Cardiff are four points behind Championship leaders Queens Park Rangers after being held to a 1-1 draw at home to struggling Preston.
North End looked on course for a shock 1-0 win after Michael Tonge's deflected free-kick put them in front but a headed goal by Andy Keogh in the fourth minute of stoppage time spared the Bluebirds' blushes.
Welsh rivals Swansea jumped to third in the table, just a point behind Cardiff, thanks to a 3-1 victory at Ipswich in the lunchtime kick-off at Portman Road.
Town had taken the lead through Andros Townsend but the Swans came fighting back to take the point thanks to a brace from Craig Beattie and a further strike from Joe Allen.
Elsewhere Norwich leapfrogged over Derby with a 2-1 win at Pride Park, while Leeds and Coventry also moved above Nigel Clough's men with victories over Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough respectively.
Palace looked to be heading for an unlikely win courtesy of a Neil Danns strike but Luciano Becchio scored two goals in the last nine minutes to secure the points.
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Marlon King got the only goal from the penalty spot in the 78th minute for the Sky Blues to see off a Boro side that had earlier missed a penalty through Leroy Lita.
And finally Watford picked up only their second win in 10 games with a 3-2 win at home to Leicester.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Gary Neville thinks it’s part of the game. Continentals accept it. The British despise it, despite being rather good at it themselves. The question is: what are we to do about diving?
The British like to see themselves as paragons of virtue. Playing the game (whatever that game may be), in the right spirit, with a stiff upper lip and a sense of fair-play. Of course football has rarely been like that. There were enough scandals to fill many a paper even in the old days, and thuggery was a common occurrence both off and on the pitch, but even nowadays barely a minute passes in a football match without some form of cheating, be it claiming a throw-in you know not to be yours, feigning injury, diving, or just trying to influence the referee. Cheating in all its forms is part of the game – but that doesn’t mean we have to accept it.
One of the most irritating aspects of the past year is how football’s most hateable figure turned out to be a sensible and erudite football pundit. But whilst I’ve agreed with most of what Gary Neville has said during this season, I can’t back him up on the issue of diving. In an article he penned for the Daily Mail last week, he wrote about how a practice that initially disgusted him and his fellow youth team colleagues soon became accepted as they progressed into the first team, and through Champions League campaigns.
“Quite soon we were all playing for United’s first team in Europe. And that’s when the real education began. Between 1995-1999, when we won our first Champions League, we learned tactical and technical lessons, but we also had an education in other aspects of the game: running the clock down, slowing the game down, tactical fouls and, yes, winning a free-kick. Slowly it dawned on us. This isn’t going to change. This is the way the game is played at a global level. It doesn’t matter what Gary Neville from Bury thinks. This is the game at the top level.”
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“So gradually your thinking changes. You might say your morality weakens. Certainly the value system you grew up with is challenged.”
“The game we play in England has changed. It is now influenced by the global game and how it is played. Only around 35 per cent of players starting this weekend will be English. And just as those Italian parents would get so het up about Nicky Butt, we have to accept that different cultures have different value systems.”
“At the end of it all I’m in a moral daze because I can see my values have changed so much. And, when I analyse it, I realise over time I’ve come to accept other people’s values.”
“In the same way our game has changed and the authorities are not going to accommodate English cultural attitudes into their refereeing. I do understand why we get so upset about diving. I’m sad that the innocence of the seven-year-old has been lost. In some ways I like the purity that game represented. But it’s not the game we play any more.”
That’s fair enough. But the attitude of fans is always going to be different to that of players. The problem with clamping down on diving is that there is such a thin line between a dive, a stumble, and ensuring contact with an opposition player. It would be hard to punish Ashley Young for his two efforts as there was contact despite the fact he engineered it in one instance and was lightly brushed in the other. Players such as Gareth Bale have argued that they have dived to avoid a crunching tackle, to get out of the way. So where do we draw the line? Only a blatant dive could realistically be punished. A friend came up with a suggestion that if a player dives and then claims a penalty, then he should be open to retrospective punishment, as it is proof of trying to con the referee – and it sounds like a good idea to me. Either way, it’s unlikely that any clampdown will occur.
There is a valid point, as made by Neville, to be made that English football is part of a global game, financed, staffed and played by English and foreigners alike. It is hard to eradicate a practice that many in the game don’t have a problem with. And if the English game completely clamped down on diving, then it would fall foul when in European competition, when suddenly the old rules persist, where different ideals exist.
