You are currently browsing the category archive for the 'Uncategorized' category.
Having been on the backburner for a year whilst other things took priority, this one is back, alive and kicking, a refuge for football matters. First post will be tomorrow and then every few days on the big, bad world of the professional game.
Chelsea entertained Manchester United at Stamford Bridge, the scene last season of alleged racial abuse leading to a contretemps between United players and Chelsea groundstaff, disciplinary action still sitting gathering cobwebs at the FA Headquarters. This time, the trouble was on the pitch, seven United players cautioned triggering an automatic £25k fine, three of which were for dissent, making a mockery of the FA’s RESPECT campaign. An enthralling encounter took place with Park giving United an eighteenth minute lead, almost cancelled out by Joe Cole later in the first half. As it was, Salomon Kalou saved the host’s blushes with ten minutes to go, giving both sides’ equal shares. To whom the point is most valuable will become more apparent next May.
Liverpool meanwhile were confident of hitting the top spot and seemed to be well on their way in the second minute when Steven Gerrard appeared to have scored his one hundredth goal for the club against Stoke City. Inexplicably, it was ruled out whereupon the visitors defended the siege of Anfield, putting heads, legs, bodies and every other extremity in the way, surviving to gain a point with no little help from the fact that Robbie Keane cannot hit a barn door at the moment, let alone find the back of the net. Five games in and still no sign of his immensely over-inflated transfer fee being repaid.
With all this point sharing going on, Arsenal took full advantage by coming from a goal down to emerge victorious at The Reebok by a 3 – 1 scoreline. Kevin Davies gave Bolton Wanderers the lead on just before the quarter of an hour mark, an advantage that lasted all of ten minutes. Emmanuel Eboue took advantage of a misjudgement by the officials, clearly offside he played to the whistle that only came after he had scored an equaliser at the near post. Sixty seconds later, all that is wonderful about The Gunners allowed Nicklas Bendtner to slide in for a second. The passing and vision of the Arsenal midfield, combined with their speed of thought and movement was too much for the pedestrian Bolton defence.
Davies then decided to put in some physical intimidation on Gael Clichy, fortunate that his recklessness did not break the Frenchman’s leg. Final revenge was extracted when Theo Walcott scared the living bejesus out of six Bolton defenders by running at them, laying the ball off to Adebayor whose cross should have been met with a simple tap-in by Denilson. The Brazilian decided that a rasping sidefooted shot into the roof of the net was more aesthetically pleasing and emphatic, a third Arsenal goal still the final outcome.
Aston Villa have been sneaking up on the rails all season and crept into the top four with a 2 – 1 derby win at The Hawthorns. Not that West Brom were entirely congenial hosts, Clinton Morrison pegging back two Villa goals in two minutes – John Carew and Gabriel Agbonlahor the scorers – with ten minutes to go to half-time. Despite The Baggies trying to huff and puff and blow the Villa defence down, the scoreline could, and perhaps should, have been wider.
Middlesbrough broke a million gamblers’ hearts by failing to score at The Stadium Of Light as Sunderland strode to a 2 – 0 victory. Had ‘Boro scored, a new Premier League record of five consecutive 2 – 1 results would have been created, beating the current Middlesbrough squad’s season best of four. Michael Chopra was the Sunderland hero with two goals in the final nine minutes. Anyone who has suffered losses as a result of ‘Boro’s failure to score is advised to blame Stewart Downing, who capped his incredibly poor international performances by missing a penalty.
Gianfranco Zola took charge of West Ham for the first time and saw them use Newcastle as a mop, wiping the floor with The Geordies in a 3 – 1 win. Italian journeyman, Davide di Michele, scored twice with Matthew Etherington adding a third; Michael Owen scored for the visitors in front of the watching Fabio Capello. It ought to be enough for the former Golden Boy to regain his place in the national team for if anyone can score for a side as poor as Newcastle, scoring at international level is a doddle.
Hull City warmed up for their visit to The Emirates by stealing a two-goal lead against Everton inside the first fifty minutes at the KC and The Sunshine Band stadium. They were tapping their toes as Turner gave the hosts the lead on eighteen, dancing in the aisles when a Phil Neville own goal increased the advantage with the second half barely five minutes old. Bottoms returned to seats when Tim Cahill pulled one back with sixteen minutes to go and the dancing in the home stand become rather more erratic and twitchy when Leon Osman scored the equaliser with twelve minutes remaining.
