Swiss Armour Tank

If you can bear to watch, here's the highlights of our 3-3 draw with Basel from last night -



Manchester United v FC Basel by simric17
And here's Sir Alex in the post match press conference, blaming lack of concentration and too many players pushing forward for our poor defence, as well as the penalty decision, which was soft to say the least -

Goal

Welbeck's first goal vs Basel




And his second



And Young's late equaliser

Television Rules The Nation

photo from here

With the amount of tabs I have open it would seem like we have a lot to get through today, not only Champions League previews but Sir Alex giving an interview gets a bit of attention.

The comments that are getting the most attention are on TV and football, here's what he has to say:

"When you shake hands with the devil you have to pay the price. Television is God at the moment," said Ferguson, who agreed that broadcasters had "too much power". "It shows itself quite clearly because when you see the fixture lists come out now, they can pick and choose whenever they want the top teams on television," he added.

"You get some ridiculous situations when you're playing on Wednesday night in Europe and then at lunchtime the following Saturday. You ask any manager if they would pick that themselves and there'd be absolutely no chance."

They are comments which I think should be taken with a pinch of salt.  I didn't catch the interview, so haven't seen the proper context, but it seemed like a more informal, more "lifestyle" interview, than a football interview, thus I like to imagine Sir Alex more in miserable old man mode, complaining about football - like being back at home and listening to my parents bang on about how footballers don't deserve all that money for just kicking a ball about.  And it's not so much TV he's complaining about, because The Champions League is surely the competition that has been created to the model that TV demands:  the group stage to create more games; games spread over two nights; a country's teams spread and kept apart to make it easier for the home audience;  the Europa league played on Thursday to try and maximise interest; everything weighted towards the countries with larger TV revenue.  It's not the "devil of television," but specifics of TV in the country, as he points out here, in other countries the home leagues change fixtures to give clubs more of a chance in Europe:

When we played Benfica, they changed their (domestic) fixture immediately they knew it was United they were playing. The importance of doing well in Europe is greater there than it is in our country."

It's Sky he's got a problem with, not the money that TV brings, or the money/TV created Champions League, just Sky's schedulers.

The Mail has quotes from the rest of the interview, in which Sir Alex talks about, among other things, the famous "hairdryer" and quotes from David Beckham about people living in fear of him:

'I hope not,' replied Ferguson. 'There's a lot of myth attached to that. In training there's nothing but praise for every player. Nothing but positives. 'Where David and other people are coming from is how I react to defeat, which is not easy for me. I don't think I should change. I don't like people who change. I think you should stick by your nature. But after it's over it's over. I never go back. Tomorrow is another day for me. 'The hairdryer is part of the myth and the circus. It's completely exaggerated, like throwing the tea cups. 

'But I'm a confrontational character and I don't like people arguing back to me. I think that's where the hairdryer treatment came from.'

Onto The Champions League and in the same interview he says how being "unsackable" means he can plan, and how he worked after the Barcelona defeat in Rome to rebuild:

"There was an issue on how we could get near to Barcelona after the final in Rome two years ago," he said. "When you build a team, you want one that lasts five or six years so you get a consistent nature about them and they become friends together. I have a nucleus of young players around the 20-21 year mark who can be regarded in the same way as the Giggs-Scholes-Neville-Beckham era.

"I like to see my own character in the players. I like obsessive, driven footballers that do not like losing. The length of time I have been here has meant that it's been instilled. It becomes a normal situation when players come in and say they had better be like the rest or they won't be at the club too long. It is driven by me but there is an acceptance by the players that they will have to have these qualities to be successful."

To tonight's game and Berbatov is tipped to start, with Rooney and Hernandez injured, Sir Alex again making the point about it being a squad game:

The 30-year-old has started United's last two matches, the draw at the Britannia Stadium and the Carling Cup win at Leeds United, and perhaps that explained Ferguson's irritation when pressed on Berbatov's contribution to the Champions League campaign. "Of course he's got a part to play. He's one of our squad members and they've all got a part to play," the United manager said. "There are a lot of games in the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carling Cup. It's an exhausting season unless you use your squad."Ferguson utilised his resources in the opening group game at Benfica but left Berbatov on the bench throughout the 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light. He dismissed claims that his handling of United's record signing may now include restoring the confidence of a forward who has not scored in the Champions League since a brace against Celtic in October 2008.

"I don't have to reassure him," he added. "He knows his place in the squad, and that applies to many players like Mame Diouf, Macheda and Michael Owen, they're not playing regularly either. We've had six league games and the ones against Benfica and Leeds. It's only early doors. There's plenty of time."

He also had praise for Ashley Young at the press conference:

 "Ashley has brought a great awareness of the game and fantastic endurance from box to box, which is something we've enjoyed from Ryan Giggs for many years. He has integrated very well and there is a good application in his training. He's done very, very well."

There's some quotes from Ashley Young doing the rounds today, read them here, nothing really worth quoting, just the usual, "it's a big club, want to do well, tough game but we should win" stuff.

Back to Berba, and in The Mirror, David McConnell makes up some stuff about Berba being "desperate" to play, and how it's "make or break" for him, and then says Sir Alex was "prickly" at his press conference - must be the idiots he has to put up with...

