Just When You Thought I Was Listening

Strangest quote of the day goes to Mike Phelan:

"Michael has come to Manchester United as it a fresh challenge for him.

"We can use him as and when we need to use him. He is not at the forefront of everything.

"It gives him time to prepare and be ready for games like Barnsley. Alternatively we can bring him on as substitute or start him in a first team game."

There must have been some stupid question to trigger such a banal and uninformative answer, an answer which tells us nothing - "Well, we can either start him, or put him on the bench. If he's on the bench he may come on, he may not..." And yet we criticise when anyone in football says something of interest...
There's some sort of investigation into Roberto Martinez's comments, not sure why, he either said it or he didn't:

A full investigation is under way, with the LMA seeking to clarify with Martínez his version of events before deciding on future action.

"We are discussing it internally to see how best we can address the situation to ensure this does not happen again," its chief executive, Richard Bevan, said yesterday. "Until we have concluded our investigation and spoken to Roberto we really have nothing else to inform you of," he added.

Sir Alex has some quotes on international football, which are headlined in the papers (for instance, "Sir Alex slams Samba Friendly") and yet at the end of the comments he says this:

"I no longer worry about it. I accept it as part of the international scene. I no longer focus on every match that is going on because there are so many players all over the world, so I no longer get myself in a twist about it."

So, what is the point of making anything of the comments?
The Sun make a rather silly comparison between mid-season international friendlies and pre-season tours.
Rooney has been shortlisted for FIFA world player of year, other nominees here.

Twin Sisters And Half A Bottle Of Bourbon

I'm quoting one bit from Oliver Kay's piece in The Times on the crowd trouble at Barnsley:

the police at Oakwell reacted hysterically by trying to confiscate a banner that stated “United>England”. The hostile nature of the policing, which include herding them to a “compound” nearby before the match, has been cited by many United supporters as a factor in the atmosphere at Barnsley.

A club spokesman on the trouble:

"The thugs who spoil the reputation of the team and fellow supporters have no place at Manchester United," an Old Trafford spokesman said. "The club will support strongly any actions taken should the culprits be identified and we would pursue banning orders on anyone convicted of any offence at Oakwell."

In neither this report, or this one, does Roberto Martinez seem to deny saying his ridiculous comments of yesterday:

"Those managers have probably been in this situation and know how things work. I have had a lot of support in that respect.

"To speak about other managers you need to win the league. But it is not in my nature to be outspoken." ...

"It is important they all know I was very disappointed with the stories that were circulating. It is a very unfortunate situation but people need to understand what happened."

Which is short of the denial which a statement suggests:

Martínez insists he never made any comments about Ferguson and released a statement through the League Managers' Association which read: "Wigan Athletic manager, Roberto Martínez, has today categorically denied making the comments about Sir Alex Ferguson that have been attributed to him in a number of media reports. Martínez has referred the matter to the League Managers' Association."

Brian Moore in The Telegraph is STILL going on about the Wiley thing.

Finally, being a twin ain't easy:

Merseyside official Chris Hoy booked Manchester United’s ­Fabio Da Silva at Barnsley on Tuesday.

But he should have shown the yellow card to identical twin ­Rafael.

Now, United will ask the FA to transfer the Carling Cup-tie booking to 19-year-old Rafael.

“We are in discussions with the FA and we have pointed out that we think the official may have made a mistake,” said ­United PR man Phil Townsend.

The Well-Fed Point Of View

The Times gets easily distracted from our victory last night and concentrates on the crowd trouble. Not only that, they mislead throughout it.

Manchester United will be at the centre of an FA and police investigation after rampaging supporters brought a sour note to their Carling Cup fourth-round victory at Oakwell last night.

Not for the first time in this competition this season, the football played second fiddle to the thuggery of mindless supporters. Barnsley and South Yorkshire Police both launched investigations last night after United fans stormed the catering outlets in the concourse of the North Stand where the 4,000-strong travelling supporters were seated. The tills were looted and all the stock was taken as staff fled in fear.

Food and drinks were strewn everywhere and police said eight fans had been arrested. Witnesses were interviewed last night and the FA is expected to launch its own inquiry into the disgraceful scenes today. “We have launched a full investigation,” a Barnsley spokesman said.

The chaos, which was reminiscent of the trouble at the second-round match between West Ham United and Millwall at Upton Park in August, did not end there, however.

United fans pelted police, some of whom had dogs with them, and stewards with missiles as they lined up in front of the away end towards the end of the second half and the game was twice held up as two fans ran on to the pitch, with stewards initially reluctant to remove them.

The whole thrust of this is that it was Man United supporters and only Man Utd supporters. There were 8 arrests as the article says, but it was 4 home fans and 4 away fans. It was home fans who ran onto the pitch, despite this article implying otherwise, and as for the scenes being reminiscent of the West Ham Millwall trouble? Get a sense of perspective, please.

Owen scored a great goal and commented after the game:

"A start and a goal, you can't ask for more than that. It is how people judge me unfortunately.

"I started a game against Bolton and was pretty pleased and thought I played pretty well. Then I looked at the papers and was given a three or four.

"But in this game I played pretty average and scored a goal and I'll probably get seven out of 10.

"I think I deserved a five in this game and seven or eight from the Bolton game."

Sir Alex on Neville's sending off:

"I've just seen the sending off, and Gary did follow through with the tackle and caught the player.

“It was not high, just above the ankle, but in the present climate I would say that the referee was probably correct.”

Sir Alex accepts the improper conduct charge for the Alan Wiley comments.

Roberto Martinez has an attack of insanity, claiming:

At the moment [the FA] have charged him for saying that a referee was not physically up to scratch and the reality is that they have almost begged his forgiveness for punishing him. Anyone else, they would have pounded.

I'm sorry? Has he noticed the three/four week campaign to have Sir Alex thrown out of football for simply criticising a referee? Prick.

Danny Welbeck will have a scan on his knee today.

And we're linked to Valencia's Villa and Silva again.

Definitive Gaze

Let's catch up on the last 2 days worth of papers. What have I missed?

The Guardian takes leave of its senses. Not only did they have an entire article devoted to the views of notorious asshole Jeff Winter, but they begin the article with "Referees have responded forcefully..." Which is wrong, in the Jeff Winter isn't a referee anymore, and the article only contains 1 person's opinion so why is it "referees?" It should say "useless ex-ref..."

Evra speaks sense after Liverpool game:

"Losing to Liverpool is the most pain you can have when you play for Manchester United," the defender conceded. "It's a great feeling when you win at Anfield but it's also a big pain when you lose. After the game there was silence and big disappointment in the dressing room. We need to show the same as last year now. We lost against Liverpool twice but won the league. We have to make sure we do that but also, at Old Trafford, we have to show the real United team."

