MATCH REPORT: Chelsea vs Manchester City

The late kick off on Saturday saw first and second in the Premier League table go head to head. For the leaders, it had been a very up and down week. They had crashed out of the FA Cup to Bradford City a week ago, but booked their place in the Capital One Cup final after they beat Liverpool in midweek. Manchester City went into the game after two consecutive 2-0 losses, to Arsenal and in the FA Cup against Middlesbrough. It looked like it could be a very tight game. 

Both teams go into the game with some of their key players. Chelsea were without Diego Costa after his FA ban for stamping on Emre Can begins and Cesc Fabregas is out with an injury. Meanwhile, Man City were missing Yaya Toure and new signing Wilfried Bony as they are not yet back from the African Cup of Nations. 

The first half was extremely tight, with neither team giving the other any space or too much time on the ball. It didn't look like there would be a breakthrough. Sergio Aguero did have a good chance after he was left one on one with Thibaut Courtois, but he could only drag his shot wide of the far post. Other than that, both teams were creating chances, but couldn't find the perfect final pass or the piece of play was just cut out by good defending. 

Then, a sudden piece of good play from Chelsea turned the game around. The ball was played to Branislav Ivanovic just outside the 18 yard box, who played an excellent pass across to Eden Hazard coming into the box from the left wing. With a brilliant piece of skill, he flicked it across the box and Loic Remy was waiting to turn the ball into the back of the net, leaving Joe Hart scrambling. It could be argued that Vincent Kompany could have defended a lot better. Instead of trying to turn the ball away for a corner or kick it further down the pitch, possibly because he could have scored an own goal, he pulled his legs away, leaving Remy with a free chance. 

Only four minutes later, right on the stroke of half time, City struck back. Cesar Azpilicueta was caught out of position which allowed Jesus Navas to get in behind him. For the first time in a long time Courtois was caught out by a James Milner run into the box and he couldn't deal with the cross that came in. The ball fell to Aguero on the edge of the box, who aimed his shot towards the goal, but it still needed David Silva's touch to turn it into a gaping net as Courtois once again failed to deal with the ball across. 

The second half was a turning point for Manchester City. As Chelsea had played a midweek game that had gone into extra time, the time seemed to be taking a toll on the players. They were starting to tire, which allowed City to get in behind them and try and test them more. A lot more chances were created by the visitors, but even then they still couldn't find a ball to punish Chelsea. Fernandinho had a good chance when he directed his header goalwards. The bounce made it difficult for Courtois to deal with, but he managed to turn it up and over his crossbar. 

Two Chelsea legends took to the pitch mid way through the second half, both hoping to turn the game around for their different teams. It was Frank Lampard's first return to Stamford Bridge since leaving the club in the summer and he was now facing Didier Drogba. Neither of them could get a foothold in the game nor find what would have been the winning goal. 

The draw left the two teams with 5 points still separating them, but when it comes to the end of the season, will one of the two teams regret not finding the winning goal? By the end of the game, Jose Mourinho was playing for the game because he knew the players' fatigue would stop them from being able to push on for the win. City could also regret it after wasting all of the chances they had in the second half. It was also a good time to play Chelsea with their leading goal-scorer and game changer out of the game. I guess we'll see how big of an impact this result could have at the end of the season. 

Spotlight: Chelsea vs Liverpool [Capital One Cup Semi Final]

After a full weekend of cup action, it only seems fitting that the semi-final of the other domestic cup follows in mid-week. The first leg between Liverpool and Chelsea at Anfield ended 1-1, with Chelsea scoring the important away goal, if the second leg goes into extra time at 0-0. Liverpool were bright in the game at Anfield, especially in the second half, but they needed to carry on that performance into this game, because if they didn't score, they wouldn't even have a chance of making it to the final.

