Mancini: Rooney got Kompany sent off

The Manchester City manager, Roberto Mancini, last night accused Wayne Rooney of attempting to influence referee Chris Foy’s decision to dismiss City’s captain, Vincent Kompany – the pivotal moment as Manchester United knocked out the FA Cup holders and progressed to a potentially inflammatory fourth-round encounter at Liverpool.

Mancini, who also declared that his 10-man side’s second-half performance demonstrated beyond all doubt that they were capable of beating United to the title, offered a prickly reply to his counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson’s claim that Kompany has a history of two-footed challenges. The Italian said that Rio Ferdinand and United‘s defenders were frequently guilty of the same offence, though it was Rooney’s gesture, appearing to wave an imaginary red card, after Kompany’s 11th-minute challenge on Nani which angered Mancini – who will now be without his captain for four games unless City’s appeal is successful.

“Rooney told [Foy] his decision. He influenced the referee,” said Mancini. “[Rooney] was near the referee. Yes [he influenced the decision].” Mancini, already without Kolo Touré because of the African Cup of Nations, confirmed City would appeal but if the dismissal is upheld and the appeal is deemed a deliberate attempt to delay suspension, the ban – already extended to four games because Kompany was sent off earlier this season – would total five games. He will miss both Carling Cup semi-final ties with Liverpool and the League game with Tottenham.

United, meanwhile, face Liverpool twice in 17 days, and could encounter Luis Suarez if their fourth-round tie with Kenny Dalglish’s side goes to an Old Trafford replay.

Mancini, who apologised last Tuesday after gesturing to the referee that Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel should be dismissed in City’s 3-0 Premier League win, could take huge encouragement from the second half. He pointed out that his own 10-man side had not collapsed as United’s did at old Trafford in October.

“When United played with 10 men for 40 minutes they lost 6-1,” he said. “We played for 80 minutes with 10 players and didn’t concede any chances in the second half. We knew it was not impossible but it was very difficult to score three goals. We had a chance. United didn’t have any chances in the second half. This performance is important for us for the League. I think now we can win the League [because of the character we showed]. United is the top squad in England and if we can play like we did against them for 80 minutes with 10 men with that same strength and attitude in every game, we will win the League.” It was by far the firmest assertion yet from Mancini that they can depose United as champions.

Ferguson was as indignant about Kompany as he was about Foy’s refusal of a penalty for Aleksandar Kolarov’s second-half challenge on Antonio Valencia – which saw him manhandle Foy as he left the pitch. “I have seen [Kompany] do it before. He has got away with it before,” Ferguson said. “If there had been contact with Nani then it would have been a bad one. The referee was right on that one.”

Though the victory removes the pressure from a United seeking to avoid their first three-game losing run in 11 years, he rounded on his players for carelessness which, he said, had spared City a “battering”. Ferguson said: “We made them better than they were. We were careless in the second half. We took our foot off the pedal. They waited for us to make mistakes and we made them. It made it in to a scoreline that it shouldn’t have been.”

Despite Rooney’s two goals, he was a shadow of Sergio Aguero in the second half and Ferguson said last night that his behaviour would be hyper-analysed. “It is the situation that existed many years ago with Paul Gascoigne,” the manager suggested. “We have seen the good stuff today. There is no problem with the boy’s temperament at all. It is just off the field he is going to be spotlighted all the time.”

Of the decision to hand Paul Scholes a contract to play until the end of this season, Ferguson said: “Paul has been training very hard with the reserves and doing a lot of work in the gym. He came to see me and said I regret retiring. There are no negatives for me.”

Arsenal vs. Leeds United: FA Cup Matchup Preview

 Arsenal  face Leeds United at home tomorrow night in the third round of the FA Cup, and they already know their opponents in the next round if they win.

The draw was made after today’s games, and the winners of tomorrow night’s game will play at home to Aston Villa at the end of January. It’s another potential home tie for Arsenal, and their route to the fifth round is laid out for them.