Blackburn Rovers overcame dogged Fulham defence at Ewood Park to win by a solitary Matt Derbyshire goal six minutes from time. Their status is a warning to the “World’s Richest Football Club” of what happens when an investor no longer pumps the funds into the club, something Manchester City need to bear in mind. Not that it really matters at the moment as Portsmouth were the sacrificial lambs at Eastlands, a 6 – 0 drubbing handed out quite deservedly with Stephen Ireland the star of the show. Jo started the rout on thirteen minutes before Stephen Dunne added a second seven minutes later. The match really sparked into life as the hour mark approached when the obligatory Robinho goal was followed ten minutes later by Shaun Wright-Phillips third in two games. Evans and Gelson finished the destruction with two goals in the final twelve minutes to hoist The Citizens to fifth spot.
The leaders went into the weekend level on points, both facing Mancunian opposition. Liverpool met fire with fire at Anfield, defeating Manchester United 2 – 1 to briefly claim top spot. Dimitar Berbatov’s debut turned out to be a damp squib despite setting up Carlos Tevez for the opener with barely three minutes on the clock. United’s slow start to the season was re-instated as the result of a self-inflicted wound, Wes Brown turning into his own net with the half-hour mark approaching. With a draw looming on the horizon, Ryan Babel settled the match with thirteen minutes remaining. The action was not over as Nemanja Vidic received his marching orders for leading with an elbow in the final minute. Local Cow News: None are worried at all when Robbie Keane appears with a banjo because they know he will not be able to hit their rear-ends. Defences feel the same when he approaches goal as he still cannot score. Maybe he will have to try to buy a goal instead.
Chelsea meanwhile faced former player, Mark Hughes, at Eastlands, where his new owners watched Manchester City, Robinho and all, slump to a 1 – 3 defeat. The £32m man gave City the lead in the thirteenth minute with a trademark freekick, one that the watching Frank Lampard could have only admired such was the deflection the ball took into the net. Chelsea hit back swiftly, Ricardo Carvalho equalising three minutes later. Their dominance was confirmed in the fifty-third minute when Lampard scored and a quarter of an hour later, former City striker Nicolas Anelka bit the hand that used to feed with the visitors third. John Terry was rightly dismissed for a professional foul with thirteen minutes remaining but the weak, lily-livered nature of the Football Association came to the fore when they rescinded the red card on the basis that Terry was not the last man, despite the fact that he was. It does not matter that two other Chelsea players may have been in close proximity, the bare fact is that Terry had nobody behind him and should have missed three games as a consequence of his cheating actions.
Talking of which, Arsenal moved into third spot as they crushed Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park, the 4 – 0 scoreline doing scant justice to the visitors command of the match. Robin van Persie struck in the eighth minute for the second week running to give Arsenal the lead, an advantage that was doubled in first half injury time by Emmanuel Adebayor. The Togolese international then converted an eighty-first minute penalty and completed his hat-trick two minutes into injury time to give The Gunners their just rewards.
Hull City proved to be the yo-yo team of the season, crushed by Wigan in the second week but capitalising on the disarray at St James Park by winning 2 – 1 over Newcastle United. Marlon King scored twice for the visitors, one in each half, before Xisco scored his first goal for The Magpies with eight minutes remaining. The match is best (or worst) remembered for the reckless, pointless and thuggish challenge by Chris Guthrie which broke Craig Fagan’s leg in injury time. Newcastle have enough on their plate with Joey Barton and have little need for anyone who takes him as a role model.
West Bromwich Albion gained their first win of the season, defeating West Ham United 3 – 2 at The Hawthorns. The afternoon started with a bang as Clinton Morrison opened the scoring after three minutes, Mark Noble equalising on the half-hour. Five minutes later, the visitors resumed what seemed to be normal service as captain Lucas Neill gave them the lead but the Baggies fought back almost immediately as Roman Bednar converted a thirty-seventh minute penalty to allow Albion into the interval on level terms. Both sides shored up defensively but a killer blow was struck by the hosts with seven minutes to go as James Brunt scored the winner. Onlooking new Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola looked bemused by what was happening, surely he could not have forgotten the topsy-turvy world that West Ham inhabit during his absence from the English game?
Did you get to the bookies in time? You did! Well done for putting down the correct score of 2 – 1 to the home side for Middlesbrough were in town, visiting Portsmouth. The hosts were looking to build upon their comprehensive victory at Goodison Park a week earlier and did so thanks to a Jermaine Defoe brace. It was three points though that were gained the hard way as they had to overturn Mido’s twenty-fourth minute opener that left ‘Boro still looking for their first away points of the season.
