dug-out that means I can leave directly to the dressing-rooms."

The only disappointment being that we didn't get the away goal (or two) our play deserved, as Henry Winter in The Telegraph puts it:

How United reached the break without a goal was a travesty of sporting justice, pure and simple.

We have universal praise in the papers, with only the usual cliches about Rooney's booking ruining the picture, only Matt Lawton in The Mail calls the Rooney booking correctly:

Rooney was eventually unleashed, but with only seven minutes remaining. He did manage to get booked, unfairly, it has to be said, when Cordoba was the more reckless.

Here's some of the good. Oliver Holt in The Mirror:

Because if Mourinho knew how United were going to line up, if he knew how to prepare for them, how come he had to stand by his dugout and watch United play Inter off the park in their own stadium?

For all Mourinho's bluster about this Inter team being a match for the English champions, it was clear United were in a different league.

If Inter conjure a victory out of this tie after the way they were picked apart last night, then it will feel like if not the death of football, then at least a heavy blow to its solar plexus.

And I like his description of Ibrahimovic:

And as for Mourinho's boast that Zlatan Ibrahimovic should have been voted the best player in the world ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, that seemed like a bad joke. ...

In fact, you have to work hard to find anyone who's ever seen him have a good game. Last night was no different.

Martin Samuel in The Mail compares Ibrahimovic to Ronaldo and comes out in favour of Ronaldo in passages worthy of long quotation:

How was Ronaldo better than Ibrahimovic? Let me count the ways. He was a better header of the ball. A bigger threat from free-kicks. He ran with the ball to greater intent. His shots were more dangerous. ...

His first half was magnificent, a constant bundle of energy where Ibrahimovic burst into life only in shudders, like a sound system with a short. The odd eye-catching pass aside he was rendered anonymous by a highly makeshift Manchester United defence and the one shot at goal went out by the corner flag to sarcastic cheers from the travelling support.

They would have been looking up the pitch to Ronaldo's best work, which was a shame, as it did not draw the roars of appreciation merited.

The repertoire is familiar and perhaps we are too blasé about it now. We no longer ooh and aah over the blur of stepovers, dummies, flicks and tricks that are executed, often in mid-stride. We should.

This is the best team in Italy, remember, one of the best teams in the world, and they had nobody who could execute anything like it. They did not have an aerial threat like Ronaldo, either - where are they now, those people who said he chickened out against Manchester City that time - and two of the goals he could have scored in the opening 30 minutes were with his head.

The free-kicks we know, too. The five steps back, the one to the side, the trajectory, fierce and low and never more than a hair's breadth from the target. Within 30 minutes, Julio Cesar, the Inter Milan goalkeeper, had saved one and scrambled to his post in fear of another.

Ronaldo had electrified the San Siro in a way that was beyond compare. Ibrahimovic? The thinking man's Dimitar Berbatov. He must have some magnificent games while our backs are turned, though

Henry Winter in The Telegraph concentrates his praise on our midfield:

Carrick, Ryan Giggs and Darren Fletcher worked triangles around black-and-blue shirts. Mourinho’s men chased shadows in red.

Matt Lawton praises us from top to bottom:

In every area United were better. In defence, where Rio Ferdinand was terrific and a patched-up Jonny Evans again excelled as deputy to the suspended Nemanja Vidic; in midfield, where Michael Carrick delivered another marvellous, mature display alongside the tireless Darren Fletcher, and in attack, where Ryan Giggs was terrific as a foil to Dimitar Berbatov and Cristiano Ronaldo demonstrated to Mourinho that it is an insult to even mention Ibrahimovic in the same breath.

Oliver Kay in The Times singles out Evans for praise, while also noting the job was made easier by Inter's lack in attack:

United, though, remained composed, not least Evans, who, having passed a late fitness test on a sprained ankle, ensured that Nemanja Vidic’s suspension was not a serious factor. He was helped by half-hearted performances from Adriano and Ibrahimovic, who in turn were hindered by a lack of quality service from the midfield, but, considering the size of the occasion, Evans handled himself magnificently.

A point made more forcibly by Daniel Taylor on The Guardian blog:

this Inter side, when you take away all the posturing of Jose Mourinho, are not actually that impressive. A better side would surely have done more to single out Evans on a night when the young centre-half had to play the biggest match of his life with a badly swollen ankle. Or they would have cottoned on much earlier to the fact that O'Shea, also playing after a late fitness test, might be vulnerable if Zlatan Ibrahimovic went directly against him. ...

The strange thing was that United had this experimental new defence and their opponents took so long to work out that it could be to their advantage.

The best team in Italy, playing in front of their raucous fans in Europe's biggest competition, lurched between mediocre and abysmal throughout the first half, and could scarcely have made it a less demanding occasion for those United players nursing injuries.

Matt Dickinson, in The Times, as if driven by a compulsion to find a way to criticise us, decides to concentrate on the fact that Inter had a good 15 minute spell after half time to praise Mourinho and criticise Sir Alex, putting the criticism into the mouths of Man Utd fans as if it weren't coming from him:

There will be some rueful reminiscences this morning about missed chances and also, perhaps, about Ferguson’s failure to intervene in the second half when set against Mourinho.

Among the Portuguese’s many talents is the ability to change the momentum of a game, whether through a team-talk, a substitution — sometimes three at a time — or a handwritten note sent on the pitch.

Last night, he must have said something stirring at half-time, on top of replacing Nelson Rivas, a liability of a centre half, to turn potentially a lost cause into something for Inter to cling to.

As United supporters journeyed home last night, they might reasonably have asked whether Ferguson should have been similarly quick to intervene, particularly given the range of options. If starting without Wayne Rooney could be regarded as vindicated by United’s excellence in the first half, holding him back until the 84th minute seemed perverse because there was no attacking outlet in the second half, with Dimitar Berbatov frustratingly quiet.

