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The new football season starts today so it is very exciting. Well, the Premier League kicks off today, the rest of the English leagues started last week.
It's always a long summer in an odd numbered year as there is no world cup or European Championship to fill the void.
This summer was fairly quiet on the transfer front. Ronaldo left Manchester United early and with the minimum of fuss which suggests a deal had been in place long before anyone actually admitted it. United can't complain about the service he;s given them over the last six years and the world record fee received will soften the blow further.
While still having a good season helping United clinch a third championship in a row and reaching the Champions league final, Ronaldo failed to reach the heights of the previous season and it was clear his heart wasn't always in it.
So the big four haven't really strengthed their squads during the summer and it coule be argued they are weaker. United also lost Carlos Tevez, Liverpool lost Xabi Alonso and Arsenal lost Emmanuel Adebayor.
Chelsea have made a couple of low profile signings and have retained their squad from last season so I think they have to be favourites this year.
Having said that, I definitely think it will be a lot closer this year. Manchester City have spent a lot of money and have assembled a good squad so it will be interesting to see how they fit together. This year may be too soon for them but they could be a threat over the next few years.
So there you have it, Chelsea are my tip for the championship, United and Liverpool will battle it out for 2nd and Arsenal and Manchester City will take 4th and 5th, although which finishes 4th will probably come down to the slightest margin.
Enjoy!
Showing posts with label Chelsea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chelsea. Show all posts
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Next Season..Update
A quick update on the newly released Premier league fixtures and my predictions.
Manchester United do indeed start the season at home to a newly promoted team (Birmingham City) followed by another (Burnley) away in the second game.
The Manchester derby takes place in the last four games, with the Chelsea game two weeks earlier.
The final game of the season is against Stoke City who struggled this season, their first in the Premier league.
Stoke are expected to struggle again so the only prediction I got wrong is that the game is at Old Trafford and not in Stoke.
Random indeed.
Next season
Next season's Premier League fixture are released this morning. This is a very exciting day for football fans, especially fans of the newly promoted clubs. Wolves and Birmingham have been there before but Burnley have made it the Premier League for the first time.
I was glad to see Burnley win the play off final against Sheffield United, mainly because I like seeing new teams come up and we've all seen Sheffield United yo-yoing up and down over the last 20 years.
The fixtures are created by a computer and are supposedly random but I've begun to doubt just how random they are over the last few years.
Funny how Manchester United seem to play one of the other so-called 'Big Four' in one of the last few games. This would happen occasionally if the fixtures really were random but when Chelsea were the main title challengers, it was Manchester United against Chelsea in an end of season 'title decider'.
The satisfying thing as a United fan is that even though the TV companies may put pressure on the Premier League to have a big game at the end of the season to decide who wins the championship, it never quite turned out that way and the title was usually sewn up before that game making it a meaning tie with lots of reserve and youth team players given a run out instead.
So my predictions for United's fixtures next season are one of the newly promoted teams in the first couple of games, probably the first game, and one of Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and/or Manchester City in the last 4 games of the season finishing up away to a team likely to be relegated guaranteeing them a big crowd and some lovely TV money.
I was glad to see Burnley win the play off final against Sheffield United, mainly because I like seeing new teams come up and we've all seen Sheffield United yo-yoing up and down over the last 20 years.
The fixtures are created by a computer and are supposedly random but I've begun to doubt just how random they are over the last few years.
Funny how Manchester United seem to play one of the other so-called 'Big Four' in one of the last few games. This would happen occasionally if the fixtures really were random but when Chelsea were the main title challengers, it was Manchester United against Chelsea in an end of season 'title decider'.
The satisfying thing as a United fan is that even though the TV companies may put pressure on the Premier League to have a big game at the end of the season to decide who wins the championship, it never quite turned out that way and the title was usually sewn up before that game making it a meaning tie with lots of reserve and youth team players given a run out instead.
So my predictions for United's fixtures next season are one of the newly promoted teams in the first couple of games, probably the first game, and one of Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and/or Manchester City in the last 4 games of the season finishing up away to a team likely to be relegated guaranteeing them a big crowd and some lovely TV money.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Sweet FA
Happy FA Cup Final day!
