The Last Word - Sports Blog (Sean Simara)

The hot topic in the football world today is one of the most important parts of our game, tackling. We have seen this season some horror tackles fly in and you have to ask the question are the players of today getting punished enough for their crimes. Serial offenders keep popping up, by this I mean, the likes of Wolves, Stoke, Blackburn and Bolton. They all have a certain ‘trend’ of football which is not easy on the eye at times. We all know when you come up against these teams they will go in hard, let you know they’re there etc etc. However this season certain players have come in to the spotlight. Example number 1, Karl Henry of Wovles has come in for a lot of stick and rightly deserved. He already has 2 yellows and 1 red card to his name along with a poor tackle which took out Fulham’s Bobby Zamora and another flying slide on Wigan’s Jordi Gomez. Nigel De Jong is another horror tackle culprit. His kung fu kick at the World Cup went unpunished and again this season he broke Newcast...

Top Four 1. Manchester United 2. Chelsea 3. Manchester City 4. Arsenal Relegation Wigan West Brom Blackpool FA Cup - Manchester United Carling Cup - Arsenal Champions League - Barcelona

Arsenal They managed to keep hold of captain Fabregas but how committed will he be, is his heart really at new Nou Camp? A new front man in the shape of Chamakh is a player Wenger has wanted for a long time but can he cut it in the big league? They will be up there but Arsenal’s problem is in goal a late swoop for a quality keeper is needed or else the trophy room at the Emirates Stadium could be like a desert again. Key Man Robin Van Persie – He had an average World Cup and injured for most of last season. Arsenal need him on form and fully fit to fight top the title. Aston Villa O’Neill’s late departure has left Villa in a mess. Milner was half way to Manchester months ago. Young could be going to London, Villa need to make movements quickly to match last year’s success. Key Man Gabby Agbonlahor – A lot of pressure to deliver will be on the local lad. Birmingham City An excellent season last year, Big Eck will have to match the high expectations at St Andrews now. The loss of Hart ...

N Power Football League Predictions 2010/ 2011 Championship Promotion Middlesbrough QPR Reading (Play Off winners) Relegation Scunthorpe United Watford Portsmouth League One Southampton Sheffield Wednesday Huddersfield Town (Play Off winners) Relegation Hartlepool United Exeter City Dagenham & Redbridge Leyton Orient League Two Rotherham United Bradford City Gillingham Southend (Play Off winners) Relegation Stockport County Macclesfield Town

1. Rob Green to be booed at every away ground. 2. Newcastle United fans to sing ‘CHAMPIONS CHAMPIONS CHAMPIONS’ at Manchester United in their first Premier League game. 3. Joe Cole will score against Chelsea. 4. Arsenal to start the season in explosive fashion, and then slowly fade out and finish third, and win nothing. 5. Every commentator will mention the Blackpool Pier and Tower in every home game and they also get compared to Holland (because of the colour and not their playing style). 6. Spurs to think their the best team in Europe as they qualify for the Champions League, but fail to get out the group and their League form slides. 7.The England flops to have a sensational start to the season. 8. Wigan’s DW stadium to be deserted for most of the season then suddenly fill out when the top four roll in to town. 9. Ian Holloway pitting his wits against the Premier League’s best managers will be fun viewing from the sidelines, he should come out with some more classic one-liners for t...

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Brazil v Holland  The clash between the ‘Total Football’ and the ‘Samba Boys’ will been one for the football purest to drool over with high expectations. This afternoon will see if Holland can cause a shock and move the footballing God’s of Brazil. Holland have sailed through this tournament not really getting out of 3rd gear but they will have to raise their game to get past Brazil. As usual Brazil have gone through the tournament with flair and skill. The star man for them as I said has been Robinho. He has turned up to this summers tournament unlike some other stars and has proved his worth on the world stage. Brazil has been hard working just like how manager Dunga uses to play. They will be without playmaker Elano and Melo will be doubtful with a knock whereas Holland will be at full strength. Both nations have come to South Africa to win and the winner here could well go on to lift the trophy on July 11th. I predict a classic 3-2 Holland victory. Uruguay v Ghana  Ghana tonight h...