While I might have liked to see Rooney a little sooner, we still saw off the Inter pressure and we were still creating chances in the second half, both before and after Rooney came on. To try and argue, as Matt Dickinson seems to be, that Mourinho beat Sir Alex tactically seem a little perverse.
This, in The Mail, has a good selection of post match comments, including Mourinho's bizarre comments on the referee:

'If we go to Old Trafford and we don't have the same referee - but we have one who will give the away team so much protection - then my team will get to the quarter-final.

'I don't want to go into details of things like how we didn't have a penalty. Everything was against us, every little detail. You watch how many free-kicks they had and we had. The way we got yellow cards and they did not. I think the tendency was clear.'

According to The Guardian's match facts, the foul count was Inter 20 Man Utd 18, the yellow cards Inter 4 Man Utd 2. Sir Alex responded:

The United boss said: 'Is he serious? I saw a marvellous refereeing performance.

'The referee was not intimidated and Jose would have been hoping he was. But he was not intimidated. He was first class.'

The Guardian's round up of quotes has Sir Alex summing up the game pretty well:

"We played very well. In the second half, for 10 or 15 minutes, they presented a bit of pressure, which we expected, but other than that we played very, very well, with good composure and maturity. I think we're playing very well at the moment, it doesn't matter who we are playing against."

The Sun has some brief comments from Rooney and Ronaldo:

The Portugal winger said: "We played better than Inter in my opinion.

"We created more chances, especially in the first half. But we didn't score.

"We have the second leg at home. We have a better chance than here.

"I know here is always difficult to play but we've shown we are a great team and we deserved to win."

All the footprints you've ever left and fear expecting ahead (Inter Milan)

I'm always very nervous before Champions League games, especially away legs, and this time is no different. Away legs are always very tense affairs, and I see no reason why this one should be any different. The presence of Jose Mourinho obviously adds something else to the tie, but even without him the tie would be a close, tense one.
For all Mourinho's talk of how Inter will play their usual game and we will play more defensively than usual a brief line in The Independent reminded me of the FA Cup final in 2007 when "Mourinho admitted he had deployed negative tactics to stop United playing." I see no reason why Mourinho should not use a similar tactic in both legs against us. He was also talking of how the game will be close and will probably go to extra time at Old Trafford, surely a sign that he intends to set out to stifle us more than win the game by playing attacking football. If the game does become open, there could only be one winner, us.
As to our team, the defensive problems will hopefully resolve themselves, a few of the papers are optimistic that both O'Shea and Evans will play, with the BBC quoting Sir Alex as saying:

"Obviously we have some injuries and we won't know until Tuesday (whether the players will be fit). O'Shea did a light session on his own and Johnny Evans didn't train. Everyone else who travelled trained," he said.

"With Gary Neville and Wes Brown injured and Nemanja Vidic suspended for the game it is a worrying moment for us.

"I hope one will be OK, probably O'Shea. But that leaves us with a problem at right-back, probably young Da Silva (will play)"

While it would of course be preferable for Evans to be playing, as long as O'Shea is fit I'm not sure we'll have too many problems. If Fabio comes in at right back it would give us his pace on the wing to occupy Inter. The problems begin if neither O'Shea or Evans make it. I'm not going to contemplate that scenario...
The probable team that The Telegraph gives is: Van der Sar; O'Shea, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra; Scholes, Carrick, Giggs; Berbatov, Rooney, Ronaldo. Which, assuming defensive fitness I pretty much agree with. The only possible difference I see is that Scholes may not start - whereas Giggs has been rested the last few games, Scholes has been playing, possibly an indication that he won't be playing tonight. Park, probably, or Fletcher (assuming in he's not filling in at right back) to come in instead. We'll no doubt play our more normal European formation with Berbatov up front by himself with Rooney and Ronaldo joining from wide, although one paper (and there were so many articles to go through this morning I can't face doing it all again to find the specific link) suggested that Ronaldo could play in behind Berbatov with Park and Rooney on the wings.
Some stats: Sky Sports point out that:

United knocked Inter out of the Champions League en route to their historic Treble in 1999 and Ferguson will be hoping it proves to be an omen as his team chase an unprecedented Quadruple.

The Telegraph have a comforting fact on Inter's home record:

Inter have scored only two goals in their last four Champions League home games and won only once, a 1-0 victory over Anorthosis Famagusta.

And we'll beat a record if we avoid defeat:

United would break the Champions League record of 19 unbeaten matches in succession they currently share with Ajax and Bayern Munich if they were to win or draw in Milan. They would also equal Juventus' record of 20 unbeaten matches in all European club competitions.

The Mirror point out we have the joint(with Juventus) best defence in The Champions League, we "have allowed ... opponents just 14 shots on target, conceding only three goals".
They also have one worrying, but ultimately meaningless, statistic:

In the last four years, the title holders have gone out at the Last 16 stage in the following season.

Prediction; a tight game which will end in a draw. See us grabbing an away goal and it finishing 1-1 to set us up nicely for the second leg at Old Trafford.

Another Code Against The (G)One

The match against Inter takes centre stage today, and more specifically, Jose Mourinho. James Lawton sums it up best when he says, in The Independent:

He remains uniquely special in the scene he ruled for two years of intense effort that brought two Premier League titles. In Italy, despite Internazionale’s current Serie A lead of nine points, it is not so, at least not yet. A formidable figure like Marcello Lippi extends his respect and speaks for many Italian pros when he says that Mourinho has great force and powers of motivation, but the media critics are, so far, much less devoted than their English counterparts.

It is the presence of Mourinho that makes the tie something different. Without him it would be Man Utd vs a fairly ordinary Inter side, a tie that over 2 legs we should be expected to win comfortably. Add Mourinho and it becomes a something else, a battle of wills and mind games. Forgotten in it all is the fact that Inter aren't that good. As pointed out by Kevin McCarra in The Guardian, Inter are the:

possessors of the worst record of any qualifiers in the last 16

Kevin Garside in The Telegraph continues this theme:

Mourinho walks a tight line between fantasy and ridicule. He must balance expectation with an understanding that Serie A does not bear the scrutiny it once did as the world's pre-eminent stage. Inter strolled to a 2-1 victory last Saturday against a Bologna side who, according to the English eyes that bore witness, would struggle to hold their own against Milton Keynes Dons.

