March 30, 201313 yr Another manager (Martin O'Neil) has departed company with their club. Silly decision, what good can a new manager do to an club hit with injury problems?
March 31, 201313 yr Another manager (Martin O'Neil) has departed company with their club. Martin O'Neill: Sunderland sack manager after Man Utd defeat Relegation-threatened Sunderland have sacked manager Martin O'Neill following a poor run of results. The Black Cats sit one point above the Premier League relegation zone with seven games left after a 1-0 defeat by Manchester United on Saturday. Sunderland are without a win in eight league matches, during which they have picked up only three points. The club said a decision on O'Neill's successor would "be made in the coming days". A statement read: "Sunderland AFC has announced that it has parted company with manager Martin O'Neill. "The club would like to place on record its thanks to Martin and wishes him well for the future." There was no hint of an exit for the 61-year-old in chairman Ellis Short's programme notes before the game against the league leaders, with the American instead calling for a united front. "Of course, there is nobody that is happy with our current position and the way our season is going," he wrote. "The reality is that we have a fight on our hands. "But right now, it is important for us all to be on the same side and get behind the team. Not being together will not help us to get results, so let's stand shoulder to shoulder and give the team our full support." Northern Irishman O'Neill took over from Steve Bruce almost 16 months ago, leading Sunderland to seven wins in his first 10 fixtures to ease any relegation fears on their way to a 13th-placed finish. The former Wycombe, Norwich, Leicester, Celtic and Aston Villa boss looked to build on those solid foundations by signing England winger Adam Johnson and Scotland striker Steven Fletcher last summer. Results did not follow, however, and the Black Cats fell to 16th place in the table following their latest defeat, which occurred without their top scorer Fletcher and captain Lee Cattermole after the injured pair were ruled out for the season. O'Neill leaves Sunderland with a record of 16 wins from 55 Premier League matches. Speaking after the game, he appeared optimistic about securing Sunderland's survival. "I am as buoyant now as - I was nearly going to say as I have always been," he said. "What is it - the half-full or the half-empty glass? I'm even going to the three-quarters full. "There is a real determination in the dressing room. The players are obviously disappointed, but they can take a lot from the second half." BBC Match of the Day pundit and former England striker Alan Shearer expressed his dismay at the decision. "The timing is bizarre," the Premier League's record's goalscorer said. "He is usually upbeat, but he seemed down and not his usual energetic self recently. Whether he knew something was happening behind the scenes, I do not know." Fellow pundit Alan Hansen believed Short's move may have occurred because of the huge pressure to stay in the top flight, ahead of the new £3bn television rights deal which comes into effect next season. "The rewards of success and penalties for a lack of success have never been greater," the former Scotland and Liverpool defender said. "I have always thought Sunderland would be safe but, for the first time today, they were really poor. The alarm bells were there." O'Neill's departure makes him the fifth top-flight manager to lose his job this season. He follows Roberto Di Matteo from Chelsea, Mark Hughes from Queens Park Rangers, Nigel Adkins from Southampton and Brian McDermott from Reading. His successor's first game could be the trip to Champions League-chasing Chelsea on 7 April, with that match followed by the Tyne-Wear derby against Newcastle at St James' Park a week later. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21985808
March 31, 201313 yr Lionel Messi scores in record 19th consecutive Barcelona game Barcelona forward Lionel Messi became the first player in Spanish football history to score against every other team in La Liga consecutively. The four-time world player of the year registered for the 19th game in a row as Barca drew 2-2 at Celta Vigo Messi has scored 29 goals in the streak and his tally in all competitions this season now stands at 56. Barca are top of the table, 13 points clear of Real Madrid, who are second, with nine games left to play. Current champions Real dropped points as they drew 1-1 in Zaragoza. Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 113th goal in 100 matches for the Spanish giants while under manager Jose Mourinho. In Vigo, Messi captained the side and went on to break his latest record. The previous mark for goals in consecutive La Liga games was 10. Barca fell behind to Natxo Insa's close-range finish but Messi released Cristian Tello to curl home a fine equaliser. Tello then cut the ball back for Messi to drill low into the net, only for relegation-threatened Celta to give their chances of survival a huge boost as Borja Oubina headed home at the back post on 88 minutes. Barca now travel to France for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final meeting with Paris Saint-Germain. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21985505
March 31, 201313 yr World's craziest free-kick? Thai side Muangthong United's head-first set piece – video <!-- Start of guardian embedded video --> <!-- To autoplay video, set 'a=true' in the following line of code--> <iframe src="http://embedded-video.guardianapps.co.uk/?a=false&u=/sport/video/2013/jan/24/worlds-craziest-free-kick-video" frameborder="0" width="460" height="397"></iframe> <!-- End of guardian embedded video -->
March 31, 201313 yr World's craziest free-kick? Thai side Muangthong United's head-first set piece – video <!-- Start of guardian embedded video --> <!-- To autoplay video, set 'a=true' in the following line of code--> <iframe src="http://embedded-video.guardianapps.co.uk/?a=false&u=/sport/video/2013/jan/24/worlds-craziest-free-kick-video" frameborder="0" width="460" height="397"></iframe> <!-- End of guardian embedded video --> That may just be the worst idea I've ever seen on a football pitch.
