Gerrard ruled out for three weeks

15 minutes post-Keane. That’s all it took. 15 minutes. Throw in a Lucas red card, a hobbling Torres and a faded, disjointed Riera and Kuyt and you’ve got the rest of Liverpool’s season.

Gerrard to miss three weeks with a hamstring tear

As Gerrard walked off to the merciless cheers of the home support and Everton pricked Liverpool’s bubble of optimism post-Chelsea, Rafael Benitez faced up to an awkward couple of weeks, starting Saturday. Gerrard had looked tired in recent weeks, that is true and in fairness, post-bar brawl has not looked the player he was in the pre-bar brawl games. While this is fair and Rafa is right when he says that the press who complained when he withdrew his captain against Wigan can see the result when he got injured, the fact is Gerrard shouldn’t have started this game.

For a man so spectacularly singular in his thoughts, he can be absolutely mind-boggling at times. He rests teams in the FA Cup. The fans get their backs up. He rests half his team for the FA Cup. The fans finally get to the stage where they can see a league title somewhere, however vaguely, in the horizon, and he puts out the same, knackered team that he started with against Chelsea, albeit it with superficial Dossena and Mascherano changes. Why? He’s left himself with Ngog as a squad player who will certainly be called upon this season, without any doubt. Even if Torres miraculously goes without injuries, he won’t be able to play all the time. And why not last night? Torres got beaten, soundly, by Lescott and Jagielka in both recent games. His role is so important post-Keane that a majority would rather see Gerrard missing for three weeks than Torres. And yet both play last night, and what’s worse, Torres gets another kicking, gets dominated by Jagielka (who has to be in Capello’s thoughts now based on January alone) and it will not be a surprise if he doesn’t start against Portsmouth, thereby resting him for Spain’s clash with England on Wednesday.

Rafa knows Liverpool fans wouldn’t take kindly to a weak team being put out against Everton. But when has he ever listened to his heart over his head? Last night was a big blow to Liverpool and a timely reminder to the young players at Liverpool that they won’t get many chances to impress. Like Keane, Rafa expects total accuracy with tactics, and tolerates little else. Except from himself.

Merseyside Derby.

The weekend action in the Premiership was entertaining in most cases, with the Merseyside Derby capturing most of the attention in the press since Saturday. A game overshadowed by penalties and red cards finished in Liverpool’s favour when Dirk Kuyt held his nerve to steer his second penalty of the game past Tim Howard into the bottom-right-hand corner of the net (also, for the second time), and Liverpool had the victory over their fierce rivals by two goals to one.
The performance of Mark Clattenburg has been scrutinised to the extent that one of the Premiership’s finest referees will have no game to cover this weekend. David Moyes fumed after the game that not only should Everton have had a penalty at the end (they should have) but Kuyt shouldn’t have been on the field to score Liverpool’s second having lunged at the stand-in keeper Phil Neville (Everton’s second sending off) shortly after equalising.
Jamie Carragher’s pull on Joleon Lescott was the second time the Englishman felt he had been denied a penalty. The first came when Steve Finnan grappled with him in the box. The first incident was not a penalty, Lescott was looking for that one, the second there was no doubt. Quite what Carragher was thinking, after Liverpool had scored the potential match-winner in the last minute, is anyone’s guess. Lescott managed to get in front of Carragher and the defender clearly thought he had given away the penalty by the look on his face. Carragher’s behaviour was, in general, poor, especially considering he wore the captain’s armband once Gerrard was inexplicably withdrawn twenty minutes from the end. While Carragher was clearly determined to win the game which means so much to him as a boyhood Everton fan and ‘lifelong’ Liverpool player, he was lucky not to get booked for dissent on several occasions.
The Kuyt challenge on Neville was the right call by Clattenburg. That Kuyt made an exceptionally dangerous challenge is of little doubt. However, there was no way Kuyt was going for Neville, simply throwing himself at the ball to attempt to block it from being delivered long and into the box by Neville. Neville’s reaction suggests he was aware of this. Hibbert’s red card is being disputed by few, so Clattenburg deciding to ‘even things up’ by dismissing Kuyt would have been unfair on a player who works harder than anyone on the Liverpool team to do his part in defence and attack.
Neville should be banned for a lengthy period by the FA. Deciding to fling himself to the left to punch clear Lucas’ shot was the epitome of a cheating, cowardly action. The Brazilian was denied a Merseyside Derby winner and can be rightfully furious, though Benitez will simply be glad that his decision to bring him on in place of Gerrard, who had begun to play with something resembling his normal confidence, reaped rewards. Had it not, further questions would certainly have been asked of his managerial reign. His relationship with Gerrard is a cordial one at best it seems, and Liverpool need to beat Arsenal on Sunday, knowing a defeat would leave them nine points behind.
Moyes and his team can rightfully feel cheated. While disciplne let down both sides and it is unfair to accuse Clattenburg of bias towards Liverpool, Everton deserved something more from this tie. The table will show Everton languishing in mid-table despite a good start to the season. Liverpool retained their place in the top four, just about keeping touch with Arsenal, A big game at Anfield on Sunday. Both sides head for Europe, secondary concerns to the league, knowing victories are required to restore confidence.