Early in the first half, Chelsea did have a penalty shout when the ball bounced up and hit Lucas Leiva on the arm. However, the referee didn't deem it deliberate, and Liverpool were let off much to their relief. Both teams did have a bright start, but no clear cut chances were created in the first half. 

Then, an innocent challenge between Diego Costa and Emre Can just by the touchline ended in a total mess. As Costa went to pick up the ball, he did stamp on Can's ankle, a stamp which the referee seemed to miss, luckily for Costa anyway. 

Liverpool did create some good chances in the first half, starting when Steven Gerrard played in Lazar Markovic. He slipped past one defender, but thanks to Nemanja Matic's great defending; he cut the attack out and let Chelsea off the hook. Another chance came through a Liverpool counter attack. Jordan Henderson plays a long ball up field towards Raheem Sterling which Kurt Zouma tries to head away but gets wrong which plays in Sterling, but he gets back in time to again make sure Liverpool don't get their break through. Gerrard also played in Alberto Moreno, who was running into the box from the left wing causing Thibaut Courtois to make a great save. He pulled off great save with his feet when he was needed most. Philippe Coutinho was played in and was in acres of space but still couldn't manage to find the back of the net. 

The first real talking point of the game happened in the 21st minute when Costa was running through the Liverpool box and Martin Skrtel tackled him without success. He got none of the ball and definitely caught Costa's ankle, but the referee judged Costa to have dived and to Skrtel's relief waved for a goal kick. 

Oscar seemed to be the bright spark in the first half for Chelsea, coming up with the most clear cut chances. He took a free kick from just outside the area which was always swerving wide of the far post. Another chance presented itself to him outside the box which he could only drag wide of the post. 

For Chelsea, the second half started brightly. They were pressing forward and causing Liverpool some difficulties but could not find an end product. They were gifted an opportunity after Mamadou Sakho gave the ball away and Lucas brought down Oscar with a strong tackle. This prompted a lot of temperatures to rise and players from both teams exchanged a lot of angry words before the free kick was taken. While the referee was talking to Lucas, another foul was committed by Costa, similar to the earlier one with Can, this time with Skrtel, but it was again missed by the referee. Costa was very lucky he was still on the pitch. 

Eden Hazard also had a wonderful chance when he was played in by Oscar, he rode through the challenges made on him by the opposing team, but could only fire his shot wide of the post. Costa followed this with a few good chances of his own, asking Simon Mignolet to make the save, and he was equal every time. The first shot took a big deflection off Skrtel, causing Mignolet to save with his feet and the other being blocked by Skrtel himself and steered to safety. 

Liverpool fans had a nerve wracking moment when they saw the ball bounce and hit Henderson on the arm. Having been booked in the first half, the referee could deem it to be deliberate meaning he would be seeing red and causing this tie to be made so much more difficult for his team. Luckily for him, the referee chose to only give the free kick, although much to the dismay of Jose Mourinho and the Chelsea fans.

The last 10 minutes of the second half were very end-to-end, creating a lot of chances but they were either wasted or cut out before they could really begin. The full time score was 0-0 meaning it would be going to extra time. This score would prove to be enough for Chelsea on away goals but it meant Liverpool would really have to throw everything they had at Chelsea. 

Chelsea started extra time the quickest, Hazard drawing in a foul from Lucas close to the area in the 4th minute of extra. Willian took the free kick and crossed it into the centre of the goal where Branislav Ivanovic had a free header and directed it into the back of the goal. Mario Balotelli was supposed to be marking Ivanovic but got drawn to the ball and follows Costa, leaving his man alone in the box.

Costa was also very lucky in the match. He had the two fouls when he stood on the defender's ankles which, luckily for him, the referee missed. After a foul he committed on Gerrard, he still felt the need to follow through with a challenge. Both players got booked after having a small confrontation with each other while trying to get up off the floor. Is there really any need for him to constantly be involved in the dirty and rash side of the game?