And what’s more diving works. It gets Ashley Young two penalties, when being properly fouled and staying on your feet often results in no reward, and the thought from the fans that “he should have gone down there”.
My problem is that such practices are diluting my enjoyment of the game. Take El Clasico this weekend. What on paper should be one of the most exciting games of the season will inevitably be reduced to me shouting abuse at the screen after yet another player lies crying on the pitch clutching his ankle after the merest of contact. I will never stop watching or loving football, that much I know, but sometimes my patience is tested, and I can understand why some have fallen out of love with the modern game. It seems winning at all costs is the game’s only mantra now.
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But whilst writing this blog and watching football over the past week, I have begun to realise there’s something much worse than diving anyway. Diving is there to try and win a goal, by any means (as players seem to lose their balance most when suddenly entering penalty areas). It can have a consequence of further punishment for the opposition player, but I would speculate that most dives aren’t committed with that aim in mind. There is one form of “cheating” though that seeks not only to gain an advantage in play, but to also cheat the opposition, and to con the referee into punishing the other team further – it’s the feigning of injury. Didier Drogba gave a masterclass in it this week, though I think his intentions may have been partly (if not mostly) to disrupt the game, and Barcelona’s rhythm. For a true master of the dark arts however, look no further than Franck Ribery’s ninety-minute display of life-threatening tackles from Real Madrid that I presume have ruled him out of the game for at least six months. It truly was a pathetic spectacle to behold, and what’s more, like El Clasico to come, it totally ruined my enjoyment of a greatly-anticipated match. But even more than diving, how could you possibly prove a player was feigning injury? And like the boy who cried wolf, taking a harder attitude on injured players will one day leave someone in real peril.
So it’s fine to want to eradicate diving out of the English game – it’s much harder to actually implement it. And whilst other countries have banned players for diving retrospectively, a sign that it can work and act as a warning to all players, let’s not forget that it’s not the only problem with the game right now, and if we are serious about cleaning up the game, then let’s look at other forms of cheating too.
New Manchester City signing Gael Clichy cannot wait to get started at his new club, declaring there is ‘no limit’ to what they can achieve.The former Arsenal full-back became Roberto Mancini’s first signing in the off-season after signing a four-year deal on Monday.
On the back of a season that saw them finish third in the English Premier League, securing Champions League qualification, and winning their first major trophy in 35 years in the FA Cup, Clichy believes City is a club on the up.
“There is no limit at Manchester City,” France international Clichy said.
“Of course, you have to be realistic but there is no limit. Where they have come from in three years is phenomenal. And I want to win things.”
Clichy will be competing with the likes of Aleksandar Kolarov, Joleon Lescot and – provided he stays at Eastlands – Wayne Bridge for a left-back slot in Mancini’s side.
But the Toulouse native is looking forward to the challenge.
“Sometimes it is difficult to have a lot of players because you have to leave some out. But you need to have a big squad to go all the way. That is why I joined City.”
“It’s a new life for me, a new chapter but I’m really looking forward to it because it’s an amazing challenge for me.”
Clichy, 26, spent eight years with Arsenal, and was part of the north London club’s last championship winning side in 2004.
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Using the phrase ‘two horse race’ is lamer than Sergio Ramos’s attempts at time-wasting, but after just 12 games of the La Liga season, there’s a clear trend that suggests the two pedigree animals are about to leave their rivals trailing in their wake. Some of the closer pursuers are by no means useless nags, but such has been the relentless class of Liga’s top 2 that already a sizeable gap has emerged. We’d be as hesitant as Xabi Alonso taking a free-kick to declare any game held in November is a title decider, but there’s no doubt that whichever of Spain’s fiercest rivals prevails in this version of el Clasico will feel confident about going all the way.
If the likelihood of a tremendously exciting Barca v Real clash wasn’t enough to get you interested, then the fantastic Money-Back Special Paddy Power are offering on the match will help. If there are more than 4 goals in this match, Paddy Power will refund all losing 1st Goalscorer, Last Goalscorer, Correct Score and Scorecast single bets on the match. It seem like a lot of goals, but bearing in mind the option of 4 or more goals is just a 13/8 shot, it’s not as unlikely as you’d would normally think.
With the corporate messages out of the way, now we can look at the likely outcome of this game. Whilst Real Madrid haven’t quite engaged in the ritual slaughtering of rivals in the same manner as Barcelona, they have already assimilated those typically Jose Mourinho traits of efficiency, pouncing on weakness and overwhelming smugness. Strangely for a team managed by the Special One, they’re also combining success with huge dollops of style.
