Filed under: Results | Tags: Arsenal, Cheslea, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester United, Michael Owen, Nemanja Vidic, Rafa Benitez, Results, Sir Alex Ferguson, West Ham
Carlo Ancelotti’s laughing this morning. After losing at Villa last week he must have looked at the table and thought “Uh oh. One more defeat and we’re gonna be choking on United and Arsenal’s dust, maybe even City’s!” but a 4-0 victory in Europe coupled with a 5-0 victory over Blackburn on Saturday will have reaffirmed his faith. Still, both Arsenal and United were in positions to overthrow his side at the top of the Premier League (although Arsenal would have had to wait until their game in hand to do so) with games that on paper, looked like three points each.
Arsenal will hope their mediocre week of mediocrity can be left behind after surrendering a last minute equaliser against AZ in Europe on Tuesday they managed to go one better by surrendering a two goal lead at Upton Park yesterday. An absolute gift of a first goal from Robert Green was repaid in kind by Vito Mannone at the other end for West Ham’s first, while a lack of concentration from a harmless throw handed The Hammers the equaliser they didn’t look like getting for seventy minutes.
Carlton Cole was in fantastic form, playing the target man role as well as any I’ve seen in The Premier League, strong, quick feet, head-up, tidy, like Bobby Zamora with a shot at the end of it. He and Gallas went back and forth for ninety minutes and with Cole grabbing the first goal and winning the penalty for the second you’d have to say he got the better of it over the ninety minutes.
Robin van Persie’s failed header count almost reached double figures during the game when he flicked his neck into thin air as the ball threatened to mess-up his tidy quiff, a tame headed effort in the dying moments from a fantastic Sagna cross was blocked by Green guaranteeing West Ham the point. How they’re in the bottom three of the Premier League is anybodies guess. Yesterday’s result should give them the impetus to drive up the table.
It will take a few months for Sir Alex to erase the image of Rafa Benitez’s face at full-time yesterday from his memory. A satisfied, relieved, but ultimately reassured Benitez saw his side dominate United for 95% of the game. Only when Michael Owen was introduced with fifteen minutes to play did United really look like getting their first goal.
Berbatov’s lack of urgency frustrated and blunted United’s attack, rendering Wayne Rooney a spectator throughout, his passing was so wayward and his mind too far behind the play, Manc fans must be wondering how much longer they have to wait for Danny Wellbeck or Kiko Macheda to get a proper run in the team.
On the flip side, despite an awful refereeing display from start to finish, Lucas and Mascherano had fun in the gap that Darren Fletcher’s injury had left. Scholes and Giggs really struggled to match the energy and fight of Liverpool’s midfield. Yossi Benayoun seemed to have trouble connecting the final ball but Torres’ diving and niggling around Evra, Ferdinand and Vidic was bound to pay off as long as United weren’t offering anything at the other end (and they really weren’t).
Three straight victories for Liverpool over United then, is that the first time that’s happened since Fergie took over? It feels like it might be. Fuck researching it though.
As if my predictions for yesterday’s games couldn’t get any worse, Fulham came back to equalise against Manchester City and Everton managed to keep their European form going with a 3-2 defeat at The Reebok Stadium. How many predictions did I get right I hear you say? None? Yeah none. So what?
PREMIER LEAGUE
(predictions in brackets)
Bolton-3 Everton-2 (0-2)
Liverpool-2 Manchester United-0 (1-3)
Manchester City-2 Fulham-2 (2-1)
West Ham-2 Arsenal-2 (0-2)
Filed under: Results | Tags: Championship, Cheslea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Results, Sir Alex Ferguson
The day of reckoning has finally arrived, a selection of Liverpool fans squealed down their phones at talk radio hosts this morning, declaring everything from “It’s the owners fault and Rafa’s god!” to…well that’s about all they said. No league title in nineteen years, £200Million spent in five and it’s the owners fault, it couldn’t possibly be the manager of whom, it has been established, has easily had the talent on his roster during his tenure to prevent over-reliance on the two (three if you include Mascherano, although he’s the only one of the three that can’t carry the side on his own) players he currently relies on.
I think enough has been said about the potential outcome of today’s game. A United side without Fletcher in the big game can be opened up, but a Liverpool side without etc. can be found etc. just as easily.