The truth is Mourinho cannot be certain how his team will go on Tuesday night. The exaggerated claims on behalf of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, whom he boasted was ready to topple Cristiano Ronaldo from his Fifa world player of the year station, reflect the need for a stellar contribution rather than the reality and have yet to be born out by the player himself in games that really matter.

We should not be fooled by Mourinho into believing that, no matter how special he might be, his Inter side are the same.Matt Lawton in The Mail has an interesting quote which fits nicely on the "fine line between fantasy and ridicule:

In his carefully prepared words, though, came the real magic. 'I have paid great attention to every match in the previous year in the Champions League,' said Mourinho. 'Man United changed.
'Remember the way they played against Barcelona, for example. They go to this game with a different approach. I know Sir Alex doesn't like the word and a team like Man United doesn't like the word, so I'm not saying they are afraid of us, but they respect us.'

Barcelona are a great side, using how we played against them as a guide to how we'll play against Inter seems to be a ploy to talk his own side up, rather than any guide to reality. However it had its desired effect on Matt Lawton:

Mourinho does have a point about last season's game at the Nou Camp and even Ferguson admitted he had 'one slight modification' in mind for this contest. A move away, one would assume, from 4-4-2 to a 4-3-2-1 formation that sees Berbatov deployed as a lone striker with Wayne Rooney to his left and Cristiano Ronaldo to his right. Not a bad team, but not as aggressive as it could be.

Our away formation in Europe very often reverts to a different system than our Premier League games, nothing to do with Mourinho. Similarly his claim that we'll change the personnel:

'We have no fear to admit this is how we will play. Man United will not play like they do in the Premier League with Ronaldo, Tevez, Berbatov and Rooney. They will go with Scholes, Carrick, Giggs, Park, more defensive. I don't think they are coming here to play eye to eye, to try to win the game here.'

I'm not exactly sure how many games we've started with Ronaldo, Tevez, Berbatov and Rooney, I can remember one, so again, to suggest that we'll change from this fantasy side is slightly disingenuous. But again it works, Sam Wallace in The Independent, says without qualification:

It was Mourinho who made the running yesterday, predicting that United would not dare to play all four of their big attacking players as they do in the Premier League.

The Daily Star claim that Sir Alex won the battle of the pre-game press conferences:

The Special One and The Master exchanged blows here yesterday on the eve of their big fight. Fergie won by a knockout. ‘You’ll change tactics,’ claimed Jose Mourinho. ‘No we won’t,’ replied Sir Alex. ‘This will go to extra-time at Old Trafford,’ added Jose. ‘It will be finished here,’ said Fergie.

Mourinho was far more serious, not smiling and talking with a deadpan expression. It was compelling listening – but he looked worried.

Ferguson laughed his way through, taking delivery of what Mourinho had said earlier and batting it back with the style of someone confident of retaining the Champions League.

Oliver Kay in The Times concentrates on our defensive problems:

United are without Nemanja Vidic, Wes Brown, Gary Neville and Rafael Da Silva for the first leg of their first knockout round tie against Inter. Ferguson was relieved to see John O’Shea, who has been troubled by a heel injury, train at the stadium last night, when David Beckham watched his former team-mates, but there remains a serious doubt about Jonny Evans, who had been earmarked to deputise for the suspended Vidic.
Evans, 21, would lack experience for such a big game but, if he fails a fit-ness test on his ankle, Ferguson may be forced to use O’Shea at centre half and either Darren Fletcher, a midfield player, or Fábio Da Silva, Rafael’s less experienced twin brother, at right back. Asked what his options were if O’Shea and Evans miss out, Ferguson, tongue in cheek, replied: “We panic.”

Ian Ladyman in The Mail is more reassuring on the subject of injuries:

Last night, O’Shea trained with his team-mates while Evans looked on from the sidelines, suggesting that the former will partner Rio Ferdinand in the centre of defence while Darren Fletcher will fill in at right-back.

However, it is understood that Evans has a much better chance than Ferguson has suggested of shrugging off his ankle injury.

Elsewhere, Paolo Bandini on The Guardian Blog takes a closer look at Zlatan Ibrahimovic; also on The Guardian Blog Kevin McCarra looks at the state of Italian football; The Telegraph report that David Beckham and Eric Cantona will be in town to watch the game; and Graham Poll has absolutely nothing of any interest to say in The Mail.
Finally, there's some quotes from Ronaldo in most of the papers today, I'll just point to this in The Daily Star, which has one unnecessary sentence, or at least, only necessary to have a go...

Ronaldo, who was booked for diving and accused of kicking out at David Dunn in Saturday’s game against Blackburn, added: “They are a team we need to respect. They are a good side and first in Serie A so we need to be very careful.

“They are a team with very experienced players, but we also have our aces and great players. We are the reigning champions.”

Ankle Injuries

I'm going to refrain from going through the match reports with a fine tooth comb, picking out the faults in their petty arguments against us, this morning. After a further days reflection I expected the reports to be a little better today, but they're the same rubbish and I spent enough time on them yesterday. The only one worth quoting is from Daniel Taylor in The Guardian:

Sam Allardyce, the Blackburn ­manager, was suitably unimpressed, arguing that Ronaldo should not have been on the pitch to take the free-kick and noting conspiratorially that Howard Webb sent off the Portuguese at Manchester City ­earlier this season. Did he suspect it might have been playing on the referee's mind? Allardyce was not prepared to talk himself into trouble with the Football Association but the clear inference was that he did.