Quotes from Sir Alex after the game are also pretty spot on:

"There were so many controversial things that happened we have to feel aggrieved at some of them.

"The Vidic booking was the worst decision. It is a foul, fine. But the player has played on, he won the second ball and knocked it for a throw in and got booked. It put Nemanja under pressure.

"The most controversial decision was Carragher bringing down Michael Owen. He was clear through.

"The laws of the game were altered to prevent professional fouls of that nature and if Carragher goes off, he is their best player and their captain. It would have been a different game. They would have been under pressure.

"The referee was only four or five yards from it he cannot use a covering defender as an excuse. Michael was clean through. With Michael's pace he is going to get away from him."

2 reasons why I find it hard to read The Mirror's football coverage without laughing or putting my head in my hands - here, and here.

The Telegraph has a headline "Rio Ferdinand warned by Sir Alex after Liverpool error". And I've no time to check, but the quote they have in this report, evidence they claim that Rio might be dropped against Blackburn, is from a couple of weeks ago, I'm pretty sure. Brilliant journalism.

Victory Garden

Haven't got time for a comprehensive round-up, so I'll just highlight a couple of articles. There's this in The Observer, which looks mainly at Liverpool, but is interesting in that it leads to the thought that perhaps it would be in Liverpool's interest to get beat by us today: rather than papering over their problems with a victory over us, a defeat could be the wake-up call they need. Consider that if we do happen to lose this afternoon - their victory would in the long run be a defeat...
Henry Winter has an article on the strength of our midfield:

try to list United's first-choice midfield. Antonio Valencia, Paul Scholes, Darren Fletcher and Ryan Giggs? Or Ji-Sung Park, Michael Carrick, Anderson and Nani?

Or Gabriel Obertan, Darron Gibson, Owen Hargreaves and the versatile John O'Shea, who can happily play in midfield, as shown on Champions League duty at CSKA Moscow last week.

If I had time I would look back to the start of the season and put in some quotes here from people who wrote that our midfield wasn't strong enough.

Finally, a few quotes from Sir Alex here:

"there’s more expectation for Wayne with England than there is with us.

“He is looked upon as the No.1 striker for his country.

But here, he has a partnership with Dimitar Berbatov which I’m happy with. He also has determination and enthusiasm to match his ability.”

Return Of The Ghost

Build up to the Liverpool game continues, with Sir Alex's press conference centre stage, though it's not one of his classics, on Benitez he has merely this to say:

"I'm not going into that at all," he said, "I'm not going to make you some headlines"

Points out how referees are kind to Liverpool at Anfield:

Sir Alex Ferguson has declared ahead of Manchester United's visit to Liverpool that his side have had a disproportionately high number of players sent off at Anfield – a product, he believes, of the effect of the highly charged atmosphere on referees.

"I know we've had a lot of players sent off there," said Ferguson...

"Referees can find it difficult when Anfield is charged up – like it will be on Sunday." There have been five red cards in the past 11 visits.

On Owen's return to Anfield:

“I think he has summed it up himself – he is at Manchester United now.

“He had some great years at Liverpool and it will be interesting to see what reaction he gets of course.

There are very few players who have played for both clubs and Paul Ince always got a bad reception from our fans when he went to Liverpool and Michael might get that again on Sunday.

“He had 10 or 11 years, something like that at Liverpool. So it will be difficult to say what kind of reception he will get.

“Everybody likes to be liked but I don’t think it will bother him.”

The Guardian has a feature on Owen's return, including this:

At United, meanwhile, not even a 97th-minute winner against Manchester City has persuaded the fans to chant Owen's name yet. Tomorrow, you might imagine, would be a good place to start, but don't count on it. Instead, United's fans are more concerned about smuggling beach balls into the away stands. Or celebrating the Kop's banner when Ferguson took them to Merseyside after his first league title: "Au revoir Cantona come back when you've won 18." The Red News fanzine has even been giving away a Cantona face-mask.

"I think many Reds put Owen's signing down to the ways of modern football, where nothing really can surprise anymore," its writer Pete Shaw explains. "A bit of indigestion, then you swallow it down and just accept it. As one Red said after his goal against City: 'I suppose this means Owen isn't a shit anymore?' That doesn't mean United fans will be singing his name to the rafters – though he was well received when coming off against Bolton last week – but we just deal with it. It would drive you round the bend thinking about his past too much."

The Independent have a load of ex-Liverpool players commenting on Owen's return. I won't bother quoting...

The Sun has an interview with Rooney:

"It's funny because as soon as we got beaten at Burnley, people came out saying 'we're not as good as last season, we won't win the title, we'll be lucky to finish in the top four' and all that.

"It was laughable, we'd only lost one game. But then they've done it the last three seasons when we've won the league - the next season they've been straight out saying Chelsea are the favourites. I think because of United's dominance over the last couple of decades, a lot of people like to see us lose. We just have to get on with it."

Vidic with some comment:

"It was unusual to lose 4-1 at home," said Vidic. "I made some mistakes personally and so did the team. But it's in the past.

"Of course it bothered me. When you make mistakes, especially in such a high-profile game, you always go through a hard time. But I got through it.

"Players who play football make mistakes. Only players who don't play never make mistakes. So it happens and it happened to me." ...

"I've been here three-and-a-half years," said Vidic. "If I need one game to prove whether or not I'm a good player, then I clearly haven't achieved much in England.

"As well as that bad game, I can also remember having played some good games for United.

"It was just a bad day, that's all. You must remember, I played two games against Torres before that and he didn't score."

And finally Nani:

"To win at Anfield and leave them 10 points behind us would be such a shattering blow for Liverpool - but that's what we want to do.

"We remember losing 4-1 to them at Old Trafford last season and this is the best moment for us to show the other side of the coin.

"It's a great chance for us to gain revenge and to show everyone we are the Premier League champions.

"And while the pressure is on Liverpool, for many reasons, we go to Anfield with no nerves.

"United are playing with a very positive rhythm at the moment and we want to satisfy our supporters."

Handsome Furs Hate This City

(Image from here)

Build up to the Liverpool game starts with some comments from Rio Ferdinand and the ever-reliable Gary Neville:

“I’ve never said I don’t respect Liverpool. You have to respect a team that has been as ­successful as they have and has the history and tradition they have.

“But I’m a United fan and the rivalry is well documented. United fans want United to win and Liverpool to lose – and it’s the same the other way.

“I don’t get a great reception at Anfield I must say – I’m not their favourite son.

“No United players get a good reception at Anfield, but it’s the same for their players at our ground and it is to be expected.

