Friday, 27 December 2013

Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

07:29

By: TBMU Admin On: 07:29   In:   No comments

Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

Nottingham Forest 2-0 Queens Park Rangers | Championship match report

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 02:43 PM PST

QPR's lengthy search for a win at the City Ground continues but Nottingham Forest ended theirs to breathe life back into their Championship play-off hopes.

The London club have now failed to win in all of their 31 visits to Forest, while Billy Davies' side had not won any of their previous five outings on the banks of the Trent as their promotion challenge stuttered.

But a first-half header from Greg Halford and a controversial late second from Andy Reid secured a 2-0 win which lifted them back into the top six as Harry Redknapp's QPR suffered a second consecutive defeat.

Forest had Simon Cox ruled out with a virus before kick-off, which left Davies with a shortage of options up front.

Redknapp had a similar headache with Charlie Austin, the Hoops' leading scorer, sidelined with a hamstring problem.

Halford, Forest's most versatile performer, was pushed forward from his recent right-back role to play as a lone striker and the 6ft 3in player gave the visiting defence a few problems from the outset.

It needed a fine save from Robert Green to deny him what would have been a good goal, with the England goalkeeper saving bravely at his feet after the forward had skipped through the Rangers defence and closed on goal.

Halford did fluff his lines when given a second opportunity, shooting wildly over the bar, but he made no mistake when given a third opportunity, powering home a header from close range after Djamel Abdoun had mesmerised Rangers' defence with a twisting run and cross.

Benoît Assou-Ekotto had forced a solid save from Karl Darlow with a well-struck drive before the goal and Niko Kranjcar almost scored shortly after Forest had taken the lead, with his delightful curling effort flying just the wrong side of a post from 20 yards.

QPR responded by bringing on Andy Johnson and Junior Hoilett during the interval and they looked livelier for it, with Tom Carroll's dipping shot forcing a fine save from Darlow, who steered it over the bar.

Halford had another looping header narrowly clear the bar as he connected with Reid's cross and then missed a rather better opportunity, when Mackie picked him out unmarked in the centre only for Halford to prod the ball right at a relieved Green.

Clint Hill had to clear off the line when Green failed to deal properly with a high ball into the box and Jack Hobbs sent a low shot fizzing towards the bottom corner.

Jermaine Jenas also saw a spectacular drive deflected over and Richard Dunne's header was saved at the other end.

But then came the game's controversial moment, with Abdoun firing the ball through the centre, which Halford attempted to flick. The striker made no contact and the ball ran through for Reid, with the assistant referee flagging immediately for offside. But the referee, Keith Stroud, allowed play to continue and Reid calmly guided the ball past Green's advance and inside the far post to put the game beyond Rangers' reach in the 80th minute.


theguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Manchester City 2-1 Liverpool

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 12:41 PM PST

• Pictures: Our pick of the best images from Boxing Day's games

Manchester City preserved their 100% home record at the expense of Liverpool's attempt to climb back to the top of the table, coming from a goal down to secure the points that took them past their north-west rivals to go second behind Arsenal.

Two sides attempting to win produced an enthralling contest, even if all the goals came in the first half along with most of the controversy. Brendan Rodgers was so annoyed at Liverpool having a valid goal disallowed he appeared to question Lee Mason's integrity in wondering why a Greater Manchester (Bolton) referee had been appointed to the match. Liverpool's manager can expect to be charged by the Football Association for his comments.

"I was surprised to see that the referee came from Greater Manchester," he said. "If it was City v Liverpool at Anfield I don't think we would get a referee from the Wirral." He thought Mason was not alone in his ineptitude. "It was a horrendous performance from all the officials. Nothing went our way at all."

Gamely Rodgers withdrew Lucas Leiva towards the end to get another forward on in search of a point, while City ended up sending on Javier García as extra insurance. It was a close contest that could have gone either way, though City had the stand-out performer in Álvaro Negredo and made a much better job of shackling Luis Suárez and Raheem Sterling in the second half.

Ultimately the game was decided by what was either a sublime finish by Negredo or a basic goalkeeping error, depending on your point of view. Certainly Simon Mignolet did not appear to be expecting Negredo to attempt to score in the way he did.

Joe Hart, on the other hand, made a first-half save at a crucial point and seems to be back in Manuel Pellegrini's good books. "It was good for Joe to have a rest," the City manager said. "He is back to his best now. The team showed personality in coming back from one-nil down. We could not afford to lose to Liverpool, it would have been like losing four points."

City were at Liverpool right from the start, with Jesús Navas heading against a post after five minutes and Vincent Kompany and Yaya Touré seeing goal attempts flash narrowly wide. Negredo missed the target from close to the penalty spot after Aleksandar Kolarov's cross from the left before Suárez reminded the home side of the danger of pressing too far forward with a slick pass that played Sterling into the empty space behind City's high defensive line.

It was a pass worthy of bringing about the opening goal and in fact should have done, since Sterling rounded Hart with ease to pass the ball into the net, only to be brought back for an offside flag that replays showed to be incorrect.

"It wasn't even a difficult decision," Rodgers fumed. "It was a perfectly timed run and at this level you have to get those calls right."

While Suárez too showed visible indignation when news of the error was relayed to him on the pitch, his reaction was to remain calm and repeat the formula to create a goal that did count. Taking a pass from Jordan Henderson the Uruguayan again picked out Sterling's run with a first-time flick, and though Hart this time forced him wide of the goal Philippe Coutinho was in support and stepped in to sidefoot past the goalkeeper.

City needed to strike back quickly and did, Kompany cancelling Liverpool's advantage by beating Martin Skrtel to a David Silva corner on the half hour, though it still needed a smart close-range save from Hart to prevent Coutinho restoring the visitors' lead before the interval. Again Suárez and Sterling had been involved in the build-up, finding space in the City half and making good use of it, yet the home side produced some incisive and inventive passing of their own to finish the first half ahead.

Negredo might have scored a couple of minutes earlier than he did when a strong run and measured pass from Fernandino gave him a sight of goal that a combination of Skrtel and Mignolet snuffed out. Undeterred he scored with his next attempt, when precise passing by Samir Nasri and Navas sliced open the Liverpool defence and Negredo shot early and not particularly powerfully with the outside of his right boot, yet his effort from the edge of the area surprised Mignolet, who got a weak hand to the ball that only helped it over the line. If Negredo had spotted that the goalkeeper was slightly off his line and deliberately attempted to chip him it was an audacious, almost Suárez-like finish, though having managed to reach the ball Mignolet should not have been beaten by a shot with so little behind it.

Liverpool had a brief chance to draw level at the start of the second half, when Henderson was correctly judged to be offside in getting in the way of a Suárez shot, before Negredo demonstrated some impressive ball skills in the centre circle then tried to chip Mignolet again, without success. Once in the lead City sensibly restrained their attacking ambitions, pulling Touré and Fernandinho further back to deny Liverpool's strikers space and leaving just Silva and Navas to help Negredo forage up front. Hart still needed to make saves from Glen Johnson and Henderson to keep his side in front, though the threat from Suárez, in particular, was reduced in the second half.

