Saterday 29 August 2009

FT Chelsea 3 - 0 Burnley
FT Blackburn R. 0 - 0 West Ham U.
FT Bolton W. 2 - 3 Liverpool
FT Stoke C. 1 - 0 Sunderland
FT Tottenham H. 2 - 1 Birmingham C.
FT Wolverhampton W. 1 - 1 Hull C.
FT Manchester U. 2 - 1 Arsenal

Sunday 30 August 2009
13.30 Fratton Park Portsmouth v Manchester City
15.00 Goodison Park Everton v Wigan Athletic
16.00 Villa Park Aston Villa v Fulham

Nicolas Anelka leads Chelsea past Burnley's defiant Brian Jensen

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Chelsea (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/chelsea) helped themselves to their fourth win in four games with this ruthless suppression of Burnley (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/burnley). Nicolas Anelka, Michael Ballack and Ashley Cole all struck telling blows and the margin of victory would have been even more emphatic but for valiant goalkeeping by Brian Jensen and wasteful finishing by the rampant home side.
Chelsea began briskly and Anelka loosened up with a long-range shot in the third minute that brought an elementary save from Jensen. Thirty seconds later the striker was summoned to set a tougher test for the keeper, but narrowly failed to connect with a fizzing Ballack cross. If that was forgivable, Anelka's miss in the sixth minute was the sort managers are loth to excuse. After intercepting a careless pass by André Bikey, Anelka had the whole Burnley half to himself but freedom of choice appeared to befuddle the Frenchman and, as he sped towards goal debating whether to shoot or round the keeper, Jensen surged off his line to snaffle the ball.


Two minutes later it was Burnley's turn to pardon a defensive error. Tyrone Mears dispossessed a dozing Frank Lampard on the edge of the Chelsea area and showed impressive awareness to pick out Martin Paterson in splendid isolation on the far side of the box. The striker placed a low shot past Petr Cech but, unhappily for the visitors, also fractionally past the post.


That was but a blip by Chelsea. With Deco probing at the tip of the diamond and Lampard, Ballack and Anelka flitting hither and thither, they soon regained control. Jensen hurtled off his line to deny Ballack in the 21st minute, then watched gratefully as Drogba curled the ball wide after a bustling run and shot. Then the Dane blocked a John Terry drive after a Deco corner had broken to the England captain. Soon he was beating away a Lampard volley.


After he clasped a long-range Deco stinger some in the crowd seemed to ponder the possibility of Burnley keeping a third successive clean sheet in the Premier League (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/premierleague) – but there was still an hour to go, and with Chelsea continuing to attack in waves the gallant Burnley defence was beginning to drop so deep they could have done with Scuba gear.


Just before the break, they were finally sunk. Drogba, who moments earlier had teed up Lampard for an opportunity that the England midfielder botched, scampered down the right before serving Anelka with an invitation to score that the Frenchman duly accepted, poking the ball into the net from two yards.


Any hope of a Burnley recovery was scuppered in the 48th minute when Lampard raced on to a clever pass down the left and floated the ball to the back post, where Ballack sent a diving header past Jensen. Four minutes later Lampard and Ashley Cole rent the visitors' still-reeling defence asunder with a snappy one-two and the left-back fired into the top corner.


In between those goals Anelka had spurned another chance, and immediately after the third he struck a shot against the bar after rounding the now forlorn Jensen.
Three mighty Essien shots threatened to compound matters for Burnley but the first, in the 68th minute, flew just wide from 20 yards, the second a minute later was straight at Jensen, while the third, in the 77th minute, elicited Jensen's best save of the game, a flying one-hander that enabled him to tip the ball around the post. Just before full-time the substitute Salomon Kalou had a shot cleared off the line.


When they could actually get the ball Burnley showed their inclination to use it tidily but the closest they came to bothering Cech after Paterson's early miss was in the 74th minute, when a neat move culminated with Chris McCann slashing wide from 20 yards.


Yet to concede at home, Burnley are yet to score away. Neither of those stats will last, but their destiny this season will depend on which pattern is sustained more steadily over the entire campaign.


