Monthly Archives: January 2011

Hoops look for capital gains

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There are six games in the SPL on Saturday with both Old Firm clubs in action. Leaders Celtic head to Edinburgh to face Hibs, here’s our take on that and the other key fixtures at both ends of the table……

Hibernian v Celtic

Celtic were held to a surprising 1-1 draw at Hamilton last time out, but it is only a couple of weeks since they beat Rangers, so confidence in the squad should still be high. They are top of the table by five points, but have played three games more than their Glasgow rivals. Hibs have won only twice at home all season, scoring just nine goals and surely the Bhoys will have far too much ammunition.

Odds: Celtic 4/9 to win
Value bet: Celtic Evens to keep a clean sheet

Aberdeen v St Mirren

The Dons have rescued their season to a certain extent with seven points out of a possible nine, including two away wins and they should have too much for a St Mirren side, who are just one point below them in the table. The Buddies are struggling at the moment and have won just once in five top-flight games, with three defeats and a draw, and this has the makings of a tight affair at Pittodrie. Goals may be at a premium but the home side are tipped to sneak this one.

Odds: Aberdeen 4/5 to win
Value bet: Aberdeen 7/4 to win to nil

Dundee United v Hearts

United finally managed to take all three points last time out against Motherwell after four successive draws and they are comfortably in mid-table at present, but face the in-form team north of the Border. Hearts have won eight of their last nine SPL games, with one draw, but they lost last time out in the Scottish Cup. However, that was surely just a blip and the Jambos should take this one comfortably by at least two goals.

Odds: Hearts 6/4 to win
Value bet: Hearts to score in both halves 11/4

Kilmarnock v St Johnstone

Killie are on an excellent run at present and have won four out of their last five top-flight games with a draw against Celtic, preventing their chances of a perfect five. Rugby Park has not exactly been a fortress this term, however, with four wins and five defeats, and it is their away form that has seen them reach fourth place in the table. St Johnstone are also on a decent run with three wins, a draw and a defeat in their past five matches and this one has draw written all over it.

Odds: Draw 5/2
Value bet: Correct Score 1-1 11/2

Motherwell v Inverness CT

This one sees fifth take on sixth in the table and it should be a competitive affair at Fir Park. ‘Well have lost four of their last five league contests with just one draw for their troubles, but they have faced the top three and so not too much should be read into their results. Caley have also suffered of late and have taken just two points from a possible 15, but they too have faced the top sides. Inverness are better away from home and are tipped to take this one by the odd goal.

Odds: ICT 23/10 to win
Value bet: Inverness 8/1 to win 1-0

Rangers v Hamilton

The Ibrox club will be annoyed to have slipped five points behind Celtic and will want to make sure they do not fall further behind, despite having three games in hand. A home clash with the bottom side would seem the perfect way to bounce back following the Old Firm defeat and it would be a brave man to back against Walter Smith’s men, when they play Accies at home. The visitors have scored just six away goals all season and it would be a major surprise to see them add to that tally on Saturday.

Odds: Rangers 1/7 to win
Value bet: Two or more goals at half time 6/5.

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Blues hope to change fortunes

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Bet on the Premier LeagueCarlo Ancelotti will be praying Chelsea can turn their poor Premier League form around when they take on Blackburn Rovers at Stamford Bridge on Saturday (Chelsea 3/10, draw 4/1, Blackburn 8/1).

The Blues have been in mid-table form over the last couple of months, having only won one game in their last nine outings in the top flight.

Chelsea have been boosted by the return of Frank Lampard, who believes that the team are suffering from a lack of confidence.

This mindset will have to change very soon before Premier League frontrunners Manchester United extend their lead over the Blues even further.

Blackburn will welcome the return of their prodigal son Roque Santa Cruz, who completed a loan move from Manchester City on Friday and he will be desperate to play after becoming a professional bench warmer at Eastlands this season.

If Blackburn can keep Chelsea out for the first half hour, they could frustrate the home supporters, which would make life pretty difficult for Ancelotti and his men.

With confidence low and Rovers being difficult to beat, this one could be a draw and this would mean more dropped points for Chelsea.

