Ronaldo scored his and United’s first after 14 minutes when he converted an inch perfect cross from fellow Portuguese international Luis Nani. He then added a second from 2 yards after a mesmerizing piece of skill by Berbatov on the goal line allowing him to cross for Ronaldo to slide into an empty net.

United were dominant from the first whistle with Berbatov having the first opening of the game in the second minute, but he could only blast over from a Nani pull-back. Three minutes later Nani sent a powerful shot flashing just wide of Robert Green’s far post.

United were continuing to cause problems down the left hand side and it wasn’t long before they were rewarded. Ronaldo found the net after 14 minutes when he was picked out by a pin-point cross from Nani. The world player of the year even managed a smile to the delight the United fans.

United looked hungry and continued to press down the left hand side. Two minutes later Nani dummied past Behrami but again his shot went inches wide of the far post. On the half hour mark Berbatov produced an amazing piece of skill with an exquisite flick and  cross for Ronaldo to slide in from 2 yards.

West Ham brought on Luis Boa Morte for Behrami just before half time. A minute later Tevez got in between the West Ham defence only to header straight at Green. West Ham made their second change before the start of the second half when Etherington was replaced by Welsh teenager Jack Collison.

United’s dominance continued into the second half with Ronaldo shooting straight at Green from distance seven minutes after the restart. He then producing a cheeky flick past a West Ham defender to cross for Tevez. Tevez matched Ronaldo’s skill with a fantastic turn in the box only for his shot to be blocked and go out for a corner.

West Ham managed a rare attempt on goal on the hour mark when Bellamy sent a free kick over Kuszczak’s crossbar from outside the area. They then had a penalty claim waved away two minutes later as Collison was brought down in the area. He was booked for fouling Patrice Evra to add to the annoyance of the travelling fans.

After 67 minutes West Ham replaced Lee Bowyer with teenager Freddie Sears as United made a double change. Darren Fletcher came off for Michael Carrick whilst Nani was replaced by Wayne Rooney who didn’t waste any time getting into the game. His delicate chip was tipped over by Green two minutes later.

West Ham then fashioned their best chance of the game when Boa Morte had a shot saved by Kuszczak in the United area. Rooney then tried his luck from outside the area only to be denied once more by Green with 15 minutes to go. United then made their last change with veteran Gary Neville replacing youngster Rafael for the final ten minutes.

Ronaldo was denied his hat-trick in the last two minutes when Evra cut a cross back but he could only shoot straight at Green. In the end it was a comfortable win for United as they moved up to sixth in the table.

Was Ronaldo’s smile genuine? Will he be a United player next season? Send us your comments.

Wayne Rooney made it three goals in four days for club and country when he got the first goal with a clinical finish early in the second half. He then turned provider when his pass set up Cristiano Ronaldo to put United two up. Dimitar Berbatov  also got his first Premier League goal for United when he poked United into a 3-0 lead two minutes later. Nani then added a fourth in stoppage time to complete the win.

It never Waynes but it pours

With Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal all winning earlier in the afternoon the pressure was on United to stay in touch at the top of the table.

United had the bulk of the early possession in front of the home fans without really threatening the West Brom defence. The best of the early chances fell to Ronaldo but he could not apply the finish to a flowing United attack after four minutes. His tame shot was easily saved by West Brom keeper Scott Carson.

Wayne Rooney was looking lively and managed to find the back of the net after 23 minutes, only to have his goal ruled out by referee Mark Halsey for a foul on a West Brom defender. Five minutes later Rooney met a Ryan Giggs corner with a powerful header which was saved by Carson.

United continued to put pressure on the stubborn West Brom defence. They had a hand-ball appeal waved away by Halsey five minutes before the break after the ball appeared to strike the arm of Baggies defender Paul Robinson. Despite the huge amount of possession United were unable to make the breakthrough and West Brom’s resilience was rewarded with a 0-0 half time scoreline.

United’s dominance continued into the second half.  Rooney was at the centre of the action once again. His thunderous drive from the edge of the area was brilliantly saved by Carson after 50 minutes. Four minutes later it was Berbatov’s turn to be denied by Carson.

