Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from 2011

No Plan B?

After a fourth defeat in the last five games QPR now after a promising start look to be facing a relegation battle. QPR need improvements and fast, in the Premier League it’s quite easy to get in a bad run and slip down the table. Now with trips to Swansea and Arsenal it will be very hard to see where their next win will come from. What QPR need to do is to invest in the transfer window and quickly. There's no point waiting till the 31st January they need to sort the deals out fast. A centre half, centre midfielder and a striker is a must. They have been linked with the likes of Bent, Defoe, Pavlyuchenko, Zamora and Jelavic as forwards and hope to snap up Bassong if Cahill leaves Bolton and goes to Tottenham. Whatever happens they need to improve and quickly or Warnock could face talking another team down the first time of asking. Remember at Sheffield United? He was funny in his press conferences, but never had a plan B, blamed West Ham and Tevez and went down.

The Only Way Is Europa.........

Here’s my little update from the world of football. Since my last blog both Manchester clubs have slipped out of the Champions League. It’s a blow for both teams as they would both fancy their chances of going the distance. The Europa League awaits them both but I fell City will take that tournament more seriously than United. Mancini has already said he would like to win it, and the noise from old Trafford are more of its an embarrassed feeling of being there. In the Premier League, Tottenham's six game winning run came to an end at Stoke on Sunday. Arsenal are in the top four for the first time this season. They haven’t lost in the league since their defeat to Spurs back in October. From the promoted sides Norwich are sitting in 10th Swansea 11th & QPR 13th. All three clubs will be more than happy to finish there come May. Routed to the bottom are Bolton after their opening day win at Loftus Road they have only beaten Wigan & Stoke in the league. Losing the rest, but C

Euro 2012 Draw

Group A Poland (co-hosts) Greece Russia Czech Republic The co-host Poland will be happy with this draw; they face the Euro 2004 winners Greece which will be tricky. Remember Greece played the opening game of Euro 2004 when they beat Portugal and went on to win the whole tournament. I think Russia will be the strongest team in this group. Czech Republic will fancy their chances in grabbing that second spot but I think the host will edge it. First: Russia Second: Poland Group B Holland Denmark Germany Portugal The ‘group of death’ as there is in every tournament. This one will be pretty good viewing for every football fan. Holland, the 2010 World Cup runner-up are the seeded team and a lot of expectations will be on them to finally live up to their expectations and win a tournament since Euro ’88. Germany maybe the strongest team in this group after a very impressive World Cup this young side are dangerous and with likes of Gomez and Klose to pick from to lead their attack they’re one o

Where has as it all gone wrong for Chelsea?

After Chelsea’s defeat in Germany to Bayer Leverkusen manager Andre Villas-Boas is a man under serious pressure no matter what he thinks. As Chelsea sank to their third defeat from their last five games I look into where has it gone wrong? Well Chelsea was on a run of six unbeaten going in to their game at Loftus Road towards the end of October. A game where Chelsea thought they would walk all over their London rivals. This didn’t happen that day in West London Chelsea lost the game and lost the plot. The repercussions of that match have still left an effect. QPR won 1-0, but the game will also be remembered for John Terry’s racist slur, Chelsea’s ill-disciplined team (7 yellows and 2 reds). Plus AVB was fined £12,000 after the game for comments made about the referee. Since that match Chelsea have only beaten Blackburn Rovers & Everton on penalties. Their defence looks weak, Terry is getting exposed and David Luiz is not the best partner. Centre of midfield is a problem, Lampard
After this weekend’s events what have we learnt in the Premier League. Firstly its Man City’s title to lose, 11 wins and 1 draw in the league at this point they look unstoppable. Man United have a problem in centre midfield. Rooney is filling a gap there and Fergie knows he has a problem. There’s a lack of creative talent in the centre of the park, missing out on Nasri & Sneijder is showing plus the loss of Scholes showed how good he really was. Young could move into the centre where he did play for Aston Villa which could be an option. Tottenham look to be firing on all cylinders now, pace down both wings and they have the creative spark with Modric and Van Der Vaart. Now with Scott Parker doing the dirty work they look in good condition for top 4. Newcastle United’s first test against City was always going to be hard after an easy start to the season, but they do look solid at the back and have been exciting to watch. Chelsea look to have forgotten how to defend, lost th

England are going to win the Euro's!

