Sorry, I spent ages writing my predictions, clicked “Publish” and watched in horror as they all disappeared. I lack the patience to write them all out again, so here’s a brief list of my predicted results. Damned wordpress.
Premier League Saturday
Everton 2-0 West Bromwich Albion
Arsenal 2-1 Fulham
Chelsea 1-0 Wigan Athletic
Middlesbrough 1-1 Liverpool Sunday Hull City 1-2 Blackburn Rovers
West Ham United 2-3 Manchester City
Bolton Wanderers 3-1 Newcastle United
Aston Villa 2-0 Stoke City Carling Cup Final Manchester United 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Apologies once again, I will return to my usual, more comprehensive analysis and predictions next week, barring another catastrophe on behalf of the blogging software.
O'Neill: threw away the UEFA Cup to go after the Champions League - will it be worth it?
Fans of Aston Villa, I ask you, do you feel that Martin O’Neill made the right choice in essentially throwing away the second leg against CSKA Moscow in an attempt to push more effectively for a Champions League spot in the Premier League this season? I have to say, I think it was a very silly decision by O’Neill who I had considered until now, to be one of the most sensible managers in England.
I honestly feel that Villa stood a very good chance of going all the way in the UEFA Cup. In CSKA Moscow they were facing one of the toughest teams in the competition and yet in the first leg they matched their Russian opponents, and with a full side would have been quietly comfortable of securing passage to the next round. There are other top sides still in the tournament, notably in my opinion, AC Milan’s conquerors Werder Bremen, but Everton showed last year that English sides have what it takes to go a long way. Had the penalties fallen differently Everton would have, in my opinion, won the tournament after they had beaten eventual winners Zenit St. Petersberg relatively comfortably in the group stages.
Back in November I posted my prediction of what I thought the Premier League table would look like come the end of the season and suggested that I may reconsider once the January transfer window had come and gone, and seeing as we’re almost through February now I rememb-uh… I thought it would be a good time to do it.
Unfortunately most of my prediction for the league table was a little bit off, and it seems that the only prediction I got spot on was that I would be way off. Goes to show you a) how things can change in the course of a few months or b) how little I actually know. Let’s go with a) because then I can justify letting myself have another go…
Ronaldo crashes to the ground, is football and our whole society going down with him?
There has been much furore this week about diving, which is a phenomenon we have been seeing increasingly often over the past few years in the English games. Once the ploy of foreign flair players as a way to cope with the physical nature of the game in this country, this method of conning referees is now widespread throughout the game, with all types of players indulging in it.
Blackburn fans were quick to abuse Cristiano Ronaldo for his diving antics at the weekend, and yet were screaming for a penalty when Morten Gamst Pedersen went down rather too easily at the other end. It seems that in many ways football fans have come to regard diving with a sort of biased eye – it’s fine for your team, but as soon as anyone else does it, they are the scum of the earth.
A disappointing away day for Everton saw a threadbare side reduced by the loss to injury of Mikel Arteta and Victor Anichebe, and despite the first half dismissal of Kevin Nolan for the Magpies, the deadlock remained unbroken by either side.
It ended up a comfortable day for Everton’s back four as the Toffees controlled the game even before the sending off, but Newcastle quickly reverted to all-out-defencive-mode and Everton lacked the imagination and creativity to break them down.
Click through to read my match reaction, as I try and console myself to the dropping of two points that we could have picked up so easily under different circumstances. Also after the click through there’s an excellent photograph of Nolan’s terrible tackle on Anichebe – it’s a bit flinch-inducing so be warned!
Aston Villa vs. Chelsea This will be seen by Martin O’Neill as a chance to finally dispel any questions that remain about his side’s top four credentials, and they will be going all out to try and topple Chelsea. However, they are probably a better side away from home while Chelsea will be hoping to take further advantage of the new manager giddiness that so often takes hold of clubs. Players will be vying to impress the new man and we could see a turnaround in Chelsea’s fortunes as Hiddink looks to be the ideal man to get them playing as a team. I think Chelsea might sneak this one. Prediction: 1-2.
Arsenal vs. Sunderland Athletic Arsenal picked up a convincing cup win in midweek and will want to press on and make the most of their confidence to rekindle a faltering league campaign. It must be conceded that they’ve had some tough luck with injuries but Wenger should have been able to get his squad through – given that he had money to spend. The fans may finally see a new face today though, with Arshavin set to make his debut, and he may just inspire his team-mates to another victory. Sunderland will be no pushovers though, they are proving tough characters under Ricky Sbragia and certainly have quality going forward, but I think Arsenal will be too strong. Prediction: 2-0.
Donna Powell - will she lead women into management in the men's game?
Sat absent mindedly at my computer yesterday I was vaguely scanning the stories scrolling past on my RSS Feed reader on my desktop. One went past declaring the appointment of a female manager on a temporary basis at non-league Fisher Athletic, and for some reason, I struggled to react with the kind of shock that the exclamation marks seem to imply was necessary.
Of course, upon further thought, this is quite big news, and certainly headline worthy, but I still don’t feel that it should come as a shock. After all, why on earth shouldn’t clubs appoint female managers? Yes, football has long been seen as a man’s game, and traditionally it was, but these days traditions are fading fast, and at any ground in the country you will see plenty of female fans supporting their team with just as much vigour, passion and (most importantly) knowledge, as the men.
Ebbsfleet United and Everton FC: both The People's Club?
As a lifelong fan of Everton FC, the club given the nickname ‘The People’s Club’ by David Moyes, I feel slightly reluctant to share such a moniker with another team. Everton are The People’s Club of Liverpool because the man on the street in that city supports Everton. It is a nickname that sums up the spirit of the club, and the spirit of its fan base. Everton is what it is today because of its fans, the people of Liverpool.
This is true in a much more literal sense of Ebsfleet FC. Ebsfleet United are a team that are owned entirely by an internet community, organised by the website myfootballclub.co.uk. Each member had to pledge £35 towards the purchase of a football club which would give them joint ownership of said club and the chance to vote online to help run the club. They can pick the team, buy and sell players and even appoint the manager.
I think I melted my brain (and burnt my legs) at the beach today and so cannot even attempt to write a proper post for you tonight, but should be back on track tomorrow.
In better news, I have resolved to leave something interesting for you to watch whenever I don’t post properly in future (obviously if lack of computer/internet access is the reason for non-posting, no video can be left!), which is some consolation.
Today’s is a belter of a counter attack finished off sublimely by Leon Osman for Everton against Larissa in last season’s UEFA Cup. Apologies for the wanky intro and music.
Eduardo made an emotional, and sensational, return for Arsenal.
So at long last, the final fourth round game of this year’s FA Cup has been resolved as Arsenal overcame Cardiff with relative ease at the Emirates Stadium. It was perhaps disappointing for Cardiff, who would have been quietly confident of an upset, but in the end, the biggest story of the night was I think, less the result, and more the sensatioanl return of Croation striker Eduardo.
Few will have forgotten the terrible injury that the striker suffered almsot a year ago, after a fairly awful tackle from Martin Taylor of Birmingham City. The striker, who had been starting to really hit some form after scoring a brace against Everton in December 2007, suffered a broken left fibula and disolcated left ankle from the challenge, and underwent immediate surgery to help correct it.
They Think It’s All Over... is a football blog written by Adam Howard. Its aim is to provide intelligent and reasoned discussion of all manner of topics in the football world, as well as occasional reviews of football merchandise.
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