Mancini wants Robinho

Brazilian virtuoso Robinho has been linked with Barcelona for the last few months, but Mancini has publicly stated that he wants him to form part of the bigger picture at Eastlands.

Last season. Robinho had his critics for lightweight appearances away from home. For me, Robinho was a breath of fresh air in the first half of the 2008/2009 Premier League season but he's new to English football and I'm sure that under the right management he can sustain a long term future in this league and show how good he really is.

"Robinho is a fantastic player but for a big player like him, it is important to make the history of a club. I played at Sampdoria for 15 years. I wrote the history. It is important. Robinho can do that here." Mancini stated, drawing on his own player experiences and citing the level of loyalty that he demands in players.

Good start Roberto. Now you need some points!

Premier League Christmas fixtures December 2009

Barclays Premiership Christmas matches December 2009

Always a great period for drammatic football action, I'm sure that this Christmas will not dissapoint for some superb Premier League matches. What a busy time this will be for Roberto Mancini - fully expected to beat Stoke at home on Boxing Day as well as Wolves away on Monday 28th as well as sign some galacticos for his new club. In sixth, they will be trying to leap frog over Villa and Spurs to go into fourth and for me this is the area of real excitement this Christmas in the Premier League. There is the small matter of Liverpool's disastrous beginning to their 2009/2010 Premiership campaign. Benitez says that he'll get the Reds into the top four - as does Mancini - there's not enough room for them all and with Villa and Spurs doing so well we are in for a great fight for 3rd/4th.

At the top, Ancelotti's Chelsea have a tough game against in form Fulham who beat Manchester United 3-0 on the weekend. Man Utd have a home match against Wigan which you would imagine them to win, Fergie will be tough on the squad going into this so I think wigan will feel the full Old Trafford factor on the 30th. I can't see past Chelsea this year for the Premier League title. Despite missing the chance to go 6 points clear of Manchester United when the drew at Upton Park against West Ham United, they still look physically and mentally strong enough to go the whole way.

So then at the foot of the table, Portsmouth have a potentially tough Christmas, with a relegation scrap away at West Ham on Boxing Day and entertain Arsenal on the 30th. Avram Grant will be concentrating on the West Ham match as a base point to clawing Pompey out of the bottom 3.

I must say that I am surprised to see Bolton struggling in the bottom 3. Gary Megson's boys were pretty strong last season after their boss dealt well with the pressure on his shoulders. Having just beaten West Ham they would have been dissapointed that their match was postponed last night due to a frozen pitch at the JJB Stadium. THey have to continue scrapping - they face Burnley and Hull in the Christmas period so their target has to be to take 6 points. Phil Brown's Hull City seem really galvanised in their plight to remain in the Premier League - in a way playing Man Utd at this time is good (27/12/2009) because they have nothing to lose other than really taking the game to the reigning champions as they did at the end of last season when they narrowly lost 0-1 in May 2009.

Spurs have a tough Christmas - Harry Redknapp has blocked any players Christmas party and the lily whites have 2 away fixtures - both London derbies. They play Fulham away on Boxing Day which will be an interesting match and then have East London strugglers West Ham United on the 28th December.


Here are the fixtures:

Saturday, 26 December 2009
Birmingham v Chelsea, St Andrew's, 12.45pm
Burnley v Bolton, Turfmoor 2pm
Fulham v Tottenham, Craven Cottage 1pm
Liverpool v Wolverhampton, Anfield 5.30pm
Man City v Stoke, Eastlands, 3pm
Sunderland v Everton, Stadium of Light 3pm
West Ham v Portsmouth, Upton Park 1pm
Wigan v Blackburn, JJB Athletic 3pm

Sunday, 27 December 2009
Arsenal v Aston Villa, Emirates 1.30pm
Hull v Man Utd, KC Stadium 4pm

Monday, 28 December 2009
Blackburn v Sunderland, Ewood Park, 3pm
Chelsea v Fulham, Stamford Bridge, 3pm
Everton v Burnley, Goodison Park, 3pm
Stoke v Birmingham, Britannia Stadium 3pm
Tottenham v West Ham, White Hart Lane, 12.45pm
Wolverhampton v Man City, Molineaux, 7.45pm

Tuesday, 29 December 2009
Aston Villa v Liverpool, Villa Park, 7,45pm
Bolton v Hull, Reebok Stadium, 8pm

Wednesday, 30 December 2009
Man Utd v Wigan, Old Trafford, 8pm
Portsmouth v Arsenal, Fratton Park, 7.45pm

Mark Hughes gets the sack for Mancini

Bookmakers had stopped taking bets on it. The press talked about his 'last day in charge'. After their 4-3 victory over Sunderland, it was confirmed that Mark Hughes was dismissed as Manchester City manager. The statement exaplained that 2 winds from 11 matches wasn't acceptable. Obviously you need a return on investment when you spend £207 million on players but The replacement I found a bit surprising - Roberto Mancini. Potentially a great coach - but is this really a step forward for Manchester City? Certainly there was a feeling that some of the new players didn't feel comfortable with the management set up. I agree with the timing of the appointment, if you have infinite funds for players then let the new boss get his players in so that he can be properly assessed. The existing squad he has is great but I'm sure that some of the big names won't be getting their way and will leave within the next couple of transfer windows.

Good luck Roberto!

Premier League Fixtures 12th December 2009

Premier League Fixtures 12/12/2009

Lunch time match : Stoke v Wigan, Britannia Stadium 12.45pm

3 o-clockers :
Birmingham v West Ham, St Andrews 3pm
Bolton v Man City, Reebok Stadium 3pm
Burnley v Fulham, Turfmoor 3pm
Chelsea v Everton, Stamford Bridge 3pm
Hull v Blackburn, KC Stadium
Sunderland v Portsmouth, Stadium of Light 3pm
Tottenham v Wolverhampton, White Hart Lane 3pm

Tea time k/off:

Man Utd v Aston Villa, Old Trafford 5.30pm

13th December 2009 Premier League fixtures

Liverpool v Arsenal, Anfield 4pm

With the race for 3rd and 4th positions truly on in the Barclays Premier League, fixture of the weekend has to be the Sunday 4pm match - Liverpool v Arsenal. Rafa's boys have failed to quality for the next stage of the Champions League, after their 1st team being weakened by injuries to Torres and Aquilani. Both players are expected to play. The Gunners are hoping to get Eduardo and Rosicky back after injury but it could be too soon for both. My guess would be a tight, low scoring match that ends in a draw.

So what about the other contenders? Spurs have wobbled a little bit since destroying Wigan Atheltic but you would expect them to get back to winning ways against Wolves at home. Villa have the toughest challenge any Premiership team could have - away at Old Trafford. Rich boys Manchester City are away at the Reebok - always a tough one but Mark Hughes seems to be turning a corner so I'd say they'd beat Bolton.

Enjoy . . .

FA Cup 8th Dec Leeds 5 - 1 Kettering (AET) - Leeds now play Manchester United

08/12/2009 Leeds 5 - 1 Kettering (AET) FA Cup Replay

Leeds United made a meal of it, in both games in full time they missed chances to finish off non-league Kettering but last night at Elland Road they managed to hit an extra 4 goals after drawing 1-1 in full time.

So now Leeds Utd get their dream 3rd round match up with arch rivals Manchester United on Sunday 3rds January 2010 at Old Trafford.

Can Leeds beat the red devils and could this galvanise this sleeping giant into creeping back into the big time?

5th December 2009: Premiership result Man City 2 Chelsea 1

05/12/09 Manchester City 2: 1 Chelsea

In today's match Mark Hughes effectively stuck 2 fingers up at his critics as he watched his team beat Chelsea 2:1 at Eastlands. The Welshman had come under fire in recent weeks as despite the millions spent over the summer, his team seemed only able to draw and not win games. However today's result visibly lifted the team and the fans, even though it reduced the lead Chelsea have over City's great rivals Manchester United. Shay Given was the match hero after saving a last minute Lampard penalty. Adebayor was villain and then hero after knocking in an own goal afetr 8 minutes but making amends just before halftime by putting the ball in the right net. Carlos Tevez got the winner after 56 minutes. And as well as the deserved victory, Mark Hughes could also celebrate that this time his opponent shook his hand after the match.

