Week 25: Premier League Tops and Flops

Sports - Football - Premier League- Picks of the Weekend

Top game and team: If you wondered for one second whether Tottenham could cope with all the stress and attention around their manager, with the court case and England speculation, please join the laughing stock! The team got together and smashed their opponents to pieces 5-0! I feel sorry for Newcastle who could never have predicted what was ahead of them, after most probably favouring their chance, thinking they could catch out Spurs, that they were at a weak or crises point. The London side quickly put that to bed with three goals inside 19 minutes. Unbelievable!

Top player: Wayne Rooney made the difference at Old Trafford and got the ground rocking with two goals inside three minutes at the start of the second half. It was a scruffy, intense encounter with Liverpool matching their rivals and staying in the competition with a shout eventhough the home side dominated most of the game. But the former Evertonian stole the show, the first goal summarising his top class, an unstoppable volley off a Ryan Giggs corner.

Top goal: Thierry Henry's last minute winner for Arsenal was another one of those too-good-to-be-true goals! The Frenchman ended his return just as he started it, like a scripted dream. Jamie Mackie's late two goals, especially the second for QPR, was an unstoppable smacker and unbelievable show by the sub striker. Too little, too late though in their 3-2 defeat at Blackburn.

Top news: Harry Redknapp said a part-time role as England manager would be possible... Really?! That would be too good to be true for England. I don't think the Spurs Director quite agrees with his manager, no surprise there... :-P

Flop game: Manchester City's 1-0 win at Villa Park was not much to write home about. City dominated the game from the first second to the last minute, Joleon Lescott grabbing the only goal of the game in the 63rd minute from close range against his boyhood club. It saw Aston Villa drop down to 15th and the fans showing their frustration towards manager Alex McLeish.

Flop team: Wolves' 5-1 thrash defeat against West Brom was sad, no, annoying to watch. As soon as the first goal fell, the home side crumbled to bits. It looked like no one wanted to shoulder the blame, eventhough they were all contributors to their downfall, no one took the responsibility to grab the side and get a grip. In the end, it saw the side drop into the relegation zone and cost Mick McCarthy his job and after six successful years at the club, it is sad to see him leave. Chelsea's Andre Villas-Boas is the most likely candidate next on the sacked list after his side's dire 2-0 defeat at Everton. Pressure is moutning on the Portuguese - his side dropping out of the top four into fifth, level points with Arsenal in fourth, tehn points behind Tottenham in third.

Flop player: Luis Suarez, what were you thinking?! It was your chance to wipe the slate clean with Patrice Evra, but instead you spat on it and poked it into his face! It caused unnecessary trouble adding to the already intense rivalry and atmosphere in the game and ground. It cast an unnecessary and unwanted shadow over the game, teams and the whole competition and sport. I know apologies have now been officially given by both player and manager Kenny Dalglish and accepted by Manchester United, but there is still something crucial missing: Suarez and Evra shaking hands and drawing a line under it! Sir Alex Ferguson's post-match interview was a bit harsh (the striker should never play for the honorable Merseyside club again) but understandable. I hope the Uruguayan has slowly but surely come to his sences now!


Flop goal: The top sides' defenders seemed to be asleep this weekend. The Chelsea back line let Everton's Steven Pienaar and Denis Stracqualursi to the ball too easily, giving away open chances they both netted with thanks. David Luiz and Jose Bosingwa were especially poor, seeming completely unaware of play and where the ball is on more than one occasion. 
Liverpool's Jay Spearing and United's Rio Ferdinand both saw giveaways they will want to forget, the former losing the ball to Antonio Valencia who eventually found Rooney to net it and the latter pushing the ball ón to Saurez right in front of the goal.
Stoke keeper Thomas Sorensen's own goal against Fulham was cruel, he didn't see any of it, Clint Dempsey's shot from 25 yards hitting the cross bar and bouncing off the goalkeepers back and over the line.

Flop news: Aaaaaand Carlos Tevez is back, whining on, blaiming manager Roberto Mancini and painting him as the booman... Zzzzzz...

