The good old days.
How exciting, its leg two of the Carling Cup semi-final between Manchester Arabia and Manchester United from Old Trafford. It’s been 30 years since Arabia made a final and Aston Villa await the winner of this one.
Arabia head across town to OT carrying a 2-1 lead but as we all know, that means nada and this game is going to be awesome!
Will Tevez score another ‘f**k you brace?’ Will Fergie and Mancini share a pizza? Will Bellamy be drunk on red wine? Will Rooney score an over-head volley from 18 yards? Will Gary Neville lick Fergies boots? I can’t wait.
It’s on ESPN 360 and on Setanta but if you can’t see the game then stick around here with us. Video of any goals will find its way to these parts and there will be plenty of banter.
Team News:
Ferdinand has denied violent conduct against Hull City’s Craig Fagan during an incident that took place on Saturday and he will play, appealing the charge. Kolo Toure is back from the African Nations Cup and should start. Adebayor is set for a place on the bench after returning from compassionate leave and that horrific shooting on the Angola border that killed and wounded his compatriots.
Want-away forward (and lazy exhibitionist), Robinho IS available and is likely to be on the bench. Patrick Vieira is still old and crocked and Jolean Lescott is still just crocked. Line-ups after the jump.
United: Van Der Sar, Rafael, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra, Carrick, Fletcher, Scholes, Nani, Giggs, Rooney.
City: Given, Richards, Kompany, Boyata, Garrido, Barry, De Jong, Zabaleta, Wright-Phillips, Bellamy, Tevez.
Action elsewhere this afternoon (video when available):
Barclays Premier League
Aston Villa v Arsenal, 19:45
Blackburn v Wigan, 20:00
Chelsea v Birmingham, 19:45
Everton v Sunderland, 20:00
The Coca-Cola Football League Championship
Newcastle v Crystal Palace, 19:45
Sc**thorpe v Sheff Wed, 19:45
Coca-Cola Football League Two
Burton Albion v Lincoln City, 19:45
Blue Square Premier
Histon v Luton, 19:45
Clydesdale Bank Premier League
Celtic v Hibernian, 19:45
Dundee Utd v St Johnstone, 19:45
Falkirk v Motherwell, 19:45
Hearts v Aberdeen, 19:45
St Mirren v Rangers, 19:45
Active Nation Scottish Cup
Airdrie Utd v Raith, R4R, 19:45
Nobody has seen smalling play. It’s rather weird.
No Landon video yet.
Sounds (reads) like Sol is playing fairly well today.
No video of the Everton game. most of the web feeds are off, too.
From The Sun (I know, I know):
Landon Donovan bags his first goal in English football as he puts the Toffees two up. It’s another fine goal from the home side as Cahill turns provider, teeing up Donovan to drive a crisp finish past a diving Gordon. Everton 2, Sunderland 0.
Heskey into the books for a foul on Cesc.
Think he’s only had 1 or 2 first team appearances this season, and I don’t have much footage of 7th division English football for his previous work.
And another bit from The Sun:
Donovan jogs across to the opposite flank to the applause of the home supporters, who seem to have taken a shine to the American international.
Nice tackle Heskey, you oafish c**t.
EPL
Chelsea 2-0 Birmingham
Aston Villa 0-0 Arsenal
CC Semi
Man U 0-0 (1-2) Citeh
Don’t know the others offhand
@ Keith:
Thanks, I was hoping he brought pace to the table. Spiderman has been a revelation in the Championship and adding more pace should help.
Just found out what a window licker is! Thanks Arseblog/Urban Dictionary!
Re: Smalling… He’s also played a few matches for the England U21 game and done well (supposedly).
Heskey couldn’t be a bigger putz.
Downing curls a corner just over Dunne and around the back post.
Villa are just going to get more dangerous with every corner.
Newcastle 1 – Crystal Palace 0 @55 mins
Cesc heads away a Young corner.
Re: Smalling – Supposedly he cost 7 mil, could go up to 10 mil. So nothing risky.
@MRD: nothing too risky
Arsenal v. corners is not the most reassuring combination.
Eduardo supposedly pulled up lame. Color me shocked.
yikes. Now Rosicky off the bar after Friedel saves from Pixie.
Nicky Pinkboots on for Eduardo.
Uncomfortably close shot of Tevez the Handsome, and his scars, by ESPN’s cameraman.
Coach! Hamstring!
Thank You for update
2nd half underway at Old Trafford.
Super Nick is back. Let the misses from in close begin anew!
from the Villa Live text:
Dan AVFC:
Can’t take your eyes of this game. Arshavin’s original chance came on the break from an Ashley Young diving header at the back post, which Almunia held. As I said earlier, it is like a basketball game at times.
Great save by VDS
Collins blocks a Cesc volley from 30.