Wigan Athletic and Sunderland are expected to be in the relegation shake-up come the season’s end so it was hardly surprising that a 1 – 1 draw ensued when the teams met at the JJB Stadium. Titus Bramble put through his own net on fifteen minutes as The Black Cats dominated but the hosts earned their point as their goalscoring machine, Emile Heskey, equalised. Just kidding, Heskey has reached his quota for the season already and it was Zaki was scored with twelve minutes remaining. Fulham could not buy a win until the last few weeks of the season yet recorded their second in as many home games, beating Bolton Wanderers 2 – 1 at Craven Cottage. Zoltan Gera opened his account for The Cottagers on fifteen minutes, Bobby Zamora doing likewise on forty-one to give the hosts an unassailable two-goal advantage at half-time. Bolton huffed and puffed but could not blow the Fulham cottage down until the eighty-second minute when chief porker, Kevin Davies, scored.
Stoke City were, along with Hull City expected to be whipping boys in the top flight this season. Whilst the team from the Humber are doing their best to scrape out points early on, The Potters are beginning to live up to expectations and were comfortably beaten by Everton, despite the 2 – 3 scoreline suggesting otherwise. The visitors dominated and the surprise was that it took Yakubu forty-one minutes to give them the lead. Anichebe doubled that on fifty-one as Everton hit cruise control. They stumbled though as two goals in eight minutes brought the home side level. Olofinjana began the fightback on fifty-five before Phil Jagielka put through his own net on sixty-three. Despite this, it seemed only a matter of time until Everton added to their tally, Tim Cahill duly doing so with seventy-seven minutes played.
Doctors and research frequently mention that a smile or laugh works wonders for your health. In which case, all Arsenal fans must be really happy and in tip-top condition when they look at Tottenham’s results. This time a 1 – 2 home defeat to Aston Villa. It had been suggested that they missed Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane but they would not have made any difference as neither has scored yet. Nigel Reo-Coker gave the visitors the lead on five minutes, doubled when Ashley Young scored nine minutes after the interval. Some consolation was gained when Darren Bent scored with five minutes remaining but Spurs are bottom and half of North London is giggling away quite happily.
Manchester United’s match against Fulham was a casualty as the Champions League winners crashed to defeat in Monaco against Zenit St Petersburg in the European Super Cup final. Sir Alex Ferguson consoled himself by going shopping, his mood brightened by finding a Dimitar Berbatov on the shelf, looking all upset and lonely, the price of £30.75m considered a bargain by the Scot.
At home, Chelsea and Liverpool went into their fixtures against Tottenham and Aston Villa defending their 100% start’s to the season. Both had upcoming home games against the defending Champions and were hopeful of maximum points to put a considerable distance between them and United at this early stage of the season. Things did not go to plan as points were squandered in draws. Jose Mourinho once commented that Tottenham had parked tanks on the Chelsea lawn to earn a draw, Luis Felipe Scolari was equally frustrated as Belletti’s twenty-eight minute opener was cancelled out by goalscorer extraordinaire, Darren Bent, equalised as the first half drew to a close. At Villa Park, Liverpool were on top for a lot of the game but could not breach the Aston Villa defence. Robbie Keane did not score nor did he get booked, so he has nothing to remember this game by.
Arsenal slipped into gear and into fourth place with a comfortable cruise through Newcastle United, three goals for the hosts in the first hour were met with no reply. Robin van Persie drilled home an eigth minute penalty, adding his second four minutes before the interval. So bad were the visitors in the first half that Mike Ashley mistook the Arsenal crowd’s chants of ‘Down in one’ for a challenge to drink a pint of lager in one gulp, little realising that they were taunting him about the Toon’s impending relegation.
Football fans often seek solace in the misery of their local rivals, a route not allowed for Sunderland fans as they slumped to a 0 – 3 home reverse to Manchester City. Shaun Wright-Phillips celebrated his homecoming with two goals in eight second half minutes, adding to Stephen Ireland’s opener in first half injury time. City would be very active in the final twenty-four hours of the transfer window, new owners, ADUG, finding that buying the club cost £32m more than they originally bargained for as it came with a Robinho from Real Madrid. The Brazilian raised eyebrows with the move, facial arching that increased when he stated that he was happy to be joining Chelsea a few days later at a press conference in his homeland but that is a story for another day.