You could get carried away with England's beating of Spain last week but whatever Cesc Fabregas says England did play OK and their tactics threw the Spanish team. Yes Spain usually face teams that will play with two banks of four but they normally break through. Saturday they didn't and that gives England a little more hope going into the Euros. By playing like England did they will either, win 1-0 every game, draw 0-0 or lose 1-0. Only time will tell if England's tournament form has improved as we know they can get through the group stages with ease. But here's a few reason to be optimistic. 1. The youth have no fear. The likes of Phil Jones, Jack Rodwell, Danny Welbeck, Kyle Walker all look like this could and will rise to the occasion when need. Unlike the old crop who looked scared and nervous playing for England this lot look to be as cool as a cucumbers. 2. Great Keeper, Joe Hart is ever present for City, kept out one of the best keepers in Shay Given last year.

England...

Would it be a bad thing if England didn’t qualify for Euro 2012? Would it be a bad thing? Capello is leaving after the Euro 2012 tournament. So do we want to go to another tournament with high hopes and fail again? I’m telling you if England head to the Euros with Capello once again it will be a quarter final fail because Capello and England don’t know how to play in tournaments. The old guard is still there stealing positions and players who won’t be anywhere near the squad come Brazil 2014. England need to plan or the future now. Harry Redknapp in, make sure Wilshere is fit. Bring Welbeck, Sturridge, Carrol, Rooney, Bent because their the future.

Nasty Chants...AGAIN. But is it that bad?

With what happen at White Hart Lane last Sunday, I do feel slightly sorry for Arsenal fans, and I’m not talking about losing 2-1 to their rivals Spurs. What I am talking about is the chanting directed to Adebayor. Now for some reason a chant as naughty as it was is being talked about as if it’s the sin of the century. This chant or chants going on at this game has been going on for years, remember the Tottenham fans were at it too. They even came up with the first Adebayor song! and the Wenger one was if I’m right was started by Manchester United fans. If you don't know the chants I’m sure you can find it on Youtube if you have that time on your hands. Anyway the question is, Is it right that these chants happen? Should fans been thrown out? Is it as bad as racism or is it just banter at the football? I don’t think it could ever be stopped, and banning fans won’t help. There’s always someone else who will die for a ticket and that fan could just as well sing these songs. Of course

Nasty Chants

After the Leeds United v Manchester United game this week, there was a dark cloud that shadowed the great performance by Man United and especially Micheal Owen. The rivalry between the two clubs everyone knows is nasty. It's different to United v City or even United v Liverpool because Leeds are not as successful as the R eds or have the money of City. This weeks incident in question was the back and fourth chanting about each clubs disasters. We know what they were, but is it time for action against these chants? They are inexcusable and nasty, but how could it be stopped. The fans that sing it may have been very young at the time and not seen how bad it was, or do it as part of the tribal football fan atmosphere. It would be very hard for police to pinpoint fans that start the songs or bring banners in the stadiums but video technology and other forms of CCTV and data base systems could track them down. Its a situation that comes across all around the country not just with the t

My Update

Haven’t blogged for a while so let’s have a quick look at what’s been happening around the footballing world. In the Premier league, QPR have a new owner & have brought a host of new players including Joey Barton, who is now the captain. Arsenal are struggling and seem to be leaking goals like a dodgy tap. Wenger replaced super-stars Nasri & Fabregas with Yossi Benayoun and Mikel Arteta, not exactly like for like. Chelsea wouldn’t sell Arsenal a player they think is good enough to improve a rival and Arteta is too injury prone. Torres slowly is looking like he is getting back to some decent form for Chelsea. However his open goal miss at Old Trafford will knock his confidence again. Manchester City look very strong and the title at this point in time looks like it’s heading to Manchester with United also having a great start. In the Championship its very tight, Southampton lead the way at the minute but West Ham do look very strong with a load of Premier League quality p