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Carlo Ancelotti abandons Chelsea's power in favour of liquid football



http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Clubs/Club_Home/2009/8/29/1251555000502/Michael-Ballack-celebrate-001.jpg Michael Ballack celebrates scoring Chelsea's second goal against Burnley with Didier Drogba. Photograph: Phil Cole/Getty Images

Chelsea (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/chelsea) victories in recent seasons have often been couched with words like "power" and "force" - polite ways of describing the direct, no nonsense system of a team packed with world class practitioners of a certain type of football. Today's 3-0 defeat of Burnley (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/burnley) was a marvellous display of fluid midfield play.
A glance at both managers in their respective technical areas is a study in contrasts - Carlo Ancelotti is all languid Italian decorum, while Owen Coyle's incessant instructions to his players often made like the Burnley messiah was grooving to the Baby Elephant Walk, a la Homer Simpson.
Ancelotti has little left to prove at this stage of a glittering career and while his narrative arc may not be on the decline it has reached a cloud-tickling plateau. Coyle is not there, but his star is very much in the ascent following the scalps of Manchester United and Everton. Here today though the gap between their respective teams was revealed to be a chasm.
Coyle described the Chelsea squad as a dream team before this match, but it soon became a nightmare for the five-man midfield he charged with stifling the Chelsea diamond of four. Pinning down Messrs Ballack, Essien, Deco and Lampard must be like nailing jelly to a wall.
Michael Essien's anchoring role is the closest to static but the Ghanaian is by no means adverse to advancing with the ball with his deceptively speedy gait and it was he who released Didier Drogba for Nicolas Anelka's opener.
In front of him Deco, Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack swap and interchange with bewildering effortlessness. Lampard constantly abandoned his nominal role on the left to push forward into Deco's spot at the tip of the diamond. The Portuguese, who looked to be outward bound this summer, seems at ease in Ancelotti's new system, which resonates more with his time at Camp Nou than the Stamford Bridge of Luis Felipe Scolari or Guus Hiddink.
Adding to the midfield tombola is Anelka, whose interpretation of the second striker role is to drop far behind what could be considered 'the hole' and even when Chelsea were in possession he would often be less advanced Deco and Michael Ballack.
Some of Ancelotti's predecessors were of the opinion that mountains would crumble and seas boil if Drogba and Anelka played on the same pitch - employing the Frenchman as quasi midfielder, on today's evidence, would seem to be a most effective solution to what always seemed a rather vapid conundrum.
One caveat would be the meekness of the Burnley challenge following a spirited opening 20 minutes - even before Chelsea had scored the visitors had withdrawn to such an extent that any further retreat would have seen centre-halves Andre Bikey and Clarke Carlisle standing in the Shed.
The victories over the champions and Everton highlighted Burnley's strength at Turf Moor - their defeat today was chastening. As much for its manner as the 3-0 margin. Previously teams who got turned over at Stamford Bridge would speak of being steamrollered, today Burnley were liquidised.



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Abou Diaby disaster gifts Manchester United three points