UEFA CUP DRAW

 The draw for the group stage of the Uefa Cup has been made and makes for interesting reading for the Premiership clubs involved. It also makes for part horrific, part ecstatic reading for Aberdeen fans who have been handed by far the toughest group. Bolton will travel to the Allianz Arena to take on the mighty Bayern Munich but will still fancy their chances of qualifying alongside the Germans in second place. Spurs will face Anderlecht who they beat in the 1984 final on penalties. Getafe and Hapoel Tel-Aviv will also provide stern opposition for Martin Jol’s beleagured team. Everton also have a couple of tricky games to contend with but should be reasonably confident of qualifying from a group that includes Blackburn’s conquerors Larissa, AZ Alkmaar and Nurnberg.

Click here to see all the groups in full……

Results from and reaction to Saturday’s Premiership Games: 15/09/07

• Tottenham 1 (Bale) Arsenal 3 (Adebayor x2, Fabregas)
• Chelsea 0 Blackburn Rovers 0
• Birmingham 1 (Kapo) Bolton 0
• Wigan 1 (Koumas, pen) Fulham 1 (Dempsey)
• Portsmouth 0 Liverpool 0
• Everton 0 Manchester Utd 1 (Vidic)
• West Ham 3 (Bowyer, Young o.g., Ashton)  Middlesbrough 0
• Sunderland 2 (Jones, Wallace) Reading 1 (Kitson)
• Playing Sunday, 18th: Man City Vs Aston Villa
• Playing Monday, 19th: Derby Vs Newcastle

So, new leaders (Arsenal), same old problems (Spurs) and winning games like potential champions (Man Utd). Throw in a poor performance from Liverpool, the goal that got away for Chelsea, Sunderland doing it for the old boy, West Ham playing like Brazil, Fulham and Wigan getting a draw as predicted by anyone who’s ever watched football and Birmingham taking another valuable three points, and it looks like the Premiership is back.

Unfortunately, Saturday kicked off with three entertaining games being played at overlapping times. Utd’s trip to Everton is rarely easy, sometimes comical (last season’s 4-2 win) and occasionally dull as a politician’s wife (see yesterday’s game). Utd toiled, Everton toiled and 0-0 looked about right until the game’s outstanding performer Nemanja Vidic powered what is fact becoming a signature bullet header into Everton’s rarely tested net. While the goal was seemingly harsh on Everton, Vidic has established himself as an absolutely vital part of Utd’s team. Everton may wish they had shown greater attacking threat and they could have been the happier of the teams, however Ferdinand and Vidic were in no mood to be bullied by Yakubu and Johnson.

Liverpool were desperately dissapointing in their stalemate at Fratton Park. Portsmouth occasionally played some outstanding football, creating excellent chances and having a penalty saved, Jose Reina diving to his right to keep out what Harry Redknapp later described as Kanu’s “crap” penalty. While the decision to award the spot-kick caused controversy, thefc100 stands by the decision. Arbeloa clearly uses his grip on Kanu to gain an advantage in getting to the cross, the fact that Kanu barely thought it was a penalty shows how far wrestling in the box goes unpunished these days. Liverpool didn’t conjure up enough, James had a quiet day in goal for the home side, and the midfield of Benayoun, Alonso, Sissoko and Pennant never sparkled.

Arsenal racked up another impressive win to keep confounding the critics, this time winning at Spurs, who continue to struggle against the top 4 sides. Spurs took the lead through Gareth Bale’s free-kick that will have had Lehman giggling at his deputy’s attempt to keep it out. Does Lehman giggle though? Or even laugh? Probably not. Probably goes hunting to express his amusement. Local sheep beware. Spurs had several excellent chances against a makeshift Arsenal back four. Berbatov’s one-on-one the pick of the bunch, rounding Almunia before attempting to round Kolo Toure. One too many attempts to round methinks. The kind of situation, according to RTE pundit Graeme Souness, that will have Martin Jol “tearing his hair out”. Really Graeme. Which hair is that then?     

Goals from Adebayor (why Robinson went charging out to swipe at thin air we’ll never know), Fabregas (why Robinson went for it with his left paw we’ll never know) and an absolute beauty for Adebayor’s second (why Robinson bothered diving we’ll never know) ensured Arsenal fans went home absolutely delirious. Top of the league. Oh and Spurs are kicking their heels down by the relegation area.

Elsewhere, West Ham put on a great show for their fans. Lee Bowyer got to perform his ‘i’m the world’s biggest scumbag’ celebration for the second time in three weeks. Nice. Dean Ashton in silly blonde hair and shiny red boots prodded in the third. His first goal in nearly a year and a half. And it showed; celebration was a bit rusty. Birmingham beat Bolton 1-0 to leave the Trotters in the relegation area and looking in big trouble. Failure to pick up points is one thing, but against potential relegation rivals…..uh-oh. The only team Bolton have beaten this year is Reading who lost again, this time to Resevoir Dog wannabe Roy Keane’s Sunderland. Kenwyne Jones apparantly played a blinder on his debut. Gotta wonder how impressed Keane is by the man’s ‘cirque du soleil’ impression for a celebration. Man wasn’t built to do ridiculous flips through the air. Just ask Lua-Lua. So Sunderland are back on track. Fulham are not. Kinda. Despite dominating for periods against Wigan, a ridiculous challenge by Bouazza on Melchiot (ooh if I just knee him from behind chances are there won’t be a goalscoring opportunity. What? Penalty? Ah so that’s the downside…..) meant Wigan continue their decent start to the season.

European Previews will be up shortly. Peace.

Spurs 1 Everton 3

Spurs suffered a second defeat in three days on Tuesday night as Everton continued their impressive start to the campaign.

Martin Jol came into this campaign having spent big money on the likes of Darren Bent and Gareth Bale. However while Bale continues his rehabilitation from injury, Darren Bent got his first chance to shine at White Hart Lane on Tuesday. Although the England forward did manage to hit the back of the net, his effort was ruled out for offside.

