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Thursday 28 November 2013

Bale shining at Madrid

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mktxo/9683451535/">Pablo Morquecho</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>
After his world record transfer to Real Madrid, all eyes were going to be fixated on Bale and his start to life at Madrid. An injury at the start of the season was not ideal but Bale is now beginning to repay his considerable price tag.

Scoring on his debut, Bale immediately looked settled and ready to set La-Liga alight, unfortunately a thigh injury he sustained set him back and kept him out of action for a few weeks.

This injury was possibly a blessing in disguise, all the hype about Bale began to die down and by the time he was to return to first team action there was not as much pressure on his young shoulders.

Bale returned to fitness in time for the first “El Classico” of the season, unfortunately for him it was not his finest performance and due to Neymar stealing the show that night people questioned if Madrid had bought the right man.

Sure enough Bale responded in emphatic fashion scoring two and assisting two in a 7-3 victory over Sevilla, a massive confidence boost for Bale after the “El Classico” criticism.

Bale continued this form into November assisting another two goals in a 3-2 victory over Rayo Vallecano, his first Champions League goal for the club came away to Juventus when he gave Madrid a second half lead in a game that ended 2-2.

Bale managed another assist when Madrid faced Real Sociedad and won 5-1, another goal against Almeria in 5-0 win brought his tally in La-Liga to four goals and five assists in eight games, two of which were substitute appearances.

In the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, who watched from the stands, Bale duly stepped up to convert a sublime free kick as Madrid hammered Galatasaray 4-1, a goal Ronaldo himself would have been proud of.

This brought Bale’s stats in all competitions to six goals and five assists in the eight games he started in.

His old club Spurs may be struggling, but Bale certainly is not and is prospering into a great Real Madrid player.

Wednesday 27 November 2013

Champions League: Match-day 5 Review (groups E-H)

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36593372@N04/8806335484/">(Mick Baker)rooster</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/">cc</a>

Match-day five in the Champions League was as unpredictable and exciting as ever with qualification up for grabs in the groups penultimate games, here is a round-up of the action;

Arsenal stormed passed Marseille with a 2-0 home victory thanks to a Jack Wilshere double, it was plain sailing for Arsenal who, despite having an Ozil penalty saved, now top the group three points clear of Napoli and Borussia Dortmund who faced off in the group’s other game.

Dortmund came out on top in this one bouncing back from their week-end defeat to Bayern Munich, Reus, Błaszczykowski and Aubameyang helped Dortmund to a 3-1 home victory over Napoli who pulled one back through Insigne. This leaves Group F wide open with Dortmund and Napoli both on nine points.

Chelsea qualified for the last 16 despite losing 1-0 away to Basel, Salah scored again for Basel who have now done the double over the 2012 champions, in Group E’s other game Steaua drew 0-0 with Schalke, Chelsea sit at the top of the table on 9 points, one clear of Basel and 2 clear of Schalke who play each other in match-day 6 for the other place in the last 16.

Group H had the biggest shock of the night as Ajax defeated Barcelona in the Amsterdam Arena by 2 goals to 1, a Xavi penalty was not enough for the already qualified Barcelona as goals from Serero and Hoesen secured all three points for Ajax, keeping their qualification hopes alive.

The groups other game saw AC Milan thrash Celtic 3-0 in Celtic Park, goals from Kaka, Zapata and Balotelli secured a straight forward win for the Italian side and sets up an intriguing game with Ajax for a place in the last 16, Celtic’s chances of a last 16 place are over after the defeat.


Atletico Madrid maintained their unbeaten record in Group F with a 1-1 draw away to Zenit in freezing conditions, Adrian scored for Madrid and an Alderweireld own-goal secured a draw for Zenit. Porto surprisingly drew with Austria Wien 1-1, Wien opened the scoring through Kienast before Jackson Martinez replied for Porto, with Madrid already qualified Porto and Zenit will fight it out for second place in this group.