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Arsène Wenger was sent off in the closing seconds of a frantic five minutes of added time, but there was no Scottish conspiracy here. Just a relieved Scottish manager after Manchester United (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/manchester-united) took advantage of a penalty gift to get back into a game Arsenal (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/arsenal) looked to have sewn up.
Arsenal were in front and in control until Manuel Almunia left his line too enthusiastically and bundled Wayne Rooney over while trying to reach the ball. United had barely threatened from open play by that point in the second half and were not all that creative afterwards. They did not have to be. An unnecessary own goal by Abou Diaby gave them all three points and doubtless contributed to Wenger's touchline apoplexy, though to be strictly correct that was more likely to have been a disallowed equaliser from Robin Van Persie in the last minute of stoppage-time. Replays suggested the referee's assistant was correct in ruling William Gallas offside and active in the build-up, though Wenger was plainly unconvinced. As United-Arsenal encounters go, this had been a slow-burner, though Wenger's martyred expression as he was made to vacate the dugout with no more than four or five seconds remaining kept up the fixture's reputation for drama. It also confirmed Mike Dean's reputation as the fussiest and most pedantic of referees.
Sir Alex Ferguson was not joking when he said he regarded Arsenal as a threat. The United team showed four changes from the 5-0 romp at Wigan, and Wayne Rooney found himself on his own up front as the home side packed their midfield. That might not have been the intention, but that is how it turned out. With 4-4-2 abandoned, Ryan Giggs found himself in central midfield and Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen formed a new partnership on the bench.
"One of our targets this season is to do better against the big boys," Ferguson said beforehand. "We need to improve against our immediate rivals – it's an area we have identified as a weakness. The title race went to the wire last time, mainly due to the six points we lost to Liverpool, and I don't want to be in that situation again. The fact that we lost at Burnley has already reduced our margin for error."
Arsenal deployed a similar formation to United's 4-2-3-1, though in the opening stages at least Van Persie found himself less isolated, with more effective support from Andriy Arshavin and Diaby. The visitors consequently enjoyed slightly the better of the early attacks, with Patrice Evra deflecting a shot from Van Persie behind for a corner, and Arshavin only narrowly wide when Ben Foster punched out the cross. If United were hoping to play through Giggs, a couple of promising situations that opened up around the half-hour came to nought through misplaced passes.
Rooney put a free-kick wide in what amounted to United's most dangerous moment of the first half, before Antonio Valencia gave a vivid demonstration of how much has changed at Old Trafford. Dispossessing Denilson and galloping into space down the right, the winger looked up and saw no one ahead of him hurtling into the box, so had to pull a ball backwards to find Giggs and the momentum of the move was lost.
Two minutes later, Arsenal took the lead. They should have had a penalty when Darren Fletcher knocked Arshavin over like a skittle without reaching the ball, only for Mike Dean to wave play on. Arsenal and Arshavin did just that and when the ball came to the Russian on the visitors' next attack he lost no time in shooting before Nemanja Vidic could close him down and beating Foster's dive from 25 yards out. Arsenal fully deserved to be in front – the only thing that slightly spoiled their mood was a ridiculous booking for Van Persie on the stroke of the interval for a tackle on Giggs no worse than the offence Fletcher had just got away with.
United almost went two down at the start of the second half and had Foster's outstretched leg to thank for preventing Van Persie scoring from close range. Arshavin was involved once again, reaching the byline on the left and cutting the ball perfectly across the face of goal for Van Persie, who should have put the chance away, but was denied by the goalkeeper's instinctive reaction to a point-blank shot.
That miss looked significant when United equalised on the hour from the penalty spot. There was no suggestion of a dive from Rooney, though what he would have been able to do with Giggs's pass had Almunia left him alone is debatable. Instead, the goalkeeper dived in, thinking he could reach the ball but catching only the player when Rooney touched it beyond him. This time, the referee did agree a player had been illegally brought down and Rooney duly scored with an emphatic shot.
Van Persie hit the United crossbar with a cross-cum-shot from a free-kick within minutes of the equaliser, before Arsenal completely surrendered a strong position in the game by going behind in bizarre circumstances. Ferguson removed the disappointing Valencia for Ji-Sung Park shortly after Van Persie's effort and within seconds of the switch United were ahead. Not that it had anything to do with Park, or indeed any other United player except Giggs. The captain sent in a free-kick from the right that was well-flighted without looking particularly likely to find anyone in a red shirt, only for Diaby to rise near the penalty spot and nod it past his own goalkeeper for one of the season's more inexplicable own goals. Not quite the full Sandy Brown, perhaps, but it was harder to work out what Diaby was intending than, say, Liverpool's Lucas when he scored for Aston Villa last Monday. Diaby did his best to make amends with a decent run into the United penalty area a few minutes later, only to pull his shot just wide.
United had chances to make certain of the result before Van Persie's disallowed goal, yet comedy finishing from Berbatov – of all people – and then Nani kept both managers on tenterhooks right until the end. Arsenal deserved something from this game, but have only themselves to blame. United got lucky.