On the one occasion the Liverpool captain did break free he found Sterling in front of goal with an inviting pass, only to discover the teenager's finishing does not quite match his positional sense. Sterling put the chance over the crossbar. Had the roles been reversed, one could not help but feel, Suárez would have made more of the opportunity. Frustrated, Suárez ended the game with a ludicrously optimistic goal attempt from a 30-yard free-kick then an absurdly exaggerated dive in the penalty area when his shirt was being pulled. He missed out both times, then picked up a slightly harsh booking for a foul on Hart. Suárez will not stop trying, but evidently he cannot perform miracles every week.

Paul Wilson

theguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Football League: your thoughts | Giles Richards

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 12:25 PM PST

Leicester go top of the Championship, Leyton Orient survive a scare and Chesterfield do just enough to stay ahead

Championship

Some ironic moments turned out well for Leicester City, who went 1-0 up against Reading with a David Nugent penalty while power problems at the "King Power" stadium caused floodlight failure and a stoppage in play that prompted fans to start shining torches on the pitch. The goal, after 20 minutes, was enough and Leicester went top with the help of a generator. Power, which failed shortly before kick-off, was restored around half-time.

Middlesbrough hosted Burnley, who had been leaders, and Emmanuel Ledesma's goal gave the home side the lead in the first half, a lead they maintained as Boro moved further into mid-table and Burnley down to second.

There was festive cheer for Charlton against Brighton, in one of the two early kick-offs, as the Seagulls failed to make the most of their attempt to push into the play-off zone, losing 3-2 at The Valley, only their third league defeat away from home this season. Lawrie Wilson made the difference. Having scored only twice previously for Charlton, he doubled his tally with his first two of the seaon. In the other early start, a local scrap between Watford and Millwall, the visitors found nothing. Reduced to 10 men when Danny Shittu was sent off, they went down heavily 4-0, a great start for Giuseppe Sannino in his first home game as Watford manager. The result proved the final straw for his opposite number Steve Lomas, however, who was sacked after his 23 games in charge produced only six wins.

Bournemouth punished a struggling Yeovil with a confident 3-0 win pushing them second from bottom, while bottom-placed Barnsley are still looking for their first win under Danny Wilson after they went down 1-0 to Bolton.

Sheffield Wednesday remained the third team in the drop zone despite securing an away point with a 0-0 draw at Blackburn.

David McGoldrick scored two of Ipswich's three as Doncaster fell without reply and Huddersfield drew 1-1 with Derby County, who remain in the play-off spots but with their run of seven successive wins ended, while Wigan Athletic and Birmingham City saw out a 0-0 draw that kept them both in mid-table.

League One

The leaders Leyton Orient had a scare as Gillingham went 1-0 up early on but Marvin Bartley equalised after Orient's Elliot Omozusi had missed a penalty in the first half before Yohann Lasimant squeezed a winner in the closing moments with almost his first touch, securing a 2-1 win and their position at the top of the table. Behind them Wolves beat Crewe 2-0 to maintain second place and send Crewe to the foot of the table, Peterborough failed to make the most of their meeting with mid-table Coventry, who won a thrilling match 4-2, after late goals from Franck Moussa and Callum Wilson, and fellow high-flyers Brentford took a tough win, beating Swindon 3-2 to hold third spot – Marcello Trotta claiming the winner in the 71st minute.

Preston held their play-off position with a 1-0 away win at Carlisle and a Haris Vuckic goal was all that separated Rotherham, who occupy the final play-off place, from their Yorkshire rivals Bradford at Valley Parade.

Bristol City made it off the bottom of the table, a Sam Baldock penalty the only goal for Steve Cotterill's side against Walsall and a most timely win, their first since 5 November. Colchester pushed Stevenage one place lower into the relegation zone with a big 4-0 win and Port Vale's 2-1 win over Notts County moved the latter to second from bottom.

Crawley, reduced to 10 men, fell 2-0 to MK Dons, Sheffield United drew 1-1 with Oldham at Bramall Lane and Tranmere Rovers moved one place further from the relegation zone with a 1-0 away win at Shrewsbury.

League Two

Top of the pile Chesterfield held a 1-0 advantage over Hartlepool from Tendayi Darkinwa's goal – his third in five games – at half-time but the visitors came back to equalise with a Matthew Dolan penalty; the draw remained enough to keep the home side at the head of the league, however. Oxford United are still in second despite falling 3-2 at home to Plymouth and Scunthorpe, drawing 2-2 at Bury, now lie third; the latter remain second from bottom.

Morecambe and Fleetwood's Lancashire derby saw Padraig Amond's goal give Morecambe a 1-0 lead at half-time that they maintained, leaving both teams just outside the play-off zone. Northampton, with the caretaker manager Andy King in charge for his first game, remain rooted to the bottom of the table after going down 1-0 at Burton, who are now fourth.

There was, however, reason for cautious optimism at Portsmouth where Richie Barker managed his first win as manager, beating Dagenham & Redbridge 1-0, Romain Padovani scoring in the last moments of the first half, while Newport advanced to fifth with a 1-0 win over Wycombe, who remain without a home win since October. The battle to avoid the danger zone between Torquay and Bristol Rovers ended in a 1-1 draw after the home side had taken an early lead with a John Marquis penalty but, at 22nd and 19th respectively, both are still in trouble.

Accrington drew 1-1 with York, Cheltenham beat Exeter 1-0 and, while Southend moved up to sixth with a 1-0 away win over Wimbledon, Rochdale pushed themselves in to the final play-off spot with a convincing 3-0 win over Mansfield.

Giles Richards

theguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Newcastle United 5-1 Stoke City

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 11:46 AM PST

• Pictures: the best images from Boxing Day's matches

Midway through the first half Yohan Cabaye tugged his gloves off and hurled them towards the touchline. It seemed symbolic of the France midfielder's struggles as he and his Newcastle United team-mates became increasingly ensnared in Stoke City's clever tactical trap.

Shortly afterwards Mark Hughes's side took the lead but then some of the luck which deserted Alan Pardew's men for much of 2013 returned. Stoke's Glenn Whelan was sent off for a very silly second yellow card, Hughes found himself banished from the bench for protesting – lobbing his managerial anorak over the dugout roof in disgust en route – and Marc Wilson was also dismissed after conceding a penalty.

Suddenly there was only one team in it as a renascent Newcastle enhanced their thoroughly refreshing, if unlikely, Champions League challenge.

"It was a funny afternoon," said Pardew whose side have won seven and drawn one of their last nine Premier League games. "It wasn't quite working out for us and Stoke had a good foothold. We couldn't get any rhythm but then the game turned on its head and our incredible run continued."

His early foreboding was fully justified. With Stephen Ireland resting on the bench, Charlie Adam eagerly accepted the mantle of Stoke's creator-in-chief. Deployed in an attacking central midfield role behind Peter Crouch, Adam excelled, giving Newcastle quite a few early frights with his incisive through-passes and well-timed late runs into the penalty area.

