Campbell the answer to Fergie's defensive woes?

Tottenham, to Arsenal, to Portsmouth, to Notts County, to.. MANCHESTER UNITED? That’s how the career of Sol Campbell could look should the former England International make an astonishing move to Old Trafford. United’s injury list reads more like a yellow pages directory at the moment, with Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Jonny Evans, and more all out injured.

The situation is so bad that for United’s final Champions League group stage match, both Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher had to play at the back alongside Patrice Evra. Amongst the substitutes was Oliver Gill, son of Chief Executive David Gill, who provided cover should anyone else have gone down injured.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has remarked that Campbell could have a similar impact in Manchester as Henrik Larsson did a couple of seasons ago.

"Sol can do at the back what Henrik Larsson did up front for Manchester United two years ago. Campbell can prove, as Swedish star Larsson did, that he still has the quality to play at the very highest level and I’m not surprised by reports tipping him for a Premier League return."

The question is, would the United fans welcome the signing, or would his history as an Arsenal player hinder him?

Liverpool 2-0 Manchester United

I’m going to enjoy this; results like these don’t come along that often. Oh no wait, yes they do – this is Liverpool’s 3rd consecutive win over United – forgive me.

Coming into this afternoon’s game everybody was talking about how much longer Rafael Benitez would last at the helm. Now, just a couple of hours after, discussion has switched to the re-launch of Liverpool’s title bid. It was inevitable that would happen should Liverpool have got the 3 points, but I’m afraid I’m going to play the pessimist and say lets not speak too soon.

Liverpool were brilliant today, no doubt about it. The spark that they lacked in midweek against Lyon certainly returned against a lacklustre United side, who threatened very little throughout the course of the match. The home side’s best chance of the first half fell to Fabio Aurelio, whom after testing Edwin van der Sar with a 25-yard free kick, had a close-range header saved by the Dutchman – a chance that Aurelio probably should have scored.

United’s best chance of the half came via Wayne Rooney’s head, but Pepe Reina wasn’t made to work very hard by the England centre-forward. Little changed in the second 45, with Liverpool continuing to dominate and create chances. The deadlock was eventually broken after 66 minutes when Yossi Benayoun’s wonderful through pass found the run of Fernando Torres, who shrugged off Rio Ferdinand and fired past van der Sar. Question marks will again be raised over Ferdinand’s defending; he wasn’t tight enough to Torres to start with, and ended up wrong side, allowing Torres to graze through with ease.

The visitors failed to test Reina even after this goal. Nani skimmed the crossbar from a very tight angle and had a free kick saved by Reina with comfort, but Sir Alex will be disappointed that his side couldn’t conjure up more chances, especially against a Liverpool defence heavily criticised recently for leaking goals.

The referee did his best to try and get United back in the game. Numerous decisions went their way, and it’s plain to see why. Mr. Ferguson throwing another half-time tantrum may have something to do with it. Nemanja Vidic received a red card in the 90th minute for a reckless rugby tackle on Dirk Kuyt – Vidic probably lucky to have lasted that long if truth be told. It can be argued that Jamie Carragher should have received the same sanction just moments later for a seemingly last-man challenge on Michael Owen, but Andre Marriner produced yellow instead. Javier Mascherano also received his marching orders in the 95th minute for a silly lunge at Edwin van der Sar in the corner. Unnecessary and costly from the little Argentinian; he’ll now be banned for a game, meaning the Liverpool backroom staff will have to work extra hard to get Alberto Aquilani up to match fitness for next weekend.

I’d like to pinpoint a few one-to-one battles now:

Torres v Vidic: Not only was this United’s 3rd straight defeat against Liverpool, but it was also Vidic’s 3rd straight red card against the Reds. And it’s easy to see why. Torres ran the big Serb ragged at Old Trafford in March, and he did the same today. Too quick, strong, and skillful for the defender, who had to resort to fouling Torres to stop him getting away. Sir Alex revealed before the match that Vidic was “looking forward” to the tussle with Torres. Perhaps that’s what he’d like to have thought.

Valencia v Insua: This was United’s main route of attack. Insua looked vulnerable whenever the ball came his way, and United attempted to expose him on every possible occasion. Valencia was quicker and simply better than Insua, and it begs the question why United couldn’t have exploited that area more.

Mascherano/Lucas v Scholes/Carrick: This was probably the best game I’ve seen Lucas have. He seldom gave the ball away, and kept it very simple which is what you like your crap players to do I guess. Scholes and Carrick had little time on the ball thanks to the closing down from Mascherano and Lucas throughout the game. Those raking passes we’re so used to from Scholes weren’t so evident today.

Carragher v United: Jamie Carragher was immense. Yes, he probably should have been sent off, but that doesn’t take away the fact he was heroic. Every tackle he got right, every aerial battle he won, and United didn’t look like scoring while Carragher was on the pitch i.e the whole match. He’s received a lot of stick recently for being off the pace, but today he’s silenced his critics, if only for a few days.

