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.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
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.
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.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
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 21, 2009
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).
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).
Thursday, November 19, 2009
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.
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.
Friday, November 6, 2009
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.
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.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
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.
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).
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).
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
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.
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.
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