Today’s video features Birmingham City’s win over Aston Villa being marred by violence.

Here’s the links:

• Carling Cup violence [Mail]
• Keane against the snood [Dirty Tackle]
• Balotelli scores twice [Mail]
• A man against the EPL [Four Four Two]
• The own goal club [FIFA]
• Week 16 fantasy tips [FPLT]
• Rio with Snoop Dogg [Vital Football]
• Spurs of the moment [Farlie On Footie]
• Schwarzer extends Fulham stay [Goal]
• Hodgson on Cole [Football Fan Cast]
• Win a signed Rooney boot [Four Four Two]
• World Cup host announcement [FIFA]

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After this weeks “enthralling” Carling Cup fixtures we are one step closer to knowing which club will be winning the lesser of the English trophies this season. But does anybody really care about the trophy which is rapidly losing its appeal.

I think the attendances of this weeks games tells a story about the demand for a secondary cup completion. Just over 33,000 turned up for Newcastle’s game with Arsenal, a match which had it been in the FA Cup would have attracted 50,000 plus to St James’ Park.

The Gaffer has already blogged where he discussed the need for the Carling Cup.  Personally I don’t think there is a need. The cup was brought in as an extra revenue stream for clubs in the days before the TV money of the Premier League, and in many ways has now served its purpose.

I write this as a fan of Crewe Alexandra, a League Two side that have had some brilliant nights out as a result of League Cup run. But even I see the tournament as a distraction in the bid for League success.

It’s not just individual sides that suffer because of the competition, the England national side is also at a disadvantage because of the insistence on sticking with two cup competitions, and I truly believe that should the cup be scrapped; the Three Lions would in a much better position to challenge for a major tournament.

Scrapping the Carling Cup would free up a whole host of midweek dates that could be utilised in order to give the country the much needed winter break. Without a mid season break, England will only fall further behind other nations.

The Premier League is played at such a pace that to not give players a couple of weeks off during the middle of the campaign is meaning that come May, burn-out strikes and ultimately the standard of football suffers. This means that when the World Cup comes around, in many ways it is impossible for England to challenge.

Scrapping the Carling Cup solves this problem, and while each club might lose a special cup-tie know and then, I think everybody would back the plan if it would give the England side a better chance of success.

Had you switched off your TV or DVR in anticipation of a dull night of useless Carling Cup ties filled to the brim with unknowns, B squads and fringe footballers, your premature condemnation of the old Football League Cup while not monumental, was at least a bit judgmental.

The restoration of the League Cup wasn’t conceived Tuesday and Wednesday night. In fact, the little Cup competition that could has enjoyed somewhat of a revitalization in years past with some brilliant matches while Manchester United has captured the silverware for the past two seasons.

Whether it’s the romantic in me, the about-to-make-my-first-trip-over-buoyant enthusiasm, or simply my admiration for all things good football, the Carling Cup’s illuminating energy has reinvigorated mid week football (at least this week) in England as early Champions League group stage matches, full of mismatched blotches and missed opportunities, flatter to deceive.

Tuesday night witnessed another mixed bag of Arsenal youngsters and current first team-ers claim first blood in this season’s most recent installment of the North London derby. Arsenal ran riot on Spurs 4-1 after added extra time thanks to their familiar brand of fabulous free flowing football (and two well taken Samir Nasri pens).

Also on Tuesday, Everton continued their woeful start to a new campaign by exiting the competition at the hands of League One side Brentford. Everton new boy Jermaine Beckford and England international Phil Jagielka both missed from the spot during the penalty shoot out either side of Brentford’s Charlie MacDonald who converted to secure the famous win at Griffin Park.

Whatever Tuesday can do, Wednesday can do better. Manchester United saw off Scunthrope United 5-2 while Bebe came on late for the holders to make his Senior debut. Although his 15 or so minutes weren’t quite enough for a serious look at the Portuguese youngster, the few touches he did get were positive.

United went down early in the match thanks to a stunning Josh Wright strike when it was an equally stunning Darron Gibson chip that saw the holders draw level. Michael Owen (remember him?) scored two for United while the Red Devils proved a bit too much for the Championship side in the end.