Arsenal are currently fifth in the Premier League, and they’re 12 points behind the leaders with 18 games left to play. It’s not an unassailable lead, but realistically, Arsenal cannot win the league in my opinion. They are through to the last 16 of the Champions League, but I cannot realistically see them winning that either.

That leaves only one actual target for a trophy this season, and it’s the FA Cup, of course. I think Arsene Wenger needs to treat the FA Cup very seriously this season and play the strongest team he can in every single game in it. There is no room for error, and a trophy in the cabinet would be a very welcome sight after a gap of almost seven years.

First thing’s first, though, and Arsenal have to make sure they get a result against Leeds tomorrow night. They played each other at the same stage in last season’s FA Cup, and Arsenal were lucky to get a replay with a last-minute Cesc Fabregas penalty. They managed to win the replay away to Leeds, 3-1, but hopefully, they can do the job at the first time of asking tomorrow night.

Arsenal have been struggling just a little recently, and the main reason is their lack of full-backs in my opinion. With the first two choices at right-back and left-back both out, Arsenal had to play central defenders in those positions. Due to more injuries and suspensions for tomorrow night’s game, they will be even more limited in their choices.

Wenger has very few options at full-back, but I have a feeling that the roles will be filled by Francis Coquelin and Laurent Koscielny. That would leave Per Mertesacker and Sebastien Squillaci as the obvious choices in central defence, but there is always the possibility that Ignasi Miquel will play in one of the four defensive roles. It will be a makeshift defence, and they will need to be at their best to make sure Arsenal get the result they want.

I’m a little worried that Wenger will resort to the tactic of playing his reserve goalkeeper in the FA Cup this season. I wouldn’t mind so much if it was Lukasz Fabianski, despite his performance against Olympiacos, but Manuel Almunia has been on the Arsenal bench for their last five games. The prospect of watching him play fills me with dread, and I really hope it doesn’t happen.

I have no doubt that Arsenal tried to offload Almunia last summer, but they were unable to do so. I can only imagine that no other clubs were willing to pay him what Arsenal are paying him, and he will remain at the club until his contract expires. I’m not sure exactly when that is, but with Vito Mannone now out on loan, it’s possible he will play again this season.

The options are a little better in midfield and attack, and I expect to see one or two fringe players get a chance to show what they can do. I would hope to see Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain play from the start and, possibly, Tomas Rosicky, too. Arsenal have signed one new player already in this transfer window, and Wenger has said he will play a part against Leeds.

Thierry Henry has played for the club before, of course, and he has returned on loan for the next six weeks or so. He’ll be hoping to add to his haul as the club’s record goalscorer during that spell, and it would be great to see him get a goal tomorrow night. I’m not sure if he will play from the start or if he will be introduced as a substitute at some stage.

I am sure that he will receive a magnificent reception from the Arsenal fans though, and I can’t wait to see him in red and white again. He may have lost some of his pace since he left the club in 2007, but he still has plenty to offer in my opinion. I can only imagine the reaction of the fans if he actually manages to score against Leeds.

I think Robin van Persie should be rested after all of his exertions over the tough festive schedule. That would mean Park Ju-Young would get to play at some stage, too, and he surely has to be given a chance with Marouane Chamakh on international duty. Park has hardly played at all since his arrival in August, but Wenger says that he is ready to play.

With both Chamakh and Gervinho on African-Cup-of-Nations duty with their countries, there are opportunities for other players to make a mark. However, the amount of injuries added to their unavailability makes the squad look very thin. The need to bring in a left-back on loan was highlighted by Wenger, and Arsenal need one immediately.

After tomorrow night’s game, they will travel to Swansea City in the Premier League next week, and then they play at home to Manchester United the following week. The only defenders who will be back for the United game will be the suspended Johan Djourou and the injured Thomas Vermaelen, and Arsenal will still have no recognised full-backs. If they are to sign a left-back on loan, I think he has to be available to play in that game.

