Rumours linking Liverpool to Vanencia's David Villa are rife again, as well as further links to Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani. But on the home front, the Daily Star reckon Javier Mascherano will now stay at Anfield, after Barcelona completed the signing of Ibrahimovic.
There are contradicting rumours coming from Everton, with the Independent suggesting they'll turn down a bid for Joleon Lescott if it exceeds £30 million, whereas the Daily Mirror suggest Everton have made a bid for Arsenal's Phillippe Senderos as a direct replacement for Lescott.
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Posted by KJB on 1st August 2009 @ 11:09am | Tagged under: transfers |
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Posted by KJB on 4th August 2009 @ 19:58pm | Tagged under: transfers |
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So is this the shape of things to come during the build up to the new Premiership season?
The last 48 hours have seen a flurry of transfer action ranging from interesting gossip, accepted fee's and completed deals. The most interesting of these being the premature report of Liverpool capturing Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani for £15.3m by Spanish newspaper Marca, thereby suggesting that Xabi Alonso's departure from the club was set stone. Today it seems the rumours had some grounding as reports are coming in that Real Madrid have in fact agreed a fee with Liverpool for the Spanish midfielder.
Elsewhere are the top of the league, the Daily Mail suggested that Chelsea were on the brink of a £100 million spending spree, reportedly set to chance their arm in the transfer market on AC Milan's veteran midfielder Andrea Pirlo, Bayern's star winger Franck Ribery and Athletico Madrid's highly-rated wonder kid, Sergio Aguero. In my mind £100 million isn't got to get them far in accomplishing their goal, with Bayern holding out for 'Ronaldo-esque' type money for Ribery and Athletico unwilling to part with one of their best players.
Elsewhere in the Premier League:
Darren Bent passed his medical at Sunderland and is expecting to make the move official come tomorrow.
Aston Villa have completed the signing of Leeds Utd youngesr Fabian Delph.
Lescott wants to leave Everton and is on verge of handing in a transfer request, whilst the Toffee's are chasing Arsenal centre-back Philippe Senderos.
Fulham have reportedly signed South African midfield Kagiso Dikgacoi.
Barcelona have apparently made a £12 million offer for Man Utd's Johnny Evans - after the Eto'o and Ibrahimovich deal earlier in the month, nothing the Spanish giants do can surprise me now.
Arsene Wenger will not go beyond £6 million for potential target Marouane Chamakh, but has been left with an offer to think about by AC Milan, who have apparently launched a £30 million bid for star central midfileder Cesc Fabregas.
And finally, Newcastle centre-back Sebastien Bassong wants to leave the club to join a Premiership team, growing particularly fond of Harry Redknapp's Tottenham outfit by all reports.
Phew! A lot of intel there as dawn of the new season approaches, expect more transfer market tidal waves to be hitting your shores in the coming days!
The last 48 hours have seen a flurry of transfer action ranging from interesting gossip, accepted fee's and completed deals. The most interesting of these being the premature report of Liverpool capturing Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani for £15.3m by Spanish newspaper Marca, thereby suggesting that Xabi Alonso's departure from the club was set stone. Today it seems the rumours had some grounding as reports are coming in that Real Madrid have in fact agreed a fee with Liverpool for the Spanish midfielder.
Elsewhere are the top of the league, the Daily Mail suggested that Chelsea were on the brink of a £100 million spending spree, reportedly set to chance their arm in the transfer market on AC Milan's veteran midfielder Andrea Pirlo, Bayern's star winger Franck Ribery and Athletico Madrid's highly-rated wonder kid, Sergio Aguero. In my mind £100 million isn't got to get them far in accomplishing their goal, with Bayern holding out for 'Ronaldo-esque' type money for Ribery and Athletico unwilling to part with one of their best players.
Elsewhere in the Premier League:
Darren Bent passed his medical at Sunderland and is expecting to make the move official come tomorrow.
Aston Villa have completed the signing of Leeds Utd youngesr Fabian Delph.
Lescott wants to leave Everton and is on verge of handing in a transfer request, whilst the Toffee's are chasing Arsenal centre-back Philippe Senderos.
Fulham have reportedly signed South African midfield Kagiso Dikgacoi.
Barcelona have apparently made a £12 million offer for Man Utd's Johnny Evans - after the Eto'o and Ibrahimovich deal earlier in the month, nothing the Spanish giants do can surprise me now.
Arsene Wenger will not go beyond £6 million for potential target Marouane Chamakh, but has been left with an offer to think about by AC Milan, who have apparently launched a £30 million bid for star central midfileder Cesc Fabregas.
And finally, Newcastle centre-back Sebastien Bassong wants to leave the club to join a Premiership team, growing particularly fond of Harry Redknapp's Tottenham outfit by all reports.
Phew! A lot of intel there as dawn of the new season approaches, expect more transfer market tidal waves to be hitting your shores in the coming days!
Posted by KJB on 1st August 2009 @ 14:09pm | Tagged under: betting |
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I’m a gambling man and I can’t deny it. During the season I’ll have a few accumulators in and there throughout the European Leagues for a little fun (which one week turned in £5,000). Sure, it’s more than just picking teams at random - I read the team form, league position etc and come up with reasonable selections and optimise my chance of winning by trying varying combinations.
Nevertheless, when the seasons over I get that gambling itch and look for decent prices. The first I got was just over evens on Ronaldo leaving Man Utd at the start of summer. Deep down, I knew he was going. I just knew it. So I put money on and got myself a tidy little profit for it.
Looking at the lists of bets now, I’m looking at the Premier League winners without the top 4 market on betfair. Every year Tottenham are high on the list and this year doesn’t disappoint. As of this morning, Man City are the obvious favourites at 11/10, but Tottenham are right up there second favourites at 9/2.
So is this a good bet?
Well, Harry Redknapp did wonders for the club last season despite the troubled start to the season but can he keep up that momentum this season? Perhaps. But backing Tottenham isn’t my bet - laying them NOT to win is.
It doesn’t seem conceivable to me that Tottenham will finish above Man City, Everton or even Aston Villa this season especially if City manage to break into the top 4 with those big money summer signings.
I’ll definitely be having a 50 spot on that lay - what about you? Get over to the betfair link on you right and get on it, if not, why not? I want to hear your thoughts and opinion on this, so come on! Get involved!
Nevertheless, when the seasons over I get that gambling itch and look for decent prices. The first I got was just over evens on Ronaldo leaving Man Utd at the start of summer. Deep down, I knew he was going. I just knew it. So I put money on and got myself a tidy little profit for it.
Looking at the lists of bets now, I’m looking at the Premier League winners without the top 4 market on betfair. Every year Tottenham are high on the list and this year doesn’t disappoint. As of this morning, Man City are the obvious favourites at 11/10, but Tottenham are right up there second favourites at 9/2.
So is this a good bet?
Well, Harry Redknapp did wonders for the club last season despite the troubled start to the season but can he keep up that momentum this season? Perhaps. But backing Tottenham isn’t my bet - laying them NOT to win is.
It doesn’t seem conceivable to me that Tottenham will finish above Man City, Everton or even Aston Villa this season especially if City manage to break into the top 4 with those big money summer signings.
I’ll definitely be having a 50 spot on that lay - what about you? Get over to the betfair link on you right and get on it, if not, why not? I want to hear your thoughts and opinion on this, so come on! Get involved!
Posted by KJB on 2nd August 2009 @ 14:53pm | Tagged under: feature |
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The first transfer for this feature actually took place on 28th July, but I was still in shock by the complete and utter craziness of the deal to get my head together to write this. It can come as no surprise just what summer transaction I’m talking about either - the Samuel Eto'o/Zlatan Ibrahimovic deal.
For those of you who don't know the details or simply haven‘t heard, the deal breaks down like this:
Barcelona get 27 year old Swedish International Zlatan Ibrahimovic - who is also out for the next three weeks having surgery on a broken bone in his foot no less - whilst Inter get 28 year old Cameroon International Samuel Eto'o, former Arsenal winger Aleksandr Hleb on loan for one year AND £40 million.
Seriously? Yes, seriously. You're reading that right. Can you believe that? Half the money Real Madrid paid for Ronaldo PLUS two world-class players. Have Barca president, Joan Laporta, and manager, Josep Guardiola, gone absolutely mental? Or is Jose Mourinho working some of that 'special-ness' he always claimed to possess?
I very much doubt that any Inter fan will complain about their end of the deal, but what must be going through the minds of the Barcelona fans? Their firm rivals are virtually plucking every world-class player in the market with seemingly limitless funds at their disposal, whilst Barca sign a player most consider to be highly overrated - despite being the top goalscorer in Serie A last season - pay silly money for him as well as exchanging two of their players.
Even if Ibrahimovic does perform next season, surely the deal is still completely ridiculous by anyone’s standards? Am I alone in thinking this?
Football's a crazy game, but it seems the transfer market is even crazier!
For those of you who don't know the details or simply haven‘t heard, the deal breaks down like this:
Barcelona get 27 year old Swedish International Zlatan Ibrahimovic - who is also out for the next three weeks having surgery on a broken bone in his foot no less - whilst Inter get 28 year old Cameroon International Samuel Eto'o, former Arsenal winger Aleksandr Hleb on loan for one year AND £40 million.
Seriously? Yes, seriously. You're reading that right. Can you believe that? Half the money Real Madrid paid for Ronaldo PLUS two world-class players. Have Barca president, Joan Laporta, and manager, Josep Guardiola, gone absolutely mental? Or is Jose Mourinho working some of that 'special-ness' he always claimed to possess?
I very much doubt that any Inter fan will complain about their end of the deal, but what must be going through the minds of the Barcelona fans? Their firm rivals are virtually plucking every world-class player in the market with seemingly limitless funds at their disposal, whilst Barca sign a player most consider to be highly overrated - despite being the top goalscorer in Serie A last season - pay silly money for him as well as exchanging two of their players.
Even if Ibrahimovic does perform next season, surely the deal is still completely ridiculous by anyone’s standards? Am I alone in thinking this?
Football's a crazy game, but it seems the transfer market is even crazier!
Posted by KJB on 5th August 2009 @ 19:35pm | Tagged under: relegation |
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Cash strapped and losing their best players, it is no wonder why most are earmarking Pompey to be embroiled in a relegation battle come may 2010. Currently, Betfair have them fifth in line to face the chop at 5/2, behind Burnley at 4/6, Hull at 10/11, Birmingham at 11/10 and at Wolves at 7/4.
But will they actually be relegated?
On the one hand, Portsmouth have already lost two of their best players this season - Peter Crouch who joined Spurs earlier in the week and Glen Johnson who signed for Liverpool earlier in the summer - and must worrying the Pompey fans the most are players manager Paul Hart has brought in to replace them.
For Johnson, Hart signed 33 year old former Liverpool right-back Steve Finnan on a free transfer and for Crouch they announced today the loan signing of 30 Lyon striker Frederic Piquionne. Are those signings good enough to keep Pompey alive? Can they compete at Premiership level? Only will tell, but deep down most will judge this somewhat foreboding considering the few quality players Portsmouth still have at their disposal.
