That’s all from me, folks. Thanks for all the emails and tweets and comments on a cracking day of football across the continent. Enjoy the rest of your Saturday! Bye!
And it’s all over in the Championship. Some eye-catching scores for you. Blackpool 4-4 Nottingham Forest! Bolton 3-4 Watford! Bournemouth 1-1 Huddersfield. Norwich 2-0 Wolves. Down to League One. Bristol City 1-3 Sheffield United. Crawley 5-1 Barnsley. Scunthorpe 3-1 Swindon. You can more of these results here and all the relevant table here.
Full-time in the FA Cup!
It’s all over. Derby 1-2 Reading. Blackburn 4-1 Stoke.
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And now Caen have equalised at nine-man PSG after scoring twice in the last two minutes! Miserable, miserable day at Parc des Princes.
— Tom Williams (@tomwfootball) February 14, 2015
Full-time: PSG 2-2 Caen. PSG remain third and Cabaye, Marquinhos, Aurier and Lucas Moura all injured ahead of Chelsea match on Tuesday.
— Tom Williams (@tomwfootball) February 14, 2015
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It was Blackpool 3-4 Nottingham Forest. It is now Blackpool 4-4 Nottingham Forest. Oh, my. What a game!
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It was Blackpool 3-3 Nottingham Forest. It is now Blackpool 3-4 Nottingham Forest. Chris Burke it was who did the honours for the away side.
There has also been loads and loads of drama in the game between Bolton and Watford, which has been completely ignored. As it stands, Troy Deeney has given his side a 90th minute lead after coming off the bench.
PSG are not the only team down to 9 men, Blackpool are too, although that’s possibly where the comparison between these two clubs ends. They are still drawing 3-3 with Nottingham Forest but there is 9 minutes of added time for someone to find a winner. There has been a load of drama at the top of League One. Loads. Well four goals actually. Two have gone to Sheffield United who are defeating Bristol City 3-1 and the other two have gone to Scunthorpe who are beating Swindon 3-1.
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GOAL! Derby 1-2 Reading (Yakubu)
Feed. The. Yak.
'80 UNBELIEVABLE! @LucasnaRede_ now leaves the game with an injury and PSG are down to 9 MEN!!! #PSGSMC
— PSG English (@PSG_English) February 14, 2015
PSG had a man sent off but they are two goals ahead and should be able to see this out.
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It ended Bayern Munich 8-0 Hamburg. But the Bundesliga drama does not end there. Wolfsburg ended up beating 10-man Leverkusen 5-4 thanks to a 90th minute goal from Bas Dost. Unbelievable!
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It was Blackpool 3-2 Nottingham Forest. It is now Blackpool 3-3 Nottingham Forest. Blackpool have also had a man sent off. Tom Aldred was the man to earn an early bath.
Simon McMahon, our unofficial man north of the border, has the latest from there: “Dundee United continue to score and ship goals for fun - it’s currently 2-2 in Kilmarnock, don’t bet on it ending that way. Ross County lead Motherwell 3-1 in the basement battle and it’s St. Mirren 1 Inverness 2.”
It was Blackpool 2-2 Nottingham Forest. It is now Blackpool 3-2 Nottingham Forest.
There is some news in League One too. Bristol City are no longer beating Sheffield United (it’s 1-1) and Swindon are no longer beating Scunthorpe (it’s also 1-1). Meanwhile in League Two, York are 2-0 up against Tranmere while leaders Shrewsbury are 2-0 up against Wimbledon. Burton are still beating Oxford but Wycombe are only drawing 1-1 with Newport.
Forest have halved Blackpool’s lead. Scrap that. Forest are now level. Deary me, Blackpool are good at throwing away two-goal leads, aren’t they?
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There is loads and loads to tell you about in the Championship. Blackpool are now 2-0 up against Nottingham Forest. (Deary me!) Huddersfield have drawn level with Bournemouth. Charlton are 2-0 against Brentford. Norwich have also doubled their lead against Wolves. And in the biggest news of all, the Fulham fans have got their boos out and they are even aiming them at their beloved mascot, Billy the Badger. Poor Billy.
