9-1 !!!!!!!!!!

Second highest scoring game in EPL history

Tottenham gave Wigan a real spurring ... wow
Defoe with 5 goals and superb performances from Lennon and Kranjcer gave spurs the superb win...

man utd controlled things with a comfortable 3-0 win at home to everton...fletcher scoring a wonder goal

sunderland with the surprise win over arsenal at the stadium of light

wolves payed the price of playing with only 3 defenders against an 'under strength' chelsea team

liverpool's injury woes worsened as the picked up two new injuries in the opening 15 minutes in their game against man city which ended 2-2

west ham threw away a 2 goal lead to go down 3-2, before scoring a third to equalise the game at 3-3

Other EPL results:
Bolton 0-2 Blackburn
Tottenham 9-1 Wigan Athletic
Stoke City 1-0 Portsmouth
Sat 21st November 2009
Liverpool 2-2 Manchester City
Birmingham 1-0 Fulham
Burnley 1-1 Aston Villa
Chelsea 4-0 Wolves 15:00
Hull City 3-3 West Ham Utd
Sunderland 1-0 Arsenal
Man Utd 3-0 Everton

Roy Keane on the Handball Controversy

So Fifa has officially ruled out a replay of the world cup qualifier between Ireland v France even though the football world in general believes that the game should be replayed and even Thierry Henry himself believes a replay of the match is a fair solution. Ironically its an Irishman who puts a whole different spin on this discussion and has a totally different view.

Video Link:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid29318049001?bctid=51568857001

ONCE MORE..fail

SOOOO once again it happens...Is it cheating by the player? Or is it just the referee making the wrong call/missing the right call???

How can u as a player handle a ball like an Australian cricket fielder, and pass it to your team mate for a simple tap in, and then go and celebrate ? And feel good about what you just did? It happens, but i'm fed up of referees not being able to spot such crucial calls.
I think some reading know what i'm talking about...Thierry Henry handling the ball for France's crucial 2nd leg at home versus Ireland in the World Cup 2010 playoff qualifier. If there had been an official on the goal line, it would have been a simple call, and the goal would have been disallowed, or if the victim team could have challenged the call they could have gotten the call reversed.
It frustrates a lot of people when such events take place in such crucial games, Ireland now missing out on going to the WC. France did look the livelier side towards the end of a game where Ireland showed character and fighting spirit creating a few decent chances. But such a game (none in fact) should never be decided in these circumstances, it really shows how far ahead of football most other sports are.
I, for one, am losing fast interest in the sport, as they fail to find solutions to these problems.

In other news Russia had 2 red cards to see them lose to Slovenia and miss the world cup next summer, and Portugal had a 2-0 aggregate win over Bosnia to qualify.

Full WC2010 qualifying roundup to come !

Playoff Drama for WC2010 Spots

Ok so this past weekend was filled with play-off football for the finals spots in the FIFA World Cup 2010 ... all the teams that are leading have a one goal lead and as many of you know from the Champions League, a one goal lead in the a European two-leg affair doesn't mean much ...

Portugal v. Bosnia-Herzegovina

- Portugal leads this leg 1-0 from the home victory where Bruno Alves (yes the defender) found himself in the box for an easy finish .. but Bosnia showed why they reached this far in qualifying and the last 10 mins was a barrage on the Portugal goal with the post being the hero TWICE ... Bosnia still has a chance in this match with the quality that they have in the squad in Edin Dzeko, Miralem Pjanic, and Zvjezdan Misimovic ... the Portuguese will play the 2nd leg without Ronaldo and will be looking for Nani and Simao to get the attack going...

Ireland vs. France

- France got the victory in Dublin on Saturday due to a deflected strike from Nicolas Anelka. many may have expected the French to go on and kill of the Irish but the "Bhoys in Green" showed the typical Irish fight ... the 2nd leg in Paris is going to be very interesting with Ireland needing to attack, in that case the French can pick them off in a simple counter attack (we all know they have the quality to do that) .. its should be a good game..

Ukraine vs. Greece

- the first leg ended in a 0-0 draw in the Greek capital of Athens ... I never watched this game but based off of the reports, Ukraine had 9 men defending and Andrey Shevchenko up front alone.. also what i gathered was that the Greek men were pressuring and pressuring but the Ukraine defense just absorbed the attack .. the 2nd leg may is going to be a very very interesting one because Ukraine NEED to attack and Greece may get the away goal ... Kiev a city surrounding the news in recent weeks due to the H1N1 outbreak, FIFA will go ahead with the match on Wednesday ..

