Down to Ten Men

I’ve always had a soft spot for West Ham, but I’ve never really known why. It might be because I have a few friends who support them, or I enjoyed the book ‘Congratulations, you have just met the I.C.F’.

It could be because Russell Brand, Keira Knightley and John Cleese are all followers (however having quickly looked up West Ham’s celebrity fan base I did find this – http://www.westhamtillidie.com/celebrity-supporters/ or, as I like to call it, 101 reasons to dislike West Ham.)

Ever thought to yourself: “Why do I put myself through this?” Well on Saturday afternoon I found myself asking that very question as I sat there watching the Arsenal v Wolves game unfold in front of my eyes. Yes we got the win with the latest of all the late goals we’ve scored this season, but as I came away from a jubilant Emirates Stadium I felt as though I had run a gruelling marathon or even gone the full 12 rounds in a boxing match – I was sapped of all the energy I had.

The MLS (Major League Soccer) is a funny old thing. It’s a bit like a Club 18:30 holiday – you don’t know how long it’s been around, just that it’s abroad and only old people seem to want to go there.

I do actually know how long it’s been around – since 1996. It didn’t make itself known to the wider world until 2007 though, when a certain English export emigrated to LA.

Bayern Munich 2 – 1 Manchester United

Could man-of-the-moment Wayne Rooney have been any more involved tonight?

An early side-footed volley from Nani’s corner gave his team, and this season is it his team, the lead, and must have had Louis Van Gaal fearing the worst.

Bayern rallied though and in the second half Ribery‘s free-kick hit Rooney and wrong-footed Van der Sar, pulling the Germans level, before lax defending allowed Ivan Olic to steal in to give the 1999 finalists a win to take with them to Old Trafford next Wednesday.

After the final whistle blew at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Saturday evening you would have been forgiven for thinking Roma had just wrapped up their fourth Serie A win.

The celebrations were in fact il Giallorossi’s reaction to beating title rivals Inter Milan 2-1 thanks to goals from Daniele De Rossi and on-loan Luca Toni, putting them a point behind the reigning champions who sit atop the league with 63 points.

Roma's inspired loan signing Luca Toni

It’s not hard to imagine Wayne Rooney sat on his luxurious leather couch this morning, fingers aggressively pressed into the buttons on his Sky remote, eyes glaring with a cocktail of rage and bewilderment at the latest sports update on Spanish football.