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Steven Gerrard arrives late to rescue Liverpool against ten-man Bolton


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Managerial criticism for Steven Gerrard is as rare as sunshine this barbecue summer and, after a week in which Rafael Benítez reminded him of his talismanic responsibilities, it was probably inevitable that the captain should spare Liverpool (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/liverpool) further blushes with an 83rd-minute winner to settle a match in which battling Bolton led twice.
After suffering two defeats in their first three games, Liverpool knew this was one they could not afford to lose if their title hopes were not to suffer irreparable damage. They professed themselves happy enough with the points, but their response was hardly irresistible.
Bolton, who had failed to score in their opening two games, deservedly broke their duck and felt they would have had a point, at least, had they not lost Sean Davis after 55 minutes for the second of two yellow cards. They were leading 2-1 when the midfielder, already cautioned for kicking the ball away in protest at a free-kick, was banished after fouling Lucas.
Unhappy with Liverpool's performance in their 3-1 defeat at home to Aston Villa last Monday, Benítez gave Sotirios Kyrgiakos, the Greek recruit from AEK Athens, his debut in central defence. The newcomer is more mobile than Sami Hyypia, whom he has been bought to replace, but whether he is as reliable remains to be seen.
On the evidence of an unsuccessful spell with Rangers, it must be open to question. A more notable change saw Gerrard moved back from the auxiliary striker's role he has been performing for club and country, into an orthodox midfield position. For the time being, at least, he is filling the void left by Xabi Alonso's departure. The wise money is on the Gerrard returning to the more attacking role once Alberto Aquilani is fit to play.
Bolton, still without a point, applied themselves with a spiky vigour reminiscent of the Sam Allardyce years, denying their more celebrated opponents the time and space to assemble the passing game that is their preferred modus operandi. Consequently, stalemate was the way of it for a long time, with Liverpool restricted to potshots from distance, Bolton struggling to get out of defensive mode and the first save delayed until the 32nd minute. The corner it produced brought the hosts the first goal, Kevin Davies bundling the ball home after Johan Elmander, at the far post, had nodded down a Matt Taylor corner.
Liverpool's zonal marking had been found wanting, with Kyrgiakos nowhere (a Greek bearing gifts?), but they were level before half-time, Glen Johnson stepping inside Tamir Cohen on the edge of the penalty area before shooting powerfully past Jussi Jaaskelainen. As if to atone for his defensive inadequacy, it was Cohen, son of the former Liverpool player Avi Cohen, who restored Bolton's lead within two minutes of the resumption, scoring left-footed from 10 yards.
Briefly, it was anybody's game – until Davis's premature removal from the fray. Given a numerical advantage, Liverpool made the most of it, Fernando Torres equalising from Dirk Kuyt's neat, chested lay-off and Gerrard settling it with a characteristically emphatic finish after Torres had knocked down Johnson's cross. It was Gerrard's seventh goal against Bolton, his favourite opponents from a goalscoring perspective.
Gary Megson suggested Lucas had "bought" the foul that saw Davis sent off, a comment born of the post-Eduardo mood, which also had the home fans screaming "cheat" at Torres after he had fallen under a legitimate, last-ditch tackle by Zat Knight. In both cases the complaints were entirely unconvincing.
The Bolton manager, who has lost his last six games against Liverpool and has failed to win in 10, said: "It goes on all the time, referees get sucked into giving the foul, and it seems we have to accept players chucking themselves all over the place and maybe start doing it ourselves." It was a comment that came with the unmistakable whiff of sour grapes. Much more apposite was Benítez's rapprochement with Gerrard, of whom a grateful manager said: "He is a key player for us and showed how he can lift the others."

Arsenal self destruct at Old Trafford.

http://crabfootball.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/46290678_rooneygoal_getty466.jpg?w=466&h=260
"Who else loves KFC?"


Manchester United came back from a half-time deficit to stun Arsenal at Old Trafford and record a win in a game packed with more controversy than a West End production of ‘Gary Glitter the Musical.’