Mikel Arteta, star of the 2-1 win over Wigan on Saturday, continued his impressive start to the season, swinging in a free-kick for Lescott to head home after just three minutes.

While Spurs defence looked vulnerable, with Gardner guilty of sloppy marking in particular, they were level midway through the first half when the Spurs defender rose to meet Jermaine Jenas’ corner to make amends for his poor defending earlier.

However Leon Osman’s second goal in two games, and a long range free-kick from Alan Stubbs which took a deflection off Didier Zakora, meant Everton eventually cruised to victory.

Although Berbatov hit a post for Spurs, Everton remained dangerous when Spurs lost the ball and with Johnson prowling for every loose ball, Spurs were always struggling in defence and Martin Jol will know he has his work cut out for him, turning around Spurs poor start to the season.

Premiership Round-Up

Roy can’t believe “chops” nicked it in extra-time. 

As the dust settles on the opening weekend of the new Premiership season we are left with many things to consider. Have Manchester United already fallen behind in their title bid? Do the new boys stand a realistic chance of staying up? And has Jens Lehman eclipsed Massimo Taibi in the most ridiculous blunders contest?

Sunderland kicked off the new season in style with a 1-0 win over Spurs at the Stadium of Light. Granted it was fortuitous but some solid work and a never say die attitude got them into the position to win the game. One could say that Spurs threw it away with a complete loss of concentration in the last five or ten minutes but the truth is that they were mis-firing all day. Berbatov looked liked he wanted to be somewhere else and did something we never saw last season and got involved in the moaning matches between other players. Twice he could be seen turning around to his own team-mates with a face like Quentin Fortune giving out about the lack of accuracy with their passing. Keane was the only one that looked relatively dangerous, and Malbranque. Spurs thought they were supposed to win and started slowly. They never really hit any sort of level while Sunderland were industrious. Sunderland will be caught out this season though. They have very few attacking options and if Stokes doesn’t improve he may well find himself at another club. Dwight Yorke was found out in the middle and even though Etuthu looked good and knocked down everything that came near him a passing game and intuitive awareness he has not. The big plus from the game was the centre back pairing of Nosworthy and McShane. McShane was immense. Nothing got past him and he made some very clever interceptions. Without McShane on Saturday, Sunderland would have lost. No question.

The pick of 3 o’ clock kick offs was Big Sam back to face Little Sam. Newcastle V Bolton. The war of words that has erupted since Allardyce moved to Newcastle is is as unsavoury as old men shouting dirty words at each other in a supermarket. Allardyce has been the more reserved of the warring parties and decided to do his talking on the pitch and, as it turns out, he made a very good point. Newcastle raced into a dominant lead having scored 3 without reply inside a half an hour. N’Zogbia with a free kick that fooled everyone, Martins with a delightful overhead kick and he duly added another shortly after. Bolton managed a tame response with a consolation from Anelka. Newcastle played well but were by no means impressive. Bolton succumbed to Allardyce’s 4-4-3 far too easily and the goals flew in. It’s inexplicable really but as Kevin Nolan said himself, smiling: “They just played like us last year”. They did Kevin, and that’s why they won. Despite his often unatractive style, Allardyce knows how to win football matches and that could be a telling factor for a decent enough squad who never had a proper manager. Bolton on the other hand were toothless without the unhappy Diouf who was puzzled by the decision to leave him on the bench. When he appeared second half, Bolton automatically reverted back to Allardyce tactics and they had much more about them. Interesting… Derby were up against Portsmouth in their opener and everybody’s favourite for the drop got off to a flier with captain, Matt Oakley slapping one home to get the fans excited. Pompey were level after twenty odd minutes through Benjani and looked solid. They increased the pressure and were starting to show some real class but a determined Derby held them off until the last ten minutes when new boy Utaka fired home but Derby would not be stopped. Another new boy, Andy Todd, headed Derby to parity a minute later and Derby earned their point. Billy Davies got his tactics dead on and managed to keep Pompey quiet for most of the match. They were never going to be able to keep them scoreless and sit on their goal for the entire game but they had the will to get one back after going behind. Harry will be happy enough with his sides performance also as they looked very good at times. He should be confident before Manchester United arrive on Wednesday to the place they lost last year.

Everton and Wigan was a poor game. Any team with Titus Bramble, Jason Koumas and Kevin Kilbane must be as horrible as they sound. Everton weren’t firing on all cylinders bar Mikel Arteta who was imperious but they didn’t need to be to see off a Wigan side destined for the drop. Nothing doing up front, not much going on in midfield and a defence that doesn’t look like it could cope with a cold means that you just add a sprinkle of managerial astuteness from Hutchings and Wigan are well and truly f***ed. Two goals from young striker, Victor Anichebe and not so young, Leon Osman meant Everton were comfortable throughout and even though Wigan got one back through substitute Sibierski, the result was never in doubt. Everton will need to tighten up to push on from last season while Wigan might aswell call it a day now because it’s all over for them. Middlesbrough entertained Blackburn at the Riverside and it turned out to be an entertaining affair. Benni McCarthy got knocked out, Santa-Cruz came off the bench and looked like a messiah getting an equaliser after Downing’s free kick found a Pedersen-shaped gap in the wall, and Derbyshire came off the bench to get a saucy winner! Blackburn looked good but surprisingly, so did Middlesbrough. Inventive in attack and with Downing looking in good form Middlesbrough took to the new season like sven to Man city. Blackburn were caught out by their opponents bright start but soon got to grips and their class told in the end. (Didn’t think we would ever saying that about Blackburn). Santa-Cruz looks like a bargain and is sure to be getting on the scoresheet more often. Exciting times if you’re part of the Ewood Park faithful!

