The game lived up to expectations and was full of goals and incidents.  Vincent Kompany’s two-footed challenge was in every way a fantastic, clean tackle.  He won the ball and didn’t touch the player.

However, both feet were off the floor.  To the letter of the law, that is a red card offence.  Ridiculous though it may be, the referee had to make a split second decision, and got it spot on.  Even though a red card is unwarranted for such a clean challenge that in no way was reckless or dangerous.

Man City were clearly shaken at losing their influential captain in the 12th minute not long after conceding an early headed goal from Wayne Rooney.

Ferguson and Manchester United fans were probably looking to avenge the thrashing from earlier in the season when they found themselves 3-0 at half-time.  But in the second-half Manchester City showed how far they have come as a team rather than a group of individual players and fought back to within an inch of saving the game.

A brilliant free-lick from Aleksandar Kolarov gave the blue half of Manchester hope while Paul Scholes was introduced to tighten up the midfield.  Unfortunately a lack of match fitness showed, and when Aguerro scored a second, it was City that looked the more likely to score again.

It ended 3-2 to Manchester United who will now face Liverpool in the Fourth Round.

Paulo Di Canio’s Swindon Town caused the upset of the round as they beat Premier League Wigan; and when Sam Allardyce announced a weakened West Ham team, it wasn’t a surprise to see League One promotion contenders Sheffield Wednesday win through to the next round.

FA Cup 4th Round Draw

•    Brighton or Wrexham v Newcastle
•    Sunderland v Middlesbrough
•    Dagenham & Redbridge or Millwall v Southampton
•    Hull City v Crawley Town
•    MK Dons or QPR v Chelsea
•    West Brom v Norwich
•    Blackpool v Sheffield Wednesday
•    Arsenal or Leeds v Aston Villa
•    Stevenage v Notts County
•    Watford v Tottenham
•    Liverpool v Manchester United
•    Derby v Stoke
•    Everton v Fulham
•    Macclesfield or Bolton v Swansea
•    Sheffield United v Birmingham or Wolves
•    Nottingham Forest or Leicester v Swindon

All matches to be played over the weekend of the 28th & 29th January.  Too soon for a Suarez v Evra rematch. Though don’t be too surprised if Sir Alex Ferguson is calling Edwin Van Der Sar & Peter Schmeichel.

So it’s a good time to give you a heads up about a new website that is about to launch which will bring you a scores and results service covering all of the major British and European leagues and tournaments, including the Premier League, English Football League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, and the Champions League.

As well as following favourite domestic clubs in the Premier League and Championship, I also follow the trials and tribulations of my non-league hometown team, formerly Gravesend & Northfleet now known as Ebbsfleet, as well as favourite European teams of which I have personal favourites in each of the top European leagues.

These passive allegiances stem from my childhood when the only European football to be shown on British television was on Wednesday nights on the sadly missed Sportsnight programme.  My memories are full of exciting  European football matches when I was allowed to stay up way past my bedtime to watch great teams with world class players and cool looking football kits to match.

Johan Cruyff and Ajax, Franz Beckenbauer and Bayern Munich and wonderful sounding teams like Dukla Prague, Panathinaikos and Borussia Monchengladbach!

I recall Leeds United losing 1-0 in a ill-tempered game to AC Milan in the 1973 Cup Winners Cup final just four days after losing 1-0 to Sunderland in the FA Cup final; Nottm Forest beating the Swedish part-timeers Malmo in 1979 with a Trevor Francis header and retaining the European Cup by beating Hamburg in 1980; and West Ham losing to Anderlecht of Belgium in the 1976 Cup Winners Cup.

I remember the glory days of Saint Etienne in the French League and how Real Madrid played in a similar all-white kit to Leeds United (only to recently read that Don Revie changed the home kit to mimic the Spanish giants on becoming manager of Leeds United in 1961!).

I also have a passive favouritism for teams with cool kits, choosing Celtic over Rangers not for any political or religious reasons but because I thought green and whites hoops looked cooler than a regular blue shirt.  I also preferred the black & blue stripes of Inter Milan to the red & black stripes of AC Milan.
So even before European football was made available on satellite tv, my interest in football spread further than the English leagues.  The English Premier League is often cited by critics and players alike to currently be the best league in the world.  But I still lookout for scores and results from the Spanish La Liga and Italy’s Serie A.

