Manchester United's Carling Cup Victory, Thoughts on the Final

Manchester United won the Carling Cup, beating Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 on penalties. I think I'm making it sound more flattering than it really was. The match ended 0-0 and even though the football was entertaining, it was 1 AM where I am, and I wanted United to score.

United's performance as a team was not altogether impressive, to be honest. Danny Welbeck and Darron Gibson, included in the squad as Sir Alex Ferguson promised, could not rise to the occasion, and Spurs gave us a really hard time. I am truly relieved that we won.

Here are some of my other thoughts on the game:

1) Jonny Evans is a world class defender.

I'm not just saying this just because he's one of my favourite players of late, but his recent performances honestly belie his age.

He's so solid at the back, I sometimes think I'd prefer seeing him to Ferdinand up there next to Vidic, if only for the fact that Rio and Vida haven't already formed a brick wall in front of goal. At this moment, Jonny Evans could walk into any other team in the world.

2) $32 Million for Carlos Tevez?

Never mind United fans being divided, I'm divided over this myself. We'll have to make a decision whether or not to pay that kind of money for Tevez at the end of the season.

I love the guy, he plays with every last bit of energy he's got, and he gives his heart and soul to United. I'm also not about to forget the number of times he crucially bailed us out last season when we looked to be heading for defeat.

But of late, most recently in this final, he merely runs around like a headless chicken with no real contribution to the game. I don't want to see him go, especially not to Real Madrid, but Tevez really needs to prove his worth to Sir Alex now, to give us a cast iron reason to hold on to him.

3) Ben Foster will be big.

If he can stay fit that is. Foster's hardly got chances to prove himself because of injuries and the unbeatable form of Edwin Van Der Sar but he did what he was supposed to in the final, making some superb saves that would have otherwise left us with nothing.

Foster saved Jamie O'Hara's penalty really nicely to complete an impressive showing. He's another one for the future.

4) Aaron Lennon, 21 years of age, is the new bright spark for England, tormentor of Patrice Evra throughout the match.

Oh yeah, it's all over the commentaries, papers, the Internet, blogs, whatever. Anyone picked up on how he had to withdraw with major cramps in extra time, while our very own 35-year-old Paul Scholes played through the entire 120 minutes? Talk about the young and fit.

5) Can we win five?

Champions of the World, winners of the Carling Cup. That's two down, three to go. Nothing is going thrill me more than seeing us win the FA Cup while remaining Champions of England and Europe.

At this very moment, we are close enough to the Premier League trophy, and our squad depth should see us through the FA Cup at least. But if there's any team that can do a quintuple in a season, it's got to be us.

6) Some sympathy for Jamie O'Hara.

Penalties are never easy because of the immense pressure, and he had the guts to step up to the spot first for Spurs to take one. Having already tearfully missed the final last year, it must be absolutely devastating for him to see his penalty saved.

Gotta feel for the guy. At least he appeared really gutted. David Bentley looked like he could hardly have cared.