MATCH REPORT: Crystal Palace vs Chelsea

Today's game definitely showed a lot of promise for last season's champions as they beat Crystal Palace 3-0 away from home. 

Many Chelsea fans would be hoping for that New Year cliché of 'new year, new me' to apply to their team after they suffered through a horrendous start to the season which saw their team sitting in 16th place with only 20 points. Guus Hiddink had already overseen two games which resulted in two draws against Manchester United and Watford; the latter of the two could have been a win if Oscar hadn't missed a late penalty. 

It was Palace that started the game brighter out of the two teams. Their first chance came after Joel Ward put a great ball into the centre of the box where Fraser Campbell had the perfect opportunity to put Palace ahead, but his shot was deflected which took the ball wide of the post. 

They had a second not long after which came from Wilfried Zaha who put a lot of power behind his long range shot but the ball simply skimmed across the surface and past the far post.

They followed this up not long after through another two good chances for them to take the lead. Damien Delaney wriggled away from his defender on a corner but he didn't make the most of this opportunity as he couldn't control his header and the ball looped up and into the waiting gloves of Thibaut Courtois. 

Campbell stepped up minutes after him after Jason Puncheon played a brilliant cross into the box from the left wing. The cross sailed over the head of Scott Dann, and Campbell was waiting at the far post. He connected with the ball, but it wasn't a great touch and the ball finished well wide of the post.

Palace didn't make the most of their chances at the beginning of the first half and Chelsea punished them just before the half hour mark. Cesc Fabregas played a great ball in behind Delaney who mistimed his clearance and Diego Costa carried the ball into the Palace box. Instead of taking on the shot himself, like many of the Palace players expected him to, he squared the ball back to Oscar who calmly slotted the ball into the open net to put Chelsea ahead against the run of play. 

From left to right: Pedro, Oscar, Costa, Willian and Cesar Azpilicueta celebrating Oscar's goal
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/12077653/Crystal-Palace-vs-Chelsea-Premier-League-live.html

Palace didn't let this deter them though. They went straight back up the other end and Chung-Yong Lee received the ball in the box and he tried to direct the ball on target with his first touch but instead hit the ball high over the crossbar. 

At the other end of the field minutes later, Lee lost Azpilicueta and the defender was left in a lot of space when inside the box to try and catch Wayne Hennessey out at his near post. Hennessey got down well to clear the ball away with a little help from his defender for the rebound. 

However, if the first half had been all about Palace, Chelsea certainly proved their worth in the second half, with a much brighter performance than they've shown in recent weeks. Mile Jedinak gave away a free kick which allowed Willian to whip the ball into far post where Kurt Zouma got his head onto the ball, but he couldn't find the target with his header. 

Palace did have a couple of half chances in the second half, but one chance stood out from the rest after the Chelsea team seemed to stop. They felt they should have had a free kick which the referee didn't give, and Campbell carried on going and passed the ball through to Zaha. He hesitated before taking the shot though which allowed the Chelsea defence to get back and his final attempt was tame and easy for Courtois to save.

The keeper set his team off quickly following the Palace attack and the ball was passed into Fabregas who quickly played in Oscar. Just before he could run into the box, he was tripped and Willian took the ball from him and with his first touch he sent the ball flying into the top corner of Hennessey's net with some power and it was a truly stunning goal from Chelsea's star player this season. 

Willian scores a brilliant goal which soars past the Palace defender and keeper to double Chelsea's lead
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/12077653/Crystal-Palace-vs-Chelsea-Premier-League-live.html

Just over five minutes later, Palace were really made to rue the many chances they had missed throughout the game. Willian was at the centre of the build-up play once again as he made a direct run into the Palace box and from the right side he squares a ball across the front of the keeper. Hennessey sensed the danger of the ball and got down to palm the ball away but only got it as far as Costa at the far post and he was left with a simple finish to finish the game for Chelsea.

Chelsea remained in complete control of the game after this and Palace were unable to get their foothold in the game again. Chelsea only really had half chances for the last part of the game and Palace did well to snuff them out and prevent any more damage being done.

Chelsea did have one last stand out chance in the match just before full time when Willian was left in a lot of space down the right and he gave the ball to Costa once again at the far post. Costa pulled back to hit the shot on the volley, but the ball was sent into the stands over the crossbar. 

Oscar and Costa celebrating after Costa's goal sealed the points for Chelsea
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/12077653/Crystal-Palace-vs-Chelsea-Premier-League-live.html

So, Chelsea kicked off the new year with their first win under Hiddink and if performances carry on in this way, they should be able to turn their situation around and climb back up the table and forget the beginning of this season. 