The Football Scores website will be a great source for all this information and will also include international tournaments, such as the European Championships, international friendly matches, international qualifiers and the World Cup. The website is called FootballScores.com and it launches this month.

Champions League qualification officially states that Manchester City have a seat on European football’s head table; and whereas before Kaka turned down a move in favour of Real Madrid, we should now expect even more serious money attracting some of the very best players in the world.  Strange then, that Carlos Tevez should now want to make public his desire to move to Italy in the summer. A great player yes, but in my opinion, not world class.

So Roberto Mancini has achieved the goal of Abu Dhabi club owners who expected nothing less than a top four finish.  But even though Manchester City may also win the FA Cup this Saturday, I believe if Jose Mourinho showed any interest in a move to the sky blue side of Manchester, Mancini would be sacked.

Following Real Madrid’s public disapproval of Mourinho’s behaviour in recent matches with Barcelona, it has made it more likely that Jose Mourinho may return to the Premier League sooner rather than later.  He has already stated his next job will be in England.  Such a statement would sound bold coming from anyone else, but with Jose Mourinho’s reputation and past record there will always be interest for those willing to pay his price.

Manchester City’s victory last night means FA Cup finalists Stoke City will automatically play in the Europa League next season.  While Spurs may miss out on European football altogether as they drop to sixth position, two points behind Liverpool who they play on Sunday at Anfield.

Harry Redknapp has already said he will be selling a few on before buying better quality players this summer and said that might not be enough to finish in the top four next season.  I agree that Spurs are going to need to strengthen their squad if they are going to mount a serious challenge next season.  And if Kenny Dalglish continues to make Liverpool tick and is given money to spend in the summer, who’s to count them out actually winning the Premiership next season.

Liverpool have made a dramatic recovery since King Kenny took over from Roy Hodgson; and on Monday night thrashed an in-form Fulham team 5-2 at Craven Cottage to move above Spurs for the first time this season.

With two games remaining, the Premier League title race may be all but over, but Liverpool v Tottenham on Sunday promises to be another cracking match in what is by far the most exciting Premier League season I can remember.

Kenwyne Jones opened the scoring with another headed goal from a Jermaine Pennant cross. Ryan Shawcross tapped in a second from inside six yards, and Jermaine Pennant made it 3-0 with a deflected shot from about eight yards.

Wolves were very poor while Stoke continue to impress, playing to their strengths under the excellent management of Tony Pulis.

Wolves (34 points) stay in the bottom three, along with Wigan (33 points) and West Ham (32 points) but there is still time for all three to avoid relegation with four games still to play.
Blackpool climb out of the relegation places on goal difference after a 1-1 draw with Newcastle on Saturday.  Blackburn are currently 16th (35 points) and Birmingham (38 points) are far from safe following a run of bad results.  Fulham are in 14th position with 39 points and a game in-hand on the six teams below them, which I believe will be enough to see them play Premier League football next season.

I personally think the relegation battle will go to the final day and is now between the bottom six: Birmingham, Blackburn, Blackpool, Wigan, Wolves and West Ham.

At the top of the Premiership Arsenal and Tottenham both dropped more points at the weekend.  Spurs were held to a 2-2 draw at White Hart Lane by West Brom, while Arsenal lost away to Bolton. Tottenham appear to have blown a chance of a top four finish and Champions League football next season with two from a possible six points last week; while Manchester City overcame Blackburn on Monday with Edin Dzecko’s first Premier League goal.

Man City are now 5 points clear of Spurs with five games to play; and with Arsenal winning only one point from their last two games, Arsene Wenger will be looking over his shoulder at Roberto Mancini’s sky blues who are now just 5 points behind them with a game in hand.

Chelsea continued their recent good run as the most inform team in the Premier League with a 3-0 thrashing of West Ham on Sunday, including a first goal for Fernando Torres, and Manchester United continued to grind out results beating Everton at Old Trafford 1-0 on Saturday.

