By CALEB SONNELAND
Manchester United rolled to a convincing 3-1 victory of Chelsea over the weekend, solidifying its hold on first place in the English Premier League, but it wasn't all good news for the winners as striking sensation Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez was forced out of the game after he suffered a tough challenge from Chelsea's Ashley Cole in front of goal.
Sir Alex Ferguson described the tackle as "shocking" and "over the edge," also citing that he couldn't understand why a penalty wasn't giving, as Cole received a yellow card for the challenge inside the area.
However, Cole will not face any disciplinary action, the British FA has confirmed. Under the new FIFA rules, Cole cannot be disciplined retrospectively as the game's referees dealt with the incident at the time. Because of this, the Chelsea defender is in the clear.
Here are some other stories to keep your Monday rolling along:
MANCINI FRUSTRATED WITH SQUAD DEPTH
Despite nearly two years of plentiful spending in the Manchester City hot seat, manager Roberto Mancini claims that squad depth is an issue for him following the team's 2-2 draw with Fulham on Sunday.
Mancini believes that the injuries to James Milner and Nigel de Jong significantly limits his options in midfield and claims that he can "only change fullbacks."
The draw against Fulham was clearly a frustration for Mancini and asserted that the goals City conceded were "stupid."
Despite a brace from Sergio Aguero, the Blues couldn't hang on to the lead and Bobby Zamora and Danny Murphy levelled terms in the second half.
NEYMAR COOLS TALK ON MADRID DEAL
Often the subject of transfer speculation, Brazilian striker Neymar has reiterated his stance that he wishes to stay at Santos, despite rumours that the player underwent a secret medical with Real Madrid in Sao Paolo on Friday.
Both Neymar and his agent have publicly asserted that the striker does not wish to leave the club, but reports claim that he could well be on his way to Real Madrid in January, with a deal already being in place.
Though he did deny a secret medical, Neymar did say that he was indeed at the hospital in Sao Paolo, however it was to "solve a personal problem."
HARRY HOPEFUL OVER MODRIC TALKS
As one of the most talked about transfer moves of the summer, Luka Modric to Chelsea seemed almost like a matter of time rather than speculation — especially after the London club offered £40 million for the talented Croatian.
However, Harry Redknapp and Spurs chairman Daniel Levy fought off interest from Chelsea and held on to their star man and were rewarded with a "Must See" goal from the player to kick off a memorable afternoon against Liverpool.
On the back of his performance, Redknapp is hopeful that Modric can begin talks with Levy over a contract extension and convince the player to stay at White Hart Lane.
Redknapp claims that Modric "is fine now" with being a Tottenham player and also that Levy would give Modric "five or six weeks" before sitting down with the Croatian to discuss a potential new deal.
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This Ashley Cole ought to be punished further? Is Mancini being childish with his complaints about squad depth? Think Neymar had a "secret medical" with Real?
Share your thoughts below
Word.
DanO mentoining Michael Bradley’s name? I can already see him scoring this weekend.
don’t recall him being livid about it or calling it shocking, though it was to me when I watched that replay over and over again, at least as much so as this hit on Hernandez
A studs up tackle is never honest. That’s why he was carded.
applause! 😉
There is probably enough talent on the City books to field two top ten teams. But put together I don’t know if there is a manager that can get them pull their heads out of their collective rear ends to finish better than 2nd.
I guess I am the only one that saw that commercial John is referring to…I am with you John!
“Chicharito doing his best ‘Sloath’ impersonation over the weekend, yelling ‘HEY YOUUUU GUYYSSSSS!!!’ while being viciously tackled from behind.”
Yeah, that’s what it is, karma. Don’t be an idiot. Holden himself said it was an honest challenge for the ball with clearly no intent to harm, and Evans is not the dickhole that Ashley Cole is, and he personally apologized to Holden. If Holden can let it go, maybe you should to…
I wonder if Ferguson was this livid about the Tackle on Holden that put him out of action for 6 months? Kharma
I know that’s what the announcers were talking about, but the only explanation that remotely makes sense to me is that the ref declared the shot as an advantage and then returned to the spot of the foul to issue judgement on the tackle.
Mancini needs more depth lmao that’s the funniest thing I have heard with all the talent they bought up the last 2 years. Exactly ask David Moyes about depth. He needs it not Mancini
For real. This guy is just ducking blame, he should complain to David Moyes and see what kind of response he gets.
Cole’s hit to Chicharo was plain retarded. It shows by Chicharo’s face expression that he might suffer from retardation in the future. I hope this isn’t the case.
Sorry, meant to say in 3rd paragaph: HSV has lost five times and tied one, is *NOW* in 18th place…
Just want to note that Hamburg SV’s coach Michael Oenning was fired today, the first firing of the young Bundesliga season. I know this is gonna sound crazy, but I think Bob Bradley would be perfect to take over HSV. Yes, I was a strong supporter of BB being replaced with a new coach. But I think he is a good coach and I think had his son not played under him on the USMNT, BB would have been more open to using other midfielders and tactics–and would have been more successful. I am not joking about the HSV job. This job is made for BB.