Premier League 2011/12 Preview

Arsenal Well as I write this Fabregas & Nasri are still at The Emirates, but if they stay which I severely doubt they will find it hard this season. Yes Arsenal can play the best football in the Premier League, yes when it’s going well it all looks brilliant, but when it’s bad, it goes very bad very quickly and usually from February to the end of the season. Arsenal would be great if they had a decent keeper, 2 big strong centre-backs, a defensive midfielder and maybe a striker. What Wenger has brought in is another Theo Walcott in Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain. The pressure is on Wenger to end Arsenal’s long wait for an honour, I think the wait will continue. Key Man- Jack Wilshere – The England man has progressed faster than Ramsey, and will have a lot of pressure to fill in the gaps left by Nasri or Fabregas. If he can add goals he will & control his fiery temperature he could become the Paul Scholes of Arsenal. Stat-The Gunners had a league high 17 different goal scor

Football League Picks 2011/12

The Football League kicks off this weekend with the first game being Hull City v Blackpool. There’s some amazing stories in the football league, West Ham can they go straight back up? Leicester City, with Sven and all their money can they do it? The ‘Wally with a Brolly’ is at Forest, Leeds United a massive club can they go up? Brighton & Southampton can do a Norwich and get back to back promotions. Here’s my picks for the football league. Championship Promoted: Leicester City Leeds United Play-Off: West Ham United Look out for – Hull City & Brighton League One Promoted: Preston North-End Sheffield United Play-Off: Scunthorpe United Look out for - Brentford League Two Promoted: Bristol Rovers Crawley Town Plymouth Play-Off: Torquay Look out for – Swindon

QPR £0 spent so far

With QPR looking like they’re going to lose star man Adel Taarabt and not re-invest in the team we have to start looking at their chances of staying in the Premier League. Losing Taarabt is bad, but not replacing him, or boosting the squad is going to be the writing on the wall. Rangers have brought in Jay Bothroyd & Kieron Dyer, both on free transfers. They are linked to Danny Gabbidon & Brian Murphy both will be frees. They gave new contracts to Cerny & Helguson and look like the deal for DJ Campbell will fall through. So it’s a grand total of £0 spent this transfer window. QPR could be the first team ever to get promoted to the Premier League and not spend any cash in the summer. There’s clearly something wrong at Loftus Road. Do the board really back the manager? Warnock's job was in doubt as soon as they got promoted with various managers linked to his job. He hasn’t been given money to spend and it doesn’t look like he will. Players have also turned down a move t

Transfer Update

A lot of deals going through now and the rumour mill is over-flowing. Sunderland have been in the market the most so far. Their latest signings are Wes Brown & John O’Shea from Man United & David Vaughan from Blackpool. There good players who can play at this level. Sunderland fell short last season when they got struck by a number of injuries. So Bruce seems to boosting the squad by numbers. But is it a case of quantity not quality? From the promoted side Norwich City have done the most business so far. They have brought in 6 new faces so far, nobody spectacular but Bradley Johnson & James Vaughan are good signings. Stuart Downing seems to be the next big player looking for a way out of Villa. Arsenal have reportedly tabled an offer in the region £15-18million for the England winger. I’m not a fan of Downing. I think he had a good season in a very poor Villa team but is over-rated. He was meant to be England’s answer to the left wing when at Boro but that hasn’t happened

Transfer Update

A little update for you, Cesc Fabregas is still an Arsenal player for now. Barcelona are rumoured though to be making a £35million bid within the next couple of days. If and probably when he goes all eyes will be on Nasri. I think he will be offered a new bumper contract & maybe the captains’ armband. However Manchester United are looking for a Scholes replacement. Wesley Sneijder is one prospect; United will offer him a bumper contract and would be an ideal player for them. Looking closer to home Luka Modric is someone on the radar. Chelsea had a bid rejected, the player wants to leave and United tend to get a player from Spurs when they offer big money. But Nasri is also an option for United. He could be tempted as he sees Arsenal offloading stars rather than bringing them in. I say Cesc will go Nasri to stay. Rumour has it though; Bolton’s Gary Cahill has put his house up for sale and could be making his way down to the capital. Connor Wickham has completed his move from Ip

Transfer Update

This week’s main transfer movements and rumours surrounded Tottenham’s Luka Modric move to Chelsea. The player has come out and said he wants to leave but Tottenham, but Spurs Chairman Daniel Levy has said there’s no way Modric will leave the club. Spurs want to be aiming for the top four year in year out, so they have to keep players like Modric. However they are known for selling their better players when the big money comes in. (Carrick & Berbatov to Manchester United for example.) The fact the player has come out and said he wants to leave for a ‘bigger club’ and Champions League football tells me his days at Spurs are numbered. He will probably leave for around the £30million pound mark in the end. Spurs could then use this money and invest in a much needed forward, maybe Samuel Eto’o & rumours of a move for Liverpool flop Joe Cole.