England World Cup 2010 group C - 'The group of life'?

World Cup Draw - 04/12/2009

World Cup Group C
Algeria
England
Slovenia
USA

After England's annihilation of Croatia, Belarus, Andorra, Kazakhstan and the Ukraine you would struggle to see how Cappello's squad could possibly fail in their attempts to progress past the first stage of the World Cup 2010. Paddy Power have moved our odds from 6/1 to 11/2 after the World Cup groupings were announced, making England the third favourite, with Spain as favourites and Brazil as second favourite.

As an avid England fan I admire Capello's cool, Italian swagger stating his views on the group as 'Not so bad'. He has to be delighted. We play the USA first which in my mind is a good thing because I think at major tournaments the Americans rise to the challenge.

Spain also have a positive group H with Chile, Switzerland and Honduras. Brazil arguably have the worst group G with the Ivory Coast and Portugal in it.

World Cup draw 2010

Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France

Group B: Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, Greece

Group C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia

Group D: Germany, Australia, Ghana, Serbia

Group E: Netherlands, Japan, Cameroon, Denmark

Group F: Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia

Group G: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal

Group H: Spain, Honduras, Chile, Switzerland

Carling Cup Manchester City 3 Arsenal 0 2nd December 2009

Carling Cup result Manchester City 3 Arsenal 0 02/12/2009

Mark Hughes' Manchester City took Arsenal to school last night in the carling Cup quarter finals Eastlands and was dissapointed when Gunners boss Arsene Wenger wouldn't shake the ex Man Utd striker by the hand.

Adebayor didn't seem to want to get stuck in after humiliating himself against his former club earlier in the season in the Premier League when Man City beat Arsenal 4-2. In stark contrast, Argentinian striker Carlos Tevez was tenacious as ever and scored his 9th Carling Cup goal to open the scoring in the 50th minute. In my opinion, the Arsenal back line gave Tevez too much space to cut inside, skipping easily past 3 defenders to make the right angle and then he unleashed a powerful drive from inside the box past Fabianski finding the top corner of the net.

After Wenger subsistuted Craig Eastmond for Sanchez Watt in the 67th minute but 2 minutes later Sean Wright-Phillips doubled the lead, skipping past Mikael Silvestre and hitting a solid shot into the Arsenal net.

In the 89th Weiss finished the visitors off to take Manchester City into the Carling Cup semi-final, giving Mark Hughes a great opportunity to winning some silverware in his second season at Eastlands.

23rd November 2009: Liverpool 1: Debrecen 0

23/11/09 Champions League Liverpool 1: Debrecen 0

Despite doing just enough to win their tie against Debrecen, Liverpool are out of the champions league. According to Carragher this is not a catastrophe and the Uefa Europa League will be just as much fun. I doubt the owners and fans agree.

Liverpool had most of the possession and the chances of the miracle Rafa was waiting for did increase after Ngog beat a very shaky Debrecen defence early in the match. However Juan Vargas ended the Scousers' and Rafa's dreams after half an hour when he put Fiorentina into the lead against Lyon from the penalty spot. Lyon did get close in the dying minutes of the fixture but unfortunately for the Liverpool fans there was no cigar.

It could however have been worse for Liverpool as Debrecan's Gergely Rudolf almost equalised late in the match. Lucas also got quite a lot of criticism from the Liverpool fans. Tough times for Rafa and the players ahead.

23rd November 2009 Champions League Results: Arsenal 2: Standard Liege 0

23/11/09 Champions League Arsenal 2: 0 Standard Liege

Arsenal went into this clash knowing they only needed one point to qualify, although after the defeat at Sunderland at the weekend and with Chelsea to face to Sunday, a decisive result would be a useful confidence boost.

Despite the gooners being in total control of the first half, it was far from stress free for Arsene Wenger. There is little doubt that the lead was well deserved (a clever Nasri strike and a poor keeper response to an opportunistic Denilson attempt from 30 yards), however a clash of heads which left a shell shocked Gallas with a swollen eye and Arshavin with blood oozing from his head must have got the frenchman worrying about what team he'd be able to field against Chelsea on Sunday. With the league leaders 8 points ahead, Wenger will not want any of his first team joining Van Persie on the injury list. However both players managed to get back on to the pitch before the half time whistle.

Although the Gooners did not boss the second half quite as well as they bossed the first, it was a job well done. Fabregas also demonstrated that at 23 he is a player of maturity as well as talent by not reacting to a headbutt from a frustrated Carcela-Gonzales, which led to the Liege player being shown the red card in the late stages of the game.

Barclays Premier League Football Latest fixtures 25th November 2009

Premier League fixtures 25th November 2009

2 Premier League mid-week fixtures on Wednesday 25th November :

Fulham vs Blackburn Rovers, Craven Cottage 8pm
Hull City v Everton, KC Stadium 7.45pm

2 tight games I reckon. Fulham are a decent home team outfit but Big Sam has galvanised Blackburn Rovers into a tough, hard to beat side so they won't be daunted by a Wednesday evening trip to South London.

Similarly Hull City have shown signs that they will fight relegation, after their 3-3 draw with the Hammers this weekend. Phil Brown's men need to start winning their home games and Everton are a great side - a point would be a decent result for the Tigers I think.

Spurs 9 Wigan 1 Premier League result 22nd November 2009

Tottenham Hotspur 9 Wigan 1 Premier League result 22/11/09

Tottenham produced the second biggest Premier League margin today by hammering Wigan Athletic emphatically by 9 goals to 1 at White Hart Lane, chalking up Tottenham Hotspur's biggest victory in 32 years. Who did they beat then? Bristol Rovers – 9-0 in the second division.

England international Peter Crouch began the rout after 8 minutes with a close range header which was the only goal of the half.

Spurs front man Jermaine Defoe then had a crazy 7 minutes, making a breath-taking hat trick between 51 and 58 minutes. His first was fired in at close range on the edge of the Wigan 6 yard box. The second was a bit further out and struck to Chris Kirkland’s left, with the assist coming from ex Latics midfielder Wilson Palacios. At 3-1, Premier League strugglers Wigan managed to claw one back when Paul Scharner scored in the 57th minute. Defoe’s third goal came one minute after Wigan’s goal, effectively killing the game off. Not content with that, the Tottenham hero scored in the 69th minute and 87th minute totalling a 5 goal effort that he will never forget.

Sandwiched in between the Defoe goals was an Aaron Lennon goal in the 64th minute. Lennon showed the Spurs faithful and England boss Capello that he can deliver the final product to match his exhilarating pace, with 3 assists and his goal which was a folow up on a Peter Crouch header. If it hadn’t have been for Defoe’s striker master class, then Lennon’s right wing wizardry would have earned him man of the match.

Chris Kirkland added to a nightmare day at the office as he put the ball into his own net and then 4 minutes into injury time ex-Pompey midfielder Niko Kranjcar scored making the game 9-1.
Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United hold the Premier League winning margin record, when they thumped Ipswich 9-0 in 1995. Harry Redknapp will be absolutely over the moon with this result and has catapulted Spurs into a much stronger position in the 10 months that he has been managing the North London club.

Tottenham produced the second biggest Premier League margin today by hammering Wigan Athletic emphatically by 9 goals to 1 at White Hart Lane, chalking up Tottenham Hotspur's biggest victory in 32 years. Who did they beat then? Bristol Rovers – 9-0 in the second division.

England international Peter Crouch began the rout after 8 minutes with a close range header which was the only goal of the half.

Spurs front man Jermaine Defoe then had a crazy 7 minutes, making a breath-taking hat trick between 51 and 58 minutes. His first was fired in at close range on the edge of the Wigan 6 yard box. The second was a bit further out and struck to Chris Kirkland’s left, with the assist coming from ex Latics midfielder Wilson Palacios. At 3-1, Premier League strugglers Wigan managed to claw one back when Paul Scharner scored in the 57th minute. Defoe’s third goal came one minute after Wigan’s goal, effectively killing the game off. Not content with that, the Tottenham hero scored in the 69th minute and 87th minute totalling a 5 goal effort that he will never forget.