Did anyone just see Arshavin’s run down the left? It was Walcott-at-Anfield-esque.
Villa fans supposedly mocked Eduardo for his broken ankle/leg. Keith, I thought your lot were better than that (if true, of course.)
So a post and a crossbar so far and Nicky just came into the game. Odds on another?
So Arsenal has lost two players in this match. That’s about par for the course.
Does Wenger let the players drink water?
interesting, and perhaps telling subpoint: Milner has not attempted a shot.
Bendtner the Dane! I’m so glad to see him back.
Did I write that?
does Friedel still look to be in Form??
This Arsenal team is going to give me a f’ing coronary.
Tevez just got a yellow for going through Rafael. Then we had a true meeting of the minds, as Bellamy and Rio traded shouts “CUNT!” with each other.
Routledge on for Lovenkrands. Still 1-0 NUFC.
Quoth the Villa fans: “Eduardo—-ooo-oh. He had some silky skills now he walks like Heather Mills”
Not the classiest, but at least my fellow Villans were funny.
Bellamy just got hit by a bottle!
Bellamy just got hit by at least one thing from the crowd.
Correction: Coin hit Bellamy in the head, bottles missed him.
GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bellamy just hit in the head with an object while taking a corner. SAF didn’t see anything.
SCHOLES!!!!
SCHOLES!!!!!
F**k. Scholes. Given way slow to come off his line and beat Giggs to the ball.
Given came out WAY too late on that one. Could’ve stopped the whole move before it got started.
Scholes! That c**t. All level on aggie.
That was an outstanding break-out.
Nani f**ked that up, but Carrick saved it.
The pass from Rooney to Giggs that set the goal was pure class.
I hope they ban whoever threw that s**t at Bellamy.
Sidenote: has Bellamy ever NOT been an a**hole?
Keith: Think they just ripped off the West Ham fans with that one.
So are there away goals in the CC, or does this go to extra time (assuming nothing changes, of course)?
Extra time, away goals double then.
And since I have you all here, how does one change their avatar?
/ moron
really? That was the first game after the tackle.
@bergkampesdios: Very carefully.
still goalless on 70 after Young skins Clichy but loses control for a GK.
@bergkampesdios: I think you change it at WordPress.
@bergkamp: I think you change it in your WordPress settings, but that could be wrong.
From what I’m reading, away goals only count after extra time. so if it stays this way after 90, they play the AET, but they wouldn’t go to pens.
sounds stupid. maybe someone knows for real.
bergkamp: it goes to ET; then if still tied, away goals. Then shootout.
My bad. You wear the same colors. Easy to get you confused.
Good to see that Adebayor made it back to the UK without bullet holes.
If you can’t do it through wordpress, go through gravatar.com
There’s no way Citeh rebound from this, is there?
Birmingham with signs of life against Chelsea. Still 2-0 down, though.
Donovan shot saved off the line. He’s on fire, according to the BBC radio people.
downing corner cleared, Young return cross results in another corner.
which Almunia catches.
Dundee United came from 0-2 down at HT to take a 3-2 lead before letting the Johnnies re-tie the score at 3. It went from 1-2 to 3-3 in 3 minutes, according to the Beeb.
From Eurosport:
“If Villa fail to score today it will be their longest run without a goal under manager Martin O’Neill and equal-longest ever in the Premier League.”
How is that possible? They’ve only not scored in their last three. That’s a league record?
Aberdeen have a second in Edinburgh as well.
Did Tevez come out of the locker room at halftime?
C’mon DONS!
Delph on for Heskey
Wigan equalize against Blackburn. For some reason, I think Gary Caldwell is the most un-football name in football. Sounds more like an accountant than a rightback.
The crawl on my Setanta stream just advertised Fox Soccer Plus. Which is kind of ironic, really.
I think they mean for Villa in the EPL
and Nasri on for Rosicky to round out the Arsenal changes.
Aberdeen with a third. Points locked up.
u75 – that makes more sense.
@Spectator: I always thought that Jean Alain Boumsong was the least football sounding name. For various reasons.
Villa with a dangerous FK in just outside the box.
Gallas clears Young’s effort.
Nani can be really f**king worthless sometimes.
@MRD: Nicky Butt wins all contests, natch.
@Keith: Thanks for the updates, although I’m not looking forward to your announcement that Villa took the lead off a set piece in the 89th minute (hope that writing this will not make it so).
Announcer just said that away goals in the Carling Cup only matter after extra time.
Clichy booked for a late challenge on Downing.
Nani, Pass the f**king ball!
Gareth Barry always looks excessively manicured to me.
Dunney heads wide from a Collins hoofball.
@ü75: Ha I was thinking the same thing. I could almost love SAF for that video clip.
It’s ON!
Richards might have shoved the 4th official in that fracas.
Shenanigans!
Time to play the Feud!