Vesper

2020-21 English FA Cup, 5th Round Leicester City Brighton & Hove Albion http://www.sportnews.to/mysports/2021/fa-cup-leicester-city-vs-brighton-hove-albion-s2/#! https://www.totalsportek.com/page-3/

Guehi shut Sterling the fuck down on a breakaway

this is crazy, he was one of our best players under Lampard

Guehi starts

2020-21 English FA Cup, 5th Round Swansea City Manchester City http://www.sportnews.to/mysports/2021/fa-cup-swansea-city-vs-manchester-city-s1/#! https://www.totalsportek.com/page-3/

View in browser Wednesday February 10 2021 Matt Law's Chelsea briefing German's willingness to take responsibility offers hope amid goal drought By Matt Law, Football News Correspondent When Fernando Torres stopped scoring, he stopped talking and Alvaro Morata displayed a similar instinct to dodge reporters and television cameras when his shooting was equally evasive. So it was encouraging to see Timo Werner put himself in front of the television cameras after stretching his Chelsea goal drought to 14 Premier League games at Sheffield United. Sure, Werner had been given the man of the match award for assisting Mason Mount’s opening goal and winning the penalty from which Jorginho scored, but he could have easily given Sky’s interview request a swerve. Sky pundit Graeme Souness, so often excellent in his analysis of games and players, labelled Werner ‘Timid Timo’, but there was nothing timid about facing questions over his lack of goals or handing penalty responsibilities back to Jorginho. It may have even come as a surprise to Sky about how readily their request to interview Werner straight after the game was accepted. He did not take any convincing and also happily spoke to Chelsea’s in-house TV station 30 minutes later. The 24-year-old was open and honest, admitting that he should probably score a ‘normal’ goal before taking another penalty, having recently missed from the spot against Luton Town in the FA Cup. There was also no sense of anger or resentment towards the question, when he was asked about his goal drought and the effect it is having on him. Chelsea supporters may not care whether or not their players speak to reporters, but the fact Werner was willing to face up to his difficulties and speak publicly about them took courage, maturity and a self-awareness that should stand him in good stead. It was a surprise to hear Souness speak so harshly about Werner’s prospects of succeeding in England, given the number of players who have taken time to adjust to the Premier League and gone on to become big hits. Souness had just watched Werner play a contributing factor in both of Chelsea’s goals and would have presumably remembered that the former RB Leipzig star had also won the penalty from which Jorginho scored the winning goal against Tottenham Hotspur a few days earlier. The spot-kick against Sheffield United was Chelsea’s 14th of the season and seven of those have been won by Werner. No Chelsea player has won more in a single season, a fact missed by Souness. There were encouraging signs from Werner against Sheffield United CREDIT: PA Souness would have no doubt labelled both Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah ‘timid’ for their performances in a Chelsea shirt before they went away, matured and returned to become two of the Premier League’s best players in recent years. Manchester City supporters, who do not forget much, still remember the way in which central defender Vincent Kompany was written off during the early days of his career in England. There is no guarantee, of course, that Werner will come through this tough patch to become a great success at Stamford Bridge, but the signs are far more encouraging than when the likes of Torres and Morata retreated into their shells. In many ways it is a cliche to praise Werner for continuing to get into positions to score, but the German cannot be accused of hiding - on or off the pitch - and one hopes he can now find his shooting boots and prove Souness wrong. Get in touch at @Matt_Law_DT or via [email protected].

