Meanwhile in the Premier League 11th & 12th February

February 13th, 2012
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Another week, another weekend of Barclays Premier League action; rivalries, fall-outs, apologies, managerial sackings and loads of goals, as we bring you all the drama from two days of frenetic football from England’s top league.

We’ll kick-off at Old Trafford with, arguably, the biggest fixture in the Premier League season. Liverpool were the visitors for Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off, keen to beat their fiercest rivals in order to help themselves in the race for fourth. Manchester United, lying second in the table needed to take all three points to move ahead of Man. City, albeit briefly, at the top of the league. The encounter was always likely to be overshadowed by the ill-feeling surrounding the Suarez/Evra

Inciden,t which had been festering since the match at Anfield earlier in the season. Sure enough, the press got their story as the two players concerned declined to shake handS before the game. It wasn’t clear who refused whose hand at the time, the post-match interviews were heated to say the least, however, since the game, Luis Suarez and Kenny Dalglish have issued apologies, and, thankfully, both clubs have now vowed to put the last four months behind them and move forward.

 

So, to the football. The match itself, much like the previous two meetings this season between these bitterest of rivals, didn’t provide too much attractive, open and attacking play. Liverpool started the better of the two teams, and Glen Johnson had two good, early chances to notch for the Reds, however he was unable to find the target. Manchester United came back into the game, Valencia was causing Enrique problems down the United right, much like he had in the F.A. Cup tie a fortnight ago. As United improved, they fashioned a great chance, Giggs cross from the left picked out Scholes, however the veteran midfielder headed straight at Reina from five yards.

Just before the break came a massive decision for Phil Dowd. Suarez looked to latch on to a through-ball, he arrived at the same time as Rio Ferdinand, who put a tackle in, touching the ball but failing to dispossess the Uruguayan. Suarez had the ball under control as Ferdinand followed through with his challenge and brought the Liverpool front man down. Phil Dowd saw nothing wrong with the incident, waving away Suarez’s and Liverpool’s furious protests, however, in real time, and having seen the replay on numerous occasions, the decision could certainly have gone the other way, meaning a sure red card for Rio Ferdinand; it didn’t however.

Manchester United flew out of the blocks after the break, all but winning the game with two goals in the first five minutes. Wayne Rooney much improved his scoring record against the Anfield side by netting both; the first a close range volley on 47 minutes, after Jordan Henderson’s flicked header from Giggs’ corner, inadvertently set up the England man. The second, just three minutes later, gobbling up Valencia’s pass after Spearing had given the ball away in a dangerous area for Liverpool. Liverpool, stunned after the two quick goals, struggled to get back into the game, even after Carroll and Bellamy were introduced for Downing and Spearing, they only threatened sporadically.

 

The Reds finally got themselves back into the game in the 80th minute, and it was Suarez who scored the goal, pouncing on a Rio Ferdinand mistake to prod home from six yards. 2-1 it stayed. At the final whistle, Evra chose to celebrate the win by jumping up and down and cheering the fans right in the face of Luis Suarez, causing fractious scenes between both sets of players as they cleared the pitch. This was the uglier side of the English game, perhaps, in the interest of even-handedness, Evra should have been asked to apologise for his actions upon hearing the final whistle.

 

Manchester City went back to the top of the table on Sunday evening, following their 0-1 victory at Villa Park. The Villains looked to contain City, and defended bravely for the most part, however, Joleon Lescott’s close range strike in the 63rd minute was enough to hand Mancini’s team all three points. Villa tried to get back into the match after the goal, and it was a nervous last fifteen minutes for City, both Carlos Cuellar and Darren Bent had good chances to level things up, but their finishing wasn’t good enough.

Arsenal gained ground in the race for fourth place, as they were the only team from that mini-league to take any points from the weekend’s victory. The Gunners turned the game round at the Stadium of Light, to put the brakes on Sunderland’s ascent of the table under Martin O’Neill. James McClean put the Black Cats 1-0 up in the 69th minute, with a crisp low drive across Szczesny. Arsenal were level inside five minutes, Aaron Ramsey netting from the edge of the box, shortly after coming on as a substitute. The match seemed destined for a draw until, in the 92nd minute, the other two Arsenal substitutes combined; Arshavin clipped in a delightful cross between two defenders, and Thierry Henry ghosted into the middle to apply the finishing touch. Henry leaves for the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday, and what better way to say farewell to the Premier League, again, than by scoring another vital goal for Arsenal, his third of a very productive short-term loan spell.

Everton turned up the heat on Andre Villas Boas by beating Chelsea 2-0 at Goodison Park on Saturday. Another returning Premier League “prodigal son” got the Toffees off to the best start possible, Steven Pienaar racing on to a bouncing ball to thump a half-volley past Cech after just five minutes. Chelsea aren’t firing at the moment, and though they had periods of control, their final ball or finish consistently let them down; Fernando Torres, amongst others including Lampard, had a poor game, his only meaningful contribution was to pick up a yellow card. Everton were relatively comfortable and scored again to secure the points in the 70th minute, Denis Stracqualursi with the finish, after Chelsea had been sliced open in the build-up. Troubling times for Villas Boas, just 2 league wins in 11 games, stretching back to December 17th, more crisis talks with Abramovich await.

There were two massive “six pointers” at the bottom of the table on Saturday, Bolton took on Wigan at the Reebok in the first of these encounters. It was the Latics who came out on top, narrowing the gap between the two clubs to just one point, running out 1-2 winners. Goals from Gary Caldwell and James McCarthur, sandwiched Mark Davies 67th minute screamer, to leave Bolton boss, Owen Coyle, reeling. Blackburn defeated Q.P.R. at Ewood Park in the second of these basement battles. The home side were 3-0 up at half-time, goals from Yakubu, N’Zonzi and Junior Hoilett, putting Rovers, seemingly, out of sight at the break. Rangers rallied in the second period though, and did manage to pull a goal back through Jamie Mackie in the 71st minute, Mackie’s second of the afternoon came too late to be anything other than a consolation however, arriving in the 91st minute. 3-2 Rovers.

Two Barclays Premier League sides smashed five goals past their opponents over the weekend, namely, Tottenham Hotspur and West Bromwich Albion. Spurs welcomed boss, Harry Redknapp back to White Hart Lane in triumphant fashion, destroying Newcastle United by five goals to nil. Redknapp, who’d spent the start of last week beating tax evasion charges in court, and the end of it fielding questions about the vacant England managerial post, watched as his team ran riot on the pitch. Spurs were 4-0 up by the 34th minute, Assou-Ekotto opened the scoring, with Saha adding a brace on his home debut, before Kranjcar notched the fourth; Adebayor, who’d claimed all four assists for the first half goals, added a fifth goal in the 64th minute. Newcastle were blown away. Albion thumped Wolves 1-5 at Molineux on Sunday, ushering in the end of Mick McCarthy’s reign as Wolves’ boss. McCarthy watched on in astonishment and disgust as his side conceded four goals in 25 second-half minutes, crashing to their sixth home defeat in seven games. Odemwingie opened the scoring, but Stephen Fletcher had Wolves level on half-time; Olsson, Andrews and a brace from Odemwingie, to complete a hat-trick, sealed Wolves’ and McCarthy’s fate.