In arguably the match of the round, Newcastle United traveled to Stamford Bridge and defeated Chelsea 4-3 with two decisive goals from Shola Ameobi. Chelsea saw themselves down 3-1 until Nicolas Anelka made it 3-2 in the 70th. Anelka, providing the much needed spark for Chelsea, again scored for the home side from the spot (an outright terrible decision to award a penalty) in the 87th before Ameobi’s second, this time a header, claimed the match in stoppage time. A true Cup classic.

In the upset of the round, if Everton’s wasn’t enough, Liverpool exited at the hands of the mighty Northampton. The League Two side saw themselves level 2-2 with Liverpool as the full 90 minutes expired, while it was Northampton who held their nerve through the ensuing penalty shoot out. Liverpool’s Nathan Eccleston missed from the spot in front of a home crowd at Anfield while Northampton went through 4-2 on pens as Liverpool exit another Cup competition as giants slain.

Other Premier League sides to advance to the Carling Cup fourth round include: Aston Villa, Wolves, West Ham, Stoke City, Birmingham City, Wigan and West Brom while Manchester City, Blackburn, Bolton and Fulham all exit.

A full Carling Cup round three results table can be viewed here.

Instead of providing a match report about the Carling Cup Final (great game, congratulations United on the win), I want to write about a different but related topic and that is the advertising boards sprinkled around Wembley which contained messages from supporters from both clubs Sunday.

You may have seen some of them in between the Carling boards. My favorites were:

• “Martin Give Us A Wave,” and
• “My Parrot Is A Villa Fan,”

But there were a few cheesy ones, to name just a few, such as:

• “The Lion Is In You Today,”
• “Greatness Becomes United,” and
• “Oh You Glorious Lions.”

While watching the game, I couldn’t stop myself from peeking to see what the next message would say. But then it made be wonder, with the game being shown to such a massive worldwide TV audience, whether the opportunity were wasted. I mean instead of displaying corny messages such as “Shoot Shoot Shoot” (which was an actual message on the signboard), why not display some messages for charities instead? Why not communicate messages that would actually do some good and encourage some TV viewers to take action and donate to worthwhile charities? And why not use a global language we all would understand — a web URL?

Here are a few ideas:

• bit.ly/help-haiti
• bit.ly/help-chile
• bit.ly/help-cure-aids
• bit.ly/donate-to-charity

Carling, the sponsors of the Cup, will be making a donation of up to £10,000 to charity because of the signboards. But with such a massive worldwide TV audience, I feel that Carling could have generated much more for charity just by re-thinking how the signboards were used. Plus, by using Bit.ly, they could have tracked how many people visited the pages. And, if they were smart, they could have redirected people to charity sites where they could have tracked how much money was earned for the charities, and then generated a press release to share the good news.

And what a better lasting memory that would have been than “My Parrot Is A Villa Fan.”

Don’t forget that Sunday morning will feature the Carling Cup Final between Aston Villa and Manchester United (10am ET, Setanta US, Setanta-i and ESPN360). But who do you think will win? Vote in the poll above and share your opinions below.

Personally, I hope it’s a close contest between two teams that both have the potential to win it. I’m looking forward to seeing Agbonlahor, Young and Heskey attack for Villa, as well as the controlled and clinical finishing from United. Let’s hope it’s a great final.

Fox Soccer Plus officially announced today that in addition to the Premier League, Serie A, FA Cup and Champions League, the network will televise Carling Cup games, the Coca-Cola Championship and marquee rugby matches.

The new TV network is scheduled to launch March 1, 2010. As of yet, no satellite or cable TV providers have announced that they will carry the channel beginning March 1.

In addition to the above named leagues and competitions, Fox Soccer Plus will also feature England international matches, and rugby games featuring the Guinness Premiership, Magners League and Heineken Cup.

“With these programming acquisitions, Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Soccer Plus become the definitive destinations for the world’s most popular sports,” said David Nathanson, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Fox Soccer Channel. “Fox Soccer Plus presents us with a unique opportunity to expand on Fox Soccer Channel’s core mission, providing U.S. viewers with the best sports competitions worldwide and adds rugby to our impressive lineup of soccer offerings.”

According to Fox Soccer Plus, the channel will feature 130 Premier League games per season, 15 Carling Cup ties (beginning with the 2010-2011 tournament), 60 Coca-Cola Championship games, 3 England international games, 24 FA Cup games, 108 Serie A matches and 70 Champions League games. The rugby offerings will include 35 Guiness Premiership games, 40 Heineken Cup matches and 80 Magners League games per season.