To make matters worse, signs of unrest between the Portsmouth players have begun to surface, with David Nugent and Marc Wilson fined two weeks' wages after a "serious breach of club discipline." Portsmouth refused to dwell on the incident stating "The matter has been dealt with internally and there will be no further comment."
On plus side, the have been reports that Sulaiman Al Fahim’s takeover of the club is still going ahead, despite recent comments suggesting the deal has hit stumbling blocks with the club issuing a statement saying "He remains committed to completing the acquisition of Portsmouth FC as soon as possible." However, casting further doubt on the matter, the club also released a statement saying "While it is our intention to add strength to the existing squad we cannot rule out the possibility of having to sell more players should the takeover not happen."
So what should we take from all of this?
From what I can tell Portsmouth's season hinges on Al Fahim's takeover bid going through and the club getting enough funds behind them to at least cling onto the few remaining quality players they've got left, if not they could find themselves in a relegation battle a lot sooner than May and they'll very likely lose.
What do you think?
But will they actually be relegated?
On the one hand, Portsmouth have already lost two of their best players this season - Peter Crouch who joined Spurs earlier in the week and Glen Johnson who signed for Liverpool earlier in the summer - and must worrying the Pompey fans the most are players manager Paul Hart has brought in to replace them.
For Johnson, Hart signed 33 year old former Liverpool right-back Steve Finnan on a free transfer and for Crouch they announced today the loan signing of 30 Lyon striker Frederic Piquionne. Are those signings good enough to keep Pompey alive? Can they compete at Premiership level? Only will tell, but deep down most will judge this somewhat foreboding considering the few quality players Portsmouth still have at their disposal.
To make matters worse, signs of unrest between the Portsmouth players have begun to surface, with David Nugent and Marc Wilson fined two weeks' wages after a "serious breach of club discipline." Portsmouth refused to dwell on the incident stating "The matter has been dealt with internally and there will be no further comment."
On plus side, the have been reports that Sulaiman Al Fahim’s takeover of the club is still going ahead, despite recent comments suggesting the deal has hit stumbling blocks with the club issuing a statement saying "He remains committed to completing the acquisition of Portsmouth FC as soon as possible." However, casting further doubt on the matter, the club also released a statement saying "While it is our intention to add strength to the existing squad we cannot rule out the possibility of having to sell more players should the takeover not happen."
So what should we take from all of this?
From what I can tell Portsmouth's season hinges on Al Fahim's takeover bid going through and the club getting enough funds behind them to at least cling onto the few remaining quality players they've got left, if not they could find themselves in a relegation battle a lot sooner than May and they'll very likely lose.
What do you think?
Posted by KJB on 7th August 2009 @ 21.26pm | Tagged under: fantasy football |
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Excitement is brewing all around as the start of the premier league
approaches and it's that time of year again to pick your fantasy
football team. Some take it more seriously than most, but competition
is the name of the game and makes it all that much more fun.
Needless to say, I already picked my team, weighing up my options and expectations of the season to come. I picked a pretty solid team even if I do say so myself. Naturally, I joined the free premierleague.com fantasy site. A lot of friends signed up there and what's better to compete against your mates and have bragging rights forever more? Nothing, that's what.
First up, the keeper. Only a few viable options to choose from on this one for me, but two entirely different routes to take. Do I get a keeper from a 'top 4 club' and pay a little bit more for the quality? Or do I pick one from another top ten club and spend a little less? I chose the latter. The first option is good, but an expensive keeper can really limit your outfield options and with a keeper like Mark Schwarzer high on the point rankings at only 5.5m my mind was made up. Not bad.
Or is it?
I guess this choice all hinges on whether Fulham will have as good a season as last year, but sometimes it's a gamble you have to take, especially if the outfield benefits I gain from penny-pinching with the keeper pays for any potential Fulham foul-ups.
The idea is to see how it goes at the start of the season. Sometimes, part way through the season, I end up with money to spare after capitalising on a currently players form or such like (Zaki last year anyone?) and will probably have enough to upgrade to a 'top-four' keeper if Fulham take a nose-dive in form.
If not Schwarzer, then who else? The top 3 keepers in the league all rest at 6.5m (I'm sure you all can do the maths, but that's 1m more than Schwarzer) - Cech, Reina & Van Der Sar. Van Der Sar is out for the start of the season due to injury, so that leaves Reina and Cech.
Last season Cech landed 171 points, compared to Reina's score of 169 which is no surprise considering Chelsea conceded only 24 goals to Liverpool's 27 last season. Defensively, Cech's your man. However, interestingly Reina managed 2 assists last season as well as appearing in every single Premier League game compared to Cech's mere 35 games.
There's not much in it on paper, but come part way through the season when I've got to make the decision stick or twist with Schwarzer I guess the only thing I can rely on are the stats.
Which route did you take? Who do you think is the better option?
Next Issue: Defenders
Needless to say, I already picked my team, weighing up my options and expectations of the season to come. I picked a pretty solid team even if I do say so myself. Naturally, I joined the free premierleague.com fantasy site. A lot of friends signed up there and what's better to compete against your mates and have bragging rights forever more? Nothing, that's what.
First up, the keeper. Only a few viable options to choose from on this one for me, but two entirely different routes to take. Do I get a keeper from a 'top 4 club' and pay a little bit more for the quality? Or do I pick one from another top ten club and spend a little less? I chose the latter. The first option is good, but an expensive keeper can really limit your outfield options and with a keeper like Mark Schwarzer high on the point rankings at only 5.5m my mind was made up. Not bad.
Or is it?
I guess this choice all hinges on whether Fulham will have as good a season as last year, but sometimes it's a gamble you have to take, especially if the outfield benefits I gain from penny-pinching with the keeper pays for any potential Fulham foul-ups.
The idea is to see how it goes at the start of the season. Sometimes, part way through the season, I end up with money to spare after capitalising on a currently players form or such like (Zaki last year anyone?) and will probably have enough to upgrade to a 'top-four' keeper if Fulham take a nose-dive in form.
If not Schwarzer, then who else? The top 3 keepers in the league all rest at 6.5m (I'm sure you all can do the maths, but that's 1m more than Schwarzer) - Cech, Reina & Van Der Sar. Van Der Sar is out for the start of the season due to injury, so that leaves Reina and Cech.
Last season Cech landed 171 points, compared to Reina's score of 169 which is no surprise considering Chelsea conceded only 24 goals to Liverpool's 27 last season. Defensively, Cech's your man. However, interestingly Reina managed 2 assists last season as well as appearing in every single Premier League game compared to Cech's mere 35 games.
There's not much in it on paper, but come part way through the season when I've got to make the decision stick or twist with Schwarzer I guess the only thing I can rely on are the stats.
Which route did you take? Who do you think is the better option?
Next Issue: Defenders
Posted by KJB on 8th August 2009 @ 19:25pm | Tagged under: fantasy football |
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With a keeper chosen, the defence needs to be sorted out next.
I've decided to go with a 3-4-3 formation in order to maximise point scoring ability and reduce possible point loss for conceding - a tactic that has treated me well in the past. Naturally, my first impulse was to go ahead and get a strong Man Utd defender who was good in the air and consistent enough not to through me too many undue trouble on regular intervals. Joint with Chelsea, Man Utd conceded the least goals last seasons and since they have only lost attacking players in the summer window, it’s only logical to assume that record won't alter all that much in the coming season. Then both Van Der Sar and Vidic got themselves injured and my plans crumbled in around my ears.
Whilst I'm sure Man Utd have plenty of players to bolster their defences, I’ve decided to go for the safer option and select my defence around the Chelsea back four, selecting left back Ashley Cole and Russian new boy, Yuri Zhirkov as my two safe and reasonable cheap defenders.
Cole speaks for himself. He gets himself into attacking positions and will not only gain points by helping Chelsea's solid backlines, but could get me a few assists along the way.
But why choose Zhirkov?
Simple. He's not really a defender. Sure he can play at left back, but he's more of a left winger and with Cole a solid left-back as is, I'm going to gamble that he'll be played ahead of Malouda on the left wing. I think he'll play most games and I think he'll get plenty of assists and if Chelsea don't concede in the process, he'll get extra points for that. Of course, this could quite easily blow up in my face. He could've just been brought to the club to play left back and will be kept as an understudy, but for the money they paid for him, I doubt it. I guess come the start of the season, I'll know for sure.
For my third and final defender, I decided to choose from the Liverpool squad. I think there's something to be said about not putting all your eggs in one basket and like I previously mentioned, my confidence in Man Utd's defence has diminished with each passing injury. So that just leaves Liverpool and I've gone with Carragher. He's guaranteed a game and he's nothing if not consistent. The only issue I can foresee is the Liverpool defence not getting enough cover on the right by the attacking right-back Glen Johnson, but I'm confident it's not going to be that much of problem in the long run.
Three strong defenders at quite sizeable prices, one of which may either be a risky prospect or a stroke of genius dependant upon Carlo Anchelotti's whims at team selection.
Good defence? Would you do things differently? If so, what would you change?
Next Up: Midfield
I've decided to go with a 3-4-3 formation in order to maximise point scoring ability and reduce possible point loss for conceding - a tactic that has treated me well in the past. Naturally, my first impulse was to go ahead and get a strong Man Utd defender who was good in the air and consistent enough not to through me too many undue trouble on regular intervals. Joint with Chelsea, Man Utd conceded the least goals last seasons and since they have only lost attacking players in the summer window, it’s only logical to assume that record won't alter all that much in the coming season. Then both Van Der Sar and Vidic got themselves injured and my plans crumbled in around my ears.
Whilst I'm sure Man Utd have plenty of players to bolster their defences, I’ve decided to go for the safer option and select my defence around the Chelsea back four, selecting left back Ashley Cole and Russian new boy, Yuri Zhirkov as my two safe and reasonable cheap defenders.
Cole speaks for himself. He gets himself into attacking positions and will not only gain points by helping Chelsea's solid backlines, but could get me a few assists along the way.
But why choose Zhirkov?
Simple. He's not really a defender. Sure he can play at left back, but he's more of a left winger and with Cole a solid left-back as is, I'm going to gamble that he'll be played ahead of Malouda on the left wing. I think he'll play most games and I think he'll get plenty of assists and if Chelsea don't concede in the process, he'll get extra points for that. Of course, this could quite easily blow up in my face. He could've just been brought to the club to play left back and will be kept as an understudy, but for the money they paid for him, I doubt it. I guess come the start of the season, I'll know for sure.
For my third and final defender, I decided to choose from the Liverpool squad. I think there's something to be said about not putting all your eggs in one basket and like I previously mentioned, my confidence in Man Utd's defence has diminished with each passing injury. So that just leaves Liverpool and I've gone with Carragher. He's guaranteed a game and he's nothing if not consistent. The only issue I can foresee is the Liverpool defence not getting enough cover on the right by the attacking right-back Glen Johnson, but I'm confident it's not going to be that much of problem in the long run.
Three strong defenders at quite sizeable prices, one of which may either be a risky prospect or a stroke of genius dependant upon Carlo Anchelotti's whims at team selection.
Good defence? Would you do things differently? If so, what would you change?