I know people are going to say, but BB already has the Egypt job. Well, no contract has been signed yet and I have already voiced my skepticism that a deal will be sealed. Plus, I truly do not think the Egypt would be the right step for BB. As far as I know BB has never lived abroad, and moving to Egypt is a pretty big first step. Germany would be a better fit for BB. Just ask MB, I think he would agree.
So this is why I think BB is the man to take over HSV. In the first six games of the season, HSV has lost five times and tied one, is not in 18th place (the very bottom) with 1 point. Including last season, Hamburg has not won for 14 games. It is one of the biggest clubs in Germany with a long and proud tradition, and now people are scared that HSV actually could end up being relegated next season to the Second Bundesliga. HSV’s only goal now is to avoid relegation. If the new coach can lead HSV to a 15th place finish at the end of the season next May, then he will be considered a success.
HSV is also heavy in debt, does not have money to throw around. During the summer they got rid of a lot of higher-priced talent, and have brought in a lot of younger players. But cash flow is not good. If BB is willing to come in at a low salary with short-term contract to prove himself, HSV might jump at the chance to hire a very experienced club and national team manager. I don’t know if the US Soccer is still paying BB a salary. If so, US Soccer could, in an act of gratitude for BB’s service, agree to continue to pay a portion of BB’s salary until next may even if he took the HSV job, could write it off as an investment in the image of USA soccer in Europe.
Yeah, crazy idea. But who knows…
The ball was out of play (in the side netting) by the time the collision occured. It was very split second though since this was right next to the goal.
LOL, Cole’s ability to recognize and react is second to none.
Two things:
One, this is very well written and I agree wholeheartedly.
Two, I think John is being facetious since Matt’s original post didn’t use the word retard.
Why was a yellow card issued? Is a yellow issued when a foul is committed? And if a foul that warrants a direct kick is committed in the box, whether or not the ball is in play, is it not automatically a penalty?
Initially I thought Hernandez took a dive, but the replay showed it was a nasty tackle. I was surprised he did not break his leg.
So Neymar was at a hospital in Sao Paulo to “solve a personal problem”? Sounds like someone’s got the Clap!
And what’s worse for poor Mancini, is the guy couldn’t even buy De Rossi and had to settle for getting Hargreaves on a free transfer. Can you even imagine the hardships he has faced this season?
I have to disagree… read this a while back and I stand by its claims…
Is using the word “retard” offensive?
(by Luis Mazariegos)
The answer, according to the people who support this, is that “retard” isn’t just insulting, it’s also discriminatory, targeting handicapped people.
But very rarely do we see people hurling insults at the handicapped at all. Even if someone did, we would be outraged regardless of whether this person was calling the handicapped person a “retard” or a “big poopy head.” It’s not acceptable regardless.
Banning the word “retard” is just going to make us go for a sillier, more complex word that’s “acceptable.” And then that word will become insulting. It’s happened before – the words “cretin”, “idiot”, “imbecile”, and “moron” were once considered legitimate ways of describing people with disabilities, but no more, of course.
The same is happening to “retard” and will likely happen to whatever word we have to use now – even “special” is becoming pejorative. It’s what we call the euphemism treadmill, and it points to the fact that we can’t really just replace words and make them not insulting.
So instead of focusing on using the right words, people should focus on changing people’s attitudes – showing people why disabled people shouldn’t be considered equivalent to a person making a mistake. Restricting speech is not an efficient way of going about this, and not a very honorable means to begin with.
(Caption)
Did you know?
Fact: When someone begins to convulse in a seizure, it’s prudent to perform a scissor tackle to aide them in the prevention of swallowing their own tongue.
“citing that he couldn’t understand why a penalty wasn’t giving, as Cole received a yellow card for the challenge inside the area…”
I believe the ball was not in play at contact, don’t know if that’s a legitimate non-penalty.
I didn’t see anything wrong with Cole’s challenge. Just unfortunate. It was a loose ball challenge. Both players went into the tackle hard.
Funniest thing was Fulham played on Thursday in Europe and Man City on Wednesday in Europe…
wahhhh, wahhhh, wahhhh
You first!
correct.
It’s not alright to use the R word to call you or friends retarded when you do something stupid or foolish.
This image just screams “Caption Contest”……………….ready? go!
Haha thats horrible
He should have picked up Michael Bradley in the last transfer window then…
All I can think of when I see that picture of Chicharito is “TIMMY!!!” I know I am going to hell for this but it looks like he was stricken with palsy in mid-air.
Isn’t Cole the guy whose ankle Landon broke?
That tackle from Cole was disgusting. The FA should take some sort of disciplinary action. Another reason for me to hate that guy. Glad his wife left him.
That Mancini can complain about depth against a team like Fulham is simply laughable. He has players on the bench who make more than the Fulham squad combined, and they are being stretched thin by playing in Europe also. Welcome to my list of top ten whiners Mr. Mancini.
Mancini and bitching about squad depth is laughable…
He has several defenders who can step into central defensive/holding MF role..