Apparently Wayne Rooney has put in a transfer request. Moyes told him the club would never sell him to a rival team, ...so that rules out Southampton and Norwich.
[video=youtube;FcDjru4OCuU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FcDjru4OCuU[/video]
Kevin Phillips said Sunderland can be proud of their display at Old Trafford and it wasn't a huge surprise to see them beat Manchester United. Gus Poyet's side reached the Capital One Cup Final with a penalty-shoot-out-victory at Old Trafford and will contest their first major Wembley final, since 1992 against Manchester City, on March 2. They looked set to go through in extra-time when Phil Bardsley scored to give Sunderland a 3-2 aggregate lead. But Javier Hernandez levelled it at the death to force penalties, only for the the Black Cats to recover from the disappointment to win the shoot-out 2-1. Penalties send Sunderland to the final And former striker Phillips says the victory was merited after their committed defending throughout both legs. "I wouldn't say it was a huge shock," he told Sky Sports. "As I said before the game, I believed they could come here and get a result and they go through and won in that style. It was probably one of the worst penalty shoot-outs I've seen - but that comes with pressure. "The end of the game was pulsating with Bardsley's goal and then them going up the other end and scoring straight away; you thought it was going to be Manchester United's night. "All credit to Sunderland. They piled on the pressure in the second half and most of extra time. Although they didn't create a lot - the only shot on target was Bardsley's goal - their commitment and defending was tremendous. "They can be extremely proud of themselves in the changing room." Final Phillips joked that Sunderland would need to "field 14 players" to beat in-form Manchester City in the final after a difficult season that has seen them in the relegation zone for long spells. Disaster for De Gea But their cup form has been excellent and after taking the scalps of Chelsea and Manchester United in the Capital One Cup, he says they can dream of lifting the trophy. He added: "It's going to be very, very difficult on a big pitch at Wembley, on a huge occasion. The players at City have played in those occasions many times all over Europe and it will be new to a lot of the Sunderland players. "But they have shown they have beaten Chelsea and beaten Manchester United so why can't they got to Wembley and beat Manchester City? "Gus Poyet knows his players; every player will have to be bang on form and hopefully they will have some form going into the game from the Premier League. "They have climbed the table a little bit, but need everything to go for them if they're going to get a result." Momentum Phillips says the momentum built from Wednesday night's victory can be carried into next week's Premier League clash with Stoke as Poyet looks to steer the club to survival. But after winning the League Cup and going down with Birmingham in 2011, he warned that cup runs can act as distractions as well as confidence boosts. Black Cats win delights Bardsley "I don't want to put the mockers on it, but we won it with Birmingham City and unfortunately we went on and got relegated," he said. "They have got to take that form and be more clinical in the final third. They have got to score more goals and try and find that formula quickly because they've got some important matches coming up in the Premier League. "Obviously this will give them huge confidence. They will enjoy their night tonight and then they will have to knuckle down with a tough game coming up at the weekend. "It can only give you confidence to come to Old Trafford and win, although it's on penalties. Everyone will be leaving here tonight high on confidence. You just hope that they take that into their league form. "Because we're still early in the transfer window, that could potentially attract players. I hope so. If they join the club they've got a chance to straight away go to a cup final, so it's a good position."
Cheers for this one. It's weird how little footage has been kicking about.....i saw loads taking pics and vids in the ground and the bar before hand but nowt on youtube...
it hasnt been put on youtube its footage straight from phone to fyassbook, so it has no url, i'll see if i can find the page [video]https://fbexternal-a.akamaihd.net/safe_image.php?d=AQDzSA28L5EG5K7o&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-vthumb-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhvthumb-ak-prn1%2Ft15%2Fp280x280%2F1541939_517425315043081_51 7424818376464_9753_2235_b.jpg&jq=100[/video] https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=517424818376464 let me know if you can view mate
The Lime bar in Salford Quays lawry was better like. easy over 2000 fans in that place. what a day & what a night. Got my bus & Hotel sorted already for wembley so bring on Monday 3rd of Feb.