Both sides do struggle from defensive weakness. Real have done marginally better in this respect, but the stats hide the fact it’s thanks in large part to the supreme efforts of Iker Casillas. He may get little to do, but when he does, he almost always does it well. He’s made some crucial saves at crucial times that have facilitated easy wins for his team that otherwise would have been more hard fought. Monday evening promises to be his busiest evening of the season to date and the success of his efforts at keeping the waves of Barcelona attacks at bay are going to go a long way to deciding who emerges with the upper hand in the race for the Spanish title.
If Barcelona hit top gear, no team can live with them and the 11/10 for a home win looks good. One major note of caution would be the Special One’s ability to stifle his former employers. He did it with Inter Milan en route to Champions League glory earlier this year and there’ll be plenty of people taking up the option to back Real Madrid @ 5/2. Such a result would give los Blancos a four point lead at the top of the table and no doubt see the Camp Nou sprinklers once again whir into action moments after the final whistle.
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It takes more than physical skill to be a winner at the highest level of professional sports. It needs grit, determination, focus and confidence. Chelsea have shown that in spades in their last three Champions’ League games. In both legs against Barcelona in the semi finals, the Blues were pinned to the proverbial wall from start to finish; tonight, in the main, was more of the same.
Home-town favourites Bayern Munich had more of the ball, four times as many opportunities on goal, and a plethora of chances to kill the 2012 Champions’ League Final both in regular time and extra time. Arjen Robben’s missed penalty, chances squandered by Mario Gomes and Thomas Muller, the botched pass from Ivica Olic which rolled past Daniel van Buyten before an open goal…
And yet Chelsea were the victors, courtesy of defying all the odds over 270 minutes. Even after John Terry’s moment of insanity in the Nou Camp, Roberto Di Matteo’s ten men clung grimly on, finding the mental strength to recover from 2-0 down and advance with an astonishing display of bloody-mindedness and sheer willpower.
Several of Chelsea’s staff embody this mental capacity. Di Matteo’s composure, level-headedness and humility in the face of all the pressures and plaudits he has encountered of late have been incredibly eye-catching. He refuses to let the incessant speculation over his future cloud the importance of the present, and has cajoled a squad which was at breaking point into an impenetrable, cohesive unit.
Didier Drogba’s selfless energy and work ethic have shone out over Chelsea’s run to the Champions’ League trophy. The Ivorian’s commitment to covering his teammates is outstanding. Chelsea fans will have noticed it long ago, I’m sure, but it’s only really dawned on me watching the semi-finals and tonight’s game that whenever Ashley Cole or Jose Bosingwa is caught out of position, it’s almost invariably Drogba who busts a gut to get back there and plug the gap. Yes, he conceded a penalty in extra time – but doesn’t that tell you something? How many strikers would have been in the position to concede it?
Veteran striker Drogba may have just played his final game for Chelsea – but between his effort defensively, the bullet header to equalise in the dying moments and the title-clinching penalty conversion, surely he has done enough to extend his eight-year stay in London. And even in the jubilant scenes which followed the shoot-out, the Ivorian found time to console not only Bastien Schweinstaiger, but his former Chelsea teammate Robben, with whom he talked and hugged for some time while his teammates celebrated.
Depleted in midfield, Di Matteo leaned heavily on Frank Lampard to anchor his team, and the Chelsea stalwart did not disappoint. This was not a night for Lampard to showcase his attacking talents, but he covered as much ground as he could in shadowing Muller and Toni Kroos and harrassing Bayern’s creative talents when they came within shooting range.
Ashley Cole rolled back the years to produce one of the finest defensive displays of his Chelsea career (Image | Sky Sports)
And then there was the back four. Many – me, for a start – believed that the absence of John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic would be decisive. Although Bosingwa and David Luiz weren’t perfect in their performance – Luiz committed so many fouls it wouldn’t have been surprising to see him sent to an early bath – their work rate was outstanding. Gary Cahill played through the pain barrier in extra time.
Cole, meanwhile, personifies the siege-defence mentality Chelsea have been forced to adopt in the latter stages of this tournament, the England left-back producing one of the most memorable displays of his career in timing every tackle to perfection and getting in block after block as Munich threatened to overcome their ‘visitors’.
Many in red showed that they had what it takes to win tonight, too. Manuel Neuer, barely tested in two hours of football, stood up to save Juan Mata’s penalty and then convert his own in the shoot-out. Philipp Lahm exorcised his shoot-out demons of the semi-final; Muller recovered from a couple of poor misses to score the opening goal seven minutes from the end of normal time.
