Manchester City laid down their title credentials smashing five goals past Tottenham at White Hart Lane with Edin Dzeko scoring four to maintain their 100% start to the new campaign.
The Citizens stormed back to the top of the Premier League after another rampant performance and have now scored 17 goals in their first three games.
£27 million striker Dzeko was the stand out performer as he put the Spurs defence to the sword scoring four and proving to be a nuisance throughout. Samir Nasri, making his City debut, was also bang in form whilst David Silva and Sergio Aguero kept up their fine starts to the new campaign.
Despite the scoreline the first 25 minutes was rather close with the home side having several good opportunities to break he deadlock. Rafael Van der Vaart had a free kick saved by Joe Hart before Gareth Bale should have at least hit the target only to blaze a volley over from 10 yards.
Those scares kicked the visitors into gear and Dzeko opened the scoring in the 34th minute tapping in Nasri’s cross from the left before the same two players combined again six minutes later with the Bosnian looping a header across goal and into the bottom corner leaving Brad Friedel motionless.
The second half saw City continue in the same vein scoring two goals in quick succession. Dzeko completed his hat trick in the 54th minute tapping in from Yaya Toure’s ball before Aguero smashed home from inside the box after a mazy run through the Spurs defence.
Younes Kaboul pulled a goal back with 23 minutes to go but Dzeko wasn’t going to let the hosts have the last laugh curling in a sublime effort from the edge of the area two minutes into added on time.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Watch all the action by checking out ESPN’s New GOALS APP
We’re nearly half way through the season and Arsenal find themselves top of the Premier League and in the semi final of the Carling Cup, where the second highest placed team remaining is 14th in the top division. For a side that haven’t won a major trophy since their FA Cup triumph in 2005, things are shaping up well for at least some silverware to make it way into the Emirates trophy room. But with all of Arsenal’s undoubted talent, one question still remains; have they rediscovered the killer instinct to finish the job?
The Carling Cup may not be top on the list of priorities for many teams, but it is still a major trophy up for grabs, and with all due respect to the clubs left in the competition, Arsenal must be favourites, especially having drawn Championship side Ipswich in the semi finals. The Carling Cup, being the first piece of silverware (apart from the Community Shield) available in the season, also represents an excellent springboard for the rest of the Premier League season. To win the competition from such a powerful position, with all other major sides having been dumped out of the Carling Cup, will provide a timely confidence boost at a time when the race for the title will really be hotting up.
Results in the league also provide hope that this Arsenal team are made of sterner stuff than their predecessors of the past 5 seasons. After an energy-sapping and soul-destroying defeat against local rivals Tottenham, Arsenal have responded well with an impressive victory over Aston Villa, and a hard fought victory over Fulham, both of which included late goals to seal victory.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
The real test for Arsenal will come in the second half of the season, as that is when their title aspirations have so often faltered in recent years, most notably in the 2007-08 season when they were top of the pile as late on as the 28th game of the season. Even as recently as last season, Arsenal were in 1st as late on as the 31st game before eventually finishing 3rd, so the true test will come in the early part of next year, and with the possibility of a confidence boosting piece of silverware coming their way in February, that could well provide the platform for a title push come May.
Holy Crap – its live fantasy football! Become part of the FA Cup match tonight and play Picklive for FREE Watch and bet live – spices up any game!
Its fair to say that this has been one of the most exciting Premier League seasons in quite some time, and there’s one good reason for this, goals, goals, goals.
So far the various nets around the Premier League have bulged 713 times, 24 more so than at the same stage of the 2009/10 season. Of course with goals come big scorelines, and there have been no shortages in this department, with Manchester United thrashing Arsenal 8-2, Bolton avenging their FA Cup defeat of last season with a 5-0 victory over Stoke and this weekends 5-0 defeat for Newcastle at the hands of Tottenham.
This isn’t just a freak season by any means; there are a few reasons for such high scoring, the first being the form and quality of strikers throughout the league. The standout candidate is Arsenal’s Robin van Persie, who simply cannot stop scoring at the moment with a staggering 22 in 25 league games. Demba Ba at Newcastle is in, arguably, the form of his life while Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero can feed from the wealth of creative talent in the Sky Blue’s midfield. It’s not just strikers from the Premier league’s ‘big boys’ who are firing on all cylinders, Grant Holt and Steve Morison have 17 between them for Norwich, while Steven Fletcher of Wolves is already in double figures.