The Mail look at how Basle's manager played for Bayern in 1999:

Former Bayern Munich midfielder Thorsten Fink will have no thoughts of revenge when his Basle side face Manchester United in the Champions League. The German came on as an 80th-minute Bayern substitute in the 1999 final with his team winning 1-0, only for United to strike back with two late goals to snatch their second European Cup triumph.'It is not a question of getting equal,' said Fink, who is in his third season as Basle coach. 'I am glad to be here as a coach, it is not an everyday experience. 

'Going back (to 1999) it was a great memory, even in defeat. I think you always gain strength from defeat because everything that hurts helps you improve.

A few other little stories: Man City are laying a wreath in Munich, a move which Sir Alex praises.

Quatari buyout rumours are rubbish.

Finally, The Sun have all the good stories - Berba's mam in "kidnap hell...":

The Manchester United forward's terrified mum Margarita received an email warning she would be abducted unless a large cash sum was handed over.

Anti-Mafia cops arrested suspect Petar Antonov, 38, at his home in the Bulgarian city of Blagoevgrad, where Berbatov grew up and nurse Margarita, 51, still lives.

We can Leap Buildings and Rivers, but Really we Just Wanna Fly

Not much about in the way of interesting stuff today, just a few match reports, and those aren't brimming with excitement.

The most noteworthy of the match reports is in The Mirror, and it's noteworthy for the amount of LSD Mike Walters must have ingested before writing it.  Here's the start:

David De Gea sprang like a frog from the lily pond to pull off three breathtaking saves.But he stayed on his line when Stoke’s aerial bombardment landed another shell in his six-yard box, and Peter Crouch sent Manchester United’s 100 per cent record in the Premier League up in smoke.Kermit or hermit? Take your pick – but £18million De Gea won’t forget the culture shock of his first trip to Bash Street in a hurry.

On the basis that he has never come across anything like the Britannia bearpit before in La Liga, let’s hand it to De Gea: more experienced keepers have buckled under Stoke’s frenzied pressure.

Ok then... The rest of the papers tend to agree with the meat of that:  De Gea had a good game, although I'm not sure why they're so surprised, unless it's something to to with them believing the rubbish about him being dodgy for the last few weeks.

The Mail call him defiant, which would just seem to be the job of a keeper: to defy the opposition's attempts to score... 

Such are the ongoing perceptions of frailty that swirl around David de Gea, Stoke City manager Tony Pulis was keen last week to find out if the Spanish goalkeeper would play against his team for Manchester United on Saturday.But if Pulis believed De Gea’s presence in goal for United would in any way weaken the Barclays Premier League champions’ resilience to some of Stoke’s more direct play at the Britannia Stadium then he was wrong.

De Gea was certainly not perfect on Saturday. This, however, was perhaps his best game since joining United and team-mate Darren Fletcher feels the young goalkeeper has now taken a huge step forward as he looks to establish himself as a worthy successor to Edwin van der Sar.

Ian Ladyman there using the old trick of dissociating the rubbish you've been writing for the last month from yourself by just claiming that they are "perceptions," which have been "swirling about," and not acknowledging the role you had in creating them.

The Mail's report quotes Fletcher:

'Stoke are a big, physical side, with a lot of players over six foot and, on the whole, a lot of players stood up to that and did really well 

'I don’t think you get much more physical games than away to Stoke. They bombard you with balls into the box, set-pieces and corners, but David dealt with it well and he will take a lot of confidence from that performance, which was a bit of a welcome to English football.'

 Here's The Guardian's take on the keeper:

Stoke had certainly set out to make it a difficult experience for David de Gea in United's goal although the 20-year-old acquitted himself well, even if he is still learning what it takes to be in control of his penalty area. The goal came from a routine corner and header but most of the fault should be apportioned to Phil Jones for allowing Crouch to elude him.

De Gea is gradually looking more confident and, in turn, his team-mates seem more confident in him. "We showed him plenty of videos and there was a lot of preparation going into the game, showing him what to expect," Darren Fletcher said. "They bombard you with balls into the box, set pieces and corners but he dealt with it well."

And on Rooney, pointing out his injury could have come at a worse time:

They play Basel in the Champions League on Tuesday followed by another home game, against Norwich City, on Saturday. It is, in other words, not the worst time for Wayne Rooney to be missing.Rooney's diagnosis of the injury he suffered in training on Friday was that he may yet face Basel but not many sportsmen recover from hamstring strains, even mild ones, within four days.

Sir Alex Ferguson said he did not expect Rooney to be involved in at least two matches, which has implications for England's game in Montenegro on Friday week. In the meantime it has been politely pointed out to Rooney it would be better for his wife, Coleen, not to furnish United's opponents with advance team news. Rooney's absence was no particular surprise to Stoke after she announced via Twitter on Friday night that they were at home watching a Beyoncé DVD. The rest of the United team were at their hotel.

The Daily Star are perhaps the most unreserved in their praise for De Gea:

The 20-year-old Spaniard, who has the spotlight well and truly on him, might easily have wilted under such a severe examination.But he pulled off a handful of smart saves that ended up sending United home not overly unhappy with a point.De Gea’s stops kept United on top of the pile and that’s something to bring a smile to Fergie’s face long after he’s cooled down over Crouch.The keeper pulled out a tremendous reflex stop to tip Andy Wilkinson's thunderbolt on to his crossbar for a corner.

