20 Questions

Richard Scudamore

Pressing questions for the future of the EPL

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/david-conn-inside-sport-blog/2011/apr/04/premier-league-parliament-20-questions

What is Rooney's Role?

http://www.tomwfootball.com/2010/10/20/why-isnt-wayne-rooney-the-player-we-thought-hed-become/

Sport Changes Shape Just an Ocean Away

The Galacticos

European Footballs structure of acceptance with regards to the monopoly of power of the 'Big Clubs' Vs. The American semi-socialist sporting philosophy

http://www.slate.com/id/2285073

Match Previews: March 6th

Liverpool V Man United

This is, quite simply, the biggest game of the English football season. Form will go out the window when the two most successful clubs in the history of England lock horns at Anfield on Sunday. Just as well for as Daglish’s boys are coming of the back of a spanking at Upton Park last week while the league leaders suffered a demoralising defeat to Chelsea on Tuesday. This game could see the much-anticipated Liverpool debut of the most expensive British footballer of all time, Andy Carroll. He has times his return perfectly as he will have to face neither of United’s first choice centre-backs with Ferdinand and Vidic both unavailable. The leaders will look to Wayne Rooney for inspiration given his recent run of form and his well-documented dislike for the opponents. He will relish the chance to inflict more misery on the Kop. Liverpool have nothing to lose and beating United at Anfield would add a bit of gloss to an otherwise forgettable season. Fergie might just take a point given Arsenal’s slip up at home to Sunderland. He may be lucky to get it, United have looked very shaky away from home this season.

Verdict: 1-1

Wolves V Spurs

There can be no denying Spurs will have one eye on the return leg with Milan on Wednesday as they travel to the Midlands to face struggling Wolves. Key players Bale and Van der Vaart will not be risked given their recent injuries and without them its difficult to see where the goals are going to come from for Spurs given Defoe’s monstrous league drought stretching back to the tail end of last season. Wolves have picked up victories over five of the top seven so far this season. Spurs are one of the two exceptions. Mick McCarthy’s side always seem to up their game when the big guns visit Molineux as United and Chelsea found out to their cost. If Spurs are genuine Champions League contenders they need to pick up wins against the struggling sides on a regular basis. They won’t have it all their own way this time though.

Verdict: 2-1

Matchday Preview: 5th March

 Birmingham V West Brom

The Blues will be looking to avoid a ‘cup hangover’ following their first success in 48 years at Wembley last Sunday. On the flip side, the Carling Cup victory could act as a springboard to propel Alex McLeish’s side away from the drop zone. West Brom will look for similar inspiration as they look to avoid a fourth relegation in five Premier League campaigns. Carlos Vela looks an invaluable loan signing from Arsenal with two late equalisers in his short stint at The Hawthorns so far. Both sides desperately need the three points and will be going all out for the win. This midlands derby should be a cracker.

Verdict: 2-1

Arsenal V Sunderland

Arsenal are in sensational form in the league and Arsene Wenger was deservedly named manager of the month on Friday. The Gunners squad is stretched thin at the moment with seven first team players unavailable and with one eye on the date with destiny in the Camp Nou on Tuesday you could be forgiven for thinking this could be a potential banana-skin for Arsenal. However Sunderland don’t seem to be able to win at all at the moment. Arsenal should win easily without over-exerting themselves.

Verdict: 2-0

Bolton V Aston Villa

A thumping win for Villa over Blackburn was followed with a lame defeat to City in the cup on Wednesday. It’s hard to know which Villa side will show up at the Reebok on Saturday. Both sides will be looking to the strikers they aquired in January to fire them to victory and it may well come down to Sturridge versus Bent in front of goal.

Verdict: 2-1

Fulham V Blackburn

Fulham are in excellent home form whilst Blackburn have been shocking on the road. Its hard to see this going any other way than a win for the Cottagers. Hopefully this game will see the return to league action of one Bobby Zamora who has missed the best part of six months with a broken leg. Fulham do need an in-form striker to ease the goal-scoring burden on winger Clint Dempsy.

Verdict: 1-0

Newcastle V Everton

Two seriously inconsistent teams. Both still in with an outside shot of a Europa League spot so now would be a good time to put a run of form together. The loss of Fellani adding to Cahill will affect Everton in a big way but with Beckford finally hitting form and Saha staying relatively injury-free they are in decent shape to push on. Newcastle will be buoyed by the return of Ameobi to the strikeforce as well as the possible return of Joey Barton to the mid-field to give them that extra bit of creativity. I fancy them to get a result to be honest.

Verdict: 2-1



West Ham V Stoke

Fighting back from 3-0 down to snatch a point at the Hawthorns. A comprehensive victory over Liverpool last weekend. West Ham seemed to have finally got their act together. Their squad is better than its league position shows. Stoke are struggling for form recently and conceding a late equaliser to West Brom on Monday will have hurt them and they will be desperate to record a win over one of the other relegation candidates. Something they need to do if they have higher ambitions than mid-table mediocrity.

