Stoke 3 Arsenal 1
If Wenger can’t be bothered with an FA Cup 4th Round tie, why should I be bothered?
He said he had 10 injuries.
Fabianksi conceded after 70 seconds. There isn’t a proper goalkeeper at the club.
Sol played well on his comeback.
I backed over 2.5 goals. An obvious bet.
Rooney 4 Hull 0 ? Wayne could easily have had seven goals.
Scunthorpe v Manchester City was an entertaining, honest, old-fashioned cup game. City won 4-2 and now host Stoke in Round 5.
I watched Inter v Milan, as ESPN had a free weekend.
Wesley Sneijder was the most effective player on the field for 25 minutes. He nearly scored three times ! I was thinking, “What a superb technician / strategist Sneijder is!” Then he swore at the referee for giving him a yellow card and the ref gave him a red.
Inter were leading 1-0 after an early goal by Milito.
At half-time I switched over to Real Madrid v Malaga which was 34 minutes and 0-0 and I immediately saw a slick move, a low Kaka cross, Cristiano finished for 1-0 in 35. He made it 2-0 soon after that.
That was Cristiano Ronaldo’s 15th goal in 16 games for Real Madrid.
The Milan derby was a game of many moods, many gears, a lot of “waiting for that moment.”
Beckham was barely competent and when he did produce one good cross, Borriello headed over.
When Inter striker Pandev whipped a free-kick over the wall, the dopey Dida didn’t dive and it was 2-0. The Inter celebrations were operatic.
Then Lucio handled a shot and was sent off, harshly I thought. But the brilliant Julio Cesar saved Ronaldinho’s penalty.
The scowling, triumphant Jose Mourinho prowled the touchline like an emperor as his nine warriors won 2-0.
Sir Alex was there watching Milan, his next opponents in the Champions League.
On Saturday I went to an FA Cup tie with Mark Jacob and his uncle Zac.
Having heard for 25 years that the stadium was in the middle of an industrial estate, I arrived to find that Fratton Park is in the middle of a big industrial estate.
I’d been to the town of Portsmouth only twice in my life, so I was riffing on the novelty of the day, seeing everything with new eyes.
I conveyed warmest regards from Big Mitch to Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn. Mitch loves Quinny and used to play cricket with him and Tony Adams.
Niall told me about the first time he played cricket. The bowler was Bryan Robson and he clouted his first ball away to the leg side, as if hitting it with a hurling stick. Then, he said, “his second ball came just past my throat.”
Then we had lunch. It’s nice to have a girl bring the team-sheet to your table while you’re having lunch in the boardroom. Pompey’s best player Belhadj is away with Algeria, while Sunderland have had eight regulars out recently. Still no Cattermole, Richardson started at left back, with Malbranque and Andy Reid on the bench.
Darren Bent scored the first goal for Sunderland when a routine throw was flicked on but Marc Wilson’s long straight ball into the box gave John Utaka a chance for an opportunist back-header which looped over Craig Gordon for 1-1.
At half time Mark introduced me to Gianfranco Zola, the sweetest man I’ve met in football. West Ham are at Portsmouth on Tuesday night, so Mark asked him if Carlton Cole was fit. Zola said, “He trained this morning but Tuesday might be too soon for him.”
Hermann Hreidarsson, 34, was rock steady at left back and Kaboul played well. A powerful gladiator but a bit impetuous.
Route 1 worked again for Pompey when Kaboul’s forceful header down the field was chased by Utaka and buried for 2-1.The crowd roared and pounded their drums.
In truth, neither team had much width and neither played much football. But after hard-working Portsmouth went ahead they produced a few tasty moves.
Avram Grant stood just below us and at one point, as it started to get cold, the fourth official, a Monty Panassar lookalike, inexplicably cuddled him.
Injury time, a free-kick on the edge of Portsmouth box, a very tense moment, this could be replay at the Stadium of Light, Bent hit a ferocious free-kick that dipped just under the bar but Begovic made a wonder save, tipping over amid tumultuous cheers. From the corner, Kevin-Prince Boateng kicked a header off the line.
A scrappy game but it was fun and had a dramatic finale. And the best team won.
Back inside, I watched the day’s football results coming in on a big plasma screen tuned to Sky Sports News, as the girls served wine at the far end of the room.There were pots of tea and coffee and some crockery on a table, so I poured myself a cup of tea.Then one of the girls re-appeared.
“Sorry,” she said.
“Don’t be sorry, you’ve done nothing wrong.”
“That’s what you think,” she said, laughing.
I liked Fratton Park, which is not as dilapidated as I expected, the Pompey fans are brilliant, and the staff are lovely, very welcoming. On the way out we met Vince Hilaire and I wanted to talk to him but there wasn’t time.
Southampton v Portsmouth is a tasty 5th Round draw. Southampton have a good record against Pompey.
FULL DISCLOSURE : Mark Jacob, a lawyer, is one of my best friends. We met at a publication party at Terry Neill’s sports bar in Holborn. The book was by Steve Curry and Harry Harris.