Chicharito Chokes Los Che; United Top Group

"What matters are the points, there are no heroes."

With a quote like that, is it any wonder why Sir Alex signed Javier Hernandez this summer?
For those who were wondering why a virtual unknown in Europe would be purchased by the World's Biggest and Best Club, Little Sweet Pea gave them a big reason today...in the form of three VERY IMPORTANT POINTS.

Champions League matches make my skin crawl...literally.  I am nervous from the time I awaken until the final whistle.  I'm not sure why they make me so crazy, because I think the Premier League title is so much more important to us than European glory.  But in the same vein, we don't want to look weak to other leagues around the continent...especially in Spain.
Spain seems to have been the center of the footy world the last few years, with the ascendancy of Barcelona the descendancy and vulgarity of Real Madrid, and the can't-do-wrong Spanish National Team who have won the Euro and the World Cup in succession.
So this morning when I smacked the alarm clock, I realized that my beloved Reds would be doing battle in the Estadio Mestalla...which might as well be called "Thanks for Coming but You're Not Going to Beat Us" Stadium.  Los Che have put up an impressive home record in recent years, and currently sit atop La Liga (much to my glee), but United have only won 1 out of 18 appearances in Spain (much to my horror)....
until today.
I didn't get to watch the match, and only saw one scoreline with twenty to go (0-0) and read some of the snarky comments from the numpty who does the play-by-play for soccernet.  He (or she...I shouldn't assume) never has a kind word to say about United, even when they're ahead 5-0.  So you can imagine the comments I read, and prompty turned off the computer to attend to other business.
Luckily a friend texted me the score and the outcome, which couldn't have amazed me more given the location and the fact that United haven't exactly burned up the pitch in CL play this year.
The home side were brilliant and United were "uninspired" (in soccernet's estimation).  I know it's true, as my friend said the same.  But being brilliant doesn't mean anything.  You have to win to get the points; there are no points for style (thank goodness).
Rio Ferdinand's return was much-needed and the fact that United blanked the hottest team in La Liga at their own stadium should give rest to the rumblings that Rio is past his prime.  He showed no indication of his knee injury suffered during the World Cup training, and ditto that for his recent back injury.  Let's hope he will feature more regularly, as Rio has proved an effective General in the past.
So how did it end? 
0-0 until the 85th minute when the Sweetest Pea of them all whacked home a beauty, securing the three points for United.
It gives me great satisfaction that he subbed on just 8 minutes before he scored his winner.  And greater satisfaction that the assist came from Kiko Macheda (who was only on the pitch for a minute before he fed Javier).  And gives me the greatest satisfaction that he did it in Spain...the land of a gazillion Hernandez'.

Some headlines from the newspapers:
"The Lack of Goals 'Scorches' Valencia"...Marca
"Chicharito Slows the Streak of Valencia"...ElMundo
"Little Pea So Sweet as Hernandez Fires Late Winner"...DailyMail

TOUCHLINE NOTES:
I have to say (and I've said before on this blog) that Valencia has the second-best team badge in footy (after United, of course).  I love the bat symbol.
I've always been curious by the team being called, "los Che."  I speak Spanish so I searched out its origins.  Could it be short for CHEaters?  Valencia has been known to play rough, after all.  Ask Nemanja Vidic to show you his chest after this match.  He was stomped by a player (who didn't receive a warning).
Could the Valencians be followers of CHE Guevara?
Nope.  I finally found the answer buried inside wikipedia.  To understand the origins you must first understand that people in Spain do not just speak "Spanish."  Every region in Spain speaks a different dialect.  Barcelona speaks Catalan, The Northwestern seabord speaks Gallego, Madrid speaks the awful-sounding Castellano, and Valencians speak Valencian.  "Che" in Valencian would be spelled "Xe."  According to Wikipedia the meaning could come from different sources, but this is the most widely-accepted:
Xe: In Spain, che is widely used in the Region of Valencia and Terres de l'Ebre, the last one in southern Catalonia, as an interjection since ancient times. With the spelling "xe" in Valencian, its main use is to express protest, surprise or exasperation. Xe! is one of the symbols of the Valencian identity to the point where, for example the Valencia CF is often referred to with the nickname "Xe Team".
So there you have it. Xe!

I had a thought about a certain denizen of Madrid while writing this blog.  I'm sure he was at home in La Finca watching the match.  I would love to think that he was wearing his old red number "7" and cheering on his former teammates, while holding his new bundle of joy.  "Cristianinho, this is the greatest football club in the world and I used to be a star there.  They still sing my name." :)

And now for some fantastic photos:

The lads (O'Shea, Rio, Kiko, Bebe, Brown, Smalling, and Nani) training in the Mestalla

Rio showing why he's the General in the box.

Carrick fighting for the ball

One kick was all it took.  Los Che learned a valued lesson, that it ain't over 'til it's over.

That's right, Javi...God loves the Reds!

Rio, Kiko, Carrick, and Evra congratulate Chicharito on his brilliant goal

Let's hope many more follow...

How could you not love this guy? :)

Champions League Update: Sept. 28

In the first of a two-day CL extravaganza, there weren't many surprises.

PARTIZAN BELGRADE VS ARSENAL
Arsenal put away a pesky Partizan Belgrade 3-1 in their "Thunderdome" stadium, replete with waving flags, and hilarious banners befitting their "Gravediggers" moniker.  The atmosphere wasn't enough to beat the Gunners, who actually should have scored a fourth when Arshavin's penalty was denied.  After Cleo levelled for the home side in the 33' he also managed to miss a penalty in the 82' which would have put them even with the Gunners.  Playing a man down for most of the second half when Jovanovic hauled down Chamakh in the area (56'), they put on a late effort but it wasn't to be.
Goals:  Arshavin (15'), Chamakh (71'), Squillaci (84')
            Cleo (33')

CHELSEA VS OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLES
The score of this match (2-0 Chelsea) doesn't really tell the story.  The Marseillaise dominated possession and also had 6 more shots than the Blues.  Unfortunately for the Ligue 1 Champions, their shots were just off the mark or blocked by Chelsea defenders.  On the other hand, the Blues were fortunate that everything was going right for them.  In the 7' John Terry jumped on a loose rebound and flicked it home.  But Marseilles continued to batter the Chelsea goal.  In true Stamford Bridge style, the Blues were given a break by the referee when he gave a spotkick to them for Stephane Mbia barely touching the ball in the area.  Anelka slotted home and the score was 2-0.  Despite Marseilles picking up the pace in the second half, they couldn't find the bag and Chelsea secured the three points.