Next Up: Midfield
Posted by KJB on 9th August 2009 @ 20:38pm | Tagged under: fantasy football |
(2) Comments
The Community Shield raised more questions than it answered, seemingly putting most of my previous speculations regarding fantasy football selections and indeed the Premiership itself in doubt. If I'm honest, I suspect both Man Utd and Chelsea will be the forerunners of the top four this season and whilst I speculated on both sides solid defences and Man Utd's diminished attacking capabilities it seems I was proven wrong on both accounts.
It was a thrilling 4 goal game in which both teams were tested to their limits, but arguably the most interesting thing gleamed from the match is the clear indication that this year, the race for the Premier League title will be hotly contested and very close. I just wonder though, if Van Der Sar and Vidic were both fit, would the result have really been the same?
It seems Anchelotti will be playing that tried and trusted diamond formation that worked well for him at AC Milan, but sadly that casts serious doubts over my fantasy football defence, particularly Chelsea's Russian new boy, Yuri Zhirkov.
It was announced before the match that he wouldn't be playing due to knee-injury, but more worryingly, it's hard to determine where exactly he'll fit into the squad. Not only must he either fight out Ashley Cole, but he'll certainly have to contend with Malouda, who seemed to be on decent form today, hardly resembling the poor form he saw at the start of last season. If I add to the fact that Zhirkov wasn't actually one of Anchelotti's signings and my doubts about whether he's all that good of a defender to have on my team are doubled.
It's difficult to tell this early on, especially if Zhirkov's injured an all, but I really hope this isn't another Benitez/Robbie Keane fiasco. On the other hand, considering Chelsea paid around £18.5 million for him, how could he not be a regular member of the squad?
I'm going to check out my options and ponder whether to rush the untested and possibly injured Zhirkov out of squad or wait and see what happens.
An interesting conundrum to have.
It was a thrilling 4 goal game in which both teams were tested to their limits, but arguably the most interesting thing gleamed from the match is the clear indication that this year, the race for the Premier League title will be hotly contested and very close. I just wonder though, if Van Der Sar and Vidic were both fit, would the result have really been the same?
It seems Anchelotti will be playing that tried and trusted diamond formation that worked well for him at AC Milan, but sadly that casts serious doubts over my fantasy football defence, particularly Chelsea's Russian new boy, Yuri Zhirkov.
It was announced before the match that he wouldn't be playing due to knee-injury, but more worryingly, it's hard to determine where exactly he'll fit into the squad. Not only must he either fight out Ashley Cole, but he'll certainly have to contend with Malouda, who seemed to be on decent form today, hardly resembling the poor form he saw at the start of last season. If I add to the fact that Zhirkov wasn't actually one of Anchelotti's signings and my doubts about whether he's all that good of a defender to have on my team are doubled.
It's difficult to tell this early on, especially if Zhirkov's injured an all, but I really hope this isn't another Benitez/Robbie Keane fiasco. On the other hand, considering Chelsea paid around £18.5 million for him, how could he not be a regular member of the squad?
I'm going to check out my options and ponder whether to rush the untested and possibly injured Zhirkov out of squad or wait and see what happens.
An interesting conundrum to have.
Posted by KJB on 10th August 2009 @ 20:07pm | Tagged under: managers |
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It has been confirmed
earlier today that Zenit St Petersburg have sacked 61-year-old Dick
Advocaat following a poor run of form.
The club released a statement: "Dick Advocaat has done a lot for the team and his name will forever be associated with the success Zenit has achieved over the past few seasons. Under his leadership, many new glorious pages in Zenit's history have been written and fans will never forget the title-winning season of 2007 and the team’s magnificent performance in Europe in 2008."
However, it is thought that it is also Advocaat's decision to coach Belgium at the end of the season that has helped contribute to the club’s decision.
"Unfortunately, after deciding to take on the role of national coach of the Belgian national team, Zenit's performances have deteriorated notably and neither the fans nor the club's leadership are satisfied with the league position the club finds itself in."
The club released a statement: "Dick Advocaat has done a lot for the team and his name will forever be associated with the success Zenit has achieved over the past few seasons. Under his leadership, many new glorious pages in Zenit's history have been written and fans will never forget the title-winning season of 2007 and the team’s magnificent performance in Europe in 2008."
However, it is thought that it is also Advocaat's decision to coach Belgium at the end of the season that has helped contribute to the club’s decision.
"Unfortunately, after deciding to take on the role of national coach of the Belgian national team, Zenit's performances have deteriorated notably and neither the fans nor the club's leadership are satisfied with the league position the club finds itself in."
Posted by KJB on 10th August 2009 @ 21:25pm | Tagged under: fantasy football |
(1) Comment
My midfield 4 are just as controversial as my back 3. I've decided not to go for any 'big-name' expensive players such as Lampard, Gerrard or even Arshavin. Instead I've gone for a balance that I think will earn me, on the whole, a consistent point structure.
First, a little biased I must admit, I've gone for Ashley Young. I'm a Villa fan and I think Young is one of the best players in the Premiership. At first, I was a little dubious at included him. I thought the signing of Downing indicated his leaving of the club (why else buy two left wingers?) but at the moment, signs suggest that he's staying with the Villains, so that's gone enough for me.
The second man up, is James Milner. Again, one of my favourite players at the club and consistent enough for a midfielder with both goals and assists for his inclusion. There is also a tactical reason for the inclusion of these two. Villa have quite reasonable opening fixtures and I fully expect Villa to get a decent run of form, hopfully notching up a decent amount of goals in the process.
Next up, former Villa midfield linchpin, Gareth Barry. Last season he was the driving force behind the squad and it was one of the primary reason Man City signed him. Last season he was primary penalty taker for Villa and although I have no reason to believe he will do the same at City, he still got plenty of goals and assists besides. He also played every game for Villa and I have no reason to doubt he'll do the same thuis season (unless City adopt some sort of ridiculous squad rotation system).
The fourth and final player for my midfield, I'll admit, is a bit of a gamble. I've gone for West Ham new boy Luis Jimenez, who's on loan at the club from Inter Milan. He's an attacking midfielder wh'’s always liable to get a place in the attacking line-up. I fully expect him to start behind Carlton Cole most games, as West Ham's attacking options are somewhat limited at the moment.
So what do you think? Good midfield? Should I have gone for a 'big-name' expensive player and built the rest of the midfield around them? Who did you go for?
Next: The Forwards
First, a little biased I must admit, I've gone for Ashley Young. I'm a Villa fan and I think Young is one of the best players in the Premiership. At first, I was a little dubious at included him. I thought the signing of Downing indicated his leaving of the club (why else buy two left wingers?) but at the moment, signs suggest that he's staying with the Villains, so that's gone enough for me.
The second man up, is James Milner. Again, one of my favourite players at the club and consistent enough for a midfielder with both goals and assists for his inclusion. There is also a tactical reason for the inclusion of these two. Villa have quite reasonable opening fixtures and I fully expect Villa to get a decent run of form, hopfully notching up a decent amount of goals in the process.
Next up, former Villa midfield linchpin, Gareth Barry. Last season he was the driving force behind the squad and it was one of the primary reason Man City signed him. Last season he was primary penalty taker for Villa and although I have no reason to believe he will do the same at City, he still got plenty of goals and assists besides. He also played every game for Villa and I have no reason to doubt he'll do the same thuis season (unless City adopt some sort of ridiculous squad rotation system).
The fourth and final player for my midfield, I'll admit, is a bit of a gamble. I've gone for West Ham new boy Luis Jimenez, who's on loan at the club from Inter Milan. He's an attacking midfielder wh'’s always liable to get a place in the attacking line-up. I fully expect him to start behind Carlton Cole most games, as West Ham's attacking options are somewhat limited at the moment.
So what do you think? Good midfield? Should I have gone for a 'big-name' expensive player and built the rest of the midfield around them? Who did you go for?
Next: The Forwards
Posted by KJB on 11th August 2009 @ 20:07pm | Tagged under: premier league |
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The debate has raged all summer, intensifying every time Mark Hughes spends big bucks bringing in stars of the highest quality. Now, with City's activity on the transfer market dwindling somewhat, aside from the ongoing Lescott saga, the squad is nothing less than impressive, with a long list of players that would get into the first team of most Premier League clubs.
The question is, will it be enough to drive them forward into the top 4?
If their big money transfers are to be analysed, the theoretical tactic in player selection is something of a masterstroke by Hughes. Most of the players bought in the summer from one of the top 4 teams, with one purchased from a potential fifth spot threat (Barry from Villa) and another still pending (Lescott from Everton).
Granted, some weren't as vital to their former team as others. For example, most people consider Adebayor and Toure's form last season somewhat average, whereas, Gareth Barry was the driving force behind Aston Villa last season, playing all 36 Premier League games and was generally the backbone of the team.
But will the practical work as well as the theoretical?
Buying some of the best players the Premier League has to offer is one thing, but getting them to work as a cohesive unit is another thing.
Will Hughes be able to shape his players into a fighting force capable of defeating any side, home or away? Maybe, maybe not. All we've really saw of Hughes is that he's decent in a relegation scrap, elevating the likes of Blackburn into the top 10. He's entirely untested at the other end of the table and whilst some may consider it the easier job, most don't.
I think the more pertinent question Hughes must consider is, if the team doesn't break the top 4 simply by throwing money at it, will the owners be as patient as he to get the team working as one?
Most predict Man City a mid-table finish this season whilst the team learn to work together, perhaps mounting a more serious challenge next season. Is this all part of the plan? Will they give Hughes the time he needs to build his foundations?
It's just another interesting facet of the game, which we'll follow as it unravels throughout the season.
Roll on Saturday, roll on the Premier League
The question is, will it be enough to drive them forward into the top 4?
If their big money transfers are to be analysed, the theoretical tactic in player selection is something of a masterstroke by Hughes. Most of the players bought in the summer from one of the top 4 teams, with one purchased from a potential fifth spot threat (Barry from Villa) and another still pending (Lescott from Everton).
Granted, some weren't as vital to their former team as others. For example, most people consider Adebayor and Toure's form last season somewhat average, whereas, Gareth Barry was the driving force behind Aston Villa last season, playing all 36 Premier League games and was generally the backbone of the team.
But will the practical work as well as the theoretical?
Buying some of the best players the Premier League has to offer is one thing, but getting them to work as a cohesive unit is another thing.
Will Hughes be able to shape his players into a fighting force capable of defeating any side, home or away? Maybe, maybe not. All we've really saw of Hughes is that he's decent in a relegation scrap, elevating the likes of Blackburn into the top 10. He's entirely untested at the other end of the table and whilst some may consider it the easier job, most don't.
I think the more pertinent question Hughes must consider is, if the team doesn't break the top 4 simply by throwing money at it, will the owners be as patient as he to get the team working as one?
Most predict Man City a mid-table finish this season whilst the team learn to work together, perhaps mounting a more serious challenge next season. Is this all part of the plan? Will they give Hughes the time he needs to build his foundations?
It's just another interesting facet of the game, which we'll follow as it unravels throughout the season.