“It’s always been a really great game to play in. Obviously we never want to lose, but it’s the same for both teams.

“Liverpool has been the biggest game of the season for a long time, going back 30 years or more, and our rivalry with Liverpool is bigger than our ­rivalry with Manchester City.

“There are a variety of ­reasons why this fixture is so important.

“The cities are very close yet have different cultures, both clubs have enjoyed great ­periods at different times in the past 40 years and now we’re level on the number of championships.

“The atmosphere in Liverpool-United games is great – but only if you’re winning!”

And he added: “They are the best games to play football in – but also the hardest games to lose.”

The Guardian tell a story about Gary Neville which was new to me:

the man who once declared to a United fanzine: "I can't stand Liverpool, I can't stand Liverpool people, I can't stand anything to do with them."

Never one to hold back with his opinions, Neville was so flagrantly anti-Liverpool that his father, Neville Neville, interrupted one of his rants a few years ago to switch off an interviewer's tape-recorder, apparently fearful that his son was talking himself into trouble. Neville Jr is said to have responded: "But I do hate them, Dad."

He also has a few comments on Rooney:

Neville claimed he would not swap Rooney for any other player in the world, identifying the 23-year-old as arguably United's most important player.

"I wouldn't swap him for anybody," said Neville. "Wayne has such a big influence on our team.

"Sometimes the world's best player accolades go to the people who are the most eye-catching and skilful.

"Wayne obviously has great skill but he also has incredible team qualities. His work-rate, defending and goal-scoring ability all stand out. He's simply a fantastic all-round player.

"In some ways you see a bit of Roy Keane's character in Wayne and the way he plays. He's infectious and sets the tone.

"Obviously we have a few players who can do that, but Wayne has a fantastic desire that transmits to the rest of the team.

"There are always areas in which players can improve. Even players who are over 35 will say they can improve, so Wayne is someone who will get better with experience."

Rio's got a nice comment on the Liverpool game:

“Sunday is a huge game. I don’t know about knocking them out of the title race – we just want to do well for ourselves.

“That means beating them and who knows where that puts them? I don’t really care.

“We want to beat Liverpool – it is as simple as that.

“That’s want we want to do and it doesn’t matter how well or badly they are doing.

“I have had some great days beating them at both Anfield and Old Trafford and I would love to reproduce that.”

And some comments about his season so far:

“It feels like my season hasn’t really got started yet.

“I pulled my thigh the day before the season began then I came back, was in and out of the team, and it feels now like I just need a great run of games.

“I need 10 continuous games under my belt and to go from there.

“I don’t want to talk about the criticism I’ve had.

“You get criticised in football and you get praised – I just don’t comment on it either way.”

Satan is Boring

Good performance yesterday. Controlled, professional, got the result, got Vidic and Ferdinand minutes together and got back, ready for Sunday. Of course every single paper says something along the lines of "the last time Man Utd were in this stadium was a lot more exciting than this," and seem to think it's some sort of fair comment/pithy observation, as if a Champions League isn't quite obviously gonna be more exciting than a group game. It's maybe some journalist thing, "look, I've done research, I know they played the Champions League final here against Chelsea..." Whatever it is, it becomes very boring by the time you read The Sun's report (depending on which order you read them in...), so the churlish nature it probably reads worse than it should:

Then, 50,000 Reds fans took residence in the Luzhniki Stadium to witness a compelling drama against Chelsea in the 2008 Champions League final.

Last night 500 hardy souls witnessed ... well let's just say, don't rush to the shop to get the DVD. ...

while United were very much under par they were still the better team.

With one eye on Sunday's clash with Liverpool and because of a few bumps and bruises Alex Ferguson brought an understrength side to Moscow - and the absentees were notable.

We knew United would never be the same once Cristiano Ronaldo finally moved to Real Madrid.

But take out Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs and any inventiveness is drawn out of the team.

Ferguson always prefers to play one striker and a five-man midfield in Europe. If that one is Rooney then he poses a constant danger to the opposition as he buzzes here and there, linking the play and threatening goal.

Berbatov does not. His header on to set up the goal was one of his few meaningful contribution.

Under par? Or playing within ourselves. Did Neil Custis watch the Besiktas game? When Rooney went off, a little frustrated remember, we scored, not because of the change of personal so much as the change of system, from one to two up front. Similar fashion today. And I like the "What has Berba ever done, apart from setting up the winning goal, what has he ever done..." And let me be pedantic at the bad writing - the link from "understrength side" to Ronaldo leaving implies more than it should. We no longer have Ronaldo and so can't be included in considerations of our strength or otherwise.

All the other reports are pretty similar, except they generally give us credit for a job well done, rather than whining on, while admitting the game wasn't the best, entertainment wise.

The Guardian ain't bad, though still referencing Ronaldo? Really:

Much as they miss Ronaldo, United are coping well enough without him and, courtesy of Valencia's 86th-minute strike, now top Group B boasting a 100% record. With progress to the next phase all but assured, Sir Alex Ferguson is now free to concentrate on Sunday's vital Premier League fixture at Liverpool.

Rather like United as a whole, Valencia improved as the night unravelled and a patient first-half display gave way to a higher-tempo second period. "He's emerging very well," said Ferguson, whose team equalled Ajax's record of 14 straight away games without defeat in Europe. "Valencia's got strength, crossing ability and balance, goal-scoring was his weakness at Wigan but he's now scored a couple in two games. His confidence is growing."

The Mirror loves hindsight:

The manager will have gleaned little from this game, other than reinforcing the fact he possesses a squad of formidable depth which he is able to shuffle without detriment to United's results - unlike his beleaguered rival Rafa Benitez. This win was achieved without the likes of Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Darren Fletcher and Patrice Evra.

United's third straight win also confirmed the belief that progress from Group B was always going to be a procession for them, despite lip service being paid to spirited but modest opponents in the form of CSKA, Besiktas and Wolfsburg.

Yeah, we knew all along that this would be a really easy group. I'd check if I had time, but I seem to remember when the draw was made that Liverpool wouldn't have any problems...

The Times praises Valencia but slightly churlishly criticises Nani:

After a nervous start to life at Old Trafford, Valencia is beginning to assert himself. While he may never scale the heights of Cristiano Ronaldo, he is emerging from the Portuguese’s shadow. He was certainly more effective than Nani on the opposite flank and could prove an important cog in the United wheel this season if he continues to chip in with goals.

Nani’s decision-making remains questionable at best. Rather than pull back the ball for a team-mate in the 49th minute, having found himself unchallenged just outside the six-yard box, he stroked the ball across goal into no man’s land and the opportunity went begging.