Ferguson disagreed, berating a television reporter for having the temerity to bring it up and arguing that it was highlighted only because it was Ronaldo. The United manager is often accused of being paranoid but on this occasion he had a point, considering that El Hadji Diouf not only aimed a kick at Wayne Rooney but appeared to flash a V-sign at the crowd – an offence that might have been brought up in parliament had Ronaldo been the perpetrator. ...

Allardyce suggested, pointedly, that Old Trafford could "intimidate" match ­officials, an argument that was undermined by the fact Webb had earlier ­disallowed a perfectly legitimate Jonny Evans goal for a perceived foul by Ronaldo. In any case, football should surely not be encouraging players who automatically hit the ground as soon as there is even a feather's weight of contact. Pedersen denied Ferguson's accusation of a "blatant dive" but perhaps in the future he will take the old-fashioned option of trying to score rather than win a penalty.

A man who talks sense.
The only other thing I'll quote is this from James Ducker in The Times, which is a classic example of how a preconceived notion makes for nonsense writing:

Ferguson has rarely strayed from his seat in the stands in recent months, such has been the ease with which United have brushed aside the opposition. It said everything about the threat Blackburn posed that the United manager was glued to the touchline in the second half, barking orders at Ferdinand for not communicating with Rafael, before throwing on Vidic in the hope of shoring up his defence after Evans limped out.

With the idea that we were defending desperately firmly on his mind he claims that putting a defender on for a defender is somehow "shoring up" a defence. And even though he points out that Johnny Evans "limped off" in his sentence, he still says that Vidic came on, not to replace an injured player, but to "shore up" the defence.
There's a lot more on Mourinho this morning. Sam Wallace in the Independent has a long article on Mourhino's record and future including a comparison with Sir Alex:

But what happens when the Mourinho magic fades, when two seasons down the line the team needs breaking up and rebuilding? What happens when a club needs a philosophy tangible enough that it can be passed to another generation of players? That was when, at Chelsea, Mourinho started to think about leaving. His rift with Roman Abramovich? Ferguson survived a much more sustained personal attack from the Cubic Expression shareholders in 2004 than Mourinho ever did from Abramovich.

The kindest thing to say is that while Mourinho is a great coach, Ferguson is a great manager. Ferguson has mastered the wider, more complex art of managing the life of a big football club and the infinite problems that presents. It requires a more sophisticated outlook than fixating upon the minutiae of your best XI. What Ferguson has done – and what Mourinho has shown no sign of attempting to do – is build an institution that is self-renewing, programmed to succeed.

The greatness of Mourinho as a coach is the subject of an interview with Sulley Muntari in The Sun:

Muntari said: “Everyone knows Ferguson is one of the best coaches around with the titles he has won in the Champions League and the English Premier League.

“But Mourinho is from a different planet. He is amazing, fantastic.

“I don’t think there is any manager on Earth like him.

“Both are probably the best coaches in the world at the moment. But I firmly believe there are hidden qualities in players that Mourinho brings out.

Matt Dickinson in The Times has a few quotes from Jose in an article looking at Inter's performance at the weekend:

He dismissed the idea that United are so much stronger man-for-man and that a composite team might include only two or three from Inter. “It doesn’t matter how many of my team can get into theirs, because my team is more than the sum of the parts,” he said. “Players don’t play individually, and United is not better than us.”

The implication is that Mourinho can make the difference and we already know that any team led by him will be organised, resilient, full of purpose. The coat has changed, the old Armani replaced by a natty dark blue number with his name embroidered into the collar, but it was recognisably a Mourinho team on Saturday in Bologna down to the narrow midfield diamond, the efficiency over style and the quick reaction to adversity from the dugout.

Our defensive injury problems are also mentioned. This from The Guardian has Johnny Evans on how he injured himself:

"I kicked the ground just as I was ­trying to make a long ball," Evans said. "It's a recurrence of the ankle injury I had before. It's a bit tender and sore and I really don't know if I will be OK for ­Tuesday. The doctors have said they will see in the morning."

They also have some quotes form Sir Alex and speculate on who might be called into defence in the worst case scenario:

"I just hope we can get two centre-backs out because at this moment it's very doubtful," said Ferguson. "We don't have [Nemanja] Vidic, we don't have Gary Neville and we don't have Wes Brown. I just hope we can get John O'Shea ­available.

"But we're having a nightmare with defenders this season. Gary, Wes and John all missed the Blackburn game and now Evans has done his ankle. Hopefully we can patch up a defence but it does leave us very, very short."

His best hope is O'Shea, who will have extensive treatment to ascertain whether he can play despite a heel problem. Failing that, Ferguson will have to find a partner for Ferdinand from elsewhere in the team. Fletcher, who has filled in as an emergency right-back before, would be an obvious candidate and the 6ft 2in ­Carrick is another option.

With O'Shea and Evans travelling to Italy hopefully it won't come to that.
The Mail has a brief look at the referee for the Inter game, a referee with a history of favouring Italy:

Spanish referee Luis Medina Cantalejo, whose major decisions in recent years have favoured Italy, will take charge of Tuesday’s tie between Inter Milan and Manchester United:

At the 2006 World Cup, Cantalejo awarded a controversial stoppage-time penalty when Australia’s Lucas Neill was adjudged to have fouled Italy’s Fabio Grosso.

In the final, Medina was the fourth official who told referee Horacio Elizondo that Zinedine Zidane had butted Italy defender Marco Materazzi off the ball, which saw the Frenchman sent-off.

The Spaniard denied he had watched the incident on a TV monitor — banned under FIFA regulations— before informing the referee.United striker Wayne Rooney will also remember Medina.

He refereed England’s Euro 2008 qualifier against Russia, in which Rooney tackled Konstantin Zyryanov on the edge of the box but was wrongly adjudged to have brought him down inside the area .