AJ AUXERRE VS REAL MADRID
Once again the Merengues showed no goal-scoring ability whatsoever.  Their attack was thwarted each time and Cristiano Ronaldo could not hit the broadside of a barn (see photos).  His frustration is growing, and it is for the fans as well.  A year ago they were blasting in the goals but they haven't found a good mix and look impotent in front of the net.  If not for late sub Angel di Maria (who has been so-so so far) los Blancos would have been blanked again for the second-straight match.  Di Maria found the bag in the 81' minute to spare Jo Jo Mourinho's traveling circus a red-faced return to the Bernabeu.  As it is, they should be ashamed of themselves.  They took 19 shots (compared to Auxerre's 9) and dominated possession 70-30.
Overall, it was not a good game for Real, despite J-Mo saying it was.  The other story for the night was the "tecnico luso's" decision to start Karim Benzema, who has never impressed since his much-ballyhooed arrival in the summer of 2009.  His ineffectiveness was noted by Mo-Mo and he withdrew Benz late on...for Di Maria...who scored.  Another nail in the coffin for the Frenchman (see the attached photo for his reaction).

What's wrong with this picture?  When the manager tries to be the star of the show...

No love loss here...when Benzema was subbed off, his manager wouldn't look at him, and it's obvious that Benzema was not happy and didn't want to be "consoled" by his manager.  Don't look for Benz to start another match for a long time.

This looks familiar...

...as does this.

Giving the ref the thumbs up when he got a yellow card?  Really?

And now for something completely unrelated:  Marco Borriello (AS Roma):

"WHAT?"

"I said my number is...."

:)

Champions League: Sept. 28 and 29

Here are a few matchups for today and tomorrow (not the complete list, because honestly I have no idea who some of the teams are):

Tuesday, Sept. 28

Arsenal travels to Partizan Belgrade.  The stadium is difficult to play in (very noisy) and the fans are accustomed to lighting fires in the stand.  The upside for Arsenal is that they don't have Almunia in the goal (he is "injured").  Fabianski will be filling in for the Spaniard.

Real Madrid will be in Auxerre, France.  Auxerre made a run for the Ligue 1 championship last year but fizzled out in the last few weeks.  Their season this year has started out abysmally...5 draws, 2 losses, 5 points (17th in the table).  Not that RM have started out so well either.  With their scattered play, Auxerre might have a chance to garner a point.

Olympique Marseilles will be at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea.  If you remember last year, it was in Marseilles' match that Cristiano was injured by Souleymane Diawara, putting CR out for several months (although giving Souley a break, a wizard also claimed credit for the blow).
Marseilles won the Ligue 1 Championship last year and quite honestly I have no idea how they will play against Chelsea. 

Wednesday, Sept. 29
FC Twente visits Spurs, who are on a major downturn after being hit by injuries and poor form.  Again, I don't know much about Twente, but if Spurs can't do away with bottomfeeders in the EPL, I'm not sure how well they will do against others.

Barcelona vs. Rubin Kazan.  The Russian squad put the sword to Barca last year and were partially responsible for the Catalan side's narrow escape from the group stage.  I expect more fireworks, as Barca has declined a bit in form and are missing their liliputian talisman...you know who.

Werder Bremen vs. Inter.  With Benitez in charge, I can't imagine that the defending Champions League champs will have any success at all.  It's too early to say if they can overcome the loss of their "Special" manager to RM.

Lyon vs. Hapoel Tel Aviv.  Lyon made a great run last year in the CL, with keeper Hugo Lloris being the star.  Their form hasn't been the greatest to start the Ligue 1 season this year, but historically the Israeli sides have been gutted by just about everyone.  A shoutout to Hugo as well...he's the father of a new daughter!

MANCHESTER UNITED VS VALENCIA.  Playing at the Mestalla is tricky for anyone, and especially since the Spanish side is atop the La Liga table at the moment.  They are without their two Davids; Silva and Villa, whom they sold to Manchester City and Barcelona respectively.  So how is it that they are in such good form?  Hmmmm.  I want us to beat them, but for their La Liga form to continue...for several reasons.  One, they have the best crest (aside from United's) of any club...LOVE THE BAT!  Second, I would love for them or Sevilla or practically anyone else besides Barca and RM to win the league...but not the Champions League...that's for us!
This will be a strange match for me.  I will be wearing my new United away kit...that happens to say VALENCIA 25 on the back.  Weird!
Get well, Antonio!

Poor France: Enough is Enough

Okay, I promise this is my absolute last post about the French World Cup farce.  I know I've said this before, but this latest tidbit of news forced me to comment.

They made fools of themselves in South Africa...and I'm talking about on the pitch, but even moreso off the pitch.  Their shameful display during the training session, when like schoolgirls they retreated to the bus in a mini coup against the evil FFF regime who were forcing them to play under a Napoleonic dictator (Domenech), was enough to make everyone think they had been injected with heavy doses of psychedelic drugs.
Once they were dumped out of the Cup (thank goodness, so this farce would end), they were humiliated even further by being flown out of South Africa...are you ready for it?...in COACH class. *GASP* (I laughed out loud when I read this the first time and it's even funnier the second time around).  99% of the people who attended the World Cup flew Coach class so I don't think that's quite the horreur it sounds, and quite honestly they were lucky to have been given a free ticket back to France at all.
After arriving in France (to protests and boos) they were publically flogged (in the press) by everyone with an ink well.
The FFF then handed down ridiculous bans for the players who started the coup, hired a new coach (the one thing I applaud them for...LOVE LOVE LOVE Laurent Blanc), and then they struggled in their first international match (without their star players who had been banned one match by the FFF).
So you would think that's the end of it.
Wrong.
Now three of their team sponsors: Adidas, GDF Suez, and Credit Agricole have sent a reimbursement notice of 4.5 million euros to the FFF for the damage to their images.
One of the spokesmen for GDF Suez said this,
"We are outraged by what happened.  It is a lack of respect for everyone.  It's amazing, something never seen before.  We will examine all contracts until 2014.  We can not leave it at that.  What has happened is too severe.  The French team has given a degraded image of the sport and the country."

