Simply Barclays Premier league: December 2010

Friday, December 17, 2010

Year end world rankings released!

World Cup Winners Spain will finish the year as Fifa's world Number one following their triumph in South Africa with a perfect start to their Euro 2012 qualification campaign.The team they beat in the final in soccer city,Johannesburg while Holland finished off second place with a runners up spot in the world cup while a resurgence Germany side completed the top 3 places.South American Rivals Brazil and Argentina are fourth and fifth respectively while England just missed out on the top 5 by being placed in 6th spot.Uruguay finished off seventh to make it 3 south american teams.Portugal stay in 8th while Egypt kept the African pride as they went up one more spot to 9 while Croatia dropped a spot to drop to 10th.

FINAL STANDINGS:

1)Spain
2)Holland
3)Germany(+1)
4)Brazil(-1)
5)Argentina
6)England
7)Uruguay
8)Portugal
9)Egypt(+1)
10)Croatia(-1)

Champions league round of 16 draw

The draw for the round of 16 matches was taken place on Friday at the Uefa Headquarters at Nyon.Among all the 4 matches,the biggest match has to be the game where London giants Arsenal will face in form Barcelona who certainly be tipped to go through looking at their recent form followed by the Ac Milan vs Tottenham match.Both Chelsea and Man Utd seem to have easier roads with the blues facing newcomers Copenhagen while the Reds will face Marseille but competitions always tend to bring out the best of teams so anything can happen so don't miss out !

Champions League draw:

Roma v Shakhtar Donetsk

AC Milan v Tottenham

Valencia v Schalke

Inter Milan v Bayern Munich

Lyon v Real Madrid

Arsenal v Barcelona

Marseilles v Manchester United

Copenhagen v Chelsea

*English teams bolded in red

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Sam Allardryce sacking....Good or bad?

Well it was first Chris Houghton of Newcastle who got sacked for no apparent reason just because of a slight hiccup and Mike Ashley who has been showing his nonsense for quite awhile already continued to show it as he hired a manager deemed not fit by fans.But now to make this saga more exciting,The new indian owners of Blackburn who i don't even know who big sam is Sacked the man who I think hasn't been doing a bad job so far.Their in 13 spot with 5 points cushion from the drop zone so i don't think that's actually a fair decision for him.

In my opinion,People tend to not be grateful of having him because of his style of play because he is more to the practical style of play to the more favoured flamboyant style but it doesn't matter to me because he still wins games which is important.His not his fault too because he doesn't have the players who can play that style of game.Alright if you have 20-50 million to spend on better players the fine but in his armory all he has is players like Samba and Nelsen who are strong defenders who can't simply go all out because they will concede goals if they do that.

And more importantly,he doesn't coach a team to relegation so i don't understand why on earth they did that.They should have given him time instead of just giving him the boot.Anyway now to the speculation of the new boss,I've got reports that Diego Maradona would be the next one in line which is quite interesting and also Alan Shearer who played for the Rovers in their 1995 success.But at the same time the owners made a statement that they want a British manager so i don't know.But if Maradona does take over,We gotta say bye bye to the defenders because In the world cup we could see the Argentinan clearly not giving emphasis on the defence with Cambiasso one of them not being called up.I also got news that they shrugged off reports of Maradona taking over so yeah i got no guareentee's

Nevertheless,Whoever who takes this job would have a certainly hard time keeping them up because Sam I think was certainty the right man as he was perfectly utilizing the strength the team has and with this squad of their's.Flamboyant football is still not an option unless the owners to pump in some money.Well that's only my opinion :)

Latest Bpl news 17th December 2010

1)Wolsburg Striker Edin Dzeko could be on his way to Manchester City.The Bosnia international wrote to a city executive earlier this season to thank them for their efforts in trying to sign him and is still keen on a move to the City Stadium

2)Bayern Munich has been warned off any approach for Baines who is a 10 million pounds target for the bavarian club.

3)Man Utd are set to renew their bid for 9 million rated Valencia winger Joaquin.

4)Real Madrid and Arsenal are considering a move of a swap deal between Karim Benzema And Gael Clichy.

5)Former Blackburn Boss Sam Allardyrce could take up a lucrative managerial post In the Middle East after flying out to Dubai in the wake of his sacking at Ewood park.Although he could still be tempted back to England to replace Avram Grant at West Ham.

6)Chelsea are entering the race for portuguese wonderkid Joan Reis who currently plays for second division side Louletano

7)Stoke Are interested in Birmingham winger Sebastian Larsson after being priced out of signing Jermain pennant on a permanent deal.