Finally, Graham Poll uses his vast experience to tell us why referees don't give early penalties - it's becuase they just don't. illogical though it is, that's just the way it is:

Managers' post-match comments are always interesting and one in particular this weekend came from the daddy of them all, Sir Alex Ferguson.When asked about the incident from which Manchester United had a penalty claim early on at Stoke, he replied: 'It was too early for the referee to give a penalty.' On the surface this is nonsense as a foul is a foul whether in the first minute or the last. However, Ferguson understands referees very well and knows the pressures they are under.The only penalties you are likely to see in the opening 15 minutes of a game are blatant ones, hand ball on the line or an obvious foul. 

There is really no logical explanation for this and I can remember many early penalties that were not given being highlighted at select group referee meetings: meetings that Ferguson’s insight and input at would help referees enormously.

What a brilliant insight... And what's with the fawning comments on Sir Alex, is he after a job with us or something....

Seasick martyr

In a hurry this morning so just a brief run through the papers.

The Mail on Sunday match report sees our point as one gained rather than two lost given our injury setbacks before and during the game.

Sir Alex reckons Rooney will be out for a week or two.

Gary Neville's column is a defence of the Carling Cup, including this bit:

Being on the podium is a drug. Having a medal put round your neck and running round a stadium with the Cup is addictive. I had the privilege to do it lots of times in my career and never got bored.

Interview with Michael Owen in The Observer:

"In many ways that's what harms your chances of a place – the fact that we are so bloody good. The strikers are just fabulous. No matter where you look there are world-class players, and they're a good range of ages, virtually every type of striker. It's one position where we're particularly well off. Even at 31 I'm enjoying learning how different people play and how you can play along side them. That's the positive."

The negative, though, is frustration: battening down the desperate urge to play more regularly. After the Carling Cup tie at Leeds, Owen admits he left the pitch not expecting to start against Stoke on Saturday – in the event he played 80 minutes after Hernández was injured. Owen says: "You've got to enjoy the good days, haven't you? It's nice to remind people you're still on this planet and that you can do it still at this top level."

 Sir Alex's after match quotes:

"Crouch fouls all the time," Ferguson said. "He gets huffy but he jumps on top of defenders all the time, he has been doing that for years. Referees know that, and he maybe caught Phil Jones for the goal, but he is a definitely a handful in the air."

He's right about the general point, and the referee let him get away with climbing and pulling all game, but the goal was good (in the sense that it wasn't a foul, not that it was actually good...). 

Finally, Paul Hayward on Hargreaves:

Interesting timing by Owen Hargreaves. Within minutes of his first goal for Manchester City he effectively blames Manchester United's medical staff for his injury problems, suggesting he was used as a "guinea pig" by one of football's most accomplished recovery teams.Let's put ingratitude to one side and unpick the flaws in his wish to be seen as the victim. Hargreaves feels he was failed by United's experts but was still desperate to stay at Old Trafford, even offering to play for free. And the same doctors and physios who held him back have delivered him fit to play for City, despite their supposed recklessness.

By a happy coincidence, Hargreaves was suddenly fit to play at precisely the moment his career was threatened – when United released him. He is lucky that United confined their response to his allegations to a defence of their own staff and chose not to present their side of the story about his absences.

The Drawback

Here's the Match of the Day highlights of the Stoke game, and, to demonstrate just how cast iron our early penalty claim was, both Lawrenson and Hansen think it was a penalty - unheard of...



Stoke City v Manchester United by diinobet

Goal

Nani's goal against Stoke to make it Stoke 0 Man United 1 -

Pity The Sadness

An addendum to the paper round up - one I missed, but which, in a lucky break, deserves a post of its own anyway.  It's James Lawton, who I often like to criticise, but today he talks a lot of sense on Hargreaves, I'll just select the best bit, long though it is, and leave it without comment:

First on a self-advertising YouTube slot, then out on the field, Hargreaves has offered a passable version of Lazarus picking up his bed and walking at a rather impressive clip.

So why is the chorus of celebration, at least in this quarter, a little muted? ...

No, there has never been a hint of a betrayal of such standards and the consistency of Hargreaves' commitment was visible enough when he emerged as a new hero of the new City.

So what was the knock – what was the charge against the hero of the hour? It was that for some he may have been guilty of a certain gratuitous regurgitation of what seemed, if you had any sense of how many old pros are currently limping through life unupholstered by fantasy contracts that guaranteed their futures even if they never kicked a ball again, well, a degree of self-pity.

Failing some damning evidence of malicious neglect, which has so far not been forthcoming, it is certainly hard to nail the modern United – as opposed to an older one steeped in romance and glory – as the creators of a football boneyard.

Roy Keane, arguably the most influential player of the Ferguson era, was nursed for more than a season without any sure-fire guarantees of recovery. Paul Scholes was allowed plenty of time to battle through injuries and draw out the last of his talent. At 37, Ryan Giggs is maybe England's ultimate example of a great player being nursed over a long course.

It didn't happen for Hargreaves in that way – and no doubt it was a source of great pain, physically and emotionally as the days and the months and the seasons passed, but did this quite justify the sourness of his reflections on his old club when he reannounced himself so impressively at the Etihad Stadium?