Speaking of all things Sven, his Manchester City (allbeit revamped and better than ever) went to Upton Park to have a look at West Ham. Slick passing, creative flair and threatening attacks were all features of City’s game. It was unbelievable. Sven is proving his critics wrong and showing that he is a decent manager after all and just because the Sun say something, doesn’t make it true, in fact it’s usuall complete b***ocks. Elano, whom we tipped to be their best signing, showed why he cost £8 million even though not many people had heard of him. The creative hub of an accomplished City side, he ran the show in midfield and waltzed past the West Ham players to literally hand Bianchi the ball for the opening goal. West Ham, for their part, were not at the races at all and were left behind very quickly. Onuha (best guess spelling) was impressive at the back for City and powered his way up the touch-line and into the box to setup Geovanni for City’s second goal. Even though he has every reason to despise the English media, Sven was polite and dignified in the pre and post match press conferences. What a gentleman. City are now a team to watch like one might watch any of the top four. Seriously. Aston Villa played host to Liverpool in the late kick-off and were under the cosh from the get go. Liverpool were full of pace, aggression and ideas as they played good stuff all over the park. The inevitable came after 31 minutes as pressure forced Laursen into putting the ball past his own ‘keeper. After getting the goal, however, Liverpool took the foot off slightly and allowed Villa slowly back in. The second half proved alien to the first as Villa came out hungry and attacking. They made use of Carew’s height and after a while Carragher et al. stopped challenging for arial balls with the big man. Constant pressure down the wings eventually reaped reward as Carew’s flicked header came up on to Carragher’s arm. It seemed almost impossible for him to get his hand out of the way but the referee was all out of sympathy and Carragher didn’t even complain and up stepped Barry to draw the two sides level. With five minutes left a draw would have been the fairest of results on the balance of the whole game but Gerrard managed to con the referee into giving him a free-kick in prime Gerrard position and scored an absoloutely wonderful goal high in the top-right hand corner of the net. A cruel and bitter blow for Villa but good news for Liverpool who start their campaign with a win.

Sunday saw the top two from last year and Arsenal in action. Arsenal had Fulham round theirs and immediately fell prey to the precocious talent of David Healy. He has been waiting a long time to shine in the Premiership and now he has arrived and it was marked in style as he got on the scoresheet inside one minute. A ridiculous blunder by Lehmann see here: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFChawnpIAM) What was he thinking? Arsenal dominated long stretches of the game and their passing was a joy to watch but again they were lacking an experienced head to orchestrate a goal. All their possesion wasn’t getting them anywhere and Fulham were enjoying some good spells of their own. They might not be fancied by many to stay up but they looked good yesterday. Fulham were six minutes away from a famous victory when Arsenal, whose players had been diving all day long, were awarded a penalty. Sanchez was furious after the game as he though the referee was too leniant on the persistent simulation and he was right. The recent meeting between the managers and Hackett the head of the referee people added simulation or diving to the new list of offences which would be punished this season but Phil Dowd obviously didn’t get the memo because although he turned down 3 penalty shouts because they were clearly dives he didn’t do anything about the players. On the 4th attempt the spotter was given and Van Persie put away a nice one high into the roof of the net. All Fulham’s hard work was undone. Heads clearly dropped and what had seemed like 3 points turned into 1 suddenly dissolved into 0 as Hleb got into the box in the 90th minute and managed to squeeze one past the ‘keeper. Daylight robbery at the Emirates. Arsenal will do well this season but they will be there for the taking by the big sides. Fulham were a broken team at the final whistle and Arsenal were doing their best to revive the hatred they aroused when Keown, Winterburn et al. were still there.

Next was Chelsea against newly promoted Birmingham. Chelsea were looking to protect their foreboding home record and didn’t expect much trouble against lowly Birmingham. Steve Bruce’s side opened the scoring on 15 minutes through Forsell. A stunned Stamford Bridge was brought back to life with a debut goal 2 minutes later from Pizzaro. Malouda added to that but another debut goal, this time from Birmingham’s Kapo, brought the sides level. The deadlock was broken in the second half when Essien, on 50 minutes produced a terrific shot from outside the box and it managed to squeeze in despite the attention of Colin Doyle. Birmingham were lively during the game and went to the Bridge to play football and not to shut up shop. Understandably they were outclassed by, to be honest, a magnificent looking Chelsea but at least they gave it a shot and without Terry at the back Chelsea were always vulnerable. Once Essien scored the game quitened down a bit and Chelsea played keep ball. Surprisingly enough, O’ Connor didn’t feature for Birmingham even though this game would have suited the fiesty Scot. A big target man up front rustling a few feathers would have not sat well with Chelsea and could have afforded Birmingham some more chances. Unfortunately for Colin Doyle, who was heralded toward the back end of last season,  he was simply to blame for two of Chelseas’ goals and even though they were likely to score anyway gifting them two was not ideal. 