The United fans could sense a goal and they didn’t have to wait long as Rooney finally made the breakthrough three minutes later. He ran through with composure to put United ahead with a neat finish into the bottom corner of Carson’s goal.

Rooney then turned supplier as his pass found Ronaldo unmarked.  Ronaldo made it look easy as he guided the ball past Carson and into the centre of the goal. Two minutes later Barbatov scored his first Premier League goal for United when he poked in from six yards after the West Brom defence failed to deal with a cross. With the result no longer in doubt substitute Nani added a fourth in stoppage time after a quick United counter attack to round off a fantastic second half display from United. They now move up to fourth in the table.

Based on this performance can United challenge Chelsea and Liverpool for the title? What do you think? Please use the comments box to send us your thoughts.

The result left Liverpool top of the league after their best ever start to a Premier League season.

They had to wait an hour to take the lead before Torres volleyed through Tim Howard’s legs after a good cross from Robbie Keane.

Minutes later he had his second when he smashed a loose ball past Howard and into the centre of the Everton net to make it 0-2.

Everton had striker Tim Cahill sent off ten minutes from time for a poor tackle on Xabi Alonso.

He became the 17^th player to be sent off in a Liverpool derby since the start of the Premier League in 1992.

Clear cut chances were few and far between in the first half with both teams engaged in a fierce battle for possession.

Everton had an early penalty shout turned down by referee Mike Riley when Martin Skrtel and Yakubu went shoulder to shoulder in the Liverpool box

The first booking came in the 9^th minute when Marouane Fellaini was guilty of a poorly timed tackle.

Liverpool began to gain the advantage with some fantastic one-touch passing.

But Everton looked dangerous on the counter attack.

Jamie Carragher blocked a shot on the line from Fellaini after Reina dropped the ball.

Although the goal would not have counted as Mike Riley had already blown for a foul.

Alonso was booked six minutes before half time for a foul on Mikel Arteta.

A few minutes later Yakubu had the first real shot on goal.

He managed to get away from Skrtel but his shot was wide of the far post.

Just before the half time whistle Cahill was upended in the box but again Riley waved away the penalty shouts from Everton.

Liverpool had the better of the first half possession without either side creating any clear chances.

The only surprise was just two yellow cards in a highly physical first half.

Three minutes into the second half Yakubu was booked for diving in the Liverpool area.

Soon after Torres evened up the card count when he was booked for dissent.

Torres finally overcame his frustration on the hour mark with a volley through the legs of Howard in the six-yard box after a good cross from Robbie Keane.

He added his and Liverpool’s second when a loose ball found him unmarked in the Everton area.

He smashed the ball past Howard and into the centre of the goal.

Everton brought on new signing Lois Saha to try to get back in the game.

It seemed to have little effect as Liverpool then had two goals disallowed.

Dirk Kuyt hit the target but the ball had already gone out for a Liverpool corner.

Seconds later Torres thought he had his hat-trick only for his effort to be ruled out for Kuyt’s push on Lescott in the area.

Phil Jagielka then made a fantastic sliding tackle on Torres as he looked to dribble into the Everton area.

Everton were increasingly unable to penetrate the Liverpool defence.

Arbeloa was booked for a kick at Cahill after 76 minutes.

A minute later a rare Everton chance went begging as a fizzing cross form Lescott was missed at the back post by Yakubu and Fellaini.

But any glimmer of hope soon faded when Cahill was sent off ten minutes from time for a late challenge on Alonso.

Howard made a brilliant save from a Steven Gerrard shot with five minutes to go.

Louis Saha went close for Everton when he blasted a shot just wide of Reina’s post.

But in the end Torres’ quality proved to be the difference in a game where the away team were rarely tested.

Spain winning Euro 2008 has pushed our reputation as underachievers further down the lav. And like such great philosophical musings as; Why are we here? Is there a god?

Will Robbie Savage ever get a haircut? We are left with the greatest question of all; With all the money, loyal fans, young talents….why can’t we win anything?

Like many who saw our demise at the hands of Croatia, there was almost a mild sense of relief by the fact that we had escaped the usual blind optimism forthcoming whenever we do manage to qualify for a major tournament.