Verdict: 1-1

Man City V Wigan

City will have been rocked this week after the news that former captain Kolo Toure failed a drugs test. It will be interesting to see how this affects his brother Yaya who has been in good form lately and has become a key part of the team at Eastlands. Wigan took a hammering last week from a Manchester club and they may be in line for a similar fate on Saturday. Now rooted to the bottom of the table, the Latics time at the top table may be coming to an end.

Verdict: 3-0

Scottish Masters

On the Radio in 1988

The Dalglish/Ferguson fued myth can finally be put to bed.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/mar/04/kenny-dalglish-sir-alex-ferguson

5 of the Best: Goalkeepers



Schmeichel in Full Flight



1.       Peter Schmeichel

What else can be said about the great Dane, guardian of the infrequently bulged net at Old Trafford for most of the nineties, possessor of the quarter-back throw, red-nosed star0jumpoing maniac that he was. Behind the decidedly immobile Bruce and Pallister, Schmeichel added a stability Les Sealy and Jim Leighton had been unable to provide for United as they went on to win the very first Premier League title in 1993. He, single handedly at times, dragged them through a huge amount of tricky fixtures, most notably away to table-toppers Newcastle in the 96-97 season and in the San Siro against Inter Milan in the treble winning season of 98-99. Simply a legend.

2.       Iker Casillas

The cult of Casillas is well documented but I think the reverence he is shown in Europe should not detract from the fact that he is a dam fine keeper. Having made his debut at age just 17 he went on to oust Bodo Illgner from between the sticks and make the position emphatically his own, playing in, and winning, a Champions League Final two years later and going on to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or twice. League titles, Galacticos, European Championships and a World Cup triumph later, Casillas is still only 30, an age when many goalkeepers begin to find their form. A phenomenon in the modern game, the fact that he consistently keeps Valdez and Reina out of the Spanish team is all the evidence needed.

3.       Neville Southall

Not an obvious choice for many, but to someone who only really saw him play consistently in the twilight years of his career, he was a triumph of physics. A big man, not exactly blessed with a sportsman’s physique, Southhall had incredible agility, an instinctive knack for being in the right place at the right time and the ability to frighten the life out of opposing forwards. He spent most of his career at Everton, keeping goal during one of the most successful periods in the Toffees history, as well as playing internationally for Wales. My lasting memory of Southall is his man of the match display for Everton against Manchester United in the FA Cup Final at Wembley in 1995 as he collected the last winners’ medal of his professional career.

4.       Gianluigi Buffon

Another, like Casillas, to have been a teen prodigy at his club, albeit it at a lesser team, Parma, Buffon would also go on to captain his country to World Cup victory and develop his very own cult of invincibility. Still the most expensive goalkeeper in the world following his transfer to Juventus in 2001, Buffon is so highly regarded not only for the obvious fact that he is an incredibly dominant goalkeeper, especially with regards to his aerial ability and his success rate in one on one situations, but also because he has come to prominence at the end of Italy’s age of superstars. In the mid-90’s the Italian league was the place to be and at any one time Italy could call upon the likes of Vieri, Baggio, Maldini, Baresi, Signori, Vialli, Del Piero, Zenga, Peruzzi and Pagliuca, however by the time Italy arrived at the World Cup in Germany in 2006 their superstars were either retired or old. The fact that a solid defence, built on Cannavaro and Buffon, dragged an incredibly average Azzurri to success. Buffon will go down, with Dino Zoff, as Italy’s greatest goalkeeper.

5.       Packie Bonner

There is literally a dozen other goalkeepers I could have chosen to make up the fifth, but I plucked the big Donegal man from obscurity to stand tall amongst his peers. He spent his whole career at Celtic, in a period of mixed success for the Hoops, but it is his international form for which he is remembered. His height and physical strength meant that he commanded his box well, and the style of play Ireland played under Jack Charlton meant his kicking and distribution from hand were vitally important. During the 19988 European Championship and the 1990 World Cup, with Ireland somewhat of a wildcard, it is not an exaggeration to say that he was among the best goalkeepers at both tournaments. Not bad at saving penalty’s either.

Dortmund Win at Munich



Line-ups from Zonal Marking


http://thebundesligapodcast.com/2011/03/01/episode-30-a-season-defining-win-for-dortmund/

German table-toppers Bortmund win at Bayern for the first time since 1992 with the league theirs to lose.