Cabaye's removal of those gloves appeared suitably emblematic as Pardew's 4-2-3-1 formation seized up in the face of Stoke's amalgam of streetwise obduracy and increasingly fluid passing and movement.

Even so the transition from Tony Pulis's regime is enough of an evolution for a few old habits to linger on. Whenever Newcastle looked like gaining any sort of momentum or hinted at getting behind the visiting defence, Stoke had no compunction about time-wasting and Oussama Assaidi took an inordinate amount of time to retie a boot lace on the pitch.

He clearly made a good job of it because a couple of minutes later Assaidi cut inside from the left, dodged Mathieu Debuchy and sent a wonderfully weighted shot curving into the top corner.

Hughes's smile was not destined to linger. When his side were reduced to 10 men after Whelan's sending off for a second bookable offence – a stupid tackle on Cabaye, after kicking the ball away in the wake of a challenge on Moussa Sissoko minutes earlier – Stoke's manager debated the issue with Martin Atkinson. The referee promptly gave him his own marching orders. In truth the first yellow card had been a bit harsh. "A softish sending off," acknowledged Pardew.

Hughes concurred. Emphatically. "I was absolutely dismayed by the referee's performance," said Stoke's manager, who contested both Whelan's bookings. "I can't believe it. I don't trust myself to go and see him."

It got worse for his team who swiftly conceded a penalty when Wilson brought down Loïc Rémy in the area. Out came a red card, off went Wilson and up to the spot stepped Rémy. He struck the kick poorly, though, and Thomas Sorensen saved fairly comfortably.

No sooner had Atkinson waved away Stoke's own appeals for a handball penalty against the Newcastle defender Mike Williamson than their nine men conceded an equaliser.

It came spiced with more than a touch of fortune for Pardew's men. Hatem Ben Arfa, who twice hit the woodwork, played Rémy in superbly but the striker's shot took two deflections before bouncing into the net via Sorensen's foot.

With Pardew having introduced Shola Ameobi as Newcastle switched to 4-4-2, Stoke conceded a rather soft second goal when Yoan Gouffran shot assuredly into the bottom corner after Sorensen failed to cope with a Ben Arfa cross dispatched after the ball looked to have drifted momentarily out of play.

Earlier anxieties forgotten, St James' Park reverberated to the Blaydon Races. A third Newcastle goal soon arrived and it came thanks to another cross. This time it emanated from Davide Santon and was headed home at the far post by Rémy following Sissoko's flick.

Cabaye scored their fourth, sidefooting beyond Sorensen at the conclusion of a slick one-touch passing sequence. Erik Pieters's foul on Ben Arfa prefaced Newcastle's fifth goal, the substitute Papiss Cissé pleading with Cabaye and Rémy to be permitted to take the resultant penalty and then offering Allah a short prayer of thanks after converting it.

"We'll know more about my team after Arsenal's visit on Sunday," said Pardew. "But it's turning into a great season for us. If we beat Arsenal we'll have to seriously revise our aspirations."

Louise Taylor

theguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Manchester City v Liverpool – as it happened | Jacob Steinberg

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 11:25 AM PST

Minute-by-minute report: Manchester City recovered from a goal down to go second in the league thanks to Alvaro Negredo's winner, although Liverpool took heart from their performance

Jacob Steinberg

Norwich City 1-2 Fulham | Premier League match report

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 11:22 AM PST

• Pictures: Our pick of the best images from Boxing Day's games

There was encouragement for Fulham here that went beyond the acquisition of three points away from home. Having fallen behind to a deflected shot by Gary Hooper, Rene Meulensteen's much-changed side came back with spirit and, having equalised through Pajtim Kasami's free-kick, played well enough to deserve the fine late goal by Scott Parker that gave them renewed hope of avoiding relegation.

Meulensteen, who began the match sitting alongside his newly appointed first-team technical director, Alan Curbishley, in the stand, was understandably pleased with the effort the former Charlton and West Ham manager had witnessed.

"Alan is going to provide fantastic support with his experience and I'm happy he saw the performance and the team spirit," said the Dutchman. "I hope he can add to it and we have an even better chance of staying in the Premier League.

"My main job is to concentrate on training. It's one of my main strengths. I always say whatever happens on the training pitch will manifest itself in games. Alan is there as a sort of extra opinion, to offer advice on whatever he sees and thinks in relation to strategy and tactics, that sort of thing. I think it's going to be a good combination."

While Norwich were unchanged, Meulensteen shook things up in the hope of avoiding a fourth defeat in five games since he took over from the sacked Martin Jol, bringing in Damien Duff, Alexander Kacaniklic, Fernando Amorebieta and Kasami in an attempt to stop the rot, with David Stockdale replacing the injured Maarten Stekelenburg in goal.

It seemed luck was not on their side when Hooper let fly from some 26 yards. The low shot would have been easily saved by Stockdale but the ball struck the outstretched foot of Aaron Hughes before arcing over and beyond the Fulham goalkeeper and into the net. It was Hooper's fourth goal in his last four games at Carrow Road.

Fulham's response was strong. Kasami saw his low left-foot shot from an angle beat John Ruddy but roll a foot wide and Duff should have converted Kasami's inviting low cross but the equaliser was not long delayed. Moments after an attempted clearance by Ruddy had rebounded back into his goal off what the referee, Jon Moss, decided had been Parker's deliberately raised hand, a Norwich defensive wall set up to keep out Kasami's free-kick disintegrated as it jumped, allowing a far from venomous left-footed shot to pass through and beat Ruddy as he dived to his left.

It took a fine clearing header by Sascha Riether to prevent Leroy Fer putting City back ahead from a Robert Snodgrass corner early in the second half, and both managers made attacking changes. Ruddy rode his luck after failing to hold a cross and Hugo Rodallega poked the loose ball against his chest, but with time running out Parker picked up a half-cleared corner and drove a fine shot across and past the City goalkeeper.

"We made some poor decisions and didn't create enough clear-cut chances but it wasn't a case of players not giving enough," said the Norwich manager, Chris Hughton.

Richard Rae

theguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Cardiff City 0-3 Southampton | Premier League match report

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 11:08 AM PST

• Pictures: Our pick of the best images from Boxing Day's games

Malky Mackay had a stay of execution last weekend but he was a condemned man on Thursday night after his Cardiff team were outclassed at home by Southampton, who arrived with no wins and four defeats from their previous six games.

The Welsh club had identified it as a must-win fixture in their battle to stay clear of the relegation zone but they leaked three goals in the first 27 minutes to leave their controversial owner, Vincent Tan, determined to terminate Mackay's two-and-a-half-year reign as manager.

Informed sources indicated that the two men, who did not speak on Thursday, will meet on Saturday, when Cardiff are at home again, in a relegation scrap with Sunderland. Asked whether he would still be in charge come Saturday, Mackay said: "It's something you will have to ask someone else. I've not heard any more. I've got belief in my ability to be the manager here. I'm standing strong. Overall this football club are competing well in the Premier League. We are not in the bottom three at the half-way stage.