A managerial Not-As-Good-As-Lord-Ferg derby Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! “Me first ref! Me first!” Photograph: Javier García/BPI/Shutterstock Barry Glendenning @bglendenning THE FERGIE FISTBUMP Few things scream “magic of the FA Cup” louder than a fifth-round tie between Burnley and Bournemouth that kicks off at 5.30pm on a freezing Tuesday evening in February at an empty Turf Moor. Once the stuff of schoolboy daydreams, scoring the winner in an FA Cup final has long been eclipsed by more romantic football fantasies, but if you’re already out of the Milk Cup and it is beyond the capabilities of your team to qualify for Big Vase or sweep all before them in a transfer window, then the oldest national football competition in the world is still worth winning. Harry Redknapp: 'I used to have a guy at West Ham shout shake 'em up 'arry' Read more Burnley won the FA Cup for the only time in their history 107 years ago, beating Liverpool in the final at Crystal Palace and receiving the trophy from King George V. But the man in charge these days, Sean Dyche, has said that while he would like to steer Burnley into the quarter-finals for the first time in 18 years, his priority is ensuring the club remain in contention for the only slot in football that’s less glamorous than tea-time on a Tuesday – last on Match of the Day. “The kudos for a town like Burnley to have a Premier League club is very, very important,” he said. “You want to do well in the cups but you’ve got to balance that with the reality of the bigger challenge. It’s not always been easy.” So intent on reclaiming their place in the Premier League that they sacked their novice manager on the back of a minor wobble after just six months in charge, Bournemouth are unlikely to be particularly fussed about winning either, which means the outcome of Tuesday evening’s game will come down to desire and who lacks it more. In the evening’s prime time BBC slot, Manchester United and West Ham meet at Old Trafford with both sides presumably entertaining comparatively lofty hopes of making it to the last eight and beyond in a managerial Not-As-Good-As-Lord-Ferg derby. Last spotted standing in the rain dressed as Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars, David Moyes will be hoping his players can use the force to help him exact some measure of revenge on the footballing empire that cast him into the wilderness just 10 months into a six-year contract, prompting howls of protest that he just needed more time. Of course, should West Ham lose this evening, their manager may reasonably point out that they would have done better if the referee had let them play on instead of blowing the final whistle. LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE Join Nick Ames for piping hot coverage of Manchester United 4-2 West Ham at 7.30pm GMT. QUOTE OF THE DAY “It’s hard for me to comprehend sitting here as a white person in terms of actually being able to understand what she lives through every single day, what she’s experiencing. It’s disgusting, it’s utterly disgusting. When a player comes to me and says it’s kind of water off a duck’s back, that is gut-wrenching for me that she has to face that. I just cannot get my head around it all and it does upset me quite a lot” – Manchester United manager Casey Stoney condemns the racist attacks on her forward Lauren James after the 19-year-old was subjected to abuse over the weekend. Lauren James is one of Manchester United’s brightest young talents. Photograph: Barry Coombs/PA RECOMMENDED LISTENING In today’s episode, Max Rushden and the pod squad talk Lionel Messi’s contract, over-30s and Der Hinteregger Song: “Wooooaaah, we’re Hinti Army now!” FIVER LETTERS “Surely there will be more than 1,057 pedants in the Letters page telling David Wall that it was Guardiola, and not Mourinho, who referred to Spurs as the Harry Kane team a couple of years ago. It is nice of José to prove his old buddy’s point” – Brendan Mac Carron, and 1,057 others. “Re your excellent polemic against keyboard Incels, STOP SOCIAL MEDIA!” – Rob Graham. “I think Krishna Moorthy might be being a little hasty. I’m an Oldham fan and....<checks league table>...no, he’s spot on, end it now” – Alex Metcalfe. “Sometimes the only balm for an inexplicable disappointment that leaves your favored team’s prospects looking bleak, is listening to music that is fittingly bleak - or, at least, oblique. In the aftermath of Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson’s mind-bending double of troubled passes and numbed half-attempt to block the third of a barrage of three goals in ten minutes, my gobsmacked internal jukebox settled on two defiant tunes. The Pixies’ Allison, an eccentric ode to jazz and blues legend Mose Allison (“Oh well, Allison”), and Elvis Costello’s plaintive Alison“ – Peter Oh. Send your letters to [email protected]. And you can always tweet The Fiver via @guardian_sport. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’the day prize is … Brendan Mac Carron. NEWS, BITS AND BOBS Nikita Parris has been forced out of the England squad due to the UK’s Covid-19 restrictions. “Lyon didn’t want to release Nikita because of quarantine,” sighed interim manager Hege Riise. In more Covid-related travel shenanigans, the first leg of Benfica v Arsenal in Big Vase will be played in Rome. The EFL salary cap for League One and League Two clubs has been scrapped after an independent arbitration panel said it was “unlawful and unenforceable”. Ismail Soro is a doubt for the Queen’s Celtic’s match against St Mirren after crashing his car in the Glasgow snow. “Soro had a prang in his car this morning due to the adverse weather conditions,” groaned Lennon. “He looks OK. So we are just checking on him.” Aston Villa tyro Jacob Ramsey has got his best crayons out and scrawled his name all over a contract until summer 2025. And Everton’s Uncle Carlo doesn’t seem to mind that people are comparing him to a north London elite parker of buses. “It is an honour for me to be compared to José [Mourinho],” he cooed. “How I see his team play can be comparable to us.” STILL WANT MORE? The PFA has launched the Asian Inclusion Mentoring Scheme, and Paul Mac has spoken to a few of the people involved. Kamran Kandola has just turned 17 and is hoping to win his first professional contract with Wolves. Photograph: Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA Here’s Ed Aarons on the mysterious ownership questions that have left Belgian club Mouscron facing an uncertain future. PSG are still searching for an identity under Mauricio Pochettino, write Ligue Urrrrrn aficionados Adam White and Eric Devin. Italy striker Stefano Osaka knows Valentine’s Day is coming and tells Will Unwin he just wants to be loved. Oh, and if it’s your thing … you can follow Big Website on Big Social FaceSpace. And INSTACHAT, TOO! SEEEEEEEEE YAAAAAAA

David Squires on … Manchester City's sweet hit of early-2000s nostalgia Our resident cartoonist on Pep Guardiola’s first win at Anfield, the trends of 2003 and Sean Dyche’s lookie-likies https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2021/feb/09/david-squires-on-manchester-city-liverpool-sweet-hit-of-early-2000s-nostalgia