Transfer Update

This week’s big transfer rumours and deals have been around the North West clubs. Liverpool have sealed a £20million move for Jordan Henderson from Sunderland. To me this is a bit too pricey for a play with one England cap, and had an average end to the season. Liverpool are showing intentions to mount a serious title challenge next year. They also moved for Phil Jones at Blackburn Rovers, but he looks like he will be heading to Manchester United. He already has had and passed a medical at Old Trafford now it’s just about finalising the fee. United also look to have clinched Ashley Young from Aston Villa. A good signing as he will be a replacement for Giggs. Nani & Valencia haven’t quite filled Ronaldo’s boots maybe the Englishman can continue his excellent form and progression at Man United. Spurs picked up Brad Friedel on a free from Aston Villa, who if they don’t find a manager quickly may just find all their best players out the club. (Downing to Arsenal or Liverpool, Walke

End of season prediction review

Now the season is over I will look back at my predictions see how well I did . The order of the top 4 I got bang on. Manchester United, Chelsea, City then Arsenal in case you didn’t know. I got one of the relegated team right in Blackpool. I also had Wigan but they survived on the last day. FA Cup I had Man United that went to Man City. Carling Cup I had Arsenal who lost in the final to Birmingham City. Then for the Champions League I tipped Barcelona right at the start of the season and got that correct! I predicted QPR’s promotion right at the start of the season too. Now through-out the summer I will keep an eye on England under 21’s tournament in Denmark where we have a decent chance of reaching the final but winning it will be hard. Spain looks like they will walk it. I also will try and keep up to date with the latest major transfer deals and rumours as best I can.

BYE BYE BUBBLES!

The story of West Ham’s season is like a storyline out of hit Sky One football drama ‘Dream Team’. The drama on the pitch came to a dramatic end on Sunday with a defeat at Wigan which confirmed their relegation. The hammers have been pretty rubbish all season and I feel they truly deserve to go down. They had one good player but the rest really need to take a long look at themselves, as they let the club and the fans down. The likes of Keane, Bridge, Upson and Boa Morte have not pulled their weight. In true West Ham fashion they gave their loyal fans hope by leading 2-0 at Wigan at half time looking like the great escape was on. Then the nerves kicked in and they went down 3-2. To top that the West Ham board, David Gold, David Sullivan & The Apprentice star, Karren Brady then swiftly sacked manager Avram Grant using a spare room at the JJB Stadium. The action didn’t stop there, at the end of season dinner, not so much a party; West Ham found themselves making the news again for

Play-Off Time!!

In the Championship it’s Swansea v Nottingham Forest & Cardiff v Reading. My winner is Reading (Who I picked up at the start of the season) In League 1: Huddersfield v Bournemouth & Peterborough v MK Dons. My Winner: Huddersfield (Too strong for the rest after just missing out on the top 2) In League 2: Shrewsbury v Torquay & Accrington v Stevenage My Winner: Torquay United (Just got in the play-offs, there’s always one team who sneak up)

QPR back in the BIG TIME!

After an absence of 15 years Queens Park Rangers find themselves back in the big time, and it was fully deserved. It was a bit touch and go with all the speculation over the singing of Alejandro Faurlin and rumours of anything from point’s deductions, fines, relegation and even getting thrown out of football! In the end QPR heard the news everyone wanted to hear, just an hour before kick off on Saturday against Leeds the news came though that no point deduction would be given this meant QPR who lead the Championship from November would be going up as champions. To be fair it’s what they deserved. They have been the most consistent team in the league and have the best defensive record in the league. The team lead by Neil Warnock has been the best team by far. Warnock mixed experience, youth, pace, power and one magical Moroccan to take Rangers up to the Premier League. It’s now going to be very interesting to see what happens at Loftus Road now. They have some very VERY rich people

