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Wednesday 18 December 2013

Taylor looking good to win World Championsip for 17th time

It's December, the World Championship of darts is back and once again Phil "the power" Taylor looks primed to win his 17th World Championship.

Taylor comes into the tournament in great form having won the Grand Slam of Darts and reaching the final of the Players Championship only to come up short against one of his big rivals Michael Van Gerwen.

Taylor's quality has been evident throughout 2013 no more so than his amazing Grand Slam of Darts semi final victory over Adrian Lewis in arguably one of the greatest games of darts ever with both men averaging around 110.

The experience of winning 16 titles will stand to Taylor again and he is a strong favourite to take the title again for the 17th time.Winning, however, will not be an easy task with numerous challengers also hoping to be crowned champion of darts biggest tournament.

Michael Van Gerwen is sure to mount a serious assault at the competition having come up short in the final last year, he will undoubtedly be looking to avenge that defeat. His massive scoring power and having beaten Taylor only weeks ago is sure to make him the main competition to Taylor's crown.

Adrian "Jackpot" Lewis is another man hotly tipped to have a good tournament, similar to MVG his scoring power is among the best in the game and having won the tournament on two occasions already he will be keen to add a third.

Raymond Van Barneveld is always a contender in the big tournaments and this is unlikely to be any different, his consistency is a major feature of his game, he looks good to reach the adavanced stages of the tournament but whether he can win it is another question.

Both Gary Anderson and Simon Whitlock will be there or there abouts but both men can struggle with their doubles and this would need to be straightened out if either realistically wants to go all the way.

Few could rule James Wade out of the running, the Englishman will expect to advance into the later stages of the tournament but he is unlikely to be able to beat the likes of Taylor or MVG unless he is on top of his game.

Dark horses such as Jenkins and Thornton could mount a challenge but nevertheless Phil "the Power" Taylor is the one to beat in the World Championship of Darts 2014.

Monday 9 December 2013

Worrying times for Moyes and United

We are now 15 games into the season, almost half way, and Manchester United sit in 9th place with 22 points, closer to the relegation zone than the summit of the league.

David Moyes has repeatedly blamed the transition from Ferguson to his regime being a problem but at this stage of the season is that really a valid excuse? Surely by December you would expect a new manager to have settled in.

Take a look at Moyes’ old side Everton, Martinez has come in and quickly settled down, Everton now stand six points clear of United in 5th place.

The season started off shaky for United and that was excusable, but very few expected that Moyes and United would be struggling in early December and even fewer would have thought they would be 13 points adrift of the leaders so early on.

Of all the managers in the Premier League this season, David Moyes would have been one of the most unlikely candidates to be sacked, but at this stage it is starting to look like a distinct possibility.

Moyes was guaranteed when he took the job to be given time if he got off to a bad start but it was not predicted he would have a start this bad, losing back to back games at Old Trafford is bad enough but losing these games to Everton and Newcastle is extremely worrying.

Some fault is being given to the players, Van Persie is apparently no longer a top player and players like Vidic and Carrick are not performing, but is this the players fault?, players do not lose their quality over night, the blame must also be put on the system they are playing in.

Last season Van Persie was the difference for United that won them the league, he was deployed as the main striker and was the clubs top scorer, this season however he has been picking up injuries and not scoring goals.

A main cause of this is the fact Rooney is now playing in Van Persie’s role and Van Persie is playing in a deeper role, lessening his goal-scoring threat and also putting him at a higher risk of injury due to the increased physicality of the deep lying striker role, being the injury prone player Van Persie is this role does not suit him at all.

Questions must also be asked about Moyes’ work in the transfer window, the purchase of Fellaini for almost 30-million-pounds has not been a success, he like Moyes has failed to adapt to life at United as of yet.

There is no doubt Moyes is a good manger but is he good enough for a team as big as Manchester United? He had a good spell at Everton but never really excelled there, Martinez is currently making the job he did at Everton look very average.

A big part of the job at United is being able to handle big players, something Moyes never had to do at Everton, with reported unrest in the dressing room and Van Persie being reportedly unhappy it does not look like he is handling this aspect of the job very well.

There is now a genuine concern amongst Man United supporters that they may not even get a top-4 place, they currently sit seven points behind rivals Man City who occupy 4th place and with the form of Liverpool and Arsenal and the strong squads of Man City and Chelsea it is hard to see how United will be able to bridge that gap.

 The jury is well and truly out on Moyes and he certainly has his work cut out for him, if there is not a quick change in form for the side, Moyes could be the next manager in the Premier League to receive the sack. 

Thursday 5 December 2013

Are Everton genuine top-4 contenders?

In a season where Arsenal are flying at the summit of the Premier League and are still being written off as title contenders, Everton, despite there great form, are also being quashed as realistic contenders for a top-4 place, after last nights win over Man United however, is it time to consider Everton as a genuine threat to the other top-4 contenders.

In one of the most unpredictable seasons in recent history, Everton have gradually found their form under new boss Roberto Martinez, currently sitting fifth with 27 points, level with Liverpool who lye above them in fourth position, Everton are in a strong position to stay in contention for a coveted Champions League spot.

Prior to the season starting, no one would have thought Everton would have settled so quickly under new man Martinez, especially after drawing their opening three games, the 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Goodison Park in their fourth game started the great run of form they find themselves on.

Wins against West Ham, Hull, Aston Villa, Newcastle, Stoke and of course Man United along with draws against the likes of Liverpool and Spurs have shot them up the table.

Now, 14 games into the season Everton have only lost one game,the only team in the league to lose only once, this came in a 3-1 away defeat to Manchester City, not a bad result considering City’s ruthless form at the Etihad.

The team and the style in which Everton play is of a higher quality than what was seen last year when David Moyes was in charge, Martinez brought in his mentality of patient passing football which he also implemented at Wigan.

“I want to play well, be the better side and win. But I would settle for playing well, being the better side and losing”, Martinez said before the Manchester United match. This emphasises the type of manager Martinez is and how he sticks rigidly to his plan.

There is no doubt that the good showing by Everton this season has been greatly helped by on-loan front man Romelu Lukaku, the Chelsea man has scored eight goals already this season and has been Everton’s star player, luckily from an Everton point of view Chelsea will be unable to call him back during his loan spell and Lukaku will remain at Everton for the duration of the season.

The current Everton squad is looking as strong as it ever has, the defence is very strong with Jagielka and Distin holding a solid partnership while the two full-backs Baines and Coleman are arguably the best pair of full-backs in the league.

The midfield is also looking very impressive, Ross Barkley has been a revelation while Barry and McCarthy have proved to be great signings, and the wingers Pienaar, Mirallas and the Barcelona loanee Delefeulo have been all extremely impressive this season.

The aforementioned Lukaku has been excellent up front and with the likes of Arouna Kone on the bench Martinez is not short of options.

Whether Everton have the credentials to sustain this challenge is yet to be seen but the squad is certainly strong enough to help Robert Martinez have a very successful first season in charge at Goodison.