When Manuel Pellegrini had to tell his players and the press earlier this month that his Man City contract would not be extended at the end of the season so as to make way for Pep Guardiola, City were still in contention for all four trophies. There was talk of Pellegrini being understandably upset about the situation — having to work the second half of the season as a lame duck manager — but being a humble and dignified man, he didn’t give any public indication of this.
Category: England
Cheltanham Town produce the most anti-climactic free kick you’ll see today
Cheltanham Town’s free kick routine started off strong, with three players running past the ball in attempt to confuse Tranmere. But the actual shot…well, that wasn’t really worth the buildup.
Cheltanham still won 1-0, though. Presumably when this shot re-entered orbit and found its way into Tranmere’s net.
West Brom player hit in the face with coin thrown by own fans
Championship side Reading came from behind to beat West Brom 3-1 in the FA Cup quarterfinals, angering the Baggies fans who made the trip. After the match, West Brom vice-captain Chris Brunt tried to make amends for the loss by moving to give his shirt to someone in the crowd, but as he took it off, he was struck by a coin thrown from the away end.
Man United loanee admits to playing FIFA instead of watching Midtjylland loss
Manchester United have been so miserable this season that even their loanees are “forgetting” to watch their matches.
At least Eden Hazard still has his sense of humor
Eden Hazard was named PFA Player of the Year last season. Jose Mourinho even said he was better than Cristiano Ronaldo. This season has been very different, though. Hazard has fewer league goals than Kolo Toure and his shockingly poor form has contributed to Mourinho getting sacked and reigning champions Chelsea sitting in the bottom half of the table.
Charlton use picture of Alan Campbell in tribute to late Graham Moore
Confusion and embarrassment have become commonplace for Charlton Athletic. They now sit bottom of the table in the Championship and oddly had their chief executive’s resignation posted on a government website even though she hasn’t resigned. But ahead of Saturday’s scoreless draw with Cardiff City, Charlton reached a new low when they used a picture of former midfielder Alan Campbell in a tribute to his old teammate, Graham Moore, who passed away on Tuesday.
Louis van Gaal continues mission to make David Moyes look good
When David Moyes was run out of Manchester United before even completing one full season, it seemed the club had weathered the worst of their post-Alex Ferguson troubles. Louis van Gaal replaced caretaker Ryan Giggs the following season and got Man United back to their usual place in the Champions League.
A look back at the masked tradition of “Zorro team” Chelsea
Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink announced in his Friday press conference that Diego Costa broke his nose on an academy player’s head (side note: that kid must have a metal Terminator head) during training. He then dubbed his side “a Zorro team” in reference to the fact that Costa will be their fourth player to wear a mask this season.
Chelsea have been at the forefront of masked footballing for a number of years now. Here’s a look back…
Liverpool owners make apology/warning about ticket price proposal
Responding swiftly to the protests of their club’s supporters over a proposed ticket price increase, Liverpool’s owners have released an apology letter that backtracks from the unpopular price hike.
Fight against overpriced tickets finds a leader in hilarious Irish Liverpool fan
(Warning: delightfully NSFW language)
Liverpool fans staged a walkout in the 77th minute of their club’s match against Sunderland (Liverpool were up 2-0 at the time, but finished with a 2-2 draw) on Saturday to protest the news that the highest priced tickets in the new main stand next season would be £77.
Outside Anfield, YouTube fan channel Redmen TV interviewed an Irish supporter who had strong feelings on the matter. And in this interview, a new leader emerged.
“Looking at a city like Liverpool, it’s a working class city, you can’t be charging be charging £77 a ticket,” he began, calmly enough.
The more he spoke, the more impassioned he became, and the more he began to swear.
“Seventy seven pound…to watch THAT! Are you fookin’ mad?! James Milner! What the fook?! You’re mad! Jordan Henderson is your captain! Fook off! Honestly…honestly…would you pay 77 pound to see fokin’ Jordan Henderson kick a ball against a wall? NO! Foke off.”
As the Football Supporters Federation looks to organize a mass walkout at matches across the Premier League over this issue, it’s clear that this Liverpool fan is the man to lead this revolution against greed and price gouging. Not because he’d be certain to bring change, but because I just want to hear him rant about James Milner some more.