“Alex Ferguson is ecstatic,” said Alex Ferguson, who only talks in third person, “I mean some of the lads were cracking out there. Where do I even start? Ben Foster was great, Abou Diaby was magnificent, Rooney’s theatrical skills were Eduardo-esque and what can I say about Mike Riley? He needs a pay rise!“

The first half was a pulsating encounter with both teams literally going for the jugular, attacking one another’s goals like they were playing on a perverse, giant seesaw. The game really came to life in the 39 minute when Arsenal’s Russian ninja Arshavin was denied the most clear cut penalty in the history of Premier League football.

“Alex Ferguson laughed his tits off about that,” said the United supremo, flicking some dirt off his shoulders, “I mean, Fletcher takes his legs out from underneath him, pushes the ball away with a hand and then proceeds to dry hump the poor little fella on the floor. I don’t think he could have done more to stop him short of producing a rusty screw driver from his back pocket and stabbing him repeatedly in the face. But the best bit was the look at Wenger’s face, when I caught his eye I shrugged sympathetically as if to say ‘bloody refs’ but when he looked away I was pissing myself.”

Arsenal weren’t moaning for long though as a minute later the Russian produced a cracking left foot drive to give the Gooners a first half lead. A lead that should have doubled early in the second half only for Ben Foster to pull off a stunning reaction save to deny Robin Van Persie from three yards.

With Berbatov and Owen warming the bench it was difficult to see where United’s goals would come from until Wayne Rooney crumbled prematurely under a Almunia challenge, Mike Riley checking that Rooney was a United player before awarding the spot kick which the ginger scrote duly scored
Arsenal were still spitting blood over Rooney’s gamesmanship when Van Persie hammered the United cross bar two minutes later but things were about to get much, much worse for Wenger’s team.

First Abou Diaby hit the self destruct button by scoring the worst own goal I’ve seen in quite some time, heading home an impotent Ryan Giggs cross with no one close to him. Then Emmanuel Eboue decided to try and get Evra sent off with a pathetic dive, earning himself a booking, and then lastly Arsenal were denied a last gasp equaliser in the 95 minute by the lines mans flag. A decision that ticked Wenger off so bad he was sent to the stands however, being the legend he is, decided to instead stand resolutely on top of the dug out in front of the jeering Manchester United fans like some mighty football deity who frowns upon what he is witnessing.
“You are imbeciles,” Wenger was quoted as saying later, “do me a favour and put your thumb and finger an inch apart, that is how much I give a shit.”

http://crabfootball.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/arsenewenger20090829_275x1551.jpg?w=275&h=155
"Do I look bothered?"

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It must be said and I think it was clear earlier with their Anelka bit, that the guys who right these things are mostly Arsenal fans and have a healthy Hate for Chelsea. Still they produce funny shit :D

:D :D
but in all seriousness, i'm still pissed off about that loss yesterday. :(

I was actually expecting it without fabre, but the loss was very unlucky, I think the big teams are gonna lose alot of points against the smaller teams this season, if chelsea manages to do better against the bigger sides than last season and still get the wins against the smaller sides, I am pretty confident for the season.

FT Portsmouth 0 - 1 Manchester C.
FT Everton 2 - 1 Wigan Athletic
FT Aston Villa 2 - 0 Fulham

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Arsène Wenger to receive apology for dismissal, says LMA's Richard Bevan

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2009/8/30/1251629277422/Arsene-Wenger-is-sent-off-001.jpg


Arsenal's manager Arsène Wenger can expect an apology from the Premier League referees chief, Keith Hackett, following his dismissal amid farcical scenes during the closing seconds of the Gunners' 2–1 defeat to Manchester United.

The League Managers Association chief executive, Richard Bevan, has spoken to Hackett about the incident which saw Wenger sent to the stands by the referee Mike Dean on the advice of his fourth official, Lee Probert. He has been told that Wenger will receive an apology from the Professional Game Match Officials Board, which appoints officials to top-flight games in England.

"Although [the decision was] correct in law, it was completely out of context in the game and it was followed by the nonsense which followed over where Wenger should sit," said Bevan.

