January 2013 Archives

Arsenal made a late transfer splash bringing left back Ignacio "Nacho" Monreal from CF Malaga to the Emirates on a four year deal worth £8.5m. Arsene Wenger initially intended to make him a summer target but the injury to Kieran Gibbs forced his move forward and in the light of Andre Dos Santos's plummeting performances, an imperative, as Brighton and Hove and thereafter, Liverpool, remain singed in our minds for the extent of his tomfoolery.

Monreal is an experienced hand at the Spanish league level and in addition has national experience representing Spain, with Joan Capdevila and more recently, Jordi Alba, superseding him. Wenger mentions monitoring him for a while and praising him as a technically proficient player. Hopefully, he will be as the gaffer says.

The drawback is Monreal is cup tied at the CL level which means that unless Kieran Gibbs recovers quickly enough we will have to trot out Dos Santos against the upcoming Bayern Munich encounter. The thought of Thomas Muller and Phillip Lahm slaughtering the Brazilian in a way that would make Quentin Tarantino blanch is scary. If Gibbs can't recover in time, Wenger will have to relocate Thomas Vermaelen to left back, and with the Belgian providing some disastrous low lights himself, this is a position that inspires no one.

Reading 2-2 Chelsea goals and highlights by goalsandsoccer

A mentally and physically drained Chelsea team could not hold back super sub Adam Le Fondre's late body blows. This after Juan Mata and Frank Lampard gave Chelsea what should have been a sure win. Instead, they settled for a draw.

Trop c'est trop! PSG have signed on David Beckham to a 5 month deal in a move that will surely make the rest of the Ligue quake in their boots. He will share head space with the mighty Zlatan. And because you have to payback 950% of your salary to the French government, he's donating his to a children's charity.

See it to believe it.

Copa del Rey: Real Madrid 1-1 Barcelona 30.01... by ourmatch

Rafael Varane had an immense game. He was Real Madrid's hero. His towering header equalizing for Real Madrid late and the rest of the time spent frustrating Barca with his defensive agility. In a nice bit of precociousness, the teenager anticipated Xavi's shot towards goal and with Antonio Adan pulled out of position, positioned himself perfectly to effect a goal line save. Then he went one better running down Fabregas as the ex Arsenal midfielder was poised to strike and got all ball with his come from behind tackle. He's only 19 years old.

There was plenty of good defending with Alves and Pique warding off danger through their tackles.

Barca were the better team and looked more likely to pull out a win at the Santiago Bernabeu. Cesc Fabregas should have added to his 50th minute strike as minutes later his drive flashed over. Pedro running full tilt coming closer to goal with each stride and then just pulling wide. How did he miss that?

Real looked dangerous in its counterattacks and Cristiano Ronaldo came close with his free kick after being brought down by Gerard Pique. In a Portugese staredown, Jose Pinto won managing to claw out the ball. For those in Stamford Bridge missing Michael Essien for his midfield steel, he's found himself at right back under Mourinho and was intimidating there as well. For those remembering Ricardo Carvalho and the Blues iron clad defense, it was painful to watch his devolution. He put the lumber in lumbering.

The match ended a goal apiece. Just like more recent Clasico's minus the grandstanding, it was fluid, open ended stuff, and full of intrigue. There were plenty of body checks by Xabi Alonso, Alves, Callejon. There was sideline drama as Arbeloa pushed Messi on the side of his face and then added insult to injury by pushing again. While Messi protested, Alonso checked in too.

IN ARSENE WET RUST

The only reason why we have a debate on football economics at least in the Premieship context is Arsene Wenger. The Bundesliga settled their finances a long time ago. And running a football club has again received the spotlight as a group of four, in protectionist mode, made their recommendations to the EPL for a local version of UEFA's financial fair play rules. A more recent parliamentary report blistered the football authorities in dragging their feet on new financial controls and increasing the influence of fans.

Simon Kuper's article on whether the Arsenal manager's financial conservatism goes too far raises some very interesting questions. Wenger is an admired figure because as an economist he believes in true valuations rather than what the market dictates. And he does his homework with a statistician's care. Then came Chelsea and after that City, and it all went awry much to Wenger's chagrin. He seems to have retreated into a sort of analysis paralysis as a number of his more recent transfers haven't worked out. The emphasis on developing teenagers and transforming them into world beaters carried with it the X factor. Who knows whether it would pan out? Some did, many others languish in mediocrity. And Kuper points out that FFP may not reign in football's financial doping.

Practically speaking big clubs have big resources and access to even bigger resources. Their input/ output models can be changed at a stroke with a multi-million dollar sponsorship deal. Kuper points out that winning clubs are positioned to attract even more investments. However, in the world of competing for lucrative commercial revenues, the bottomline is hitching yourself to a winning brand. The self sustaining Arsenal model, admirable at riding out the huge debt incurred by building the Emirates and the distorted valuations of players, has done so carried forward by Wenger's first spectacularly productive eight years. Somewhere down the line if Wenger's second spell of eight dry white seasons continue, it could catch up.

La Gazzetta dello Sport has the scoop on the behind the scenes feverish negotiations between City, Mino Raiola, and Adriano Galliano for the biggest transfer news in this January period. I am not sure if Raiola would be too pleased in being described as a "cad." The long and short of it is Balotelli is joining his first love with City paid out €20m + €3m in bonuses despite Slivio Berlusconi referring to him as a "rotten apple". A statement he walked back somewhat.

Balotelli joined City from Inter at a price tag of €28m on August 10, 2010. City were demanding €37m which given his recent performances and his on/ off pitch conflagrations was outlandish. In 20 appearances for City (Premiership/ League Cup/ FA/ CL) this season he's managed just 3 goals. A steep drop off from his first season. Hopefully being back to the Serie, in the club he loves, and under the tutelage of Massimiliano Allegri who has a track record of nurturing troubled talent, he can flourish. It's risky but AC Milan seem to believe in him given all the financial troubles they find themselves in.

In a clash of two former Portugese colonies, tiny Cape Verde (pop: 600,000) created history beating Angola to enter the quarterfinals in their ACN debut. Heldon Ramos scoring the dramatic come from behind winner.

Cape Verde's coach Lucio Antunes is turning out to be a hero. Amongst the nuggets, the first thing he did after their win was to call Jose Mourinho and wish him on his birthday. The Real Madrid coach is a good friend of his. Antunes is also an air traffic controller when he's not coaching the Blue Sharks. He's flying high on both fronts.

They meet Ghana in the quarterfinals in this very feel good story. Remember Jorvan Vieira and the Iraq team winning the 2007 Asian Cup?

Wait! Didn't I see him in a Star Wars movie?

The Uzbeki oligarch claims that Thierry Henry is advising him to buy out Stan Kroenke's shares and takeover Arsenal. More to the point, he says Arsenal's transfer policies have strengthened their rivals. The first claim is dubious, the second on the face of it has much merit.

szólj hozzá: Real Madrid vs Getafe 4:0 MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

Cristiano Ronaldo's hat trick against Getafe pushes him over the 300 mark (302 goals to be exact). But Messi had one more against Osasuna. We'll leave it at that.

Why isn't this man American?

A blog by Roger Bennett laments the fact that the USA has yet to produce a Leo Messi despite having a diverse population of so many millions. Most of these concerns have an underlying theme of how soccer should become relevant to the average US sports fan who knows and cares little for the game which is an exercise in futility. But Bennett does seem interested in understanding why this hasn't happened. And he does document the earnest efforts of those in charge of player development to find some hope.

The problem is that if you're looking at it from a national prism as Bennett is doing, then Leo Messi is not the answer. The Albiceleste would be the first to admit that even having a twice in a lifetime talent like Messi (Maradona is the other) is not an answer to their stalling World Cup performances.

Under Alejandro Sabella, they seem to be having more success harnessing Messi's genius to their benefit compared to previous attempts. Messi himself has pointed to coaching and a lack of a supporting cast as limitations to his less stellar national output. But there are signs that he and the Albiceleste will be a force in the 2014 World Cup as Sabella has put the right emphasis on the team and not individuals. The little maestro will be given help not given to him by Maradona, who idiosyncratically pulled out Juan Sebastian Veron leaving him adrift midfield as opposing teams packed numbers in the 2010 World Cup.

The strength of US national team has always been its team work and counterattacking. At its best it connects dots through rapid fire passing and finishing. You need quality players but not necessarily superstars to plan and execute such tactics. The 2009 Confederations Cup provided many such shining examples. Charlie Davis, Clint Dempsey, and Landon Donovan combining together effectively and spectacularly. The build up from 2009 was translated to the 2010 World Cup and for a brief but intense moment, the US were on the threshold of pushing onto another level. You always wonder how much an average sports fan in the US rallies around soccer. Not this time. This was genuine. No one thought about Leo Messi then.

Part of the blog seems to reflect the disappointment with the national team thereafter in its up and down results and the incoming class of U 23, U20, and U17s failing to provide an impetus with their performances. It's quite a climbdown when you settle for a few more Landon Donovans or Clint Dempseys which is a far more realistic expectation. Not so, Messi.

Just throwing this out as a bone. If the US has to produce a Leo Messi, it will be someone not acculturated to the fetishizing of physical size and strength, someone who considers irrelevant the constant juxtaposing of soccer in comparison to other US sports. That trailblazer will come from the Latino immigrant population.

szólj hozzá: Barcelona vs Osasuna 5:1 GOALS HIGHLIGHTS

By now you should be asking which record will remain standing. Yesterday, Barca swamped Osasuna, 5-1 with Leo Messi scoring four goals. He pushed his eye popping goal tally to 202 in the Liga becoming the youngest player to do so (25 years, 214 days). In front of him is a who's who of football legends.

Telmo Zarra (251), Hugo Sánchez (234), Raúl (228), Alfredo di Stéfano (227), César Rodríguez (223), Quini (219) Pahiño (210)

Who's betting by the mid of next season, the Liga could see Messi installed as the all time goal scoring leader. And by the time he ends his career he could easily be close to 400 goals.

Didier Drogba joins Galatasaray on an 18 month contract. Does he have it at the age of 35 years? The Turkish club also signed on Wesley Sneijder from Inter as it gets ready to meet Schalke in the CL last sixteen. The thing one can say of both players: They know how to win big matches.

Nicholas Anelka, Didier Drogba's former Chelsea and Shanghai Shenhua strike partner is seemingly on his way to Juventus.

As per Forbes $3.3 bn to be exact. And the Glazers are now finally making bundles of money as the Man Utd IPO shares have risen from $14 to $17 after a disappointing start in August last year. In comparison, the next best team, the Dallas Cowboys are worth $2.1 bn, in distant second.

George Soros, infamous as the man who broke the Bank of England in the Black Wednesday debacle has a 7.5% stake in Man Utd, which with the share price appreciating is paying off handsomely for him.

Mike Ozanian keeps saying "Man U" in that video clip. Not exactly complimentary, is he?

How did Howard Webb not send off Glenn Whelan for his lunge with his studs coming down on a prostrate and unprotected Javi Garcia? These are the type of tackles that can break your ankle. Webb did nothing although he appeared to be in the right position to see it unfold. City had to wait till the 85th minute for Pablo Zabaleta's winning goal against Stoke but if Whelan had been sent off they might have had an easier time.

Blister In The Sun was part of Grosse Pointe Blank's soundtrack. Get your weekday started with this Violent Femmes standout.