PFA Young Player Of The Year 2011

Samir Nasri Started the season off flying, with the absence of Cesc he shone. But with injuries and Arsenal’s slump in form he faded, but still has had his best season at Arsenal scoring 9 goals. Javier Hernandez The little man from Mexico has had a great first season in England. He is a goal poacher who comes alive in the box. Similar to another United great Solskjaer is he carries on he can turn out to be even better. Nani Has had his best season at Old Trafford with 9 goals he is now showing the player he can be and why Fergie invested in him. His improvement co-insides with the departure of Ronaldo. Jack Wilshere He started the season as one of the Arsenal kids for the future, but now is a first team regular and an England starter. No player has grown more than Wilshere this season, who has held his own against some of the best midfielders across Europe this year. Seamus Coleman The young Irishman has been a key part to the Everton set up this season and is now getting recognised f

PFA Player Of The Year 2011

Charlie Adam The man from Scotland has been the star for Blackpool this season, with an impressive 9 goals so far. He is the talisman for the Sea-siders and deserved the January attention he got and will probably get his move at the end of the season. Gareth Bale Has had a great season his hat-trick at the San Siro was a definite highlight, bagging 7 goals this season. He has tormented right backs all year. He would have done a lot more but the young Welshman still picks up a lot of injuries which could hinder him in the long run. Carlos Tevez The best player at City by far this season, even though he did ask for a transfer in January he still has gone on to score 19 this season. City are a much better team with him in it, his hard work and never says die attitude. Scott Parker For a player whose team have been near the bottom all season he can come out with a lot of credit. Parker gets up and down the pitch every game and gives it his all. He deserved his place in the England team, d

Champions League!!!

A footballing lesson was taught last night at the Bernabeu stadium last night, as Tottenham were well and truly beaten and are basically out of the Champions League. It was bad from start to end really as Aaron Lennon was taken ill minutes before the kick off which blew their game plan out the window. Then going 1-0 down to an ex Arsenal player wouldn’t have gone down well with the Spurs fans. But they were then let down by one of their most experienced and reliable players in Crouch. Two silly fouls equals two yellows which as we know is a red. From then on Madrid controlled the game and it was a matter of how many. Ronaldo move into the middle, Marcelo boomed down the left wing and Adebayor had his best game in a Madrid shirt. It will be a impossible task to come back from 4-0 down, even more with a Mourinho side, he won’t park the bus, a Real Madrid never do but he is more than capable of putting out a team to see out this tie. In the other game Inter Milan were also given a beating

Wales v England Review

Wales 0-2 England The game was a must win and they did. A formation of 4-3-3 shocked some fans but that change was needed a little too late but at least it has happened now. It was a comfortable win in the end. The goals came early and England never looked in trouble. Lampard scored from the spot his first goal for England for a long time, and Darren Bent scored the other. For me the most impressive players were Ashley Young, Jack Wilshere and Scott Parker . In a formation which suits these players Young destroyed the Welsh left back. He had a hand in both goals and looked comfortable playing there. He is a confidence player though and when things are going well he will look class. But what can he do against much tougher opposition? That will show how good a player he is. I think a move away from Villa will be on the cards soon so that may help his cause. The same argument can be made for Scott Parker. He been the best player at Upton Park this season and deserved a starting place.

Wales v England Preview

Today England take on Wales in the Euro 2012 Qualifier, it simply is a must win game for England. After the captaincy debacle it's matters on the pitch that matter. England should be beating teams like Wales, but we know England make nothing easy. It will be a full house and the proud Welsh fans will love to get one over their neighbours. Their hopes though took a massive blow as Bale was ruled out, now the main threat I feel lie in Craig Bellamy. On his day he can terrorise any defence and today Terry and Co better be weary. We know England will start with Jack Wilshire in midfield so it will be a big test for him. He has in recent weeks shone in an Arsenal team that has struggled. Now he is making the step up to an England starter, it could be a massive kick on in his career. Wayne Rooney will be sure to start up front but who will partner him. Andy Carroll has just got back to full training and working his way to full fitness. Is he ready to start up front today? I would start

Top of the table looking the same.....