Nani did have a diving header from Gary Neville’s cross well saved...

Quotes, Sir Alex on the game and equalling Ajax's record of unbeaten away games:

“We should be proud of equalling the record because it’s not easy away from home in Europe and we have been to some fantastic places over the years.

“It’s all about maturity – there’s a way of playing in Europe away from home. You saw it tonight – we showed good patience, kept good possession.

“I’m very pleased with the ­performance. The surface was never a problem because good players can play on any surface.

“The situation in the group is that we have nine points. I have always maintained we need 10.

“We have a home game against CSKA next, so we have the opportunity to ensure we go through to the next stage. The European Cup is very important to our club. It’s the most important thing. We have a ­consistency in Europe now but we should have more trophies.”

Praise for Fabio:

“Fabio was absolutely outstanding today, the boy’s magnificent for 18 years of age,” he added.

“He’s first-class, he just had some cramp, he’ll be okay."

And for Valencia:

Valencia has been a plus point for the last few weeks,” Ferguson said. “He is emerging very well, settling into the club and his confidence is getting stronger.

“He has tremendous assets for a wide player but the assets he didn’t show at Wigan were his goals, where he would maybe get three or four a season.”

Gary Neville speaks:

"We couldn't ask for more - nine points from three games is great," said Neville.

"It was a good professional performance.

"Nani and Fabio in the first half did well and then Antonio Valencia caused them problems after the break.

"He is strong and quick and an old fashioned winger who puts crosses in and is a constant threat to defenders.

"We controlled the tempo of the match and we were the only team trying to win it in the last 20 minutes.

"They seemed content with the draw. But we sent Michael Owen on to make it two up front to try to win it. I was a bit concerned after training on the pitch but it ended up being okay."

The Sublime Freak

Alan Leighton never shuts up does he. Had anyone heard of him before whatever-reason-it-was-that-he-crawled-into-the-open happened? He's loving it ain't he? Anyway, he says some more shit today. It's here, the usual crap, so I won't quote it.
Sir Alex "walked out" of the Champions League press conference apparently. The Guardian's description:

Asked how he felt about having to explain himself to English football's governing body, Ferguson replied: "Silly question, gets no answer." When another reporter interjected with "It's not a silly question", the United manager bristled visibly. "I'm not answering that," he said, rising from his chair, turning on his heel and heading briskly for the exit, pausing only to issue a curt "Good night".

Although Ferguson had spent the previous 20 minutes fielding questions from English and Russian journalists, he had been terse throughout.

Other stuff to come from the press conference, possibility of the return of the injured for Sunday's game:

"There will be obviously be changes on Sunday," said Fergie. "I'm hoping Rooney, Giggs, and Fletcher will be fit.

"It's difficult to say with Giggs, but we're fighting to get Rooney ready. It may be an uphill fight, but we're trying.

"Evra will be fit for Sunday. He's just had a little problem with a heel that we could have risked but decided not to.

"Fletcher is a slight doubt, but we're hoping we get the main players fit because Sunday is a big game."

And on rumours linking us to CSKA's keeper:

he played down rumours that CSKA’s Igor Akinfeev is a leading candidate to replace 38-year-old Van der Sar.

He said: “I can’t deal with rumour because we have two very good young keepers in Ben Foster and Tomasz Kuszczak. The future lies with them. When Van der Sar chooses to retire, I am confident they will be able to take over."

Escape Pod (From the World of Mental Observations)

The main thing today is Sir Alex being charged by the FA over the Wiley comments. One thing I find interesting is that most of the reports on this suggest that Sir Alex will "escape" a touchline ban. For example, The Guardian:

Ferguson faces a touchline ban should he be found guilty of improper conduct, but it is thought such a punishment would set a precedent. Normally, the Football Association uses a ban only if the offence involves inappropriate behaviour towards a referee on the touchline or on the pitch, not as a result of post-match comments. Ferguson may escape with a fine.

There is no logic here - Sir Alex faces touchline ban - The FA doesn't give touch line bans for offences like Sir Alex's - Sir Alex will therefore escape a touchline ban. What? It's like saying "Sir Alex will escape life imprisonment, the FA has never imposed life imprisonment on anyone, so it is thought that Sir Alex will escape with a fine..." Where's the escape? It's as if the media, led by that idiot Alan Leighton, has talked up the whole touchline ban thing, and now it comes down to it, when that isn't an option, everyone goes, "lucky Sir Alex, he's got off lightly..." Of course, given the media pressure and the FA's general hatred of all thing United, the touchline ban is still possible, if unlikely.
Henry Winter is quite sensible on the matter in The Telegraph:

So what is more damaging? What is more requiring of the Football Association’s attention? Sir Alex Ferguson uttering some stupid, patently incorrect remarks about a slightly chubby referee or Liam Ridgewell piling recklessly into Theo Walcott?

Or two Americans heaping embarrassment on a great English footballing institution, Liverpool? Or more of Uncle Sam’s profit-chasing progeny dragging into debt another great English footballing institution, Manchester United?

Or the shameful ignoring of the public outside London by holding all England internationals at Wembley (or in dosh-filled Doha)? Or the failure to build a National Football Centre where English coaches can be properly developed?

But, no, it is Ferguson that the governing body decides to target. It’s easy points and cheap plaudits for the Neros of the FA while so much burns out of control around them.

My only quibble with this is that while he's right to criticise the FA, shouldn't he be casting his net closer to home? At journalists, who have managed to drag out Sir Alex's comments on Alan Wiley for over two weeks now, when they could have been writing about any number of the other things that Henry Winter cites.
Turning to Moscow, Sir Alex has no worries about playing on an artificial surface:

"I have no issues with the pitch in Moscow. When Luton and QPR had them all those years ago we always played well on them.

"We had a great record at those grounds and that was when the artificial pitches weren't as good. The one in Moscow has a far better covering on it."

"The issue with Moscow is the surface, but I've watched their games and I haven't see any issues with it at all. It's a passing surface.

There's some quotes from Jonny Evans today, here's the best summary, I'll just quote a bit, covers a lot of ground, so worth reading the whole thing:

I am still learning and improving all the time but I feel like there is a lot more to come," he said.

"Last season was a decent one for me but I was playing within myself a bit.

"Because it was my first real season in the team I just stuck to the defending side of things. It was a conscious decision to play it safe and make sure I wasn't at fault for any goals, I just generally wanted to concentrate on defending above all else.

"This year I need to try and get on the ball and express myself a bit more. I am not saying I will be trying to dribble all the way through the opposition from now on, just that I need to be a bit more outgoing on the pitch and a bit more commanding."