Source: Deloitte Football Money League 2013

The different leagues show different strengths in their revenue streams. It is unsurprising to find Real Madrid and Barcelona taking a lion's share of the broadcasting money from La Liga as they are independent to negotiate their own contracts. As do the Serie with AC Milan sharing that distinction with rivals Inter as smaller market Juventus and Roma suffer in comparison.

The Premiership on the other hand does hands out roughly equal sums of money from TV and media rights while matchday receipts vary quite markedly with each club. The Bundesliga are the masters at raking in commercial revenue as they find sponsors for everything and anything. From bottled water to cars to pain medication to naming rights, the German league has a long standing cozy relationship with the corporate world. They are also the best at living within their means.

For the first time in history, a club cracked €500m in revenue in a single year, and that distinction belongs to Real Madrid, the most recognizable sporting brand on the planet. They are closely followed by Liga supremos Barcelona who are running away with the league title his season. The most lucrative Premiership club is Man Utd boosted by their recent GM deal worth €70m. Bundesliga behemoths Bayern Munich are fourth as they reign tops in commercialism. Chelsea lie in fifth on the strength of the TV and Champions League winnings earned last summer and Arsenal come in one position lower.

The Emirates charges the highest ticket prices in the Premiership as Arsenal's revenue model skews towards matchday receipts. Their commercial stream is €64.9 which is miniscule compared to Real Madrid (€187.2m), Barca (€186.9m), Man Utd (€145.4m), and Bayern Munich (€201.6m). Even Man City, Chelsea, and Liverpool earn more from selling their name. Arsenal has negotiated an improved contract with Emirates Airlines worth €150m for stadium naming rights set to expire 2028 and a shirt sponsorship that runs till 2018. Further increases are expected when Nike's contract comes up for renewal in the 2013- 14 season. However, as the report cautions, further success developing commercial revenue depends on Arsenal retaining it's representation in Europe's elite competition and improving its league performance (read silverware). Apart from the not to be sneered at TV and appearance money that flows from being included in the top echelon.

Matt Smith with his overwhelming physical presence bullied Martin Skrtel and Sebastian Coates every time the ball was floated his way. His opener for Oldham came after both halves were in great position to defend Youssuf M'Changama's cross but Smith just outmuscled Coates to head the ball into goal.

Oldham's ground game was equally forceful as Daniel Sturridge found out as he was bundled of the ball illegally and on the break, Oldham surged forward as Reece Webara receiving a pass wide right sent in a routine cross that was spilled by Brad Jones. It came to Robbie Simpson who pinged his pass across the goalmouth to Smith for a simple tap in and his second goal.

Luis Suarez's equalizer shows a player who is in a different orbit altogether from his team mates. That was all Suarez and it is difficult to find someone wilier, more elusive in this league. He manipulates an Oldham defender into a return pass and then sweeps the ball past Dean Bouzanis superbly. The Uruguayan also had a goal disallowed for being offside from a free kick. The Latics added to their lead after Webara rose above the Liverpool defense to power Carl Winchester's looping cross past Jones.

Joe Allen's volley of a misplaced clearance took a lucky deflection for Liverpool's second goal. Oldham had to defend stoutly as Liverpool mounted a late charge with Steven Gerrard's thunderous pile driver shaking the upright into a minor seismic event. With that close call, one knew the giantkiller theme was going to continue. Just as the breaks did not go Mansfield Town's way in the third round, this time it was the Merseyside team at the receiving end. Karma.

Oldham are not exactly creating waves in League One competition stuck firmly in relegation zone and having lost seven of their last 8 matches. This was a huge booster for Paul Dickov's team. Congratulations.

As an Arsenal fan, it breaks one's heart to see him go to Utd. An unforgivable stain on Wenger and the Arsenal board. But as a football fan, one can also see why he would want to go to a winning football culture. As RVP says he is seeing things that he hadn't seen in a long time. And he pointedly brings up Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry, part of the winning Arsenal legacy when he first joined, teaching him those little things that he's learning again in United. He's enjoying being the little kid in a candy store in a team that knows what it takes to be champions, none more so than the evergreen Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs who have proven inspirational.

Fernando Torres turned unlikely hero as he saved Chelsea from being dumped out of the FA Cup. Otherwise the Blues would have joined the Premiership carnage at the hands of lower level competition. Russ Turnbull had a nightmare in goal, as a slow reacting John Terry was forced into a backpass, and the Chelsea goalie erred in straying too close to his captain, collecting with his hands. It was a clear sendoff. But Turnbull survived and Brentford could not capitalize on the free kick.

There were mistakes a plenty for Brentford's first strike. Frank Lampard gave the ball away almost on top of the D to Harry Forrester who snapped a first timer which was parried by Turnbull straight to Marcello Trotta who made no mistake. Chelsea did little of note in the first half.

Oscar restored parity with a beautifully controlled finish after a series of neat touches as Chelsea improved on their first half performance. However, it was the League 1 team causing damage again as Chelsea gave the ball away cheaply, this time Ramires was the guilty party. Brentford broke forward with Tom Adeyemi bulling his way past the backpedaling Chelsea center halves leaving Turnbull with a desperate lunge to try and stop him. Harry Forrester was cool as cucumber with the spot kick.

Demba Ba and Fernando Torres combined together to produce Chelsea's lifeline. Ba falling down was able to slide his pass forward to Torres who showed a flashback. Rafa Benitez was booed by the visiting fans and if Chelsea do not produce at Stamford Bridge in the replay, his interim status might be shortened drastically.

szólj hozzá: Leeds vs Tottenham 2:1 GOALS HIGHLIGHTS

In stadiums half the capacities of their Premiership counterparts, on pitches uneven and irregular, with squads costing a fraction of the top rung payroll, the English bulldog shone this weekend as the lower echelon put the sword to their peers. No names, 85 places below, non- league, League 2, it did not matter as the Premiership crashed and burned in the most English of competitions. The FA Cup as never before.

The endeavours of John Marquis, Scott Rendell, Ryan Lowe, Ryan Harley, Darren Potter, consumed Aston Villa, Norwich City, and Queens Park Rangers. Today, it was Luke Varney and Ross McCormack leading Leeds United past high flying Spurs in Cristiano Ronaldo like flourishes that brought the roof down at Elland Road. Clint Dempsey pulled one back but Andre Villas Boas joined Paul Lambert, Chris Huhgton, and Harry Redknapp in the losing column.

Look at the first goal. An emphatic finish by Gervinho. He gets back the ball and then there is only one thought in his mind. What a change from the Arsenal Gervinho who twists and twirls into a pretzel and then falls flat in a comedic coda. That left channel was electric and it led to Yaya Toure's sublime goal. And Gervinho provided, what is this, a perfectly weighted pass at the right time, to Didier Konan for Ivory Coast's third and final goal.

Are we seeing multiple personalities? Does Gervinho have a decisive, forthright, alter ego who provides a full stop to his undoubted talent? If so, we need Arsenal Gervinho = Ivory Coast Gervinho. Please merge.

An Egyptian court handed down death sentences to 21 Al Masry supporters following last year's tragic riots at their stadium in which 74 visiting Al Ahly fans lost their lives following a league match in February 2012. As expected, the verdict led to jubilation amongst Al Ahly fans and the families of those who had been killed. The reaction was exactly the opposite in Port Said as anger and grief spread through the streets leading to riots leaving 32 dead.

Last year's violence appears to be politically motivated as Al Ahly fans allege they were being targeted by pro Mubarak forces for their part in the Tahrir Square rallies that led to their Arab spring. The police in the Al Masry stadium closed the gates in an orchestrated maneouver which funneled the visiting fans into a cul de sac where they were stoned and beaten to death. In the traumatic aftermath, legends Mohamed Aboutreika and Emad Moteab announced their retirements and coach Manuel Jose, tendering his resignation, too shaken to continue.

More violence is expected as the trial involves 73 defendants including 3 Al Masry officials, 9 security personnel, and many fans. The court is expected to deliver the remaining verdicts on March 3rd.

Egypt has been racked with violence that have claimed 40 lives as protests against the ruling Muslim Brotherhood and the police have escalated following the second anniversary of the Revolution. The genesis of the Port Said violence and what is occurring in Cairo on the second anniversary is not so dissimilar. Whether it is the Mubarak regime or the Muslim Brotherhood, Egyptians are signaling they care deeply about reforms and their patience is not unlimited.

Andre Santos is an embarrassment to football. And as long as he is an Arsenal shirt, he thumbs his nose at Arsene Wenger's oft repeated explanations for his inertia in the transfer market put down to difficulties finding "super quality" players. One has no idea how Wenger manages to keep saying what he does without the earth opening up and swallowing him. There was no pretense of a defence as Will Buckley over ran Santos at will all afternoon down the right channel which produced both goals. The Brazilian was never the best defender when he was healthy and now coming back after a long injury layoff, a clown with clogs on could do a better job. But then Santos obviously expected Lukas Podolski to do all the heavy lifting and be productive on the front foot at the same time.

With Abou Diaby, Tomas Rosicky, and Aaron Ramsey all less than match fit, joining him, the midfield was ripe for the picking and Brighton looked good bossing around the ball. Arsenal going in front through Olivier Giroud's minimum fuss left footed shot after Poldi laid the ball off for him relieved some of that tension.

On cue, Santos left with the simple job of hoofing the ball after a Brighton counterattack broke down tried showing off some schoolyard moves and was robbed. Brighton's new acquisition, Leonardo Ulloa received the ball in a marginally offside position and mercifully for the Santos bobble head doll the linesman made the correct call. But Brighton you knew were going to equalize. With their tails up, and off a corner, a somnolent Arsenal defense looking to Wojciech Szczesny, saw no danger in Ashley Barnes nipping in front of the goalie and powering the ball in. Look at Santos standing around not putting pressure on Buckley. Familiar story, familiar result.

The half ended with Santos unlocking his lips just enough from the bong pipe to blast the ball from 30 yards into the stratosphere. He had obviously seen a vision just like Steve Coogan on the rooftop in 24 Hour Party People. Arsenal could have taken a 2-1 lead but Poldi's sweetly struck free kick clanged off the upright.

The second half began and an ordinary mortal would have rightfully taken off Santos and put on Gibbs. But Wenger fancies himself as an alchemist. Where we see mud, he sees nuggets. Sometimes it works, recently, it has turned out be more gooey silica. Just when you feared for TV screens everywhere, Giroud produced a stunning beauty of a goal off Abou Diaby's cheekily perfect chip. A deft touch corralled the ball and the striker finished perfectly with his left foot. Which meant Brighton was going to score and it came predictably from the right channel as Barnes curled in a cross Ulloa flung himself after Mertesacker who showed the anticipation and speed of a three toed sloth completely missed the flight of the ball. Just shocking.

That was enough for Wenger to bring in the heavy artillery as Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott were brought on for Rosicky and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain. But still no sign of Santos being subbed. Arsenal gained an attacking edge with these changes but still there was no material impact till Kieran Gibbs finally came on for Santos. But before that we were treated to another Santos ICBM that broke the ozone somewhere over the Bikini atoll. Finally, Arsenal had something to show for their exertion after Wilshere's corner was cleared as far as Walcott whose gentle volley was fortuitously deflected into goal by Adam El Abd. Then the defense held together was the next 8 minutes to ensure Arsenal's progress to the final 16.

Wenger in his post match interview stated what everyone knows by now. There will be no more signings. The most linked club in the world will end the January transfer window with no movement.

