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....