UNITED WERE LUCKY

Manchester United were extremely lucky to come out of the FA Cup third-round match with West Ham United with a draw according to the manager Sir Alex Ferguson. As a result of the 2-2 draw, United have been able to take the match into a replay at Old Trafford.

Due to the fact that this match is at home, United are now the favourites to reach the next round of the FA Cup. Ferguson said ahead of the match with West Ham that it was a tough encounter for United without a doubt. It raised a few eyebrows because West Ham were without a win since the 3-1 win over Chelsea in early December. Continue reading UNITED WERE LUCKY

DIMI IS CLASS

The Fulham midfielder Steve Sidwell has said that the class of the former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov has been extremely key to the revival of the club this season. Fulham have been one of the surprising packages of the season, but they would have struggled big-time without the presence of the Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov up front. The 30-year-old joined the club in the summer for around £ 5 million from Manchester United, while it took a last-minute deal from the club to seal his signature ahead of the Italian club Fiorentina. He has been one of the signings of the season after scoring numbers goals and offering assists in the match as he has played so far.

Berbatov was once again at his best in the recent 3-3 draw for Fulham with Arsenal. He scored two goals and created the other in an extremely impressive display, which even draw the praise of the opposition manager Arsene Wenger. In total, Berbatov has scored five goals for Fulham in the Premier league this season. Fulham were extremely in need of goals following the loss of Clint Dempsey and Dembele in the transfer window. It has come in the form of the Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov.

“After losing Clint, our top scorer last season, and Mousa, with the type of player he is, the fans thought ‘This is going to be a tough season’, and us players thought it too. But we brought in quality too. With Berba, people can see what he’s done already in games, and the class that he brings. He’s got that class, and he shows it day-in and day-out in training,” said Steve Sidwell. Sidwell has also said that he is enjoying the best time in his career after slowly recovering from the poor spells at Chelsea and Aston Villa.

DEFEAT IS UNACCEPTABLE

The Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said that the 2-1 defeat at the hands of Chelsea during the weekend was extremely unacceptable. Arsene Wenger saw his team defeated by two set piece goals in the match against Chelsea. This resulted in Arsenal losing the first match of the season. So far, they have made a great start to the season unlike in previous years when they had to pay a lot of price for going behind to early in the season. Fernando Torres opened the scoring in the first half, but Gervinho equalised for Arsenal just a few minutes before the break.

Arsenal were unable to hold on to the lead for much longer after Juan Mata extended the Chelsea lead in the second half through a wonderful freekick that appeared to take a small deflection of the defender Laurent Koscielny. Speaking after the match, the Arsenal manager has said that he is extremely disappointed to lose the match in such a way conceding two set piece goals. He has said that only they are to blame for the defeat. Arsenal did not manage to create a lot of opportunities in the final 10 min of the match, which was also disappointing for the Arsenal manager.

“It is unacceptable to give away goals like that in the big games. We can only blame ourselves. We lacked real authority and decisiveness at the back. I am deeply disappointed. We gave two cheap goals away, they had three shots on goal and scored two goals. Was it a mistake to leave out Per Mertesacker? Maybe. But we will never know. We cannot play the game again,” said the manager after the match. He has also said that the striker Olivier Giroud, who came on as a substitute, should have scored from a number of chances he had.

NO MOVE FOR FALCAO

The Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has said that the star striker Radamel Falcao will not be moving to in the Chelsea and Manchester United in the January transfer window. The Colombian international has been linked with a move to some of the best clubs in the world for a long time, but he decided to move to the Spanish club Atletico Madrid for around £ 31 million last season. He was one of the main reasons for the club winning the Europa league last season. He was once again at his imperious best in the recent match with Chelsea in the Super cup.

Radamel Falcao helped Atletico Madrid destroy Chelsea in the final of the competition. He scored a wonderful hat-trick and it has once again begun rumours about an impending departure from Atletico Madrid. However, the president of the club has confirmed that he expects the player to stay with the club beyond January. Immediately after the Super cup match, Radamel Falcao’s father said that his son would definitely play for the likes of Chelsea and Real Madrid. Enrique Cerezo, though, has dismissed such suggestions by saying that the player has a contract and expects him to stay.

‘I do not give him (Garcia) any importance. The player himself is not saying it, so there is nothing wrong. A father can say whatever he wishes about his sons, but Falcao has clearly explained that he is happy and content at Atletico and will be here for four years. We are in a fantastic moment, a happy moment. We have a fantastic team and coach and I do not see Falcao’s father’s statements as destabilising. Everything is very calm. Falcao is not leaving,’ Cerezo told a Spanish radio station in response to rumours linking Falcao with a move away from the club.

The best ever year for sport?

2012 has been an extraordinary sporting year for Britain, we witnessed incredible, unthinkable and marvelous scenes throughout the year. The Premier League had its most exciting finish ever, not only did Manchester City lift their first title for 44 years it was the manner in which they done so.

The Citizens were pushed to the very final day by their rivals Manchester United who up until the 90th minute on the last day of the season were set to lift their 20th Premier League title but two extra time goals secured 3 points for City and ultimately the championship. Not only was the race to the top exciting there were many personal battles throughout the league – Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea and Newcastle found themselves dueling for 3rd and 4th positions in the league which would guarantee the chance to play in the Champions League. It was the two North London clubs, Arsenal and Tottenham, who secured those positions. Continue reading The best ever year for sport?

SPURS CHASE DAMIAO

Tottenham are ready to seal the deal for the Brazilian striker Leandro Damião. The club are determined to sign the player ahead of the major European clubs like Chelsea and Manchester city. Tottenham were the first club to have an official interest in the Internacional midfielder Oscar.

However, Chelsea managed to beat them to the signing of the influential playmaker, who has moved to Stamford Bridge for £ 25 million. It is very much expected that Internacional will be selling both Oscar and Leandro Damião in the summer. Now that they have sold Oscar, the club looking to complete the sale of the striker Leandro Damião, who has impressed that for the Brazilian national team at the London Olympics 2012.

He is currently the top scorer of the men’s football tournament and would be welcomed by the spurs fans at all of the Tottenham fixtures! He is widely expected to help Brazil in the much elusive gold medal. It is the only trophy that is absent in the trophy cabinet for Brazil. They have been by far the best team in the tournament after they have scored three goals in all matches they have played at the London Olympics 2012. The form of Leandro Damião has been a major contributor towards this. As a result, the manager Andre Villas-Boas is keen to make the signing of the Brazil international for around £ 15 million as soon as possible.

Tottenham are ready to leave the signing of Manchester city striker Emmanuel Adebayor after it has emerged that the Togo international is unlikely to come to terms with the London club due to his wage demands of around £ 5 million if he does not receive the payoff from Manchester city. The striker is currently demanding around £ 5 million from Manchester city in order to move to Tottenham. The striker still has two seasons left on his deal.