Nothing Special

Blackburn played well yesterday, but we got the result we deserved, thanks to a piece of class from Ronaldo. The papers, predictably, largely opt to focus on the negative though.
Take this, from The Mirror:

The Liverpool manager has been ridiculed for losing the plot with his accusations that Manchester United influence everything from fixture lists to referees.

And once again the Stretford End gleefully sang "Rafa's cracking up" as the champions last night surged eight points clear of their rivals from Merseyside after a 10th successive Premier League victory.

Yet the evidence of referee Howard Webb's gross dereliction of duty at Old Trafford suggests that Benitez needs a sympathetic ear rather than a straitjacket.

Cristiano Ronaldo should have been sent off for a petulant kick at Blackburn's David Dunn with Webb less than three yards away.

Instead, the country's top official appeared to turn a blind eye - and within minutes Ronaldo had delivered a winning strike of pure class.

When Webb also failed to act as United full-back Rafael tangled with Morten Gamst Pedersen with a challenge that could have warranted a penalty as well as a red card, the air must have turned blue in the Benitez household.

To claim that "Rafael tangled with Pedersen" really overstates the case, "touched might be a better word", yet even here, despite the faux outrage, they can only say "could have", rather than "should have". And claiming Howard Webb favoured us and then later on in the article saying he was wrong to disallow our goal seems a little like having your cake and eating it.
The Sunday Times go for a similar line:

It was an evening when Rovers merited more than the defeat that meant another week in the relegation zone. However, they will long argue they were denied by crucial decisions. Should Ronaldo have been on the pitch to enjoy his magic moment? It was one of a number of defining incidents that may yet decide the destination of the championship and the fate of Allardyce’s men.

Rovers were annoyed that Ronaldo was not cautioned by Howard Webb for flicking out petulantly at David Dunn after being challenged by the Rovers midfielder. The Portuguese was booked for diving — and scored the winner four minutes later.

Yes, we go 14 games without conceding a goal, playing some great football, and, of course, "the destination of the championship" will be decided by Ronaldo not getting sent off against Blackburn. Brilliant analysis...
Sir Alex makes some good points on the subject of the decisions, which The Times prints and then ignores:

Ferguson was adamant that a dismissal would have been excessive. “The ref spoke to him when he flicked out,” he said. “Ronaldo says the boy kicked him. The ref gave him a warning. Because it’s Ronaldo, you’re making a meal of it and he has to live with that kind of examination.”

Regardless of the celebrity to which Ferguson alluded, many would observe that the United man was fortunate to escape and, arguably, wouldn’t have done so at an away ground.

Similarly, Rovers, at Ewood Park, would have been confident of securing a second-half penalty, with the score at 1-1, when Morten Gamst Pedersen went down after Rafael Da Silva had put his hands on his shoulders. Webb was unmoved, which cannot be said of Allardyce, who became embroiled in a heated exchange with Ferguson.

“Sir Alex doesn’t think it’s a penalty, but I think it is,” said Allardyce. “It has to be pretty blatant to get them here at Old Trafford.”

Ferguson retorted by insisting that there was no question of a penalty award. On the contrary, Pedersen should been cautioned. “The ref booked Ronaldo for diving — rightly, it was a dive,” he said. “But what did Pedersen do? That was absolutely a dive. It was nowhere near a penalty kick. As soon as he feels the hand on his shoulder, he goes over, and he’s not got a yellow card.”

The admission of that “hand on the shoulder”would appear to confirm that Allardyce had an argument, but Ferguson is not alone among managers in being prepared to overlook misdeeds in their own players that would have them demanding enforcement if their opponents’ personnel were involved.

In which bit does Sir Alex "overlook misdeeds" in his players? Is it the bit where he says Ronaldo was rightly booked because he dived? In fact, doesn't Sir Alex do the opposite of what he's accused of? He brings attention to the misdeed of his own player so he can demand enforcement of the same rule for the "opponent's personnel". Brilliant analysis...
So, I could continue looking at match reports like this all day, however, I think the point is made, so I'll just mention the honourable exceptions. The Mail on Sunday's report, by Joe Bernstein, actually makes sense:

A petulant kick at David Dunn in the 56th minute could have seen him cautioned by a stricter referee than Howard Webb, and that would have meant red instead of yellow when he was caught diving on the edge of the penalty area two minutes later. ...
Then Ronaldo took centre stage. He flicked out at Dunn in a routine midfield battle but Ferguson was correct - a booking would have been harsh. Less savoury was the winger's reaction when Gael Givet came across to challenge. He flew in the air and was about the only person inside Old Trafford surprised that Webb showed him a yellow. ...
A splendid joust, and those killjoys who wanted Ronaldo off the field for the mildest of fouls will surely be outvoted by those who marvelled at his magical winner.

And The Observer's Tim Rich also has words of sense:

What would have angered Ferguson was that by the time Nani was dispossessed and Andre Ooijer's pass found Santa Cruz Manchester United should have had this match comfortably won. United scored early and there had been times when Blackburn's back four, while trying to deal with Ronaldo, had been pulled apart as if they were on ice. By the time Santa Cruz scored, the champions had enjoyed 81% of possession

Moving on to the Champions League previews The Telegraph has some words from Mourinho:

There is no bigger motivation than playing the world and European champions. We have been looking forward and planning for this tie since the draw was made but we know, above all, that we need to focus and play to our biggest strength – playing the tactical game as opposed to the intensity of the English game.

Manchester United and Internazionale operate on different realities. United has a tremendous squad with a lot of young players. Sure, they have Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs from a previous generation; players who can still make an important contribution, but after that they are all young.

You look at players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney and they have years and years in front of them and a lot of ambition, quality and power. I think they are not just a great team of the past, but of the present, as they showed last year by winning the Premier League and the Champions League, and of the future.

The Times too concentrate their preview on Mourinho:

Mourinho, ever precise, remembers each and every one of those encounters. “I have played 12 times in the last few years against Manchester United, so I know their qualities, I know their players.”