Hazard receives a 3 match ban but the FA could tack on a match or two for kicking the 17 year old "ball boy" who is milking his 15 minutes of fame. For those conspiracy theorists, Charlie Morgan's father, Martin Morgan is on the Swansea board of directors. The "ball boy" clearly made his intentions clear before the match that he was going to play a part in sending Swansea to the Capital One Cup final. And he has not stopped tweeting. Joey Barton has serious competition for the most gas passed in the last 24 hours.

Morgan clearly wasted time and the amount of scorn he received for faking a more serious injury along with his glorified "ball boy" status is richly deserved but Hazard should not be excused for kicking him. The incident overshadowed a pretty pathetic performance by Chelsea given all the firepower at their disposal.

Aston Villa crashed and burned against Millwall, 1-2 in their FA Cup fourth round just two days after League 2 side Bradford City heaped scorn in their Capital One Cup semi-final encounter. Paul Lambert is still clinging onto his job but it has been all around, unflagging misery for the Villans. They're also just a point away from the drop zone with the rest of the league using them for target practise for the worst goal differential.

Today, it was the turn of Luton Town, a non-league side, 85 places lower, to send Norwich City to an ignominious 1-0 defeat, and to continue that theme League 1 side MK Dons turned aside Harry Redknapp's QPR, 4-2.

Scott Rendell sprinting across goal diverted Jonathan O' Donnell's cross near post for an 80th minute goal stuffing the Canaries. Rendell had come in 5 minutes earlier in a serendipitous substitution.

MK Dons got the boat rocking as Armand Traore got the boat rocking with an own goal and then it sprang a gusher as Ryan Lowe and Ryan Harley scored a second and third. QPR were truly sunk with Darren Potter's 56th minute strike. Jay Bothroyd and Fabio made the scoreline a bit more respectable with two late goals.

One of the doyens of sports writing passes away

A huge loss for a generation of cricket and rugby fans alike. Frank Keating was an erudite observer of both sports and had a alliterative flair for words that captured its essence. Here is his article praising the Sourav Ganguly led Indian cricket team for their fighting spirit and rejuvenating the 2002 one day and test series that England had decided would be won with one arm tied. It did not turn out as planned for Nasser Husain and his men.

A long way from the days of Freddie Trueman terrorising the silly putty Indians at Manchester in 1952 as they collapsed to 58 all out or at Lords when they tumbled to 42 all out. As Keating points out that parade of painful nadirs was gradually mitigated by Sunil Gavaskar's brilliant double century at the Oval in 1979 with India chasing an improbable 423 runs for victory and falling short by just nine runs. And completely obliterated by the swashbuckling display of Ganguly and the Indian team 23 years later in a thorough cleansing of the psyche.

But did you know he knew a thing or two about football. And if you're an Arsenal fan, this is what he had to say about the 2003 team that made Man Utd quake in their boots. Ah, those were the days when the Battle of Old Trafford made all other endeavours look pussyfooting by comparison. Keating:

" Arsenal's siege paranoia is now breathtaking. Their red-card record, slyboots conniving and scowling boorishness are the first reason kids keenly turn on to watch. Arsenal's sometimes beguiling football is being obliterated by the pot's hysterical need to see the kettle black. Not so much FA disciplinary committees, a panel of psychotherapists should be summoned."

Arsenal are but a pale shadow of themselves now, long swallowed by a Man Utd team that just needs to show up and watch their mentally fragile opponents implode. A long, excruciatingly long way from the days that Keating describes. Now the club needs psychotherapists, in an opposite coin, to allay the anxiety disorder that permeates this side. It is Arsenal that suffers the broken ankles, the defenders that lack inches, or the psychological shortcomings that gift the first half from which there is no return.

If you want more Keating, here is his last football related post which gives the scoop on a tenterhooks FA kept waiting for Sir Alf Ramsey's owner who had disappeared on a bender to approve his appointment as England manager. 50 years later, no England manager has come close to what he accomplished. Yes, and Jock Stein was refereed to as the mightiest of "tartan touchline totems."

The encomiums flow >>

The highly rated winger will finish at Crystal Palace and join Utd in July. He was loaned back to Palace as part of the transfer deal. Which means Nani is on the shopping cart and Ashley Young continues to fail to convince. Zaha can play on both flanks. Here is a closer look >>

The buzz is that Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas handed an ultimatum to Florentino Perez demanding that Jose Mourinho be shown the door or they would be forced to leave. Which prompted Perez to make an exceedingly rare public statement which he hoped would be the last, the gist being, its all completely false.

Marca broke the news of the two players handing the "us or him" note to Perez which brought about a swift condemnation by the CEO about media led conspiracies. This is not new. The media falls out with Jose Mourinho wherever he goes. They put him up on a pedestal, he does not play nice, they knock him down. It all gets dragged out as a manager who shows no taste for the history of the club or its legacy. That's why he belongs in Chelsea.

Gerard Pique showed a striker's finish to score Barca's second goal. And Leo Messi scored from an all too infrequent source - his head for the Catalonian club's final strike. Malaga exploited Barca's soft defense, especially Pique, while Jose Pinto did not exactly impress with his goalkeeping.

There was a Roque Santa Cruz sighting scoring Malaga's equalizer before Barca put the match away. The other scorers were Pedro and Iniesta for Barca while Joaquin got the first goal for Malaga. But the difference maker was Dani Alves who knows the art of a fine cross. Two of his deliveries proved unstoppable.

Barca move ahead and now meet Real Madrid in a mouth watering Copa Del Rey semi-final. There should be some interesting mix ups at the back with both sides grappling with goalkeeping controversies. Iker Casillas who was benched by Mourinho is out for two months with a broken bone in his hand while Victor Valdes has fallen out of favour at Barca after refusing to renew his contract. Both their understudies have not inspired any great confidence with their displays.

There is no point in giving a description. Chelsea is the most hated club because of ar*eholes like Roman Abramovich, John Terry, John Obi Mikel, Ashley Cole, Ramires, and now Eden Hazard. Watch the video till its taken down. It overshadowed the stellar show put up by the Swans while the Blues were wan. Hazard showed more passion kicking the ball boy then he did the whole match. Chris Foy rightly gave him a red card.

Now we wait till Rafa gets relieved of his interim duties in another tasteless gesture. To Michael Laudrup and Swansea, congratulations on a fine win. You maybe outspent a gigillion times by Chelsea but you're a gigillion times greater in class.

This comment is priceless. Chortle away.

This was the season on the line. If Arsenal had dropped points against the Hammers they might have as well kissed the last CL spot goodbye. Well, OK, that might be a bit hyperbolic but you get my point. It looked ominous as the first half yielded a familiar statistic, Arsenal going behind as Olivier Giroud's clearance from a corner presented Jack Collison with a tempting volley which he crashed past a flailing Wojciech Szczesny.

Why Arsenal could be arsed playing the first half is beyond anyone and they should set up a contract with the EPL that they be allowed to play only the second half. Knowing them, they would promptly proceed to treat it as the first half and without the other half to respond, go behind 0-37, which would mean 2000 goals conceded in a single season which if this makes one feel better is less than the number of BFs that Taylor Swift collects in a single day but unfortunately still makes for a comparable data point. Ouch.

My point is that it is useless predicting how Arsenal plays. We can only be happy that they pulled their socks up the way they did against West Ham. And it was quite the pulling up as Lukas Podolksi got them going with a an immense piledriver. When have we mentioned Arsenal and a piledriver in the same breath? Never. Usually they love to walk the ball in. But hold on, Giroud fronted the defense at the near post and cleverly diverted Walcott's low corner past Jussi Jaskaalainen. When have we mentioned an Arsenal corner and goal in the same breath? Never. Usually Arsenal pours in the lamest corners and a stoned duckbill platypus with gout couldn't have an easier time hauling them in.

Santi Cazorla was the tricksiest though with his sensitively timed back heel goal after Poldi fed him with a sweet cross. When have we mentioned Arsenal and a back heel goal? Never. It is always Cesc Fabregas giving it away to Barca or Drogba killing us. Then came Walcott with Poldi curling a cross across the face of goal and the 90,000 per week man lashed it in without elaboration. When have we mentioned Arsenal and no elaboration? Never. Arsenal's approach work into the box is akin to Mendelian genetics. Who carries the gene? No one knows but the results are someone gets fu*ked without the Christmas factor. And then it was Poldi again running riot on the left and sending a sweet cross for Giroud darting forward between two West Ham defenders to flick it cleverly to the far post. When have we mentioned ...... never mind. It was all good today.

The win was marred by the sickening way Daniel Potts came down in a helicopter like crash (graphic) after accidentally colliding with Bakary Sagna and then lay insensate for 10 minutes as medics worked on him before stretchering him off. One hopes he comes out on top. Keeping fingers crossed.

Arsenal has a goal advantage against its competitors for the fourth spot and in a tight race, is a great thing to have. We have seen these before, a 6-1 Soton blowout, a 5-3 thrashing of Spurs, a 5-2 sending off of Reading, a 7-3 outpouring against the Toons, and now a 5-1 dispatching of the Hammers. But juxtaposed between is a more familiar trend of deflating defeats and enervating stalemates. Going forward there is no leeway for such lapses as time runs out.

A reminder that Gervinho can score and this was a pretty spectacular goal. Why he can't do it in an Arsenal shirt is a mystery. But as Jonathan Wilson suggests, it has to do with a mental fragility which seems to be the norm in a squad that is short of composure and poise. Hopefully, the AFCON gives Gervinho a boost because it looks like Arsene Wenger is not going to add to the squad.

"Hips don't lie" meets "Hair don't fly"

Gerard Pique got sent off early in the Real Sociedad match in a painful ejection but his partner Shakira apparently had no such problems delivering their baby boy, Milan Pique Mebarak, yesterday. Both mom and baby are doing well. "Milan" in Sanskrit means unification which could be subject to all sorts of interpretation in Catalonia with FC Barcelona very much front and centre of a nascent separatism from Spain. Or AC and Inter might join a bidding war for Pique?

Congratulations. No pictures yet. But we'll keep you posted.

James Hanson was a shelf-stacker in the Eccleshill Co-op three years ago. His goal took Bradford City to the Capital One finals. Gary Jones is a former Rochdale legend who joined the Bantams in 2012 and brought his leadership qualities with him. "For a fourth division team to get to Wembley is a magical thing." It sure is.

szólj hozzá: Aston Villa vs Bradford 1:1 hANSON
James Hanson's and Bradford City's biggest moment

Why do people watch sports? Because of moments like this when a lowly fourth division side beats some very, very storied franchises ensconced in the highest professional rung and make the impossible, possible. There is a redemptive quality to sports that is off the scale when compared to anything else. There are many David vs Goliath stories which give us hope and belief that the world is less unequal or that the meek shall truly inherit the earth. But each one is special and to be savoured to the fullest.

And so today, Bradford City entered the Capital One Cup final beating Aston Villa on aggregate after losing the second leg, 1-2 but scoring the ever important away goal that secured them that piece of red lettered history. James Hanson is a legend. The last time a fourth division club accomplished such a feat was 51 years ago when Rochdale reached the finals in 1962.

Bradford beat Wigan, Arsenal, and now Villa in an outpouring of unstoppable football. Each time they had an answer and it is hard to see Leo Messi would have done better to stem the tide. Suddenly as an Arsenal fan, it is not so hard to take and there can be few sides that deserves this more. Bradford City spent £7500 for Hanson's transfer from non-league side Guiseley. It costs £12859 per day to keep Theo Walcott at Arsenal.

Onto the finals, then. Where the Bantams meet either Chelsea or Swansea (hope it is the latter) at Wembley and a chance to go to Europe. Sometimes even the wildest dreams don't go far enough.

If you did not already know, Barca lost this weekend for the first time this season. In other news, the earth is flat and a Quentin Tarantino movie was considered wholesome family fare.

Barca in cruise control with Leo Messi at his finest controlling a ball entirely with his left foot from start to finish with the most delicate of placements. Delicious. Then Barca exemplifies its team approach as Xavi picks Dani Alves with an on the coin pass and Pedro cutting in is in perfect position to finish the Brazilian's cross. Perfect.

Real Sociedad exposed the first chink in the armour through Chory Castro as Barca looked Arsenalesque in its defending. Watch Dani Alves enact a Bakary Sagna (harsh, I know but he's been jelly lately!) like dereliction of duty. Gerard Pique got sent off after picking up a second yellow for a trip on former Arsenal striker Carlos Vela (looking a bit more beefy). Pique lingered on in a fit of pique at the decision but as his partner Shakira famously sang, "Replays don't lie", it was a clearly blatant foul. Anyways, he got to spend more time with her and the couple had their baby son, Milan Pique Mebarak today. Congrats!

The over extended Barca defense got picked apart in the 65th minute as Chory Castro's shot took a deflection off Javier Mascherano and a slowly reacting Victor Valdes could only parry into goal. Barca was unable to clear a corner which saw the ball being pinged from end to end. Into the 90th minute and Imanol Agirretxe ghosting between two Barca defenders was able to direct Carlos Martinez's cross into goal with an outstretched right leg. Tito Vilanova looked like he couldn't believe what had had just unfolded. Their unbeaten run was over. Before this match, Barca had reeled off 55 points from a possible 57 in an unsurpassed streak of dominance.

Like Real Madrid but for different reasons, Barca now has a goalkeeping controversy with Victor Valdes refusing to re-sign with his club which has made him a Catalan apostate. There is talk of him leaving for Man Utd or Liverpool, clubs with goalkeeping concerns. It's all down to ego but his form will be scrutinized and if Barca begin to look fallible then we might see Jose Pinto between the bars.

The Africa Cup of Nations began this weekend and in Group A, hosts South Africa began with a goalless draw against Cape Verde with Angola and Morocco following suit without any score. In Group B, Ghana and DR Congo fought to a 2-2 standstill while Mali put one past Niger, 1-0.

Defending champs, the Chipolopolos got their campaign going against Group C minnows Ethiopia returning to the tournament after 31 years. And it was an eventful match as Saladin Seid was brought down by Chisamba Lungu in the D. With a golden chance to take the lead, Seid's weak PK effort was saved by Kennedy Mweene. Earlier, Zambia escaped going behind when Seid's clever lob beat the onrushing Mweene but the ball bouncing in front of goal cleared the crossbar and out of danger.

Ethiopia then showing some big match nerves saw goalkeeper Jemal Tassew clobber Lungu on a counterattack with a studs high challenge to the chest. Tassew was shown the red card and was stretchered off as he lay immobile on the pitch. How many times does that happen?

Reserve goalie Zerihun Tadelle came on as Shimelis Bekele was withdrawn and just at the stroke of half time Zambia took the lead through Collins Mbesuma as a stretched Ethiopian defense was unable to prevent Isaac Chansa from directing his header into the path of the incoming Mbesuma who was able to control the ball with his chest and then strike on the up.

In the 66th minute out of the blue, Addis Hintsa, played a ball through picked up Seid at the top of the box and squared to Adane Girma churning down on his right and the forward let the ball run past and then smashed it onto the upright and into goal. Till then Ethiopia were in damage control mode. They had to withstand a flurry of chances as the Chipolopolos came back strongly. But this turned out to be a fantastic return to African's top competition for the Wayla Antelopes (the African teams have the best names).

szólj hozzá: Roncaglia01

Fiorentina central defender Facundo Roncaglia floats a shot from well inside his half and Napoli's Morgan De Sanctis completely misjudges the flight of the ball. It was left to Edinson Cavani with his 100th Serie goal and 17th of the season to earn Napoli a draw. The Partenopei are in second position with Lazio while both trail league leaders Juventus.

You would think Sir Alex was talking about one of his players but he's actually blaming the linesman Simon Beck for not giving a penalty when Steven Caulker allegedly tripped up Wayne Rooney. And there is more whining to come.

Spurs fought back to hold Utd to a draw with an added time equalizer by Clint Dempsey. A bit of payback to a club that thrives on doing the same.

Sometimes one of the greatest manager in the English league comes across as an utterly charmless, small minded tyrant.

szólj hozzá: Tottenham vs Manchester United 1:1 MOTD

If Utd win the Premiership this season as they look perfectly capable of doing, then they should memorialize RVP with his own bust at Old Trafford. Because he had one clear chance and he made the most of it. Otherwise Utd were pathetic especially in the second half as their midfield completely disappeared. Spurs and specifically Aaron Lennon were just brilliant and just when Utd looked like it was going to get out of jail free, Clint Dempsey swept the little winger's cross past David De Gea in added time. This was the third time lucky for Dempsey who had been denied twice by De Gea.

Afterwards Sir Alex has an apoplectic fit at the linesman for failing to give imaginary penalties after Wayne Rooney was allegedly tripped up at the box.

szólj hozzá: Chelsea vs Arsenal 2:1 MOTD

Some prior painful footage of the RVP led 5-3 spanking of Chelsea last season. Good times, y'all. But this is current reality and you need some heavy dosages of mind altering substances to sit through the first half. Arsenal should have just faxed the list of absentees.

Gil Scott- Heron was a genius. Here is his tribute to Billie Holiday and John Coltrane which will surely uplift you for the week ahead.

Do you see a resemblance? It always happens after a few

Paul Wilson's piece in the Guardian warning Nicola Cortese's firing of Nigel Adkins will lead to a Venky's equivalent of epic football mismanagement that has stricken Blackburn is a bit presumptuous. The Saints have a pretty sound self financing model in place, an academy that produces top rated talent, and they have put together a decent run in the top flight. We have to remember four years ago, the club was in administration and since the takeover by late Markus Liebherr, they have progressed from League One to the Championship and finally onto the big boy league.

Adkins was removed against the grain of recent performances and in his place Mauricio Pochettino, the former Espanyol coach has been installed. But it appears that this change was being contemplated "for several weeks" as Pochettino himself inartfully disclosed especially while Saints were developing an unsavoury reputation for fading fast in the second half and running up the Premiership stats on most goals conceded. But recent results have shown a reversal with the Saints battling Chelsea to a 2-2 draw in the League Cup and losing just two of their last twelve matches to remain three points clear of relegation. So what would possess Cortese to take such a huge risk by firing the immensely popular and successful Adkins? Especially at a time when a new manager would face a trial by fire with upcoming matches against Everton, United, and City.

Ambition. Cortese is a banker who spent years managing the entertainment and sports business interests at various Swiss banks making a name for himself. He was the one who talked Markus Liebherr into buying the Saints and with all the cynicism stemming from a parade of fly by night operators that doomed arch rivals Pompey, the takeover proved wildly successful as Liebherr proved to be the genuine article. Cortese obviously looks on himself as a saviour and his benediction extends to characterizing the Saints " as his baby". Only a person with a messianic complex will use such language.

The dismissal of Pardew eerily mirrors that of Adkins as the former was reportedly out of favour with Cortese when he failed to lead the Saints into the playoffs missing out by one position in 2009. But he was kept on and was told to work very closely with Les Reed, the director of football development in vertically integrating the club in ensuring homegrown talent found their way into the first team. But it appeared Pardew did not pay heed to that directive. He was dismissed three games into the 2010 League One season which set off a similar teeth gnashing amongst fans that is being experienced with the Adkins dismissal.

The recently fired manager also seems to have not adhered to Cortese's vision of vertical integration and additionally disappointed with under utilizing some key signings that seem to have been personally endorsed. There were benchmarks passed down to both Pardew and Adkins which each coach had to act on and the progress report fell short. Some of these concerns can be found in Cortese's statement after he hired Pochettino:

" He also shares my belief that the most successful clubs are built by nurturing young players through a development system that provides a clear path to the First Team, thereby creating a culture that keeps them at the Club for the long term. This is an approach he has employed with great success in the past and I look forward to him bringing that experience and expertise to Southampton."

This is just a gut feeling but these machinations feels somehow akin to a multistage rocket with each stage propelling it to the next level. Pardew and Adkins boosted the Saints to a certain prescribed level but they weren't going to get the Saints to become a sort of Barca like cantera that ensured golden generations of homegrown talent dotting the St Mary's landscape. Which in every footballing parlance is the stratosphere where gravity becomes irrelevant. Cortese also seems to be acutely aware of the heedless rush by clubs to live for the moment which has led to some living in a financial strait jacket.

" Clubs spend money they do not have; they spend next year's income. They spend money that will not arrive for two years and say, "But we'll have some success and bring in more cash to cover the shortfall". It cannot be sustained. In good times you need to be saving money for the bad times. If we reach the Premier League, I would like to be in a position where we did not need parachute payments. In good years you should put money away for the bad years."

That would be sound financial adage. Some of Cortese's qualities proved attractive enough to cash strapped AC Milan who approached him to join their board of directors.

What bothers Saint fans is that Pochettino has come out of left field. And he seems to rely on religion and prayer to uplift the team a la Rick Perry's containment of school shootings rather than actual redemptive measures. Sid Lowe talks about a pilgrimage to Montserrat to talk to the Virgin Mary which led to divine intervention. What is England's equivalent? A visit to Stonehenge? But Pochettino also has a history of success at Espanyol where for two seasons he coached his team mates to respectability and gave Barca a heck of a derby. He also comes from the Liga where they seem to have instilled a love for the short passing game and invested in developing players. Cortese seems to have indulged in a faith building exercise with two English managers but obviously his endgame is a risky but well intentioned foray into international respectability. As an Arsenal fan, one can relate to a certain Arsene Wenger after years of George Graham and English managers playing a grim and depressing style.

szólj hozzá: Chelsea vs Arsenal 2:1 GOALS HIGHLIGHTS

Something ails this Arsenal side. Terribly. Forget about those controversial goals Chelsea scored in the first half. That was amateur hour when it came to defending. While the defense was trying to pronounce his name, Azpilicueta was storming ahead while no one picked up Juan Mata.

The winger should have been challenged by Bacary Sagna but the full back with a panoramic view of the developing play was found wanting as Per Mertesacker was sucked into the vortex of ball watching. Sagna arrived too late as Mata controlled beautifully and then drilled the ball past Szcz. Yes, it all began when Martin Atkinson outrageously let play continue after Francis Coquelin was clearly fouled by Ramires's late charge. However, there was time to tamp down the outrage, collect one's wits as Chelsea broke through Azpilicueta. But just as against City last week, Arsenal switched off at critical moments. We don't seem to produce adrenaline as much as we do THC. To make matters worse, there was the sight of Abou Diaby trying to do a Koscielny on Oscar within the first five minutes. We never learn, do we?

The second goal was a compendium of errors led by Diaby's dawdling and getting robbed as a gaggle of Arsenal defenders descended around Mata like fruit flies on a rotting apple allowing the constantly motoring Ramires slipping unnoticed into the box. Sagna was noticeably missing again. The Brazilian might have milked the contact from Szcz but the Gunners were guilty of gifting him that opportunity on a platter. The Pole did not make too much fuss Atkinson pointed to the spot and showed him the yellow. Frank Lampard rarely misses and he did not do so this time too.