Monday 25 November 2013

Liverpool’s defence shambolic

The Merseyside Derby on Saturday pointed out the major flaw in the Liverpool team: the defence.

In a game where Liverpool’s forward men played well scoring three goals, the defenders once again let the side down with their poor performance, was it not for Mignolet on the goal Everton would certainly have taken all three points.

The three goals conceded were all because of defensive errors, the first one occurred when no Liverpool defender went up to win the header allowing the ball to be knocked down and bounce into the path of Mirallas, who poked the ball home, it was the thing of nightmares for any defensive coach.

The second goal was also caused by bad defending, as the ball was played across the box, all Liverpool players rushed towards the goal line leaving Lukaku completely free at the penalty spot to put the ball in the back of the net, someone simply staying on Lukaku could have prevented the goal and certainly would have made it harder for him.

Goal number three was another defensive mishap, this time a result of poor organisation, no one can give out if Lukaku beats his man in the air and scores because that is his speciality, but when the person he is being marked by is Glen Johnson, not a big man like Agger or Skrtel, serious questions need to be asked.

Liverpool have had a great start to the season but the defence has threatened to undermine it, Sakho came into the club for a big fee but is yet to show his quality and the once reliable partnership of Agger and Skrtel, on yesterdays evidence, is not as solid as before.

Lucas’s poor form in recent times has left the back-four exposed and was it not for Simon Mignolet in the goal Liverpool would certainly not have had as good a start to the season as they have.


Brendan Rodgers will have to work very hard on his defence if he wants to be a serious contender for the Premier League, because with Sturridge and Suarez doing the business at the other end, the defenders are the only ones leaving the side down.


Thursday 21 November 2013

Two Ashes in one year a joke!

The Ashes currently taking place in Australia is the second Ashes series of the calendar year, the first one being held in England during the summer. Having a major event such as The Ashes twice in one year seems ridiculous to most, and takes away from the series itself.

The series traditionally occurs every two years but is being held twice this year due to Australia hosting the World Cup in 2015.

The main draw to the Ashes series was usually the fact it was a meaningful series that came around every two years but staging it twice in the one year takes away from the event itself.

It almost makes the Ashes a pointless event and turns it into just another test match, although the Australian’s felt they would be unable to hold a World Cup and an Ashes series in the one year this is certainly not a great alternative.

Another problem with the Ashes in general is the urn that is rewarded to the winning team, although the urn is a special feature of the series, for an uninformed viewer the size of the urn demeans the winning of the test.

The sight of the team celebrating while the captain holds a tiny urn is laughable and takes away from the seriousness of the series that is steeped in such history.

Cricket is a minority sport and little things like staging arguably one of the biggest events in World cricket twice in one calendar year, and rewarding the winner with a tiny urn does not encourage or inspire young people to play the game.

Wednesday 20 November 2013

Gibraltar draw first ever game


Gibraltar drew 0-0 with Slovakia in their first ever game as an official national team.

Slovakia were without some key players, but nothing can be taken away from Gibraltar who kept the team, currently ranked 65th in the world, scoreless.

Gibraltar is the smallest member of UEFA after gaining a license as GFA on 24 May 2013, Gibraltar will also be part of the draw for the Euro 2016 qualifying groups which will be made on 23 February 2014.

Ronaldo Hat-trick another highlight in great year

Ronaldo’s superb hat-trick over Sweden is just another great moment in the Portuguese winger’s marvellous year.

Last night Ronaldo showed the world why he is the renowned figure he is scoring a 29-minute hat-trick to secure safe passage for Portugal to Brazil 2014.

In a match billed Ibrahimovic vs. Ronaldo neither player disappointed, the final score of Sweden 2-3 Portugal was effectively Ibrahimovic 2-3 Ronaldo. The goals and the manner in which they were scored emphasised the quality player Cristiano Ronaldo is.

Not only has this display put Portugal into the World Cup, it also has almost guaranteed Ronaldo the Ballon d’Or prize, which he has lost out on to Messi over recent years.