"This was always going to be a tough season for us, but I firmly believe we can stay in this league and build on that as Southampton have done. It's about making sure that we stay focused on that task. It's very important that we stop washing our dirty linen in public. Where we are at the moment is where I thought we were going to be. Fighting hard in a tough battle to stay up. The three clubs who were promoted are all playing catch up."

There were protests against Tan and in support of Mackay before and during the game, the fans giving voice to their new anthem, Don't sack Mackay. Tan, who has rebranded the club in red, was also reminded that Cardiff would "always be blue" but it is all destined to count for nothing. After this shocking defeat the Malaysian tycoon will be even more inclined to dismiss the supporters' complaints. Whether it would have been different had Cardiff taken the lead, as they should have done after 11 minutes, will never be known. Craig Noone's cross picked out Peter Whittingham who, five yards out, made a ghastly hash of a sidefoot volley. His profligacy was punished five minutes later when Jay Rodriguez demonstrated how the sidefoot finish ought to be executed, tucking away Adam Lallana's squared pass from the right at the far post.

In the 20th minute Rodriguez struck again, catching Kevin Théophile-Catherine somnolent as he stole in to dispatch Ricky Lambert's cross from deep on the right and within another seven minutes Mackay was doomed. Another lofted ball into the penalty area found the Cardiff defence wanting as a header from Rodriguez set up Lambert for a routine finish from six yards.

By this stage the noise was all coming from the Saints' fans, cheering their team's superior passing game. For all Mackay's professed confidence Cardiff resembled a Championship team playing above their station, their attempts to reduce what was always a decisive deficit undermined by the failure to retain possession for any length of time. For the second half they sent on Andreas Cornelius, their £8m Danish striker, in place of Peter Odemwingie and within five minutes the substitute threatened with a glancing header from Whittingham's corner. It was a case of flattering to deceive. Cardiff huffed and puffed to no avail and were left with easily their worst result in the Premier League. If they were playing for their manager's future, you would hardly have guessed it. They have now won one and lost five of their last eight, scoring just four goals in the process.

In contrast, Southampton were excellent, with the much-coveted Lallana an outstanding man of the match. Deservedly, the Saints are marching in the right direction again. Their manager, Mauricio Pochettino, described it as "amazing performance and an amazing result", adding: "We were superior and deserved to win. We attacked and defended very well."

Joe Lovejoy

theguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Millwall sack Steve Lomas as manager after 4-0 defeat at Watford

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 10:37 AM PST

• Millwall three points above relegation zone
• Lomas lasted just 22 matches at the club

Millwall have sacked their manager Steve Lomas after losing 4-0 at Watford. The club's third straight defeat left them three points above the Championship relegation zone.

Millwall's chief executive officer, Andy Ambler, told the club's website: "We are very disappointed that it hasn't worked out for Steve. He has been thoroughly professional in his approach to the job during his short period with the club and remains a very promising young manager.

"However, the board feels that it is in the best interests of Millwall that we make the change at this time and the search for a successor to Steve begins immediately. We thank Steve for his efforts and wish him the very best for the future."

Millwall angered some of their fans when they controversially appointed Lomas, a former captain of their fierce rivals West Ham, over the summer.

The former St Johnstone manager lasted just 22 matches, of which his side won five.

The coach Neil Harris and academy director Scott Fitzgerald, former players at The Den, will take temporary charge of the team for the trip to Doncaster on Sunday.


theguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Hull City 2-3 Manchester United

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 10:36 AM PST

• Pictures: the best images from Boxing Day's matches

This was a slugfest that was an apt way to start the Boxing Day Premier League programme. James Chester goes down as the unfortunate author of a tale in which he scored twice, the second goal put past his own goalkeeper to give his former club all three points. The defender played only once for Manchester United – as a substitute in 2009 – but after opening proceedings for Hull City, produced the unwanted bookend by heading past Steve Harper, who replaced Allan McGregor at half-time, for the 66th-minute winner.

Chester might have completed an odd hat-trick in the closing minutes when, during Hull's late rally, he blasted a shot at David de Gea but the Manchester United goalkeeper blocked his late effort.

Instead Wayne Rooney, whose exceptional volley for the equaliser made him the first player to score 150 Premier League goals, could talk of a title charge. "We had poor results at the start of the season but we are fighting now. We are ready for the challenge. We might surprise a few people," he said.

For the champions to fall two goals behind after 13 minutes had been a late Christmas present for Hull and the way to kill any festive cheer still enjoyed by United but the visitors rallied, much to the delight of their manager. "To be two down and come back to win is a great result," David Moyes said. "I thought it would be a long road back but these players have done this in the past and we did well to get back in the game. For us to get in at half-time 2-2 was great but when we were 3-2 Hull gave us a few scary moments."

United's team bus had problems reaching the stadium. "Fantastic result for us after being on the Humber Bridge for first 10 minutes," joked the manager. "It's not an excuse but it might be a reason for it."

Moyes's side, who were without Phil Jones – sidelined for a fortnight with a knee injury – struggled for a foothold during a breathless opening that featured Chester's goal and the second for Hull from David Meyler. The latter's may be chalked off as an own-goal to Jonny Evans but either way the defender will not wish to see a replay. It was his weak clearance from Meyler's initial shot that was returned to the midfielder. This time the Hull No7 hit the attempt on target and Evans stuck a toe on the ball to steer beyond a wrong-footed De Gea.

Chester's finish had also derived from questionable defending. A Tom Huddlestone corner was aimed at Alex Bruce, who climbed above the stationary Patrice Evra and the header was smashed home from the right-back. This meant United were two behind against the Premier League's meanest home defence. Steve Bruce's side had allowed only three all term but this was about to change.

For this Moyes could thank the blessing in disguise that resulted from Rafael Da Silva hobbling off on 18 minutes, although he seems sure to miss Saturday's trip to Norwich City. Antonio Valencia dropped into his right-back's berth and on came Adnan Januzaj. Moyes's introduction of the youngster to the first team has arguably been the best move of the Scot's nascent career at the club and a minute later Januzaj once more illustrated why.

The 18-year-old sped down United's right and drew a foul from Maynor Figueroa from which his side would pull a goal back. Rooney, out of sorts until this point, placed the free-kick perfectly on to Chris Smalling's head and he beat McGregor to secure his first league goal of the season.

This warm-up act from Rooney was followed by a scintillating main event – when the ball came to him from a Danny Welbeck chest-down, the Liverpudlian creamed a 25-yard volley past the hapless McGregor. "I haven't seen it back yet but it was one of my best," said Rooney. "It bounced kindly for me."

At the break each manager might have asked his team to tighten their rearguard while maintaining the attacking stuff. If so, United were first to adhere when slick interplay from Rooney and Januzaj threatened to give the visitors the lead.

Hull's response came when Danny Graham fed Yannick Sagbo, who warmed De Gea's fingers with a 20-yard attempt that went for a corner. Here again United's vulnerability under the high ball was evident as Huddlestone's corner was met by Curtis Davies, who left Smalling behind but flashed his header wide.