Two early goals down numbed the Gunners into zombie like submission and an eternity went by as Mata, Hazard, Oscar, and Ramires ran circles around them. It was difficult to remember that Arsenal could have registered on the scoreboard first. Olivier Giroud had a clear chance to put one in the back of the net. But the litany of missed opportunities continued. He is still yet to convince and there are no signs of scoring improvement.

Theo Walcott's Arsenal future is secured but the conundrum of where he's best employed is still to be resolved. Without the Ox, he was pegged back in his familiar flank but his best moments came directly trying to slip past the offside cordon. He was flagged three times but on the fourth instance he timed his run perfectly picking Cazorla's pass and finish with aplomb in Arsenal's improved second half performance. Which of course is how Arsenal now choose to play their matches. Try and dig themselves out of a hole.

Chelsea's trio of attacking midfielders were now defensive liabilities as a desperately aggressive Arsenal began bundling them off the ball and the hitherto anonymous Cazorla switched with Wilshere, drifting into a more central role where he provided that crisply delivered assist. Had Arsenal been able to muster a fourth of that effort in the first half this could have been a tied match. There were opportunities and Walcott, Mertesacker, and Giroud came close. Gary Cahill had to make a fantastic last ditch intervention to save Chelsea from a Southampton like misery. At the other end Demba Ba could have iced Chelsea's win after Szcz lost the one to one with him but an alert Thomas Vermaelen was there to provide the last line of defense.

There was an Andrey Arshavin (remember him) sighting but the Russian replacing a rusty Abou Diaby looked equally rusty and a bit more than well nourished. There is always a feeling of regret when he comes on - what promise, what a let down. And now he can't be sold because very few can afford his wages. The loss puts us seven points behind fourth placed Spurs with a match in hand but there is Everton ahead and West Brom, Swansea, and now Liverpool breathing down hard. After the match, Wenger had this to say:

" There's a psychological part of it, for sure, because we didn't really go for it at the start again.The team have to believe more in the quality we have."

Isn't that the manager's responsibility? To get the team to believe in themselves and prepare them to play all 90+ minutes. But these flagging, fluctuating performances have been all too frequent this season. And the problem is Arsenal's competitors don't seem to have a problem with motivating themselves this crucial stretch. The psychological aspect should be self evident especially when one has targeted a very specific goal for success.

This link might have legs. Keep fingers crossed.

The Arsenal manager is a big fan of the Uruguayan striker who has been on fire for Napoli the last three seasons. Arsene Wenger is usually circumspect about who the club is interested in so his admission that Edinson Cavani is someone who might be a potential transfer prospect is noteworthy.

He also mentioned buying Cavani would cost a whole lot but here is the significant part, " [But] our banker lives just next to me at the moment and he is ready if we find the right player." When was the last time Wenger so openly talked about splashing the cash? These are signs that he maybe getting worried that fourth place is slipping out of Arsenal's grasp. The lack of consistent goalscoring is indeed a serious issue and unlike last season when RVP caught fire at the right time, there is no one right now in this squad that shows any inclination or more pertinently, an ability to do so.

Wenger also mentioned that they are interested in Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha. And he is 99% confident that Theo Walcott's Arsenal deal will work out.

szólj hozzá: Arsenal vs Swansea 1:0 MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

One doesn't quite know if Arsenal makes a Shakespearean tragedy or a comedy. Is it Hamlet or Twelfth Night Or What You Will? Or is Wilshere an exceedingly cunning contraction of William Shakespeare?

Surely, there is a part for Theo Walcott who seemingly couldn't shoot himself out of a paper bag or for that matter his striking counterpart Olivier Giroud. The second half was a endless teeing up to run the score against Swansea to a bakers dozen but it took Jack Wilshere's left footed strike in the 86th minute to break the deadlock. By then he had established himself as a kinetic force of nature. He was to the ball as the Bard of Avon was to the word.

There was everything to feel invigorated by this win. There was everything to feel dismayed by this win. If Arsenal had a dead eye finisher, a Vasily Zaytsev of football sniping, we would not be having this conversation. It's as if we are cursed by straight arrows when what we need is a bast*rd with a twisted brain.

OK. This one we got completely wrong. The Premiership is not the centre of the universe in a twist of our sobriety. Pep Guardiola is going to become the next manager of Hollywood FC or Bayern Munich in its more mundane version.

Well, he'll have to put up with Beckenbauer-Rummenigge-Hoeness-Breitner. Best of luck.

New Yawk. These streets will make you feel brand new.

The man responsible for installing Pep Guardiola as Barcelona coach is Man City's recently hired football director. That would be Aitor 'Txiki' Begiristain, who in the same capacity at Barca took a big gamble in 2008 by promoting the then unknown Guardiola, the coach of their B team, as Frank Rijkaard's successor. The rest is as they say history. The other connection is City's CEO, Ferran Soriano, who was Barca's CFO during Guardiola's tenure.

Everyone credits Guardiola with Barca's incandescent rise to the top of world football but as Barca's football director Begiristain left an indelible mark on the style and substance of its game. He is now turning his attention to City incorporating those exact characteristics which of course comes to fruition should Guardiola join the club. City's owners have left the footballing aspects to the experts and have been relatively low key in their demands placed on Roberto Mancini. However, they are probably looking towards Europe and success there which is proving to be Mancini's Achilles heel yet again with their underwhelming performances despite the millions spent.

With all the focus on City's unparalleled money, it is easy to overlook the fact that City also have a first rate youth academy. While not exactly a La Masia like wellspring, the academy has an unparalleled reputation in England having produced more professionals than any other Premiership side including a number of internationals. Youth development is obviously dear to Guardiola's heart as he handed Sergio Busquets, Pedro, Jeffren, and Thiago Alcantara their Barcelona debuts after nurturing their careers in the B side.

Guardiola seems to be closer to a decision as he expressed a strong interest coaching in the Premiership after his New York sabbatical is over. He is London attending the FA's 150th anniversary celebrations and his remarks dated his nemesis Jose Mourinho's by 24 hours. The Real Madrid manager is also in town for the same celebration and has also been linked strongly with a return to the Premiership but it is more likely a Chelsea reconciliation despite Roman Abramovich furiously wriggling his hips at Guardiola.

The Blues really don't cut the mustard when it comes to nurturing players and then there are these vanity side projects that Abramovich regularly embarks on which has brought the likes of Andrey Shevchenko and Fernando Torres and along with it claimed a few coaching scalps. A bit too much crassness for the elegantly understated Guardiola. On the other end, Mourinho has waxed nostalgic at his Chelsea tenure, a marked contrast to the often exasperated tone adopted at Real where he has rubbed the Bernabeu faithful in all sorts of wrong ways. His high wattage, confrontational style fits well with the sharp elbowed Chelsea ethos. In a quid pro quo, Real could get the services of Rafa Benitez after fulfilling his interim role, a move that has been hinted at by the former Liverpoll manager.

Guardiola has been linked with United but that gathers traction only if Sir Alex has a change of heart or decides his health is more important which from all his utterances seems highly unlikely. A clearly stated preference for coaching in the Premiership would mean PSG and Bayern Munich are out of the running. The dark horse is Arsenal. Which would require a molecular level dissociation from Arsene Wenger. But who knows disgruntled fans, fading memories of silverware success, and a failure to secure a CL spot could force a change of heart from the board.

Arsenal's transfer spend is just 1% of its operating cash flow (2007-12) - The Swiss Ramble

The Swiss Ramble has an excellent report on Arsenal's financial health which is exceptional but he finds some worrisome signs. Arsenal's self sustaining model is over reliant on match day receipts and player sales. More disappointing is its burgeoning wage bill and flat commercial development. The problem with this model is that match day receipts have a ceiling effect and player sales are one off propositions.

With £62 per ticket and a new generation of players who cannot command the same amounts in the transfer market, the prospects of growth are more limited. Ivan Gazidis's team had not really worked wonders in the commercial market with revenues relatively stagnant in the last five years. The wage bill per turnover is now 61%, a steep climb from 46% a few years ago. Part of the problem is that Man City and Chelsea have skewed the wage bill so much that Arsenal is forced to compete but the club's problem is also the "socialistic wage structure" put into place by Arsene Wenger which sees very little daylight between top and bottom tier talent in their compensation.

When you look at if from such a perspective, then the advent of financial fair play rules is of even more importance to a club like Arsenal. A proposal mooted by Arsenal and a few other clubs to ensure that the EPL follows a parallel track FFP should therefore come as no surprise. These clubs are protecting their status quo and in Arsenal's case, a strictly adhered to FFP could silence those calling for Alisher Usmanov's induction into the boardroom since his biggest drawing power is his unparalleled wealth and his willingness to foot the bill.

The problem with this is that Arsene Wenger while the strongest proponent of FFP is also simultaneously its weakest link. For every FFP activist, there is an equal and opposite critic pointing to Wenger as an example of why FFP is toothless and outside investment is needed to strengthen a squad. Hence the raison d'etre for clubs like Chelsea and City. What is more powerful an antidote to eight years without a title? Or a generation or two of living under the shadow of your storied neighbours?

Wenger is waging a war of attrition thinking that through these artificial controls, he will be able to wear his opponents out. As The Swiss Ramble points out, there is £50-60 million available for transfers from Arsenal's impressive cash reserves and two prudent purchases could make all the difference, for e.g., another proven goalscorer and a commanding holding midfielder. There is much riding on being considered Europe's elite including energizing those commercial and merchandising streams. Keeping your powder dry at the wrong time could backfire while considering FFP a magic bullet is to walk in with one hand tied to the back. There are ways of circumventing it through all sorts of creative accounting tricks and institutional chicanery.

szólj hozzá: Ibrahimovic is tud nagyot rontani

From the sublime to the ridiculous. Thiago Motta lofts a scrumptious pass and with memories of that other worldly goal against England burnished in living memory, Zlatan Ibrahimovic contrives to hoof it over. His best moment came when he aped the referee.

szólj hozzá: MB

Effortless. One touch. Vision. Messi. Iniesta. Fabregas. Thiago.

" Why are we weigh'd upon with heaviness,
And utterly consumed with sharp distress,
While all things else have rest from weariness?
All things have rest: why should we toil alone,
We only toil, who are the first of things,
And make perpetual moan "

Lord Alfred Tennyson - The Lotus Eaters

Watching Barca is like watching escapist fare. Toil is not in their vocabulary.

Michel has been sacked and Unai Emery will take his place

Sevilla lying in 12th place with just 6 wins moved quickly today as Jose Maria Del Nido, the president sacked Michel, the Real Madrid legend, less than a year after his appointment. Unai Emery, the former Valencia and Spartak Moscow coach was installed in his place.

Los Nervionenses has some bright lights including former Real Madrid striker Alvaro Negredo, winger Jesus Navas, he of the electric blue eyes and pace, and Gary Medel, the Chilean enforcer in midfield. It also boasts Ivan Rakitic, the Croatian standout who left Schalke after his exploits there to sign a four and half year contract with Sevilla in 2011.

Twelfth place is an underachievement with this assembly of talent. Sevilla has consistently finished in the top four of La Liga till the 2010 season when it finished fifth. Last year they fell to ninth and this season has been a continuation of that slide.