Russia vs. Slovenia

- Russia came out 2-1 winners in Moscow on Saturday, two strikes from Dinyar Bilyaletdinov gave the Russians the 2-0 lead but a collapse in the last 10mins brought Slovenians back in the tie, the last 10mins was a struggle for Russia as it looked like they would give up their 2 advantage ... Russia is expected to go on and finish of the job but they Slovens may make it very difficult for them ...

to me anything can go down in the 2nd legs because there may be some things that are going through the player's heads and some outside circumstances that may cause a distraction...

but with all that going on in Europe, if u have any match to watch on that afternoon i would watch the sudden death playoff between Egypt and Algeria ... in a very rare circumstance, the Egyptians beat Algeria 2-0 in the final game of group play in their qualifying ... setting up one of the most interesting cases in a long time ... with Egypt winning by THAT scoreline ... goal difference, goals scored, goals against, head to head, games won, lost and drew ... any tiebreaker you can think of they are dead even on... besides the football side of things, there are a lot of outside agents that add the intensity to this match ... this sudden death match will be played in Sudan (neutral venue) where all the marbles with be going to one country..

as i said earlier, if you have some time to watch any of the matches watch this one Egypt vs. Algeria ..

Boo International Break :(

For those of you who don't know, this week sees us break from League games and go back to International Games. Some teams taking part in friendlies and others crucial World Cup 2010 Qualifiers.

Some club fans probably think it couldn't come sooner, like the Pool ones who have an injury list that could use the break for some much needed rest and recovery time. Others, like Chelsea, would probably prefer to see their club continue rolling on, and not risk any players on International duty.

Alex Ferguson seems to be rather disgruntled at the England friendly game against Brazil, which is to be held 15 hrs away in Qatar. For a manager of a club like Manchester United, he has to deal with having a number of England first team players having to oblige when called up to the national team. But i can agree with him that sometimes international friendlies can be a waste of time and energy, as he has to see Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick, Wes Brown and Ben Foster make the immense trip there and back. These friendlies can be useful in improving team chemistry and for the manager to try out other players/strategies/tactics, but for a friendly to be played soooooo far from England, and Brazil for that matter (even though most of them play in Europe) seems rather silly.

In a week largely focused on goalkeepers (Enke and Cudicini) we turn to Republic of Ireland's key man, goalkeeper Shay Given, to help overcome France for the first time in World Cup qualifying history.

European World Cup 2010 Playoff matches include:

1st legs - Saturday 14th November
FIFA World Cup European Qualifying
20:00 Rep of Ireland vs France
16:00 Russia vs Slovenia
18:00 Greece vs Ukraine
20:30 Portugal vs Bosnia-Herzegovina

2nd legs - Wednesday 18th November
FIFA World Cup European Qualifying
20:00 France vs Rep of Ireland
18:00 Ukraine vs Greece
19:45 Bosnia-Herzegovina vs Portugal
19:45 Slovenia vs Russia

Another Crash !

Tottenham goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini has been injured in a motorbike crash in London.

It has been reported that he has suffered fractured wrists and pelvis, after his BMW Superbike collided with a Ford motorcar.

Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery

Los Galacticos ?

It was one of the most shocking results in world football for some time when Real Madrid succumbed to a 4 – 1 aggregate defeat by lowly Alcorcon as they were unable to bounce back from their first leg defeat in the Copa del Rey. Before the second leg Pellegrini had insisted that their target was to win every competition this season; a target which is now clearly impossible. What is most appalling about this defeat is that Real Madrid who spent £229m in the previous transfer window and with their world class players could only manage to score one (1) goal in 180 minutes of football against a so called “village team” that was playing their first ever official match against a team from the top flight. At first when hearing the score line most would’ve guessed that Madrid featured a team that included most youngsters and fringe players, but even if that was the case it would still be considered an embarrassment. In contrast, the Real Madrid team featured nine international players and only four key players were left out [Casillas, Van der Vart, Ronaldo & Kaka].

So far this season the club has not lived up to the hype from pre-season and results have been mixed, losing their two biggest matches of the season so far against Sevilla and AC Milan. Unsurprisingly, the pressure is already mounting on Pellegrini and some are already calling for his head with only nine weeks gone in the campaign. A bit unreasonable as they are only trailing Barcelona by one point in the league and are joint top with AC Milan in their Champions League group and should easily qualify. The fact is that they haven’t been playing poor football but the players need more time to blend together in order to be the massive force that the fans want them to be.