Despite the lack of full-backs, I still expect Arsenal to be too strong for Leeds, and I think they will finish the job at the first time of asking this season. Leeds aren’t as good as they were last season, and they’re currently eighth in the Championship. The players available to Wenger are more than capable of beating a team in eighth place in the Championship.

Julian Finney/Getty Images

I’m predicting a 3-1 win for Arsenal, and I’m really hoping for Henry to get his name on the score-sheet. I’m looking forward to another chance of see Chamberlain in action, too, and I hope he plays so well that Wenger simply cannot afford to leave him out of the game.

I’m sure Leeds will work very hard to prevent Arsenal from playing, but as long as Arsenal work just as hard, they should be good enough. It would be nice if they put away more than a few of the many chances they have had in recent games, but as long as they win, I will be happy.

That’s it for today.

Here are the highlights from that 1-1 draw with Leeds last season.

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← Arsenal vs. Leeds United: FA Cup Matchup Preview

CHELSEA 4 – PORTSMOUTH 0: JUST BEING FRANK

Posted on January 9, 2012 by www.soccer - facebook.com

IT WAS an afterthought to the afternoon, a bookend to the game. But Frank Lampard’slate goal will have served to remind Andre Villas-Boas that he still has a role to play atChelsea.

It was a simple turn and typically well-placed shot into the corner of the net that wrong-footed Portsmouth goalkeeper Stephen Henderson in the third minute of injury time for his 180th goal for the club – like so many he has scored over the years.

The game was already won and Chelsea were firmly in the hat for the fourth round – where they will face MK Dons or QPR – but it was also Lampard’s 10th goal of the season.

In a difficult campaign, when he is quite clearly being phased out by a manager who has been given the task by owner Roman Abramovich of rebuilding this team, for a midfielder that is not a bad record.

It makes Lampard, 33, the joint top scorer at the club this season.

Lampard is unhappy about becoming a bit-part player, but has not been told that he is free to go. And he is not about to head out of the door to join former manager Carlo Ancelotti at Paris St-Germain. But a departure at the end of the season is highly likely if he continues to be snubbed for the big games.

Lampard was not the star of this mundane win over an ordinary Portsmouth side. That was Ramires, with two smartly-taken goals.

Considering this is one of only two competitions that Chelsea have a realistic chance of winning, it was a good job that Brazilian Ramires was on form, because this performance hardly marked Chelsea down as raging favourites.

Assistant manager Roberto Di Matteo said: “We have always said the FA Cup is a competition that we would like to win. This was one step towards that target.

“All round it was a good performance. Portsmouth made it hard for us early on and we found it hard to break them down.”

Chelsea were almost caught cold after just 30 seconds. Dave Kitson broke through, but shot just wide.

The last time these teams met in a competitive game was in the 2010 final, the year Chelsea did the Double and Pompey went down. How times have changed.

Fernando Torres forced a fine save from Henderson with a glancing header, but it was turgid stuff.

But then three minutes into the second half, Florent Malouda dribbled to the by-line and pulled the ball back for Juan Mata to stab home.

Chelsea then relaxed – probably a bit too much.

David Luiz gave the ball away, but Petr Cech managed to stop Kitson’s point-blank shot.

In the chaos that followed, John Terry had to head the ball off the line from Joel Ward and Cech recovered to grab David Norris’s shot.

It was Ramires’ sheer pace which in the end did for Pompey.

He started the move five minutes from time which ended with Torres nodding the ball down for him to score from six yards for the second goal to quell any nerves. Two minutes later Ramires left the Pompey defence trailing as he raced through the middle and coolly slid the ball home.

Then came Lampard’s cameo.

Roberto Mancini laughs off Sir Alex Ferguson’s latest Man City jibe

City are sitting at the top of the Premier League, however, Sir Alex has suggested it is actually the London side who are playing the best football.

‘It is difficult to say your neighbour is playing better football,’ Mancini said. ‘Tottenham can win the title. They have done a fantastic season until now and in the next four months, I don’t know. But, for now, we are playing the best football in the Premier League.

