Arsenal V Newcastle Utd

This season has been far from a good one for both fans and club alike but theres light at the end of the tunnel and the silver lining of potential Champions League football that didn't seem possible running into the New Year.

From the opening whistle you could see the hunger in the Arsenal players eyes. I was at the game last night and thought it was pure dominance by the Gunners that almost ended in frustration until the Verminator bundled over a 95th minute winner.

When Newcastle opened the scoring against the run of play in the 14th minute it seemed common place that RVP linked with Theo to strike past Krul no less then 60 seconds later.
At the very point that the equalizer went, Newcastle started playing for the draw with Krul clearly time wasting at every opportunity.

The Arsenal eventually prevailed in the last gasp which has put them just 1 point behind rivals Spurs who have to be looking over there shoulders at both Arsenal and Chelsea who now have that sniff of Europe's top competition
and with their experience running into the last 10 games would you bet against Spurs finishing 5th maybe even 6th??

Thoughts on a postcard......

Score Predictions For Mid-Week Premiership.

After another eventful F.A Cup weekend it's back to the bread and butter of the Premiership this Tuesday & Wednesday and also the predicting competition myself and my co-writer Michael F are having.

Here it goes:

Tuesday Fixtures:----

Swansea v Chelsea
PBS: 2-1 MF: 0-3

Spurs v Wigan
PBS: 4-0 MF: 3-1

Wolves v Liverpool
PBS: 2-1 MF: 0-1

Everton v Man City
PBS: 1-0 MF: 0-3

Man Utd v Stoke
PBS: 1-1 MF: 2-0

Wednesday Fixtures:----

Aston Villa v QPR
PBS: 1-1 MF: 2-0

Blackburn v Newcastle
PBS: 2-1 MF: 2-2

Bolton v Arsenal
PBS: 1-1 MF: 1-1

Fulham v WBA
PBS: 2-0 MF: 1-2

Sunderland v Norwich
PBS: 2-1 MF: 1-1

Well these are our predictions and we shall see if I'm still leading the table on Thursday morning.

Good games ahead.

Samba wont be giving his all for Rovers.... oh dear

Another day goes by in the transfer market with Christopher Samba still in Blackburn colours but in my opinion he is digging himself a rather big grave with his latest comments about not being able to give the club 100% effort.

He's obviously trying to force his way out in January but a sensible well, advised player would have kept quiet knowing that he would more then likely move this summer.
The fact he has come out with these comments puts him in a sticky situation if no one comes in with a bid because he will be picked for the team and I'm sure he can expect some Steve Kean style booing around Ewood Park.

I bet he's praying for a new club to come and save him right now.

Is player power getting over the top silly now?....

Answer.... YES

Who Is The Current Best Shot Stopper In The Premiership?

This is definitely a subject that for me is certainly up for debate and will have many different views and opinions the world over.

While researching this topic I checked through various sites and blogs to see what other people's top 10 keepers in the EPL were. During this time I came across this list from earlier in the season:

10- David de Gea
9- Mark Schwarzer
8- Asmir Bergovic
7- Pepe Reina
6- Brad Friedel
5- Petr Cech
4- Joe Hart
3- Shay Given
2- Tim Krul
1- Wojciech Szczesny

This list was made on October 21st 2011.

While I'm not in total agreement with the list I think it does show a lot about how the season has formed and maybe taken us a little by surprise.?

David de Gea has had a very uncertain start to his life at Man Utd and with a 19 million price tag on his head I think it's fair to say we expected more from the youngster. For this reason he wouldn't make the top 10.

Shay Given is such a good keeper and has looked really handy when he's played but has only just returned from a spell out injured so think by the end of the season could hit the top 10 but currently not.

That's just naming 2 that I would change from that list that I found from earlier in the season.

The question I think is what or how would that list look now as we tip just over the halfway point of the season?

My top 10 keepers in the league,
August 2011 - January 2012

10- Ali Al Habsi
9- Brad Friedel
8- Wayne Hennessey
7- Petr Cech
6- John Ruddy
5- Wojciech Szczesny
4- Pepe Reina
3- Joe Hart
2- Tim Krul
1- Michel Vorm

This would be my list currently which I admit would still be up for debate but is a better reflection of how the season has formed.

What's your version of the top 10 keeper?

Arsenal V Manchester United The Preview.

Well where do you start with this one?! Maybe 8-2 to United way back at the start of the season?

This result will be in the back of everyone's mind going into the match both fans and players alike.
Fact is I think this was one of those freak results that happen once in a while and at the Emirate today at 1600
It'll be a different story.

The Arsenal players seemed fired up and want to have a revenge mission that sees their own season get back on track.

It's a very hard one to predict for me as both sides have been seriously dented by injuries. I can see a draw written all over this one but Arsenal fans would happily take a 90th minute winner by Henry to get everyone smiling at the Emirate once again.