Whether my team is in the FA Cup final or not, it is always an exciting day for a football fan. No matter what the riches in the Premier League or Champions League, the FA Cup final is still the showpiece event of the season.
I always loved the build up the week of the cup final, interviews with the players, fans with their crazy superstitions and omens. Living in the US now it's not quite the same. Usually the game is in pay per view and you maybe get a little build up an hour before the game but not a lot else.
However, this year Setanta are airing the game so there is no extra cost for subscribers. Their coverage even started at 3am Houston time with reporters inside the stadium, outside the stadium with the fans, at the team hotels, pretty anywhere around Wembley Stadium.
The thing I like about the FA Cup final is that it's still a very British occasion. Thus year is the 128th FA Cup final so we know what we're doing by now. The Superbowl in the US is less about the actual game as the years go on and more about the occasion but despite all of the pageantry surrounding the FA Cup final, it is the game itself that is the reason we're all here.
So it's Everton v Chelsea. Everton are in their first final since 1995. Chelsea won the cup two years ago.
I hope Everton win it, mainly because I like different teams to win the cup and not have the same teams winning it as has happened in recent years with Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea winning it too often.
Portsmouth's win last year was a welcome surprise so hopefully Everton can overcome the underdog tag and claim the trophy.
Whether my team is in the FA Cup final or not, it is always an exciting day for a football fan. No matter what the riches in the Premier League or Champions League, the FA Cup final is still the showpiece event of the season.
I always loved the build up the week of the cup final, interviews with the players, fans with their crazy superstitions and omens. Living in the US now it's not quite the same. Usually the game is in pay per view and you maybe get a little build up an hour before the game but not a lot else.
However, this year Setanta are airing the game so there is no extra cost for subscribers. Their coverage even started at 3am Houston time with reporters inside the stadium, outside the stadium with the fans, at the team hotels, pretty anywhere around Wembley Stadium.
The thing I like about the FA Cup final is that it's still a very British occasion. Thus year is the 128th FA Cup final so we know what we're doing by now. The Superbowl in the US is less about the actual game as the years go on and more about the occasion but despite all of the pageantry surrounding the FA Cup final, it is the game itself that is the reason we're all here.
So it's Everton v Chelsea. Everton are in their first final since 1995. Chelsea won the cup two years ago.
I hope Everton win it, mainly because I like different teams to win the cup and not have the same teams winning it as has happened in recent years with Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea winning it too often.
Portsmouth's win last year was a welcome surprise so hopefully Everton can overcome the underdog tag and claim the trophy.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Short week
After the Memorial Day weekend last week week I thought this would be a short week in work but it hasn't really turned out like that.
We had Monday off and I finished early on Wednesday to watch the footy but Tuesday and Thursday both involved being caught up in the office until past 7pm despite planning on leaving around 4pm both days.
I plan on leaving a little bit early on Friday as my Wife and I are continuing our attempts at regaining our social life by going to see Jerry Seinfeld on Friday, and then a party on Saturday night. Another long weekend would be nice so we have an extra day to do the odd jobs you always seem to end up doing at the weekend.
There's also the small matter of the FA Cup final on Saturday which will be the last football game until August (possibly). I'm not a particular fan of either Everton or Chelsea but I'll be hoping Everton get the win, if only to see a new name on the trophy after the same names over the last few years (with the exception of Portsmouth's victory last year). Everton's last FA Cup win came against Manchester United in 1995 so it is long overdue.
As a United fan, if we can't win everything then I like new teams to at least win the cup so that things continue to be interesting.
We had Monday off and I finished early on Wednesday to watch the footy but Tuesday and Thursday both involved being caught up in the office until past 7pm despite planning on leaving around 4pm both days.
I plan on leaving a little bit early on Friday as my Wife and I are continuing our attempts at regaining our social life by going to see Jerry Seinfeld on Friday, and then a party on Saturday night. Another long weekend would be nice so we have an extra day to do the odd jobs you always seem to end up doing at the weekend.
