The Last Word - Sports Blog (Sean Simara)

As we reach the end on 2014 here I have another little look at the London clubs and how there doing so far with a fun grading system.  Premier League Chelsea - Previously A* NOW A Only one defeat in the league it looks like a two horse race between them and City. Not looking quite as cut throat as they were earlier in the season, could be the calm before the storm though. West Ham Previously C+ NOW B   West Ham still looking strong and now with Andy Carroll back West Ham could be in the hunt for European Football. Song and Valencia could well be the deals of the summer. Arsenal Previously D- NOW D+ The Gunners still way off the pace in the title race, However Sanchez is taking the Premier League by storm. Wenger does need to still dip into the transfer market next month as top 4 will be tight this season.   Tottenham Previously D - NOW C   Unbeaten in 6 in the league now, Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen get special praise as without them Spurs woul...

From manager of the year to the worst start in over 40 years, what's gone wrong at Liverpool? Why has Rodgers gone backwards so fast? Is he over-rated and did he waste the cash he got for Suarez? I'm not a Liverpool fan but I will give my honest opinion. To me Brendan Rodgers had the luckiest season in football last year where everything went for them. Chelsea weren't quite on point, Man United were dreadful, Arsenal were Arsenal, and somehow Man City won it all. Liverpool played great attacking football the S.A.S (Suarez & Sturridge) people were raving about. Especially with the Liverpool filled football pundits, they were scoring goals for fun. Sterling was playing out of his skin, Gerrard & Henderson in the middle was the best thing since slice bread everything was going right. The only thing was they were leaky at the back. It didn't matter though as they were outscoring them all. However you don't win leagues if you can't defend. We know what h...

As were reaching the half way point to the season here I look at the London clubs and how there doing so far with a fun grading system. Based on how the team is performing matching up to season expectations.  Premier League Chelsea - A*   Still undefeated in the league, Jose has got his side doing the business already. They look like they could win the league by February at this rate. West Ham C+   Running along nicely, at the start of the season Big Sam was favourite to be sacked, he has put together his new look side which sees players like Downing shining and 'fan fav' Nolan out the team which has gone down very well. Arsenal  D-  The Gunners finds themselves way off the pace in the title race, Sanchez is doing well but Ozil is out injured and the team have forgotten how to defend. Wenger has to put his hand into them deep Puma pockets again in January or he could miss out on top 4. Tottenham D -   They still seem to find new ways to be avera...

A look at the English sides in Champions League action this week. Real Madrid v Liverpool  Out of form Liverpool head to Madrid which was always going to be the toughest game of the group. They were given a footballing master class at Anfield by the current European Champions as they won 3-0. Madrid are on a 11 game winning streak in all competitions and I only see that continuing. Liverpool are struggling, Mario Balotelli hasn't lived up to the hype, while Gerrard is struggling this season and it looks like he will be rested, or in other words 'dropped'. There is a clear over reliance on Raheem Sterling, if you keep him quite you keep Liverpool quite. They still can't defend, which cost them their first ever Premier League title. I see Real Madrid winning this 4-0 with Ronaldo scoring the first. Arsenal v Anderlecht  Arsenal could practically seal their place in the knock-out stages of the Champions League with a win here. The Gooners snatched victory against Anderlech...

 Once again QPR are making more headlines, but not for their performance on Sunday against Liverpool it's the off the antics that have put Rangers in the lime light. It was a better display against Liverpool but they showed naivety in somehow still losing the game in the 95th minute with a cruel own goal. The defeat leaves them bottom of the table, however all the talk is about a player who was not even in the squad and the manager.   Harry Redknapp has used Adel Taarabt as a scapegoat to deflect the blame off himself on Rangers poor start. He has also used a load of excuses already this season ranging from, blaming pre-season (going to the wrong place) to players not being fit even though were in mid October and not having enough strikers. QPR have changed their tactics and formation through-out the season and he still does not know his best side but somehow that's not his fault.  Redknapp has chosen to lash out on the Moroccan claiming that he is 3 stone overweight, ...