For the old guys – including Nobby Stiles, who left Old Trafford after 14 years with shattered knees and a blunt refusal to grant him the free transfer that might have given him the deposit on a modest house – Hargreaves' complaints were certainly coming from another world.

A world in which the value of Hargreaves' contract over four years – and on which he played just six minutes in the final 33 months – was estimated at £15m. One, also, which cost United £384,615 for each of his 39 appearances.

Armed Response

Sir Alex's and the clubs response to the Hargreaves comments are the focus of the papers today, with a bit of added Stoke previewing in full effect.

Sir Alex's comments are here in The Guardian, this quote just about sums the whole thing up perfectly:

Ferguson was asked whether he was disappointed the player had gone public. "I'm not going into that because it's not worth it – absolutely not worth it," he said. "I think I'm right in what I've said. I've got a great medical staff. As far as I am concerned, my medical staff are one of the reasons why Manchester United have been so successful over the last few years.

The whole thing should probably die a death now anyway, according to Daniel Taylor, though he seems to be a bit kind on Hargreaves:

"There is no doubt about that. Do you think we would have been successful if we didn't have an operation that was not 100% and worked absolutely brilliantly?"

The player is said to be relaxed and philosophical about the coverage of his remarks, though he hopes they will not be perceived as an attack on his former club when that was not his intention.Hargreaves has been complimentary about United and Ferguson since leaving the club and, though his relationship with his former manager may have suffered irretrievable damage, he has no appetite for prolonging the argument.

That is the one point where he and United appear to be in agreement. Patrick Stewart, United's in-house lawyer, was not involved in the talks with Ferguson, Gill and McNally and there is no desire at Old Trafford to take the matter further.

The official Man United statement would seem to be the end of it then, it does have the air of finality in its refusal to get into details:

"United does not acknowledge any validity in the comments Owen is alleged to have made. United is disappointed with Owen's remarks.

"It is comfortable with the actions taken by its staff." 

Thus the Sun's contention that we're "considering legal action" seems wide of the mark.  Having said that, The Independent put our reticence down to ethical matters:

The club felt unable to answer Hargreaves's accusations point by point as that may have been construed as a breach of patient confidentiality.

The same article also goes into a bit of detail, reconstructing the failed comeback against Wolves, which I won't quote, it doesn't really shed much light.

The De Gea Effect is still there this week, with The Guardian running with the headline, "Manchester United have primed David de Gea for Stoke bombardment." Here's the relevant Sir Alex's quote:

In particular, he is mindful that De Gea has probably never played against a team with Stoke's aerial prowess and direct style. "I remember with Edwin [van der Sar] we used to discuss what his position would be in terms of their long throw-ins, where he would be most comfortable to deal with the situation, and I think we got it right. We'll do the same with David. All the work this week has been with his positioning and where he should be, similar to what Edwin did."

It's not just the headline, the sentence leading into the quote makes it sound like De Gea is receiving special treatment to prepare him when the quote makes explicit that he's preparing the same way VDS used to for Stoke.  Same article summarises the other bits of the press conference, including the bad news that Vidic's comeback is further away than expected:

"He has not done any training and just been having treatment," Ferguson said. "Calves can be troublesome that way. When Bryan Robson did his, it kept him out for three months. For Vida, it is just a slow process for him."

A couple of stories looking back to the Leeds game to finish.  Sir Alex compares staying at a Leeds hotel to the film Zulu here.  And The Mail has unearthed a youtube video that has a four year old singing the Munich song.  They are sickened.  It reminds me of the other day, when anti-death penalty campaigners were trying to stop the execution of Troy Davies and many made a comparison with the white supremacist who was also getting  executed:  neither should have been killed, the death penalty is just plain wrong.  Similarly, while the video is obviously to be deplored, so is The Mail and it's faux outrage tactics.

The Judas Kiss

"We're trying to analyse all the stuff he has said and there will be a statement later to address that," Ferguson said."As far as I am concerned my medical staff is one of the main reasons why we have been so successful over the last few years.

"Do you think we would be successful if they were not 100% brilliant? Our doctor and his five physios are fantastic - that is my opinion and that is more important than what anyone else has to say about it."

Which is Sir Alex's response to today's main story in all the papers- an interview with Owen Hargreaves in which he suggests we somehow buggered him up.  The quotes in all the papers are given various spins, the most popular version being Owen Hargreaves blames us for making worse his injury problems.  They come from this interview in The Guardian, which backs up, in a roundabout way and despite Hargreaves mixing the blame game with the odd nicety about the lovely folks at the club.  I'll give a selection of quotes for a flavour of the interview:

