December 29, 201213 yr Reading get their 2nd win of the season, Stoke come back to draw with Southampton, Villa lose again to Wigan (although only 3-0 this time) Everton/Chelsea will be interesting tomorrow, Benitez's return to the 'little club' on Merseyside.
December 30, 201213 yr Gareth Bale: Tottenham winger rejects diving accusations Gareth Bale says he is being unfairly called a diver after receiving a third yellow card this season for simulation. Bale's caution in Tottenham's 2-1 win at Sunderland was his fifth of the campaign and means he will be suspended for the visit of Reading on 1 January. "That's three times now I've been clipped and booked for no reason," said the Spurs winger, 23. "People keep saying I'm diving, but if there's contact it's not diving. Referees need to look more closely." Sunderland opened the scoring shortly before half-time through a close-range strike from defender John O'Shea. But Tottenham equalised through Carlos Cuellar's own goal before Aaron Lennon fired the winner moments later. The victory moves Spurs up to third in the Premier League table, but they will be without Bale for the visit of Reading. "People think I'm diving when there's contact," said the Welshman, who fell when challenged in the penalty area by Sunderland's Craig Gardner after 80 minutes at the Stadium of Light. "If there's contact, it's a penalty or free-kick. There's nothing I can do. What do you want me to do? Hit my head on the floor? I have to put my hands down to protect myself. If people kick me, I'll go down. "People keep saying I'm diving but it doesn't bother me whatsoever. It's a foul and I know it myself." Bale was also yellow-carded twice last season for diving. Earlier in the match, Bale's team-mate Jermain Defoe escaped punishment when he appeared to go down without being touched. Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas felt the two incidents show referees may be singling out Bale for special treatment. "It looks like persecution," Villas-Boas said. "It was a big mistake from the referee." Yellow cards accrued in the first half of the season are after wiped after 31 December but Bale's fifth comes before the cut-off. "If you see the images, Gardner is not even focusing on the ball, he goes in and clips him," Villas-Boas added. "It doesn't mar the win but Gareth was one game from being clean from yellow cards and it's extremely unfair that he misses Reading." http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20866012
December 30, 201213 yr Sir Alex Ferguson rules out Man Utd making January signings Sir Alex Ferguson has no plans for next month's transfer window and says his present squad is on a par with any in his 26 years at Manchester United. The Premier League leaders are seven points clear of rivals Manchester City as they seek to win a 20th title. "I am not looking to do any serious transfer business in January," he said. "I don't have to because I am more than satisfied with the players I have in my squad, a group as good as any I have had in my time at Old Trafford." United had a quiet January 2012, with Paul Scholes coming out of retirement the most significant addition. But Ferguson made two high profile signings before this year's August deadline, bringing in Robin van Persie for £24m from Arsenal and Shinji Kagawa from Borussia Dortmund for £17m. Writing in United Review, the club's programme for Saturday's match against West Brom, Ferguson said: "Don't hold your breath waiting for Manchester United to jump through the transfer window when it opens next week! "If you believed everything you read in the media, we would have the biggest squad in Europe, not to mention becoming bankrupt! "It's been open season to link us with a stack of players, admittedly some very good ones, but it just isn't going to happen. "Clearly serious injuries can upset your plans and force you to go out for a replacement but, by and large, I think we are well covered to cope with the normal absence of players." Sir Alex also provided an insight into his thinking with regards to the size of his squad and coping with any absentees. "I always work on a 10% injury rate so that, on average, I expect that out of a group of 20 players we will be missing a couple," he added. "It gets tricky if you are hit by more in the same department. It was quite worrying for instance when we had so many defenders out of action earlier in the season, and I think it showed in one or two results." http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20865240
December 30, 201213 yr Suarez on fire, 2 goals in 15mins against QPR (The first of which was quite classy).
December 30, 201213 yr Taraabt is looking more and more like a machine lately, it's looking over as QPR are 3-0 down at HT but hope he gets a goal because he's been plugging away while his team-mates have been like statues.
January 1, 201313 yr I think the owners of city need to ban Mancini from press conferences or even speaking to the media nd better of appointing a spokes person on behalf of the club from post match questions. Infact it goes for all clubs the damage it does. Its not worth it , that a manager has to judge on how they handle the media as well.
January 2, 201313 yr You do realise everyone else is laughing at, not with City? just seen how gay that photo looks.. lololol :P
January 2, 201313 yr Demba Ba: Chelsea trigger Newcastle striker's release clause Demba Ba: Chelsea trigger Newcastle striker's release clause Chelsea have triggered the release clause in Newcastle forward Demba Ba's contract. Ba, 27, has been given permission to speak to Chelsea and will miss Wednesday's game against Everton. It is believed his contract contains a clause which allows him to speak to other clubs in the event of a £7m bid. The Senegalese, who joined Newcastle from West Ham in June 2011, is currently joint-second top scorer in the Premier League with 13 goals. Newcastle have attempted to negotiate a new deal with the Senegal international in recent months, which would remove the clause, but it became active on 1 January. Earlier this week, Magpies boss Alan Pardew was hopeful Ba would stay but criticised the network of people representing the player. After Liverpool signed Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge, Ba could be a replacement for the 23-year-old England striker at Stamford Bridge. France-born Ba had trials at Barnsley and a spell at Watford but failed to land a contract and went back to France where he had stints at Rouen and Mouscron before moving to Hoffenheim in 2007. The German club agreed to let him move to Stoke in a reported £6m deal in January 2011. However, after Ba failed a medical, the striker instead moved to West Ham later that month. The forward scored seven goals in 13 games, but invoked a release clause in his contract after the Hammers were relegated. Newcastle needed a player to replace Andy Carroll, who had joined Liverpool for £35m, and signed Ba on a three-year deal in June 2011. The Senegalese player scored 16 goals during his first full season as Newcastle finished fifth and qualified for the Europa League. He is the club's top scorer this season and his departure would leave just Papiss Cisse and Shola Ameobi as the only senior strikers at the club. The pair have scored eight goals between them during the current campaign. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20890803
January 2, 201313 yr Pardew remains upbeat, and if his scouts continue their good spotting it might actually be one good player out, one good player in. Fully 4 weeks of the transfer window. Lets see. hands off Charlie Austin :angry:
January 2, 201313 yr Getting 7 Million would be a good return on a player they got on a free from West Ham. If Luis Suarez ever gets injured, Liverpool will be in a pickle.
January 2, 201313 yr £7m for Ba is a great buy for any club, he's got 13 Premier League goals playing for a struggling side, and not only does he score but he works hard and barely puts a foot wrong all over the pitch. Pardew has practically confirmed before tonights match that Ba will be going, and just needs to finalise the deal this week.
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