Sandwiched in between the Defoe goals was an Aaron Lennon goal in the 64th minute. Lennon showed the Spurs faithful and England boss Capello that he can deliver the final product to match his exhilarating pace, with 3 assists and his goal which was a folow up on a Peter Crouch header. If it hadn’t have been for Defoe’s striker master class, then Lennon’s right wing wizardry would have earned him man of the match.

Chris Kirkland added to a nightmare day at the office as he put the ball into his own net and then 4 minutes into injury time ex-Pompey midfielder Niko Kranjcar scored making the game 9-1.
Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United hold the Premier League winning margin record, when they thumped Ipswich 9-0 in 1995. Harry Redknapp will be absolutely over the moon with this result and has catapulted Spurs into a much stronger position in the 10 months that he has been managing the North London club.

Saturday November 21st 2009 Liverpool 2 Man City 2

21/11/09 Premiership result - Liverpool 2-2 Man City

Given Liverpool's near miss last season and Man City's expensive new team, both sets of fans started the season with high expectations of silverware. But after yet another draw, it is looking like both teams may hit the Christmas milestone outside the top 4 and outside the Champions League spots.

For many teams sharing the spoils at Anfield would be a result, however Mark Hughes will be very aware that this is not the return on investment that the Blues are expecting. A draw at home is also yet another blow for Rafa Benitez, whose tenure is coming under an ever increasing attack. Both managers might have been able to take some positives from the game if it had been a thrilling nail-biter, but in the end even Match of the Day struggled to find the highlights.

Nothing of much consequence happened in the first half, which begs the question for City fans why Tevez was left on the bench for the first hour. The game began in earnest after 50 minutes, when Skrtel took advantage of poor City defending to give the Reds the lead by converting a Gerrard free kick. Liverppol then appeared to sit back on their lead and paid the penalty after 69 minutes when Adebayor popped Bellamy's corner into the net. City went on to take the lead 5 minutes later with an Ireland goal. Liverpool fans could rightly question the position of Wright-Phillips when he crossed the ball to Ireland, but in the end City's lead was cancelled out shortly afterwards as Benayoun hit the target.

After the match Rafa blamed his injury list. Hughes was more upbeat and sung Tevez' praises, but both managers must be feeling the heat as they languish in 7th and 6th position respectively. The only positive both managers can really take from this weekend is that Arsenal slipped up at Sunderland.

Are Liverpool and Man City good enough for the top 4? On yesterday's performance definitely not. Spurs fans everywhere are rejoicing (just don't slip up against Wigan).

Theirry Henry handball: International Football Latest

The Republic of Ireland exited in drammatic style last night as ex-Arsenal favourite Thierry Henry handled the ball in his assist to William Gallas who equalised in extra time to make the match 1-1 in extra time.

Robbie Keane had put the Irish into the lead after 33 minutes and then Trapattoni's team came close on numerous occasions. In particular Damien Duff missed a one on one with the French 'keeper which would have got them to South Africa but it wasn't to be.

Are the Irish right to feel cheated? Well, yes but the rules of the game are that we have a referee who makes the calls with no assistance from tecnhology. So from time to time, teams will not get the result they believe they 'deserved' because of human error. Some of the player quotes show that the Irish boys feel a bit bitter and that is to be expected. However, the bit I can't stand is when people like Platini use these incidents to spring board new arguments for technology as opposed to encorporating viablity studies in the overall World Football strategy.

Barclays Premier League Fixtures this week 7/11/2009

Premiership matches Saturday 7th November 2009

This week's Premier League fixtures in the first weekend of November 2009:

Aston Villa v Bolton 3pm Villa Park
Blackburn v Portsmouth 3pm Ewood Park
Man City v Burnley 3pm Eastlands
Tottenham v Sunderland 3pm White Hart Lane
Wolverhampton v Arsenal 5.30pm Molineaux

Sunday 8th November
Barclays Premier League
Chelsea v Man Utd 4pm Stamford Bridge
Hull v Stoke 1.30pm KC stadium
West Ham v Everton 3pm Upton Park
Wigan v Fulham 3pm JJB Stadium

There is also FA Cup 2nd round action kicking off on both days all over the country as well as tonight.

West Ham 2: Arsenal 2 25th October 2009

West Ham United 2: Arsenal 2 25/10/09 Premiership result

This match was almost three quarters finished before West Ham finally turned up. In the first half Arsenal totally dominated with Van Persie and Gallas both hitting the target. However a Carlton Cole goal in the second half kept the Hammers' hopes alive and they managed to equalise with a controversial penalty just before the 80th minute. Wenger was understandably furious that for the second time in 4 days, the Gooners threw away a lead and ended up with 1 point rather than 3. He may have a valid point that questionable refereeing decisions led to both West Ham goals (awarding a free kick to West Ham which resulted in the first goal and then giving West Ham a penalty for the second) and he may also believe Arsenal should also have been awarded a penalty, but the fact remains that if Arsenal want to win silverware this season, they need to consolidate their leads rather than thrown them away.

There is however some comfort for Gunner fans that Man U and Spurs both lost this weekend. However overall West Ham fans will be the happier as their team showed the sort of spirit that is needed to put distance between themselves and the relegation zone. They are still however still chasing their first home win this season so further improvement needed.

Saturday 25th October - Liverpool 2: Manchester United 0

Today's 2:0 result must have boosted the Anfield faithful, not least Rafa Benitez. Claiming a Manchester United scalp not only ended Liverpool's run of 4 straight defeats, but should also help alleviate the pressure on Rafa, who has been coming under fire for creating a team which may believe relies far too heavily on Torres and Gerrard. It was however Torres who beat an unconvincing Ferdinand to score the first goal in the 65th minute. Torres was then substituted for David Ngog, who in stoppage time calmly slotted the ball behind Van der Sar, who did well to keep Kuyt and Aurelio out earlier in the game.

The run of form of both clubs going into the match could not have been more different, with all the sensible money being put on Manchester United. And that is why football is such a great game and why the Premiership is such a fantastic league - form and stats mean nothing when two big clubs and bitter rivals clash. Liverpool vs Man U is always fascinating and the 2 red cards handed to Vidic and Mascerano demonstrate how emotive the contest is. Today's fixture had an extra ingredient with the return of Michael Owen to Anfield in a Man U strip and Owen must have been bitterly disappointed not to silence the Anfield boos.

There was little to separate the two sides at half time but Torres' pace and brilliance in the second half meant that Liverpool deserved their win ... the question of course remains - can Liverpool do the job without Torres (and Gerrard).

AZ Alkmaar 1 Arsenal 1 Champions League 20th October

AZ Alkmaar 0 Arsenal 1 Champions League 20/10/2009

Arsenal threw away a one goal lead 3 minutes into stoppage time against Dutch team AZ Alkmaar with a great hit from Mendes Da Silva.

The Gunners had a great early start to their away Champions League fixture with a well worked team goal finished by Cesc Fabregas in the 36th minute.. AZ Alkmaar were caught in possession by Arshavin but then the Gunners punished the home team superbly with a well timed Van Persie cross to captain Fabregas who made no mistake.

In the second half AZ Alkmaar gradually came into the match with a couple of subsitutions adding a bit more pace to their game. They still lacked the potency needed to penetrate Arsenal but gave the Gooners a few problems on the edge of the 18 yard box with one great chance to bring it back to 1-1 which came to nothing.

Arshavin and Van Persie both looked great but this was a professional performance from Wenger's men. AZ Alkmaar played the match quite physically, probably due to being frustrated by Arsenal's ability to smoothly retain possession.

Just when the game looked wrapped up AZ Alkmaar applied some late pressure, the ball fell nicely for a volley just inside the box for Da Silva who hit the back of Almunia's net with some venom, the home team grinding out a great Champions League result

A bitter pill for Wenger's boys after bossing most of this Champions League tie.

