FA Cup: Man Utd Move On

**Video Fixed**
**Mind the bias post**

Manchester United had a dream start against Liverpool as Berbatov was fouled in the box after just 1 minute. Some say Berbatov went down rather easily, but it is safe to say that mostly any sticker would have gone down in that situation because there did seem to be some contact. Referee Howard Webb pointed to the spot and the hearts of those who never walk alone had stopped. Legendary United winger Ryan Giggs stepped to the spot. Webb blew the whistle and Giggs smashed the ball to the right. Anfield’s goalie, Pepe Reyna chose the right side, but couldn’t even get a finger on the ball, as a result from the power that was used to strike it.


Man United 1-0 Liverpool The FA Cup 3rd Round - 09/01/11

About 30 Minutes after that, Rafael passed the ball to teammate, Michael Carrick, who was then tackled by Liverpool captain, Steven Gerrard. Although, this was not an ordinary tackle. Stevie G went it with both legs, studs facing Carrick’s ankle. After, Webb pulled Gerrard to the side, to have a quick chat, while everyone anticipated the yellow card. Webb reached into his pocket and pulled out a red. When I say Webb pull him to the side, I did contemplate the fact that the challenge was a red card, but I quickly doubted myself thinking it wasn’t that bad, but after seeing the replay, it was obvious that the refs had been right.

There was little action after that, besides every single United player dangling Liverpool. Evans had a header that he received from a corner that hit the post. Other than that, the match was pretty even, based on goal attempts, but skill wise, United were far superior, they just couldn’t shut down on their opportunities. Fernando Torres played an awful game, show very little enthusiasm during the game. And no, I am not just saying that because it’s Liverpool, as a matter of fact, I think Torres is great player, but he really didn’t have that spark against United. Reyna was actually very good in goalie, having about four consecutive saves in a few instances. Kuszczak on the other hand, was pretty lucky to have maintained the clean sheet, not because he didn’t play well, but because there were a few instances where the ball caught him off guard. There was a shot from Maxi Rodreguez, where Kuszczak kneeled down as he caught it. This is a sign of a loss of balance, so he was lucky to keep his grasp on it. Other than that, he had a couple nice saves, throughout the game, and you couldn’t have asked for a better result from him. United didn’t necessarily have a nice composure as a team, but they got the job done.

Photo Courtesy: Caught Offside

Comment!
-JoeyB

FA Cup: Manchester United vs. Liverpool

One of the ultimate rivalries will be starting in just a matter of hours, Manchester United vs. Liverpool. This will be for the FA Cup’s third round. Besides one game in the Carling Cup, United haven’t lost a game this season. Liverpool on the other hand have. Their latest loss was their last Premier League game against Blackburn, which ended 3-1. The last time Liverpool and Manchester United met, Berbatov had a stunning hat trick and Stevie G had two for Anfield. Liverpool have managed to play pretty well against the big clubs this season, but it’s the smaller clubs that are causing them trouble. They have picked up their game recently, jumping from relegation spot 19 up to 12. Earlier this season, Liverpool beat last year’s champs, Chelsea, as Fernando Torres scored two to end his goal drought. You could say that Chelsea isn’t in the best position in the table either, but at the time, they looked to be one of the top four clubs in the EPL. And tying it up against United after being behind two goal takes some skill as well, but it wasn’t enough to match Barclay’s current top goal scorer, Berbatov. I’ll be rooting for United, but I am also hoping for an exciting game, much like their last encounter.

Who do you guys want to win, Liverpool or Manchester United?

-JoeyB

The FA Cup

The FA has released a video commemorating the start of the third round of this season's FA cup on Saturday. This has always been among my favorite competitions in the world, primarily because of the possibilities. It is feasible for essentially ANY team to win the title. This season, well over 700 clubs entered the tournament. Realistically, it is extremely unlikely that any team outside of the first couple of divisions would have much of a chance. But just the thought that a team even from the Championship could win it really keeps me hooked. It may be ironic that I say these things, even while rooting for a "big four" club in Chelsea. But I will almost always root for the lower team if they're not playing my lads, and these can be some of the most fun games in the world. So as we await the return of the EPL until next week, it's time to get pumped for some great English footy in the FA cup.]

video courtesy: the FA

Robinho’s Freak Injury

On January 2nd, AC Milan had a friendly match against AL Ahli in Dubai. In the 80th minute, Robinho was jogging out of bounds to prepare to catch the ball that was coming his way. Looking to his left, he didn’t see the camera man whose camp out was so close to the pitch. At the last second, he saw the camera and jumped, bashing his knee into the lens.



Watching this video makes you think, how un-advanced soccer’s regulations are around the rest of the world. You will never see anything like this in Serie A, EPL or LFP or even smaller leagues like MLS for example. There has been a lot of controversy on the rules of soccer because of the kind of mistakes that occurred during the world cup. This is definitely a rule that must change, there is barely and room for throwing in the ball. And on top of the, camera man is sitting there, not standing which would allow him to jump out of the way. Robinho could now miss the next few games, because of a meaningless friendly.

