Mourinho - Cheater or Genius?

In a bizarre incident Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso got what appeared to be deliberately sent off for Real Madrid in last night's Champions League group game against Ajax, which Madrid won 4-0.

Both were booked for time wasting - the sendings off will now see their yellow card count wiped clear for the last 16, as they will serve the suspension in the last group game, which will matter little as Madrid have already topped the group.

Clearly they were too obvious about getting sent off but what can UEFA do about it really? How do you prove someone's intent to get sent off?

Personally I think it was a very clever idea and if UEFA didn't have such ridiculous rules, there would be no need to do this type of thing.

What do you think?

Ancelotti set to leave Chelsea?

Sky Bet have cut Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti's odds to be the next manager to leave their Premier League post from 10/1 to 6/4 following their defeat to Birmingham at the weekend.

Chelsea only lost six matches on their way to the title last season but have already lost four matches this campaign, including three of the last four.

Personally I don't see Chelsea getting rid of their manager but I do feel he may walk, will Chelsea let him go however is a different question...

Ireland 1-2 Norway

Erik Huseklepp struck late for Norway to hand them a 2-1 win over Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on Wednesday night.

In a game which was reminiscent of shadow boxing, Ireland never really got going apart from a decent spell in the first-half.

However they took the lead early on thanks to a Shane Long penalty but Morten Gamst Pedersen made it 1-1 in the 34th minute with a wonderful free-kick.

Apart from the very few positives in this game (Keith Fahey's performance in the middle of midfield being one) what was the point of this game? How do the FAI expect to sell-out a game when tickets go for a minimum of €55 to watch a snooze fest.

Another thing - where were Seamus Coleman and Marc Wilson? And that's not even mentioning some of the players who have not been called up for Trapattoni's squad. Wolves' left-back Stephen Ward being one example.

Not to worry though, the future looks bright for Irish football. A half-full stadium and a début for a home-grown player Jon Walters, oh no wait, he was actually born and raised in Birkenhead, England. Also, he is 27-years-old. Why now? He isn't even getting a game for Stoke!

Anyway, rant over...

Meanwhile, in better football matches, a new-look France side defeated England 2-1 at Wembely, while world champions Spain lost 4-0 to Portugal.

Two Works of Art

I know this Blog is starting to turn into a barrage of Youtube videos, but when I saw these two videos I couldn't help but share them with you. This is why Football is the great game in the world.

Johan Elmander's terrific solo effort



Linus Hallenius' sublime control and volley




Which goal do you prefer? Personally I think Linus Hallenius' goal is one of the greatest goals I have ever seen. I could watch that clip over and over and over again. Unbelievable.

Golf Balls and A Chicken!

Another funny video. This time... a chicken!

Porto clashed with rivals Benfica at the weekend, and in what is always a heated encounter, Porto fans hurled golf balls at the Benfica keeper and bizarrely, also released a chicken onto the pitch!


Porto went on to win the game 5-0.

It's raining tennis balls!

Fans of Swiss Super League leaders FC Basel and second place FC Luzern thought the match between their two clubs should have been the most important sporting event in Switzerland on Sunday. So, when Swiss TV decided to change the kick-off of the game to ensure the match would be over in time for the ATP Basel Tennis tournament which featured home-grown hero, Roger Federer, (who is in fact a Basel fan) they responded by hurling tennis balls onto the pitch. Not once, but twice.

Once Stadium officers had cleared the first load of tennis balls, the clever fans unleashed another batch in a bit to overlap with the coverage of the tennis tournament, all with such hilarious consequences.

Anyway, everyone knows football is far more important than tennis...

Rooney stays - but for how long?

So after days of speculation Wayne Rooney has decided to stay with Manchester United, for the time being at least.

The news that the Liverpudlian, who celebrated his 25th birthday yesterday safe in the knowledge that he is now the Premiership's highest paid player, will be greeted by mixed feelings from supporters, with some feeling he bullied his way to a new contract.

Perhaps he's just had a change of mind and decided where his loyalties lie, or perhaps the 25-year-old just used this saga as a way of distracting the media from his recent off-field antics.

Whatever the reason, it is now clear that the out of sorts forward will be pulling on a United jersey for the rest of this season and we can all finally put this rather dull story to bed.