There's also the small matter of the FA Cup final on Saturday which will be the last football game until August (possibly). I'm not a particular fan of either Everton or Chelsea but I'll be hoping Everton get the win, if only to see a new name on the trophy after the same names over the last few years (with the exception of Portsmouth's victory last year). Everton's last FA Cup win came against Manchester United in 1995 so it is long overdue.
As a United fan, if we can't win everything then I like new teams to at least win the cup so that things continue to be interesting.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Goal!
An update on the second Champions League semi final and Barcelona scored a 93rd minute equaliser to go through to the final on the away goals rule after it looked like Chelsea had set up a repeat of last year's final.
But to give credit where credit is due, Chelsea took the lead from a superb goal from Michael Essien.
I'll admit I would much rather play Barcelona than Chelsea. Not because I think Barcelona will be the easier game, but because it is the European Champions league and it's a chance for the best teams from different countries to play against each other. We play Chelsea every year in the league so meeting them is nothing special.
Besides, should the worst happen, losing to another English team would be much harder to take than a European super power with a rich history.
The final is May 27th.
But to give credit where credit is due, Chelsea took the lead from a superb goal from Michael Essien.
I'll admit I would much rather play Barcelona than Chelsea. Not because I think Barcelona will be the easier game, but because it is the European Champions league and it's a chance for the best teams from different countries to play against each other. We play Chelsea every year in the league so meeting them is nothing special.
Besides, should the worst happen, losing to another English team would be much harder to take than a European super power with a rich history.
The final is May 27th.
When in Rome
Last night Manchester United beat Arsenal 3-1 in the Champions League Semi-final second leg to clinch their place in the final for the second year running.
This is a big deal. The club have won the competition only three times in their history, 1968, 1999 & 2008. A 4th title would be amazing but just getting to the final is a big thing simply because of the rarity of such an event (the last two years excepted).
Leading 1-0 from the first leg, I hoped United would attack straight from the kick off knowing that an early goal would mean Arsenal had to score 3 to progress. Getting 2 goals in the first 11 minutes was way beyond expectations and the game was virtually over with Arsenal needing to score 4 against one of the meanest defences in the world.
The other semi final is currently in progress with Chelsea meeting Barcelona so we'll have to wait a little while longer to see who we'll meet with a repeat of last year's final a possibility.
My main concern with the final being held in Rome is more to do with events off the field. The reputation of Italian football fans is well deserved. Recent visits by both Manchester United and Arsenal have resulted in English fans being attacked and stabbed by Roma's 'Ultra's'.
The Champions league final, especially if it's between two English teams will certainly be an attraction for the less savoury residents of Roma and when added to the reputations of English football fans, there's a strong possibility of trouble.
Uefa have long claimed to clamp down on crowd trouble but the small fines handed out to Italian clubs shows that it is not as high on their agenda as it should be and rewarding a city with such a recent history of trouble, the Champions league final, they are only seen to be rewarding their behaviour rather than demanding an end to the trouble.
This is a big deal. The club have won the competition only three times in their history, 1968, 1999 & 2008. A 4th title would be amazing but just getting to the final is a big thing simply because of the rarity of such an event (the last two years excepted).
Leading 1-0 from the first leg, I hoped United would attack straight from the kick off knowing that an early goal would mean Arsenal had to score 3 to progress. Getting 2 goals in the first 11 minutes was way beyond expectations and the game was virtually over with Arsenal needing to score 4 against one of the meanest defences in the world.
The other semi final is currently in progress with Chelsea meeting Barcelona so we'll have to wait a little while longer to see who we'll meet with a repeat of last year's final a possibility.
My main concern with the final being held in Rome is more to do with events off the field. The reputation of Italian football fans is well deserved. Recent visits by both Manchester United and Arsenal have resulted in English fans being attacked and stabbed by Roma's 'Ultra's'.
The Champions league final, especially if it's between two English teams will certainly be an attraction for the less savoury residents of Roma and when added to the reputations of English football fans, there's a strong possibility of trouble.