The sharp dressed Emery was a steadying influence while at Valencia and in his final two seasons guided them to third in the league and a CL spot even as they offloaded key players like David Villa, David Silva, and Juan Mata to pay off the massive debts incurred by the club.

Arsenal links include Jose Antonio Reyes, the homesick winger who spent three seasons at the club. In the past Arsenal have been linked with Navas, whose crippling fear of air travel became an issue and Emir Spahic, the half back who practically invited himself to the Emirates when in Montpellier.

Jack Wilshere has a heavy touch and his legs churn. The City captain comes flying in and his left leg makes contact with the ball as his right leg remains tucked in but he and Wilshere collide and the Arsenal midfielder gets rolled over. It happens very fast and Mike Dean did not have the replay button to review the tackle but this was no red card. City is right to appeal.

szólj hozzá: Manchester United vs Liverpool 2:1 MOTD

Beautiful flick by RVP for the first goal and then an inswinging free kick that allows both Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic to pile on the second. Liverpool was much, much better in the second half as Utd's midfield disappeared and Daniel Sturridge scored his first Premiership goal for his new club on debut. Nervy moments for the Utd faithful and even Sir Alex looked worried but Utd even when they are sub par manage to pull it off. Story of their season so far.

Good on John Brooks, the assistant referee who tells Joe Hart and Joleon Lescott to go and thank City fans for making the trip to the Emirates after paying the league's most expensive tickets. Many away fans (about 900 of them) cited the cost of the tickets as a reason to not make the trip.

Arsene Wenger justified the high ticket prices as necessary to keep paying players their wages. This set off a debate with many implying that clubs like City and Chelsea with their blank checks had skewed the market so much these ticket price spikes were inevitable to try and keep Arsenal competitive.

Which is untrue. Arsenal's median compensation was always high, a reflection of Wenger's need to make sure there was little daylight between the top and bottom tier talent in the club when it came to the wallet.

These exorbitant amounts charged for tickets are nothing less than price gouging. With more money earned from TV rights, handsome profits from player sales, the debt being paid steadily down on the Emirates, more lucrative sponsorship and commercial deals in the offing, the club is in rosier financial health than their Premiership counterparts. There is no reason why Arsenal needs to keep charging these prices. Especially when they are not commensurate with recent results.

szólj hozzá: Arsenal vs Manchester City 0:2 MOTD

Arsene Wenger could have included Per Mertesacker in the starting line up but concerns over Carlos Tevez's pace prompted him to start Laurent Koscielny. In the 9th minute he had no choice but to send in the BFG because the French defender lost his marbles bringing down Edin Dzeko in a rugby tackle and clearly interfering with a goal scoring chance. Referee Mike Dean did not hesitate in pointing to the spot and showing Koscielny the red card. This is not the first time that the half back has had these brain melting episodes. But it adds yet another motif to the disheveled, sputtering nature of Arsenal's campaign as the side was forced to grapple for the next 65 minutes a man down till Vincent Kompany's dismissal restored parity.

Wojciech Szczesny was able to save Dzeko's low hard penalty deflecting the ball with his leg and unbelievably it hit the upright, traveled parallel to the line before being scooped up by the Arsenal goalie. That reprieve was temporary. Because the other thing that Arsenal do fabulously well is to switch off at crucial moments.

Check out the players milling around as Gareth Barry takes a quick free kick and with two quick relays the ball is at James Milner's feet and he blasts the ball from an angle. No Arsenal player in the vicinity to challenge him. It's as easy a goal as you could get till you saw the gift of the second goal. Even Andre Dos Santos would have been chastened at how easy it was for Pablo Zabaleta to rob Kieran Gibbs and release Milner. The winger raced down and spat out a low, driving cross that Szcz saved but the rebound was snapped up by Dzeko with the easiest of finishes.

Two goals down, a man down, innumerable breakdowns in focus. It looked like an avalanche was going to hit. The second half was an improvement as Arsenal got more of the ball, created a few open chances with Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott coming close but ultimately no dice. Vincent Kompany got sent off for a two footed tackle which on closer examination was not all that rash and should have merited a yellow. Even with equal complements, it was going to take something special for Arsenal to get back in this match, and Giroud and Ramsey the two second half replacements did not exactly have an impact.

Jack Wilshere has to be the most fouled player this season and that is directly attributable to his constantly churning legs. Today, he was the pick of the Arsenal players on display. If desire won silverware then "Jackie" Wilshere (as John Gregory insists on calling him) would have his mantle full. But his counterpart Santi Cazorla looks a bit worn down and one wonders why Wenger doesn't play Tomas Rosicky in his place to rejuvenate. Abou Diaby making his first start since October looked decent and with Mikel Arteta out for the the next three weeks with a calf injury should see quite a bit of playing time.

Wenger was surprisingly equanimous at the sending off: " What I make of the decision is not really important. We have to live with the decision. I was surprised. Honestly. I refuse to watch it again because what does it help now? We have to live with the decision and make the maximum of it."

The obvious winners were City keeping close to United with this victory but it was also the away fans who refused to pony up the £62 per ticket. You can spend your money on better entertainment. Now, is the turn of the Arsenal fans who have to begin to wonder if their money is better spent elsewhere. It's getting old to see Arsenal add to that effortless collection of Darwin awards, the one silverware that is never beyond them.

Soon only these type of guys will be watching Arsenal at the Emirates and they don't pay

By now you must have heard that a big group of City fans will not be making the trip to the Emirates for Sunday's game because the away ticket prices are just too steep. Factor in the coach, the food and drink and it all comes up to about £150 to see Balotelli blow a gasket and City lose (OK, that was below the belt but that's about all that is cheap nowadays). And here is the thing, people are not getting richer in the UK. Austerity hits hard but it seems the football gods believe that fans have bottomless pits of money to throw at the game. Exhibit A is Arsenal with the highest priced tickets in the Premiership and reasonably enough the world for soccer formerly known as "the people's game."

Arseblog points an accusing finger at the domino effect caused by the blank checks doled out by City and Chelsea on transfer fees and wages which forces other clubs to raise their wage bills in order to compete. Fans are expected to pick up the tab because loyalty is assumed to be a hardwired attribute. But when you have the game on TV, you have a cheaper option, and you can still scream at Walcott for losing the ball. At a bar with other fans wearing RVP jerseys. The point is loyalty has its limits. However, where Arseblog goes a bit astray is laying the blame game on these few clubs.

Arsenal have the fourth highest wage bill of all the clubs and if that was the criteria for getting into the CL, they would be safe as houses all the time. Arsene Wenger defended the high ticket pricing by saying it was essential to pay the wages of the players. You have to read a bit more into that sentence. Wages of players who have been unproductive, rarely used, and injured so long when they do come back, it's touted as a new signing. That's the reality at Arsenal.

No one minds Aaron Ramsey getting paid £60,000 a week if he can pass the ball at the split second its supposed to or prove to be a revelation on the wing in Wenger's relocation or have an effective GPS when it comes to goals. Or lets put it another way, do people mind paying £40,000- £50,000 per week for a Marouane Chamakh to sit on his hands knowing Wenger will not play him even a single minute (he's off to West Ham so that's over for the present)? One doesn't have the exact figure but the wage bill has to be around £20m for players who've been put in deep freeze. Think about how a more realistic wage structure could substantially lower ticket prices.

The club has profited handsomely from player sales, the stadium debt is being paid down steadily, and if Ivan Gazidis and his team are working on improved sponsorship deals and expanding commercial revenues, then there is no reason why fans have to be subjected to increased ticket prices every season. Surely, the self sustaining model applies to both club and fan, that each live within their means. If £62 is too much, then Arsenal need to look at how to bring those prices down or cap them for both home and away fans. And it looks like this issue is bringing together some very unlikely allies together.

He got his first warning when he mildly clobbers Quique De Lucas who milks it for all its worth falling down like he had been shot and writhing around. It leads to some handbags between the players and Ramos gets carded by referee Ayza Gamez whose decision is greeted by a stream of invective from the aggrieved defender. To be fair he had reasons to be aggrieved.

Ramos then gets sent off in the second half after he tangles with Augusto Fernandez and then while tumbling down his right leg comes up high and rakes the midfielder's face with the boot. It didn't looked particularly deliberate, unlike Mario Balotelli's noggin stomp of Scott Parker or Emmanuel Adebayor's similar decapitation move on Robin Van Persie. But Ramos had already said stuff like, "You're a crook" three times which did not exactly endear him to Gamez. And oh, "You've been fu*king us all day" about twice. So the League decided to tack on an extra two matches for his verbal abuse.

Ramos might have felt hard done by but he has a reputation for being boneheaded and entitled. Referees are getting less and less tolerant of this grandstanding.

As for the match it did not make much of a difference as Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat trick in a 4-0 romp over Celta de Vigo in the Copa Del Rey fixture which means they move onto the quarterfinals on a 5-2 aggregate. And for those curious, yes, Park Chu -young has been getting regular minutes. He has scored two goals! in 12 appearances which include 5 starts. Why he was brought to Arsenal still escapes a lot of us.

szólj hozzá: Chelsea vs Swansea 0:1 Michu

Branislav Ivanovic had two moments of brain freeze and each proved costly. In the first instance robbed very cheaply by Jonathan De Guzman who lets the ball run to who else but Michu.

Have we said the Spaniard only cost Mikael Laudrup £2m? Michu made a monkey's uncle of the Chelsea defenders with his cool, calm finish. In the second even more blatant "he's got wood chips instead of brain cells" Ivanovic blindly back passes as a lurking Danny Graham pounces on the ball, evades Ross Turnbull's challenge and then retains enough control and composure to shoot the ball fractionally ahead of the sliding centrebacks. A bit slower and it might have easily been a penalty with a good chance Ivanovic would have brought the striker down.

Both Michu and Graham are becoming quite the attacking duo. Only last week they put the brakes on Arsenal's FA Cup entry by scoring both goals.

Chelsea had all the possession and plenty of scoring opportunities but it came to nothing. For some reason Rafa Benitez only called on Demba Ba very, very late and the big Senegalese striker almost delivered but his goal was controversially ruled offside.

The odds are stacked against Chelsea. Now they face the Swans playing at home in the return leg hoping to overcome a 2 goal margin and a well organized defence. However, the Blues have shown they can pour those goals in. So hold off on those premature celebrations. But you can permit yourself a rising excitement at the prospect of a Swansea City vs Bradford City final at Wembley.

Don't expect Mario Balotelli to join the club he most admires as long as Silvio Berlusconi owns AC Milan. The former Italian PM called him " a rotten apple"

The more complete quote and there is no mincing around.

" If you put a rotten apple into the dressing room you'll infect everyone else. I've had to make my own mind up on Balotelli as a person and I'd never accept having him in our squad! "

His favourite player, Stephen El Sharaawy who he said no amount of money could prise away from the side.

Berlusconi also gave no quarter to embattled Massimiliano Allegri as the club languishes in seventh place.

After dumping out Arsenal, Bradford City turned its attention to Aston Villa in the League Cup semi-finals, first leg. And they humiliated the Premiership side. Nakhi Wells got them going with a nice finish after being kept onside. Some awful defending on set pieces saw the Villans concede two more goals. The last goal had enough power to light a small country. Matt Duke also came up with some spectacular saves. Andre Weimann got one back as team mate Darren Bent missed a point blank header. That was about it.

That would be a long ride back home for Paul Lambert's side as they ponder the return leg. A triumphant Bradford City could be headed for the finals.