Fellow title challengers Manchester City can close the gap on United at the top of the table if they beat Wolves at Eastlands on Saturday (Dzeko 3/1 to score the first goal).

City welcome their new signing Edin Dzeko, who is likely to make his debut for his new club as Mario Balotelli is sidelined with a recurrent knee injury.

The Bosnian striker could partner Carlos Tevez up front in what is likely to be a very attacking line-up against a struggling Wolves side.

Mick McCarthy’s side have lost more games this season than any other club in the league and currently sit just above the relegation zone in 17th place.

Despite Wolves having won two of their last three games with shock victories over Liverpool at Anfield and Chelsea at Molineux, a win against an attacking City side will be extremely difficult to achieve and the home side should come out on top in this one.

Arsenal have had a difficult week by their standards. After scraping a 1-1 draw against Leeds United in the FA Cup, they went down 1-0 in the first leg of their Carling Cup semi-final against Ipswich Town in midweek.

Although they have found playing against Championship opposition heavy-going, they should come out on top against West Ham United at Upton Park on Saturday.

The Hammers have started to get some results in the Premier League and remain the only side to have beaten Manchester United this season, albeit in the Carling Cup.

Avram Grant’s side remain rock bottom of the Premier League table though and are likely to stay there for at least another week unless they can pull off a shock victory over the Gunners (West Ham 5/1, draw 14/5, Arsenal 8/15).

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Brown faces tough start

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The Championship is looking as closely fought as most people expected before a ball was kicked, with only 14 points separating play-off places and the relegation zone. Any team putting together a good run can catapult themselves up the table, so which teams are set to be celebrating on Saturday evening…….

Preston v Leicester

Preston are really struggling this season and Phil Brown has a task on his hands to turn things around. Take a look at the strikers each respective team has brought in this week – Sven has persuaded Yakubu to drop down to play for Leicester, while Brown has got Nathan Ellington from Greek side Skoda Xanthi.
Leicester are a growing force, they beat Swansea a fortnight ago before drawing with Manchester City in the FA Cup. You would expect Sven’s boys to have too much and take all three points to add to Preston’s misery (Leicester are Evs to win the game).

Swansea v Crystal Palace

New Palace boss Dougie Freedman faces a tough trip to South Wales, as Swansea are riding high in the table and bounced back from their defeat to Leicester by beating Colchester 4-0 in the FA Cup last time out. The Swans (4/7 to win the game) have lost some consistency in recent weeks, but Scott Sinclair remains a striker in form capable of hurting a leaky defence – something which Palace possess.
Brendan Rodgers has the perfect motivation for improvement and that is the fact Swansea could overtake second-placed Cardiff if they win and Norwich do them a favour – something that could happen as Paul Lambert’s side are riding high themselves this season. (Norwich 5/4 to beat Cardiff)

Bristol City v Middlesbrough

Both these teams need to put some results together to help them begin to climb the Championship table and lower league opposition in the FA Cup last weekend beat both. The statistics for this game show that Bristol City are inconsistent at home and Boro are terrible on the road, but Tony Mowbray’s side have struggled to score goals on the road. All pointers suggest a draw in this clash at 23/10.

Burnley v QPR

Managerless Burnley face a tall order against top-of-the-table QPR on Saturday, but the loss of Jamie Mackie could have a large impact on Neil Warnock’s side. Nevertheless, you would expect the attacking flair of Rangers (7/4 for the win) to be too much for a Burnley side, who seem to follow a win with a loss, according to their recent form.

The Best of The Rest

Across the rest of the games, Leeds (1/2 to win) should get their season back on track following a faltering period by beating a struggling Scunthorpe side, who are short of real firepower.
Ipswich will be on a high after their Carling Cup win over Arsenal and the ‘new manager syndrome’ should be enough to get them at least a draw at Millwall – priced at 12/5.
Doncaster (7/5 to win) play host to Reading and the home side should come out on top, while another home victory in Yorkshire seems on the cards as Hull face Barnsley at the KC Stadium (Hull 4/5 to gain the points).
Sheffield United (11/5 to win) have only won once on the road all season, but could add to that when they travel to an inconsistent Coventry.
Watford (20/23) will beat Derby and continue the plaudits for Malky Mackay, while Nottingham Forest (8/11) should boost their promotion chances with a win over struggling Portsmouth.