On Top of the World

(Image from here)

Continuing the "The Mirror has the worst Columnists" series, I bring you Stan Collymore:

Michael Owen has scored only two goals this season following his free transfer from Newcastle.

While Dimitar Berbatov, 28, is yet to live up to his £30m price tag after joining from Spurs in August 2008.

And now I am beginning to have doubts about Valencia’s ability, too.

Despite the hype surrounding him and his supposed man-of-the-match display against Bolton, it has been a different story in the Champions League.

That has to be the marker for United’s stars to prove whether they are truly world-class.

And at the moment too many of their big names have not delivered on the top stage.

I get better analysis from pissed-up blokes down the pub than that. Where to begin? The so tired Berba-needs-to-improve refrain? The Michael-Owen-doubts rubbish? No, I'll start with the Valencia criticism. "Despite the hype surrounding him..." Did I miss that? As far as I recall there's been nothing but "he's not Ronaldo," is-he type mumblings ever since we signed him. The problem with columnists is that when they come out with such rubbish and preface it with "I am beginning to have doubts," it sounds like we're meant to be somehow impressed, as if Stan Collymore's opinion is somehow better than ours, the "I" coming across as egotistical - "you out there may have been fooled by the imaginary "hype", but I, I always had my doubts..." And then "it has been a different story in the Champions League," has it? Really? Two wins from two. And all of 2 games in which Valencia has had to impress in that competition. And, given he named Berba there, presumably he includes him as a top name who hasn't delivered, that's straight after Berba produced a masterclass of passing against Wolfsburg. Maybe Stan should stop believing the hype and form his own opinion (although given the quality of The Mirror's other columnists, his job's presumably pretty safe...) And as to Owen, only 2 goals? That would be two goals from 2 starts. Or 2 goals from 214 minutes, pretty comparable to Rooney's 6 goals from 706 minutes (at current rate Owen gets to 6 goals in 642 minutes...).

The pissed up guy in the pub (almost) gets a mention in The Sun's report:

Whatever result they get on Wednesday in the Champions League against CSKA Moscow, they are still undoubtedly heading for the next round of that competition.

But whether they can repeat the triumph they achieved in Moscow is another thing.

Last season's 2-0 final defeat to Barcelona raised huge question marks which have not gone away.

Right now, United are not the force they were the last time they visited the Luzhniki.

To suggest as much irritates the boss. Indeed, Fergie used a large part of his programme notes to criticise an unnamed questionnaire that had made that very point after the Wolfsburg win last month.

Well, if he had heard some of the fans heading out of Old Trafford on Saturday, he would have had to criticise them too.

The most interesting thing about this (and the only reason I mention this otherwise inane report) is the bit about the "unnamed questionnaire" (think he probably means questioner, but I'll let that slide) - he may have been unnamed in the programme notes, but The Independent remember who it was:

On Saturday the Manchester United manager used his programme notes to restate his apology to Alan Wiley, which should not spare him an FA charge today for questioning the referee's fitness. However, more space was devoted to rounding on a questioner from The Sun, who after their Champions League victory over Wolfsburg, had asked if United had been winning "without firing on all cylinders". "It should not be necessary for me to have to answer that kind of question," Ferguson wrote, beginning nine paragraphs of justification of Manchester United's season thus far, pointing to impressive displays at Tottenham and Stoke "where we gained a significant win with 70 per cent of possession".

I wonder if that is why The Sun reporter gets a little defensive...

The Independent continue with some talk of our attacking quality:

The champions dazzled for an hour and the dancing feet of Ryan Giggs demonstrated why he has been nominated for the European footballer of the year award. Dimitar Berbatov, who had dashed back to the team hotel on Friday night after the birth of his daughter in Bulgaria, displayed the same levels of confidence and control that had driven United to victory over Wolfsburg.

While The Guardian is notable in that all the reports quickly brush over the fact that we're top of the league, to concentrate on just how bad we are (on a similar subject, Lee Dixon on MOTD2 last night said that Chelsea were "still the team to beat," as if they'd won the Premier League for the last 3 seasons...), but they point out the pertinant fact:

Nevertheless, this was an afternoon that emphasised a difference between Liverpool and Manchester United. Last season Carlos Tevez described the combination of himself, Wayne Rooney, Ronaldo and Berbatov as "the best forward line in the world". Ferguson was able to call on only one of these against Bolton. He won. At Sunderland Rafael Benítez was without Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. He lost.

The only other story is of Michael Owen being quoted on the Liverpool game:

Owen is acutely aware that many supporters at Anfield cannot forgive him for switching allegiances to United, but the striker considers it unfair for him to be accused of disloyalty. To illustrate the point, he said he planned to celebrate as normal if he scored in Sunday's game.

"I'm human," said Owen. "I'd prefer people to sit down and recognise what you did for them and for the team in years gone past but I'm pretty realistic as well. Now that I'm playing for their local rivals – I'm not holding my breath, put it that way.

"People talk about loyalty in football, and for a football supporter it's easy to preach about that. As a father and a brother and a son there's no one more loyal than me. But when you're a player, you're not a fan. I've got to earn a living, provide for my family. I supported Everton as a kid. I never supported Real Madrid, but I played for them. It's a job opportunity, just like anyone else's work.

"The longer you're at a team, if the fans make you feel welcome and the players take to you, then you build an affinity. So now obviously I look for Real Madrid results and Newcastle results, but it doesn't make me any less loyal to Manchester United."

Balloon Factory

First thing to note today is that after our draw against Sunderland all the papers were suggesting that Sir Alex attacked Alan Wiley to distract attention away from our poor performance - today the papers themselves (even Rafa seemed too embarrassed to make too much of the incident, realising just how bad Liverpool were) are falling over themselves to make excuses for Liverpool losing, as if a freak goal after 5 minutes of a game is the only thing that sat between Liverpool and an inevitable victory (I should also note that the absence of Gerrard and Torres against Sunderland seems to have been retrospectively applied to their other 3 loses... While we, apparently struggling to cope without Ronaldo and Tevez, sit atop the league... And while I'm noting, Liverpool were given 7 minutes of injury time to find an equalizer... a decision greeted, not by stereotypical boos, but by a bemused silence interspersed with gasps of astonishment by the Sunderland fans).
Onto the match reports, and according to some, we were lucky again yesterday. The Observer's report begins:

The referee's fitness was not questioned this time, but, for the second home game in succession, United were desperately close to embarrassment against modest opposition. The defending champions regained pole position in the title race, courtesy of Chelsea's slip-up earlier in the day, but they would not have done so had it not been for Gary Cahill's failure to tuck away what should have been a routine header at the death.