Many teams are now changing their defensive philosophies too. Full-backs are becoming second wingers, encouraged to get forward at any opportunity. This allows for greater numbers in an attacking sense, but leaves gaping holes at the back for the counter attack. Kyle Walker and Benoit Assou-Ekotto are the epitome of the modern day full-back combination, with bags of pace, plenty of technique and various defensive frailties. As well as Tottenham, Chelsea employ attack minded defenders in the shape of Ashley Cole and Jose Bosingwa and even teams further down the division such as Fulham allow John Arne Riise to get forward at almost any opportunity.
Injuries to various teams across the league have prevented many established sides from creating a settled back line. Manchester United have seen Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling all sidelined, forcing the likes of Michael Carrick to fill in at centre-back. This of course means goals, and the defending champions have shipped 25 so far including three at home Blackburn. Arsenal have also suffered, with first choice full backs Andre Santos and Bacary Sagna both missing long periods of the campaign.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
As well as injuries and changing philosophies there has also been the death of the ‘Makalele’ in midfield. Many of the top sides are no longer employing an out and out destroyer to sit in front of the back-line and mask his defenders. As a result centre-backs are often exposed and playmakers have the added space to create mayhem, which has clearly benefited the likes of David Silva, Juan Mata.
Alan Hansen may be tearing his hair out on a regular basis at the sight of so many goals, but for the fans it’s been a fun filled campaign. Long live the goal.
Fans of Liverpool will be eager to see what new faces turn up at Anfield in the summer as the club aim to make some new signings in the transfer market for the club to continue its transformation and rebuilding process. But whilst players like Charlie Adam of Blackpool are being linked to a move to Anfield in a big money transfer, there could be a cheaper option for boss Kenny Dalglish and the Liverpool board if they want it.
Midfielder Alberto Aquilani, currently on loan at Serie A club Juventus, is set to return to Liverpool in the summer, although many expect that trip to see him collecting the rest of his belongings as he moves back to Italy for good. But the midfielder has said he hasn’t ruled out a possible return to playing in the Premier League if Juventus or another club do not come in for him.
Whilst Blackpool manager Ian Holloway seems to want over £10 million for Charlie Adam, could keeping Aquilani on the books at Anfield be a more viable option? Quite possibly, despite his unfortunate start at Anfield with injuries, the Italian made 26 appearances in his debut season although rarely completed a full game.
Whilst on loan at Juventus this season he’s got 2 goals in 22 appearances in Serie A, but the club may struggle to match the transfer fee that was agreed to be completed after the year loan. With Liverpool extending the contract of midfielder Lucas Leiva recently there could also be an option to keep Aquilani as long as his fitness has improved.
The Italian could also move to former club Roma if Juve fail to sign him on a permanent contract or will Liverpool welcome him back? He could be an excellent playmaker in the middle for the likes of Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez to feed off from, although Reds fans will question his fitness.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
After all, despite the player coming back from a loan deal, we can’t forget that he cost the club £17 million in the summer of 2009 under Rafa Benitez. Towards the end of that debut season he did put in some impressive performances in the midfield for Liverpool and perhaps Dalglish may want to take a gamble on the player whilst using the transfer budget for other positions like a top Left-Back.
Tottenham’s Europa League campaign hangs in the balance after they suffered a shock 2-1 home defeat to PAOK on Wednesday night.
Harry Redknapp fielded a largely second string team, but with Luka Modric, Aaron Lennon and Jermain Defoe in his starting XI will be disappointed with the result.
First half goals from Dimitris Salpigidis and Stefanos Athanasiadis gave the visitors a first half lead, before Konstantinos Stafylidis was sent off for handling on his goal-line.
Luka Modric converted the resulting penalty, but the White Hart Lane outfit could not break the Eastern European team’s resolve in the second half, even with a man advantage.
Spurs are three points behind Rubin Kazan in Group A of the tournament, and must hope that PAOK beat the Russian in their last game of the pool, whilst Tottenham need to overhaul a five goal deficit against Shamrock Rovers.
Redknapp was not convinced of his team’s chances of doing this, and was disappointed with the showing against the Greeks.
“I am disappointed now because we are not going to be in the last 32,” Redknapp told The Daily Mail.
“It’s very slim – it is very difficult now. I wanted to stay in the competition but it wasn’t to be. Full credit to the opposition, they worked hard and looked dangerous.
“We started sloppy and didn’t defend well. It was a new back four and for the first 10 minutes we started like we did not know each other.
“The kid handballed it on the line and we made it 2-1 and at that point I thought we would come back and win it, but they got bodies back and it was difficult,” he concluded.