He has always been good at this sort of preamble, giving the impression everything on the field, the training ground, the press conferences has been plotted, planned and rigorously puppeteered. Over the next few days he will carry on the act of knowing soothsayer before Tuesday’s collision between the champions of Italy and England.

Mourinho is bold enough to suggest strongly that he knows the mood of Ferguson approaching the fixture between United and Inter in Milan. “I think Sir Alex must be happy,” said Mourinho about the domestic advantage United hold over the rest of the Premier League and the condition in which he sees Chelsea, a club appointing a part-time care-taker manager in a post Mourinho used to occupy.

“Sir Alex thinks it will be easier for him because over the last few years, his only real opponent was Chelsea,” explained Mourinho. “Chelsea won in 2004-05 and 05-06, finished second in 06-07, 07-08. So for the last five years, they have been a real opponent. So if he thinks Chelsea are no longer the same, Sir Alex must be happy.”

Also in The Times Hugh McIlvanney looks at Vidic and how his absence in the San Siro could affect things:

When Mourinho complained noisily about the one-match suspension that will keep Nemanja Vidic out of Manchester United’s Champions League meeting with Internazionale in Milan on Tuesday night, suggesting the Serb should have been banned from both legs of the tie after his dismissal for an elbowing offence in the Fifa Club World Cup final, we had to suspect the annoyance was in direct proportion to the Inter coach’s recognition of Vidic as one of the most effective defenders to be encountered anywhere in football. At San Siro his absence could prove as influential as the presence of the most vibrant attacking talents either side will field.

The Observer look at the "relationship" between Sir Alex and Mourinho:

No wonder Ferguson says: "I think José was a loss to the English game, definitely. I used to enjoy watching him on television. He was always so cocky and confident and it was good for the game here. You can't deny the success he had either, first with Porto, then with Chelsea. He came and called himself the special one and everybody laughed, then within a couple of months we were all chasing Chelsea's tail."

And I like this, from The Mail, where Mourinho has a go at Benitez:

If Mourinho was in danger of sounding unimpressed by the prospect of facing United, he was quick to take the opportunity to praise Ferguson's team in the run-up to the match, dismissing the claims of Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez that fixture schedules and the intimidation of referees were key reasons for United's dominance.

'There is no bias,' said Mourinho. 'Chelsea were champions because we were the best team and Manchester United are champions because they are the best team. If Liverpool want to win, they have to be better.

The best team wins.' And in explaining why he did not rest key players at Bologna yesterday, Mourinho delivered another thinly-veiled attack on Benitez and Liverpool.

'We do not rest players as we have to win the title. The big clubs are the ones fighting for the title and the Champions League at the same time.

'Before we played Liverpool in the Champions League semi-final in 2007, Liverpool rested ten players against Fulham. Liverpool lost and that result helped Fulham against another club in the fight against relegation.

'We're playing to win the title, so there's no rotation.'

In The News of the World Andy Dunn hopes for a Mourinho return to the Premiership so that someone can challenge us:

Sure, he had the backing of Roman Abramovich’s spending at its most lavish but Mourinho set the example for his players.

He saluted the achievements of Ferguson but wasn’t scared of him. He admired a wonderful United team but not as much as he admired his own.

He acknowledged the world-class quality of players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney but believed he knew world-class ways to blunt them.

In short, he thinks Fergie is special — but not as special as him. And that is why the United manager will this week face the sort of challenge that has all but evaporated from the domestic climate.

That is why, regardless of which outstanding side comes out on top, the Premier League needs Mourinho back.

Whether it be at Chelsea, Liverpool or even Manchester City.

Because otherwise, United’s imperious reign will continue until the day Ferguson walks out of Old Trafford for good.

Finally, The Independent have an interview with Van der Sar, the only bit I'll excerpt being this on Dave Beasant's comments from the other week on how he taught Vab der Sar everything he knows:

This is a man of ambition, who according to a newspaper interview last week with his former goalkeeping coach at Fulham, Dave Beasant, was forever demanding to know why he was being asked to do something. Van der Sar admits to this almost stereotypically Dutch trait, though he was not pleased with the article. “He took a lot of credit for things I already did. I think he spoke a lot for himself about how he made me better and so on. A goalkeeping coach needs to improve you but I think a lot of things he mentioned I already had in my bag. But yes, I’d want to know why we were doing something and not something else. We [Dutch] like to ask why we are doing what.”

In The Absence of Truth

Remember at the start of the month when Steven Gerrard was booked for diving against Chelsea and Match of The Day didn't show or mention the incident? Take a look at the highlights for our game yesterday from MOTD:

Man utd v Blackburn


And take a look at the huge amount of time that is devoted to Ronaldo being booked for diving. I'm not going to make any judgement on whether he did or didn't dive. It's irrelevant to this argument. Steven Gerrard gets booked for diving and it's airbrushed out of the picture. Ronaldo gets booked for diving and we are treated to a commentator slagging him off at great length and being accused of "downright cheating".
(Also note the cursory way he treats Pederson going down too easily in the box, no accusation of "downright cheating" here)

All the footprints you've ever left and fear expecting ahead (Blackburn)

Another home game, another game that should be a safe three points. Expecting a slightly tougher game than against Fulham but the form we're in at the moment I'm not contemplating anything other than a win.
To add to the feeling of confidence we are playing a team, like Fulham, whose away form is not exactly great, here's some stats, from the BBC:

Blackburn go into this game one point off the foot of the table, without any away league goal since November and without an away top-flight victory since September.

