TOP 100 SOCCER SITES
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| Jason Burt: Premier League season will be shaped by five-day rumpus On Boxing Day the high-octane contest begins with some genuine treats and a few grisly old contests. telegraph.co.uk |
Manchester United v Wigan - live! Click the button below for automatic updates. And if that's not exciting enough for you, email tom.lutz@guardian.co.uk with your thoughts for the dayTom will be here from 7.30pm. In the meantime you can peruse Daniel Taylor's blog on how Sir Alex Ferguson came football's new tinkerman.When Sir Alex Ferguson was asked recently about the team he was planning to play in the next match he leant back in his chair and announced to the assembled journalists that if anyone predicted his side accurately he would pay for them to have a weekend in Loch Lomond before adding, Fergie being Fergie, that he would make sure "the midges were out". The prize, as you can imagine, went unclaimed. It has become football's equivalent of nailing a jelly to the wall and tomorrow, when Wigan Athletic visit Old Trafford, we can expect it to be the 99th consecutive game in which the Manchester United manager has not kept the same side.Another manager would have been rumbled by now but Ferguson has managed to put together one of the more remarkable runs of modern-day football almost under the radar and without any of the scrutiny that plagued Rafael BenÃtez when he did the same thing three years ago or, before that, the misgivings that surrounded Claudio Ranieri's judgment during his time at Chelsea.The critique of Ranieri's methods often bordered on derision and when BenÃtez finally sent out an unchanged team it was tempting to conclude that the decision owed partly to him trying to appease a hostile media. Ferguson, in stark contrast, is not facing any calls to abandon the habit and revert to something more orthodox and on Sunday, when Leeds United are the opponents in the FA Cup, we can safely assume the run will reach 100 and counting. As the man himself says: "The days when Liverpool won the league only using 14 players are no longer possible – nobody even thinks about that now."It has become a demonstration in how the oldest manager in the business has not only moved with the times but managed to stay in front of his contemporaries. Ferguson learned from the Champions League in 1993-94 that the same players could not be used in all competitions and it was from that point onwards that he started introducing the younger members of his squad in the League Cup and some European matches, gathering momentum to a point now when he has not named the same starting XI since the final weeks of the 2007-08 season.To read the rest of the article, click here.Premier LeagueManchester UnitedWigan AthleticTom Lutzguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Ferrara faces the music at Juventus After last night's 3-0 home defeat to Milan, it looks like Juve coach Ciro Ferrara's days are numberedThe gulf between the champ and the rest of the division is such that even Don King might struggle to sell it as a genuine title fight, but Serie A does, at last, have its mandatory challengers. Milan remain eight points adrift of Internazionale after thumping Juventus 3-0 in Turin last night but they do still have a game in hand. Mayweather v Pacquiao, it ain't, but at least we shouldn't have to worry about either side pulling out of a scheduled bout at San Siro in two weeks' time."Milan are the anti-Inter," declares the front page of Corriere dello Sport today, while Gazzetta proclaim it a "Scudetto for two". The last time the Rossoneri won away to Juventus, in March 2004, they went on to take the title, though they were already top by five points at the time. A more tangible cause for optimism would be the fact Milan have now won seven of their past eight in Serie A. Inter have dropped seven points over the same stretch.Leonardo's side have given some sparkling performances during that run, the coach's attack-minded selections creating mismatches all over the pitch, but yesterday was not one of them. Despite the scoreline, the two sides managed just seven attempts on goal between them. Other than a solo effort from Diego that flashed wide of Nelson Dida's goal, the highlight of the first 25 minutes was the Milan midfielder Massimo Ambrosini heading Ignazio Abate's throw-in straight back out for a Juventus throw.Juventus might have drawn encouragement in that phase from the ease with which they had contained Milan by closing down space and putting pressure on the visitors' midfield high up the pitch. But after losing five of their previous seven games in all competitions, confidence was always likely to be fragile. Few can