Premier League blogspot

Barclay Premier League Matches Saturday 1.October 2011

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 23:54:00 +0000

Everton vs Liverpool from Goodison Park, Liverpool
The first Merseyside derby of the season is the early kick off of the day, as both sides will look to finish higher up the table then their current positions, 11th, and 5th respectably. Everton have had a disappointing start to the season. They have lost points in many games they should have won. The Everton side looks to be slow starters this season as well. Liverpool has had a decent start to the season, but is in need of three points in this match if they are to stay in range of the top spots. Looks like Liverpool is getting a boost from the return of their captain and talisman Steven Gerrard. It might still be too early to start him for Dalglish tough.

Prediction: Everton 2-2 Liverpool

Aston Villa vs Wigan Athletic from Villa Park, Birmingham
The visitors will be looking to get back to winning ways after tasting three defeats in a row, and on the road will not be an easy task, especially when the hosts have yet to be beaten so far this season. The home side is in desperate need of a win now after drawing 5 games this season. Wigan have a strong history at Villa Park and I have a feeling that they will get at least a point and might even take home all 3 points.

Prediction: Aston Villa – Wigan 1-2

Blackburn Rovers vs Manchester City from Ewood Park, Blackburn
A lot of negative stories in the paper for both teams at the moment. It is very unsure how it affects the sides. Blackburn got hammered away to Newcastle last round and Steve Kean might get axed soon if they keep on loosing games. Mancini on the other side have problems with his players all the time and now the focus have been on Carlos Tevez. All the negative focus must stop soon if the City team is to produce the goods. It looks like Mancini is starting to feel the pressure on dealing with a squad full of stars, who all expects to play regular football.

Prediction: Blackburn Rovers 1-2 Manchester City

Manchester United vs Norwich City from Old Trafford, Manchester
After the 3-3 draw at home during midweek in Champions League play to Basel, Sir Alex Ferguson said his United side got a massive wake up call and nobody expected that to happen. The truth of the matter is Basel could have had more goals had they taken their chances in the first half. Like I have written I feel that United is lacking the world class performance of Wayne Rooney at the moment, and struggle to find the structure when he is out. Paul Lambert have managed to win two games in a row now and must be high on confidence. They looked very strong at Sunderland in the last game. I do think it’s time for United to win again tough.

Prediction: Manchester United 2-1 Norwich City

Sunderland vs West Brom from the Stadium of Light, Sunderland
Could a match have much importance already in the season if both teams are in, or near the relegation zone? It’s possible, although there still is plenty of time to turn things around for both teams. Both teams have been big disappointments so far and both managers are in danger of getting axed as the first manager this season. Sunderland should have enough quality in the side to beat a poor traveling West Brom team.

Prediction: Sunderland 2-0 West Brom

Wolves vs Newcastle United from Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton
After a flying start right out of the gates, Wolves are now on a three game losing streak. Manager Mick McCarthy will be hoping his side can put things right, and essentially win their home games to avoid a real relegation battle like they did last season. Newcastle on the other hand is the big surprise so far this season and are still unbeaten. I don’t think manager Pardew or the players expected to perform at sutch a high level this year and the question is how long they can keep the momentum going? I smell a draw in this game.

Prediction: Wolves 1-1 Newcastle United

The value of world class players

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 14:06:00 +0000

It’s amazing to see how much the salaries of footballers keep on growing as the years go by. Some people are shocked and might be wondering how far it will go? How much money can the clubs pay out in salaries before it all stops? And of course why on earth would the clubs pay so much money for just a footballer?

Wayne Rooney

I can understand why people think it’s sick when the look at what the players get paid to play football. And especially those people who don’t care on bit about the game. But if you analyze it a bit more you will understand why the best clubs can afford to pay such high salaries to keep the best players, or the “World class players”. Of course the problem is that most players want a piece of the cake and if the best players get paid a lot more than the rest there will be complaints. This is another good point, but this article is about the world class players and their value to the top teams.

The best example right now is Manchester United. They have made an impressing start to the season but have struggled in 3 games so far. If you look at the start line in those three matches you will only find Wayne Rooney in one of them. And in the one game he played he looked out of form and tired, in the match against Benfica. In the two other matches Stoke and Basel United have looked poor as a team and they don’t have the same structure and flow in their game. For me it’s clear that Manchester United with and without Wayne Rooney is two different teams. It’s not just that Wayne Rooney have been brilliant and proven himself as a world class player this season. It’s the character Rooney with his enthusiastic style of play which gives the whole side a mental boost; one could call him a talisman. It’s still too early to say how big the loss of Rooney is but as it looks like now United is very much in need of him to produce the results. They still have a lot of good players in the side but with Vidic out in defence I can’t see any other world class player in the side.

Luka Modric

Another example for me is Tottenham Hotspur and Luaa Modric. Spurs opened the premiership with two horrific results against Manchester City and Manchester United. Both game was played while Modric wanted to leave for Chelsea and he looked unhappy and not comfortably in the Spurs shirt. After the transfer window closed and Redknapp managed to hold on to Modric it turned around. Modric all of the sudden looked happy and started playing as he did all last season. Tottenham hammered Liverpool at home after a brilliant strike from Modric and went to win 3 games in a row. It proves that Redknapp made the right decision to keep Modric. He knows that he needed to keep his world class player if they would to stand any chance in fighting for a champions league spot this year.

Steven Gerrard

My last example is Liverpool and Steven Gerrard. The Liverpool captain and talisman have shown time and time again what a world class player he is and what important part he is in the club. The biggest achievement was more or less alone winning the champions league in the 2004/2005 season. The Liverpool side is looking good so far this season but is still in need of a fit world class player like Steven Gerrard if they are to challenge the top sides this season. The question is now if he will ever come back in the world class form that he has shown so many times. Let’s hope so for Liverpool and England.

If one analyzes all the top clubs in the world, most teams have 1-2 players in the side which can win the tight games for their teams. Those players are the once who shows the skill and dedication for their club to be called world class players in my opinion. And those players are worth their time on the pitch in gold. The value of the players is best shown when they are not playing, and one should therefore never take that quality for granted.

Champions League Results 27&28 September

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 05:18:00 +0000

AC Milan
Arsenal FC
BATE Borisov
Bayer Leverkusen
Olympique Marseille
Shakhtar Donetsk
Valencia CF
Zenit St Petersburg

Bayern München
Lyon
Manchester United
Otelul Galati
Real Madrid
SSC Napoli
Trabzonspor
CSKA Moscow

2-0
2-1
0-5
2-0
3-0
1-1
1-1
3-1

2-0
2-0
3-3
0-1
3-0
2-0
1-1
2-3

Viktoria Plzen
Olympiakos Pireus
FC Barcelona
Racing Genk
Borussia Dortmund
APOEL FC
Chelsea FC
FC Porto

Manchester City
Dinamo Zagreb
FC Basel
SL Benfica
AFC Ajax
Villarreal CF
Lille OSC
Inter Milan

As I predicted the English teams had a tough 2^nd match week in the champions league. I predicted Arsenal to win, Chelsea to draw and Manchester City to lose. The big surprise was that Manchester United went from 2-0 in first-half to draw 3-3 at home to Basel. That was a big disappointment to the United side. For me it shows that United is struggling without their talisman Rooney.

Check out my predictions for the 2^nd match week here:

http://premierleaguespot.blogspot.com/2011/09/champions-league-prediction-28september.html

http://premierleaguespot.blogspot.com/2011/09/champions-league-match-week-2.html

Champions League prediction 28.September

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 17:25:00 +0000

Valencia – Chelsea Draw (2-2)

Valencia started the champions league with a draw 0-0 away to Genk. They are current in 7^th place in the Spanish Primera division and have a lot of European experience in the team. Valencia is a strong home side with a solid history in the European cups. Chelsea have looked stronger and stronger in the premiership and started the champions league with a 2-0 victory at home to Bayer Leverkusen. It will be interesting to see how Joan Mata will be treated coming back to his former club. I think we will see an even game which will end in a draw.

Arsenal – Olympiakos Home (3-1)

Arsenal have had a shaky start to the season in England and started the champions league with a 1-1 draw away to Dortmund. Taking a point in Germany is no easy task and with 3 points at home to Olympiakos the Gunners will take a big step towards next stage of the champions league. Olympiakos lost their first game 0-1 at home to Marseille, and is most likely already out of the champions league this year. One can’t afford to lose at home if the team is to go through to the next stage. I think Arsenal will win this comfortably at The Emirates.

Champions League Match Week 2

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 18:09:00 +0000

It’s time for Champions League Match week 2. Here are my predictions on the English teams playing today:

Manchester United – Basel Home (3-0)

Manchester United will play at home to Basel. Wayne Rooney is still out with injury and the question is how United will cope with the loss of their talisman. They looked poor in the game against Stoke in the weekend. I bet Sir Alex Ferguson is asking his players to step up and show that the game against Stoke was a small pump in the road. I think Ferguson will get the best out of his team and crush Basel at Old Trafford.

Bayern Munich – Manchester City Home (2-1)

Bayern Munich is a strong home side and always a force to respect in Europe. They won the first game 2-0 away to Villarreal and are topping both the champions league group and the Bundesliga. Bayern Munich has a lot of European experience and with should be confident going into this game. Manchester City is new to the champions league but have many players with experience at this level. They started the champions league with a disappointing draw 1-1 at home to Napoli. I think City will get their hands full in this game. They are good enough to get points in this game but I have a feeling that Bayern Munich will win this game.

