The Wolves team that Mick McCarthy sent out to play against the champions was largely second choice players; in contrast to United’s team sheet which was almost all regular first team players.

Predictably Manchester won the game easily and went joint top of the league leaving many other clubs with a bitter taste; seeing points gifted to their competitors.

Personally I can not see what all the fuss is about.  McCarthy made a pretty understandable decision.  He has two games in one week, one against United in which they would be very unlikely to get any points no matter which team they put out, and another match against Burnley.  So he has rested his key players to increases his chances in an already winnable match against Burnley.

This seems to make sense from Wolves point of view, and it just seems so crazy that the Premier League would try to force managers to make strategic decision not based on how it will affect their own team, but how it could affect position battles between other teams in the league…

I do feel for the fans who had traveled to see essentially a reserves team line up, but any true fan it going to want to see their team avoid relegation gather than be “entertained” for the one game they’ve traveled to.

The most noticeable absentee was the injured Steven Gerrard, and it looked like it could be a difficult game for Liverpool without their iconic skipper.  But as soon as the first ball was kicked it was clear that Liverpool were well up for the match.

As you are probably well aware Liverpool ended up winning 2-0 and I won’t go into a detailed match report here, but rather pick out a few things that bothered me.

I think it was a big mistake for Ferguson to play Scholes in the midfield.  Scholes is a Manchester United legend, and will always have a place in the heart of the fans, but it’s just the nature of live that players get older and lose their edge.  For me ever since last season Scholes has been on a down hill slope, at this point he rarely has a good game.  Against Liverpool he got caught on the ball many times and just didn’t seem able to keep up with the play.  My biggest surprise was that the normally astute Ferguson did not pick up on this and substitute him out for Anderson or Nani at half time.

Another issue which has started to bother me a lot for the last few matches is Berbatov and his increasingly poor attitude.  At this point you see him complaining and have a go at other players whenever Berbatov misplaces a pass or doesn’t get the ball he wants; and not in a constructive way, but more of a blame game.  I’m shocked Ferguson has let him get away with it, as his performances just don’t warrant any special treatment.  I he doesn’t get his head right Ferguson needs to teach him a lesson and let Machada and Wellbeck have a chance at starting matches.

On a plus side the defense looks a lot stronger with Van Der Saar in the net; with Ben Foster playing I’m sure the score could have been 4 or 5.

Liverpool played very well, and I have to take my hat off to them with the likes of Lucas and Carragher really playing brilliantly after being criticized for recent poor performances.

This weekend could be the biggest match of them all;  a gleaming chance for Ferguson to deliver the final death blow, possibly sealing Benitez’ Premier League demise.

Liverpool are coming off the back of 4 consecutive losses, the worst run in 20 years.  This season they have truly become a 2 man team, with Gerrard and Torres just having to do way too much.  The knives are out for Rafa in the boardroom and now even the terraces are calling for blood.
At the moment top half of the table is looking a good result for Liverpool, let alone top four.

On the other hand Manchester United are top of the table already, despite often starting the season slowly.  They have take the loss of Ronaldo in their stride and kept winning.  Also having a 100% record in the Champions League, opposed to Liverpool’s 1 win and 2 losses.

Surely if Manchester United go to Anfield and not only deal Liverpool their 5th straight loss, but also give them a right spanking, which they could well do;  it might see Rafa being shown the exit.

One thing that Capello can’t seem to overcome in the England team is their defensive mistakes and lapses in concentration.  It was not completely unexpected that England lost the game to Ukraine based on two more defensive errors.

England were dealt a heavy blow after just 14 minutes when Rio Ferdinand inexplicably let the ball run past him, not realizing Artem Milevskiy was lurking.  Rob Green went to ground and had little choice but to bring Milevskiy down, which resulted in a penalty and a red card for Green.  Aaron Lennon was sacrificed to bring on backup keeper David James. The blow could have been heavier but Shevchenko missed the penalty; hitting the post.

Down to ten man England looked seriously second best to Ukraine, allowing the Ukrainians dominate the possession.  Then came the second defensive mistake when the normally reliable Ashley Cole decided to do a little drag-back on the edge of the box and missed the ball.  The striker stole the ball away and it ran to Serhiy Nazarenko who let rip with a powerful shot; Ashley Cole finished the move off by the deflecting the shot into his own net.

In the second half England reshaped with Milner coming on for Gerrard and Rooney drop back into a wing position.  With the formation shift England played much better and looked like they could get at least an equalized, but it wasn’t to be and Ukraine were able to hold on for the win.

There were both some positives and negatives for England to take from this game; most of the negatives were defensive errors which Capello needs to somehow sort out if England are to have any chance at the World Cup.

On a positive note David James was excellent, and did not do his World Cup hopes any damage with two fantastic saves.   First he made an impressive full stretch one handed dive to deny Rakitskiy’s powerful strike.  Second he gave a lesson in how one-on-one’s should be handled when he stayed big to block Yarmolenko on the break away.