April 1, 201313 yr [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z13oaOl56Hk]Chelsea vs Manchester United 1-0 2013 Demba Ba's Great Goal - YouTube[/ame]
April 1, 201313 yr The winner of Man City/Chelsea in the FA Cup semi will most likely win it, beating whoever wins out of Millward/Wigan. At least Man Utd can focus on getting title 20, I can't see them blowing a 15 point lead, if they win this weekend against the current champions, it would be 18 points.
April 1, 201313 yr There's absolutely no question now about United taking the title, both them and City are just playing for more pride now (And City possibly for 2nd place). Just tuned in to see Fulham winning 3-1 at QPR and it's only half time, though it might die down I'll watch the 2nd half. Taraabt's goal in the last minute of the first half at least gives them some hope of getting a draw in the 2nd, could be interesting.
April 1, 201313 yr Just tuned in to see Fulham winning 3-1 at QPR and it's only half time, though it might die down I'll watch the 2nd half. Taraabt's goal in the last minute of the first half at least gives them some hope of getting a draw in the 2nd, could be interesting. Hill and Samba have been nothing less than laughable. Samba gets his pocket picked twice out of sheer ignorance to concede the first two. Then Hill gets lucky to avoid red after a vicious challenge, but concedes an own goal out of karma. Nice finish on the QPR goal, but the Fulham players seem to be having more fun than I've ever seen them have this season.
April 1, 201313 yr I just saw the half time highlights and Samba's position for the first goal/conceded penalty was so lazy, he just watches Berbatov walk into space. Great chance for QPR to make even more of a game of this but Remy's just missed a penalty. And hold on! As I write this Remy's just stolen in to make it 3-2.
April 1, 201313 yr I just saw the half time highlights and Samba's position for the first goal/conceded penalty was so lazy, he just watches Berbatov walk into space. Great chance for QPR to make even more of a game of this but Remy's just missed a penalty. And hold on! As I write this Remy's just stolen in to make it 3-2. That's what I get for leaving the room. edit: apparently they subbed in Emmanuelson near the half, and he's given it away twice in the last minute.
April 1, 201313 yr Bang and another manager is gone Neil Warnock - Leeds How I would love Leeds to lose another couple and be pulled down into the battle for survival
April 1, 201313 yr Sidwell sent off. Emmanuelson subbed off after 40 minutes on the pitch, he's made more errors this half than the rest of the team combined.
April 2, 201313 yr So I'm not going back on my predictions. I'll say PSG 2-1 Barca Juventus 0-0 Bayern
April 2, 201313 yr Well at least now we can move on and stop debating that crucial issue of whether Ba's goal was better than some in the German league over the weekend. I said Barca will go through, I'm gonna go for 2-0 away win tonight. I also said Bayern would go through, and 1-1 will be the score tonight. FACT
April 2, 201313 yr PSG: Beckham PLAYS right in the middle of the park against the best team in the world sit back for the bloodbath :lol:
April 2, 201313 yr That was brilliant technique from Dani Alves, but because it wasn't Xavi or Iniesta that's the last we'll see of it /pointlessBlackRose-esquemoan
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