So there you have it.  It was only time before the attorneys got involved. :)  C'est fin.

Prem League Wrapup; Liverpool a Band of Desperados

I can say without a doubt that this has been one of the craziest Prem League weekends I can remember.  Just for fun I play "I Know The Score" on premierleague.com.  I do very well and always fall into the top couple of thousand out of 200,000 participants.  I will take it as a sign of the craziness this weekend, that despite picking EVERY SINGLE GAME WRONG and losing points (100) on every match except for the one with the insurance marker, I didn't drop in the overall standings at all.  Which means?  Everyone else lost points in this crazy weekend!  I've never even come close to picking every single game wrong...but I wasn't sad about SOME of my mispicks:

CITY 1-0 CHELSEA:
I believe that my view on C-Scum has been well-documented here and I know I've been vociferous in saying that their 5 opening matches were as soft as Stay-Puft Marshmallows.  In a poll recently on soccernet.com readers were asked what they thought about C-Scum's start to the season.  The masses overwhelmingly selected "let's wait until City."   And rightly so.
With all of their big guns back from injury, except for Lamps, they showed that their "scoring machine" can't score against better competition.  I was perfectly happy to lose my 10 points on this one (I only chose C-Scum because I can in no way be seen as a supporter for City).

ARSENAL 2-3 WEST BROMWICH ALBION:
Ugghhh.   United started the weekend in third place (tied on points with Arsenal but down on goals).  I watched this match and West Brom fully deserved their win, as the Gunners were atrocious.  The upside is United has now passed Arsenal in the standings and we are sitting second.  The downside?  I had my banker chip on this one so I lost double the points...
The Gunners and C-Scum will meet at Stamford Bridge next week.  Guess where my insurance chip will be!

BIRMINGHAM 0-0 WIGAN
FULHAM 0-0 EVERTON
WOLVES 1-2 ASTON VILLA
WEST HAM 1-0 TOTTENHAM
BLACKPOOL 1-2 BLACKBURN
NEWCASTLE 1-2 STOKE CITY

Here is the league table if you're interested

LIVERPOOL ARE A BAND OF DESPERADOS
LIVERPOOL 2-2 SUNDERLAND

I believe everyone knows that I despise C-Club and City.  As for everyone else in the Prem League (Liverpool included) I'm kind of...whatever.  Until yesterday.
I've been a Nando Torres fan because he bucked the trend and left a Spanish club to come to a Premier side, saying it was always his dream.  I can appreciate that and even moreso Torres chose to stay another year despite the upheavals at Merseyside.  More plaudits.
But...his classless display yesterday against Sunderland dropped him quite a few pegs in my estimation.
What happened?  Well, the clash between these two has been very interesting the past few years.  Last year it was the infamous beachball incident, where Pool keeper (no pun intended here) Pepe Reina had the choice of two balls to keep out of the bag...the real ball and a beach ball.  He went for the big colorful one.  GOAL.
It hurt the Pool faithful even more since it was a young Red who threw the ball on to the pitch.
As comical as that was, this year's disaster was aided by the referees as well.
Sunderland won a free kick about 25 yards from their own goal.  The Black Cats tried to take a quick kick and referee Stuart Attwell called it back.  The irony of that decision plays into the ridiculousness of his next decision.  After Attwell had sorted everything out, he was running towards the opposite goal (which is the direction you take a freekick).  One of the Black Cats (Taylor) touched the ball and turned around to tap it about 6 feet in an obvious move to pass the freekick off to his keeper.  Fernando Torres ran and got the ball, advanced on goal with his compatriot Dirk Kuyt in tow, and they scored.  Of course all of the Sunderland players were still standing back waiting for the freekick.  When they found out what had happened they protested wildly to the ref, who went to the touchline to ask the assistant ref what he thought.  They both agreed that it was a good goal.  Unbelievable.
Here is the rule:
Once a freekick ball is touched, it is a live ball.  So when Fernando Torres went for the ball, it wasn't illegal, he actually had the right to do that.
The problem with this is INTENT.  No defender would turn around with an opposing striker directly behind him and just lob the ball 6 feet unless he was intending to give the freekick to someone else.
First off, why would he kick it in the opposite direction of his goal? Secondly, it's not as if he really kicked it; it was just a tap.  Thirdly, the referee was turned the other direction and didn't even see any of this transpire.  So how could he make a ruling on it?  The Professional Games Match Officials organization issued a statement in support of Attwell...go figure.
I have the video for you to watch, courtesy of Match of the Day.  All three of the commentators are former Prem League players and all of them agreed, "that we haven't seen anything like this in the Prem League before."
Because?  Liverpool are so desperate (being one point from the drop zone) that they will resort to anything to get points.  Classless.  Base.  Ridiculous.  Low.  Pathetic.  Liverpool.
So Fernando Torres and his band of misfits win my LOSERS OF THE WEEKEND award, hands down.

The interesting twist to this is that the same thing sort of happened to United a few years ago during a corner kick.   Giggsy and Roo were in the corner deciding who would take it, when they took it quickly and launched it to the box, where a waiting Cristiano Ronaldo headed it home.  They called the goal back, saying that Rooney or Giggsy failed to tell the corner judge who was going to take the kick. (?)  United lost out on a perfectly legal goal.
The Prem League is Crazy.  Can't wait for next week! :)

What a Crazy Season

Another match.  Another draw.  I suppose I can look on the bright side and say it wasn't a loss and that we did get one point, but dropping the two points that would have put us within one point of Chelsea...I'm speechless.
It truly has been a crazy season so far, and not just in the Premier League.  La Liga has seen their top two teams struggle to stay afloat, which begs the question:
Is there more parity in football?

