Progress not perfection...

Despite us eventually losing the 'infinite penalty shoot-out' at Hampden's quagmire last week, United gave us Arabs everywhere a performance to be proud of and again illustrated that that previously insurmountable gap between the Old Firm and the rest of the SPL is slowly closing….as it should be, assuming we don't want total stagnation in Scottish football. Celtic's sustained campaign to unsettle Willo Flood failed to prevent him from turning in a faultless and tireless performance…as did the rest of the team….and the semi-final was an engrossing affair. The disgraceful state of the Hampden pitch (our 'national stadium' ffs!) made flowing football nigh on impossible but it was a fantastic game nonetheless. How many times now though, have we been the 'gallant losers'? When, in truth, we've deserved so much more from the occasion. Still, much for us all to be hopeful about as Sir Craig continues to fashion a gutsy, skilful team from the scantest raw materials and continues to uncover and nurture new talent on our limited budget. Praise to, for Calum Murray, who showed what an impartial referee can bring to these encounters…perhaps for future tussles a neutral venue (with a decent playing-surface) might be a possibility too? I, like most Arabs, am extremely sad to see Willo Flood leave Tannadice…the Old Firm are masters of the transfer that weakens an opponent more than it strengthens their own team. Willo's work ethic in the short time he's been at Tannadice has been second to none and his tenacity has been a breath of fresh air and contributed much to our revitalised midfield. We wish him well but, he's no longer a United player and we now look to the future and the rest of the season without him. I'm inclined to think (with maybe a wee bit of hope involved too) that we have plenty left in the midfield armoury to keep us contending for that elusive 3rd spot and the much-missed European nights it brings with it. With Caddis and Wesolowski coming in on loan, we can assume that Craig Levein will have things sorted out to his satisfaction. To be honest, 2 players not extended their stay at Tannadice is not a bad indication of what a good atmosphere there is amongst the squad and back-room staff. As for last Saturday's game…well, I've invented a new phrase for visits to Ibrox…deja blue…it's that resigned sense we all get that you've seen the familiar soft penalty given to the home team somewhere before....sad that we've all become so de-sensitised to it really! Enough of that though as it's heads up, and hearts-on-sleeve for the Scottish Cup clash at Hamilton…I kinda think we owe them this season…again though, I say that with the hope that the universe works like that. C'mon United…