Palace may not be smiling after this match, but their silver lining is that they finished the day in 7th position which is a much improved position compared to the lowly 16th they found themselves in last year. Surely, Alan Pardew and his team will see this as a blip in their progress and will turn their full focus to the task ahead of them in the FA Cup next weekend. 

Premier League Review: 6-10

Crystal Palace - 10th (48 points)

After Tony Pulis, the man who turned Palace's season around last year, decided to leave the club only 48 hours before the opening game, a lot of people wrote them off. When Neil Warnock started his second stint in charge of the club, people still didn't know what was going to happen. 

In their first four games, they picked up two wins and two draws. It was starting to look up, but all too soon, things turned around. In this period of poor form they did pull together for a memorable win over Liverpool at Selhurst Park in late November, but that was the only bright spark at this time. They went their next 6 games without a win. By the time the club came to the decision to sack Warnock at the end of December, he had a dismal record of only 1 win in 12 games which had landed his team in the bottom three.

This was the point in the season where everything turned around again, but this time for the better. Alan Pardew was installed as manager and he injected some new life into his squad. He brought the best out of many of the players, including Yannick Bolasie, Wilfried Zaha, Jason Puncheon and Glenn Murray among others. His first match in charge saw him lead them to a 4-0 win against Dover in the FA Cup, and he followed this up with a 2-1 win over Spurs in the Premier League. After winning 10 games out of Pardew's first 15, Palace started their move up the table. Other highlights of their season was their 2-1 win over Manchester City and a Bolasie hat-trick that helped to seal a 4-1 win away at Sunderland. 

However, they did have a small slip up towards the end of the season and went on a run of four consecutive defeats after the win at Sunderland. These losses included very narrow defeats to both Chelsea and Manchester United, but they bounced back in brilliant style. Three of the players that had been invigorated under Pardew helped their team to come from a goal down to ruin Steven Gerrard's final farewell at Anfield. Taking all of this into consideration, the future for Palace looks extremely bright.

Stoke City - 9th (54 points)
This was a brilliant season for Stoke in many ways; they've never won as many games or accumulated as many points in a Premier League season before. However, many fans, along with Mark Hughes, will be left wondering just how different things would have been if they had found some much needed consistency. 

It took Stoke until the third weekend to register their first win of the campaign, and they did it in style. A 1-0 win over Manchester City at the Etihad looked like it would propel them onto a good run, but this wasn't the case. It took another 3 games for Stoke to register their next win. 

The home fans also had to wait until the end of September for their team's first win at the Brittania, and other losses to Burnley, Manchester United and Liverpool left them just 3 points above the drop at the beginning of December.

In the game against Arsenal at this point in the season, they put in a remarkable first half performance which saw them take a 3-0 lead at the break, and then hold on for a 3-2 win. This result kick-started a strong mid-season for the team and they only lost 3 of their next 14 games. In this period, Jonathan Walters became the first Stoke player to score a Premier League hat-trick to earn his team a win over QPR, and late goals against Newcastle, Aston Villa and Everton secured the points to lift their team up the eighth. 

Consecutive defeats following this to West Brom, Crystal Palace and Chelsea - despite a wonder strike from Charlie Adam from inside his own half - stopped their brilliant progress. However, they were further boosted again after recording impressive wins over West Ham, Southampton and Spurs. They saved the best until last though when they rounded off the season in style with a 6-1 thrashing of Liverpool at the Brittania Stadium. 

Two three-game losing streaks was as bad as it got for Stoke throughout the season and after registering wins over Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal and doing the double over Spurs, they can have a lot of hope and confidence going into the new season.

Swansea City - 8th (56 points)
In Garry Monk's first full season in charge, he led the club to its highest Premier League finish and passed a previous top points tally with games to spare, making this one a very successful season. He also made some great signings in the shape of Federico Fernandez, Jefferson Montero, Lukasz Fabianski and Gylfi Sigurdsson who helped lift Swansea to this position. 

They started the season with three consecutive wins, including an opening day 2-1 win over Manchester United. However, they then followed this up with a 3 match losing streak, which left a lot of people questioning the manager. Swansea did find their form again though for a short time following this which left them in and around the Europa League spots. Monk did suffer through some difficulties such as injuries, suspensions and the big money departure of Wilfried Bony to Manchester City in the January transfer window. This didn't dampen their team spirit in any way though. 