It will be interesting to see Real Madrid’s reaction to this embarrassment and to see what the directors do regarding Pellegrini’s future. Jorge Valdano following this defeat has given Manuel Pellegrini his public support, stating that he has complete faith in the coach. But as we know with Real Madrid anything can happen. Today you have the support, next week you’re fired. Even if Pellegrini does manage to win the La Liga this season it doesn’t necessarily secure his job. Fabio Capello and Vicente Del Bosque can attest to that. My guess is that Pellegrini will be condemned for every single match Real Madrid lose this season regardless of the opposition and my best bet is that unless he is able to deliver both the La Liga and the Champion’s league he will be sacked in typical Madrid fashion.


List of Madrid coaches 2004 – 2009 (5 yrs)

José Antonio Camacho - 6 Matches
Mariano García Remón - 20 Matches
Vanderlei Luxemburgo - 45 Matches
Juan Ramón López Caro - 48 Matches
Fabio Capello - 50 Matches
Bernd Schuster - 75 Matches
Juande Ramos - 27 Matches
Manuel Pellegrini - 15 Matches (Current)

~ a look back ~

A few images looking back at the 32 yr old's career
Rest in Peace Robert Enke



Fingers tipping it











Some routine training



The Man himself in action


Enke Doing some animal care work

Rest in Peace - Robert Enke

As many of you know by now Hannover 96 and German National Team keeper Robert Enke was hit by a train earlier today... the German Police confirmed the death as an "apparent suicide"...

This is some seriously sad news in the world of football ... He was a good keeper for the German Club and he made 8 appearances for the German National Team ...

He started his career at Borussia Monchengladbach, then he moved on to Benfica in 1999 where he made 77 appearances ... after that he went to Barcelona in 2002 but he never found a grove there making only one appearance, he was loaned out to Fenerbahce and Tenerife during that time. in 2004 he returned to the Bundesliga to Hannover 96 where he made 164 appearances ... he was first in the German set up in 2007 in a 1-0 defeat to Austria .. his last international cap was vs. Azerbaijan in August 2009 where he kept a clean sheet...

shortly after that got a virus that kept him out of the game for 2 months, he recently recovered ... our thoughts are with the Enke family, close friends and team mates of Enke ...

The Dis-Respect Campaign

The Football Association launched the Respect campaign to combat the high number of ref's quitting the game, by discouraging abuse towards the ref by players, managers and fans.

What a pile of crap...

It really pisses me off that the FA seems to miss the point of why players etc abuse the officials, and it is because of this that I believe it’s a complete waste of time and money. No one is going to respect the officials when their team lost because of the officials. Its just not going to happen. Even if it wasn’t one clear decision that denied the win, if the officials are making mistakes, they aren’t going to get any respect.

And that’s how it should be! Why shouldn’t the manager say something? Why can’t the players argue their case? I don’t know about you, but I know when i’m playing ball and the ref denies me an obvious call, i’m pretty pissed off. Cheat me out of anything, and i’ll be pissed off!

So why not focus on raising the standard of officiating? The inconsistancy is unbelievable. Sometimes I see a yellow given at the beginning of a game for something, then nothing for it later in the game. Besides, its almost 2010, we have cars that can brake and steer us away from a collision, we have phones that can do everything our home computers can, hell, we even have a machine somewhere between france and switzaland that can, in theory, create a black hole right here on earth!!

Yet we can’t have an extra official watching a tv?

I just don’t get it. Phantom goals, blatant dives, off the ball violence, clearly onside offside calls, clear-as-the-blue-sky penalties denied, we have all seen some insane calls. So what has to happen to introduce technology into the game? My guess is if Barca loose the champions league final to Besiktas due to a phantom goal or a dive, Platini would be all over it.

Now im not saying that if we had technology in the game, there would be no more bad calls. But no one can deny there would be a lot less. And in these days when a game can have such massive importance, it is just not fair to be decided by incorrect decisions.

It seems there is an element of fear among the so called leaders of our football world. Maybe they are threatened that the good old days are fading too quickly, and are trying to hang onto the old ways. We all watch the games, and know it wont slow it down anymore than the players arguing already do. So what’s stopping it?

Football Club Owners

Recent years have brought great interest in the EPL from foreign investors and billionaires, who, in their own right, want to buy these mostly privately owned companies/football clubs...

Are these investors buying to make money in the long run? or are they simply satisfying a long time dream of owning a richly historic football club and turning it into their toy or 'New Boy-Toy'

Personally i have negative views towards this trend...
as a manchester United fan and follower i was very angry at the approach and hostile takeover by the American Glazer family back in 2004/5.
Manchester United was a publicly owned enterprize with a couple major shareholders...but not owning enough to take control... the glazers then came in and offered garlic bread to the fat...and i am angry at those major shareholders who sold out...and now the money the glazers had to borrow has put the club in serious debt and even with a successful winning seasons the past 3 years, the club is running at a loss because of the interest on the loans.

