Author: Liam_Richner

Derby days are exhilarating for anyone associated in the game that day. Whether it is the 22 players on the pitch: the two managers: the backroom staffs or the fans cheering on their respective teams. These are the fixtures that many fans pick out firstly because they are the best to be involved in. That’s certainly how I feel whenever Brighton play Crystal Palace.

Back in June, when the 2012-2013 fixtures were released; my initial move was to seek out the two dates for the Palace games. As a Brighton fan, it was always the home match at the Amex on the top of my priority list to find. The fixtures were confirmed as Saturday 1^st December 2012- up at Selhurst Park, and then back at the Amex on Sunday 17^th March 2013.

The game in December was nothing more than painful for any Brighton fan such as me.  Lewis Dunk dismissed after 8 minutes really killed the match as a spectacle, as it was always going to be difficult to hold on a man down with near enough a full 90 minutes to play (if you include additional time). Two Glenn Murray penalties and a Yannick Bolasie goal gave Palace a 3-0 victory. All in all, that was a day to forget for the seagulls.

But yesterday saw a chance for us to gain revenge on that awful day. 3 months of painful banter with mates who were Palace fans were hopefully going to be silenced by an Albion victory. It all started a bit equally, with Palace midfielder Jonathan Parr having the best opportunity to score early on, if it hadn’t been for a fine Tomasz Kuszczak save. He also denied Matthew Upson from both total embarrassment and anger from Brighton supporters after his misjudged header was clawed away from goal by the Polish keeper.

Then there was a 5 minute window that will be forever in Albion fans’ memories- or certainly in their minds for the next few years. A pinpoint perfect cross by winger Will Buckley was tucked home by January signing, Leo Ulloa. He sent the Albion fans into raptures. A few minutes later, Buckley was again involved when he was brought down by an unfair challenge by Palace central midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi. The two players standing over the ball were Spanish pair Andrea Orlandi and David Lopez. Initially, many anticipated a left footed strike by Orlandi, but David Lopez took the chance on, and his right foot curler flew past the wall; the palace keeper and found the top corner of the next (courtesy of the underside of the Crossbar). Brighton found themselves 2-0 up going into the break.

The second half started just as the first half ended, with a well created Brighton attack ended by a quality finish by Leo Ulloa; his second of the game and 5^th in his last 2 matches at the Amex. He rifled the ball home after it was cushioned down perfectly by Orlandi. It could’ve been 4-0 hadn’t it not been for a fine double save by Juliano Speroni. He first denied Leo Ulloa for his second successive hat-trick at the Amex and then saved Buckley’s rebound. Brighton held on comfortably for a 3-0 win and a first rivalry win since Gus Poyet’s reign began back in 2009.

Revenge is bitter sweet.

This week saw a lot of controversy surrounding Manchester United Football Club. The sending off of Nani left Sir Alex Ferguson fuming and reluctant to report to the media after the game. Rio Ferdinand escaped a disciplinary charge after his sarcastic clapping in front of the Turkish ref at the end of the game.  But the most considerable controversy was Wayne Rooney’s surprise dropping from the starting eleven, igniting gossip of his future at Old Trafford hanging in the balance.

The United forward is now 27, and has been considered a vital first team player in past seasons. He would’ve played either up front, or moved into a deeper or wider role, but the Englishman was considered the first player on Ferguson’s team sheet.

But this season, he hasn’t cemented a place in the first team since the arrival of Dutchmen Robin Van Persie; and young Danny Welbeck, who is developing more and more into an influential player in the red jersey. Wayne Rooney did suffer a horrific gash on his leg in a game against Wigan Athletic earlier in the season, which kept him out for a month. Wayne Rooney hasn’t been as prolific in front of goal either this season, only scoring 14 goals this campaign compared to 34 that he scored last season.

As newspapers claim that Rooney could be on his way, major European clubs have been reportedly interested in the England forward- including massive spending Paris-Saint Germain and fierce rivals Manchester City and Chelsea.

Since joining Manchester United as an 18 year old back in 2004, Wayne Rooney has gone on to score 195 goals in 393 appearances in a red devils shirt.

Personally, I think we will still be seeing Wayne Rooney in the famous red shirt next season. The England international hasn’t come out publically saying he is unhappy and Sir Alex has claimed that he will be keeping the 27 year old at Old Trafford.