8)Bolton wanderers Manager Owen Coyle has dismissed reports he is going to let go off of Ali al Habsi who has been find form for Wigan between the post this season on loan.

9)Al habsi has been performing well but their defence department has been hit with bad news as Barbados versatile defender Emmerson Boyce has been hit with a blow in his return from a hamstring injury.He is expected to return in a forthnight but he was deemed not 100% fit yet as scans showed a slight scarred tissue still.

10)Good news for Fulham fans as Bobby Zamora who has been out for 3 months since his broke foot is already starting to run but he is still targeted to return to the field on February.

Week 17th team of the week!

GK:Van Der Sar(Man Utd)-Was save enough to depend to keep a clean sheet for a vital 1-0 win over Arsenal at home

RB:Rafael Da Silva(Man Utd)-Another good display by the young brazilian against Arsenal.

CB:John Mensah(Sunderland)-A very strong performance by the Ghanaian to keep his side from letting in a goal.

CB:James Tomkins(West Ham United)-A late consolation by the defender was not enough to keep

LB:Jose Enrique(Newcastle Utd)-He again performed,This time against liverpool in Newcastle's 3-1 win over liverpool.

RW:Stephen Hunt(Wolves)-Popped up with a winner to give a priceless 3 points for the struggling team.

CM:Joey Barton(Newcastle Utd)-Proving to be an important player in the engine room of the team by producing a good performance and also scoring the equaliser against Liverpool.

CM:Yaya Toure(Man City)-Great contribution by scoring 2 goals for the City team against West Ham.

LW:Stewart Downing(Aston Villa)-His goal was vital in The villains losing streak against their main rivals Birmingham City.

FW:Mario Balotelli(Man City)-A impressive performance by the young italian including a goal but he needs to control his temper more.

FW:Andy Carrol(Newcastle Utd)-No goals scored but a good contribution to lead Alan pardew to his first win in his first game coaching the toons.

West Ham United Vs Manchester City Review 11th December 2010

West ham United i can't say that they did a very bad job as they at least managed to get their shots overall to two digits and Well Man City again not very adventuresome in front of goal but their execution again helped in this precious win.And here's a fun fact,their overall shots on goal has been the same amount as premier league struggler's wolves.

Anyway to the main news,Tevez being dropped to the bench and stripped off his captain armband after his outrageous announcement that he wants to quit.And well this is a huge blow to City because he has been to central to their goal scoring whether it's been assisting or scoring.The Statistics hasn't been good without him and well it was surprising that they managed to come away with a rather good performance i shall say.For West ham,I don't think they never really challenge the Eastlanders in the whole game,they gave to much time on the ball to the city players and well they were punish for it.More problems for West ham....

Well good news for City though as they finally discovered that they have an attacking goals scoring midfielder in Yaya Toure who has been playing as a defensive midfielder for most of his playing career but well he did well to justify the pay he gets.Looks like he will be the next key man which will be good news for City who is losing Tevez not very long soon.

But i don't think they can really depend on him for the goals just yet because we still have to remember that his a holding midfielder and he scored against a team who has a really really bad record.But i yet i also think Tevez lost wouldn't be a problem for a team of City because they still got tons of talent on the bench with Balotelli,Adebayor and etc capable of teaching teams a lesson.A great performance overall to push them right into the top 4 and would love to see more from them and hopefully they get rid of this off pitch problems.

WEST HAM XI:Green,Faubert,Tomkins,Tal Ben Haim,Upson,Spector,Barrera,Stanilas,Parker,Picqionne,Obinna

SUBS USED:Cole,Hines,Dyer

MAN CITY XI:Hart,Boateng,Toure,Kompany,Zabaleta,Yaya Toure,Barry,De Jong,Silva,Balotteli,Tevez

SUBS USED:Johnson,Milner

MAN OF THE MATCH:Yaya Toure

Man Utd Vs Arsenal Review 13th December 2010

Another fight against the big boys and yet another lost for the small boys of Arsenal as they were tactically and physically outplayed by the more orientated team.Sir Alex Fergusan clearly did his homework of studying the so called 'maturing' Arsenal team by playing 5 midfielders and giving Arsenal as much width as they needed because knowing Arsenal they love to tread into the mid half of the field and all you had to do is put heaving marking in that zone and that's basically the end of Arsenal's attack.

What i love to point out to is the rock solid defence of Man utd in where they had Rio Ferdinand who hadn't considered a foul for 1040 minutes.Having come back from a brilliant run of great defensive work recently by the men,their run didn't end last week that's for sure.Clearly outplaying them in aerial crosses and not even letting in even an itsy witsy amount of space and that's what you need to fall back on if you wanna be a Champion which clearly Arsenal didn't show both attack and defence especially Koschielky who i still think is not up to par with Djourou at the back.And well the only goal was purely a strong prove.Clichy was totally outplayed by Nani in every department in terms of speed,skills and anticipation and well everything!

One player of Arsenal i would certainly liked was polish young goalkeeper Szczesny who for a newbie at this stage did pretty well.And for a player who was forced to replace Fabianski who was reported to have a minor niggly injury.He certainly answered the critics well with some decent saves especially an one on one stop from Anderson and also a 'Peter Schemichael type of save' against Rooney who also missed a penalty(A penalty which Szczesny took credit for).

But yeah Arsenal Were totally outdone although the shots ratio didn't really make hard justice done but well it was again men against boys and hopefully Arsene will change his mind of not signing players because they seriously need one or two players who can make a great contribution to the squad like the Kneown's and Vieira's but right now they don't have those type of players.Vermaelen is out till the new year and they can't just stay around depending on him,Fabregas is most of the time out with that leg injury now.So Right now,the need of leaders is a great need for a club hoping to end their wait for a title in 5 years.The example of liverpool losing Xabi Alonso was a great example already.

Moving away from Arsenal,A player of Man Utd that particularly pleased me was Anderson.To me he was a driving force in the midfield on that day,surging counter attacks and disposing any possible attack by the gunners and even had a crack at goal numerous of times.For a player who hasn't been a great buy for Man Utd since coming,his really coming to form at the right time for the Devils.But again anyway i would love to congratulate the defence as Man utd i still have to admit didn't play 'that well' were saved themselves by the tough defenders of Utd.And oh yeah,The penalty isn't suppose to be a penalty because Clichy didn't halt a goal opportunity..so yeah :P

Overall,Arsenal still got alot of improvement to do in their efforts to get a taste of a trophy and more importantly Arsene seriously need to buy a couple of players as this team for me is still not strong enough for a title shot.And to conclude this all,it was men against boys once again and yet again disappointing the Gunners faithful.

ARSENAL XI:Szceshy,Sagna,Clichy,Koschielky,Squallaci,Rosicky,Song,Wilshire,Nasri,Arshavin,Chamakh

SUBS USED:Fabregas,Walcott,Van Persie

MAN UTD XI:Van Der Sar,Da Silva,Vidic,Ferdinand,Evra,Nani,Anderson,Fletcher,Park Ji Sung,Carrick,Rooney

SUBS USED:Giggs

MAN OF THE MATCH:Nani

Review Week 17th !

Well Man Utd once again proved that the amount of goals and flamboyant type of playing by Arsenal isn't enough to topple their 16th match unbeaten run.While Chelsea once again dropped further points to sink them right down at 4th.Man City on the other hand didn't let The Tevez Saga prevail over them as once again they didn't cause that much problems at West Ham's goal but execution was just made to perfection as they ran out 3-1 winners including two goals by Yaya Toure who quite surprise me as his more to a holding midfielder but ran the West Ham defence ragged.

Liverpool were once again a disappointment as they went down to Newcastle which saw Alan Pardew celebrating a great first start to his managerial career at the toons with a 3-1 win.Blackpool themselves once again made full use of their great away form by defeating Stoke this time around by a Solitary goal.Both games played at Goodison park and Craven Cottage between Everton/Wigan and Fulham/Sunderland ended all square with no goals scored at all.Blackburn were brought to their knees with just seconds after equalising late in the game and before even finishing their celebration,a on form Bolton side showed why you can never slack even a second with them as from kick off a nice build up let through American Holden who released a sweet left foot to Silence the players and also the manager who was sacked later by the new indian owners.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Team of the week ~Matchday 16th~

A week which saw Arsenal go top,Man Utd match postponed and Chelsea's Depleting form continues.All this in week 16 of the premier league,so it's time to pick the team of the week once again so here it is...

GK:Pepe Reina(Liverpool)-Very much single handedly got the clean sheet and also becoming the quickest Goalkeeper in Liverpool history to get 100 clean sheets.Will continue to become a pivotal role for Liverpool who currently are without a decent backline.Made wonderful saves in the match against Aston Villa when needed.

RB:Bacary Sagna(Arsenal)-Made a good enough display for Arsenal to give him a spot in the team of the week.

CB:Sebastian Bassong(Tottenham Hotspur)-His only playing because Kaboul is injured but he is slowly looks to be gaining the trust and giving headaches to Rednknapp of who to choose.Another decent performance that was followed by the only goal for Tottenham.