The scintillating performance of last night has reminded people that he is one of the world’s best and has prompted people to admire the great man who has almost lived in Messi’s shadow for the last five years.

Ronaldo undoubtedly has been the worlds best this season, Ronaldo has scored 16 goals in 13 La Liga games and has scored a remarkable 8 goals in the opening four Champions League group games this season.

Ronaldo has maintained his incredible record of more goals than games for Madrid and is now level with Pauleta on 47 goals as Portugal’s all time leading goal-scorer.

With Messi suffering an injury blighted season Ronaldo has fittingly stepped up and is on course to win back the Ballon d’Or he won in 2008.


The World Cup is around the corner and after guiding his team there, Ronaldo could be a key man in the competition and if he maintains his form he could help Portugal mount a serious challenge for the trophy.

Tuesday 19 November 2013

5 flops of the Premier League season so far

Marouane Fellaini
It is hard to look any further than Fellaini in terms of flops this season, his massive price of 27.5-million-pounds was far too much for a player that can play his limited amount of roles, he has failed to hold a place in the starting 11 and has been largely unimpressive in the games he featured in. There is plenty of time for his Man United career to take off but as of yet he has been poor.

Dwight Gayle
Gayle has been a disappointment this season after a big money move to Crystal Palace in the summer, the undisclosed fee was believed to be around 6-million-pounds, a huge amount for such an inexperienced player, he is yet to repay this money scoring only two goals thus far.

Erik Lamela
Spurs have an array of players who have flopped since arrival but 30-million-pound man Lamela has been the biggest disappointment, Lamela arrived from Roma with a big reputation and has not lived up to that reputation at all. Yet to score a Premier League goal, Lamela has been a huge disappointment and he does not look like putting his form right anytime soon.

Stevan Jovetic
Jovetic of Man City has been another expensive flop, in a squad with 3 other top strikers including the on-form Aguero, Jovetic has struggled to break into the starting 11 and is yet to score a goal after making only three Premier League appearances, hardly the form of a striker who cost the club 22-million-pounds.

Emanuele Giaccherini

Giaccherini’s move from Juventus to Sunderland came as a major shock and for only 6.5-million-pounds seemed like a bargain. Unfortunately for Sunderland Giaccherini has not looked like a player who played for Juventus, he has scored two goals in the Premier League but has not been the key player he is expected to be and subsequently Sunderland have had a very poor start to the season.

Monday 18 November 2013

England should expect a disappointing World Cup

England have always gone into World Cups and European Championships with a sense of optimism, that with a bit of luck and good form from the team they would have a realistic chance of winning.

The 2014 World Cup however, is looking like a different story, the defeat to Chile on Wednesday highlighted what has been evident for a while now, that England are not one of the top teams in international football.

England’s defeat at home to Chile was a major shock, they are never expected to lose a home match at Wembley especially if that team is not one of the big powers such as Spain, Germany and Brazil. Chile are a very competent side with top players such as Alexis Sanchez of Barcelona, but if England are to be contenders for the World Cup they should be able to beat sides like Chile, especially in a home game.

The manner in which England lost was also very alarming, Chile completely ran the game from start to finish and looked the more dangerous side throughout, despite the fact England had players like Lallana deputising, more would be expected of the team as a whole.

Under Roy Hodgson, it is fair to say England have never really hit form that would put them up there as one of the worlds best. The World Cup qualifying campaign was, despite topping the group, unimpressive in most parts.

England’s group was relatively easy but they made hard work of qualifying, Ukraine were the only real threat in a group that contained a poor Poland team heavily reliant on Lewandowski, Montenegro, a very average side, Moldova, a weak team, and the whipping boys of every qualifying campaign San Marino.

Despite hammering San Marino and Moldova, England drew home and away against Ukraine and also drew away to both Poland and Montenegro, teams England would be expected to beat.

England do posses some very talented players, Gerrard, Rooney, Baines and Lampard to name but a few, but as a team England are not on the same level as Germany or Brazil who have great players and also gel well together as great teams.

