March 1, 200818 yr West Ham 0-4 Chelsea (Frank Lampard sent off) Lampard (right) was red-carded after clashing with Boa Morte Chelsea had Frank Lampard red-carded but romped to victory at West Ham. Lampard's penalty after Salomon Kalou was fouled by Anton Ferdinand put his side ahead before Joe Cole angled in a precise shot for Chelsea's second. Michael Ballack expertly half-volleyed in a third for the visitors, who had Lampard harshly red-carded for a push on Luis Boa Morte after 36 minutes. Carlton Cole had a shot cleared off the line for West Ham but Ashley Cole's acute shot wrapped up Chelsea's win. Blues boss Avram Grant had taken a swipe at the media in the run-up to the game, angry at negative coverage following the Carling Cup final loss to Tottenham. And he showed little mercy with his team selection either as he made six changes to the starting XI. The Blues should have been a goal up after two minutes when Nicolas Anelka had a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside. The Frenchman thought he had scored when he slotted home after John Terry's header had been parried. But Chelsea did not have long to wait to take the lead, with Hammers centre-back Ferdinand conceding a penalty for a trip on Kalou. Lampard stepped up to send Robert Green the wrong way for the first of three Chelsea goals in the space five minutes. Joe Cole added a second, showing fine control before firing a shot into the far corner of the net, before Ballack lashed home a low shot after being picked out by a Lampard cross. Chelsea had virtually sealed victory over the Hammers with just 22 minutes on the clock, showing more fluency and attacking flair than in 120 minutes of action against Spurs. The home side did manage to test Petr Cech, the goalkeeper tipping over a Mark Noble shot. But Chelsea remained untroubled, even after Lampard was red-carded. The midfielder tangled on the ground with Boa Morte and then pushed the winger after appearing to get caught by a kick. Referee Peter Walton consulted his assistant before brandishing his red card and then booked Ballack for his part in the melee that ensued. Another Noble strike was headed away as the home side tried to capitalise on their numerical advantage, but Chelsea held out until half-time. West Ham struggled to create chances, but Carlton Cole must have thought he had scored when he dinked the ball over the on-rushing Cech only for Terry to clear off the line. Ashley Cole then made it 4-0 when he sidefooted home from a tight angle after Joe Cole's shot had been parried. The goal was the sign for Hammers fans to start trudging for the exit, their team emphatically beaten. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7260400.stm
March 1, 200818 yr Author What has happened to the mighty Man City? Got beat 2-0 against Everton and today could only draw 0-0 against Wigan But at least that is better than Newcastle :laugh3: I see the might of the Saints drew 1-1 against Ipswich, leaving them 4 points above the drop zone. And Salisbury won again :D (although they are 6 points adrift of the play-offs)
March 2, 200818 yr I watched the Man City 0-0 Wigan game from start to finish and I've never been so bored in all my entire life. Well ok, except when I watched Man City 0-0 Liverpool on telly a few weeks back, or even Man City 0-0 Liverpool at the stadium in 2007. See a pattern here?
March 2, 200818 yr Board 'backs Keegan' Kevin Keegan is yet to win a game since his return in January Newcastle chairman Chris Mort has insisted that the board are 100% behind manager Kevin Keegan. Keegan is yet to win a game since his dramatic return to the club in January. Newcastle are just three points off the bottom three and Mort said that there is no danger that Keegan will turn his back on the club a second time. "The board is 100% behind Kevin, and there is no doubt or worry that he will walk away," Mort told BBC Radio Five Live's Sportsweek. He's come into a club that wasn't playing well and was playing poorly and the results reflected that and it was always going to be difficult to turns things around. "Clearly he wants to turn the results around and that is what he has come back to do, but it will take time." Keegan is in his second spell at the club having left St James' Park in 1997. He replaced Sam Allardyce in January but has struggled to get his tenure at Newcastle off to a decent start. But Mort says that despite their woeful results Keegan is happy to be back at St James' Park. "He is enjoying being back at Newcastle and the city is enjoying having him back," said Mort. "I'm sure when things turn around on the pitch he'll thoroughly enjoy being back at Newcastle." Mort also quashed suggestions that Keegan had been unhappy with the appointment of assistant manager Chris Hughton. Hughton was appointed assistant boss last week and Mort confirmed that it was solely Keegan's decision. "Kevin came to me and asked if we could appoint Chris," said Mort. "He made the first call to Chris and had full knowledge of it. It was Kevin's lead, Kevin's suggestion and he was keen for it to happen." With Newcastle struggling on the pitch, it had also been rumoured that owner Mike Ashley was ready to walk away and sell the club. But Mort says that Ashley is perfectly happy at St James' Park and isn't thinking of selling up. "Mike has never tried to sell the club," said Mort. "People have called us and asked us if we were interested in selling the club and the answer is always no. "Mike is the owner of the club and he is very happy to be the owner and is not encouraging me to sell the club he still enjoys his Saturday football, obviously he'd enjoy it more if the results were better. "He gets on with Kevin very well and still enjoys being at Newcastle." http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/newcastle_united/7273517.stm
March 2, 200818 yr Author Looks like Fulham are going to join Derby in the championship next year. And Angie, I win:P 20 Derby 28 -44 10 :smug: In other news, Everton's first goal against us, wasn't that one of the quickest of all time?