CB:Johan Djourou(Arsenal)-Another reserve player that came on for the dazed Koschielky in the first half and quickly settled at the back together with Squallaci to strengthen the defence which was very poor in the first half.He look tidy and composed which probably let off some pressure on Squallaci.

LB:Leighton Baines(Everton)-He was a constant torn in the left side of the midfielder in the whole second half.His crosses were deadly not to mention his quick feet against a weak chelsea Defence.While one cross almost lead to a goal early in the second half but the second one was just a peach of a cross to Cahill who guided the ball to Bekcford for the late equalizer.

RW:Andrey Arshavin(Arsenal)-One of those days where everything went right for him.His speed and skills were just no match to the Fulham's defence and was running around the whole making the opposing team eat his dust.Played a major role for the first goal for The magical first goal of the game by Samir Nasri

MC:Samir Nasri(Arsenal)-He was the best player in the whole week for me,He was an angel with the ball.His running on to the ball was done with perfection,His quick feet caused the defence to see stars.But more importantly was he single handedly won the game for Arsenal with Two Magnificent goals to guide them to top spot.For a player who has been under the shadow of Fabregas most of the time seems to be doing better then the latter this term.

MC:Jordan Henderson(Sunderland)-Was actually not suppose to play last week but his persuasion worked and he paid his manager dividends with the only goal of the game with a cheeky chip into the goal for his 3rd goal for Sunderland.Another fine English player coming up through the ranks.

LW:Matthew Etherington(Stoke City)-Not a bad spell for the Latter as he already scored 3 goals in 3 games and proving what a factor he could become in the team especially against Man City not to long ago.Scored again last week to make it 3 out of 3.

FW:Peter Odewingie(West Brom)-After a dry spell of form since coming back from injury,The Russian-nigerian parentage came back with a bang by scoring 2 goals to help his team defeat former Championship opponents Newcastle.

FW:David Ngog(Liverpool)-Made an instant impact by proving that he can replace Torres anytime with a great display which was accompanied by a superb diving header goal for the first goal of the Match.

Arsenal Vs Everton Review 4th December 2010

The last time Arsenal lost three Consecutive home matches was back in 1977 and they surely wouldn't want to equal that feat.While overall Fulham have beaten the gunners in 34 games to date since they first time they played the Men in Red shirt and white pants.Arsenal kept to the same team that defeated Aston Villa Last week with Rosicky once again skippering the club while Nasri was fit enough to play after a slight knee injury.For Fulham,Matthew Briggs made only his second start for the club while Pantsil took over Baird at the right wing.Fulham haven't won an away game since last season.

And it looked to continue as Arsenal started off agressively without giving the defence time to settle down which could have been blamed for the mistakes they made which on the other hand are Amateur mistakes.They gave the ball away easily,Marking and position all were not present and this was clearly known when In the ten minutes all the chances they had including that Arshavin bullet was all from the lack of marking by the defence,Song also had a shot of his own without the Fulham midfielders even tracking off to close him down.But the only problem that Arsenal still have to fix on is their finishing but just in the 13rd minute another mistake by Hughes aloud Arshavin to break through and realize a delightful ball to Nasri who skipped past two to finally hammer in a goal to take his tally to two goals.

Arsenal as usual frustrated me as they were unable to make things easy for them,They should have been 2-4 goals up already before the first half but they just lacked that finishing touch and were punished for it as miscommunication at the back led to Kamara totally unmarked to level the score in what was only their first real chance thus questioning the defence and keeper once again.The build up though had to lead Koschielky out for Djourou and again worrying the manager about their defending options.And Kamara almost scored the second moments later when again he got through but This time the keeper did well.Defence oh defence!

After that goal,De ja vu as usual when Fulham suddenly looked assured of themselves and Arsenal suddenly were the one's backtracking.The second half became more balance or perhaps more to Fulham's side but Arsenal's defence looked much more better with Djourou in there.And Arsenal continued to push forward With Rosicky and Arshavin coming close.With the boos and jeers by the crowd getting louder the involvement of Walcott and Van Persie certainly light things up.Arsenal made the decision to put in two strikers and it payed off eventually as the fragile looking Fulham defence caved in through Arsenal's New fresh attack and A deceiving shot by Van Persie enabled him to have time to tap in the ball to an on running Nasri who had the touch of a magic to go pass three players which included the keeper to score a magical second goal to stake his claims in the first team once again.Fulham though didn't give up and pushed forward With Hangeland also going forward and in the 87th minute they almost silenced the crowd with A Gera Volley which was superbly dived down low by Fabianski to make the safe...