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Top five transfers so far

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The 2011 January transfer window has been a bit of a strange one so far, despite numerous rumours and plenty of speculation, very little business has been done. There have been a couple of deals that have gone through though, and here is a run through of what the new faces could do for their respective Premier League clubs.

Manchester City – Edin Dzeko (£27m from Wolfsburg)

City have been chasing Dzeko for some time and the Bosnian striker could well prove to be a big hit at Eastlands. He’s already endeared himself to the City fans without even kicking a ball, by having a dig at arch rivals Manchester United and he could be a massive asset for the Eastlands side.

Dzeko has a prolific record in the Bundesliga with 66 goals in 111 appearances in his three and a half year stint with Wolfsburg, he also has an impressive record for Bosnia with 17 goals in 31 games.

The 24-year-old is not blessed with great speed, but he is a fantastic target man who knows where the goal is and could prove to be the perfect foil for Carlos Tevez, who has shouldered much of the goal scoring responsibility for City this season.

Dzeko could make his debut when City host Wolves on Saturday, as boss Roberto Mancini is expected to throw him straight into action, he will also have fresh legs having just had the benefit of the Bundesliga’s winter break (can Dzeko fire City to glory? – 7/1 to win the Premier League).

Stoke City – Jermaine Pennant (£1.75m from Real Zaragoza)

Potters boss Tony Pulis picked up Pennant as soon as the transfer window opened, after a successful four month stint on loan at the Britannia.  The former Liverpool and Birmingham man has added a bit of quality to the Stoke midfield and has an excellent delivery.

We’ve already seen what Pennant can do in the first half of the season and Stoke would certainly have noticed his absence had he left, and at £1.75million Pennant could prove a great bit of business at the end of the campaign.

Fulham – Steve Sidwell (Undisclosed from Aston Villa)

Sidwell was regarded as a quality midfielder when he left Reading for Chelsea back in 2007.  He never managed to secure regular football at Stamford Bridge and moved to Villa, where again he could not get into the side.

The 28-year-old was also a target for West Ham and Wolves but instead opted to move to Fulham, it remains to be seen if he can have an impact at Craven Cottage but boss Mark Hughes will no doubt already be delighted to have beaten two rivals in the battle against the drop to the midfielder’s signature (Fulham are 7/2 to be relegated)

Newcastle United – Hatem Ben Arfa (£5.75m Marseille)

French winger Ben Arfa was regarded as one of the brightest prospects in France a few years ago but a series of bust ups, first at Lyon then at Marseille, have hampered his career and progress to a degree. The gifted playmaker joined on loan in the summer and made an immediate impact at St James’ Park with a few moments of brilliance, including a sublime strike against Everton.

The midfielder suffered a leg break in October following a challenge from Nigel de Jong in Newcastle’s loss to Manchester City, and there were fears he could miss the season.

However, Ben Arfa is making good progress and could return to action in February, where he will surely hand boss Alan Pardew a massive boost if he can rediscover the kind of form he was showing before his untimely injury (Newcastle face Sunderland in their next fixture – Match Betting – Sunderland 11/10, draw 23/10, Newcastle 23/10).

That is pretty much it!  Aside from the four done deals above the only other business that has been done in the January transfer window is the capture of South African defender Bongani Khumalo by Spurs in a £1.5million deal from SuperSport United, while Manchester United have snapped up goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard  from Aalesunds for an undisclosed fee. Manchester City have also captured former Barcelona youngster Gai Assulin as a free agent but it remains to be seen if the young Israeli will break into the team this season, while Khumalo and Lindegaard are also thought to be ones for the future.

The transfers should pick up as we enter the latter half of the month, but at the moment the Premier League has been very quiet in terms of movement.

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The Sack Race

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Newcastle, Liverpool and Blackburn have already got twitchy and replaced their managers this season – but who will be the next club to wield the axe in the Premier League?