"I've spoken to Keith Hackett and he fully recognises the situation was an error and an apology will follow to Arsène Wenger. Lee Probert totally failed to manage the situation and created a needless pressure point, taking the focus away from the pitch in a big event with only a minute to go."

The Arsenal manager caught Probert's attention when he kicked an empty water bottle down the touchline following a last-minute equaliser that was disallowed for the visitors.

There was then confusion as Wenger seemed unaware of where he was supposed to go – moving first to the back of the Arsenal dugout then starting to walk down the touchline as the whistle was blown.

Weekend Round Up (http://crabfootball.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/weekend-round-up-31st-august-2009/)






http://crabfootball.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/46292929_adebayor_pa4662.jpg?w=466&h=260
"Please shower me with money."



The Premiership is only four games old yet The Crab can see the ominous shape of things come with Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester Lite all occupying five of the top seven places. However only the bravest pundit would have forecast at the beginning of the season that Tottenham Hotspur would be dinning with such illustrious company, as they go into the international break joint top of the table after a 2-1 win against Birmingham City.


Tottenham outclassed Birmingham for much of the match but only sealed the points in dramatic fashion when pint sized hero Aaron Lennon drove home in the 95 minute. At this rate Spurs are in real danger of winning a real trophy this season, something they haven’t done since 1991. The only blight on an otherwise perfect day was a serious injury to star midfielder Luka Modric which, despite having a bench containing Peter Crouch, Pavlyuchenko, David Bentley, Jermaine Jenas and Kyle Naughton, led manager Harry Redknapp to declare that ‘the squad is a bit short‘ (http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11675_5523285,00.html) and that he may have to sign players before the window closes.


Talking of Portsmouth, who were penniless until being bought out by new Arab owner Sulaiman Al Fahim on Wednesday, they continued their car crash start to the season by losing 1-0 at Fratton Park to Mark Hughes’s Manchester City. With ex Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor looking a threat and scoring his third goal in as many games to secure victory. However there is a silver lining for beleaguered Pompey as manager Paul Hart was finally given the green light to splash the cash on new signings, purchasing Wigan’s Michael Brown, Tottenham’s Kevin-Prince Boateng and Lens’s Aruna Dindane.


“These are great signings,” said manager Paul Hart, “they are the sort of no nonsense, hard working players who will fight tooth and nail to get us promoted next season.”


Elsewhere Aston Villa and Everton’s underwhelming starts to the season took a turn for the better with welcome home wins over Fulham and Wigan. Villa won their game by a convincing 2-0 margin whilst the Toffees had to rely on an injury time penalty to edge out Wigan 2-1.
Chelsea continued their 100% start of the season with a highly impressive 3-0 win over Burnley. The Claret’s started the game brightly but will rue their inability to take their chances as only an inspired display by Claret’s keeper Brian Jensen kept the scoreline vaguely respectable, with Anelka, Ballack and Ashley Cole eventually netting for the Premiership’s pace setters.


The Crab puts £5 on Ashley Cole or John Terry at some stage tempting fate by claiming that Chelsea could go the whole year unbeaten. Mark our words….


Stoke also won on Saturday, beating Sunderland 1-0 in a tight game at the Britannia Stadium and sneaking with no fan fare into fifth place. However this tepid game only sparked into life when Ron Weasley look-a-like Dave Kitson scrambled home the only goal just before half time, leading manager Tony Pulis to wax lyrical over the goal shy striker:-
“In the last couple of games he’s been chipping the weight off his shoulders. The supporters have been brilliant to him and I’ve never known anything like it.“


Evidently Tony Pullis underestimates how much everyone loves a novelty ginge.


Elsewhere Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard beat Bolton 3-2 (with a little help from Levi Lucas and Alan Wiley), West Ham drew 0-0 with Blackburn and Wolves came back from a goal down to share the points with Hull.