Last up yesterday was the visit of Steve Copell’s Reading to Old Trafford to face Manchester United. A frustrating day for United saw them draw with Reading. The game started in a positive manner but once United hit a rythm Reading found themselves doing a Faroe Islands on it. They stuck 9 men behind the ball and left Hunt up front to chase the long ball. Copell knows his tactics and Reading did not go there for the win. Michael Duberry did a fantastic job snuffing out Wayne Rooney and Shorey set to work on Giggs and Ronaldo. Even though man-marked, Rooney was the most promising on the field and was a constant threat to Reading. Ronaldo had some flashes but didn’t see enough of the ball and Giggs hit the post with a nice volley. Duberry got too close to Rooney in the end and stood on his foot accidentally, causing a hairline fracture. Rooney didn’t come out after the break and that was it really. The focus was gone and United huffed and puffed but couldn’t get it in the net. O’ Shea came on and was asked to play up front with Giggs. He got one save out of an inspired Hahnemann but didn’t recieve enough service. Duberry was far and away Reading’s best player, snuffing out everything that came into the box (including Rooney apparently) while Hunt was full of running and gettingup people’s noses. Kitson came on to do a hatchet job and recieved his marching orders 31 seconds later for a high and dangerous tackle on Evra. It was a small bit surprising to see the red and most other referees would probably have given a yellow. It was a dangerous challenge however and he had to get something. Reading were never in any danger of scoring and Doyle was surprisingly subdued. Tevez looks set to step into the breach for Wednesday’s game against Portsmouth with Saha and Solskjaer still recovering from injury.  

The Fight For Fourth

Dunno who this bloke is but he won the league so he must be handy. 

Even though we all like to think, somewhere deep in our hearts, that there is a true element of competition in the Premiership the top three are pretty much cemented at this non-stage of the season. While it would be superb to see an English version of what happened in La Liga this year with four teams going right down to the wire and two teams able to win it on the last day, it will more than likely be Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool in some variation at the top with one team in particular crowned Champions in early April. So, what is left to predict? Many people would include Arsenal in a guaranteed top four but to be fair, the North London outfit have been shaky over the past few seasons and while they will definitely be there or there abouts come may next year, it is by no means a certainty. Now the rest of the teams in the premiership talk of a league excluding the so called Big 4. Fifth is usually top of that league but it appears that Arsenal have slipped into the “second tier” and are involved in this fight for fourth. So who are the contenders?

Arsenal

Seem obvious contenders considering their status as one of the best footballing sides in Europe. They’re pre-season went well and if they play the way they did for their first ten minutes against PSG then they will win everything going. They lost their way though and the lack of an experienced head was telling. If they hit a rough spot along the way it is hard to pick out the players who will drag them out of it. Wenger obviously has faith in his squad and everyone could be eating their words this season but their lack of activity in the transfer market, player exits and the unsettled nature of the boardroom could see the Gunners turn into the Liverpool of a few years back. Will Arsenal fans be talking about the glory days of old for the next few years?

Tottenham Hotspurs

Spurs are next in line for the throne. They have been pushing their North London rivals for some time now and over the past two seasons have been looking more and more capable of ousting the Gunners. Martin Jol is certainly not shy when it comes to spending money and this summer he has brought in a number of both promising and proven players. Gareth Bale, who was arguably one of the best players in the Championship last season, is likely to solve Spurs left-back problem while Bent will provide even more competition up front for Berbatov, Keane and Defoe. Three more signings including French U21 defender Younes Kaboul, the finalising of Adel Taarabt’s loan deal from Lens and Kevin-Prince Boateng from Hertha Berlin make the full package an attacking midfielder, a defensive midfielder, a left-back, a centre-half and a striker. What more could you ask for? If they get the right breaks at the beginning, expect Spurs to be pushing the top three hard this season.

Newcastle United

New man, new fortunes? Big Sam seemed to breathe new life into the sleeping giant that is Newcastle United when he was appointed a few months back and already he has attracted the type of players which the club deserve but previous managers couldn’t quite capture. As well as bringing his scientific outlook from Bolton, Allardyce has imparted his personality on the board, demanding transfer activity and one can only wonder why Newcastle didn’t hire him two or three years ago. Having brought Bolton from nothing to a decent premiership side with top six aspirations the possibilities at Newcastle are far wider. A bigger club in all aspects means that Sam will be desperate to be considered a top manger and make newcastle a top club again. An already decent squad has been supplemented by new faces and much needed defenders. Geremi, Cacappa the Lyon captain, Rozhenal from PSG and Enrique, a left-back from Villareal have all arrived to bolster the back four. Add this to the arrival of Joey Barton, Alan Smith, Mark viduka and the presence of Obafemi Martins and Michael Owen and never ever forgetting Shay Given and Newcastle have a strong team which could easily compete in Europe. They lack slightly in midfield  but if Duffer is back and Emre continues his fine run of form from Pre-Season into the new campaign then they shouldn’t have to worry too much about it. Newcastle could prove to be more than a match for anyone in the premiership this season.

Everton

After a great season three years ago when they qualified for the Champions league, Everton have been struggling slightly. A good solid campaign last season has lifted spirits in the blue half of Liverpool and Moyes is hoping to improve again but it is difficult to see it happening considering their transfer activity. Granted, Moyes did well in getting Baines but his other signings leave a lot to be desired. Jagielka from Sheffield United and Steven Pienaar on loan from Dortmund. Both could turn out to be very astute buys but Moyes isn’t really inspiring confidence among the Everton faithful. A new striker should be on the cards for the toffees with Johnson, and youngsters Vaughn and Anichebe the only strikers at the club. Everton have been accredited with an interest in Middlesbrough’s Yakubu but things have been going so slowly it appears unlikely to go through. One of the main things Everton have going for them is Moyes himself. A great manager who knows how to motivate and get results from a team, Moyes has had Everton punching above their weight for quite some time now and this season should be no different. Expect some good results against supposed better teams but slip-ups against sides they should be beating.

