Premier League Picks Of The Week 36

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 36

The 36th week of the Premier League action saw:
217 shots - most by Man City = 26
25 goals - most by Man City = 5
175 fouls - most by Stoke = 15
25 bookings - most by West Ham = 4
0 red cards
1 penalty - 0 scored

What a game! Sunderland's win over Hull came just as surprising as Arsenal beating Manchester United, and comfortably so! From the relegated side doing their one and only double of the season, dragging their opponents down with them, to the old senior manager beating his special rival for the first time, keeping both sides' hopes of breaking into the top four super-slim. Looking at the table, these results were welcomed by winners Swansea and strugglers Liverpool respectively.

What a team! Chelsea sealed Middlesbrough's faith with a comfortable 3-0 win, putting one hand on the trophy themselves. Respect to Antonio Conte for lauding and applauding the Boro fans for staying at Stamford Bridge despite facing the dire result and drop. No one can deny the passionate Italian guy has done something right, learning from mistakes and finding formation with form and consistency, something all the other sides and bosses have been missing. Champions Leicester meanwhile recorded another win which takes them to the top half of the table, back where they belong their fans will feel, surely Craig Shakespeare too, underlining his right for a longterm deal.

What a man! West Ham keeper Adrián made save, after save, after save, denying Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Eric Dier, amongst others. Manuel Lanzini won it for the Hammers, unmarked inside the six-yard box, netting his ninth goal in 14 London derbies, ending Spurs' nine-game winning run and their real threat and shout in the title race as the gap to Chelsea re-opens to seven points with three games left to play for both sides.

What a goal! It took City under two minutes to take the lead against Crystal Palace and the game was over as the hosts bossed the match from then on to the final whistle, thrashing their opponents 5-0 at the Etihad. Why couldn't Liverpool do that at Anfield?! It just shows the gulf between the two sides, from top to bottom, from top three/four to the rest... Your guess is as good as mine where the Reds fall between all this after yet another frustrating display in the goalless draw after James Milner's penalty miss against Southampton at Anfield. Here is my full LFC match report.

What the hell?! I was very annoyed by Phil Neville on Match Of The Day and the BBC website this weekend, ranting and whining about how bad the Premier League and meaningless the games have become... Hm... Ok, the last couple of weeks haven't been the most exciting... But... Funny the former Manchester United player should fire such criticising shots whilst his team is flopping! Frustrated, are we? Boring for you as your team isn't getting anything in the league (despite 25 games unbeaten, dropping more points than gaining compared to the sides above them thanks to a record number of draws). Comparing and contrasting the top Premier League sides to the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid - look at their leagues! Booooooring! Bayern have already won the league months ago, whilst both Barca and Real have no serious competition apart from each other, thrashing one opposition after another week in, week out, year in, year out! And Italy and Scotland have been marred by more financial and political affairs and points deductions downing and deleting competitors and the whole competition with them. Not even mentioning all the diving and whining and lack of pace that spoils most European leagues (and I hate to see more and more in the Premier League too! But that's a whole new separate topic to discuss...)! And Leicester made it to the quarter finals of the Champions League! Not bad for a side that only just climbed back into the top half of the Premier League! But wait, it wasn't United, so it doesn't count, right Neville? (And hang on, aren't the Red Devils in the semi-final of the Europa League?! That doesn't count either, does it? Unless they win of course... Then it will be all wow and glory! Hypocrite!) So, it's not the same team winning the title every season... Sorrrrrrry!!! Yes, Chelsea have been the best this season, but hey, after the last three/four seasons, who dares to predict where Conte and Co will be next season?! Fiver on sacking? But who cares, right Neville?

My Predictions - Actual Results
West Ham 0:1 Tottenham - 1:0
Man City 2:0 Crystal Palace - 5:0
Bournemouth 2:0 Stoke City - 2:2
Burnley 1:0 West Brom - 2:2
Hull City 1:0 Sunderland - 0:2
Leicester 2:0 Watford - 3:0
Swansea 1:1 Everton - 1:0
Liverpool 2:1 Southampton - 0:0 or click here for my full LFC match report
Arsenal 1:2 Man United - 2:0
Chelsea 3:1 Middlesbrough - 3:0

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks.