amazing!! the view of the play from that angle is new to me, as a neutral in that game, it really was incredible
ENGLISH SOCCER TOUR English Soccer Tour: Sunderland’s Big Night at Old Trafford January 25, 2014By Paul Gerald I often wonder why sports matters to people (like me) so much. I mean, it’s just a game, and which team wins really shouldn’t matter so much. As Jerry Seinfeld allegedly side, we’re really just cheering for laundry. And then I see something like Sunderland’s victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford, and I remember. It’s basically tribal, and a chance to lose oneself in shared ecstasy. It’s the collective Us defeating Them, even if only symbolically, and claiming a prize: in this case a trip to the almighty Wembley. A Little Context For you Americans, let me back up a little, give some context to the game. You know Manchester United; they’re the Yankees of English football: biggest stadium, most money, most championships, probably most arrogant fans. Sunderland I bet you don’t know: a scrappy team from the Northeast of England, trying just to stay in the Premier League. (The bottom three teams every year have to “go down” a level for the whole next season, the equivalent of a baseball team dropping to AAA.) Now, during the season there are also these domestic cup tournaments. So you might have a league game on Saturday and a cup game on Wednesday. There are two cups: FA Cup and League Cup, and for reference you can think NCAA Tournament and NIT. The League Cup is second-rate but still a big deal, especially to somebody like Sunderland. All cup finals are played at Wembley Stadium in London, so “playing at Wembley” is shorthand for success and a shot at lasting fame. Still with me? The semifinals of the League Cup are two games each, one at each stadium, and the total number of goals wins. In the first game at Sunderland, the “Black Cats” shocked Man U, 2-1. What I saw was the return leg at Old Trafford, the 75,000-seat “Theater of Dreams” where they always expect to win, especially in something as mundane as the League Cup against Sunderland. One more thing: normally the away team gets 3,000 tickets to a league game, but for a cup game it can go up to 9,000. Sunderland was all over that, chartering 150 buses for the three-hour drive to Manchester, and packing their section with 9,000 screaming, chanting, singing fans. It was to be their big night, in the Theater of Dreams, and this is what I came over here for! A Night at Old Trafford First some pictures. A panorama of Old Trafford during a tour I took on a different day: Old Trafford Manchester United Old Trafford is the biggest club stadium in England; only Wembley is bigger. Now, if you look at about the bottom of the middle “E” in Manchester, that’s where my seats were for the game. I paid 55 pounds for that, which is something like 90 bucks. I was only able to get those because it was “just” the League Cup against Sunderland on a Wednesday in January. Here’s another panorama, from my seat: Old Trafford Manchester United What $100 or so gets you at Old Trafford. Here’s the Stretford End, home to the most passionate United supporters, starting to fill up. From an American perspective, one funny thing about games here is that about 5 minutes before kickoff the stands are half empty, then they suddenly fill up. I have no doubt this is for one simple reason: In England, it is illegal to drink alcohol within view of the field (pitch). So everybody pounds their pints in the corridor, then rushes to the seats. About 20 minutes before kickoff, this was the Stretford End: Old Trafford Manchester United Hey, don’t they know there’s a game about to start? And here’s the Scoreboard End during the game. The upper section, and the corner to the right, is all Sunderland people; more on them in a moment. One thing, to a Yank: Do you notice a lack of color? If that was, say the Alabama section, it would be a sea of red. Over here it’s all about scarves and hats, and that’s about it. Old Trafford Manchester United The Scoreboard End at Old Trafford. And here’s a shot of them singing a common tune over here; I’ve heard almost every team sing it so far. If you can’t make out the words, it’s: And it’s Sunderland! Sunderland FC! We’re by far the greatest team the world has ever seen! So, the game: Honestly, as a “neutral,” it wasn’t the finest match I ever saw. Man U hit the post in the first half, and the Sunderland keeper had a fantastic save, but eventually Man U scored to go up 1-0 on the night and draw level on aggregate, 2-2. This meant that the next goal would win. At the very end of the 90 minutes, Man U had a free kick that would have won it: Instead, we had another 30 minutes to play, and for the Yanks again, there’s no “sudden death,” or “golden goal” as they say over here. Even if somebody scores, you play on. And, 28 minutes into that extra time, this happened: This meant Sunderland had won it and was going to Wembley, and the chaos in the stands says all you need to know. Doesn’t matter that a