Ryan Giggs: 20 Years Later

Back in the Day

United team on Ryan Giggs debut, 20 years ago tomorrow.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/mar/01/whatever-happened-ryan-giggs-manchester-united

All of Giggs' 133 team-mates at Old Trafford

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/mar/01/ryan-giggs-team-mates-manchester-united?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487

FIFA: Corrupt? Surely Not.

http://transparencyinsport.org/The_documents_that_FIFA_does_not_want_fans_to_read/the_documents_fifa_does_not_want_fans_to_read.html

Documents revealing FIFAs demands of potential World Cup host countries.

Club Ranking Index: Spainish 1-2

http://www.euroclubindex.com/

Latest Club Ranking Index shows that the two Spanish powerhouses are still the teams to beat, ahead of Manchester United and Chelsea

Matchday Preview: Sunday 27th February- Tuesday 1st March

Sunday, 27 February

West Ham v Liverpool, 13:30

In West Hams last two games they showed the sort of character Avram Grant will be hoping for more of if they are to get themselves out of the relegation zone. The emergence of both Ba and Obinna as potential goal scorers, added to the threat of Cole and the industry of Parker give them an edge over fellow strugglers. Liverpool however have proved that they are a somewhat rejuvenated side under Kenny Daglish and the goal scoring form of Raul Meireles has been fantastic. Rumours that Andy Carroll will make his debut are perhaps premature but even without him Liverpool should at least get a draw in London

Man City v Fulham, 15:00

Mark Hughes brings his Fulham side to the City of Manchester Stadium eager to avoid the kind of humiliation visited upon them by Tevez and co. in November. Off the back of a draw and a good display he will be pretty confident of putting up a good show in this fixture, Fulham are a well organised outfit with Clint Dempsey in excellent form. City will hope Edin Dzeko’s two goals in the Europa league mid-week will help kick start his involvement in their forlorn title charge. With Chelsea hot on their heels, this is a fixture City need to win.

Monday, 28 February

Stoke v West Brom, 20:00

Stoke like to kick, West Brom like to play, both sides will try to inflict their game on the other and this game could either be fantastic or dismal. The Baggies need it more, but Stoke are the better team. Draw?

Tuesday, 1 March

Chelsea v Man Utd, 19:45

A vital fixture in the race for the title, one in which Chelsea will look to reimpose themselves on the leaders and put their names back into contention for at least an automatic Champions League spot. Despite the hype and the money, the Blues in-form forward is Anelka and he needs to start, possible with Torres and Drogba on the bench. United will be more cautious with Rooney possibly the lone forward and a packed midfield. With United in stop-start form and Chelsea hungry they should win this.

Matchday Preview: Saturday 26th February

Aston Villa v Blackburn, 15:00

Big game for Villa as they look to pull away from the pack down the bottom of the table having drawn with fellow strugglers Blackpool last time round. Blackburn will be hoping for at least a point out of this to ensure they don’t get dragged down themselves into what is an incredibly tight bottom half of the table. Villa, with Bent in reasonably good form, should have too much for Rovers.

Everton v Sunderland, 15:00

Everton must hope that their dramatic penalty shoot-out win against Chelsea will kick start their season as they look to drive towards the European place their squad quality deserves. Sunderland however are no pushovers and will look to exploit Everton’s lack of pace all over the park with the constant harrying of Richardson and Henderson and counter attack play. Everton will try to get Cahill into the game as much as possible, when he plays well, Everton play well. Too close to call, but with home advantage Everton may nick it.

Newcastle v Bolton, 15:00

Newcastle are still in a strange post-Carroll period and they certainly haven’t replaced the long hair Geordie, despite Leon Best’s best efforts. They will look to play around Bolton’s midfield, and with Barton in form they do have one of the most creative English players in the league. Bolton on the other hand have slowed down since their early season run of form propelled them into the Europa League places and with Elmander and Davies misfiring have come to rely on Klasnic and on-loan Daniel Sturridge. It really depends upon which Bolton and which Newcastle turn up but I expect Bolton to be too strong for the Toon Army.

Wigan v Man Utd, 15:00

Third last in the table and struggling for constancy, Roberto Martinez’s Wigan will look to hit United hard and fast, capitalize on some European night tiredness. Blessed with some of the finest individual performers of the season in N’Zogbia, Rodellega and even McCarthy, Wigan are a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde team and really need to find results from wherever they can. United on the other hand need to win to stay top, simply put, with Arsenal in such good from, victory is paramount. They still rely heavily on Nani to deliver and this, along with the workman like defence and the odd moment from the frontline should see them through against Wigan

Wolverhampton v Blackpool, 15:00

Blackpool will be buoyed but tired after their fantastic midweek victory over Spurs and Holloway will look to continue this momentum, with Cambell proving a revelation up front and Charlie Adam still pulling the strings. Wolves have actually played quite well this season, recording some fabulous victories over top table opposition but it’s their lack of from against the teams around them that have cost them and McCarthy must question the mindset of his players if this trend continues against Blackpool. I fancy Wolves to get something from this.