The matches in match week 2:

Barclay Premier League game week 6 roundup

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:55:00 +0000

Barclay premier league round 6 was a round with no big surprises in my opinion. Manchester city, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool all won their games at home which were expected. Tottenham beat Wigan away as well which gave Spurs three in a row now which is strong after losing their two first matches.

There are some games I do feel like commenting on tough. Many people have called out Manchester United as champions already. As I wrote earlier on my blog I don’t agree that United have looked that impressing yet. And as I predicted they got their hands full away to Stoke this weekend. One could say that Rooney was out for the game, but as I also mentioned that is part of the game. If United can’t cope with Rooney being out they got huge problems coming. Manchester City and Chelsea are also looking strong and United can’t afford to lose too many points. Enough said about United. Stoke is looking very solid this season. They have beaten Liverpool and take points against both Chelsea and Manchester United at home so far. It looks like Britannia is one of the hardest places to travel this season and if Stoke can get some points away as well they could be an unmentioned challenger for the 4th place this season.

I feel I have hit spot on with a lot of my predictions so far. The one thing I do feel tough is that I might have to swallow my predictions on Newcastle. They beat Blackburn at home and are at top of the league unbeaten so far. I thought the loss of Carrol, Noland and Barton would leave Newcastle dead and buried in the bottom of the table but the team spirit looks strong and they are for me the biggest surprise so far.

Norwich is another team I would like to mention. I watched the game against Sunderland yesterday and they looked very strong. I have seen some of their games so far and they have looked good in most of them, but have been unlucky with the results. So it’s nice to see that they finally get some points for their good performances. If they can keep it up they might actually be able to stay up this season. The way Norwich has produced the last two seasons is just brilliant. And one can’t do anything but salute Paul Lambert for the job he has done there. The question now is how long Norwich can keep their manager. Bigger clubs must be impressed with the job he has done.

Last team I want to talk about is Aston Villa. The team is still unbeaten after round 6, but 5 draws aren’t good enough at the end of the day. At the rate Villa is drawing games they are looking to be relegated this season. And I predicted Aston Villa to struggle this year, and it looks to me that I might be right. Alex McLeish is a good manager, but his style of play fits bottom teams best. He likes to play defensively and a tight style of football. This works when his team is underdogs but in games they should win they will struggle. In McLeish’s defense they have gotten points away to both Fulham and Everton which are difficult places to travel to. But at home they need to produce more if they are to stay clear of the relegation battle in my opinion.

To round up the round I got 7 out of 10 games right and nailed both Liverpool to win 2-1 and West Brom to draw 0-0 at the Hawthorns:

http://premierleaguespot.blogspot.com/2011/09/preview-of-barclays-premier-league_25.html

http://premierleaguespot.blogspot.com/2011/09/preview-of-barclays-premier-league.html

Preview of Barclays Premier League matches on 25 and 26 September:

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 14:44:00 +0000

Queens Park Rangers – Aston Villa Home (2-1)

QPR have looked strong after a horrible start to the season with 0-4 at home to Bolton. 7 points in 5 matches is strong for a newly promoted team, and with some strong signing in summer I think QPR will stay up. QPR won 3-0 away to Wolves last round, and the new signings with Joey Barton as captain and front man looked very strong. Aston Villa has had a good start to the season and is unbeaten so far. Problem for Villa is that only one win in 5 games might not be good enough in the long run. I think it’s time that Villa got their first defeat, even though they have been hard to beat so far.

Norwich – Sunderland home (1-0)

The Canaries have had a tough start to the season but finally got their first victory in the last game away to Bolton. They have been a bit unlucky at home so far and I have deserved more than they have gotten so far. Norwich is usually strong at home and I think they might be able to build on their victory from the Bolton game. Sunderland is a difficult team to predict. They started with a strong point away to Liverpool in the first round but it took them 5 games before they got their first win in the season. That being said it was a strong victory and they hammered a strong Stoke team 4-0 at home. Sunderland is strong enough to get points in this game but I have a feeling that Norwich will finally get their first win at home this season.

Barclay Premier League Results Saturday 24/09/11

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 20:59:00 +0000

Manchester City – Everton   2-0

Manchester City: Hart, Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Nasri (Savic 83), Barry, Yaya Toure, Silva, Dzeko (Balotelli 60), Aguero (Milner 78).
Subs not used: Pantilimon, Zabaleta, Kolarov, Tevez.
Yellow cards: Yaya Toure.
Scorers: Balotelli 68,Milner 89.
Everton: Howard, Hibbert, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Neville (Drenthe 73), Fellaini, Rodwell, Osman, Coleman (Vellios 81), Cahill (Saha 66).
Subs not used: Mucha, Heitinga, Bilyaletdinov, Stracqualursi.
Yellow cards: Rodwell, Neville, Osman, Cahill, Jagielka.
Attendance: 47,293.
Referee: Howard Webb.

Arsenal – Bolton    3-0

Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Arteta (Rosicky 81), Song, Ramsey, Gervinho (Arshavin 78), van Persie (Chamakh 85), Walcott.
Subs: Fabianski, Andre Santos, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Frimpong.
Scorers: Van Persie 46, 71, Song 89.
Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Wheater, Robinson, Knight, Steinsson, Eagles (M Davies 71), Reo-Coker, Muamba (Boyata 56), Pratley, Petrov, Ngog (K Davies 20).
Subs: Bogdan, Sanli, Gardner, Kakuta.
Yellow card: Steinsson
Red card: Wheater.
Attendance: 59,727
Referee: Mark Clattenburg.

Liverpool – Wolverhampton    2-1

Liverpool: Reina, Kelly, Carragher, Skrtel, Jose Enrique, Henderson (Kuyt 71), Lucas, Adam, Downing, Carroll, Suarez (Gerrard 81).
Subs not used: Doni, Coates, Spearing, Flanagan, Bellamy.
Yellow cards: Kelly, Carroll.
Scorers: Johnson (og) 11, Suarez 39.
Wolverhampton: Hennessey, Stearman (Doherty 46), Johnson, Berra, Ward, Henry, Hunt (Guedioura 81), Edwards (Fletcher 46), O'Hara, Jarvis, Doyle.
Subs not used: De Vries, Elokobi, Hammill, Milijas.
Yellow cards: Ward, Henry, Hunt, O'Hara.
Scorer: Fletcher 49.
Attendance: 44,922.
Referee: Kevin Friend.

Chelsea – Swansea    4-1

Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Mikel, Mata (Malouda 59 mins), Meireles (McEachran 83), Ramires, Torres, Anelka (Drogba 79).
Subs not used: Turnbull, Luiz, Lampard, Kalou.
Yellow cards: Cole, Mikel, Mata.
Red card: Torres.
Scorers: Torres (26), Ramires (36, 76), Drogba (90+4)
Swansea: Vorm, Rangel, Monk, Williams, Taylor, Britton (Routledge 46), Gower, Allen, Dyer (Dobbie 71), Lita (Graham 59), Sinclair.
Subs not used: Tremmel, Moore, Bessone, Richards.
Booked: Taylor, Monk, Dyer.
Scorer: Williams 86.
Referee: Mike Dean.

Newcastle – Blackburn        3-1

Newcastle: Krul, Simpson, Steven Taylor, Coloccini, Ryan Taylor, Obertan, Cabaye, Tiote, Gutierrez (Marveaux 84), Ba (Ben Arfa 74), Best.
Subs Not Used: Harper, Guthrie, Lovenkrands, Perch, Sammy Ameobi.
Scorer: Ba 27, 30, 54.
Blackburn: Robinson, Salgado, Samba, Givet, Dann (Rochina 63), Hoilett, Lowe, Nzonzi, Olsson, Formica (Roberts 63), Yakubu (Grella 79).
Subs Not Used: Bunn, Petrovic, Vukcevic, Hanley.
Yellow card: Olsson, Lowe, Nzonzi, Salgado.
Red card: Olsson (69).
Scorer: Hoilett 37.
Att: 46,236.
Ref: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire).

Wigan – Tottenham    1-2

Wigan: Al Habsi, Gohouri, Caldwell, Figueroa, Van Aanholt, Diame, Watson (McArthur 73), McCarthy, Moses, Di Santo (Sammon 73), Gomez (Stam 46).
Subs Not Used: Kirkland, Crusat, Maloney, Jones.
Yellow cards: Gohouri, McCarthy, Sammon.
Red card: Gohouri (62).
Goals: Diame 50.
Tottenham: Friedel, Walker, Kaboul, King, Assou-Ekotto, Modric, Parker, Sandro (Livermore 90), Bale, Van der Vaart (Giovani 78), Adebayor.
Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Bassong, Corluka, Townsend, Carroll.
Yellow card: Adebayor.
Scorers: Van der Vaart 3, Bale 23.
Attendance: 18,78.
Ref: Jon Moss (W Yorkshire).

West Brom – Fulham    0-0

West Brom: Foster, Reid, McAuley, Olsson, Shorey, Dorrans (Morrison 78), Mulumbu, Brunt, Odemwingie, Long, Thomas (Tchoyi 82).
Subs not used: Fulop, Dawson, Jones, Cox, Scharner.
Fulham: Schwarzer, Baird, Grygera, Hangeland, John Arne Riise, Kasami (Ruiz 74), Sidwell, Murphy (Etuhu 88), Dempsey, Dembele, Orlando Sa.
Subs not used: Etheridge, Kelly, Senderos, Gecov, Briggs.
Booked: Hangeland, Baird, Grygera.
Attendance: 23,835.
Referee: Stuart Attwell.