So About Samir Nasri,I got nothing else to say but he just seems to be improving and improving in every game his playing and the player who was once a shadow of Cesc Looks to be more influential when Fabregas isn't in the team because he get's a more central role.And this couldn't come any better as Nasri and Fabregas i think if both in form will make a formidable partnership as Fabby has the vision of plays and Nasri's quick feet would for sure blend in well in the mid half.Nasri's goals were just fantastic,and i have to admit he single handedly won the game for Arsenal!

That was the positives,Now for the Negatives..The Defence! Arsenal are consistently living on the line because of the defence.Hands up that the attacking force is formidable but every time they get somewhere the Defence will screw up and this time around it caused the injury of a player.Although both of them were French,Which says that Language isn't an option Squallaci banged head first into Koschielky which forced Wenger to take him off although i admit that was a blessing in disguise as Djourou look superb with Squallaci.Something which i have known for a long time but just don't understand why Wenger is still putting in Koschielky who looks better off with Vermaelen.I still think though they need Vermaelen back and also a keeper to back up Fabianski because he rarely looks consistent at the two sticks at the back...So that is some of the little things they have to improve,overall they are a good team that have to learn to kill games off!

ARSENAL XI:Fabianski,Sagna,Clichy,Squallaci,Koschielky,Rosicky,Song,Wilshire,Nasri,Arshavin,Chamakh

SUBS USED:Djourou,Van Persie,Walcott

FULHAM XI:Schwarzer,Hughes,Paintsil,Hangeland,Briggs,Davies,Murphy,Gera,Etuhu,Dempsey,Kamara

SUBS USED:Baird,Johnson,Johnson

MAN OF THE MATCH:Samir Nasri

Chelsea Vs Everton Review 4th December 2010

All eyes were at Stamford Bridge last weekend with Chelsea the likely to feel more of the heat with only 2 goals in 5 games and 1 win in 5 games.Everton though have been winless in their last 5 games wouldn't be so discouraged though as their recent record at the Blue's turf have been bright as they have never lost at the Bridge for four and a half years already.Hard to pick a winner of the match of the men in blue.

Chelsea had the chance to go back on top as Man Utd unexpectedly had a weekend off and if all is bad as Last month.Carlo Ancelloti admitted things would be tough in retaining their title.One of the main reason's is the lack of leadership and this week around Chelsea were buoyed with the come back of key players John Terry and suspended Michael Essien have been great leaders in the team recently.Everton this time were the one's feeling the heat as Creative Midfielder Michael Arteta was out with suspension and was replaced by Young Swiss midfielder Maroune Felliani.Moyes would have love a good game in his 400th game in charge of the Liverpool based side.

As expected though Chelsea made the brighter of starts and were almost rewarded in the 27th minute from a corner in where Terry's first time shot was blocked by Rodwell and went back to him but his second shot just hit the crossbar.What a comeback that would have been by the defender,anyway Chelsea continued pressing and in the 40th minute they had a gift they didn't expect when Neville made a weak back pass to the keeper and Anelka's dash right into the keeper to get a penalty.That was a blatant penalty for me because the keeper had no where to go and Anelka just ran into the keeper.Nevertheless the referee makes the decision and up step Drogba to score his first in 6 games to end the first half in the lead...

But in the second half,Out of nowhere Everton became the more dominant side and almost got their own reward when a pin point cross by Baines in the 60th minute was brilliantly headed by Rodwell but just hit the inside of the post and out.Chelsea's defence was a whitewash in the second half and In the 86th minute the defence of Ferreira was just to poor as he let in Baines to easy and a brilliant cross was headed on cross post by Cahill and up flew Beckford to header in the equalizing goal to now make it 1 out of 6 games.Perhaps I admit that Everton could have won it themselves if they took their chances in the dying stages of the game.

Alright first to talk about the penalty,if you all did see the game in where the incident happen.Tim Howard literally had no time to move and he just stood his ground and nothing more,Anelka in fact had more ground to go pass him and instead he ran right into the keeper so I don't think it's logical to have a penalty.Howard did attempt to move his body and he couldn't get out of the way.!

Everton gave a great run for Chelsea's money as they bounced back superbly from what is like their worst performances for last week to a determined piece of fight.Again I have to concede that Chelsea had the better of the first half but Everton then started to dominate in the second half covering an extra 20 yards up front.They really gave a torrid time for the Blues...And as expected,I don't about you all but i knew from the start that Having Terry back doesn't actually settle their problems.For me they need their full back four team back which are Terry,Ivanovic,Cole and Alex but right now the combination of other players don't seem to be fixing the problem.Bosingwa for me played really badly,He failed to contain Baines even though he should have although he is wonderful when going forward at times.But the defence he is really leaving massive holes for players to run into,His marking is all out and don't ask me about his positioning,Something Ivanovic wouldn't let occur.