Despite the magnitude of what he is saying, it is not bitterness in Owen Hargreaves's voice. There is no overwhelming sense of malice or resentment and, at various moments, he talks warmly of all the "lovely people" he came across during those years at Manchester United when he was faced with his hardest times.It is not a finger-jabbing rant and, now with Manchester City, he is sensitive to stirring up trouble between the two clubs. But, equally, there is the sense of a man who is clear in his mind that the medical staff at Old Trafford administered the wrong treatment for his knee problems and put his career on the line just at the point when he should have been at the peak of his profession. ...Does he think United mishandled the situation? "You would have to ask them," he replies. "There were a few crucial points. We treated it and it got significantly worse through the injections. That obviously had a huge impact. Basically, I was left to pick up the pieces, which was incredibly frustrating. That was surgery, and that was 18 months gone." ...Hargreaves's account is that he told the club he was unable to play and knew he was so injured he would not even be able to run at full speed. "I started that game with two muscle injuries but I should never have been in that position to begin with. People at times must look at it from a distance and say: 'Shit, he's made out of glass.'"But I don't know many people in the world who could do any sporting event with two muscle tears."This is such an important point that it feels necessary to ask Hargreaves to confirm what he is saying. His plan, he says, was to try to get through the match without sprinting. "I know it sounds comical. I was just going to try to get through 45 minutes because that would have been a start. But I didn't even last five. I wasn't surprised. I'd said to them that I had a hamstring problem, which I obviously did. I said: 'I think I've got a bit of a problem here.' I was surprised it didn't go in the warm-up, to be completely honest." ..."I've had to be a guinea pig for a lot of these treatments. But when you're left to try to make something of a difficult situation, it's not really an option to say: 'Let's sit it out and rest for six months.' With hindsight it's a lot easier. And, yes, the injections I had I probably should not have had.

"But it's difficult. All the people there [at United] are lovely. Everybody tries their best but, at times, you come to a certain point when you need to make a decision. They said it [the injections] would help and that I wouldn't have any side-effects. That obviously wasn't the case and, if I'd known I could have had a reaction like that, I wouldn't have done it. It's my career – I'm in it. I'm trying to get all this information. I'm hearing about tendons and, before, I didn't know anything about tendons. I mean, I knew I had one, but I didn't know its real function. It was a shit position to be in, to be honest."

I think the long quote is absolutely necessary because of the tone of it.  On the one hand  he seems to exonerate us of any blame, saying that he had to try something, doing nothing wasn't an option; yet on the other hand the implication throughout is that he was left alone, cast out - he had the injections and then "I was left to pick up the pieces," Then, he says he was injured but no one was listening, they forced him onto the pitch.  Even the way he exonerates the medical staff from blame is a little disingenuous.  Saying they weren't to blame, but making it sound like they really didn't know what they were doing - "everybody tries their best but..."

What I get from this is that he is casting around looking for someone else to take responsibility for his injuries, as if he's trying to escape from being the injured joke he's been all this time.  The bit about playing at Wolves seems particularly hard to swallow.  Would we really take a chance if we thought he was injured?  He makes it sound like he had an obvious and very bad problem - "No one in the world could have played..." yet his words to the staff were "I think I've got a problem..." It sounds like a creation after the fact, such an embarrassing comeback, who would want to take responsibility for that?

And I don't want to be too harsh on him, but saying this type of thing after going to City, where's the class?

"A change of scenery, sadly enough, was essential for me. The guys here [City's medical staff] have been great so far. I have been here three weeks and you can already see the difference in me moving. I knew it was all there. It was just a matter of doing things right, I guess. You have to take things step by step."

There is an inference that this was not the case at Old Trafford. Hargreaves now believes he could play 40 games this season but understands why people will be sceptical. "If anybody had all the facts of the last three years and some of the things that have gone on, they might understand why [I say that]. But I don't think people will believe me, to be honest."

And this not a month(?) after claiming he wanted to stay with us?  Suddenly he's all, "I always wanted a change."  So after sticking with him all this time, he first off all blames our medical staff, and adds insult to injury by claiming that now he's at City, "It's just a matter of doing things right."

I can understand his frustration and his desire to escape the "sicknote" jibes, but really, trying to stick all the blame onto us and immediately going on about how wonderful it is at City seems particularly poor form to say the very least.

As for the "guinea pig" nonsense, here's what The Mail have to say on the treatment he received:

The injections of a solution into ligaments is an established medical procedure aimed at stiffening and strengthening the tissues

 And The Independent:

But Hargreaves did admit that the course of treatment, which Rio Ferdinand has also undergone as a last resort to resolve persistent and chronic back trouble, was embarked upon at a time when other solutions had failed. After playing for England against the United States at Wembley in May 2008, Hargreaves prepared for an early return to United a week ahead of pre-season to embark on the treatment.

Anyway, I'm no doctor so probably best to wait till the Man United statement to deal with that.

Elsewhere there's some more pleasant news about another, more pleasant, former player.  The Guardian report that Solskjaer is on the verge of winning the Norwegian title for Molde, their first ever title:

Following his appointment there was a rush in season-ticket sales. The club had finished 11th in a league of 16 teams last season. Solskjaer began life as a manager at a club in need of a boost. His debut match, against newly promoted Sarpsborg 08 (opponents so raw they are only three years old) ended disastrously, the final score Sarpsborg 3 Molde 0.

United fans will recall Solskjaer as a player who had an uncanny gift for turning up at just the right moment with just the right touch, though, and with that early hiccup out of the way Solskjaer the manager is in position to strike gold with Molde. Today they stand top of the Tippeligaen, six points clear of their nearest challengers, Tromso, having played one game more, with seven games remaining. It is a nervy but exciting time.

 Finally The Mirror have a silly story about Rooney having haircuts...