The festive season and into the New Year wasn't exactly great for Swansea, but they still managed to pick up a lot of points from their many draws. The first match of their FA Cup campaign ended in a brilliant 6-2 away victory to boost morale, but it was quickly over for them in the fourth round after defeat to Blackburn. 

Bafetimbi Gomis found his form after Bony left the club, which boosted them and led them to more victories and draws due to his goals. They also managed to do the double over both Manchester United and Arsenal which sent out a strong message to the rest of their opposition. 

Leading towards the final weekend it was looking up for Swansea, especially after a hard fought win in the Arsenal game, but it didn't end in the best way. It looks like Swansea will be in for another good season under Monk if they can recreate even some of the performances from this one. 

Southampton - 7th (60 points)
It's safe to say that Southampton defied all expectations this season. After losing many of their star players - Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Rickie Lambert, Luke Shaw and Calum Chambers - and their manager, many had them tipped for relegation. Instead, Ronald Koeman recruited wisely and had the critics eating their words just a few weeks into the season.

Summer signings Graziano Pelle and Dusan Tadic surprised many and took the Premier League by storm along with helping Southampton to 11 wins out of their first 14 games. This included a superb display in their 8-0 thrashing of Sunderland at St Mary's and a 2-1 win away at Arsenal in the Capital One Cup. A few hiccups along the way simply remained just that, as the brilliance of the team took them away with another great performance a week later. 

They also recorded another win over Arsenal on New Year's Day which saw Southampton sitting in fourth place with a 2 point advantage over Spurs and their former manager, Mauricio Pochettino. Then, in their next Premier League game, they rallied for a great 2-1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. These performances looked to have cemented them in their challenge for a Champions League spot. 

However, they couldn't quite recreate their consistency from the first half of the season. Their challenge for a Champions League spot faded over the remainder of the season, but the fans were still left with plenty to cheer about. 

Their challenge for a Europa League place remained alive until the end. Southampton may have had a rocky second half to their season, but they certainly ended it in style. Their last match at home ended in a brilliant 6-1 win over Aston Villa, and Saido Mane scored the fastest Premier League hat-trick in history. Due to Arsenal winning the FA Cup as well, Southampton's seventh place finish earned them a well-earned place in next season's Europa League. 

Liverpool - 6th (62 points)
Last season was an absolute high for Liverpool and for a long time towards the end of the season, it looked like they would be crowned the champions. However, one terrible moment prevented that from happening. Many fans still believed that their momentum would carry them forward into the new season, but everything came crashing down around them instead. They lost both of their main strikers; Luis Suarez made the summer move to Barcelona and Daniel Sturridge was out for the majority of the season with a host of different injuries. 

They did win their first game of the season, but from then, their form was incredibly inconsistent. By the end of November, they found themselves out of the title race due to losing 6 games out of their opening 12, which left them 18 points behind Chelsea. That run included losses to Aston Villa, West Ham, Newcastle and Crystal Palace. At this point, they has also been eliminated from the Champions League after a poor run during the group stages. It was clear to everyone watching just how much they missed the presence and fire power of Suarez and Sturridge. 

The festive period was a turning point for Liverpool though and they seemed to find some much needed form. From the end of December, they went on a 12 match unbeaten run. The return of Sturridge in this period also helped to boost morale and it looked like they would be in with the chance of claiming an unlikely top-four finish and possibly a first trophy win under Brendan Rodgers as well. 

However, semi-final defeats in both domestic cup competitions, by Chelsea and Aston Villa respectively, ended hopes of a trophy. Also, with the knowledge that the final games of the season would mark Steven Gerrard's last games for the club, everyone was hoping for a bright end to the season. They only won once in their last six games though and two of the losses were devastating for them. Gerrard lost his last game at Anfield to Crystal Palace and got thrashed 6-1 by Stoke in his last game in the Premier League. Overall, this is probably a season many Liverpool fans will want to forget in a hurry, but they'll also be in for a rough summer as the transfer saga surrounding Raheem Sterling goes on. 

MATCH REPORT: Crystal Palace vs Manchester City

This game could literally signify the loss of the title for Manchester City as they faced a strong Crystal Palace side that has seen a complete turnaround since Alan Pardew took over. The champions had slipped down into fourth place after both Arsenal and Manchester United won this weekend. They could reclaim second spot with a win, also knowing the confidence boost would be well received ahead of the Manchester derby this Sunday.