In The midfield even with Essien Back,I still see the missing element of creativity in the department and that's what Lampard has.Back when he was fit,he was basically in every build up leading to goals and without him we could see the effect.Kalou and Malouda are playing like new players,They are more of individual players then actually making plays for the team and this is effecting Drogba who i also think is giving up to easily.He throws in the towel to easily and goes off whenever he likes it.So Lampard is someone who actually is the key man if they want more goals in my opinion.And what else as things couldn't get worst as the next three games will be against the top 6 In the league of Tottenham,Man Utd and Arsenal...

Back to the Defence,The defence were an utter disgrace...They failed to close down on their man and even if they did,The decisions of them were just lazy like...The greatest examples can be seen from the chance of Rodwell which hit the post,Bosingwa clearly seemed lazy to block the cross by Baines which to be right shouldn't have gone through and somehow they were saved by the post.And the next example was the goal in where again the defence when to slip,Baines again easily skipping pass Essien which is forgivable but Ferreira tackle was just unbelievable and again lots of time to pick a cross to Cahill which i still don't know why teams don't make him as a main treat,Essien should have been following at all times and all i saw was him jogging..Well alright we can argue that the cross should play an impact but with the right amount of pressure you could at least get something out of it and they just didn't and at the end Beckford who also wasn't marked scored the equalizing goal.So The defence is really a mess right now and have to do something if they wanna have a chance again...

Anyway just a hand up that Sheamus Coleman was voted player of the month for Everton,A great season so far for the youngster who's 22...So much creativity not only in attack but also defence and much importantly Speed.So Everton up coming talent don't seem to be dry just yet plus with the arrival of Rodwell to the scene.

CHELSEA XI:Cech,Bosingwa,Ivanovic,Terry,Cole,Essien,Mikel,Malouda,Kalou,Drogba,Anelka

Subs Used:Ramires,Ferreira,Sturridge

EVERTON XI:Howard,Neville,Jagielka,Distin,Baines,Coleman,Felliani,Rodwell,Pienaar,Cahill,Saha

Subs Used:Beckford,Bilyaletdinov

MAN OF THE MATCH:Leighton Baines

Review of Premier league ~~~Week 16th (4-6 Dec)

Week 16th prove to be the first week where a game was called off as Bloomfield Road Stadium which was Suppose to host Blackpool and current leaders Man Utd.But due to the lack of Underground heating system and other technology teams have in their amoury since their new to the top league.Blackpool were forced to use cheaper methods like hot air blowers and etc prove unfruitful which surely wasn't pleasing for the men in red

SATURDAY 4th December 2010

Arsenal Vs Fulham

This gave the chance for Arsenal to take advantage of this unfortunate event in where they hosted Fulham At Emirates where lately their so called fortress as been a downfall with 2 straight back to back losses at Aslington and a 3rd would them equal the record they produce 34 years ago.But this time it didn't,Arsenal once again dominated but just couldn't find the net but with consistent pressing you would know that it was coming and it did as Defence mishap(Look shaky for most of the first half) gave the ball to Arshavin who guided the Ball to Nasri who magically skipped past two to sent a hammer blow into the net of Arsenal's target Mark Schwarzer.But again Arsenal prove that their defence is the weakest link when they failed to stop Fulham's only attack when Dempsey pin pointed a pass towards Domansy Kamara who made no mistake.It was the brightest attack for Fulham and they made no mistake.Defence again asked questions,Fulham looked more settled after that but in the second half just as all seemed over another touch of Magic From Samir Nasri to this time skip past three including the keeper and score from the tightest of angles to once again proved that he is somewhat 'better' then Fabregas who has shadowed him for most of his career at Arsenal.But Arsenal seriously shouldn't make things hard for them.

Birmingham City Vs Tottenham

Tottenham visited The midlands back from a stunning period in where they came back from behind to defeat Arsenal And Liverpool plus a big win against Werder Bremen to qualify for the next round.And again they produced that same form by taking an early lead with Bassong who's only on for the injured Kaboul made his presence known by scoring a so called scruffy goal via a set piece.But Tottenham began to look complacent at times and the later the game when on,although Birmingham didn't really threaten them The Midland side kept on pushing and with 9 minutes to.Craig Gardner who has been on form for the Midland side came back from injury to head in from the far post from a cross to snatch two points thus crushing Tottenham back to earth.