HULL AND POMPEY HURT MY EYES
Spurs dropped a home point against Stoke when they fell asleep in the last five minutes. Were they so pissed off at not finding the winner that they collectively decided to concede the goal to teach themselves a lesson? Tony Pulis won’t mind though, as I said yesterday, he’s already planning for a third season in the Premier League.
Chelsea put five past Blackburn, adding to the six they leaked in London against Arsenal last week. While the result may never have been in doubt (especially with Franco Di Santo barred from playing against his parent club) the manner in which Chelsea banished their Aston Villa demons was forceful and a little bit spiteful, (in a good way) sending on another striker at 5-0.
Hull and Pompey played out a 0-0 draw. Nothing more to say about the game. I hear a few Hull fans talking about Phil Brown being allowed to take this season to its natural conclusion as he made it when he kept it in The Championship in his first season etc. I don’t think that flies though as he’s clearly not getting the best out of his side and hasn’t for almost twelve months. The pool of talent willing to take on the challenge may be smaller than it would have been in the summer but I can’t see Hull in the Premier Leaugue next season at this rate, I can’t see them stringing two wins together as things stand. Pompey at home, right now, is as close to a banker as this league will throw up for Hull.
As predicted, Villa bottled their chance to climb above Arsenal into the top four with a 1-1 draw against Wolves, which, while including a fantastic Gabby goal, could have seen Wolves claim two more penalties than they eventually won. Michael Kightly continues to impress me.
Wigan claimed an important away victory at Burnley, who took the lead through Steven Fletcher who I think will find the net more regularly as the season goes on. Brian Jensen’s slip and eventual injury offered Hugo Rodallega the equaliser on a plate but his second goal was pure class. A win that was always likely for Wigan, but one that Martinez may be looking back on come May with some satisfaction.
Steve Bruce took his brand spanking new Sunderland side down to Birmingham to face his former club yesterday and felt the full-wrath of a side possessed. Great sprayed passing from Seb Larsson carved open Sunderland’s improving central defence on several occasions. A class showing from McFadden reminded many what a player he can be on his day and but for a narrow miss in the dying moments of the game, Darren Bent could well have secured an equaliser for The Black Cats.
STILL NO WIN FOR KEANE
The way Ipswich ended last season, under new coach Roy Keane, promised a real threat this term. Something’s gone wrong though, Keane lost a few Magilton players, brought in a few Sunderland lads and the balance is gone. The way Plymouth are playing at the moment a victory was there for the taking, but yet again Ipswich seemed satisfied with the point. The Suffolk side are a win away from escaping the drop-zone which will keep him in a job for at least another week, but the amount of investment fed into this side (not least on Keane’s wages) will see demands increase as the weeks move on. They can still mount a play-off challenge but they’ll have to get their skates on.
That play-off push is already hotting up with further wins for Bristol City, QPR and Cardiff, while Blackpool could only manage a draw away against Swansea. Preston, Sheffield United and Derby’s potential promotions look further away in my mind.
Let’s see how my predictions went, here’s a prediction, not so well?