Huddlestone then saw an effort of his own deflected wide by Evra before Hull suffered a dose of bad luck when Bruce's header crashed back off the bar from the ensuing corner. Chester's second – and unwanted – strike of the contest was about to send United home happy, though the sight of Valencia being sent off for a second yellow card after a clash with Huddlestone will not please Moyes.

It left the home manager thinking what might have been. "Go home, kick the cat, have a glass of red," was Bruce's verdict.

Jamie Jackson

theguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Tottenham 1-1 West Brom

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 09:58 AM PST

• Pictures: the best images from Boxing Day's matches

For Tim Sherwood this was an unwelcome reminder of the size of the job he has on his hands at Tottenham Hotspur as his first game since his appointment as head coach ended in disappointment. At times Sherwood resembled a picture of frustration on the touchline, no more so than when he almost ended up on his backside after reacting furiously to the desperately poor defending that led to Albion grabbing a first-half equaliser through Jonas Olsson.

The Albion captain's goal came only two minutes after Christian Eriksen had put Spurs in front with a superb 25-yard free-kick. If that was the biggest cheer of the afternoon, the next was probably the moment when news filtered through from Upton Park that West Ham United had taken the lead against Arsenal. It was that sort of day at White Hart Lane as Spurs huffed and puffed without ever really looking convincing against a resolute Albion. A smattering of boos greeted the final whistle.

A slowburner of a match had come to life with two goals in the space of 121 seconds late in the first half. Spurs, once again set up in a 4-4-2 formation, got the breakthrough they badly needed after Anthony Taylor, the referee, awarded a free-kick that upset both teams. With Roberto Soldado about to run into the penalty box, Spurs felt that Taylor should have allowed play to continue when Kyle Walker went to ground under a challenge from James Morrison. Albion, in contrast, felt it was not a free-kick in the first place. When the dust settled, Eriksen stepped forward before curling a right-footed free-kick that found the back of the net via the underside of the bar.

If the hope among the home fans was that the goal would settle a Spurs side that had struggled to play with any fluency, nothing could have been further from the truth. Eriksen was penalised for a cynical foul on Morrison moments later and, from the free-kick that followed, Morgan Amalfitano delivered an inswinging cross from wide on the left that Emmanuel Adebayor, hanging out a right leg, made a pig's ear of trying to clear. The ball ran through to the unmarked Olsson, who had the simple task of prodding over the line from inside the six-yard box. It was a dreadful goal to concede but the embarrassment did not end there for Sherwood, who will not be auditioning for Strictly Come Dancing on the evidence of what followed.

Albion, in fairness, were entitled to feel that they deserved to go in at half-time on level terms. Keith Downing's bold selection – the caretaker manager made seven changes from the side that drew with Hull and played with three central defenders – seemed to be paying off as Albion restricted Spurs to few meaningful chances while offering a threat on the counter-attack themselves.

Matej Vydra, making his first Premier League start, twice broke clear only to be denied by a combination of Michael Dawson and Hugo Lloris on the first occasion and the Spurs goalkeeper the second time. A glancing header from the Czech forward, from Liam Ridgewell's fine cross, was also desperately close. Morrison, dragging an angled right-footed shot wide of Lloris' far post with the last kick of the first half after a mistake from Vlad Chiriches, may also feel that he should have done better.

Unable to play through Albion, Spurs continued to look most dangerous when shooting from distance. Rose thumped a 30-yard effort in the 50th minute that sailed inches over the bar and Walker struck a wonderful 35-yard drive that Foster did well to repel. Between times Lloris saved from Zoltan Gera and Steven Reid, who was fortunate to escape a second yellow card in the 66th minute for a poor challenge on Rose. Spurs started to crank up the pressure but Gylfi Sigurdsson, heading into the side-netting, and Soldado, glancing wide of the far post, were unable to deliver the winner that Sherwood craved.

Stuart James

theguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Aston Villa 0-1 Crystal Palace | Premier League match report

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 09:27 AM PST

• Pictures: our pick of the best images from Boxing Day's matches

Peter LansleyIf this time last year seemed like the bleakest of mid-winters for Aston Villa, this one could be even harsher. Never mind conceding 12 goals in defeats by Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, top-five sides, last Christmas, this loss at home to Crystal Palace means Paul Lambert's side have the lowest home scoring record in all four divisions. They will seek to avoid a fifth successive defeat when they host Swansea City on Saturday just three points above a relegation zone that Crystal Palace escaped thanks to Dwight Gayle's wonderful winning goal two minutes into stoppage time.

As Tony Pulis celebrated a third victory from six games in charge at Palace, Lambert must deal with the fact his team are in relegation form. Whether considering the meagre tally of 10 points from 12 games since Manchester City were beaten here in September, or assessing this shapeless performance against a team who started in the bottom three and set up to avoid defeat, the Villa manager has to stem a spiral that is dragging his team into another battle against relegation.

Gayle came on as a late substitute to curl in a memorable effort into the top corner, his third goal in the Premier League since he signed from Peterborough United for £6m in the summer. Palace responded to a loose home defeat by Newcastle United by jamming the midfield and stopping Villa from playing. Good job, with a trip to Manchester City next up. The escape act, not so long ago seemingly a fantasy, is now possible. If Palace are to survive, Villa are one of the teams they can drag into trouble.

Lambert's team, having mustered only six league goals at Villa Park all season, have failed to score in five of their last six home games and they were booed off the field at the end of a dreadful performance. Lacking the spine of Ron Vlaar, Christian Benteke, both injured, and the suspended Ashley Westwood, they looked toothless and lacking direction.

"There shouldn't be pressure here," the Villa manager said. "There's nearly 40,000 behind you. There shouldn't be that pressure but the expectation level – you've got to handle that. It's a quick turnaround, we have to go again on Saturday, so you have to pick yourself up. You've got to meet that challenge."

Asked whether, looking at the league table, he thought his team were in a relegation fight, Lambert replied: "No. As the manager, I've got to be as positive as I can. It's as tight as anything. Our home form's not good enough. You have to stand up and be counted, and get on the front foot." Benteke's knee injury is definitely set to keep him out on Saturday but he has a chance of returning at Sunderland on New Year's Day.

The first half was a write-off as Palace, after two successive defeats, replaced the suspended Marouane Chamakh with Yannick Bolasie and packed the midfield. Villa could not find the room to claim the initiative. The return from suspension of Gabriel Agbonlahor might have helped compensate for Benteke's continued absence, but the home side failed to find any rhythm.

Home crowd hushed, Palace opened up in the second half and twice Jason Puncheon should have scored, allowing Brad Guzan to save. Andreas Weimann also spurned two clear chances at the other end, either side of Guzan tipping Bannan's shot against the post.