And in Saturday’s late game Arsenal self destructed at Old Trafford. (http://crabfootball.wordpress.com/2009/08/29/arsenal-violated-at-old-trafford-in-the-worst-possible-way/)
And lastly eagle eyed Crab Football readers may have noticed Garth Crooks having a flipping nervous breakdown on BBC’s Football Focus on Saturday afternoon after entering into a genial debate with Martin Keown and Steven Claridge about Eduardo’s dive on Wednesday night. It was very Norman Bates. If anyone knows a link to the footage please email because it was funny as all hell.


“Answer the question Steven! ANSWER THE QUESTION!”


http://crabfootball.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/44375647_416garth_crooks.jpg?w=416&h=300
"You won't like me when I'm angry."

Manchester United's fouls are hurting football, says Arsène Wenger

Arsène Wenger has reopened hostilities between Manchester United and Arsenal by accusing the Premier League champions of using "anti-football" tactics during their 2-1 victory at Old Trafford on Saturday. Wenger is to receive an official apology for being banished from the dugout but he remains incensed by the "Old Trafford-ish" standard of refereeing and his conviction that Sir Alex Ferguson's players, predominantly Darren Fletcher, were guilty of systematic fouling.

After a period of relative calm between Wenger and Ferguson the allegations will go down badly at Old Trafford after a match in which Arsenal had six players booked, triggering an automatic £25,000 fine from the Football Association. The conduct of Wenger's players was also brought into question by Emmanuel Eboué being shown a yellow card for diving, a day after Eduardo da Silva had been charged by Uefa for "deceiving the referee" for a similar offence, but the Arsenal manager insisted the "bigger problem" in football was of players being allowed to get away with persistent and deliberate fouling – and he pointed an accusatory finger at Ferguson's men.

"There are other points [than diving]that, for me, are more urgent – players who play only to make fouls and who are never punished; players who make repeated fouls and who get out of the game without a yellow card. That, for me, is more anti-football than a player who did what Eduardo did." Wenger was asked to clarify whether he meant Fletcher and laughed, replying with mock surprise: "Why do you say the name?" Fletcher had given away six free-kicks, twice as many as any of his team-mates, but was not one of the three United players to get a yellow card.

"I have seen a player who plays only on the pitch to make repeated fouls," Wenger continued. "Look at how many deliberate fouls some players make and get away with. I think that's a bigger problem [than diving] because it cuts the flow of the game. And people come and pay to see football. They do not come to see free‑kicks. You should ask the referees [how they get away with it]."

Wenger has accused Ferguson's players of using similar tactics in the past, most notably saying his team had been "kicked off the pitch" at Old Trafford during the 2004-05 season. It was put to him that he had previously suspected this was a deliberate part of United's strategy. "You will have to ask them," he replied.

On this occasion, however, the Frenchman may have opened himself to allegations of diversion tactics at a time when Eduardo and, to a lesser extent, Eboué have embarrassed the club. Robin van Persie also gave away six free-kicks even if, unlike Fletcher, he was booked. The manager who has become infamous for his insistence that he did not see controversial incidents did, at least, recognise did recognise that Eboué had tried to win a free-kick by going down under a non-existent challenge, but there was no condemnation and, likewise, he continued to insist that Eduardo was the victim of a Uefa "witch-hunt." He said: "I think it is difficult with diving. Sometimes players dive to escape being hit. It's not always necessarily diving because you want to dive. Sometimes it's a way of getting out of the way. The borderline between being sensible, being shrewd or being a cheat is very slim so, in some cases, to assess which is which is very difficult."

Arsenal, he insisted, were a club that did not tolerate diving. "I like that," he said, when asked whether it mattered more in England than other countries. "I think it's a quality in this country. In some countries it is a quality to dive. I'm still more proud to be part of England where they fight against that."

The referee, Mike Dean, acting on the advice of the fourth official, Lee Probert, sent off Wenger in the final moments of Saturday's game for kicking a water bottle in frustration after a disallowed goal. However, the FA is unlikely to take disciplinary action. Instead, the League Managers' Association chief executive, Richard Bevan, spoke to the Premier League referees' chief, Keith Hackett, and was informed that Wenger would receive an apology.