Think back three weeks ago and I wrote a match preview on the eve of the “perfect match”; and the game certainly didn’t disappoint. The two teams battled it out on a cool Wednesday evening in Madrid. With end to end action, the two giants couldn’t be separated and the game finished 1-1, a reasonable result for both clubs although united must have felt happier than their Spanish counterparts.

So three weeks on and I again cannot justify a guaranteed result tomorrow night. Manchester United know that they will qualify into the quarter finals if they do not concede- but this is hugely unlikely due to the sheer power, speed and quality of the Real Madrid counter attacking mentality.  Jose Mourniho wasn’t too unhappy by the result, and knows a win would be enough to see the most successful team in European competition go through to the last 8. Mourniho will also bear in mind that the away goals rule applies and if Madrid score twice, United will have to win the game to win the tie. To score 3 goals against the Spanish champions is a very daunting challenge and one United will hope to avoid.

Sir Alex Ferguson will be without Phil Jones tomorrow night, a man who was so crucial for the red devils in the first leg. This will mean that Johnny Evans or Chris Smalling will probably partner Rio Ferdinand at centre back. A man who must be credited for his outstanding performance in the Bernabeu is Spanish Goalkeeper David De Gea. He made some fantastic saves to keep United from losing the first match and you would have to feel that the Spaniard will be busy again at Old Trafford.

Real Madrid will be boosted by the return of captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas. The Spain no.1 is recovering from a broken hand he suffered in a La Liga clash. I expect to see a similar side to the one that played in the first game, possibly a start for Higuain in place of Karim Benzema. But one man who will play for sure is Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese will again be hoping to spoil United’s dream by scoring at his former home. The Spanish giants will also have a morale boost after defeating fierce rivals FC Barcelona twice in a week. There is a sense this Madrid side will be tougher than the one that Ferguson and his men faced three weeks ago.

The score is currently 1-1, so a 0-0 would see United through, but like I said before, I think a 0-0 is out of the equation when you analyse the attacking quality of both sides. Old Trafford will be buzzing tomorrow evening and this may impact the players- especially the Man United players- to help guide them to victory. I think personally you can cancel out extra time and penalties as well due to the fact I think tomorrow will be more of a goal fest and 1-1 will not be the final score.

Finally, I would like to mention that Ryan Giggs is set to make his 1000^th appearance in professional football. This is an outstanding achievement made the Welshman. Now 39, the winger has just signed a new one-year-contract that will keep him playing into his 40s. He is the only player to have appeared and scored in every season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. He is also won the most honours in the history of any British footballer. He has a creditable 24 trophies to his name with Manchester United, including 12 Premier Leagues, 4 FA Cups, 4 League cups, 2 Champions Leagues and a Club World Cup.  I don’t think we will see another player hit this landmark. Congratulations Mr Giggs.

My Prediction: Manchester United 3-2 Real Madrid (4-3 on Aggregate)

Gareth Bale is at the centre of the footballing world at the moment. Let’s be honest, he is scoring for fun at Spurs. He is in the form of his career and he is quite possibly the best player in Europe right now. He is one of the biggest success stories of this generation. But should the Welsh winger be considered as World Class?
People could say yes. Like I said he is in the form of his life. He is consistently performing at the highest level which he struggled to have in seasons gone by. Gareth Bale torments full backs all across Europe. We saw this on the big stage a few years ago in the Champions League; where he utterly destroyed Inter Milan full back Maicon in the San Siro (a game in which the Welshman scored a hat-trick). Every week domestically, he seems to be scoring wonder goals with ease, including last nights’ winner against West Ham United. He has grown stronger mentally and physically. He is strong on the ball and has fantastic movement off the ball.
Other footballing fans would disagree, saying that he isn’t world class. Compared to the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, Bale isn’t as consistent or technically as good. Ronaldo and Messi for the past couple of seasons have always scored at least 30 goals a season and grab the headlines in every game. Gareth Bale has been quiet in certain games against the bigger teams in the past although now he seems to be coping against the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United.
After being asked about his own thoughts on how good he is; Gareth Bale last night told Talksport Radio “I’m just focusing on playing my football, at the moment I’m enjoying my Football and if people in the media want to say stuff about me its fine, I can’t stop that”. This shows that Gareth is a down to earth guy, not really paying much attention to the media and is fully focused on himself, the team and more importantly his football.