Roll on Saturday, roll on the Premier League
Posted by KJB on 12th August 2009 @ 19:53pm | Tagged under: transfers |
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Earlier today, Sunderland manager Steve Bruce swooped in for Wigan central midfielder Lee Cattermole in a deal thought to be around £6m, offering the England Under 21 International a five year deal.
Cattermole was signed by Bruce from Middlesbrough back in July 2008 for approx =£3.5m when he was manager of his former club Wigan. Bruce obviously considers him talented enough to take him to his new club and it's thought that Cattermole will go straight into the squad to will play Bolton on Saturday on the opening day of the season.
However, the loss of Cattermole didn't seem to affect the Latics manager Roberto Martinez in slightest. "It is far more than the club paid for him last year and the third highest fee in Wigan Athletic history."
What say you? Good signing?
Personally I think Cattermole is a tough, battling midfielder the likes of Sunderland need to boss around the midfield and break up opposition play and quite frankly the kind of player Sunderland is need of.
With so many clubs now vying for a top spot, it's shaping up to be the most competitive years in the Premier League and midfield battles may dictate most tight matches.
We'll know for sure just how competitive the Premier League will get, come Saturday.
Cattermole was signed by Bruce from Middlesbrough back in July 2008 for approx =£3.5m when he was manager of his former club Wigan. Bruce obviously considers him talented enough to take him to his new club and it's thought that Cattermole will go straight into the squad to will play Bolton on Saturday on the opening day of the season.
However, the loss of Cattermole didn't seem to affect the Latics manager Roberto Martinez in slightest. "It is far more than the club paid for him last year and the third highest fee in Wigan Athletic history."
What say you? Good signing?
Personally I think Cattermole is a tough, battling midfielder the likes of Sunderland need to boss around the midfield and break up opposition play and quite frankly the kind of player Sunderland is need of.
With so many clubs now vying for a top spot, it's shaping up to be the most competitive years in the Premier League and midfield battles may dictate most tight matches.
We'll know for sure just how competitive the Premier League will get, come Saturday.
Posted by KJB on 13th August 2009 @ 19:35pm | Tagged under: transfers |
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It's been a particularly vibrant day in transfer market for most Premier League clubs, with Wolves renewing their loan deal with young Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne, Birmingham snapping-up former Liverpool left-back Gregory Vignal, Portsmouth loaning 21-year-old midfielder Anthony Borre and Hull sign Republic of Ireland International Stephen Hunt from Reading and Algerian striker Kamel Ghilas from Celta Vigo.Mancienne became Wolves' seventh capture of the summer and it is thought that the spending spree has yet to come to an end with Chief Executive Jez Moxey stating, "It's been a long, hard summer in terms of preparing for the Premier League and bringing in new players, and we’re still looking for more even now."
Mancienne spent two months at the club last season and during the 10-game spell is thought to have sufficiently impressed manager Mick McCarthy during his stay at the club to secure the deal.
Former Liverpool and Rangers left-back, Gegory Vignal impressed Birmingham manager Alex McLeish so much during trials he offered the 28-year-old a one-year contract, after failing to do the same whilst on trials at both QPR and Southampton last month.
"He's a good athlete, mobile, strong and aggressive," McLeish explaining the deal on Birmingham's official website. "At Rangers when we won the league it was a very successful campaign for him, so I know what he can bring us."
Another loan signing from Pompey sees 21-year-old Belgian midfielder Anthony Borre join the club in a one year deal. "He’s threatened to do so much for quite a while - now's the time for him to come up with the goods," Paul Hart advised.
A double swoop for Hull, signing Republic of Ireland winger Stephen Hunt for what the Royals claim is a "sizeable fee". Hunt reckons his experience with Reading bring a lot to his new club, "I know how difficult the second season syndrome in the Premier League can be from Reading, so, hopefully I can bring my experience of that here."
Tigers boss Phil Brown also added striker Kamel Ghilas to his strike force for around �£2m, signing the 25-year-old Algerian up to a four year deal at the club. "Kamel is a product of our scouting network," Phil Brown said, "We've worked long and hard scanning Italy, Spain, Germany and a few other places.
"A lot of people may not know Kamel now, but that will change over the course of the season."
Posted by KJB on 13th August 2009 @ 20:26pm | Tagged under: hot gossip |
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Franck Ribery's name is all over the rumour mills again, with Real Madrid reportedly launching a brand new bid for the French winger. It's said that Real will offer at least 30m Euros plus two of their four Dutch contigent; Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Royston Drenthe and Rafael Van der Vaart. If accurate, I can't imagine Bayern not being very tempted by the deal, with opportunity to bring in two world-class midfielders as well as 30m Euros - they'd be mad not to.
However, Bayern Munich coach Luis van Gaal is determined not to let the transfer talk get to the Frenchman's head, indicating that he'll have to fight for him place in the team like every other member of the squad.
After returning to full fitness after missing pre-season due to a knee injury, Van Gaal has warned him that he will not simply walk back into the squad.
"I observe the training sessions and then decide what my team needs," Van Gaal told Kicker magazine. "For me, a big name does not count more than any other."
The saga continues...
Posted by KJB on 14th August 2009 @ 20:03pm | Tagged under: fantasy football |
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Fantasy Football is something me and my work colleagues take very seriously. We consider each player we select carefully and look to get ahead of the pack any way we can, so it comes as no surprise that we've noticed a particularly obvious strategy in opening weeks of the Premier League, which most of us plan to adhere to. That strategy is quite simply, the fixtures. A couple of strong teams have a fairly easy run in the opening stages of the league and on round 2 of the competition, Tuesday 18th and Wednesday 19th of August, not all clubs will play due Champions League qualifying matches amongst other things and this turn of events can be readily exploited.
The first thing I did when the obvious struck me was to remove Arsenal players from my squad. Why? Firstly, they play a very tough match against Everton at Goodison Park on the opening day of the season which will be a close call and I do't thing I'll gain much from any Arsenal, or indeed Everton, player I have in my squad.
Looking at the fixtures, Chelsea seem to have the 'easier' run playing Hull at Stamford Bridge on the Premier League opener and Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday and there's Man Utd. They have Birmingham at Old Trafford on Sunday 16th and then Burnley at St Andrew's Ground on Wednesday 19th. Liverpool, however, have Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Sunday 16th and then Stoke at Anfield on Wednesday 19th.
It's a good way to maximise results in a way, because as soon the other teams play their owed games you may choose to bring some of their players in. I guess the trick is to balance your team early on and try not to deviate from your original plan too much because afterwards it could cost you a good number of transfers. However, if you're on the free fantasy football at the premier league.com, then there is the chance to play your 'wildcard' without fear of your transfers costing you points.
It’s an interesting tactic to use, but as always it all depends on the way the results fall and as we all know in the Premier League anything can happen.
Posted by KJB on 15th August 2009 @ 12:22pm | Tagged under: premier league |
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Preview
Carlo Anchelotti's second professional game in charge of Chelsea, first Premier League game in charge and one would imagine Chelsea shouldn't have too many problems in dealing with 08/09 relegation survivors Hull. However, last season this same fixture produced a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge and no doubt the Tigers will strive hard to replicate such a result.
Injuries
Chelsea have a number of injuries in their squads, but the remaining players they have left are nothing less than impressive. The Blues are missing Yuri Zhirkov (knee injury). Juliano Belletti (Achilles) and defender Alex (groin), with Joe Cole (knee) and Paul Ferreira (knee) returning to training but are not match fit.
It's thought Phill Brown will hand out debut's for all four summer signings, Stephen Hunt and Kamel Ghilas will go straight into the squad, joining fellow new boys Seyi Olofinjana and Jozy Altidore.
Missing for the Tigers all through knee-injury are Ian Ashbee, Jimmy Bullard and Richard Garcia, but Boaz Myhill is once again fit after overcoming a thumb injury.
Squads
Chelsea: Cech, Turnbull, Hilario, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Carvalho, A Cole, Ballack, Sturridge, Mikel, Deco, Lampard, Anelka, Drogba, Sturridge, Kalou, Malouda, Essien.
Hull: Myhill, Warner, Duke, Dawson, Gardner, Turner, Fagan, Barmby, Altidore, Geovanni, Hughes, Mendy, Halmosi, Kilbane, Folan, Mouyokolo, Boateng, Marney, Zayatte, Olofinjana, Cousin, Hunt, Ghilas.
Footy Banter Prediction
I very much doubt Hull will be able to resist the undeniable might of the Chelsea squad and with both Drogba and Anelka up front, I also expect goals.
I'm going with 3-0.
Posted by KJB on 15th August 2009 @ 14:39pm | Tagged under: premier league |
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Aston Villa v Wigan
Preview
Villa are set to hand debuts out to both Habib Beye and Fabian Delph, whereas new Latics manager Martinez is set to debut both striker Jason Scotland and midfielder Jordi Gomez, both of whom played with him at Swansea last season.
Villa have failed to beat Wigan at Villa Park for the past four campaigns, losing two and drawing two and will look to finally get a win of the Latics on the opening day of the season.
Injuries
Villa's summer signing Stewart Downing is out up until December with a broken foot, but are set to be boosted by returning midfielder Stilyian Petrov who dislocated his shoulder in a pre-season friendly.
For Wigan, only midfielder Olivier Kapo is out with a knee ligament injury also sustained in a pre-season friendly.
Teams
Aston Villa: Friedel, Guzan, Beye, Luke Young, Davies, Cuellar, Shorey, Milner, Reo-Coker, Sidwell, Delph, Ashley Young, Heskey, Carew, Agbonlahor, Lichaj, Clark, Albrighton, Lowry, Gardner, Delfouneso.
Wigan: Kirkland, Melchiot, Figueroa, Edman, Boyce, Bramble, Thomas, Scharner, Brown, N'Zogbia, Koumas, Watson, Gomez, Sinclair, Scotland, King, McCarthy, Rodallega, Pollitt.
Footy Banter Prediction
Wigan's talent depleted squad, reinforced with Swansea regulars will not be able to withstand pressure from equally depleted Aston Villa, who still only have two first-team centre-back's in their squad following the retirement of Martin Lausen and the sale of Zat Knight.
2-0 to the Villa.
Blackburn v Man City
Preview
Big spender's Manchester City return to Ewood Park with a vast array of talent at his disposal. There has been a lot of speculation how he will set his side out.
Last season, this fixture ended up a 2-2 draw, which City will undoubtedly look to improve upon.
Injuries
Blackburn captain Ryan Neilson will have a late fitness check ahead of the match, after injuring his knee in a pre-season friendly at Dundee, with Christopher Samba definitely to return to squad and Paul Gallagher expected to miss the fixture.
Gael Givet and Vince Grella return to full training, but the latter unlikely to play due to lack of match fitness, the same as new striker Nikola Kalinic. Steven Reid, Brett Emerton and David Dunn are all still out with long term problems.
New City signing and former Blackburn player Roque Santa Cruz is out until September and Adebayor is set to undergo a fitness test thanks to the groin strain endured during an international match on Wednesday. Both Tevez and Bellamy should be match fit after overcoming niggling problems, with both Vincent Company (toe) and Michael Johnson (abdomen) definitely missing the fixture.
