Forenregeln von Mamis mit Herz » paved the way for Joel Ward to score

Adam Johnson and Manuel Pellegrini may well have walked off with Januarys BPL Player and Manager of the Month Awards, but no other club have had a better new year than Chelsea. Seven matches played, six clean sheets, wins heaped upon wins. The copy book only blighted by an inability to deal with West Hams so termed 19th century tactics. Having just returned from spending three weeks in the city of the 2012 Summer Olympiad, much time spent within the century plus old Stamford Bridge walls, its as if the clocks have been turned back to circa 2004-05. It was Mourinhos debut season, and the little horse galloped away from the entire BPL field. Chelsea winning the title by a very distant 12 points. Most remarkably, conceding an improbable 15 goals through the 38-match season - numbers Gary Bettman apparently salivates over. Such was Chelseas dominance of the Champions for almost the entire second half they played in reverse gear. Ryan Giggs couldnt watch as he continually covered his face in his hands. He likely would have thrown in the towel if he could have found one. The only passion on display that afternoon from anyone in a red shirt came from the quite magnificent Manchester United support - 6,000 strong, and as one in their complete support for club. The true definition of what the word supporter actually means. There in the midst of yet more adversity and not once did they veer from the full encouragement, slap on the back script. Hopefully, someone at the club shot a video which David Moyes has had time to watch. If theres one man in world football who needs to fully understand the inherent value of positive body language, additionally to be classically re-conditioned it is the boy set adrift by Ferguson. Ive witnessed more sideline encouragement during the traditional park life early Sunday morning pub league football. When most are still feeling the awful side effects of a very late and mostly liquid Saturday night. The Chosen One? More like The Shrugged Shouldered One. Such was Manchester Uniteds public demise at Stamford Bridge, Sir Alex Ferguson had to slum it sat next to yesterdays soul man, Mick Hucknall. Meanwhile, Miami FCs David Beckham took pride of place over in the regal confines of Roman Abramovichs private suite. Court side seats at a Lakers game are renowned as the ultimate status symbol of the celebrity and glitteratti set. As I walked the Fulham Road streets before the match, there was more jewellery than scarves on display in London SW6. I even caught sight of a man not often associated with the jet set. England manager Roy Hodgson walking with his assistant Ray Lewington as they purposefully mingled amongst the crowd making their way to the ground. Not an air of grace about them. For Englands Brazil 2014 sakes, lets hope the WAGs will have taken notes. Next up for Chelsea was an FA Cup fourth round tie against Stoke City. Late that morning, Mata completed his £37.1m ($69m million) move to Old Trafford, Matic made his Stamford Bridge debut that afternoon. Now over my time, I have seen some monsters on a football pitch. Not all of them dressed in football shirts. Nemanja Matic is almost completely unrecognizable from the person and footballer that he was in his previous stint. He hardly got a look in then, against Stoke he hardly put a foot wrong. Oscars sublime free kick separated the sides. Matic though was the talk of the press room at full time. That was until a 51st birthday celebrating Jose Mourinho walked into the room. It was only mere minutes after it had been announced the win against Stoke set up a highly tasty fifth round encounter at the Etihad. Hours previously, the twice straight player of the year had been sold. To Manchester United of all clubs, and a transfer which had Wenger and Pelligrini going into a lather. First question to the manager? “When Rafa Benitez was Chelsea manager, on his birthday he bought a cake in for the media. Wheres your cake?” Not to be outdone by Rafa, the Happy One promised champagne for when next he would meet the media 48 hours later. You couldnt make this stuff up. When the subject did finally get round to Mata, Mourinho let it be known it was not his sole decision to discard the best left foot in the BPL. “Only the big boss makes sole decisions.” The manager made it abundantly clear it was a team decision that the 25-year old Spaniard was surplus to requirements. Weve all witnessed Oscar and Hazard on the ball. From the comfort of your sofa or bar stool, what the camera doesnt tell you though is the staggering amount of tracking back these two highly gifted players do through the course of a match. Out of possession sometimes, it seemed Oscar was so deep in his own half he was paired in defence with John Terry. Hauled off soaking wet with 10 minutes left and the Sunday evening sky darkening, one clever hack suggested the Brazilians mother had sent a text to Mourinho reminding him the fresh-faced youngster had to be at school Monday morning. There was nothing fresh-faced about Oscar, nor Mourinho, 72 hours later when Big Sams Claret and Blue Army [and Im speaking about the West Ham players] made the short hop over from Londons East end. Those gale-forced winds and pouring rain that has battered the south west of England for much of winter showed up too. Attending the match as a Chelsea supporter, with the trouble ‘n strife [wife] in tow, we took our seats in the lower tier of the West Stand. Mercifully under cover, but such was the ferocious wind we were rain lashed for the entire 90 minutes. The action on the pitch was not one bit as exciting as a sole Chelsea fan sat directly behind us. He made more noise than the thunder - his humour hotter than the tea. As he performed all the Chelsea classics in a virtuoso solo performance worthy of any Grammy winner. For all the plaudits bestowed on Mourinho following Mondays Etihad ‘title decider, he got it wrong against West Ham. In fact, it started with his Stoke line up when Frank Lampard captained the side and played the full 90-minutes. Lampard plays West Ham with fire in his belly and a goal in his feet. Not coincidental the best chance that evening fell to Chelseas leading goal scorer of all time in the 96th minute. But for a superb save from Adrian in the West Ham goal and Chelsea could be a magnificent seven straight wins through 2014. Matic should have started. Not as Mourinho did, only introduce him with less than 30 minutes left. Oscar struggled. Not so much with coming to grips with West Hams iron-like resolve, the