Portsmouth

Pompey have been steadily improving under Harry Redknapp’s guidance and the chairman’s money. They had a great spell last year where they were tipped for Europe before inconsistency let them down. A couple of great signings last year in Sol Campbell and Lauren have set up Portsmouth’s back line and this has been added to this summer by Distin from Manchester City, Crainie from South coast rivals Southampton and Charlton’s Hreidarsson. Muntari in midfield and the exciting prospect of Nugent and former Rennes hitman, Utaka, up front means that Portsmouth can only be stronger for their experiences last season and build on that with new blood from the summer window. Inconsistency could prove the downfall once more for Redknapps men but if they can create a never-say-die attitude in the dressing room who knows what they could achieve.

Blackburn Rovers

Mark Hughes has been turning Blackburn slowly into a good solid team which doesn’t lose easily and knows hoe to keep a lead. After getting a reputation for being a bit heavy in the tackle, Blackburn were suffering from having a lot of heart but not very much in the way of class. Pedersen’s form over the past few seasons has been outstanding and all credit to Hughes for keeping him at the club. An inspirational signing last summer in Benni McCarthy gave Rovers an attacking outlet to rival Didier Drogba at Chelsea and the emergence of Matt Derbyshire has given Blackburn great attacking options and after this summer’s activities, Hughes has an embarrassment of riches up front. Rigters, who finished top scorer at this summer’s U21 European Championships and Roque Santa Cruz who scored a hat-trick this summer against Colombia in the Copa America, have been thrown in the mix with Nonda, Roberts, McCarthy and Derbyshire. Bentley is continuing to impress on the right and with Reid and Savage both coming back from injuries which took away most of last season from them, Blackburn look to be in a promising position. Another one for the motivation, Hughes does not like to lose and Ewood Park may be one of those places teams don’t like to play at this season. The capture of Santa Cruz signals intent from Hughes and this season they will be pushing hard for Europe again.

Manchester City

6 months ago I would have whispered this so nobody would hear me and think I was mad. Having spent over £40 Million on new players, however, City could be a revitalised outfit this season. It always takes time for new players and especially foreign players to gel at a club and make themselves comfortable but if this can happen sooner rather than later then City fans could be in for a treat. To be perfectly honest thefc100 isn’t too familiar with some of his signings but the captures of Elano and Martin Petrov are gems. Whether they will suit City is another thing but Elano is a player who did well in an unorthadox Brazil side at the Copa America this summer and will add some creativity to the team and Petrov is a player who was in huge demand around Europe after an impressive season at Atletico Madrid before Sven whispered in his ear. Sven has the capabilities to succeed at City and he has the ability to attract big players. A good season and a top-six finish this year and I shudder to think who they will be linked with next year! The English and other players who were there before Sven arrived mustn’t know what to do with themselves. If thefc100 spoke a bit of Italian we could probably have been signed for City! The money which has changed hands at eastlands means that instant results will be expected by Shinawatra. It is difficult to see them doing it this year but they will certainly be exciting. 

There is also Bolton, Villa, West Ham if they play their cards right and reading. Can’t really see any of those sides breaking the dominance of the other challengers though. Bolton will miss Allardyce’s influence. Villa haven’t brought in enough players and Reading may well “pull a Wigan” and be fighting relegation this season.

Ok, hand on heart this is how we think it will go down:

4. Tottenham

5. Arsenal

6. Newcastle

7. Blackburn

8. Portsmouth 

9. Manchester City

10. Everton

Gerrard Punches Lad in Holland… We Got Nothing…

Gerrard after a previous sending off against Everton, was lucky to only get a yellow against Feyenoord. 

Oh the excitement! West Ham and Newcastle have fallen foul of eachother in a mysterious, behind the scenes ‘bust-up’. Steven Gerrard rattles Feyenoord’s Lucius in a manner befitting an inner-city nightclub and United and Chelsea deliver a Community Shield match low on football but high on entertainment with spotters and Wayne Rooney and Tal Haim rekindling old rivalries. We also have Baines to Everton, Jose Enrique Sanchez Diaz (from now on to be known as Ted) to Big Sam’s Newcastle and In demand ‘Keeper, Craig Gordon, to make a choice of Premiership clubs. 

Firstly to this puzzler concerning a curious love triangle involving Keiron Dyer, Newcsatle United and West Ham United. Firstly Dyer announces that, for family reasons, he has become unsettled in the North and would welcome a move South to the London area. Cue interest from West Ham (whom we firmly believe would sign anything that moves this summer). All seemed rosy between the two camps after the Hammers had met the Geordies asking price believed to be around £6 million  mark. Then, disaster struck. Late yesterday evening West Ham manager, Alan Curbishley announced that the deal had fallen through after Newcastle had “blocked” the move at the 11th hour. It was reported that Newcastle had asked for more money and this was confirmed by Allardyce earlier today when he said that they readjusted their valuation of the player and if West Ham didn’t adjust theirs no deal would happen. To add a sprinkle of mystery to the whole affair, big Sam also said :

“If Curbs started it, then we are more upset than they are, that is a fact. Why? That is confidential. He is not as upset as we are about West Ham.” 