Teams
Blackburn : Robinson, Brown, Jacobsen, Samba, Nelsen, Givet, Khizanishvili, Warnock, Olsson, Diouf, Hoilett, van Heerden, Doran, Nzonzi, Andrews, Pedersen, McCarthy, Roberts, Di Santo.
City: Given, Zabaleta, Dunne, Toure, Ben Haim, Onuoha, Bridge, De Jong, Barry, Ireland, Wright-Phillips, Weiss, Robinho, Adebayor, Bellamy, Tevez, Richards, Garrido, Etuhu, Vidal, McGivern, Petrov, Benjani, Taylor.
Footy Banter Prediction
With Blackburn losing quality players over the summer and City's billion dollar team yet to gel properly, I expect this to be a tight match.
0-1 to City.
Bolton Wanderers v Sunderland
Preview
Steve Bruce begins his reign at Sunderland with a potentially tough game at Bolton on the opening day and is hoping his team can break the impeccable record Bolton have at holding the Black Cats at home. Bruce is also liable to hand out debuts to four of his summer signings, with Lee Cattermole, Lorik Cana, Darren Bent and Fraizer Campbell looking to make opening day impacts.
Bolton manager Gary Megson is also likely to issue debuts to his summer signings, with Sean Davis, Paul Robinson, Sam Ricketts and Zat Knight set bolster the Wanderers team.
Injuries
Sunderland are without Paraguayan defender Paul Da Silva due to lack of match fitness, keeper Craig Gordon who is recovering from knee surgery, with Andy Reid (thigh) and Phil Bardsley (ankle) slight doubts.
Bolton have few injuries, but it is thought new South Korean midfielder Lee Chong-Young is unlikely feature.
Teams
Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Ricketts, Cahill, A O'Brien, Knight, Gardner, Robinson, Samuel, Taylor, Davis, McCann, Elmander, Basham, K Davies, Al Habsi, Hunt, Cohen, M Davies.
Sunderland: Fulop, Bardsley, Ferdinand, Collins, McCartney, Cana, Cattermole, Richardson, Reid, Malbranque, Campbell, Bent, Jones, Nosworthy, Da Silva, Leadbitter, Henderson, Tainio, Edwards, Healy, Carson.
Footy Banter Prediction
A tough game in which I expect Bolton to maintain their unbeaten home record against Sunderland - just.
1-1 Draw.
Portsmouth v Fulham
Preview
Fulham travel to Fratton Park with two competitive Europa League victories under their belts already, looking to start the season how they ended last season - on a high note.
Injuries
David James will start despite being ruled out of the England match midweek with a shoulder injury, whilst new boy Anthony Vanden Borre will only be in the squad if he receives international clearance from former club Genoa, with fellow new signing Steve Finna and Portsmouth regular Herman Hreidesson struggling with fitness over hamstring injuries.
Fulham are without Simon Davies (foot injury) and defender Toni Kallio (achilles) , while new signings Stephen Kelly and Bjorn Helge Riise set to be included in the squad.
Teams
Portsmouth: James, Primus, Kaboul, Mokoena, Mullins, Hreidarsson, Diop, Nugent, Distin, Utaka, Kranjcar, Kanu, Ashdown, Hughes, Begovic, Basinas, Wilson, Belhadj, Vanden Borre, Piquionne, Niemi.
Fulham: Schwarzer, Pantsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky, Dempsey, Etuhu, Murphy, Gera, Johnson, Zamora, Nevland, Kamara, Zuberbuhler, Stoor, Baird, Riise, Kelly.
Footy Banter Prediction
With Portsmouth leaking players and not replacing them with equal quality I expect them to struggle in the Premier League this season, even at home and especially against tough teams like Fulham.
0-1 to Fulham for me.
Stoke City v Burnley
Preview
Burnley's induction to the Premier League will be marred somewhat by a tough opening fixture away to Stoke, who will be wanting to keep their home ground every bit as much as fortress as it was last season.
Injuries
Glenn Whelan could be left out of Stoke's starting line-up after his appearance for the Republic of Ireland, but Stoke's only injury worry is defender Danny Higginbotham who faces a late fitness test on a hamstring problem.
However, Burnley manager Owen Coyle finds himself with something of a defensive crisis with captain Steven Caldwell out with a groin injury, Michael Duff out with an ankle injury and new signing David Edgar suspended.
Teams
Stoke: Sorensen, Shotton, Shawcross, Abdoulaye Faye, Higginbotham, Lawrence, Whitehead, Delap, Etherington, Beattie, Fuller, Simonsen, Whelan, Wilkinson, Cort, Kitson, Cresswell, Dickinson, Pugh, Diao, Amdy Faye, Tonge, Griffin.
Burnley: Jensen, Eckersley, Carlisle, Alexander, Mears, Jordan, Kalvenes, Eagles, Blake, McCann, McDonald, Gudjonsson, Easton, Thompson, Rodriguez, Paterson, Elliott, Fletcher, Penny.
Footy Banter Prediction
With Burnley's defensive crisis and Stoke's impressive form last season, I have to side with Stoke, who will look to gain as many points as they can from the newly promoted sides.
1-0 to Stoke.
Wolves v West Ham
Preview
With Mick McCarthy bringing in no less than seven new signings over the summer, Wolves are set to have a new look line-up on the opening day on the new season, whereas West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola has his three new signings vying for contention in an impressive West Ham squad.
Injuries
Wolves are without Scottish defender Christophe Berra (hamstring), but it is likely new signing Michael Mncienne will step into to fill the role. They are also without Kevin Doyle (groin), Chris Iwelumo (foot) and Michael Kightly (hip and foot).
Zola is likely to use new loan signing Jimenez and Kieron Dyer to support for Carlton Cole, but are without Dean Ashton (ankle), Luis Boa Morte (knee) and Valon Behrami (ankle).
Teams
Wolves: Hennessey, Hahnemann, Ikeme, Foley, Berra, Craddock, Stearman, Zubar, Ward, Elokobi, Hill, Halford, Surman, Henry, Milijas, Jones, Jarvis, Ebanks-Blake, Keogh, Vokes, Doyle.
West Ham: Green, Ilunga, Upson, Gabbidon, Faubert, Noble, Parker, Collison, Dyer, Jimenez, Cole, Stech, Daprela, Tomkins, Collins, Stanislas, Kovac, Savio, Spector, Davenport.
Footy Banter Prediction
Tough game all around for this one. Although West Ham are coming off the back of a stunning season, their strike force is somewhat depleted and may struggle to get goals, especially away.
0-0 draw.
Posted by KJB on 15th August 2009 @ 16:46pm | Tagged under: premier league |
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Preview
Last season Arsenal got the better of Everton in the face for the fourth and final Champions League spot and the Toffee's will look to gain an early upper hand over the depleted Arsenal side in the opening game of the season.
Injuries
Everton are without Phil Jagielka, Mikel Arteta, Ayegbeni Yakubu and Victor Anichebe, with Steven Pienaar doubtful with a knee injury. However, despite alleged unrest at the club, Joelon Lescott is expected to play.
Arsenal begin the new season without Abou Diaby (groin), Theo Walcott (back), Douro (knee), Lukasz Fabianski (knee), Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) and Samir Nasri (broken leg), but are expected to field Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen, despite the new signing suffering from a slight groin problem.
Teams
Everton: Howard, Neville, Baines, Yobo, Lescott, Hibbert, Osman, Cahill, Fellaini, Rodwell, Baxter, Jo, Saha, Vaughan, Gosling, Wallace, Pienaar, Nash.
Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Vermaelen, Gallas, Clichy, Eboue, Song, Fabregas, Arshavin, van Persie, Eduardo, Mannone, Bendtner, Denilson, Ramsey, Wilshere, Gibbs, Silvestre.
Footy Banter Predictions
I personally think this is going to be a rough game for both teams and secretly, both managers would be quite happy with a draw here.
1-1 Draw
Last season Arsenal got the better of Everton in the face for the fourth and final Champions League spot and the Toffee's will look to gain an early upper hand over the depleted Arsenal side in the opening game of the season.
Injuries
Everton are without Phil Jagielka, Mikel Arteta, Ayegbeni Yakubu and Victor Anichebe, with Steven Pienaar doubtful with a knee injury. However, despite alleged unrest at the club, Joelon Lescott is expected to play.
Arsenal begin the new season without Abou Diaby (groin), Theo Walcott (back), Douro (knee), Lukasz Fabianski (knee), Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) and Samir Nasri (broken leg), but are expected to field Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen, despite the new signing suffering from a slight groin problem.
Teams
Everton: Howard, Neville, Baines, Yobo, Lescott, Hibbert, Osman, Cahill, Fellaini, Rodwell, Baxter, Jo, Saha, Vaughan, Gosling, Wallace, Pienaar, Nash.
Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Vermaelen, Gallas, Clichy, Eboue, Song, Fabregas, Arshavin, van Persie, Eduardo, Mannone, Bendtner, Denilson, Ramsey, Wilshere, Gibbs, Silvestre.
Footy Banter Predictions
I personally think this is going to be a rough game for both teams and secretly, both managers would be quite happy with a draw here.
1-1 Draw
Posted by KJB on 16th August 2009 @ 10:10am | Tagged under: premier league |
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Manchester United v Birmingham City
Kick-Off 1:30pm
Sky Sports 1
Preview
Man Utd begin their new season without Ronaldo and protecting their Premier League crown against newly promoted Birmingham City.
Injuries
Man Utd are without Jonny Evans (ankle), Nemanja Vidic (calf), Gary Neville (groin), Van Der Sar and long term injury Owen Hargreaves and so Wes Brown is expected to start in the back alongside Rio Ferdinand.
Birmingham manager Alex McLeish faces major selection problems ahead of his team's daunting prospect, with Liam Ridgewell, Martin Taylor, Scott Dann, Giovanny Espinoz, David Murphy, Lee Bowyer and Marcus Bent are all unavailable. However, new signings Joe Hart, Gregory Vignal and Barry Ferguson are all set start.
Squads
Man Utd: Foster, Kuszczak, O'Shea, De Laet, Ferdinand, Brown, Evans, Evra, Fabio, Nani, Carrick, Scholes, Fletcher, Anderson, Giggs, Park, Tosic, Valencia, Owen, Rooney, Berbatov, Macheda.
Birmingham: Hart, Taylor, Carr, Roger Johnson, Queudrue, Vignal, Parnaby, Larsson, Carsley, Ferguson, McSheffrey, Damien Johnson, Fahey, McFadden, Jerome, O'Connor, Phillips, Benitez, Sammons, Wilson.
Footy Banter Prediction
With both squads depleted, I have to go with the sheer power of the Utd squad.
2-0 Man Utd.
Tottenham v Liverpool
Kick-Off 4pm
Sky Sports 1
Preview
This fixture last year was one of only two defeats the reds suffered last season, losing 2-1 to Spurs in Harry Redknapp's first outing as manager. Red's will undoubtedly want to improve this result and set a new title challenge off on the right foot.
Injuries
Tottenham are without Gareth Bale (knee), Jermaine Jenas (calf) and Jonathan Wood gate (groin) and new boy Sebastien Bassong is set to make his debut for the club.