It's no longer a given that a top team can go to a bottom team's stadium and pull off a win.  Is this because the top teams are no longer top teams, or because the others have added confidence?
I would think it's the latter, which means the days of intimidation are over. 

For United, the alarm bells shouldn't sound yet, as we are just 6 games into a 38-game season, but not having an away win yet is ridiculous.
Granted, Bolton is a tough place to play, but in the words of Sir Alex, "we gave up too many chances in the first half."
Kudos to Nani and Michael Owen for bringing us back both times.  Nani scored and assisted on Owen's goal, which makes him my Man of the Match.
Owen saved the Reds for the second consecutive match.
The bright side of this is that United is the only team in the Premier League besides Fulham who haven't lost a match.
The down side is United have a tough week, with two away games, one a Champions League group match in Valencia, and one at the Black Cats.  The latter might have a silver lining in that Danny Welbeck, who is on loan to Sunderland, will not be able to play against us.  He has paired well with Darren Bent during his spell there but FA rules dictate that he can't appear against the side paying his bills!

Nani scores the first

That's right, 1 for the goal, and 1 for the assist on Owen's goal

Giggsy played well but hurt his hamstring in the process...out for two weeks

Kiko played well too but couldn't find the bag

VDS kept us in it

On his first touch after being subbed, Michael Owen nodded the equalizer

The Fox in the Box

Levante "Raises" Their Game; Los Galacticos: Project Fail

Last season Tito Perez promised that the vulgar amount of money he had spent would be well worth it...his new Galacticos would haul in the trophies and awards, they would win the Champions League in Madrid in May, and everyone would know how fantastic he was.
Project Status:  Fail.  No trophies, no awards, dumped out of CL by lesser side in second round.

Fast Forward one year.  Even more money spent, a new manager who styles himself as "The Special One," a new pitch, and....same result.
JoJo Mourinho's "park the bus" footy is not going over well in Madrid.  The fans are restless, as the goals are not pouring from the Kajillion-dollar feet of their prima donnas.
Add in a petulant winger who changed his number (much to the dislike of the Raul fans), and then promptly lectured the Madridista faithful on the finer points of fandom...do not whistle.
Poor Ronny found himself in the press again this week when Iker Casillas' "sports reporter" girlfriend Sara Carbanero ("Pastasauce" to the Kickette.com clan) was interviewed for a show in Italy and announced that Cristiano was an "egotistical and selfish player."  Of course her boyfriend (whom she passionately kissed on the lips during an interview after Spain won the World Cup...don't get me started on the unprofessionalism rant here) came out and said she didn't really mean that, as did Mourinho and a few other players...of course ignoring the fact that she said this on videotape.  A little hard to recant that, isn't it? 
I can't imagine what the view from inside the Bernabeu is, but from the outside it's...well...let's ask the greatest manager in the world what he thinks: 
Sir Alex Ferguson said this week,

“I’ve spoken to Jose a couple of times. He’s not managing a normal club.  Sometimes he’s managing a circus."

After Barca stumbled against a lesser side, dropping all three points, the Madrid hopefuls saw an opportunity to finally vault in front of their nemesis, the one club who have thumbed their noses at Real's insistence that they are the One True Club in Spain.
They briefly took the lead (of course ignoring the fact that another club had played one fewer match) and the papers screamed of a new era for Madrid...*tires screeching*...until they took a trip to Levante.

Who is Levante?  A newly-promoted side who are languishing in 17th place in the league, with no big names, a budget that would mirror Cristiano's yearly haul, a defense that had conceded 10 goals in their opening four games - the worst record in La Liga, and probably no hope of finishing in the top three...but apparently they have something that Real Madrid do not...heart.

They fought valiantly today, having to contend with the Professional Divers Association that is the Galacticos...shameful.  For the last 30 of the match, the desperateness of Madrid became evident (helped along by a sternly pacing manager on the touchline) so they resorted to the only thing they truly did well in the match...DIVE.  After Cristiano went down (unaided by the opponent who received a yellow card) I fully expected to see a groundhog emerge from a hole, giggle, then disappear again...that's how comical the display was.  Mourinho seems to disagree with my assessment and said after the match that he thought 10 of the Levante players would be going to the hospital (since they were falling on the ground).  I suppose the greasepaint has seeped into his eyes, because his tumblers and their three-ring act were world class!  Despite the tragedy in two halves, not even a pimped-out clown car could have helped them...0-0.

Maybe he should put his thumb back in his mouth, like last week...

In two separate incidents, Cristiano showed no class at all.  First, he shoved another player down while going for the ball (no card given despite the player having a cut on his lip), and then the ball was stripped from him and he went to the ground.  When he realized he had lost the ball, he kicked out at the player (del Horno).  The Levante players screamed at the referee to give him a red card, and as the referee approached, Mourinho was screaming things from the sideline.  The referee scolded Mourinho (who was apparently yelling at the Levante players to shut up) but the circus ringmaster successfully diverted the attention away from Cristiano...who received no card at all.  One of the Levante players said after the match that "Mourinho should be told to shut up; he provokes all the players."  Maybe they should take a page from King Juan Carlos when he addressed Hugo Chavez, and tell Mourinho, "Por que no te callas?!"
Cristiano's behavior has not gone unnoticed by the Spanish press.  Marca.com commented on "The Two Faces of CR7."  They opined that his anxiety gets the better of him and he acts in a bad way.  The incident with del Horno was particularly troubling to them and the Madridistas in attendance, calling his actions "absurd and unnecessary," and warned that he needs to "control his outbursts."

