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Is Arsene Wenger right – Do teams play harder against Arsenal?

Posted by Cathal Breathnach on February 28, 2010 | 27 Comments

First and foremost, it was an horrendous tackle from Stoke City’s Ryan Shawcross which now leaves Arsenal midfielder, Aaron Ramsey’s career in the balance.

“I’m not very happy with the tackle.” said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger following his side’s 3-1 victory at the Britannia last night.

“I just want to say we know what we are expecting, a battle everywhere, but we have now lost three players – (Abou) Diaby, Eduardo and Ramsey today, a boy of 19 years old – on horrendous tackles. It’s always coincidence. I don’t believe in coincidence when you are hit as many times as we do.”

“We know what it is always to be physical against Arsenal and what questions I get in press conferences we don’t fancy the physical side of it, that’s what the result is.”

In this situation, I personally feel extremely sorry for Shawcross because, as has been said hundreds of times both last night and this morning, he’s not that sort of player. From seeing the incident several times now, I firmly believe he didn’t go to hurt Ramsey. Shawcross went into the challenge fully committed and unfortunately it resulted in an horrific leg break for Ramsey.

In a sense, I do agree that teams may play a bit harder when they face Arsenal, however unlike Wenger, I feel it is purely coincidence that several of his players have suffered horrific injuries over the past 18 months or so.

I’m keen to hear what you have to say on this one. Comments below please.

From everyone at Football Corner, we wish Aaron a very speedy recovery and hope to see him back playing early next season.

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Who Will Lift The Carling Cup?

Posted by Cathal Breathnach on February 25, 2010 | 5 Comments

On Sunday the final of the Carling Cup will see Aston Villa and Manchester United battling for the first major silverware of the season at Wembley. The current holders, Manchester United will be looking at keeping a firm hold on this Cup while Villa will be keen to wrest it away from one of the “big four” teams and reap the rewards of a gloriously successful season in domestic cup campaigns.

According to the online betting activity, Manchester United are the odds on favourites to win but Villa have the grit and determination to rise to the occasion. Villa winning the Carling Cup would be a tremendous achievement for Villa and would serve to silence the critics and help them gain recognition as a major force in English football.

When the two sides met earlier this month the game ended in a one all draw but Villa did pull off that shock win at Old Trafford in December. In fact that was the only time United have lost a League game at Old Trafford so far this season. Can Villa give United another bloody nose on Sunday? As the final will take place at Wembley the worry must be that the sense of occasion may overwhelm Villa who have not played in a Cup Final there since 2000 when Chelsea won the FA Cup. Villa may be seen as the underdogs for this encounter – will that suit Martin O’Neill? He probably wouldn’t want it any other way! Villa are clearly a team that are going places and it looks a good bet that they will be playing football in Europe next season.

One thing that could work to Villa’s advantage is the fact that Ferguson’s Red Devils may have an eye on bigger things, such as the Premier League title and the Champions League. As things stand they are hot on the heels of Chelsea in the race for Premier title and they have that small matter of the UEFA Champions League second leg against AC Milan on the horizon too.

It will also be interesting to see whether Ferguson will be tempted to select some youngsters in his squad for the Wembley game. In the past he has used domestic cup competitions to give them a taste of the big time. Look at the sides that have been fielded in the earlier rounds of this competition in the lead up to the final and you see players like Welbeck, Fabio, Gibson and Macheda. Will any of them see action in the Final? Well, OK, Welbeck will not be playing as he is on loan to Preston but the others may get a look in.

So far Gibson looks a really good prospect, given his record last season. In 2009, he played in every round in the Carling Cup including the final (which United won). Could he end up with a second consecutive Cup Winners medal? The fact that Manchester United will have to cope with the absence of Wes Anderson and Rio Ferdinand would seem to make this more likely. Wes Anderson sustained a knee injury in the West Ham game midweek and is unlikely to figure in the Final. Ferdinand is definitely out because of a back injury.

For those who like to bet on football, the game offers some interesting possibilities. Will Villa pull off a Wembley win? It would be considered an upset and the odds on it happening are 7/4. Will Rooney continue his extraordinary goal scoring spree? Football betting sites are offering 9/2 that he will be the first goal scorer of the afternoon and 28/1 that he will score a hat-trick. The odds on Agbonlahor opening the scoring are 15/2.

Certainly this year’s final is attracting a great deal of interest among impartial observers. For example the odds on a 1-0 victory for Villa are 8/1 so a bet on the Carling Cup Final may prove too great a temptation to resist for punters who are seeking value for money.