And also continues the trend of criticising Ferdinand:

The absence of Nemanja Vidic, injured in training on Friday, appeared to further undermine the composure of Rio Ferdinand, who has been nowhere near his imperious best of late.

First things first, and The Independent's report offers a nice rebuff to the lucky accusations:

Manchester United stumbled to the summit but, unlike Chelsea and Liverpool, they did not fall. There will be queries over a defence that somehow allowed what seemed a hopelessly-beaten Bolton side back into this game and over a forward line that ought to have throttled the life out the contest before it was an hour old. However, the questions are nothing like as fierce as those confronting Rafael Benitez this morning and, ever since gathering together his first motley collection of part-time footballers at East Stirling, Sir Alex Ferguson has understood the importance of winning first and asking questions afterwards.

Which adds a new theory of bias to the existing cannon - going on about how we're lucky/rubbish/given preferential treatment by referees as a way to distract from how lucky/rubbish/given preferential treatment by referees Liverpool/Chelsea/Arsenal are.
Some descriptions of the game from the same report:

Bolton had required a generous helping of fortune not to have reached the hour mark hopelessly beaten. But it says something for the uncertainty surrounding a Manchester United defence that, had Gary Cahill's last minute header been directed either side of the Manchester United goalkeeper, Bolton would have drawn a game against an avalanche rather than the run of play. ...
Frankly, had Clattenburg spent the afternoon in a deckchair in the Bolton penalty area, he would have been well positioned to cover the first 75 minutes. United's passing was often beautifully-measured and a shimmer from Ryan Giggs that confused two Bolton defenders was worthy of Alan Hudson's description of football as the working man's ballet.

So we dominated, until (probably) complacency set in and their goal gave us a nervous finish. But it shouldn't distract too much from a good performance overall. Perhaps the worrying thing is not so much a general defensive frailty, but an inability to close games out which we've seen a few times this season. Whereas in seasons gone by we'll take a lead and dominate possession, not allowing the other team back in, this season we seem to have forgotten how to do it, instead of calm passing, we're still going for killer balls in the final moments of games, gifting possession to the opposition, which allows more time for any defensive frailty which might exist to appear.
A frailty which might be nice to pin solely on the shoulders of Ferdinand (and the papers do like to keep their blame game simple) but which is a whole team problem - Bolton's goal coming from substandard defending all round, Ferdinand pretty blameless if memory serves - News of the World brief description:

the visitors got their reward when Neville failed to make a routine clearance, giving Kevin Davies a second chance to cross from Bolton's left.

I am willing to concede that I've skim read a lot, but the several mistakes leading up to their goal are actually best summed up today in that one sentence - as if the orthodoxy of Ferdinand's loss of form has robbed everyone of the ability to see problems elsewhere.
The Sunday Mirror explain the general manner of the game succinctly in an otherwise pretty dull match report:

Manchester United survived a second-half scare to reclaim top spot in the Premier League.

The Telegraph point out the downside of the game:

The trip to Moscow now looks even harder with the news that Patrice Evra and Giggs are both doubtful after picking up knocks yesterday, but Nemanja Vidic should return from an ankle injury.

The Daily Star continue their recent trend of imaginative links, as well as having the best punning headline - "Flying Ant Stings Megson":

Ryan Giggs was also outstanding but even the presence of ex-England batsman Geoff Boycott, who knows a thing or two about centuries, could not inspire him to his 100th Premier League goal.

Sunday Times singles out Giggs for a change:

Giggs, who turns 36 next month, is supposed to carry less of an attacking edge these days, playing a prompting role in midfield more suited to his advancing years than that of a quicksilver winger.
But he subjected poor Sam Ricketts to the sort of roasting that George Best regularly used to hand out to full-backs here.

Interestingly, for the 3rd match in succession, Berbatov is leading the United player of the match poll on The Manchester Evening News website, the same Berba who is living upto his potential and who is allegedly not winning over the fans...
Onto the quotes, Sir Alex:

“We made it hard for ourselves in the last ten minutes. “We panicked at times but we got through it – just. We had too much of a comfort zone at 2-0 but, with Chelsea and Liverpool both losing, it’s been a good day for us.

“We gave away a slack goal but Bolton are a handful and you must give them credit.

“But in the past we used to have runs of games without conceding and we need to be doing that again.”

And he praises Valencia:

“He is a young, powerful and fit lad who kept powering forward. “Getting his first goal for the club will do him the world of good.”

Elsewhere, The Sunday Mirror pluck a figure out of their magic bag to fill some column inches:

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is facing a five-match ban for comments made about referee Alan Wiley.

Ferguson's side returned to the top of the Premier League on Saturday after a hard-fought win over Bolton but Monday could well see a decided change of mood at Old Trafford as the Football Association are determined to take a firm stance against the Scot.

Feelings are still running high within the game's national governing body at Sir Alex's comments regarding referee Alan Wiley, whom he branded 'unfit' following United's 2-2 draw with Sunderland a fortnight ago.

And such is the strength of feeling inside the FA that Ferguson, who has written to the FA to explain his comments and will hear whether or not he is to face an improper conduct charge from the Governance Division tomorrow, is staring down the barrel of a five-match ban - the heaviest punishment he will have received in his 23 years at United.

The source for this? Not given, thin air the best guess...
Sir Alex had a few comments in the match programme yesterday on Wiley:

“We got out of jail in the final seconds for a 2-2 draw (against Sunderland) but frankly we had an off day.

“We kept going and we had a bit of luck with our late equaliser. We certainly weren’t firing on all cylinders in that game.

“Our passing was quite out of character which is perhaps why my feelings afterwards got the better of me with regard to the referee.

“I felt later that it was fair to apologise. I hope he has accepted my apology because I have always respected Alan Wiley, who is a good referee, and my remarks were not intended to be a slur on his integrity.

“By the time you read this (programme notes), I hope I shall have had the opportunity to speak to him personally after taking a break in the States.”

A few quotes from Nani on life after Ronaldo:

“Everyone knows it was more difficult for me when Ronaldo was here. It was difficult for the manager to play with the two of us.

“Now I can show my ambition and I will work very hard. This is going to be my season. I have played a lot of games and done some good things, but I need to improve. I come alone now when I drive, but for my first couple of months I lived with Ronaldo and he helped me by teaching me the roads. In Portugal, we drive very fast, but over here it’s not the same and the police aren’t the same!”

Rooney on Champions league/Liverpool/Ronaldo:

“I don’t know whether Real Madrid against us would be the dream final – probably Liverpool versus United would be better.

“Madrid are playing brilliantly and with Ronaldo going there, it would be a nice game.

“But you’d rather two English clubs got there for English football – and also because of the rivalry between the two clubs.