Last night saw Paulo Di Canio resign from his managerial post at Swindon Town football club. He brought to the club a new mentality, and has improved the players since taking over the club in May 2011. When Paulo took over the club, they were in a tough situation; they were in a difficult position financially and had just been relegated to the fourth tier of English football (Npower League Two). But he was determined to gain promotion back into League One and possibly to the Championship the season next.

Di Canio’s side triumphed in League Two, winning the league in the process.  Di Canio’s men were playing attacking, attractive football and for League Two, the quality that the players were producing was top quality. This season, the Italian started the season well, knocking out championship side Brighton and Hove Albion of the league cup comprehensively 3-0.  It got better for the league one side when they knocked out Premier League Stoke City in the same competition. The team have been flirting with the top of the Npower League One table most of the campaign, and currently sit sixth position, 3 points off the top.    

There have been famous spats between Di Canio and some of his players in the Italians 22 month reign. In 2011 (7 games into his managerial career at the County Ground), he had a confrontation with striker Leon Clarke in the tunnel after tasting defeat to Southampton in the League cup. This season, he had an argument with young Goalkeeper Les Foderingham after substituting the shot stopper after 20 minutes for an error that led to the opposition scoring.

Di Canio leaves the promotion Contenders with a decent record. He won 54 of his 95 games in charge of Swindon which leaves him with a win percentage of 56%.   

Since the draw was made back in December, Real Madrid v Manchester United has been the most anticipated tie. It has been publically advertised as ‘the perfect match’ by Sky Sports in recent weeks and I couldn’t agree more; it has the ingredients to be a really tasty encounter.  There are two eagerly anticipating individual battles to be fought out as well.

Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson have had very interesting clashes in the past, with the Portuguese coming out on top on more occasions.  His tactical brilliance has become one of Sir Alex’s very few weaknesses it seems, with the experienced scot finding it difficult to defeat any side Mourinho puts out. Since Mourinho’s Porto defeated United in the Champions League over two legs at Old Trafford in 2004 (and the famous celebration of the Portuguese manager running down the old Trafford touchline); Mourinho has tasted victory 14 times against Manchester United and Sir Alex and only lost twice.  But the 2 time Champions League winner has never defeated United in the Champions League at Old Trafford, drawing 1-1 with Porto and losing 2-0 when in charge of Inter Milan back in 2009 when the two characters last met.  

Sir Alex will also have to keep one of his former employees from tormenting his full backs in Cristiano Ronaldo.  The former Red Devil faces United for the first time since he departed for the Spanish capital and has been in everlasting form since moving to the Bernabeu in 2009, scoring an incredible 182 goals in 179 appearances for the 9 times European Champions. He has been repetitively been ripping apart defences in Spain and it seems that the 28 year old is the best player in the world at the moment (yes even better then Messi). It is clear to see Ronaldo is playing the best football of his career and is at his peak; the only question is will his emotions alter his performance against his former club? No matter how Ronaldo is mentally, it is going to take a real effort from the Manchester United full backs and wingers to keep the Portugal captain quiet over the 90 minutes, but I’m sure he will have some sort of impact at some stage and get a chance or two.

With the first leg being at the Bernabeu, United are going to have to been defensively on top of their game as Madrid will look to attack quickly and fatally to try and get them in the best position for when the sides re-meet in Manchester in 3 weeks time.  Mourinho’s side will in no doubt have most possession of the ball, but will have to be aware of the attacking mentality that Sir Alex puts his players into. They will be aiming to not only stay in the tie, but to also grab an away goal to make Mourinho’s task that much tougher in the second leg. There will be extra pressure on Madrid to perform, as their domestic challenge for back-to-back La Liga titles is virtually over as the league title looks to be inevitably returning to the Nou Camp and Barcelona. The media in Spain have also constantly reported trouble in Madrid, with Conflicts between Mourinho and his players or the boardroom hitting the headlines and the consistent rumour that the ‘Special One’ is to return to England once he leaves the Madrid hotseat.  United look to have the Premier League all wrapped up after defeating Everton on Sunday and City yet again dropping points at Southampton 24 hours before. The gap between United and their noisey neighbours is now 12 points, and many have written City off.  All these factors will hopefully contribute to a really engaging and exciting tie and hopefully one we can savour for weeks to come.

My prediction: Real Madrid 2-1 Manchester United