Will he stay or will he go?

The club season must be over. The transfer rumours have started in earnest and once again the big story is whether Christiano Ronaldo is going to Real Madrid. Manchester United has stated forcefully that he is going nowhere, while Real Madrid says that they will do whatever it takes to get him. Who cares!!!!

Those who have read my blog before know well that I am a United supporter and watching the little diver play this season has been amazing. But, we have been through this before. After his antics in the World Cup he brazenly stated that he would not play again for the Red Devils. That was two years ago and I believe that was the Manchester United crest on his jersey in Moscow.

        

Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon is really good at playing the media game. He has to be. As the ELECTED president of the club he has to do what it takes to keep himself in the seat. What better way to do so than by making huge promises that he doesn’t have to keep. When things don’t work out it can always be blamed on the other club. Genius.

                

Ronaldo is a prima dona. He likes being the centre of attention, it helps pump up his bank account. He is a spectacular player I’ll give him that, but if he goes it will not sink the Red Devils into the pits of dispair. If he stays he’ll get the chance to play for the World Club Championship and the European Super Cup as the World Player of the Year. Make no mistake though, if he goes…the club will still get the chance to be the best in the world. Ronaldo will just have to watch. 

                                 

Premiership Football Fireworks

It’s been an exciting couple of weeks for Premier League clubs at home and in Europe. I’ve been a bit lax, but I’ll try to get back up to speed.

 Manchester United 2 - 1 Arsenal

This was the matchup of the weekend in the EPL and it didn’t disappoint. Red Devil supporters had to be nervous in the first half as the Gunners not only had the lion’s share of the scoring, but the hosts seemed to be unsure what colour jersey they were wearing. I haven’t seen as many sloppy passes as they gave away in a long time. The man of the first half for the defending champions was by far Edwin Van Der Sar. The Dutchman showed good positioning and made each save look easy.

The second half started off where the first ended and Emmanuel Adabayor made United pay with a spectacular deflection off of his HAND (how did Howard Webb miss that?). Adebayor has been in a bit of a drought and his goal came at a good time for Arsenal. But, karma can be quick and William Gallas’ hand got United back in the match when he handled in the box. Cristiano Ronaldo’s first try at the penalty kick was disallowed after an infringement. He placed the second shot on the same side as the first, Jens Lehmann guessed right, but couldn’t keep it out and the Red Devils were back in it.

Manchester United began asserting itself after the equalizer and showed why they are leading the league. Substitute Carlos Tevez gave the home fans something to cheer about when his 25 yarder screamed past the post. Sir Alex’s other substitute Anderson paid off with his artistry in the attacking midfield that Paul Scholes just didn’t give them in the first half. The play of the match had to be Owen Hargreaves’ free kick in the 72nd minute. Patrice Evra drew the foul 25 yards out and Ronaldo took up his customary position for the shot. Instead of stepping out of the way and letting the league’s leading scorer add to his total, Hargreaves took a quick step and slotted the ball into the right hand side of the goal. The shot caught everyone off guard and the English international was celebrating before the ball hit the net. Some tense moments down the stretch kept the excitement in the game and when the whistle blew the lead in the league was six points.

  Reading 0 - 2 Fulham 

The bottom of the Premiership got a little more interesting as Fulham took another step towards getting out of the relegation zone. Both sides showed their share of initiative with the Royals showing a bit more skill at moving through the defense. However, they never got a shot on goal and the Cottagers made them pay. Brian McBride put the visitors ahead with a brilliant stab at Simon Davies’ cross. Roy Hodgson has to be wondering where his side would be if McBride hadn’t spent most of the season injured. The American striker had multiple opportunities and could have had a hat-trick. Erik Nevland fired home from 15 yards to double the score in the end, but Reading never looked like taking any points.

  Bolton 1 - 0 West Ham 

Bolton are two points behind Birmingham City for EPL survival. West Ham are going to finish in the middle of the table no matter what. So you would think that the Wanderers would be the side fighting hardest. The Hammers, however, fought like they were in the title hunt and made a great game of it. Kevin Davies’ strike in the first minute of the second half was fortuitous, but he’ll take it and the three points that come with it. Gary Megson has come under some heat lately with some of the Bolton faithful calling for Sam Allardyce’s return. With matches against Middlesbrough and Chelsea in the last four weeks staying up may be a pipe dream. Would Big Sam manage a Championship side?