“It would be a great occasion to play in.” ...
“Any team Cristiano has played in would miss him and rightly so.

“He’s the best player in the world.

“But we are playing differently now because the team was based around him for the last couple of years.

“We are playing a more orthodox 4-4-2 now and everyone knows their positions and their jobs.

“I’m not sure whether I have now got more freedom on the pitch but I’m playing up front and enjoying that.

“ Last season, I played a lot out wide and didn’t enjoy it as much as up front.

“I feel I’m enjoying my football at the moment. "

And The News Of The World has an interview with Rio Ferdinand on some gangster film he's produced, which I won't quote from, it's here.

Triggers and Trash Heaps

Back to normality after the international break. Almost normality. After the Daily Mail's publishing of the ridiculous piece by Jan Moir on Steven Gately yesterday, I've decided not to feature anything from that rag. I've always felt a certain distaste at some of the papers I link to, but for the purposes of a paper round up it is pretty much unavoidable. It is also a hard call to differentiate between the sports pages of a paper and the political position that a paper supports - sports pages being pretty much non-political, the worst excesses of a paper's politics can be hard to spot (I have never even bothered looking to see what The Express's website's all about (I assume it has one). On several occasions I've contemplated boycotting The Daily Star after seeing the trash that passes for political comment in its pages, but have so far restrained (mainly by ignoring everything but the sport pages). But at the moment I would feel uncomfortable linking to The Daily Mail, in case anyone actually went there via my blog. It probably won't last long, but for the time being, unless they have an exclusive not written about elsewhere, or some major piece of bias, I won't bother with them.
Sir Alex's press conference takes centre stage pre-Bolton. His comments on Rio Ferdinand are given most attention. There was a certain amount of criticism in his words, but always with the promise that Rio will get through it, as The Independent suggests:

The United manager's words seem designed to shake Ferdinand out of the malaise which has beset him after a period of sustained injury, with the defender featuring in just 20 of United's last 42 games for United and four times for England in the last year.

Here's the bulk of what he had to say:

"I don't think he's had any spell like this since he joined the club, that's for sure. So it's an unusual experience for him," Ferguson said. "I'm sure he's taken it on board, the criticism he's had, and with his ability and experience he should be coping with that type of thing. We all go through little phases where we need to correct our game or take a step up and I'm sure he'll do that. I think all players worry about their form and if they're making mistakes and getting criticism they have to [worry]. They wouldn't be human if they didn't." ...

Ferguson added: "I don't know if it's overconfidence. I think there's always been a casual part in Rio's game ever since he was a kid. It's been an advantage to him at times. At other times, though, particularly in his younger days, it was a weakness but in his time with us his development and maturity has brought about some outstanding form, consistently, for quite a long time.

"Maybe the point made about missing games [is right]. It takes a little bit away from you but that is the challenge now. He's played his two games for England [against Ukraine and Belarus] now and if he gets into a run of games I'm sure the rhythm will come back. Games will definitely help, there's no question about that. He's not had many [sticky spells]. But he will get through it, I'm sure of that."

Van der Sar will be straight back in the team at the expense of Foster who is still praised by Sir Alex:

"I still feel he is the best English goalkeeper around," said the United chief.

"He has been outstanding in a lot of things. The save he made on Wednesday was typical of his performance level with us too. They are a demonstration of the guy's ability.

"But he still has not had a lot of game time and experience. His injuries have curtailed the progress he was making.

"He is only going to get better, though, and there is no question he will be a fantastic goalkeeper."...
"Edwin is fit and fine and he will play," said Ferguson.

"He has got the experience.

"It is fair to say he and Peter Schmeichel have been the best goalkeepers in this club's history.

"With that calming influence he has on anyone around about him, getting him back is important - and with games against CSKA Moscow and Liverpool coming up, he couldn't be coming back at a better time."

A calming influence which will hopefully have a positive impact on Rio.
It was left to Gary Neville to comment on Alan Wiley, and he makes a pretty valid point:

"The manager has taken a bit of flak for suggesting that Alan Wiley wasn't fit enough to take charge of the [Sunderland] game [but] I did feel he was taking quite a long time to book players," Neville said. "Managers and players can't win. The fans and the public want honesty, but the FA throw the book at us if we give honest comments. I don't think [Ferguson] was trying to divert attention from the players; he was quite honest that we were not at our best."

Journalists can't do that patronising thing they love so much of criticising those stupid-working-class footballers for all the cliches they come out with and at the same time as soon as someone in football says something interesting, slag them off for it (and as I often note in my round ups, football journalists (with the odd notable exception) are on pretty thin ice when it comes to criticising anyone for talking in cliche...)
An interview with Sir Alex in a business magazine yields some quotes on the unsustainability of the football bubble:

"I think there is an awful lot of expenditure and you say to yourself, 'Where is it going to end?'" theManchester United manager said. "This is exactly what was happening in the business world two years ago. There were warning signs and everyone knew there were, yet they carried on because it was so easy to access loans.

"In the football world you say to yourself the warning signs are there, but nobody seems to be bothering about it. You wonder where it's going to go and what is going to happen if one major club were to go, to collapse."

Finally, Carlos Tevez is at it again, after having a go at Man United fans for not respecting his amazing talents ability to run around a lot to no great purpose after he left and slagged us off all summer, he's now getting his lip out at Argentina's fans for refusing to respect his something or other:

"When I play for Argentina I spend more time suffering than enjoying myself. The fans insulted us, the journalists criticised everything. Sometimes I think about quitting the national team. Why should I come to Argentina and have a bad time?"

My heart bleeds.

Girls Girls Girls

Classic example of bias today. There's this story, coming from Bolton, relating to their game against Spurs on October 3rd:

Megson said: "I mentioned to the referee [Jones] that he wasn't treating everyone the same as he was treating Kevin [Davies] and that he was getting some treatment he shouldn't have.

"He said 'have you seen his stats?' His stats are nothing to do with it. You should just referee the game on what you've seen, not what you think you've seen.

"I got our secretary, Simon Marland, to speak to Keith Hackett and said this wasn't right.

"People are going in with a slant on what they expect to see, but if you're going to look at stats, what about no red cards for eight years, no suspensions last year, the fact Kevin is one of the most fouled players?

"It's not part of a referee's remit to think about people's records. They just have to referee the game as they see it."