Theo Walcott might not be turning his back to Arsenal

There appears to be some movement towards securing Theo Walcott's future at Arsenal. The club has made a £90,000 per week offer additionally sweetening it with a £3m sign on bonus for a reported five year deal worth £25m. A deal is expected to signed on by the weekend.

However, David Villa can be taken off the list as Barca has ruled out a January transfer stating the striker who has played very few minutes is needed at the Camp Nou.

St Iker can do no wrong in the eyes of the Real Madrid faithful. And Jose Mourinho made the cardinal sin of omitting Casillas with disastrous results. You're messing with a deity. Mourinho had a momentary lapse of reason against Malaga. After 10 days, with enough time to reflect, to do it again would be termed insanity. Unless of course, you're intentionally giving the finger to the Real Madrid board and the fans.

So, the skinny is that even though the stand in Antonio Adan has been a bit of an inglorious bast*rd, he's being brought back again. Casillas is going to be on the pitch for the next two matches, after which Adan returns. Mourinho does have an explanation and he points to the ridiculously easy third goal by Real Sociedad's Xabi Prieto in which Casillas is guilty of not putting enough pressure. Real escaped with a tense, unconvincing 4-3 win. It maybe true that Casillas is not being pushed enough but the gap between the two goalies is a chasm.

The relationship between the coach and FIFA's top rated goalie is considered glacial. The board's reaction has been that the decision is risky but ultimately the coach's authority has to be respected. One can be sure Florentino Perez is fuming behind the scenes with the club almost out of La Liga contention trailing behind Barca by 16 points and being overshadowed by crosstown rivals, Atletico Madrid.

If you have about an hour, please watch. In Argentina, football is not a way of life, it is life and death. The Barra Bravas are the hooligans that have organized themselves into a mafia force that is aided and abetted by police corruption and enjoys political patronage to partake of the spoils of Argentina's multi million dollar football business. If there is money to be made, the Barra Bravas are there, from demanding commissions on transfer fees to extorting car parking fees to drug dealing.

Many die violent deaths as rival gangs engage in turf wars. Some are part of the gangs, most are just innocent fans. The fact is justice comes slowly if at all.

In the documentary you see Alejandro Flores, a barra brava of Club Atletico Excursionistas, high on alcohol and crack, wielding his swords. He was murdered a week later. Jon Sistiaga then takes us into the world of the barra bravas of Atlanta where their supporters are bussed in from predetermined secret locations and rely on elaborate codes to conduct business. They get in free while the rest of the fans pay inflated fees.

Ricardo Pavone, or El Gordo, a honcho of San Telmo, a third division club drawing a loaded gun and letting loose a round in his interview. The club closed down its own stadium for security reasons after Pavone and his barras threw Molotov cocktails and now plays its matches in a different location. Pavone was later arrested as video footage showed him exhorting Independiente barra bravas to throw firecrackers into the pitch against their opponents Belgrano. As he explains. " A barra brava can ruin the show. Provoke incidents causing suspension of the game." It's a nice power trip.

There is footage of the ongoing battle of supremacy between leaders of two rival factions of La Doce as Boca's barra bravas are called which has implications for the upcoming club presidential elections.

Are these barra bravas real fans? Not so. Sistiaga concludes, "I have not found a single hooligan who is able to tell me the complete lineup of his team."

Unlike the simpler minded British hooligans of the 80's, the barra bravas look onto the game for their livelihood and have cultivated entrenched financial and political interests which are inseparable from that of the club. This problem is going to be harder to eradicate. A glimpse of what lies in store when Sistiaga and his cameraman are accosted by the barra bravas of Club Racing.

One of the heart warming moments in the 2013 FIFA awards as Pia Sundhage wins the women's coach of the year award and then lives up to her reputation as an impromptu performer singing Bob Dylan's "If not for you".

Also good to see Alex Morgan, Abby Wambach with Abby Wambach Marta sharing a moment together given their history. Fierce competitors on the pitch but willing to let it go on this day. Wambach won the top women's player award and here is her classy interview in which she praises both Morgan, Marta, and the rest of her team mates past and present.

Polka dots?

All the nominees for the Ballon D'Or were from the La Liga. Leo Messi's win was predictable. 92 goals to shatter Gerd Mueller's record? The FIFA Pro XI were all from La Liga. Even the three nominated coaches had extensive links with the Liga, either current or in the past. There was no mystery.

Except possibly the Puskas Award given for the best goal to Miroslav Stoch over Radamel Falcao and Neymar's scintillating efforts. Here are the other top ten.

For the complete list >>

szólj hozzá: Mansfield vs Liverpool 0:2 Suarez

Full marks to Mansfield City, 96 places below Liverpool, for their classy gesture reserving seats for the 96 fallen in the Hillsborough tragedy. You could see this was such a huge game for the non-league side.

Not so classy: Luis Suarez's blatant hand ball that was the difference between a win and a replay. Suarez is an admirable footballer and he's the one reason that Liverpool are surging in the table. But he's got issues. Andre Marriner and the linesman were equally culpable for failing to spot Suarez's offence. You might as well put Mr Magoo in charge of officiating.

Jon Champion called it "the work of a cheat" and for that truth telling, ESPN rushed to apologize and stated they were in discussions with the commentator. Brendan Rodgers got into it by saying it wasn't Suarez's responsibility to own up.

Man, this really puts a stink on the decades long biggest cover up in British sporting history. A saga that anguished an entire city, took innumerable investigations, and an apology by the PM to bring some sort of closure. Here was a non-league side honouring that memory and playing their guts out. One classy gesture deserved an equally classy response and that was a golden opportunity missed. Football lost.

For the record, we shouldn't let Marriner and the linesmen off the hook. There were three other penalty shouts against Liverpool which deserved attention but were not given.

By now Arsenal are unhappy to Michu. They wish he had never come to the EPL because he is getting quite the reputation for punishing them. To add insult to injury he's exactly the sort of signing Arsene Wenger would have been proud to make. This was his third goal in two matches against the Gunners following his two goal outburst in Swansea's win against Arsenal. The London team were on the front foot pressing hard as the second half began dominating possession but lacking the finishing touch. The first half had seen some neat but fairly sterile stuff with the Swans looking more threatening in their sporadic attacks.

Michu came on and it all changed in a matter of minutes as Dwight Tiendalli flicked on Michael Vorm's goal kick towards Danny Graham and as the striker tangled with Laurent Koscielny he turned the ball to Michu. The Spaniard brushed aside Per Mertesacker clumsy attempts at thwarting him for a nice finish. However Arsenal did not retreat to lick their wounds and pressing hard forced the Swansea defense into a number of cheap giveaways.

Lukas Podolksi was brought on after Kieran Gibbs and Olivier Giroud (for a centreforward that was a poorly directed header) came close. With the German on the pitch, Arsenal kept the pressure increasing the tempo. Theo Walcott with a very good look at goal flashed wide and Giroud was guilty of a heavy touch that robbed him of a goal opportunity. It was a matter of time and it came when Walcott's corner which sailed away from the goal mouth was kept inbound by Bakary Sagna and on the bounce Koscielny swept it towards Poldolksi who wheeled around to smash with his left foot.

Two minutes later came an even more delectable goal as Gibbs crossed square to Giroud and kept running into the box. The striker returned an inch perfect pass which was volleyed with venom by Gibbs past Vorm for the lead. Could Arsenal hold on and see off Swansea? That would be the natural thing to do but we have seen Arsenal shoot themselves with a hideous lack of composure at the back. A long corner that sailed over the middle of the box saw Ki latch onto the ball and push it forward to Graham who on the left channel fizzed the ball past Szczesny. There was no pressure on Graham as Mikel Arteta turned his back instead of attempting to block his shot and Szcz instead of staying tall and increasing the odds decided to go low.

There was controversial moment when Tiendalli appeared to have clipped Aaron Ramsey with the midfielder entering the box at pace. As the midfielder tumbled down, he appealed for a penalty. However on replay, it appeared he had clipped his own feet. Howard Webb was not impressed and waved play on.

So Arsenal now load their schedule with the additional match to be played Jan 16th sandwiched in between Man City and Chelsea EPL fixtures. Not what Arsene Wenger wanted. There were about a half dozen clear chances and this match should have been put to bed quite some time ago. On the other hand, the Swansea and Arsenal fixtures are getting quite a bit of traction.

szólj hozzá: manu - whu

Joe Cole on his return to West Ham could have crossed the ball to James Collins all day long for the same result as Utd's defensive disarray was in full view. But Utd proved once again that they cannot be put away. There are no last nails.

Ryan Giggs stunning diagonal from beyond midfield saw a full tilt RVP control the ball in Bergkampesque fashion with his left foot with the most delectable of touches and then letting it run to smash the ball with his weaker right past Jussi Jaaskailanen. Genius all around.

szólj hozzá: Southampton 1 5 Chelsea hoofoot HD

Demba Ba's physical presence made all the difference in Chelsea's 5-1 over Soton as the big Senegalese forward scored a brace on his debut. Forgotten in all of this was the fact that Southampton had drawn first blood through Jay Rodriguez. But Juan Mata who was a creative cog all match sparked the Chelsea comeback lifting the ball for Ba to finish off. Victor Moses's goal put the Blues ahead. Ivanovic scored the third, Ba added another, and Frank Lampard put away his penalty kick.

Fernando Torres sat the entire match out on the bench looking on as Ba cornered glory in his first 61 minutes. The Spaniard had to wait 14 games and 732 minutes for his debut goal. Maybe fighting for playing minutes might finally get him going.

Free transfer: Legend <----------------------> Free transfer: Laggard

Arsene Wenger laments the changing expectations of fans.

" People want to see Lionel Messi. They don't want to see a promising guy. First of all the name gives hope. When a guy has no name people are already sceptical, so it's much more difficult for us. "

Who wouldn't want Leo Messi? But Arsenal fans are more realistic than that expecting the Barca whiz to come over to the Emirates after being at the top of the world. There was a time when this wasn't an issue because Wenger's risks at finding immensely successful bargains in all areas of the field established his legendary status. Patrick Vieira, Dennis Bergkamp, Freddie Ljungberg, Nicholas Anelka, Roberto Pires, Kolo Toure, Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas, Robin Van Persie, Alex Song. They didn't just turn out exceptional, they also played as if they had earned the right to wear that jersey. But that record is seriously in jeopardy in recent years. With Cesc Fabregas's departure, the Wenger revolution officially ended after seven years of incubation and little silverware.

To be fair, Wenger is now a victim of his own success. After all, how can you top such signings? Which is why scouts are under increasing pressure to uncover hidden gems to carry on this tradition. Something that Wenger points out. However much of this has to do with the board turning to Wenger to drive sales of its top players for profit and then asking him to plug the gaps while a new generation has not shown such readiness. All the while shifting goalposts of success to placate an increasingly restless fanbase.

The present squad reflects that uneasy transition from ideology into something resembling a quixotic patchwork quilt. Arsenal have a decent first XI and it can deliver convincingly when it wants. It's right after that we see a steep cliff. The bench is a medley of players that showed initial promise but failed to deliver, and a steady creep towards older but not necessarily marquee names.

Denilson on loan, Nicklas Bendtner on loan. Park Chu-young on loan. On the bench sit players Wenger has lost complete faith in. Andrey Arshavin, Marouane Chamakh, Sebastian Squillaci, Johan Djourou who have few to no appearances this season. Then there is Abou Diaby on the permanently crocked list. The players who get regularly called on like Gervinho and Aaron Ramsey fail to provide an impact. We have had a goalkeeper problem since Jens Lehmann left four years ago. It's to be brutally honest, quite a mess, and in terms of money spent on transfers and wages, a rather costly one.

