Kanchelskis finally replaced?

My prematch worries seemed to be on their way to being realised all too soon as Pavlyuchenko stole in front of Nemanja Vidic to steer an early header past Ben Foster, but after that our only real rival was our own profligacy.

Although he is credited as Man of the Match in many quarters, I still expect Tevez to put away some of the chances he had at the weekend. His effort can't be questioned, though, and he battled hard all game long. Danny Welbeck had a good game on the right, too, where he too seemed tireless and was a constant threat. He looks good with the ball at his feet and only an understandable lack of composure with his end product seemed absent on Saturday evening.

The makeshift backline was decent after this and Fabio looks a real prospect for his age. His step into the first team didn't slightly faze the lad as he carried the ball forward with confidence and flung himself into a few meaty tussles.

The match showed once more just how important Michael Carrick is for us. He controlled the game and that pass for Berbatov's goal was magical. The accuracy and pace on the ball with very little back lift was exemplar and Berbatov continues to surprise and impress me in equal measure with a cool finish and he just about stopped himself from wheeling off to celebrate in front of the travelling fans. The former Spurs midfielder's performance helped in some way to highlight the passing of the baton from Scholes to Carrick. A tendency is creeping in for Scholes to be just that little bit off the pace with his distribution and in Carrick we have the player we've been looking for for too long. I believe that Carrick's presence at the club will add longevity to Scholes' career here. I can see a lot of a younger Paul Scholes in Michael Carrick in the way he carries the ball in midfield, picks a pass and keeps it tidy as well as spotting the occasional Hollywood pass. The lack of goals from the younger player isn't an issue as we are a different beast now in terms of strike rate being spread around.

A word on Foster... After the Spurs goal, I felt he couldn't trust his back line and this also caused him to come out for a ball he was never going to get quite soon after. After this he settled and became much more assured and looked much more like the keeper we all know he can be on form. Mistakes happen and he needs to fully trust those in front of him. While Vidic did him no favours a few minutes into the game on Saturday, he will bail him out more often than not.

We also had our first look at Tosic. Can he be the first true heir to the hallowed number 14 shirt of Kanchelskis, probably the best player ever to grace the hallowed Old Trafford turf? He had a good run out on Saturday and I've already determined that he is seventeen and a half times better than Nani using the complicated match analysis software called MY EYES© .

It's busy, busy, busy in January as usual with a midweek trip to the Baggies and then Saturday's game against Everton, which has been brought forward to accommodate the third Scouse derby of recent times due to Everton's disgraceful attempt at not losing in the cup yesterday. I don't know how Everton fans can look themselves in the mirror knowing that they haven't lost at Anfield twice in a week. Surely Moyes is on borrowed time?

I've once again raided RAWK for my What's being said? quotes. It may be lazy but they provide such gems. Both are taken from their thread that covers the weekend's FA Cup ties. I will also point out that they post about 13 pages on the Man Utd game and about 2 pages on the rest of the fixtures combined, but then called us obsessed for having songs about them. You couldn't make it up.