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Fabio Capello Could Upset The World Cup Odds By Leaving Ashley Cole And John Terry Behind

Posted by Cathal Breathnach on February 25, 2010 | 2 Comments

John Terry and Ashley ColeFabio Capello has announced he will take into account players’ off the pitch conduct when he makes his World Cup Squad selection and that could beg the question, how many players will the Italian be left with?

We all know many of the English players are not the most clean cut characters and with the English press seemingly doing their best to ruin England’s chances before the World Cup even begins it could be that England go to World Cup 2010 without any of their Premiership stars.

This is of course an overreaction but the two players most likely to miss out seem to be John Terry and Ashley Cole. The Chelsea pair have hit the headlines recently for all the wrong reasons and Fabio Capello has already proved he is willing to take drastic action by replacing John Terry as England captain. If any of the England stars were dropped for off the pitch conduct it would surely affect the England World Cup Odds massively.

England’s star player has to be Wayne Rooney and we all know he has had some well publicised off the pitch antics. Let’s hope he keeps up his good behaviour because if he doesn’t go to the World Cup, then England might as well not bother either.

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Perhaps appointing Roberto Mancini was the wrong decision for Manchester City

Posted by Cathal Breathnach on February 24, 2010 | 9 Comments

Roberto ManciniAt the time Manchester City sacked Mark Hughes, I honestly felt the world’s richest club had made a good decision. I mean, what’s the point in keeping a manager who just keeps drawing games, right?

The decision to appoint Roberto Mancini so soon after the departure of Hughes was questionable in my opinion, however after Mancini’s first 4 games in charge, no one was complaining. A comfortable 2-0 win at home to Stoke, a 3-0 away win at Wolves followed by a 1-0 away victory against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup and finally, an emphatic 4-1 home win against Blackburn had City fans singing the Italian’s name.

11 games on and things are certainly different around Eastlands. Mancini has won just 4 games since the Blackburn victory and the chances of them finishing in the top 4 have dimished somewhat. City are now out of the Carling Cup following the semi-final defeat to neighbours United and tonight, the club’s last chance of silverware this season disappeared when Stoke knocked them out of the FA Cup.

Off the field there has also been rumours of unrest at the club. Several key players, including Craig Bellamy and Stephen Ireland are said to be unhappy at the way the Italian manager deals with the players in training.

So where does this all leave Mancini?

Well as we have seen, the men behind the scenes at City aren’t afraid to get rid of the manager if things aren’t running smoothly so my feeling is that they will wait until the summer to see if Mancini can somehow turn things around and lead Manchester City to the Champions League. If that doesn’t happen (which I really am starting to doubt) I can honestly see City starting next season with a new manager in the hot seat. Who that might be is a whole different question.

What do you think? Comments below please.

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Three words to sum up Ashley Cole

Posted by Cathal Breathnach on February 23, 2010 | 4 Comments

It’s over. Cheryl and Ashley Cole have split.

About time is what most people are saying, including myself.

Ashley is possibly one of the best left-back’s in the world, however off the field is a different story. I think it’s fair to say he is possibly one of the biggest idiots in the world.

Football Corner would like you to sum up the Chelsea and England defender in three words. Whenever we do this feature we always seem to get a great response and I hope that happens again.

Tell us your three words by leaving a comment below.

I’ll start us off with my three words : What an idiot.

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Will Bobby Zamora be on the plane to South Africa?

Posted by Cathal Breathnach on February 21, 2010 | 9 Comments

Bobby Zamora continued his magnificent run of form this afternoon by scoring the winner in Fulham’s  2-1 victory over Birmingham.

One very interested spectator at Craven Cottage this afternoon was England manager Fabio Capello, who will doubt be contemplating whether or not to include Zamora in his 23-man World Cup squad.

Zamora, 29, has now scored an impressive 15 goals in all competitions for Fulham and many, including myself, feel that the former Tottenham and West Ham man should be on the plane to South Africa.

Bar Wayne Rooney, I don’t think there is a better English striker in the Premier League at the moment. Capello is likely to include 5 strikers for this summer’s tournament and among them should be Rooney, Defoe, Crouch, Heskey and I personally believe Zamora should be the last one.

I am curious to hear what you have to say on this one. Should, or in fact, will Zamora be on the plane to South Africa? Comments below please.

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Ferguson, Stelling, Jamie & Harry Redknapp impressions you simply don’t want to miss

Posted by Cathal Breathnach on February 21, 2010 | 1 Comment

Al Foran. Remember the name because I have feeling you’ll be seeing a lot more of this guy in the coming months and years.

The 18-year old from the sunny seaside town of Portmarnock in Co.Dublin has been making locals laugh uncontrollably with his impressions of numerous sporting figures.