 

Fulham’s great home form continued on Saturday, as they cruised to a 2-0 lead over Stoke City within half an hour. New signing Pavel Pogrebnyak opened the scoring with a smart finish on 16 minutes, before Sorensen, unluckily, deflected Dempsey’s shot into his own net after it had come back off the bar. Fulham were sloppy after the break, and allowed Stoke back into the game, Shawcross with a header just over ten minutes from time, but 2-1 was how it finished. Finally, Norwich defeated Swansea 2-3 at the Liberty in a great game between the newly promoted teams. The Swans took the lead after 23 minutes through Danny Graham and it stayed that way until half-time. Norwich took control of proceedings in 18 second-half minutes, a Grant Holt double, either side of Anthony Pilkington’s goal put the Canaries 1-3 up. Norwich should have gone on to score more, but some heroics by Vorm kept the Swans alive. They nearly capitalised on this, pulling a goal back from the spot in the 87th minute, again through Graham, and in the frantic finale both Graham and Steven Caulker had good chances to snatch an unlikely point, it wasn’t to be however.

 

 

 

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Meanwhile in the Premier League 4th – 6th February by Neil Patterson

February 9th, 2012
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As we say good-bye to January and enter the shortest, coldest month of the year, the Barclays Premier League is really starting to heat up. By the beginning of March the table will begin to give us fans a truly accurate prediction of what the final standings will look like come May 13th. Expect trouble at the top and battles at the bottom, plenty of drama and the obligatory controversial moments during this pivotal month which leads us into the final run in towards the season’s finale.

 

There’s only one place to start this week, and that’s at Stamford Bridge, where, with the help of some extraordinarily generous refereeing, Manchester United managed to come from three goals down in the second-half, to draw 3-3 with a shell-shocked Chelsea. This was the proverbial game of two halfs; the first, drab, largely uneventful, with the home side, after a few early scares, generally on top, and Ferguson’s men lacking in creativity and ideas.

 

Until the 36th minute, the biggest talking point of the half involved referee Webb and his failure to give Manchester United a free-kick, when Danny Welbeck was felled by, a lunging, Gary Cahill early in the game. Webb, as is becoming characteristic for him, simply ignored the incident, most likely fearing that had he given the foul, he may have been obliged to show Cahill red. He wouldn’t have had to as Welbeck was outside the box, and the ball was moving away from goal, but a nervous Webb, fresh from a poor display in the recent Manchester City vs Tottenham game, bottled out of the award and waved away the protests. The game sparked into ten minutes before the break, Daniel Sturridge showed good skill to beat, a flat footed Evra, and get to the by-line, his ball across was bundled into United’s goal by the unfortunate Jonny Evans, 1-0 at half-time.

 

The second half exploded with a goal just thirty seconds after the re-start; a fantastic, deep, arching cross from the right by Fernando Torres, picked out Juan Mata, who arrived with a powerful, controlled volley into the roof of the net, giving De Gea no chance. Four minutes later it was 3-0, David Luiz lost Evra and rose to meet Mata’s free-kick, his header looked to be creeping into De Gea’s bottom right hand corner, however a significant deflection off Rio Ferdinand took it into his top left corner, leaving the United stopper stranded.

 

Chelsea three up and cruising, or so you’d think, but just eight minutes later, Howard Webb would help United get right back into the game. Patrice Evra made a break down the left side of Chelsea’s area on 58 minutes, Sturridge chased him back and unfortunately for him got a little too close to the United defender. Evra, sensing Sturridge’s presence, ensured that the Chelsea man couldn’t avoid making contact with him, and, upon feeling the slightest touch, arched his back and crumpled to the ground in a fantastic impression of a dying Swan. Webb allowed himself to be conned by the Frenchman and pointed to the spot, very soft! Rooney buried the penalty, 3-1.

 

 

 

Ten minutes later Webb awarded United another penalty, and if the first one was soft, the second definitely fell into the “never a penalty” category. The ball broke to Welbeck in the box, Ivanovic unsure of himself, pulled out of the attempted challenge, however the United frontman hung his leg out in a deliberate attempt to make contact with the defender, once successful, he threw himself to the ground, and Webb, again, was conned. This time Rooney went the other way, the result was the same, 3-2. The equaliser came eight minutes from time, the predatory Javier Hernandez, with a close range header from Giggs’ cross, again proving his weight in gold snatching yet another vital point for his team, the eighth he’s secured so far this season.

 

 

 

Chelsea had chances to win the match both before and after Hernandez goal; Torres lacked the confidence to get off a shot when he burst through on goal, and De Gea produced one of the saves of the season when, in the dying seconds, he flew across his goal to palm away Mata’s fabulous free-kick. An outstanding match, with more than its fair share of drama and controversy, especially in the second-half. 3-3 the final score, and not surprisingly it was referee Webb who was on the minds of both managers after the game. Villas Boas was left fuming at Webb’s “absurd” penalty awards, Alex Ferguson, on the other hand, defended the man in the middle. You know things have gone Manchester United’s way when that happens.

 

Manchester City emerged from the weekend’s fixtures two points clear of United at the top of the table following a professional and fairly clinical performance against Fulham in the snow at the Etihad. Fulham’s away record is awful, and it showed no signs of improving as goals from Aguero, Chris Baird (og), and Edin Dzeko, sealed victory for the Citizens. Arsenal heaped still more misery on to Steve Kean and Blackburn, running out 7-1 winners at the Emirates. Van Persie opened the scoring for the Gunners, but a magnificent curling free-kick from Gamst Pederson levelled for Blackburn. Van Persie’s second and a first Premier League goal from Oxlade-Chamberlain put Arsenal 3-1 up before Gael Givet was sent off for a two-footed lunge just before half-time. After the break things went from bad to worse for Rovers; Arteta made it four, and Oxlade-Chamberlain doubled his tally before van Persie completed another Premier League hat-trick just after the hour mark. At 6-1 Arsenal took their foot off the accelerator slightly, however there was still time for Henry and van Persie to combine in the 90th minute, allowing the returning Arsenal hero to cap the afternoon with a seventh goal. Arsenal go sixth, Blackburn drop to 19th.

 

Elsewhere, Sunderland’s wonderful form continued as they picked up three points, beating Stoke 1-0 in arctic conditions at the Britannia. James McClean’s solo goal was enough to beat Stoke, who had Robert Huth wrongly sent off by, the ever card happy, Martin Atkinson. 22 points from 30 now since O’Neill’s arrival on Wearside, the best form in the league. Djibril Cisse’s harsh red card on just his second start for Q.P.R., allowed Wolves to come from behind, and turned the tables on the home side at Loftus Road. Bobby Zamora’s debut goal had put Rangers ahead early on, but Cisse saw red for “raising his arms” in reaction to a nasty challenge from Roger Johnson, something that Gareth Bale would get away with in the Monday night game at Anfield, and this changed the game completely. Matt Jarvis equalised one minute into the second-half and, from there, Wolves never looked back; Kevin Doyle sealed Wolves first win in two months on 71 minutes, with a neat finish on the turn. Wolves climb out of the bottom three, Q.P.R. slip back towards it.