Madrid had 25 shots (6 on goal) to Levante's 4 shots (with 0 on goal).  If we looked at this from a mathematical standpoint...I think you would see that Levante is the better deal.  They managed to grab a point from Real Submarine on a shoestring budget...kudos to them!
The result of this match is that Valencia are now in the top spot (despite selling David Villa to Barcelona and David Silva to Manchester City), Barcelona has vaulted back in front of Real Circus, and Jose still thinks he's Special.

This week, the Galacticos took their annual team photo:

Circo de Bernabeu

I only have one photo of the match:

Cristiano oiling his RM clown car...the wheels have come off

Carling Cup Fourth Round Draw

These are the matches to be played the week of October 25:

Newcastle v Arsenal


Birmingham City v Brentford

Wigan Athletic v Swansea City

Aston Villa v Burnley

Leicester City v West Brom

Manchester United v Wolves

West Ham v Stoke City

Ipswich Town v Northampton Town

These cup ties can be very tricky, especially since they are played mid-week.  The matches played on either side can present a manager with difficult decisions.
Historically the Carling Cup XI chosen by Prem League sides features young players, with a scattering of experienced first-teamers.  That isn't always a successful mix when the "lesser" sides like Northampton, Ipswich (managed by former United great Roy Keane), Leicester, Swansea, Brentford, and Burnley don't have the depth to play youth and so they run out their normal first-teamers.  A win over a Prem League side is seen as a massive victory and could bring much-needed revenue if they advance further in the tournament.  The smaller teams have smaller stadia, and if they're "lucky" enough to draw Manchester United at Old Trafford, they will share in the profits of a possible 75,000 attendees (even though some of the OT faithful would not bother if it were a lesser side).
With Chelsea, Man City, and Liverpool dumping out in the Third Round, the field is wide open.

Carling Cup: United Cruise While Pool, C-Club, and City Lose

The third round of the Carling Cup took an interesting turn on Wednesday.
Holders Manchester United cruised to a 5-2 victory at Scunthorpe United's Glanford Park.  With Reds boss Sir Alex in Spain to scout their next CL opponent, Valencia, Mike Phelan took the reins. 
The Scunnys took the lead in the 19' minute, but Darren Gibson equalized a few minutes later and the Red Devils never looked back.  Defender Chris Smalling added a second before the half, and in the second half United put on a clinic for the 9,000+ capacity crowd.  Michael Owen added a brace to the tally on either side of Ji-Sung Park's strike in the 58'.  The Reds were averaging a goal about every 13'.
Scunny manager Ian Baraclough was resolute about his side's performance:
Premier League sides, Liverpool, C-Scum, and City were not so fortunate in their ties.

"I couldn't fault the lads, we just kept going forwards, but we left ourselves open a bit.  We learned a harsh lesson tonight but if you do that to any team, not just Manchester United, they'll punish you."

West Brom came from behind to beat Manchester City 2-1. Jo's left-footed strike put the visitors ahead on 19 minutes, but two goals in quick succession from Gianni Zuiverloon and Simon Cox sent Roberto Mancini's men crashing out.

Shola Ameobi's last-gasp winner secured a surprise 4-3 win for Newcastle to send Chelsea crashing out as well. Nicolas Anelka's two late goals looked to have been enough to force extra-time at Stamford Bridge, but Ameobi's glancing header from Jonas Gutierrez's cross sealed an impressive win for the Magpies.

Chelsea looked set for a comfortable victory after Patrick van Aanholt scored his first senior goal after six minutes, but Nile Ranger, who was at fault for the opener, went some way to atone for his mistake when he equalised shortly before the half-hour mark. Just moments later Ryan Taylor's free-kick put the visitors ahead, and Ameobi scored his first to give Newcastle a 3-1 lead shortly after half-time.
To add insult to injury, Chelsea lost Salomon Kalou to a hamstring injury, and when Yossi Benayoun hobbled off, Chelsea had no option but to continue the match with ten men with Carlo Ancelotti having already employed all three of his substitutes.

Liverpool's poor start to the season continued as they were sent crashing out of the Carling Cup by League Two side Northampton 4-2 on penalties.
Pool manager Roy Hodgson apologized to the fans for the dismal display at home:

"I don't think we came anywhere near what I hoped to see apart from in the last 15 minutes of extra-time when we made a superb effort after going 2-1 down.  When it goes to penalties and you are at home and in front of the Kop your hope is that at least the players will have the composure and confidence to win the penalty shoot-out but we didn't. All I can do is congratulate Northampton and apologise to everyone; the fans came expecting to see us win and I expected us to win but it wasn't to be."

Enough about the losers, here are some photos of the winners!

Rio Ferdinand returned to Captain's role with Vidic having the night off

Owen, Macheda, Rio, and Smalling congratulate Darren Gibson on his first-half equalizer

Chris Smalling made the score 2-1 before halftime

Michael Owen made the Scunnys pay for going forward and giving the likes of him a free run on the goal

Owen and team-mates Chicharito, Ando, and Ji-Sung relish the 3-1 score

Ji-Sung gets in on the scoreline with his 4-1 kick

Owen added another in the 70' to secure his brace and a 5-1 lead

Bebe had his first runout, subbing on for Park

This blog can never have too many Michael Owen photos...

United won 5-2 and will advance to the fourth round.

Three is the Magic number!! Berba Drowns Pool

THREE is the number of Champions League titles Manchester United have won.
THREE is the number of goals Dimitar Berbatov scored today.
THREE is the number of points we are taking home today.