Liverpool seemed to tire after the goal and weren't pushing forward with as much pace or purpose anymore. Henderson had a good chance when Sterling crossed in the ball, but he could only direct his header wide of the post. Sterling also should have got his team the equaliser but couldn't direct the ball on target. Balotelli could have played in Rickie Lambert to get the goal, but instead chose to go for the spectacular, which wasted the chance. Liverpool needed the goal but when the chances presented themselves, it just wasn't happening for them. 

Chelsea weren't exactly sitting back either. They were still pushing forward when they got the chance, hoping to get a second goal to really kill off the game, but even when they weren't, they played possession football and wouldn't allow Liverpool to get on the ball. The Liverpool players didn't push for it either, but could possibly have done more to get a better end result for themselves. End score: Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool (agg.)

FA Cup Fourth Round [2015]

It is back again! Onto another round of the FA Cup which gives us all the surprises that a football fan could possibly want and ask for.

The early kick off on Saturday is where the first shock came from when Blackburn Rovers welcomed Swansea City. Early in the game, Kyle Bartley got sent off which made it look like Swansea would have a mountain to climb, but they still managed to take the lead. However, this seemed to be a turning point for Blackburn. Just after the opener, the home team got one back, and the second half proved to be great for them. They managed to get the two goals that finished the game for them without too much of a problem. The game was over, yet Gylfi Sigurdsson still got sent off in added time for a bad foul. End score: 3-1.

That meant that one more Premier League team were knocked out, but how many more would follow? Quite a few is the answer, and they're all the big boys of the league!

I'll start with Chelsea. They looked to have an easy match on paper; top of the Premier League playing against a League 1 side. It started out that way as well. Chelsea took a 2-0 lead in the first half and it seemed like that would be the end for Bradford. They fought back though and managed to pull it back to 2-1 just before half time. Even still, people argued that Chelsea would win the game due to the quality in their squad. However, the next goal didn't come until the 75th minute when Bradford got their equaliser. This prompted Jose Mourinho to bring on one of the big names, Eden Hazard, to try and win them the game. Instead, the opposite happened. Bradford went 3-2 up and was defending like their lives depended on it. When news of another goal came through, many people would have imagined a Chelsea equaliser, but instead saw the name of Mark Yeates on screens. End score: 2-4. Onto the next?

Manchester City had a tricky home tie against Middlesbrough, who have the best defence in the Championship this season. Surely, they wouldn't have been able to keep out the likes of Sergio Aguero though, right? Wrong. They threw their bodies on the line in order to stop City from scoring. The half time score was 0-0 and to people not watching the game, it sounded like City were going to come out for the second half and score their winner. Not even 10 minutes into the second half though, Middlesbrough took the lead. Just like in the Chelsea game, Manuel Pelligrini brought on the likes of Frank Lampard and Fernandinho hoping that they could get the winner. Lampard did hit the crossbar but that was City's closest chance. To add insult to injury, Middlesbrough got the deciding goal in stoppage time. End score: 0-2.

The game between Southampton and Crystal Palace started strongly and added a number of goals to the total tally scored over the weekend. The home side took the lead on 9 minutes before Palace replied almost instantly. Give it 5 more minutes and Southampton had taken the lead once again through a Scott Dann own goal. It didn't take Palace long to reply once again. The final goal of the match did come in towards the end of the first half and it was Chamakh with his second goal of the match. No goals in the second half, meaning the end score was: 2-3. 

Next we go onto the game between Tottenham Hotspur against Leicester City. A penalty kick for Spurs opened the scoring, making this, once again, look like a game where the higher team would have been preferred if their league positions were anything to go by. Form was clearly pushed out the window in this match though. It did take Leicester until the 83rd minute to get their equaliser and the game looked to be heading towards a replay until a mistake from Michel Vorm which gave Leicester their winner. End score: 1-2.