The steady stream of top quality players nurtured by Arsene Wenger leaving the club without any heir apparent also adds to this sense of expediency. When a Cesc Fabregas or RVP leaves, one expects not unreasonably that there are worthy successors who will step into their shoes with little drop off in performance. However, that is not the case with a newly hybrid Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere and the Ox still in development mode and a bench that has little depth. There is therefore tremendous pressure on the reinforcements that Wenger does bring to the side, for e.g., in Lukas Podolski, Santi Cazorla, and Olivier Giroud, all new to the EPL. Hitting the ground running becomes crucial. Add the absence of a recognized holding midfielder this whole season and you get a diminution in the possession game and vulnerability towards counterattacks. Mikel Arteta is a fine footballer but his role at Everton was very different from the one he now has at Arsenal and it shows in his failed tackles and difficulty organizing the backfield.

The late Tony Greig captained an English XI in the 70's famous for a long tail that rarely wagged. Which meant the top order had to be pretty damn perfect. That's Arsenal for you without Greig's inspiring personality to fall back on. We don't need Leo Messi. What we need is a change in emphasis defining success not only in economic terms but in sporting achievements. We can't keep forever hiding under that fig leaf because in the end the football business is a continuum. To neglect one for the other in the long term will prove disastrous.

Good on Kevin Prince Boateng and AC Milan walking out on fourth tier Pro Patria after a section of their fans subjected the midfielder to racial abuse. "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori". It is also sweet and right to walk out on such ugly behaviour.

A scene from La Travestiata featuring Mario Balotelli and Roberto Mancini handbags

Who is going to be the composer of this opera? Mario Balotelli and Roberto Mancini were involved in a training ground spat when the manager incensed at the striker's mistimed tackle on Scott Sinclair went after him. The latest edition in their contentious relationship which might end badly for both of them.

Last year, it nearly derailed their title winning charge. But Balotelli did make amends for all his previous transgressions with an off balance pass to Sergio Aguero for a last gasp goal against QPR to snatch the title away from Utd in history making theatrics. This year he's been involved less and less as the season wears on and City need players to step up scoring since Carlos Tevez is less influential, Sergio Aguero is carrying an injury, and Edin Dzeko flits in and out of the bench. Yaya Toure will also be missed when the ACN begins.

On the other hand, Utd shows no signs of a let up and Chelsea continues to hover around. City's owners have not made a big deal of Balotelli's giant lark so far but they could have some serious re-thinking to do with the latest pubertal hiccough. He could go to PSG where Zlatan Ibrahimovic appears to be eager to mentor the troubled soul.

szólj hozzá: Liverpool vs Sunderland 3:0 GOALS HIGHLIGHTS

Does Liverpool need strengthening? Of course it does. But on such days, Luis Suarez does enough to gloss over that need with a few galaxies to spare. For all the doom and gloom of some over the top spending that went horribly awry, Liverpool can legitimately argue Suarez is the best bit of business the EPL has done in the last three years.

That second goal should have never been but Suarez had one thing in mind. He got bumped off by a galumphing Carlos Cuellar, regained his balance, and then as the defender collapsed in a heap corralled the ball and put the burners on. The Uruguayan came at Simone Mignolet from an angle and finished off with a superb placement. This is what it sounded like.

As an Arsenal fan, one can't keep thinking Suarez would have glowered at the bedraggled lot seen yesterday at St Mary's and deciding they weren't worth a bucket of warm spit, taken the Soton defense on his own and torn them apart. We are seeing a player of incomparable passion, guile, and power who cannot be measured by the usual metrics. He seems to be just getting started and that is the scary part. Last season was how many could Suarez miss. This time around it is what does it take to make him miss. He was not the only one to go celestial as Steven Gerrard had a blinder launching a few precision bombs. Refer to third goal. Suarez doing the rest.

Liverpool climb to eighth and they could go a lot higher if they can continue this form. Watch out usual, blinkered suspects or you could be blindsided into a dumpster.

Which way will the wind blow? Adel Taraabt is one of those players who can impact a match in a nanosecond as he did with this touch of genius setting up Shaun Wright- Phillips shock winner against his former club. Then again Taraabt can infuriate like no other. SWP's first goal came after 969 days of his last one and it could be a season changer. Harry Redknapp could still pull off a miracle and save QPR from relegation.

This was a monumental win because Chelsea were on the cusp of a "we are the club to beat" narrative while QPR were scraping the bottom of the barrel. Chelsea dominated and had a number of chances but failed to capitalize putting even more pressure on Demba Ba to produce on his now foregone arrival.

Marko Marin was the mugger in chief. Why was that not a red card? The German got a bit of his own medicine as Shaun Derry attempted to decapitate him. No, not a patch on Game of Thrones. Season 3 will begin in March and there are specialty beers to go with that festive occasion.

Adrian Lopez has been on Wenger's wish list

The January transfer window is upon Arsene Wenger. The season is halfway through which means that the manager should have a very good idea of who he needs to bring in to make that push for the final CL spot. Which obviously also means that we're treated to statements like this which tell you precisely very little:

"I will be active, yes," he said. "We are looking everywhere. We are open-minded. We want to strengthen the squad everywhere."

Adrian Lopez joins the list of players linked with Arsenal as the players in the past, present, or future not linked with Arsenal grows much, much smaller. Let's see who we already have for this window:

Nani, Demba Ba, Thierry Henry, Yann M'Villa, Etienne Capoue, Wilfred Zaha, Luke Shaw, David Villa, Fernando Llorente, Wesley Sneijder, Kevin Strootman, Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Simone Mignolet, Yoann Gourcuff, Adrian Lopez, and surely many others.

Here is reality: We still have Marouane Chamakh, Andrey Arshavin, Sebastian Squillaci, Johan Djourou, on the bench who will not be played but continue to eat up wages that no other club can afford. There are no suitors rushing to sign them up. Then there are those who cannot be injury free for the love of money which include Abou Diaby, Lukacz Fabianski, and Tomas Roiscky. Of these three only the last mentioned has been cleared to play.

Adrian Lopez will not join. He has a £14m release clause which Arsenal are reluctant to trigger.

szólj hozzá: Manchester United V Wigan Athletic 4-0 EPL 12

Check out Robin Van Persie's first goal, Man Utd's second in their four goal romp against Wigan. He's at the top of his game and that ankle is holding up really well, eh!

Stamford Bridge bound

The in form striker is in talks with Chelsea who triggered his £7.5m release clause with an official offer. He has also been withdrawn from Newcastle's squad for today's game against Everton.

Yes, he's on his way to Stamford Bridge for a deal that will be close to £30m factoring in his wage demands and agents fees. Chelsea's striker department is thin as they lose Daniel Sturridge to Liverpool and Fernando Torres is just sputtering to life Ba will be filling Didier Drogba's shoes which means, yes, he is going to be an Arsenal killer.

More goals, less racism, fewer heart attacks!! Hope you and your families have a fabulous 2013 and please keep reading and supporting Soccerblog. We're back after a two month absence after renewing a New Year's resolution to keep you informed and entertained about the beautiful game the best way we can.

szólj hozzá: Southampton vs Arsenal 1:1 GOALS HIGHLIGHTS

Last year, January turned out to be an ominous slog for an eventual course connection sparked by Robin Van Persie, Theo Walcott, and Alex Song. Today, the Gunners mustered up a feeble and disjointed effort against the Saints but now with two of those three departing, there is an added desperation to find our saviours to finish in the same place. If there is anything consistent about these performances, it is this, they cause fans to put their cardiologists on speed dial. How do you wipe out the humiliation of a half dozen goals spanked in by the same team in the first iteration? Check. Put in an out of shape goalie returning from injury who had trouble holding onto the ball? Check. A back line that has had trouble all season keeping out a flood of late goals? Check. The competition didn't let up this New Years day to make this a must win? Check. Saints were redeemed because they played yours truly and Chelsea, Spurs, Everton, and all the rest of the CL pack said, " Yes. Oh! Yes!"

Bacary Sagna had a shocker. He could not hold onto the ball, he couldn't pass or cross, and he couldn't tackle. And he was responsible for Soton's opener in his failed attempt at clearing the ball which fell nicely to Jason Puncheon and there onto Gaston Ramirez. Somewhere Andre Dos Santos is saying, "Hey, what gives. I ain't so bad." Arsenal dodged a bullet when Ramirez's goal was disallowed for a controversial "soft" push on Koscielny. Sagna was not the only one. One saw Mikel Arteta's name on the sheet but on the pitch there was no one in the space between the back four and Wilshere and Cazorla. The Saints were left to roam that part of the pitch like Attila which is all kinds of mixed metaphor for the scourge of the Roman Empire but you get my drift.

This is not the first time squatters have taken over that part of real estate and it is exactly why a true and tested holding midfielder is needed as badly as someone who can really score goals. Arsenal's wide men, Ox and Poldi were equally anonymous. Cazorla was imprecise but one feels the blame lies in his idealism expecting everyone in this side to operate on a La Liga preternatural level. There have been times one can see his muted irritation at this dumbing down. And your opponents will be forgiven if they think they paid to see stand up comedy because that's what happens when Gervinho and Aaron Ramsey come off the bench. The former couldn't keep vertical and the latter played like his renegotiated £60,000 a week wages was a favour he was doing the club.

The talk of wages brings us roundabout to Theo Walcott. You couldn't stop talking about him after Newcastle which should have prompted a red flag. One would find it difficult to see a plot lose its shape as completely as Walcott did between striker and winger in less than two days. And there you have it. No closure. Is he a striker? Is he a winger? Is he worth £ 90,000 or more? Should he stay? For every compelling reason to keep him, there is an equally compelling reason to let him go. This might be in context a trifle harsh because it was his free kick that resulted in Guly Do Prado's own goal after a cartoonish attempt at steering it away. The redeeming quality was that this was the first decent attempt at exploiting Soton's vulnerability at the back. It was a get out of jail free card. In retrospect, this should have been a loss.

Did I miss something when away for two months because that body language between Steve Bould and Arsene Wenger looked mighty bad. It's not the animated discourse Wenger used to have with Pat Rice regularly when things weren't going right. These two behaved like the other had reeking bad body odour. Not even the stench of the abysmal display on the pitch was going to overcome that distaste.

What was obvious to anyone was to let loose from long distance to take advantage of Boruc's hesitant and groping attempts at collaring the ball. Especially given Arsenal were having a tough go stringing enough passes for a coherent sequence to get behind the defense. Which is strictly a coaching decision. The Saints pressed hard and forced Arsenal into making mistakes but did you notice the curiously static passing? Where were the players making themselves available in triangles to help the one under pressure? I lost count of the times the ball was lost.

All of this could be a condensed footnote if Kieran Gibbs had with space between the near post and Boruc taken his chances at goal with the game winding down but he chose a lower percentage cross that Soton were able to scramble away. When we fail to qualify for the CL, these matches are the ones which will provide the talking points. Our problems might be helped in bringing quality players to crucial positions this January but something tells me that is too simplistic a solution. Consistency, leadership, hunger, street smart, tactics. Have you noticed Wenger on the sideline when he's not looking pinched or agitated at the referees? He's not waving players on or gesturing them to regroup. He doesn't know how to. Because that was moot when Arsenal had the likes of Patrick Vieira and Tony Adams to take charge on the pitch.