Archives for February 2010

Selhurst Park

Crystal Palace boss Neil Warnock has rattled enough cages in his 29 years as a manager to ensure that not everyone will have been instantly sympathetic to the way his side were cruelly denied victory over Aston Villa at the very end of an enthralling FA Cup fifth round tie on Sunday.

He was at his outspoken worst again immediately after the final whistle of his side's 2-2 draw, raging on live TV that the corner that led to Stiliyan Petrov's 87th-minute equaliser for Villa should not have been awarded.

It's true that Warnock was proved right by TV replays which showed the ball went behind after taking the slightest of touches off Villa's Nathan Delfouneso after Eagles goalkeeper Julian Speroni had brilliantly denied John Carew but, apart from the players closest to the incident, few people in the ground spotted it at the time.

We've seen similar scenes to the rant that followed on too many occasions - this time it was directed at linesman Trevor Massey, who got the decision wrong - and, sadly, it somewhat overshadowed what had been a thrilling match and stirring performance by a Palace team in administration with debts of around £30m and facing an uncertain future.

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Britannia Stadium, Stoke

I have to admit that my encounter with Tony Pulis does not exactly start well. "You're late, where have you been?" demands the Stoke City manager after I introduce myself. Given that he is a renowned disciplinarian with a reputation for being a man you do not want to upset, I am glad the club's press officer is on hand to set the record straight on my timekeeping and explain it is me who has been waiting.

Pulis is only joking in any case - and things go a lot smoother from that point onwards. His team tactics may have been denounced by some as little more than an up and at 'em approach with an 'in yer face' attitude but in contrast to that, and perhaps his public image too, Pulis in person is affable, engaging and even partial to some good-humoured banter.

Not that there has been much of the latter hurled in his direction recently. Stoke's style is as effective at winding up the purists as it was in securing Premier League survival last season, with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger a particularly vocal critic while some Potters supporters have registered their disapproval too, despite their side being unbeaten in 2010.

Wenger and Pulis have been sniping at each other since Stoke beat the Gunners in November 2008 so it's probably not surprising that the 52-year-old Welshman exclaims in jest "don't tell Arsene that!" when I put it to him that the Potters were deserved winners when the two sides met in the FA Cup fourth round last month.

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