Followers

Friday, December 24, 2010

Wales get tough on the Olympics

The Welsh FA have pre-warned the likes of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey ahead of the 2012 Olympics that should they decide to participate they will be banned from appearing again in the Welsh side.

The fact that this is the year for Euro 2012 and that the Olympics will be sandwiched by the Euros and the new Premier League season 2012/2013 will probably make this element of the Olympics a non-event.

The British side would look good with Bale complimenting some of his Premier League colleagues...wouldn't we want to see it in action? Are the Welsh FA being a little bit harsh?

Monday, December 13, 2010

Monday 13th December Manchester United 1 Arsenal 0 Premier League report

13/12/2010 Manchester United 1 Arsenal 0 Premiership result

Sky Sports determined the awkward Monday evening fixture of the big clash Manchester United against in form Arsenal. Currently the Premier League is wide open with 5 teams in it - with all of the big boys playing each other in the next few weeks you would imagine that this will be down to 3 once the festive period is completed.

26 of the 33 Chilean miners the survived the recent disaster attended this evening's match with a great chaperone in David Beckham

In typical fashion, the Old Trafford crowd witnessed a game of chess as these two giants tested each other mainly in midfield. Arsenal looked dangerous on the break but possibly lacking striking power agianst Vidic and Ferdinand. Nasri showed good poise on the ball, demonstrating that he is the key man currently form wise.

The goal came in the 41st minute for Man Utd from a long ball which Arsenal failed to clear efficiently. Rooney flicked a header over to Nani who moved inside with admirable disguise and Ji-Sung Park cleverly contorted his neck to get into a position where he could loop a header over Wojciech Szczesny. A blow for Wenger as scoring 2 at OT is not the easiest task even when you are the Arsenal.

The Gunners started brightly in the second half with Nasri playing in a more advanced central position. They played grest one touch football with Wilshere, Nasri and Arshavin all providing classy movement and passing.

However Fergie's midfield remained resilient with good grafting from Fletcher and Anderson. The Red Devils flexed their muscle when they needed to but it was a good honest contest with no stupid challenges. Wenger got to the 1 hour mark and decided to take a bit of a risk with so much at stake. A double subsitution followed, Rosicky came off for Cesc Fabregas and Wilshere came off for Robin Van Persie.

Wayne Rooney battled well as the lone striker, showing some signs of his unstoppable form in the 2009/2010 season. Nani also displayed persistent qualities in the 72nd minute inside the box, leading to a harsh penalty where Clichy was to have judged to handled. Rooney stepped up and surprisingly gave it the Chris Waddle 1990 treatment, skying the ball over the Arsenal cross bar giving Wenger's men a lifeline.

Arsenal still seemed a bit short. In the 76th minute, Arshavin was substituted for Theo Walcott in an attempt to increase the pressure on the Man Utd back four. Fergie's midfield packed the centre of the park, protecting their defence impressively. This frustrated the Gunners and forced them into optimistic long range shots as they moved into the last 10 minutes.

Walcott had some nice touches, linking up with Fabregas but the home team seemed to work harder and display more physical strength in the central areas of the pitch. As Manchester United successfully killed off the last few remaining minutes, Old Trafford legend Ryan Giggs came on in the 84th minute.

Rooney had a good chance towards the end, trying to chip Szczesny who got a palm to the ball. Rooney did look incredibly sharp and linked up with Ryan Giggs a couple of times showing that he is very much still a huge part of the Manchester United future.

With 4 minutes of added time, Arsenal struggled to find any space in the final third as they desperately attempted to put pressure on the home team. Walcott had one half chance in the 93rd minute but volleyed over the bar allowing Van der Sar to run down some more seconds. The ref blew up to see the home team grab 3 huge points to make a big move for the Premier League, putting Manchester United top with 34 points.

Monday, December 6, 2010

How to not run a football club

>> No.1. Sack a manager with a firm pedigree in achieving top half finishes.
>> No.2. Appoint a flakey manager with a history of walking out if things get tough.
>> No.3 Piss off said flakey manger by appointing Dennis Wise above his head, or by just appointing Dennis Wise full stop.
>> No.4 Act all surprised when said Flakey manager flounces off.
>> No.5. Appoint a manager with a history of heart problems.
>> No.6 Act all surprised when said manager has heart problems.
>> No.7 Appoint a former player who has taken charge of 0 games.
>> No.8 Act all surprised when you get relegated.
>> No.9 Under no circumstances entrust the team to the highly regarded no.2.
>> No.10 Wait until the highly regarded no.2 has got the team into the top half of the table and has the team settled, playing well and liked for the first time in years and sack him.
>> No.11 Act all surprised when you get relegated.