Sports Shorts

Just a little round up of some of the stories making waves:

After publishing the post about Ryan Harris' expletive tweets only two days ago, Graeme Swann had also made an internet "booboo". On his Facebook page he likened England's Ashes defeat to the Australians to rape, and has faced severe criticism from several rape charities. Swann has since apologised and realised the stupidness of his mistake. It seems social media scandals involving sports stars are a dime a dozen lately, and with it happening so soon after the Harris incident you think Swann would have been more careful. 

More woe for Spurs fans as Tim Sherwood was unable to keep them in the league cup in his first game as interim manager. They were beaten 2-1 at home by West Ham, and Andros Townsend also suffered a hamstring injury which adds to their ever growing list of problems. Sherwood has stated interest in the full-time job but has admitted he is unsure of what the future holds. Ajax coach Frank de Boer has emerged as favourite for the job with odds of 3/1. Also, over at the Hawthorns ex Manchester United striker and Molde FC manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been widely touted as the favourite to succeed Steve Clarke as the manager of the Baggies.

Jack Wilshere is also in the dog-house this week after receiving a 2 game ban from the FA for his "gesture" towards Manchester City fans at the weekend. A childish mistake from a man hotly tipped to be a future England captain will now see him miss key games over the Christmas period. Surely he needs to be more mature and think of his teammates and the club's image in the future.

Things have changed at Cardiff.

Also relationships remain tense at Cardiff City, with owner Vincent Tan publicly criticises manager Malky Mackay, and many sense an exit could be on the cards. Most feel Mackay is being treated unfairly and should be given more space to operate, and the funds to buy in January. It seems to be another case of a club owner interfering too much and seeing the team as nothing more than a business, and a money-making venture. Brendan Rogers, who worked with Mackay at Watford, had come to his defence and openly supported him in what he feels is a battle against a man who "knows nothing about football". So, watch this space as Mackay's future seems to be in a rather precarious position. 

That's all folks!

A Question of Sport #2: Who is the first player to make their Premier League debut, being born after the league had begun?

Last round's answers were: Brian McClair (Manchester United), Darren Fletcher (Manchester United), Darren Ferguson (Manchester United), Colin Hendrie (Blackburn Rovers) and Kevin Gallacher (Blackburn Rovers)

Young At Heart Of United Victory

Well the Sporting Chance bet was close but no cigar tonight, anyway moving on.

With RVP and Carrick out injured, Rooney left out of the squad, a weak back four, and Danny Welbeck leading the line I'm sure a lot of United fans would have drawn a sharp intake of breath before tonight's kick off. Stoke on the other hand should have been rubbing their hands with optimism at the prospect of "killing a giant" and progressing to the next round of the cup.

The first bit of excitement came from an Ashley Young strike in the opening five minutes which seemed to rocket into the back of the net, only for everyone to realise it had actually hit the side netting. United took the early initiative before a good little passage of play from Stoke ended when Jeff Cameron blasted his shot over the crossbar. United would then seize territory and possession for the next 15 minutes or so, though they made little use of it. The next "real" chance would fall to the Potters, when Assaidi hit his strike over just before the 20 minute mark. A poor corner from Anderson then somehow forced a save from Sorensen at the other end, before Mark Wilson responded with a dangerous cross that went to waste as the half hour point was reached.

Then things got weird . The heavens well and truly opened unleashing a terrific hailstorm, drenching all those who had flocked to the Britannia to support their team. I had never seen such scenes in a live football game, and actions replays showed Mark Clattenberg saying repeatedly "I can't see!". The game was put on hold, and the players headed for the tunnel. Jon Waters campaigned for the game to continue, but health and safety couldn't allow it, and he joined his team mates with his tail between his legs.

Torrential hail stopped the game

When the game restarted around 5 minutes later, it seemed the players had left their desire in the changing rooms. There was a definite lackluster quality surrounding the game now, play was confined to the centre of the park, and chances were few and far between. The scene was almost a pathetic fallacy with the torrential stormy weather reflecting the lethargic attitudes and poor performances from the teams. Play was generally back and forth with neither Stoke or United "grabbing the bull by the horns". A potentially dangerous cross was put in by Jeff Cameron only for Waters to fail to connect with his head. Glenn Whelan blasted a free kick over the bar soon afterwards. Whilst at the other end Jonny Evans failed to react to a ball that fell to his feet in the 6 yard box from the head of his teammate Smalling. And, with that the first half drew to a close.