Uefa have long claimed to clamp down on crowd trouble but the small fines handed out to Italian clubs shows that it is not as high on their agenda as it should be and rewarding a city with such a recent history of trouble, the Champions league final, they are only seen to be rewarding their behaviour rather than demanding an end to the trouble.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Phone-in performance
I'm not the world's biggest Chelsea fan but one of their players has impressed me recently.
Whilst listening to London's LBC Radio, club captain Frank Lampard heard the DJ discussing his recent break up with his partner. The DJ went on to call Frank "weak" and "scum" for not working harder to make sure the relationship worked for the sake of their two daughters.
Frank called up the radio show to defend himself. You can check it out for yourself here.
Good for him!
When you're in the public eye, it's too easy for people to believe what they read and form their own opinion of your character. It's not often they get the chance to defend themselves publicly.
No one knows the reasons behind whatever went on behind closed doors.
I think Frank Lampard did the right thing. He's gone up in my estimation, but I still hope he ends the season empty handed.
Whilst listening to London's LBC Radio, club captain Frank Lampard heard the DJ discussing his recent break up with his partner. The DJ went on to call Frank "weak" and "scum" for not working harder to make sure the relationship worked for the sake of their two daughters.
Frank called up the radio show to defend himself. You can check it out for yourself here.
Good for him!
When you're in the public eye, it's too easy for people to believe what they read and form their own opinion of your character. It's not often they get the chance to defend themselves publicly.
No one knows the reasons behind whatever went on behind closed doors.
I think Frank Lampard did the right thing. He's gone up in my estimation, but I still hope he ends the season empty handed.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Dedicated follower of fashion
Yesterday, driving back from the garden centre we saw a guy with bleached blonde hair, driving a BMW convertible. He had a Wales flag on the back of the car, next to an Obama sticker. Oh, and he was wearing a Chelsea shirt.
What is wrong with this picture? In a word; Everything.
Is this a living breathing example of a brain dead sheep. Someone who does what he's told is the fashionable thing to do rather than thinking for himself.
Ok, maybe I'm being a little bit too hard on the fella, especially with the Welsh flag. No one would even suggest you pretend to be Welsh unless you really were born there so I'll let that slide.
As for the BMW. They're nice cars, but they're an obvious choice for someone who wants to drive something that will make people think he has taste. It wasn't a new BMW, in fact it was quite an old model so this would seem to enhance the perception that he didn't choose the car for other, more normal reasons.
Convertibles always seem a bit 'mid-life crisis' to me. He wasn't a young bloke, probably late 30's-40's so maybe he's just hit his a few years earlier than most.
This would also link in with the bleached blonde hair. All the kids are doing it aren't they? Yeah mate, maybe in 1995.
I'm not going to get into a political debate about the pros and cons of Barack Obama but there's no doubting that he was the media's pick for President. By that I mean he was a perfect candidate for the media looking for a story. This leads me to think that our friend was sporting his Obama/Biden sticker to show how in touch he is with current events.
Now last, but certainly not least is the Chelsea shirt. Maybe I could let all of the other things go if they weren't topped off by that blue shrine to the Russians of West London.
The Welsh flag would suggest that he wasn't born in the Chelsea area and when combined with the hair, and the convertible, and the Obama sticker it just screams New Chelsea.
New Chelsea has nothing to do with Chelsea Football Club, the rather irritating, small, one time champions of England (in 1955). New Chelsea is new money. Everything that is bad in the game today and since they bought two consecutive league titles in 2005 and 2006, they've attracted a different type of supporter. For example the young girl in the Far East who luv them long time, and our friend in the BMW.
I hope someone has a word with this guy friend and points out the errors of his ways and maybe makes him realise that he's giving BMW drivers, convertible drivers, fake blondes, the Welsh, Democrats and real Chelsea fans a bad name by mincing down FM529, boiling in a melting pot of all of the above.
What is wrong with this picture? In a word; Everything.
Is this a living breathing example of a brain dead sheep. Someone who does what he's told is the fashionable thing to do rather than thinking for himself.
Ok, maybe I'm being a little bit too hard on the fella, especially with the Welsh flag. No one would even suggest you pretend to be Welsh unless you really were born there so I'll let that slide.