 Elsewhere in the league…

Liverpool tore through Blackburn for a solid 3-1 win.

Aston Villa reminded Derby County that life in the Championship might not be that bad with a 6-0 victory.

Tottenham are still woeful after winning the Carling Cup as they drew Middlesbrough 1-1 (and Boro scored both goals) 

Roundup for March 29th & 30th

 Derby County 2 - 2 Fulham

Rams confirm relegation at Pride Park. Paul Jewell knew awhile ago that his club would be playing next season in the Championship. Saturday’s result made it official as Derby hosted fellow cellar dwellers Fuham. Emanuel Villa scored his first goal for the club in the 10th minute with a deflection. Diomansy Kamara evened it up fourteen minutes later with a strong drive for the Cottagers. Both sides had their chances to net throughout, but the deadlock was only broken when Dean Leacock deflected Hameur Bouazza’s shot into his own net. County salvaged some pride when Villa headed in his second to take a point from the match. Too bad they are done after one season, but maybe Jewell can get the side put together and make a comeback to the Premiership.

  Bolton 2 - 3 Arsenal 

Gunners resurgent at the Reebok. At the half things looked pretty bleak for Arsenal. Matthew Taylor put the Wanderers up before the fifteen minute mark when he headed home Gretar Steinsson’s cross from short range. Manuel Almunia had no chance of stopping the shot and Bolton were on the board for the first time since March 6th. Arsenal played well in the first half, they just couldn’t be effective enough to dent the twine. Things went from bad to worse when Abou Diaby was shown a straight red for a shocking tackle on Steinsson in the 31st minute forcing Arsenal to fight on for the rest of the match down a man. Just before the half Taylor got his second goal when his shot deflected off of William Gallas and past Almunia.

The second half was a different affair as Emmanuel Adebayor and Theo Walcott came in on the hour to give the Gunners a different look. It worked as Gallas found the net almost immediately from Robin Van Persie’s corner, giving life to the visiting fans. Six minutes later Gary Cahill brought down Alexander Hleb in the box. RVP calmly slotted home the penalty for an unlikely comeback. Jlloyd Samuels ended up being the last to touch Cesc Fabregas’ shot in stoppage time, sending it into his own net and sending all three points back to London.

By the way the only difference between Diaby’s tackle on Steinsson and Martin Taylor’s tackle on Eduardo is that Eduardo’s leg actually broke. Diaby went in studs up and hit Steinsson in the shin and could easily have broken his leg too. Characteristically Arsene Wenger saw no problem with the tackle this time around saying “I feel it was more a protective tackle than an aggressive one but he was too high – I don’t complain.”. Well that’s very kind of you Arsene, what about holding your own players to the same standards as you seem to hold any player that wears a different jersey? The tackle on Eduardo was terrible, but the Gunner faithful need to get off of their holier than thou attitude, it’s getting very old.

 Manchester  United 4 - 0 Aston Villa

Roo, Ron and Tev run riot at Old Trafford. Ashley Young’s shot in the early minutes of the match was the closest the Villans would come to winning the game. From that point on it seemed as though it wasn’t going to be if, but by how much. The Red Devils attacked Scott Carson’s goal from all angles, coming close a few times. In the 17th minute Cristiano Ronaldo found himself in the box with the ball falling to his feet courtesy of Rio Ferdinand. The Portuguese winger hit the ball with a remarkable back heeled shot, sending it through the defense and past a very surprised Carson. Ronaldo turned provider for the second goal in the 33rd minute with a one timer cross to the back post and finding a flying Carlos Tevez, who headed the ball in for his sixteenth goal of the season (all competitions).

The two squad’s traded early post shavers as Wayne Rooney and Shaun Maloney each missed left within a minute of each other. Rooney was in an attacking mood and he looked dangerous throughout the second half. Ten minutes into the half he was rewarded when Ronaldo mule-kicked a no-look pass twenty yards to an on rushing Rooney. The striker faked a shot getting Carson to go to ground then calmly rounded the keeper and slotted home.

Maloney nearly drew one back a couple of minutes later and would have made the score-sheet but for a remarkable save by Tomasz Kuszczak. Ronaldo slid the ball to Rooney in the 70th and he found the net once more to finish the scoring at 4-0. Even though they were up by four I was impressed by Tevez’s persistence as he continued to run down the ball and whoever had it until the final whistle. 