And, we could have guessed given it's Big Sam in charge, but Blackburn's last two away games have ended 0-0, so Van der Sar's record is looking like turning into a European wide one. And here's a link to some video of Sam Allardyce looking like a man about to face a fire squad at the pre-game press conference. So three points it is.
As to our team - Rooney definitely back, O'Shea a doubt, and Tuesday's Inter game to consider it will be interesting to see who he goes with - will Giggs be rested? Will Evans come in to prepare him for Tuesday, given Vidic's suspension?
The team that Sky Sports speculate on is this: Van der Sar, Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Scholes, Carrick, Park, Berbatov, Rooney.
The question of Evans is, if he does come in does he come in for Vidic or Ferdinand, to have him play with Ferdinand or to have Vidic play as he'll have a rest midweek? On the other hand, the way that our defence has coped with the changes enforced on it so far, is there any need to bed Evans back into the team before the Inter game? I think probably yes, given the importance of the Inter fixture and given that Evans has also been out for a few games and could probably do with a run out before the Inter game. I'll assume he'll come in for Ferdinand.
Upfront I'm assuming Tevez on the bench and Rooney partnering Berbatov.
Midfield is a tricky one to pick. Will Giggs come back in or be rested for Inter? I think he probably will be rested. I'll go for the same midfield as Sky Sports. I don't see Scholes featuring against Inter and after his performance against Fulham I can see him pulling the strings again, rather than being rested.
As to the prediction - I'll go for 2-0, a bit tougher than Fulham but not by much.

Wishing Stone

There's a couple of good interviews today, some more discussion on just how good we are and Benitez trying to convince himself we're not very good...
The Independent have Sam Wallace interviewing Vidic:

“To be honest, as a defender watching someone celebrate, it’s a bad thing. It’s horrible. Always before the game I put this in my mind, ‘Hey, I don’t want anyone to score today because it’s going to make me feel bad’. This is my job. First of all I need to be a defender. That’s the way I look at football. It’s how I look at myself.”

He also has some comments on the possibility of being voted player of the year:

"Of course I would like to be player of the year. Who wouldn’t? I work hard, I want to improve I want to be better in every game. If you win something like this you obviously know that you are going the right way. I think that is why people are talking about the award because we have so many clean sheets. I am one of the players who picks up the credit for that. But – what can I say? – we haven’t kept all these clean sheets because of one player. It’s about the whole team because you don’t just defend with five players and score with two.”

It's quite a long interview and worth a read.
The Mail's Matt Lawton talks to Carlos Tevez in another article worth a read, if only because Tevez spends a lot of time discussing his future, and his feelings on not playing every game:

‘Last season I played. Last season I was the second top scorer at the club and last season we won the Champions League and the Premier League. And everyone said I was playing well.

‘But this season I have been benched and I find that hard to understand when I am not playing badly. I realise another player has arrived and I realise that this is why I am sometimes not in the team. But I have not been dropped because I have done anything wrong and that is what is difficult.

‘I will continue to fight. It is in my nature to fight and I will continue to try and make the best of every opportunity I do get in the hope that I will not be benched again.’

‘From my point of view, you don’t make a decision just because you are sitting on the bench,’ says Tevez, ‘even if I would like to think I am good enough to play for any team in the world.

‘You have to analyse the whole situation, the whole experience of being at a football club, of living in a city. I have to reflect on how I feel about living in Manchester. I have to ask if my family are happy here.

‘Obviously, I want first-team football. But I have to consider all the issues. I have to consider the whole experience of being at the club before I even begin to make a decision.

‘Right now, it is only my intention to give everything, in every game. For the shirt of Manchester I will always give 100 per cent and for the fans of Manchester I will always give 100 per cent. They have been very good to me. They have taken me into their hearts. They even sing “Argentina” to me.

Gary Neville's new contract makes most of the papers, with The Mail quoting Sir Alex on the reasons behind the new contracts for Neville, Scholes and Giggs:

‘If they keep their performance levels up they’ll be here for another year, there’s no question about that.

'They are the spirit of this club and an example to everyone.

‘Any young player can look at those three players and see how they’ve conducted themselves and how their drive has never changed.’

While The Sun lead with Sir Alex praising Neville for his comeback from injury:

Full-back Neville, 35, missed 18 months with ankle and groin injuries and boss Fergie feared his club captain might never play again.

But Neville battled back and Ferguson says he is an example to all.

He said: “There was great concern over whether he was going to come back because at that age to be out for a year-and-a-half isn’t easy.

“But the way he has come back is absolutely fantastic. It’s a demonstration by Gary that he’s never going to give in. He’s an amazing lad.”

The Telegraph (and everyone else, pretty much) quote Sir Alex on the dangers of complacency:

"You can't forget the chances we missed at West Ham when we only needed one goal to win the league in 1995," said Ferguson, who is set to start with Wayne Rooney for the first time since Jan 14, after the striker returned from injury. "Then there was the 12-point lead over Arsenal that we threw away in 1998. These are great reminders to us."

Terry Venables in The Sun is a little behind the programme with his column's praising of Giggs in a week when the mantle was passed to Scholes:

Giggs is the complete pro, an artist, the ultimate in efficiency. Artistry and efficiency are rare bedfellows but Giggs has them in abundance.

He is the footballing equivalent of gold dust. How much has his greatness saved United in transfer fees down the years?

Players like him do not come along very often — we must cherish them.

Rooney will play against Blackburn to give him a chance to prove his fitness ahead of the Inter game, from The Mail:

'Wayne Rooney will play against Blackburn,' said Ferguson. 'He has to start a game to see how far advanced he is.'

On The Guardian's blog David Lacey goes over the question of the squad being the "best ever" and says the obvious - time will tell - while also alluding to the excellence of the collective squad, rather than its individual members:

Whether or not this puts the present Manchester United team on course to be regarded as the best of all time will be a subject of intense debate over the next 2½ months, unless an unprecedented collapse renders the argument redundant. United sides tend to be remembered not so much collectively as for their outstanding individuals: Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and George Best in the 60s, Eric Cantona in the 90s and Cristiano Ronaldo only last season.

One of the principal strengths of the team now emerging is the consistency of its interlocking parts and the fact that so many of Ferguson's players can perform a variety of roles according to the needs of the moment. The versatile John O'Shea personifies this quality.