As for the BMW. They're nice cars, but they're an obvious choice for someone who wants to drive something that will make people think he has taste. It wasn't a new BMW, in fact it was quite an old model so this would seem to enhance the perception that he didn't choose the car for other, more normal reasons.
Convertibles always seem a bit 'mid-life crisis' to me. He wasn't a young bloke, probably late 30's-40's so maybe he's just hit his a few years earlier than most.
This would also link in with the bleached blonde hair. All the kids are doing it aren't they? Yeah mate, maybe in 1995.
I'm not going to get into a political debate about the pros and cons of Barack Obama but there's no doubting that he was the media's pick for President. By that I mean he was a perfect candidate for the media looking for a story. This leads me to think that our friend was sporting his Obama/Biden sticker to show how in touch he is with current events.
Now last, but certainly not least is the Chelsea shirt. Maybe I could let all of the other things go if they weren't topped off by that blue shrine to the Russians of West London.
The Welsh flag would suggest that he wasn't born in the Chelsea area and when combined with the hair, and the convertible, and the Obama sticker it just screams New Chelsea.
New Chelsea has nothing to do with Chelsea Football Club, the rather irritating, small, one time champions of England (in 1955). New Chelsea is new money. Everything that is bad in the game today and since they bought two consecutive league titles in 2005 and 2006, they've attracted a different type of supporter. For example the young girl in the Far East who luv them long time, and our friend in the BMW.
I hope someone has a word with this guy friend and points out the errors of his ways and maybe makes him realise that he's giving BMW drivers, convertible drivers, fake blondes, the Welsh, Democrats and real Chelsea fans a bad name by mincing down FM529, boiling in a melting pot of all of the above.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
I remember when all this were fields..
So Chelsea have sacked Big Phil.
Let me re-phrase that. World Cup Winner Luiz Felipe Scolari has been sacked as manager of new money Chelsea. After seven months.
Let's go back ten years. Actually, we really don't have to go back that far but back in the late 90's, could you really envision a state of affairs where Chelsea were attracting a world cup winning manager, never mind sacking him after only seven months? Now I'm not suggesting Chelsea have got eyes bigger than their belly but what. the. fuck.
Since being saved from financial oblivion by Roman Abramovich in 2003, Chelsea have spent an obscene amount of money tempting top players (and coaches) to West London on bumper salaries.
They won the Championship for only the second time in their history in 2005, exactly fifty years since the only previous time, and retained the title in 2006. It's no secret that Chelsea would not be where they are today without Abramovich's billions but it takes time to build, or rebuild a winning team.
I remember going to Old Trafford during the barren years of the 80's when Ron Atkinson was sacked as manager of Manchester United and replaced by Alex Ferguson. Three years after Ferguson took over, United looked no closer to winning the Championship than they had anytime since their last win in 1967, despite a second place finish that flattered to deceive in 1988.
During the 89-90 season, the crowd at Old Trafford were getting restless and started demanding that the manager be sacked. I'm not ashamed to admit I joined in on occasion. The team actually managed to win the FA Cup that season, the first trophy of the Ferguson era, and many still claim today that it is the only reason Ferguson kept his job. Another trophy followed the following season, this time the (now defunct) European Cup Winners Cup.
1992 saw another second place finish, but this time it was much closer than the 88 season. Leeds United won the Championship in 1992 spurred on by the signing of an unknown Frenchman who had an immediate effect on the team (more on him later).
United were showing progress, but were still lacking the holy grail of a league Championship. On November 26th 1992 the then Leeds United manager Howard Wilkinson contacted Manchester United to ask about the availability of defender Denis Irwin. Refusing their advance, manager Alex Ferguson responded with a question about their mercurial Frenchman. The deal was done and the rest is history.
Manchester United won their first league Championship for 26 years in 1993. They retained the title in 1994 and another 8 league Championships have arrived in the 16 years since.
I don't mind admitting I was wrong. All of this, and a lot more when you take into account the two European Champions League victories and many FA cup & League Cup wins have come under the stewardship of Sir Alex Ferguson who was knighted after the historic treble of 1999.
