It is now time to switch to a new Money AM football blog as the world cup is now over and we all look to the future.....World cup 2010 is over, Bravo Espana, and Forlan, once again and bring on the new season !.....I never expected the last thread to be such a success...thanks all.... so this new one might go on for years without the need to edit the title...we shall see...

A big bunch of wimps since Fergie left. Fellaini is a total waste of space anyway, so his injury is a plus.

Manchester United's Robin van Persie has been ruled out for a month with a thigh injury, according to the manager, David Moyes.

Van Persie suffered the injury taking a corner during the 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday. "Robin has picked up a thigh strain and will be out for a month. He took the corner we scored the goal from against Shakhtar and felt his thigh," Moyes said.

The Dutchman's absence represents a blow to the champions as Moyes tries to turn around the dismal league form that has seen them lose the last two games and has left United 13 points behind Arsenal and seven off a Champions League place.

Moyes added: "It is unfortunate because I think if you look at our record with Wayne Rooney and Robin in the team it is actually very good and we have not had them for quite a period recently.

"Marouane Fellaini has a bit of a back injury. Michael Carrick is missing and Robin is going to miss four weeks with a thigh strain. That is a big blow to us."

Gutted for them DB LOL!

And me !

Might never ever post on here again if they fail to make the Champions League next year .... like sh*te :-)

Back to the Quality League with todays big match Leicester City v Burnley. K.O. 12.15. Live on Murdoch TV.

Third against Top, should be a good contest http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25275169

Despite having to put up with a "homer" of a ref, Burnley go one point clear with a battling performance http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25275169

Well having lost to The Welsh it is hardly surprising Steve Clarke has got the chop.

O the shame of it.

:-)

From My Seat: Fulham (H)
By Ken Buckley :: 14/12/2013
Comments (10) jump to end
With a win at Old Trafford and a draw at Arsenal we turned up to meet lowly Fulham with our only concern being: Who would replace McCarthy?
We entered our hallowed house of Wisdom and Learning and, after ordering, we retired to the Room of Nonsense. In the corner, a tele was muted as it showed Man City v Arsenal; no-one seemed bothered as Christmas cards were exchanged and tales various of trips to Manchester and London were exchanged. Four points out of six away to Sky darlings seemed no more than a precursor to a routine victory at Goodison. Not all seemed normal though as our alehouse was neither full nor buzzing and the crazy scoreline from City seemed irrelevant.

The walk up to the ground in a strong wind was muted at best; although there was a fair queue at the outlets, nothing like a day to savour a possible top four berth come 4:50 pm. A lad said he had been to the fan zone and the ice rink was like using ice skates on wood but the young kids who went loved the give-aways.

As I entered our historical palace of dreams, the Sally Army Band were just coming to the end of their set and were warmly clapped off.

Teams announced and Osman, making his 300th Premier League appearance, replaced McCarthy while Mirallas was dropped in favour of Deulofeu. On the ref's whistle, we set off on what many thought would be a journey of wondrous passing and enough goals to help the goal difference stat. Footy just isn’t like that and we ended up with a game that frustrated the hell out of many assembled as it failed to live up to expectations yet would end in emphatic victory. "If you can’t win well... then just win!" came to mind from a back of the brain memory of a title win many decades ago...

The opening period of the game was best described as non-descript by both players and fans; in that period, you just knew that this game was not going to hit the heights. Players not rousing fans and fans not rousing players was the perfect mix for the game that would unfold.

Almost 20 mins gone without much to write home about and then we put a move of menace together culminating in a play that had quality in pass-and-move ending in an exquisite finish. I bet Martinez dreams of his players putting these together. Distin started it by moving it on to Oviedo who found Pienaar just infield from him and he immediately moved it up to Osman who controlled with one foot and hit home with the other. No euphoric celebrations from fans – just sort of "Well done – good goal". We sat back, anticipating more of the same, but it just wasn’t happening. Deulofeu was seeing a lot of the ball but, although his direct running was eye-catching, his final ball was poor each time.

As time went on, Lukaku was not the force that might be expected and his best contribution came when, from a Pienaar corner, he chested an effort from close range that the Fulham keeper did very well to turn behind. Coleman had an effort thwarted by the keeper; then Lukaku was put through on goal but his pass selection was poor as he really should have gone on himself. I felt for Lukaku though as he made run after run yet none of our players ever looked likely to find him and that must be really frustrating after the energy expended in making them. The half was ticking down and Barkley was just not his Arsenal self so it was left to Osman to carry the threat and he almost made something happen when he hit a dipper just wide after Barkley had made a hash of his attempt.