Spurs will look to bounce back from the defeat against Bolton in the Premier League on Saturday at White Hart Lane.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Meanwhile Birmingham and Celtic also were beaten in the competition, with Braga and Atletico Madrid claiming victories over the English and Scottish sides.
After recently hearing an American football pundit talking about how football would be changed if re-invented in modern times, it got me wondering what new additions to the sport would actually be worth considering. There are the serious suggestions that are under a common consensus with footy fans or more wild ideas that’d be worth pondering over a pint with your mates.
With the history of association football dating back for well over a 100 years, there has been many advancements and changes to the game. The disciplinary procedure of red and yellow cards, the offside rule, substitutions or even the duration of matches, but now in 2011, what should we be considering for the future of the game, for better, not worse.
Taking all these points into account, I’ve created a top ten list, some entries are serious and worth some thought whilst others may be more outside the box suggestions.
Click on the officials below to see the top 10 additions that could improve football
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Juventus coach Luigi Delneri has dismissed speculation he could leave his post at the Stadio Olimpico at the end of the Serie A season.Juve have been below their best at both domestic and European level this term, having slumped to seventh on the Italian table and failing to make it past the Europa League group stages.Their poor form has led to speculation Delneri could be departing the Turin club in the coming months, but the Juve manager said such talk was without truth.”The coach lives on his working beliefs and does not change his mind on the job he has done so far from one day to the other,” Delneri told reporters ahead of Juve’s clash with AC Milan on Saturday.”I’ve never done this and I’ll never do it. I’ll always keep on following my path, despite what the others say and write.””I already have a contract for next year. I don’t have to ask, I already have the contract.””I think that no one can ask me if I’ll still be coach of Juventus next year. Of course the football world is kind of special, and what is right today could be wrong tomorrow afternoon and vice versa.””I only have to focus on my job and my job today is also to talk about AC Milan.”League leaders Milan travel to Turin desperate to maintain their five-point margin over rivals Inter Milan, who have risen to second on the table following a remarkable turnaround under new boss Leonardo.A Juve win would potentially throw the Scudetto title race wide open, and Delneri is confident his side can come away with such a result.”We’re motivated. We know that we’ll be facing a very competitive team, which is proving to deserve their position in the ranking,” he said.”The players have great technical skills, but we have proved to have competitive skills as well and we’ll bring them on the pitch.””There is still time to achieve important performances and to be able to reach a certain position in the league.””We are committed to achieve a great objective and this is much more difficult than working without an objective in mind. We are very clear in mind about what we want to achieve. “
Jack Wilshere and Andy Carroll have made me think a lot more positively about modern footballers. It is no secret that Arsenal and Liverpool do not want the two youngsters to link up with Stuart Pearce’s England Under-21 squad for the European Championship in Denmark this month. But Wilshere and Carroll want to represent their country, hope to win silverware and are keen to experience tournament football, which can only benefit the senior squad in years to come. This is refreshing talk for those of us who were never familiar with the expressions ‘too much football’ or ‘burn-out’.
Even the expression ‘club v country dispute’ sounds a little foreign to players of my era. There never used to be any dispute because your country always came first. I missed the birth of my eldest daughter Lynn because I was away in Norwich, playing for the England Under-23s, as it was then. These days, it’s almost unthinkable that a player would turn out for the Under-21s on the day he became a father for the first time. But the records show that I scored once, and Bobby Charlton twice, in a 3-0 win over Czechoslovakia at Carrow Road. Neither myself, my wife nor anybody at the Football Association thought twice about me being there.
[divider]
I can also remember being packed off to Lilleshall for a two-day England training session, while limping through injury. I hobbled out of the car and Alf Ramsey shouted: “What the f*** are you doing here, you’re injured. F*** off back to Tottenham.”When I returned to Spurs, my manager Bill Nicholson told me: “I know you were injured but it’s up to Alf to make the decision. It’s your duty to turn up for your country.”This unquestioning attitude towards international call-ups continued until Leeds manager Don Revie started pulling his players out of England squads because of suspicious minor injuries. Ironically, Don went on to manage England but his most significant legacy to the international game was this practice of inventing injuries to players, who would always be fit for their club’s next match.
