Premiership: Full Steam Ahead

Ah the FA Cup, the romance, the giant-killing. Literally. Mr Kanu and Crouch (all 13-14 feet of them; hence the clever giantkilling reference – get it? Ah…..) were among the Portsmouth team who cantered to a defeat at home to Swansea. 2-0 and the holders are out while the likes of Aston Villa, West Brom and Arsenal will have to do it all again after being held to draws by ‘weaker opposition’.  Manchester United and Chelsea will have been thrilled to see their three rivals held, after Liverpool’s draw with Everton, and now attention turns to an important week in the Premiership….

Tuesday:

• Sunderland V Fulham
• West Brom V Man Utd – highlights of Man Utd V Spurs below -
• Tottenham V Stoke
• Portsmouth V Aston Villa (Sky Sports 2 – 8pm)

These fixtures will all be of significance for teams in varying degrees of form. League leaders Man Utd were comfortable winners over Spurs at the weekend despite falling behind early in the game.  Of greater importance to Alex Ferguson is the mounting injury list which claimed the impressive Fabio Da Silva and the less impressive Danny Wellbeck (already beginning to look like Utd’s answer to Nicholas Bendtner) at the weekend. With the likes of Ferdinand, Evans, Brown and Saha already out, Utd’s back line will again see Neville and Vidic paired at the back. This means that Darren Fletcher will drop to right back. While most people will look at this fixture and say Utd are bankers, West Brom like to play a bit of football. What they lack in talent they make up for in attitude and I fancy them to at least run United close tomorrow night. Tony Mowbray will see this as a crucial game with the relegation battle set to feature anything up to 14 teams at present. A win over Utd would likely take the Baggies, who’ve take nine points from their last 15, out of the relegation area and would set the team up for survival with buckets of confidence going into the weekend clash with freefalling Hull.

Johnny Evans (left) joins Wayne Rooney (centre) on the sidelines as Edwin Van Der Saar (right) looks on and Cristiano Ronaldo (far left) goes down under the car's challenge

Elsewhere on Tuesday, Sunderland (no wins in four) entertain Fulham (no wins in three). Another six pointer, with Fulham only five points above the relegation area despite their recent impressive run. Sunderland have lost Chimbonda (back to Spurs) and are clinging on to star striker Kenwyne Jones despite Spragia’s boast that the club would not be selling players in January. Fulham still look good, and if not good, solid and with Andy Johnson beginning to get a few goals, will fancy their chances at the Stadium of Fright.

I fancy another surprise at Fratton Park. It takes a brave man to bet on Portsmouth but having signed Pele today (18-year-old lad from Portugal, not legend to all erectile dysfunction sufferers) as well as solid players in Pennant and Mullins, coupled with Ashley Young’s suspension for Villa, Martin O’Neill’s men may be running out of legs. I hate that expression. Villa look tired,. There you go, bit better. Despite fielding a full-strengt side, Villa were held by Doncaster at the weekend and a trip to Portsmouth won’t look too enticing just a few days later. With Wigan, Blackburn, Chelsea, a replay against Doncaster and a trip to CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Cup within the next four weeks, it’ll be a bruising month for Villa and may see them slip behind the Premiership contenders, starting with a win for Tony Adams’ men tomorrow.

Ashley Young was getting sick of sitting on the sidelines

FA Cup Quarter-Final Draw

After the weekend’s action put paid to another couple of Premiership teams, the draw for the quarter-final of the FA Cup has been made.

         
(Terry and Lampard celebrate last year’s victory over Man Utd)

Manchester United have been rewarded for their victory over Arsenal with another home draw against Portsmouth while Chelsea will travel to giant-killers Barnsley.
Middlesbrough or Sheffield United will entertain Cardiff City while the final game sees a guaranteed place in the semi-finals for a team outside the Premiership when Bristol Rovers host West Bromwich Albion.

The full draw:
Barnsley V Chelsea
Brstol Rovers V West Brom
Man Utd V Portsmouth
Sheffield United V Cardiff City
(ties to be played Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th March: Man Utd’s game against Bolton, Chelsea’s game against Derby and Boro’s game against Aston Villa will all have to be re-scheduled)

Sunday Preview

MAN UTD V MAN CITY

                        

A thrilling derby is in store for the lunchtime kick-off tomorrow, Sunday February 10.
While the first talking point will be whether the Man City fans will respect the minutes silence for the victims of the Munich air crash, the game itself should be entertaining.
Benjani’s confession that he didn’t want to leave Portsmouth will probably not have endeared him to the City fans. A goal at Old Trafford may go some way to changing that.

The week ahead

It’s an important week ahead in the footballing world. Kind of. Well we’re gonna try and make it sound like it’s important anyway.