In the end, however, Bayern didn’t get enough from their front three tonight. Robben, Gomes and Frank Ribery combined to blaze shot after shot over the bar or round the post, and on several occasions missed the target when it should have been easier to hit it. And after Robben’s penalty miss in extra time seemed to herald a shoot-out, it was Schweinstaiger, the archetypal Munich hero, whose stuttering run-up backfired so spectacularly in the final moment of the competition.
There will, naturally, be endless questions over the next couple of months about the futures of Di Matteo, Drogba and others in the Chelsea squad. For now, at least, they have proven their worth – mentally, as well as in terms of results – to Roman Abramovich and Chelsea.
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Article courtesy of Rob Schatten from his excellent blog ‘The Armchair Pundits’
Chelsea have re-signed veteran goalkeeper Hilario for another year, the English Premier League runners-up announced on Monday.The shot-stopper has made 37 appearances for the west London club since joining from Portuguese outfit Nacional in June 2006.
The one-cap Portugal international will spend at least one more season at Stamford Bridge, where he has provided back up to first-choice keeper Petr Cech.
“Hilario has signed a one-year extension to his current Chelsea contract,” a statement on the club’s website read.
“The 35-year-old goalkeeper’s contract would have run out this summer but he will now spend a sixth season at Stamford Bridge, having so far made 33 starts and four substitute appearances in his role as one of the keepers supporting Petr Cech.”
“Last season, Hilario played one game, the Community Shield match against Manchester United at Wembley. In March 2010, he made his one appearance for the Portugal national side.”
The extension puts an end to speculation Hilario was on his way out of the club, who remain without a manager since the sacking of Carlo Ancelotti on May 22.
The only pass that Edwin van der Sar seems to making these days is with the Manchester United supporters.
It has never been a secret that Sir Alex Ferguson’s managerial achilles’ heel has always been with the goalkeeper position, and it seems to be rearing it’s ugly head again.
van der Sar, who has just turned 40-years old, is unavoidably on the verge of retirement, and it comes as a relief that Sir Alex is already making an honest effort to bring in a suitable, accomplished goalkeeper to fill the void when he does call it a day.
There have been a handful of top-class goalkeepers linked with a move to Old Trafford, but Ferguson must pay for the best of the best rather than trying to develop another one, because it is one position that can either make or break a team’s aspirations.
That goalkeeper must possess not only the ability to play for one of the world’s biggest clubs, but also the mindset to handle the stresses of playing on football biggest stage at Old Trafford.
As he has discovered the hard way, Sir Alex has seen many ‘keepers with the ability try to make it, but unfortunately he has only had two in his 24 years to make it more than four years.
Merry-Go-Round
Before Peter Schmeichel arrived in 1991, Ferguson was faced with a goalkeeping dilemma having four different shot-stoppers – Chris Turner, Gary Walsh, Jim Leighton and Les Sealey – all making at least 30 appearances in his first four-and-a-half seasons with United.
Following Big Pete’s retirement in 1999, Sir Alex Ferguson went through another 11 different goalkeepers before signing van der Sar from Fulham for £2 million in 2005.
Edwin is revered as the man that helped organize United and lead them out of the dark days during the 2004/05 and 2005/06 seasons to the most successful three years in the club’s history.
Conversely though, he has not reach the heights he did in previous seasons, and his age may just finally be catching up to him.
The most disappointing part of Edwin’s game this year has been his distribution, because it has been very poor to say the least.
Five
However, the only time he has been remotely criticized for one of his five nearly costly lapses in judgment has been his hollower against West Bromwich Albion, which cost United two points, and ultimately subjected United to massive amounts of pressure from the media.
Thankfully, his other FOUR mistakes were not as costly, but they also cannot be forgotten or passed off as they have been.
Chris Brunt’s lofted ball into the United six-yard box was not the only time that van der Sar fumbled a very tame cross, either.
Prior to that, his first blunder which went unpunished was against Valencia.
Juan Mata floated in a cross from his right, which VDS completely misjudged it, but thankfully for United, so did Roberto Soldado, and the Valencia hitman was unable to direct his header under the bar.
THREE times in the last four starts, van der Sar has put his teammates under the cosh by clearing the ball directly to an opposing player, and if they were more accomplished finishers, then United would have been severely punished and forced to come from behind.
His next shocking mistake came against Stoke City when he wanted to prevent putting United under the strain of facing a long throw-in from Rory Delap, so he tried booting the ball down field, but it went to straight to the man who he wanted to prevent taking the throw-in.