Last season we saw ex Thailand prime minister, Thaksin, sell to the Dubai based ADUG,
neither of which are English or grew up in football playing cultures. Yet both owners seem to have a fond interest in the league, but not in a specific CLUB, as ADUG had been looking at other clubs to buy. Manchester City has since splashed the cash in the transfer market, now having to pay over-inflated prices for players because of the knowledge everyone now has of the clubs financial backing.

These business juggernauts have billions at hand to invest into the club of choice...but are they doing it for the CLUB or FANS... or simply trying to further their pursuit of SUCCESS outside of the 'business' district... as the Glazers did with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Is it that they are doing it for their selfish desire to be the best in everything they do. Like Abramovic, who's selfish desire for Mourinho to sign friend shevchenko brought some criticism from the fans. But i'm sure they can't complain that much, because Abramovic is at almost every game, and has spent a lot on developing the training and youth facilities of the club.

I'm not sure the trend in other leagues, but the EPL is widely reported, even League 1 team Queens Park Rangers has a billionaire owner so i wonder what we will see from them in the near future. He has however been more responsible than recent buyers and led the club properly as a functioning business, unlike most of the modern buyers, trying to operate being their means.
One has to respect clubs like arsenal, who are open to selling the club but they have been very strict in choosing a buyer. They don't want an American investor but more a local buyer who has the club's interest at heart. Recently the club's major shareholder, Stan Kroenke, has acquired 28.9% stake in the club, needing another .09% to be able to table a takeover bid of remaining shares. It shall be interesting to see what comes of this.

Tell me what ya'll think...and if you know what's going on in other leagues

Liverpool vs. Birmingham

Is this another chance for Liverpool to get their EPL pursuit back on track? they took their chance at Anfield against Manchester United 2 Weeks ago, but slipped up again away to a resilient Fulham side ... The stage is now set again for the reds as they tackle this must win game. Although this fixture was always a must win one, not many before the season kicked off would have expected this game to have so much riding on it.
Rafa Benitez's side has nothing to lose with their backs already firmly against the wall. They tend to win these games, as it looked like they would in the Champions league game at Lyon, but a late equaliser from Lyon stole the victory from Liverpool.

The Liverpool boss has asked Benayoun to step up again for his struggling side, as they are again without their inspirational leader Steven Gerrard, who looks like he might heading for the operating room, since he can't seem to shake off the niggling groin injury.

Birmingham will head to Anfield with maybe higher intentions than to just frustrate the home side and pull off a draw. They might see this as an opportunity to capitalise on Liverpool's low confidence and actually test them.

WEEKEND review

SOOOOooo i think everyone has already read the chelsea v manutd review so no need to mention that one again

There was some sweet karma played out in the Spurs vs. Sunderland game when Darren Bent dived under a Gomes challenge in the area with Gomes saving the resulting penalty, it's always refreshing to see that happen...i wonder if the English press attacked Bent ... Spurs went on to win the game 2-0

Aston villa ran all over Bolton thanks to an inspiring performance from James Milner...some comedy in this, Milner has his penalty saved and his team mate Sidwell missed the rebound, striking the ball into the post, rebounding straight back to Milner, to put it thankfully into the back of the net...Aston Villa won 5-1

Burnley away at Man City managed to go 2-0 ahead, City go 3-2 up, Burnley score a late equaliser...finished 3-3...great game

Arsenal score another 4 goals away from home to beat Wolves...Wolves starting brightly, but an early injury induced arsenal substitution saw Song come on and change the game for arsenal (arsenal still my pick this season)

Portsmouth stay bottom with a 1-3 away loss to fellow relegation battling Blackburn


LIST OF EPL RESULTS

Hull City 2-1 Stoke City
West Ham Utd 1-2 Everton
Wigan Athletic 1-1 Fulham
Chelsea 1-0 Man Utd
Sat 7th November 2009
Aston Villa 5-1 Bolton
Blackburn 3-1 Portsmouth
Manchester City 3-3 Burnley
Tottenham 2-0 Sunderland
Wolves 1-4 Arsenal

ALL EYES turn to Liverpool as they take on Birmingham tomorrow


SPANISH LEAGUE RESULTS

REAL Madrid with a big 3-2 derby win, and Sevilla also with the 3-2 win over Villareal to keep pressure on leaders Barcelona

Sunday 8th November

Sevilla 3 - 2 Villarreal
Valencia 3 - 1 Real Zaragoza
Almeria 2 - 0 Osasuna
Racing Santander 0 - 2 Athletic Bilbao
Sporting Gijon 1 - 0 Espanyol
Valladolid 0 - 0 Xerez