For the first time since the notorious turnip-ridden back pages of 94, we were able to enjoy the beautiful game with fingernails intact.

But again WHY? Some blame player egos, foreign takeovers, the need for immediate financial returns because of high wages and signing fees….

Are there too many foreigners in the Premier League? Is it stopping the young talents emerging? Would we benefit from a foreign player restriction rule?

Michel Platini recently stoked the fire by saying Manchester United and Chelsea had reached the Champions League final on the ‘never, never’ regarding their success based on debts. If this is the truth then what are some of the latest solutions?

Platini called for Champions League football not to include the buy now pay later vein of clubs, but where would that leave us? Who wants to watch the greatest club football competition without the greatest football clubs?

Should there be caps on player wages and values? The price of players has rocketed over the last 10 years. Compare Alan Shearer’s £15m transfer to Newcastle in the summer of 1996 with the current prospect of Cristiano Ronaldo joining Manchester City for a speculated £135m.

To buy the current cream of the crop, it’s now necessary to have an owner with pockets of Gran Canyon depths and with suitably long arms to reach the bottoms.

As it stands, like a dog with rabies, the circle seems to be growing ever more vicious. Best brace ourselves for another 42 years of hurt.

China’s coach Marika Domanski-Lyfors of Sweden (C) comforts her player Han Duan after their loss to Norway at the quarterfinal match of the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup soccer tournament in Wuhan, China Sunday Sept. 23, 2007. Norway defeated China 1-0. [Xinhua]

Though Domanski-Lyfors failed to meet her own pre-tournament target of leading the hosts into the top four of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, she won universal approval with the local press and fans. The Chinese Football Association (CFA) had expressed their wish to keep everything stay put and the Swede could remain with the Chinese side in preparation for next year’s Olympic Games.

But Domanski-Lyfors thought otherwise and chose to stay with her family.

“I am happy in China and like the job, but my family comes first,” Domanski-Lyfors was quoted as telling Swedish media.

With the Olympics less than 300 days away, the Chinese football governing body has to set off a frantic hunt for a new coach for the “Steel Roses”. They have fixed their target on three candidates with Loisel tipped as the best-equipped one.

“We have to fast-track our selection process as there is not so much time left. We hope the new coach would be in position by the end of this month,” said a CFA insider.

Loisel’s contenders are April Heinrich, former head coach of the United States, and the incumbent Brazil manager Jorge Barcellos, and with a similar background in European football to Domanski-Lyfors, the former France coach is reckoned as the ideal successor to ensure a troubleless transition ahead of the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament.

“We have sounded some revered experts on Domanski-Lyfors replacement, and most of them also prefer Loisel,” said the CFA source.

“If we chose her, the upside for her is that she shares the rather similar style with Domanski-Lyfors and that can ensure she could fit into the team soon, and the downside is she has no experience of managing a team in any major tournaments like World Cup and Olympic Games,” he said.

The quit of Domanski-Lyfors left the Chinese team agitated and unsettled.

“She is an unpretentious and jovial character, and often treated us as her daughters,” said midfielder Bi Yan.

“We sincerely hope she could continue to coach us as she has raised the team’s overall strength up a notch. A new coach is now coming and we have to cotton on to each other, and sometimes it is very painful.

“We hope the new coach could be very much like Marika,” she said.

The CFA has entered into talks with Loisel, and the French lady didn’t conceal her excitement at the prospect of taking charge of the talented but unpredictable Chinese.

“I am very interested in the job and it will come as an extraordinary challenge in my coaching career,” she told local press this week. “But negotiations are ongoing and nothing can be taken for granted for the time being.”

Johannesburg Metro Police and the members of the South African Police Service have revealed that they are being trained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in order to be able to handle issues such as terrorism financing and money laundering ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The poll reflected the views of 400 respondents who were asked whether they felt that these areas require the detailed attention of law enforcers during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The countdown to the 2010 FIFA World Cup has began with only 960 days left to go until South Africa takes the spotlight in hosting one of the world greatest sporting events.

South Africans seem to be growing in confidence as the latest African Response 2010 Barometer reading shows that overall public confidence in South Africa’s readiness to the host 2010 FIFA World Cup has reached 75%.