Manchester United versus Liverpool is the biggest match in all of England.  Two storied clubs, who have taken home a vulgar amount of trophies over the years.  But these two clubs also have two stories.  Manchester, who have been so successful in recent years have eclipsed the once-dominant Reds from Merseyside.  Liverpool has struggled to find any form, combined with managerial difficulties, and a boardroom tussle over control of the club.
Pool's one-dimensional strikeforce of Fernando Torres has paralyzed the club in the last three seasons.  If Torres is on, then they do well.  But the Spaniard's dodgy knees have kept him off the pitch too many times to be effective.  When he is out or missing in a match, the Reds have no answer.
Manchester on the other hand has many players who can score.  Strikers, wingers, midfielders, and defenders.  Take your pick.
Today's match was a lesson in fortitude.  United giving up two soft goals in two minutes last week was unforgivable for a team that prides itself on defense.  Could they hold the line in a must-win situation?
Yes.
Dimitar Berbatov, whom I've always admired for his technical skills, has been blasted by the media for being lazy, or suffering from a poor workrate.  I think there is a big difference between poor workrate and finesse.  If a player doesn't have to run around the pitch with his head cut off (like a certain troll who left for the wrong side of Manchester) then why should he?  Berbatov has always had the quiet finesse of a ball technician.  His sublime flicks, and pitch awareness mean he doesn't have to overcompensate.  I would compare him with Wayne Gretzky.  The Great One said during his glory years that you shouldn't have to skate around so much if you play the game right.  Instead of following the puck, you go to where the puck is going to be.
Berbatov uses the same philosophy as Gretzky...feel the game and do what is needed.
Last year the Bulgarian was second in Premier League assists.  I hardly think a person with that many assists could be labeled as lazy, but I don't write the columns!
Today was a great chance for Berbatov to continue his great form this season and he did just that.  Rested for the Champions League tie on Tuesday, the Bulgarian seemed to blast out of the blocks at the first whistle.
United was running on all cylinders but were just unlucky not to score.  Nani was spirited and paired well with Berba.  With Antonio Valencia out until well into next year, the Portuguese national MUST be perfect on the wing.
Back to Berba.
In the 42' he headed home a beauty.  In the 59' his bicycle kick kissed off the underside of the bar.  In the 82' he headed home the winner, jumping above the aging Jamie Carragher.  You would have to go way back to 1946 for the last time a United player scored a hat-trick against Liverpool.
His sparkling outing was more than satisfying to him:

"It's a magical day, special for me of course because I scored a hat-trick and we won against our rivals Liverpool. It is probably one of my best games for United but I don't want it to be my last so I will keep working and hopefully I will improve on the things I try to do. Today, everything was really happening for me. I give thanks to my team-mates who supplied me for the goals."

Sir Alex's belief in Berbatov has never wavered:
Three goals.  Three points.  That's all that matters.

"This season he's started off in the right fashion. His pre-season training was very good, he was good on the pre-season tour and he's carried that on. But there's never been any doubt here about the quality of the man, never any doubt. We've seen his quality again today."

A FUNNY FOOTNOTE:
I found this on RedCafe.net and had to include it in my blog.  The question of how many goals United would score on Liverpool was answered by this forum member:

"It's absolutely 100% guaranteed that we'll smash them. I've never been so confident. I will literally eat my dog if we don't win. And I love Rocky, he's such a cutesy wutesy."

It looks like Rocky will live to fight again. :)

Nani was unstoppable down the right wing

Berba makes it 1-0

The fans went wild!

His team-mates seemed to appreciate it too!

Just out for a Sunday bikeride!  2-0

Berbalicious!

3-2!  Bye Bye, Loserpool!

Awww...a Berba sandwich

Haha..look at the guy in the black coat and white shirt! hahaha

The quest continues.............

Antonio Valencia: UPDATE

Manchester United have confirmed that Antonio Valencia has had successful surgery after dislocating and fracturing his ankle against Rangers.


Ecuador international Valencia had to be given oxygen and was stretchered from the field after the injury on Tuesday and, while he is set to miss a sizeable part of the coming campaign, United have announced positive news about the operation.

"The operation went well," a club spokesperson told the official United website. "A plate has been inserted to stabilise the fracture but there is obvious significant ligament damage that follows a dislocation and he will be out for a good portion of the season. Antonio is perfectly fine, very positive and very determined."

Ecuador national team doctor Hector Bohorquez was quoted this week as saying Valencia would be out for an initial four to five months and would then undergo a rehabilitation period.
However, the United spokesperson added: "Contrary to recent reports, there has been no official contact from the Ecuadorian national team."

The Ramblings of the MADridiot Hatter; Stop Whistling; The Unthinkable

THE RAMBLINGS OF THE MADridiot HATTER:
Jose Mourinho is at it again.  When his teams aren't playing up to snuff, his mouth becomes a sphincter muscle and he spews ridiculous comments.
Today's comments came from a press conference in which he spun a few yarns.
His first comment was this:
The expectations of the fans only mirrored the circus-like atmosphere that welcomed him to the Santiago Beezlebub.  The fans expected 94% commitment from Cristiano, which would mirror the garish amount of euros that purchased him.  When he failed to reach that number, they criticized.

"Too much focus was put onto Cristiano last season and, to his credit, the response he gave was magnificent, but the responsibility of my teams means we have a different attitude at this club now," believes Mourinho, whose legendary ability to make his players feel as special as he believes himself to be is already coming to the fore in his latest posting.

I can't tell you how many times I saw the word "I" and "My" in this article because I lost count at 750.  The self-ordained Minister of Special thinks of HIS teams as puppets in the ongoing saga of "How Much Attention Can I Garner for Myself?"...an up-til-now four-act play about his life.  First Act: Porto.  Second Act: Chelsea.  Third Act: Milan.  Fourth Act:  Madrid.  But we all know these first four Acts are only the precursor to his big finale, when he hopes to make the Fifth Act....Manchester.

"My philosophy has always been that we are a group, not individuals trying to win for ourselves. The group effort is more powerful than one star and this mentality worked well with my Porto team, my Chelsea team, my Inter Milan team."

Translation:  "If MY players would only play like Manchester United, then Cristiano would score more goals and we would win a trophy."

"The new players we have signed must stand up and make sure they do not wait for their team-mates to make the difference. A squad can only be successful if every part of the machine works and this is the aim at Real Madrid this season."

Translation:  I LOVE MANCHESTER UNITED AND WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING TO BE THE MANAGER THERE BECAUSE I LOVE THE PREMIER LEAGUE BUT CHELSKI FIRED ME.  PLEASE, SIR ALEX, PICK ME *hand waving wildly*

"Ferguson told me you cannot find a kid with a better attitude in training and working hard and this has been true as Cristiano has been fantastic since I came to Madrid."