The expectations for the 2014 World Cup at this stage are not as high as usual, in past years England fans and players alike would be hoping for a semi-final or even final place but in next years World Cup, getting out of the group stage is looking like their only goal with anything else being a bonus.

It is hard to see England beating a team like Belgium or Colombia were they to face them and even less likely that they could beat Brazil, Argentina or Spain. There is even a high possibility that, were England to draw a hard group, they would not even get past the group stages.


The 2014 World Cup will be 48 years after England’s only World Cup triumph in 1966 and unfortunately for England fans and the team itself it doesn’t look like the wait will be over anytime soon.

Thursday 14 November 2013

Cruzeiro win Brazilian Serie A for third time in their history

Cruzeiro have won the Brazilian Serie A today after opening up an unassailable lead of 16 points at the top of the table with four games remaining.

Cruzeiro sealed the league by beating Vitoria by three goals to one, former Arsenal striker Julio Baptista was amongst the scorers.

This is Cruzeiro's third Serie A in their history, winning previously in 1966 and most recently in 2003.

Arsenal Still Lack A Leader

Arsenal play exciting, free flowing football that pleases the eye and have done so for years, yet they are without a trophy since their FA cup win in 2005, why is this?

It is no great mystery in truth, Arsenal are lacking a leader in the team, a big presence on and off the field, someone who can galvanise a team. Effectively Arsenal are one player away from winning something, if that player was a born leader of course.

It’s all well and good playing beautiful football but when it comes to the crunch ties against the other challengers a team without a leader is always going to struggle, when things are going against you a player that can rally the troops is needed, something that has eluded Arsenal for years.

Arguably the greatest ever Arsenal team, “The Invincibles” were packed with leaders within the team: Campbell, Toure, Gilberto Silva, Vieira to name but a few. Looking at today’s squad it is hard to pick out a leader, Koscienly maybe, or Flamini some would say, but are any of these players anywhere near the calibre of Vieira or Campbell.

Take a look at Manchester United, they have always had a leader in the team from the likes of Roy Keane and Paul Scholes to Ferdinand and Carrick, these players have been integral parts of victorious Man United teams.

Steven Gerrard is a prime example of what Arsenal are missing, he has a presence on the field that inspires others to do well, just look at the 2005 Champions League Final when Gerrard inspired a come back from 3 goals down.

Every winning team needs 1 or 2 galvanising presences in their starting 11. Jack Wilshere looks as if he could blossom into the leader of the team but due to injuries and his young age we are yet to see him fulfil that role.

Arsene Wenger has to be concerned that his team do not posses that fight and toughness required, all of which could be changed by the acquisition of 1 player.

The signing of Mesut Ozil gave all of Arsenal a lift and propelled them to do well, Ozil is an exceptionally talented player but he is not a leader, he is not the type of player to grab the game by the scruff of the neck when it gets tough.

This current Arsenal side is possibly the best side Arsene Wenger has had since their last trophy victory in 2005, but without a leader they will struggle come the end of the season when the pressure is on.


Trying to find a born leader is not an easy job by any means but until Wenger can do so it looks as if Arsenal will struggle to win any silverware.

Tuesday 12 November 2013

2013 Ballon d’Or Award

Once again it’s nearing the time of the year when FIFA award the prestigious Ballon d’Or award and once again it looks to be between 2 men: Messi and Ronaldo.

This year has seen some great players shine, such as Bale, Ibrahimovic, Van Persie, Lewandowski, Suarez and many more but inevitably the prize will end up in the hands of either Messi or Ronaldo, undoubtedly the best two players in world football.

Messi will be looking to add his 5th Ballon d’Or in a row, while Ronaldo will be looking to add to his 1 award having come in 2nd the last 2 years.

The tables may have turned this year, Messi has been injured during the season and has just been hit with another injury blow ruling him out for another 8 weeks, these setbacks look to have put Ronaldo in the driving seat to win the award.

Few could argue if Ronaldo was to win the award, he is the form player in the world this year and has even broken the record for Champions League goals in a calendar year by scoring 8 in 4 group games, a record held by none other than Messi himself.

