Martin O'Neill In Hot Water

ASTON Villa coach Martin O'Neill has been charged with improper conduct by the Football Association for his behaviour after his side's 3-2 defeat by Manchester United on Sunday.

Not surprising really as too many managers these days seem to lose their heads and go charging out to the ref to complain about decisions that have already gone, we can't rewind the clock and change anything. Why oh why don't they bide their time and write about it in their many column inches they seem to have or voice their opinions in press conferences?

The charge relates to O'Neill's conduct towards referee Mike Riley following the final whistle in the Premier League game at Old Trafford. The Northern Irishman was angered by the amount of stoppage time that Riley added on at the end of the 90 minutes.

'What was it? Five minutes added time? I'm sure we wouldn't have got it at Villa Park,' he said after Federico Macheda's 93rd-minute winner.

O'Neill also complained about what he saw as an unpunished foul on Villa winger Ashley Young in the build-up to Macheda's goal, as well as several earlier decisions.

'The officials also got three offsides wrong,' he said.

O'Neill has until April 27 to respond to the charge.....Back To Home Page...

Lazio Accuse Manchester United Over Macheda Deal

Federico made his Manchester United debut on Sunday and it turned out to be the thing dreams are made of for the youngster as he came off the bench and scored a stunning winner against Aston Villa. But now United have been accused by Lazio of snatching away their star youngster.

Lazio, who first groomed the young striker before he moved to Manchester, have been angered by the loss of Macheda.

"All these players are robbed as a matter of course by this club," Lotito told Tuesday's Daily Mail. "They are always outside what is normal in terms of etiquette. They go to the parents and give them money and important jobs. These are boys who come from poor families. The families base their choices on economic interests. It's not moral. It is like a cattle market. The young players are treated like cattle."

Macheda himself seems more than happy at Manchester United though as he described his debut as "the day of my dreams". Surely it is the welfare of the young players that counts most, and Macheda seems more than happy with his lot.....Back To Home Page...

Fergie Admits Team Selection Was Wrong

I'm a big fan of Gary Neville's but on Sunday against Aston Villa I watched on as he was run ragged by Aston Villa. John Carew gave him a torrid time of it and not surprising really. Gary Neville, at just 5'11" against the giant Carew standing 6'4" is a mis match made in hell.

Neville has been out with an injury since January and this was his first game back so it was expecting too much of him to mark Carew and with Agbonlahor running riot down the middle too Villa seemed to be able to do as they pleased every time they attacked.

I was thinking it is Fergie's fault for this, he has asked too much of Nev on this occasion and now Fergie himself has come out and said the very same thing.

While refusing to explain his thinking in opting to start Neville in the centre and John O'Shea at right-back, Ferguson conceded on Monday that the selection was a mistake.

"I picked the wrong team, I made the wrong decision on Gary Neville. It was asking far too much of him to play against Carew and it gave us a fragile look at the back," accepted Ferguson.

The Manchester United manager also confirmed that Neville would sit out the Champions League quarter-final against Porto.

"'Vida' will play alongside Jonny Evans at the back with John O'Shea moving to right-back," he told reporters.....Back To Home Page...

Manchester United 3 - 2 Aston Villa Video Highlights

Would you believe it? I wouldn't have believed todays game if it was fiction, never mind happening right before my eyes. 80 minutes gone and playing without half of our defence in the shape of Vidic (suspended) and Rio (injured) and with Neville clearly not match fit. Add to this the absence of Rooney (suspended) and Berbatov (injured) also Paul Scholes (suspended) and 2-1 down to Aston Villa, all seemed lost. Fergie's only option was to bring on a 17 year old striker for his debut and the rest as they say is history.......watch the highlights below.



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Manchester United Line Up 'v' Villa

Talk about bad luck. Just after we lose Rooney,
Vidic and Scholes through suspension, things
have now got worse as Rio has picked up an
injury playing for bloody England in mid week.

So todays line up is probably:

Van Der Sar, Neville, O'Shea, Evans, Evra, Giggs,
Fletcher, Carrick, Nani, Ronaldo and Tevez.