Oohhhhh… So know it looks as if Kieron, the perrenial pessimist, must struggle through with his contract at St. Jame’s Park and his outlandish salary and try to wear a brave face as he shoulders his burden. Nobody knows his pain! Surely it would have been way better at West Ham… The truth is, £6 nillion for Dyer is just about right at the moment but Newcastle can be justified in their actions. Considering the inflated price of English players at the moment (see Reo-Coker £8.5 million and Bent £stupid million) and the fact that either Curbishley or West Ham obviously offended Big Sam’s sensibilities then upping the price is something Newcastle were well within their rights to do. They are no longer a club which can be played around with and at the end of the day, Dyer has a contract there and if the deal isn’t good for the club then he shouldn’t expect to be allowed leave.

Liverpool V Feyenoord in the Rotterdam tournament produced a bit of a heated affair as the game finished in a 1-1 draw. Two fine goals, scored by the two protagonists in the melee which followed, were overshadowed towards the end of the game as match as Drenthe caught Gerrard late with a rather hairy challenge. The Red’s skipper was less than impressed and as a fracas ensued he seemed to come across and catch Lucius in the face with a punch. He was cautioned by the referee and taken off immediately by Benitez. Gerrard was extremely lucky not to see red for his actions and many United fans must feel aggrieved following an incident in a pre-season friendly last season where Scholes and Rooney both saw red cards against Porto and received 3 match bans at the beginning of the competitive season. In comparrison to those incidents, this looked much worse and, while nobody likes to see cards dished out during friendlies, you have to question why there was a referee there at all if he was going to let something as blatant as that go. Gerrard is a lucky boy and Liverpool are lucky to have him for Saturday’s opener against Aston Villa. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiHu3UbPkVg

Yesterday also saw the return to battle in competitive action as United took on Chelsea in the FA Community Shield. What was a rather dull affair was sparked into life by veteran and Captain for the day, Ryan Giggs, with a well taken goal on 35 mins. The following ten minutes were lively and culminated with Chelsea new boy, Malouda finishing after a great run down the left. He definitely looks a player who will be shaking things up this season. The second half was a return to the norm and was as quiet as a priest on a Wednesday and the crowd prayed for spotters. They were duly appeased and Alex Ferguson must have felt like calling it a day there and then considering United’s record in penalty shoot-outs. But lo and behold, Van der Sar proved to be the hero as he saved from Lampard, SWP and Pizzaro leaving Rooney to score the winner after Ferdinand and Carrick had converted. Rooney himself acknowledged the tame nature of the game in an interview afterwards but conceded that it was nice to draw first blood. Himself and Chelseas acquistition from Bolton also came close to drawing blood after a few hefty challenges as they re-ignited tensions laid down after Rooney was sent off for pushing Ben Haim in the face last season. All in all one of the most entertaining aspects of the afternoon was the way neither side held back with tackles and there was a genuine competitive edge in the clash.

Even though the transfer window deadline is fast approaching the players are still arriving. The departure of Wigan’s talismanic defender Leighton Baines to Everton for £5 million heralds the demise of Wigan Athletic. Manager Chris Hutchings was never going to be able to hold onto his prized asset but to sell him without already landing a replacement is dangerous business. things aren’t looking good for Wigan Athletic and this season will undoubtedly be their biggest test. Avoiding the drop could be as good as it gets for those at the JJB this year.

While Wigan seem to be on a slippery slope and heading down, the arrival of Allardyce at Newcastle has turned their fortunes around. Having already brought in a host of top players, he has secured the signature of a reported Liverpool and Man City target. Villareal’s Enrique (who will be called Ted, see above) is likely to arrive for £4.2 million after talks over the past 24 hours have proved fruitful. Sam is excited about the capture and described Ted as a player with huge potential and at a good age. He has been described on some Spanish websites as the best left-back in Spain so surely Newcastles defensive frailties are a thing of the past.

Also on the move is Hearts ‘Keeper, Craig Gordon. He is reported to be weighing up offers from both Aston Villa and Sunderland. Thefc100 tipped Villa to sign the keeper over the summer a few months back: (http://thefc100.wordpress.com/2007/05/27/new-horizons-at-villa-park/) While Sunderland are the club who have been courting Gordon all summer. It looks set to come down to a decision between mild and gentle Martin O’ Neill or Fire and Brimstone Roy Keane. The question remains, does Craig Gordon prefer Fairy Liquid or Hell? Sunderland are also rumoured to be attempting to lure Spurs misfit Mido to the Stadium of Light with a £9 million bid. This could prove another dangerous signing for Keano as most of his signings this summer and his Championship squad look to be severely tested by seasoned veterans of England’s top-flight.

Todays News 05/07/07

Manchester United are being linked with a 2omillion pound swoop for Argentine Carlos Tevez. This potential signing would bring Utd’s spending for the summer to a whopping 70 million were it to go through. However there are reports tonight that the league will be closely monitoring the transfer should it go through. West Ham claimed they completely owned Tevez’ registration after terminating agreements with his agent Kia Joorabchian earlier this year in order to comply with league regulations. The league now says it will make sure all money involved in the transfer goes directly to West Ham, and this statement is bound to put a doubt in Ferguson’s mind after he previously indicated his concerns with the Tevez and Mascherano deals had forced him to decline the offer of the two before West Ham stepped in.

Aston Villa have completed the signing of West Ham midfielder and former captain Nigel Reo Coker this afternoon for a fee of eight and a half million pounds. It seems Villa relented after previously indicating that they were unwilling to meet West Ham’s valuation of the player. Reo Coker becomes manager Martin O’Neill’s first signing of the summer, and if reports are to be believed, will be the first of a few acquisitions in the coming weeks with Jermaine Defoe and Shaun Wright Philips also being targeted by the Villains.

