Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Chelsea 3-0 Manchester United - this looks like a job for Howard Webb!

Manchester United had a familiar saviour on Sunday afternoon when they slipped to a three-goal deficit at the hands of Chelsea. But it was not Wayne Rooney nor Javier Hernandez who rescued a point for the champions, it was Howard Webb who performed his (now perfected) deus ex machina act and awarded two soft penalties against the hosts to allow Sir Alex Ferguson's side to eventually complete a Superman-like recovery.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Arsenal's past, present and future combine in front of goal

Arsenal routed Blackburn 7-1 on Saturday afternoon, a game in which Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Robin van Persie and Thierry Henry all netted. Consequently, it felt very much like Gunners fans were watching their team's line of succession blurring in front of their eyes ...

Terry stripped of his precious England armband for the second time

John Terry's misdemeanors have cost him the one thing that he desires most, the England captaincy, as he is due to stand trial for allegedly racially abusing Anton Ferdinand earlier in the season. The Chelsea defender will be sure to do all in his power to regain his precious armband, though .

A great nation weeps in football's darkest hour

Atrocious scenes rocked Egypt this week as a group of 'fans' invaded the pitch in the wake of Wednesday's clash between Al Masry and Al Ahly. Over 70 people died in the ensuing maul. It was an unfitting episode for such an illustrious country that was once the hub of civilisation: the Pyramids, the Sphinx, the Ptolemies and the mighty Pharaohs all stood on this ancient land. 

Capello takes matters into his own hands to resolve his Terry England dilemma

The news that John Terry will stand trial for allegedly racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand after Euro 2012 has sent England into a state of confusion, with question marks hovering above the Chelsea and England captain's participation in the tournament. However, this is not the first time Terry has complicated affairs for coach Fabio Capello, so it's possible the 65-year-old, known for his disciplinarian ways, may be forced to settle matters with a back-to-basics approach ..

Deadline day and it's all quiet on the western front

While the end of a transfer window usually heralds a scramble for new players, it became apparent there neither Real Madrid nor Barcelona would make that critical signing to give their club the upper hand in the title race, Arsene Wenger (slightly less surprisingly) would not bring in the enforcements Arsenal needed, and Inter's shock defeat to Lecce did not prompt them to dip into the market. Instead, the deadline day fanatics had to make do with a few questionable loan deals ...

No end in sight to Tevez's Man City transfer struggles

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Massimiliano Benassi

It seemed like a foregone conclusion. Inter had been on fire, winning their previous seven Serie A matches. 

Lecce found themselves at the other end of the table, but managed to exact revenge for their 4-1 trouncing at San Siro earlier in the season with a surprise 1-0 win over Claudio Ranieri's men. 

Serse Cosmi will have Massimiliano Benassi to thank, with the 30-year-old keeping Inter's all-star cast at bay for 90 minutes. 

Dazzled David de Gea and Suarez

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea turned in another disappointing performance as the Red Devils suffered a 2-1 FA Cup defeat to Liverpool on Saturday.

And as he watched from the stands, Luis Suarez, who is currently serving an eight-match ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra, came up with the secret ingredient - a doughnut, for which De Gea is known to have a craving.