Saturday 7th November

Atletico Madrid 2 - 3 Real Madrid
Barcelona 4 - 2 Mallorca
Getafe 0 - 2 Deportivo La Coruna
Tenerife 2 - 2 Malaga


ITALIAN LEAGUE RESULTS

AC MILAN continue their good run of form with a big 2-1 away win at Lazio

Sunday 8th November

Inter Milan 1 - 1 Roma
Udinese 0 - 1 Fiorentina
Parma 2 - 0 Chievo
Lazio 1 - 2 AC Milan
Genoa 4 - 2 Siena
Cagliari 2 - 0 Sampdoria
Bologna 3 - 1 Palermo
Bari 1 - 0 Livorno

Saturday 7th November

Atalanta 2 - 5 Juventus
Catania 0 - 0 Napoli


Goodnight !

Chelsea vs. Man Utd. Review

SO it's all over and it's the Blue taking the narrow win...

i don't really know where to start with this game but i guess the beginning is a start :P
Man utd starting with Evans and Brown at the back which is what i think explained the thick midfield of carrick, fletcher and anderson, to give them some more protection and to break up that immense midfield linkup of ballack, Essien, Lampard and deco

Things were very scrappy in the first half with a lot of midfield battles going on, both teams doign pretty well not allowing each other to get into a flow...

First talkable point would be Anderson sending Rooney through in acres of space but the linesman wrongly called the english forward offside...

It took an hour for the game to get spicey, the tackles were flying and the half chances started to come...but neither really creating anything that would make either keeper piss themselves, until Rooney had a curling shot nicely saved from Cech...

Drogba was then given a yellow card for a late challenge on Evans after evans won a straight forward header...replays showed that as drogba came in very late evans went with his studs up and caught drogba square in the chest (watch out you late tacklers, u might get the same treatment) :P

Seconds after fletcher was then called for a foul when wen he made a fair tackle on ashley Cole...A goal resulting from the freekick with a terry header..with drogba seeing to pull down wes brown inside the box...Chelsea 1 man utd 0...Evans and brown had been doing well to keep drogba quiet, and that incident from evans fueled the blues...

The main highlight from this game were the tackles and midfield battles, apart from that it wud hav been a bit dull...Rooney having a terrible game, he really doesnt like that lone role up front...

Man utd did see a lot of possession towards the end, but it seems fergie had made his changes a bit too late, as they couldn't salvage a point

0-0 would have been a fair score

your thought?

while we argue, fergie and ancelotti enjoy a bottle of wine :P

WEEKEND PREVIEW 06.11.09

Big guns showdown on sunday evening...it's CHELSEA vs. MANUTD !!!
WOOT WOOT!...
#1 and 2 going head to head in the English Premier League. Can Drogba continue his fine scoring form against a ragged manutd defensive line. Rio wont start and Vidic has been injured...will be interesting to see the united back line...berbatov needs to continues his fine form with valencia being effective on the wing...Tomorrow shall be interesting..Score guess? i say 2-1 Chelsea (and thats a manutd fan speaking :D)

Other than that game there isn't that much more games of any interest, but here they are anyway for all to know :D

Sat 7th November 2009
Aston Villa v Bolton
Blackburn v Portsmouth
Manchester City v Burnley
Tottenham v Sunderland
Wolves v Arsenal
Sun 8th November 2009
Hull City v Stoke City
West Ham Utd v Everton
Wigan Athletic v Fulham
Chelsea v Man Utd

Games in spain this weekend:
Only game of much interest might be Athletico Vs. Madrid...the Madrid Derby !
Tenerife vs Malaga
Getafe vs Deportivo La Coruna
Barcelona vs Mallorca
Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid
Sun - 8th Nov 09
Valladolid vs Xerez
Sporting Gijon vs Espanyol
Almeria vs Osasuna
Racing Santander vs Athletic Bilbao
Valencia vs Real Zaragoza
Sevilla vs Villarreal


Games in Italy ...
Saturday 7th November
Catania vs Napoli
Atalanta vs Juventus

Sunday 8th November
Bari vs Livorno
Bologna vs Palermo
Cagliari vs Sampdoria
Genoa vs Siena
Lazio vs AC Milan
Parma vs Chievo
Udinese vs Fiorentina
Inter Milan vs Roma

ENJOY WATEVA GAME U CHOOSE TO WATCH...