Just as both teams looked content with a point, Dean Moxey sent Gayle down the inside-left channel from whence he cut inside Fabien Delph and curled his right-footed shot into the far top corner. "This will give me the opportunity to talk to the chairman," Pulis said. "We need to try and get some people in."


theguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

West Ham 1-3 Arsenal

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 09:19 AM PST

• Pictures: the best images from Boxing Day's matches

Arsenal are back on track. There was a period early in the second half, after Carlton Cole had put West Ham United in front and the home team suddenly tore into their opponents, when it was possible to fear the worst for Arsène Wenger and his players. The demons of those dropped points against Everton, Manchester City and then Chelsea, not to mention the Champions League defeat at Napoli, had begun to circle in London's East End.

It would not have been difficult to imagine the reaction to another bad result, particularly as there would have been no mitigation with regard to the calibre of the opposition. West Ham United have now dropped into the relegation places and are labouring sorely. But Arsenal are not only a more talented group this season, they are a more resilient one and they showed their mental toughness as much as anything else to gain a reward from what was an entertaining derby.

The bad news was that they lost Aaron Ramsey to a thigh strain on 63 minutes. The midfielder knew immediately what he had done and Wenger reported that he would certainly not play at Newcastle United on Sunday or against Cardiff City at home on New Year's Day. The full extent of the damage will be revealed after scans but the way Ramsey pulled up and made the gesture that indicates the muscle has torn did not augur well. "It looks serious," Wenger said. Arsenal absorbed the setback. They soaked up what West Ham had, they steadied themselves after the wobble and, in Theo Walcott, they had the hero of the final half-hour. The England forward had missed a gilt-edged chance in the first half, one of several Arsenal squandered, but he restored parity at a crucial juncture with a jink and a drive that was spilled by Adrián, the West Ham goalkeeper.

Walcott's second was a wonderfully reactive header after the substitute Lukas Podolski's cross had changed direction slightly at late notice off the head of James Tomkins. Walcott adjusted in a flash to direct a firm header beyond Adrián. West Ham were finally broken. Walcott now has four goals in three matches, after his pair in the 6-3 defeat at City.

There was even the added bonus, from an Arsenal perspective, of Podolski gilding his first appearance since 27 August and a serious hamstring injury with a trademark left-footed thump, after Olivier Giroud had expertly laid off Walcott's cross. Given Giroud's prodigious lone-striker workload, Podolski's return seemed timely.

Wenger felt that his team had answered big questions about their mentality and, also, their title credentials. "Yes, I agree with that," the manager said. "If we hadn't won, we would have had to answer many questions. We've had a difficult period but, honestly, mainly down to the schedule that we've had. The schedule was absolutely horrendous. When you do not win for four games, it is important to come back for the confidence level and win."

It was West Ham who suffered and not only because their injury list swelled further when James Collins was forced off with a calf strain; Ravel Morrison had reported a groin problem on Christmas Eve and did not play. There were regrets when the team failed to capitalise upon their purple patch after half-time but Sam Allardyce did not conceal his worry about how the club's points tally had slipped further behind the number of matches they had played. Much now hinges upon the visit of West Bromwich Albion on Saturday and the New Year's Day trip to Fulham.

Hope had sprung for West Ham when Cole's goal was the prompt for three further chances. With Mark Noble to the fore, Arsenal suddenly looked dishevelled and it was no exaggeration to say they were hanging on.

Noble put Matt Jarvis through only for Wojciech Szczesny to block; Joey O'Brien, completely unmarked, headed wide from Mohamed Diamé's cross and Cole could not finish from the substitute Razvan Rat's centre. You felt at the time that West Ham would live to regret the profligacy. "Three golden chances," said Allardyce, wistfully. "We let it slip through our fingers, haven't we?"

Cole's goal came when Jarvis checked inside Bacary Sagna to cross and, after Mikel Arteta could only half-clear, Kevin Nolan fizzed a shot at goal. Szczesny was partially unsighted but he could only parry and Cole shot home.

Wenger admitted he was worried. His team had enjoyed the better of the first half but could not score. Walcott fluffed his volley from Ramsey's brilliant ball and Giroud dragged badly wide from another Ramsey pass. Santi Cazorla was a persistent menace and Arsenal got in behind the West Ham full-backs. The home team flickered, with Noble's curling free-kick drawing an early save from Szczesny but the breakthrough had not been signposted.

"There is sometimes the guilt flying around the team … when you don't take your chances, you think basically we deserve to be punished and we were," Wenger said. "What happened was that we were under shock because we felt that we should be two or three up."

Arsenal left spaces as they chased the equaliser and Wenger went for broke, with Walcott and Podolski on the wings; Cazorla and Mesut Özil in behind Giroud. Adrián made a double save to thwart Cazorla and Özil but he was overpowered by Walcott. Podolski would be denied at close quarters by Adrián, from Cazorla's pass, before he enjoyed his moment in front of goal. West Ham must find answers.

David Hytner

theguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Chelsea 1-0 Swansea City

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 09:10 AM PST

• Pictures: the best images from Boxing Day's matches

Once the adrenaline was spent and the anxiety had given way to exhaustion, José Mourinho's sense of humour clicked in. "They kill me, they kill me," he offered through a smile. "Every game I'm left tired." Managing Chelsea might already carry a health warning, for all the hefty compensation pay-offs flung the way of the departed. Yet, even in victory, there is anxiety to endure when directing the current crop.

Mourinho has been animated on the touchline plenty of times since returning to the Premier League in the summer. He has been ordered from his technical area for constantly overreacting and once even charged across in front of the visitors' dugout and climbed into the East Stand to celebrate a goal with his son, José Jnr. Yet, while overseeing narrow success over a blunt Swansea team, the Portuguese's demeanour betrayed anxiety more than ever. This was pure pantomime. It was no wonder he looked drained.

There were constant bellowed instructions to his players whenever their guard slipped, the manager pacing his technical area and regularly resorting to scream in disbelief at his backroom staff whenever an opportunity, whether a clear-cut or half-chance, was passed up by his players. Steve Holland cowered, sinking further into his tracksuit, while Rui Faria pretended to ignore the histrionics, presumably having seen them all before. At one point Mourinho even started sinking to his calves, as if mimicking André Villas-Boas in that same chalked off area, when another line was fluffed out on the pitch.

Profligacy infects this team and dents their effectiveness. This should have been a stroll against a side whose best opportunity fell to Álvaro Vázquez just after the half-hour mark and was turned away by Petr Cech. "At half-time we all should be relaxed with a comfortable result and we weren't," said Mourinho.

"The first thing that happens in the second half was probably the biggest chance of the game and, after that, we had a clear penalty. If you add all these things up, we should have been comfortable and I could have been relaxed in the technical area and on the bench. But time goes on, we don't score a second goal and the opponents risk a bit more.

"The longer you don't score, the more you feel you are going to concede. At least today I can say the biggest responsibility for the lack of goals was their goalkeeper because he made three or four big saves. He played very well. We didn't miss chances. He saved them." Even so, this all felt familiar. Samuel Eto'o was denied three times, the opportunity 13 seconds after the break from Juan Mata's delicious delivery rather summing up the contest's trajectory. A yard either side of Gerhard Tremmel and the net would have bulged. As it is, Eto'o's volley from point-blank range struck the goalkeeper on the line and Swansea survived.