Stoke City – Manchester United       1-1

Stoke: Begovic; Wilkinson (Huth 83 mins), Shawcross, Woodgate, Wilson; Pennant (Jerome 90+2), Delap (Whitehead 85), Whelan, Etherington; Walters, Crouch.
Subs not used: Sorensen, Upson, Shotton, Palacios.
Yellow card: Whelan.
Scorer: Crouch 52.
Manchester United: De Gea; Valencia, Ferdinand, Jones, Evra; Nani, Fletcher, Anderson, Young (Giggs 70); Hernandez (Owen 11), Berbatov (Welbeck 70).
Subs not used: Lindegaard, Fabio, Park, Macheda.
Scorer: Nani 27.

Preview of Barclays Premier League matches on Saturday 24. September:

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 22:36:00 +0000

Manchester City - Everton (12.45)     Home (3-1)
Manchester City disappointed away to Fulham last round. After leading the game 2-0 they gave away the match and drew 2-2 at Craven cottage. Of course it’s a difficult place to travel to but I think some of the reason for the draw was that Manchester City was tired after the champions league match in the midweek. Everton struggled at home to Wigan in the last match, but ended up winning 3-1 with two late goals. Everton have historical good statistic away to Manchester City. But I have a feeling that Manchester City wants to bounce back from the disappointing result away to Fulham.

Arsenal - Bolton (15.00)        Home (3-2)
Arsenal played an interesting game away to Blackburn last weekend. The Gunners were the strongest team, but threw away all 3 points on bad defending on set pieces. They could and should have won the game easily but let Everton trash them on set pieces and counter attack. Bolton have been a huge disappointment this season and it got worse in the last game when they lost to newcomers Norwich at Reebok stadium. This game could go anywhere in my opinion. But I will give Arsene Wenger the benefit of the doubt.

Chelsea – Swansea    Home (2-0)
Chelsea played a good game away to Manchester United in my opinion and where trashed bye the referees who gave United two offside goals. But I guess all teams have to expect such low level refereeing at Old Trafford? Back to Chelsea I felt Torres looked very sharp and it will be interesting to see if he can produce the same effort this weekend. Swansea played a strong home match last weekend and trashed West Brom 3-0. They have played many good games so far this season and I don’t think they will get hammered by Chelsea. But I think the blues will win this without a doubt.

Liverpool – Wolverhampton    Home (2-1)
Liverpool has looked very weak in the last two games and it’s time for the new players to shine. Too many of the new players have been performing at a high level so far. A big boost for the whole club is that their talisman and world class player Steven Gerrard played in the cup in midweek and is reported ready for duty. Wolverhampton got a flying start to the season and where like Liverpool unbeaten in the last three matches, but like the Anfield club they got two disappointing matches in the last weeks. Liverpool should win this game, but I’m not 100% sure they will.

Newcastle – Blackburn        Draw (2-2)
Newcastle is still unbeaten after 5 matches and has impressed me so far this season when it comes to results. I have watched most of their matches so far and they haven’t played that good, but still gotten point out of every game so far. That being said all honour to Pardew and his men for a strong opening to the season. Blackburn has had a tough start to the season and many supporters want both manager Steve Kean and the owners out of the club. Some of the critics might have given them a second chance now after the strong win at home to Arsenal last weekend. Newcastle should win a game like this at home, but I have a feeling that Blackburn might get something from the game.

West Bromwich – Fulham    Draw (0-0)
Roy Hodgsons men have for me looked to be one of the biggest disappointments so far this season. With only a win away to Norwich in 5 matches, they are dead last in the premiership. If one adds that the victory against Norwich was a lucky win they are looking even worse. I would say that if West Brom loses this game to a poor travelling Fulham team they are going down in my opinion. Fulham have like West Brom only 3 points in 5 matches so far. Only difference is that Fulham have still to win this season. The Cottagers are the only team left not to win a premiership game so far. Both teams have disappointed big so far, and none of them can afford to lose this game. If we get a loser here I’m sure that the losing team will be struggling to survive this season. I predict a draw in this game, most likely little or no goals.

Wigan – Tottenham        Home (2-1)
Wigan has had an easy start to the season so far, but only stands with 5 points so far. If they are to stay up I think they need to take points at home to teams like Tottenham. They lost a close game away to Everton last weekend and I think they will be looking to get something out of this game. Tottenham had a tough start to the season but have beaten both Wolves and Liverpool in the last two games. Adebayor looks like a good signing and happy Harry is looking to climb the table in the weeks to come. It’s typical Tottenham to play some good games and when people expect them to get a result they disappoint. This is a game that Tottenham should win, and I think they might be flying high after crushing a Liverpool team with only 9 men.

Stoke - Manchester United (17.30)        Draw (2-2)
Stoke have been looking strong so far and have already taken a top scalp at home to Liverpool. I don’t think any team in the premiership is looking forward to play at Britannia stadium. All managers and teams know the type of play they will meet at Stoke. The problem is that most teams can’t cope with their set pieces and I don’t think Manchester United and David De Gea are looking forward to this game. That being said, United have looked impressive so far this season. They have 15 points in 5 games and 17+ in goal difference so far. I won’t be surprised to see United winning this game, but I have a feeling that Stoke will get something out of a tight and close game.

Manchester United to much respect

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 21:19:00 +0000

After 5 matches Manchester United have looked impressing and stand with full pot and a positive 17 goals in goal difference. I have seen all their matches this season and in most of the games they have been way better then the opponents, and looked superior all over the pitch. It’s easy for supporters to call out United as champions already. But for me it’s too early even though I predicted them to win before the season started.

My first reason is that we are only 5 games into the new season and even though they have beaten teams like Tottenham, Arsenal and now Chelsea it still a lot of games to play. And one must remember that all the games were played at home to the top opponents. Tottenham and Arsenal were trashed, but Chelsea actually played a good match and could have gotten a result from the game. First of all one could say that the referees gave United two offside goals and secondly Torres should have scored at least one more goal.

My second reason is that United will play in all the competitions and will be vulnerable to injuries. Even though they got a big squad they are still in need of players like Rooney, Young and Nani to stay fit for the top games if they are to come out of it on top. When Rooney played a poor match against Benfica, then of course United lost their only 2 points so far this season.

My third reason is my main reason. If the teams could learn to show less respect for the United and give a real effort in trying to win the game instead of playing defensively, they could actually win some points against them. Most teams that face last year’s champions have lost the game before it has started. This is not to take away the good attacking play that Untied have shown so far, because they have been brilliant so far this season. My point is that when Chelsea actually pressured United, one could see them lacking experience in defence. When both Vidic and Ferdinand are out and Ferguson decides to use De Gea in goal I don’t see United coping with real pressure in the games. But when you watch the games most teams focus on defence out of respect for United. And of course you need to respect a strong side like United, but when you have lost the game before you enter the pitch, it’s just pathetic.

I hope some teams can show a little less respect and a bit more attacking force against last year’s champions. Yes United have been impressing and yes they are one of the strongest teams in the world at the moment. But I still feel that most of the games that they have played so far have been too easy for Manchester United. United look very strong in the attacking part of the game, but the central line; going from goalkeeper, central defence and central midfield aren’t frightening. I hope to see a Stoke team this weekend that shows the power in the play that one know they can, and give it a real go in trying to win the game. If they can play at their strengths they should give the United defence something to chew on at Britannia stadium.

Liverpool's shaky defence

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:03:00 +0000

Kenny Dalglish

Dalglish must have a major headache after the previous two league games and it won’t get any better it seems. First it looks like Jamie Carragher’s time at top level is starting to run out. The defender has shown time and time again that he doesn’t have the pace that is needed at the top of the league. And Dalglish needs wake up and realize that Carragher can’t compensate the lack of pace with experience and smartness. The problem might be that without their talisman and captain Steven Gerrard he has lacked leaders in the side and therefore can’t bench Carragher? In my opinion Daglish needs to think further then just this season and start planning Liverpool without a Carragher. That being said I have the deepest respect for what Carragher have done for the club. He is a type of player that shows the dedication and effort that all the managers, supporters and clubs dream of. It’s like The Kop sings “We all dream of a team of Carraghers”.

Carragher is not the only problem in the Liverpool defence. Daniel Agger is a world class defender when he is fit. He is a playing defender that got the technique and skill run with the ball and support the midfield with threw balls. The problem with Agger is that he plays 10 or top 15 games in a season. Some might say he is unlucky but one starts to wonder if you look at the long list of injuries during his time at Anfield. But I guess Liverpool is stuck with Agger even if they wanted to sell him, because who would buy a player that is injuried 60-70% of the season? Latest news is two broken ribs after a fall against Tottenham in the last match.

Sebastian Coates looked like a good signing after winning Copa America with Uruguay. Some experts questioned his pace tough and wondering if the young defender could adapt from the slow play South-America to the fast playing style in England. I will be careful to slaughter him after the performance against Tottenham. Because to be fair to the young lad the team was poor and defending with 1 or 2 less players than the opponents are impossible. So I will give him more time, but to me he looked like some said, very slow. And if you don’t have pace you won’t be able to perform at a top team in Europe in my opinion. Then you at least need to have a fast companion besides you, and at the current time Liverpool don’t have a central defender with pace. But as I said, I will give the young talent more time to show what he is capable to do.