The second half was certainly a bit of late bloomer too. The game re-commenced and a free kick taken quickly by Cleverley provided Valenica with the first chance of the half whose shot led to a corner. The ball was then put in by Cleverley, it reached Evra who headed slightly over. A number of crosses would also be put into United's box but nothing really materialised, and Peter Crouch couldn't make his mark on the game, much to the dismay of Stoke fans. The lack of quality remained apparent, and at the hour mark David Moyes brought on Hernandez to try and breathe new life into the game. He replaced Anderson, who had been poor throughout. Anderson disappointed in his opportunity to prove his worth and could well be heading out the door in January! Hughes also noticed that finishing had been for and substituted Assaidi for his marquee signing this season Arnautovic.

However the difference maker came from a rather unlikely source. It was Ashley Young who, after a neat one two with Hernandez, let rip an absolute powerhouse of a strike that swirled away from Sorensen into the back of the net. This was Young's first goal since February 2012, and this was easily noticeable in his celebration. He leapt into the away fans, screaming ecstatically, and had clearly blown off a heck of a lot of steam. It was a nice moment for Young who has received a lot of criticism lately, there was applause when he was substituted against Shakhtar recently. But with strikes like this no one will question his talent as he proves he is definitely worthy of a place in the United starting 11.

The goal set the away end alight (quite literally in some places, with fans using flares) and the floodgates now looked ready to open. Stoke weren't out for the count yet though. Arnautovic looked to be making some waves up front whilst Palacios aimed to retaliate with a super strike of his own at one point but could only slice it wide.

The decisive goal however would come from an even unlikelier source. Guess who? I bet Patrice Evra wouldn't be top of your list. But yes the Frenchman took it upon himself to kill the game off with a cheeky little finish of his own. After a splendid little build up from United, Evra dribbled into the 18 yard box cut inside and curled a finish around the Stoke keeper, and on his right foot no less. A true collector's item.

At 80 minutes there was another welcome sight for United fans as Darren Fletcher was brought on as a substitute. After a lengthy spell away with illness, it was wonderful to see Fletcher racking up some important first team minutes. The crowd responded with rapturous applause and chants of "There's only one Darren Fletcher!" cheering on the Scot who has been a great serviceman to their club in modern years.

This was the last bit of action in the game, and with only 3 minutes stoppage time announced many Stoke fans cut their losses and headed home. This was United's night and they now progress to the semi-finals in January to play Sunderland.

Man of the Match: Ashley Young

For full line-ups, player ratings and statistics click here

Elsewhere tonight, Tim Sherwood suffered a painful defeat trying to pick up the pieces at Spurs as they were beaten 2-1 by West Ham United in the other quarter-final tie.

Also in the news today: Watford confirm Guiseppe Sannino as their new head coach and a  bizarre story emerging is that rapper Drake has made a personal plea to Jermaine Defoe to join Toronto FC in MLS.

Sporting Chance

So today I'll be looking to continue my winning streak from last night's game with some more league cup action. Tonight's bets will be on the Stoke City vs Manchester United game because it is the televised fixture (Sky Sports 1 19:45, in case you were wondering).

I think United are just gonna edge this one, and take David Moyes a little bit closer to his first major trophy as a Manchester United manager. Upsets are commonplace in the cup however and I'll admit that I didn't see Sunderland pulling that result out of the bag yesterday. It proved that anything's possible in the cup. Stoke have actually been enjoying some good form recently under manager, and ex-United player, Mark Hughes; and with The Britannia Stadium establishing itself as somewhat of a fortress in recent seasons the Red Devils certainly have their work cut out for them tonight.

United's form on the other hand has been up and down. They've suffered a slow start domestically with 5 losses already this season. Yet they've done well in Europe and qualified as winners of their group, it seems consistency isn't something associated with United this year. Also with crucial injuries to Michael Carrick and Robin Van Persie that put them out of this fixture, the Potters may smell the blood in the water. 

United did prove quite impressive though Sunday when they dismissed Paul Lambert's Aston Villa with relative ease to take 3 points on the road, and they'll definitely be looking to carry some of that momentum into tonight's game. Hughes's men are definitely no pushovers, United discovered this for themselves earlier in the season when they only narrowly beat them 3-2. Also in their last home game Stoke outplayed Mourinho's Chelsea to take 3 points in an incredible 3-2 victory of their own, so United can definitely not go into this game complacent. They have to give Stoke the respect they deserve.