My predictions-Actual results:

Man United 2:1 Liverpool - 2:1

Blackburn 1:1 QPR - 3:2

Bolton 4:1 Wigan - 1:2

Everton 1:0 Chelsea - 2:0

Fulham 2:0 Stoke - 2:1

Sunderland 1:1 Arsenal - 1:2

Swansea 2:0 Norwich - 2:3

Tottenham 3:1 Newcastle - 5:0

Wolves 1:2 West Brom - 1:5

Aston Villa 0:1 Man City - 0:1

Week 21: Premier League Tops and Flops

Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Weekend

Top game: Swansea's 3:2 Arsenal was a gem! It had everything! Robin van Persie opened the scoring with his 18th PL goal of the season, equalling his best season of his career 2010/11, 0:1. This record was followed by controversy with Swansea's penalty equaliser, 1:1. Then in the second half, the Swans' pressure payed off, Nathan Dyer's top class finish turned the game around, 2:1. But then the home side switched off, for just that one second and BOOM, they let one in, Theo Walcott free and in for the equaliser, 2:2. However, seconds later (45 seconds to be exact), Swansea took back the lead, 3:2! Great finish from a tight angle, Danny Graham kept composure and got it right in there. WOW!  Breathtaking stuff! What a game! Brilliant win for the Swans! Arsenal kept the pressure up late on but too little, too late, the hard earned and well deserved three points are Swansea's for keeps! WOW!

Top team: All hard work and endeaver came to nothing for Tottenham, but it was a terrific point for Wolves, who worked their socks off! After all the title talk over the last couple of days, Spurs' stumble came as no surprise, the pressure's on. At Manchester United, everything seemed to be back to normal, three goals, three points, taking them level with City before they scraped out a win at Wigan to restore their three-point lead at the top.

Top player: After Thierry Henry for Arsenal in the Carling cup, Paul Scholes scored in his comeback match for Manchester United, Antonio Valencia and Wayne Rooney in the buildup, past Danny Welbeck, the old man was not going to miss that one! Wigan's Ali Al Habsi was brilliant, he made some breathtaking instinctive saves, denying Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero more than once and sparing his side from a thrash against City. Shame they could not make more of it, they had their fair share of chances, too.

Top goal: Blackburn striker David Hoilett pulled a great save from Fulham goalkeeper David Stockdale. Sub Mauro Formica was on side and swiped the ball in, sweet goal, sweet game, sweet result, sweet points for Blackburn and Steve Kean, especially after going down to ten men so early on! Extraordinary performance which took them out of the relegation zone for the first time since September.

Top news: After a week that saw the return of the legends with Henry and Scholes, Robbie Kean has joined that list after signing for Aston Villa on loan from Loas Angeles Galaxy. Although he is definitely not the same rank as the other two who have returned to their teams of heart and history, unlike Kean with Tottenham, I am curious to see what impact he will make at Villa, if any...

Flop game: Liverpool are not getting beaten but can't get a win at Anfield either! This weekend saw another goalless draw against Stoke, seeing plenty of chances going to waste. Everyone seemed to have an off day missing everything, including referee Howard Webb! It doesn't hide the fact though that Liverpool have only won four of their last 11 home matches, that means 14 points dropped and lost, which would have seen them one point ahead of United in second place! Instead Kenny Dalglish's boys are stuck in seventh, left scratching their heads.


Flop team: Martin O'Neill was on his knees. Chelsea's defence looked in shambles at times, Sunderland missing the loads of chances. Similar to Wigan's draw against City, it was the underdogs against the rich and glamourous, with the prior frustrating the latter and looking like they could pull off a shock and nick a point (or three). But it was not to be, for Sunderland at least, but they (Wigan especially) can hold their heads up high, if they show the same stubbornness and determination against fellow strugglers and teams lower down the table, they should be able to survive in the Premier League.

Flop player: Having Aygbeni Yakubu sent off so early on in the match was cruel for Blackburn. He saw an instant red for his high tackle on Danny Murphy. Everyone was gob-smacked, but it was knee-high, studds showing, red all day long in my book! It was just stupid. But it seemed to pull the team together. Not that he or any player should feel encouraged to repeat such foolishness, but Steve Kean can be proud that his guys didn't let themselves be dragged down by such act and feel sorry for themselves. They got a grip and a win with it!

Flop goal: It was a spectacular take by Fernando Torres which came off the bar, off Frank Lampard and in. Great technique by the Spaniard but Lampard's on the scoresheet, not him. Tough luck. Wolves' goal came from a corner that shouldn't have been given and Emmanuel Adebayor's goal was wrongly ruled out for offside, so Tottenham have good reasons not to be happy with the result. No discrediting Wolves' hard work and effort though.

Flop news: Blackburn captain Christopher Samba missed his side's 3-1 win against Fulham as he was having tests in hospital for severe stomach cramps. Then the story broke, he handed in a transfer request saying "the side is not improving at all". Did he miss this weekend's action? Didn't they show football in hospital? Did they hit him in the head?