The press release from Fox mentions that Fox Soccer Plus will be available as a premium service.

While today’s news is fantastic for rugby fans, supporters of lower league football and fans of the Carling Cup, it’s worrying news for fans of the other leagues that are currently carried by Setanta and will presumably not be shown on Fox Soccer Plus. Those leagues are Lique Un, the Russian Premier League and Scottish Premier League. We’ll have to wait and see if those leagues will be picked up by ESPN, GolTV or Premium Sports.

While today’s news from Fox goes a long way to filling in the blanks, there are still many unanswered questions. I’ll be contacting Fox today to request more details, so if you have any specific questions, please post them below.

Tuesday’s Manchester Derby, doubling as the first leg of the League Cup Semi-Final, was sleepy for certain stretches but produced plenty of encouraging highlights for supporters of both sides, including:

1. Antonio Valencia. After receiving a gorgeous pass from Patrice Evra, thoroughly embarrassed Craig Bellamy, first with a neat nutmeg, then with a sensational step-around to set up Man United’s first goal. Valencia can be spotty, as evidenced by his absolute howl of a miss in the second half. But he’s shown enough flashes of brilliance flying down the right wing to make United supporters optimistic about their future midfield. Now if only West Ham could produce another dominant centre-back for them to poach.
2. Should it have been a penalty or not? The red half may label the penalty call on Rafael Da Silva “controversial,” but we’ll leave it at “arguable.” No doubt, a wide-eyed Rafael tugged at Bellamy’s shirt outside the box, and at least tried to do so again inside the box before being shoved off. Replays seemed to show that no infraction occurred inside the box, but at full speed it seemed like a continuous offence that eventually led to Bellamy’s tumble inside the area. Again, at full speed, the call is justified. Would an additional assistant referee by the goal or a video assistant made the right call? Have at it.
3. Carlos Tevez. Correct call or no, Carlos Tevez showed the proper way to take a penalty, a no-doubt-about-it hammering. His powerful shot could have doubled as a defibrillator and certainly must have sucked the flavor right out of Sir Alex Ferguson’s gum. Unlike Tevez’ former teammate Ronaldo, infamous for his twinkletoe-stutterstep penalty attempts, Tevez played his shot, not the keeper.

4. Brazilian failure. Wither Robinho? Subbed in and out of Sunday’s desultory loss to Everton, he enjoyed Wednesday’s match from the City of Manchester Stadium’s priciest seat: ?32 million pounds.
5. Three’s Company. Vincent Kompany did well to keep the ball alive for his flick to an unmarked Tevez. Well, sort of unmarked. Patrice Evra was there, but chose to try and toe at the ball, which could have easily resulted in an own goal had he gotten a touch on it.
6. Bosom buddies. Michael Owen did a fantastic job consoling Valencia after his aforementioned howl of a miss. Touching.
7. Wayne Rooney. United-haters will point to his flops, but it was remarkable to watch Wayne Rooney’s ability to fend off attack-after-attack to stay up with the ball, displaying his usual bulldog tenacity, as United upped the pressure late.
8. Fun for the whole family. Fun propositional bet for you and your pals. Pool your money and pick a date by which you think it will be too warm for Roberto Mancini to wrap himself all snuggly in his sky blue-and-white scarf. Closest without going over wins.

The second leg will be played Wednesday, January 27th at Old Trafford.

Blogs often get the raw end of the deal from avid readers when mistakes are made in posts. That criticism is then usually coupled with a remark that belittles the blogosphere and puts daily newspapers on a pedestal as the real form of journalism. However, as we’ve indicated on several occasions, daily newspapers are guilty of mistakes too and sometimes, as in the example we’re about to show you, they’re guilty of embarrassing mistakes of cataclysmic proportions.

In Thursday’s edition of The Daily Star, a tabloid newspaper in England, “journalist” Dave Armitage has written a match report regarding Wednesday night’s exciting Carling Cup match between Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea. However, the article in question is guilty of the following horrendous mistakes:

1. The headline and article reports that Didier Drogba takes Chelsea into the quarter-final of the Carling Cup. However, Blackburn Rovers won the game on penalties,
2. The article says the final score was 2-2. Yes, the score in regulation was 2-2, but the game went into extra time and ended 3-3 and then went to penalties which Blackburn won 4-3,
3. The article states that by winning, Chelsea made it into the quarter-finals. The game Wednesday night was a quarter-final. By beating Chelsea, Blackburn has qualified for the semi-final of the Carling Cup!