Now that was Liverpool’s problem in the central defence. Looking at their right back position the things aren’t looking much better. Both Glenn Johnson and Martin Kelly have been out with injuries. And even though they are both named in the national side when they are fit, it’s still a huge problem for Liverpool when they are injuried all the time. They have like Daniel Agger whey to many injuries during a whole season. This have left Daglish to experience on the right side after young John Flanagan lost 2 points to the club in the opening match against Sunderland it doesn’t look like Daglish have enough faith in him. This has left the manager with Martin Skrtel at right back which is ridicules at this level. Skrtel looked like a little boy against Tottenham. He didn’t know what to do or where to go, and rounded it up with getting a red card with an awful challenge on Bale.

Only thing that is looking good for Daglish at this time is that Enrique has looked very strong and Reina is still the best goalkeeper in the league in my opinion. But I think Dalglish is having a rollercoaster feeling ending up with a huge headache when it comes to his current Liverpool defence.

Premier League Results Sunday 18/09/11

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 22:31:00 +0000

Manchester United – Chelsea 3-1

Man Utd: De Gea,Smalling (Valencia 62), Jones, Evans, Evra, Nani, Fletcher, Anderson (Carrick 62),Young,Rooney, Hernandez (Berbatov 79).

Subs Not Used: Lindegaard, Giggs, Park, Fabio Da Silva.

Booked: Valencia,Fletcher.

Goals: Smalling 8,Nani 37,Rooney 45.

Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Meireles (Mikel 79), Lampard (Anelka 46),Sturridge (Lukaku 68), Torres, Mata.

Subs Not Used: Turnbull, Luiz, Romeu, Malouda.

Booked: Ramires,Terry,Cole.

Goals: Torres 46.

Att: 75,455

Ref: Phil

Tottenham – Liverpool 4-0

Tottenham (4-4-2): Friedel 6; Walker 7, Kaboul 7, King 8 (Bassong 83min), Assou-Ekotto 7; Kranjcar 6 (Van der Vaart 46, 6), Parker 8, Modric 8, Bale 7; Defoe 7 (Giovani 83), Adebayor 8. Subs (not used): Cudicini, Pavlyuchenko, Livermore, Corluka.

Booked: Adebayor. Scorers: Modric 6, Defoe 65, Adebayor 67, 90+4.

Liverpool (4-4-2): Reina 5; Skrtel 4, Carragher 5, Agger 4 (Coates 25, 5), Enrique 5; Henderson 5, Lucas 6, Adam 4, Downing 5 (Spearing 70, 4); Carroll 4, Suarez 5 (Bellamy 70, 4). Subs (not used): Doni, Maxi, Kuyt, Robinson.

Booked: Coates, Suarez. Sent off: Adam, Skrtel.

Man of the match: Luka Modric.

Referee: Mike Jones 5.

Attendance: 36,129

Fulham – Manchester City 2-2

Fulham: Schwarzer, Kelly, Baird, Hangeland, John Arne Riise, Duff (Kasami 61), Murphy, Sidwell, Dempsey, Zamora, Dembele (Ruiz 88).

Subs not used: Etheridge, Orlando Sa, Senderos, Gecov, Grygera.

Goals: Zamora, Murphy

Booked: Sidwell Manchester City: Hart, Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Barry, Toure Yaya, Nasri (Johnson 81), Aguero (Tevez 82), Silva (Zabaleta 69), Dzeko.

Subs not used: Pantilimon, Kolarov, Toure, Balotelli.

Goals: Aguero 2

Booked: Barry

Referee: Mark Clattenburg (England)

Attendance: 24,750

Sunderland – Stoke 3-0

Sunderland: Mignolet, O'Shea, Bramble, Brown, Richardson, Elmohamady, Gardner, Vaughan, Larsson (Colback 63), Sessegnon (Ji 81), Bendtner (Wickham 85).

Subs not used: Westwood, Turner, Cattermole, McClean.

Booked: Larsson

Scorers: Bramble 5, Woodgate (og) 11, Gardner 28, Larsson 58

Stoke: Begovic, Huth, Shawcross, Woodgate, Wilson, Jerome (Jones 61), Delap (Palacios 71), Whitehead, Etherington (Pennant 65), Walters, Crouch.

Subs not used: Sorensen, Whelan, Upson, Wilkinson.

Booked: Huth, Crouch

Referee: Kevin Friend

Preview of the English premiership matches on Sunday 18.september

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 12:03:00 +0000

Tottenham – Liverpool Home (2-1)

Tottenham played a European match in Greece midweek. It was clear that manager Redknapp had the upcoming Liverpool game in his mind when he played with only 1 player named for a premiership match so far this season. Redknapp knows that they can’t afford to lose this match to Liverpool if they are to get into a champions league spot at the end of the season. So even though Tottenham have played in Europe midweek and have some major injuries they are looking to win this match at white hart lane. Liverpool have had an okay start to the season, but got their first defeat away to Stoke in the last match and need to get something out of this game if they want to be in top flight.

Fulham – Manchester City Draw (2-2)

Fulham has been a disappointment so far this season and his in the bottom of the table before this match starts. They are always strong at home, but have yet to win a game and are desperate to get their first 3 points of the season. But I can’t see them winning this match against a strong going Manchester City team. Mancinis men have looked as strong as any team so far and I bet they are looking to bounce back from the poor results in the champion’s league in the midweek. The question is have the European play will affect the City players when they come back to play premiership football some days after.

Sunderland – Stoke Home (1-0)

Sunderland has been one of the biggest disappointments this season in my opinion. Manager Steve Bruce has spent a lot of money during the summer as always, but has gotten little or nothing so far. I think Bruce is starting to feel some pressure from fans and the board now and is in desperate need of 3 points. Stoke have started the premiership brilliantly and beat Liverpool at home in the last match. They have also been out in European match midweek and it will be interesting to see how the club handles it going back to premiership football.

Manchester United – Chelsea Draw(1-1)

It’s a quite an interesting Sunday in the premiership today. But this is the game that we all will be waiting for today. The two biggest teams in the premiership for the last season go up head to head in an early match this season. Who will be the team that goes out of the game with a positive result? Both team played in Europe midweek so they both stand on equal ground on that part. Manchester United has looked the strongest so far in both result and game play. But these matches live their own game. And sadly most of the top games that one looks forward to become a disappointment when the game start. Both teams know that this means more than just a win draw or lose. If the game gets a winner the team will get a boost going into the next 4-5 matches and will define a lot of the future. That’s why I believe that the game will disappoint and end up in a game with few or no goals and a draw, which means that both teams can go on without getting a blow to their belief or a new premiership title.

Premier League Results Saturday 17/09/11

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 17:21:00 +0000

Blackburn Rovers 4 – 3 Arsenal

Match Facts
Blackburn: Robinson, Salgado (Petrovic,18), Samba, Dann, Givet, Hoilett, Lowe, Nzonzi, Rochina (Olsson,56), Formica (Vukcevic,65), Yakubu.
Subs: Bunn, Grella, Roberts, Hanley.
Booked: Dann, Olsson
Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, (Djourou 53), Mertesacker, Koscielny, Andre Santos, Song (Chamakh 76), Arteta, Ramsey, Gervinho, van Persie, Arshavin (Walcott 64).
Subs: Fabianski, Gibbs, Benayoun, Coquelin.
Booked: Djourou
Referee: Andre Marriner England
Attendance: 22,637

Aston Vila 1 - 1 Newcastle United

Match Facts

Aston Villa: Given, Hutton, Collins, Dunne, Warnock, Bannan (Albrighton 67), Petrov (Ireland 68), Delph, N'Zogbia, Bent (Delfouneso 85), Agbonlahor.
Subs not used: Guzan, Herd, Lowry, Gardner.

Scorer: Agbonlahor (13).

Booked: Collins.

Newcastle: Krul, Simpson, Steven Taylor, Coloccini, Ryan Taylor, Obertan, Cabaye, Tiote, Gutierrez (Sa Ameobi 85), Best (Sh Ameobi 69), Ba (Marveaux 80).
Subs not used: Elliot, Guthrie, Lovenkrands, Perch, Sammy Ameobi.

Scorer: Best (57).

Booked: Best.

Attendance: 34,248

Referee: Neil Swarbrick.

Bolton Wanderers 1 – 2 Norwich City

Match Facts

Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Boyata, Cahill, Knight, Robinson, Tuncay (Eagles 46), Pratley (Mark Davies 74), Reo-Coker, Petrov, Kevin Davies (Ngog 46), Klasnic.

Subs not used: Bogdan, Muamba, Kakuta, Wheater.

Yellow card: Jaaskelainen, Reo-Coker

Red card: Klasnic.

Scorer: Petrov pen 64

Norwich: Ruddy, Naughton, Russell Martin, Barnett, Tierney, Bennett, Fox, Bradley Johnson, Pilkington (Vaughan 77), Hoolahan (Crofts 87), Morison (Holt 76).

Subs not used: Rudd, Surman, Chris Martin, De Laet.

Scorers: Pilkington 37, Johnson 42.

Referee: Howard Webb.

Attendance: 21, 223

Everton 3 – 1 Wigan Athletic

Match Facts

Everton: Howard, Hibbert, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Coleman (Vellios 66), Fellaini, Rodwell, Bilyaletdinov (Drenthe 58), Osman, Cahill (Stracqualursi 83).
Subs not used: Mucha, Heitinga, Neville, Barkley.