Another player worth noting is Michael Carrick; sometimes it’s so frustrating to watch him play, as you know what he’s capable of but just doesn’t seem to want to come alive.  He can pass a long ball like no one else, can unlock defenses with through balls, he’s pretty good running with the ball and can hit a good shot.  But he doesn’t seem to want to do any of those things.  The game last night was  perfect example.  He didn’t seem to want the ball at all, taking up poor positions and standing way too close to the ball carrier…almost in subconscious way of saying “don’t pass to me”.  When he was on the ball all he would play were short balls across the back line.

Barry can play short passes all day, but he can also make tackles all day, which Carrick cannot.  If Carrick has any chance of playing in the World Cup he needs to showcase his skills, not play in the manner of Barry, as Barry will win that contest every time.

Darren Bent’s opening goal was a sublime strike and not much blame can be attached to the United team.  Normally after playing poorly and conceding an early goal Manchester United are able to elevate their game and come back, this was absolutely not the case yesterday.

Scholes looked like a liability in the midfield, almost every pass went astray.  He got a needless yellow card after just 24 minutes; I was praying he was not going to do a repeat of the Spurs game and end up taking an early shower.  Fortunately Ferguson subbed him at half time, but Anderson was not able to make much of a difference.  Giggs has a lot of life left in him, but I’m not so sure that Scholes can still perform consistently at the top level.

In the second half United did show a bit more intent, and managed to pull the score back level through a magical bicycle kick from Berbatov.  Dimitar was one of the few players who didn’t play poorly.

It didn’t take Sunderland long to recover the lead when the ball was floated into the box and Kenwyne Jones jumped over Foster to head it home.  Foster absolutely should have won the ball.  Jones is a big boy but if Foster was concerned about the power of Jones he should have punched the ball clear.  Instead he opted to catch the ball and got steamrolled by Jones.

At this point I have seen enough of Foster.  I was all for Ferguson giving Foster a chance to prove himself.  Sir Alex has given him chance after change and Foster has blown them all.  There are so many holes in his game I don’t know where to begin; every single backpass he receives he either slices into touch or gives the fans a nasty scare, he’s poor on crosses and highballs as he doesn’t have the power to collect or punch the ball away from big forwards, he’s no good on one-on-one situation, the only thing he can do is stop shots.
I for one will be very relieved when Van de Sar comes back, and I think Ferguson should seriously consider bringing in some new keepers as neither Foster or Kuszczak seem capable replacements when Van de Sar retires.

United did manage to steal a point right at the death after Sunderland were reduced to 10 men when Richardson saw a second yellow for kicking the ball away.  Evra’s shot was deflected by Anton Ferdinand into the Sunderland net.

Despite conceding 2 goals I feel that the United back four played pretty well, it was really the midfield four and keeper that let the team down last night.

The mangers confidence was illustrated in the way he set out his team, with 3 strikers in Keane, Crouch and Defoe.  It’s pretty much unheard of for teams to go at United with 3 strikers, but it paid off immediately with Jermaine Defoe scoring a sublime bicycle kick after only 50 seconds.

Sometimes scoring an early goal can have a negative affect on the scoring team, and that is what happened yesterday, with United galvanized and given a sense of urgency they came back strong and played their way back into the game.  Giggs leveled the score with a masterful free kick and Anderson put United ahead before half time with a low shot after a poor clearance.

In the second half Manchester United could have been derailed when Paul Scholes saw two yellow cards in quick succession to take an early shower.  The second yellow card seemed quite harsh as Scholes appeared to be pulling out of the tackle, but some times his reputation for terrible tackling precedes him.   It did seem a bit unfair seeing as Wilson Palacios had put in at least 5 similar challenges in the first half alone, but still remained on the field.

After the sending off United took off Berbatov and brought on Carrick, they regrouped well with a clear objective of playing on the counter attack.  They played excellently and it was only a matter of time before Rooney’s boundless energy as the lone striker earned him a chance; which he used to put the game to bed at 3-1.

This game certainly brought Spurs back down to the ground; they were not just beaten but completely out played, they did not look anywhere near as quality as United.  Top four contenders maybe, but title contenders…not yet.

There was no love lost when Adebayor left Arsenal in the summer and headed for Manchester City, and in this game he was keen to prove his previous employers had undervalued his services.

He was a valuable member of the city team in this match, and not only for scoring the 3rd goal, but also for his excellent defensive headers from Arsenal set pieces.  With Adebayor and Lescott dominating in the air inside the City box the Gunners did not look a goal threat from corners or free kicks.

However in my opinion the man of the match was Craig Bellamy, with pace to burn and the energy to run for the full 90 minutes, he looks like a big asset for Manchester City.  His tracking back and tackling may have gone unnoticed by some, but you can be sure his teammates and manager will be giving him a pat on the back in the locker room.  Plus it was his goal which put City 2-1 up, when Arsenal looked like they might go on to win.  And his pass which setup Wright-Phillips for the fourth goal.

After Arsenal leveled the game at one all it looked like they would run away with the game, but then City used the magic strategy which always seem to send Arsenal into a tail spin.  They started putting in some tough tackles and even a few late challenges and the Gunner were easily shaken.