Manchester United and Liverpool were also two teams to struggle against lower opposition. United were the visitors to Cambridge United on Friday night and they had a hard time breaking down their stubborn defence, meaning Cambridge earned a well deserved replay at Old Trafford. Liverpool also had the same problem as United did; they wasted their chances and struggled to break down Bolton's defence. End score for both: 0-0.

The second to last game of the weekend (Stoke play Rochdale tomorrow night) saw Brighton host Arsenal, the holders. Arsenal started the game quickly and brightly, scoring their first goal within the first 2 minutes. They also added a second towards the end of the first half, making it look like the game was already over. Brighton did start the second half brightly, pulling a goal back and throwing everything they had at Arsenal. Again, Arsenal seemed to settle nerves through a brilliant goal, restoring their two goal lead. Brighton once again did get a goal back and wouldn't give up; pushing towards Arsenal, hoping to at least earn a replay at the Emirates, but it just wasn't meant to be. End score: 2-3.

Half of the Premier League teams have already been knocked out of the competition over the two weekends and that could be added to depending on Stoke's result tomorrow night. Not many big names to look out for in the draw now, but many people are now very wary of the lower league teams... Don't you just love the FA Cup?

MATCH REPORT: West Ham vs Hull City

The early kick-off in the Premier League on Sunday saw West Ham host Hull City. West Ham are doing well so far this season, but have suffered a few setbacks in recent games, while Hull City currently sit in the relegation places, desperate for a win and to turn their season around. Hull also have a lot of their key players out through injury and the odds looked against them as they went into the game. 

Sone Aluko was given a rare chance in the starting line-up from Steve Bruce due to the long injury list, and he looked ready to take it by the scruff of the neck. He started the game very brightly, having a half chance and a soft penalty call within the first 30 seconds of the match. He kept pushing and forcing corners from the West Ham defenders, but he just couldn't create a clear cut chance. On 6 minutes, Ahmed Elmohamady had a great chance, but he could only steer the ball past the post.

This seemed to wake West Ham up a bit, with Aaron Cresswell going up the other end on 7 minutes and creating a similar chance to that of Elmohamady's. Just a minute later, Enner Valencia had the chance to put West Ham ahead, but again, could only send the ball flying past the outside of the post. 

Hull enjoyed a lot of possession in the first half, but they just struggled to create a clear cut chance or to get the ball into the box. Aluko had another great chance on 24 minutes, but he didn't take the first opportunity and couldn't decide which foot to take the shot with, so James Tompkins hastily cut it out. Another opportunity presented itself to Aluko on 27 minutes, but that was quickly snuffed out as well. The Hull players just seemed to want too long on the ball and tried to over play the ball in the West Ham box. This was proving to be their downfall. 

Again, Hull enjoyed a lot of possession, and they were happy to pass the ball around but without pressing forward or causing the West Ham back line any problems. Then on 41 minutes, West Ham got a corner, and it was very scrappy. A few attempts to get the ball into the back of the net failed and a relieved Allan McGregor managed to hold onto the ball in the end. The frailties in Hull's defence were beginning to show... 

After the break, Hull had some more defensive and injury problems. James Chester went off just before half time with a suspected dislocated shoulder and Alex Bruce didn't re-emerge because of a thigh injury. This seemed to prove to be Hull's downfall. Almost instantly, Stewart Downing was running through acres of space before Kevin Nolan's shot was blasted just over the cross bar. 

2 minutes later, Valencia hit a shot from outside the box which forced McGregor to make the save, but all he could do was simply palm it away into the path of Andy Carroll, who was in the right place at the right time to slot the ball home. Hull became very shaky after the goal went in and couldn't find their rhythm from the first half again. 

Steve Bruce did try to change the formation around, moving Harry Maguire into a forward position to try and get a goal back. Sam Allardyce responded with a change of his own, bringing on Morgan Amalfitano for Mark Noble. 

Michael Dawson had his heart in his mouth at one moment, when his pass across his own 18 yard box to Elmohamady got intercepted by Valencia, but all he could do was turn it into the side netting after the angle had been closed down. 