Those concerns over the strikers will persist, presumably, until the summer when the forward ranks are rejigged. Eto'o, Fernando Torres and Demba Ba boast five Premier League goals from a combined 17 starts this season, although criticising them is becoming a cliché. Chelsea could at least draw encouragement from Eden Hazard's winner, the team's leading scorer fed by Ashley Cole's pass to dart inside Jordi Amat and skim a shot goalwards, which Tremmel might have saved had Ashley Williams not dived across his eye-line.

Hazard was the subject of Mourinho's penalty appeal, too, as Amat dived in to claim the ball but then take the forward's back leg. "Big scissors in the box," said the Portuguese. "The kind of decision other managers cry about for two hours."

In truth, few home players had appeared aggrieved to see the calls waved away, even if it would have lanced the tension. When Swansea did threaten on the counterattack, Ramires scythed down the substitute Wilfried Bony on the halfway line and was booked. "It wasn't a silly action," added Mourinho but it did earn the Brazilian a fifth caution and a suspension for Sunday's visit of Liverpool.

Swansea cursed such cynicism though, appearing to be a side resigned to their own shortcomings. Michael Laudrup's team retain that class in possession but, stripped of the injured Michu, they can be toothless. This loss left them with two wins in 14 matches in all competitions, the Europa League having stretched their resources and disrupted their lineup.

trip to Aston Villa suddenly appears critical, particularly with a collision with Manchester City to come. "We have to take positives from this into the game at Villa," said Laudrup. "But this was what we expected. Teams like that have quality players who eventually make the difference: Oscar, Hazard, Mata, top, top international quality level. There's a reason these players play in certain teams rather than others."

It is upon those players whom Mourinho is leaning, both to create and convert. He had moved to shake Laudrup's hand well before added time had ticked down here, as if desperate for this all to be over. Even in victory, this did not feel enjoyable.

Dominic Fifield

theguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

West Ham v Arsenal – and Premier League clockwatch: as it happened | Sean Ingle

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 09:06 AM PST

Minute-by-minute report: It's a big Boxing Day fixture list – follow all of the action with Sean Ingle

Sean Ingle

Everton 0-1 Sunderland

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 09:05 AM PST

• Pictures: our pick of the best images from Boxing Day's matches

A tale of two goalkeepers renewed hope for Sunderland. Tim Howard was sent off with 70 minutes to play and Everton's unbeaten home record in the Premier League in 2013 disappeared with him. Vito Mannone excelled throughout and Gus Poyet received "the best present you could ever give me", with his keeper's defiance typifying Sunderland's refusal to be cut adrift.

Roberto Martínez's 10 men responded valiantly to the calamitous mistake that resulted in Howard's dismissal and Ki Sung-yueng's match-winning penalty but could find no way past Mannone. "Everton are the best team we have played against this season, even with 10 men," said Poyet as he savoured the first away win of his Sunderland reign.

The Everton manager was more pointed in his praise. "Our reaction was superb," Martínez said. "We had 25 attempts and 11 corners but it doesn't matter that their goalkeeper had an outstanding afternoon, we could have made a better pass or decision."

The contest, perhaps Sunderland's season, turned on the wrong pass and decision by Everton. Martínez made one change to keep things fresh over the festive period, Leon Osman for the in-form Ross Barkley, and it was to have damaging consequences. Everton made a sluggish start and Howard was almost sold short by a Phil Jagielka header as early as the second minute before he opted to play a goal-kick to Osman despite the close attentions of Ki. That was the first mistake. The second was a poor first touch from the Everton midfielder that gifted possession to the South Korea international, who rounded Howard but was clipped for the clear red card and penalty that duly followed.

The reactions of Osman and Howard were telling, and both their afternoons were over as the midfielder gave way to the substitute keeper, Joel Robles. Ki, scorer of Sunderland's Capital One Cup quarter-final winner against Chelsea, kept his composure to beat Robles convincingly from the spot. "We have very clear concepts about when the pass is on," said Martínez. "And when you receive the ball it's another decision. We got both decisions wrong. My only complaint is a law that means you get a double punishment, but the referee was spot on."

Only West Bromwich Albion have survived in the Premier League after being rooted to the bottom on Christmas Day and Sunderland, naturally, were receptive to the gift. Poyet said: "Football is incredible. You never know what is going to happen and everything changed with that mistake. We took advantage but, even with 10 men, we had to defend for our lives."

Martínez immediately switched to a 4-3-2 with Kevin Mirallas joining Romelu Lukaku in attack, before Mirallas disappeared down the tunnel for a toilet break for four minutes to leave Everton with nine men. "He had a stomach problem and had to go and see the doctor," explained the Everton manager, who will be without Howard and Gareth Barry for Sunday's game against Southampton after the influential midfielder received his fifth booking of the season.

The jolt did nothing for the initial quality of Everton's performance until Barkley was introduced for the second half and Sunderland, lively throughout on the break, almost doubled their lead when Ondrej Celustka tested Robles with an angled drive. Everton's keeper spilled the shot but made a superb reaction save to deny Sebastian Larsson on the rebound.

Modibo Diakité, part of a Sunderland defence missing the injured John O'Shea and the suspended Wes Brown, squandered a clear opening at the start of the second half and Steven Fletcher went close with a back-post header from Lee Cattermole's inviting cross.

But there was greater urgency from Everton's 10 men after the interval and Barkley's willingness to shoot on sight brought an added threat.

Mannone produced a fine save to keep out Phil Jagielka's header from a Bryan Oviedo corner and an even better stop when the Costa Rica defender cut inside and sent a rising shot towards the top corner from 20 yards. When Barkley attempted to reproduce the free-kick expertise that defeated Swansea City on Sunday, the Sunderland keeper thwarted Everton yet again with his finger tips.

He was finally beaten by Nikica Jelavic's diving header from the resulting corner but the on-loan Liverpool striker Fabio Borini cleared on the line, and he was spared again when Lukaku failed to meet an inviting cross in the final seconds.

"This result has to change our mentality," said Poyet, who has seen his team beat four of the top six Premier League sides in all competitions this season only to drop points repeatedly against the lesser lights. "There are no more excuses."