With this in mind, I've decided to go for a correct score bet tonight, rather than an outright result. Once again with Betfair, I'm predicting United 2 - 1 Stoke 1 with odds at 15/2. I chose this because I feel this will be quite an open game with both teams scoring at least one, but I think United just have that killer instinct and vital cup experience to nick the result in 90 minutes. To add a little more excitement to my viewing tonight I've also put a bet on Danny Welbeck to score first at 6/1, so here's hoping at least one of them comes off! 

Full report to follow the game and tweets to be posted throughout @SpencerFinchy.

The other quarter final is Tottenham vs West Ham (also kicking off at 19:45) and it will be interesting to see how interim manager Tim Sherwood deals with his squad after AVB's departure, best of luck to him!

Agree/disagree with my picks? Please let me know, and tell me if you've taken any punts on tonight's fixtures.

Harris Caught Out On Twitter

So, this morning I flicked on Sky Sports News when eating  my breakfast (which should be every sports fan's daily ritual, no excuses!) to see that another sports star's tweets making the headlines. This time it was the turn of Australian cricketer, and recent Ashes series winner, Ryan Harris who had "dropped the ball" on the social networking site.

As we all know early yesterday morning Australia finished England off in an already humiliating Ashes series to reclaim the urn in a 3-0 victory. With two tests left to play Australia will no doubt be looking to pull off the whitewash and add insult to England's already painful injury, but as you can imagine celebrations were already in full flow. You have to give Michael Clarke and his men their due; they came into this series playing an aggressive, "in your face" style of cricket which certainly put England on the ropes, who I felt were actually a little complacent heading down under. But maybe that's just me.

Anyway Australia were in high spirits, and had already started painting the town red. But, like most parties, there's always that one person who's had a little too much to drink. Ryan Harris step forward. After being refused entry to the Crown Perth Casino where the drink continued to flow, Harris, using logic obviously, took to Twitter to unleash his fury.

The tweet itself is below, with the expletives blocked out of course:

"A tip for all those heading to Perth! Avoid the crown or casino! S*** hole can't get in if you have had a drink #s***place#d***heads,"

The tweet was hastily removed but not before the newspapers and some of Harris' 37,000+ followers got their hands on it.

Surprisingly Harris was eventually let in and has since released an apology, acknowledging his foolishness:

"Obviously I made a silly mistake this morning and I tweeted something I probably shouldn't have," 

Tweeting when you've had a drink is without a doubt a big "no no". However I'm probably going to cause a little stir here when I say that Ryan Harris actually should have been cut a little slack. I understand many people will disagree with me, but surely sports stars are also entitled to the privilege of free speech that Twitter affords its users. Yes I'm not ignorant to the fact that Harris should be a role model and will undoubtedly have a number of young followers, nonetheless should that stop him from taking to Twitter to vent his frustration like millions of other users do on a daily basis. Harris has not been fined or reprimanded for the incident in the public eye in any form, he took it upon himself to excuse his behaviour.

If Harris had committed a racial slur, something sexist, or directly targeted an inidvidual I would certainly have been angered. But surely tweeting a few swear words in a fit of drunkeness should not be making headline sports news this morning, at least I think so anyway. Harris is only a human being and after a great moment in Australian sporting history could he have been expected to maintain his temperament and composure entirely? Probably not, so I'd be willing to let this one slide.

I realise I may have struck a nerve here and that an abundance of people will find my view ridiculous. Some may even feel that Harris' apology was not enough, and he should be disciplined for his misbehaviour. This week we saw Jack Wilshere fined by the FA for "flipping the bird" to the Manchester City fans at the weekend game. Should the Australian cricket board follow this precedent, and make an example of Harris?

Please let me know what you think. Has Harris simply made a drunken blunder that everyone should forget about? Or should his tweet remain an issue because he should set a better example for younger fans? Is it important for this incident to be dealt with and for the Australian cricket team to be viewed as dignified professionals?

For the video of Harris' apology click here

Black Cats Hold Ki to Victory!

Match Report: Sunderland 2 - 1 Chelsea

First things first a bit of good news, my Sporting Chance bet came off! So stay tuned for tomorrow because we're on a winning streak. Anyway on to the game:

The first thing that caught my eye was how empty the Stadium of Light was tonight, it seemed the Sunderland fans weren't holding out much hope. Big mistake! Yes, Sunderland were underdogs and the gulf between the teams on paper seemed massive with Chelsea's bench alone costing around £140m. But 8 changes from the weekend for the Blues showed that they were still a little shaky, something Sunderland capitalised on in the opening 15 minutes when they were the better team. Their start was quite promising but possession soon began to level out. Chances were few and far between in the first half. Giaccherini was brought down by David Luiz for a yellow card just before the half hour mark. There were also two appeals for handball from Sunderland, before a Willian shot was deflected slightly wide for their London opponents. Before the half time whistle nothing really came to fruition for either team Adam Johnson made a decent run into the box only to lack the finish to complete the move.

