Ole Gunnar Solskjær is proving his tactical ability every week but Accrington’s manager could not see the magic of his Cup tieIt was a pity John Coleman saw fit to savage Jon Moss, stealing the headlines when his players’ tremendous performance against Derby deserved more attention. The referee did not get everything right but the Accrington manager was wrong to describe his decisions as horrendous, particularly as his supposedly worst call only led to the corner that resulted in the goal. Frank Lampard was on safer ground talking of the magic of the FA Cup. “We had 2,500 fans here and I thought it was great, it felt like a proper game,” the Derby manager said. “I’ve played in Cup...
Nketiah shows rich promise, Chelsea may rue Fàbregas’s exit, things about to hot up for Solskjær and what next for Carroll? Related: FA Cup third round serves up shocks as Barnet, Oldham and Newport shine Related: The Dozen: the weekend’s best FA Cup photos Continue reading...
Michy Batshuayi might be just what Chelsea need, VAR creates fresh farce and Coventry’s on-field outlook brightens at lastCardiff are not the first team to irk Pep Guardiola this season with their aggressive style but the constant fouling and Lee Mason’s conservative use of cards meant Manchester City were lucky to get away with only one injury in their victory at Cardiff City Stadium. Leroy Sané was the victim of a heinous shin-high challenge from Joe Bennett at the end of the first half that was punished only with a yellow card, the Cardiff defender eventually being dismissed in the closing stages of the match for a late lunge on the teenager Brahim Díaz. Guardiola rightly lambasted Mason after the...
A six-game ban for Leeds’s Samuel Sáiz is the mandatory FA punishment for spitting but is it really twice as bad as elbowing or punching?When Samuel Sáiz spat at the Newport County midfielder Robbie Willmott he revived the forgotten scourge of football. After a few years away gobbing is back, effortlessly renewing its position as the No1 most offensive act in football. The only question about the seriousness of this act being; is it really?Newport had taken an injury-time lead in Sunday’s FA Cup tie with Leeds United when Willmott began strutting around, his shirt taut in front of him as if he was about to catch a falling kitten from a house fire. Sáiz, he claimed, had left a...