PREMIER LEAGUE
Birmingham-2 Sunderland-1 (1-2)
Burnley-1 Wigan-3 (1-0)
Chelsea-5 Blackburn-0 (2-0)
Hull-0 Portsmouth-0 (1-2)
Tottenham-0 Stoke-1 (2-0)
Wolves-1 Aston Villa-1 (1-3)
THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Barnsley-2 Bristol City-3 (1-2)
Coventry-0 West Brom-0 (1-1)
Crystal Palace-1 Nottingham Forest-1 (1-1)
Derby-2 QPR-4 (0-2)
Newcastle-2 Doncaster-1 (3-0)
Peterborough-3 Scunthorpe-0 (1-1)
Plymouth-1 Ipswich-1 (1-2)
Preston-2 Middlesbrough-2 (2-1)
Sheffield United-3 Cardiff-4 (3-2)
Swansea-0 Blackpool-0 (1-2)
LEAGUE ONE
Brentford-2 Stockport-0 (2-0)
Brighton-0 Oldham-2 (1-2)
Bristol Rovers-1 Yeovil-2 (2-1)
Carlisle-2 Southend-1 (2-0)
Colchester-2 Walsall-1 (2-0)
Exeter-1 Wycombe-1 (1-1)
Gillingham-1 Charlton-1 (1-2)
Hartlepool-1 Tranmere-0 (3-1)
Huddersfield-4 Leyton Orient-0 (1-2)
Millwall-2 Leeds United-1 (1-2)
Norwich-1 Swindon-0 (3-1)
Southampton-3 MK Dons-1 (2-2)
LEAGUE TWO (Saturday fixtures)
Barnet-3 Darlington-0 (3-0)
Bournemouth-3 Grimsby-1 (2-0)
Bradford-1 Hereford-0 (1-1)
Bury-2 Rotherham-1 (1-2)
Chesterfield-5 Burton Albion-2 (1-0)
Lincoln City-0 Torquay-0 (1-0)
Macclesfield-2 Dag & Red-2 (1-3)
Morcambe-2 Northampton-4 (1-1)
Notts County-2 Crewe-0 (3-2)
Port Vale-1 Cheltenham-1 (2-0)
Rochdale-1 Accrington Stanley-2 (2-1)
Shrewsbury- 3 Aldershot-1 (3-1)
Filed under: Results | Tags: Benfica, Celtic, Europa League, Everton, Hamburg, Results
With sixty seconds remaining in a game where Fulham looked the more professional, the more collected and the more clued-up, Andreolli scored a far post equaliser for Roma to wreck what would have certainly been the West-London side’s greatest European night. Brede Hangeland gave Fulham the lead in a first half that saw the Whites move the ball around the tight Craven Cottage pitch as if Roma didn’t have a right to be there. The second half evened out with Roma starting to see the better of the attacking play, before John Arne Risse was felled by Gary Kelly on his way to goal. A penalty and a red card for…Hangeland? The experimental fifth official shrugged his shoulders before sensing the unforgiving stare of Michel Platini from somewhere across Europe, a minute or sos consultation saw the red card rescinded and attributed to the guilty Kelly who used the farcical situation to eat up a few extra minutes for Fulham and increase the pressure on young Menez who would take the penalty. Take it he did, fantastically saved by Schwarzer to keep Fulham in the lead. A variety series of last ditch clearances and standing tackles frustrated the Roman club until their eventual equaliser. Fulham were a moment away from forgetting all the unfashionable Sunday and Monday fixtures, the random exhausting trips around Europe on a Thursday night and embracing the magnificence of European competition in a way Aston Villa seem to have refused. It’s hard not to look at tonight’s result as some kind of defeat with the win so close, but on reflection I think Fulham fans and staff will look on tonight as the culmination of a great season last season and an incredible job done by Roy Hodgson since arriving at the club. Nights like tonight, win, lose or draw, are what Europe is all about.
EVERTON
David Moyes may not quite see the bright side of Everton’s absolutely disgraceful 5-0 defeat this evening. While I predicted a win for Benfica I didn’t expect that, I don’t think the most optimistic Benfica fan in the world expected that. Inexperienced full-backs contributed to a mess of a performance from the Merseysider club but the eleven they sent out were more than capable of claiming at least a draw tonight. Moyes has seen his side fall by big margins one too many times this season and may start asking questions of a few defensive players.
LAZIO CONFIRM DECENT WEEK FOR SORRY-AH
Before watching the Fulham game I caught Villareal’s trip to Lazio and was quite delighted to discover that neither team had any clue how to keep the ball or defend. A post-Cygan Villareal defense traded the ball with Lazio’s Matuzalem and Julio Cruz for sixty minutes (until Cruz came off for being shit, only after missing an open goal header though), Lazio’s defense seemed to dance about in the box at every opportunity, losing almost every time to a grateful Rossi who unfortunately didn’t have anybody alongside him with anything like the tenacity, pace or power to make his hard work pay off. Robert Pires’ sorry performance on the left-wing was a horrible thing to witness from a former-great (imagine last year Figo). Lazio were reduced to ten-men when Matuzalem was given a second yellow card for diving despite replays clearly showing that he had in fact been clipped in the box (fifth referee?) but still went on to win the game with a late winner from Rocchi which left La Liga’s bottom club dumb struck. A pitiful example of two recently worthy Champions League sides.