 Tottenham 1 - 4 Newcastle United

 Toon trounce Tottenham at White Hart Lane. Darren Bent has had quite a forgettable season so far. It’s hard to score when your ass never leaves the bench. He got the start against the Geordies and in the 26th minute he popped in a cross from Steed Malbranque putting the hosts on the board. Juande Ramos went with Bent, Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane on the attack and in the beginning it looked like it would work as each player had chances to score. Nicky Butt opened the second half with a goal in the first minute to tie the match courtesy of Geremi. Geremi gave his side the lead seven minutes later with a free kick from the edge of the box that Paul Robinson never had a chance to save.

Newcastle kept up the attack and were rewarded by Michal Owen’s curling shot in the 65th minute that was vintage Owen. Mark Viduka showed great presence of mind when he let Obafemi Martins’ pass run through to Owens for the goal. An unselfish move that resulted in a score. Martins showed his skill at the end of the match when he went forward on the counter attack, left Teemu Tainio on his rear and made Robinson look foolish for the fourth goal.  

 

What a Sunday

The top four clubs went at it today in two battles for supremacy. All four are in the Champions League quarter-finals, so this is a good indicator of what is to come in the fight for the European title.

Game One:

 Manchester United 3 - 0 Liverpool

United came into the match three points ahead of Arsenal and coming off of a solid outing against Bolton on Wednesday. For their part Liverpool had newly regained fourth position in the league and have played some decent football of their own. The hosts opened up the game with Wayne Rooney making a statement of intent by beating Jamie Carragher and forcing Pepe Reina to make a save. Javier Mascherano got into referee Steve Bennett’s book in the 11th minute with a hard tackle on Paul Scholes, setting the tone for the Reds.

Wes Brown surprised the Old Trafford faithful in the 34th by deflecting Rooney’s cross into the net for his first goal in a dog’s age. The match remained close until just before the half. Fernando Torres took exception to some questionable tackles by Manchester United players and started an argument with Bennett. The referee showed Torres a yellow card for dissent prompting Mascherano to join the conversation. To be fair, by booking Torres already Bennett had no choice but to book the Argentinian. If there had been no previous booking in the incident Mascherano would probably have stayed in the game. His second card of the match meant that he had to hit the showers. Not that he was willing to go and brought him an escort off of the pitch.

Liverpool’s chances in the match left the pitch with their midfielder and in the 79th minute Cristiano Ronaldo headed Nani’s cross home to give the home side some breathing room. Ronaldo looked like he was destined to score throughout the match, coming close on more than a couple of shots. Nani closed the door for good on the Reds two minutes later with a beautiful move to create space and a powerful shot to dent the twine. The Red Devils gave Liverpool a lot of trouble with high balls into the area (Hmmm… that might come in handy to remember).

Game Two:

  Chelsea 2 - 1 Arsenal 

A month ago Arsenal had one hand on the Premiership trophy, but that’s why they play all of the games. Chelsea knew that with a win they would leapfrog the Gunners into second. Both sides went on the attack early getting the keepers into the flow quickly. Robin van Persie has been out with injury for most of the season. He got back into the swing of the game early and tested Carlo Cudicini a couple of times with nicely taken shots. Not to be out done Michael Ballack and Didier Drogba each put pressure on Manuel Almunia.

Each side had their own plan of attack with Arsenal opting for moving the ball forward with short passes and Chelsea utalizing the longer more direct approach. There was plenty of excitement at both ends of the pitch, but the Gunners drew first blood through Bacary Sagna’s header from Cesc Fabregas’ corner in the 59th minute. Cudicini was left out in the cold as Frank Lampard failed to close down on Sagna (or move for that matter). After going down at home Avram Grant made an overdue substitution by bringing on Nicolas Anelka and Juliano Belletti. The move payed off quickly as Didier Drogba scored the equalizer three minutes later. The ball rebounded off of Lampard and into the path of Drogba who made no mistake and powered the ball past the outstretched Almunia.

The Ivornian striker was on the receiving end of Anelka’s header and he flicked it past the Arsenal keeper for the win. Arsenal were unable to put any real pressure on Chelsea down the stretch. The Blues pulled to within five points of Manchester United and they will host the leaders  at Stamford Bridge April 26th in what may be a title game.