Steven Davis has joined fellow Nothern Irish international Aaron Hughes in swopping Aston Villa for Fulham, and their former Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez. Stick to what you know seems to be the motto here, with a move for David Healy also increasingly likely for the Cottagers. The fee involved is thought to be around four million pounds for the player who was a regular under David O’Leary but had lost his place under new boss Martin O’Neill despite earning rave reviews in previous seasons. The youngster claims it was sad to leave Villa Park but that he knows it is the right decision for him and his family. No surprises there then.

Sevilla have warned Chelsea they want 30million euro for right back/right wing/ what the hell are you doing up there get back and defend-er Daniel Alves. The Brazilian, on duty at the Copa America, is coveted by most top European sides but the Spanish team have indicated it will cost Chelsea more than they are willing to pay to land the talented defender. Meanwhile Chelsea target Florent Malouda has left Lyon’s training camp as talk of a move to Stamford Bridge gathers pace. The two clubs are thought to be close to agreeing a fee for the winger so that he can sign in time to take part in their US training camp pre-season. Chief Executive Peter Kenyon has indicated that this signing may well be the last of the summer for Chelsea, so any move for Alves may rest on whether the Frenchman completes his move first.

Elsewhere……Chris Sutton has retired after a series of injury problems. The Premiership winner with Blackburn Rovers sustained an eye injury against Man Utd last year playing for Aston Villa and has been unable to rectify blurred vision since the incident…..Sheffield United have snapped up Gary Naysmith from Everton for a fee of 1million pounds….Yesterday Phil Jagielka made the move in the opposite direction for a fee of four million pounds….Richard Wright has also left Goodison Park, joining West Ham on a free transfer. The former Ipswich starlet is now 29 and clearly sick of kicking his heels on the bench. He’ll be delighted to hear his new boss Alan Curbishley mention how he’ll provide ‘good competition for the first team place’ then…….Another Naismith, Steven this time, could be on his way to Celtic after they hijacked old firm rivals Rangers bid for the young striker. It will be another bitter blow for Rangers who have seen a number of targets sign for different clubs at the last minute already this summer…

Making the news today…29/06/07

Momo Sissoko has signed a new four year deal at Liverpool, as announced yesterday. In a squad now full of talented midfielders, the Mali International will have to fight it out with Alonso, Mascherano and new signing Lucas Leiva. The indications now are that Steven Gerrard will revert to the right wing on a permanent basis having played a lot of last season in the centre of midfield. Luis Garcia may now be deemed surplus to requirements, Djibril Cisse will sign for Marseille this weekend, while Bellamy may follow him if, as expected, Fernando Torres agrees personal terms next week when he returns from holidays. Of more significance however, was Rafa Benitez’ facial hair which looks extremely controversial to say the least. However, thefc100 gives it the full thumbs up, simply for the shock factor…..

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N156129070628-1712.htm

 Derby have broken their transfer record to sign Robert Earnshaw from Norwich City for three and a half million pounds. Earnshaw, who has played in the Premiership for West Brom, is a proven Championship goalscorer but has often been accused of lacking the proper attributes at the highest level. However, Derby have been quiet on the transfer front this summer, and the fans will no doubt be delighted to see someone who, if given the proper chance, will score goals for them this term, something promoted teams often find most difficult.

Everton duo Mikel Arteta and Tim Cahill have signed new contracts to keep them at Goodison Park until 2012. The two, rumoured to be targeted by West Ham, are hugely influential to the club and having signed new deals, will hope to be joined by some new faces this summer to help them progress to the level whereby they are fighting for a Champions League position.

Tottenham have ended the long running saga over where Darren Bent will play his football next season by capturing the England international for a fee in the region of 16.5 million pounds. The former Charlton forward has signed a deal for ‘up to six years’ at White Hart Lane, and his arrival puts Jermaine Defoe’s future at the club in some doubt while effectively ending any chance Mido had of competing for a place next term. Martin Jol may seek to keep Defoe though, as Berbatov, Keane, Bent and Defoe will be an array of forwards unrivalled in the Premiership. It remains doubtful though that Defoe will be happy to stay and play a rotation game with Englands potential appearance in Euro 2008 next summer.

Fabio Capello has been sacked as manager of Real Madrid after just one season in charge of his second spell at the club. Capello, who was sacked in similar circumstances last time, led Real Madrid to the title last season but the style of football he instigated was often criticised by the media and President Calderon. Bernd Schuster is Calderon’s favourite to succeed the Italian, though Getafe have vowed to fight to hold on to the manager who led them to the Copa del rey final last term.

Barcelona have confirmed the signing of Eric Abidal from Lyon for around fifteen million euros today. Abidal, a member of the France team who reached the final of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, has signed a four year contract at the Nou Camp and joins fellow new boy and compatriot Thierry Henry to La Liga. Abidal, widely considered to be one of the best left-backs in Europe, will replace Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who has re-joined Feyenoord whom he played for as a youngster. The Dutchman had signed a new deal in December but included a clause which allowed him to join Feyenoord alone if they came in with an offer.

And in the weirdest story to come out of La Liga so far this century, Chris Coleman has been installed as the new manager of Real Sociedad. Having been relegated last term, Sociedad clearly feel the Welsh approach might be best and having flirted with everyones favourite Welshman John Toshack, decided to go with a younger model in Coleman, sacked from Fulham after a disastrous campaign last term. Well, you know what they say, a sacking and a relegation makes a promotion….? Kinda…..