After the break Chelsea immediately went for the jugular with Lampard pouncing on an Azpilicueta cross to drive the ball home from 2 yards. Hawkeye would be used to confirm that the ball had crossed the line, something which was only really disputed by the Sunderland players. Chelsea now began to dominate possession and Samuel Eto'o could have killed the game off when he intercepted a poor backpass, but he scuffed his finsihed wide. Substitute Ki Sung-Yueng then seemed to add new spark to the Sunderland team just before the hour mark. 

 Surprisingly the biggest cheer of the night then came for a streaker running on the pitch, allowing Chelsea some time to recover after facing some pressure from the Black Cats. A quiet period then followed with a straight shot by Cattermole easily saved by Schwarzer. Azpilicueta then went off injured to be replaced by Mikkel Essien who slipped into the right back position. The game seemed to ease off for a few minutes, but both teams quickly showed a desire to swing for the fences as strikers Demba Ba and Fabio Borini were brought on as substitutes. With 10 minutes to go Hazard was also brought on looking to repeat some of the damage he had inflicted on the Mackems 2 weeks ago, but this was Borini's time to shine. Chelsea only had themselves to blame for failing to improve upon their narrow one goal lead, as Borini picked up on a rebounded shot from Altidore to hammer the ball home and take the fixture to extra time.

The first half of extra time was fairly quiet with Sunderland's keep Vitor Mannone forced into a few relatively easy saves, but Sunderland quickly established themselves as the team most likely to edge it. They pressed Chelsea hard and showed a greater will to win than Mourinho's men: chasing every ball, going hard into every tackle, tracking back to help the defence. 

The second half began with Essien making a risky challenge against Giaccherini on the edge of the box for a yellow card. Larsson put in the free kick which was saved, but followed by a few dangerous rebounds until Chelsea were finally let off the hook. With 5 minutes to spare Ki pulled off a great diving header only to be denied by a superb Schwarzer save, but the Korean wasn't finished just yet. It seemed a stale mate had been reached and this was only heading in one direction - penalties! But no there was more drama to come, and Ki would take centre stage. With just two minutes to spare a cross was put into the box, Borini took it down and seemed to be looking for his second but instead slid it to his Korean teammate, Ki who composed himself and smashed it home into the back of the net leaving Schwarzer without a hope in hell of making a save. All that was left was for Schwarzer to helplessly fish the ball out and prepare for the restart, where Sunderland would see off the final moments comfortably.

Ki was the difference maker tonight, and grinned widely as he picked up a yellow card for taking his shirt off during his jubilant celebration. Ki won this trophy with Swansea last season and seems keen on repeating that feat as he netted his first Sunderland goal, and boy what a time to get it!

This win takes Sunderland's initially "far-fetched" ambition of silverware one step closer to reality as they advance to the semi-finals alongside Manchester City who beat Leicester City 3-1 tonight. It also gives them renewed confidence which will be vital in their bid to mount an escape from the relegation zone over this festive period. As for Chelsea another setback as Jose Mourinho's love affair with the League Cup ends, and I'm sure he'll face some searching questions in his press conference after the game. And with Premier League sackings abundant at the moment, Mourinho has just lost a credible opportunity to justify himself as a winning manager to his employers at the end of the season. 

Man of the Match: Lee Cattermole

For full line-ups, player ratings and statistics click here

Now we look to tomorrow for the two other quarter finals: with Sporting Chance and the report for the Stoke vs Manchester United game to be posted shortly

Sporting Chance

New feature I'm introducing today involving football betting, where I'll be sharing my picks for upcoming matches. You may be thinking what on earth qualifies me to give advice on gambling, and the truth is absolutely nothing! I'm not a pundit by any means but I'm certainly a gambling man and I enjoy a bet on the football every week. I probably have more bad luck than good but it definitely intensifies the viewing experience when there's money on the game, and with the Capital One Cup quarter finals this week, it'd be rude not to have a little punt!

The game I've gone for tonight is Chelsea vs. Sunderland, which I favoured above Leicester vs. Manchester City purely because I would be able to watch the game on live telly (Sky Sports 1 19:45 if anyone's wondering). Although only a quarter final, this game has a lot riding on it with Mourinho aiming to stake a claim to some early silverware in his comeback season at Chelsea, and Gus Poyet looking to instill some confidence in his Sunderland players in their bid to avoid relegation. A good cup run could provide this and give them the kick up the backside they need to get their league form back on track, so I'm feeling quite optimistic about what this game could offer. Also Sunderland will be out for revenge after only narrowly losing 4-3 to Chelsea in the league just a fortnight to go. 