I want to at least see him get a chance here. He can pay LB as well (he is one of those rare left-footed CB's)

‘I Deserved More Respect’ — Silva Calls Out PSG Over How the Club Handled the Departure https://psgtalk.com/2021/02/i-deserved-more-respect-silva-calls-out-psg-over-how-the-club-handled-the-departure/

what a waste of 120 minutes of my life, lol

I watched 3 of his games, he looked really good in all of them 3 clean sheets and bossed shitty

board told him if he gets Messi he gets nothing else

2020-21 English FA Cup, 5th Round Manchester United West Ham United http://www.sportnews.to/mysports/2021/fa-cup-manchester-united-vs-west-ham-united-s1/#! https://www.totalsportek.com/highlights/arsenal-vs-everton-2016-match/

I hope Mbappe stays at PSG. I want 4 of the Big 5 (Bayern is too well run to crash out) FFP-colluding gangster teams to collapse (Real Barca, Juve, Manure) I hate those 4 plus Spuds with a burning passion. The only huge issue I have with Shitty is the way they bribed/bought off CAs, but IF that helps burn down FFP, then I can almost forgive it, and I have no issue with them or us or PSG (or Berlusconi's old AC Milan, the OG's of it all) trying to but the best players. The Juve Agnelli family are mafia goons, and the other 3 are SHIT run clubs. They have pissed away billions over the last 10, 15 or so years, combined. Now that Pool won the league and lost at home (so our record is safe) I cannot be arsed into obsessing over them, and I think they even go back to normal by the time Klopp leaves. The 3 teams with the worst fans globally are Real, Barca, and Manure. You show me a Barca or Real English-speaking fan, then the odds are SO high they are utterly clueless about football. All they know is (1) open mouth, (2) suck Messi or CR7 cock. Manure fans know footie, it is just that fucking sense of sheer entitlement they have that enrages me. I am sure the German here feel the same about Bayern, but as long as they stay the fuck away from tapping our players up, I have no huge issue with them. They certainly are (many of them are actually German too) not pure cunts overall in English chats, nothing remote close to Barca, Real, and Manure berks. German chats may be different.

very injury prone I used to be sky high on him not so much atm due to his constant injuries

we have Malang Sarr and Xavier Mbuyamba too

RB quoted Pool 80m euros for Konate 😮

club put off by David Alaba's wage demands Telegraph Sport understands the Bayern Munich defender wants to be paid just short of £400,000-a-week fucking insane that's over £100m paid out over 5 years, and he is 29yo right after this season ends

I need to watch Upamecano some more. He was in a terrible slump last year. so bad I pulled him off my lists. Jose Gimenez and Savic got roasted last night on a late game-tying goal by Celta Vigo. I want Fofana from Leicester, even with him out for a spell. He was close to the 2nd best CB in the EPL (after Dias) for a couple months before his injury. He is bigger (1.90m v 1.86m) and faster than Upamecano as well, and is already EPL-proven, to a point. He had benched Caglar Söyüncü, who is another really sold CB.

So many (hopefully 100% bullshit) articles that, if true, would mean our starting 3 CBs' ages next season would be 32 Azi 33 Boateng 37 Thiago Silva if true, we are turning into Juventus without the 9 in a row titles or CL finals (2 of the past 5 years, both losses, they are shit in CL/European Cup finals, won 2, lost 7) just NO

I love seeing most all of my predictions come true about Liverpool's massive systemic weaknesses (lack of depth and the upcoming issues about breaking up that front 3, 2 of them, Mane and Firmino, already having a decline year over year, especially Frmino) All 3 turn 30yo during next season (Firmino and Mane) or right after (Salah). FSG will never spend the huge money to replace at similar level unless they dump them in summer 2021 (as their value plummets once they hit 30, so will get so much less in summer 2022) I have no idea who they even can go after anyway here are the 10 most valuable wingers on T-markt (Mbappe is listed at CF) Sancho would be the only actually available option, and I do not see them dumping £100-120m or so on him I think they MIGHT try for Grealish and/or Mikel Oyarzabal other options (many problematic) Richarlison (would he move to Everton's arch enemy?) Ousmane Dembélé (massive gamble) Wilfried Zaha (only 5 months youger than Salah) Lucas Ocampos (I could see this) Leon Bailey (I can see this as well, he is having a massive season, tracking to 22 goals, 18 assists over a 4000 minute season) Pedro Neto (left footer like Bailey, would Pool roll with 2 Portuguese ex Wolves (Diogo Jota the other)? CF is even slimmer pickings Håland of course, cannot see this and then a huge drop off Lautaro Martínez Dybala (more of an SS or winger) then another huge drop off Dominic Calvert-Lewin (same issue as Richarlison) that's it, unless you toss in Victor Osimhen (Napoli just bought him though) Matheus Cunha (could see this, he is having a breakthrough year and is similar to Firmino) probably missed a few but not that many