Nemanja Vidic is a point away from hoisting his first trophy as Manchester United captain – and he thanks the Reds’ critics for creating the platform for the achievement. The 30-year-old Serb has also warned rivals of the champions-elect that Sir Alex Ferguson’s much-maligned new generation of players will get even better next season. In Fergie’s era as Old Trafford boss, only Gary Neville in November 2005 walked into a skipper’s job facing a more daunting task in the aftermath of Roy Keane’s controversial exit, Neville took possession of the armband in a time of transition and turmoil.

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Hat tip to 101 Great Goals for collating some brilliant clips that epitomise what Gary Neville was all about; passion, desire, hunger, determination, strength, bravery, loyalty, dedication…. anyway, before I start erecting a statue outside my flat, here’s three of the best:

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I was recently profiled on the blog of Norman Geras (link here), Professor Emeritus of Government at the University of Manchester and author of Marx and Human Nature, amongst other works. Bear with me here, this isn’t some massive self-promoting ego trip, it turns out that Mr Geras, having moved to Manchester from Zimbabwe (then Southern Rhodesia) in 1962, is a big United fan. Come on, he wasn’t going to choose City, was he?

Norm normally blogs on political and philosophical matters, such as this superb piece he did recently, putting forward the case for the spread of Western liberal democracy, by force where necessary (link here). However, his blog also has the odd piece on United, one of which I would like to share below. Written by Morris Sheftel in 2005 (link here), it is a tribute to Roy Keane, in my eyes arguably the greatest player in United’s history, and a man people would be foolish to write off as a manager. Hope you enjoy it. Read the full story

And so it’s that time of the year again when newspapers, websites and magazines from all over the world highlight what they believe to have been the best and worst moments in football in 2010, looking at events both on and off the pitch. In this country, the majority of the “worst” moments have been deemed to be concerned with the morally bankrupt, money grabbing ways of the players today and the underhanded, corrupt and sinister dealings of FIFA, with the plaudits for the “best” moments being handed out mainly to Lionel Messi and his teams inspiring 5-0 demolition of Real Madrid in November. I couldn’t agree more. Read the full story

And so it’s that time of the year again when newspapers, websites and magazines from all over the world highlight what they believe to have been the best and worst moments in football in 2010, looking at events both on and off the pitch. In this country, the majority of the “worst” moments have been deemed to be concerned with the morally bankrupt, money grabbing ways of the players today and the underhanded, corrupt and sinister dealings of FIFA, with the plaudits for the “best” moments being handed out mainly to Lionel Messi and his teams inspiring 5-0 demolition of Real Madrid in November. I couldn’t agree more. Read the full story

There’s a common assumption amongst the general population that books about football tend to be, well, crap. And unfortunately, in most circumstances, that tends to be the case. But that isn’t to say that there haven’t been some fantastic football books written over the years, whether it’s an autobiography, a book about the history of a specific club or country or even a book on tactics or training.

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