So the date was Sunday, March 1. The place was Wembley Stadium. The time was…emmmm…well it was about 2pm, I’m not quite sure though because I slept in until 3.30pm. Thankfully, I re-watched the match and am now up to speed on the events of the match.

Let’s face it, United were expected to win. To Spurs, this was basically just a glimmer of sweet, brief relief in what’s been an awful season. But for what was billed as a one-sided encounter it was very close. United had the better of the start of the match with Rio and Michael Carrick wannabe Darren Gibson (I’m still not convinced about him) coming close with long range shots. Spurs, however came more into the game and were looking the more threatening as the first half ended. Aaron Lennon had a good first half, making nice runs here and there with only his final ball being poor, prompting Andy Gray to consistently say that if he sorted out his crossing he’d be world-class. I mean, Andy Gray was saying this every time Lennon hit the ball. I almost started to believe it by the end of the first half. Thankfully though, this train of thought was interrupted by the half time ads, phew!

As usual, the second half followed half time. This half started much like the first with United threatening early on with Spurs coming more and more into the match. The standout performer in this half was undoubtably Ben Foster. The goalkeeper, playing in only his seventh United game had a cracking second half making many a vital save. United threatened on a fairly regular basis too, with Evra coming very close with a beautifully struck half-volley that just went over the bar. I very nearly thought we had won the match in the last minute of injury time when Ronaldo, making a run in from the right, struck a beautiful shot against the inside of Heurelho Gomes’ post, Nani could only tepidly strike the rebound wide. The main talking point of the second half however was another incident involving Ronnie. As Ronaldo made a run into the box he knocked the ball ahead of himself, as he reached to get it he was fouled by Spurs captain Ledley King. It looked like a stone cold penalty but somehow the ref thought that Ronaldo had dived and gave him a yellow card, much to his astonishment.

Extra-time ensued and it was all United. Spurs looked knackered and were content with slowing down the game. In the end it got to the stage where penaties looked inevitable, and were.

I’m not going to go into depth about the penalties aside from saying that Spurs didn’t look confident taking penalties and United did. See the penalties here.

Anyway, United won thanks largely to the magnificent Ben Foster; making a good save from O’Hara’s penalty and many previous to that.

One thing I noticed from the celebrations was, not only the happiness (obviously) but the team looked really focused, even in celebration. I got the feeling that they really see this as the start of something great. And so do I…

Man Utd v Spurs – Carling Cup – Highlights

So it’s been going for ages, Man Utd’s Tevez saga has gone on almost as long as West Ham’s saga with the same little man. Everyone has been speaking this last month and a bit about whether Utd will decide to buy him, if he is worth €30M and in fact does he even want to stay at Utd given the amount of benchwarming he’s done as of late? Or will he simply head off to Real Madrid?

Tevez started the Utd match against Villa and barely made an impression, indeed he did all his usual running and jostling and gave 100% as usual. But there was no imagination there, he didn’t link up well with the rest of the team and dare I say it, he almost looked out of place. He made just as much (or little) of an impression when coming on as a sub in the match against the Yellow Submarine not long ago.

So how can we explain the fact that Carlos Tevez, tonight against Blackburn Rovers in the Carling Cup quarter final, scored 4 goals? Yes, 4 goals against an established Premier League side. Some may say that Blackburn aren’t the team they used to be, but, bar Bentley and Friedel they have most of their players from last season such as Roque and Benni. They may be bottom of the EPL, but given their squad they really shouldn’t be.

Utd were expected to win tonight, no doubt. They played a typical Carling Cup team; youth mixed with experience. The fact that Tevez played while Roo, Berba and Ronnie sat it out is as much a statement of Tevez’ place in Sir Alex’s thinking as anything. But good strikers take their chances, and from this evidence Tevez is, despite certain displays this season, still a very good striker.

His four goals showed the desire that he still has despite his sitting on the bench almost the whole season. It also shows his professionalism to pull on the shirt and give 100% given such a difficult season so far for him personally.

I saw the match and every one of Tevez’ goals was a treat. Sure, his first may have come off Mokoena but he showed real determination just to get his head on it. His penalty was classily taken while his third was all down to the utter unselfishness of Anderson, who despite having a chance to score his first goal for United, provided his team-mate with a much-needed hat-trick. His fourth however, showed everything that Tevez has; pure class and a never-say-die attitude. He was played through by Anderson and even though he was pulled by a defender he reached the ball and placed a wonderful volley into Paul Robinson’s far bottom corner from an acute angle. If this performance doesn’t persuade Fergie to permanently sign him, it will at least persuade him to give Tevez a more frequent role in the team. The fact that he’s gone from having absolutely no form to scoring 4 goals in a single match shows that he still can do a big job for United.

Whether or not Fergie decides to buy Tevez in the end is somewhat irrelevenat. The fact is that not only tonight did Tevez show that despite playing very little this season and being hugely frustrated due to this, he’s still the type of player who can do a great job for any team, he’s also shown that he has incredible professionalism, determination and class. They’re the qualities that everyone wants in a player.

*Sir Alex takes the piss with that team*

I pity the poor season ticket holders that were forced to pay for a ticket to that shambles. But at least they won’t have to spend any more money.

*A begging Wayne Rooney should make an appearance…

*It’ll likely be a mostly youthful squad however…

*The Coventry players are urged to enjoy the occasion…

The biggest thing we can hope for (other than a win of course) is that the whole squad emerge free of injury. Perhaps this could even be considered as important as winning the match.

There’s little doubt that clubs with Premier League and Champions League ambitions see the Carling Cup as an annoyance rather than a true challenge. I for one, don’t care if we go out tomorrow.

Listening to the BBC’s 606 call in show today, I heard a delightful story from a father, who’s son couldn’t wait to wear his Southend shirt to school today amongst the kid’s usual collection of Premier League club shirts. The family even planned on framing the match program!

Once again the beauty of the game came through. Despite the gap in celebrity and wages between both teams – it meant nothing on the night. Cup games in football are a great leveler, and each season there is a great “giant killing”. Props to Southend.

Fergie is taking the defeat in his stride… Personally, after hearing of Mohamed Sissoko’s injury for Liverpool tonight – I’m just glad we didn’t lose an influencial player to a competition that ranks lowest on most clubs’ agendas.

Though not a total disaster by any means – the result will likely put a dampener on Fergie’s twentieth anniversary celebrations…

But at least it’s one less distraction in persuit of higher honours.

A quick glance of the squad however, reveals that Fergie may be giving “The Shrimpers” some healthy respect. Some of the older players will get to put their feet up – but overall it’s a strong group that will travel to the beach, and the cozy confines of Roots Hall.

Southend have nothing to lose and I’m sure the home crowd will treat this like a cup final. Based on league form United should walk this match – but it’s the cup – and anything can happen… I thought we’d cruise in Denmark last week, but that one quickly turned pear-shaped! That’s the beauty of the game of football – there are no guarantees…

So United overcome the wonderfully named Crewe Alexandra in extra time. A youthful United team still containing seven internationals struggle on a rainy night. Listening to the match on Five Live I honestly thought Crewe had won it when the commentator yelled that Kieran Lee had scored in the 119 minute!

It’s hard to get too excited about this competition, yet we are the holders. Would I have been upset if we’d lost? Annoyed most likely – then a shrug of the shoulders and result quickly forgotten.

Oh well – on to the next round against the mighty Southend…