GOAL! Derby 1-1 Reading (Bent)
Lingard tried to strike one from distance. He did that but his effort took a deflection off Ben’t knee and into the net. He looks a bit sheepish afterwards.
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GOAL! Blackburn 4-1 Stoke (King)
And there is the hat-trick! Just like the last one, the ball was scooped over the top of the slow and snoozing Stoke defence, King chased on to it and then passed it past Butland once more. Stoke are going out of the FA Cup.
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GOAL! Blackburn 3-1 Stoke (King)
... he scored the first, he had a hand in the second and now King has scored the third. Gestede held the ball up before he scooped it over the top to King, who held off a Stoke defender and then nutmegged Butland in the Stoke net.
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GOAL! Derby 0-1 Reading (Robson-Kanu)
The former Forest man, Simon Cox (who came close to scoring in the first half), pulled the ball back for Robson-Kanu who gives his side the lead with a nice finish. And that is not where the FA Cup goals stop ...
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Back to the FA Cup and back to Ewood Park. Andy Wilkinson comes on for Marko Arnautovic and Corry Evans replaces Lee Williamson.
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“You might also take note of the Wolfsburg match” says Konstantin Sauer. “After being 3 ahead at halftime, now its 4 all with 20 minutes to go.” Holy cow! Bayern are now 7-0 up. Franck Ribéry with the latest. Ho hum.
Phew! Well that was some 45 minutes of football. Here are the latest scores and here are the latest tables for you to peruse before we get knee deep in another 45 minutes.
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GOAL! Blackburn 2-1 Stoke (Gestede) and RED CARD!
Cor blimey guv’nor! It is all popping off over in Ewood now. Rudy Gestede broke into the Stoke box and Geoff Cameron introduced him to the ground. He was shown red and the home side were awarded a penalty. Gestede dusted himself down and poked his side into the lead.
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We have also been ignoring the Bayern Munich game. When we last left them, they were 3-0 up against Hamburg. They are now 4-0 5-0 6-0 up. Robben and Müller got their second goals of the day and Lewandowski got his first.
We have been ignoring the League Football for these last few entries. Bolton are now 2-1 up against Watford; Charlton are berating Brentford 1-0; Leeds are beating Millwall by the same scoreline. Ipswich have doubled their lead against Fulham – Murphy once again – and Norwich are ahead against Wolves. But bigger than all that is the fact that Blackpool are 1-0 up against Nottingham Forest. Meanwhile, at the top of League One, Bristol City and Swindon are now 1-0 up against their respective opponents.
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“Easy to confuse Nascar and Blackburn v. Stoke,” says Charles Antaki. “One shows overheated monsters hurtling past, and sometimes into, each other, and the other, yes, shows racing cars.”
RED CARD!
You wanted action? You got it. There has just been a goal at Ewood Park and now there has been a sending off at Derby. Stephen Warnock was on a yellow card when he decided the best thing for him and his team would be for him to dive two-footed at Jamie Mackey. A stupid challenge that left Craig Pawson with no option.
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GOAL! Blackburn 1-1 Stoke (King)
The Stoke goal came from a corner and so too has the Blackburn one. In the ball is swung by Conway and Duffy rose above the rest to win the first header. King then nodded his side back into the FA Cup match from close range.
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Public service announcement from Les Warby. “The Blackburn v Stoke game is on Fox Sports 2. Nazscar is on Fox Sports 1.”
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Have just seen a video of that Ibra goal. It’s ridiculous. Go watch it. Now.
There is very little happening at either Ewood or the Baseball Ground iPro Stadium. #Magicofthecup.
Odion Ighalo now has (by my count) 15 goals this season and his latest has given Watford the lead against Bolton Wanderers. Elsewhere, Jay O’Shea has put Cheltenham one up against poor, old Leyton Orient and Wes Fletcher has given York hope of staying in League Two by giving his side the lead against Tranmere.