have been surprised when Felipe Melo, suffering more than most of late, failed to deal with a poor corner at the near post, allowing the ball to run across for Alessandro Nesta to jab home at the far post.More disconcerting than the goal itself was Juventus's lack of response. With David Trezeguet having picked up an ankle injury against Parma last week it was left to Amauri to lead the line ahead of Diego, but neither managed a single shot on target. In the end, the centre-back Giorgio Chiellini, who within the first seven minutes of the second half twice forced Nelson Dida into saves – albeit not especially challenging ones – proved the Old Lady's greatest attacking threat.The reaction of the home support to such a miserable showing was to call early and often for the introduction of Alessandro Del Piero, but he was similarly ineffective after replacing Hasan Salihamidzic in the 60th minute. By the time Del Piero forced Dida to tip a free-kick around the post in injury time, Milan had already extended their lead to three through a pair of goals from Ronaldinho.By then, of course, Juventus' fans had found other ways to express themselves – groups of Ultras setting off bangers and smoke bombs as well as starting small fires in the stands, while others chanted against Mario Balotelli, or in support of their disgraced former director Luciano Moggi. For the most part these were songs that had been heard before at Turin's Stadio Olimpico, but then a new chorus began. For the first time all season, Juventus's fans openly began to appeal for the sacking of the manager Ciro Ferrara."I sincerely think my job is not at risk," Ferrara told Sky Italia afterwards, though his manner in a later interview with Controcampo suggested he may be feeling the strain more than he would like to admit. "I see in the studio there is already the new manager," said Ferrara on noting that Luigi Maifredi, a former coach who had a brief stint with Juventus from 1990-91 and who has been publicly critical of him in recent days, was among the show's studio guests. A brief back and forth ensued as the pair took turns telling each other to "shut up" before Ferrara sarcastically asked Maifredi, who left his last managerial post in 2001, whom he was coaching at the moment.The case against Ferrara has been outlined in this blog before, but yesterday's defeat only served to highlight the same flaws. Tactically, the coach has failed to establish a system that gets the best out of the expensively acquired Melo and Diego and he does not seem to possess a gift for motivating his squad. The charge against Claudio Ranieri when he was sacked last season was that he had lost the dressing room, but Ferrara never really had control in the first place.He has had some tough luck with injuries – Gianluigi Buffon, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Mauro Camoranesi, Momo Sissoko (still not fit but now with Mali for the Africa Cup of Nations), Sebastian Giovinco, Trezeguet and the suspended MartÃn Cáceres were all unavailable yesterday – and the decision to send Lorenzo Ariaudo, Tiago Mendes and Cristian Molinaro out on loan this week has left the squad particularly thin. But there is still plenty of talent there.The Old Lady's track record – before last season at least – of not sacking managers during a season had stood in his favour, as had the fact the fans were still on his side, but now that the mood has turned it seems likely his days are numbered. The Turin-based Tuttosport's front-page headline this morning simply reads: "Hiddink now!""Juventus has arrived at the end of the line and the 'all alight here' announcement applies to everyone, starting with the driver," writes Vittorio Oreggia in an accompanying editorial. "There is no more time, we cannot wait for another resurrection as bogus as the Rolexes sold on market stalls in Bangkok. In this team even Leo Messi would look like a fool and Cristiano Ronaldo would struggle to express himself."Unfortunately for Ferrara, his critics seem to have no such trouble.Talking points• The champs, of course, won again, though it was hardly plain sailing against Siena. Inter were 1-0 down, then 2-1 up, then 3-2 down with just over two minutes of regular time to go at San Siro before eventually winning 4-3. Siena were livid afterwards at the award of the free-kick from which Wesley Sneijder made it 3-3 (a blisteringly brilliant free-kick from a good 30 yards out, incidentally), and José Mourinho took his opposite number Alberto Malesani into his office after the game to talk things over before either spoke to the press."Malesani said our third goal came from a non-existent foul and I gave him my word I'd look at the footage and tell him if it was," said Mourinho. "I've seen it now, it is a foul you can give 30 metres away from the goal." Malesani disagreed, however, and so did his players."It is always the same old story, the big clubs that walk all over the little ones," said the Siena defender Cristiano Del Grosso afterwards. "I would love one day to come to San Siro and win after dominating the match, but it's not possible. At the end of the day, they will always win."