 

West Bromwich Albion’s terrible home form continued on Saturday as they let a one goal lead slip away, going down 1-2 to Swansea City. Albion took the lead on 54 minutes, Marc Antoine-Fortune finding the back of the net, however within the space of five minutes, the Swans had turned the game on its head, much to the dismay of the home support. First, new boy, Sigurdsson and then Danny Graham, put the finishing touches to flowing moves, which the Albion defence just couldn’t cope with. Hodgson’s side didn’t look like coming back, and, on the final whistle, they were roundly booed off. Everton drew with bottom side Wigan at Goodison Park on Saturday, a dreadful mistake from Tim Howard allowed Wigan to take the lead fifteen minutes from time, however Victor Anichebe spared Howard’s blushes by glancing home Baines’ corner seven minutes later. Everton, for whom Nikica Jelavic made his home debut as a second half substitute, remain in mid-table, Wigan stay rooted to the bottom, five points from safety.

 

Newcastle’s African connection did the business for them against Aston Villa on Sunday. New signing Papiss Cisse started on the bench for the Magpies but was quickly thrust into the action, due to an injury to Leon Best. It was the Geordies other Senagalese hitman who opened the scoring on the half hour, rifling in from close range. Robbie Keane equalised for Villa right on half-time, Villa will miss the Irishman when his short term loan ends. The home side, and their new number 9 were not going to be upstaged though, and in the 71st minute, Cisse got the goal that the Gallowgate End had been waiting for. Chesting down the ball just inside the area, Cisse spun and thundered a left foot shot, on the half-volley, which arrowed past Given in to his top-right corner. Newcastle stay fifth, Villa’s indifferent form continues, they drop to thirteenth.

Norwich City saw off Bolton with two late goals at Carrow Road on Saturday. Andrew Surman and Anthony Pilkington with the goals that kept Norwich in the top-half, and ensured that Owen Coyles Bolton dropped back into the relegation places. Finally, the Monday night fixture between Liverpool and Spurs at Anfield, failed to live up to expectations, producing a 0-0 draw. Liverpool dominated possession and looked by far the more likely, with Tottenham happy to play for a draw the longer the match progressed. Gareth Bale had Spurs’ best chance when sent clear by Parker, but Pepe Reina got his angles spot on, and the Welshman shot straight at him. Suarez probably had Liverpool’s best chance, but the returning Uruguayan, who came on for last 25 minutes, headed straight at Friedel from eight yards. Bale was lucky to stay on the pitch; having blatantly dived to try and win a free-kick, a bookable offence, he took exception to Agger’s verbal response, and reacted by jumping up and shoving the Liverpool defender quite violently in the chest, at least another bookable offence. Referee Oliver produced only one yellow, allowing Bale to remain on the pitch, somewhat lenient, especially in view of what happened to Cisse at Loftus Road.

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UEFA Euro 2012 Group C Preview by Neil Patterson

February 1st, 2012
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Unless you’ve been living in outer space for quite a while, you’ll be fully aware that the European Championships are taking place later this year in Poland and Ukraine. The draw for the group stages of the competition took place on Friday December 2nd, and provided us with some interesting combinations. Each group contains four teams, each team will play the other once, and at the end of these games, the top two teams from each group will progress to the quarter finals, where the competition enters the knock-out phase. This is a preview of Group C, the group is made up of: Spain(champions), Italy(Q. group winners), Republic of Ireland(Play-off winners) and Croatia(Play-off winners).

 

Spain are the defending European Champions and World Cup holders, they had a 100% record in the qualifiers, and they’ve only lost twice in the last thirty competitive matches under their current coach. Spain are, therefore, the pre-tournament favourites, and as such, favourites to win Group C. There is a question mark though; David Silva, Spain’s leading goal-scorer in the last two competitions, recently broke his leg. He faces a lengthy spell out of the game and it’s doubtful as to whether he will make the squad for the finals at all, never mind be fully fit to compete.

Italy come into the tournament on the back of a good qualifying campaign, unbeaten in their ten games. Cesare Prandelli has them playing confidently and, with their history in major tournaments, you’d expect them to do well. The Italians will be desperate to put the disastrous 2010 World Cup campaign behind them, and the current squad will be keen to impress. On paper Italy will be widely expected to qualify from Group C, however, they too have injury problems. Giuseppe Rossi and, One to Watch, Antonio Cassano have both suffered long term injuries and are doubtful to make the tournament. Prandelli has said he’ll wait as long as possible for them, but Cassano, Italy’s star man, is recovering from heart surgery, and this summer’s competition could be a bridge too far.

The Republic of Ireland qualified for Euro 2012 on the back of a resounding play-off victory over Estonia, winning 5-1 over the two legs. Whilst Ireland, and their supporters, will see qualification for the knock-out stages a bonus, they will be no pushovers in the group fixtures. The Irish squad, at this time, has no real injury concerns, and whilst that may change, the team ethos and spirit created by Giovanni Trapattoni is such that they are not over reliant on any individual. This Ireland side does not concede many goals , just two in their last seven games, and will therefore be hard to beat, if they can manage to keep that fact going, they may be able to sneak through.

Croatia also qualified via the play-offs, seeing off Turkey with a confident 3-0 aggregate scoreline, and really showing their class in the away leg. They have a real togetherness under coach Bilic and play a very organised game, compact in defence, pacey and clinical in attack. The Croats are real dark horses in this tournament, they are more than capable of producing an upset and getting through the group stage, it will all come down to whether they can take their chances when they come around.

Like all the groups which came out of the hat in Kiev, Group C is tough to call. On paper Spain and Italy are definitely the favourites to qualify, in that order too. However, the old truism “football isn’t played on paper”, springs to mind. Spain have struggled to score a lot of goals in major tournaments, winning a lot of games 1-0; without Villa, this may not be so easy. When they do lose, it tends to be 1-0, usually against teams with resolute defences, Switzerland for example; this fact will give the other three teams in the group hope. Italy may struggle up front and with creativity, if indeed they are without Rossi and Cassano for the tournament. Ireland boss, Trapattoni, has met his home country on three occasions since taking over, winning once and drawing twice, a good record which will fill him and his squad with hope. Croatia have it in them to beat any team on their day, and if they can bring their A game to Poland and Ukraine, there’s no reason why they can’t go far.

Due to the quality of the teams in the group, and the competition as a whole, the first game will be all important, win it and you’re in a great position to go through, lose it and you could well be going home early. The first match-ups in Group C are Spain vs Italy and Croatia vs Rep. of Ireland, if there is a clear winner in the Croatia vs Ireland game, one of the big boys could be in real trouble, especially if there is a loser in the other match.

 

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Gabon upset Morocco 3-2 in the most exciting football game this year & book a quarter-final place in African’s Nations Cup – by ‘Euro-2012-Blog’ contributor – Fred Nitsche

January 30th, 2012
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In February of 2010 Gernot Rohr took over as head coach of the Gabon national football team.

The former German footballer replaced French coach Alain Giresse and he seems to be doing a pretty fair job if last night’s game by Gabon against Morocco is anything to go by.

In what was for me by far the best and most exciting football game yet seen this year – at the Amitie Stadium in Libreville, Gabon upset Morocco and booked their quarter-final place in African’s Nations Cup.