J.R. in Illinois has been in touch again:
Instead of showing any FA Cup game Fox is showing NASCAR practice. Yes, you read that correctly. Anyway, I guess I’ll be scouting PSG in advance of their big game against Chelsea. They are already up 1-0 on a goal by Ibra. He could have headed in a cross but instead what he did was basically goose-step it in. He then performed the most deliberate shirt taking off celebration off all time. After about 30 seconds of hugging with teammates he walked to an unoccupied space of the pitch, slowly removed his shirt, then triumphantly raised his arms. I recommend making the effort to watch that.
Anyone got a video of that?
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The Blackpool fans are serenading their fans with chants of “worst pitch in history”. They have a point:
Pitch is already cutting up during the warm up... #nffc pic.twitter.com/ssGXHfIUZW
— Paul Taylor (@nottmtails) February 14, 2015
There has been no goals and not a huge amount of action in the game between the Derby and Reading. Reading have, however, just hit the post via Simon Cox.
There has been a big goal in the Championship and it has come at the Goldsands Stadium where the home team have taken the lead. Matt Ritchie teed up Yann Kermorgant whose right-footed curler found the bottom corner of the Huddersfield net.
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In League Two, Burton Albion have taken the lead against Oxford United. Adam McGurk did the damage with a close-ranger header. The only other game with a goal in that league is in the Bury v Cheltenham game where Bury are currently one to the good.
Bayern are now 3-0 up. Robben got this one. Good luck with that midweek game Shakhtar. You are going to need it.
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GOAL! Blackburn 0-1 Stoke (Crouch)
Well that did not take very long. A Victor Moses corner was sent in, the home defence failed to win the first header and didn’t get tight enough for the second ball. That gives Crouch a fairly easy chance and given the form he is, he does not miss.
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Penalty at Ewood Park! No! Just kidding. Josh King hit the turf after a tackle from Marc Muniesa but the referee was having nothing of it.
There are no goals to tell you about just yet but there has been some action over in the rugby. You can join my colleague, Dan Lucas, over here if the egg-shaped ball is your thing. Actually, there is a goal to tell you about. Ipswich have taken the lead against Fulham thanks to a Daryl Murphy header from the centre of the box.
Quick question. Only one player has been sent off in the Premier League on Valentine’s Day. Anyone know who that is?
Rafinha has charged into position and put a decent cross into the box. He was aiming for a team-mate but he hit Marcos’ arm. Tis a penalty to Bayern. Müller steps up and Müller scores. Seconds later – literally seconds – Mario Götze (who really should have retired after scoring that goal) makes it two to Bayern. That’s that one done then.
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From our man at the Blackburn v Stoke game:
Not the biggest crowd ever at Ewood...
— jamie jackson (@JamieJackson___) February 14, 2015
Here is the reaction of one Aston Villa fan:
Best of luck to Tim Sherwood as the new Aston Villa boss ! Keep us up Tim ! #Welcome .
— Paul McGrath (@Paulmcgrath5) February 14, 2015
Over in Germany. Wolfsburg have got off to a flier, they are already two to the good against Bayer Leverkusen. Bas Dost got the first and Ronaldo Naldo grabbed the second. Hamburg, meanwhile, are holding Bayern to a goalless draw at the moment but Thomas Müller almost put his side in front with a cheeky back-heel.
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J.R. in Illinois has also been in touch confessing his first gig: “That would be Ozzy Osbourne touring after his first solo album, Blizzard of Ozz. It was great.” Hold on, Ozzy Osbourne used to be a musician? Thought he was just a reality TV star?
It is also all over north of the border in the game between St Johnstone and Celtic. Twas a “nervy ending” (Celtic’s words, not mine) but the away side managed to hold on for a 2-1 win, thanks, in part, to some late, great saves from the incredibly underrated, and unlucky, Craig Gordon.
It’s all over at the Hawthorns. And it is all over for West Ham’s dream of winning the FA Cup this season. That was quite the tonking.
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The day’s first email. It’s from Simon McMahon: “Afternoon Ian. Whilst I will happily cheer on Derby in the sugary delight that is the FA Cup this afternoon, it’s bread and butter league action here in Scotland. Celtic lead St. Johnstone 2-1 in the early kick-off (still 10 minutes to go in that one), but game of the day is at Kilmarnock where treble chasing Dundee United are in action. Bottom two Ross County and Motherwell meet in a relegation six-pointer and in the Scottish Championship it’s top versus bottom - a win for Hearts over Livingston will put them 20 (twenty) points clear of Hibs in second.”