Let’s see how my predictions worked out…
EUROPA LEAGUE
(predictions in brackets)
Celtic-0 Hamburg-1 (1-2)
Fulham-1 Roma-1 (2-2)
Lazio-2 Villareal-1 (1-3)
Benfica-5 Everton-0 (2-1)
I’m going to do my League One and League Two predictions for the weekend tomorrow.
Filed under: Results | Tags: AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Bordeaux, Champions League, Cheslea, CSKA Moscow, Iker Casillas, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Results, Sir Alex Ferguson
It says a lot that AC Milan’s 2-3 victory over Real Madrid tonight came as a surprise. The state of Sorry-A and the apparent lack of leadership at Milan since the departure of Ancelotti and the (ahem) legal concerns of Berlusconi had been much debated in the early part of the season. Coupled with Real Madrid’s exciting, if not entirely convincing start to the season, promised a tough night for young manager Leonardo (who must have thought Halloween had come early in his best Inspector Gadget costume) in a game that could have sequenced the end of his reign at the San Siro. If Milan were to be successful tonight then much would rely on the front-three of Ronaldinho, Inzaghi and Pato as Dida’s deputising in goal was always going to spell trouble at the back. Ronaldinho’s lack of consistency since leaving Barcelona has been much talked about and it’s been said that Milan’s football has suffered from a lack of pace because of it. Tonight he showed enough of the old Ronnie, superb control, a pin point pass and extra-terrestrial vision, linking incredibly with the young Pato who must have known how much rested on his shoulders coming up against former Milan hero Kaka. After handing Real an opener after a clear penalty shout had already been waved away Milan began to control the pace of the game through their geriatric midfielders Pirlo and Seedorf (who was as good as I’ve seen him), slick passing, tight marking and an openness that embraced Pato and Ronaldinho’s creativity showed a side of Milan we haven’t seen since their most recent glory days four or five years back. Two goals from Pato tells the story of a man on a mission no doubt, but Iker Casillas’ reverse mission appeared to be to lose the game at all costs, doubling up on Dida’s mistake at the other end by gifting Pirlo and then Pato goals that rightly stunned the home crowd. Casillas has been praised over the last couple of seaons for improved concentration and accountability which dogged his earlier years, tonight seemed like a true return to form for the “Best goalkeeper in the world”. The Rossoneri celebrated as if it were a Champions League final and to be frank tonight was probably as close as they’ll get this season, Leonardo has more than likely secured an extra month at least of his less than impressive introduction to management and Real Madrid still look useless without Ronaldo.
AKINFEEV
Earlier this evening over in Moscow, a young goalkeeper who will challenge Iker Casillas’ title as “Best in the world” over the coming years; Igor Akinfeev was doing everything in his power to catch the eye of opposing manager Alex Ferguson who earlier ruled out a move for the nimble Russian, claiming faith in both Ben Foster (ha) and Thomas Kuszak (HA) as van der Saar’s eventual replacements (HAHA!). Catch the eye he did, as CSKA failed to press home any home field (turf) advantage against a slightly confused looking United side. Rio Ferdinand clearly didn’t enjoy the surface and was promptly removed ten minutes after half time, Fabio was removed on a stretcher for an incident I’m still yet to fully understand, Dimitar Berbatov skid about like Bambi on ice on the moon and Michael Owen swung and missed everything that came near him (had nothing to do with the pitch mind). Eventually Nani and Valencia’s tireless industry down opposing flanks opened CSKA up, the latter turning in a pretty neat volley at the far post after Nani’s cross was nodded on brilliantly by Berba. United clearly had the better of the ninety minutes and came close on a number of occasions, almost always without fail being denied by an inspired Akinfeev. While I’m still surprised Fergie chanced his big hitters in the game at all, the satisfaction of nine points from three games was too big an opportunity to miss. Without Valencia’s goal in the eighty-sixth minute I’d definitely say it wasn’t worth it and a loss or even a draw on Saturday could see me proved right yet.