March 8, 200818 yr Man Utd v Portsmouth Old Trafford Saturday 8 March Sixth Round Kick-off: 1245 GMT Referee: Martin Atkinson (West Yorkshire) Replay: TBA Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs has recovered from a calf strain and could face Portsmouth in the FA Cup. Sir Alex Ferguson has a full-strength squad other than Gary Neville, Mikael Silvestre and Ben Foster, who are recovering from long-term injuries. Pedro Mendes returns to the Portsmouth squad after five weeks out following a minor ankle operation. Jermain Defoe is cup-tied so Kanu will start up front and John Utaka will move up from the bench to the starting XI. Manchester United (from): Van der Sar, Brown, Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, Ronaldo, Carrick, Fletcher, Hargreaves, Nani, Rooney, Tevez, Scholes, Giggs, O'Shea, Saha, Kuszczak, Anderson, Park, Simpson, Pique. Portsmouth (from): James, Ashdown, Johnson, Distin, Campbell, Hreidarsson, Lauren, Aubey, Diop, Diarra, Muntari, Utaka, Davis, Mendes, Hughes, Kanu, Baros Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson on his team selection: "I have a difficult choice to make. That seems to be the norm at the moment but something I relish. "I am happy about the situation as without this squad we would not be where we are. "We have a home draw and that is all you can ask for. Hopefully we will come through okay." Portsmouth defender Sylvain Distin: "If we are ready physically and mentally and we keep our shape, we have enough quality to battle against United. "I am not going there to avoid defeat. I am going there to win. "If you go there to avoid defeat, mentally, you are not ready and there is no point in going there."
March 8, 200818 yr Barnsley v Chelsea Oakwell Ground Saturday 8 March Sixth Round Kick-off: 1730 GMT Referee: Steve Bennett (Kent) Replay: Wed 19 March, 1945 GMT Barnsley will be without cup-tied duo Jon Macken and Lewis Nytanga for their FA Cup clash with Chelsea. Marciano Van Homoet is a doubt with a slight ankle problem, while Heniz Muller, Anderson de Silva and Paul Reid (all knee) remain sidelined. Chelsea keeper Petr Cech has been ruled out as his ankle injury is expected to sideline him for at least another week. Striker Andriy Shevchenko played for the reserves in midweek but is not ready for a first-team return yet. Barnsley manager Simon Davey: "Anything's possible. We've already beaten Liverpool at Anfield, so why can't we beat Chelsea at Oakwell? "Chelsea are world-class and on a different planet compared to what we are used to. "But my players have a belief that every time they take to the football pitch they can win." Chelsea manager Avram Grant: "We've showed good character since losing the League Cup final. That is what is important and I expect this to continue at Barnsley. "From day one I have had full confidence in the team, even though most of the people didn't believe we would have a good year. "It has been a good development and that pleases me more than the results." http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/7272810.stm
March 8, 200818 yr United Robbed Sulley Muntari scores Portsmouth's winner from the spot Man Utd 0-1 Portsmouth Harry Redknapp's FA Cup curse struck Manchester United again as Portsmouth won a dramatic quarter-final clash. Sulley Muntari scored the winner from the spot with 12 minutes left after Milan Baros was upended (!) by United's substitute keeper Tomasz Kuszczak. Kuszczak, who replaced Edwin van der Sar at half-time, was sent off and Rio Ferdinand took over in goal. United went close to scoring, Sylvain Distin denying Michael Carrick on the line and Patrice Evra hitting a post. The surprise win took Portsmouth back to Wembley for the first time since 1939 for the semi-finals and ended United's hopes of repeating their 1999 treble triumph. For Redknapp, who has previously knocked United out of the FA Cup with both Bournemouth and West Ham, it was another victory over Sir Alex Ferguson