A Facebook page by the name of “Al Foran Funny Man” created by Portmarnock’s very own David Sheppard already has over 100 fans, having only been set up this morning. If you like Al’s impressions, make sure you become a fan of his by following this link.

Al’s personal favourite is Gillette Soccer Saturday’s host, Jeff Stelling, however after watching the videos below, I’m sure you’ll have your own favourite.

Don’t forget to vote in the poll at the bottom of this post and leave your comments.

Sir Alex Ferguson

Jeff Stelling

Jamie Redknapp

Harry Redknapp

Get voting.

What did you think of Al’s impressions. Comments below please.

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Could Sunderland be joining Portsmouth in the Championship next season?

Posted by Cathal Breathnach on February 20, 2010 | 11 Comments

Steve Bruce and Niall QuinnBefore I get on to Sunderland, I think we can all agree that Portsmouth will not be playing Premier League football next season following tonight’s 2-1 defeat to Stoke.

Anyway, Sunderland.

Steve Bruce’s men fell to their 12th defeat of the season this afternoon at the hands of Arsenal. The North-East club are now just 3 points above the drop zone and I am sure the majority of Sunderland fans would not have envisaged that at the start of the season.

The last time Sunderland won a Premier League game was way back in November when they welcomed today’s opponents Arsenal to the Stadium of Light. That’s exactly three months ago since Sunderland tasted victory and if they don’t get their act together soon, they could find themselves in the Championship next season.

With just 12 games to go, Sunderland have some tricky fixtures between now and May with Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Aston Villa and Tottenham all still to come for the Black Cats.

The majority of bookmakers have Sunderland around 6/1 to be relegated this season and to be honest, I feel that’s actually a very generous price considering the way they are playing at the moment.

What do you think? Comments below please.

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Didier Drogba doing his best to catch Wayne Rooney

Posted by Cathal Breathnach on February 20, 2010 | 7 Comments

Didier DrogbaWhilst Didier Drogba was off playing for the Ivory Coast at the African Nations in January, Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney simply couldn’t stop scoring.

At one stage most leading bookmakers made Rooney the 1/4 favourite to be the Premier League’s top goalscorer this season and many saw that as buying money, however Drogba is back and it’s the Chelsea striker who is now scoring for fun.

Chelsea beat Wolves 2-0 today, with Drogba bagging both goals, whilst Rooney failed to score in United’s 3-1 defeat away to his old club, Everton. After today’s action, Drogba is now just two goals behind Rooney on 19 goals and with 11 games left this season, my money is certainly on Drogba to pip Rooney to the golden boot.

Drogba is now 13/8 to get ahead of Rooney, whilst the former Evertonian is has drifted to 8/13.

Both Chelsea and United have tough run-ins ahead of them, however unlike Rooney, who scores the majority of his goals at Old Trafford, Drogba can score both home and away and in the end, I think that will be the deciding factor.

What do you think? Who will be the Premier League’s top scorer this season? Drogba or Rooney? Comments below please.

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Craig Bellamy & Roberto Mancini – It was never going to last

Posted by Cathal Breathnach on February 19, 2010 | 12 Comments

Craig Bellamy & Roberto ManciniIt was a bit of a shock to me to wake up and see this morning’s headlines regarding the alleged bust-up between Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini and striker Craig Bellamy, however I must admit, I wasn’t at all surprised.

Even the dogs on the street know what Bellamy is like. The Welshman is someone who simply won’t take no for an answer, always wanting things his way but unfortunately for him and indeed City, this fiery temper may just have cost him his job at Eastlands.

It is claimed that Mancini and Bellamy fell out yesterday during one of the club’s last training session’s before Sunday’s crunch encounter with Liverpool. Bellamy apparently refused to train one-on-one with one of Mancini’s Italian coaches and then it all kicked off. Below, is a City insider’s view  of the whole situation.

“The manager was yelling ‘Why are you always questioning me? Why won’t you do as you are told? Why are you always questioning everything at training and in games?’.

“Bellamy argued back that he only wanted what was best for the club.

“But Mancini snapped ‘I want you to leave now. And do not come back for three months’.”

I have grown to love Bellamy over the past number of years. The majority of football fans in England and indeed all over the world will admit he is a player who always gives 110%, regardless of who they support. I personally think he has been one of the player’s of this Premier League season so far, however as was the case at Liverpool, Newcastle and I’m sure several other clubs Bellamy has played for, he just can’t keep his mouth shut.

If, what the papers are reporting is true, there is no doubt that the club may be forced to sell Bellamy when the transfer window opens in the summer which I think would be a disaster. He is one of the only players at City who really gives a shit about the club and I feel if it is between letting Bellamy go or getting rid of Mancini, I honestly believe Mancini is the man to go.

What do you think? Comments below please.

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