This is widespread now, of course, and it is difficult to see it changing when the majority of Premier League bosses are not English and when most supporters care more about their club than their country. That is why it is encouraging to hear that Wilshere, 19, and Carroll, 22, are both so keen to play for the Under-21s, despite becoming senior squad regulars this season. If a young player doesn’t want to be playing football morning, noon and night, there must be something wrong with them
[divider]
So what if they only end up getting three or four weeks’ holiday? That sort of break would have been a luxury for international players in my playing days. We’d usually have a post-season tour followed by a fortnight off, then back into pre-season training with another tour. I can remember playing for the Under-23s in Italy one May, then getting a train to Zurich for a flight back to London to meet up with the senior England squad for a flight to Rio and a three-nation tour of South America.
Another summer there was an England tour of Eastern Europe, followed straight away by a Spurs trip to South Africa. And after the longest summer of all, the 1966 World Cup, I had just five days holiday in Majorca before I was back on a plane to Malaga for a pre-season tournament with Spurs. I don’t recall complaining of ‘burn-out’ or ‘too much football’ and I’m delighted to hear that Wilshere and Carroll aren’t either. As for the clubs, they won’t be moaning about burn-out when they’re on their pre-season tours of the Far East in July.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
FootballFanCast.com WORLD Exclusive, Robbie Savage’s Face in a Baby Scan
‘Tasty’ is the only way to describe the Premiership fixtures we can look forward to this weekend. Aston Villa’s new signing Robert Pires will face his former club Arsenal at Villa Park on Saturday, when Manchester United and City will both be looking to strengthen their title credentials at home to Blackburn and away to Stoke respectively. Fantasy football players would be well advised to fill their team with players from both sides of Manchester, especially Wayne Rooney! Sunday sees Chelsea attempt to end their poor run of form at Newcastle, while entertainment should be on the cards as Tottenham host Liverpool. Throw in a East Anglia derby from the Championship as Ipswich travel to Norwich and your weekend of football is complete! But who will come out on top? You can see this week’s Premiership predictions in full here.
Patrick Barclay:
[youtube t5TlpS9Wcx4]
Andy Dunn:
[youtube STdulLhqo1o]
Steve Bates:
[youtube aJ1mJ7CN09o]
Do you agree with the Premier League predictions made this week?
Football Writers’ Association Predictions – Week 16
Overall standings
1. Steve Bates – 69
2. Andy Dunn – 69
3. Martin Lipton – 68
4. Shaun Custis – 67
5. Des Kelly – 67
6. Danny Fullbrook – 64
7. Glenn Moore – 61
8. Patrick Barclay – 57
–
November standings:
1. Andy Dunn – 15 (6)
2. Shaun Custis – 13 (4)
3. Steve Bates – 12 (5)
4. Martin Lipton – 12 (3)
5. Patrick Barclay – 10 (6)
6. Danny Fullbrook – 10 (1)
7. Des Kelly – 9 (4)
8. Glenn Moore – 9 (4)
–
Patrick Barclay (The Times)
Home Team
Away Team
Bolton
V
Blackpool
D
Everton
V
West Brom
H
Fulham
V
Birmingham
D
Man United
V
Blackburn
H
Stoke
V
Man City
A
West Ham
V
Wigan
A
Wolves
V
Sunderland
D
Newcastle
V
Chelsea
A
Tottenham
V
Liverpool
D
Norwich
V
Ipswich
D
Everton v West Brom: Baggies’ bad run will end – but not at Goodison.
Des Kelly (Daily Mail)
Home Team
Away Team
Bolton
V
Blackpool
H
Everton
V
West Brom
H
Fulham
V
Birmingham
H
Man United
V
Blackburn
H
Stoke
V
Man City
D
West Ham
V
Wigan
A
Wolves
V
Sunderland
H
Newcastle
V
Chelsea
A
Tottenham
V
Liverpool
H
Norwich
V
Ipswich
A
West Ham v Wigan: The game that West Ham must win, if their stricken manager is to survive. But I fully expect Avram Grant to be out the door after a Wigan triumph in this relegation six pointer.
Shaun Custis (The Sun)
Home Team
Away Team
Bolton
V
Blackpool
H
Everton
V
West Brom
D
Fulham
V
Birmingham
H
Man United
V
Blackburn
H
Stoke
V
Man City
A
West Ham
V
Wigan
H
Wolves
V
Sunderland
H
Newcastle
V
Chelsea
A
Tottenham
V
Liverpool
D
Norwich
V
Ipswich
H
Newcastle v Chelsea: Both teams are in the doldrums at the moment but Chelsea surely cannot suffer three Premier League defeats in a row.