• The Atalanta president Alessandro Ruggeri said he "already has a replacement in mind" after sacking Antonio Conte on Thursday, but is apparently in no rush. Caretaker Valter Bonacina was on the bench yesterday as they lost 1-0 at Palermo.• Napoli remain fourth, but are now level on points with Juventus after a 1-0 win over manager Walter Mazzarri's former club Sampdoria. The loss of Ezequiel Lavezzi to a thigh strain will hurt them, however, and with Roma just a point behind after they beat Chievo 1-0, and both Fiorentina and Palermo coming on strong behind them, the race for the Champions League places could be a really interesting one.• Lazio picked up another useful point with a 1-1 draw at Udinese, but the headlines have been dominated this week by the coach Davide Ballardini's falling out with Mauro Zárate. Ballardini accused the player of being too selfish after Wednesday's 4-1 win over Livorno, but the player's brother and agent Sergio responded furiously, demanding an apology and saying if one was not forthcoming that the club would need to choose between Zárate or Ballardini. The club chose Ballardini. "We need to stamp out individualists in football," said the club president Claudio Lotito over the weekend. "Ballardini is right and he did very well to say those things."• It's hard to know where to start with the goings-on at Torino over the past week, but here's a brief digest. On Thursday the Italian FA's disciplinary commission began an investigation into allegations of suspicious betting on a game between Torino and Crotone in November, which the Granata lost 2-1. Then on the same day several members of the team were physically attacked, in front of their families in several cases, by a group of hooligans at a dinner being held to celebrate David Di Michele's birthday. There was talk of the team going on strike, and when that didn't happen, reports emerged of several leading players, including Di Michele, demanding transfers away from the club. On Saturday the team then lost 2-0 away to Cittadella, and then yesterday the team reappointed Stefano Colantuono, who was sacked right after the aforementioned defeat to Crotone, as manager. Quite a week, then.Results: Bologna 0-1 Cagliari, Fiorentina 2-1 Bari, Genoa 2-0 Catania, Inter 4-3 Siena, Juventus 0-3 Milan, Livorno 2-1 Parma, Napoli 1-0 Sampdoria, Palermo 1-0 Atalanta, Roma 1-0 Chievo, Udinese 1-1 Lazio.The latest Serie A tableWatch highlights of the latest Serie A gamesSerie AMilanJuventusEuropean footballPaolo Bandiniguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Ivory Coast v Ghana - live! Press the button below for automatic updates. An why not while away your Friday evening by emailing tom.lutz@guardian.co.uk with your thoughts on the game35 min: Eboué and his shattered leg help Opoku across the byline with a shove and he has a wee cry. 33 min: Kingson is as suspect as a man in a stripy jumper toting a swag bag. Another cross dropped. "Any word on what happened to Eboue," says a concerned David Mooney. " He was stretchered off in the 5th minute and either he's been substituted or the physio has been putting some magic spray on his leg for the past quarter hour. So is he crocked, or is his leg is frozen so solid that it will shatter into a million pieces if it's hit with a solid object?" Get this: his leg shattered into a million pieces and he still carried on. His left toe ended up in Samuel Inkoom's earhole.30 min: Opoku sprints into the box after Ivory Coast do a suspect job of clearing the danger. Once again the final ball is terrible though, as you may expect from a side with an everage age of 14 months.27 min: Drogba sprints for the ball with only Vorsah for company but the Ghana defender outmuscles him. Drogba looks at the turf. Pesky turf.25 min: Ghana's response is a lame shot from Badu that apologises wide. Maybe Essien should have started.GOAL! Ivory Coast 1-0 Ghana (Gervinho 22 min) Ivory Coast mount a counter-attacks and Gervinho is left with a tap in that he ... taps in. "I note your comment about Drogba stamping the turf," says El Naylor. "Pundits often say that 'for such a big man, he tumbles easily' but I've never understood that, as his higher centre of gravity should make tumbling over harder to resist. Anyway, I think we'll miss DD when he's gone, as he must be the biggest