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Football Discussion

Lambert has been sacked from Aston Villa following yet another defeat and them dropping into the relegation zone.

I can't say I'm surprised as Villa on the whole are a complete mess. 12 goals in 25 games is the lowest in Premier League history and as Thierry Henry once said, "Sometimes in football you have to score goals."

Not sure who on earth would want to manage Villa right now, mind.

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Happy and frustrated with United at the moment. If you look at it from a results perspective, we're currently third and still in the FA Cup with a decent chance of winning it. On the other hand, we're so boring to watch and the team just haven't gelled. That said, I think most United fans, including myself, are happy to sacrifice attractive football this season, if it means getting back into the Champions League and a good cup run. Next season I'm not so sure.
 
Bradford are currently priced to win the FA Cup at odds of 40 to 1 on William Hill. Worth a fiver?
 
I am so bloody excited for PNE vs Man Utd tonight. Wish I could have gone, but will be watching it on TV from the very edge of my sofa!
 
Now we are out of the FA Cup we can concrentrate our efforts fully on relegation. Why waste bad performances on cup games when they can be used in the league?

Lost all hope for this season, just hope we can bounce back next season.

:)
 
I find it interesting that Fellaini didn't do well at United while Moyes (who brought him in) was manager, but since LVG took the reins, he's been doing a lot better, managing to score some decent goals this season. Maybe his problem last year was actually David Moyes...
 
I find it interesting that Fellaini didn't do well at United while Moyes (who brought him in) was manager, but since LVG took the reins, he's been doing a lot better, managing to score some decent goals this season. Maybe his problem last year was actually David Moyes...

I think it was a couple of things last season. One, I think the price tag was over his head all season, which has become less apparent after paying £60m for Di Maria and Falcao's wages. And two, I think you are right. Moyes used him in a more defensive role, which he is not good at as his range of passing is limited and isn't able to get the ball moving quickly; mind you it seems like very few of the current United squad can. LVG has been playing him higher up the field as more of a target man. It's ugly and direct, but he's a handful if played in the right position.

Not much difference to the Burnley performance last night. Naturally happy to progress, but we're just so slow and predictable on the ball. Whilst the results are a lot better than last season, I actually don't think the performances are - slow, zombie like movement and sideways passing. At least we've got a home draw against Arsenal. They've only beaten us once in something like 15 meetings so I'm a bit nervous that they're 'due a win.'

In addition, lots of talk about the controversial decisions which went United's way last night. Can't defend Rooney's dive and the offside decision is a tricky one, and I think we were lucky for it to stand. However, there's a lack of talk about Kevin Davies second yellow that wasn't shown...
 
In addition, lots of talk about the controversial decisions which went United's way last night. Can't defend Rooney's dive and the offside decision is a tricky one, and I think we were lucky for it to stand. However, there's a lack of talk about Kevin Davies second yellow that wasn't shown...

See I actually can defend Rooney's dive. The keeper is not in control of his momentum, he's come charging out and is never going to get the ball. Rooney does play it past him and could quite easily have left his leg in there to make sure he got caught. However this could have risked injury so he ensured there was no contact and went down. Yes it was a dive, but I also think it was a penalty!

The first goal should have been given offside though. And I thought Dowd applied a common sense approach by not giving Davies a second yellow, stikers challenge and whatnot.

:)
 
To be fair, having watched it again, the keeper does come flying out recklessly. I think what Rooney does is, naturally, take evasive action but then leaves his foot hanging expecting to get a touch as he is (already) on his way down, it just never comes, hence the dive.

About Davies, it was a typical striker's challenge (but arguably worth a yellow), it's more that this has been ignored.
 
The championship promotion race is looking like it's going to be the closest it's been in years, with any of the top 5 teams looking like they could get automatic promotion. Currently the top 2 are Bournemouth and Norwich, but Norwich are only above 3rd place Watford on Goal Difference. It's certainly looking like an exciting run in.
 
It's just been confirmed that Jurgen Klöpp will be leaving Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season. Potential future manager for a Premier League club, perhaps?
 
Newcastle please. And Ashley can get lost too.

We need someone to return us to good times again aa it's now been 60 years since anything.
 
Preston are having a bit of a wobble right at the wrong time. We really need to secure that automatic promotion place. PNE and the play-offs are not a good combination. They're making me nervous!
 
Horrific news about the Bradford fire emerging today. Of all the days.
Agreed, mate. It'll be 30 years since that awful fire that killed 56 people in a few weeks, too. I don't know if the fires at these other businesses linked to the former chairman of Bradford were directly linked to the fire at Valley Parade, but it does make me wonder. And I suspect that the news may have been deliberately released today for a bigger impact.
 
Championship update: Middlesborough won 0-1 away to Norwich on Friday to go top.
Watford won 1-0 at home to Birmingham and Bournemouth drew, meaning the current table is
1.Watford 85
2.Bournemouth 84
3.Middleborough 84
4.Norwich 82
 
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