The Rossoneri Story

Milan has been one of the most prestigious clubs of all time, but in recent seasons they have been giving their fans a wild roller coaster of emotions. in the 07-08 season they had a very disappointing campaign finishing 5th in the Serie A which is unheard of and in the following season they started out well. the acquisition of Ronaldinho added a little spark to the offense with him partnering his Brazilian fried Kaka. as the season went on they lost that spark Dinho was disappointing and they were falling back into that phase of bad results, some were begining to believe "here we go again" ...

in January of that season David Beckham was signed on a loan deal from the LA Galaxy and their season sparked at that point, finishing 3rd in the league was definitely an improvement from the season before. it may have carried over to this current season (09-10) for them to push for the Scudetto.

Summer arrived and the big spending Madrid took their Brazilian playmaker/goalscorer away from them (Kaka) and their manager Carlo Ancelotti migrated to Chelsea .... this was considered a big blow for them as they want to challenge the likes of Inter Milan and Juventus for the title. Rumors were circulating about their interest about Luis Fabiano and Edin Dzeko, those might have been the missing pieces for them get the attacking power needed. instead they went to the Real Madrid discount centre to get Klaas Jan Huntelaar who is a good striker but i think he has nothing much to contribute to Milan with their style of play. they also lost out on Aly Cissokho and it just was not looking good for them.

the season started and they started out poorly, as they struggled to get points from anything at all. the critics were calling for Leonardo's head (myself included) .. things seemed to be repaired with a win in Marseille but that was short lived because it was backed up with some big losses which included one in the San Siro vs. FC Zurich (yes you read right) ... now the supporters were starting to turn their backs on them.

then.. October 21, 2009 in the Santiago Bernabeu the veterans from Milan pulled off a shock result vs. Real Madrid winning 3-2 ... since then, they have looked like the AC Milan of old coming from 12th in the league jumping up to 4th .. Ronaldinho has been getting back his stride and Alexandre Pato is growing into the role everyone wanted him to fill ... Seedorf and Pirlo have turned back the clock and playing like if it was 2007 when they won the Champions League.. it has been looking good for them and they will be looking to continue this form.. David Beckham will be back for another loan spell with them, i think this can propel them to that level they need to be at to win the Serie A he brings a diferent dynamic to the game and it would be very interesting to see how Leonardo uses him in this squad.

I am interested to see how they go about the January transfer window and manage the rest of the season, because the players they have now i don't think will be able to keep up this level of play throughout the season. hopefully they can return to the days where they were feared by everyone.

your thoughts ....

FIFA World Player 2009

The 23 man shortlist has been announced and the process for selecting the FIFA World Player for 2009 is underway. Last year’s winner Cristiano Ronaldo was unquestionably deserving of the award as he was class above the rest, scoring a total of 42 goals and played a pivotal role in assisting Manchester United in completing the European double.

The winner of this 2009 award however, will more than likely be a Barcelona player. The trio of Messi, Xavi and Eto’o were considered the key men that guided Barcelona to their first ever treble. [until then I was totally unaware that Barcelona had never completed the treble!]. The football they played at times was nothing short of magical and they deserved to win all the trophies they did. They virtually dominated La liga which they lead from round 9 until the end scoring over 100 goals and having a goal difference of 70!

However, out of the three players I mentioned, Messi is obviously the favourite to cop the award scoring a total of 38 goals in 51 appearances, even though some may argue that Xavi’s contribution to the team is often overlooked and it is largely due to his vision and creativity why most of these goals are scored anyway.

The possibility is that the Barcelona trio of last season may end up capturing the top three positions and the only player likely to prevent this clean sweep is Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite the fact that he was unable to repeat his exploits from 08/09, he was one of the best performers last season and was Manchester United’s stand out player yet again. Other than these four players I honestly don’t see anyone else seriously challenging for this year’s award. In the end I expect the award to go to Messi. The winner will be announced on December 21, 2009.

List of nominees - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/8333388.stm

My World X1 for Season 08/09

Edwin van der Sar

Carles Puyol

Nemanja Vidic

Patrice Evra

Dani Alves

Cristiano Ronaldo

Lionel Messi

Steven Gerrard

Xavi

Samuel Eto’o

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

When will it get better

I don't want this blog to seem like a Liverpool bashing blog at all, but it seems its the only interesting thing in the news lately -big club gone wrong-.

As liverpool fans sit with fingers crossed and whispering prayers to themselves, the rest of the footballing world seems to have an opinion of the situation and a solution to the problems...some say rafa should go, some say its not his fault and its because of the injuries...