Both Chelsea (67 points) & Manchester United (73 points) have four games left.  This weekend Chelsea are at home to Spurs while Man Utd are away to Arsenal; two massive games for all four clubs.  But the Premier League title could be decided when Chelsea play Manchester Utd at Old Trafford on Sunday 8th May.

As for Bolton Wanderers reaching the other semi-final in the same year legend Nat Lofthouse died, well it seemed almost written in the stars that it would be apt if there was a repeat of the 1958 FA Cup final when Nat Lofthouse helped Bolton beat Manchester United 2-0.
I was pretty confident both semi-finals played at Wembley last weekend would be tight but exciting matches.  On Saturday Man Utd started the brighter, and if Dimitar Berbetov had scored one of his two early chances, the game would have taken on a completely different path.  As it was, Man City weathered the initial storm and gradually began to dominant the game.  Every Manchester City player worked hard, even Mario Balotelli, but the difference was David Silva.  He managed to boss the midfield while Joe Hart showed touches of brilliance to keep United at bay.

Even after an early second half goal (Yaya Toure, 59 minutes), City continued to pressurise United and kept control of the game.  Paul Scholes didn’t help the cause by being sent off for a trademark late challenge that left a calling card on Pablo Zabaleta’s thigh.

So with one surprise already complete I sat down on Sunday to watch the second Wembley semi-final between the much fancied Bolton Wanderers and Stoke City.   What happened next was the most one-sided semi-final I have ever seen, in any competition … in any sport!
Not only were Stoke City 3-0 up within 30 minutes but they looked likely to score every time they looked at the Bolton goal, let alone had a shot.  The normally dependable Jussi Jaaskelainen could have done better with every goal but he wasn’t helped by the whole Bolton team who looked stagestruck!

Bolton were truly shocking but I couldn’t believe it when supporters began filing out after less than one third of the game considering the expense of the ticket and the hours they had spent travelling down to north London. Stoke City went on to win 5-0 though it could have been more.

The last time Tony Pulis was at Wembley was in the League One play-off match as manager of Gillingham.  With 10 minutes to go they were leading 2-0 only to let in two late goals and eventually lose on penalties.  The opponents on that day were Manchester City.  Must has changed in the lives of Tony Pulis and Manchester City since then but for Pulis, revenge would be sweet.

Even though they are one of the oldest clubs in the English Football League, Saturday 14th May will be Stoke City’s first appearance in an FA Cup final.  They will start the game as massive underdogs and know Manchester City will not be overawed by the big occasion. The size of the pitch should suit Manchester City, but that’s what pundits were said about Bolton Wanderers.

But with just eleven Premier League fixtures left and only one lost game this season Man Utd look destined to win another Premiership title and in the process surpass Liverpool’s record for winning the most Premier League / League One titles and, as far as their fans are concerned, be hailed as the best team in English football.

On paper Manchester United’s fixtures don’t look too difficult.  Aside from the two crunch games this week they play West Ham, Newcastle, Arsenal and Blackburn away, and Bolton, Fulham, Everton, Chelsea and finally Blackpool at Old Trafford on 22nd May.  All of those games are ultimately winnable but although Man Utd look favourites to win another Premiership title they have had a few lucky escapes this season and drawn too many games when a few more victories would already have them sailing home.

They also have the added distraction of the FA Cup, where they are likely to meet Arsenal in the Quarter Finals (Saturday 12 May) followed by a Champions League second leg tie against Marseille (Tuesday 15 May).  Both games are at Old Trafford.

Pre-season I predicted Manchester United would win the Premier League but I think the Champions League will be a step too far.  As for the FA Cup, if they can beat Arsenal they have a great chance to win the double; and as a neutral I would love to see the red and sky blue of Manchester meet in the FA Cup final in what would surely be a great way to end a fantastic season.

It was no coincidence that King Kenny Dalglish was appointed caretaker manager just days before Liverpool was set to play old rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford in the FA Cup 3^rd Round and ahead of their next home game, the Merseyside derby, against their other staunch rivals, Everton.