Yellow cards: Fellaini, Vellios.

Scorers: Jagielka 33, Vellios 84, Drenthe 90+8.

Wigan: Al Habsi, Van Aanholt, Caldwell, Lopez, Figueroa, Gomez (Jones 71), Watson, McCarthy, Moses, Di Santo, Rodallega (Maloney 90+2).
Subs not used: Pollitt, Thomas, Crusat, McArthur, Sammon.

Yellow card: Caldwell.

Scorer: Di Santo 31.

Attendance: 31,576.

Referee: Peter Walton.

Swansea City 3 – 0 West Bromwich

Match Facts

Swansea: Vorm, Rangel, Williams, Monk, Taylor (Bessone 85), Dyer (Routledge 71), Britton, Allen, Gower, Sinclair, Lita (Moore 71). Subs not used: Tremmel, Dobbie, Richards, Lucas.

Yellow card: Lita.

Scorers: Sinclair (pen) 14, Lita 24, Dyer 49.

West Brom: Foster, Reid, Olsson, Mulumbu (Dorrans 46), Shorey, Morrison, Dawson, Scharner (Dorrans 67), Thomas (Brunt 46), Long, Odemwingie. Subs not used: Fulop, McAuley, Jones, Fortune.

Yellow card: Brunt, Odemwingie

Referee: Martin Atkinson.

Wolverhampton 0 – 3 Queens Park Rangers

Match Facts

Wolverhampton: Hennessey, Stearman, Johnson, Berra, Elokobi (Vokes, 46), Kightly (Guedioura, 46), Henry, O'Hara, Jarvis (Hunt, 73), Ward, Doyle.
Subs not used: De Vries, Hammill, Milijas, Foley.

QPR: Kenny, Young, Gabbidon (Hall, 83), Ferdinand, Traore, Barton, Derry, Faurlin, Wright-Phillips, Bothroyd (Campbell, 73), Taarabt.
Subs not used: Murphy, Buzsaky, Connolly, Smith, Puncheon.

Scorers: Barton 8, Faurlin 10, Campbell 87.

Referee: Anthony Taylor.

Attendance: 24,189

Yakubu celebrates with Steve Kean

Saturday matches had a lot of surprising results. Blackburn bounced back from all the critic and beat a poor Arsenal 4-3 at home. Arsenal controlled the game but gave it all away with two own goals and poor defending. Everton showed character and got 3 important points. Norwich and Swansea got their first win of the season and climbed the table. While Bolton and West Brom where big disappointments.

QPR trashed Wolves and many of the new signings show that they have come to make an impact straight away. Everton got a solid win in the end but struggled for a long period against Wigan, but in the end they got the 3 points and have started the season stronger then in many years. Aston Villa and Newcastle drew at Villa Park and both teams are still unbeaten for the season.

Preview of the English premiership matches on Saturday 17.september

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 10:35:00 +0000

Blackburn – Arsenal        Away (1-2)

Blackburn is a major disappointment so far this season, and even though they have played better in the last matches, they still only have 1 point in 4 matches. The fans have had enough of Steven Kean and the owners. They have decided to make a protest before and during the game today. I can’t see this not affecting both the players and manager. This will give Arsenal an edge for this game I feel. That being said, Arsenal have not impressed so far this season. Won the last game against at home with only 1-0, after a huge mistake from Swanseas goalkeeper. Both Song and Gervinho are back for this match and should give the team a boost.

Aston Villa – Newcastle    Home (3-1)

Aston Villa has impressed me so far this season and stands unbeaten after 4 matches. Picking up a point away to both Fulham and Everton are strong results. Bent and Agbonlahor are looking strong in front and should produce enough in this game to give the home side new 3 points. Newcastle is standing unbeaten as well so far this season. But they haven’t looked that strong to me, and they were lucky to get a point in last game against QPR. Newcastle is strong enough to take all points from Villa on a good day, but to me they don’t look sharp enough now.

Bolton – Norwich    Home (3-0)

Bolton has had a tough start to the season. After trashing newcomers QPR in the first game they have been up against Liverpool and both Manchester teams, and gotten nothing out of the games. Looked strong against Manchester City, but were nowhere near points against Manchester United and Liverpool. Now it’s time for a match they need to win if they are to stay clear of the relegation battle. Home game to Norwich should be 3 points for Owen Coyles men. Norwich have played a lot of good matches, but been unlucky or should one say lacking quality in both ends of the pitch. They should have gotten more points out of the first 4 matches, but all one can say is welcome to the hard reality called Premier League. In my opinion de Laet should not be included in the squad for some matches after costing the club a lot of points on easy mistakes. Norwich could of course get something out of this game if their luck changes some, but for me this looks like a home win.

Everton – Wigan    Home (2-1)

Everton is still looking strong even after selling their playmaker Arteta to Arsenal. The only problem for the club is that they are slow starters and have usually given away easy matches at home. They threw away both home matches against QPR and Aston Villa. And now it’s yet again time for a game which they should easily win at home. Wigan has had an easy start to the season so one should not let the impressive 5 points in 4 matches fool you. Playing against all 3 newcomers should have given more than 5 points and the club is for sure going to fight yet again to stay up in the premiership. For me this is an open game because Everton is still Everton and give away way to many easy games. That being said I can’t call for a Wigan win.

Swansea – West Brom        Home (2-0)

Swansea has been unlucky and still has yet to score a goal in the premiership. That being said they have played good football and I think it’s time for their first goal and first win in this match against a poor travelling West Brom side. West Brom has had a tough start to the season meeting both Manchester United and Chelsea in the first 4 matches. They have 3 points so far which came in a lucky win away to Norwich. I can’t see them being lucky in two away matches in a row.

Wolverhampton – Queens Park Rangers                Home (2-0)

Wolves have impressed so far this season even though they lost last game at home to Tottenham. They have 7 points in 4 matches which is brilliant for a team which almost got relegated last season. Mick McCarthys men are playing attacking and good football nowdays and I think they will collect another 3 points to newcomers QPR in this game. QPR have were unlucky in the last game against Newcastle. The game ended in a draw but they should have gotten more out of the game. They played a good away game to Everton some weeks ago and could of course get something out of this game. But I have a feeling that Wolves will nick this one.

So long Steve Kean

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 17:07:00 +0000

Steve Kean

One of my predictions this season was Steve Kean to be the first manager to get axed. That prediction is looking to cash in very soon. Blackburn fans didn’t understand much of the sacking of manager Sam Allardyce last season. And the poor results under the unknown Steve Kean were nothing less than disappointing last season.

Fans were hoping that the new owners would throw some money to Kean which would give them some hope of results at the start of the new season. So I bet the frustration for the Blackburn fans was complete when the club failed to sign any player who looked to strengthen the squad during the transfer window. And when the team is have collected one point out of 4 games so far, the situation goes from being frustration to complete lack of faith in the manager and owners capability to take the team in the right direction.

Blackburn Rovers

This have now resulted in the supporters planning a 1,000-strong march on Saturday to ask for the removal of Steve Kean as manager. The stats says it all, with only 23 points out of 33 games since Kean came into the manager position. I really respect the Blackburn fans for taking responsibility for their clubs situation. Like I said in my predictions for the season, Steve Kean is not good enough for a club like Blackburn. And I hope the club can get new owners in the future that actually give a damn about the club.

I hope for the sake of the club that more Blackburn fans show up and make the statement clear how they feel about the situation in the club. Blackburn deserves a lot more then what they are getting in Steve Kean and their owners. My deepest respect and support goes out to the Blackburn supporters.

Match day 4 Saturday, 10 September 2011

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 13:38:00 +0000

My predictions of the game week

Arsenal Swansea, 15:00 Home

This should be one of the most secure matches this weekend. Arsenal has strengthened with a lot of class players. The question is if Wenger new signings will make an impact straight away. Swansea have played good and gotten a lot of positive feedback on their premiership debut. But the Wales side needs to start picking points soon. Why not start to take a point away to a struggling and unsecure Gunners side? I think Arsenal will win this, but I won’t be shocked if Swansea nicks a point.

Everton v Aston Villa, 15:00 Draw

Most difficult game of the week to predict. Everton always open poorly, and it seems I made a poor decision to predict them to get into Europe this season. The loss of Arteta to Arsenal is big and it will be interesting to see if the Toffees can cope with the loss of their playmaker. Aston Villa has had a good start to the season. I thought they would struggle this season but it seems I might be wrong about Villa as well.

I would predict a draw in this match, but this could end with all outcomes.

Man City v Wigan, 15:00 Home

Most secure bet of the day. Manchester City is looking strong this season and a poor travelling Wigan don’t stand a chance what so ever, and they all know it. Think this will be a big win to City and a handicap bet would be a nice pick for the punters.

Stoke v Liverpool, 15:00 Away

Stoke have made a lot of good signings on the final day of the transfer and it will be interesting to see if they signings make an impact against in form team Liverpool. Britannia stadium is always a difficult place to travel and I’m not sure that Liverpool will win this, but I have a feeling they might win this. I will not be surprised to see this ending in a draw either.

Sunderland v Chelsea, 15:00 away

Sunderland have had a bad start to the season and I don’t see them getting anything for free out of this match either. The opening game away to Liverpool was good, but in the rest of the matches they haven’t looked especially good. Chelsea hasn’t played well yet, but still they have 7 out of 9 points and that’s why I believe they will be improving their form and wins this match.