It was Palace that started the brighter of the two teams as they pushed forward from the first minute and created a clear cut chance within the first two minutes. Martin Kelly was allowed to run with the ball down the left wing and was also given the time and space to put an excellent cross into the box. Jason Puncheon was the first player that could have turned the ball into the net, but missed, which left the ball to Wilfried Zaha who was running into the box. He did get a touch to the ball but his shot was blazed over the crossbar. They had a few half chances after this, but City eventually grew into the game after the first 10 minutes and looked to be finding their feet.

After a Palace chance that was saved easily by Joe Hart, he noticed the run of Sergio Aguero and released the ball early to find the forward player. Julian Speroni came out of his box to try and stop the chance but missed, allowing Aguero a lot more time on the ball. He slipped in David Silva who was coming into the box with no defenders around him and took his shot quickly. Speroni did well to save the shot with his shoulder as he was just getting back to cover his goal. Aguero had another great chance a little later in the game as he pulled the ball across onto his right foot to curl his shot away from the Palace defenders and their keeper only to see it bounce off the far post, much to the relief of Speroni who wasn't able to get across in time. 

City became very dominant around the half hour mark as they began throwing everything they had at the home team in the hope of finding the opening goal. Silva had the chance this time, and was allowed space on the edge of the box to get the shot away. The ball rolled along the ground and took a deflection which took some of the pace off the ball. It still caused Speroni some problems though as he had to get down low quickly to stop the ball from hitting the back of the net. The resulting corner from this save was headed on by Edin Dzeko towards the far post where Yaya Toure was in a great position to head the ball, but the ball was cleared off the line before he could get to it. 

Then the turning point in the game happened. Against the run of play, Palace won a corner, which was quite poor and the ball was cleared. The ball came to Joel Ward who was hovering outside of the box and he headed the ball back into the box where Scott Dann was waiting for it. His shot was closed down well by Hart but the ball went through his legs as he saved the shot and Glenn Murray reached it before the defender to slot the ball into the open net from close range. City had the right to feel frustrated by the goal as there was the possibility of an offside somewhere in the build-up to the goal that the lineman could have missed.

This left City with even more work to do in the second half, as they hadn't played badly, but they just couldn't take their chances or get past the resilient Palace defence. They would be expected to come out and start pushing for the goal, but Palace were the side to start brightly, just as they had at the beginning of the game. 

Silva lost the ball in his own half, close to his own penalty box, causing Fernandinho to have to put in the tackle to try and win the ball back, which he couldn't do and gave away a free kick in a dangerous position on the edge of the box. Puncheon was the player stood over the ball and he curled the ball over the tall City wall and straight into the bottom right corner of the net that Hart had left wide open for him to hit. It was a great strike, but Hart will feel that his wall could have done a better job at defending it, as it looked like Toure ducked as the ball was coming towards him, as he would have been the player able to defend it. 

City seemed to push forward with even more intent after this as they now needed three goals to give them the three points that they needed. Palace were still defending really well though and weren't allowing the danger men of City to have much time on the ball in and around the box. The first big chance that City had in the second half was after Puncheon gave away a free kick on the edge of the box which was in the range of Toure as he stepped up to take it. Speroni could only watch as the ball curled back down and landed on the roof of his net. Silva had another chance from outside the box which he tried to curl around towards the far post but couldn't quite get the angles right as the ball sailed wide of the post. 

Palace weren't finished yet though as they had another chance from a corner. This time it was Damien Delaney who had the chance on goal at the near post, but Hart was alert and across in time to smother the shot and send it out to safety. They did have a moment of panic though as City had a strong penalty shout in the 70th minute. Yannick Bolasie has made a great tackle to deflect a shot from Fernandinho and as it bounced up again, Murray had his arm raised at his side which the ball hit, Unluckily for City, the referee didn't spot this and the chance was taken away from them. 

In the last 15 minutes, City were pushing forward and throwing everything they had at Palace, who were starting to tire after pushing forward and blocking the attacks for the whole game. This paid off for City as Toure pulled one back for the visitors. Samir Nasri puts in a dangerous cross towards the near post with his first touch of the game which Dann clears with ease, but he could only find Toure with the clearance. He took the shot sweetly on the half volley from outside the box and powers the shot into the far side of Speroni's net, giving his team the lifeline that they needed. 

Palace's defensive shape did become a lot tighter again the goal and they weren't allowing City too much space in and around the box. They also weren't just sitting back and trying to defend their lead, but were pushing forward to try and possibly snatch a third. It was City who had the last chances of the game, including another chance from Toure who took the shot from a tight angle from the left side of the box. His shot took a deflection which caused Speroni some problems but he managed to get across the goal to palm it away. 

This result has caused City to possibly be removed from the title challenge as they are now 9 points behind Chelsea, who also have a game in hand over the champions. They are still in fourth place as well, which leaves them with a lot of work to do in the Manchester derby this weekend, along with the knowledge that they have lost their last three matches on the road. Take nothing away from Palace though; they took their chances and played well to withstand the pressure that was piled on them throughout the game. They can only look up from here as they are nearing the top half of the table with this win. 

FA Cup Fifth Round [2015]

The fixture list for this weekend of FA Cup action doesn't look nearly as exciting as the last one. It also probably won't have as many results as exciting as the last round. Chelsea, Manchester City, Southampton and Swansea were all dumped out of the competition; three by lower league teams. The surprises from the last weekend don't look like they will be repeating themselves this time out, but there are still three of the big boys in the competition, including the holders, that clubs are just waiting to shock.

The weekend started with an all Premier League tie, a 4-0 thrashing and a red card for fighting. If this is anything to go by, it looked like it was going to be a good weekend of football. West Brom looked to be in control from the beginning and didn't leave time for anyone to doubt them as they went in at the break 2-0. Although West Ham did have chances to try and get a foothold, possibly even a goal in the game, they just couldn't manage it. West Brom got their third just before the hour mark and this did prove to be the final hit for West Ham. The red card did come for the West Ham substitute, Morgan Amalfitano. Ten minutes after he was introduced into the game, he got booked for hacking down Chris Brunt and then seconds later pushed Brunt away by the face right in front of the referee, giving him no choice but to produce a red card. The final goal was scored minutes after this, sending West Brom comfortably into the quarter final. 

Derby County played host to Reading in an all Championship tie and it looked like it would be a good game. Towards the end of the first half, Derby had Stephen Warnock sent off for his second booking, possibly making the game slightly more difficult for themselves. It did take Reading until the second half to capitalise on this, but even then, their lead didn't even last 10 minutes. Both sides wanted the winner in this game, but the sides were pretty level, which could have sent them towards the first replay of the weekend. Then, finally, 8 minutes from full time, Reading finally managed to get the winning goal. Yakubu had only been on the field 10 minutes before he directed his shot into the back of the net, leaving Derby to bow gracefully out of the competition. End score: 1-2

Looks like there were a lot more surprises on the way. Blackburn Rovers hosted Stoke City and the game looked to going well for the Premier League side. The visitors were leading within ten minutes and a lot of people thought that would be it. Blackburn had other ideas though; namely Joshua King. The forward scored a hat-trick in the match, effectively ending Stoke's cup run all on his own, but that isn't the full story. He got the first goal, and played a big part in the second. Stoke had Geoff Cameron sent off deep into first half stoppage time after he pulled back King in the penalty area, leading Blackburn to convert the penalty and take the lead in the game. Stoke were up against it in the second half, but Blackburn easily dispatched the 10 men as King finished off his hat-trick. End score: 4-1

Two Premier League sides down this weekend already, will there be anymore to follow?

The final kick off on Saturday saw Crystal Palace face Liverpool, who have struggled in recent visits to Selhurst Park. That run looked like it would be continuing as well when Palace took the lead 15 minutes into the game. Liverpool could do nothing to break down the Palace defence in the remaining time in the half, but the second half looked to be a turning point for them. They got a goal in the opening moments of the half, which looked to build their confidence and also give them the boost that they needed. Not long after, they got their second and this proved to be too much for Palace. Liverpool had very much been in control from the beginning of the game, and now had the result to match their game. End score: 1-2

Aston Villa against Leicester proved to be a very dull start for the games on Sunday. The first half was slow, hardly any chances were created and the players just looked like they would rather be anywhere but on that field. Leicester did have the better chances of the half, forcing Shay Given to pull off some great saves to stop them from getting the breakthrough. Tim Sherwood gave his first half time team talk at Villa and sparked some much needed life into his team. Although the beginning of the second half was slow, Villa did find the breakthrough they needed on 70 minutes after pushing forward for most of the half. Given was still pulling off superb saves which ultimately allowed Villa to take the lead. They got their second through substitute Scott Sinclair not long before full time and he looked to have put Villa through to the quarter finals. However, Leicester weren't giving up yet and got a consolation goal in added time, but couldn't find another to take them through for a replay. 