As we head into the international break this season’s title race looks like it’s going to be the same old faces, with a similar outcome. Man United sit top and 5 points clear of Arsenal. United have had probably the most average season for a long time. The defence is not great and the midfield has been a lot better. But they have done what United always do, get results when not playing well. Hernandez, Berbatov & Nani have been the main men for me. The little Mexicans first season in England have seen him scored 16 goals in all competitions this season. He is a true goal poacher, he reminds me of Ole Gunnar Solskjear who worked well with any partner he was teamed, Hernandez has done the same with Berbatov and Rooney. Nani has stepped up his game a lot he had big boots to fill in the size of Ronaldo. He had been compared to his fellow countryman but never really was as good. However he has been a key player this season and has scored 10 times. He has done very well but I feel their

Update: Championship

I’ve been away for a while but now I’m back. I will start with a look at the Championship. QPR sit top of the table where they have been for pretty much the whole season. Now with a 10 point gap surely now the SuperHoops will be back in the big time. They could have a problem if the FA take action with a points deduction over the signing of, Alejandro Faurlin. It’s similar to the Carlos Tevez situation at West Ham a few years back. However Rangers say they have done nothing wrong. It would be a shame to ruin a fantastic season with matters with the men in suits at Lotus Road . QPR have lead the way from day one, with an exceptional defence Paddy Kenny has kept 20 clean sheets in the league this season. But the star man has to be Adel Taarabt; he has shown he really is too good for the Championship. The 21 year-old has netted 15 goals so far this season, was given the captaincy and he become a firm fan favourite. At times he will annoy you by not passing and sulking at times. But the

Fernando Torres Chelsea's Number 9

It was a January transfer window with some heavy deals going through right up to the last minute. But who were the real winners and who made rash last minute buys? I will start with the biggest deal, Fernando Torres to Chelsea . With a £50m price tag he has become the biggest transfers in history for British to British clubs. Torres is proven goal scorer in the Premier League; yes he has had a poor year in football by his high standards. He didn’t really turn up at the World Cup and this season he has seemed uninterested. He was linked to Chelsea in the summer that deal didn’t happen. However his best game though this season was against, you guessed it Chelsea where he score twice and gave a man of the match performance. Since the transfer window opened in January Torres has scored 4 goals in 6 Premier League games, was he playing for a move? Whatever the reason Torres got his move and joins what he calls a ‘big club’ in Chelsea. That is good business for them, who also brought in Dav

Is it time for women officials in top flight football?

Can they run they line? Can the referee a top flight game? Are they any better or worse than male referees? Or should they stick with the female version of the game? Richard Keys & Andy Gray have once again brought this issue in to football. Here are a few for’s and against women officials. The Pro’s Women have become part of modern day football. That is a fact. At all levels they plan the game and in some cases they run the show, for example Karen Brady. They now attend more games than they use to. You see them in the crowds, mainly in the home end sitting down not signing but they’re still there. There’s no reason to say they don’t know the rules of the game, especially the offside rule as its now become very, very vague to what it actually is! As long as their adequate and have the ability to do the job properly and fairly surely that’s all that matters. Could this be the key that brings a bit more respect in to the game of football? The Con’s Can the female officials take the a

My weekend picks

Saturday, 15 January 2011 Chelsea v Blackburn - Chelsea Win Man City v Wolverhampton - Man City Win Stoke v Bolton - Stoke Win West Brom v Blackpool - Blackpool Win Wigan v Fulham- Draw West Ham v Arsenal - Arsenal Win Sunday, 16 January 2011 Birmingham v Aston Villa - Birmingham Win Sunderland v Newcastle - Sunderland Win Liverpool v Everton - Draw Tottenham v Man Utd - Man United Win

2011 is here & Man United lead the way (Just)!

AS we welcome a new year we could be witnessing the best run in to a Premier League title race for many a year. Manchester United currently sit top of the table, still unbeaten in the league but have struggled away from home. They have only picked up two wins on their travels this season which is poor for any United team. Rooney finally scored his first goal in open play for The Reds since March 2010! at West Brom on New Year’s Day. So hopefully with him slowly getting back to top form United can look to improve what has been an unimpressive start to a season. Remember though they do tend to kick in to top gear come late January. The noisy neighbours City sit in second, and have shown that their true title contenders this season. I predicted they would finish third, but with Tevez leading the frontline they have done better than I thought. I expect them to buy again in January and they should finish in the top four, but where depends on how City go in the second half of the season.