BAYERN
Bayern’s shocking start to the season continued as they were totally outplayed from the first minute by a Bordeaux side playing with absolutely no fear, an early own goal from Ciani put Bayern in front but they were quickly behind thanks to a superb equaliser from the same man and a dubiously claimed goal from Planus (that was an Altintop own-goal, you can’t fool me). Sandwiched between Bordeaux’s goals was a red card for Munich’s Muller who’s second yellow was as ludicrous a challenge as any you’ll see this week. All that before Bayern had actually taken a shot. Hans-Jorg Butt (Benfica’s number two last season…just saying) danced around his own box with the ball at his feet before the energetic Chamakh nicked it from him, leading the German keeper with no choice but to clip the Morocan’s ankle and concede a penalty. The growing reputation of Yoann Gourcuff wasn’t done any favours by a tight marking Antoliy Tymoschuk and subsequently an all too predictable penalty kick that the young Frenchman placed kindly into Butt’s hands in a failed show of pure arrogance, hardly needed in such an important game. Bayern used that penalty miss to spur them on for the rest of the second half when they fashioned chances for the first time in the game, including a header from Luca Toni which struck the post. Louis van Gaal must be wondering whether stepping into Klinsmann’s mess, started by Magath and glossed over by Hitzfeld was actually worth it. No Ribery, no Robben, no class.
Let’s see how my predictions went…
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
(predictions in brackets)
Bordeaux-2 Bayern Munich-1 (2-1)
Juventus-1 Maccabi Haifa-0 (1-2)
CSKA Moscow-0 Manchester United-1 (2-0)
Wolfsburg-0 Besiktas-0 (3-0)
Real Madrid-2 AC Milan-3 (2-1)
FC Zurich-0 Marseilles-1 (1-2)
FC Porto-2 APOEL-1 (1-0)
Chelsea-4 Atletico-0 (3-1)
An expected victory for Wolfsburg was prevented through a bizarre red card for forward Grafite, Chelsea dominated Atletico to an embarrassing extent (biggest drubbing of Match Day Three definitely), Porto made hard work of it at home to APOEL as expected and Juventus eventually overturned Haifa after I made a bold prediction that The Old (OLD) Lady would humiliate themselves in Turin.
Tomorrow sees five referees officiate a few UEFA Cup clashes, the saviour of UEFA’s second competition has come bounding over the hills and behold its name is freak show. Should make for some interesting Wenger/Benitez/Ferguson reactions on Friday afternoon if nothing else.
Filed under: Results | Tags: Billy Davies, Blog, Champions League, Championship, Ian Holloway, Liverpool, Lyon, Nigel Clough, Rangers, Results
My predictions for this evening’s fixtures are here. I had a decent night of it, my Champions League calls were a bit lopsided (I got one correct result. Shit) but I’m pretty happy with how I did in The Championship.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
(Predictions in brackets)
AZ-1 Arsenal-1 (2-0)
Barcelona-1 Rubin-2 (3-0)
Debrecen-3 Fiorentina-4 (0-1)
Inter Milan-2 Dynamo Kiev-2 (2-1)
Liverpool-1 Lyon-2 (1-1)
Olympiacos-2 Standard Liege-1 (1-2)
Rangers-1 Unirea Urziceni-4 (2-0)
VfB Stuttgart-1 Sevilla-3 (2-2)
THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Blackpool-3 Sheffield United-0 (2-2)
Bristol City-3 Plymouth-1 (3-1)
Cardiff-2 Coventry-0 (2-1)
Doncaster-3 Peterborough-1 (1-1)
Ipswich-1 Watford-1 (1-1)
Leicester-2 Crystal Palace-0 (1-0)
Nottingham Forest-1 Barnsley-0 (2-1)
Scunthorpe-2 Newcastle-1 (0-3)
Sheffield Wednesday-1 Preston-2 (2-0)
West Brom-0 Swansea-1 (2-1)
Middlesbrough-2 Derby-0 (2-1)
QPR-4 Reading-1 (2-0)
I predicted that Liverpool would have a tough time of it against Lyon and I wasn’t wrong. I was a little conservative with my estimate though as, by all accounts the ‘Pool were shite, not helped by Torres being out and Gerrard going off in the first half but I never thought they’d have enough to win. That makes it four defeats in a row for them, with United next in the league and Lyon away next in the Champions League, next year’s premier European competition is looking a long way off for Benitez at the moment. Quite predictable when you consider the over-achievement of last season and the loss of their most important player in said over-achieving season. If things don’t pick up in the next four or five games Rafa can expect some serious pressure from Liverpool fans (although they’re famously deluded for the most part and probably still think they’re on for the title). Arsenal played a 0-2 game against AZ but slack