It was getting a tad boring now but that was lightened when a ball flew out toward the dug outs. The Fulham manager failed to control but our man Roberto trapped, flicked and returned to play – very Barcaesque!!!

As the half drew to a close, I was left to reflect on the passing game that Martinez demands: whilst being pleasing on the eye, it hasn’t yet fully developed a killer instinct – corner after corner was gained rather than an attempt on goal and, but for Distin blocking a shot and Berbatov firing over, we could easily have been level at the break.

Half-time and the chat was centred on the difference today from our exploits that half and the two previous games. That just left season’s greetings to be exchanged: "Are you going to Swansea?" And "See ‘yer Boxing Day"...

The second half commenced and Goodison was quiet... eerily so considering our position. The Fulham manager must have brought the Old Trafford hairdryer with him as his team tore into us. Early doors, both Fulham midfielders, Parker and Sidwell, forced Howard into half-decent saves.

We then had a right let-off when Kacaniklic (I checked the proey for name and number) had a Joe Allen moment and missed an open goal, bad enough to be described as "My missus could have scored that" – and hell, wasn’t he with Liverpool before Fulham???

Our contribution this half so far was getting less by the minute but the players did rouse us when Pienaar put in Oviedo, who had a good shot cleared off the line, but it was the visitors doing all the pressing; the equaliser came, as many thought it might, in that period of play, but it was possibly a bit fortunate as Barry seemed to no more than tangle with the open-goal misser and he needed no encouragement to go down. The ref deemed it a foul only – no yellow card – and Berbatov slotted with consummate ease.

Lots of chat now of how we looked likely to squander the platform gained by our last results – especially as just before, Deulofeu was seen lying on the turf, no idea why... A stretcher was called and the two blokes bringing it on started from the furthest point from him and then proceeded at a pace that would have been overtaken by a man walking underwater. The crowd gave them the hurry up but they must also have been deaf but fair play, some 30 yards from the stricken player, they broke into a three-yard jog which was cheered to the rafters. I hope those blokes are not on duty if a real emergency occurs.

Deulofeu was stretchered off and Mirallas came on. Many were not too concerned about the change as Deulofeu had not been at his best. Things were just not clicking for us but in true football fashion, the game yet again demonstrated what an imprecise sport it is. 20 mins to go and Pienaar, with a twist and turn after showing well for the ball, got to the byeline and pulled it back for the incoming Coleman to crack home. Lead restored and a celebration that said "Relief" as much as "Celebration".

Then, for some time, we went into the bad old ways under Moyes: just taken the lead and didn’t know whether to stick or twist. Passes all over the place, Fulham having a go, and poor movement off the ball stopping us operating on the break. The two players to rise above this malaise, Osman and Pienaar, slowly started to get some midfield control and, after a good joined-up move, Distin put one into the box: from my seat, it was difficult to see exactly what happened but it seemed Lukaku got something on it and Barry headed home. 3-1 – surely game over?

It did cause a few songs being attempted but never as loud by today's 33,000 as the 3,000 at Old Trafford. They did inform everyone though that "We are going to win the league". We were playing it out but you got the sense the players knew it hadn’t been their best day and – fair play to them – looked to put a little icing on the cake. Roberto wasn’t so sure so he swapped Pienaar for Stones with 2 mins to go but we still went forward as Fulham now looked drained and, on 90 mins, Mirallas was put through by Oviedo I think, and he galloped away, steadied himself, and drove one goalwards which eluded the diving keeper, hit the net, and thanks very much for the points. I bet their keeper will not want to see that one on Match of the Day!

MotM – Osman

Overall, I enjoyed the day out; although the game didn’t create much of a spectacle, it was one of those that often happen in a busy period of the season – a time when the result is more important than the performance – especially if you have success in mind...

Today, I thought it was the old guard that got us through – Osman, Pienaar, Barry, Jagielka, Distin and Howard. The younger element will have benefitted from the experience. Fourth in the league and I always take my first interest in league tables around this time; my unscientific method tells me the table changes little from here, maybe two places either way, so we shall see... Don’t put any bets on using my method though!

Next four games come thick and fast and against teams all beginning with the letter S. I wonder if that means anything? I am off back to my Brown over Bitter now and see what depths the conversation has reached in the Room of Nonsense...