As sure as night follows day, the survival chances of any football manager are about as precarious as Jordan, sorry, Katie Price’s latest husband, but factor in the millions of pounds washing around in the English top flight these days, well you get the drift.

Chris Hughton, ‘Big’ Sam Allardyce and Roy Hodgson have all been handed their P45s – with Alan Pardew, Steve Kean and ‘King’ Kenny Dalglish profiting from their downfalls – but they will not be the last this season – fact!

So who will be the next boss heading off to Dubai to lick his wounds? Well, I reckon it’s between Carlo Ancelotti and Roberto Martinez, with Mick McCarthy, Mark Hughes and Avram Grant also candidates for their own private ’squeaky bum’ time.

Carlo Ancelotti

Chelsea head honcho Roman Abramovich did not become one of the wealthiest men in the galaxy by being a charity case and even though the Italian scooped the double last season, he is still in deep trouble.

Captain John Terry has now come out and said results – one win in nine league games – are not good enough and it’s never a good sign when the former England captain goes on record like that.

Quite how Ancelotti has managed to hang on and not pay the price is a mystery – maybe it’s a question of brinkmanship to see who blinks first?

Anyway, Chelsea (3/10 – match betting) should win their next game which is against Blackburn (8/1) at Stamford Bridge, but will it buy him much more time?

Roberto Martinez

Wigan supremo Dave Whelan went on record last season when he appointed Martinez to assure the Spaniard he would not be sacked if he took Latics back into the Championship. And he didn’t have to pack the likeable 37-year-old back off to Catalonia following a 16th-placed finish.

This term Wigan got off to a terrible start by shipping 10 goals in their first two games which included a 4-0 defeat by new boys Blackpool on the opening day.

Latics started 2011 in the bottom three and while Whelan would not want to dispense with Martinez, is he really going to stomach more of the same between now and May?

Wigan (7/5 – match betting) face a six-pointer against Fulham (9/5) at the DW Stadium this weekend.

McCarthy, Hughes and Grant

These three must all fear being turned away at the gates of the training ground on a daily basis, but they probably don’t have much to fear.

McCarthy is not exactly everyone’s cup of tea (ask Roy Keane) but keeping Wolves up last season must count for something following promotion the season before?

Hughes is in the early stages of his job at Craven Cottage but they should have enough to stay up and continue rebuilding in the summer under ‘Sparky’.

And Grant would surely have gone before now – even given his Carling Cup run – if the Hammers could afford to pay off the remaining three-and-a-half years of the four-year deal he was handed a matter of months ago?

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Kenny can revive the Reds

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Liverpool head to the seaside this week (Blackpool 14/5, Draw 13/5, Liverpool 10/11 – Match Betting) looking for inspiration from a footballing great, with Kenny Dalglish already showing signs that he can wake them from their slumber – Blackpool, though, will provide a stern test for Dalglish and co.

Who would thought that almost two-thirds into the season, Blackpool would have been level on points with Liverpool – with one tipped to battle against the drop and the other fancied to push for a top four place.

But whilst the Tangerines have surprised many with their free-flowing football and attacking threat, the Reds (2-0 win – 7/1 Correct Score) have endured a woeful run away from Anfield – ultimately costing Roy Hodgson his job.

One away this season and just two wins on their travels – at Burnley and Bolton – in the whole of 2010.

There were some encouraging signs in Dalglish’s returning clash with Manchester United, but the visitors will have to produce the goods without their skipper as Steven Gerrard faces three games on the sidelines after his sending off at Old Trafford.

But Liverpool’s record is not as bad as you may think without their captain – wins over West Ham and Aston Villa and a decent showing at Spurs during his previous spell on the sidelines in November and December show that.

Joe Cole (5/2 to score at anytime) could be asked to step up to the plate in Gerrard’s absence at Bloomfield Road and the former Chelsea man certainly owes the Reds a big display after struggling to make an impact since his summer move.

A lack of goals will be a concern for Dalglish, but the open style of Blackpool could play into the hands of the visitors and, in particular, an out-of-sorts Fernando Torres.

The Tangerines (13/5 to be relegated) may have been on the end of an FA Cup shock at the weekend, but expect a whole host of changes for Wednesday’s Premier League fixture.

Ian Holloway’s men have only played seven games at home, mainly due to the harsh winter, and their form on home soil is not impressive. Only two wins have been secured at Bloomfield Road – with one of those coming against nine-man West Brom.

Just imagine the joy Blackpool would get from doing the double over Liverpool, following a 2-1 win at Anfield, but that result will also mean the Reds are even more determined to turn the tables.

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How Harry can earn his Spurs

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Tottenham have taken most of the tabloid headlines so far in the January transfer window with their move for David Beckham. But Harry Redknapp is never one to rest on his laurels and will bring in new faces during the month, but which ones could make a real different and help Spurs (28/1) take that next step and win the Premier League title?

The revolving door at White Hart Lane will be busy as it looks likely that Robbie Keane, David Bentley and possibly Niko Kranjcar could be on their way out, but the bigger question bothering Spurs fan must be: who will come in? And can they help them win the big prize? The signing of Beckham would undoubtedly increase shirt sales but might make little difference on the pitch, so who could really help make Spurs genuine title contenders?

Gary Cahill

One signing who could make a huge difference to help Spurs is Gary Cahill. The Bolton defender has been a revelation in recent seasons and it is no surprise to see his name linked with the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal (10/3 to win Premier League title).

Cahill, 25, has been very impressive during his time at the Reebok Stadium and he looks a defender who could be a star at club and international level for years to come.

Harry has prided himself on having quality English talent among his Spurs squad and arguably he would have the best English centre-back pairing around if he had Cahill alongside Michael Dawson.

At this point in time there are a lot of defenders at White Hart Lane, but with constant question marks over Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate when it comes to fitness, William Gallas when it comes to age and temperament and the questionable quality of Younes Kaboul, then getting Cahill’s signature would benefit Spurs not just this season, but for years to come.

Andy Carroll

Up front Spurs’ strikers have not sparked as you would expect. Jermain Defoe can score goals but does little else, while Peter Crouch is good in the air but struggles to really score consistently. So Harry should sign someone who can do both and there is no better in the Premier League at the moment than Andy Carroll (8/1 to be top Premier League goalscorer).

While there may be questions about the Newcastle striker’s off-the-pitch antics, there is no doubting the new England man’s qualities when it comes to football. He has terrorised the best of defences in the Premier League so far this season and can offer more to Spurs than Crouch, Keane or Roman Pavlyuchenko.

A big-man, little-man combination of Carroll and Defoe – with Rafael van der Vaart in the hole behind and Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon like lightning on the wings and getting balls in the box – would make Spurs (11/8 for a top-four finish) a potent attacking force, giving Harry the best attack in the entire Premier League.

Leighton Baines

This may sound daft, but there is some good logic behind it. Benoit Assou-Ekotto is an able enough full-back, but if anything happens to him Harry will have to bring Bale back into defence. This would be hugely detrimental to Spurs’ attacking potential, so the best thing the gaffer could do would be to sign a quality left-back.

There are not many of these around at the moment and Baines at Everton certainly catches the eye, and he is also handy with a dead ball.

Harry has been linked with his Toffees colleague Phil Neville, but if he seriously wants a quality left-back then he should look no further than Baines. He could be the first choice at White Hart Lane, allowing Assou-Ekotto to provide cover.

Add these three top-notch English Premier League stars into the squad already assembled at Spurs (13/2 to win FA Cup) and they would have the quality and strength to win silverware this season.

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Hammers target cup cheer

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West Ham United and Birmingham City meet at Upton Park to kick off the first-leg ties of the Carling Cup semi-finals this week, with the opportunity to set up a trip to Wembley offering a welcome distraction for the relegation-threatened Hammers.

Avram Grant’s future at the Irons helm remains in major doubt, although a 2-0 FA Cup third-round win over Barnsley eased the pressure on the Israeli for the time being.

An optimistic note can also be struck by his side’s progress to the last four of the Carling Cup, with a 4-0 Boleyn Ground demolition of Manchester United in the last round the major highlight. Grant’s men have also seen off Stoke City and Sunderland on their way to the semis.