-JoeyB

the beginning of the end

As I sit here, in the dark, listening to the snickers of those in the football community regarding my beloved blues, Chelsea fc, I get just that, the blues. Another horrific display of a game today found Chelsea down 1-0 after just five minutes. How the ensuing 85 minutes couldn't provide even one blues goal has me baffled. But the truth of the matter is the team that proudly called itself the best in England last season has lost any bit of spark that may have been left. It's hard to believe that the run of five thrilling victories in a row to start the campaign was even a part of this season.

Chelsea saw the first signs of trouble arrive on the 25th of September when they lost to Man City at Eastlands. They had very little creativity and had trouble penetrating their opponents' midfield. Success continued to come for them even after this disappointing result, including a 2-0 win at home to Arsenal. However, the Manchester game proved that all a team must do in order to beat Chelsea is focus on lockdown defense, and decent play from the center backs, goalkeeper and defensive middies. Wolves had similar tactics today as did Birmingham when they beat Chelsea.

Chelsea have had recent games where they looked lively and threatening to score from many places. Sunday's game against Villa is one example, where the Blues managed to put up three fantastic goals, showing that when these boys put pressure on the keeper and bring traffic to the box, good things happen. It is entirely simple in theory. But seeing the inability to do much of that today against lowly wolves, I am disheartened and out of advice for what should happen on the pitch.

One thing I do know is that there are two things that Chelsea could do to get the ship afloat:
They could dump Carlo Ancelotti, the man who brought two trophies to the club last season and/or they can play around in the transfer window. I would think Ancelotti's job is safe at least until the end of the season, but you never know. As for possible transfers? I would love to see Andy Caroll, one of the hottest goalscorers in the world in a blue shirt but it looks as if he could be becoming a spur. Luka Modric of Tottenham might be the best bet. But owner Roman Abramovich is not one to spend big in January. However, there needs to be an addition, if nothing else to bring a mental lift to the club.

Nonetheless, doing these things might solve certain problems for the time being but the future of Chelsea fc will be extremely grim if the current young crop of players do not develop at the same rate as those at rival clubs in the Premier league and unfortunately this looks to be the case. Two years from now or even one, we may begin to see the ages of key players Drogba, Terry, and Lampard show even more than they are painfully showing right now. Only time will tell. But for now? Hope is lost in the once mighty Blue kingdom and we're letting the bad guys win.

image courtesy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/70391825@N00/348089028/

Is Kaka on his way to Man Utd?

Kaka could be heading to Manchester United in a shock loan deal this month which could lead to a permanent £50million move.

The Brazilian superstar midfielder has been heavily linked to a move to Inter Milan – with Real Madrid wanting £50m.

Chelsea, too, are seriously interested in grabbing the playmaker who has now fully recovered from an ankle injury after surgery.

The link has already been established with Kaka, 28, winning a Champions League trophy with Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti when they worked together at AC Milan.

But United, according to reports in Spain, have now emerged as clear favourites with Real boss Jose Mourinho happy to do business with his old sparring partner Sir Alex Ferguson.

Mourinho would prefer sending Kaka to United rather than his previous club Inter. (Daily Star)

Manchester United and Real Madrid certainly have a good relationship, exchanging some of the biggest names in football and it’s true that Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho do also, so seeing Kaka move to United would not be the biggest surprise during this January transfer window. As stated above, Kaka has been in contact with Chelsea and Inter Milan, but considering that Mourinho likes Kaka as a person as well as a footballer, he wouldn’t want to send him to his old rival club Inter when fans already had a problem him leaving to Madrid. He also wouldn’t want to send him to Chelsea, the other club he once managed.

Sir Alex Ferguson has already stated he doesn’t plan on buying any players during January’s transfer window, but much like other major transfers, it will be denied until they know whether the deal will happen or not. Federico Macheda has signed a loan with Italian club Sampdoria, so Kaka might be the temporary replacement. It has also been reported that if Kaka does end up being loaned out to United that he might sign a permanent move to United. Real has offered to let Kaka go for £50 million. Manchester City has already offered £45 million, but there has been no recent new with a transfer to City.

It seems that Mourinho wants Kaka to go to Manchester United if he does end up leaving, maybe because if it’s just a loan, then it will be great training while his is gone from Madrid. But it the transfer is going to be permanent, it might be because Kaka will be I good hands, and not in any of Mourinho’s old clubs.

Comment your thoughts on this transfer!
-JoeyB

Wayne Rooney’s New Year’s Resolution

Wayne Rooney started off the New Year with a game against West Bromwich Albion and scoring within the first few minutes of the game. This was the first goal of 2011 in the English Premier League. Rooney receive a cross from Evra which he then turned into a header with little power but lots of placement. Rooney’s last open-play goal had been in March of last year and it’s about time that’s changed.

Towards the end of the game, Rooney was victim to a tackle that ended up injuring his ankle. This is not the first time his ankle has been a problem for him, in fact it been a major problem several times. Hopefully the recovery will be quick because if Rooney continues to play as well as he did on New Year’s Day, it will definitely make up for the time lost between March of 2010 and now.

Man Utd. went on to win this game with a winning goal from Javier "Chicarito" Hernandez. United remain undefeated and at the top of the table.

(January 1, 2011 - Photo By: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images Sport)

Please Comment!

-JoeyB