Liverpool are without Daniel Agger, Fabio Aurelio and new signing Alberto Aquilani. Central defenders Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel are expected to be available after ankle and hamstring problems respectively. However, despite sitting out England’s midweek game, Steven Gerrard is expected to start.
Squads
Spurs: Cudicini, Gomes, Assou-Ekotto, Chimbonda, Corluka, Hutton, King, Naughton, Bassong, Bentley, Boateng, Bostock, Huddlestone, Lennon, Modric, O'Hara, Palacios, Rose, Crouch, Defoe, Keane, Pavlyuchenko.
Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Insua, Carragher, Skrtel, Ayala, Benayoun, Lucas, Gerrard, Mascherano, Riera, Kuyt, Torres, Babel, Cavalieri, Degen, Dossena, Ngog, Plessis, Voronin, San Jose.
Footy Banter
A tough competition all around for this one. I expect the match to be tight, with Liverpool not wanting to give anything away and Tottenham wanting to start out on a high.
1-1 draw.
Posted by KJB on 16th August 2009 @ 16:18pm | Tagged under: controversy |
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The Fixture: Bristol City v Crystal Palace
The Travesty: A Crystal Palace goal scored, but not allowed.
It was all going Crystal Palace's way at first. Then, on the 34th minute of the match, came the decision that arguably changed the very face of the game. Freddie Sears surged forward and scored a perfectly good goal. The shot ricocheted off the base of the goal and out of the net and then the referee did the unthinkable: he disallowed it.
Despite having a perfect view of play and then discussing the incident with the linesman, match official Rob Shoebridge ruled out the strike and awarded Bristol City with a goal kick.
Quite understandably, Crystal Palace manager was furious and had to be restrained on the sidelines by the fourth official and again the calls for goal line technology again resurfaced.
"We can put a man on the moon, time serves of 100 miles per hour at Wimbledon, yet we cannot place a couple of sensors in a net to show when a goal has been scored", Warnock raged.
"I thought Gary Johnson and his players could have shown more sportsmanship because they knew it was a goal, like everyone else," he added.
However, Bristol City manager has a different view of things. "We knew the ball had gone into the net but we got word that the ref said there was an infringement so there is nothing more we can do. It happened to us twice last year and it is very disappointing and you have a little moan and you get on with it. I can understand Neil being disappointed but you have to choose your words these days. But nobody has cheated, nobody means to make mistakes and we had a perfectly good goal on the day ruled out for offside."
Of little comfort to Warnock, this morning the Referees' chief Keith Hackett apologised to the Crystal Palace manager, stating "It is very disappointing that when the ball does strike the net, it is ruled out and not given. You would like to think the match officials, the three of them, would have spotted the ball crossing the line."
Posted by KJB on 17th August 2009 @ 21:48pm | Tagged under: premier league |
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It was an interesting weekend all around and as the saying goes - anything can happen in the Premier League. Both Chelsea and Man Utd struggled to victory at home against lesser teams, Liverpool lost away to a superb Spurs side and Arsenal, the team thought weakest of the big 4, absolutely demolished Everton away from home. Outside the big 4, the Premier League had a few more surprises up its sleeve with Wigan beating Aston Villa at Villa Park and Man City's billion dollar team worked well together - old players and new - to beat Blackburn at Ewood Park.
Saturday 15th August 2009
Chelsea 2 - 1 Hull City
Aston Villa 0 - 2 Wigan Athletic
Blackburn Rovers 0 - 2 Manchester City
Bolton Wanderers 0 - 1 Sunderland
Portsmouth 0 - 1 Fulham
Stoke City 2 - 0 Burnley
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 - 2 West Ham United
Everton 1 - 6 Arsenal
Sunday 16th August 2009
Manchester United 1 - 0 Birmingham City
Tottenham 2 - 1 Liverpool
Saturday 15th August 2009
Chelsea 2 - 1 Hull City
Aston Villa 0 - 2 Wigan Athletic
Blackburn Rovers 0 - 2 Manchester City
Bolton Wanderers 0 - 1 Sunderland
Portsmouth 0 - 1 Fulham
Stoke City 2 - 0 Burnley
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 - 2 West Ham United
Everton 1 - 6 Arsenal
Sunday 16th August 2009
Manchester United 1 - 0 Birmingham City
Tottenham 2 - 1 Liverpool
Posted by KJB on 18th August 2009 @ 19:28pm | Tagged under: premier league |
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Wigan v Wolves
Preview
Fifth place Wigan will be in high spirits going into their game against Wolverhampton after outplaying Aston Villa away from home last Saturday and will look to capitalise on their win.
Injuries
Wigan are still without Olivier Kapo who was injured pre-season and winger Charles N'Zogbia is a doubt for the match after sustained a knock at the Villa game on Saturday.
Wolves are without a number of players tonight, with manager Mick McCarthy calling their treatment room "emergency ward 10". They’re without Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (hamstring), Kevin Foley (medial ligament problems), Kevin Doyle (groin), Christophe Berra (hamstring), Stephen Ward, Greg Halford, Matt Jarvis, Chris Iwelumo and Michael Kightly.
Squads
Wigan: Kirkland, Melchiot, Figueroa, Edman, Boyce, Bramble, Thomas, Scharner, Brown, N'Zogbia, Koumas, Watson, Cho, Gomez, Sinclair, Scotland, King, McCarthy, Rodallega, Pollitt.
Wolves: Hennessey, Hahnemann, Ikeme, Craddock, Stearman, Mancienne, Zubar, Ward, Elokobi, Hill, Halford, Surman, Henry, Milijas, Jones, Jarvis, Keogh, Vokes.
Footy Banter Predictions
Wigan look strong and are on a high coming off the Villa win and combined with Wolves injuries, it's hard to bet against them.
2-0 Wigan.
Sunderland v Chelsea
Preview
Both teams coming from victories on the opening day of the season will not look to give anything up. It could be a tough, scrappy match with both midfields battling hard for the win, but only gaining the stalemate.
Injuries
Sunderland are without Steed Malbranque (ankle), Paul McShane and Craig Gordon, but Andy Reid is expected to make a return from a thigh problem.
Chelsea are still without new-boy Yuri Zhirkov (knee), Juliano Belletti (Achillies) and Alex (groin). Midfielder Joe Cole and Paulo Ferreira are back in the team, but are not expected to make the squad until match fit.
Squads
Sunderland: Fulop, Gordon, Carson, Bardsley, Ferdinand, Collins, Nosworthy, Da Silva, McCartney, Cana, Cattermole, Richardson, Reid, Malbranque, Leadbitter, Henderson, Tainio, Edwards, Bent, Jones, Campbell, Healy.
Chelsea: Cech, Turnbull, Hilario, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, A Cole, Terry, Carvalho, Essien, Ballack, Obi, Lampard, Kalou, Deco, Malouda, Anelka, Drogba, Sturridge, Hutchinson.
Footy Banter Predictions
Tough battling midfields and improvement in Sunderland's form makes me think they can win or at very least get the draw out of this one. I'll play it safe.
0-0 Draw.
Posted by KJB on 19th August 2009 @ 20:00pm | Tagged under: hot gossip |
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It has emerged from the Everton camp today that unhappy defender Joleon Lescott has dropped from the squad that will face Sigma Olomouc in Thursday's Europa League match due to his "poor attitude".The Everton defender has been linked with Man City all summer, with Everton manager David Moyes rejecting bids of £15 and £18 million. Lescott did not try to hide the fact the move intrigued him and even requested to be placed on the transfer list in in order to expedite the matter, however, last week Moyes rejected the transfer request, insistent that the highly rated England centre-back was not for sale. Moyes even went so far as to describe Man City's pursuit of Lescott as "disgusting".
The first signs of trouble came at Saturday's 6-1 home demolishing at the hands of Arsenal in which Lescott was widely criticised for. Moyes says that "He wasn't (right) before Saturday's game and he told me that." Then, earlier today, reports circulated that Lescott did not train with the first team this morning.
Moyes said: "His attitude in the past few days has been poor and for that reason I won't include him.
"I've always thought he was a good lad. But I think he has not only let himself down but his team-mates too."
So is this a sign of Lescott imminent departure from the club or does Moyes simply want to rest his star centre-back and allow him the time to get his head back in the game?
Something tells me that we'll find out soon enough in the next few days...
Posted by KJB on 20th August 2009 @ 18:50pm | Tagged under: advertising |
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Posted by KJB on 20th August 2009 @ 21:00pm | Tagged under: premier league |
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As round two of the Premier League closes for most, no one can say the greatest league in the world is predictable, with defeats for Wigan at home to Wolves and more shockingly Man Utd away to Burnley, with Tottenham continuing their winning start to the season by knocking five past Hull at the Kingston Comms Stadium and Liverpool bouncing back to form with a confident home win against Stoke.
Sunderland 1 - Chelsea 3
Attendance: 41,179
Goals
Sunderland: Darren Bent (18)
Chelsea: Ballack (52), Lampard (61 pen.) and Deco (69)
Wigan 0 - Wolves 1
Attendance: 16,661
Goals
Keogh (5)
Birmingham 1 - Portsmouth 0
Attendance: 19,922
Goals
McFadden (90 pen.)
Burnley 1 - Manchester Utd 0
Attendance: 20,872
Goals
Blake (18)
Hull 1 - Tottenham 5
Attendance: 24,735
Goals
Hull: Hunt (24)
Tottenham: Defoe (9, 44, 90), Palacios (14), Keane (78)
Liverpool 4 - Stoke 0
Attendance: 44, 318
Goals
Torres (4), Johnson (45), Kuyt (78), Ngog (90)
View BBC's Goals of Week
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS | |
 | |||||||||
| 1 | Tottenham | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 6 |
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| 2 | Chelsea | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
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| 3 | Arsenal | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
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| 4 | Liverpool | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
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| 5 | Manchester City | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
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| 6 | West Ham Utd | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
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| 7 | Wigan Athletic | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
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| 8 | Fulham | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
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| 9 | Birmingham | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
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| 10 | Man Utd | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
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| 11 | Sunderland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
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| 12 | Burnley | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 3 |
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| 13 | Wolves | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 3 |
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| 14 | Stoke City | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 3 |
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| 15 | Bolton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
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| 16 | Aston Villa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
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| 17 | Blackburn | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
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| 18 | Portsmouth | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
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| 19 | Hull City | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | -5 | 0 |
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| 20 | Everton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | -5 | 0 |
Top Goalscorers
| 1 | Jermain Defoe | Tottenham | 3 | ||||||
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| 2 | Darren Bent | Sunderland | 2 | ||||||
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| 3 | Didier Drogba | Chelsea | 2 | ||||||
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| 4 | Francesc Fabregas | Arsenal | 2 | ||||||
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| 5 | Stephen Hunt | Hull City | 2 | ||||||
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| 6 | Emmanuel Adebayor | Manchester City | 1 | ||||||
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| 7 | Benoit Assou-Ekotto | Tottenham | 1 | ||||||
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| 8 | Michael Ballack | Chelsea | 1 | ||||||
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| 9 | Sebastien Bassong | Tottenham | 1 | ||||||
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| 10 | Robbie Blake | Burnley | 1 | ||||||
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| 11 | Deco | Chelsea | 1 | ||||||
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| 12 | Neves Denilson | Arsenal | 1 | ||||||
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| 13 | Da Silva Eduardo | Arsenal | 1 | ||||||
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| 14 | William Gallas | Arsenal | 1 | ||||||
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| 15 | Steven Gerrard | Liverpool | 1 | ||||||
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| 16 | Stephen Ireland | Manchester City | 1 | ||||||
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| 17 | Glen Johnson | Liverpool | 1 | ||||||
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| 18 | Robbie Keane | Tottenham | 1 | ||||||
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| 19 | Andrew Keogh | Wolves | 1 | ||||||
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| 20 | Jason Koumas | Wigan Athletic | 1 | ||||||
Posted by KJB on 21st August 2009 @ 17:27pm | Tagged under: advertising |
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Posted by KJB on 21st August 2009 @ 19:52pm | Tagged under: feature |
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To my, and I imagine most other people's, amazement it has emerged that highly rated Ipswich Keeper Shane Supple has decided to walk away from the game at just 22 years of age, claiming to have "fallen out of love with the game".At first glance this seems like sheer madness to me. Why would anyone even consider giving up a relatively lucrative contract at Ipswich to get a job in the 'real world'?