Due to injury Messi has been unable to recreate the goal tally he acquired last season, nevertheless he has entertained his fans with his magical talent.

Messi is, in most peoples mind, the best player there is, but due to Ronaldo having superior stats and games played few could deny that, probably the best ever second best player in the world, deserves to get his hands on his second Ballon d’Or.


The Dreaded International Break

There are few things more annoying to a football fan than the dreaded International break, having to wait 2 weeks to see your club in action is simply unbearable for some.

Saturdays and Sundays are traditionally filled with Premier League action that entertains you for most of the day, generally you start the day watching a 12.45pm kick off, followed by listening to the wonderful Jeff Stelling and his team on Sky Sports News as they build up to the 3pm action.

3pm comes and you sit down to watch a match, any match because there’s always one on, or you listen to Phil Thompson and them as they roar and shout watching each game for our entertainment. If we are lucky we will have an evening game to keep us entertained, we then round off the day with a look at all the goals on Match of the Day.

Sunday is a similar story, the morning may consist of listening to the opinions of the journalists on Sunday Supplement followed by Goals on Sunday with the always humorous Chris Kamara. After eating dinner you then sit down to watch Super Sunday, a double dose of Premier League action usually containing a big top of the table clash.

After this you sit back relax and reflect on what has happened over the week-end, the week is made more bearable  knowing that you get to do it all again next week-end, but then it hits you, there is no Premier League next week, it’s an International break.

Any International break is bad but one consisting of 2 friendlies is too much.

There is no doubt that Internationals can be exciting but the usual week-end routine is completely out the window. You get home on a Friday evening, watch Ireland or whoever your nation is and then that’s it, Saturday and Sunday consist of nothing in terms of football, unless you enjoy non-league football or the best of action from League 2.

Although some International breaks can bring enjoyment e.g. when a crunch competitive game comes around or a new manager is appointed and new players join the squad, it is still not as fulfilling as a week-end of Premier League action.


Fortunately on this occasion Irish supporters will have the excitement of seeing O’Neill and Keane in charge for the first time, but honestly it still doesn't beat the excitement of domestic action.

Monday 11 November 2013

Man Utd inevitably bounce back

Man Utd may have endured their worst start to a Premier League season ever, but after beating Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday it looks as if they are past the worst.

Losing 3 of the first 6 games was part of one of the worst starts to a league campaign in decades and had United fans worried that David Moyes was not capable of handling the job ahead of him.

When Stoke came to visit and found themselves 2-1 up in the second-half there seemed to be an inevitability that United would score, and score they did, twice in fact to win the game. This game was a turning point for the team with everyone realising they still had the capability of winning games against the odds, a key feature of United under Alex Ferguson.

The win over Arsenal on Sunday now sees United sit 5th only 5 points off Arsenal at the top, some crisis that is.

Did anyone really expect anything different? A team with Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney was never going to struggle for an entire season, anyway Man Utd were known for starting slowly in the league under Ferguson but they still managed to either win the league or at least mount a challenge.

There is no doubt Moyes would have liked a better start to the season but I don’t think he will be over concerned being 5 points off the top in early November.


Maybe it was just wishful thinking by rivals who finally thought Man United’s reign had come to an end, one thing is for certain, United will not be knocked off their perch without a considerable fight.

Premier League: Match-Day 11 Review

Match-day 11 was another exciting round of action full of goals, upsets and controversy, here is a review of the action.

Liverpool bounced back from last weeks defeat to Arsenal with an emphatic victory over Fulham at Anfield, Suarez stole the show with two goals, bringing his tally for the season to 8 in only 6 games, a Skrtel header and an own-goal from Amorebieta began the rout as Liverpool ran out 4-0 winners.