Shortly after this moment, Amalfitano, who was just onside, was played in by Valencia. With no defenders around him, he calmly chipped the ball over McGregor into the back of the net. This prompted Steve Bruce to make another change, choosing to move Maguire back into defence and bring on Yannick Sagbo. The reshuffle didn't have the desired effect as 3 minutes after the second goal; West Ham had scored their third. A through ball from Alex Song played Downing in and his shot slipped past McGregor into the bottom right corner of the goal. 

This left too big a mountain to climb for Hull. Jake Livermore has a speculative effort from outside the box saved by Adrian. However, there was another scare for the Hull defenders when Nolan's tight angled shot rebounded off the crossbar towards the end of the 90 minutes.

Overall, it was a good performance by West Ham in the end. It does beg the question though: what if Hull had been more clinical and had taken their chances or created more? From this second half performance, it seems like they could have a long journey ahead of them to stay in the Premier League. 

Tactical Choices

I just want to write this post about some of the decisions that Louis van Gaal has been making with the Manchester United team sheet. A lot has been said in recent weeks about the formations and the players that he has chosen and the decisions behind that. 

I'm going to focus on today's match against QPR as an example of this. He started the match with a 3-5-2 formation. It is his philosophy and a formation that he has had a lot of success with in the past. It is not one that United have had success with in the past though. Whenever the team play in this formation, to me, they just seem lost and look like they don't know what they're actually doing on the pitch. The most successful way for a United team to play has been in 4-4-2. Van Gaal wants them to embrace his philosophy and won't play them that way. Due to the fact that he was known as a "tactical genius" at the World Cup, this just doesn't seem to add up that he would allow them to play this way for so long. It could just make things go from bad to worse, however. 

Another thing that seemed to confuse the team today was that Angel Di Maria started up front and Wayne Rooney played in behind them in midfield. Rooney has looked comfortable playing in this position in recent matches but Di Maria looks like he's completely lost and has never stepped foot on a football pitch before in his life. Every time the ball came to him, he seemed to panic and couldn't make a decision that would benefit anyone in his team. None of the players were able to string many passes together either without passing it to an opposition player or without it going out of play. 

Now, this formation is good for keeping possession and in some way that should benefit a team. The team just can't create any chances though. They can pass the ball and when they get to the 18 yard box, instead of crossing it in; they pass it back and end up with the ball being at their goalkeeper's feet. Every time Antonio Valencia got the ball, he seemed afraid to cross the ball in. Also, Daley Blind didn't seem to be able to get onto the ball much in the first half, which doesn't benefit the team. If he had been playing in a more central role he might have been able to influence the game much better.

At some point in the game, van Gaal seemed to realise that this system just wasn't working for them. QPR seemed to be outplaying United in many ways. Still, even at half time, he brought on Marouane Fellaini for Juan Mata, but he still didn't change the formation. He left it the same for another 15 minutes! After the first 20 minutes, it was clear that United weren't going to win the game if they didn't change something. 

Finally, just before the hour mark, van Gaal brought off Jonny Evans and replaced him with James Wilson, allowing the players to play in their favoured 4-4-2 formation. The players instantly looked comfortable and within a minute of the change, Fellaini scored the opener, and the assist came from Antonio Valencia who ran at his defender. 

Even though QPR had some chances, the United players were finally comfortable and seemed to deal with the chances better. Di Maria had moved back into midfield and he looked a lot more dangerous, he was running at players and creating passes that troubled the defenders. Everything looked up after the change, especially when Wilson finished off the match with a nice finish that ended the game 2-0. 

Hopefully, for the United fans, van Gaal will stay with the 4-4-2 formation, especially looking forward to the FA Cup game next weekend. They've been calling out for him to use the preferred formation and allow the players the freedom they get in it. It looks like if he does continue to use this formation, he could just go back to the winning run he had a little earlier on in the season. If he doesn't? Well, United could look to be losing a lot more points than they had imagined...

Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi?

I'm sure that this is a question that we've all been asked at some point before, right? Who's the best player in the world? If you could have any player play for your club who would you choose? Most of the time, we will answer with one of these two names; Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. It's an opinion that certainly divides a lot of people, but will there ever be a definite answer?

Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or for the second year running last night, with Messi coming in second place, but there was a big margin between the two players. Some people might argue that this isn't such a big surprise, but to me, it was. To me, there has never been a big margin between the two. They clearly both have different playing styles and are great at what they do for different reasons, but it got me wondering. 

If the public got to vote for who won the trophy, would the outcome have been a lot different? Obviously Manuel Neuer was in the running for the award as well, so could he have snatched it? The results of the voting that have been released after clearly show there was a lot of bias. Ronaldo only voted for his Real Madrid team mates and Messi voted for his Argentina or Barcelona team mates. Neither voted for the other which isn't really a big surprise as they probably both knew that it would come down to the two of them, but surely it should be a better voting system.

The coaches were just as bad. The coach of Brazil chose Neymar as his first choice and the German coach made all three of his choices Germans. I understand the whole 'backing your team and supporting your players' but really?

I just don't understand how it's a fair competition if everyone is just voting for their friends and team mates. That's like being in a P.E. class and being asked to pick your own team, everyone picks their friends first. It could just be me, but I think that a possible change in voting is needed so that the end result is fair. I can't say accurate because one of the best two did eventually win it. 

The one strange vote that a lot of people seem to be picking up on though is the vote of England manager, Roy Hodgson. He didn't pick either Ronaldo or Messi, but instead used his votes for: Javier Mascherano, Philipp Lahm and Neuer. The second and third votes aren't really that much of a shock, possibly the order of them? But I don't think a lot of people agree with Mascherano being picked as his first choice. I will admit that I wouldn't have made that choice either. 

Oh well, another awards ceremony, another year. I wonder if Ronaldo and Messi will still be leading the pack this time next year. Ronaldo does deserve the award in my opinion and congratulations to him; he's worked hard to get to where he is. 

Oh, and in case you're wondering, and if I ever got the chance, my three votes would go to: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale...

MATCH REPORT: Sunderland vs Liverpool

The lunchtime kick off in the Premier League on Saturday saw Sunderland host Liverpool. Liverpool needed to win this game to keep their push for the top four in alive and Sunderland needed to win to put some space between themselves and the bottom three. 

The past week all of the news in the media has surrounded Steven Gerrard and his move to LA Galaxy, but could this just be an extra distraction for the Liverpool man? Also, Raheem Sterling, Liverpool's key player this season, was on holiday in Jamaica taking his mid-season break. All of this looked like it could be in favour of Sunderland, but it didn't quite turn out that way. 

Liverpool started the game brightly and within the first 3 minutes, they had a penalty claim waved away when Wes Brown brought down Lazar Markovic in the penalty box. The Liverpool players weren't very happy, with good reason, but Brown looked extremely relieved when the referee waved play on. 

However, just a few minutes later, Gerrard passed the ball to Fabio Borini, who was fouled just outside the box. Instead of waiting for the free kick to be given, Markovic took full advantage, taking the ball from the feet of Borini and riding two challenges before calmly slotting the ball into the back of the net for his first Premier League goal. 

Instead of feeling sorry for themselves, Sunderland became brighter after the goal for a small spell and started moving forward with more pace and looked likely to punish Liverpool. The passes made into the Sunderland forwards just weren't good enough to create anything close to a goal scoring opportunity though and this prompted Liverpool to wake up again and take the game to Sunderland once again.

Markovic had an excellent chance; his scissor kick shot bouncing off the underside of the bar and hitting a lucky Costel Pantilimon before going out for a corner. Jordan Henderson also had a good opportunity, but his shot rebounded off the post, but was quickly pulled back because a hand ball decision was given against him. 