Fulham 2 Hull City 0 Premier League result 19th October 2009

Fulham 2 Hull 0 Premiership result 19/10/09

Phil Brown's Hull are lingering near the bottom in 18th position after losing 2-0 away at Craven Cottage.

The home team Fulham looked easily the strongest team last night but were light upfront with no Andy Johnson who is injured. Bobby Zamora managed to convert the pressure into a 1-0 lead just before half time when Damien Duff was given enough space to hit a strong volley which was saved but bounced up quickly to Zamora for an opportunistic header into the Hull goal.

In the second half the chances for Fulham kept coming and Kamara got on to the score sheet with an assist from Barclays Man of the match Bobby Zamora.

Roy Hodgson will be content with their season so far but will be looking now to push on from 12th as they had a great time in the Prem in 2008/2009.

Phil Brown is struggling to get players to the KC stadium, Hull City have a great ground and support but need to dig in Stoke City style in order to ensure Premier League survival. Hard work at the moment for the Tigers but they displayed towards the end of last season that they will fight and scrap in that section of the Premiership.

World Cup Latest : England 3 Belarus 0

World Cup Group 6 Qualify group result : England 3 Belarus 0

England striker Peter Crouch opened the scoring after only 4 minutes with a opportunist's tap in from a great Glen Johnson cross to put the home team 1 nil up on Wednesday 14th October. Great possession for England in the first half but Belarus looked comfortable on the ball too but struggled to push England in the final third. It has to be said that Spurs striker Peter Crouch was England's best player, making a nuisance of himself as well as providing genuine goal threat.

In the second half, it was Frank Lampard that took the opportunity to impress Capello with a free kick that was tipped over the Belarus cross bar. Aaron Lennon had his moments as gooner Theo Walcott watched on from the Wembley stands.

Sean Wright-Philips hit the second from a Frank Lampard corner with a well placed drive in the 60th minute. After an industrious game, the Man City man deserved a result from the match which was nice to see.

Glen Johnson looked good defensively as did Wayne Bridge at left back. Ben Foster also had a decent match in between the sticks which is a position not yet confirmed in terms of a starting XI.

England then got their third in the 75th minute when a long ball went to Carlton Cole who struck it nicely across the Belarus 'keeper who managed to stop it, only for the ball to fall to robotic dancer Crouchy to slot home his second of the night.

In the 86th minute James Milner hit the post and then LA Galaxy midfielder David Beckham tried to place a shot outside of the box to shave the post.

Nice solid result for England after an unfortunate sending off against the Ukraine on Saturday. Great competition for places; Crouch strengthened his bid for the 'big man' striker and also Beckham looked sharp for the last 20 mins proving that he must be in the squad if he's fit when the time comes for World Cup 2010.

Online Broacast England World Cup qualifier away match

Due to Setanta's demise, Kentaro and Perform have teamed together to broadcast Saturday's away match against the Ukraine on Saturday 10th October 2009 online via ukrainevengland.com. Perform also negotiated deals with Sun Online, Mail Online, Virgin Media and Orange to allow their visitors to pay to view the match.

If a football fan wants to watch this match, they ahve to pay a premium of £11.99 on the day or £4.99. A recent poll conducted by the BBC showed 3% of the UK would actually contemplate watching in this way. Despite the internet offering an interesting future for football consumption, this is quite a departure from terrestrial television. Not only is it pound for pound exploitation but for most people with small computer monitors this kills the social nature of watching a football match. We are in the early stages of this transition but it will be underpinned by threats of online piracy and the potential negative impact on Premier League attendance.

We all know our beloved England have already madethe World Cup 2010. However, if we hadn't have made the grade by now, surely the percentage of people cramming themselves behind their PC or laptop would have been much higher than a mere 3%. This would bring in millions of pounds of revenue and football fans would moan but in the same breath enter in their credit cards to tune in.

Football lovers, these are worrying times. We all know that the football fan is the most important stakeholder in the game but football supporters are being taken advantage of and without boycotting matches marketed in such crude ways, watching great football will just cost more and more money.

Premier League October results 3rd Oct

Barclays Premiership 03/10/2009

Sir Alex's boys had a tough one against Steve Bruce's Sunderland today - talisman Darren Bent just can't keep scoring which could present Fabio Capello with a positive selection problem for World Cup 2011. Harry Redknapp would have hoped for a full 3 away at the Reebok. Then there were big lifelines for Burnley, Hull and Pompey as all got 3 points at a time when you need momentum and competiveness if you are scrapping at the bottom.

Bolton 2-2 Tottenham
Burnley 2-1 Birmingham
Hull 2-1 Wigan
Man Utd 2-2 Sunderland
Wolverhampton 0-1 Portsmouth

Fulham 1 Basle 0 Europa League 1st October

Fulham 1 Basle 0

History was made at Craven Cottage last night as Fulham embarked on their first UEFA Europa League match. The home team started their Europa League match against Swiss visitors Basle under quite a bit of pressure from good quality opposition. Fulham managed to contain Basle but were quiet for the first half an hour. The away support from the Swiss was awesome, 1500 Basle fans really made their presence known and gave this game a great European tie feel. Fulham's biggest moment of the first half was an Andy Johnson penalty shout where the marking defender gave the ex-Everton man a strong shoulder barge but Johnson sportingly tried to stay on his feet making the challenge look fairer to the referee.

At the start of the second half, Hodgson's men moved up a gear and in the 56th minute there was a great move from Fulham where Danny Murphy neatly finished Any Johnson's pullback pass from the edge of the 'D' to make it 1-0.

After Fulham's goal they looked pretty comfortable. Bobby Zamora and Andy Johnson worked tirelessly to pin the defenders back and there was no real pressure from the Basle front men. Good result for the Carven Cottage faithful.

Adebayor gets £25,000 fine

£25K - that's small change to big licks Adebayor now surely now that he's the man at Eastlands. As far as player charges go historically, it's a big one and so it should have been. After being in the Premier League for 3 seasons, Adebayor surely would have shown more remorse for his actions against former strike partner Van Persie who hasn't disguised his dissapointment. However this is the second punishment for the goal celebration. So is £25,000 and a 2 match ban the correct punishment? I think it is harsh enough to set a precedent with this type of thing. Players must operate with passion but also a degree of common sense and Adebayor got the blend of the two completely wrong that day. Adebayor needs to take his punishment on the chin and then rebuild his PR skills in order to make his working life in the Premier League more pleasant.

Premier League News 3rd October 09

Barclays Premiership News 03/10/2009

This weekend's Barclay's Premier League fixtures going into the first weekend of October 2009:

Premier League 3pm kick off 3rd Oct Bolton v Tottenham Reebok stadium
Premier League 3pm kick off 3rd Oct Burnley v Birmingham Turf Moor
Premier League 3pm kick off 3rd Oct Hull v Wigan KC stadium
Premier League 3pm kick off 3rd Oct Wolverhampton v Portsmouth Molineaux
Premier League 5.30pm kick off 3rd Oct Man Utd v Sunderland Old Trafford
Premier League 1.30pm kick off 4th Oct Arsenal v Blackburn Emirates
Premier League 3pm kick off 4th Oct Everton v Stoke Goodison Park
Premier League 3pm kick off 4th Oct West Ham v Fulham Upton Park
Premier League 4pm kick off 4th Oct Chelsea v Liverpool Stamford Bridge

Everton Europa League latest result 1st Oct

Games tonight in the UEFA Europa League for Everton and Fulham, Everton away and Fulham at home.

Everton have beaten BATE Borisov with goals from Fellaini and Cahill in the second half after coming from behind with the home team scoring after only 16 minutes.

RESULT: BATE Borisov 1-2 Everton

Champions League results 30th September 2009

Champions League results 30/09/2009

Manchester United 2 – 1 Wolfsburg
Apoel Nicosia 0 – 1 Chelsea

As predicted, Wolfsburg really gave Man Utd a good run for their money but the home team came through it with goals from Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick. Text book away win for Chelsea with a one-nil victory with a goal from Nicolas Anelka.