grade-school goalie would have made that save — can you hear the Man U fan say “No!” right as it goes in? Fantastic. Now, look at the number of views on that video: As I write this, it’s headed for 25,000 — in less than 40 hours! What happened is pretty simple: I put it up in a Google+ Community of Sunderland people, and it went semi-viral. Look at the comments! And this thread on their fan forum. And you should see my email! I may be a minor hero in Sunderland right now — should be interesting when I go to a game there! And I know the feeling: It was a magical moment, captured in high-def video from the perfect angle, which is really just a coincidence. It just happens there was a neutral (me) in the United section, with an HD camcorder, small kids in front of me (no heads in the way), their fans framed perfectly behind the goal, and more interest in capturing the Sunderland fans than anything on the field. So, enjoy it, everyone. I am so glad I got to capture, and provide this. BUT. This is Old Trafford. And Man United. And still two minutes to play. And, yes, they scored! Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez put one in during extra time (I didn’t video that), and we had penalties to figure out who’s going to Wembley. Amazing. So, a quick word on penalties: You take five rounds and go until somebody’s got an unbeatable lead. So if it’s 3-0 after three rounds, you’re done. In this case, what followed was probably the worst penalty shootout anybody can remember. Seriously, they’re still talking about it three days afterwards, as I post this. It was comical — and magical if you’re a Sunderland fan. And, best of all for us, since I was also in the middle of my row, I didn’t have to move to let United people leave, so I was able to keep my camera running for nearly 11 minutes, capturing not only every kick but also all the celebrations afterwards. All I can tell you for setup is that when the fifth Sunderland player (in yellow) went up to kick, he could have finished it with a goal — and he’s their star! (The one who killed my Fulham with a hat-trick a week ago) After he missed, the United guy had to make it, and well, enjoy: There at the end, they’re singing two different things. One is pure adoration for their goalkeeper: “Ooo, Vito Mannone!” Similar to this from the Arsenal fans, after they also beat Fulham (poor Fulham) with two goals from Santi Cazorla. The other song they’re singing is a classic soccer anthem: “Que sera sera, whatever will be will be. We’re going to Wembley! Que sera sera.” They sang it in the ever-emptying Old Trafford, they sang it in the parking lot, they sang it in the streets, they sang it on the tram back to Manchester — along with virtually their entire catalog of songs — and they probably sang it all the way back to Sunderland. Hell, they’re probably still singing it now! And yes, Sunderland are off to Wembley. They have to play the monstrosity that is Manchester City, averaging something like 4 goals a game and shooting for the “quadruple” of winning the league, both domestic cups, and the European Champions League. But I wouldn’t write off Sunderland for a minute. If nothing else, they will have about 50,000 complete loonies on their side, and I do wish I could get back and see that game. I’ll have to settle for HD TV and good audio, and I recommend you do the same: It’s on March 2, and I suspect NBC or one of their networks will show it. If you want to see what English soccer, and its fans, are all about, watch that game! Otherwise, if you love sports, and fans, and travel, and culture: Get your arse over to England and watch some footy! worth clicking this http://paulgerald.com/english-socce...p-manchester-united-old-trafford/#prettyPhoto
LONDON - A drunken Manchester United fan called the police emergency line in a futile attempt to talk to former manager Alex Ferguson about the club's League Cup semifinal loss to Sunderland on Wednesday. "The result is all wrong. They had extra time and it was a total and utter load of rubbish," the male caller complained after dialling 999 and asking to be put through to Ferguson. The call was made to police in the northern English city a few minutes after United lost to Sunderland on penalties at Old Trafford. "If you would like to speak to Sir Alex about recent football results we here at GMP Manchester North can only suggest you try ringing Manchester United FC directly," local police said in a statement on their Facebook page. The loss to Sunderland was the latest blow to last season's champions United who are struggling to adapt to life under new manager David Moyes. http://www.torontosun.com/2014/01/23/drunk-man-united-fan-makes-emergency-call-to-ferguson?
Cheers pal, nice blog link as well from the Yankie fella. Oyster seemed quieter than what I remember, but it defo got busier as the afternoon wore on. At about 4.20 for two pints, it was the right choice for afternoon drinking..
It was class mate, surprised there isnt more footage kicking about the amount of locals that were filming us