‘In every city where there are two teams, the rivalry is very intense. Rome, Milan, it is strong everywhere.’

Mancini also had some kind words for his rival, stating that he thinks Manchester Unitedare the ‘best team in England’ even though injuries mean they are not performing at the top of their game at the moment.

Manchester City will be looking to show United just how well they are playing on Sunday when they take them on in the third round of the FA Cup.

Last year saw Mancini’s men defeating the Reds in the semi finals of the competition before going on to win the trophy.

One Man City player desperate to prove victorious this weekend is defender Joleon Lescott who told Sky Sports his side are now United’s biggest rivals, not Liverpool.

No-one can take ‘world-class’ Thierry Henry’s acheivements at Arsenal away – Gunners boss Arsene Wenger

The Frenchman has also insisted that the striker, who has rejoined Arsenal on a two-month loan deal from the New York Red Bulls, is still a world-class talent – and he is delighted to have signed a player of his quality at this stage of the season.

He told the club’s official website: “No, you cannot take away from people what they have done, and what he has delivered will stay forever. It can just make the statue a bit bigger! Let’s hope he will do that.

“Thierry is a world-class player and even at this club a player of that dimension is always very difficult to find, especially at this period of the season.

“He can just add something more to the team. Certainly he is one of the best signings I have made. It is difficult to compare defenders and strikers, but one of the best for sure.”

Wenger is adamant that the entire Arsenal squad is pleased Henry has re-joined the club, and believes the 34-year-old’s experience will be vital at this crucial stage of the season.

He added: “Everybody is happy that he has joined the team. We should not put too much emphasis on that. Everybody is happy that he is with us, he can help off the pitch, on the pitch, but basically he is a football player so you want him to help especially on the pitch.

“We have a good spirit in the side and he will add something more, experience-wise, and on the nerves side as well, when we are under pressure. That is a good addition because he knows the club, he knows the league, and it is only positive.”

The Gunners’ manager also confirmed Henry will play some part in their FA Cup clash with Leeds United on Monday, but admitted the striker won’t play the full game.

“Thierry will be involved against Leeds, but at the moment 90 minutes is a bit long for him because he has not played for a long time,” Wenger said.

“He works hard, but he is a bit behind physically. In one or two weeks Thierry will be fine.”

Luis Suarez case: Ferguson says ‘no’ to peace talks

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says there is “no need” for peace talks ahead of his team’s home clash with Liverpool on 11 February

Liverpool want a board-level meeting with United to restore harmony following the Luis Suarez affair.

But Ferguson said: “I do not see why there is any need for it.”

The Old Trafford match is likely to be Suarez’s first away match after his eight-game ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra.

The Uruguay striker faces severe treatment at Old Trafford and Liverpool want to reduce the offensive chants Suarez is likely to endure.

When questioned on reports that Liverpool would like peace talks at the club’s press conference on Friday, Ferguson said: “It is nice of them to do it through the press.

“You would have thought they would come to Manchester United first. I do not see why there is any need for it but I have nothing to say about it.”

Relations between the two clubs have been at a low ebb and, while accepting the punishment of Suarez, Liverpool were unhappy with the decision.

After Suarez issued an apology - though not to Evra – for any offence his use of the word “negro” may have caused, Liverpool want to build bridges with United but are continuing discussions with the FA over an investigation process they believe was flawed.

United have said little on the entire matter, other than questioning Liverpool’s public statements prior to the hearing.

Henry completes Arsenal return and could face Leeds in FA Cup

Arsenal have confirmed Thierry Henry has signed a two-month loan deal and will be available to play against Leeds in the FA Cup on Monday.

Agreement has now been reached with the New York Red Bulls and the 34-year-old has completed his return to north London.

The Gunners were hoping the Frenchman would be able to play in a reserve match against Sunderland earlier in the week as they seek to get him back up to full match fitness, but a delay in the paperwork put paid to those hopes.

Instead, his first involvement is now likely to be a place on the subs’ bench when Leeds visit the Emirates in the third round of the FA Cup on Monday.