Much Old Trafford attention will be focused on a 20 year old defender who has only made a handful of Premier League appearances in his fledgling career. Sir Alex Ferguson saw enough potential in Fulham’s Chris Smalling however that he was determined to beat stiff opposition from Arsenal in order to sign the highly rated England Under 21 centre back for a reported £10million.
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The World Cup is over and done with for England. Another four years, another failure. Nothing new in that but this time the ramifications could be far more serious because it could have a negative impact on both the Premier League and its clubs – including Manchester United. The fans that have built up the league into what it is today are beginning to look through the veneer and they don’t like what they see. They don’t like a dressing room culture which has produced overrated, overpaid and over pampered prima donnas who are seemingly divorced from reality.
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Many issues are still to be decided this season. The Premiership is a tight three horse race which can go to any of them, the only relegation certainty is poor Portsmouth with nobody knowing who else will survive while Newcastle is the only Championship club assured of a Premier League comeback. The European Champions League has not yet reached the semi final stage with all eight remaining clubs still in with a chance but despite all that uncertainty, the ridiculous silly season has already started!

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Manchester United’s Champions League quarter final at Bayern Munich gave the BBC an opportunity to have a close look at two very different financial models of how clubs should operate in order to obtain long term viability. Many calls have been made for United to emulate the way that clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid are run but Germany’s Bundesliga provides another alternative which should at least be given close consideration.

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Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was deemed to be free to face Manchester United at Old Trafford last Sunday after avoiding a suspension for violent conduct following his clash with Michael Brown during the 4-1 Anfield defeat of Portsmouth. Referee Stuart Attwell insisted   that he had witnessed the incident, hence his decision to award a free kick to Portsmouth leaving the FA’s disciplinary unit unable to take further action against Gerrard.

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They came. They saw. They went back to Merseyside with tails between their legs and crying in their beer. That’s despite all their big talk in the days leading up to the game! But let’s be fair, not all Liverpool fans are totally deluded – only the vast majority. They’re either blind or simply refuse to face facts so let’s have a look at those FACTS so they may finally sink into their thick heads.

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