Hey Villa fans out there in cyber world. How do you feel about that one? Holler at the usual address with your thoughts. It can’t be worse than Lambert, right? Right? Here is what chief suit, Tom Fox had to say about it all:
Randy and I are really pleased that Tim has decided to join the club. Tim had a fantastic career at Tottenham, not only in his brief spell as first-team manager but, just as importantly, in the role he played in developing young talent. We are determined to build a football operation with a long-term vision and a commitment to youth development. We strongly believe Tim has the qualities to get the best out of our current squad and help us build and develop for the future.
And here is what Tim had to say about it all:
It is a great honour to manage one of the biggest clubs in English football. I can’t wait to get started and I’m really looking forward to the challenge.
And last, but not least, Mr Randy Lerner himself:
While being forever conscious of the frustrations that we all suffer, we feel that a change that offers a positive, fresh approach will be very good for the club. I know that Tom and many others at Villa worked very hard to recruit Tim in the face of severely limited time constraints and pounding pressure. More importantly, I know further that internally we remain focused and committed to challenges we face, and I am deeply appreciative for that.
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BREAKING NEWS ...
... Tim Sherwood has been appointed the manger of Aston Villa!
NEW MANAGER: A very warm claret and blue welcome to Tim Sherwood. Story: http://t.co/3XTUTJi04d #AVFC #WelcomeTim pic.twitter.com/HcVwgmAKzj
— Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial) February 14, 2015
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And here is the latest from our man in Derby:
Judging by #DCFC lamb and mint sauce outstanding pressroom pie, this is a club going places ... #andthatshowtojudge
— Richard Rae (@RichMRae) February 14, 2015
Oh my word, there's a layer of mushy peas in there too. Pie of the season, without a doubt. #dcfc #betterandbetter
— Richard Rae (@RichMRae) February 14, 2015
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Some FA Cup team news
Blackburn: Eastwood, Henley, Duffy, Kilgallon (c), Olsson, Taylor, Cairney, Williamson, Marshall, Gestede, King. Subs: Steele, Spurr, Hanley, Rhodes, Varney, Evans, Conway.
Stoke: Butland; Cameron, Muniesa, Wollscheid, Bardsley; Arnautovic, Nzonzi, Whelan, Moses; Crouch, Diouf. Subs: Sorensen; Wilkinson, Adam, Teixeira, Shenton, Palacios; Sidwell
Referee: Anthony Taylor
And our brief preview via Jamie Jackson: Fifty-three years have passed since these clubs last met in the Cup, a fourth-round tie won 1-0 at home by Stoke City, also the score the only other time they have faced each other in the competition, in 1906. Blackburn Rovers are the hosts on Saturday and the team currently placed ninth in the Championship should be wary of Stoke, who, despite losing 4-1 to Manchester City in midweek, were the better side before the break and are enjoying their best period of form for a while.
Derby: Roos, Christie, Keogh, Shotton, Warnock; Mascarell, Hendrick, Bryson; Lingard, Dawkins, Bent. Subs: Mitchell, Forsyth, Buxton, Ward, Hughes, Thomas, Thorne
Reading:
TEAM NEWS: Your #readingfc starting line up for this afternoon's FA Cup clash with @dcfcofficial pic.twitter.com/mDQFNSgVxR
— Reading FC (@ReadingFC) February 14, 2015
Referee: Craig Pawson
And our brief preview via Rich Flower: This game could be a game for two strikers who were once among the leading scorers in the top flight. Darren Bent, on loan from Aston Villa, is expected to take the place of the injured Chris Martin in the Derby team while Yakubu Aiyegbeni is expected to feature (at some stage) for Reading after signing on a free transfer. A touch of Premier League class from either of them could make all the difference in a tight encounter.
Can you feel the love?
Stokies are red , Rovers are blue Let's win and get to wembley pls #FACup
— Peter Crouch (@petercrouch) February 14, 2015
Happy #ValentinesDay! Bring someone along to your real love with @McCoys #2for1 tickets! http://t.co/CU2jyF6Gj7 pic.twitter.com/jQkUP8TEUH
— Nottingham Forest FC (@Official_NFFC) February 14, 2015
Roses are red, Pools play in blue, We're bad at poems, Pools.