International Week:

Fabio Capello took his first training session as England manager today. While the media feverishly tried to figure out who will captain England against Switzerland, a rare honest moment from a Premiership footballer came when Steven Gerrard admitted the players were nervous about meeting Capello.
The fact that Beckham was left out indicates the Italian will not be succumbing to popular or media opinion. While it seems cruel to deny Beckham the 100th cap, the simple fact is – it’s not.
We’ve said our piece about Beckham:

http://thefc100.wordpress.com/2007/11/20/england-v-croatia-preview/

England V Croatia Preview

Well, it’s make or break time. England have (again) left it with all to play for going into the final game.
Croatia go to Wembley knowing that qualification is secure. Their 2-0 defeat to Macedonia will have stung them into action though and the longer the game goes on at 0-0 the more likely Croatia might decide to try and knock out England, allowing Russia in should they beat Andorra, which they will.

(McLaren wanders lonely as a cloud…)

McLaren is not a popular man at the moment. Then again, on current form, should England qualify they might fancy their chances given some of the stronger teams’ qualification campaigns. Italy look strong but the likes of France, Holland, Portugal and Spain have all suffered blips in their respective campaigns. Spain and France lost to Northern Ireland and Scotland respectively. Portugal are still chasing qualification tomorrow night and Holland have been well beaten thus far by Romania and seem to grind out results against much weaker teams.

However, for England to look at this as positive news they need to do two things. (a) qualify and (b) get a new coach.
I appreciate that everyone is saying McLaren needs to go and that it is hardly shocking to suggest he should go however it is not based on results that I would see him sacked.

McLaren is recognised as a fantastic coach through the methods he employs on the training ground and you don’t get to no.2 at Old Trafford and no.1 for England without being good at what you do. The FA appointed the wrong man, yes, but that doesn’t mean McLaren has nothing going for him.
The problem with McLaren is he hasn’t made the big calls at the right times. The news that Scott Carson is possibly set to start tomorrow night is a joke. Not because of Carson, because Paul Robinson has been short of confidence for some time now. A decent Spurs defence (on paper) has looked like something from St. James’ Park due to the lack of confidence in the man behind them. Robinson has made a series of gaffes this season, far more than any top keeper should make in a season or two, or three.

His blunder against Croatia can be forgiven, but still shouldn’t have happened. Carson should have had his chance before now. Had Ben Foster been no.1 at Old Trafford this season he would have been wearing the England jersey before now. His injury has simply left McLaren not considering an alternative. Carson is a loanee. He plays at Aston Villa who aren’t a fashionable club. McLaren must have wondered what the reaction would have been had he put Carson in and seen him humiliated. Which betrays a lack of confidence. Which makes it baffling why he decided to bring back David James, a player he clearly has no intention of seeing as a viable no.2

(Little bit unnecessary but why not says you…..)

Beckham. No, no way, not at all. Sorry, but this nonsense about Beckham being good at set-pieces and worth his place in the team is a joke. Beckham’s days in an England shirt are over. His initial decision to drop Beckham was the right one, but bringing him back destroyed everything he’d accomplished by standing up to the media and saying that Beckham was done. How do you bring back a player into the fold that you had previously got rid of? How does Beckham feel, knowing the media’s clamour brought his return quicker than anything he did with a ball in the past few seasons. He’s unfit. People say he’s playing in an inferior league. He’s not even playing in it. He’s been more or less permanently injured since arriving in LA unless there is an England game on. The quality of the league doesn’t apply when Beckham isn’t playing in it. Were he playing week-in, week-out with a pub team he would possibly deserve his place in the squad. The fact that Beckham is not playing is the most important thing. Should he start tomorrow, or go to Euro 2008, it will be a sorry day for the squad when a player bursting to play, giving it everything at the weekend to show he deserves a place, is left behind in favour of the nation’s icon.

People may read this and see it as an anti-Beckham vendetta. Not so. Beckham has done amazing things on the pitch. And been a terrific leader for England. But not in the last couple of years.

McLaren needs to make way for someone who will make a real team out of England. Someone who will come in with no sentiment and decide if Gareth Barry is playing better than Frank Lampard or Steven Gerrard, Barry will play. Every single player in the squad should believe he can make the first eleven. Not the last one or two…..

Mid-week flutter

To prove that Saturday’s hopeless attempt at winning loads of money from the bookies was just a once-off, today’s flutter is more reserved with a certain element of spice.

Also, our stats show that people aren’t looking at the unbelievable free-kick just below this post. Could it be that you’ve all seen it? If you haven’t, go look a it. Now. It’s ridiculous. Sublime. This post will be neither.

Here Goes (though why that gets a capital G I don’t know):

Weighing in at odds of 87.56/1: (Winning teams in bold)

LEEDS (2/5) v Hereford (Yes it’s risky.) wrong
VENEZUELA (8/15) V Bolivia (May as well give up now) right
GERMANY (1/5) v Wales (Banker)

ENGLAND VS RUSSIA VS ISRAEL VS ENGLAND

Well, not quite, but you get my drift.

If you live anywhere remotely near England (Africa, for example) you will be looking at headlines everywhere talking about the Israel V Russia clash this Saturday.
If you live in London and are not English, god help you. Alex Ferguson could take a s*** on Arsene Wenger’s head and it probably wouldn’t matter in the sports pages.

Another Huge European Night?