drama queen in football – the pouts, the screams, the stamps, even the occasional shy smile make him a right Veruca Salt, and the world's a happier place for it."20 min: Zokora fancies taking on Kingson and sends in another shot from distance that the Ghana keeper almost parries in. "Is it possible that the managers are having a competition to see who can make the most surprising omission from their starting eleven," asks Adrian Cooper. "No Kanoute for Mali yesterday, Essien left out for Ghana today. What next? No Mikel or the Yak for Nigeria tomorrow? No Eto'o and no goalkeeper for Cameroon on Sunday? If they keeps up by the time we reach the final the teams will only be fielding four players, an ox and a human statue between them." I think it's an attempt to rest players for later rounds. But of course, if you don't get to the later rounds in the first place...18 min: Zokora tries a shot that Kingson parries. Here's Declan Johnston: "Is there a more effortlessly suave continental manager out there than Zambia's Hervé Renard? He was marching up and down the touchline against Tunisia in half open unblemished white cotton shirt looking either deeply pensive or passionately rousing his troops, Alexander like. Certainly a contrast to veteran European in Africa (Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Zaire, Ghana, Togo and Cameroon) manager Otto Pfister" I think Pfister has a more back to basics swagger about him, Declan.15 min: Gervinho is caught offside. Ivory Coast are on the attack, I guess Ghana know they can lose and still beat Burkina Faso in the next game and go through.14 min: Narry fould Kalou and Ivory Coast get a free-kick around 40 yards out. Drogba tries a shot that flies about 40 yards over. He does a few stamps on the pitch in a rather forlorn attempt to blame the turf.11 min: We're back as Ghana fire a shot into Barry's arms. I can also tell you Eurosport will be showing some swimming in the next few days judging by their adverts.9 min: We lose pictures for a while and all we're let with is a blank screen and the ghostly howl of Russell Osman's voice. They're showing crowd pictures now, exposing Eurosport as the kind of chancers that jsut rely on TV pictures for their commentary. Ha! "Of the five World Cup qualifiers playing at the ACN (Ivory Coast, Ghana, Algeria, Nigeria, Cameroon) how many games have they won between them," emails Alan Gardner. God knows why he emails me as he's sat right next to me. I'll say one (Algeria yesterday), Alan. But only because you printed the answer at the bottom of his email6 min: First chance of the game. Ghana take a very quick free kick and Barry scrambles across goal, lucky it was judt side because he probably wouldn't have got there.5 min: Eboué doesn't look too healthy and is stretchered off. Gervinho attempts a dart forward but is shouldered off the ball.3 min: Ivory Coast on the attack early on. Well, I say attack, they kick it out for a throw in deep into the Ghana half. Eboué is down injured at the minute.1 min: And we're off. Ivory Coast have one of those human statues among their supporters. Except he isn't painted silver and doesn't have boozed up stag do types trying to distract him by tickling his perineum. What do you mean you don't do that on stag dos?Team news! You can tell this is a big game because Reuters prints the teams 13 minutes before kick-off rather than three hours after full-time as has been the custom so far. Anyway, looks like Essien is on the bench:Ivory Coast: 1-Boubacar Barry; 17-Siaka Tiene, 4-Kolo Toure, 21-Emmanuel Eboue, 22-Soulemane Bamba; 5-Didier Zokora, 6-Yaya Toure, 9-Cheik Tiote, 8-Salomon Kalou; 10-Gervinho, 11-Didier Drogba. Ghana: 22-Richard Kingson; 18-Eric Addo, 7-Samuel Inkoom, 15-Isaac Vorsah, 11-Moussa Narry; 19-Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, 9-Opoku Agyemang, 13-Dede Ayew, 17-Rahim Ayew, 14-Mathew Amoah, 10-Kwadwo Asamoah. Referee: Jerome Damon (South Africa)Enjoying your Friday night? No? Oh. Well this game may well cheer you up. Both sides can guarantee passage to the next round if they win.Ghana may be banking on beating Burkina Faso in the next game: rumour has it that Michael Essien will be on ther bench. Added to that injuries deprive them of the midfielders Stephen Appiah, Anthony Annan and Laryea Kingston, defenders John Mensah as well as John Paintsil and Sulley Muntari expelled from the squad for skipping a friendly in Angola last November.I'll have some team news once I can nick it off the wires.Africa Cup of NationsIvory CoastGhanaTom Lutzguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 Liverpool 0: match report Liverpool only manage to glean a point against Wolves despite bringing back Steven Gerrard. telegraph.co.uk |