All pictures and stats are taken from the BBC match reports and MOTD.

Premier League clubs earn and owe most

Sports - Football - Premier League - Money Matters

Talk about never judge a book by its cover:

A couple of weeks back, I read a BBC article which labelled the Premier League as "one of the richest sporting series in the world" with its main earnings coming from the sale of TV rights.

In the UK alone these are worth £1.8 billion over three years; overseas tv deals, internet and mobile phone rights add another £1bn. These deals were negotiated in January 2009 - at the hight of the recession.

The League's total assets add up to £3.8bn and constitute 48% of total club wealth across Europe.

However, another BBC article about a study on football club finances, headlined with the Premier League clubs owing more money than all the other European top clubs put together, with a total of 3.8bn euros (£3.4bn).

In other words, the Premier League clubs are top earners and debtors.

The European Club Footballing Landscape study looked at the 2007-08 accounts of all 732 clubs licensed by UEFA.

The total debt of 18 Premier League clubs is about four times that of the next most indebted top-flight league, Spain's La Lige with 978m euros in debt (and assets of 2.5bn euros).

The report says most of the Premier League's debt is linked to the takeover of Manchester United and Liverpool and does not include Portsmouth or West Ham into their research as they were not granted UEFA licences that year because of their financial problems.

And it has not looked any better for them since.

Over the last couple of weeks we have been able to follow more and more of the other side to the glorious game, the downside:

Portsmouth have become the first Premier League team to enter administration with about £70m debt and are most likely facing relegation after they will have points deducted for their financial plight.

But they are not the first, not the only and will not be the last in a sticky financial situation, that is for sure:

UEFA Cup and Champions League semi-finalists in 2000 and 2001 respectively, Leeds United were forced into a mass sale of players when they came into financial difficulties but could not avoid relegation from the Premier League in 2004. Administration followed three years later and a further relegation, from the Championship into League One.

Crystal Palace dropped out of the top-flight in 2005 and went into administration last January with debts of £30m.

Coventry City had nearly the same destiny three years ago but rejected the big spending approach and went back to its roots instead as a community club.

Manchester United have more than £700m debt by the Glazer family. Liverpool are indebted by more than £200m and are looking for new investors.

Their major profits from TV and sponsorship revenue have been covering them so far, but I would rather not dare to predict for how much longer they can survive that way without incurring further debts and similar financial problems, if maybe not as fatal.

Meanwhile, on the only positive financial note this week, Arsenal have announced a profit boost of £35.2m which has drastically reduced their debts (from £332.8m to £203.6m).

They raised £96.6m by selling 261 new apartments at Highbury Square, their former ground, and have also been rejecting the big spending approach other Premier League clubs like Chelsea and Manchester City have been getting used to.

Analysts say other clubs should follow their and Coventry City's example.

I feel, rules and regulations should be introduced to draw a line under this multi-million misery and avoid any similar demise to Leeds United's, Portsmouth's, et al.

UEFA president Michel Platini has been pushing for a system where clubs should no longer be allowed to compete in the Champions and Europa leagues when they spend more than they can afford.

I think this is long overdue looking at what has happened over the last few years, but it has also its own risks which could escalate the matter even further.

The clubs need to make profit, which would be more difficult with less competitions, less matches, less tickets to sell, less TV and sponsorship deals, etc. etc. etc. It is a vicious circle which I think we are only getting a first taste of where it can all lead to.

During the last transfer window, Premier League teams have spent only £30m, £100m less than a year ago.

So, does this indicate that the Premier League teams have finally learnt for the better? Or will they continue to walk, dance and prance on very thin, cash-strapped ice?

ITV v Sky: How different a match can be

Sports - Football - International Friendly - News Coverage

England's 2-1 win against Slovenia at Wembley yesterday:

The ITV highlights showed chance after chance for the home side, indicating persistance and dominance from England. The host and guest of the highlights show were full of praise and optimism, too.