The forwards of the newly-promoted teams could not hit a cow’s backside with a banjo as West Bromwich Albion gained a creditable goalless draw at Bolton Wanderers whilst their peers both lost. Middlesbrough gave an indication that 2 – 1 might be a good bet as a correct score for their matches by defeating Stoke City by that scoreline, Alves and Sanli for the home side, a Justin Hoyte own goal for the visitors, repeating Robert Huth’s feat on the opening day. For Hull City reality bit them firmly on the rear as they were given a masterclass in counter-attacking football by Wigan Athletic, of all people. The hosts defence was breached by the visitors five times without reply, Egyptian striker Zaki having a hand in four,
If the opening day of the season went pretty much to form, the book was ripped up and thrown out of the window in the season’s second weekend. Having habitually failed to get their due reward on trips to Fratton Park, Manchester United took three deserved points from Portsmouth with Darren Fletcher’s thirty-second minute strike. Chelsea continued their winning start with Deco scoring after just four minutes, enough to ensure Wigan Athletic joined Pompey in propping up the table.
Joining Chelsea at the top of the table with maximum points were Liverpool who had to come from behind to beat Middlesbrough. Mido grabbed his second goal of the campaign, scoring after seventy minutes had passed. It seemed as though that would be enough for the visitors to provide the shock of the day until Emmanuel Pogatetz put through his own net with four minutes remaining on the clock. A point would have been well-earned by the visitors but with four minutes of injury time played, Steven Gerrard popped up to score the winner in a 2-1 victory in which Robbie Keane failed to score but he did manage to get himself booked so there is something to remember his home debut by.
His presence is not missed at White Hart Lane where Tottenham worked hard to lose 1 – 2 to Sunderland and sink into the relegation places. Kieran Richardson gave the visitors the lead on fifty-five minutes, the second coming from the only aristocrat playing in the Premier League, the Lord of Frodsham Manor, Djibril Cisse scoring on eighty-three minutes. A Tottenham player found the net ten minutes earlier, Jermaine Jenas grabbing that honour.
The shock result of the day came at Craven Cottage came as Fulham scored the only goal of the game to defeat Arsenal, some poor marking at a corner midway through the first half allowed Hangeland to head home. Despite some good opportunities, Arsenal’s woeful form against struggling teams on their travels is an ill for which Arsene Wenger has to find a cure if his side are to live up to their pre-season tag as one of the favourites for the title although Paddy Power’s odds of 12-1 seemed a generous at the time.
Hull City proved that their opening day win over Fulham was no flash in the pan as Phil Brown’s side shared the spoils at Ewood Park. Blackburn Rovers took the lead through Jason Roberts seven minutes before half-time only to be pegged back within two minutes by Garcia. No sign of Dean Windass making his Premier League debut for Hull but he did at least manage to look totally disinterested on the bench. Fellow promotees Stoke City managed to overcome Aston Villa for their first win of the season. A Liam Lawrence penalty gave them a first half lead but John Carew equalised for Villa just past the hour mark, parity lasting until the eightieth minute when Fuller gave the hosts the lead once more. Barely had the bottoms returned to the seats in the stadium when Martin Laursen equalised for the visitors but with barely time to restart the game before full-time, Sidibe scored to set The Potteries rocking. For a week at least.
Not that the same could be said for The Hawthorns as West Bromwich Albion slumped to their second defeat of the season. Everton took the lead on sixty-five minutes through Leon Osman and doubled it when Yakubu scored with fourteen minutes to go. A Roman Bednar penalty in the last minute might have reduced the deficit but it cannot disguise the fact that it is beginning to look like a long, hard season in the West Midlands.
Which is precisely what Newcastle United supporters may have been expecting as stories of ructions at St James Park began to surface, Kevin Keegan apparently taking umbrage at not being in control of player signings and departures. Bolton Wanderers might have hoped to take advantage of this turmoil but found out that contrary to the popular belief in the media, Michael Owen can hit the backside of a cow with banjo, scoring with nineteen minutes to go. It would not be enough to get him into Fabio Capello’s squad for the England internationals against Andorra and Croatia but at least it ensured that he would not be forgotten when the time for the October squad to be announced.
Finally at Eastlands, Mark Hughes first home Premier League match in charge of Manchester City ended with a comprehensive 3 – 0 victory over West Ham United. Daniel Sturridge opened the scoring with twenty-five minutes remaining and not for the last time this season, the samba rhythms rang across the city as Elano grabbed a brace in six second half minutes for The Citizens. It would not be the last time that the City fans enjoyed a Brazilian’s work in the box this season.
The blog has been on a bit of a break these past weeks but that will be rectified, starting tomorrow when it will be back for a wider football discussion