"Although [the decision was] correct in law, it was completely out of context in the game and it was followed by the nonsense over where Wenger should sit," Bevan said. "I've spoken to Keith Hackett and he fully recognises the situation was an error and an apology will follow. Lee Probert totally failed to manage the situation and created a needless pressure point, taking the focus away from the pitch in a big event with only a minute to go."

Eduardo will discover on Tuesday whether Uefa is to ban him for the exaggerated fall that led to Arsenal winning a penalty in their 3-1 defeat of Celtic in last week's Champions League qualifiers. Arsenal will fight his case and Wenger said the club had television pictures to prove that the forward had been touched by Celtic's goalkeeper, Artur Boruc.

"Uefa have made the case of Eduardo. If you watch the Super Cup on Friday then they will have to charge (Lionel) Messi for headbutting or they will lose credibility. They have opened something there that over the weekend I'll find you 50 situations where they can intervene, or if they don't Eduardo will be singled out for being a wrong victim. I do not want Messi to be punished but if they go for Eduardo then people will demand it. Pedro, also of Barcelona, dived as well [in the Super Cup] and so I don't think there's any logic to Eduardo's case. We have clear proof that from behind he was touched on his right leg."

Wenger is suspicious about the number of Scots in prominent positions at Uefa and added: "There is no common sense. I believe it was a more emotional decision really because if Uefa had said before the season starts, 'Listen, let's get together and no matter what happens in Uefa games, if we suspect someone of diving he will be punished' then you could say, OK, we've always been told they will do that. But suddenly, out from nowhere because it was an emotional situation in Scotland, we have this situation and have to live with that.

Croatia chief says there is a 'conspiracy' in England to hurt their players

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The president of the Croatian Football Federation has launched a bizarre attack on English football by claiming players in the Premier League are deliberately targeting his country's leading internationals.

Vlatko Markovic believes there is a conspiracy against Croatia after Tottenham Hotspur's Luka Modric broke a leg in a Premier League match against Birmingham City last Saturday, ruling him out of World Cup qualifier against England at Wembley a week tomorrow.

Apparently there is still ill-feeling that the Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva missed out on the European Championship last year after he broke his leg, also against Birmingham, in February 2008. Markovic now says that the two incidents are related and are part of a plan to injure his nation's best players.

"It is terrible what has happened to us," said Markovic. "Maybe someone has something against us and our national team. In the past year, they [English footballers] have injured Eduardo and now the same has happened to Luka Modric. I can only ask whether someone did it deliberately on the eve of the game with England. I can only ask myself whether it is a coincidence or not."

Markovic said the Spurs playmaker was as important to Croatia as Andrés Iniesta is to Barcelona. "Modric is our most important player," he said. "We are depleted without him."

Modric fractured his right fibula after going in for a challenge with Birmingham's Lee Bowyer. A foul was given against the Spurs midfielder and it is generally accepted by commentators that Bowyer was not at fault. Eduardo has only recently returned to the Arsenal first team after suffering a horrific injury following a clash with Martin Taylor. The Birmingham defender was sent off and Eduardo endured a compound fracture of his left fibula and an open disclocation of his ankle.

The 72-year-old Markovic has been a vocal critic of England and English football before and after Fabio Capello's side beat Croatia 4-1 in a Group Six World Cup qualifier in Zagreb last September – a game Eduardo missed – he said there was a "dirty tricks campaign" to unsettle the Croatia coach, Slaven Bilic, by linking him with the then-vacant manager's job at his former club West Ham United. Croatia trail England by seven points in their qualifying group.

The Birmingham chairman, David Gold, strongly rejected Markovic's claims. "He needs to go and have a lie down," he said. "His comments are absolutely idiotic. They are ridiculous and insulting.

"To say such things is little short of incredible. For a man of such stature and position in the game to come out with such rubbish is pathetic. His remarks border on paranoia and I struggle not to take it personally when they two incidents he talks about involve my club. To lay such stuff at Birmingham's door is appalling. It's emotive and doesn't stand up to close scrutiny."