Sky Sports News framed the summary of the match showing England's weaknesses, pointing out how lucky they were to win the penalty and "scrape through" to a win.

The online reports and summaries of the match turned out more similar, neutral and optimistic:

Sky Sports:

"Three Lions warm up with win"
"Lampard and Defoe secure friendly victory for Capello's men"

"England defeated Slovenia 2-1 in a friendly at Wembley to boost their preparations for crucial World Cup qualifying."

BBC:

"England 2-1 Slovenia"

"England warmed up for the crucial World Cup qualifier against Croatia on Wednesday with victory over Slovenia at Wembley."

ITV:

"England achieved a 2-1 victory against Slovenia at Wembley with the opener from a [controversial Lampard penalty]."

It proves, you have to see the match for yourself to be able to make your own picture of it, to get your own impression of the teams, players and their display. Take the reports and comments with a pinch of salt, according to and depending on the source.

I felt, and agree with Sky Sports News, England were lucky to win the penalty as Wayne Rooney was more the offender himself than the victim. But England hit the woodwork on a couple of occasions, had many chances, dominated the possession and opposition and it would have been unfair and undeserved and would not have reflected the match if Slovenia would have gotten anything out of it.

They showed defensive weaknesses, which led to the late goal and panic. No question, there is room for improvement. But that is what friendlies are there for, to prepare and improve the side for competitive matches.

Jermain Defoe's impressive, impossible looking goal, he squeezed and deflected between two defenders from a blind-looking, difficult angle, summed it up: England had the edge - hopefully Fabio Capello saw the same and can keep the edge and players for the crucial World Cup qualifier against Croatia next Wednesday.

Football Feature: MOTD vs Football First

BBC's Match of the Day versus Sky Sports' Football First

I grew up with that intro music of Match of the Day making or breaking my weekend - depending on the results of course. Since 1964, it was the only chance for football fans to see the action of the weekend - the goals, the fowls, the decisive bloopers and 

errors that make you cringe and the darn refs that can't do their job right to save their lives. 

Then throughout the 90s, Sky established itself in the sports and football world, showing more and more live games. Since 1992, Gillette Soccer Saturday is always a fun to watch, with Jeff Stelling reeling off the facts and stats of the matches and the other experts on the panel - consisting of former players like Phil Thompson, Chris Kamara, Matt Le Tissier and Charlie Nicholas - discussing, analysing and reporting on the matches and goals and their reactions keeping the viewers entertained as well as updated. 

But BBC was still the only one to show highlights of the action on the same day - until Sky Sports News was launched in 1998 and they showed highlights on the same day, after ten pm, too. Then, with the start of the 2004/2005 season, Sky Sports introduced Football First. The programme goes on air Saturday nights from 8.25pm showing the full 90 minutes of selected matches from that afternoon. That gave fans and views the chance for the first time to see the full action and complete match on the fixture day. It was the first time it wasn't BBC who showed the action highlights of the day.

So, more and more, Match of the Day drifted into the background of all the full and live action on Sky. For a couple of years, from 2001 to 2004, BBC lost its rights to show Premiership action, but it wasn't successful and didn't last long with ITV. Now again, it's strong as ever.

I love Sky just as much as I do BBC. As a student, the only chance I get to watch Sky Sports is at my parents. Obviously, my holy freeview box gives me the opportunity to watch Sky Sports News and I love it for that. But I still appreciate and enjoy Match of the Day just as much. At the end of the day, when I come back from work, it's the perfect summary of all the day's action. Football First I probably couldn't sit through end of a long day anyway, I just want the main parts, the juicy bits of the action of all the matches, not just one, then I'm happy. And for its history, I feel, Match of the Day belongs to every football fan's diary. It is the mother of all football programmes, if Sky like it or not.

(Match of the Day picture taken from BBC website)

(Sky Sports picture taken from truelovemusic website)