   After the International break, the Premier League returns this weekend with a couple of key games near the foot of the table to look at. Bottom side QPR play Liverpool on Sunday, in what’s a must not lose game for Harry Redknapp , before we went into the break QPR lost at West Ham 2-0 in a poor performance which brought out more negative reaction from fans & even the chairman venting his frustration on Twitter.  The fact is QPR fans can see similar signs to a couple of years ago when they went down, under Redknapp but it was the time Mark Hughes stayed in the job which cost them. He was sacked in late November which didn’t leave Rangers with enough time to really get out of trouble.  So were in mid October now and Redknapp’s excuses have gone from ‘No Strikers’, to 'no players are fit’ also he had another classic, ‘they should not have gone to Ireland and Germany for pre-season’. QPR also have what seem to be the most first teams coaches in the league. Th...

 Another busy weekend in the Premier League with some cracking goals flying in, so what did we learn? It's Chelsea's title to lose. Jose has got 'his' team, they look strong at home and on their travels he will have a tactic in place to do the business, be it parking the bus or flowing attack. Also you may as well give Costa the golden boot now. Man City still concede a lot of silly goals which this time could let them down. Frank Lampard still has it.  Arsenal, if they were serious about winning the title they have to beat Spurs at home simple as that. Liverpool are finding life without Suarez bailing them out tough to deal with, it will be a scrap between a few teams for the top 4.  Southampton have once again found a few gems in Pelle and Tadic Charlie Austin can score in the Premier League, his fine technique and finish at St Mary's shows that. Manchester United still look sloppy at the back, and the stick Rooney is getting f...

England Squad Goalkeepers : Fraser Forster (Southampton), Ben Foster (West Bromwich Albion), Joe Hart (Manchester City) Defenders : Leighton Baines (Everton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Calum Chambers (Arsenal), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), John Stones (Everton) Midfielders : Jack Colback (Newcastle United), Fabian Delph (Aston Villa), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), James Milner (Manchester City), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal) Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Andros Townsend (Tottenham Hotspur), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal) Forwards: Rickie Lambert (Liverpool), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Danny Welbeck (Manchester United) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A quick view on the England team, off the back of a desperate World Cup Roy Hodgson has selected some fresh faces to his England side for the upcoming games against Norway and Switzerland. We now no longe...

Manchester United After what was the worst season at Old Trafford in Premier League history Moyes is no longer. In steps Louis Van Gaal a proven big name and winner for a big club. Moyes was not out of his depth but it seemed the players never at any point looked like they were playing for him. So what does LVG have to do? First is get back into the top four, however the United squad has been ripped apart and there's a number of players he does not rate. The 3-5-2 formation is what he wants to go with, Mata, Rooney and RVP will all fit into that, but do United have a defence or midfield for that formation? Key Man- Juan Mata , United desperately lack a creative midfielder so playing him in his best position behind the striker is a start. He has had an impressive pre season so he should have a much better season. Newcastle United The Toon simple stopped playing after January and if they didn't have such a good start they would have been in almighty trouble. Pardew was on...

Arsenal The Gunners ended a 9 year wait of a trophy last season with FA Cup success, they added the Community Shield to earlier this month. Now Wenger has dipped into his wallet again and brought Chile star Alexis Sanchez, it's a massive statement for their intentions this season. The buzz around Arsenal is back and their fans feel they could challenge for the title again. They do need to find cover in the centre back position though.  Key Man- Aaron Ramsey - If he didn't get injured last year it could have been an even greater season for Arsenal, he picked up where he left off and he was defiantly in with a shout for player of the year award. I think he is Arsenal best player and will show it this year.  Aston Villa Villa have added experience this summer with Senderos, Kieran Richardson and Joe Cole coming into the squad, along with Roy Keane as assistant manager. It looks set up for him to take the main role if things don't start well for them. Sti...

It's known as one of the hardest leagues in Europe easy to slip into hard to get out of, the 'English Championship'.18 of the 24 teams have tasted Premier League football which 3 will be the lucky ones to return to the top table.  From the 3 sides that went down last season all could make a challenge to get back up at the first time of asking. Cardiff City who won the league last time they were here have brought in Le Fondre & Macheda but the losses of Caulker, Campbell, Mutch & Medel could be more of an issue.  Norwich City  I think are in the best shape to return. Their team on paper already is stacked with players who are more than capable of doing a job in the Championship. Hoolahan, Johnson, Howson & Pilkington should control most games from midfield, Grabbon will also get a lot of goals in this team. If Gary Hooper decides to turn up it could be a partnership like Ings & Vokes of Burnley last season, look how that ended. Fulham were the thi...