Unfortunately, what could have been a fantastic return for Dalglish for his second spell as Liverpool manager was spoilt by a dramatic penalty within the first 30 seconds of the match followed by a two-footed lunge that had Captain Fantastic Steven Gerrard sent-off after 30 minutes.  But Liverpool battled on and showed more determination and commitment than they have done for quite some time.  Remember, this run of bad results and poor performances didn’t start when Roy Hodgson was appointed last summer.

Kenny Dalglish made no secret of the fact that he wanted to the job of Liverpool manager at the end of last season.  But the risk he is taking is that he returns to the Anfield hot seat as one of the most successful Liverpool managers of all time, and is quite rightly adorned as a Liverpool Legend as both player and manager.  But the 2011 squad he has inherited is a poor one, nothing like the squad of 1985 when he took over as player/manager and won the FA Cup & League double for the first time in Liverpool’s history in his first season in charge.

Dalglish has been working behind the scenes at Liverpool since 2009, so I’m confident he has a good understanding of the problems he faces.  It is pretty clear Liverpool need to have a good clearout of players that are not good enough for the Premier League. If this is done correctly with a long term plan in place then Kenny Dalglish may be the man to put Liverpool back on track.  If he doesn’t succeed then like Kevin Keegan’s return to Newcastle, questions will be asked as to whether he should have returned in the first place.

The appointment today of former Chelsea, Newcastle & West Ham coach, Steve Clarke, is certainly a positive one.  I was surprised when Chelsea let Steve Clarke go following the sacking of Jose Mourinho and can see Dalglish and Clarke forging a great double act.  But with a third of the January Transfer Window already gone it will be interesting to see if Liverpool make any new signings or King Kenny can motivate a poor squad enough to get them to finish the season by qualifying for a place Europe next season.  Surely that is the minimum requirement.

As for Roy Hodgson, there are a few vacant managerial posts currently available and no doubt some of those teams would be keen to offer Hodgson the opportunity to resurrect his career in management.  However, I wouldn’t be surprised in Roy Hodgson decideds to avoid a return to management altogether and enjoys an early retirement or possibly the comfort of a studio seat rather than the dugout.

With Harry Redknapp recently named Premiership Manager of the Year there is a clear recognition of his work in creating an attacking, attractive footballing team and of the pivotal role he has played in guiding Tottenham into the Champions League for the first time. The significance of Harry Redknapp in this achievement is considerable and highlighted by the fact that he is only the second manager to take this accolade without winning the Premier League, the first being George Burley for masterminding Ipswich’s rise to 5th place in their first season.

Immediately after his inheritance of Juande Ramos’ team there was a marked improvement in their performance and with no new influx of players until the January transfer window this can only really be attributed to Harry Redknapp. As with many successful managers, his ability to get the best out of the players at his disposal is his underlying quality.

Looking at the performances of Ledley King, Gareth Bale, Michael Dawson, Aaron Lennon and Heurelho Gomes there is a confidence and consistency that has previously been lacking in their game. On top of this, the intelligent rotation of players has been central to Tottenham’s success. With what is arguably the strongest strike force in the league in terms of depth, Redknapp has used Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch and Roman Pavlyuchenko in particular to great effect. All three have had regular spells in the first team and the competition between them has undeniably helped the team’s cause.

Moving across the capital to Craven Cottage and Fulham’s spectacular path to the Europa League Final has been the story of the season for many neutrals. Roy Hodgson has had a long and successful managerial career, most of which has been spent abroad, and it is good to see him getting the recognition he deserves back in England. The team he has created at Fulham has been well organised, spirited and incredibly focussed and determined. As with Redknapp, Roy Hodgson has everybody playing for him and for the team and there is nothing but praise for him from the players.

Danny Murphy has described captaining Fulham to the brink of European glory as his greatest achievement in football. Considering he was an instrumental figure in Liverpool’s treble cup winning team of 2001 that is a great indication of the way Hodgson has instilled unity and passion into this Fulham side. Even though Fulham were defeated by a late Diego Forlan goal in the final, this season’s Europa League has been a wonderful achievement for such a small club and the 4-1 defeat of Juventus at Craven Cottage will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the great European performances from an English team.