Negative Zone

You might have thought that our coverage in the papers might be full of positives, what with our last game being a comprehensive victory over our arch-(not really rivalling anymore)rivals, and us being top of the league with 100% record and having already beaten two of the "big 4." Of course, this being Man Utd, that isn't the case and today we have remorseless negativity.  The Mail has 4 stories, yes, FOUR, stories about the the Leeds game.  None of them are football related, they all just pointlessly moralise over the chanting on Tuesday night.  I'm not condoning, or trying to paper over it, but come on, 4 articles?  If any of them said anything remotely interesting or worthwhile then maybe it'd be alright, but they all just say the same thing chanting nasty things is nasty.  O rly?  I'm sure there's a lot of Mail readers out there who disagree and need 4 articles to make them see the error of their ways.  I'm not linking to them, imagine the usual Mail moralistic bullshit if you really want to know what's in them.

And, as if that's not bad enough, Michael Owen gets a fair bit of stick today.  Apparently scoring 2 goals is some sort of crime against humanity.  Sorry, it's playing for us that's the crime.  Another Owen scored for City last night, playing his first 57 minutes for 3 centuries, and he's immediately given an England place.  Steven Gerrard returns and the journalists wet themselves with excitement rather than point out he's past it.  Michael Owen scores two and it's "how can he just sit on the bench, how can he take money, his careers so over."

The usually reliable Daniel Taylor in The Guardian writes a proper crock of shit today:

On the face of it, there is nothing particularly unusual about seeing a once-feared striker who has reached the point when he will admit he is in decline. Football is littered with men who reach their 30s and can understand what the old baseball pitcher Vernon Gomez meant when he talked of "throwing the ball just as hard as I ever did – it's just not getting there as fast".

For Owen, once reliant on speed and having been afflicted by long-term injuries, it is probably only inevitable that, at 31, there was so much surprise when United offered him another contract at the end of last season. The curiosity of Owen's story, however, is that he would rather stay in the background at Old Trafford than play regularly at another club, and has been quite happy to advertise it, saying: "I prefer playing less often in a top team than every game in a poor team. I've been there and didn't enjoy it."

What I think is worse is just treading water at a smaller club, picking up a bigger pay packet but not really testing yourself, not trying to prove yourself at the top level.  A bit like Alan Shearer preferring to be the big shot at Newcastle than test himself amongst the world's best by joining us (thank god he never...).  And the bit about being past his best.  This is self-evident, but the timing, straight after he scores two goals, seems nothing but pointless and spiteful.  He then quotes two amazing sources; first, a Liverpool paper, who slag him off, then, the stupidest thing ever, Taylor quotes someone off Twitter, someone tweeting Michael Owen, slagging him off on Twitter.  A nutjob on Twitter is now fair game to be a representative opinion in The Guardian.  What has the world come to?

Mark Ogden in The Telegraph frames some quotes from Owen in similar negative language.  Owen himself is realistic:

“I have got a few years left and I would love them to be at Manchester United,” he said. “But for that to happen, I would need to be involved because the manager would not want me if I was not part of the squad or part of things.

"I train every day, try to get sharp and, of course, I want to play as much as I can. That has not been possible so far this season but we have played one game a week for the last four weeks. All of a sudden we are getting two games a week so this is really where the season starts for a lot of players.

James Lawton expresses sorrow that Michael Owen, "settled for less," playing for Man Utd settling for less?  Really James?  Staying at Newcastle would have shown quite the ambition...  As I said before, the occasion of Owen scoring two goals is the excuse for writing his obituary?  It's a strange world.  

Easy Please Me

It's the Carling Cup match reports today, and they mostly combine two things - praising Michael Owen and saying how in control of the game we were - and there's a smattering of criticism at some offensive chants that were heard at the game.

The Sun go full on with the praise for Owen, pretty much the whole article describes his two goals and his how he ended up here:

And surely at 31 he would have preferred to drop down from the Premier League so he can play more football in the twilight of his career.Not Owen. He has been determined to stick it out and make his mark as a United player since his surprise signing as a free agent in July 2009.

To be fair, 16 goals from just 16 starts and 33 games as substitute is not a bad return

The Mail concentrate on the gulf between the two sides: 

United made 11 changes from the team that beat Chelsea at the weekend and, once again, they led 3-0 at half-time. This time they deserved it, too, as two goals from Michael Owen and one from Ryan Giggs served to illustrate how far Leeds have fallen behind their great rivals from Lancashire.

By the end, Leeds could reflect on some decent spells in the game. United goalkeeper Ben Amos, though, could reflect on just one save. It had been a hard night for the home team.

The Independent say we won "with embarrassing ease."

In The Guardian Daniel Taylor contrasts the unorthodox team with the ease of victory:

Even by Ferguson's standards of experimentation, it was an eccentric selection. Michael Carrick, a midfielder once likened to Glenn Hoddle, made an unorthodox centre-half. He was partnered by Ezekiel Fryers, a youth-academy graduate making his debut 11 days after turning 19. Fryers is normally a left-back. When he suffered cramp late in the second half, Dimitar Berbatov took over, like a modern-day Beckenbauer. With Antonio Valencia at right-back and Fabio on the left, has there ever been a more unconventional back four in United's colours?

For Ferguson to devise this team and his goalkeeper, Ben Amos, to go through the match without getting a scuff of mud on his kit demonstrates what a demoralising night it was for Leeds. Amos, usually the third-choice goalkeeper at Old Trafford, was a virtual spectator. Federico Macheda and Mame Biram Diouf, two of Ferguson's reserve strikers, played as wingers. The seven substitutes were aged 18 to 20, including five with no previous first-team experience. This was a team that ought to have been ripe for an upset – and yet Leeds never even sought to investigate.