"Playing professional football is not something I want to continue doing," Supple told the club’s website. "As you grow up you realise there are other things in life and to be honest, the game is not what I thought it was."
Part of me wants to think there is something more to this than either club or player are letting on, with Ipswich immediately agreeing to cancel the former Republic of Ireland Under-21 star's contract yesterday without too much complaint. However, Supple seems like he's entirely disillusioned with the game stating that whatever career he intends to pursue it "won't be in football."
Supper went onto say: "There is not one reason why I have made my decision, there are a number of factors. But deep down my heart is not in the game anymore and I'm not going to go into work every day trying to convince myself that it is, so it's the right time for me to walk away. I suppose you could say that I have fallen out of love with the game and when that happens I've always said to myself that I wouldn't hang around."
In a way, I envy his bravery. If I were ever to be so unhappy in my profession I'd hope to be able to simply walk away from it without any real plans as what to do next. But I doubt it. For me it also reemphasises the point that not all players are in the game just for the money, which I find somewhat reassuring.
Posted by KJB on 22nd August 2009 @ 17:33pm | Tagged under: premier league |
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Coming off a 1-0 defeat against Burnley at Turf Moor, the majority of the pundits predicted that Man Utd would bounce back against Wigan today and bounce back they did. Hard. Today they smashed Wigan at the JJB Stadium an astounding 5-0, with Rooney getting two (and his 100th goal), Berbatov and Owen finally hitting the mark and Nani stepping up to the plate and hitting a quality free kick.
Utd clearly went to the JJB Stadium to prove a point and judging by the result, nobody can say that point hasn’t been made.
Premier League Round-Up
Arsenal 4 - 1 Portsmouth
Goals:
Diaby 18
Diaby 21
Kaboul 37
Gallas 51
Ramsey 68
Birmingham 0 - 0 Stoke
Hull 1 - 0 Bolton
Goals:
Ghilas 61
Man City 1 -0 Wolves
Goals:
Adebayor 17
Sunderland 2 - 1 Blackburn
Goals:
Givet 21
Jones 32
Jones 53
Posted by KJB on 23rd August 2009 @ 12:30pm | Tagged under: transfers |
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Various reports this morning suggest that both Liverpool and Arsenal are in the hunt for highly-rated Real Madrid attacking midfielder Rafael Van der Vaart who is currently thought to be out of favour with the Spanish team thanks to their summer of big spending.
Earlier in the week, Van der Vaart expressed his desire for Premier League action: "I really want to come to England.
"There are a number of clubs with offers where I can go, in Germany, Spain and Italy. I have also had a request from Martin Jol to go back to Ajax. But none of those options appeal to me. I want to go to the Premier League and I know where I want to play."
Judging by the video above, I think he'll be a welcomed addition of the current array of Premier League stars.
Posted by KJB on 23rd August 2009 @ 19:00pm | Tagged under: premier league |
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With Chelsea's 90 minutes of dominance of Fulham, beating their London rivals 0-2 in a game that was unarguably one-sided. Fulham set out the stalls to defend from the outset, hoping to contain the frightening in-form duo of Didier Drogba and Nicholas Anelka. They failed on both counts with Drogba getting on the score sheet on the 39th minute and Anelka doing the same on the 76th. Judging by today's performance, and indeed their bright start to the season, it’s easy to understand why football pundits are so adamant that it’s once again Chelsea’s year to win the Premier League and finally usurp bitter rivals, Man Utd, after almost four years out in the cold. The Rest of the Action
Burnley 1-0 Everton (Elliot 34)
West Ham 1-2 Tottenham (Cole 49, Dafoe 54, Lennon 79)
Posted by KJB on 24th August 2009 @ 20:00pm | Tagged under: transfers |
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It was inevitable, wasn't it? With an unhappy player and Manchester City throwing substantial fees at clubs, not many doubted that Mark Hughes would eventually get his man. But David Moyes didn't make the deal all that easy, clutching onto the player for all of his worth. However, after Everton's 6-1 defeat against Arsenal on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season Moyes blasted Lescott claiming he had a "poor attitude", which gave City a lifeline they were more than willing to snap up.
According Everton's website: "After the earlier bid, there was a change in the player's attitude. It was in the best interests of Everton if they allowed him to leave."
So what can we make of this?
Joleon is undeniably a good player, but certainly not £24m good. City overpaid for the centre-back, few can deny that but if they are in a position to do so and if does potentially weaken a rival, then perhaps it was worth every penny.
Everton got the better end of this deal by far, but will they be able to replace a defender of Lescott's quality in this age of over-inflated transfer fee's?
I know the Toffee fans think if anyone can value in the transfer market it's David Moyes, but with only 7 days until the transfer deadline, he'll have to work against the clock.
Posted by KJB on 24th August 2009 @ 21:15pm | Tagged under: transfers |
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The Marouane Chamakh deal has been somewhat perplexing. Earlier in the summer, the Bordeaux player s was strongly linked to Arsenal, but neither team could agree upon a fee and now West Ham are the picture to capture the young Moroccan striker.
Moreover, earlier today he was quoted in French newspaper Lâ'Equipe about a possible move: "I stick to what I said - the balance is more in favour of Bordeaux. I refused West Ham. Frankly, there’s no comparison."
Chamakh is obviously a player with some talent, bagging 14 goals last season for the French champions - 14 goals West Ham desperate could especially with having only fit striker in their squad.
However, it is thought Hammers manager Gianfranco Zola must sell players in order to afford the transfer fee, with central defender James Collins attracting attention from both Aston Villa and Stoke. So too has England International Matthew Upson, but Zola would allow his star player to leave only if he received an offer of "Joleon Lescott proportions".
It seems the purchase of Chamakh is still up in the air, with the player already saying he refused a move to London and Zola still hopeful of a further summer buy. Just another interesting piece of business we must keep our eyes on until the end of the transfer deadline.
Posted by KJB on 25th August 2009 @ 20:55pm | Tagged under: transfers |
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Did you know that Paddy Power had a new weekly Football Prediction Tournament? No? Well let's break it down.
- Select one team to win from this weekend's Premier League Fixtures
- If they win, you're through to the next round. If not, you're out.
- It continues like that until the Last Man Standing, who wins a massive £10,000! That's right £10,000!
Details: £10 to enter, with a new tournament every week!
Join the 292 players already playing and GET INVOLVED!!!!!
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Posted by KJB on 26th August 2009 @ 20:39pm | Tagged under: premier league |
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It was confirmed earlier today that the fiscally-challenged Premier League side, Portsmouth, has been bought by Arab businessman Sulaiman Al Fahim in deal thought to be worth over £60m.
"Sulaiman Al Fahim welcomes this agreement and looks forward to helping the club build on its impressive history," his spokesperson said.
But how secure is the foundation upon which to build the club? Pompey have failed to accumulate points in the first three games of the season and with locker room unrest and the sale of the club's more prominent players, I wonder just how much of struggle Al Fahim has let himself in for.
Indeed, there may now be money available for manager Paul Hart to spend (assuming he maintains his managerial role) but it could be too little, too late with the transfer market closing in just 5 days time.
Will there be cash injection for the transfer kitty? Will Hart be able to tempt quality players to potential relegation battlers? Will this be enough to pull Pompey from the brink?
Posted by KJB on 27th August 2009 @ 18:50pm | Tagged under: champions league |
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The Champions League groups were drawn earlier today and all in all, it could've worse for all the British clubs involved.
Last Season's runner's up Manchester Utd were drawn with CSKA Moscow, Besiktas and Wolfsburg in Group B.
Chelsea will face Porto, Athletico Madrid and APOEL Nicosia in Group D.
Liverpool drew Lyon, Fiorentina and Debrecen in Group E.
Rangers were drawn with Sevilla, Stuggart and Unirea Urziceni in Group G.
And Arsenal are set to battle it out with AZ Alkmaar, Olympiakos and Standard Liege.
Champions League group stage draw:
Group A
Bayern Munich
Juventus
Bordeaux
Maccabi Haifa
Group B
MANCHESTER UNITED
CSKA Moscow
Besiktas
Wolfsburg
Group C
AC Milan
Real Madrid
Marseille
FC Zurich
Group D
CHELSEA
Porto
Atletico Madrid
APOEL Nicosia
Group E
LIVERPOOL
Lyon
Fiorentina
Debrecen
Group F
Barcelona
Inter Milan
Dinamo Kiev
Rubin Kazan
Group G
Sevilla
RANGERS
Stuttgart
Unirea Urziceni
Group H
ARSENAL
AZ Alkmaar
Olympiakos
Standard Liege
From the list it seems Liverpool might have the tougher time of it, with very accomplished teams in Lyon and Fiorentina to fight it out with, but Group A and Group B look equally stacked. I almost feel sorry for the fourth seed teams in those groups, but this is what the Champions League is all about, right?
Which group do you think should be officially labelled 'The group of death'?
Posted by KJB on 27th August 2009 @ 20:00pm | Tagged under: transfers |
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It seems Stephen Warnock's move from Blackburn to Aston Villa is pretty much a done deal now too, after he walked onto the pitch before Villa's second round home tie with Rapid Wien waving the Aston Villa scarf and clapping the fans.
It's thought that the left-back has signed a four-year contract keeping him at the club until 2012 and he's enthused about the deal, telling the Villa website: "The main aim is pushing for that top four spot in the Premier League. That’s the ambition of the club."
I'm a bit sceptical about the deal myself. On the one hand I don't really rate the player all that highly, but the other I realise he's probably the best left-back currently on the market that Villa can afford at the moment.
On the whole I'm just glad O'Neill's building the squad and recognised the left-back position as a vulnerable area, although with Bouma set to come back from injury and Shorey, I have to wonder about team selection.
Posted by KJB on 27th August 2009 @ 20:20pm | Tagged under: transfers |
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In a night of transfer wheeling and dealing, it seems Everton are set to snap up unhappy Portsmouth defender Sylvain Distin as a direct replacement for Joleon Lescott.