Liverpool could easily have gone in at half time 3-0 or 4-0 up. The amount of chances they had but didn't take could have come back to haunt them in the second half. Sunderland weren't playing very well at all though. The first half looked like it would be repeating itself in the second. 

The second half began with Gerrard being substituted with the worry of an injury. This also looked like it could have been going in Sunderland's favour. However, on 49 minutes, Liam Bridcutt brought down Emre Can and received his second booking. The first one was a soft yellow card after he accidentally caught the back of Gerrard's heel as he was running past him. Sunderland were now down to 10 men which made it seem like they would have a mountain to climb if they wanted a result from the game. 

Liverpool seemed to drop off completely and lose their discipline a little after the red card. To the audience watching, it seemed like they thought the points were definitely theirs after what had just happened. It proved to be the opposite though. Sunderland started to push forward more positively this time, but the end product still seemed to be just out of their grasp. Adam Johnson became very lively and looked like the player most likely to score. His 25 yard rocket of a shot rattled the bottom of the cross bar and bounced back into play where Martin Skrtel cleared the second ball away, much to Simon Mignolet's relief. 

Mignolet did look very nervous in his goal, but Sunderland couldn't produce enough clear cut chances to take advantage of this. After a 25 minute spell where Sunderland seemed to be controlling the game, Liverpool fell back into their rhythm and ended the game on a high. Mario Balotelli came onto the pitch and had a couple of half chances that didn't really test Pantilimon in the end. 

Overall, Liverpool had a bright performance which pushed them closer towards the top four. The result did leave Sunderland dangerously close to the bottom three of the table and a performance that didn't look to give them much confidence in the end. The 1-0 score line may look like Liverpool struggled in the game, but it was the complete opposite. Liverpool seemed to be in control of the game throughout, even during the short Sunderland spells where they kept hold of the ball. It was performance that Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool can be proud of at the end of the day. 

BIG Transfers!

During the January transfer window, it isn't likely that a lot of big names will be signed by big clubs. It has happened (Juan Mata moving from Chelsea to Manchester United last season) but it doesn't happen often.

Already, one of the big transfer stories was Fernando Torres leaving Chelsea for good and going on loan to his boyhood team hoping to restart his career and find his best form again. However, some big news has emerged this transfer window, and high profile names are being thrown around from club to club like you've never seen; from Steven Gerrard, to Lionel Messi, to Victor Valdes, to Gareth Bale and so on. Now, I may be focusing on the Premier League, but a lot of the big gossip has been surrounding that league. For example:

Firstly, Steven Gerrard has announced he's leaving Liverpool at the end of the season. This did shock a lot of people and many fans of the club around the country, and the world, there has been tears. The man has played for the club since he was 8 years old, and credit to him, he's stayed with this club through all of their tough times. So why leave now? This is only my opinion, but he's a legend at the club and adored by millions, so why not stay and try and win the only trophy to ever slip from his grasp (no pun intended...) Anyway, I just don't understand it at all, but it will be a loss to the Premier League when they lose him, and it leaves Liverpool with an ever bigger gap to fill than the one they had with Luis Suarez...

Secondly, there have been so many rumours about Lionel Messi. He's the greatest player in the world (or second best depending on your opinion) so of course people would trade their right arm and leg along with all the money that they could gather to have him on their team. However, the gossip has come from somewhere. Now, this is either because Messi followed Chelsea on his Twitter account or because Sergio Aguero received and favourited a tweet from a fan about a possible transfer to Manchester City for him. Either way, I read earlier today that Manchester City were willing to pay Barcelona £500million for him. £500MILLION! That's a lot of money for a club that's already in trouble over finances to pay. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how that one works out...