My predictions - Actual results

Aston Villa 0:2 Everton - 1:1

Blackburn 1:1 Fulham - 3:1

Chelsea 1:2 Sunderland - 1:0

Liverpool 3:0 Stoke - 0:0

Man Utd 2:0 Bolton - 3:0

Tottenham 3:0 Wolves - 1:1

West Brom 2:2 Norwich - 1:2

Newcastle 1:0 QPR - 1:0

Swansea 1:2 Arsenal - 3:2

Wigan 1:1 Man City - 0:1

Week 16-20: Premier League Tops and Flops

Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the last 5

It has been a mad few weeks indeed. Not only have Christmas and New Year kept everyone on their toes and (hopefully) jolly, but the football grounds and pitches have certainly not gathered much dust. Quite the opposite. They have seen everything! From shocks and horrors, to delight and despair, to complete and utter ecstasy and/or ugliness. Well, to make up for my gap in blogging, here are the key facts and stats and my picks of the last five match weeks = 50 games from the 17th December 2011 to 4th January 2012, before the international break:

Top Facts:

- 125 goals scored = average of 2.5 goals per game.

- 136 bookings made = avergage of 2.72 yellow cards per game.

- 7 red cards shown = average of 0.14 sendings off per game or one player sent off every 7.143 games.

- 16 different score lines on the board, top 5 of those were 1:1 (11 times), 1:2 (8 times) and 1:0 (6 times), 0:2 (5 times) and 0:0 (4 times).

- There have only been three games without any bookings, all three of them ending 1:1: Wigan v Chelsea (18.12), Bolton v Wolves and Norwich v Fulham (both 31/12). Faire play and result or coincidence?

Top 5 games: I like surprises, so the most shocking results no one would have predicted made it on this list for me (listed chronologically):

- Wigan's 1:1 v Chelsea and 0:0 v Liverpool: Having struggled in the bottom three since October, the Latics kicked off the Christmas period with two hard-fought and well-deserved draws against two top Premier League sides. Jordi Gomez's late equaliser denied Chelsea a win and Ali Al-Habsi penalty save against Charlie Adam and overall top performance denied Liverpool a win at the DW stadium. You would have thought these two results should have served to up Wigan's confidence and fight to get out of the relegation zone, but things went downhill from there. Shame.

- Man Utd 2:3 Blackburn: After winning eight of their last nine matches since their 6-1 thrashing home defeat against local rivals City and scoring 25 and conceding only 3 in the process, Sir Alex Ferguson could not have asked for a better 70th birthday present than welcoming bottom-of-the-table Blackburn to Old Trafford, expecting an easy win. In the end, under-fire Steve Kean could not have asked for a better New Year's present, because United's back line were terrible, the third goal killing off the home resistance and any chances of a comeback.

- Chelsea 1:3 Aston Villa: Both sides were going through a slump, the Blues having drawn the last three whilst Villa suffered defeats against Arsenal and Liverpool and could only save one point at Stoke. The visitors outplayed the hosts tactically and passionately, Villa just seemed to WANT the win and points that much more. Didier Drogba scored his 150th goal with a penalty whilst Fernando Torres rattled the crossbar, the goal still deluding him. Apart from that, Stephen Ireland and Villa worked hard and bossed the match, ironing out a hard earned, well deserved win.

- Sunderland 1:0 Man City: It was Martin O'Neill's fifth match as Sunderland manager and the total post-Steve-Bruce revamp continued. The game started slow but the second half produced some pulsating end-to-end stuff and ended with a breathless counter-attack. Nicklas Bendtner and Stephane Sessegnon were denied a goal either side of the break, with Edin Dzeko and Micah Richards both hitting the woodwork. But with the last kick of the game, Ji Dong-Won latched on to Sessegnon's pass well and rounded Joe Hart to win it. Late slump for City, brilliant stuff for the neutral eye.

- Newcastle 3:0 Man Utd: Even Fergie had to credit this one! This was arguably his side's worst performance, no discredit to the Toons' top performance though! The Red Devils' back line failed to cope with all the pressure, Rio Ferdinand and Phil Jones failing miserably against Demba Ba and Shola Ameobi. Yohan Cabaye's wonderful free kick put the sweet icing on the wonderful cake for Newcastle, who had not won in their previous 18 league meetings since a 4-3 success in September 2001, while the result emulated the 3-0 victory of February 2000.* The only other Premier League win for Newcastle over Manchester United, home or away, was the famous 5-0 in October 1996.* Phillipe Albert scored a memorable fifth in that game and he was on the gantry for Belgian TV on Wednesday night.*

Top 5 teams:

- Top scorers: Man Utd with 14 goals, although ten of them came from two games, both 5-0 thrashings at Fulham and against Wigan at home. Tottenham and Newcastle follow them on the top scorers' list with eight goals in the last five games, then City with seven.

- Top form: Tottenham are the only side who remained undefeated in the last five games (WDWDW = 11 points out of a possible 15). W13 D3 L3 - Tottenham have only once had a better league record after 19 games in the top flight - that was 1960-61 (W17 D1 L1).* In the last five games, formwise, Spurs are followed by: City (WWDLW) and Sunderland (LWDWW), who won 10 out of 15 points suffering only one defeat.

- Top defence: City also make the top defence, having only conceded one goal in all five games. That goal came from Sunderland in their home win against the top dogs. Man City have won their last 14 PL home games, their second best run in the top-flight after 16 in a row in 1921.* Tottenham have only conceded two goals. The Swans are the next best defenders with only three goals given away, their lack of attack though, with just four goals, leading them to only one win (DLDDW = 6 out of 15 points). The Welsh side have also committed fewer fouls than any other team in the Premier League.* Clean and robust but not productive.

- Top players: Arsenal's Robin van Persie still tops the Premier League score list with 17 goals but Toon Ba has impressed me most with his 15 goals in 15 League appearances. City's Sergio Aguero (14) and Blackburn's Ayegbeni Yakubu (12) are serving their sides well through some difficult times whilst the likes of Dzeko (10) and Mario Balotelli (8) who have shown plenty of quality in the past, have gone more quiet, behind the shadows a bit lately. The return of Thierry Henry has made me a very happy woman! And I know it was not in the Premier League, but his winning  return-goal against Leeds in the FA Cup third round could not have made a tastier appetiser for seeing him back in the Premier League! J'aime Thierry!

Top goal: There are sooooo many to choose from, so I'm going for the freakiest again: Everton's Tim Howard is the fourth goalkeeper in Premier League history to score a goal, after Peter Schmeichel, Brad Friedel and Paul Robinson. Howard scored from inside his own box when his kick bounced 30 yards from Bolton's goal and, with the help of the wind and weather, the ball flew over visiting keeper Adam Bogdan. It didn't help his side in the match as they still fell to a 2:1 home defeat against Bolton, but believe me, he could not have done more!

Top news: Plenty of action, drama, thrills, spills, shocks, horrors and controversy in the FA Cup third round and Carling Cup semi finals and the ins and outs of the January transfer window.

Flop games: No such thing in the Premier League! Not that it's worth or that I can recount anyway!

Flop teams:

- Flop scorers: Quite a few teams have been low scores with only four or five goals in the last five games. Here is the list, with only four goals: Wigan, QPR, Aston Villa and Swansea; and only five goals in the last five games: Bolton, West Brom, Everton, Arsenal (! - well, thank god Thierry's back, ey! ;-))

- Flop form: QPR (LLDLL) and Wolves (LDDDL) are the only two sides to have seen no wins over the last five games in the Christmas and New Year period. Worrying.

- Flop defence: Norwich and Blackburn have both failed to keep clean sheets in the opening 20 games of the season, equaling Bolton's record (2009-10 season).* Wigan have conceded the most in the last five games by far with 12 goals. Blackburn and QPR follow next on the worst defense list with nine goals conceded.

Flop players: Luis Suarez and Balotelli have without a doubt caught as much attention on the pitch as they have off it, filling the news with both good and bad headlines. Andy Carroll and Fernando Torres have definitely shared more misses than cheers with their fans and team mates. None of Carroll's last 26 headed shots in the Premier League have resulted in goals and he has had more headed shots off target (13) than any other player in the Premier League this season.* Torres has scored more Premier League goals for Liverpool in 2011 than he has for Chelsea (3) and had just 1 more shot on target in 2011 for Chelsea than for Liverpool (11) this calendar year.* Just like with Michael Owen, I knew, the day he left Liverpool, he waved goodbye to becoming a legend. 

Flop news: First sacking of the year is already out of the way with Neil Warnock sent packing by QPR after a bad run of eight Premier League games without a win. Former Wales/Blackburn/City/Fulham boss Mark Hughes has taken over... Good luck on that one, Mark!

*Thanks to Opta Sports for some interesting stats and facts. The rest I've all noted, scribbled and calculated myself with some peeking on the BBC and SkySports websites and match reports.

My predictions - Useless! - Actual results:

Week 16:

Blackburn 2:0 West Brom - 1:2

Everton 3:1 Norwich - 1:1

Fulham 2:1 Bolton - 2:0

Newcastle 3:1 Swansea - 0:0

Wolves 2:1 Stoke - 1:2

Wigan 0:4 Chelsea - 1:1

QPR 0:1 Man Utd - 0:2

Aston Villa 1:2 Liverpool - 0:2

Tottenham 3:0 Sunderland - 1:0

Man City 3:1 Arsenal - 1:0

Week 17:

Wolves 2:1 Norwich - 2:2

Blackburn 3:2 Bolton - 1:2

Aston Villa 2:3 Arsenal - 1:2

Man City 2:0 Stoke - 3:0

Newcastle 2:2 West Brom - 2:3

Everton 3:1 Swansea - 1:0

Fulham 2:2 Man Utd - 0:5

QPR 1:1 Sunderland - 2:3

Wigan 0:1 Liverpool - 0:0

Tottenham 2:1 Chelsea - 1:1

Week 18:

Chelsea 2:1 Fulham - 1:1

Bolton 3:2 Newcastle - 0:2

Liverpool 3:1 Blackburn - 1:1

Man Utd 4:1 Wigan - 5:0

Sunderland 2:2 Everton - 1:1

West Brom 1:3 Man City - 0:0

Stoke 3:2 Aston Villa - 0:0

Arsenal 2:0 Wolves - 1:1

Swansea 0:0 QPR - 1:1

Nowich 1:3 Tottenham - 0:2

Week 19:

Liverpool 3:0 Newcastle - 3:1

Man Utd 2:1 Blackburn - 2:3

Arsenal 2:1 QPR - 1:0

Bolton 2:1 Wolves - 1:1

Chelsea 2:1 Aston Villa - 1:3

Norwich 2:1 Fulham - 1:1

Stoke 2:1 Wigan - 2:2

Swansea 2:1 Tottenham - 1:1

West Brom 2:1 Everton - 0:1

Sunderland 2:1 Man City - 1:0

Week 20:

Aston Villa 2:1 Swansea - 0:2

Blackburn 2:1 Stoke - 1:2

QPR 2:1 Norwich - 1:2

Wolves 2:1 Chelsea - 1:2

Fulham 2:1 Arsenal - 2:1

Tottenham 2:0 West Brom - 1:0

Wigan 1:1 Sunderland - 1:4

Man City 3:2 Liverpool - 3:0

Everton 2:1 Bolton - 1:2

Newcastle 1:4 Man Utd - 3:0

In case you are wondering about the chain of 2:1 predictions I made, that was when I was at my parents' and forgot to predict, hence the auto-predictor put all predictions 2:1. Told ye USELESS! ;-P

Shame on Henry

Sports - Football - Internationals - World Cup Qualifier

The more I watch it, the clearer it gets to me: If Fifa want to set a stance against cheats, they should take action to warn all the other offenders-to-be, in this case disqualify France and fine and suspend Thierry Henry.



But, I know that will never happen. Football is the only sport where cheats get away and on a regular basis, too, especially of the big teams. So, it is no surprise we have seen and will see it again and again. But at some point it has to stop and something has to change!

It is rhetorical question whether a video referee would have made a difference. The clear answer is, YES! France would not have been awarded the goal, Henry would have been booked, a free kick would have been awarded to the Republic of Ireland and play would have continued with Ireland still in the qualifier, with more than a shout as they were the better side throughout the match.

We obviously do not know how the match would have developed from there, if it would have gone to penalties, or one of the sides would have caught a late (but fair) winner - but we surely know how it would not have ended: An unfair shame and scandalous cheat!

One can only speculate how Fifa would have reacted if it would have happened the other way round, Robbie Keane the offender and France the losers. I suspect we would have read a clear statement the next morning about what actions will be taken.

When I reflect back at how many times they threatened and had a dig against England and their fans, with fines and suspensions, up to disqualification, it would be more than hypocritical if, as I suspect and expect, nothing will follow on this offence.

But presidents Sepp Blatter (FIFA) and Michel Platini (UEFA) were never the ones to jump in for the underdogs or ring in big changes. Instead, they just waffle on and ignore the problem-maker(s) when it matters most (and it is especially amusing regarding that the latter is a Frenchman).

My question to them and all football associations' presidents, executives and directors (managers and players, too) is: When will they learn from the other sports to make football a true sport again???