Manchester City V Tottenham Hotspur The Preview

Many people will consider today a league title showdown between arguably the 2 most exciting teams in the premiership this season...

This is a very hard one to call, Man City will fancy their chances as their home form is unbelievably great but the way Spurs play could quite conceivably dent that respectable record.

The main argument for Spurs fans expecting a win from their team would probably be the loss of the Toure brothers and Kompany and even though they will be missing Adebayor themselves, would you ever back against Defoe?? I think not..

That being said I'm going to go with an absolute thrilling 3-2 victory for Man City which will firm their place at the top of the table and make Spurs rethink their title hopes.

Norwich Hold Chelsea To A 0-0

Norwich City achieved their first clean sheet since being back in the Premierleague and in turn kept Chelsea from earning 3 points which has to ultimately end any hopes of the title depending on other results of course.

Another talking point will be one more game gone without Nando scoring and even though Ruddy did so well to stop him scoring it still doesn't reflect well on the out of form Spanish international.

So is champions league qualification the best the blues can hope for? And is that even going to happen?

Who knows....

My Weekend Premierleague Predictions.

I thought each week from now until the end of the season I would give the old prediction game a go along with new football talk writer Michael F.

In this little bit of competition between each other we have decided we will receive 1 point for the correct result and 3 points for the correct scoreline.

Feel free to join in and test your own prediction ability with ours.

Saturday Fixtures:----------

Norwich v Chelsea
PBS: 2-1 MF: 1-2

Everton v Blackburn
PBS: 2-2 MF: 2-1

Fulham v Newcastle
PBS: 0-2 MF: 1-1

QPR v Wigan
PBS: 3-1 MF: 1-2

Stoke v West Brom
PBS: 1-1 MF 1-1

Sunderland v Swansea
PBS: 2-0 MF: 3-0

Wolves v Aston Villa
PBS: 2-1 MF: 1-1

Bolton v Liverpool
PBS: 1-1 MF: 0-4

Sunday Fixtures:----------

Man City v Spurs
PBS: 3-2 MF: 1-3

Arsenal v Man Utd
PBS: 1-1 MF: 8-2

Well there we go for this weeks prediction game, not sure about Michaels Arsenal scoreline but dreaming is believing as they say.

All in all another potential great weekend ahead of us and some fantastic fixtures, let's hope it lives up to it.

Drogba To China?

According to a Chinese newspaper Didier Drogba is very close to completing his move to Shanghai Shenhua to link up with Anelka who moved earlier this month.

Is this really a good move for Chelsea?? If true then they will be losing a real goal scorer when Torres still can't hit the target and Sturridge is still being played out wide.

I would say that this would be a clear sign that Chelsea will be seeking a new striker but who??

Did Anyone See The Swans Coming?

Going into the game at the weekend just gone, Swansea would've considered themselves having a good campaign in their first season in the Premiership and now after the 3-2 victory over Arsenal this fact is surely confirmed on more of an official basis.

The Swans are up to 10th and with only 1 defeat at home and that was to Manchester Utd so can really be forgiven. Things are looking great for the Welsh team.

I'm not one for upsetting a team while they are on such a high but they will have to watch out that their home form doesn't drop off due to the fact that their away form currently isn't good enough.

This whole story reminds me of Blackpool last season who were having a stormer due to their good home form but as soon as they struggled for victories at home the game was up and they were relegated at the first time of asking.

All that a side, I'm sure the fans will take it as it comes and for now at least are enjoying the fantastic season that they are having.

EPL Weekend Roundup..

Saturday results:

Aston Villa 1-1 Everton
Blackburn 3-1 Fulham
Chelsea 1-0 Sunderland
Liverpool 0-0 Stoke City
Man Utd 3-0 Bolton
Tottenham 1-1 Wolves
West Brom 1-2 Norwich

Sunday results:

Newcastle 1-0 QPR
Swansea 3-2 Arsenal

Monday fixtures:

Wigan v Man City

It was yet another good weekend of football in the Premier league with Man Utd getting back on track with a 3-0 victory over in trouble Bolton.
This win will no doubt place the pressure on City to beat Wigan tonight and depending which Wigan turns out Man City could be de-railed with another bad result.

Spurs were held to a 1-1 draw with wolves and it seemed like Redknapp had changed his mind on their challenge on the title and downgraded their chances by saying that top 4 would be good enough.

The other main highlights of the weekend had to be Blackburn climbing out of the drop zone with a 3-1 win over Fulham despite being down to 10 men for a lot of the match.

Also.....

Swansea City showed that at home they are almost unstoppable with a 3-2 win over Arsenal and in turn denting Arsenals chances of a top 4 finish especially as Man Utd are their next opponents ... We all know how the last game turned out on that one ...

So we wait for the next instalment of the unpredictable Premiership and personally I cannot wait.