Stamford Bridge expected a routine victory for Chelsea when West Brom came to visit on Saturday but this was not the case, Samuel Eto'o opened the scoring for Chelsea on the stroke of half-time, However second-half goals from Long and Sessegnon stunned the bridge, West Brom were unable to hang on and Eden Hazard scored an injury time penalty, after a dubious decision, to make it 2-2 and secure a point for Chelsea.

Arsenal’s great run came to an end at the hands of Manchester United, losing 1-0 at Old Trafford, Robin Van Persie scored a great header in the first-half to seal the points for United, Arsenal may have been fatigued from their mid-week victory over Dortmund, but take nothing away from Man Utd, they deserved the victory.

Man City were shocked by Sunderland as they lost 1-0 at the Stadium of Light, a brilliant first-half goal from Phil Bardsley was enough for Gus Poyet’s side to grab all 3 points, despite a second-half onslaught, Man City were unable to pull one back.

Newcastle added to last week’s victory over Chelsea by beating Spurs at White Hart Lane, Newcastle, playing in a Brazilian style away kit, upset the odds with a 1-0 victory courtesy of Loic Remy, Spurs were booed off the field for their poor performance and the defeat has piled the pressure on AVB.

In the game of the week-end, Swansea and Stoke played out a 3-3 thriller at the Liberty Stadium, Stoke surprisingly went in at half-time 2-0 up after two Irishmen, Walters and Ireland, got on the score-sheet, Swansea scored 3 second-half goals through Bony (2) and Dyer but were denied a win when Charlie Adam scored from the penalty spot in the 96th minute to earn a deserved draw for Stoke.


In the week-ends other games Everton drew 0-0 away to Crystal Palace, Southampton hammered Hull 4-1 at St Mary’s, with Lallana scoring a marvellous individual goal to keep their early season form going. Also, Aston Villa beat Cardiff 2-0 at Villa Park and Norwich overcame West Ham at Carrow Road with a 3-1 victory.

Friday 8 November 2013

Gerrard or Lampard


These two legends of English football have been around for over a decade now and have both delighted their fans for as many years, but the question remains, who is better?

Frank Lampard has been a Chelsea hero for years, he has scored over 200 goals for Chelsea in all competitions making him Chelsea’s all time goal-scorer. Lampard has won of array of trophies including 1 Champions League and 4 Premier League titles, he also has many individual accolades such as the PFA player of the year.

Steven Gerrard is considered to be one of Liverpool’s greatest ever players and is also no stranger to accolades, he has scored over 100 goals for Liverpool. Trophies won by Gerrard include 2 FA cups and 1 Champions League, Gerrard has also won the prestigious PFA player of the year award.

Both players have been capped over 100 times for England although Gerrard leads the way having being capped on 107 occasions, 5 more than Lampard on 102. Lampard leads the goals however with 29 to Gerrard’s 21.

Although the stats suggest Lampard is the superior player this is not necessarily the case, Gerrard has not won a Premier League title, a shame for a player of his stature, but this does not mean Lampard is the better player, the players around Lampard at Chelsea over the years have been better than Gerrard’s team-mates at Liverpool.

Gerrard is a more all-round player than Lampard, he is more of a box-to-box midfielder whereas Lampard generally plays in a more attacking role, hence the far better goal return.

Steven Gerrard has effectively carried Liverpool for the majority of his career but Lampard has been a good player in a great team for most of his time at Chelsea and has never really had to take major responsibility for results.

The Champions League final of 2005 was the highlight of Gerrard’s career and shows why Lampard is not on the same level, Gerrard completely turned the game for Liverpool and inspired a fantastic comeback something that Lampard has never done.

The main difference between the two is, Liverpool play well when Gerrard plays well whereas, Lampard plays well when Chelsea play well.



They are both nearing the end of their careers now but there is no doubt they are both legends of the English game.

Southampton: Team of the season so far

In a season full of shocks and surprises, Southampton’s brilliant form has been one of the biggest surprises of them all. Southampton have only lost 1 of their opening 10 Premier League games this season, a great set of results for any team.

Southampton currently find themselves in 6th place in the standings with 19 points, ahead of last years champions Manchester United. They also boast the best defence in the league so far only conceding 4 goals.

