The Threat

Well, overall it's been a good weekend for the mighty Red Devils.

A more-convincing-than-it-sounds 2-1 victory over Tottenham in the F.A. Cup 4th Round was complimented by today's 1-1 draw at Anfield which leaves 'Bluffer Benitez' with a tricky extra fixture across Stanley Park.

In fact, United's biggest threat right now stems from an ever growing injury list which sees youngsters Fabio and Danny Welbeck become the latest 'crocks' after limping out of the Spurs tie, Welback with an ankle knock, the impressive Fabio with a calf problem.

United now have as many as 10 first team squad members sidelined, something which is giving Sir Alex cause for concern, particularly as we are fast running out of full-backs. A trip to the West Midlands to face West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday night was going to be a potential banana skin anyway, now it is definitely going to be a searching examination of our supposed 'strength in depth'...

On a happier note, Saturday's game gave us a first look at Rafael's twin brother Fabio- I think we can now start getting excited about how good these two young Brazilians are going to become for us! Sure, they still have a lot to learn (particularly on the defensive side of a full-back's responsibilities) but they both show an ability to read and react to the game at this high level tremendously well already.

I was also very impressed by young Welbeck, especially since he was playing out of position at right-midfield- the lad has bags of enthusiasm and a very good touch on the ball, and with a touch more luck could have bagged himself his first F.A. Cup goal.

Carlos Tevez continues to 'break my heart'. I'd so much like to see the little man get his just reward of a 5 year full-time contract at Old Trafford, but his owners' asking price of £30+m is just too much to justify in my opinion. That said, Berbatov ended up costing us a similar fee, but it may be that Dimi's arrival at M16 for such a large fee spells the end of Carlito as a United player this summer- hopefully something can be worked out to prolong the Argentinian's stay, as the little man sweats blood for the cause every time he pulls on the red shirt.

It was nice to get a draw against non-Premier League opposition, be it Derby County or Nottingham Forest, in the 5th Round. At this stage of the competition, you either want a home draw or a draw against lower league opposition. Assuming the injury situation doesn't worsen, we should have too much firepower for either of the East Midlands clubs. Personally, I hope we end up travelling to Forest- a club with a great tradition of playing attractive passing football- it would make for a very good tie.

Anyway, speak to you later.