Blackburn Vs Wolves

Blackburn showed great determination to come back from last week's drubbing by Man Utd to record another drubbing but the only difference is that they were doing the trashing up at the Expense of Wolves.In fact probably they could have gotten more then their 3:0 Win against the troubled side.A header By Dunn,A missile By Emerton and another towering header By Nelsen were enough to sent the Blackburn side further away from Relegation thus bringing back their confidence.

Chelsea VS Everton

Chelsea are suddenly showing a habit something like Arsenal,They attack and dominated but goals just don't come by and suddenly out of no where the opposing team will dominate.This what exactly happen at The Stamford Bridge.They clearly dominated the first half,I don't know why they made such a great thing of Essien and Terry coming back was such a huge thing.Both of them are not attackers and I still believe that they need Lampard back because they are lacking a player that can dash into the box and get the end of things.Even the goal was controversial which clearly wasn't a penalty because the player ran into the keeper in my opinion.Second half defence frailties suddenly came about Chelsea and we only have been cruel for Everton not to get back a goal in which they did with 4 minutes left through yet another Poor piece of defending by the Chelsea's defence aloud a cross to Cahill who headed it cross goal for Beckford to apply the finishing touch.The game ended all square in what would have been a lost of Chelsea in fact but they lived to fight another day thus making it only 1 win in 6 games.

Man City Vs Bolton

An early 4th minute goal By Tevez was good enough for the Eastlanders to grab a victory which hasn't been coming by lately at home.Some conflict involving Tevez happened somewhere in the first half though when Mancini once again Taking him of thus making it his 7th time coming off this year with Only Elmander now coming off more in the league.And you could Tevez wasn't happy with Mancini trying to Explain to him.Another clear sight of Strain Relationships in the City Camp.

Wigan Vs Stoke

An amazing first half of 4 goals where Wigan were lucky to end the day with a point as both of their goals were,you could say 'lucky' as the first goal was a Collins own goal which they second goal by Cleverly deflected off Delap to out fox the keeper.But Stoke's better players and form was seen as they clearly Dominated the game but unlucky to win all three points.

Sunday 5th December 2010

West Brom Vs Newcastle Utd

A game which made Chris Hughton get Sacked with a third straight loss to further question Mike's Decisions.Things at West Brom though are much more rosier with A second straight win and the return of form by odewingie who hasn't able to emulate the form he had in the early season by scoring two good goals plus a stunner by Tchoyi sent the Home fans back to their homes happy though the only disappointing outcome they could take out from this stunning display was the inability to keep a clean sheet with Lovenkrands scoring from point blank in the last seconds of the game.Overall a deserved win for the team who barely even were tested in the first half.

Sunderland Vs West Ham

Sunderland were facing a West Ham side who finally seemed to have gotten back some understanding and determination on the pitch.While West ham were buoyed by their current form,Sunderland had to find a way of coming back after their shock 3-2 lost to Wolves.And they replied tremendously in a game which they dominated and were gifted with three points thanks to a goal by Henderson who actually wasn't suppose to play and had to beg the coach because apparently Bruce though he was overused.But the England hopeful answered with a cheeky chip into the goal.In the second half they again had a brilliant chance of making it two when some Defence mishap(Haven't seen it in awhile) caused Green to lose the ball and with goal at mercy Welbeck strucked at the net but Tomkins saved the day.

MONDAY 6th December 2010

The last game of the week Saw Liverpool face Aston Villa,for me Although Liverpool won it big..I still think they didn't actually play that well,Aston Villa never really used their midfield at all.The defence were crossing the balls all the time even though they knew it wouldn't work.So Liverpool actually only had to defend the strikers and leave the defence untouch because they didn't do much.Aston Villa didn't play well at all and Liverpool thankfully are slowly changing their game more to the passing game and thus putting less pressure on the strikers.First goal was poor marking for me,Second goal was Warnock's fault,I don't think even babel though he could strike from that angle but Warnock apparently made it possible by not blocking the player's space.Third goal i had to admit was pure class,Nice build up to Maxi Who made a wonder of that opportunity with a missile into the net

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Latest BPL News (9th December 2010)

Latest News:

1)Former Swedish And Arsenal Winger Fredrik Ljungberg looks set to return to England as His Contract in the US is set to expire in January.And the 33 year old has already been offered by numerous clubs in England.The player spent 10 years with Arsenal and was also part of the Club's 'Invincibles' Era

2)Veteran Midfielder Paul Scholes looks set to further miss Man Utd's season and is set to miss out on the Match of the titans against Arsenal.The English Star has missed out since last month's injury in Their champions league match against Rangers.