With the United goalkeeper scrambling to get back, Delap had time to settle the ball down and have a shot from 40-yards out, but the goal gaping, the Stoke City midfielder screwed his attempt horribly wide and VDS was let off.
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His next mistake came against Bursaspor in the UEFA Champions League match.
With the match tied at nil-nil, and just on the stroke half-time, Edwin’s weak kick fell to Gustav Svensson 20-yards from goal, but the Green Crocodiles midfielder blasted well over the the United bar when he should have done much, much better.
Most recently, he hurried his clearance and it went straight to Karl Henry, but the Wolverhampton captain did not have the accuracy, or the awareness to really test the out-of-position United goalkeeper.
While he was not at fault for Sylvan Ebanks-Blake’s equalizer, VDS needs to accept responsibility for failing to reach his intended targets throughout the match.
Sir Alex Ferguson has to be aware of the deterioration of first-choice his goalkeeper, so the supporters, whether they agree with this observation or not, must believe that the Gaffer will buy a ready-made goalkeeper to fill Edwin van der Sar’s gloves rather than another tailor-made one.
Read more excellent blogs at ‘The United Religion’ website below
The FA have charged Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic with violent conduct, after he was caught punching Wigan forward Shaun Maloney in Saturday’s game at Stamford Bridge.
Television footage captured the Serbian full back striking out at the Scottish attacker, which was not picked up by the match officials.
The governing body has confirmed that Ivanovic is set to be punished, and has set the date for appeal.
“Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic has today [Tuesday 10 April 2012] been charged by the FA with violent conduct following an incident in his side’s game against Wigan Athletic,” an official statement reads.
“Ivanovic was involved in an incident with Wigan’s Shaun Maloney, which was not seen by the match officials, but caught on video, during his side’s 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge on Saturday 7 April 2012.
“Ivanovic has until 6pm on 11 April 2012 to respond to the charge,” it concludes.
Typical punishments for offences such as this generally carry a three-match ban, and if this was upheld Ivanovic would miss this weekend’s FA Cup semi-final with Tottenham and London derby fixtures with QPR and Arsenal.
Also, Mirror Football have indicated that Ivanovic has emerged as a transfer target for Real Madrid.
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The Serb’s versatility is reportedly an asset that would be appreciated at the Santiago Bernabeu, and Jose Mourinho is a fan of the Chelsea man.
Rangers striker David Healy has been left out of the Northern Ireland squad ahead of next week’s Carling Nations Cup.As his club side wrapped up the Scottish Premier League title on Saturday, Healy continued to struggle to find game time since moving from Sunderland in January.
Northern Ireland manager Nigel Worthington did not pick the 31-year-old for the squad to face the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday and Wales three days later.
Teenager midfielder Josh Carson has received a call-up with Stuart Dallas and Jordan Owens also new faces in the squad.
Alan Blayney, Robert Garrett and Colin Coates were also included in the young squad.
Northern Ireland are without Birmingham goalkeeper Maik Taylor, Fulham defender Aaron Hughes, West Brom midfielder Chris Brunt and Celtic winger Patrick McCourt, with all four being rested.
Squad: Jonathan Tuffey (Inverness), Alan Blayney (Linfield), Lee Hodson (Watford), Craig Cathcart (Blackpool), Colin Coates (Crusaders), Gareth McAuley (Ipswich), Ryan McGivern (Man City), Adam Thompson (Watford), Josh Carson (Ipswich), Sammy Clingan (Coventry), Niall McGinn (Celtic), Stuart Dallas (Crusaders), Steven Davis (Rangers), Robert Garrett (Linfield), Johnny Gorman (Wolves), Oliver Norwood (Man Utd), Liam Boyce (Werder Bremen), Warren Feeney (Oldham), Josh McQuoid (Millwall), Jordan Owens (Crusaders)
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson believes that striker Wayne Rooney may be fit to feature in England's upcoming European Championship qualifier against Montenegro.
The 24-year-old is currently struggling with an ankle injury and will miss his club's clash with Sunderland this weekend, but Ferguson thinks that Rooney could ready to play some part in the Euro2012 qualifier a week on Tuesday.
He told the local radio station Key103:"Wayne trained yesterday and he wants to play tomorrow.
"But I have to take the view that this injury has been niggling away for a while and he kept on playing.
"I have to be dead sure that I am doing the right thing, because Wayne has not been doing himself justice.
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"I think in a week he will be fine. Obviously we don't play in a week, so it is up to Fabio Capello whether he wants him to."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email