to savour. Paul Scholes, Carlos Tevez and Owen Hargreaves all returned to United's starting line-up after the Champions League victory over Lyon - and they met with stubborn and well-organised Portsmouth resistance. United were understandably furious after six minutes when Cristiano Ronaldo was clearly bundled over by Distin as he raced into the area, but referee Martin Atkinson ignored the appeals, to the clear disgust of Ferguson. Pompey rarely threatened, but United keeper Van der Sar was in some discomfort as he scrambled to save a long-range shot from Niko Kranjcar. United missed a glorious chance to break the deadlock after 18 minutes when Tevez and Wayne Rooney led a counter-attack, but the England striker was blocked by keeper David James. The rebound fell for Tevez, but Glen Johnson made a superb recovery to block his goal-bound effort on the line. James had been well-protected by his defence, but he needed to be sharp to drop to his right and save a low drive from Tevez. It had been a very satisfactory first half for Portsmouth, but United had a problem in the interval when Van der Sar withdrew through injury and was replaced by Kuszczak. Pompey almost came unstuck in a goalmouth scramble after 57 minutes, when Tevez was blocked by defenders on the line and Ronaldo's subsequent shot snaked just inches wide. United were taking control, and Evra should have done better than cross behind Tevez after being sent clear into the area by Rooney. Ferguson made a double change after 67 minutes, sending on Anderson and Carrick for Tevez and Hargreaves. And Carrick was the central figure in a remarkable escape for Portsmouth three minutes later. Ronaldo's brilliant back-heel played him into area and a goal looked certain as he rounded James, but Distin made a miraculous recovery to make the clearance. United were turning up the heat, with James stretchingd to make a superb save from Evra, turning his shot on to the post. After surviving a second-half siege, Portsmouth broke out to take the lead in remarkable circumstances. Kranjcar broke down the right and played in substitute Baros, who was felled by Kuszczak (!). The Pole was shown the red card by referee Atkinson despite the fact that Rooney and Anderson were patrolling the goal-line. Ferdinand went in goal as replacement, but he stood no chance as Muntari drilled home home the penalty with the minimum of fuss. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/7272806.stm
March 8, 200818 yr Author We're off to Wembley... :) ..For the Semi-Finals Wasn't expecting that, but hey that's the way of the game.
March 8, 200818 yr Author Poor old Man City, losing 2-0 to Reading Poor old Newcastle, losing 3-0 to Liverpool
March 8, 200818 yr Author And Angie, are you getting worried yet? 20 Southampton 37 -13 42 21 Leicester 37 0 41 ------------- 22 Sheff Wed 35 -6 39
March 8, 200818 yr Author Although it does mean now that even finishing 6th in the league won't mean you will get an uefa cup spot, as that place would go to winner of the fa cup.
March 8, 200818 yr bugger...... I thnk now we will finish 10th ........ its all gone wrong. The Derby win went to our heads. It seems that Sven and the city fans gave the players the rest of the season off after that.
March 8, 200818 yr Oh yea...... could be Newcastle. they are doomed. I hope they go down........ Keagan is shite.
March 8, 200818 yr Author It's starting to look like Fulham are going to join Derby next season, they are starting to drift away from the top 18
March 9, 200818 yr I tell you what, given the Championship football I've seen this season, I'm giving the FA cup to West Brom. C'mon Baggies!
March 9, 200818 yr Author DRAW NUMBERS FOR FA CUP SEMI-FINALS: 1 Cardiff City 2 Portsmouth 3 West Brom 4 Barnsley Who would have predicted that?
March 9, 200818 yr Its amazing I would be very excited now if I was supporting pompey... I like there fans and I hope they win !
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