I can't comment on the reports of chanting coming from the away end, but I can comment on The Telegraph apparently fixating on the possibility of trouble.  They had Henry Winter and Mark Ogden at the game, and Mark Ogden's piece is solely on the chanting and that sort of thing.  He's obviously the new football morality correspondent.  Henry Winter also mentions the chanting.  Overkill much... And I'm sure the paper's official line is one of denying these people the oxygen of publicity.  To combat The Telegraph's concentrating on our fans' chanting (which from what I've read on Twitter is a misrepresentation - it wasn't just our fans) The Daily Star say that the Leeds fans "created a spiteful atmosphere."

Finally, Sir Alex and Owen's post-match quotes here:

“Young Fryers did very well and was not fazed by it,” added Sir Alex. “The atmosphere at Elland Road is hostile and he coped very well. Paul Pogba had a good 45 minutes. Larnell Cole is very young but it is good for them to get a taste of what the first team is like.

“It is great for the young players to understand the club and see their temperament on these nights. The young lads did really well. It was a great experience for them.”

Complaint Department

One story today that deserves a little more attention than being hidden away in the normal paper round-up, is this one:

André Villas-Boas has made an official complaint to Mike Riley, the head of the Premier League match officials, regarding Manchester United's first two goals in their 3-1 win over Chelsea at Old Trafford on Sunday. 

One imagines the conversation:

AVB- I'd like to complain about the first two goals, they were offside. 

Mike Riley- They were marginally offside, but we have to give the benefit of the doubt to the attacker when it's a close call. 

AVB- Oh.

Mike Riley- Now, about that Ashley Cole challenge on Hernandez...

While on the one hand, it is very easy to scoff, and André Villas-Boas seems a little silly complaining to the referees about Sunday's game, on the other he is surely doing the right thing: If Kenny Dalglish can complain then everyone should exercise their right.  It seems to be that phoning Mike Riley is the new complaining to the 4th official during the game: pointless, but makes you feel a little less useless.

Having said that, he's still an idiot. 2 marginal offside decisions about all he's got to complain about, Hernandez has more reason to complain about the referee than Chelsea. he should be ringing Riley.

I've seen people compare this to something Mourinho might do, but give credit where it's due, Mourinho always had a bit more panache when it came to this type of thing, more venom spat out.  This just seems really petty, not that Mourinho was above being petty, but his pettiness always had a touch of the epic about it.

I like this bit of understatement from The Guardian article:

It appeared Smalling was allowed to score by the lax marking of the Chelsea defence, who would not have been aware that he was offside from Ashley Young's free-kick.

Quite.

Goal

Video of Owens goal against Leeds, putting us 1-0 up -




and the second from Owen putting us 2 up

And the third from Giggs just before half time -

Spirit of the Age

The Carling Cup game against Leeds takes centre stage today.

Rob Bagchi takes a look at the history between the clubs and ends with a look at the benefits of today's game:

Ferguson, though, has been less partisan, proving by his attendance at the funerals of Leeds's two greatest players, Billy Bremner and John Charles, that his kind of tribalism first pays honour to the tribe of football men. He says he misses Leeds and that a match played in the intimidating atmosphere at Elland Road is a beneficial experience for his young players. Beneficial or not, more than 40 years of festering rivalry should guarantee that even though it is the oft-maligned Carling Cup, it will, at least, be an experience to remember. 

There's a look at the probable team in The Telegraph, Pogba and Berba looking likely to start:

Ferguson has insisted that the former Tottenham striker will be given an opportunity to contribute this season, yet it appears as though the Carling Cup currently offers Berbatov his only likely route into the team.

Berbatov’s languid and unhurried style of play jars with the free-flowing football being played by United this season, but Ferguson is expected to pair the striker with Federico Macheda and Michael Owen at Leeds.

With Chris Smalling ruled out for two weeks with a groin injury, Antonio Valencia is set to play at right-back, with Anders Lindegaard replacing the rested David de Gea in goal.

And Ferguson is ready to reward French midfielder Paul Pogba with his first-team debut at Elland Road following the 18 year-old’s impressive performances in United’s FA Youth Cup success last season.

Ferguson said: “Paul has a slight injury, but it’s not too bad. He wasn’t available for Sunday, but he should be able to play on Tuesday and I intend to play him against Leeds.

The Sun has some quotes from Nani and suggests that in a reversal to the norm, it'll be the older players who get a run out in the Carling Cup:

Nani said: "In my first season, maybe a few players didn't know me."Then they see me play and see skills and goals — and then in the next seasons they started to be more careful."Now it's always the same. As soon as I get the ball, two players... and then I have to be clever and run away from them. I like it.

"I like to be a player who makes others scared."

 The Mirror have quotes from Evra:

“Maybe for the first time, we didn’t control all the game,” he said. “Five wins is a good start, but I always want more. I’m happy to win, but I hope in the next league game against Stoke we create more and not try to rush things.“We gave the ball away too easily. It was like a boxing bout, I give you and you give me back. It was really strange.“It was a great game to watch for the fans, but it’s the first time I’ve played against Chelsea and seen an open game like that.