About the African Response 2010 Barometer:
September’s results represent the views of 400 respondents interviewed in Durban, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town in August this year. The full African Response Barometer is released on a quarterly basis. Previous reports can be found at www.africanresponse.co.za.

A poll conducted by African Response found that two thirds of South Africans agreed the threat posed in these two areas called for Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) training for South African police.

African Response said the poll reflected the views of 400 South Africans who were asked whether the areas required the attention of the police during the World Cup, it said in a statement.

The latest African Response 2010 Barometer also showed that South Africans were growing more confident in their country’s ability to host the event.

Out-of-touch, anti-technology advocates at Fifa may even be laughing at the big controversy that marred the Rugby World Cup final. An Australian video referee made a bombshell decision in the showdown contest by ruling out an apparent England try, thus denying the team a crucial chance to close the gap on South Africa, who went on to claim the cup. Fifa may jump at the opportunity to discredit the use of video technology by saying the referee’s decision was challenged all over the world, and that it took too long for him to make a ruling, which disrupted the flow of the game.

But in fact the joke is always on Fifa. When it comes to using the help of technology, this organisation always gets it wrong. First, it associates injustice and controversies with the “beauty” of the game. Then it considers the free-flow nature of football to be more important than fairness or the need to instil good sportsmanship into younger people. And then, whenever it is under pressure to reconsider the technology proposal, Fifa treats it as a measure to “help” under-fire referees – not as something to promote just decisions.

What right does Fifa think soccer has to be “unfair”, particularly when other sports are relying more and more on video technology? The organisation may argue that sloppy referees are always punished, thus forcing them to keep good standards. But the punishment cannot restore justice. Legitimate goals have been disallowed. Teams have lost. Penalties have been given in favour of “divers”. All these are irreversible, and Fifa considers them part of the game’s “beauty”.

It’s so sad it’s funny whenever Fifa defends referees by saying they are “human”. Yes, they are human, but Fifa expects them to see at least four fast and crucial movements at once to determine if a player is offside: the said player, his opponents, his ball-playing team-mate, and the ball itself. TV replays, which of course cannot influence or change football referees’ decisions, show that the majority of close-call offside rulings are wrong. So much for the “human” excuse.

But injustice is not the only result of Fifa’s stubbornness. Its policy and attitude toward the use of technology has made the organisation a hypocrite and turned many players into scapegoats. Fifa has been ridiculously uncompromising on trivial matters that it considers will bring more good to the game – like penalising players who take off their shirts to celebrate a goal. Players can’t challenge a referee in anger, even though video evidence may prove them right later. Whereas tennis players now can demand immediate video replays to dispute line calls, the player who scores a legitimate goal that is disallowed by a poor referee stands the chance of being sent off if he blows his top in challenging the decision.

Fifa has inadvertently promoted cheating, prejudice and unhealthy rivalry among fans. Worse still, the trend now is that cheats are being hailed by some supporters for winning penalties or getting opposition players sent off. This shouldn’t be part of the “beautiful game”, but Fifa has turned a blind eye to it. There have been occasional promising signs, like the introduction of goal-line technology to judge if the ball has crossed the line, but the overall attitude by Fifa has barely changed.

There are things that technology can’t do, Fifa may argue, citing England’s try that divided TV viewers, although the moment was shown in freeze-frame. Yet the powers that be at the soccer-governing organisation are acting like programmed computers. In their badly programmed effort to promote the game’s popularity and beauty, Fifa officials have made everyone and everything suffer – the players, the fans, the referees and, ultimately, the game itself.

The inspection report said Brazil is an “appropriate choice” to host the 2014 World Cup. The inspectors said Brazil has demonstrated itself to be more than capable of hosting what they called “an exceptional World Cup.”

The report was sent to the FIFA executive committee, which will announce its decision on Tuesday.

Brazil is the only candidate bidding to host football’s biggest event in 2014. FIFA has a policy of rotating the tournament among the continents. Brazil has won the world cup five times, but has hosted the tournament only once – in 1950 when it lost to Uruguay at Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro.