Rafa Rants On, Classless Chelsea Chant, Ronaldo Makes It a Clean Sweep, and more

A new work week has started for many, and this one is starting the same way as the last one ended, with a certain manager from the northwest ranting on about a rival.

If Rafa Benitez’s intention is to take the focus off of what his Liverpool side are doing on the pitch, then he’s certainly doing that by continuing his rants on all things Manchester United. As entertaining as it is (and it is!), and as true as some of it might be, his timing is far from impeccable. Might not be a bad idea to take an example from Fernando Torres.

I imagine he’ll be attacking club secretaries next…

Now, I know that fans can get riled up and say some pretty abusive things, but wishing death upon someone is going a little too far. Of course, I imagine that there are more people who feel that way besides them, but there are certain things you shouldn’t say aloud.

One of the biggest on-pitch talking points of the Manchester United-Chelsea match, besides the scoreline itself (which could have been even worse), was Manchester United’s cheeky shortest of short corners turned disallowed goal. As it happens, they scored on the retake, so the only disappointed person might have been Ronaldo about not getting on the score sheet. Alas, I’m guessing he’s not too upset about that, since he just made another addition to his trophy cabinet.

Such decisions like the one above can only serve to reignite the debate about video technology for controversial decisions. I do feel like there should be some sort of technology introduced in the near future, but I suppose part of my openness to it is because I’m so used to it with American sports by now.

I imagine Aston Villa have gained many a new fan this season, thanks to their attempts to break the hold that the current Big Four have on the title and the Champions League places. It may be only a matter of time before Martin O’Neill gets an offer from one of those clubs, and it’s interesting to think about how he would do at them.

Adding a striker in January could help Villa make a sustained challenge for the title and at least lock down a Champions League place, but the one they want won’t come cheaply. Maybe he could go for Darren Bent and take the unlucky Gareth Bale off of Harry Redknapp’s hands. The sooner Tottenham get their bad-luck charm off of their hands, the better for their survival?

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