Champions League Latest 30th September 2009

UEFA Champions League News 30/09/2009

Man Utd vs Wolfsburg
Apoel Nicosia vs Chelsea

The Champions League is now warming up nicely, Chelsea and Manchester United are in action tonight. I'll be tuning into the Man Utd game tonight who are at home tonight against Wolfsburg. Although you'd expect Sir Alex's boys to deal with the Bundesliga champions, on Manutd.com there was an interesting quote from the Wolfsburg:

"Old Trafford is a special ground and Manchester United is a very special club," he told his pre-match press conference. "They have played over 150 games in this competition and we have only had a couple.

"But we will not hide and I won't be losing any sleep thinking about it. It is impossible to say for certain whether the players will be inspired or afraid.

"But I do know we cannot afford to wait until Manchester United have scored four or five goals before we start to impose our own style on the match."

I fancy Manchester United this season for the League but not for this competition.

Chelsea have a tricky away match at Apoel Nicosia after their dissapointing defeat at Wigan on the weekend. They have a few injuries but should crush this opposition who will be looking to contain Anelka and Drogba by defending deeply. However I expect Chelsea to win and remain top of Champions League Group D.

Champions League results 29th September

Champs League full time results 29/9/09

Liverpool lose their unbeaten run, Arsenal turn on the style in the second half with Van Persie and Arshavin scoring at the Emirates. I fancy Arsenal for another semi-final this year...

Arsenal 2 Olympiakos 0
Fiorentina 2 Liverpool 0

Half time Champions League

UEFA Champions League half time scores:

Fiorentina 2 - o Liverpool
Rangers 0 - 0 Seville
Arsenal 0 - 0 Olympiakos

Champions League News 29th September 2009

UEFA Champions League matches 29/09/2009






Arsenal v Olympiakos, Group H, 19:45 kick off
Fiorentina v Liverpool, Group E 19:45 kick off

In tonight's Champions League action Tuesday 29th September 2009 there 2 games featuring Premier League sides, both with tough qualifying group matches.

In Group H Arsene Wenger's Arsenal take on Olympiakos without Brazilian midfielder Denilson. Denilson made his last appearance for the Gunners on 12th September and since then has been sidelined for 2 months with a small fracture in his back. The injury was sustained in their 4-3 defeat Eastlands and is no doubt a big loss to Arsene Wenger at this point in the season. A day after their one-nil win against Fulham, Nicklas Bendtner was involved in a minor car accident where he sustained some bruising also keeping him out of this match. Almunia is also out with a chest infection. One boost to the Gunners is getting England star Theo Walcott back after a recovering from a side strain injury.

Liverpool face Fiorentina away in Group E. The Reds are hoping to maintain their 100% in the Champions League Group E and have Spanish striker Fernando Torres in red hot form for this fixture. Liverpool are pretty much at full strength but Benitez will be without anchor man Mascherano (hamstring). Mascherano picked up the injury in training but will be hopeful to get fit for this Sunday's big clash against Chelsea away at Stamford Bridge. Also Benayoun picked up a dead leg against Hull. Fiorentina have no Alberto Gilardino upfront but have ex-Chelsea striker Mutu to lead the line. I wonder if the Saudi prince who has offered £350m for 50% of the Merseysde club will be tuning in...

I reckon Arsenal and Liverpool double, worth a cheeky mid-week flutter.

Manchester City 3 West Ham 1 Premier League result

Man City 3 West Ham United 1 Football Latest

Mark Hughes's Manchester City continued to give the Eastlands faithful something to cheer about with

Carlos Tevez opened the scoring after only 5 minutes, taking a Petrov pass and converting from six yards out with ease past England 'keeper Robert Green. Carlton Cole, who will be gunning for a World Cup spot probably behind Emile Heskey scored with a smart finish to equalise. Wright-Philips, also looking to impress constantly battered the left side of the West Ham defence but it was left footer Petrov that put City back in the lead with a well crafted curling free kick from just on the edge of the 'D'.

In the second half Man City continued to impress, with Bellamy, Wright-Philips and Tevez all looking sharp and hungry for success at the highest level. In the 60th minute Bellamy curled a great free kick into the danger zone for Tevez to head home his second goal to make it 3-1. City's tenacity pinned West Ham back continously in the second half. For the Hammers, Demanti was impressive when the visitors did get possession and pushed Given to make a good shot stop over his bar mid-way through the second half. However the home team remained strong balancing attacking football with maintaining possession. Gareth Barry nearly scored 12 minutes before the end with a fiercely struck left foot volley that Robert Green tipped over the bar neatly.

Cole and Demanti looked like Zola's best opportunity for a goal but must have been desperate for some joy as the Hammers are at the wrong end of the Prem at the moment.

Martin Petrov had a great chance to make it 4 with a right foot strike but sent it over showing how left sided he is. Santa Cruz came on with a couple of minutes to go to show Man City's strength in depth but the game was well wrapped up by then and Hughes will be looking forward now to pushing on from 5th position in the Premier League with one game in hand on Spurs, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United.

Premier League Fixtures September 19th/20th 2009

Latest Premiership Football Fixtures

Without a doubt the biggest match of the weekend is the Manchester derby this Sunday at 1.30pm. After the Adebayor scandal in their 4-2 visctory against Arsenal, Mark Hughes is a doing a great job of mixing it with the big boys and picking up maximum points but will be hoping his players use their heads in what is normally a supercharged Premier League derby atmosphere. Great London derby on Sunday too, Spurs will look to bounce back after their loss against the Red Devils when taking on Chelsea.

Arsenal v Wigan (Emirates 3pm)
Aston Villa v Portsmouth (Villa Park 3pm)
Bolton v Stoke, (Reebok stadium 3pm)
Burnley v Sunderland (Turf Moor 3pm
Hull v Birmingham, (KC stadium 3pm)
West Ham v Liverpool (Upton Park 5.30pm)

Sunday, 20 September 2009
Chelsea v Tottenham (Stamford Bridge 4pm)
Everton v Blackburn (Goodison Park 3pm)
Man Utd v Man City (Old Trafford 1.30pm)
Wolverhampton v Fulham (Molineaux 2pm)

Does Adebayor deserve to be charged by the FA?

Man City's £25m signing, Emmanuel Adebayor, played some amazing football in last Saturday's clash with his former club. However his skills on the ball were overshadowed by a totally inappropriate goal celebration and an alleged deliberate stamp on the head of his former team mate, Robin Van Persie. The FA have as a result charged Adebayor with improper and violent conduct.

Adebayor has until 6pm tomorrow to formally respond, but in post match interviews he has apologised for his goal celebration, claiming pure adrenalin led him to run the length of the pitch and celebrate in front of the away supporters, and has denied any intent to injure Van Persie. Is his apology enough? Even if you disbelieve his claim that his sprint to the Arsenal fans was not intentional, it is impossible to deny that he spent much of last season being derired by the Gooner supporters and his claims that these fans abused him and his family throughout Saturday's match are almost certainly true. However in my view, when you are paid tens of thousands of pounds a week, part of your job is not only to score goals, but also to be mindful of how your behaviour can influence supporters. Anyone who knows anything about football could predict that to celebrate in that way in front of the Arsenal fans would drive a number of idiots to start throwing missiles on the pitch, which is what happened and resulted in a steward being knocked unconscious and hospitalised. This mindless violence was not Adebayor's fault directly, but he and other footballers need to be made absolutely aware that they play a part in minimising the occasions which provoke the thugs who claim to be fans. Plus Adebayor owes some respect for the club which allowed him to make his name in the premiership.

Adebayor's alleged stamp on Van Persie certainly looks nasty from certain angles. Van Persie himself has issued a statement on Arsenal's website berating Adebayor for what he claims was a deliberate act of violence. The FA will no doubt be studying all angles before they make their judgement. I hope that this was an accident because Adebayor is undoubtedly a very talented player and it would be a shame if this sort of behaviour defines his career. Footballers are paid too much to be as stupid as some of the fans.