Um, no, not really. Liverpool know they have to beat Besiktas. And they will. The real test will come away to Marseille and home to Porto. The fact that Benitez is talking about the financial implications of going out not being a problem and Carragher is talking about it not being a disaster if they go out as well, means it’s hard to summon up any enthisiasm for the game. Which might trickle down into the performance, though Liverpool should have too much. Last time Peter Crouch faced Turkish opposition at Anfield he battered Galataasary. Tonight, spurred on by renewed calls for his inclusion, Crouch should be among the goals.
Chelsea face a tough trip to Shalke 04, made slightly easier by Shalke’s star man Kevin Kuranyi missing the tie through injury. Avram Grant’s start as Chelsea manager has been impressive, barring their easy defeat to Man Utd in the Israeli’s first game in charge.

Liverpool V Arsenal

With little under four hours to go till kick-off at Anfield, there is none of Rafael Benitez usual talk of not needing a win at this stage in the season. Instead, the pressure is on, and Liverpool know they have to produce a performance unlike any of their recent performances, if they are to beat a seemingly unstoppable Arsenal team. Forget the Liverpool camp’s talk of ‘playing a good game’ against Besiktas. The performance simply wasn’t good enough.
Arsenal are bullish, and rightly so. Fabregas claims he will be ‘very, very angry’ if Arsenal fail to come away from Anfield with the three points on offer. With no new injury problems to contend with, Arsene Wenger and co have plenty of reason to be upbeat against Benitez’ men today. With Gallas back in central defence and the likes of Hleb and Walcott stealing headlines from the mighty Fabregas, things are looking good. That today poses the first real test in the Premiership is irrelevant.
Liverpool will be desperately disappointed to be missing Daniel Agger again today. As Benitez rightly points out, Agger offers plenty to the attacking mentality of his team as well as the defensive side of things. With neither Carragher or Hyypia fond of taking the ball out of their own half, Agger represents the only option at centre-back of a ball-playing defender, someone who is comfortable with the ball at his feet. That van Persie is missing is a bonus for Liverpool. With an ageing Hyypia and Carragher not quite hitting the form of the past few seasons, Liverpool’s defence is far less solid than it has been for the past few seasons. Torres will add more to the attack, and Gallas and co will certainly be warier of moving forward with Torres behind them as opposed to Kuyt or Voronin.
Pennant’s injury may see Gerrard back on the right-wing, although Benitez claims that he is approaching his best form (clearly he’s been watching re-runs of the last few seasons instead of the games he’s been attending this season) so he may prefer to keep him in his favoured position, especially after royally pissing him off by substituting the captain against Everton. Crouch had a great time at Anfield last season, hitting a hat-trick in a 4-1 win (this fixture has produced more Premiership hat-tricks than any other), whether he gets his customary 0-10 minutes or something more, remains to be seen.
A win for Arsenal would leave a 9 point gap between the two teams. A win for Liverpool suggests game-on. We’re gonna go with a draw.

Latest Team News:

                                     

Scotland….with a number of injuries and suspensions to deal with, Alex Mcleish is clearly delighted to be recalling captain Darren Fletcher to the starting eleven. Of potentially even greater significance is the decision of Georgia’s number 1 keeper Georgi Lomaia  to withdraw from the squad. Lomaia’s place is likely to be taken by Georgi Makaridze, who is just 17, and he is set to make his competitive international debut….James ‘hero’ McFadden claims it is not a ‘must-win’ game…he has a point, Italy is the big one. However, do us a favour James and bang one or two in yeah??

John Terry will more than likely miss England’s game against Russia tomorrow. Terry suffered a locked knee in training today and Sol Cambell should deputise….Poor old Terry seems like he’s breaking down: buggered toe, buggered face and buggered knee. Plus his father-figure has buggered off from Chelsea. He’s odds-on in thefc100’s ‘most likely to become the next Paul McGrath’ bet (one of Paul McGrath’s three sons is second favourite at 5/2)……

Ireland are missing Dunne, Carr, Potter, Reid (X2), Duff, Long, Carsley, Ireland and possibly John O’Shea to name but ten players. Good news is McShane and Hunt are back in contention after suspension. Staunton may well decide to throw an inexperienced team out. However following a positive performance against Germany we have a sneaking suspicion Ireland will do the busness against the mighty Cyprus. A 5-2 defeat way back when needs to be forgotten about sooner rather than later. Were Cyprus to do the double over Ireland the State may decide to prosecute Staunton and the FAI would have legal right to dismiss him with prejudice, seconds after the final whistle*.
* Or so one of the lads says…..

Wales?  San Marino away? 20/1 on the part-timers? No, no. We’re not kidding. Ok, chances are Wales will beat them let’s be honest. However with internal strife and John Toshack coming to the fore this week (and most others), now is as good a time as any for San Marino. Bellamy should get a hat-trick though at the same time. Who knows. God speed.

Northern Ireland face table-toppers Sweden, away from the ‘comfort’ of Windsor Park. A win would set up a hell of a finale for Northern Ireland. Defeat would send them packing from a memorable campaign, but an ultimately disappointing one having promised so much in the earlier days under Lawrie Sanchez. We wonder if he’d prefer to be back in the Northern Ireland job….?