Cristiano reached his peak in 2008. Sir Bobby Charlton was right when he said that "Cristiano will realize that his best football was played at United." That statement was true because his style of play was welcomed at United, and he was complemented by other players. At RM he is surrounded by others with Pichichi Fever...their egos get the better of them...perfect example being Higuain against Lyon when he tried to take on three defenders and the keeper at an impossible angle, all the while Cristiano was unmarked and staring at a 3/4 empty goal. Game over.

"Cristiano should begin to reach his peak in the next few years. It's exciting to believe he could improve from what he produced at United and with Real Madrid last season, but he knows it is possible. I have total belief in him."

Cristiano knows that the boat sailed on his individual achievements when he left United.  How he can play for the Special One is beyond me, considering the latter labeled the former a "diver" when he was at Chelsea, and also said he was an uneducated, overrated child.
So the idea of Cristiano just forgiving that is preposterous.  He made his bed when he left United and whatever ridiculousness that comes his way, including the advent of the Special One, he'll have to deal with.

STOP WHISTLING!!!!
As for the "fans" of Madrid, Cristiano sparked a controversy much like the one last year when he said the fans of Madrid should be more like the fans at United...supportive.  He once again has put his foot in his mouth (speaking the truth of course) when he criticized the fans for whistling at the team when they weren't playing well against Osasuna.

"We tried everything to play well, to put on a show but sometimes it is not possible. It is better that the public help you play better. The energy spent on whistling is the same they can take to encourage the team."

And now for the best part:

"In a moment's notice in Manchester, they would help wake us up. The players do not always play brilliantly, but occasionally they must excite the players."

Yes, Cristiano, the fans at United are the best.
Of course his new manager had to weigh in on Cristiano's criticism of the fans, and said "He wasn't criticizing you." 
Haha...yes he was.  They have never warmed to the man they call CR94 (for the euros spent on him), possibly because they know he left his heart in Manchester.

THE UNTHINKABLE:
Diego Maradona (Maradroga to his compatriots) has stated that he's interested in the vacant Portuguese National Team post after Carlos Queiroz was ousted during a witch hunt.  Can you imagine the stress on Cristiano as he deals with the crud in Madrid, and then contemplating the fact that he would have to play for the BIGGEST IDIOT IN THE WORLD OF FOOTY for his national team?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Get Well Antonio Valencia!

I don't even care about the stupid match.  It wasn't a match anyway.  When the opposing team sets up a blockade of ten players in front of the goal...that's not football.  United 0-0 Rangers.

What I do care about is my favorite player, Antonio Valencia, suffered a horrific injury...what looks to be a tib-fib break above the ankle, although United has not confirmed the diagnosis at this time.  Sir Alex did say in the post-match press conference that it looked to be very bad and he might miss the rest of the season.

"As soon as I saw the Rangers player waving to the bench we knew it was a bad one."   

Wes Brown tries to comfort Antonio, as the Rangers players alert the United bench

from soccernet:

In the second half at Old Trafford, Valencia was involved in a challenge with Rangers defender Kirk Broadfoot and required immediate attention.
After the match, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said the club suspected Valencia had suffered either a dislocation or fracture of his left ankle and could be out of action for a lengthy period.
"He has gone to hospital. It looks as if it is a dislocation and a fracture," Ferguson said. "It's a bad one, it will keep him out for a long time. He seemed to dig his toe in the turf."
Television broadcasters decided against showing a replay - indicating the severity of the incident - and Valencia required lengthy treatment before being taken immediately to hospital.

Antonio waves to the standing ovation

I hope he has a speedy recovery, and he's fortunate to have wonderful doctors at United.  But it makes me sick to think that we won't have him this year.

:(

Get well, Antonio!

Two goals, Two Points Dropped; Adeus, Carlos

For a team who prides themselves on being a defensive stronghold, United failed to secure the fort and allowed two goals in three minutes...DURING EXTRA TIME!!!

We were up by a comfortable 3-1 margin at Everton, then inexplicably the Toffees scored two within a minute of each other and handed United their second draw.

Three great goals by Darren Fletcher, Nemanja Vidic, and Dimitar Berbatov were not enough to assuage the anger of manager Sir Alex Ferguson.  In his words:  "We threw it away!"

Now four points behind Chelscum (who have a perfect record but haven't played anyone an eight-year-old team couldn't beat), and two points behind Arsenal, the Reds need to buckle down.

IN OTHER NEWS
Former Manchester United second-man Carlos Queiroz lost his Portuguese National Team job this week.  The controversy surrounding his fight with the doping agency led the FPF to terminate his contract.  In a strange coincidence, Cristiano Ronaldo (who was unable to play the two Euro qualifiers this week due to injury) miraculously recovered to START for Real Madrid in their 1-0 win over lowly Osasuna.  I'm sure the Portuguese fans are wondering how "injured" Ronny really was.  But I'm sure they understand that he plays for the most underhanded, vile, ridiculous club in the world...so there you have it.

Queiroz Down for the Count?

from soccernet.com

The whole miserable Carlos Queiroz saga should come to an end in the coming days or weeks. Unfortunately, it will be a month or so too late, with Portugal's Euro 2012 qualification hopes already hanging by a thread.

Queiroz's own job has been similarly precarious ever since last week's ruling by Portugal's Anti-Doping Authority (ADoP), sentencing the national coach to a six-month suspension from his duties. He had already taken a month-long ban from the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) for the now-infamous Covilha incident, when he swore at drug testers having not received prior notification of their visit, a ban causing him to miss the opening two qualifiers against Cyprus and Norway.

The crux of the extended ban is this; the FPF ban was for inappropriate language, while the longer one was for finding Queiroz guilty of disrupting the actual test, a far more serious offence. Queiroz has made it known he intends to appeal the ADoP ban to Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), though FIFA have already extricated themselves from any appeal involvement, and Secretary of State for Youth and Sport Laurentino Dias has already given his full backing to ADoP.