Wolverhampton v Tottenham, 15:00 Home

I predicted Wolves to have a good season this year, and they have had a strong start to the season so far. Tottenham on the other side have started poorly and are in desperate need of some points after getting trashed against both Manchester sides. Wolves are looking strong to me and I think they will win this. Tottenham is lucky if they are to get more than a point from this game.

Bolton v Man Utd, 17:30 Away

Bolton has had a difficult start to the season after crushing QPR in the first match. After losing to Manchester City and Liverpool they are facing yet another title contender in Manchester United. Bolton is a difficult place to travel to, but last year champions are looking strong and I feel that Bolton need to go all out and even more to get something from this match.

Sunday, 11 September 2011

Norwich v West Brom, 13:30 Draw

An interesting game for Norwich fans. The canaries need to win this type of games if they are going to stay up this season. West Bromwich has played some good football this year against teams like Manchester United and Chelsea. But now they are facing a team they should be able to take points from and the question is if they are up for the task. I feel that Norwich isn’t strong enough to win this and West Brom might not be good enough to take 3 points.

Fulham v Blackburn, 16:00 Home

Fulham is looking like Fulham this season as well. Strong at home and weak away. This is a match Fulham wins 7/10 times in my opinion. Blackburn is looking just as weak as I predicted this season and will need a small miracle to take points away to Fulham.

Monday, 12 September 2011 Home

QPR v Newcastle, 20:00

Very interesting game. Joey Barton will face former club Newcastle and the question is how both he and the Newcastle players will react to it. QPR made a lot of interesting signings and I bet manager Warnock will be hoping to see some immediate impact from the newcomers. Newcastle has impressed me so far this year and my predictions of the magpies are looking to be wrong. This match is difficult to predict, but I think QPR should win this since it’s at home. Will not be surprised to see a draw or even a Newcastle win here though.

Steven Gerrard back in form and in for gold

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 15:59:00 +0000

Steven Gerrard

Liverpools talisman is set for a return to the premiership. Injuries have set the captain out of play for about half a year. Gerrard now states that he is in better shape now than ever before. The local Anfield hero is also in hope to bringing Liverpool back in the title race this season. He is pleaced with the signings the new owners have done, and he feels that the club is going in the right direction now.

Many have said that the former World Class player has been struggling too much with injuries the last years, and therefore is never going to come back the way he was. Some claim that the only way he is going to put his mark to the team is if he plays as a link between the midfield and a striker, since he has lost too much pace. It is of course hard to come back from a long absence injurie and even harder when one have turned 30. But for those who don’t believe in the Liverpool captain, you must remember that he has been struggeling for a long time now. For years Gerrard have pushed his body to the brink of what it could suffer. All to try and save the club from poor results in a time where everything looked to go the wrong way for the club. So maybe Gerrard have needed a break to charge his batteries and come back into shape.

In my opinion Gerrard is still a world class player, and most likely the best midfielder in the premiership still. But of course it is a big mountain he is to climb to get back in to form. But if there is a player that will do it, it is Steven Gerrard. The Liverpool talisman has proven again and again what a class player he is. Even when the team has looked poor he has made Liverpool into a force that has been hard to beat. I personally feel Steven Gerrard deserves to win the league before he ends his career. It will be a shame if one of the best midfielders in the history if the premiership stands without a title after performing at such a high level trough his time at one club. When one look at how the international football is developing, it is outstanding and phenomenal to watch a world class player that actually shows strong feelings for his club and sticks to it through thick and thin.

No matter if Gerrard wins a league title with Liverpool or not, he will still be remembered as a world class player that show character and passion for his club in a time when most players only play for the money and glory. I can only say that I hope for Steven Gerrard and Liverpool that he will get back into form and win a title before his career comes to an end.

Daniel Sturridge to Anfield

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 18:07:00 +0000

Raul Meireles

Liverpool supporters were shocked again, seeing another star-player (Raul Meireles) joining Chelsea at the end of a transfer window. I bet some of them thought not again, referring to the transfer involving Fernando Torres in the January window.

The roumers are many about why Liverpool let Meireles go so late in the transfer window. Some say it’s because he didn’t get a promised raise, while some indicate that he wanted to move to a “bigger” club. Some talk about Liverpool having too many midfielders and since they got a good enough offer when Chelsea failed to snatch Modric; they felt they had a good deal.

The reasons can all be true and Meireles himself also went out and claimed that he is not a Judas, just to calm down the situation, and stated that he will comment more about the transfer later on.

For me I can only see two scenarios in the Meireles transfer:

1. Liverpool wanted to sell and got a price they were satisfied with.

2. Liverpool where looking to strengthen their attack after N’Gog went to Bolton. They were able to sign Craig Bellamy in the last minutes of the transfer window. But I have a feeling they agreed to sell Meireles to Chelsea if they would get in form player Daniel Sturridge on a season loan.

Daniel Sturridge

The loan-window is opening next week, and there have been some roumers about Chelsea is planning to send Sturridge on a loan, since they have way too many strikers at the moment. And I think Liverpool have made a deal with Chelsea that will take Sturridge on loan to Anfield this season. Let’s see if I’m right on this one.

Premiership winner and loser summer 2011

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 21:52:00 +0000

Arsenal

It’s difficult to compare the teams in the premiership when one is using winner and loser. The gap between the top 6 teams and the rest of the league is huge and there for not worth mentioning. That being said I would rate Arsenal as the loser when the window closed. Arsene Wenger did a lot of good work signing Mikel Arteta (Everton), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Yossi Benayoun (Chelsea, loan), Andre Santos (Fenerbahce), and Park Cho Young (Monaco) before the window closed. But in my opinion I can’t see Gunners being able to replace the creativity from former captain Fabregas and French international star Nasri. Even though I rate Arsenal as the losers in this transfer window I want to give a shout out to all the Wenger haters out there. Arsene Wenger is a world class manager, and The Gunners won’t find any better out there, so stop the wining and back your team instead.

Manchester City

The winner of this transfer is in my opinion Manchester City without of doubt. Gael Clichy (Arsenal), Stefan Savic (Partizan Belgrade), Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), Samir Nasri (Arsenal) and Owen Hargreaves (free). Clichy has already proved himself as one of the best backs in the premiership, while Savic is one of the most talented defenders in the world. Aguero have showed the fans what he can do from day one, and Nasri is in my opinion one of the best players in the world when you look at flair and creativity. The signing of Hargreaves on the final day on the window is a strange signing, but if the Canadian born Englishman can get back in shape he is a quality player.

Queens Park Rangers

When looking outside of the top teams I feel QPR did a lot of good signings. Jay Bothroyd (Cardiff, free), Kieron Dyer (West Ham, free), DJ Campbell (Blackpool), Danny Gabbidon (West Ham, free), Joey Barton (Newcastle, free), Brian Murphy (Ipswich, free), Luke Young (Aston Villa), Bruno Perone (free), Armand Traore (Arsenal), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City) and Anton Ferdinand (Sunderland). Warnock have signed players with premiership experience and I think they have done enough this summer to make sure that the club stays up this season.

Norwich City

Norwich is the team that sticks out for me in a negative way when looking at their transfers. James Vaughan (Everton), Steve Morison (Millwall), Eliot Bennett (Brighton), Ritchie de Laet (Manchester United), Anthony Pilkington (Huddersfield), Bradley Johnson (Leeds, free), Kyle Naughton (Tottenham, loan) and Daniel Ayala (Liverpool). It is very little premiership experience in the signings and players like James Vaughan and Ritchie de Laet don’t look strong enough even though they have experience from this level. I can’t see Norwich stay up this season even though I fancy the Canaries as a club.

English premiership transfers summer 2011

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 21:27:00 +0000

Arsenal:Carl Jenkinson (Charlton), Gervinho (Lille), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Southampton), Joel Campbell (Saprissa), Mikel Arteta (Everton), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Yossi Benayoun (Chelsea, loan), Andre Santos (Fenerbahce), Park Cho Young (Monaco)

Aston Villa: Shay Given (Manchester City), Charles N'Zogbia (Wigan), Alan Hutton (Tottenham), Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham, loan)

Blackburn: David Goodwillie (Dundee United), Radosav Petrovic (Partizan Belgrade), Simon Vukcevic (Sporting Lisbon), Bruno Ribeiro (free), Scott Dann (Blackburn)

Bolton: Chris Eagles (Burnley), Tyrone Mears (Burnley), Darren Pratley (Swansea, free), Nigel Reo-Coker (Aston Villa, free), Dedryck Boyata (Manchester City, loan), Tuncay (Wolfsburg, loan), David Ngog (Liverpool), Gael Kakuta (Chelsea, loan)

Chelsea: Lucas Piazon (Sao Paulo), Thibaut Courtois (Racing Genk), Oriol Romeu (Barcelona), Romelu Lukaku (Anderlecht), Ulises Davila (Guadalajara), Juan Mata (Valencia), Raul Meireles (Liverpool),

Everton: Eric Dier (Sporting, Lisbon, loan), Royston Drenthe (Real Madrid, loan), Denis Stracqualursi (Tigre, loan)

Fulham: Tom Donegan (Everton), Dan Burn (Darlington) John Arne Riise (Roma), Marcel Gecov (Slovan Liberec), Pajtim Kasami (Palermo), Csaba Somogyi (Rákospalotai EAC, free), Bryan Ruiz (FC Twente), Zdenek Grygera (Juventus, free), Orlando Sa (Porto, free)