Morocco’s ‘Atlas Lions’, coached by former Belgian star player Eric Gerets took a deserved lead after only 25 minutes when captain Houssine Kharja scored and the score remained 0-1 for Morocco going into half time.

However in the 2nd half the Gabon team seemed to have woken up and put the very talented Moroccan goalie Lamyaghari through many good shots which provided equally good saves!

The great support of the local fans inside the stadium seemed to help the Gabonese in the 2nd half and their perseverance paid off in the form of Aubameyang shooting in a powerful volley – now it was 1-1 in the 77th minute. And it took only two minutes for them to do it again in the form of Cousin in the 79th minute – and now it was 2-1 for Gabon!

A handball by Gabon which was seen by the very capable and good Gambian referee Bakary Gassema saw Gabon player Kharja convert and make for his second of the match. Now it was 2-2 and equal again.

Both sides were very physical and there followed a couple of scuffles that the referee could have seen as red cards for both sides however he did not and this made for a better game in my estimation.

An absolutely stunning last minute [98th actually!] free-kick from Bruno Mbanangoye saw the tie turn into a completely deserved win for the co-hosts Gabon and one can only wish them all the luck in the games to come. Perhaps they will get to the final – I hope so!

After 2 games and no points Morocco will be heading home – Gerets future as Moroccan coach could be in doubt after the North Africans humiliation at the Africa Cup of Nations.

The African’s Nations Cup can be seen on TV on the  EURO Sport stations in Europe.

For further info pls see -  http://www.soccer-blogger.com/2012/01/27/gabon-vs-morocco-3-2-highlights-africa-cup-of-nations-2012-video-maroc-goals-aubameyang-kharja-cousin-zita-mbanangoye/

For further info about the tournement - http://www.cafonline.com/competition/african-cup-of-nations_2012

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Meanwhile in the Premier League 21st & 22nd January by Neil Patterson

January 25th, 2012
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We’re well and truly into the second half of the Barclays Premier League season now and things are starting to heat up at the top of the table, and the bottom, as we round up all the action from match-day 22. Tottenham Hotspur emerged from the weekend’s fixtures as the big losers at the top of the table, as the Manchester clubs were the only two winners out of the top ten clubs going into the weekend. At the bottom, Bolton and Q.P.R. did themselves a favour, whilst Wigan were cut further adrift and Wolves slipped into trouble.

We begin at the Etihad for Sunday’s early kick-off, Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur. Roberto Mancini’s men were looking to extend their perfect home league record against a Spurs side, just five points behind them, in third place. The first half was evenly contested, two strong teams, with mutual respect, sizing each other up, attacking with the occasional flurry and then retreating back to covering positions. City had marginally the better of the attacking play in the opening period, Aguero causing Spurs the odd headache, especially in tandem with Silva, however, for the most part, Tottenham’s extra man in midfield enabled them to snuff out City attacks before they developed.

This game of chess was turned on its head in ten explosive, second half, minutes. City took the lead on 56 minutes when Samir Nasri latched onto David Silva’s perfectly weighted through-ball, and lashed a first time effort well beyond Friedel’s reach. Two minutes later, Lescott doubled the Sky Blues’ advantage, bundling the ball home after Dzeko had flicked on Nasri’s corner. For a moment it seemed as if City were going to steamroller their opponents, but only for a moment, because within a minute Spurs had a goal back. Savic, misjudging a back-header, allowed Jermain Defoe, in for the ineligible Adebayor, a free run on goal. Defoe beat Hart to the loose ball, rounded the City keeper and slotted the ball into the empty net from a tight angle. Game on, and Tottenham brought the game to the home side; attacking with pace and purpose, the visitors got their reward in the 65th minute, Gareth Bale with a sumptuous first time finish into Joe Hart’s top left corner, from Aaron Lennon’s pass. 2-2, and Spurs looked the more likely, the atmosphere in the Etihad had turned from jubilation to trepidation.

Mancini responded, Balotelli on for Dzeko, unsurprisingly, the Italian’s first contribution was to get himself booked, and before long, he would be embroiled in further controversy. Tackled by Parker, in the midst of shooting, Balotelli’s left leg made natural contact with the Englishman’s chest, however, as he pivoted, Balotelli appeared to stamp his right leg down, in a deliberate action, very close to Parker’s head. Referee Webb, putting in yet another poor performance, claimed not to have seen the incident and therefore did nothing, leaving Balotelli free to continue up front. Into stoppage time, Gareth Bale broke free for Tottenham, outpacing Lesott, he put a low ball across the box towards Defoe, Hart was removed from the equation by the precision of the cross from Bale, but Defoe, who had checked his run slightly in the build-up, couldn’t quite make up the ground, and, at full stretch, watched as his finish squirmed agonisingly wide. Then, with the final attack of the match, Balotelli broke into the Tottenham area, as he shaped to shoot, Ledley King panicked, uncharacteristically, and brought him crashing to the ground, conceding a last gasp penalty. Balotelli himself stepped up, and, again unsurprisingly, dispatched the spot kick with the utmost of ease, giving Friedel no chance. 3-2 City, Mancini elated, Spurs and Harry Redknapp left outraged. Balotelli has since received a four game ban for his actions, but that will not get Tottenham their point, nor lose City their three, the match itself, however, one of the best so far this season.

A trip to the Emirates for Sunday’s late kick off, where once again North London was pitted against Manchester in a must win game for both clubs. Arsenal were looking to capitalise on some poor results by the other teams around them in their quest for the fourth Champions’ League spot, whereas Manchester United, aware of the final score at Eastlands were desperate for the three points in order to maintain the pressure on Manchester City.

This game did less to live up to expectations, especially after the freak 8-2 scoreline when the teams met at Old Trafford earlier in the season. The opening half was tentative, neither side really hitting their stride early on. Arsenal struggled to get their passing game going, and Djourou, playing at right back, had problems, defensively, dealing with Nani and Evra getting forward. After a quiet 45 minutes, Djourou gave Giggs too much time on the ball, the latter produced a perfect cross for Valencia to head home at the far post, 0-1 to United at halftime. The second half produced much more by way of spectacle, the home side upped the tempo of their game, and the quick, fluent passing of Arsenal returned; Rosicky set up van Persie, who, having seemingly done all the hard work, lashed the finish wide from eight yards. The Gunners were very much in the ascendency though, as Aaron Ramsey fired just over from the edge of the box. Oxlade Chamberlain, in his first Premier League start was seeing plenty of the ball in the second half, and it was his run and intelligent pass which allowed van Persie to equalise with a first time finish, across Lindegaard, into the bottom left hand corner.

Arsenal fans could sense victory, but the atmosphere quickly turned sour as Arsene Wenger replaced, the exciting, Oxlade Chamberlain with, the somewhat disinterested and unloved, Andrey Arshavin. The curious move, which visibly displeased van Persie, took the wind out of Arsenal’s sails, and had the knock-on effect of re-vitalising their opponents. Welbeck came close for the visitors as, latching on to a through-ball, he escaped the rather clumsy attentions of Per Mertesacker and clipped the ball over Szczesny, only to see the big German get back to clear off the line. It would be United who won the day, and it would be Arshavin who should have worked a lot harder to prevent them, as, after 81 minutes, Valencia picked up the ball on the right and drove at Arsenal. Arshavin tracked the man from Ecuador, however, he failed to make any kind of meaningful challenge, and instead, allowed Valencia to pick out Welbeck, who slammed the ball in from twelve yards to wrap up the points. Not a classic, but a better second half and a vital three points for Ferguson’s men, Arsenal’s rivals for fourth breathed a collective sigh of relief as their poor results went unpunished.