Ronnie up front with Tevez is not ideal as we
rarely have to resort to a set up like this.

Evans, O'Shea and Fletcher have all been called
upon again and I'm sure they wont let us down.

Just when the going gets tough, United struggle
once again this season with players missing.

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Make Or Break Time For Manchester United

Manchester United play Aston Villa today and a month ago you could hardly expect that both teams would be in such poor form.

United have lost a couple of games against Liverpool and Fulham and for the majority of both games the team simply played badly. The second half against Fulham was much better as United belied having ten men only for an inspired Mark Schwartzer to make a series of saves before Fulham won the game on the break. So with United hurting after Fulham the last thing that the team needed was an international break, or was it - Sir Alex Ferguson seems to think it has helped. But with Liverpool winning, ironically at Fulham, yesterday United simply must get back to winning ways or the lost momentum will probably cost us that 18th title. The loss of Scholes, Rooney and Vidic to suspension, Berbatov to injury and Tevez likely to be jetlagged suggests that other players need to step up - not least a suddenly fragile looking defence.

Aston Villa's form has collapsed as the fatigue injuries have sapped a small squad that started the season very early. Arsenal is on a powerhouse run but Villa must retain the pressure because Arsenal have a very tough run-in including games against the top three. If Villa remains in touch with them there may yet be opportunities to overtake them. Unfortunately Everton is also catching up so Villa need to stop a run of three straight defeats today to give some hope that the long chase for the Champions' League could have a happy ending.....Back To Home Page...

Aston Villa Up Against It

Martin O'Neil's Aston Villa are 7-1 to beat Manchester United. On Sunday two teams in poor form meet at Old Trafford and the stakes could not be higher for either side. Between them they've leaked 16 goals during their last 3 league games and mustered just one victory.

Villa are fading out of contention for Champions league qualification having picked up just 1 point from their last 15 available and recent history between the 2 sides does not give Villa fans cause for optimism. The point gained by Villa in their goalless draw against the champions earlier in the season was the first point taken from this fixture in the last 12 premiership games between the 2 sides, home or away. Less shamedly Villa have failed to register a victory versus Man Utd at Old Trafford since the Premiership began.

Things get worse for Villa when you consider Man Utd have won all of their games against sides occupying 5th-8th in the Premiership since 2006/7. Man Utd's record against sides this season that fulfill this profile is played 3 won 3, conceded 0 and all 3 games have been won HT/FT. Similarly, last season Man Utd won 5/8 to nil and 6/8 HT/FT.

Despite boasting the Premierships 3rd best away record Villa have failed to score and lost 3 of their last 4 games against top 4 sides and have failed to score in 9 of their last 13 league games against Man Utd.

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Anderson Picks Up Injury Ahead Of Villa Showdown

Manchester United’s Anderson is in doubt for this weekend’s clash with Aston Villa after picking up an injury while on international duty with Brazil.

Anderson was set to step into the suspended Paul Scholes’ position on the weekend but will definitely miss this club game as well as Brazil’s World Cup qualifier against Peru on Wednesday.

A statement on the Brazilian Football Confederation's website said: "The player, under the assistance of team doctor Jose Luis Runco, had an MRI scan on Tuesday afternoon in which the strain was confirmed.

"The player has started recovery treatment.".....Back To Home Page...

Scolari Trying To Blag It

Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari is cliaming he is not under pressure despite losing 2-0 to The Bindippers AND trailing United by 5 points AND United have a game in hand.

Chelsea are thrid now and Scolari, who concedes he has had no money to spend in the transfer window, maintains that Chelsea's predicament "is not a problem in my life" but he acknowledges that the title is no longer in Chelsea's hands, as Manchester and Liverpool look to have turned it into a two-team race for the prize.

The Brazilian coach said: "There has been no money, but I agree with Chelsea on that. I have a good enough squad of players. I do not feel any pressure. I have my job, I do my best every day, that is not pressure. It is not a problem in my life, I laugh when I win but sometimes we lose. It is now more difficult at the top. The title is more distant, we have allowed Liverpool to go ahead of us and Aston Villa are close. We need to play game by game and see what the situation is like at the end. But it is not in our hands."