Liverpool: Jordan Henderson (Sunderland), Charlie Adam (Blackpool), Alexander Doni (Roma), Stewart Downing (Aston Villa), Jose Enrique (Newcastle), Sebastian Coates (Nacional), Craig Bellamy (Manchester City)

Manchester City: Gael Clichy (Arsenal), Stefan Savic (Partizan Belgrade), Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), Costel Pantilimon (Poli Timisoara), Samir Nasri (Arsenal), Owen Hargreaves (free)

Manchester United: Phil Jones (Blackburn Rovers), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), David de Gea (Athletico Madrid)

Newcastle: Mehdi Abeid (Lens B, Free), Yohan Cabaye (Lille), Demba Ba (West Ham United), Sylvain Marveaux (Rennes, free), Gabriel Obertan (Manchester United)

Norwich City: James Vaughan (Everton), Steve Morison (Millwall), Eliot Bennett (Brighton), Ritchie de Laet (Manchester United), Anthony Pilkington (Huddersfield), Bradley Johnson (Leeds, free), Kyle Naughton (Tottenham, loan), Daniel Ayala (Liverpool)

Queens Park Rangers: Jay Bothroyd (Cardiff, free), Kieron Dyer (West Ham, free), DJ Campbell (Blackpool), Danny Gabbidon (West Ham, free), Joey Barton (Newcastle, free), Brian Murphy (Ipswich, free), Luke Young (Aston Villa), Bruno Perone (free), Armand Traore (Arsenal), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City), Anton Ferdinand (Sunderland)

Stoke City: Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham, free), Matthew Upson (free), Peter Crouch (Tottenham), Wilson Palacios (Tottenham)

Sunderland: Ahmed Elmohamady (Ennpi), Sebastien Larsson (Birmingham City, free), Kieren Westwood (Coventry City, Free), Craig Gardner (Birmingham City), Connor Wickham (Ipswich Town), Ji Dong-Won (Chunnam), Wes Brown (Manchester United), John O'Shea (Manchester United), Roarie Deacon (Arsenal, free), James McClean (Derry City), David Vaughan (Blackpool, free), Nicklas Bendtner (Arsenal, loan)

Swansea City: Danny Graham (Watford), Steven Caulker (Tottenham, loan), Leroy Lita (Middlesbrough), Wayne Routledge (Newcastle), José Moreira (Benfica), Michel Vorm (Utrecht), Federico Bessone (Leeds), Darnel Situ (Lens), Gerhard Tremmel (free)

Tottenham Hotspur: Brad Friedel (Aston Villa, free), Cristian Ceballos (Barcelona, free), Souleymane Coulibaly (Siena), Emmanuel Adebayor (Manchester City, loan), Yago Falque (Juventus, loan), Scott Parker (West Ham)

West Bromwich Albion: Gareth McAuley (Ipswich Town, free), Billy Jones (Preston North End, free), Ben Foster (Birmingham City, loan), Zoltan Gera (Fulham, free), Shane Long (Reading)

Wigan: Al Al Habsi (Bolton Wanderers), David Jones (Wolves, free), Albert Crusat (Almeria), Shaun Maloney (Celtic), Patrick van Aanholt (Chelsea, loan)

Wolves: Jamie O'Hara (Tottenham Hotspur), Dorus DeVries (Swansea City, Free), Roger Johnson (Birmingham)

Transfer deadline august 2011-08-31

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:14:00 +0000

The transfer window is about to close and all supporters are hoping for some exciting signings for their club before the end of the day.

Here are the most exciting roumers and signing so far today:

Arsenal

Per Mertesacker

Arsenal are set to conclude a deal for the Werder Bremen defender Per Mertesacker after personal terms were agreed

Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Fenerbahce's Brazil international defender André Santos on a 'long-term contract'

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Aston Villa

Villa could make a move for Spurs full-back Alan Hutton after Luke Young moved to QPR. (Sun)

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Bolton Wanderers

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has told Bolton they can keep Gary Cahill, after chairman Phil Gartside and Owen Coyle ridiculed his ‘derisory’ offer. (Metro)

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Chelsea

Franc Ribery

Chelsea have made a £30 million move for French star Franck Ribery after failing to prise Luka Modric from Tottenham. (Emirates 247)

Lille are weighing up a bid for Chelsea's Salomon Kalou. (TalkSport)

Roman Abramovich has launched one last £40million bid to prise Luka Modric from Tottenham. (Mail)

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Everton

David Moyes is ready to throw an Everton FC lifeline to Yakubu and Joseph Yobo if the pair are still at Everton after transfer deadline. (Liverpool Post)

Arsène Wenger is trying to tie up a deal for Everton star Mikel Arteta – with Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner set to head for Goodison Park. (People)

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Fulham

Fulham have agreed a £10.6million fee with FC Twente for Bryan Ruiz and signed up Marseille striker Andre Pierre Gignac on a season loan. (Mail)

Fulham are ready to make a £5million offer for 19-year-old Crystal Palace striker Wilfried Zaha. (Mirror)

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Liverpool

Craig Bellamy

Joe Cole could be on his way to France after Lille expressed an interest in a season-long loan. (Express)

Liverpool are planning to make a move for Everton full-back Seamus Coleman. (Fanatix)

Liverpool are awaiting Chelsea’s next move after rejecting a swap deal involving Raul Meireles and Yossi Benayoun. (Liverpool Post)

Craig Bellamy set for a return to Anfield.

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Manchester City

Owen Hardgreaves

AS Roma owner Thomas DiBenedetto says the Serie A outfit will not pressure Manchester City target Daniele DeRossi to stay at the club. (Premiership Talk)

Roberto Mancini believes Carlos Tevez will stay with the club after moving his young family to Manchester. (Times)

Owen Hardgreaves could set to join Man City.

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Manchester United

Manchester United could still sign Wesley Sneijder from Inter Milan before the transfer window closes on Wednesday. (Inside Futbol)

Wesley Snijder

Alex Ferguson is refusing to sell Dimitar Berbatov before the transfer window closes even though he cannot tell the striker when he will start his next game. (People)

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Newcastle United

Newcastle are still trying to sign Freiburg’s Papiss Demba Cisse. (Mail)

Newcastle United have concluded the signing of Inter Milan left-back Davide Santon on a five-year deal. (Premiership Talk)

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Norwich City

Norwich City boss Paul Lambert is unlikely to move into the transfer market to replace injured defender Dani Ayala. (Give Me Football)

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Queens Park Rangers

Neil Warnock is trying to wrap up a £10million swoop for Anton Ferdinand and Shaun Wright-Phillips. (Sun)

New boy Joey Barton is believed to have convinced Shaun Wright Phillips to make the move to Loftus Road. (Independent)

31 Aug 2011: QPR have agreed a fee with Sunderland for their 26-year-old defender Anton Ferdinand

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Stoke City

Stoke have sealed a £6m deal for midfielder Wilson Palacios and remain keen to recruit Tottenham team-mate Peter Crouch. (Express)

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Sunderland

Sunderland are set to make a club record £14m move for Freiburg striker Papiss Demba Cisse. (Mirror)

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Swansea City

Bournemouth have signed midfielder Shaun MacDonald from Swansea. (Give Me Football)

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Tottenham Hotspur

Roman Pavlyuchenko has stunned Tottenham by asking to secure a deadline-day departure from White Hart Lane. (Mail)

Peter Crouch is at the centre of a £12 million tug of war between Sunderland and Stoke. (Sun)

Harry Redknapp is ready to offer former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves a short-term deal at Tottenham. (Football 365)

------------------------------------------------------------

West Bromwich Albion

Roy Hodgson admits he is happy with his Albion squad – but still hopes to tempt Owen Hargreaves to The Hawthorns. (Express and Star)

----------------------------------------------------------------

Wigan Athletic

Wigan are in talks with Celtic over signing Shaun Maloney. (Sun)

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez has enquired about Tottenham misfit Giovani dos Santos. (Mail)

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Wolverhampton Wanderers

Leigh Griffiths has agreed a window-to-window loan to join Scottish Premier League side Hibernian. (Wolves.co.uk)

Foul play at Manchester

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 21:09:00 +0000

Sheikh Mansour

UEFA's financial fair play boss has revealed he has "some questions" about Manchester City's sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways.The Abu Dhabi government-owned airline, the club's shirt sponsors, last month struck a new 10-year deal for stadium naming rights and to fund the proposed new Etihad Campus. City did not disclose financial details but it was reported the agreement was worth £400million. With Etihad having close links to City's owner Sheikh Mansour, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, some critics have suggested this could be an attempt to circumvent UEFA's new financial fair play regulations(It’s no glory on Sheikh Mansour head at least).

Jean-Luc Dehaene, chairman of UEFA's Club Financial Control Panel, was on Tuesday quoted by the BBC saying: "I have some questions, yes.

"But it would be dangerous for our authority if we take judgements without facts."

He added: "If we see clubs that are looking for loopholes we will act.
"It is not enough to say, 'We've got a sponsorship contract and that's okay' if the contract is out of line."

City have previously said the speculated figures concerning the Etihad deal are "not accurate".
City have also underlined the importance of the agreement to the Etihad Campus project, which will feature a new 80-acre state-of-the-art training complex near to the Etihad Stadium.
The facility will also include an academy for 400 players, 16 football pitches, injury rehabilitation units, a 7,000-capacity stadium and staff offices.
City chief executive Garry Cook told the BBC: "The Etihad Campus, which constitutes some 210 acres is unique in its breadth, depth and length of term.