Chelsea's form has been a little shaky lately. Losing 3-2 to Stoke and failing to keep a clean sheet against Crystal Palace at the weekend will let Sunderland know that the London club are beatable and their defences can be exposed. Initally I was going to put money on a Sunderland win with their home advantage adding to the possibility of an upset tonight. Although you can never count Chelsea out and it is often after a bad string of results that they bounce back most convincingly and devastatingly. So instead I've decided to go for a double chance with online bookmakers Betfair. I've gone for Sunderland or Draw with odds of 7/5, so here's hoping the Black Cats can pull it off!

If you have any bets down tonight, or any tips for the game please comment. I'll let you know how my luck turns out after the game when I'll also be posting a full match report a little later on.

AVB needs TLC ASAP!

Another day, another manager sacking in English football. Today the bell tolled on Andre Villas Boas stint at Spurs following a 0-5 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool at White Hart Lane yesterday. He had been head coach at the club since July 2012.

I'm not AVB's biggest fan but I think football management has now reached a point of complete absurdity in terms of job security and long-term managerial employment. Admittedly AVB did make some bad decisions in terms of dealing with the media; and his big name signings Lamela, Eriksen, Soldado and Paulinho haven't quite hit the ground running and made their intended impact. But these things take time 17 months is not sufficient time to implement a new system and put your own stamp on a football club which is why I am totally supportive of the 6 year contract Manchester United have given David Moyes. OK, United have had a poor start to this season and Moyes is admirably the first to hold his hand up and take responsibility for this because he and the fans (should) realise that the man to take Sir Alex Ferguson's job was not going to achieve overnight success.

Daniel Levy

Sadly I think long term management has now been consigned to the past with the exception of David Moyes I feel it's very unlikely that managers with the longeivty of Ferguson and Arsene Wenger will never be seen in the Premier League again. Steve Clarke was also sacked this weekend, despite earning West Brom 8th place at the end of last season. There is no loyalty towards managers anymore and chief executives and boards of directors are expecting too much too soon. I agree with what Jamie Redknapp said on Sky Sports News this morning that Daniel Levy is trying to run Tottenham off and on the pitch. Figures like Levy need to stop interfering with what happens on the pitch and stand by their managers through thick and thin. Yes there are going to be some tough times yesterday for Spurs, but surely the best thing to do is to enforce some stability and allow your manager the opportunity to recover and help the club bounce back - not sack him in less than 24 hours!

Tottenham now head into a cup quarter final against West Ham and a tricky trip to St Mary's on the weekend to face Southampton, with a manager yet to be appointed, I can see things only going from bad to worse. Fabio Capello is being hotly touted to succeed AVB but I can't understand why an international manager in charge of a team heading to the World Cup (Russia) would give up such an opportunity to attempt to steer a slowly sinking ship towards a more and more improbable Champions League spot. It just doesn't add up for me. Guus Hiddink and Glenn Hoddle are two other name that have also involved in the speculation.

The draw for the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League also took place today and as a Manchester United and it's fair to say I'm feeling pretty pleased right now! This morning we were drawn against Olympiakos which, with respect to the club, is a very advantageous fixture to United. David Moyes and his team have essentially managed to avoid other "big names" left in the competition and should be able to book their place in the quarter finals quite comfortably. The Greek club definitely shouldn't be underestimated but I'm sure this was music to Moyes' ears after coming under a lot of pressure domestically lately he'll be reassured to know that his team head into the game as favourites and should be expected to feature in the next round. Manchester City on the other hand enjoyed no such luck and were drawn against Spanish giants Barcelona, and extremely difficult fixture that makes the challenge of taking City further in the competition even tougher for Manuel Pellegrini. The players will certainly have to bring their "A-Game" when they face the likes of Messi, Fabregas, Xavi and Iniesta over two legs if not the final in Lisbon in May will become all but a dream. Meanwhile Arsenal will be considered underdogs in their games against holders Bayern Munich, whilst Chelsea old boy Didier Drogba will return to his old club when they play Galatsaray. For the full draw click here.

A Question of Sport: Who are the five Scottish players with Premier League winners' medals?

Answer will be revealed in next post, please post your answers and thoughts on this post in the comments section. Thank you.