Source: Team_Talk
Chopra hits back over missed chance
The 25-year-old passed up the chance to win the derby clash at St James' Park on February 1 when, having gone in on goal with just minutes remaining, he elected to square for Kenwyne Jones rather than testing goalkeeper Steve Harper.[LNB]But his touch was too heavy and the chance had gone, and the Black Cats left with just a point to show for their efforts after arriving hoping to complete a first league double over the Magpies in 42 years.[LNB]Black Cats old boy Gary Rowell later wrote in his column in the Sunderland Echo: "I don't know what went through Michael's head at that moment. Maybe even he doesn't.[LNB]"But I would bet that not five minutes has gone by since that moment that he hasn't thought about it.[LNB]"No matter how you dress it up, there's no getting away from the fact that opportunity knocked for him big style and he blew it.[LNB]"Once those moments are gone, they're gone."[LNB]Conspiracy theories have abounded on Wearside ever since the game, fuelled in part by his swift return to Cardiff on loan until the end of the season with the option of a permanent switch to follow.[LNB]However, Chopra has hit back angrily.[LNB]He told the South Wales Echo: "I haven't got a point to prove to anybody.[LNB]"I have read a lot about the Newcastle game and comments by a certain Gary Rowell.[LNB]"He knocked me for not shooting, and at the end of the day, I took a wrong option.[LNB]"But in a previous game, the same thing happened and we scored, so the guy should shut his month because he doesn't know what he's talking about.[LNB]"Last season, my six goals earned Sunderland 13 points, so his point really doesn't hold any water.[LNB]"It's absolutely nonsense to suggest that I didn't want to shoot against Newcastle.[LNB]"I made my mind up early and that was it. On another day, I might have hit the ball first time and scored; I might have missed and people would have said I should have squared the ball.[LNB]"You can't win."[LNB]Chopra joined Sunderland in a £5million move from Cardiff during the summer of 2007 just a year after leaving Newcastle for South Wales for a tenth of that figure.[LNB]He scored six goals in his first season on Wearside, but was sent back to Cardiff on loan in November after struggling to force his way into the side as Kenwyne Jones and Djibril Cisse held sway.[LNB]He was recalled in the wake of Roy Keane's departure, but was loaned out again to the Bluebirds as the transfer window drew to a close, and his Sunderland career looks to be over.[LNB]Chopra said: "I thought I might have had a chance when I went back to Sunderland, but it was not to be and that is a chapter which is now closed for me.[LNB]"I would say that I didn't have a fair crack at the whip, but the managers who picked the team might think differently.[LNB]"If you are not playing, then the best thing is to get out and play elsewhere, which is what I did.[LNB]"I don't see any point in sitting on the bench and picking up your wages and appearance money every week when you are not playing.[LNB]"I love playing football and that is why I decided to leave."[LNB][LNB]