conditions were so soggy and about as far removed from ball playing, he must have wished for the Copacabana. Of late, David Luiz has been spraying balls up field for Hazard to run onto. Luiz didnt leave the bench. Hazard for all his crafty guile was able to turn opponents inside out but where ever he went another West Ham player was in very close proximity. Baton down the Belgian on a windswept Stamford Bridge night they did. The Happy One, though wouldnt have swapped a moment of that ‘19th century like opponent for what was achieved against modern footballs shining knights, Manchester City. Hung, drawn and no Mourinho quarter given. As we get set later this month for the start of the knock out stages of the Champions League - the manner in which Etihad victory was achieved will have instilled a certain fear in Europes finest. That though is for the future. Speaking to Chelsea future, Samuel Etoo may have slayed Manchester United. The Cameroonians hier apparent is Islam Feruz. An 18-year old Somalian refugee who was signed from Celtic is currently ripping it up in Chelseas reserves. Scoring goals from all over the pitch, seemingly just for fun. Thoroughbred lightening quick, just maybe Feruz is the ‘little horse- The Especially Happy One was referring to after Chelsea made a mockery of Manchester Citys perfect BPL home form. You can reach and follow Noel Butler at:Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel on Twitter Air Max 720 Sale Canada . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell while figuring out which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Air Max 720 Canada . No such luck. Wiggins owned the end of Parkers impressive homecoming. The Kansas star scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half, outplaying Parker down the stretch and helping the fifth-ranked Jayhawks knock off No. http://www.cheapairmax720canada.com/. Sociedad remained in sixth place with Villarreal a point behind in seventh, both in Europa League spots and in striking distance of fourth place and the final Champions League berth. Sociedad forward Carlos Vela chipped goalkeeper Jaime Jimenez after receiving an equally exquisite lobbed pass from Ruben Pardo to set him up in the 23rd minute at Anoeta Stadium. Wholesale Air Max 720 Canada . Fans can also watch the game on the newly launched TSN GO (currently available to Bell TV and Rogers customers), which gives TSN subscribers the freedom to live stream the networks programming from their smartphones, tablets, and computers at no additional charge – just as they would watch Canadas Sports Leader on TV at home. The following week, MLS ON TSN is at BMO Field in Toronto to deliver live coverage of TFCs home opener vs. D.C. United on Saturday, March 22 at 4:30 p. Cheap Air Max 720 Canada . - Tom Brady was upset that his New England Patriots hardly looked like a division champion in the first half.WASHINGTON -- When he found out he was getting his first start in seven weeks, Michal Neuvirth felt the same way he did before his NHL debut. Anxiety. Nerves. Butterflies. That first start, five seasons ago, went well for the Washington Capitals goalie and so did Fridays game against the Toronto Maple Leafs as he made 32 saves in a 3-2 victory. "I was nervous, couldnt really sleep before the game," Neuvirth said. "I was feeling like I was as nervous as my first NHL game. My girlfriend told me just do what you do and try to be good." Neuvirth was just that, giving up just two goals, both on deflections. In his first NHL game, Neuvirth had 31 saves in a 5-1 victory over Tampa Bay. "I thought he played a great game, I really did," Washington coach Adam Oates said. "First period, I think he had some shots that allowed him to get into the game, which is good for him. After the second goal, he made a fantastic save that saved the game for us." Neuvirths work paved the way for Joel Ward to score the go-ahead goal with just over 8 minutes left in the third period, and Alex Ovechkin added a goal and an assist. Nicklas Backstrom also scored as the Capitals won on back-to-back nights for the fourth time this year. It was the fourth straight loss for Toronto after a 3-2 victory over Detroit on Jan. 1 in the Winter Classic, and the Maple Leafs have been outscored 21-7 in the defeats. James Van Riemsdyk and Phil Kessel each had a goal and an assist. Coming off a 6-1 loss Thursday night at Carolina, Toronto saw some positives in the defeat. "This might be one of the better games weve played in a month. We showed desperation. We showed that we care," coach Randy Carlyle said. "Weve been begging, pleading, kicking, kissing, whatever we can do to try and find a way to play with some confidence. It seems like weve squeezed our sticks here. Its mind boggliing.dddddddddddd" Kessels team-high 21st goal gave Toronto a short-lived 2-1 lead in the third when his shot went off the stick of Washington defenceman Karl Alzner and over the shoulder of Nuevirth. The Caps got the equalizer in similar fashion with 15:24 left as Backstroms severe-angle shot went off the skate of Maple Leafs centre Jay McClement and past Jonathan Bernier (32 saves) for his 11th goal. "A little lucky," Oates said. "Their second goal, Alzy breaks a stick on that deflection. A little lucky, so were even." Wards winner, his 13th of the season, came with 8:10 left, 6 seconds after Toronto had killed a penalty, as he fired a slap shot from 15 feet out on a pass from Marcus Johansson. "I was a little upset at first cause the way it kind of came off my stick," Ward said. "But I kind of got enough to actually go in." After that, Neuvirth kept Washington in command, making his final save with 12 seconds left. The last time the 25-year-old was set to play for the Capitals, on Nov. 29, he suffered a leg injury in warmups. He had not suited up for a game since. With the Caps playing their second of five games in a span of seven days, Braden Holtby struggling and rookie Philipp Grubauer coming off a taxing 4-3 win Thursday night at Tampa Bay, Neuvirth made his first start since Nov. 22. In the absence of Neuvirth, Grubauer (6-2-3) emerged as perhaps the teams most reliable goalie, prompting Neuvirth to request a trade last month. "Ive been watching a lot of hockey from the press box," Neuvirth said. "I havent seen the puck for some time. Probably would be tough if I get scored on in the first couple minutes, but I didnt want to think about it." NOTES: Washington D John Erskine had an eventful second period, drawing a pair of penalties for fighting. The scraps were against Cody Franson and Colton Orr. ' ' '