At the bottom of the table, Bolton picked up only their second home win of the season as they dumped Liverpool 3-1. Wanderers were ahead inside five minutes, Mark Davies with the goal; Reo Coker doubled the lead on 29 minutes before Liverpool responded on 37 minutes through Craig Bellamy. Any hopes of a second half comeback were shattered within five minutes of the re-start, Steinsson slamming in the loose ball after an early corner. Liverpool’s performance was terrible and caused Kenny Dalglish to come out publicly and criticise his players for a lack of respect. The Reds face a defining week in their season as they take on Manchester City in the Carling Cup semi-final and follow it up with a fourth round FA Cup tie to Manchester United, both at Anfield. Bolton climb out of the bottom three for the first time in a long time, a great win, but Owen Coyle still has plenty of work to do.

Queens Park Rangers dealt Wigan another blow at Loftus Road on Saturday as they ran out 3-1 winners. Helguson (pen), Buzsaky and Tommy Smith with the goals for Rangers, as they handed Mark Hughes his first Premier League win as boss. Rodallega for Wigan, who are now three points adrift of Wolves at the bottom. Wolves contrived to lose a hard fought local derby against Aston Villa, having led 2-1 at one stage. Bent opened the scoring for Villa from the spot, however goals from Kightly and Edwards put them in front at the break. Robbie Keane equalised against his former club, and, after Karl Henry was shown a red card for stupidly kicking out at Albrighton, Keane smashed the winner for Villa, in off the underside of the bar from 25 yards. Wolves drop into the bottom thee for the first time this season, a situation that’ll concern Mick McCarthy. Fulham came from a goal down to thrash Newcastle 5-2 at Craven Cottage on Saturday. Guthrie opened the scoring for the Magpies on 43 minutes, but by the time Ben Arfa scored their second on 85 minutes, it was mere consolation. Clint Dempsey, with his second hat-trick in four games, and a Bobby Zamora penalty added to Danny Murphy’s equaliser, also from the spot.

Sunderland got back to winning ways under Martin O’ Neill, seeing off a Swansea side with a poor away record; Sessegnon and Gardner with the goals. The Black Cats up to tenth, the Swans slip to twelfth. Stoke’s recent good form was ended by West Bromich Albion on Saturday as they held on to record a 1-2 victory. Albion’s decent away form continued, goals from Morrison and Dorrans enough to beat Stoke, who equalised late on through Cameron Jerome. Walters also missed a Penalty for the Potters who, despite the defeat, stay eighth. Everton’s average form continued as they allowed Blackburn Rovers to come from behind and secure a point at Goodison. Rovers equalised through David Goodwillie and were unfortunate not to take all three points back to Lancashire, having dominated the home side, for whom Tim Cahill opened the scoring with his first goal in 14 months, for periods in the second-half. Finally, Chelsea and Norwich played out a 0-0 draw in Saturday’s early kick-off, both sides had chances, Fernando Torres missing the best of them for Chelsea, as the Blues were frustrated by an excellent Norwich side. Chelsea remain fourth, Norwich, a very respectable, tenth.

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Meanwhile in the Premier League 14th-16th January

January 24th, 2012
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January Blues…, Reds, Whites, Hoops, Stripes, whatever your club colours are, they’re all still here, they’re all still scrapping, as this Barclays Premier League season is very much alive and kicking. The media’s been quick to hype up a three way title race, for my money it’s still too early to say with another seventeen games to go. Most of the top six still have to play each other, and as such all of them are in with a shout, particularly given the unpredictable nature of this season’s results. At the bottom, nothing is certain either, although Bolton and Wigan will have to improve rapidly to avoid the drop. This time on Meanwhile, we’re going to concentrate on the fortunes of the newly promoted teams, how they fared at the weekend and where their seasons might be heading.

We begin at The Hawthorns, where Paul Lambert’s Norwich bid to continue a magnificent run which has, not only, seen them gain two successive promotions, but also, carry that on into a great first half of the Premier League season. Roy Hodgson’s West Brom haven’t been picking up results at home this season, winning only two of eleven games at the Hawthorns so far, so they were desperate to get some points on the board to arrest their slide down the table. The Baggies started brightly, Odemwengie testing Ruddy from 20 yards, before James Morrision had a half volley cleared off the line by Andrew Surman. The home side were on top for much of the first half, but have struggled to score goals this season, as they pushed for the opener just before the break, they found themselves in trouble. A quick, slick counter attack ended up with Hoolahan picking out, the unmarked, Surman, who volleyed home smartly from twelve yards, a sucker punch for Albion. Hodgson’s men started the second half in much the same vein and, substitute, Shane Long added pace and a goal threat to the Albion cause, involved straight away, testing Ruddy with a low shot. It was the Irishman, Long, who drew the sides level, coolly converting from twelve yards after Jerome Thomas was scythed down in the box by Ayala. West Brom piled forward sensing a winner, and put Norwich under sustained pressure. The Canaries however, as we’ve seen before, soaked up the pressure calmly and then broke Baggies hearts with another superb breakaway goal. This time, club Captain and substitute, Grant Holt, with a barnstorming run down the left and a delightfully floated cross to Steve Morrison, who powered in a header at the far post. Final score W.B.A. 1-2 Norwich City, and the result and performance were typical of a Norwich side who under Paul Lambert have really caused a stir in the Premier League so far. Although resolute in defence, Lambert’s men have failed to keep a clean sheet in 21 games, however, it’s their never say die attitude, their ability to counter attack incisively with genuine pace, and, their aerial prowess in front of goal which are the three things that have defined the Canaries in the Premier League. These qualities show no sign of fading and, at the moment, it seems very much like Norwich may finish in the top ten this season, a stunning achievement for a newly promoted team.

To St. James’ Park now, where another one of the newly promoted teams, Queens Park Rangers faced a tough away fixture on Tyneside. Rangers’ recent fortunes have been in stark contrast to those of the other Premier League newcomers; after a decent start to the campaign, a poor run of results in the league and, almost, an embarrassing FA Cup third round exit at the hands of M.K. Dons, has resulted in the, somewhat hasty, sacking of manager, Neil Warnock. Mark Hughes, the new man at the helm, saw his team kick-off the day in 18th place in what would be his first game in charge. Q.P.R. started well, playing at a high tempo and not letting the home side settle, the Londoners also had the best of the early chances, Shaun Wright-Phillips clipping the crossbar with a decent drive from the edge of the box. Yohan Cabaye was then stretchered off for the Magpies, already missing Ba and Tiote, with an ankle injury, before Bothroyd feathered the outside of the post with a luscious curling shot. It was the Geordies however who took the lead, 37 minutes gone and Danny Guthrie found Leon Best on the far side of the area, Best, who’s dropped down the pecking order a little in light of Ba’s form, still had a lot to do, but he did it with aplomb. Excellent touch and immaculate close control with both feet allowed him to turn inside Luke Young and place the ball in the far corner, 1-0 Newcastle. After the break, it was much the same pattern to begin with, Rangers pressing for the equaliser keeping the Magpies on the back foot. Bothroyd missed two glorious opportunities, and Mackie blasted over after his initial effort had been saved. Newcastle held firm though and in the latter stages looked like adding to their lead, Best and Gutierrez both with chances, however, they failed to convert them and it finished 1-0. Rangers are in a bit of trouble, and their future is uncertain, already in the bottom three, they have struggled to find the net this season, and have a poor home record. The new man Hughes has been promised a decent budget and plenty of transfer activity is likely in the window, however, trying to bed in a new manager and a load of new players is not going to be easy and they must start to get results quickly if they are to avoid going straight back down.