However, West Ham are the outsiders to reach Wembley (evens for the tie) in a tie given extra spice by the former owner of the Blues, Davids Gold and Sullivan, having taken charge of the claret and blues.

City head to the capital as slight outsiders to win on the night (Birmingham 23/10 – match betting), but they are expected to edge out their London rivals to reach a first final since their heartbreaking penalty shoot-out loss to Liverpool in 2001.

Much of their strength is derived from a resolute back four in which both Roger Johnson and Scott Dann have been mooted as possible England calls, but goals remain hard to come by for Alex McLeish’s side and the Scot may be tempted to draft in striker Matt Derbyshire, who netted twice in a 4-1 weekend FA Cup win over Millwall.

Wednesday evening sees Championship strugglers Ipswich Town play host to Arsenal in a tie which is seen by most tipsters as a one-horse race.

The hosts, who axed manager Roy Keane last week and drafted in Paul Jewell as a replacement, were thumped 7-0 at Chelsea in the FA Cup third round at the weekend, while their league form has seen them win just once in nine games to plunge down the Championship table.

They have also scored a mere one goal in their last five games and Town’s dreadful recent form is reflected heavily in the match odds, which see the Gunners as overwhelming favourites for victory in East Anglia (Ipswich 15/2 – match betting).

Arsene Wenger’s men have their eyes on bigger prizes this season but having gone five years without a trophy, the chance of booking a Wembley final should be very tempting.

Town fans will be doom-laden when confronted by the fact that the Gunners have sailed through to the semis by despatching Wigan Athletic, Newcastle United and north London rivals Spurs, who scored the only goals that Arsenal have conceded in the competition this season.

Ten goals scored in three ties also show that the Arsenal attack is having few problems in firing in the Carling Cup, even though Wenger continues to use the competition as something of an avenue for experimentation.

With a place in the final seemingly certain, Wenger may be tempted to field a full-strength team in the home second leg, but whatever side takes the field at Portman Road it should still be more than enough to see off a downbeat Town outfit.

The only note of caution for Arsenal comes with the knowledge that new Tractor Boys boss Jewell masterminded Wigan’s shock semi-final success over the Gunners in 2005-06.

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Trio are FA Cup contenders

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History and the prices suggest it will be difficult for any club outside the usual suspects to win the FA Cup this season, but the third round showed there are still some shock results.

Following victory over Liverpool, Manchester United can be backed as the 4/1 favourites and it is not rocket science to make a case for the 11-times winners and seven-times runners-up.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side last won the trophy in 2004, but a kind draw away to League One promotion-hopefuls Southampton in round four means they should not have too many problems reaching the business end.

The each-way value might come by way of either Tottenham or Everton – and possibly Bolton.

Tottenham fans cling to the romance of years ending in the number one, so could this be the year the north Londoners get their hands on the trophy?

First, it would be folly to dismiss the threat of fourth-round opponents Fulham, but there is enough attacking intent to suggest Tottenham could come away with capital gains on the banks of the Thames.

Harry Redknapp, winner of the FA Cup with Portsmouth in 2008, has created a shackles-off approach to winning football matches and Tottenham may view the competition as an ideal opportunity to get their hands on a major piece of silverware.

Tottenham have the third-best FA Cup record, winning the famour old trophy eight times, so Redknapp will be aware of its importance to seasoned White Hart Lane followers.

He also has enough match-winners at his disposal to know the Premier League top-four hopefuls can shock any of the big-guns on their day (Tottenham 13/2 – FA Cup Outright).

Everton have the small task of sending holders Chelsea packing but, like Tottenham, can turn it on against the Premier League heavyweights (14/1 Everton – FA Cup Outright).

They have already taken a point off Manchester United, Tottenham and Chelsea this season and beat Manchester City in their own backyard, so should not be questioned when it comes to upsetting the odds.

They have had a poor season domestically but the new year usually brings an upturn in fortunes in the blue half of Merseyside and stuttering Chelsea will not be rubbing their hands at the prospect of this awkward assignment.