And Benitez decides to ignore "facts" today in an attempt to convince himself Liverpool can still win the league, from The Mail:

Asked if Wenger’s ‘untouchables’ accolade was over the top, the Liverpool manager said: ‘Yes, I think so. The way football is these days, with every game so difficult, you know that anything can happen.

United have come in for lavish praise over the past few days, with Fulham manager Roy Hodgson eulogising over Sir Alex Ferguson and even Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger putting a side years of bitter rivalry with his Old Trafford counterpart to describe the champions as unbeatable.

But Benitez insisted the acclaim was out of proportion, as he reflected on steering Valencia to two unexpected titles in Spain and claimed he could defy the odds with Liverpool.

'United may be winning more games than most at the moment but to say you cannot beat them is not right.

Universal Gatecrasher

Paul Scholes gets more praise today. Further to the stat from the Fulham game (Scholes had 98% pass accuracy), The Daily Star quote a stat from last season:

Last season, Scholes had a 90 per cent accuracy rating from 1,500 passes.

The Mirror have the best round up of quotes praising Scholes, combined with praise of their own:

On United’s pre-season tour of South Africa last summer, Scholes sat in a hotel lobby and revealed his belief that he had two more seasons at Old Trafford before the end of his glittering top-flight career.

But the majestic way in which he sprayed pin-point passes around the pitch on Wednesday, not to mention his stunning volleyed goal from the edge of the area, left many in no doubt he has a few more years at the top in him.

His team-mates, manager and outside observers were left awestruck at the remarkable way in which Scholes was able to dismantle Fulham from his new, deep-lying position in midfield.

“I don’t think there’s anyone else in the world like Scholes,” said United striker Dimitar Berbatov. “He’s the only person who can shoot with that accuracy. His passing and the way he changes the game is brilliant. Any manager would be happy to have him but it’s our luck that he plays for us.”

Rooney went a step further, hailing him as one of the greatest players of all time. “I’ve said before that Scholesy is amazing,” said Rooney.

“Some of his football against Fulham, I don’t think any other player in the world could produce. In my eyes he’s one of the best ever.”

The Telegraph add further player quotes, moving on to the subject of winning trophies:

Rooney said: “Personally, I want to win all the trophies. People talk about the Champions League and Premier League, but I’ve had my two biggest heartaches in football in the FA Cup [losing to Arsenal in the 2005 final and Chelsea in the 2007 final] and I want to make amends for that.

“The Carling Cup was the first major trophy I ever won and I want to win that again. If we can win any of these trophies, it will be a great boost for the club and we’re delighted we are still in all the competitions.

And Scholes is a little cautious:

Scholes said: “We have a five-point lead and that’s a good one to have, but there’s a long way to go yet and we still have 13 games left in the league.

“We’ve got Liverpool to come to Old Trafford as well, so they will still fancy their chances. They are still playing quite well, so I think it’s still going to be tight.”

This quote from Sir Alex has been blown up by all the papers, here from The Telegraph, into him saying we're going for the tag of "The Invincibles":

Ferguson said: "We are in excellent form. We may not win every game between now and May, but that will be our aim. There is a mental toughness about the team these days and that will stand us in good stead as the pressure builds.

"This current group of players has been together for a couple of seasons and they have developed strong bonds and, as we enter the final months of the season, I think we are going to take some beating."

Shouldn't every team endeavour to win every game they play?
There's a couple of stories asking questions today. In a very straight article The Independent asks "Manchester United 2009: "Is this the Premier League's greatest ever Squad", "It is nearly 18 months since Ferguson said he was custodian of his best United squad ever. The current squad is 10 per cent better again", and then goes into an analysis of the squad.
The Mail ask the sillier question : "Who would emerge triumphant in a mouth-watering encounter between Arsenal's Invincibles of 2003-4 and Manchester United's all-conquering Untouchables of 2009?". A question I've often found myself pondering this week... The answer? There isn't one because The Mail picks the best 11 from the two teams and comes out with 6 Man Utd and 5 Arsenal players, rather than trying to answer their own question. And 6-5 is such a cop out - Ashley Cole ahead of Evra? I think not...
The Sun has a few quotes from Sam Allardyce praising us:

You look at this United team and you see youth, vibrancy, talent and more players with all those qualities than he has ever had before.

“As well as that, he has the last hurrah of the Fergie fledglings, as they were called. They are still in amongst it, showing how it should be done.”

Paul Scholes opened the scoring on Wednesday with a 25-yard volley and Allardyce believes his influence, along with that of Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville, remains vital.

He added: “Those three will not let the other players forget ‘This is Manchester United, this is how it is’.

The Sun also reports/claims that Danny Welbeck was dropped to the reserves for being "too cocky":

A United source revealed: “Alex was very angry about the way Welbeck celebrated his goal at Derby. He felt there was a touch of arrogance about it.

“Danny is just a kid and Alex does not like the thought of him getting too big for his boots.

“That is a lesson plenty of players have learned over the years at Old Trafford.”

The Mirror have Ronaldo being billed £20,000 for damage to the tunnel he hit in his car crash:

A source said: “It’s a real double whammy for Ronaldo. He has already lost a £200,000 car and this is another cost to factor in. Even though he earns a fortune, the accident has proved to be very expensive indeed – especially as he’d only been out in the car a couple of times.”

And The Telegraph claim (I think it's tongue in cheek) Jose Mourhino is angling for the united job when Sir Alex retires:

Reporters on the champions’ in-house station almost cannot leave the studio, stadium or training ground without a smiling Portuguese presenting himself for a chat.

Three times in the past fortnight Inter Milan’s calculating coach has willingly opened up. Making flattering comments about Ferguson and United is only partly linked to Tuesday’s Champions League tussle.

By talking directly to United fans, players and officials, Mourinho may be angling for the biggest conversation of all – a job interview when Ferguson finally rides off into the sunset.