Mauricio Pochettino has been a revelation as the manager, many feel Nigel Adkins was hard done by to lose his job but few are thinking about it now as the Saints are performing better than anyone could have expected.

The highlights of their season so far are their 1-0 victory over Liverpool in Anfield and their dramatic late draw with Man Utd in Old Trafford, both monumental results for the club.

The success has been welcomed even more because of the amount of home-grown players Southampton posses, players such as Lambert, Rodriguez and Lallana have all been excellent this season, earning a call-up to the England squad for the upcoming International friendlies.

Credit for this great start to the season also must be given to the owners who have allowed them to spend big in the summer to acquire players Wanyama, Osvaldo and Lovren creating a solid spine to the team.

Southampton are now setting their sights on Europe and are in the race for a Europa League place at this early stage. They play Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City in their next five Premier League games which will be a testing period for the surprise package this season.

Thursday 7 November 2013

Liverpool Starlet Setting La Liga Alight

Liverpool’s young Spanish starlet Suso, who is on loan at Almeria, has been one of the star performers in La Liga this season.

The 19-year-old attacking midfielder has had 5 assists so far and scored one goal in his 11 appearances, leaving him 4th in the assist table only to trail Neymar, Koke and Fabregas.


The Spanish under-20 international is on a-season-long-loan at Almeria and his form is sure to be impressing Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers.

Arsenal: Serious Contenders For The Champions League?




Arsenal’s victory away to Borussia Dortmund was the biggest indicator so far that Arsenal are a team that mean business and will be challenging for trophies come the end of the season.

Arsenal have had a flying start to the season so far finding themselves 5 points clear at the top of the Premier League, the main question being asked about them has been can they sustain their form and win the Premier League but last nights result in Dortmund has sent out a message that they could be a force in Europe.

Arsenal’s group is without a doubt the hardest in the competition with Napoli Dortmund and Marseille, Arsenal however are on course to top the group which is very impressive.

The victory in Dortmund last night was a great night for everyone involved with Arsenal, it was one of those nights that people will remember for years to come, Signal Iduna Park is one of, if not the most, intimidating stadiums in European football but Arsenal managed to come away with a victory.

Two weeks ago Arsenal were beaten at home by Dortmund when Lewandowski struck late for a 2-1 victory for the Germans, an undeserved victory in truth as Arsenal bossed the game for large periods and were unlucky not to win.

Before the game last night Arsenal were 4-1 to win, massive odds when you think of the quality they posses but this highlighted the quality of the Dortmund team they were about to face, against the odds Arsenal won with man of the moment Aaron Ramsey continuing his fine form to nod home from close range.

This victory not only puts Arsenal top of the group but it also sends a message out across Europe that Arsenal are a team to be reckoned with, Arsenal have now gone 15 away games unbeaten which is stunning form for any team.

The feat of beating Dortmund, in Dortmund is remarkable, think back a few months when they destroyed Real Madrid 4-1 there and now Arsenal have gone and kept them scoreless and snatched a win, it is definitely up there in Arsenal’s greatest European wins.

Arsene Wenger deserves massive credit to turn his side around from losing at home to Aston Villa to beating Borussia Dortmund in their own back yard.

Players like Ramsey, Rosicky and Giroud have vastly improved this season and with the acquisition of Ozil the sky is the limit for Arsenal this season and this great form is without injured players Walcott, Podolski and Flamini.


The early season form is showing no signs of letting up and this could end up being a remarkable season for the Gunners.

Monday 4 November 2013

Premier League: Match Day 10 Review

Match day 10 was another exciting week-end in the Premier League with 21 goals scored from the 10 games, Man City were the most impressive scoring 7 goals while Arsenal extended their lead at the top to 5 points after beating Liverpool. Here’s a quick rundown of the action.

The early game of the week-end saw Chelsea lose away to Newcastle in a disappointing performance, Juan Mata returned to his starting role but failed to make any difference, a diving header from Yoan Gouffran from a free-kick and a Loic Remy effort from inside the box secured a 2-0 win for the Magpies and prompted Mourinho to say he made “11 mistakes”.