A fantastic win for Liverpool then. Better than United in all areas, they wanted the ball more, and they wanted the win more. Pressure off Benitez for a short while, but now the hard work begins. Back these performances up and we’ve got a chance. For now, I’m a happy Liverpool supporter.

Kakuta saga stirs things up

I get the feeling this one's going to be around for a long time yet. Joleon Lescott and Manchester City eat your hearts out.

The controversy surrounding the Gael Kakuta affair has definitely had a massive affect on football. After Lens' complaint to FIFA about Chelsea's actions, it seems to have given the rest of Europe confidence and knowledge that should the same thing happen to them, i.e. a young talent pinched by a bigger club, they can receive protection from the governing bodies.

The most recent development in the 'baby farming' scandal has seen Italian giants Fiorentina launch a complaint to FIFA over Manchester United's signing of 16-year old central defender Michele Fornasier. The news comes just days after the Frenchmen at Le Havre launched a similar complaint over the signing of Paul Pogba.

United snapped up Fornasier after seeing him perform for Viola in Northern Ireland this summer, and as Italian teams are unable to sign players younger than 18-years old, they had to concede the youngster to the Red Devils. FIFA are currently awaiting documentation from Fiorentina to begin a formal complaint.

Lazio are also pretty miffed that United 'stole' Federico Macheda from their hands two years ago, but never conjured up an appeal. They just asked for a change in the regulations, which looks very probable following recent developments.

It would certainly make it a lot fairer for Italian clubs, and other European giants, as they have really no hope of keeping hold of their young stars. The sooner FIFA act, the better in my opinion.

Pogba signing now under question

Following Chelsea's illegal approach for Lens starlet Gael Kakuta, an approach that has recently been severely punished, Lens' French counterparts Le Havre have decided to launch a complaint to FIFA about Manchester United's approach for midfielder Paul Pogba.

You may remember my article on Pogba some weeks ago now. If you don't, look at it. Thanks.

The French side, notorious for producing exciting talent and then having them pinched by Premier League clubs - note Anthony Le Tallec and Florent Sinama-Pongolle - were upset with United's inquest into signing Pogba, deeming their act as 'foolish'. Now, with the knowledge and confidence that FIFA are willing to act on such misdemeanous, Le Havre will be taking action.

United have denied they are in the wrong, claiming everything they have done has been within the UEFA guidelines. However, Le Havre managing director Alain Belsoeur is determined for the English champions to be treated in the same way as Chelsea.

"We are still pursuing our case. It's a very serious case. We are confident that we'll win because it is in the best interests not just of our club but of sport." Belsoeur went on to say, "We spend €5m (about £4.3m) on our academy every year out of a turnover of €12m. It is a huge investment. We do that to give a chance to our players to develop for our first team, not to be an academy for others."

From a neutral perspective it would seem strange should FIFA find United guilty and not put the same ban on them as they have done with Chelsea. Punishments are punishments and at the end of the day, and whether it's Manchester United or Mansfield Town, everyone has to be treated the same. English clubs have a history with snapping up young Frenchmen. I've already mentioned Le Tallec and Sinama-Pongolle who both made the move to Anfield, and Charles N'Zogbia was the subject of some controversy as well, when he made the switch from Le Havre to Newcastle in 2004. The signs from FIFA and the governing bodies are positive however. Punishments and bans such as the Chelsea ban will show clubs that they have some sort of protection when it comes to bigger clubs poaching their young talent. However, in this day and age, the likes of United, Real Madrid, Manchester City are going to come looking for young, fresh talent, and whether they like it or not, the Le Havre's of this world are going to have to deal with it.

Controversy over.. Pogba?

If you were glancing through the football headlines this morning, you could be forgiven for misreading Pogba for Drogba, with the latter being in the news so much in the past 6 months. However, I introduce to you, Manchester United's new 16-year old prodigy, Paul Pogba!

The young Frenchman has caused a stir between his new club and former employers Le Havre. Pogba, his parents and Le Havre football club agreed a 'non-solicitation agreement' back in Autumn 2006, followed by a proposed trainee contract that would see him through to the end of the 2009/10 season. However, with Man Utd offering big money for the youngster's services, his parents decided to cut short that agreement much to the displeasure of the French club. A statement from the club's official website says, "Le Havre want to express their indignation at the actions of Manchester United officials and their pursuit of Paul Pogba."

Le Havre have also called on the football authorities to act in order to prevent similar situations occurring in the future. I'm sure Paul doesn't mind though. A hefty sum of money on the table, the chance to work with Alex Ferguson at the biggest club in the world, and playing in front of 70,000 people every other week are things every 16-year old kid dreams of.

Paul Pogba fun facts:
Born on 15 March 1993
Captains France under-16 side
Defensive Midfielder by trade
Turned down interest from Arsenal to join United

He must be a pretty decent player if he turned down Arsenal to join Utd! Apparently Liverpool showed a bit of interest to, but they have bigger fish to fry. One thing's for sure - it shall be interesting to have Pogba and Drogba playing in the same match. That could get very confusing!