Don’t be surprised if the article in The Daily Star is updated in the early morning hours to correct their mistakes, but a screenshot of the article is saved for posterity (see above).

I can only imagine that some poor soul got the match report at a late hour from the reporter but didn’t realize it wasn’t the final version of the story. However there should be no excuse for such a catastrophic mistake. We all have heard about the London bias and bias towards Big Four clubs, but this is taking it a little bit too far. In the meantime, congratulations to Blackburn Rovers on a well-deserved win even if The Daily Star would lead you to believe otherwise.

Are City fans being denied a true match day experience?

Fair play to Manchester City, Carlos Tevez, and manager Mark Hughes for a fluid performance against West Ham United at Eastlands on Monday evening. Their 3-1 victory inched the Blues ever closer to the pinnacle of the Premier League table, as City are now only three points away from pole position. Tevez not only showed his quality in front of goal, but the striker also exhibited grace towards his former fan base after scoring before West Ham’s supporters. The Argentine front man held his hands apologetically in the air towards the Hammer faithful in response to his controversial stay in east London. This rare act of humility is a stark contrast to Emmanuel Adebayor’s  disgraceful celebration in front of his old employers two weeks prior. Credit to Hughes for pulling all of these big personalities together and allowing City to play free-flowing and adventurous football. Yet despite all of these positive remarks, there is one glaring deficiency with the Blue Moon match day experience.

When approaching the City of Manchester Stadium the modern architecture and luxurious amenities appear suitable for one of the world’s wealthiest football clubs. Yet it was not all that long ago that this same side was playing in a historic and dilapidated ground. Before the likes of Thaskin Shinawatra and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Manchester City were a club mired in tumult and volatility. Nevertheless, this was part of City’s charm, and the supporters never abandoned the side – even when the Blues tumbled down the English football pyramid to League One.

While yesterday’s Premier League action against West Ham United was spirited, the change in atmosphere at Eastlands is disturbing when contrasted against the club’s time at Maine Road. Now I know what you are all thinking; this is just another bland article about ‘true’ fans being priced out of the game and the soulless nature of big-money football. Much has been made of the latter, and telling that story again would do little to stimulate conversation.

Instead I would like to focus on the physical configuration of contemporary football and how new stadiums are negatively impacting England’s national past time. Last week I watched Man City take on Fulham in the Carling Cup at Eastlands and was amazed at how different the atmosphere was from Maine Road. Yes, this was a Carling Cup match. Typically the least important competition for Premier League sides, the League Cup holds neither the prestige of the FA Cup nor the glitz of the Premier League.

Fulham's lack of away support not withstanding, the Eastlands atmosphere is a far cry from the Kippax

Nevertheless, every fixture maintained an electric atmosphere amid the grittiness of Maine Road, and this attribute was noticeably absent at Eastlands. I am not having a go at City supporters. They are one of the best sets of fans in Europe and deserve their due. Rather, the way in which Manchester City Football Club has arranged the stadium seating has ruined the club’s famed atmosphere. Traditionally, each football ground has a stronghold of their most vociferous supporters behind a particular goal. These Kop ends are etched into the history of the English game. Anfield will forever be associated with the Spion Kop, Villa Park with the Holte End, and Chelsea with the Shed End.

At Maine Road the word “Kippax” held a powerful connotation with City supporters and away fans alike. Unlike most clubs that build their Kops at the end of the pitch, the Kippax was a massive stand that ran parallel to the touchline. It was undeniably intimidating, and housed some of the most passionate football fans in the sport’s history. The Kippax could generate an overwhelming amount of noise that promptly quieted any away support. Moss Side was an incredibly dodgy place to visit, and Maine Road was the crown jewel of this notorious district.

Obviously the new-look City has been rebranded for the financially booming Premier League. Hillsborough and the Taylor Report changed the manner in which fans of the English game observed football forever. However, many of the top grounds in the country retained their atmospheres even after the tragic events of April 15, 1989. Maine Road was among these venues, begging the question, what exactly changed when the Blues relocated to Eastlands?

