A Champions Performance - A Vital Win

Wayne Rooney's swearing fit of joy/relief after he completed his unpredictable hat-trick pretty much summed up the feelings of the majority of Manchester United fans. This was a man who knew he hadn't played as well as he could have in the first half, and the pressure had been building. He had started ahead of the Premier League's top scorer, who sat on the bench with his new short hair cut, waiting to come on - a call many United fans were asking for. But he proved everyone wrong with that third goal which hauled United over the line ahead of an irritatingly hard to get past West Ham side.

United dominated the play, but after two very avoidable penalties were conceded and scored by Mark Noble, it was an uphill battle at the ground where a second string United team had conceded four in a Carling Cup encounter with Avram Grants side. Sir Alex was frustrated by the situation they were in; "Being two goals down was a travesty in terms of possession and chances created." 


So, sitting up in the stands, watching his players from above, the veteran United manager was in the perfect position to decide what to change - and big decisions were needed. The big substitution at half time was taking the perpetrator for the first penalty, Patrice Evra off, and throwing on the baby face Javier Hernandez, a young man with a growing goalscoring reputation.


It paid off, and in the 64th minute, a free kick was won. Now since Beckham and Ronaldo left United, there  has been a distinct lack of goals from free-kicks, especially at vital times. As Rooney stepped up, many I'm sure were expecting it to pathetically rebound off the wall, but this was not the case. Instead, Rooney scored 
the first of his three goals, and United were suddenly back in the game.


An Antonio Valencia cross was brought down superbly by Rooney and he took a touch to smash it into the bottom left hand corner of the West Ham net in a delightful finish. United weren't going to stop there however, oh no. Typically, United would go for the win, and, with all of the momentum of a quick fire double from an inspired Wayne Rooney, they were in the driving seat, with no chance of hitting the breaks.


When the little Brazilian Fabio worked his way into the box and was closed down by Upson, it looked like any chance was gone, but a clever little flick which hit the defenders arm prompted Lee Mason to point to the spot, for Rooney to step up and place into the corner. It also prompted Rooney to confront his critics with his potty mouth in front of the camera, in the midst of being mobbed by his United team mates. 


The win was there for the taking, but United were not safe yet, and United fans would have been thinking back to the early stages of the season when late goals were all that seemed to be occurring. Nevertheless, a nicely played counter attack saw Rooney roll it to Ryan Giggs, who never seemed to stop after being moved to left back at half time, and the Welshman crossed it across the ground for his little Mexican team mate to do what he does best from a few yards out.


Sir Alex Ferguson reacted to moving eight points clear of Arsenal in the table:

"We played like champions today, we kept our heads up and didn't lose faith in our ability.

"It's never easy coming here. They are fighting relegation but we had to do our thing.

"We dominated that second half and it was a real championship performance.

"Arsenal have a game in hand. It could go to goal difference but I somehow don't think so."

Berbatov came on and played brilliantly. His touch is, as ever, exquisite, and his hold up play is superb. It was a small cameo that may push him into contention for starting the Champions League game against Chelsea, but in Ferguson's mood of playing Rooney and Chicharito may over rule again. That is the beauty of it though, because the bench is so strong - Nani, Michael Owen, Chicharito and Rooney started on the bench - showing the strength in depth at United.


It was a a Champions performance, and a performance that has stepped United closer to holding aloft that Premier League trophy, ahead of Arsenal who drew at the Emirates against Blackburn.

Carlos Tevez Hands Man City Transfer Request

Tevez has proved over his footballing career that he isn't exactly the most loyal of players. He left struggling West Ham for success at Manchester United. He became a fan favourite at Old Trafford, and seemed to have a good connection with the club. Alas, he moved to arc rivals Manchester City - rubbing salt in the Red Devils wounds. He is now a key player for City, as well as a good tool for City fan to tease their local rivals with. However, he has now handed in a transfer request to Manchester City - a move which will rock the club and it's fans as they prepare to say a bitter goodbye to their key, influential and best player.

As the club captain, you would expect him to be the perfect example of a mature, calming - and good influence in general to his surrounding players. A good influence is what he is (or can be) as his skill, movement, finishing, work rate and desire highlights to his colleagues what it means to win. But he showed a complete lack of respect last week when his manager, Roberto Mancini substituted him. Shaking his head, clearly muttering disapprovingly under his breath, walking off in anger and contempt.

His manager tried to explain his decision - something a manager shouldn't have to do, as their decision are final - they are in charge. But as I wrote on the 24th July on this blog, Mancini has, and is having a tough time managing all of these big, overpaid egos at City. Balotelli emphasised this today as he received a yellow card for dissent before storming past Mancini, shaking his head when he was substituted.