It is completely rafas fault, not building a side capable of seriously challenging without Torres and Gerrard playing at 100%...Both players might soon be requiring operations to solve their injuries worries. But even though it might be Rafa's fault, sacking him right now wont solve anything, it will just make things worse, in the short term at least...if things are truly in the shitter by end of December then i feel he should be sacked (new manager can sell or bring in players in jan) ... until then Pool fans can only sit with fingers crossed, and see what tomorrow brings - operation or n operation - , even though the club is sitting in intensive care and in serious need of surgery

Goals, Troubles and Unexpected Surprises

As many may know, this was a pivotal Champions League matchday. It could determine who goes where and what we can expect in the last two rounds of group play.

Tuesday - Chelsea and ManUtd took the headlines on this day as both teams could secure qualification to the knockout stages ...

CSKA Moscow has been a menace in the past against the "bigger" teams in this competition, they took the lead from what you can say was a sneak attack against the Red Devils. an equalizer to follow from Michael Owen but a counter punch from CSKA put them back into the lead at halftime. 2nd half starts another sneak attack gives CSKA a two goal lead... but in typical ManUtd style they bombarded the CSKA defense with pressure until they cracked final score 3-3. in the middle of the pressure a moment of controversy when Fletcher was brought down in the box and no penalty was given, to sum it up IN ANY OTHER MATCH THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN. European Refs at it again? I think so! .... the other match in the group Wolfsburg traveled to Besiktas and handed them a solid 3-0 beating, is that a surprise? nope..

Chelsea and Atletico, one club flying high and the other in the gutters. Didier Drogba playing like a man possessed showed why he is regarded as the best striker in the world with is two goals that just over powered the Atletico defense. But El Kun (Sergio Aguero) had something to to say about that with is two magnificent strikes in the 2nd half which included a game saving freekick that beat Petr Cech at his near post... Porto left it late to get the win from a 84th min strike from Falcao, Chelsea and Porto are through to the next round with these results..

French show in Germany, WWII re-writen? the men from Bordeaux came out victors over Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena. Gourcuff and Chamakh were both on target as they give Bayern further trouble and progress to the KO Stages. Van Gaal seems to be in the same situation that Rafa Benitez finds himself in, Bayern bringing in talent to help the situation but it looks like the Bavarian Giants can't seem t get it clicking. Juventus surprisingly only came out 1-0 winners in the Isreal as they took on Maccabi Haiffa

The titans collide in Milan, Ronaldinho seems to be hitting form again and AC on a whole have been playing with a spring in their step since the beat Real Madrid in the Bernabeu. Karim Benzema (who looked offside) pounced on a rebound from Kaka's strike to give Madrid the lead but 6 mins later Milan got a penalty from a Pepe handball, Dinho fired the penalty into the top corner to level the match, and literally 1 minute later Alex Pato but the ball in the net but the ref disallowed the goal for a foul? handball? offside? no one knows that that call was for but there was nothing wrong with the goals, European refs up to it again.. *sigh* ... in the other match Marseille ran a rampage on FC Zurich beating them 6-1, the goal of the round in this match was from 25-30 yards out a thunderous strike from Benoit Cheyrou.. this group is still open between the three...

Wednesday - boy this day was full of it..

Barcelona and Inter Milan seem to be having trouble in the group that was supposed to be an "easy" group for them, this group is still wide open as Barcelona and Rubin Kazan (who?) drew 0-0 in the freezing temperature that Russia had to offer. Inter Milan had a late show from Wesley Snjieder and Diego Milito gave them the win after Andrey Shevchenko (remember him?) gave Dynamo Kiev the lead in the first half. this group is as open as a lady working the night shift, it can go any which way, do not be surprised if the big two don't make it to the knockout rounds...

Liverpool, Liverpool, Liverpool. what is there to say about them? when it looked like they would get the win to save them (again), Lisandro had other ideas in the late late late stages of the game. the game picked up in the 2nd half with shots flying in from both teams, but Ryan Babel broke the deadlock with a wonder goal from no less than 25 yards. but the joy was short lived when Lisandro knocked it pass Pepe Reina this goal gets Lyon out of the group stages and into the last 16 and for Liverpool the worries continue as they need results to swing severely in their favor in order for them to go on.. Fiorentina doesn't look like they are giving up that spot to the Reds as they demolished Debrecen 5-2 in Florence, look out for this team as they progress they can be a lot to handle..

Rangers just continue to prove the point that Scottish clubs are just not good anymore, after getting embarrassed on their own field by Unirea they follow that up with a draw in the return fixture, this leaves them with a very slim chance of making it out of the group as they sit last in the table.. Unirea on the other hand in a surprise 2nd behind Sevilla who drew 1-1 with Stuttgart. this group not exactly playing out to the plan, but it makes great entertainment.

