Manchester City Upstaged by a Dominant United

I almost feel sorry for Manchester City. They go away to Spurs on Sunday and beat them 5-1, a very good result.

Then, later in the day, Manchester United upstage everyone and demolish Arsenal 8-2 to go top of the Premiership table. And, naturally enough, it's United who are first on the football highlights on Match of the Day 2.

And whilst I'm sure the first thing non-United supporters will point to is that Arsenal put out a weakened side, the fact remains that you can only play what's in front of you. United could have actually scored a dozen times, and that scoreline in no way exaggerates just how superior their play was to an Arsenal side that looked defeated as soon as the first 5 minutes had passed.

Nice to see Rooney score his hat-trick, he played well for the team and never stopped running, even close to the end of the match.

On a final note it looks like Owen Hargreaves will be joining Manchester City later today before the transfer deadline. I hope he does well, he had a lot of injuries when he was on United's books and we never really got to see the very best of his talent.

Ticket Price Rises to Football Matches Hitting Some Supporters

At the beginning of the football season weird placings on the tables frequently happen.

After just the second weekend of Premiership fixtures we have top of the table Manchester City, which is no huge surprise, then second Wolves and third are Aston Villa. Somehow I doubt we'll see the same placings one month from now.

How far can the costs of football tickets rise before supporters say "enough is enough!" I wonder. When so many people are out of work, inflation is quite high, and wages are being kept low, a lot of people are struggling to budget for essentials, never mind entertainment. At a club like Manchester United they can virtually guarantee a sell out crowd every match. Tickets have risen this season which the club cliams is to take account of the rise in VAT. For individual matches they now stand at:
Adult:          £28-£50
Senior:         Half price, capped at £20
16-17           Half price, capped at £20
Junior:          £10
Still, that could be considered very good value when compared with some London clubs. Chelsea for example has changed some of its prices depending on who they are playing, with a newly created AA category of home Premier League games. The AA category includes the games against Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester United and Manchester City. The old ticket would have cost £75 for the upper tier of the West Stand. That same ticket has risen by a staggering 16% to £87.

It has to be said that some clubs have held prices or in some cases even reduced them in an effort to get their supporters in to the ground.

Manchester United play Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford later at 8pm.