“I’m happy because there’s a lot of positive things but, if we want to win the league and win every game, we have to perform better than on Sunday.”

Finally, The Mail are on their favourite topic: money.  We've been doing well so our staff are getting a bonus. 

New Classic

Bit late on the paper round-up, so I'll just do brief collection of links.

Henry Winter is the lone voice in proclaiming Torres is back to his best despite his late miss.

Sam Wallace bigs up Chelsea (after a fashion) and whines about offside.

There seems to be a popular theme that Rooney slipping and missing a penalty somehow excuses Torres' miss. It doesn't.  Kevin McCarra toes this line, but at least his report gives us credit, while also praising Chelsea for their part in the "classic" game.

Jim White praises Nani.

Martin Samuel is a good read for those who wish to continue wallowing in Torres' discomfort.

Richard Williams quotes Shakespeare to sum up the madness of the game.

James Lawton has praise for Rooney.

The managers quotes:

"For the neutrals it was fantastic and open. Some of our football was terrific but we were so careless we could have thrown it away. We did OK when we got the ball to Nani and Ashley Young [in the wide positions] but when we tried to be clever in the middle of the field we kept botching it up and Chelsea kept counter-attacking."

Die Laughing

Seems slighty wrong to focus on this, but what the hell - Let's all laugh at Torres -



Torres, acheté 58M € rate un but immanquable !! by buzzensport

It was a great moment, mix of pleasure at Torres, just after he'd scored and looked like he might be back, missing, and relief that we were still 2 goals ahead.

Conspiracy Theory

Big game today, so, obviously, that's what all the papers are concentrating on.  Pretty much.

The Mail On Sunday bucks the trend with a couple of very silly stories.  Park Ji-Sung is popular in South Korea they tell us. He sells a lot of shirts.   I thought all the papers would have got this story out of their system by now, given how long Park's been with us.  But apparently The Mail hasn't.  They also haven't got the memo entitled "Sir Alex can't chose his own successor," reporting that... Sir Alex wants Mourinho as his successor...

They do eventually get round to talking about football.  They have the standard Rooney is great and newly matured article - one waits for the backlash at the merest hint of a temper from Rooney.... And Gary Neville concentrates on Chelsea in his column.

The Telegraph have Sir Alex pointing out the obvious - that the media have an agenda with De Gea:

the United manager claims forces in the press are deliberately trying to undermine De Gea. Ferguson said: “There’s obviously an agenda on De Gea and we experienced that with the press again on Wednesday night after the game in Benfica.“For some reason they are desperate for the boy to fail and I don’t understand it. He will be back in the team against Chelsea absolutely – that was always the arrangement.“It’s nothing to do with his age, they never did that with [Petr] Cech [when he joined Chelsea].“He’s 20 and he’s coming into a country where he doesn’t know the culture. There’s a lot he’s had to deal with and he’s showing a lot of composure about the whole thing. He doesn’t speak English, he’s been looking for a house and now found one, he’s been learning to drive in England.  

“He’s not been flapping about in the goalmouth, he’s been really composed. He’s outstanding.”

I think the truth of the statement is shown in the last bit, because he's right, it's a couple of shots that have got through De Gea, he's not been flapping, or looking nervous on crosses, and yet the papers are constantly claiming he looks just plain dodgy.  Of course you can't win, because such comments have to be put through the media anyway, and they just claim its nonsense.  Even the stat that De Gea has made the most saves in the Premier League doesn't shut the idiots up.

The Independent have praise for Rooney, from Gary Neville.  here he is trying to explain Rooney asking for a transfer last season:

"He was badly advised," is his former team-mate's charitable interpretation. "It was so out of character for him to be like that. But he misread the situation, there's no doubt about that. I don't think he was going through a great time, he'd come out of a very difficult World Cup, had things written about him, had big things happen in his life. When you're not thinking clearly you can make bad decisions. We all have. The key is you apologise and get on with it and he's certainly done that."

Worth a read, covers a fair bit of Rooney related ground, as well as touching on other areas.

The Guardian have a good article on Rooney and the Pele comparison:

What the Manchester United manager did say was in response to the Benfica coach's suggestion that Rooney was like a South American striker, and Ferguson even disagreed with that. "He's a typical British player," he said, somewhat mystified by Jorge Jesus's remarks. "But if you look at Pelé, for instance, he was a very aggressive attacker who could also look after himself, and so can Rooney. There are similarities in terms of strength, speed and determination."Let's hear it, then, for all the other typically British attackers who by virtue of being aggressive and able to look after themselves must also be a bit like Pelé. Alan Shearer, Mark Hughes and Kevin Davies, for starters. All right, perhaps not Davies, though it is hardly the Bolton player's fault that the job of leading most Premier League lines has largely gone to foreign imports.

That is one reason why Rooney stands out. He is the main man for United and England, as synonymous with this country's brand of football as Bobby Charlton in his pomp. 

Finally, The Daily Star have an odd article on Villas-Boas, saying he'll ignore the "barrage of abuse" he'll get from the Man United fans.  What?  Since when?  Before the game a national paper just randomly claiming our fans will abuse someone.  Call us out on it after the event, if it happens, but it seems odd that we should be singled out in this way. The type of thing I'd expect from The Mirror...