Barclays Premier League Season 2010/2011

[acnpt]

[Rappy Veteran]

LOL

1 down for Arsenal 3 more to lose ;)

but seriously its nice to some one else win other then Man Utd or Chelsea

[Mike]

i lol'd

[Subject Delta]

Well that was a very bad way for Arsenal to lose a final, shocking defensive mixup. As for our performance... well the less said about that the better, I hope things don't start to slide again.

[acnpt]

It is good to see somebody else win, and B'ham should have had a penalty too.

I wonder if Fergie might regret selling Foster.

[idioot]

fail.

[Rappy Veteran]

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney will face no action from the Football Association after he appeared to elbow Wigan midfielder James McCarthy.

The incident occurred during Saturday's Premier League match at the DW Stadium in which Rooney scored one of the goals in United's 4-0 victory.

TV replays showed Rooney catch McCarthy on the side of his head with his elbow.

Referee Mark Clattenburg gave a free-kick but Wigan boss Roberto Martinez believed Rooney deserved a red card.

Clattenburg told the FA on Monday that he felt he took the appropriate action, which means the governing body cannot launch disciplinary proceedings against the 25-year-old England forward.

The rules do not allow retrospective action against a player if the official sees the alleged offence.

Martinez said on Saturday: "I saw the incident clearly and the referee did as well because he gave the free-kick.

"Once you give a free-kick it is quite clear that it is a red card. When you look at the replay, it is quite clear he catches James McCarthy in the face with his elbow.

"It is a big call in the game. It is unfortunate because the referee saw it but he didn't feel it was a red card.

"If one of my players had done that, I would think he was very lucky to stay on the pitch."

However, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson commented: "There's nothing in it."

The Scot then sought to deflect attention away from the incident and claimed: "As it is Wayne, the press will raise a campaign to get him hung or electrocuted, something like that."

Ferguson's assistant Mike Phelan also played down the incident.

"We can't dispute the referee's decision," he stated. "He's kept the game flowing and we're happy with that.

"There should not be a witch-hunt. The referee was consistent with all his decisions. We should lie low a little bit and let the powers that be take [control of] the game."

But Match of the Day 2 pundit John Hartson described Rooney's actions as "indefensible".

The former Wales, West Ham and Celtic striker said: "It could crack McCarthy's jaw in eight places, could have knocked the boy out. How on earth you can defend that? Having seen those pictures, I do not know. We like the fact that Rooney gets stuck in, he's a really good footballer. But it's not about him. We are not singling him out here."

Having avoided any suspension, Rooney is free to play in Tuesday's crunch Premier League clash at Chelsea, although United could have appealed against any ban to guarantee his availability.

[MightyJordan]

Hmm, I saw the incident this morning, and I can't really decide on it. Part of me thinks it was unintentional, because he's not looking directly at him when it happens, but my brother, a much bigger football fan than me (meaning a bigger Man U fan too), says it was 100% intentional, and that he should have been punished for it.

But, there's a similar incident that's happened before with Steven Gerrard elbowing Michael Brown, and Gerrard wasn't punished for his elbow (my brother says he did get booked in the match for it, but The FA didn't punish him further), even though it was much worse than Rooney's...

[Valerus]

Yay ManU and Rooney getting the special treatment!

[acnpt]

I felt McCarthy was kind of asking for it.

However that doesn't defend Rooney's actions at all, and he should have been punished by the FA, or perhaps even the police.

A couple United players need to calm the **** down.

Yay ManU and Rooney getting the special treatment!

I wouldn't call it special treatment, just another refereeing mistake in United's favour. :p

[idioot]

Come on Chelsea tomorrow! :p

[nothuman]

I am very surprised by the FA decision. I felt Rooney was already ban for three games after hearing some of the things that's been said. He was stupid of him, no question, and even more cause it was ages ago since he did something like that, he really is more calme now than he use to be.

[vanx]

Once again we score too early and let the lead slip away :cry:

[MightyJordan]

*sigh* Chelsea once again doing what they do best; bribing the officials. That was never a penalty, and Vidic should not have been sent off. Chelsea cheat their way to victory against Man U yet again...

[nothuman]

I can't believe it. I just can't believe this bull****. How can you allowed that to happen? Chelsea once again dishonored the game of football.

We were ten time better than them but you can't play against a team who doesn't play by the same set of rules.

[Valerus]

As long as ManU loses, all is right with the world.

[MightyJordan]

That match can be summed up in a few seconds (ignore the Deal or No Deal bit, it's just that's the only real video of that scene up on YouTube):

[Kostaz]

David Luiz for president! Good game from us and logical subs from Ancelotti for a change.

[Subject Delta]

Considering the amount of crap that has gone in United's favours from referees over the years, I find it a bit rich that their fans go off like it's the worst injustice in the world when one goes against them.

[vanx]

Considering the amount of crap that has gone in United's favours from referees over the years, I find it a bit rich that their fans go off like it's the worst injustice in the world when one goes against them.

The past is irrelevant. That decision needs to be taken on its own merits and it wasn't a penalty.

P.S. Speaking of injustices, I was in favour of sending Rooney off for that elbow at Wigan over the weekend, so I am not as biased as you may think.

[acnpt]

P.S. Speaking of injustices, I was in favour of sending Rooney off for that elbow at Wigan over the weekend, so I am not as biased as you may think.

Likewise, and every other Man Utd fan I've spoken to feels the same.

Also can't see a problem with United fans complaining, it won't change the decision, and when decisions go our way, most fans acknowledge how lucky we were and that it wasn't down to the team's performance.

[Rappy Veteran]

Manchester City defender Kolo Toure has been suspended after testing positive for a specified substance.

The 29-year-old was informed by the Football Association that an A sample he provided had returned positive.

City confirmed in a statement that Toure had been suspended "pending the outcome of the legal process".

Ivory Coast international Toure, whose brother Yaya also plays for City, is a former club captain who joined City from Arsenal in July 2009.

The defender has gone on to make more than 50 appearances for City, although he was not involved in Wednesday's FA Cup victory over Aston Villa.

The failed test automatically triggered the suspension and it is understood that Toure was left out of the squad because the club had been made aware of the situation.

The City statement added: "There will be no further comment from the football club at this stage."

And on Thursday evening an FA statement said: "The FA can confirm that a player has been provisionally suspended from playing pending investigation, having tested positive for the use of a prohibited substance."

The World Anti-Doping Agency defines a specified substance as one that is "more susceptible to a credible, non-doping explanation".

The Wada punishment for such a positive test ranges from a warning to a two-year ban.

Toure was the skipper of City until the start of the current campaign, when the armband was passed to Carlos Tevez.

The Ivorian defender was brought to the Premier League by Arsenal in 2002 and he remained with the London club until his ?14m transfer to City.

Toure, who is under contract with City until the summer of 2013, was one of several high-profile arrivals in the summer of 2009 as then-manager Mark Hughes spent more than ?100m on new players.

City are currently pursuing trophies on three fronts. They will play Reading in the quarter-final of the FA Cup, are set to take on Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League and lie third in the Premier League, 10 points behind leaders Manchester United.

[MightyJordan]

The jokes are already going. "Kolo Toure's tested positive for a banned substance. What was it? Silverware?" :rofl:

[Kostaz]

Cole Of Duty :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[Kralik]

The jokes are already going. "Kolo Toure's tested positive for a banned substance. What was it? Silverware?" :rofl: