Tottenham 2-0 West Ham United - Spurs up to 4th

Tottenham have leapfrogged Aston Villa up into forth in the Premier League table after a 2-0 win against London rivals West Ham.

Luka Modric opened the scoring just 11 minutes in at White Hart Lane after some excellent work from Aaron Lennon down the right side. It then took Spurs until the 81st minute to double the lead and secure the 3 points, as Jermain Defoe netted his 14th League goal of the season, and in the process reclaiming the status as the League’s leading goalscorer.

Spurs were impressive right from the outset, dominating possession and having numerous chances to put the Hammers out of the game. Gianfranco Zola experienced a disastrous first 20 minutes, as in the aftermath of Modric’s goal Scott Parker had to be replaced with a sore hamstring – Parker had earlier passed a late fitness test. Then Herita Illunga was forced to come off with exactly the same problem, and the Hammers were left with a big uphill struggle to get back in the game.

They fought well throughout the match but never looked like threatening Gomes’ goal. A number of late challenges saw Diamanti, Franco and Kovac receive yellow cards from Chris Foy, the latter probably lucky to stay on the pitch after stamping on Tom Huddlestone’s ankle.

Spurs pressed forward in the second half looking to kill off the visitors, who won at home for the first time since April at the weekend. The breakthrough eventually came from a Spurs counter attack, whereby Jermain Defoe gathered the ball in the inside left position, rounded a the West Ham defence, before unleashing a fierce drive that Robert Green failed to hold. The rebound fell back to Defoe who repeated the motion and claimed the points for the home side.

Problems mounting for Zola then, as both Parker and Illunga are doubts for the next match, and with Franco picking up his 5th booking of the season just a day before the 5th booking rule is abolished, the absentee list is even longer. It seems like the Hammers are in for a long and hard new year.

Campbell the answer to Fergie's defensive woes?

Tottenham, to Arsenal, to Portsmouth, to Notts County, to.. MANCHESTER UNITED? That’s how the career of Sol Campbell could look should the former England International make an astonishing move to Old Trafford. United’s injury list reads more like a yellow pages directory at the moment, with Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Jonny Evans, and more all out injured.

The situation is so bad that for United’s final Champions League group stage match, both Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher had to play at the back alongside Patrice Evra. Amongst the substitutes was Oliver Gill, son of Chief Executive David Gill, who provided cover should anyone else have gone down injured.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has remarked that Campbell could have a similar impact in Manchester as Henrik Larsson did a couple of seasons ago.

"Sol can do at the back what Henrik Larsson did up front for Manchester United two years ago. Campbell can prove, as Swedish star Larsson did, that he still has the quality to play at the very highest level and I’m not surprised by reports tipping him for a Premier League return."

The question is, would the United fans welcome the signing, or would his history as an Arsenal player hinder him?

The end for Ashton. West Ham striker to sue Chelsea?

Some sad news for Football, and West Ham United striker Dean Ashton, as the 26-year old has been forced to call time on his professional career after failing to recover from a nasty ankle injury picked up in a training session whilst on England duty.

It was Ashton's first call up to the National side, one of many highs during a career that possessed so much potential.

The moment that effectively ended Ashton's career was a tackle by then Chelsea midfielder Shaun Wright-Phillips. The tackle broke Ashton's ankle, and forced him to miss the entirety of the 2006-07 season. He bounced back the following year to net 11 goals in 35 appearances for the Hammers, but after scoring both goals in a 2-1 win against Wigan, the opening game of the 2008-09 season, Ashton twisted his ankle in Gianfranco Zola's first training session at the club in September 2008, and he would never play again.

Now, 3 years on from the initial injury, Ashton is contemplating suing Wright-Phillips, and Chelsea for the tackle that put an end to his dream. West Ham boss Zola doesn't see the logic in that decision though:

"He was playing for England but it could have happened at any time. There is no time for regrets or blaming anyone. It seems strange. I don't think he might want to do something like that."

Of course, Chelsea's argument is that they were not responsible for their player's actions at the time, as he was under the watch of the English FA, and the England staff. They cannot control what their player does if they are not present and in control of what he's doing. An appeal is inevitable should Ashton go ahead with the proposed move.

A very sad end to a very good player's career then. He started his career at Crewe Alexandra, under the guidance of stalwart manager Dario Gradi. In 5 years at Gresty Road, Ashton bagged 61 goals in 159 appearances, as well as scoring 4 goals in 9 games for the England Under-21 side in that time. He then moved to Norwich City where he played 44 games, notching 17 goals, before he made the £7m move to East London and West Ham United. Alan Pardew was the man responsible for bringing Ashton to the Premier League. He felt Ashton had a lot more to offer.

"I always felt, if Dean had stayed fit, I would have stayed at West Ham. I'm sorry it's come to this, because I had a lot of time for him. He had a lot of quality about him."

Ashton scored 15 times in 46 games for the Hammers, but how many more goals would he have netted should he not suffered that fatal ankle injury? Unfortunately, we will never know.

Liverpool crash out of Champions League

David N'gog nicks the goal that gave Liverpool hope in Hungary

Liverpool’s awful start to the season got even worse this evening as they were knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage for the first time in 7 years. A 1-0 win away at Debreceni was not enough to keep the Reds alive in the competition, as Italian giants Fiorentina overcame Lyon by the same scoreline sending them through to the next stage.

It was a typically cagey performance from Liverpool over a side whom Fiorentina and Lyon have put 13 goals past in 3 games, with Lyon finishing the group stage at home to the Hungarian champions on the 9th December. It was a performance that summed up the last few months for Rafael Benitez’ side, and one that was certainly not deserving of progression in the competition.

The only goal of the game came after only 4 minutes, when David N’gog poked the ball home inside the 6 yard box. Opportunities were few and far between after that, although Debreceni goalkeeper Vukasin Poleksic made a couple of decent saves to deny Javier Mascherano and Steven Gerrard in the second half. The home side could even have got something out of the match at the end, as both Gergely Rudolf and Adamo Coulibaly had chances to snatch a late equalizer. Nevertheless, it was a proud effort from the group underdogs.

Liverpool now enter the newly named Europa League, for which they were dubbed favourites even before kickoff tonight, further underlining the difficulty of the task Liverpool faced. A chance maybe for Benitez and the boys to salvage some pride from what’s been a pretty woeful campaign so far.

So where have Liverpool gone wrong? I’ve highlighted a few key areas that need looking at if anything is to be rescued from the wreckage that is the 2009/2010 season.

1. Investment in the January transfer window.
Liverpool lack strength in depth, something that the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal don’t. With Fernando Torres out injured, David N’gog starts up front, and although the young Frenchman has netted a few times this season, he’s nowhere near the class of Torres and certainly hasn’t shown enough ability to suggest he could be a regular starter in any competition. The same has to be said for left-back Emiliano Insua who simply isn’t good enough to be playing at this level, at least not yet. He’s been exposed recently by nearly every player that he’s come up against, and hasn’t showed much promise going forward either. Money, as little as Liverpool have at the moment, needs to be spent extremely wisely in January to strengthen the squad.

2. Consistency in selection.
One of the areas that Liverpool perhaps do have reasonable depth is in the centre of defence. Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger, Martin Skrtel, Sitirios Kyrgiakos, and even Daniel Sanchez Ayala have all been used in the heart of Liverpool’s back line recently, and they’ve failed to settle as a unit. Another 2 goals were conceded at the weekend to Manchester City, to add to the 18 they’d previously conceded in the League. Skrtel hasn’t had his best run of form of late, and Agger is only just recovering from a series of injuries. Kyrgiakos has looked unsteady since his £1.5m summer arrival from AEK Athens, and Carragher has been far from the kind of form he showed last season, and has received much criticism. It’s a tough one for Benitez who is clearly unsure as to what his best pairing is. I say stick with Carra and Agger for now, and get Skrtel training hard and improving his game, and should Agger pick up another knock then the Slovakian International can slot right back in.

3. More creativity in attack.
The loss of Xabi Alonso in the Summer to Real Madrid has received a lot of talk right up to this day. The simple fact is, losing Alonso means losing one of the best playmakers in Europe, and perhaps even the World. Alberto Aquilani was brought in for a big sum of money but spent the first 10 weeks of the season on the sidelines following ankle surgery. That meant that Lucas Leiva would get a long run in the side, and unfortunately despite being a part of Brazil’s recent squads, he doesn’t have anywhere near the level of ability, creativity, or finesse that Alonso brought to the centre of Liverpool’s midfield. It’s been evident that there’s been a shortage of something different, something inventive in the final third, and that’s limited the options that the likes of Dirk Kuyt, and Yossi Benayoun have had coming from wide positions. Getting Aquilani in the side is a must now, and supporting Torres should be the priority, whether that’s supplying him with good service, or making the effort to burst forward and get numbers in the box.

4. A little less conversation, a little more action.
Rafael Benitez’ future has been discussed more than any other Footballing topic this season and it’s clearly having an effect on everyone at the club. Benitez knows he’s under pressure, and so do the players, so I don’t think he needs reminding in every post-match press conference. Let the man get on with his job, and if the time comes to make a change, do it, but without the unnecessary debating, speculating, and whatever else comes with it.

So, there are the 4 key things that need addressing in order to get Liverpool’s season back on track, if that is even possible. They have a chance in the Europa League to get some silverware which would be a decent consolation for exiting the Champions League, and with the Merseyside Derby on Saturday there’s plenty for the Reds to look forward to. No doubt they’ll be chomping at the bit to get a result at Goodison to keep the fans content, and put their European nightmare firmly to the back of their minds.

Wigan players to refund supporters after White Hart Lane drubbing

Following Wigan’s embarrassing defeat at White Hart Lane on Sunday, the players have decided it right to offer all those loyal supporters who travelled down to North London to watch the game a full refund of their ticket, providing they bought it at the ticket offices at the DW Stadium.

Captain Mario Melchiot said;

We feel that as a group of players we badly let down our supporters, and this is a gesture we have to make and pay them back for their tremendous loyalty. There’s not a lot else, just that as a group of professionals we were embarrassed by the way we performed. We feel it was below our standard and this is something we feel we owe to the fans.

That defeat has left Wigan Athletic 15th in the Premier League table after 13 games, 3 points adrift of the relegation zone, and now with a goal difference of -17. Inconsistency is the Latics’ major problem this season. Beating Chelsea being their ultimate high, and obviously this record defeat being the biggest low.

Good luck to Roberto Martinez for getting his players back on track in the next game, an important home tie against high-flying Sunderland.

Rampant Spurs put Wigan to the slaughter

An incredible 5-goal performance from Jermain Defoe inspired a ruthless Spurs to demolish Wigan Athletic 9-1 this afternoon.

Peter Crouch opened the scoring in the first ten minutes with a stooping header, but the home side failed to add to the scoreline before half-time. However, amazingly they netted 8 goals in the second period, with Defoe’s first two coming within just 3 minutes of each other. Paul Scharner did a Thierry Henry to get Wigan seemingly back in the game by clearly using his hand to control the ball before smashing it into the net.

However, that proved to be Wigan’s only moment of joy at the Lane, as Defoe restored the 3 goal cushion just moments later, before Aaron Lennon made it 5-1. Defoe then added two more, and in the process passing Fernando Torres as the League’s highest scorer this season. A David Bentley freekick and a Niko Kranjcar strike capped off a remarkable performance for Harry Redknapp’s men.

Yet more evidence that Spurs in attack are as good as anyone in the Premier League. Once again, an inability to keep a clean sheets highlights that there’s still a lot of work defensively to be done, but I have a feeling ‘arry would have taken this result at the start of the day. Just a hunch.

As for Wigan, Roberto Martinez will probably want the earth to swallow him up tonight. What must those Latics fans be thinking?

Henry saga roars on - Replay, or no replay?

Football’s latest controversy not only lies solely in the hands of Thierry Henry (excuse the pun), but could well be crucial in the development of technology within the game. As Rob asked in his recent post on the incident, what’s it going to take for the authorities to realise technology is required?

Technology aside, the big question is, what happens now? The whole of Ireland has called for the match to be replayed, and understandably so. Henry himself remarked that Ireland “definitely deserve” to qualify for the 2010 World Cup Finals, and a replay would be the “fairest solution”. It’s easy saying that after the deed has been done though.

I’m completely on the side of the Irish on this one. It was an act of blatant cheating on Henry’s behalf, and something that will take an extremely long time to be pushed beneath the surface, if at all. Of course, everybody in the whole World that’s interested in Football, and some people who aren’t, remember Diego Maradona’s “hand of God” in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final. We English are still going on about it to this day. However, I don’t see a replay being beneficial for the game.

There’s no doubt that it was a major incident, that had big repercussions for both the Irish side in not reaching the Finals in South Africa, and for Henry who has been rightly slaughtered in the press. However, where is the line drawn between a major incident and a minor incident? Is it the outcome of the match? The importance of the match? There are dozens of incidents each week – such as a handball that results in a goal, a dive to win a penalty that snatches a draw or a win (a la David N’gog), or a goal in the 5th minute of injury time when only 3 were allocated – in the Premier League, Champions League, World Cup Qualifiers, Lower Leagues and what have you that could be deemed as ‘cheating’, but we don’t have replays of all those matches, simply because we accept what’s happened and move on.

Take Eduardo’s dive in the Champions League against Celtic as an example. There was uproar, calling for the Croatian to be banned, for Arsenal to be disqualified, and all sorts, yet when Eduardo was punished, everyone accepted it and there’s been hardly any talk of it since. Yes, the Henry incident potentially cost Ireland a place in the World Cup, but we can’t give them a replay just because it was an International match that decided who plays in the World Cup and who doesn’t. The World Cup isn’t of importance to a League 2 side battling relegation with their Football League status at threat. How would they feel if exactly the same thing happened in one of their matches and they were relegated as a result of it, yet Ireland got a replay because the competition in matter was the World Cup? It would set an unrealistic precedent that when every time an incident like this happens, there would have to be a replay. It’s not plausible.

I believe the necessary sanction is a ban for Henry from the World Cup next year. There’s no question that it was a deliberate handball. You’d have to be deranged to think otherwise. And who cares that he admitted it? That’s not going to change a thing in Irish minds. Henry is the responsible party for shattering Ireland’s dream, and he should be made to pay by sitting out the whole of the competition and hopefully watching his teammates crash out in the group stages.

Roy Keane laughed the matter off in a press conference, stating that Ireland should “get over it” and move on. Solid words from the Ipswich boss, but try telling a hurting Irish population that to their faces. They’ll take a long time to get over this one.

Brazil 1-0 England: Quality shines through

England’s preparations for next year’s World Cup in South Africa got off to a slow start yesterday as they were confidently beaten by the World No.1 side Brazil. Nilmar’s 47th minute header was enough to see off the challenge of Fabio Capello’s men.

Admittedly it was a second string England side, but one that still consisted of regulars Wayne Rooney, Gareth Barry, and Shaun Wright-Phillips. However, England did learn a valuable lesson, one that they’ll need to revise up to and during next summer’s finals; Keep the ball.

Brazil were by far the better side, and whilst England were without a number of regulars in their XI, so too were the South American giants. Kaka and Dani Alves were arguably the only superstars amongst Dunga’s team. Despite the lack of first choice players on both sides, Brazil passed England off the pitch and showed much more invention and imagination in the final third. In sweltering conditions surely it was obvious that’s what England needed to do? Instead, possession was lost far too easily, and Brazil were seldom made to work hard to close their opponents down or retain the ball when they were in possession.

There’s been lots of talk recently about England’s hopes and chances of lifting the World Cup next year, but on the evidence of last night’s match, there’s still a lot of work to be done. Retaining possession is one of the basics of Football, right through from junior level to the professional game. It’s not especially difficult. A feature of Brazil’s play was how quickly they moved it. Often they’d play 2 or 3 touch Football throughout the match and they made it very difficult for England to win it back. A weary looking England was evidence of that at the end of the match.

Perhaps a stronger England side would have created a different outcome and produced a better performance. It was a chance for the fringe players to put their case forward to Mr. Capello before he picks his squad for the finals sometime next year. Unfortunately they’ll be some disappointed members of that particular England squad, none more so than Wes Brown, who I thought was distinctly average. His error mid-way through the second half allowed Nilmar in to win a penalty from the outstretched Ben Foster, who was lucky to stay on the pitch.

As the party settle back in England, they’ll be a lot for Capello to ponder ahead of the World Cup draw in early December.

Arsenal's young guns set the standard

Arsenal are a rather special team, for many reasons. Manager Arsene Wenger has been in the job for more than a decade, which is an achievement in itself. In a day and age whereby managers come and go like candidates to be Sir Alan Sugar’s apprentice, 10 years in the job deserves a gold medal.

Secondly, the players he possesses in his vastly-talented squad. Down the years Wenger has constructed a young, agile, attacking side and has received a lot of criticism for not having a big ball-winner in the ranks. Especially since Patrick Vieira left. However, evidence this season suggests that Wenger knows exactly what he is doing.

Arsenal won the FA Youth Cup last season, which goes a long way to underlining the enormous potential that the next generation at the Emirates possess. Now, most of those players have gained some form of first-team experience, whether as a late substitute in the Premier League or even Champions League, or maybe starting in the early rounds of the Carling Cup. At some stage, that potential has been on show, and boy have people been impressed.

The recent 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the Carling Cup completely emphasises where Arsenal stand in relation to other sides in the League when it comes to their ’second string’ team. Compare the likes of Craig Eastmond, Kerrea Gilbert, and Kieran Gibbs to Liverpool’s Damien Plessis, Philipp Degen, and Emiliano Insua, and the Arsenal guys are streets ahead in terms of talent and ability. Even though Degen and Insua are full Internationals, the standard of Arsenal’s teenagers is far higher than that of Liverpool’s.

Throughout the age groups Arsenal’s youngsters are taught nothing but how to keep possession of the ball. There’s very little on anything else. Credit must be given to the backroom staff and Academy coaches at Arsenal who clearly do a wonderful job of improving these youngsters and making them exceptional footballers. At times during the Liverpool match, they kept the ball for 20+ passes whilst playing one and two touch football; just an incredible thing to be able to do at the age of 17/18/19 against Premier League opposition.

Arsene Wenger is without doubt the best in the world at getting the best out of his young guns, and inspiring them to play out of their skin. Year after year more talent is brought in from abroad, and brought through the youth ranks to compete at the highest level, and year after year they impress. It’s like a conveyor belt of outstanding talent.
So Arsenal have set the standard when it comes to their Youth development system and the players they bring through. The question is, will anybody be able to compete with them in 5/10 years time?

The fact that Arsenal haven’t won any silverware in the last 5 years may suggest that all the hard work pumped into the academy is going to waste. However, it takes time to develop a side of such raw talent into one that will become world-beaters if you like. Take Cesc Fabregas for example. A couple of years ago he was an outstanding player, but there were still aspects to his game that needed improvement and honing. Now he seems to be the complete player. With several players of similar potential to Fabregas coming through, if they can reach maximum potential in the next few years then Arsenal have a team full of superstars in the making. 5 or 6 Cesc Fabregas’ in the side makes for a cup-winning generation.

It’s worrying for the other sides in the Premier League that they don’t have the same potential. It’s unquestionable that Manchester United have a world-class youth setup, and the same goes for Chelsea, but neither side has brought through the kind of talent that Arsenal are showing off, perhaps with the exception of Federico Macheda. As for Chelsea, well their side is made of over-30’s with very little youth being filtered through. Roman’s billions have obviously blocked the route for youngsters through to the first team. That’s probably another area that Arsenal have got right.

The Gunners have spent money on recruiting players from around the world (e.g Andrei Arshavin, Thomas Vermaelen) but they’ve also left plenty of room to enable them to filter through their youngsters in order to give them invaluable experience at the top level. It’s an area that other teams can take example from in order to progress their homegrown footballers.

One thing that will be interesting to see this season with Arsenal, is that if they make it to the final of the Carling Cup or FA Cup with the youngsters they’re putting out, will Wenger stick with them for that crunch game against, say, Manchester United with the Rooney’s and Berbatov’s? One thing’s for sure; Arsenal will be a side to look out for in the next few years, and they’ll have a few players who make it very big in the footballing world.

Stoke exceed expectations as they push for top half finish

Glenn Whelan celebrates his winner against Spurs

People have taken to Stoke like a bumble bee takes to honey. They arrived in the Premier League 18 months ago with the expectation that they wouldn’t be strong enough to stay in the division. Now, as a new decade is on the horizon, the Potters have done more than just keep their Premier League status.

Their direct style is typical of Northern sides; Bolton and Blackburn are easily comparable. A whole host of 6ft+ men make them extremely hard to break down and compete with, and with one of the county’s longest throwers of a Football in their ranks – Rory Delap – they’re also a force in the final 3rd. The likes of Abdoulaye Faye and Robert Huth provide excellent strength at the back, while James Beattie is a proven goalscorer up top.

It’s not rocket science to work out their secret then. One of the heroes of the Stoke side in recent years, in particular their key to survival last season, Ryan Shawcross is a perfect symbol of their style of play. A shaven-headed, 6′3″ centre-half from Manchester, Shawcross learnt his trade at United before being loaned out to the Midlands Club with a view to a permanent deal. In his first season at the Britannia Stadium, the season in which Stoke gained promotion from the Championship, Shawcross netted an impressive 7 goals from the back. His height is very dangerous from set-plays, in particular those Delap throws from either side.

Despite Stoke’s excellent start to the new campaign, manager Tony Pulis is refusing to get carried away and claims that he’s still concentrating on avoiding the drop. Stoke lie in 9th after 11 games, just one point behind Sunderland and only 3 off 4th place. A last-ditch win at White Hart Lane last weekend got people talking about a possible top 7 finish and therefore qualification into Europe. Chris Kamara, presenter of Goals on Sunday and much-loved pundit/commentator, admits that he backs them to clinch a Europa League spot too.

It’s a fact that the big teams find it very difficult to go to Stoke and get a result. They have arguably the best fan base in the Premier League in terms of passionate support. They make the Britannia a very hostile place to visit and make it very hard for visiting teams to play their Football. Arsenal and Liverpool found that out last season, and Manchester United almost slipped up earlier on this year as well.

A team like Arsenal, full of wonderful Footballers but not necessarily battlers, would be ideal prey for Stoke who would concentrate on kicking them off the pitch. Entirely fairly of course. That’s why teams will seldom take points from them at the Britannia. Home form will be crucial to determine Stoke’s season, as their away form can be very inconsistent, although pretty decent so far. They’ve lost only one on the road this season, that a 4-0 crushing at Anfield. Draws at Bolton, Birmingham, and Everton were followed by that impressive win against Spurs. However, last season’s form on the road suggests that there has to be caution about how they approach games against Hull and Blackburn away from home. They’d expect themselves to pick up points in these kind of games, yet can’t be too complacent.

So European contenders or mid-table solidity? Perhaps Europe is a bit of an ask at this stage. There are still better teams in the League who can do more than just battle. But they’re certainly heading in the right direction, and with the fans right behind them at the Britannia, who knows what may come about by the end of the season.

Fulham 3-1 Liverpool: All things red at the Cottage

Two fairly atrocious decisions from referee Lee Mason, and some bizarre substitutions from Rafael Benitez made for another woeful afternoon at the office for the Liverpool gaffer.

It was a game that people were cautious about following the 2-0 win over Man Utd last weekend – it’s one of those Liverpool should win but very often don’t. Fulham opened the scoring half way through the first half thanks to Bobby Zamora, before Fernando Torres levelled just before the break with his 10th League goal of the season. However, it went very quickly downhill from there for the visitors, who conceeded to Erik Nevland after 73 minutes before the first of the red cards.

Philipp Degen’s challenge was late. Nothing more. It was worthy of a yellow card. Nothing more. Disbelief was the common emotion when Mr. Mason produced red for the Swiss full-back. Clint Dempsey certainly made the most of the tackle, which on replay shows Degen actually made contact with the American with his back. As for Jamie Carragher’s sending off, it was pretty similar to that one on Michael Owen 6 days ago, apart from being much less of a foul. Carra was guilty of getting on the wrong side of Zamora, a bit of tugging on shirts followed from both parties, before Carragher made a perfectly timed, perfectly legal lunge for the ball. However, the referee saw something that no one else saw and handed the Liverpool skipper his first red card of the season.

Clint Dempsey wrapped up the win for Fulham just before full-time, but all the talk now will be about Benitez’s future, again. Especially after taking a furious Yossi Benayoun off before all the drama unfolded. Time will tell.

King jailed after club assault

10 months after Marlon King was accused of sexually assaulting a young student in a London nightclub, the Wigan Athletic Forward has been slapped with an 18-month jail sentence after being found guilty of sexual assault and actual bodily harm.

King, who was celebrating both his wife’s pregnancy and scoring a winning goal just hours earlier, grew increasingly frustrated when women enjoying a night at London’s Soho Revue Bar turned down his advances. It was when a 20-year old university student gave him the cold-shoulder that King eventually snapped, first of all indecently touching her before striking her to the floor with a blow that completely shattered her nose.

King claimed that he was a victim of a case of mistaken identity, but with so much evidence stacked up on him due to witness reports, one in fact from a Football coach, there was no chance that he’d get away with the offence. The 29-year old was therefore found guilty.

Wigan Chairman Dave Whelan has revealed that he will sack King from his contract in the very near future. King’s reputation will be permanently damaged now, due to a moment of incredible stupidity and brutality. Will anyone want to take him on after this? From past incidents you’d probably have to say yes. In 2004 Lee Hughes was convicted for causing death by dangerous driving following a late-night incident in the village of Meriden, Warwickshire. The original sentence was 6 years, but in August 2007 he was controversially released and immediately joined Oldham Athletic.

The question is, should King be allowed back into Football? The argument is that for the average Joe, they wouldn’t have a hope in hell of getting their job back if something like this happened to them, so why should Footballers? It’s a sensitive subject, but one that needs to be looked at. Not only does it say to Footballers ‘you can do what you want’, but it sets the worst example to youngsters in terms of behaviour.

Perhaps the tarnished reputation of these idiots is bad enough. It’s very much debatable.

Liverpool 2-0 Manchester United

I’m going to enjoy this; results like these don’t come along that often. Oh no wait, yes they do – this is Liverpool’s 3rd consecutive win over United – forgive me.

Coming into this afternoon’s game everybody was talking about how much longer Rafael Benitez would last at the helm. Now, just a couple of hours after, discussion has switched to the re-launch of Liverpool’s title bid. It was inevitable that would happen should Liverpool have got the 3 points, but I’m afraid I’m going to play the pessimist and say lets not speak too soon.

Liverpool were brilliant today, no doubt about it. The spark that they lacked in midweek against Lyon certainly returned against a lacklustre United side, who threatened very little throughout the course of the match. The home side’s best chance of the first half fell to Fabio Aurelio, whom after testing Edwin van der Sar with a 25-yard free kick, had a close-range header saved by the Dutchman – a chance that Aurelio probably should have scored.

United’s best chance of the half came via Wayne Rooney’s head, but Pepe Reina wasn’t made to work very hard by the England centre-forward. Little changed in the second 45, with Liverpool continuing to dominate and create chances. The deadlock was eventually broken after 66 minutes when Yossi Benayoun’s wonderful through pass found the run of Fernando Torres, who shrugged off Rio Ferdinand and fired past van der Sar. Question marks will again be raised over Ferdinand’s defending; he wasn’t tight enough to Torres to start with, and ended up wrong side, allowing Torres to graze through with ease.

The visitors failed to test Reina even after this goal. Nani skimmed the crossbar from a very tight angle and had a free kick saved by Reina with comfort, but Sir Alex will be disappointed that his side couldn’t conjure up more chances, especially against a Liverpool defence heavily criticised recently for leaking goals.

The referee did his best to try and get United back in the game. Numerous decisions went their way, and it’s plain to see why. Mr. Ferguson throwing another half-time tantrum may have something to do with it. Nemanja Vidic received a red card in the 90th minute for a reckless rugby tackle on Dirk Kuyt – Vidic probably lucky to have lasted that long if truth be told. It can be argued that Jamie Carragher should have received the same sanction just moments later for a seemingly last-man challenge on Michael Owen, but Andre Marriner produced yellow instead. Javier Mascherano also received his marching orders in the 95th minute for a silly lunge at Edwin van der Sar in the corner. Unnecessary and costly from the little Argentinian; he’ll now be banned for a game, meaning the Liverpool backroom staff will have to work extra hard to get Alberto Aquilani up to match fitness for next weekend.

I’d like to pinpoint a few one-to-one battles now:

Torres v Vidic: Not only was this United’s 3rd straight defeat against Liverpool, but it was also Vidic’s 3rd straight red card against the Reds. And it’s easy to see why. Torres ran the big Serb ragged at Old Trafford in March, and he did the same today. Too quick, strong, and skillful for the defender, who had to resort to fouling Torres to stop him getting away. Sir Alex revealed before the match that Vidic was “looking forward” to the tussle with Torres. Perhaps that’s what he’d like to have thought.

Valencia v Insua: This was United’s main route of attack. Insua looked vulnerable whenever the ball came his way, and United attempted to expose him on every possible occasion. Valencia was quicker and simply better than Insua, and it begs the question why United couldn’t have exploited that area more.

Mascherano/Lucas v Scholes/Carrick: This was probably the best game I’ve seen Lucas have. He seldom gave the ball away, and kept it very simple which is what you like your crap players to do I guess. Scholes and Carrick had little time on the ball thanks to the closing down from Mascherano and Lucas throughout the game. Those raking passes we’re so used to from Scholes weren’t so evident today.

Carragher v United: Jamie Carragher was immense. Yes, he probably should have been sent off, but that doesn’t take away the fact he was heroic. Every tackle he got right, every aerial battle he won, and United didn’t look like scoring while Carragher was on the pitch i.e the whole match. He’s received a lot of stick recently for being off the pace, but today he’s silenced his critics, if only for a few days.

A fantastic win for Liverpool then. Better than United in all areas, they wanted the ball more, and they wanted the win more. Pressure off Benitez for a short while, but now the hard work begins. Back these performances up and we’ve got a chance. For now, I’m a happy Liverpool supporter.

Kick Racism out of Football

My post yesterday on the alleged racist abuse that Rangers’ star Maurice Edu received from his own fans got me thinking – Can these incidents ever be stopped?

Your average African/Asian/Caribbean Footballer won’t be adverse to remarks made about their race or ethnic background, and that’s a horrible truth to admit. I’ll give you a few shocking examples of incidents whereby players have received racist abuse from fans, opposition players, and even the board members of their own clubs.

1) Now-AC Milan central defender Oguchi Onyewu, who’s an American of Nigerian descent, has been punched and shouted at by fans of Standard Liege, whom he played for before joining the Italian giants.

Also, during the 2008-09 Championship playoff, Anderlecht defender Jelle van Damme repeatedly called Onyewu a “dirty ape”. After the match van Damme denied it and claimed that Onyewu had called him a “dirty flemish”. Two weeks after the incident it was announced by Onyewu’s lawyer that he would attempt to sue van Damme in a bid to end on-field racism in European Football.

2) Republic of Congo International Zola Matumona left FC Brussels last year after he accused Club Chairman Johan Vermeersch of making racist remarks towards him during a crisis meeting at the club. It is reported that he told Matumona to “think about other things than trees and bananas”.

3) During a Spanish training session in 2004, the Spanish media filmed coach Luis Aragones trying to motivate Jose Antonio Reyes by making racist remarks about his then-teammate at Arsenal Thierry Henry. The phrase used translates into English as “show that you’re better than that black s***”. Unsurprisingly the incident caused uproar back in England with widespread calls for Aragones to be sacked and severely punished. However, the Spanish FA declined to act against Aragones and politicians were slow to denounce the remarks.

England visited Spain a short while after to contest a friendly match at Santiago Bernabeu, home of Real Madrid. The atmosphere was extremely hostile, and throughout England’s singing of the national anthem, Spanish fans racially chanted towards the England team. Shaun Wright-Phillips and Ashley Cole were the unfortunate victims of the chanting.

Aragones’ comments were much blamed for inciting the incident, and even Tony Blair, the Prime Minister at the time, got involved. However, Aragones somehow won his appeal over the offence, with the misdemeanour being downgraded to “conduct which could be considered to be racist”.

So these are the kind of incidents that need to be kicked out of Football. But how?

Placing lifetime bans on the cretins that do these things is a start. Hefty fines is another way. Even prison sentences if you want to go to the absolute extreme. But I’m just questioning whether this will really diminish racism and whether the endless ‘give racism the red card’ campaigns are just a waste of time.

The reason people give racist abuse is because they're ignorant, primarily. They’re ignorant people who don’t know a thing about social and moral etiquette, whether Football-related or not. Spain and Latin America are renowned for being primary culprits of distributing racial abuse, so that’s got to tell you something about what they’re taught, and the behaviour they learn. Are they not being told that racism is a bad thing? Isn’t it time they were?

In this country and the rest of the UK racist abuse is still evident. We know that from the Maurice Edu incident. But it’s definitely not on as big a scale as it is in Europe. So this perhaps suggests that the campaigns do in fact work, and that people are taking note. They also know that big punishments will come their way if they’re caught, something that the Spanish for example know they’ll escape because the Spanish FA and government are far too lenient and probably just as bad.

This probably suggests then, that similar regimes and schemes should be introduced into the European and World game. There are a few, like “Football united against Racism”, but no where near as many and certainly not as passionately put in place as in the UK.

So for me, it is about campaigning. At a glance you would say propaganda doesn’t work due to the lingering cloud of racism over Football still, but on closer inspection the situation in the English game is greatly improved thanks to such schemes as the “stand up, speak up” scheme pictured at the top of this post. Fine tuning, and introduction of more regimes in Europe is now what is required.

The David Beckham Hairstyle Gallery

To check out this post, please visit http://wdkf.co.uk/2009/10/20/the-david-beckham-hairstyle-gallery/

It was too complicated to copy and paste it onto here. Ta!

"We can still win the title" - Who's Benitez kidding?

Just. No.

I’m a true optimist right, but I’m afraid on this occasion even Rafa’s got the better of me. Despite Liverpool’s dire start to the season, somehow, from somewhere, Mr. Benitez has conjured up the enthusiasm and confidence to say Liverpool can still win the Premier League. Is he mad?

It is early days, but not so early as predict the outcome of the rest of the season. This week is a crucial one for Benitez, probably for his career at Anfield. A Champions League tie on Tuesday is followed on Sunday by the visit of Manchester United and all their beachballs. Should Liverpool fail to secure points in both those matches, the door will swing wide open for Benitez to make his exit.

This time last season Liverpool were in a similar predicament. Benitez as well. A Champions League win, also against French opposition in the form of Marseille, kept Benitez his job in effect, after reports suggested he was on the way out. If ever there was a time for an encore, it’s now.

Those of you who read the papers will have probably picked up on the criticism of Benitez for not praising his players enough. Now I never read the articles about this, but I was told that he’s never praised Jamie Carragher or Steven Gerrard for a good performance? Surely that can’t be true. Is he losing the dressing room now as well?

He’s desperate to stay at Liverpool, that’s for sure, and who can blame him? He’s fallen in love with the club and it’s fans, and having spent 5 years there, it’s always going to be a hard thing to leave. He delivered a 5th Champions League trophy in his first full year in charge, as well as bringing Fernando Torres to the club, a signing that pretty much made him a legend. But all that seems long forgotten.

The recent past and the present is what Liverpool fans, and more importanly messrs. Hicks and Gillet are looking at right now. He’s not delivering the goods, and it’s time something was done about it. I’m sad to say that I want Benitez to leave. In my eyes he’s a legend, and a top Football Manager. Winning the European Cup was a big thing for me, and all other Liverpool fans. But I’m afraid now we want the Premier League. And I don’t believe Benitez is the man to deliver that particular trophy.

He’s too cautious as a Manager, in England anyway. The style of play that is needed in the PL is an attacking one. Take United and Arsenal for example. Free-flowing, passing Football, and plenty of goals. Liverpool, seldom set the League alite with a 5-0, 6-0 display, and far too often settle for 0-0 draws at Stamford Bridge. Not good enough.

Possible candidates for the hotseat?

Jose Mourinho has to be favourite for me. He’s always stated a desire to get back into managing in England, and despite not being on most Reds’ fan’s christmas card list, he’ll win silverware.

Jurgen Klinsmann was very close to taking over 12 months ago before that Marseille win, and who know, his name may pop up again.

Martin O’Neill? Claudio Ranieri? Who do you think?

Benitez keen to bring Heskey back

"I don't know what I'm doing wearing this shirt either, Stevie"

This doesn’t please me.

Apparently Benitez is keen on finishing 8th place as well. At least that’s what will happen if he continues to concentrate his interest on donkeys. Take note Lucas Leiva.

Emile Heskey is good for one thing, and one thing only. He’s a big guy, a strong guy. Therefore, long, aerial balls could potentially be very beneficial. Heskey’s strength allows him to win a lot of aerial battles, which ultimately makes him a useful target man.

He’d be an even better target man if he didn’t fall over every 20 seconds. The guy is huge. Man up.

He’s complimented Wayne Rooney in attack reasonably well for England of late, but for a striker, he has a woeful goalscoring record, target man or not target man. 7 goals in 57 England games? Please. Surely there’s someone better. Oh yes, there is: Jermain Defoe.

If you compare Heskey to other target men around the World, you’ll notice that he’s simply not as good.

Luca Toni – Italy – 16 goals, 47 games.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Sweden – 22 goals, 59 games.
Dimitar Berbatov – Bulgaria – 43 goals, 72 games.

You do the Math.

It is suggested that Rafa is interested in bringing Heskey back to Anfield for a second spell after finally recognising the need for a second striker to play alongside Fernando Torres. Back in the year 2000, Heskey moved from Leicester City to Liverpool for an astonishing £11m fee, and spent 4 unproductive years at the club. Now, nearly 10 years on, take £9.5m off that price and you’ve got what Heskey will supposedly re-join the Reds for.

Emile himself has stated that he’d consider a move back to Merseyside, and it’s hard to believe he’d turn it down should an offer come in. In the meantime, Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill has told Heskey to stop worrying about his England place for next year’s World Cup, and to start focussing on securing Villa a decent finish in the Premier League.

The insignificance of Scottish Football

So, who will win the SPL this year? Celtic or Rangers?

It’s this question that underlines the insignificance of the other teams in Scottish Football, and again raises the point that perhaps the two Glaswegian giants should be allowed to play in the Premier League.

Having watched last weekend’s Derby match, it’s plain to see that the standard of Scottish Football is very poor compared to the Premier League, often dubbed as the best League on the planet. Yet the hype surrounding the Scottish game seems unusually over-the-top.

It was an exciting game, but not for Footballing reasons. Both sides struggled to string more than 5 or 6 passes together, challenges were flying in left, right, and centre, and aerial balls were the flavour of the tie. Very little flowing Football was played.

On commentary it was said that the Celtic – Rangers Derby is bigger than most other Derby’s around the World, yet I’m struggling to put my finger on why that is. Glasgow is certainly a City divided into Green and Blue, so the supporters play a major role in bigging up the clash. But does that make a Football match a classic? Its supporters?

A few years ago it was said that Celtic and Rangers should be allowed to make the switch to play in the Premier League, allowing the other sides in the SPL the chance to compete for the title, for the first time in as long as I can remember. With the gulf in class between the Glasgow Clubs and the rest of the SPL sides, not only does it bring into question the standard of the teams down the bottom of the table, but it gives us reason to doubt their involvement in the League altogether. I mean, what are they competing for?

It’s very likely that 3rd position is held by Hearts come the end of the season, which means they qualify for the newly-named Europa League. This leaves 9 other teams effectively battling it out to survive the drop. If we took Celtic and Rangers out of the SPL, it would open up competition for the likes of Motherwell, Kilmarnock, etc. to actually aim for some silverware. There’d be some motivation.

Not only is the SPL a seemingly pointless inevitability, but the two Scottish Cups are too. While Celtic have been on the receiving end of a few shocks in recent times, most notably to Inverness Caledonian Thistle, having one of Celtic or Rangers in the Final is seldom a rarity. Compare the CIS Insurance Cup to the FA Cup and there’s nowhere near as much romance, as many shock results, or as many classic moments, simply because the standard of the teams in the lower divisions is so bad that they don’t have a hope of challenging the bigger teams.

Last year it wasn’t much of a surprise to see East Stirling, of the Scottish 3rd Division, being beaten 7/8/9-0 every week. In fact it actually became a regularity by the end of the season. I guess the reason for the poor standard of Scottish Football is lack of interest, or at least not as much interest, as in other Leagues. It doesn’t get as much publicity around the World, certainly not as much as the Premier League, therefore less money is pumped into the game.

But I believe if you took The Bhoys and The Gers out of Scottish Football, it would give much more opportunities to the lesser sides to cause a few upsets and put themselves on the Footballing map. As for two Scottish sides playing in England, I don’t think anyone would have a problem with that so long as they’re being beaten, which I think would probably happen.

There have been a few occasions whereby English and Scottish sides have clashed in the Champions League, but that’s a different situation to playing in the PL every weekend against Man Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool, etc. It’d be a tough change.

Independent Schools Football - There's more to it than you think

Charlie Pilkington for Shrewsbury v Lancing

You may be forgiven for thinking Independent School's Sport is centred around Rugby and Cricket, therefore not realising that Football is in fact bigger than the two in most cases. Independent Schools, such as the one I attend (Shrewsbury School), are renowned for their big playing grounds, excellent facilities and top-class coaching, thus giving pupils every possible chance to maximise their potential.

Four weeks into the new term and the Football season is already shaping up to be a classic for Schools all over the country. My objective here is to raise a bit of awareness of the Independent Schools game, as well as teach you a few things you may not know.

History
In 1868 Shrewsbury School was named as one of the nine 'great' schools of England, along with Charterhouse, Eton, Harrow, Merchant Taylors', Rugby, St Paul's, Westminster, and Winchester. It also holds the original copy of the rules of Football within it's Library.

In the year 2000, under the guidance of then-coach Mark Dickson, Shrewsbury won the Independent Schools Football Association Cup, also known as the ISFA, or 'Boodles', something that disappointingly hasn't been achieved since. This year, Shrewsbury are determined for victory.

ISFA 2009-10
Two rounds in to this year's competition and things have gone very well for Shrewsbury School. Under new coach, ex-pro Steve Biggins, we have a fresh new outlook with a view to winning trophies in the short-term.

We were drawn against KES Witley in the 1st round, which meant an 8-hour round trip down to Surrey. It was a potentially tricky encounter which we made fairly light work of in the end.

We were awarded a rather dubious penalty after just 4 minutes, which striker Roy Chatterjee slotted away. Roy now has a record of 10 goals in 8 games this season, a tally any striker would be proud of at any level. It wasn't until the second half that we finished off KES though, with 2 goals from winger Pat White, and another from Chatterjee. There could, and probably should have been more goals for us in the second half, particularly if a 35-yard thunderbolt from your's truly hadn't hit the crossbar.

In the second round we were drawn with a home tie against Brighton-based side Lancing. A 10-hour round trip down south would not have gone down too well with the boys, so we were definitely grateful with the home tie.

Shrewsbury dominated throughout the match, and Lancing were eventually flattered by the 2-0 scoreline. Chatterjee and White were again amongst the goals, but an all-round solid performance sees us through to tonight's third round draw.

The thrill of the big stage
All schoolboys aspire to play Football, Cricket, Rugby on the big stage, and the ISFA gives us exactly that opportunity. This year the final of the competition will be staged at Stadium MK, home of MK Dons. It's this prize that adds something special and gives an extra motivation to boys all over the country. It's not everyday you get the chance to participate in such a competition with the knowledge that you have the opportunity to play infront of a few hundred, possibly a thousand people, at the end of it.

2008-09 ISFA Cup Final

It's not only the final that draws people to watch either. At Shrewsbury we are lucky to have a lot of boys and girls that come to watch our matches, sometimes over 100. Matchday programmes are produced, our names are read out over a tanoy system, and chants ring out from the fans. It's a proper atmosphere at a proper Football match.

Shrewsbury's pitch has recently been described as being better than Aston Villa's. The headgroudsman used to be involved with the preparation of Wolverhampton Wanderer's pitch before taking up the mantel at Shrewsbury. The matchday atmoshphere, big crowds, a wonderful pitch, and a great team spirit is making this season very special indeed, and hopefully come next year, Shrewsbury will be appearing in the final of the ISFA.

I'll be sure to keep you updated with our progress throughout the season.

http://www.isfa.org.uk/boys/news.php?go=newslist&cat=Home%20Page/Latest%20News

Team profile
1. George Barker - George has made an excellent start to the new season, looking extremely solid. A much improved player who will be very grateful for having an excellent defence infront of him.

2. Ben Williams - Shrewsbury's head of school has made the break into the First team this season after excelling for the Second XI both last season, and at the start of this. Able to operate anywhere across the backline, Ben provides very useful backup.

3. Alex Blofield - Alex is an experienced Shrewsbury 1st XI Centre-half, who was a regular in the side last season. A tall, elegant player, who is fantastic in the air and isn't shy of a tackle.

4. Will Taylor - Will is another who played a number of games for the 1st XI last season, although not as regularly as Alex. He's able to play at right-back or centre-half, and possess great pace and tackling ability. His height adds to the physical presence across the back.

5. Charlie Pilkington - Charlie has had a fantastic start to the season, excelling on the pre-season tour to Spain, before putting in some excellent performances back home. He's good on the ball, has an admirable work-rate, and has quickly become a fan's favourite. Long may his form continue.

6. George Curtis - I'll try not to say too much about myself. I make up a 5-man midfield, playing the advanced role alongside captain Robbie Williams. Passing is my strong point, and due to my height, I'm also good in the air. Just the one goal so far this term, but I'll be hoping to add to my collection shortly.

7. Ed White - Right-winger extraodinaire, Ed has a wicked right foot on him. Our equivalent to David Beckham, crossing and set-pieces are very much Ed's strong point. His long-range passing is probably the best in the team, and his work-rate leaves very little to be desired. A regular in the side last year as well.

8. David Lloyd - Plays along side Alex Blofield at the back, and allows very little to pass through him. Certainly loves a tackle and doesn't back out of any battle. As committed as they come, sometimes a bit too much, he would say himself. Being one of the quickest in the side means very few goals will be scored past him this season, that's for sure.

9. Roy Chatterjee - New to school this year after being awarded a Sports scholarship, Roy's goalscoring ability is second-to-none. Give him half a yard in the box and he will punish you. He has the pace to match any centre-half on the school circuit and is a prize assett for us this season.

10. Robbie Williams (captain) - Robbie is a fantastic player to have in your side. Having previously been on Wolves' books, Robbie brings skill and elegance to the midfield as well as a wonderful striking ability. 30-yard screamers aren't a rarity with Robbie, and nor is beating players with ease. Captain of the side, he gains great respect from the boys.

11. Tom Elcock - A little dynamo in the midfield, Tom works his socks off every game. An excellent tackler, which enables him to break up the play and therefore feed Robbie and myself to press forward. He's just returned from injury, so will be hoping to regain full match fitness soon and get his place back in the starting XI.

12. Tom Elliot - Holding midfielder Elliot does a solid job infront of the back four. Gives the team good balance, and allows the likes of Robbie and myself to push forward and create chances.

15. Pat White - Twin brother of Ed, Pat plays on the left wing and creates chances all day. Fantastic with the ball at his feet, he beats players with ease and has a superb left foot. His right isn't bad either. Plenty of goals will be scored by him this season.

17. Christian Barrow - Shrewsbury's answer to Jose Bosingwa, Christian's committment cannot be faulted. Another one who loves a tackle, and another guy who has the pace to burst on to the byline and get crosses in.

Alex Blofield, David Lloyd, Ed White, Pat White, and Robbie Williams were all selected to play for the ISFA National side this season.

Chelsea 2-0 Liverpool: Cautious Reds found wanting

Liverpool’s bid for a first Premier League title took what will probably be a fatal blow today at the hands of an impressive Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Second half goals from Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda secured another 3 points for Carlo Ancelotti’s side, which moves them to the top of the table, 2 points clear of Manchester United.

From the outset it was clear of Liverpool’s gameplan. As is the norm with Liverpool when they travel to Stamford Bridge, they set up with a defensive outlook with the aim to contain Chelsea and look to hit them on the counter-attack. Only one goal at Stamford Bridge in the PL under Rafael Benitez suggests that that tactic probably needs a rethink.

Fernando Torres had the chance of the half for the visitors. A floated cross from the right by Dirk Kuyt was met by the Spaniard, only for his tame header to be held with comfort by Chelsea’s stand-in ‘keeper Hilario. Liverpool would go on to rue that miss, as 15 minutes into the second half Anelka struck to send the Blues fans into raptures. Javier Mascherano was guilty of losing the ball inside the Chelsea half, leaving Liverpool exposed at the back. Didier Drogba was put through by Michael Essien, before crossing for Anelka to cleverly guide home at the far post.

Things got no better for Liverpool who never looked that threatening until Florent Malouda slotted home a second for the home side in the 90th minute. Yossi Benayoun had a golden opportunity just seconds after to scrape a goal back for Liverpool, but his shot shaved the outside of Hilario’s far post.

After this defeat, it seems Liverpool’s title hopes are over. They’ll have to settle now for battling out for 4th spot along with Manchester City, Aston Villa, and the likes. As for Chelsea, moving above United in the table will give them great confidence and motivation heading into the next round of PL matches.

Chelsea v Liverpool: Battle of the Number 8's

Fans of Chelsea and Liverpool would have been scowering through the 2009/2010 fixtures list in mid-July, with the aim of pinpointing arguably their biggest games of the season. This contest certainly falls into that category.

In years gone by, matches between Chelsea and Liverpool have been displays of technical class, wonderful ability, and plenty of goals. One gets the feeling that this tussle will fail to disappoint.

There’s a lot at stake for both sides on Sunday. Chelsea lost their first League game of the season last weekend at the hands of a plucky Wigan, whilst Liverpool travelled to Italy in mid-week only to be outplayed by a very impressive Fiorentina side. Remarkably, that defeat at the DW Stadium prompted some people to start casting doubts over the future of Carlo Ancelotti. Now we know that in this day and age managers seldom get the rub of the green when results aren’t going their way, and usually it’s 10/15 matches into a season when they get the boot, but talk of Ancelotti going after just one defeat this season is completely ludicrous.

Many have touted the Italian as being the ‘next Scolari’, but so far there’s very little evidence of that. Yes, Chelsea lost to Wigan, and yes they can’t afford to be losing those kind of matches on a regular basis, but it’s just one blip out of 38 Premier League matches. I’m sure they’ll bounce back sooner or later.

As for Liverpool, Rafael Benitez is a manager under far more pressure than his Chelsea counterpart. A poor start to the season in all competitions has already dispelled some fans’ hopes of winning the League, or Champions League come next summer. The depth of the squad at Anfield, as well as the quality of players has constantly come under scrutiny, and there is no doubt that Sunday will be the Reds’ biggest test yet. Should they come through that with 3 points I’m sure all those doubts will disappear, for a day or two at least. However, should Liverpool fail to bag at least 1 point, more question marks, and more pressure will build on the Spaniard.

The key battles haven’t really changed from previous clashes. The main talking point will be the two no.8’s in the middle of the park. Messrs Lampard and Gerrard. Many say they can’t play together, but the spotlight will now be on the two battling against each other as they sought to regain some Premier League momentum for their teams.

Lampard is renowned for his ability to find space and pop up in the box unmarked, therefore scoring his fair share of goals. I would hope Javier Mascherano would be given the job of marking Lamps out the game, and therefore dispelling Chelsea’s main midfield threat. Gerrard on the other hand loves running with the ball, making those darting runs forward, and of course supplying Torres with pinpoint precision. Goals from Gerrard are guaranteed throughout a season, and he very often pops up at vital times. Michael Essien will probably be given the job of keeping Stevie quiet. A difficult task nonetheless.

The Torres – Terry contest also throws up some interesting talking points too. Torres has been in great form in the early season, and been rewarded with the Player of the Month for September. John Terry, England captain and one of the World’s best centre-halfs, will have his work cut out, but he’ll more than be up to the prospect of keeping Torres quiet.

Finally, Didier Drogba and the whole of the Liverpool backline will be a very interesting watch. Drogba’s physical, bullying presence will keep Jamie Carragher and the likes on their toes, and with Drogba’s reputation for going down a little too easily, they’ll have to be careful not to concede any silly free-kicks close to goal. Especially with the likes of Lampard and Ballack, two first-class free-kick specialists, amongst the Chelsea ranks.

Whenever Liverpool travel to Stamford Bridge Rafael Benitez always seems keen on employing a cautious, counter-attacking setup. This time however, having already conceded too many points for my liking this season, a more aggressive, ‘in-your-face’ approach would be very refreshing to see. Yes, we may concede a goal or two, but with Torres, Gerrard, Benayoun, and Kuyt all finding the net with consummate ease at the moment, the likelihood is we’d score a few too.

Chelsea play attacking Football wherever they go. They have great ability in the final third, as well as a solid defensive unit that deals with the counter-attacking threat. Where they are perhaps vulnerable is with a big striker up against Terry and Carvalho, something Liverpool don’t really possess although Torres does put himself about a bit, and down the wings. Bosingwa and Cole’s defensive ability leaves something to be desired.

For me, the team that wins will be the team that gambles the most. Risks will have to be taken, but calculated risks. Sitting back and waiting to counter is a dangerous tactic and probably one that should be abandoned for this match. Aggressive, attacking, inventive play will be the winner on Sunday.

A fascinating contest lies ahead then. I’d be very interested to hear some predictions from readers – Preferably in Liverpool’s favour.

My Prediction: 2-3

Xavi: Fabregas has Barca DNA

Really Xav, really? If we're being hyper-critical of this statement we'd say it's not physically possible. But I'm sure Cesc appreciates it.

So, Xavi and Cesc - Spanish National teammates, former Barcelona teammates (although they never played together), and general good mates. The little Barca maestro has expressed his desire to play alongside Fabregas on a day-to-day basis at Camp Nou, a statement that risks infuritating Arsenal who have never previously taken kindly to 'tapping-up', and false rumours. But who does?

"I'd like to play with him", Xavi told Spanish newspaper El Mundo Deportivo. "I've always said that in the National team I link up with Cesc very well, despite the fact that many say we can't play together". Oh the famous 'they can't play together'. Gerrard & Lamps. Proven. Ballack & Lamps. Dubious. Xavi and Cesc? Surely not.

Xavi went on to say, "we demonstrated in the final of the European Championship that isn't true. I especially hope that Cesc comes. He is a football player with Barca DNA and he is showing at Arsenal that he is on another level".

I'm not sure Mr. Wenger will be too happy with Xavi's comments, but Footballers will do anything these days to get to play with their mates.

So, if Fab does leave the Gooners, where would it leave them? Have they got sufficient backup? Would they need to purchase more than one player to replace him? Would it be a mistake to rejoin Barca? These are all questions that probably will be answered one day, although I can't see Cesc leaving just yet. For the Premier League, I sincerely hope not.

The AFC Bournemouth story

There are a lot of things you won’t know about AFC Bournemouth. Some of you may not know that they once held the longest name in the Football League – Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic Football Club Limited. Perhaps you don’t know that their red and black kit, introduced in 1971, was based on the old AC Milan strip. The 1970’s was also the era that Ted McDougall (I have a picture of him scoring a diving header against Aston Villa on my wall – that’s how good he was) scored 9 goals in an 11-0 victory against Margate. These are all things of the past, but it’s the present that the Cherries’ fans will be most happy about.

At the beginning of the last League 2 season Bournemouth were deducted 17 points for entering administration by the authorities. It was a bleak time for the club, who already had a very small squad, made up of seasoned veterans and raw schoolboys with not much inbetween, and it was clear that it’d be a big struggle for a club who have not lost their Football League status in 85 years.

Kevin Bond was the manager at the start of the 08/09 season, but was a man under pressure. Having been assistant to Harry Redknapp at Portsmouth, and then Martin Jol’s first-team coach at Spurs, Bond came with a big reputation, but failed to deliver the goods. On the 1st September 2008, Bond and his management were sacked. Jimmy Quinn, another big Footballing name, was named as his replacement but only lasted until early December. A 2-0 defeat at fellow strugglers Barnet confirmed his dismissal. It was after this latest event in an episode of awful affairs for the Southerners, that their blessing in disguise appeared.

The sacking of Quinn allowed Eddie Howe to be named as caretaker manager, and despite losing his first two games, Howe was pronounced Bournemouth’s permanent manager until the end of the season, with a view to extending his contract. This made Howe the youngest manager in the Football League, at just 31 years of age. It was the first good decision the Bournemouth board had made in a very long time.

From when Howe was given the permanent job at the Fitness First Stadium, Bournemouth won 8 of their 13 games that season. That record was enough to keep them in the division, a remarkable feit for a club who were very close to completely folding just 12 months earlier.

In the Summer of 2009 a consortium, including former vice-chairman Steve Sly, completed their takeover of AFC Bournemouth. This backing has given them great stability, perhaps not financially but at least as a Football League Club and now, as the new season is well under way, the memories of last year’s trials and tribulations seem very distant indeed.

However, any club who have been through what Bournemouth have been through recently would struggle to rebuild in any quick time, as Bournemouth have found out. Despite securing their status as a League Club, and entering the new campaign with no burden or penalty against their name, no money has been available to purchase players, not since January this year. The situation has got so bad recently, that in their last home League match, amongst the Bournemouth substitutes was assistant manager Jason Tindall, 15-year old Jayden Stockley, and only one other player – Alan Connell. Bournemouth still won the game 1-0, but one has to wonder whether they can keep up such performances with such lack of squad depth. It’s doubtful.

For the time being all people associated with the seaside club will be thrilled to see them top the League 2 table, and to have put all the problems behind them. None more so than my Father, who’s an avid Bournemouth fan, and even I, as a neutral, am delighted to see such a turn around in fortunes for a real community club.

A dozen or so years ago each of my family registered themselves to have a brick engraved, with a word/phrase of our choice. My choice was ‘calcio’ (Italian for ‘Football’), perhaps ironic in the face of such unfootballing matters. Unfortunately I’m yet to re-visit the stadium to see my brick in the flesh. I get the feeling it’d be a great day out, to visit a club so many people hold in high regard, and to see the improvements made in the past decade.

Things are at a high right now, and there’s even talk amongst fans and pundits that in the not-so-distant future Harry Redknapp will attempt a takeover of the club he once played for, and managed in his younger days. Harry still holds residence near Bournemouth, in the seaside town of Poole, and has never fallen out of love with the club he grew up supporting. Such a takeover would rival that of Sven-Goran Eriksson’s at Notts County, but for differing reasons. Pride and joy would be the motivation for Redknapp, whereas money has spurred Sven and the guys in Nottingham to press for Premier League status within 5 years. A shame really. There’s no romance in that.

It’s stories such as these that puts the growing wealth of Football into perspective. A club with no money has managed to survive and rise to the top of it’s division due to a tightly-knit community and bunch of players, passionate support and real drive for success. If only we had more AFC Bournemouth’s in this world.

If any of you get the chance to visit Bournemouth this season, I’d be very grateful if you could report back with your feelings, opinions, and views about the club.

The ones you knew nothing about: Champions League underdogs

This season's Champions League has thrown a few names at us that very few people from this side of the continent have heard of. With another night of great European action soon to commence, I've decided to give you a run-through of the teams that'll be looking to announce themselves on the European stage.

The badge you see above belongs to Russian champions FC Rubin Kazan, who have also held the names Iskra and Rubin-TAN throughout the late 20th century. In 2003, Rubin made the break into the Russian Premier League, finishing 3rd in their first season, and thereby qualifying for the UEFA Cup (now Europa League).

It took them just 5 years to reach the summit of the Russian top flight, and therefore qualifying for the Champions League for the first time ever. In their history, Rubin have boasted Sergiy Rebrov, and Savo Milosevic amongst their most famous players, and a certain Cedric Roussel whom Coventry City fans will remember.

In their first Champions League game of their first ever campaign, Rubin were soundly beaten 3-1 by Ukrainian champions Dynamo Kiev, but more than held their own in their second encounter, against much more illustrious opponents Inter Milan, led by Jose Mourinho of course. A 1-1 draw in Russia was less than expected and has certainly given Mourinho and his men a shock. Top scorer Alejandro Dominguez got the goal.

Hungary's reigning champions Debreceni VSC make up Liverpool's group, which also includes Fiorentina and Lyon. They will be proud to hold the record for being Hungary's most successful club since the year 2000. Or maybe they won't be.

Anyway, Debreceni are a club who were founded way back in 1902, and like Rubin Kazan underwent numerous name changes during the communist era of the mid to late 1900's. They play their football at Olah Gabor Utca in Debrecen, a stadium that holds over 9,000 people. However, as it does not meet the UEFA standards, Debreceni have to play their European home games down the road in Budapest, at the Puskas Ferenc stadium. That's a bit like Fulham being told they have to play at Stamford Bridge.

They more than held their own in the opening group match at Anfield, being defeated by just the one goal, scored by Dirk Kuyt. A second round match against Lyon will give them the opportunity to record their first point.

Perhaps the least well known of this year's participants is Romanian outfit Unirea (careful how you pronounce that) Urziceni. They're the Romanian champions, and according to their website are the most successful team from Lalomita county. Is that good?

Unirea have never taken part in Europe before 2008, a year that they made the break into the then UEFA Cup. However they only made it to the first round.

They play their home matches at the 7,000 seater Tineretului Stadium, but will be forced to play their European matches in Bucharest for the same reasons as Debreceni.

They make up a group with Rangers, Sevilla and Stuttgart, so perhaps potential for an upset or two this year. That's actually all there is on Urinea. If anyone could provide me with a few more facts, I'd be oh so grateful.

Cypriot champions Apoel Nicosia probably have the hardest task out of all the 'minnows'. They're placed in a group with Chelsea, Porto, and Atletico Madrid.

Apoel have had a fairly illustrious history, as far as Cyprus goes. In 1963/4, taking part in their first ever European competition, Apoel defeated Norweigan side SK Lyn in the UEFA Cup winner's cup, and triumphed 7-0 over the two legs, before being thrashed 16-1 on aggregate by Sporting Lisbon as they are today. In the 1995/6 campaign, Apoel won the league without losing a game, a feit that had never been achieved before by a cypriot club.

They more than held their own in the first round match of this season's Champions League too. A 0-0 draw with Atletico suggests they're not a team to be underestimated. Nuno Morais is a name to watch out for. The young Portuguese was on Chelsea's books last season.

So there's a little low-down on the clubs you probably knew nothing about. Now when one of these 4 sides creates a real upset, you can thank me for bringing them to your attention.