The signing of Eric Cantona in November 1992 was the final piece of the jigsaw for the first Championship winning team but the faith held in Alex Ferguson has been repaid many times over as he has continuously built Championship winning team after Championship winning team. Not least the kids of 1996 including a certain David Beckham.
The big question is whether today Alex Ferguson would've been given almost four years in a job before winning his first trophy, or 6 years before clinching the league Championship.
The sacking of Phil Scolari is a sign of the times. A world cup winning manager with Brazil in 2002, deemed a failure because his team languish in fourth place with four months of the season remaining.
Chelsea fans (or Roman Abramovich) may argue that he wasn't the man to return them to their rightful place. I agree. Luiz Felipe Scolari was never the man to return Chelsea to their rightful place. A place they occupied in the early 90's. A place outside of the Premier League and outside of the English and European elite. He was far too good for a second rate team that won the lottery.
Let me re-phrase that. World Cup Winner Luiz Felipe Scolari has been sacked as manager of new money Chelsea. After seven months.
Let's go back ten years. Actually, we really don't have to go back that far but back in the late 90's, could you really envision a state of affairs where Chelsea were attracting a world cup winning manager, never mind sacking him after only seven months? Now I'm not suggesting Chelsea have got eyes bigger than their belly but what. the. fuck.
Since being saved from financial oblivion by Roman Abramovich in 2003, Chelsea have spent an obscene amount of money tempting top players (and coaches) to West London on bumper salaries.
They won the Championship for only the second time in their history in 2005, exactly fifty years since the only previous time, and retained the title in 2006. It's no secret that Chelsea would not be where they are today without Abramovich's billions but it takes time to build, or rebuild a winning team.
I remember going to Old Trafford during the barren years of the 80's when Ron Atkinson was sacked as manager of Manchester United and replaced by Alex Ferguson. Three years after Ferguson took over, United looked no closer to winning the Championship than they had anytime since their last win in 1967, despite a second place finish that flattered to deceive in 1988.
During the 89-90 season, the crowd at Old Trafford were getting restless and started demanding that the manager be sacked. I'm not ashamed to admit I joined in on occasion. The team actually managed to win the FA Cup that season, the first trophy of the Ferguson era, and many still claim today that it is the only reason Ferguson kept his job. Another trophy followed the following season, this time the (now defunct) European Cup Winners Cup.
1992 saw another second place finish, but this time it was much closer than the 88 season. Leeds United won the Championship in 1992 spurred on by the signing of an unknown Frenchman who had an immediate effect on the team (more on him later).
United were showing progress, but were still lacking the holy grail of a league Championship. On November 26th 1992 the then Leeds United manager Howard Wilkinson contacted Manchester United to ask about the availability of defender Denis Irwin. Refusing their advance, manager Alex Ferguson responded with a question about their mercurial Frenchman. The deal was done and the rest is history.
Manchester United won their first league Championship for 26 years in 1993. They retained the title in 1994 and another 8 league Championships have arrived in the 16 years since.
I don't mind admitting I was wrong. All of this, and a lot more when you take into account the two European Champions League victories and many FA cup & League Cup wins have come under the stewardship of Sir Alex Ferguson who was knighted after the historic treble of 1999.
The signing of Eric Cantona in November 1992 was the final piece of the jigsaw for the first Championship winning team but the faith held in Alex Ferguson has been repaid many times over as he has continuously built Championship winning team after Championship winning team. Not least the kids of 1996 including a certain David Beckham.
The big question is whether today Alex Ferguson would've been given almost four years in a job before winning his first trophy, or 6 years before clinching the league Championship.
The sacking of Phil Scolari is a sign of the times. A world cup winning manager with Brazil in 2002, deemed a failure because his team languish in fourth place with four months of the season remaining.
Chelsea fans (or Roman Abramovich) may argue that he wasn't the man to return them to their rightful place. I agree. Luiz Felipe Scolari was never the man to return Chelsea to their rightful place. A place they occupied in the early 90's. A place outside of the Premier League and outside of the English and European elite. He was far too good for a second rate team that won the lottery.
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