Tottenham Hotspur went to Old Trafford at the weekend and recorded their first win there since 1989. It was achieved through an attacking attitude full of pace and skill in the first half and dogged resistance, with a touch of luck, in the second. A lot of praise should go to Spurs’ new manager, Andre Villas-Boas, who set up a team to expose United’s weaknesses. And did they ever. AVB has been ridiculed in the English media since he took over at White Hart Lane, but seven games unbeaten since an opening day loss at Newcastle United shows that the manager has talent. That bastion of journalistic integrity, The Sun, ran a story on Saturday that declared players were in open revolt against the Portuguese manager. The way they played for him against United, and the manner in which they celebrated the win with AVB, should put such lies to bed. They won't of course, but Spurs fans know better, and they are starting to get behind their young manager.
After his team’s loss, Manchester United manager, Alex Ferguson, was quoted as saying, "They gave us four minutes [stoppage time], that's an insult to the game. It denies you a proper chance to win a football match.” Sorry Fergie, your team had 90 minutes to win the game and they failed. What is an insult to the game is when match officials did not see the ball had crossed the line by a yard as it did when Pedro Mendes “scored” at Old Trafford in 2005, or when they award a penalty kick when Heurelho Gomes clearly played the ball and not the player as he did at Old Trafford in 2009. I don’t remember Fergie complaining on either occasion when the decisions helped his team to a draw and a win respectively. The Scotsman is the master of diversion tactics and his broadside at the match officials was calculated to draw attention away from Rio Ferdinand who had a torrid afternoon and was responsible for all three goals.
After his team’s loss, Manchester United manager, Alex Ferguson, was quoted as saying, "They gave us four minutes [stoppage time], that's an insult to the game. It denies you a proper chance to win a football match.” Sorry Fergie, your team had 90 minutes to win the game and they failed. What is an insult to the game is when match officials did not see the ball had crossed the line by a yard as it did when Pedro Mendes “scored” at Old Trafford in 2005, or when they award a penalty kick when Heurelho Gomes clearly played the ball and not the player as he did at Old Trafford in 2009. I don’t remember Fergie complaining on either occasion when the decisions helped his team to a draw and a win respectively. The Scotsman is the master of diversion tactics and his broadside at the match officials was calculated to draw attention away from Rio Ferdinand who had a torrid afternoon and was responsible for all three goals.
Celtic carried a similar woeful away record with them as they travelled to Russia to play Spartak Moscow in the Champions League. The Scottish champions had not won an away game in the group stage of Europe’s premier event in their previous 19 attempts. Few gave them any chance of ending that run against the oil rich Russian club. The Scots pulled off a stunning come-from-behind victory to beat Spartak 3-2 and move into second place in the group behind Barcelona. Neil Lennon has been castigated in the recent past by many in the Scottish media. The performances of his young team are making those reporters eat large slices of humble pie.
Call me a cynic, but I found it very convenient that John Terry quit the English national team the week before his racism case was to be heard by a FA tribunal. Had Terry not quit, there is a possibility he would have been kicked off the team in disgrace after his guilty verdict. The Terry apologists in the media have been trying to spin things in his favor. Let's be clear, John Terry, as they say in England, has previous. A four game suspension does not seem enough for someone who has constantly brought the game into disrepute. Is there a more despicable footballer in English football right now?
With Queens Park Rangers sitting bottom of the EPL with two points from six games it won’t be long before the media are calling for the head of Mark Hughes. The QPR manager will be looking over his shoulder with Harry Redknapp waiting in the wings to take his position. If QPR fail to win at West Brom on Saturday the former Fulham, Man City, and Blackburn manager’s position will become untenable.
Blackburn Rovers fans finally got their wish with the forced resignation of despised manager Steve Kean. If there is such a thing as karma, Blackburn will fail to be promoted back to the Premier League.
Call me a cynic, but I found it very convenient that John Terry quit the English national team the week before his racism case was to be heard by a FA tribunal. Had Terry not quit, there is a possibility he would have been kicked off the team in disgrace after his guilty verdict. The Terry apologists in the media have been trying to spin things in his favor. Let's be clear, John Terry, as they say in England, has previous. A four game suspension does not seem enough for someone who has constantly brought the game into disrepute. Is there a more despicable footballer in English football right now?
With Queens Park Rangers sitting bottom of the EPL with two points from six games it won’t be long before the media are calling for the head of Mark Hughes. The QPR manager will be looking over his shoulder with Harry Redknapp waiting in the wings to take his position. If QPR fail to win at West Brom on Saturday the former Fulham, Man City, and Blackburn manager’s position will become untenable.
Blackburn Rovers fans finally got their wish with the forced resignation of despised manager Steve Kean. If there is such a thing as karma, Blackburn will fail to be promoted back to the Premier League.
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