City's famed Kippax Stand

The answer is startlingly simple. Rather than reestablishing the girth and reputation of the Kippax stand, City opted for new age stadium configuration. If you go to Eastlands today to take in a match you will find that there is no traditional Kop end. Instead the supporters that grew up on the Kippax have been relocated to the corner section between the Colin Bell Stand and the North Stand. This leaves City’s most energetic fans sandwiched against the main stand and the opposing side’s supporters. Instead of the cross-pitch banter that takes place between two sets of fans in most grounds, Eastlands creates an indiscernible din from the northwest corner. Additionally, the security of this setting is questionable, as during high-profile encounters both sets of supporters attempt to get at one another across the police line. This has proven to be problematic in the Manchester derby and against the likes of PSG in the UEFA Cup.

Unfortunately this type of maneuver is becoming too common with new English stadiums, as grounds like the Riverside, Pride Park, and the Stadium of Light are now devoid of a traditional English atmosphere. These grounds lack a proper Kop setting, and while fan bases at these clubs (particularly City) are strong, the charm associated with Maine Road or Roker Park is gone. In its place is a synthetic style of match day experience that provides little sustenance for those of use that remember the rusty roof over the Kippax.

Much has been made of the demise of Leeds United AFC. We are all familiar with the tale of gross overspending, Ridsdale’s goldfish, and a descent into the third tier of English football. Football supporters have little sympathy for a club that reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League in 2001 and are now playing in League One due to its own negligence. Yet only the Manchester City faithful can truly understand such a fall from grace, as Leeds have plummeted to the depths of the Football League.

However, a temporary shot at redemption has been offered to the Yorkshire giants from an unlikely source: the Carling Cup. Often overlooked as a lesser competition by Premier League outfits, the League Cup presents an opportunity for clubs outside the English topflight to claim a prominent piece of silverware. While the big boys of English football are suffocated by fixture congestion, clubs in the remaining Football League divisions are ready to take advantage of their opportunities. Typically League Cup fixtures don’t become enticing until the fourth round of the competition, but this year the third round presents an array of intriguing match-ups.

Headlining the fixture list is the September 22 contest between Leeds United and Liverpool Football Club. I will be covering this captivating encounter live from Elland Road for EPL Talk, as the two northern sides have not met since 2004. This is a match that is weighted in history and tradition, and for me personally the game is extremely significant. My father is a life-long Leeds supporter, and he has been a season ticket holder at Elland Road for over thirty years. Meanwhile I represent a Scouse contingent of the family that is partial to Liverpool FC, and tensions will be running high in my family on match day.

This fixture was once a marquee match-up in the English First Division, featuring names like Keegan, Bremner, Giles, Dalglish, and Lorimer. Bill Shankly famously managed his last match as Liverpool gaffer against Brian Clough’s controversial Leeds United side in the 1974 Community Shield. While Liverpool claimed a result on penalties, this match is often remembered for the bloody altercation between Kevin Keegan and Billy Bremner. These two clubs were among the most dominant teams on the continent throughout this era, as Leeds captured the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup twice and Liverpool began their assault on the European Cup.

Even as the game moved into the Premier League era, Leeds-Liverpool matches produced an array of memorable moments. Mark Viduka scored a hat trick against the Merseysiders at Elland Road in 2000, while one year later Gerard Houllier suffered a heart attack at Anfield against the Yorkshire club. There was even a certain degree of crossover between the two clubs, as Kop idols Ian Rush and Robbie Fowler both spent time at Elland Road. Even until United’s relegation to the Championship in 2004 these two clubs were often jockeying for Champions League eligibility, with several current Premier League stars (Ferdinand, Keane, Bowyer, etc.) propelling Leeds onward.

Today the mighty Whites can be seen playing the likes of Walsall and Stockport County, but with Elland Road sold out for Tuesday’s match this Carling Cup third round tie will be a high-profile encounter between old foes. Having nearly returned to the Championship during the past two seasons, Leeds appear primed to rise from the ashes this campaign. Currently tied for first place atop League One, Simon Grayson’s side may just be able to take advantage of a harried Liverpool squad. Currently Steven Gerrard and company are competing in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League while simultaneously attempting to get their Premier League campaign back on track.

Leeds United are led Jermaine Beckford, the top scorer in the Football League over the past two seasons. While highly touted winger Fabian Delph departed for Aston Villa in the transfer season, the Whites have had little trouble scoring goals in the early portion of the season. Whatever happens EPL Talk will be there to bring you live coverage of the match, so be sure to check back in following Tuesday’s action.