Were on the up – It’s in our DNA.
UP THE BLUES

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Craig Fletcher
594 Posted 15/12/2013 at 04:14:49 For those of us not fortunate enough to be at the game; as always Ken your reports are something to look forward to.
An odd game, but ultimately the result is what mattered. Let's hope that's our "hangover" game out of the way after the excellent last two away results, and we'll be back on form in Wales next weekend.

The Deulofeu injury is unfortunate for the lad; but in much the same way that Baines' injury allowed a fringe player to really step up, let's hope Gerard's disappointment will bring the best out of Mirallas, and perhaps even Gueye could get some game time off the bench and show what he can do. New Manager, new ideas, so who knows – perhaps we just haven't seen what he can do yet.

Ajay Gopal
595 Posted 15/12/2013 at 04:17:34 Thanks, Ken. Missed your report on the Arsenal game. From the grainy feed on my PC which often froze up and the live forum, I am just relieved we got the 3 points as I am sure many Blues are. It just shows that McCarthy has turned into such an important player for us. An injury to him or Barry, and our season would be truly over.
Lukaku has been having a poor run by his standards and I think he needs a rest - I was surprised Jelavic did not get a run out today.
The injury to Geri was unfortunate - he could have been an important weapon for us in the upcoming fixture list and given Pienaar/Mirallas/Barkley a bit of a breather. Ross, Romelu & Geri are guilty of poor decision making in the final 3rd; but I guess this is part of their learning curve. I only hope that after their apprenticeship with the Blues, they help Everton on to win some silverware!

Paul Johnson
602 Posted 15/12/2013 at 05:35:01 Thanks Ken it is not just the match report it is the experience of the day. For the guys who have never been to L4 Ken paints a seriously realistic picture of being a blue. Just the mention of a brown bitter gets me all teary-eyed.
Roll on, Boxing Day: a few pints of Guinness, a couple of brandies (just for medicinal purposes), and curry and chips, 3 points off Sunderland and hopefully second in the table – a little slice of heaven.

Thanks again, Ken. Also for me, Leon was MotM: a great goal and performance on his 300th appearance. Keep it up, lad – and you may go to Brazil.

Anto Byrne
604 Posted 15/12/2013 at 06:00:13 Funny old game... Fulham have the makings of a good mid-table team with lots of good experienced footballers (Berbatov, Sidwell and Scott). It looks like they are using the '70s Southampton model.

Every credit to Liverpool (even if it does grieve me to say it) without Gerard and Sturridge pulverised Spurs. Taxi in the morning for AVB?

Yep, no surprise!

From paddypower on twitter :

Cardiff chairman Vincent Tan says manager Malky Mackay won't get a single penny to spend in January, so we have to step in!

Dig deep boys and start re-tweeting , got £1.57 so far apparently ... that'll buy half the Burnley team.


... another 50p and we can buy the lot !


:-)

Dig deep boys and start re-tweeting , got £1.57 so far apparently ... that'll buy half the Burnley team.


... another 50p and we can buy the lot !


:-)

Cardiff City: Malky Mackay told to quit or be sacked by Vincent Tan

Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay has been told by owner Vincent Tan to resign or he will be sacked.
In a letter emailed to Mackay on Monday, it is understood Tan listed in depth his grievances with the Scot.
Tan criticised 41-year-old Mackay at length in a range of areas, such as signings, transfer budgets, results on the pitch and style of play.
The Malaysian businessman also questioned the former Watford manager's record as a boss.

Dil? What sort of Fred Carno outfit are you running down there -):

Cardiff City: Malky Mackay told to quit or be sacked by Vincent Tan

Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay has been told by owner Vincent Tan to resign or he will be sacked.

In a letter emailed to Mackay on Monday, it is understood Tan listed in depth his grievances with the Scot.

Tan criticised 41-year-old Mackay at length in a range of areas, such as signings, transfer budgets, results on the pitch and style of play.
The Malaysian businessman also questioned the former Watford manager's record as a boss.

Dil seems to gone into hiding, anyone seen him?

I'm organising the protests :-)

Tan has lost the plot , even the fence sitters regarding the rebrand have turned against him.

Malky has behaved with great dignity throughout this sh*te and whenever he leaves he will leave a hero.

I thought Limpy might have mentioned on BBC business this morning! :-)

Yeah would have been more interesting than what he actually did discuss :-)

Maybe we should have just swapped Managers?