You might say that the substitution incidents simply show a players passion for wanting to play, but they are effectively ridiculing and showing total disrespect for the manager and managerial staff by throwing tantrums in front of their colleagues and fans. What kind of example does this set? Not a good one.

The fact is, Tevez has put Manchester City in an uncomfortable position with this transfer request. He is not only the captain of the cub, but he is also their best players and City have often been criticized for their over-reliance on the Argentinian.

City can paint over the cracks with all of their money to spend on a new striker, but the example that Tevez has set with his rebellious behaviour - already being repeated by Balotelli this week, is something that can only weaken the team spirit and have a detrimental effect on the team. They have gone second in the League due to their win against West Ham without him, but is the absence of Tevez something that they will have to get used to quite soon?

Roy Keane to Take on Old Rivals in Cup Semi Final

Just as cup draws always seem to do, two former rivals will fight fiercely against each other once again. Former Manchester United captain, Roy Keane and his Ipswich side have been drawn against United's notorious rival in Arsene Wenger and Arsenal, while the former Birmingham owners will see their current club, West Ham take on their old side.

Keane was renowned for his highly competitive, and aggressive style of play - the perfect leader therefore, for a massive club, and his Ipswich players would probably tell you that he hasn't lost any of his massive passion for winning. In his playing days, there was no team that Keane loved beating more than Arsenal, so the Irishman will gratefully snatch the chance to re-live his United glory days and progress to the Carling Cup final.

Birmingham, who progressed to this stage thanks to a 2 - 1 win over bitter local rivals Aston Villa, have been drawn against lesser rivals; but rivals for a different reason. David Sullivan and David Gold owned Birmingham for 15 years, but left amid certain allegations in 2008 and admitted that:

"deep down the public have had enough of us".

Thanks to comments made by Gold, including calling the Birmingham chairman "disgusting" he was banned by Birmingham's ground, St Andrews for the recent Premier League match between the Blues and the Hammers, so it will be interesting to see the on the pitch battle between the two teams fighting for a cup fnal place.

There will be two legs to the semi final games, and the winners will book a place at Wembley on February 27th. The semi finals look like they will be entertaining games, but surely this cup is Arsenal's to lose as their biggest challengers, Manchester United, crashed out 4 - 0 in the quarter finals against West Ham.

Watch: West Ham 4 - 0 Manchester United Goals & Reaction

Watch 1st Goal

Watch 2nd Goal

Watch 3rd Goal

Watch 4th Goal

Manchester United crashed out of the Carling Cup in an embarrassing defeat to West Ham, 4 - 0. Read Match Review Here

The West Ham manager, as you can imagine was delighted with his teams performance which pushed West Ham into he semi-finals of the cup:

"Today we played fantastic and also scored and we kept a clean sheet. So I'm very happy. I thought we could win, but not by that score.

"It's very special. To perform like this against the best team today in the country and score four goals, what more can I ask?"

Sir Alex Ferguson on the the hand was not so pleased:

"(There were) too many younger players making errors and giving away goals," he added.

"They can't give away goals like that, even though they're young."

Read my match review here: http://bit.ly/gTO88t

And Watch the Goals Here

West Ham 4 - 0 Man United - United Humiliated in Cup Quarters

West Ham cruised to a 4 - 0 win against a petty excuse of a Manchester United team. That is something you don't hear very often, but the Carling Cup quarter final showed that Sir Alex Ferguson had massively underestimated the London club.

It was a clash between the top and bottom teams in the Premier League, but by this performance, you wouldn't think that United were the team unbeaten this season and sitting proudly at the top. Their defense was an absolute shambles, their midfield created nothing, and the attack had nothing to work with. It was atrocious. West Ham completely outplayed United in the snow, as the visiting players seemed to take a break in their job as footballers, wondering aimlessly around the pitch, watching Avram Grants side control the game around them.

Jonathon Spector of all people - the former Manchester United defender scored two of the goals for the Hammers, both in the first half, and Carlton Cole scored the other two in the second half.

Victor Obinna of West Ham had a great game - a big threat to United throughout; being the source of most of the chances created. It was a player like this that Ferguson's side were missing. Johnny Evans had a bad game, and he knows it. He was turned too easily for Cole's goal, while the defence in general fell asleep for numerous West Ham attacks.

In truth, after the second goal went in, there wasn't really any way back for United. Sir Alex had no one on his bench who could come on and make an impact. No Rooney, no Berbatov, no Nani. the Scot had no options that he knew could change the game.