Bolton, granted, are a price shout at 20/1 but the each-way value means they only – yes only – have to reach the final.

Wanderers have won new admirers under manager Owen Coyle and could be dangerous, if they first get past north-west rivals Wigan at the Reebok.

With the prospect of as many as five all top-flight ties, there will be some high-profile fallers but Bolton could just spring a surprise by slipping under the radar.

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Minnows embarrass Pardew & Co

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Bet on the FA CupNewcastle United manager Alan Pardew was just one of a number of bosses who were forced to apologise for their team’s performance on a day of shocks in the FA Cup third round.

We picks out the best rants and raves from this Saturday’s topsy-turvy action.

The magic of the Cup has been in short supply in recent years but it was back with a vengeance as the Premier League lost four clubs to lower league opposition, while another three face tricky replays before they can start thinking about the fourth round.

Easily the biggest shock of the day came at Broadhall Way where League Two side Stevenage (1500/1 FA Cup outright) took revenge on Newcastle after a 13-year wait.

In 1998 then non-league Stevenage took Newcastle to a replay before narrowly losing at St James’ Park.

However, there was no need for a replay this time around after Boro produced the performance of the day with a 3-1 win over the Toon.

Newcastle never got to grips with the youngest team in the Football League and after the match, Pardew was forced to eat humble pie, blaming the Christmas fixture list for their lacklustre performance.

“I can only say we are sorry for the result and for the performance because it was the performance level which was the problem tonight,” said Pardew.

“We were running on empty. It’s been such a tough sequence of games. The team was a shadow of the team which played at Wigan and West Ham. Our energy level just couldn’t match theirs. In both boxes we got dominated. The team looked tired.”

Pardew wasn’t the only boss looking for an excuse to explain his team’s defeat, with North-East rivals Sunderland (7/2 top six finish) forced to explain themselves after a 2-1 defeat to Notts County at home.

The Stadium of Light has been a fortress for the Black Cats this season, with just one team having previously won there before the League One Magpies came calling.

Notts showed the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal how to do it and after the full time whistle, Bruce lashed out at his side, slamming them for their under-par performance.

“Certainly by looking at what we have just witnessed today with six or seven missing, we simply aren’t good enough,” said Bruce.

“With six or seven (out), we simply couldn’t handle it, so that’s the disappointing thing for me.”

Middlesbrough completed a miserable day for the North-East as they were also embarrassed by League Two Burton Albion, the Brewers coming from a goal down to snatch the tie 2-1 in the last minute.

Joining the North-East sides on the FA Cup scrapheap will be West Brom after they slumped to a sixth straight defeat as they lost 1-0 at Reading (9/2 to be promoted).

The Baggies looked more at home against Championship opposition than they have done against the Premier League sides in recent weeks and they could be heading back there if results don’t improve soon.

Blackpool were also dumped out unceremoniously by League One Southampton, although with the Seasiders fielding a team made up of youth players, it might have been a shock had the Saints not gone through.

The trio of top flight clubs who hung on to their FA Cup status by their finger nails were Arsenal (6/1 FA Cup outright), Wolves (80/1) and Stoke (50/1) after their respective draws with Leeds, Doncaster and Cardiff.

Quote of the day came from QPR manager Neil Warnock after he launched an astonishing attack on the man everyone loves to hate, El Hadji Diouf.

The Senegalese international hasn’t made many friends in football and didn’t do himself any favours during Blackburn’s 1-0 win over QPR, apparently calling Jamie Mackie a ‘disgrace’ after he suffered a serious injury.

X-rays later revealed Mackie had broken bones in his leg and Warnock chose not to mince his words when talking about Diouf.

“I think for many years he’s been the ‘gutter’ type of boy. I was going to call him a sewer rat, but that might insult the sewer rats. I think he’s the lowest of the low,” said Warnock.

“I can’t see him being at Blackburn much longer because I can’t see Steve Kean putting up with someone like that in the dressing room when he’s creating a new image.

“I think he’ll be the first to go. Good riddance. I hope he goes abroad. I won’t miss watching him. Sign him? I wouldn’t want to talk to him.”

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