3)Former West Ham and Southampton Manager Alan Pardew look set to be the next Newcastle manager after Chris Hughton Departure and Chairman Mike Ashley together With Sporting Director Derek Llambias will confirmed the deal in 24 hours time.It was expected that Martin O'neill was supposed to take the reign as an online poll of roughly 1,000 voters chose the Northern Irishmen ahead of Martin Jol with Pardew receiveing least then 2 percent.But to the furiousity of Fans,the Chairman has his own decisions.

4)Highly rated Defender Martin Kelly says he wants to play first team football for Liverpool.The under 21 English International has already been played 12 times this season and lately was rewarded a new long term contract till 2014...

5)Aston Villa's Manager Gerard Houllier believes new short term signing Robert Pires has the ability to groom his youngsters into top class players.Pires has gone through a career of full of top level experience and this would benefit the club who has about half of first team players just coming out of the youth Academy.

6)Liverpool's Boss Roy Hogdson has hailed Pepe Reina after being the quickest Liverpool goalkeeper in history to pick up an amazing 100 clean sheets thus beating legends like Ray Clemence and Bruce Grobbelaar

7)Liverpool's Holding Midfielder Lucas has welcomed links that Liverpool are currently monitoring Brazilian Legend Ronaldinho.

Champions league review and Standings(Dec 7-8 2010)

The final set of games this edition of Champions league group stages came to an end with some high fashion drama too.And of some of them came from Group A With Tottenham having to up their tempo against a determined Twente side and were lucky enough to end the game 3 all to get a valuable point to top them up as group winners with 11 points and also a stunning 18 goals scored to cap of a stunning debut season in the cup.Inter milan though looked to have the better chances of going through as group winners as they faced a lowly Bremen side who haven't gotten a win yet but were bamboozled by the German Giants as a first-half header from Sebastien Prodl combined with a glorious volley from former Inter man Marko Arnautovic and a sharp strike from substitute Claudio Pizarro after the break earned Bremen their first win in the group.It could have been even more emphatic for the Germans who hit the post and the bar as they carved open the defending champions in the second half.

In Group B,Hapoel Tel Aviv huffed and puffed to get the scores up at 2:1 in their favour.Just as they seemed to get those precious three points and also cause a shock in group.Lyon's 19 year old striker Lacazzete scored the heart breaking 88th minute goal to save the French club Blushes and deny the Isralian club a spot in the Europa league.Benfica though will have to thank Lyon for that results because without Lyon's help in holding Tel Aviv,they easily would have been kicked out as they lost to Table toppers Schalke 2:1...

In Group C,Man Utd didn't get an expected result against Valencia when they surprising were held 1-1 but it wouldn't really mind them as they finish group winners ahead of the Spanish giants.Anderson cancelling it out Pablo Hernandez early strike.While Bursapor should be going hope happy as this was their last chance to get a point on the table and they did just that by scoring 11 minutes from time through Sercan Yildrim to snatch a point against Rangers.

In Group D,Barcelona showed that they really got a pack of raw talent in their Reserves when the youngsters steered the team to a remarkable 2:0 win over a team of Seasoned campaigners Of Rubin.In the other match, Kobehavn secured second spot with a 3-1 thumping of already eliminated Pathaniakos thus making them the first Danish club to go through.

WEDNESDAY 8th December 2010

Group E Leaders Bayen Munich signed in the knockout rounds with a bang by defeating Basel 3:0 Including goals by Ribery in what was his first goals since August.Roma avoided any shock by holding out Cluj 1-1 to finish of the group stages placings as expected.

In group F,The matches were played just for the sake of playing all 6 games.But for Zilina it was all about pride and they almost got some pride when they superbly when into the lead against Spartak before going down 2-1. Marseille also caused a shock by defeating Chelsea with a Brandao goal 9 minutes from time to avenged their 2:0 defeat to the london based club in match day 2 and also Denying a 6 out of 6 wins for the English Club.

A hat trick by Benzema followed by a goal by Ronaldo was enough to give Auxurre a trashing of 4-0 to root them to the bottom of the spot.A brilliant display by Ajax against Ac Milan gave the Dutch team a 2-0 win and also securing third spot for the latter's in group G....

In the most tightest of groups in the whole Group stage,it was Spartak And Arsenal going through respectively thus leaving Braga to fight in the Europa league in what was a great showing in their first champions league inclusion.Arsenal once again lived on the edged and showed their defence frailties by letting a goal through Cleo after Van Persie scored from the spot just after the break.But they made sure they had the job done through Walcott and Nasri in a 4 minute double Salvo.Spartak secured top spot with an easy 2:0 win over Braga.

FINAL STANDINGS