I'm actually beginning to feel a bit sentimental having Chelsea so far behind and not up at the top chasing United week in and week out......but my sentimentality only lasts for about 30 seconds because I then begin to laugh my ass off.....Back To Home Page...

Manchester United, Chelsea And Liverpool: There's Nothing In It

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has said there will be many twists and turns during the run in to this season as they are locked in combat with Chelsea, Liverpool and, yes, Aston Villa.

United beat Everton 1-0 yesterday and stretched their lead at the top of the table and in the process extended their record number of consecutive clean sheets in the league to 12. However, with Liverpool beating Chelsea 2-0 at Anfield this afternoon, the lead is back down to 2 points but United do have that all important game in hand, and the superior goal difference which can be worth an extra point at the sharp end of the season.

Ferguson says he would rather be in front at this stage and is pleased with how his side has performed, however, he does not feel the gap United have established over their rivals is unassailable.

He told the Press Association: "It is an advantage [to be five points clear]. I can't say it is a great advantage with 16 games left. But it is always better to be top of the league than anywhere else."

Ferguson says there are still games where all the teams in the title race can drop points but believes his side are best equipped to not drop as many as their rivals.

"We have a difficult game away against West Ham next week and there are a lot of difficult games in the run-in and teams will drop points. We just hope we don't drop as many as the rest."

So, we're set for a great run in. I personally feel United are now getting stronger and stronger every week that passes, this defensive record they have shows this quite clearly. To win the league from here, United should really be aiming to go from now until the end of the chase without losing another game and that is very possible. With home games against Liverpool and Arsenal coming up too, they have a great chance to open up a nice gap at the top and then make a dash for the finish line. The future looks good right now, but we know it can go very wrong, very quickly, ask Liverpool.....Back To Home Page...

Aston Villa 0 - 0 Manchester United - Martin O'Neill's Verdict

I was a bit disappointed Manchester United didn't have this game sewn up by half time. The first 45 minutes saw them miss 3 good chances and end the half having had 57% of the posession. In the first 15 minutes of the second half Villa had a bright spell and Agbonlahor could have scored for them. Wayne Rooney, who just a month ago couldn't miss a goal if he tried has now gone 35 days without scoring. He missed an absolutely golden chance towards the end. Carrick played a high ball into the area and Rooney watched it come over his shoulder and then, rather than smashing it into the roof of the net on the volley as he normally would, he allowed the ball to bounce and then crashed his shot high into the crowd, the ball had snow on it when it finally came down.

Vidic had a lucky escape in my opinion when he fouled Agbonlahor. He grabbed the England mans shirt and was pulling him back for a good 15 metres before finally going down in the area. I think the ref bottled it to be honest because if he granted a free kick there was no question Vidic would have been off. So there it was, 0-0, which meant the top 5 teams in the Premier league failed to score a goal between them.

Martin O'Neill said of the match : "I thought it was important to battle very strongly and we did that well. We could have nicked it at the end but we also had moments to endure ourselves. Overall, it was a very hard-fought draw. We were spirited and resilient. The players are doing splendidly and putting a big effort into the games. The last two matches have pitted us against the very, very best. United won't be too far away at the end of the season. They have so much movement, such creativity and good players. It was a great effort against them and I am so pleased with my players. They put a big effort into the match and if we had been beaten it wouldn't have been through a lack of effort." On the subject of the tussle between Agbonlahor and Vidic on the hour mark, O'Neill added: "It was a penalty. You can see it back and consider if it was inside the box or outside the box. But it wasn't just that. The decision is a massive one because even if it is outside the box, it's a foul. And the player, having committed the foul and as the last man, has to be sent off. The referee chose not to give it. I thought it was too big for him. I thought the consequence of the decision was too big for him. It was a major moment. He had a hold of Gabby throughout the move. I can understand the referee being hesitant about giving the penalty but not about giving the foul. It was a goalscoring opportunity and the consequence should have been Vidic being sent off.".....Back To Home Page...