We all make mistakes, and Sir Alex made one today. Of course, no one could have expected that his team would perform so poorly, but he should have had one or two top players on the bench that he could rely on to create something if it came it. In the end, it did come to it, and Ferguson wasn't prepared.

West Ham have breezed passed the holders of the competition with ease, and humiliated the young United team in the process. Before the game United were unbeaten in all competitions this season. That record is shattered in pieces as the Red Devils travel to Blackpool on the weekend, but it is a huge confidence boost for the struggling Hammers who travel to Sunderland on Sunday on the back of a brilliant 4 - 0 win.

Bojan Krkic Wanted by Chelsea, Inter and West Ham

If Bojan Krkic decides to move on from Barcelona at some point in the future, he won't have any shortage of options as to where to move. Chelsea, Inter Milan, and West Ham have reportedly shown an interest in the 20 year old striker, and with his obvious talents, many other clubs will also take a keen interest in the transfer proceedings.

The question may be asked as to why a player would want to leave such a great club in Barcelona - a club that is currently challenging very realistically to win every competition that they are in, as well as having the best players in the world playing for them including Lionel Messi.
The answer to that question may be the fact of the amount of quality. Bojan is apparently becoming frustrated by the lack of first team opportunities and feels he has been on the bench far too much. With players like David Villa and Lionel Messi ahead of him in the pecking order, it is understandably hard to break into the first team.

Chelsea are said to want to add to their ageing team with some quality and potential. Bojan ticks all of the boxes, with Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba coming towards the end of their careers.

Inter Milan and Rafael Benitez are looking to add to their squad, as rumours persist that Wesley Sneijder may move to Manchester United in the summer. Adding that spark to the team would help a very physical side that Inter Milan have, especially if Sneijder jumps ship.

West Ham are a much less likely possibility for Bojan, however, if Bojan wants first team football, the Hammers seems a good choice. West Ham acknowledge that the competition is high, which is why they would offer a loan deal to begin with, with a view to making the deal permanent.

Whoever Bojan does decide to move to, if indeed he does decide to move, the team will have to offer Barcelona a sum of at least £15 million as he has a contract with the Catalan team until the end of the 2012/13 season. A small, player, but a big fee for big potential.

West Ham want Beckham & Owen

They have already audaciously attempted to sign Thierry Henry from Barcelona and re-sign Joe Cole from Chelsea, but now, maybe even more cheekily, are trying to persuade the England golden-oldies David Beckham and Michael Owen to East London.

The clubs interest in Owen is not yet confirmed, however, co-owner David Gold said that Beckham could play a big part in delivering West Ham the olympic stadium after the 2012 olympic games are over.

"For him to join a club like us and help us bring another dream to fruition would be perfect for everyone. "

Confirming that talks are or have been held, Gold said

"We've had conversations with his people and made it clear we want him aboard"

Michael Owen, under contract with Manchester United for one more year is recovering from a hamstring injury which ruled him out of the end of last season. Nevertheless, Owen's deadly finish is still in tact as he proved at United last season and would be a welcome addition to last seasons relegation survivors.

To re-unite the pair at West Ham would be a big success and a sign of intent. Both are still big names in the English game and I'm sure fans of West Ham would be excited to see them both playing at Upton Park. Their signings could also be a big commercial boost, with Beckham such a big world wide brand, shirt sales would boost dramtically and tickets would go even quicker as fans flock to see their heroes in person.

Avram Grant Resigns as Portsmouth Manager

He did well to stay this long.

With Portsmouth in financial meltdown and relegation imminent, Grant still drove his players towards the F.A Cup, to give the fans something to shout about. He couldn't quite steer his team to the trophy, but he did a brilliant job with his extreme lack of resources and bizarre contract clauses.

He said "It's been both a difficult and complex year for us at the club, but at the same time, it's been a wonderful and uplifting professional and personal experience, I will never forget you, the loyal fans of Pompey who, without a doubt, helped me protect the team under such complex circumstances. There are very few teams in the world that have fans as passionate and devoted as you are.

"It has been a great experience to be part of one of the most wonderful occurrences that has happened in the history of British football and also shows that even in the most desperate times, loyalty, devotion, professionalism and passion can be demonstrated. I wish you all the possible success which you genuinely deserve."

It has been widely suggested that Grant will take over at now manager-less West Ham, after Zola was sacked earlier this month, which I reported, however with his reputation growing as a very strong manager who can handle his players exceptionally well in very difficult circumstances, he would be forgiven for aiming just a little bit higher.