Finally there is the rather different situation at Fratton Park where a terrible season for fans of Portsmouth has ended in a completely unexpected trip to Wembley and FA Cup runners-up medals. With all the financial turmoil, the lack of wages and the deduction of 9 points it is a surprise that Portsmouth didn’t completely capitulate. It is once again to the great credit of their manager, Avram Grant, that this has not happened. He has, in a way, had the easiest of the three jobs in terms of expectations.

After the points deduction it was virtually impossible for Portsmouth to stay up and along with the very public financial problems the players and staff at the club would have found it hard to stay completely focussed on football. Yet at the same time he has done incredibly well to keep the players motivated and seems to have instilled a sense of togetherness in the team.

This is a credit to Avram Grant and you could see how much it meant to his players after the FA Cup semi-final and there was a definite desire in many of them to celebrate with their manager. Grant must also be applauded for the way he has handled himself in the media this season. He has never complained and has been nothing but sympathetic towards the backroom staff who have been most affected by the delay in wages and redundancies.

This is exactly what the players needed to hear and has been reflected by the lack of dissent coming from within the squad. Instead we have seen a group of players determined to prove people wrong and give their fans a silver lining on this blackest of clouds that hangs over Fratton Park.

This single-minded determination is something that is present in all successful teams and always emanates from the manager.

From Brian Clough to Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho, the best managers have always had this respect within their squads and this season we have seen the quality emerge in rather more unfamiliar settings.

What this has done is prove once again that for all the star players and astronomical wages the man holding the key to success continues to be the man in the dugout and that a good manager will bring more long term success than any player ever could.

The turf is being relayed for the 11th time since 2007 but why is it such a problem?

Three of the four FA Cup semi-final managers, Harry Redknapp (Tottenham Hotspurs), Avram Grant (Portsmouth) and Martin O’Neill (Aston Villa) agreed the Wembley turf was a ‘disgrace’, and watching both games it was clearly apparent the state of the pitch had a bearing on both results.

Players from Chelsea, Aston Villa, Portsmouth and Spurs were slipping and losing their footing, no more so than the Spurs captain Michael Dawson who slipped in front of the Tottenham goal at a crucial moment, as he was attempting to clear a free-kick, leaving Piquionne to score the winning Portsmouth goal.

James Milner (England & Aston Villa midfielder) said it was the worst football pitch he had played on this season, including the lower league pitches during their League and FA Cup run.

As with previous turfs, the latest Wembley surface will not have much time to bed in.  This is one of the main problems.

The FA Trophy final is on 8th May, followed by the FA Vase final the day after. The FA Cup final is on 15th May and England is due to play a pre-World Cup friendly against Mexico on 24th.

Furthermore, there are three Football League play-off finals and the Blue Square Premier play-off final to be played at the venue in May; and this is just the football events to be held at the stadium!

BBC Radio 5 Live commentator, Colin Murray suggested the FA use the same grass seeds as his mother, as the grass in her garden is always in pristine condition.

The other problem is caused by other events and concerts that take place at Wembley.  But surely this is a bad advert for England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup finals.

Next month the FA Cup final will be beamed around the world to millions of fans and FIFA officials alike.  Not only is the final going to be spoilt by the state of the turf, but surely the FA must realise this is both embarrassing and a complete waste of money.  Money that could be better spent on the grassroots, rather than the turf!

Bolton manager Owen Coyle was left fuming after the game as once again the referee and his assistants made what appeared to be glaring errors over the penalty appeals.

Coyle even suggested that Drogba would make a world class volley ball player on the evidence of this game and his anger is understandable.

There is little doubt that once again Chelsea rode their luck and a single goal from former Bolton striker Anelka was all that separated the teams at the end of the game.

None the less the win puts Chelsea four points clear of Manchester United at the top of the Premiership table and six ahead of Arsenal, who will play their local derby game against bitter rivals Tottenham tonight.

It also gives Chelsea the upper hand in their new quest to win the FA Cup and League double for the first time in their history.

It all makes for yet another exciting finish to the season with so many teams having everything to play for in what could yet prove to be the pivotal week in deciding the issues of the championship race, relegation and of course the coveted fourth place in the title race.