Arsenal continue to score goals like it is no big deal, the win over AZ today virtually puts them in the next round. Cesc Fabregas (two), Samir Nasri and Abou Diaby were on target today as they cruised to a 4-1win. Samir Nasri looks like he hasn't missed a beat with his return to the Champions League and Cesc Fabregas is just Cesc Fabregas (comic relief). Standard Liege beat Olympiakos 2-0 to make the fight for the other spot more interesting, AZ are essentially out of it. this group actually playing out to the plan with Arsenal dominating and the others fighting it out for the 2nd spot.

overall this Champions League has had a lot of twists and turns and who know what is going to happen in the matchdays coming up. The Russian clubs have been on the up, the refs have been the usual disappointing, troubles for big teams and the standard of football has been high :) ...

Today's Champions League preview

Today's big clash the press is talking about is Liverpool's trip to france to face LYON in their must win CL group match.
http://www.skysports.com/football/match_preview/0,19764,11065_3190183,00.html

Full list of today's games :
Lyon vs Liverpool
Fiorentina vs. Debrecen
Arsenal vs. AZ
Unirea vs. Rangers
Rubin vs. Barcelona
Dynamo Kiev vs. Inter Milan
Sevilla vs. Stuttgart
Standard liege vs. Olympiakos


All games kick off at 2:45 ET except Barcelona's game at Rubin

For all those people who wont be at work and have a chance to check out one or two of the games i would suggest watching the LYON v LIVERPOOL game or even tuning in early to watch Barcelona try bounce back after their loss to Rubin in the first game between the 2 sides.

Enjoy !

Midfield Maestros

Ok i am not sure what to think about Spain and their midfielders or how do they produce such good ones right now.. they arguably have the best midfielders in the world right now in Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas and Xabi Alonso.

these four possess the ability to pick out a pass from any situation and can create a moment of magic from something that may not even exist. it is shocking to me that Spain has all four in their squad, these four players also track back and win the ball, after they win the ball just take time to look on how they can keep it away from the opposition with ease. i think it is unfair to them how the credit is always given to the people who score goals, it may not seem like the contribution is drastic but you can see the difference when none are playing for their team... Xabi Alonso left Liverpool for Real Madrid in the summer - the difference at Liverpool is that they are lacking that creative mind in midfield to put Torres or Gerrard through.. Cesc at Arsenal -whenever he is injured there always seems to be a "bad patch" for the gunners.. Xavi and Iniesta at Barca - it might be just my thoughts but those two were the only players who played nearly every single match for Barcelona last season, even in matches when Messi, Eto'o or Henry were not playing those two were pulling the strings and getting the ball in the right areas.

picking the Spanish midfield is going to be a very tough task, but the problem they are facing is problem that ANY manager would like to have...

one other person that people may have forgotten about is Mikel Arteta, he has been injured since Feb. last season but he is also Spanish and a KEY person for Everton.... frankly i don't think it is fair for Spain to be spoiled with such talent..

Champions League Roundup wk. 4

Here's a roundup of the group stage games results:

Manutd 3-3 CSKA Moscow
Athletico Madrid 2-2 Chelsea
Apoel 0-1 Porto
Marsielle 6-1 Zurich
Milan 1-1 madrid
Haifa 0-1 Juventus
Bayern 0-2 Bordeaux
Besiktas 0-3 Wolfsburg

Link to the Goals:
Coming soon...

Article Link to the results:
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_5672479,00.html

RAFA the Gafa

The topic of the week, or should i say past few weeks actually, is that of liverpool and their struggling spanish manager, Rafa Benitez...
it seems as though the 'rough patch' isnt over yet, with that terrible loss to fulham at craven cottage on the weekend seemingly putting pool fans into a panic and calling for rafa's head.

with 6 losses in their last 7 games in all competitions (including being knocked out of the mighty carling cup ;) by the young gunnerz ), and an injury list to add to that, things are looking bleek for the spaniard's side.
Liverpool hasnt had the defensive stability as they have had for the past few seasons, and personally i think that is down to Glen johnson. He has been given farrrrr to much permission to attack on that right flank, leaving carragher extremely exposed on his right side...

One might wonder why rafa and pool fans alike complain about their lack of depth in the side to be able to compete...well shudnt questions be pointed at rafa and his lack of providing this depth... i mean he has been there going on 5 years now right?

your thoughts..........

What's to come

• Pics shall be posted
• Some cool football vids
• Tricks and skills information and vids
• Club and National Team news (mainly world cup related)
• Countless arguments on the game

WELCOME !

Hello all, or none :D

To ya'll who are wondering, this is a blog for complete football discussions, no matter where you're from, what team you support, sex, height, race, or even car u drive or brand of football boots you own...it's for all football lovers, critics, and followers alike.

Enjoy ! and blog away