The game of the weekend undoubtedly took place at the Liberty Stadium, South Wales, home to Swansea City, where the Gunners of Arsenal were the visitors on Sunday afternoon. Swansea have impressed many observers this season with their attractive brand of, Barcelona style, short passing football, they have also shown themselves to be hard to beat securing away points at Anfield and St. James’ Park, and have one of the best defensive records in the division. Arsenal, in fifth, were keen to keep the pressure up on Chelsea and the rest of the top teams by winning in Wales. Arsenal started brightly and took the lead within five minutes, Robin van Persie latching on to a, rare, great through-ball by Arshavin, and beating Vorm at his near post. It seemed as if the Gunners would run away with it, however, the pattern began to change as Swansea re-affirmed their credentials, gradually imposing their style upon the match. The Swans restored parity through a Scott Sinclair penalty, expertly dispatched after Nathan Dyer had gone down under challenge from Aaron Ramsey, the Welshman unlucky to be penalised. Arsenal receded as the half progressed while Swansea asserted themselves further, out-passing and out-moving the Gunners, who’ve arguably been the best passing team in the league for the last decade; Swansea were beating the Arsenal at their own game, and loving it. Twelve minutes after the break Swansea got the lead they deserved, Joe Allen robbed Ramsey, who had a torrid afternoon back in Wales, and played it through to Dyer, who steadied himself before burying it in the top corner. In the 69th minute, against the run of play, Walcott found himself in acres of space and neatly clipped over Vorm to make it 2-2, however less than a minute later Swansea were ahead again. A glorious ball from, substitute, Sigurdsson, allowed Danny Graham to race beyond Arsenal and finish sweetly across Szczesny into the far corner. 3-2 Swansea, and that’s how it stayed; the result lifting the Swans into the top half and the manner of the performance leaving observers waxing lyrical about Brendan Rodgers team. Hard work, spirit, and, above all, total belief in what they are doing, encapsulate Swansea under Rodgers, they look almost certain to stay up this season, and, on the evidence of last weekend, thoroughly deserve their place in the Premier League.

Elsewhere, Liverpool stumbled again at home against a Stoke side that went to Anfield determined to get a draw. 0-0 the final score, and, if we learned anything from the game, we learned that it’s impossible to foul Andy Carroll, at least in, referee, Howard Webb’s eyes. Paul Scholes scored Manchester United’s first in a 3-0 win over, sorry, Bolton; Welbeck and Carrick with the other two. Tottenham faltered at home against Wolves. Steven Fletcher put Mick McCarthy’s men in front before Luka Modric second half equaliser. Manchester City ground out a 0-1 away win at the DW Stadium; Edin Dzeko with the goal in the first half, in what was a lacklustre City performance. Blackburn climbed out of the bottom three with an excellent 3-1 win over Fulham. Goals from Pederson, Dunn and Formica did the damage for Rovers, after they were reduced to ten men early on; Duff replied for Fulham. Chelsea were fortunate to defeat Martin O’Neill’s Sunderland by a goal to nil, Lampard tapping in after Torres’ acrobatic volley crashed back off the bar. The Black Cats created some fantastic, clear cut chances but failed to convert any of them. Finally, Aston Villa played out a 1-1 home draw with Everton, Darren Bent put the Villains in front but Everton struck back to, deservedly, share the points, Anichebe beating, the excellent, Shay Given.

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Euro 2012 Team Profile – Denmark by Neil Patterson

January 16th, 2012
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Qualifying Group Winners
Coach Morten Olsen
One to Watch Christian Eriksen

As we approach the summer of 2012 all of our minds, well most of them at least, will turn away from the domestic football competitions within our own countries, towards the International arena for the eagerly awaited European Championship Finals, to be held in Poland and the Ukraine. Within a fortnight from now, the world will know the names of the last four teams/countries that will join the 12 nations already guaranteed a place at Euro 2012. Over the next three weeks, we shall be profiling each of the 16 finalists that will bid to become the champions of Europe until 2016.

We travel to Scandinavia for the next in our series of Euro 2012 profiles, to take a look at Denmark. Although Denmark competed at the first official international football tournament at the 1908 Olympics, the Danish Football Association (DBU) adopted a policy to keep the Danish side amateur, mainly due to economic limitations, and bar professionals from selection. During this time Denmark played friendlies, their only forays into international competition being at Olympic games in 1948, 1952 and 1960, and involvement in the European Cup of Nations in 1964. The DBU finally relaxed the law banning professionals from the national team in 1971 in order to build a competitive team, and in 1978 the DBU allowed the creation of a professional league. Since then the Danes have become a reasonable force in international football qualifying for four World Cup Finals and making five appearances at the European Championships.

The 1980s saw a “Golden Generation” of Danish football as the Danes exploded onto the international stage. Qualification for Euro 84 in France was followed up by a magnificent run to the semi-finals, where they were edged out on penalties by the Spanish. Under coach Sepp Piontek with his quick, attacking style of play and with exciting, pacey, skilful players such as Elkjaer and the Laudrup brothers, first Michael and later Brian, Denmark captured the imagination and the term “Danish Dynamite” was coined. In 1986, in Mexico, Denmark competed in their first World Cup Finals and, true to form, they blew away well fancied Uruguay in their opening game, defeating the South Americans 6-1, Michael Laudrup and Elkjaer’s pace and skill far too hot for the Uruguayans to handle; the run ended with defeat, again to Spain, in the last 16. Qualification for Euro 1988 ensued, however Denmark failed to emerge from the group stage, losing all three games; failure to qualify for Italia 90 followed.

Denmark’s finest hour came, very unexpectedly, in 1992. After problems surfaced within the squad under the new coach Richard Moller Nielson, including the effective resignation of star players Michael and Brian Laudrup, in protest over the new, more defensive strategy, many in the Danish press were calling for him to be replaced. The Danes finished the qualifying group for Euro 92 in second place behind Yugoslavia and therefore failed to qualify for the competition in Sweden. Civil war broke out in Yugoslavia and the Yugoslav team was banned from competing internationally, because of this Denmark were admitted entrance to the tournament just ten days before it was due to begin. Building on the goalkeeping excellence of Peter Schmeichel, the stubborn defence in front of him and utilising the flair and creativity of Brian Laudrup, reversing his prior decision to retire early, the Danes put together a tremendous run to win the tournament, defeating, holders, Holland in the semi and, World Cup champions, Germany in the final.