Manchester City have also put in a £30million bid for Wilfried Bony of Swansea. The need to increase their fire power is at a high with Aguero and Edin Dzeko out, but there is no move forward with that yet though. Even if Bony does get bought, what if the transfer for Messi does happen? I can't imagine that Bony will just settle for a place on the bench every week. Another interesting transfer to keep your eyes on. 

Manchester United have also been linked with some high profile names. Victor Valdes of course signed an 18-month contract with the club very recently and he doesn't look to be the last player coming in according to media sources. Louis Van Gaal is apparently very interested in trying to bring Gareth Bale to the club this transfer window. It doesn't look very likely, but with Bale not being at his best recently, you never know what could happen. 

Football transfer windows are so interesting, don't you think? It'll be interesting to see what other big names are thrown into the mix next.

FA Cup Third Round [2015]

The FA Cup is a great way to end the very hectic football calendar after Christmas. It just has everything that none of the leagues in England can give you. By throwing all of the teams together, it really does bring out the best from the rest. 

The third round of the competition is always an interesting one. It is the point where the Premier League and Championship teams get thrown into the mix and it really does just have all of the ingredients possible to bring about so many upsets. But it is a well known fact that everyone one loves an underdog.

Over the weekend (so far) there have been many surprises. Blyth Spartans led Birmingham City 2-0 at half time causing a lot of people to suddenly believe in the lower side. However, it just wasn't meant to be as a 6 minute period completely changed the game. Birmingham scored 3 in that time, meaning that Blyth got knocked out of the competition 3-2 after the 90 minutes. 

Another match that had people everywhere getting excited for a possible upset was the game between Derby County and Southport. A lot had been made about this fixture in the build up and Southport weren't ready to roll over and let Derby play the game that they wanted to. Derby have been flying high in the Championship, so a lot of people were expecting a lot when the game went into the final minutes of stoppage time. It just wasn't meant to be though, with Luke Foster conceding a penalty in the last minute which Chris Martin tucked away neatly. Talk about a heartbreak in the cup...

Then, there was the game between Stoke City and Wrexham. Everyone was expecting the Premier League team to stroll against the Conference team, but the match proved to go against expectations. For a little while at least... Wrexham eventually took the lead through Carrington. The lead lasted only 7 minutes though, because Stoke came back into it, and in 15 minutes turned the game around, making the final result 3-1. 

There was, of course, the game that caused the actual upset. The game took place between QPR and Sheffield United. Even though QPR haven't been in top form recently, a lot of people still expected them to beat the League 1 side. It just wasn't meant to be though. QPR didn't play at their best and Sheffield took advantage of this, going on to win 3-0. First heartbreak of the weekend? Not exactly. There was an all Premier League clash between Leicester City and Newcastle United. The bottom side looked to have no chance against their opposition, but proved a lot of people wrong when Ulloa gave them the lead in the first half and they managed to take that through to the end of the game. 

However, there were the obvious results that fans expected certain teams to win. It wasn't always easy though. Manchester City beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 in the end, but had to come back from a goal down and had Milner to thank for his two goals that won them the game. Manchester United beat Yeovil Town 2-0, including a wonder strike from Ander Herrera, but the game was made difficult for them by a resilient Yeovil side. Chelsea beat Watford 3-0, although it did take them until the second half to break the deadlock. Finally, Arsenal beat Hull City 2-0, but that game also wasn't as easy as the score line may suggest. Hull enjoyed a lot of the ball but just didn't create any clear cut chances and Alexis Sanchez put on a man-of-the-match performance. 

So, will there be any shocks in the remaining games? AFC Wimbledon host Liverpool tonight, Burnley host Tottenham and Everton host West Ham. Only in the FA Cup would you be able to hear fans around the country wondering if the smaller teams could knock out the Premier League big teams, but isn't that the beauty of it all. The draw is also tonight, so football fans around the country will be waiting to see who their teams, if they're still in, will be getting in the next round. Will there be any more shocks to see then? Only time will tell.