England v Croatia team latest 8 September 2009

Fabio Capello is holding his cards closely to his chest in terms of Wayne Rooney's striking partner going into the exciting World Cup qualifier tonight between England and Croatia. Emile Heskey has the physical, team player strengths and Defoe is simply on fire - who will he go for? I think he'll be prudent and go with Heskey to start with the option of playing Defoe for either the last 30 mins or even all of the second half if necessary.

The other tricky one is the right hand side of midfield. Using Beckham tactically as a dead ball super sub works, Theo Walcott is out with a back injury so will he go for Wright-Philips or Lennon to start?

Does it feel like 2 years ago that England lost to Croatia with Steve McClaren hanging his head in shame underneath his umbrella? For me it doesn't, I vividly remember the feeling of disbelief as we failed to qualify for the European Championships 2008 losing 2-3 to the Croats. Scott Carson did have a shocker but there were other more experienced players playing at new Wembley for England that night.

Now under Capello, England at qualifying level are a sturdier propoposition. To some degree, England laid the ghost to rest when beating Croatia 1-4 in Zagreb and are 4 points of the opposition going into this home fixture. We question whether they would be World Cup winning material but are assuming that we will be in South Africa because we are in pole position with the opportunity to book our place tonight at Wembley.

Croatia themselves are not in the best of positions and need the points making this a great little midweek international clash. If they lose and the Ukraine win they could be border line for World Cup qualification which would be a bit of a shock when looking at the group. Also without key Spurs players, Corluka and Modric England will really be looking to ruffle the Croatians. Their star player is definitely Eduardo and you could picture him popping up and bagging a goal just when least expected.

Potential England line up for this World Cup qualifier:

GK Green,
RBJohnson
CB Terry
CB Upson
LB Cole
RM Lennon
CM Lampard
CM Gerrard
LM Barry
CF Rooney
CFHeskey

Chelsea banned from buying new players until 2011

Yesterday Fifa announced that Chelsea will be unable to operate in the transfer market for the next two windows as a result of a complaint from French side Lens regarding the signing of Gael Kakuta two years ago. This effectively means Chelsea will not be able to sign any new talent until January 2011.

Chelsea have also been hit with a £130,000 fine but this is nothing compared to the potential financial implications of their punishment. If the blues can't match their big spending premiership rivals in the transfer market they may be unable to match them on the pitch and could ultimately lose their champion's league or even premiership place. The fortunes of Leeds United, who have plummeted into league one obscurity since (for very different reasons) losing their championship league place, tell a cautionary tale to all.

Having to rock up to the grounds of the likes of Exeter and Swindon on a weekly basis is however some way off for Chelsea fans. Chelsea is planning to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).and given the harshness of the sanctions, I believe will be successful in at least reducing the ban. The same punishment was handed out to Roma and was reduced on appeal to one transfer window. Given the strength of Chelsea's squad, they should do well this season even without the ability to do shopping in the January sales.

Blues will however still be worried of injuries and illness. For the rest of us, coming days after Eduardo's ban for diving and Platini's statements on clubs in debt, should we be worried that these international football bodies are flexing their muscles a little too much?

Premier League clubs face 3 year Platini Champions League squeeze

Michel Platini is proposing to phase out any club in debt from the Champions League within the next 3 years.

Platini's latest brain wave follows an idea to cap European club spending which was heavily criticised at the time.

Platini sounds serious - he has met with Russian business tycoon Roman Abramovich with the objective of getting Chelsea onside with the concept of getting all clubs under some type of debt control. Man City are on course to turn in the biggest financial loss than any other club, Real Madrid will be plummeting into the red to the tune of £800m...this is football's own credit crunch waiting to happen and my view is that Platini is correct to dig his heels in now. However, the reality is that the Champions League is a football extravaganza for the heavy weights ... if in 3 years time Man Utd or Real Madrid are in debt then their expulsion is this reallistic? It would surely de-value UEFA's prestiguous competition.

In Germany, there is real practical financial management each and every season within the Bundesliga. All teams apply for a licence to appear in the German league each season and this is based on the solvency of the football club in question. Perhaps these measures at domestic level prior to any drastic changes at European competition level.

The perfect club from an ownership perspective is Barcelona. The fans are a huge stakeholder group in any club of substance and at Barca they own the club. Therefore there are no 'sugar daddies', no buying/selling and look at the result now - European champions.

Violence at West Ham v Millwall match

Following this on Sky Sports news like everyone else. Apparently there's been lots of trouble outside the stadium resulting in at least one stabbing. West Ham currently leading 3-1 but the fans invaded the pitch after their second goal postponing play for a while. This is a disgrace and a kick in the teeth for all us genuine fans who do our best not to live up to the reputation of English fans and try to enjoy our game in a fun but not intimidating way. Regardless of the result, boot both clubs out of the competition and dock them some points. The football league can't dock little clubs like Chester huge numbers of points for financial problems and leave appalling behaviour like this from the bigger clubs unpunished.

Sol Campbell joins Notts County

Imagine the reaction of the bookie if you'd placed a bet a few months ago that Sven would end up at Notts County. Imagine his laughter if you'd gone on to do an accumulator with Sol Campbell. Well, if you have the gift of second sight you'll be counting your piles of money right now, as it has been confirmed today that the former England, Spurs, Arsenal and Pompey defender has gone on a free to the second division club.

Although big Sol hasn't been part of the England set-up since Capello took the helm, and although at 35 he is in the twilight of his career, Campbell is far from a desperate ageing star. Harry Redknapp has stated that he would have signed him for Spurs, if the fans their did not still harbour such a hatred for him after his move to Arsenal in 2001 (get over it Lilywhites ... footballers are allowed to change jobs just like the rest of us). Campbell confirmed that he'd had offers from Premiership clubs but chose the Notts County gig as it would keep him playing first team football for hopefully another 3 years and was a very interesting challenge for him to help take Notts County to the Premiership in this period.

Another of Campbell's former bosses, Arsene Wenger, has also sung the big defender's praises, but in typical Wenger style also added a note of caution; namely that Campbell would find the conditions in League 2 very different and might struggle mentally. Campbell has of course had problems in the past in this area, but hopefully it will be challenges of a more physical nature that will be the hardest to overcome, for example the pitches!!

Since Sven arrived at Notts County, rumours have been rife. Beckham has even been linked with the club!! It is however fascinating to see how what must be a fairytale for Notts County fans is unravelling - two weeks ago Schmeichel Junior arrived at the club and almost certainly Sven will have other surprises up his sleeve. It makes for great 5 live debates and blogging, so you have to wish the club (and Sol) luck.

Is Liverpool's title challenge over?

Liverpool's run of 31 unbeaten matches at home was abruptly ended last night, with an impressive defensive display from Aston Villa and a lacklustre performance from Liverpool resulting in a 1:3 defeat. Although the Scousers beat Stoke mid-week, their defeat to Spurs in the opening match of the season means they have lost the same amount of matches in 2 weeks as they did in the whole of last season. Liverpool are therefore six points behind early leaders Tottenham and Chelsea, who have won all three of their matches, while Arsenal and Manchester City hold 100% winning records with a game in hand on the leaders. It will be of small comfort to Liverpool fans that Manchester United have six points from three games, having lost to newly promoted Burnley last week.

Liverpool fans must be worried that the gap left by Alonso is proving significant, particularly as the intended replacement Alberto Aquilani is injured. Benitez has not been given the money to be anything like as active in the transfer market as 2 of the clubs currently ahead of Liverpool in the table (Man City and Spurs). The only remaining members of the victorious champions league squad are Gerrard, whose talisman status has taken a battering after giving away a penalty last night, and Carragher. Whether the rest of the sqaud have the quality to hold their own against the likes of Man U and Arsenal os yet to be seen, but the evidence so far this season is not promising. It would definitely be a great boost to the Anfield as well as the squad if Benitez could complete a big name signing before the end of the transfer window.