Since then Denmark have continued to be a recognised force in international football qualifying for most major tournaments, but not advancing beyond the first knock-out stage at any of them, Current coach Morten Olsen has been in charge since 2000 and has overseen qualification to four finals tournaments, including next year’s. The current squad qualified impressively for Poland and Ukraine, topping a group which included Portugal and Norway, winning six games and losing only one. Looking at the squad now, it is fairly similar to that of 2010, they have strong defenders such as Agger and Jacobsen with plenty of experience and strength in depth, the Danes also have some exciting young talent, including Christian Erikson of Ajax. Erikson is one to look out for next summer, the 19 year old was named Player of the Year by the Danish FA earlier this year, and was an ever-present in the qualifying campaign; his speed of thought, touch and playmaking ability have seen him shine for Ajax in this year’s Champions League, and he looks certain to make headlines in Poland and Ukraine.

Denmark certainly have every chance of making the knock-out stages next summer, they emerge from the groups fairly consistently at major championships and with a close, tight-knit set up, good results in qualifying, experience and several exciting youngsters coming through, this could be their year to go a little further. The attacking, fast style of play is good to see on the international stage, my prediction: quarter-finals, possibly semis, if it all comes together.

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United Edge it at the Etihad by Neil Patterson

January 12th, 2012
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As January begins and the Premier League festive fixture pile up has been successfully negotiated for another year, thoughts turn to the most prestigious domestic cup competition in Europe. That’s right, last weekend saw the FA Cup well and truly get going as the big boys entered the completion on third round Saturday. The competition, which has gone through a difficult patch in recent years, suffering in popularity, still captures the imagination of football fans in Britain, and across the world and is on the rise again, with this year’s third round attendances set to be the largest for thirty years. The pick of the third round ties was undoubtedly Manchester United’s trip across town to face bitter rivals Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

United entered this game desperate to exact some kind of revenge for the 1-6 drubbing handed down to them by City when the two sides met earlier in the season at Old Trafford. City, for their part, were looking to continue their excellent home form, unbeaten in all competitions so far this season. It was the Citizens who started better, showing confidence and knocking the ball around smartly in the first ten minutes, content to let United work hard and chase the ball.

Suddenly, on 11 minutes, with their first real attack and totally against the run of play, Valencia crossed for Rooney who met the ball flush on the forehead and thumped a header past Pantilimon, in goal for city, in off the underside of the bar. The game then swung massively in United’s favour, Chris Foy, the referee, gave City centre-back Vincent Kompany a straight red card. A contentious decision which illustrated the lack of understanding all round as to what is permissible on the football pitch, and what isn’t. Kompany won the ball cleanly from Nani, making no contact with the United player whatsoever, however he was deemed to have used two feet to make the tackle, Rooney took it upon himself to make that clear to Chris Foy, who duly produced the red card.

Opinions were polarised about the decision, and Mancini was confident that the ruling would be overturned, however an appeal against the card has been rejected by the FA this week, further highlighting the lack of clarity amongst the FA, referees, managers and players as regards the rules of the game, and how they’re enforced.

Manchester United were thrust very much into the ascendency, and all credit to them, they capitalised on the situation greatly. Right on the halfway mark, Danny Welbeck smashed a beautifully executed volley into Pantilimon’s left corner, following a little pinball in the City area, again demonstrating what an exciting young talent he is. City were shell-shocked and found themselves in more trouble ten minutes later when Kolarov up-ended, the excellent, Welbeck inside the area. Wayne Rooney stepped up to the spot, Pantilimon saved his, less than convincing penalty, however Rooney was quickest to the rebound and nodded it back across the City keeper to make it 0-3. The slowness with which the City players reacted to the penalty rebound was remarkable, encapsulating the stunned atmosphere around the Etihad stadium at half-time.

Desperately needing to firm things up and get a foothold in the game, Roberto Mancini made two changes at half-time, bringing on Savic and Zabaleta for Silva and Johnson. Within three minutes, the Sky Blues had a goal back, Kolarov bending a sublime, 22yd, free-kick over the wall, and into Lindegaard’s bottom left hand corner. Ferguson’s reaction was to replace Nani with Paul Scholes, the veteran midfielder having announced his decision to come out of retirement only hours before kick-off. If Scholes’ introduction was an attempt from Ferguson to help the United midfield keep the ball and regain control of midfield, it backfired spectacularly. Within less than a quarter of an hour, the 37 year old, played a terribly misplaced ball across his own back four, Segio Aguero capitalised on the error, and was there to put in the rebound after Lindegaard had failed to hold his initial effort. 2-3, and a barnstorming final 25 was on the cards.

City thought they should have had a penalty on 80 minutes as Phil Jones seemed to dive and block Zabaleta’s cross with his arm, City players were adamant, and the replay seemed to back their case up, but referee Foy was unmoved. Then in the final moments, Kolarov had the chance to repeat his earlier heroics with a free-kick in an almost identical spot, the Serbian got hold of it well enough, but this time it was just too close to Lindegaard, and the United keeper beat it away.

A fantastic match, pulsating and even a little frantic and times, a wonderful example of cup football at its finest. Manchester City looked dead and buried at half-time, many of their fans must have been worried that United were going to reverse the Old Trafford score-line and hand out a trouncing, however Mancini rallied and organised his troops brilliantly for the second-half, and they will take a lot of comfort from the way they came back into the game. Manchester United emerge happy, a measure of respect regained for Ferguson’s men, although their second half performance will cause the Scot more than a moment or two of concern, especially since they face a trip to Anfield in the next round, where the atmosphere is likely to be explosive!

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Meanwhile in the Premier League 2nd – 4th January , Part 2 by Neil Patterson

January 12th, 2012
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The Magpies doubled their advantage immediately after the break, effectively killing off their illustrious guests. Yohan Cabaye, undoubtedly one of the signings of the season, stepped up to bend a magnificent free-kick in off the underside of the bar from 30 yards, reminiscent of another famous Geordie, Paul Gascoigne, and his wonder goal for Spurs in the 1991 FA Cup semi-final. The Champions, sorely lacking in creativity, found it hard to get Rooney or Berbatov into the game and struggled to fabricate any clear cut chances, the one opportunity Rooney had was blocked by Danny Simpson to keep the score at 2-0. Manchester United’s and Alex Ferguson’s misery was complete, when, in injury time, Phil Jones, who’d had a poor game, stooped to head back to Lindegaard in goal, he misjudged the flight of the ball, and it came off his knees and into his own net. 3-0 to Newcastle United, an excellent performance, they out-muscled and out-played Ferguson’s men, who’ll need to seriously raise their game if they have hopes of winning a 20th league title.