Here's my review of the World Cup, slightly different as I have gone for a A-Z look at the tournament. First though my team of the tournament.   World Cup Team Of The Tournament G.K -  M. Neuer R.B -  P. Lahm C.B -  M. Hummels C.B - R. Vlaar L.B -  D. Blind C.M - T. Kroos C.M - J. Mascherano A.M - J. Rodriguez A.M - L. Messi A.M - A. Robben F -     T. Muller Top 3 Goals of the World Cup:   1st James Rodriguez v Uruguay  2nd Robin Van Persie v Spain  3rd Tim Cahill v Holland Player of the Tournament:   Thomas Muller  A-Z A-  Anthems - Iv never heard them sung so loud and proud especially the second verse of Brazil's one, the Argentinians going mental even the mascots got stuck in. B- Biting, Suarez again leaving a mark on a player. He once again shamed himself, his country and done over Liverpool without even playing for them. C- Chile fans i...

England take on Uruguay tonight in a vital World Cup game, the loser goes home. It's a massive game for England but for Wayne Rooney it is his biggest game in the three lions shirt. Pressure & criticism are firing at him from all corners. He doesn't do it for England, he has not scored at a World Cup he gets the most stick from the fans by a mile.  But for me Rooney is England's best player, he is also the only player who has been anywhere near world class (including club form) in his career. He gets stick because of jealously. He plays for Man United, he has won most trophies in the game, and scored some memorable goals.  For strikers they have to be loved. Messi, Neymar, Ronaldo and even Suarez are all loved by their nations, for England we try to belittle are stars the best way we can. Thierry Henry said this week 'play Rooney in his best position & he will deliver you need to love him'. He knows something about scoring goals. Rooney's best...

A few quick fire points on the National team as Brazil is only a week away. Rooney has to start in the first game against Italy, he's the only player England have anywhere close to World Class. People slag him off but I think this tournament he will do the business. I can see Hodgson playing it super safe in the first game, I would not be surprised if he goes reliable dogged players first, rather than young flair players, and make sure they don't lose the first game.  England have a problem if Jagielka or Cahill get injured because Smalling and Jones are not as good yet. I think this will be England's line up in the first game against Italy.                                 Hart            Jonhson    Jagielka     Cahill  ...

QPR had one aim this season get back to the Premier League and by hook or by crook they done it. Rangers were expected to win the league, if not at least come second. But a season of ups and downs it all came down to the gamble of the Play-Offs. Wigan in the semi finals, most people favourites, because of their Wembley experience. What Harry Redknapp done though was get his team tactically bang on for three massive games. The first at the DW Stadium he played a team that  1. Don't Concede.  2. Don't lose the game.  3. If you can score grab a goal.  4. If you can't score don't worry just don't lose. Which is exactly what happened. 0-0 Back to Loftus  Road, Wigan  took the lead early which meant QPR  had to go all out. With the fans behind them they dominated Wigan a nd deserved their extra time win via Charlie Austin who won player of the year, fans player of the year, goal of the season and any other award going.  So in the fin...

After a season of highs and lows I look back at what will be an  unforgettable season for many sides but for all the wrong reason. To start off let's look at the new Champions Manchester City. In true City style they made their fans wait till the last day of the season to seal up the league, but really they shouldn't have even been given this gift. They had the best squad, but after the defeat to Liverpool then draw at home to Sunderland it looked over for them. However City won the last 5 and showed they do have the bottle to see out a title challenge. Unlike Liverpool who were so close to their first ever Premier League title. The Reds started to believe, they started to dream, they couldn't let it slip, but sadly they did. It may have been the two buses by Chelsea that hit them hard, but in reality it was the leaky defence that finally sealed their downfall. Liverpool have been the most exciting team going forward but sides know you always have a chance of stealing a go...