Clearly however anyone sensible will know that it is entirely possible to lose 2 matches and win the title race. The current holders, Man United, lost 4 matches in the 2008-9 season and 5 matches in the 2007-8 season. Suggesting that Benitez' men have no chance of winning their first league title in over 20 years is definitely premature, even if it does lessen the pain for Everton fans of being at the bottom of the table after some shocking performances.

So in answer to whether Liverpool's title challenge is over, I'd say not, but you'll get good odds right now! Plus if you know any reds, then it's a great line to wind them up!

Mark Hughes signs Sylvinho for Manchester City

Brazilian left-back Sylvinho has signed for Man City after a spell of 4 years at Barcelona. Sylvinho is no stranger to English football as a former gooner and at 35 will be looking to cash in on the Eastlands billions in his last shot at the big time.

Sylvinho and Lescott have been brought in 1 week before the transfer window ends in an attempt to answer any questions about the strength of this new set up at Manchester City.

"Sylvinho has a wealth of experience at the very top level, having represented Brazil and played for some of the very top clubs in Europe. When the chance presented itself to bring him to Manchester City as a free agent I saw it as representing excellent business for us. Sylvinho won the European Cup last season at Barcelona and he will strengthen our defensive options."

Good signing - they will be pushing top 5 now perhaps . . .

Moyes hold out for £22m as Lescott moves to Man City

Everton have parted company with central defender Joleon Lescott, with Moyes holding out to get a £22m payment from Manchester City subject to personal terms and a medical test.

After criticism from the Toffees fans, Lescott was left out of Everton's defeat against Burnley and Mark Hughes has got his man. After the first 2 games, Manchester City have looked great going forward but many Premier League teams would fancy their chances against the current back four. However, when Lescott is added to the first 11 it could propel them on to being top 5 material.

Good signing, premium price for Man City. If you've got it, then spend it - and any jealous fans looking to bitch about Mark Hughes' boys just remember that if it was your club you would be in seventh heaven.

Premier League fixtures 22nd August 2009

Premier League matches 22/08/2009

Isn't it great to have Premier League football back?! This season is going to be a corker. The league has been blown wide open after a tricky transfer window for Sir Alex, losing the super talent of Tevez and Ronaldo. Their team will still be good but their squad has undoubtedly been weakened. Looking forward to this weekend, all of Manchester United's rivals will be looking to gain an early advantage after their shock defeat on 19th August against Burnley. Chelsea have a tricky away tie at Craven Cottage against South London neighbours Fulham, however I predict a win for them. Arsenal have looked awesome and I think they'll convincingly beat Pompey. The Red Devils will be looking to restore some pride against Wigan, with a return to his old stomping ground for Valencia.

Here are the fixtures - I reckon some potential for some great football accumulators here:
22/08/2009 Premiership fixtures
Arsenal v Portsmouth 3pm
Birmingham v Stoke 3pm
Hull v Bolton 3pm
Man City v Wolverhampton 3pm
Sunderland v Blackburn 3pm
Wigan v Man Utd 3pm

23/08/2009 Premiership fixtures
Burnley v Everton 3pm
West Ham v Tottenham 1.30pm
Fulham v Chelsea 4pm

Premier League 2009/2010 results 19th August

Premiership results Wednesday 19/08/2009
Hull 1 Tottenham 5
Burnley 1 Man Utd 0
Birmingham 1 Portsmouth 0
Liverpool 4 Stoke 0


Fantastic result for Burnley tonight at Turf Moor, 3 points they never would have expected when preusing the 2009/2010 Premier League fixture list. Big result also for promoted Birmingham City, winning at home against Porstmouth who by many are tipped for the drop this season.

Jermaine Defoe is hoping to make one of the striker positions in the England squad his own, by scoring a hat trick at the KC stadium tonight he is demonstrating that he is potentially the best talisman out there for Capello to select.

So far there have been no draws in the opening 16 matches of the top English division - the last time that this happened was 1891!

Spurs 2 Liverpool 1 Premier League result

Liverpool faced Tottenham this afternoon for a tricky away Premier League 2009/2010 opener at White Hart Lane.

The Reds started tentatively inviting the home team to attack and pressurise Liverpool, who will definitely miss the talented Xabi Alonso. Sebastien Bassong made his Spurs debut because Harry Redknapp has been forced into buying a central defender to cover for Woodgate and Dawson who are both injured.

Towards the end of the first half, Tom Huddlestone’s free kick was charged down and Benoît Assou-Ekotto hit a 20 yard power drive into the top corner – check this goal out on Match of the Day...it’s an absolute beauty.

In the second half the home team continued to dominate the game, with a great attempt from Palacios going tipped over the bar by Reina. Aaron Lennon also got himself into a great position but failed to feed the ball successfully to Defoe. Shortly after that, Gomes conceded a penalty which was a clean cut decision – Gerard then confidently netted his spot kick. Within minutes of the goal, Bassong scored on his debut giving the White Hart Lane something to shout about.

Peter Crouch came on for Spurs favourite Robbie Keane, making his debut after moving from Portsmouth for £10m. Liverpool looked more alert in the second half and caused a little bit of panic in the Spurs back four that overall did well to contain the pressure from Kuyt, Gerard and Torres.

Great start for Harry’s boys, after that result Rafa undoubtedly will be looking in the transfer market for a midfield-striker link player to replace Alonso.

Premiership results and round up 15th August 2009

So what will the table look like tomorrow night? The third team promoted from the Championship, Birmingham City, start their campaign tomorrow against the Champions. Based on today's results, it seems unlikely that Arsenal will be knocked off the top or Everton lifted from the bottom, but with this beautiful game, who can tell? Birmingham City fans will probably not be expecting to win but will be fervently hoping not to concede 6 or more.

The other game kicking off tomorrow sees Spurs take on Liverpool. Liverpool and Spurs fans both had an ultimately disappointing season last year and will be hoping to start brightly. Robbie Keane would no doubt love to put a fair few past the Scousers!!

Full list of results:

Aston Villa 0-2 Wigan
Blackburn 0-2 Man City
Bolton 0-1 Sunderland
Chelsea 2-1 Hull
Everton 1-6 Arsenal
Portsmouth 0-1 Fulham
Stoke 2-0 Burnley
Wolverhampton 0-2 West Ham

Wolves vs West Ham 15th August 2009 - Match Report

Wolves 0: West Ham 2

Despite starting well and being cheered on by a great home crowd, Wolves went down to West Ham at Molineux. Mark Noble scored in the first half and a Matthew Upson header ended the contest in the second half, although prior to this header Mick McCarthy's men did threaten to equalise through a couple of fine long range efforts from Nenad Milijas.

Stoke vs Burnley 15th August 2009 Match Report

Stoke 2: Burnley 0

Premiership new boys Wolves and Burnley both experienced a baptism of fire and went down 2:0 today. Stoke City scored from 2 set pieces, with Ryan Shawcross nodding in Liam Lawrence's free-kick and the unfortunate Stephen Jordan glancing a trademark Rory Delap throw-in into his own net to put Stoke 2-0 up. Burnley fans can however take some comfort that their team, who were playing their first top flight footie for 33 years, significantly improved after half time and Wade Elliott came close to scoring.

Portsmouth vs Fulham 15th August 2009 Match Report

Portsmouth 0: Fulham 1

Fulham, who last season finished in their highest ever place, continued this run of form as Clint Dempsey's shot deflected in off Bobby Zamora to earn them a 1:0 victory over Portsmouth. To be fair to Pompey, despite a difficult summer with key players leaving and a proposed takeover yet to be finalised, the team started brightly and did challenge Fulham throughout. The fans will however be anxious for the takeover to be completed and for funds to be made available to Paul Hart asap.

Aston Villa vs Wigan 15th August 2009 Match Report

Aston Villa 0: Wigan 2

Aston Villa, who started so full of promise last season, were so poor today against Wigan that they were booed by their own fans. Hugo Rodallega scored a stunning first goal and Jason Koumas the second to give Roberto Martinez a victorious first game as manager of the Latics.