If Arsene Wenger wants Arsenal to finish in the top four this season he is definately going to have to figure out a way to toughen up his team.

It was less than 2 years ago that England failed to qualify for Euro 2008, losing to Croatia in the rain at Wembley with Steve McClaren famously standing with an umbrella at the sidelines.  That is now a distant memory and all the bitterness is now firmly with the Croatian side.

All week prior to the match Slaven Bilic had been talking up his strategy and how he could see the holes in England that he could exploit and even saying England had “lost their Englishness” under Fabio Capello.  The England camp kept quiet and refused to be drawn in to a war of words with the Croatian manager, and instead did their talking on the pitch.

I have to say I was quick to write off Glen Johnson in the friendly against Slovenia as he defended pretty poorly in that match; but last night he looked like a different player.  He got forward well in the same manner as normal but his defensive work was also very good.  He probably put in the best defensive performance of the team, and his header to deny Eduardo was fantastic.  Down the right side Lennon and Johnson rampaged past the Croatian defenders all night.

England did look a bit narrow on the left side without a left sided winger, but when Gerrard and Lampard bang in 2 goals a piece it’s difficult to see sacrificing one of them to bring in a winger.

My major concern about England is their overall defense at the moment.  After going 4-0 up they were not able to shut up shop and keep a clean sheet.  The goal was very sloppy and surely should have been stopped.  John Terry has not looked like his former self lately, and hopefully it’s just a form issue that he will have worked through by the time South Africa rolls around.

Having said this I feel the last 2 matches, last night against Slovenia and a few weeks ago against Holland, have been big steps backwards.  Normally England’s defense is one of their strongest attributes, but recently the defense has looked awful.

Glen Johnson does give you a good option going forward but last night his defending was terrible, there seemed to be a player getting in behind him every 5 minutes.  John Terry would have to come across to cover for Johnson leaving big holes in the middle.  I would just as soon see Wes Brown take the field against Croatia and do a better defense job and sacrifice some of the wing play.

Terry also looked way off the pace, I lost count of how many times the Slovenian forwards ran off the back of him and he was never going to catch them.  Maybe he is carrying an injury…but if it’s so severe that he can’t even keep up, why is he playing?

Robert Green’s first touch was when he picked up the ball outside of the box, which in competitive play could well have seen him taking any early shower, seeing as there was a Slovenian striker is hot pursuit.  But given it was a friendly the officials seemed to turn a blind eye.  After this incident Green had a solid game.

In the midfield Gerrard has not been on form for Liverpool and he did not look in form on the night either.  Barry and Lampard had solid performances, controlling the midfield well and making tidy passes.  I have never been a big fan of Shaun Wright-Philips, he’s got quick feet but never really seems to have much of an impact on the game, as was the case again.  Milner came on but did not look nearly as dangerous or lively as he did in the previous game against the Netherlands.

Michael Carrick came on for the second half and for his standards had a shocker.  Almost all his passes went astray and he started off calling for the ball and making himself available, but after 15 minutes he seemed to want to hide.

Going forward Heskey was an effective target man winning almost everything in the air and Rooney was busy as ever and probably should have scored on a couple of occasions.  Defoe came on an scored yet again, he has surely secured his spot on the England squad with all these goals.

I have to say that I’m not sure England deserved to win, the first half penalty given for a foul on Rooney was a terrible decision, but Slovenia were unable to capitalize on all of England’s defensive errors.

There were a couple of incidences which bothered me.  Firstly where on earth did the referee find 5 minutes of added on time at the end of the match from?  Surely such a long amount of added on time should be reserved for a serious injury, severe time wasting or some kind of players bust up.  There were almost no stoppages in the game last night, I think the officials need to be held accountable for time added on.  They can’t just base the the time on how heated the game is, or how much chance one team has of coming back.

This brings me to the second point; in the final seconds of the 5th minute of time added on Van Persie scored a would be equalizer only to have it chalked off because Gallas had been offside when he nodded the ball down.

Meanwhile Wenger was celebrating the goal on the sidelines only to realize it wasn’t going to count, he then took his frustrations out on a water bottle, kicking it down the sidelines.  This is when 5 minutes of absolute foolishness began.  Keeping in mind that time was already up and the match was one kick of the ball away from the final whistle, the 4th official decided to call the referee over and report the Wenger water bottle kicking.  They then discussed the situation for a while and decided to send Wenger to the stands, where the Arsenal boss had to walk into a sea of Old Trafford faithful all booing, jeering and making certain gestures.

As if this walk of shame was not enough, the officials then decided he was not far enough back from the pitch and would need to come back down and instead leave the field completely.  As a United fan I just about fell off the couch laughing, but I can imagine there are quite a few irate Gunners fans out there, seeing their manager treated in such a manner.

Wenger had not even got off the field before the final whistle came.  The officials should be thoroughly ashamed of the way the game end, and the way they handled Wenger’s understandable water bottle incident.