Norwich and manager Chris Hughton had a day to forget when they visited the Etihad stadium, Norwich were the last team to win against Man City there but Saturday was not to be a repeat, amazingly in a 7 goal thrashing no player scored twice with Silva, Nastasic, Negredo, Toure, Aguero, Dzeko and an own-goal from Bradley Johnson securing a comfortable win for Man City.

Man Utd went to Craven Cottage on Saturday and did not experience the same trouble as was the case last week against Stoke, in fact they found themselves 3-0 up within 25 minutes thanks to goals from Valencia, Van Persie and Rooney, Van Persie scored the pick of the goals hammering the ball in at the keepers near post, the second half was not as impressive as the first as Fulham put United under pressure and scored a fortunate goal when Kacaniklic’s shot went in off Rooney’s leg. United held out and Moyes will undoubtedly be happy with the win.

The big game of the week-end saw Liverpool travel to Arsenal in the table topping clash, Liverpool came into the game with great optimism but Arsenal themselves were very confident of recording a victory, Liverpool started brightly but were caught on the break in the 20th minute when Cazorla, after hitting the post, guided the ball into the net, Arsenal dominated from there on in and a wonderful second half strike from Ramsey secured a deserved 3 points for the Gunners and puts them five points clear at the top of the league.

Spurs and Everton played out a 0-0 draw in the other big clash of the week-end, the game was a tightly contested affair with both teams creating chances, the main talking point of the game was the decision to allow Hugo Lloris to continue playing after being knocked out in an accidental collision with the knee of Everton’s Lukaku.

The first ever top flight Welsh derby was staged on Sunday when Swansea travelled to Cardiff, a Caulker goal was enough for Cardiff to seal all 3 points in a feisty affair, Swansea ended the game with 10 men when goalkeeper Vorm was sent off in the dying moments resulting in outfield player Angel Rangel having to put on the gloves for the last few minutes.

Elsewhere this week-end Southampton were held to a draw at Stoke thanks to a freak goal from goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, West Brom added more misery to Crystal Palace beating them 2-0 at The Hawthorns courtesy of goals from Berahino and McAuley.


Sunderland could not build on their win against Newcastle last week, losing 1-0 away to Hull City due to a Cuellar own-goal, a bore 0-0 draw was the result at Upton Park as neither West Ham or Aston Villa were capable of breaking the deadlock.

Sunday 3 November 2013

Reality Check For Liverpool

Liverpool’s 2-0 defeat to Arsenal yesterday was a real reality check for Brendan Rodgers’ side.

Liverpool lost out to Arsenal who performed strongly from start to finish scoring two brilliant goals courtesy of Cazorla and Ramsey, the game was dominated by Arsenal, and Liverpool did not look like a team on the same level as the league leaders.

Liverpool started strongly but Cazorla’s goal put Arsenal on the front foot and they never looked back from there, Liverpool had chances and will feel hard done by their goal from a quick free-kick was brought back to be retaken.

The second half started much like the first with Liverpool attacking but a superb Ramsey goal killed Liverpool off and Arsenal controlled the game until the final whistle, Suarez and Sturridge will be disappointed they couldn’t continue their recent goal-scoring form.

Liverpool went into the game on the back of claims they can challenge for the title but yesterdays performance would not back up that claim, Arsenal looked a far better team and worthy of their place at the top of the league.

Top 4 seems to be the only realistic aim for Liverpool looking at their performance yesterday, the defence, despite being reinforced during the summer, still looks dodgy and not good enough to challenge for Premier League.

A defensive midfielder may also be needed to give competition to an off-form Lucas,  although losing to Arsenal is nothing to be ashamed of the performance was alarming and problems need to be addressed if Liverpool are going to compete with the top teams.


Arsenal on the other hand were very impressive and deservedly have a five point lead at the top of the Barclays Premier League.