Next up came Bradford City, Chelsea's downfall, who hosted Sunderland. Sunderland didn't make it easy for themselves either. Within the first 5 minutes, they were already behind and it had come through an own goal. If this didn't already look a big test after the last round, it was certainly beginning to look difficult for them now. None of the Sunderland players had a particularly good game and they were only making it easier for Bradford to get their foothold in the game. Just after the hour mark, Bradford got their second, and winning, goal in the match, which was ultimately the thing that finished off Sunderland and the game. Yet another Premier League side out to Bradford! Surely, they're looking forward to see who else comes out of the pot in the draw tomorrow night. End score: 2-0

They would probably fancy their chances against the holders Arsenal if you asked them. They welcomed Middlesbrough to the Emirates who dispatched of Manchester City in the previous round. It was a game that Arsenal looked comfortable in from kick off, and to the viewer, it looked like there could only be one result. Middlesbrough were finished off within two minutes on the half an hour mark by Olivier Giroud through two very well taken, clever goals. It was a game plan that was well worked for Arsenal and proved to be too difficult for the opposition to handle. In the end, an easy game for the holders who once again see their name go back into the draw. End score: 2-0

Now all that's left of the weekend is the game between Preston North End and Manchester United tomorrow night which is played right before the draw. Preston are doing well in the league and could prove to be worthy opponents for the side currently sitting third in the Premier League. Will there be one more surprise left in the cup this weekend? I guess only time will tell...

The Managerial Position

The role of the manager in the game of football nowadays is all about the result. If a manager isn't getting the results that the owners expect, than they can pretty much kiss their jobs goodbye, apart from in a few positive scenarios. However, in the modern game, the manager is focused on in the media for more than just the results that they can get their team to produce...

Jose Mourinho is one of the best known managers worldwide. He's had major success in some of the top leagues in the world and wins trophies at every single club he works at. A success story all round? Not exactly. It's not often that he doesn't have a complaint about the media or the referee or something that happened in the game, which doesn't just draw the attention of the media, but also that of the FA. He's been in bother with the FA quite a few times, but doesn't seem like he will ever hold back on what he truly feels about what happened in the game, or how he feels about something that has been said in the media. It could only be a matter of time before he says something that could give him a lot more to think about than just a fine. 

Another manager recently in trouble with the FA was Louis van Gaal. It's the first charge of conduct he's received in his managerial career and he wasn't exactly too happy with it. He is pretty much in agreement with Mourinho that he should have the right to say what he wants about the game that had been played. That isn't the only thing that has drawn attention to the Manchester United manager in recent weeks though. On Sunday in a post-match interview, Sam Allardyce said that United had turned into a 'long-ball team' which seemed to upset van Gaal as it wasn't his philosophy. This meant that when he turned up to his press conference and was asked questions about that statement, he brought out what looked like PowerPoint slides that showed his team were not a long-ball team and proved that they could pass their way towards the opponent area. Not exactly your typical press conference... 

Earlier today, Paul Lambert became the third manager to get sacked so far this season. Aston Villa lie 18th in the table, meaning they're in the relegation zone, which they dropped into after their loss to Hull City. They also haven't been very clinical up front this season after scoring only 12 goals in the Premier League this season. They had a goal drought of just less than 11 hours which lasted until their goals against Chelsea at the weekend, but it just wasn't good enough for a team in the top flight. Not many people would have been surprised to see Lambert go though, and it did look to have been a long time coming. This followed the news that Harry Redknapp had left QPR earlier in the month, and it probably won't be the last news about a manager losing their job due to poor results before May.

The most shocking news of all managers, in my opinion, is Nigel Pearson. He served a ban and paid a fine in December for getting into a row with one of the Leicester fans, and then seemed to be walking on extremely thin ice after an incident that happened against Crystal Palace at the weekend. James McArthur slid into him after trying to tackle a Leicester player and accidentally tripped him up. This was followed by an episode where Pearson pinned McArthur down by his neck and looked to have him in a strangle hold before letting him get up and then pulling him back again by his shirt. Pearson has said it was all in good spirits and he didn't mean any harm by it, but that still begs the question of why he did it in the first place. The other thing that really shocked me was that the FA didn't do anything about it! Even after the explanation, it deserves a punishment as it isn't setting a good example to people who watched the game. I guess we'll never truly know if there was some malice behind it or not. 

Sometimes, the manager can be in the lime light even more than the players depending on which view the media chooses to focus on. To me, the manager is in a role that should be calm, collected and have the ability to turn games around for their team and this should be focused on from a positive point of view. However, when wrong choices are made by said 'responsible' members of the game, there always really is only one story that the people want to hear about.

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?