Andy Hunter

theguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Newcastle United 5-1 Stoke City

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 08:54 AM PST

Premier League: Stoke led before two red cards propelled them towards a St James' Park hiding

Everton 0-1 Sunderland

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 08:54 AM PST

Premier League: Ki Sung-yeung scored a penalty after Tim Howard's red card to sink in-form Everton

Tottenham 1-1 West Brom

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 08:54 AM PST

Premier League: Jonas Olsson cancelled out Christian Eriksen's goal to deny Tim Sherwood a win

Chelsea 1-0 Swansea City

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 08:54 AM PST

Premier League: One goal was all Chelsea needed as Eden Hazard scored a decisive first-half goal

Best portraits of 2013 – in pictures

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 08:10 AM PST

From artists to activists and politicians to personalities, a selection of the best portraits taken by Guardian photographers this year

Mee-Lai Stone
Paris Lees

Hull City v Manchester United – as it happened | Jacob Steinberg

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 06:42 AM PST

Minute-by-minute report: Will Hull deny United a third consecutive Premier League victory? Follow the action with Jacob Steinberg

Jacob Steinberg

Premier League: Boxing Day action – in pictures

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 06:18 AM PST

There is a packed programme of English top-flight matches. Here's our selection of the day's best images from them

Sydney FC 2-5 Brisbane Roar | A-League match report

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 03:15 AM PST

Brisbane became the first A-League team to reach 100 victories and did it in commanding style with a drubbing of Sydney FC

Ibrahimovic criticised for women's football remarks

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 02:52 AM PST

• PSG forward said male players deserve more recognition
• Pia Sundhage: It's about respect, we're doing the same stuff

Players in the men's national football team deserve to get more recognition than their female counterparts in Sweden and people should stop whipping up a gender storm about it, striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has said. His comments have sparked disappointment from Pia Sundhage, the coach of the Swedish women's national team, who branded them 'boring' and 'sad'.

Ibrahimovic spoke out after his country's FA was slammed for presenting midfielder Anders Svensson with a new Volvo for breaking Thomas Ravelli's record of 143 international caps. However, when women's midfielder Therese Sjogran failed to get similar recognition at the same football gala despite earning a record 187 caps, the move was widely criticised.

"With all respect for what the ladies have done, and they've done it fantastically well, you can't compare men's and women's football. Give it up, it's not even funny," the Paris Saint-Germain striker said in an interview with the Expressen newspaper published on Wednesday.

"When I come out in Europe they compare me to [Lionel] Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo. When I come home they compare me to a female player. With all respect for the ladies, they should be rewarded in relation to what they generate [financially].

"I was asked [by Swedish media] in the summer who was the better player, me or [Sweden striker] Lotta Schelin. You're joking with me, right? When I've broken all these records, this goal record, the goals in the national team, who shall I compare it to? Shall I compare it to whoever has the record, or the ladies?"

Sundhage responded by saying Ibrahimovic's viewpoint "betrays ... male football's values". She told STV that it was "boring and sad for Swedish football when a team captain puts it so. One time, he says that we are fantastic and then he thinks that we should have a bike … It feels like he is up and down in the article and it is unfortunately completely wrong, I think.

"I understand him when he says that [the men's] squad pulls in more money and exposure. But it's still about respect, we're doing the same stuff: it's football. Then, one should not compare men and women, it is quite impossible."


theguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Aston Villa's 'work in progress' heading in the wrong direction | Stuart James

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 01:20 AM PST

After a strong finish to last season and a bright start to this campaign Paul Lambert's side seem to have lost their spark

Paul Lambert is not a fan of statistics. The Aston Villa manager says that over-analysing numbers can "burn your brain" and overcomplicate a game that is "all about the scoreline". An alternative view might be that the facts and figures behind Lambert's second season in charge support the theory that Villa are not making a great deal of progress and, in some respects, are going backwards.

Villa, after 17 games of the season, sit 13th in the Premier League, one point and one place better off than they were at the same stage last year.

Delve a little deeper, look beyond the results and the numbers give credence to the increasingly popular opinion that Villa are serving up some poor football, to the extent that it is hard to know what the method is, and tactics are, behind their style of play.

According to Opta, Villa's average possession this season stands at 42.18%, which is lower than last season (44.23%) and less than every Premier League club with the exception of Crystal Palace. They have made 6,013 passes and their passing accuracy is 73.92% – lower than last season in both cases (6,141 and 76.08% respectively) – and in both categories only Palace have a worse record.

From open play Villa have delivered 200 crosses, which is 12 fewer than in 2012-13 and the joint lowest in the league along with Palace. As for the number of long balls, Villa have played a higher percentage (16.38%) than they did last season and more than any other team in the league. For those fans searching for some positives in all of this number-crunching Villa have registered five more shots on target this term.

Some more good news is that Villa's opponents at home on Boxing Day are none other than Palace, who are 18th and six points below the Midlands club. With a Swansea City side missing key personnel and lacking confidence – the Welsh club have won only twice in their past 13 matches – due at Villa Park two days later, followed by a trip for Villa to bottom-of-the-table Sunderland on New Year's Day, the festive schedule could not be more benign, in stark contrast to the same time last year, when Lambert's side were thumped 8-0 at Chelsea, 4-0 at home by Tottenham Hotspur and 3-0 at home by Wigan.

The fans know better, however, than to take anything for granted at home, where Villa have lost five of their eight league fixtures this season and been dreadful over the past two and a half years, winning only 11 of 46 matches and averaging less than a point per game.

It is remarkable – and testament to the loyalty of the supporters – that Villa's average attendance is still more than 36,000.

Villa's points haul is much better away from home, where they are far more comfortable soaking up pressure and hitting teams on the counterattack, rather than when the onus is on them to break opponents down.

The 3-2 victory at Southampton earlier in the month, when Villa enjoyed only 23% of possession, was a case in point. Lambert described Villa as "fantastic" that night. Others might cherish the result but file the game in the folder marked "lucky", along with the 3-2 home win over Manchester City in September, and wonder how many times Villa will pull off victories of that sort in the second half of the season.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment is that Villa, inspired by Christian Benteke, were showing really promising signs when they turned things around at the end of last season to pull clear of the bottom three. They carried that form into the first two matches of this campaign, when they won 3-1 at Arsenal and were desperately unlucky to lose 2-1 at Chelsea, but since then the spark has gone from their performances. Benteke's goals have dried up – he has not scored in 11 hours and 59 minutes of football – Andreas Weimann has failed to reproduce last season's form and the midfield, for all Fabian Delph's industry, remains desperately short of a creative influence.

The one area of improvement has been in defence – at least that was the case until Ron Vlaar, who has looked much more assured in his second season, limped out of the Southampton game at half-time with a calf injury.

Villa conceded two in the second half without Vlaar and, with the Dutchman still sidelined, their defence has been breached seven times in the past three matches.

Lambert knew at the outset that he had a major rebuilding job on his hands and he continues to describe Villa as a "work in progress".

The manager's policy of bringing in young and hungry players, while cutting the wage bill, was laudable and backed by the majority of the supporters, yet the reality is that it is hard to write "success" next to that many of the 15 players that have been signed for the best part of £40m over the past 18 months. It is more difficult still to discern what Villa's philosophy is on the pitch, where the numbers do not stack up.

Stuart James

theguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Written by TBMU Admin

We are Manchester United Fan located around the World which provides user friendly, effective and easy to browse info regarding our Team. Each support/info is free. Support us by clicking the ads located in this site. Thanks

0 comments :

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )
Click Picture Below for More Info

Popular Posts

Share

 





© 2013 TBMU . All rights resevered. Published by The Best Manchester United Admin Blogger

Back To Top