Meanwhile, The Independent have an interview with Kevin Davies, under the headline, "I knew I'd be booked. Fergie had done his job"

Sir Alex Ferguson has had other fish to fry these past few days, but his usual tactic in the run-up to a Manchester United v Bolton Wanderers game is to put it about that Kevin Davies, the Wanderers captain and centre-forward, is an aggressive so-and-so who needs watching as much by the officials as by the United defence. "Two years ago it was spread all over the papers," says Davies, with a rueful smile. "All this stuff from Fergie about me bullying and kicking. And I went there and hardly made a tackle, because I knew I'd be straight in the book. So I suppose he did his job. That's what Fergie's good at, isn't it?"

Maybe, but if Davies is suggesting that referees subconsciously allow themselves to be primed by the United manager before matches at Old Trafford, then he and Bolton could hardly be arriving at the Theatre of Dreams at a better time, with Ferguson's stock with Premier League officialdom at an all-time low following his broadside concerning Alan Wiley's fitness, apology or no apology.

On the one hand we have an actual current story about the unfair treatment Kevin Davies is apparently getting from referees, on the other, a story rehashed from 2 years ago about some comments from Sir Alex. And as of now (11-00am Friday) the Kevin Davies interview is given top billing on The Independent's Premier League news page, the Megson comments aren't featured at all. Agenda anyone?
The referee's apologist Alan Leighton has some new comments today, patting himself on the back:

"If we had not challenged Alex Ferguson over his comments, it would have lowered the bar even more in terms of the criticism and abuse referees face.

"We couldn't allow that to happen and what has happened over the last week or so has started to redress the balance.

"Some Man United fans can't divorce their support for Alex Ferguson from the rights and wrongs of this issue and have defended him, but we've had plenty of Man United fans tell us that Alex Ferguson went too far.

"I'd like to think this is the start of something for referees, that now they will be properly respected and their performances valued, rather than carpeted over everything they do."

He lives in a dream world.
Sir Alex wrote a nice letter to a Standard Liege player, Steven Defour:

it emerged he had written a letter of sympathy to the 21-year-old midfielder wishing him a speedy recovery from a broken metatarsal and promising that he will "remain in contact" with the Belgium club.

Ferguson also promised Defour that he would continue to chart his progress once he has recovered from an injury that is expected to keep him out until mid-January. The United manager, mindful that he has been accused in the past of "tapping up" players, is understood to have gone through Liège officially, and was shocked to discover that his letter had been released to the Belgian media.

"Dear Steven, I have just heard about your injury and, in the name of Manchester United, I would like to wish you a full and speedy recovery," Ferguson wrote. "I am sure at the moment you must be feeling awful and that you'll have all kinds of questions. Steven, these are natural worries but I have to tell you that modern medicine and treatments are incredible; you have to have confidence in them. Don't worry, everything will work out. You will have to work hard to come back and I am going to follow your performances. I will remain in contact with Standard."

United have confirmed that the letter is genuine but that Ferguson considered it a "private matter". Ferguson likes to keep his transfer targets a closely guarded secret but it is now clear that Defour features prominently in his thinking.

Noting that sentence in bold, let's look at The Times' report:

Although Ferguson is understood to have gone through official channels to contact Defour, he has previously attracted criticism for the alleged “tapping up” of players and the personal nature of the disclosure will cause red faces at Old Trafford. ...

PSV Eindhoven have complained in the past about how Ferguson courted Ruud van Nistelrooy, Jaap Stam and Arjen Robben, while Tottenham Hotspur were critical of the manner in which he approached Dimitar Berbatov before signing the forward in September last year.

Bias posing as filler...

Some comments from Anderson:

"I feel happy here," said Anderson.

"Everybody has times that are not the best but I am at home here.

"I have been at Manchester United for three years. Everyone at the club is nice to me. It is like a family.

"I should score more goals but the way the team plays it can be very difficult to get inside the area," he said.

"Hopefully I will have more chances in the future and I can score lots more for Manchester United."

Finally, a little article about an interview Sir Alex gave an American radio station, featuring this humorous bit about keeping Macheda's feet on the ground:

"The thing about Macheda of course is that he had a great first season. He was only 17 when he made his debut, and scored that winning goal against Aston Villa.

"That projected him into a different kind of profile. Most people hadn't even heard of the boy. Now we're having to deal with the improvement of the lad, and he's got strong, and he's got bigger, he's an outstanding finisher. We're trying to improve parts of his game which will be important for his development as a top player."

Ferguson revealed that when he saw the striker with two Italian girls after United lost in the Champions League final in Rome, he quipped: "When I was 17 I had three girls! It's wishful thinking," Ferguson explained. "I did say that to him and he was quite impressed."

The National Anthem

Seeing as I've been ignoring internationals in my paper round-up's this week, I thought I'd make up for it by doing a Man-United-player-scoring-for-his-country post.
First up, Berbatov, with a hat trick - the game finished 6-2, all the goals here



Tosic scores a nice goal as Serbia lose 2-1. nice finish after taking it round the keeper - all the goals again, Tosic's is second up



And finally, Nani with a pretty smart turn and shot to get Portugal on their way against Malta - this video is just of Nani's goal

I don't know if she's worth 900kr

Very little about today (especially as I'm still ignoring England stories). Giggs defends footballer's salaries:

"There is plenty of money in the game but the majority of the players deserve it," Giggs told ITV's News at Ten. "There are a number of players that perhaps 20 years ago would not have got paid the money that they're getting now but that is the way that football is.

"The average player is getting a lot of money – if that is right, I don't know. But good luck to them – the money is in the game, why not earn it while they have got the chance? But 20 years ago that wouldn't have happened. Then it was probably only the top, top players, the elite players who would be earning good money."

Which I'm not quite sure is the way to argue - you start using words like "deserve" and people come back with "what about doctors, or soldiers, or..." Whether or not they "deserve" it, there's a lot of money in football, footballers provide the entertainment, footballers should therefore reap the benefits of the cash in football. It's not about "deserve" it's about a fair distribution of the wealth in football. Maybe one day the rest of society will actually catch up with the idea...
Only other thing is this from Brian Moore in The Telegraph, on Sir Alex and Wiley:

the United manager holds little hope of receiving a fair and proper hearing because of a media witch-hunt fuelled by sources close to senior referees.
Oh, the irony – a comment, one of many similar, that manipulated the media by deflecting analysis away from his team's poor performance against Sunderland, is now held against him.

This I still don't get - the comment which has apparently so successfully hidden our poor performance against Sunderland is constantly repeated with the words "deflecting analysis away from his team's poor performance against Sunderland" or something similar. As a tactic it hasn't worked, so why does everyone claim it has? And another thing, if Sir Alex is wrong to criticise the referee, of not being fair to the referee, why is it right that the FA and referees get to be unfair to Sir Alex? Two wrongs don't make a right - and referees giving off the record quotes to the media against Sir Alex seems both unfair and cowardly.