The FPF are either very thorough or very keen to make their point, or perhaps both - the document outlining their case against Queiroz runs to an astonishing 415 pages. It is assumed by many in Portugal that the authorities are keen between them to make the most of the situation in order to arrive at a point where Queiroz can be fired for misconduct - and therefore without any entitlement to compensation.

Whatever your views on the erstwhile Manchester United assistant's qualities (or lack thereof) as a number one, it would take a harsh critic to judge that a good coach, and man, deserves this death by a thousand cuts. Support for Queiroz within the football world has been overwhelming. At his FPF hearing in Lisbon last month, a stellar cast of character witnesses made personal appearances on his behalf including Sir Alex Ferguson, Luis Figo and even the constantly bickering Porto and Benfica presidents, Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa and Luis Felipe Vieira.

Queiroz's current charges have also stood up for him. Valencia's Ricardo Costa called the FPF treatment of the coach "shameful" and accused the authorities of making a mountain out of a molehill, though recently the feeling within the squad is simply that an end desperately needs to be brought to this sorry show as soon as possible.

Tiago spoke for the majority after the Norway game. "Is the situation with the coach affecting us? Without doubt. It's a saga which has to be resolved as quickly as possible." The general public agree, with 82.5% of respondents to a survey this week by Portuguese sports daily O Jogo saying that Queiroz should go, just to put an end to the uncertainty. Only 31.5% thought the FPF should sack the coach, while another 17.6% thought the federation board should go to.

In the meantime Portugal are in this strange purgatory, with Queiroz's assistant Agostinho Oliveira running the team, though admitting the suspended coach has some input into squad choice and selection. The Euro qualifiers always arrive very quickly after the World Cup, and in the absorption with the Covilha affair, the FPF seem to have been caught on the hop, and it has showed.

The confusion in the ranks is clear. Portugal shipped as many goals in 90 minutes against Cyprus (ranked 63rd in the world by FIFA) in the opening qualifier as they had in the previous 19 matches. Even allowing for the absence of defensive midfield lynchpin Pepe, the midfield was a shapeless shambles, with the admittedly struggling Bruno Alves and Ricardo Carvalho left unprotected. The sparse crowd at the Estadio D. Afonso Henriques whistled in disbelief as the visitors hit Portugal on the break with embarrassing ease.

Eduardo, among the best goalkeepers at this summer's World Cup, has looked a bag of nerves and his ghastly mistakes were responsible for both Cyprus' late equaliser in Guimaraes, scored by Andreas Avraam, and Erik Huseklepp's winner for Norway four days later, as his tardy clearance broke to the striker from John Carew.

The uncertainty is already potentially fatal. Following defeat in Norway, Portugal have no margin for error whatsoever less than a week into their qualifying campaign, and will require a Herculean effort to pull things round - just as they did in the last two major tournament qualifying campaigns under Queiroz and Luiz Felipe Scolari before him. The feeling is growing that it will be third time unlucky.

Though left with a virtually impossible job, Oliveira has not helped himself in his efforts to find stability. The captaincy question has been germane ever since the likes of Figo criticised Cristiano Ronaldo's handling of the job, and it had been widely assumed that Bruno Alves would take over. Yet Oliveira passed over the Zenit defender and chose the admirable, if painfully shy, Ricardo Carvalho. When the coach criticised the team's "incompetent" defending against Cyprus, Alves reacted strongly. "We win, the victory isn't just down to the strikers, and in this way, the opposite is also true," he said. A rift with one of the group's leaders is not good news.

Meanwhile, we've had the bizarre spectacle of the coach paying to get in and watch the games. On Friday, Queiroz forked out €970 for a private box in Guimaraes, from which he watched the Cyprus match in the company of Antonio Simoes, recently relieved of his role with the FPF. Queiroz's choice of guest was a defiant political act in itself, having already politely declined offers of hospitality at the game from various players within the squad. He travelled to Oslo, and paid to watch the match against Norway, again at his own expense.
While he may have endured rotten luck as Portugal coach, Queiroz is on his last legs. Former Sporting boss Paulo Bento appears to have emerged as a candidate to become the next coach, and while he may not be everyone's ideal choice, at least he would represent moving on, because that's what Portugal must do.
[end story]

I think that Portugal should indeed find a new manager because the uncertainty doesn't help with the matter.  But the FPF has acted to kill themselves in the process, much like France did when they banned their best players from partaking in Euro qualifiers. 
A National Team must function with the talent of its players.  These players don't grow on trees.  Yes, you could call up Joe Schmo from nowhere, who plays for nobody...but is he going to win you matches?

Carlos Queiroz tried to put together a team that he inherited.  The Portuguese people would not stand for Cristiano Ronaldo being left off the starter sheet, although Cristiano has done nothing for his home side since 2006.  One goal in Euro 2008, injured for most of last years' WC runup, and a crap captain (in the words of former NT great Luis Figo).
Putting the blame on Queiroz is an easy way out for the incompetent FPF.  He was acting in the best interest of his players when the dopes from the doping agency came in unannounced and made trouble.  Since when has the FPF had trouble with dopers?  I could understand if one of the players had a reputation for doing so, but in this case Queiroz was just stating the obvious..."stop terrorizing us...we're not dopers."
The support he got from very powerful people in the business should say something.  But the morons at the FPF, who obviously want Queiroz out, didn't listen.
Maybe they should listen to this:
Your qualifying woes for the Euro and WC have nothing to do with your managers.  Your team isn't talented enough.  They don't have it.  When Figo and Pauleta retired, your chances of ever hoisting a serious trophy vanished.  They were leaders.  You need to own up to the fact that Portugal just isn't a hotbed of talent (especially since you've naturalized Brazilians to play).  Taking players, who do relatively well in the Portuguese league, scatter in a few who play for other leagues, and then expect miracles...it's not going to happen.  Yes, Nani, Carvalho, Alves, Cristiano, Almeida, Eduardo, and some others have talent, but they don't play well as a team.  They're not the only NT to struggle with this.