The 31 year old centre-back is expected to undergo a medical and sign a 3 year contract as early as tomorrow.
"All the formalities have been completed," said Everton chief executive Robert Elstone.
"After Sylvain made it clear his preferred destination was Goodison, the chairman moved quickly to finalise the deal and Sylvain is now on his to Merseyside to undergo a medical."
With Distin and considerable change in the bank, is Everton have come up smelling of roses post-Lescott.
What do you think? Have Everton taken a step forward, or a step backwards?
The 31 year old centre-back is expected to undergo a medical and sign a 3 year contract as early as tomorrow.
"All the formalities have been completed," said Everton chief executive Robert Elstone.
"After Sylvain made it clear his preferred destination was Goodison, the chairman moved quickly to finalise the deal and Sylvain is now on his to Merseyside to undergo a medical."
With Distin and considerable change in the bank, is Everton have come up smelling of roses post-Lescott.
What do you think? Have Everton taken a step forward, or a step backwards?
Posted by KJB on 27th August 2009 @ 20:40pm | Tagged under: transfers |
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Even more transfer news!
Stoke have signed Middlesbrough's hard-working centre-back Robert Huth today, with team mate Tuncay expected to join him once personal terms have been agreed.
The German International joins the Potters for a fee £5m that could rise to £6m and is over the moon with the switch: "It was a no-brainer to come here once I found out they wanted to sign me. I'm grateful for the chance to play in the Premier League again."
Stoke are delighted with the signing too: "This is a fantastic signing because Robert gives us international pedigree as well as Premier League experience," Stoke Chief Executive Tony Scholes said.
"Manager Tony Pulis has been looking to strengthen the squad with the intention of taking us to an even higher level after we achieved 12th place in the Premier League last season.
"We are confident Robert is the type of player who can help us achieve that aim."
Both of these signings seem like a good bit of business to me. I reckon Pulis has selected players to strengthen his squad well and may even improve upon their 12th place finish this season.
What do you think?
Stoke have signed Middlesbrough's hard-working centre-back Robert Huth today, with team mate Tuncay expected to join him once personal terms have been agreed.
The German International joins the Potters for a fee £5m that could rise to £6m and is over the moon with the switch: "It was a no-brainer to come here once I found out they wanted to sign me. I'm grateful for the chance to play in the Premier League again."
Stoke are delighted with the signing too: "This is a fantastic signing because Robert gives us international pedigree as well as Premier League experience," Stoke Chief Executive Tony Scholes said.
"Manager Tony Pulis has been looking to strengthen the squad with the intention of taking us to an even higher level after we achieved 12th place in the Premier League last season.
"We are confident Robert is the type of player who can help us achieve that aim."
Both of these signings seem like a good bit of business to me. I reckon Pulis has selected players to strengthen his squad well and may even improve upon their 12th place finish this season.
What do you think?
Posted by KJB on 28th August 2009 @ 18:00pm | Tagged under: premier league |
(1) Comment
With Liverpool losing as many games in a fortnight as they did all season, manager Rafa Benitez has taken to questioning the club captain's form.
"Gerrard will know he has played a couple of games that are not up to his best level," said Benitez.
"Because he so often plays really well, people maybe can see the difference. I know he will be ready now."
But is Gerrard the only one to blame for Liverpool’s poor opening season on his own? Rafa doesn't think so, but he's certain it isn't the tactics on the field that's the Merseyside team's problem.
"We have a problem because we are losing matches. People can be critical of our system and suggest we have been worked out," he argues. "But everybody knows all the systems, it is nothing really new.
"It is not the systems, it is the players out on the pitch. Maybe we do not have squad depth at the moment and there were youngster on the bench.
"But we have three key players to return - Fabio Aurelio, Danny Agger and Alberto Aquilani - and that will make a difference."
But will it though?
Aurelio is a very talented left-back, but for a top 4 team is he really a key player? Aquilani? He barely stood out in a league in which the Premiership unarguably dwarfs and game played/injury record speaks for itself. However, I'd imagine many Liverpool fans are wondering can he be any worse than Lucas at this juncture?
Let's hope he is.
Posted by KJB on 28th August 2009 @ 19:50pm | Tagged under: controversy |
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Following Eduardo's blatant dive in Wednesday's Champion's League Qualifier against Celtic, the Croatian striker may face a European suspension - a decision that will be made when a UEFA disciplinary body convene on 1st September.
Naturally, Wenger is furious at the decision and branded the whole affair a "witch-hunt."
"I find it a complete disgrace and unacceptable," said Wenger.
"It singles out a player to be a cheat and that is not acceptable. We will not accept the way UEFA has treated this."
To be fair, Wenger has something of a point. To my knowledge, I can’t think of a time when this action by UEFA has been replicated in the past and it begs the question whether any action would've been taken if the dive had been sensationalised in the media or, as Wenger puts it, "Because people have reacted emotionally."
However, a suspension can only be dealt if the officials can prove there was intent to deceive officials by Eduardo, something that Wenger thinks they'll have difficulty to justify.
"We will defend our player as far as we can because he is not being treated fairly," Wenger continued.
"It's funny in football because you can break the legs of players and it doesn't make a debate for anybody.
"I'm the first to say that it doesn't look like a penalty but it's another thing to say that he went down with intent. I wish good luck in proving that having seen the pictures again."
So what do you think of this whole affair? Do you think he should be suspended for actions? If so, do you think this will lead to officials decisions constantly being questioned post-game?
Naturally, Wenger is furious at the decision and branded the whole affair a "witch-hunt."
"I find it a complete disgrace and unacceptable," said Wenger.
"It singles out a player to be a cheat and that is not acceptable. We will not accept the way UEFA has treated this."
To be fair, Wenger has something of a point. To my knowledge, I can’t think of a time when this action by UEFA has been replicated in the past and it begs the question whether any action would've been taken if the dive had been sensationalised in the media or, as Wenger puts it, "Because people have reacted emotionally."
However, a suspension can only be dealt if the officials can prove there was intent to deceive officials by Eduardo, something that Wenger thinks they'll have difficulty to justify.
"We will defend our player as far as we can because he is not being treated fairly," Wenger continued.
"It's funny in football because you can break the legs of players and it doesn't make a debate for anybody.
"I'm the first to say that it doesn't look like a penalty but it's another thing to say that he went down with intent. I wish good luck in proving that having seen the pictures again."
So what do you think of this whole affair? Do you think he should be suspended for actions? If so, do you think this will lead to officials decisions constantly being questioned post-game?
Posted by KJB on 30th August 2009 @ 10:00am | Tagged under: transfers |
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Tottenham Hotspur officials confirmed this morning that attacking midfielder Luka Modric has broken his leg, after a tackle during yesterday's victory against Birmingham.
Speaking after the game Spurs manager Harry Redknapp was convinced the Croat has only spained his ankle, but a following x-ray told a different story and now Redknapp will be without one of his most creative players for quite some time.
Will this be a terminal blow in Harry's push for the top 4?
Speaking after the game Spurs manager Harry Redknapp was convinced the Croat has only spained his ankle, but a following x-ray told a different story and now Redknapp will be without one of his most creative players for quite some time.
Will this be a terminal blow in Harry's push for the top 4?
Posted by KJB on 27th August 2009 @ 19:34pm | Tagged under: transfers |
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Aston Villa have agreed a fee with Man City for club captain Richard Dunne who must now travel to Birmingham in order to agree personal terms.
There has been speculation about Dunne's future role at the club every since both Joleon Lescott and Kolo Toure arrived at the club and it seems to be set in stone that the transfer will be completed by the weekend.
And Villa need him. After selling Zat Knight to Bolton earlier this summer and Martin Laurson retiring from the game at the end of last season, Martin O'Neill's side are with just two first-team centre-back's in the squad; Curtis Davies and Carlos Cuellar.
As a Villa fan myself, I think this is a very good signing and he will certainly help baton down the hatches at the back.
There has been speculation about Dunne's future role at the club every since both Joleon Lescott and Kolo Toure arrived at the club and it seems to be set in stone that the transfer will be completed by the weekend.
And Villa need him. After selling Zat Knight to Bolton earlier this summer and Martin Laurson retiring from the game at the end of last season, Martin O'Neill's side are with just two first-team centre-back's in the squad; Curtis Davies and Carlos Cuellar.
As a Villa fan myself, I think this is a very good signing and he will certainly help baton down the hatches at the back.
Posted by KJB on 31st August 2009 @ 10:20am | Tagged under: transfers |
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Everton are closing in on bargain buy Dutch centre-back John Heitinga after agreeing a £5m fee with Athletico Madrid.
Everton manager David Moyes confirmed agreeing a fee with the club, but added: "We have not as yet agreed personal terms."
"I hope we will be able to that soon, but we have not as yet concluded that part of the move."
Posted by KJB on 31st August 2009 @ 11:25am | Tagged under: england |
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Fabio Capello announced his England squad earlier today and the most notable changes in the team are the inclusion of Tottenham's Peter Crouch and Aaron Lennon after excellent displays in the Premier League over the weekend.
Manchester United defender Wes Brown was also recalled and Gerrard returns after over coming the injury that prevented him from taking part in the Holland game, but yet again there is no place in the squad for Michael Owen.
England play Solvenia at Wembley on Saturday 5th September and face Croatia in the World Cup Qualifier on Wednesday 9th.
The England Squad:
Goalkeepers: Foster (Manchester United), Green (West Ham), Robinson (Blackburn)
Defenders: Johnson (Liverpool), Brown (Manchester United), Upson (West Ham), Terry (Chelsea, capt), Lescott (Manchester City), A Cole (Chelsea), Bridge (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Wright-Phillips (Manchester City), Lennon (Tottenham), Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), Barry (Manchester City), Lampard (Chelsea), Carrick (Manchester United), Gerrard (Liverpool), A Young (Aston Villa), Milner (Aston Villa)
Strikers: Rooney (Manchester United), Heskey (Aston Villa), Defoe (Tottenham), C Cole (West Ham), Crouch (Tottenham).
Posted by KJB on 31st August 2009 @ 19:44pm | Tagged under: transfers |
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It has been confirmed this evening that Sunderland have completed the signing of Hull centre-back Michael Turner for an undisclosed fee.
Hull manager Phil Brown had already resigned himself to losing the backbone of his defence, stating the offers were "getting towards a ridiculous valuation."
Brown purchased what turned out to be Turner's replacement, ironically from the Black Cats, Paul McShane, yesterday.
What does this mean for Hull?
Turner was one of two players who played every minute of the 38 games played last season in the Premier League and was Hull's most hard-working defender, guarding the back and menacing opposition defences during set pieces.
In my opinion, it's a great signing for Steve Bruce and devastating loss for Phil Brown. Brown will find it difficult to find a suitable replacement, despite signing McShane, and could prove the difference between relegation and survival come season end.
Meanwhile, Bruce has strengthened his side considerably over the summer transfer window, purchasing quality players such as Lee Cattermole and Lorik Cana who have made an immediate impact in the side already.
Will Hull try to fill the gap with less than 24 hours to go before the transfer deadline? Are there anymore shock signings to come before 5pm tomorrow?