defending from Diaby followed 45 minutes of lazy-boy comfort leading to an all-too predictable result of 1-1, ending the Gooners’ seven match winning streak. I don’t think anybody realistically called the Barcelona result, the so called elite football media have Barcelona posted on a very high pedestal as an invincible team this season which was never likely, they still have problems at the back and injury problems up-front have lead to a degree of uncertainty in the last two games. If Valencia had a inch more self-belief on Saturday night they could easily have stolen the victory, Barca never truly looked like winning. Inter are now eight games without a win in Europe, unsurprisingly a club record, Inter’s dominance in a shockingly average Serie-A has left Mourinho’s men flacid in Europe despite the assembly of some quite remarkable talent across the field. My prediction that Rangers could be the second qualifiers from their group looks a long way off now, Bougherra’s influence at the back can’t be emphasised enough but setting out with one up-front and that one being Kenny Miller doesn’t scream ambition and Rangers paid for a lack of energy from the fifth minute. Sevilla look nailed on for the group with an impressive victory in Stuttgart, I predicted a draw which would have been a great result for the Spaniards but Stuttgart weren’t allowed to get going and Sevilla’s class told throughout the match.
In The Championship I predicted that Roy Keane would fail to record his first victory of the season for Ipswich and I was proved right, Nathan Ellington scored a late equaliser for Watford who could forge a decent Playoff push if they maintain this impressive form (although another season of mid-table regeneration is more likely). I also predicted that Brendan Rodgers could lose his job this week with a bad result at QPR and I believe he’s a step closer to the chop with Rangers running out deserved 4-1 winners. Bristol City are another side that I believe can mount a Playoff challenge this season, a strong but thin side, Bristol can beat anybody at Ashton Gate and are as unassuming side as I’ve seen in The Championship away from home. They beat Plymouth by the scoreline I predicted 3-1. Newcastle fans must be wondering whether Chris Hughton’s coasting a bit this week having been offered the managers job on a permanent basis they’ve now lost two games in a row and haven’t won in four. a home win against Doncaster looms though.
DAVIES V CLOUGH
In my mind the almost parallel appointments of Billy Davies at Forest and Nigel Clough at Derby meant that the two side’s relative success would always be in comparison, the traditional media don’t seem to have made much of it but I stick by what I thought at the time, which is that Billy Davies is the man to make Forest a force again and almost certainly push for promotion in the next two years (if he isn’t poached in the mean time), I’ll admit that I haven’t seen enough of Derby in the last twelve months to fully decide what kind of job Clough’s done but he should be comended certainly for changing the mentality around Pride Park, whether or not he’s changed the mentality to one that can match its resources and push for promotion any time soon is what remains to be seen. Clearly though, Forest who were in League One not long ago are the furthest developed of the two sides as thing stand.
HOLLOWAY
Ian Holloway is a man I have a lot of time for, as a coach and a human being, there’s no doubt he struggled under the bright lights at Leicester but for my money was one of many coaches who couldn’t save City last year. His tenure at Blackpool though has been incredible, poaching a few of his unnoticed gems from Plymouth he’s managed to string together an incredible run of results, Holloway’s understanding of the game’s beauty and more importantly at this level, its flithy shame have seen the club settle quite comfortably into the Playoff places early in the season. Ian’s teams have a habbit of fading away late in the season and without a couple of shrewd loans and some decent investment in January Blackpool’s thin-squad will probably be found wanting. A lesson for any of the better resourced Championship clubs though, do not be afraid to take a punt on Ian Holloway (Sheffield United or Reading could do a lot worse…I don’t like Kevin Blackwell).
Tomorrow we’ve got Manchester United at CSKA, Milan at Madrid and Atletico at Chelsea among others in what looks like far stronger round of fixtures than the ones we were offered today. Predictions tomorrow.