"It involves the tradition, which is shirt sponsorship, the naming rights of the stadium, but what we haven't seen in football is a campus, creating a place to be, to work.

"We've got a great relationship with Etihad. It's a long-term programme and they are equally very excited by it."

I guess one could quote Mr.Barton; if City gets more money now it would be considered cheating in football manager.

Double trouble for Arsenal

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:43:00 +0000

Gervinho

Arsenal might be in trouble when facing Liverpool and Manchester United in the coming games. Ivory Coast forward Gervinho is out for 3 matches after FA dismissed a claim from the Gunners following his red card in Saturday’s game.

The 24-year-old Ivory Coast forward was sent off in the second half of the goalless draw at St James' Park for striking Magpies midfielder Joey Barton following what the home side claimed was a dive in the penalty area.

Alex Song

On Monday, the Gunners lodged a claim that the standard three-game ban was "clearly excessive", but an FA regulatory commission heard the case on Tuesday and ruled that the punishment should stand.

Arsenal midfielder Alex Song faces a separate charge of violent conduct after his stamp on Barton, which had inflamed the situation, was missed by referee Peter Walton.

Gervinho will miss the games against Liverpool, Manchester United and Swansea - and Song could also be hit by the same retrospective punishment.This will be a big blow for Wenger who already have lost Fabregas while Nasri is reported out of the Emirates stadium in the days to come.

Premier League Blogspot Star pick of the week; Sergio Aguero

noreply@blogger.com (PLBLOGno) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 16:33:00 +0000

Sergio Aguero

Club/national Year Matches played/Goals

Independient 2003-2006 54/(23)

Atletico Madrid 2006-2011 174/(74)

Manchester City 2011- 1/(2)

Argentina U20 2005-2007 11/(6)

Argemtina 2007-2011 22/(10)

Born: 02/06/1988 – Quilmes

Height: 5'6"

Weight 10.9st

Honours: Europe League: 2010 (Atlético Madrid); European Super Cup: 2010 (Atlético Madrid); FIFA U-20 World Cup: 2005, 2007 (Argentina U-20); Primera A: 2003 (Independiente)

Sergio Leonel ‘Kun’ Agüero del Castillo, nicknamed as El Kun, is a young Argentina international footballer who currently features for Manchester City. Aguero is considered as a young pretender to the Argentine great Diego Armando Maradona, also being married to his daughter.

Aguero plays as a striker and made his professional debut for Argentine club Independiente in July, 2003 becoming the youngest player to debut in the Argentine First Division at only 15 years and 35 days. He played successfully for Independiente until the summer of 2006 when he was signed by Atletico Madrid.
Sergio Aguero didn’t impress much in his first season at Atletico but in the 2007-2008 season stood out as the best player for Atlético and one of the stars in La Liga. He guided Atletico Madrid to a spot in the 2008-2009 UEFA Champions League.

Atletico Madrid paid 15 million Euros for Aguero and he has been every penny of that money. With his short stature, Aguero has a low centre of gravity and is nimble and quick too. Aguero is often compared to El Diego as much for his playing style as for his talent.

Sergio Aguero was the star of the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup and won the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball honours in the competition for his thrilling displays for Argentina. He has played 5 matches for the senior Argentine team since making his debut in 2007.

Manchester City is said to have payed Atletico Madrid around 40 million pounds for the young Argentinean striker. Aguero maid one of the most impressive debuts in the history if the premiership when he came on in the second half and got 2 goals and 1 assist before the game was finished. Could prove to be the signing of the season if he can keep the goals flowing.

Premier League blogspot

Barclay Premier League Matches Saturday 1.October 2011

The value of world class players

Champions League Results 27&28 September

Champions League prediction 28.September

Champions League Match Week 2

Barclay Premier League game week 6 roundup

Preview of Barclays Premier League matches on 25 and 26 September:

Barclay Premier League Results Saturday 24/09/11

Preview of Barclays Premier League matches on Saturday 24. September:

Manchester United to much respect

Liverpool's shaky defence

Premier League Results Sunday 18/09/11

Preview of the English premiership matches on Sunday 18.september

Premier League Results Saturday 17/09/11

Preview of the English premiership matches on Saturday 17.september

So long Steve Kean

Match day 4 Saturday, 10 September 2011

Steven Gerrard back in form and in for gold

Daniel Sturridge to Anfield

Premiership winner and loser summer 2011

English premiership transfers summer 2011

Transfer deadline august 2011-08-31

The transfer window is about to close and all supporters are hoping for some exciting signings for their club before the end of the day.

Here are the most exciting roumers and signing so far today:

Arsenal are set to conclude a deal for the Werder Bremen defender Per Mertesacker after personal terms were agreed

Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Fenerbahce's Brazil international defender André Santos on a 'long-term contract'

---------------------------------------------------------------- Aston Villa

Villa could make a move for Spurs full-back Alan Hutton after Luke Young moved to QPR. (Sun)

----------------------------------------------------------------

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has told Bolton they can keep Gary Cahill, after chairman Phil Gartside and Owen Coyle ridiculed his ‘derisory’ offer. (Metro)

----------------------------------------------------------------

Chelsea have made a £30 million move for French star Franck Ribery after failing to prise Luka Modric from Tottenham. (Emirates 247)

Lille are weighing up a bid for Chelsea's Salomon Kalou. (TalkSport)

Roman Abramovich has launched one last £40million bid to prise Luka Modric from Tottenham. (Mail)

----------------------------------------------------------------

David Moyes is ready to throw an Everton FC lifeline to Yakubu and Joseph Yobo if the pair are still at Everton after transfer deadline. (Liverpool Post)

Arsène Wenger is trying to tie up a deal for Everton star Mikel Arteta – with Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner set to head for Goodison Park. (People)

----------------------------------------------------------------

Fulham have agreed a £10.6million fee with FC Twente for Bryan Ruiz and signed up Marseille striker Andre Pierre Gignac on a season loan. (Mail)

Fulham are ready to make a £5million offer for 19-year-old Crystal ­Palace striker ­Wilfried Zaha. (Mirror)

----------------------------------------------------------------

Joe Cole could be on his way to France after Lille expressed an interest in a season-long loan. (Express)

Liverpool are planning to make a move for Everton full-back Seamus Coleman. (Fanatix)

Liverpool are awaiting Chelsea’s next move after rejecting a swap deal involving Raul Meireles and Yossi Benayoun. (Liverpool Post)

Craig Bellamy set for a return to Anfield.

----------------------------------------------------------------

AS Roma owner Thomas DiBenedetto says the Serie A outfit will not pressure Manchester City target Daniele DeRossi to stay at the club. (Premiership Talk)

Roberto Mancini believes Carlos Tevez will stay with the club after moving his young family to Manchester. (Times)

Owen Hardgreaves could set to join Man City.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Manchester United could still sign Wesley Sneijder from Inter Milan before the transfer window closes on Wednesday. (Inside Futbol)

Alex Ferguson is refusing to sell Dimitar Berbatov before the transfer window closes even though he cannot tell the striker when he will start his next game. (People)

----------------------------------------------------------------

Newcastle are still trying to sign Freiburg’s Papiss Demba Cisse. (Mail)

Newcastle United have concluded the signing of Inter Milan left-back Davide Santon on a five-year deal. (Premiership Talk)

---------------------------------------------------------------

Norwich City boss Paul Lambert is unlikely to move into the transfer market to replace injured defender Dani Ayala. (Give Me Football)

----------------------------------------------------------------

Neil Warnock is trying to wrap up a £10million swoop for Anton Ferdinand and Shaun Wright-Phillips. (Sun)

New boy Joey Barton is believed to have convinced Shaun Wright Phillips to make the move to Loftus Road. (Independent)

31 Aug 2011: QPR have agreed a fee with Sunderland for their 26-year-old defender Anton Ferdinand

----------------------------------------------------------------

Stoke have sealed a £6m deal for midfielder Wilson Palacios and remain keen to recruit Tottenham team-mate Peter Crouch. (Express)

---------------------------------------------------------------

Sunderland are set to make a club record £14m move for Freiburg striker Papiss Demba Cisse. (Mirror)

----------------------------------------------------------------

Bournemouth have signed midfielder Shaun MacDonald from Swansea. (Give Me Football)

----------------------------------------------------------------

Roman Pavlyuchenko has stunned Tottenham by asking to secure a deadline-day departure from White Hart Lane. (Mail)

Peter Crouch is at the centre of a £12 million tug of war between Sunderland and Stoke. (Sun)

Harry Redknapp is ready to offer former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves a short-term deal at Tottenham. (Football 365)

------------------------------------------------------------

Roy Hodgson admits he is happy with his Albion squad – but still hopes to tempt Owen Hargreaves to The Hawthorns. (Express and Star)

----------------------------------------------------------------

Wigan are in talks with Celtic over signing Shaun Maloney. (Sun)

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez has enquired about Tottenham misfit Giovani dos Santos. (Mail)

----------------------------------------------------------------

Leigh Griffiths has agreed a window-to-window loan to join Scottish Premier League side Hibernian. (Wolves.co.uk)

Foul play at Manchester

----------------------------------------------------------------
Aston Villa

Fulham are ready to make a £5million offer for 19-year-old Crystal Palace striker Wilfried Zaha. (Mirror)