Head to the next page for more football predictions…
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Andy Dunn (News of the World)
Home Team
Away Team
Bolton
V
Blackpool
H
Everton
V
West Brom
H
Fulham
V
Birmingham
D
Man United
V
Blackburn
H
Stoke
V
Man City
A
West Ham
V
Wigan
H
Wolves
V
Sunderland
D
Newcastle
V
Chelsea
H
Tottenham
V
Liverpool
D
Norwich
V
Ipswich
D
Tottenham v Liverpool: Spurs are becoming notoriously unpredictable on the post-Champions League weekends. Liverpool – even without Steven Gerrard – should have enough to leave with a point.
Martin Lipton (The Mirror)
Home Team
Away Team
Bolton
V
Blackpool
H
Everton
V
West Brom
H
Fulham
V
Birmingham
D
Man United
V
Blackburn
H
Stoke
V
Man City
D
West Ham
V
Wigan
D
Wolves
V
Sunderland
H
Newcastle
V
Chelsea
A
Tottenham
V
Liverpool
D
Norwich
V
Ipswich
H
Fulham v Birmingham: Mark Hughes’ side need points quickly but Birmingham are resourceful and solid and will be good enough to get at least a draw at the Cottage
Steve Bates (The People)
Home Team
Away Team
Bolton
V
Blackpool
H
Everton
V
West Brom
H
Fulham
V
Birmingham
H
Man United
V
Blackburn
H
Stoke
V
Man City
A
West Ham
V
Wigan
H
Wolves
V
Sunderland
A
Newcastle
V
Chelsea
A
Tottenham
V
Liverpool
H
Norwich
V
Ipswich
H
Man United v Blackburn: United stretched their unbeaten run to 27 games after last weekend’s victory over Wigan and although Blackburn have poicked up good points recently with Wayne Rooney back in harness it’s got to be a home win..
Danny Fulbrook (Daily Star)
Home Team
Away Team
Bolton
V
Blackpool
H
Everton
V
West Brom
H
Fulham
V
Birmingham
H
Man United
V
Blackburn
H
Stoke
V
Man City
A
West Ham
V
Wigan
D
Wolves
V
Sunderland
D
Newcastle
V
Chelsea
A
Tottenham
V
Liverpool
H
Norwich
V
Ipswich
D
Bolton v Blackpool: Whatever game Blackpool are involved with is exciting, but for me Bolton are too strong at home
Glenn Moore (The Independent)
Home Team
Away Team
Bolton
V
Blackpool
H
Everton
V
West Brom
H
Fulham
V
Birmingham
D
Man United
V
Blackburn
H
Stoke
V
Man City
D
West Ham
V
Wigan
H
Wolves
V
Sunderland
D
Newcastle
V
Chelsea
A
Tottenham
V
Liverpool
D
Norwich
V
Ipswich
H
Stoke v Man City: City will be confident after last week’s unexpectedly comprehensive victory at Fulham but Stoke are a difficult side to combat at the Britannia
Sir Alex Ferguson heaped praise onto striker Dimitar Berbatov, whose hat-trick against Birmingham took his season tally to 17 for the season.
Ferguson’s men ran rampant at Old Trafford to post a 5-0 win, with Ryan Giggs and Nani adding to Berbatov’s treble.
And Ferguson said the Bulgarian’s game had been outstanding.
“It was marvellous,” Ferguson said. “He could have scored more and we were a bit wasteful at times with our finishing, but you can’t complain at that performance.”
“I think it helps when you score an early goal. When we scored they had to open up and I think we capitalised on that.”
The Scot also had kind words for Wayne Rooney who, despite not getting on the scoresheet, linked up well with Berbatov to turn supplier.
“The third goal was very, very exciting with the interchange between Berba and Rooney. It was right at half-time and it killed the match,” Ferguson said.
“Wayne showed fantastic control in the fourth goal to bring the ball from Edwin (van der Sar) out of the clouds.”
“The control of Rooney and setting up Ryan to square the ball for Berba – it was a fantastic goal.”
Birmingham boss Alex McLeish bemoaned some of his side’s defending in the encounter, and said his senior players were determined to make amends.
“You can’t come here and lose an early goal like we did. To lose a goal like that in the first minute was criminal,” McLeish said.
“I thought there was bit of apprehension. Coming to places like this is a lot about belief as much as anything and I thought we lacked that a little bit.”
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“It was a gift the second goal as well and was verging on the amateur.”
“You have to say we shot ourselves in the foot.”
“The feedback I’ve got from some of the senior players in the dressing room is that they are more angry than anything else. We have got to get the team right and the tactics right for the coming games.”