— Hartlepool United FC (@Official_HUFC) February 14, 2015
The love of your life is ready...best not keep her waiting. Hearts v Livingston, 3pm. pic.twitter.com/0K9qdJeBkI
— Heart of Midlothian (@JamTarts) February 14, 2015
Happy Valentine’s Day to all our fans #CelticAtHeart (NM) pic.twitter.com/s1hwxp6MyP
— Celtic Football Club (@celticfc) February 14, 2015
Good afternooon
Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls. Step right up and point your peepers this way for a fabulous afternoon of football. Come one, come all, and see the most amazing sights in the universe. There will be goals the likes you never seen before! There will be saves that will have you rubbing your eyes in disbelief! There will be blood. There will be blood, sweat and snot. Loads and loads of snot. It’s snotty weather out there. And the most amazing thing about all of this is that entrance fee is free. That’s right people, you don’t have to pay a dime, nor sell off grandma’s very rare old figurine from the civil war that is actually a Johnny Reb bottle – early 1970s, one of the J&R Whiskey Liquor Lads – nor offer up a lung to get in. (Of course, that price will reflect the level of “journalism” on offer but don’t let that put you off.) Back to the action. Today’s action. As we were saying, right before your very eyes, an array of football acts will assemble for your delight as well as your despair. Hoot when your team scores! Cry foul when your man dives in the box! Cry even more when the other team score a last-minute equaliser that not only ruins your entire weekend but also your accumulator and thus the plans you had to bring your sweetheart home a nice box of Iconique Chocolates from Godiva after your afternoon spent necking 15 pints of vodka and snakebite in the local with John and Terry. All of this and so much, much more is guaranteed* before the afternoon is out. Ready? Let’s go!
Let’s go indeed. There are two FA Cup games for us to feast upon this coming afternoon and they shall be the main focus. Blackburn welcome Stoke to Ewood Park while Derby open their arms and Reading come close for a warm embrace. (Embrace, incidentally, was the first gig I ever went too. How embarrassing, I know.) In the Championship, there is a programme that is more packed than a vegan crunk night in east London. League leaders, Middlesbrough, are going to do one over Arsenal tomorrow so they are not in action today and that gives Bournemouth a chance to reclaim the top spot that was once theirs. Given that they have lost only one of their last 11 league home games and are playing Huddersfield, who are marooned in mid-table, you expect them to do so. Elsewhere at the top, promotion-hopefuls Ipswich take on Fulham, Watford travel to Bolton and Norwich will be looking to keep the Wolves from three points. Down at the bottom, Blackpool and Nottingham Forest will play out a grim 1-0 win to the visitors – i.e. Forest – and Leeds and Millwall are playing each other. What could possibly go wrong there, eh?
Ah yes, good point. Well let’s move beyond that and below to League One and League Two. Top of the table’s Bristol City take to the field of play against Sheffield United in one of the day’s more intriguing clashes in League One. “It should be a good game between two good teams,” yodelled Steve Cotterill but one of those teams will be without five players through injury. That should make it a touch easier for Cotterill and his cohorts. Second in the table’s Swindon make a three and a half hour trip north to Scunthorpe where they will encounter a frustrating time that will see them leave with just a point in their pocket. Elsewhere, Leyton Orient, those darlings of reality TV in Italy who have been much, much better away from home this season than at home, will be looking to ensure they are not cut further adrift from the rest when they come up against Chesterfield. (Oldham, by the way, are letting the peeps through the turnstiles for just £5 today as way of “sending [their] Valentine’s Day love” to their fans.) Over in League Two, the fun starts at Shrewsbury v Wimbledon but does not end there. Burton are taking on Oxford and Wycombe are going to beat Newport 2-0. We’ll try cram all that, as well as the action from the Bundesliga, Scotland and France (in that order), into this here Clocko but be sure to holler if we miss out on your side. Ready? Let’s go!
*a 100% definite guarantee**
** Just joking.