Chelsea vs Hull 15th August 2009

Chelsea 2: Hull 1

As the bookies would have predicted Chelsea also ended the day victorious with a 2:1 win over Hull; however Phil Brown's men pushed the Blues hard and would have gone in with at least a share of the spoils if Didier Drogba hadn't spoilt the party. Hull's new signing Stephen Hunt overcame the jeers from the Chelsea fans (as a Reading player his clash with Cech resulted in a fractured skull for the keeper) and put the Tigers ahead after 28 minutes. Drogba then levelled and the Ivory Coast international went on to score the winner in injury time after a controversial 6 minutes had been added.

Bolton vs Sunderland 15th August 2009 Match Report

Bolton 0: Sunderland 1

Sunderland finished the day victorious under new manager Steve Bruce. The club's record signing Darren Bent repaid Bruce's belief in him and scored after 5 minutes at the Reebok. This is a happy start for Bent, who never really settled at Spurs, and a good start for the Mackems who only finished 2 places above the drop zone last season. Bolton did put up a spirited display in the second half, but unfortunately this was too little, too late.

Blackburn vs Man City 15th August 2009 Match Report

Blackburn 0: Man City 2

Man City also started the season with a bang after putting 2 past Blackburn. Adebayor, one of City's summer signings, opened the scoring after just 3 minutes and Tevez, one of the other debutants, almost joined him on the scoresheet but in the end it was Ireland who consolidated the win with a second goal. City have therefore passed the first test and come away with 3 points, which was vital after spending £100M in the summer. However the game was not entirely one way and Sam Allardyce's team did threaten at times, demanding an excellent save from Given to prevent Blackburn scoring an equaliser at 1:0. Based on this display, if City are going to break into the top 4, they will need to dig even deeper into their new owners' pockets and bolster their defence further.

Everton vs Arsenal 15th August 2009 - Match report

Everton 1 - Arsenal 6

Arsenal have ended the first day of the season as they started it - top of the premiership table. However although their starting position was purely alphabetical, their current lead is well deserved after putting 6 goals past a dire Everton. Arsenal fans will be happy that new boy Thomas Vermaelen scored on his debut, doubling a lead set up by Denilson. Gallas scored the third goal,Fabregas scrored a brace and Eduardo also hit the back of the net. Everton's only reply came from Saha in injury time, when the Gooners had effectively already started packing up for their triumphant return back to London. It is difficult to see how Moyes can take any positives from the Toffee's woeful display and impossible to see how this result could persuade Joleon Lescott to withdraw his transfer request.

Lescott to write to Everton board

Joleon Lescott will be writing to Bill Kenwright putting in a transfer request to join Manchester City.

You've got to admire David Moyes' determination to protect what he has built at Everton. Joleon Lescott has improved so much at Goodison Park and selling him would almost definitely reduce their chances of pushing for top 4/5 Premier League status.

Lescott wants to move. Many football fans always say 'If he wants to leave then let him'. My view is that the manager needs to balance that with the player's personality. If Moyes thinks that Lescott will be a professional and give his all, then force him to stay. After all, from a club's perspective isn't this precisely why we have contracts?

RIP Bobby Robson 1933-2009

Bobby Robson was a true gentleman and man of football. His defiance and spirited fight against cancer typified his attitude in life that he applied so well to professional football. What better an example of this than the World Cup 1990. With our wonderful media truly on Robson's back, our troops went out to Italy with a manager who would always back his players. When a player had a bad spell or couldn't find the net, he was the one always on their side and had a superb way of bringing the right players in and out at the right time to get results. He also liked his sides to play attacking football with flare. Always favouring attacking wing play giving his teams width, Bobby Robson's managerial career was incredible and everywhere he went he was liked and respected. From Ipswich to PSV to Newcastle at club level this was a true legend of football that will be missed in the football world. Personally, Bobby Robson was my favourite England manager because he had 2 World Cups where England were very competitive in Mexico '86 and Italia '90. Alex Ferguson always says there are too many outspoken journalists talking about something they don't really know enough about. As did Brian Clough. For me, one of the best examples of this was the build up to England getting to the semi-finals against Germany in 1990. The media criticised Bobby's men of being defensive and negative. However that team had a fit Paul Gascoigne in and a super sharp Gary Lineker which meant that any team could be threatened with super attacking quality.

Bobby Robson - we all will miss you, thanks for some legendary footballing memories.

Darren Bent apologises for twitter outburst

As Sunderland have followed Bent now for most of the pre-season you can understand Steve Bruce threatening to end his pursuit for the Spurs man. Sunderland are in need of a consistent floe of goals, Bent is a decent Premier League striker with good experience but he scored a major political own goal by expressing his frustration so publicly on social networking site twitter.com. By slating Hull City and Stoke he won't have made any friends there and also Daniel Levy would have surely been fuming with the tweet. By the end of the day, Bent apologised for his actions.

In the same week as Phil Hughes twittered about being dropped, it's not surprising that some of these spoilt sportsmen are washing thier linen in public via the internet. However it is not a channel of communication that can be used by a player directly, surely the player must always communicate via the club they work for and with their approval.

Interesting word of mouth though...

Will Wenger now put his hand in his pocket?

Manchester City continue to fly in the face of the credit crunch and have just splashed out £16million to tempt Arsenal central defender Kolo Toure to Eastlands. In stark contrast, despite having recently deposited £40 million in the bank from recent player sales, Arsene Wenger has gone on record to say he is no hurry to spend it. Given Arsenal's lack of silverware in recent years and their poor defensive record, is this prudence or madness?

Like Adebayor, Toure had been unhappy at the Emirates for a while. He failed last season to secure a regular place in the starting line up for the Gooners and had handed in a transfer request in January. As with Adebayor, Wenger obviously felt it was better to get the cash rather than rely upon demotivated players to put in good enough performances. Most Gooners would agree with him on that one, but must also be asking why Wenger isn't buying anyone.

To date Wenger has made only one summer signing so far, Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax for £10m. The Arsenal manager also put in a bid for Felipe Melo from Fiorentina, however the Brazilian midfielder chose to sign for Juventus instead. Arsenal have also been linked with a number of players including defenders Brede Hangeland of Fulham and Newcastle's Sebastien Bassong and strikers Klaas-Jan Huntelaar of Real Madrid and Bordeaux's Marouane Chamakh; however to date none of these rumours have come to fruition.

Rumours alone will not be enough to satisfy the Arsenal faithful; however Wenger has been quick to point out that buying new players isn't the answer to every problem. Certainly Arsenal have done relatively well and finished in the top 4 in the past few seasons following Wenger's favourite policy of nurturing young talent. Arsenal fans are however desperate for silverware and most would argue that for Arsenal, a club which is undeniably strong up front but weak defensively, buying a couple of brutes for back line is surely worth a try. There was a reason why Arsenal did so well when Keown and Adams bossed the back!

The Arsenal fans might however understand Wenger's dilemma if they were to take a close look at Arsenal's finances. Unfortunately Arsenal expected to raise big sums by re-developing Highbury into luxury flats, but given the recent property slump this venture might ultimately plunge them into more debt. Given this consideration their directors have recommended that Arsenal's gross average annual spend on new players should not exceed £18m, which is less than half of what the rest of the big 4 can afford and a lot less than Man City have put up in the current transfer window. A recent financial report on Arsenal certainly makes sober reading.

One thing that might lift the Emirates from the gloom of their recent lack of trophies and big name signings is the possibility of the return of Patrick Vieira. Watch this space ..

Everton will score on Lescott BIG TIME

If you were a selling club to the richest club in the world this summer, you would hope to do the last big deal. Reputation and speculation add millions to these signings. Does Moyes want to create an issue for himself in defence? Probably not but if he can push Manchester City up to £20-25m for England international Joleon Lescott then selling is usually the inevitable outcome.

Will this signing push Man City in to the top 4? Top 6, yes - but ask yourself this...which out of the new signings would play regular football week in week out for Manchester United or Chelsea?