Elsewhere at the top of the table, Manchester City defeated Liverpool 3-0 at the Etihad, maintaining their 100 per cent home league record. The hosts scored early on, Aguero benefitting from an uncharacteristic mistake by Pepe Reina. The visitors dominated possession, however it was City who doubled their advantage on 31 minutes, Yaya Toure powering home a header from a corner. For all Liverpool’s possession they created few clear cut chances, and even after the home side were reduced to ten men, Gareth Barry sent off for two yellows, they made few inroads. The game was effectively sealed with fifteen minutes to go, a minute after the sending off. Liverpool gave the ball away, Yaya Toure, my choice for man of the match, broke free of the Liverpool defence, Martin Skrtel, desperately trying to get back, inadvertently tripped him and, the referee pointed to the spot. James Milner made no mistake with the penalty and City wrapped up the win to go three points clear at the top of the league, the two teams meet again at the Etihad on Wednesday for the Carling Cup semi-final first leg, and Liverpool will be looking for revenge.

Chelsea were fortunate to beat Wolves at Molineux on Monday, Ramires opened the scoring for the Blues on 54 minutes, lashing in from close range after the Wolves defence failed to clear a corner. Ward equalised for the hosts in the 84th minute after good work from, substitute, Stephen Fletcher, however, in the 89th minute, Ashley Cole broke down the left to cross for the onrushing Frank Lampard, he netted with aplomb and won the match for Chelsea. It wasn’t just the last minute goal that was lucky for Villas Boas’ side, both Ashley Cole, and, most definitely, Frank Lampard should have seen red in a tempestuous first half, had that happened, the result would have been very different. Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa enjoyed a happy New Year, celebrating with away wins over Manchester United and Chelsea respectively, however, the good cheer was not to last as they were brought crashing down to earth by home defeats to Stoke and Swansea. Two first-half goals from Peter Crouch put Stoke in control at Ewood Park, before David Goodwillie replied for Rovers in the 69th minute, unfortunately from their point of view, the comeback stopped there. Villa were never in the game at Villa Park, as a terrible mistake from Stephen Warnock allowed Nathan Dyer in to score for the Swans after just four minutes. Swansea never looked back and secured their first away win of the season just after the break, Wayne Routledge with his first ever Premier League goal to leave the Swans sitting pretty in twelfth at the halfway mark in the season.

The two other newly promoted teams battled it out at Loftus Road, Q.P.R. took the lead in the first quarter of an hour, Joey Barton with a rasping finish from fifteen yards. Then on 36 minutes came the talking point, Joey Barton sent off for an off the ball incident with Norwich’s Bradley Johnson, the two players heads’ came together, after strong complaints from Norwich players and a minute or so for the officials to get their story straight, Barton was given his marching orders. The incident changed the game, and within five minutes the Canaries were level through Pilkington. Rangers rallied in the second half, but were undone seven minutes from time by Steve Morrison’s winner, leaving the Canaries in eleventh at the halfway point, and, worryingly for Rangers, placing them just one point above the relegation zone. On Wednesday night, Tottenham saw off a resolute West Brom with a goal in the 63rd minute from a bleached blonde Jermain Defoe, a smart turn and shot, which is more than can be said for the hairstyle.

Everton extended a helping hand to the league’s then bottom club by turning in an abject performance against Bolton. In swirling winds, Tim Howard, the Everton goalkeeper, miraculously put the home side in front on 63 minutes, only to have his strike cancelled out by David N’gog’s excellent equaliser. Want-away defender Gary Cahill, a Chelsea target, scored Wanderers’ winner with twelve minutes to play, leaving Moyes’ men to be booed off at Goodison. Finally, the Martin O’Neill Sunderland revival goes from strength to strength, as he saw his side rattle four past Wigan at the DW Stadium, running out 1-4 winners. Craig Gardner and James McClean put the visitors 0-2 in front, before Hugo Rodallega pulled one back for Wigan on 62 minutes; the Black Cats sealed the points with strikes from Sessegnon and Vaughn. Sunderland have now taken thirteen points from a possible sixteen since the Northern Irishman took over the reins at the Stadium of Light, a remarkable turnaround, that’s top six form, and with the money they have, next season could be Sunderland’s best for a long, long time.

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Meanwhile in the Premier League 2nd – 4th January , Part 1 by Neil Patterson

January 11th, 2012
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Another New Year begins, 2011 has been consigned to the annals of history and 2012 stretches out before us, and what a footballing year it promises to be. The European Championship Finals will be held later this Summer in Poland and Ukraine, the first time the tournament will ever have been held in Eastern Europe, and all the major European footballing nations will be there vying to be crowned the victors. Before all that though, there is the, none to small, matter of sorting out domestic honours, as we concentrate on the thrills and spills of the Premier League’s 20th season.

We kick-off 2012 at Craven Cottage for a London Derby which saw Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal, on the trail of a top four finish, visiting a Fulham side improving all the time under Martin Jol, and starting to get the results that their play has deserved. The Gunners dominated much of the opening period, and took the lead through Laurent Koscielny, the defender nodding in from 8 yards having found himself unmarked from Ramsey’s deflected cross. Quick passing and movement typified Arsenal in the opening 45 minutes as they ran Fulham ragged, Gervinho was unlucky not to win a penalty as he looked to have been tripped by Senderos, the former Arsenal man lucky to escape punishment. Just the one goal separated the teams at half-time however, as a combination of wasteful finishing and excellent goalkeeping kept the Cottagers in the game; Gervinho and Walcott the main culprits for the Gunners, Stockdale with a magnificent double save from Arteta and Ramsey, amongst others. Not for the first time at home this season, Fulham emerged for the second half a changed side, much brighter, with much more attacking impetus, forcing Arsenal on to the back foot.

As the half progressed the Cottagers began to assert control, Sidwell twice coming close before Dempsey and Senderos both missed, very presentable, headed chances. On 63 minutes Djourou picked up Arsenal’s first booking of the match, Fulham continued to press, Ruiz thwarted by Szczesny. Then on 78 minutes Bobby Zamora tried to latch on to a through-ball, Djourou went with him, but laid a hand on the striker’s shoulder, Zamora went down and Djourou, a little harshly perhaps, received a second yellow, sending him for an early bath. Fulham upped the ante still further and on 85 minutes Steve Sidwell rose to head home after Arsenal had failed to deal with a corner. The smell of victory in their nostrils, again Fulham came, and again, until finally, cometh the hour cometh the man, Bobby Zamora found himself free at the back post in the 92nd minute, and he made no mistake, sending a low volley past a stranded Szczesny. A remarkable turnaround but no more than Jol and his team deserved after a marvellous second-half performance.

Next up, we’re off up north, to Tyneside to be exact and to, what will always be known as, St James’ Park, for the battle of the Uniteds. The previous meeting between these two teams earlier in the season produced a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford, a game which Man. Utd felt unlucky to lose, they would be eager for revenge, especially having just been beaten at home by the League’s bottom club. It was the home side who started stronger and had the best of the early exchanges, Newcastle were unlucky not to be awarded an early penalty as Rio Ferdinand clearly brought down Demba Ba, the Utd. defender getting away with one there. Ba and Ameobi were causing the visitors’ back four all kinds of problems and it was these two who combined to score Newcastle’s opener, an excellent long kick by Krul, flicked on by Ameobi and brilliantly hooked in on the turn by the prolific Ba, after 33 minutes. The Red Devils, stung by the early pressure, failed to produce anything like a title contender’s response, the best they could muster, a deflected Berbatov header which hit the base of Krul’s right hand upright.

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