Highlights|Reaction

I’m not sure who is going to provide my ears with more propaganda this week. The Politicians, celebs and elites attending the Copenhagen summit (Meat free Monday), or Arsene Wenger, with his, ‘everybody’s fault bar ours‘ speech.

‘We have nothing to be ashamed of. It all went Chelsea’s way and I was not especially impressed with what happened on the pitch’

Really?

Almunia

Sagna Gallas Vermaelen Traore

Song Fabregas Denilson

Nasri Eduardo Arshavin.

I guess the first thing Geoff and I were wondering was why Denilson and Song both got a start. One can be stomached, two in the same team leaves me wondering how much Wenger truly rates wonderboy Song. A perplexing midfield trio. Don’t give me defensive stability either… Denilson does not offer stability against the power of Chelsea. The only way we were going to beat the scum from out west was to outplay them. For me, you play your best players…

Arsenal dominated the early possession, without ever really having a cutting edge. If playing football in the final third won you trophies, we’d be putting them in storage to accomodate an over crowded trophy room.

Chelsea gave us the first scare when Anelka capitalised on some sloppy play from Nasri. He broke into the box, Sagna got in between him and the ball and pulled him over. The ref decided it wasn’t a penalty, Arsenal fans could breathe again… it was stone wall for most.

It struck me early on that our game plan was slightly flawed. We were hitting the wings and whipping crosses into a forward line with an average height of about 5ft 7. Kind of like me trying out punch Mike Tyson in a bar brawl.

The first warning signs that Chelsea were warming up came when Drogba managed to get a free header in our box. It did make me wonder what the manager talks about before the game? Do they highlight the oppositions strengths, or just gloss over them and hope certain players don’t turn up?

Nasri had the first shot for Arsenal. He jinked inside Ivanovic and fired into the arms of Petr Cech.

Traore managed to get himself booked after a minor tussle on Frank Lampard… surprising after the ref allowed Mikel to get away with a cynical challenge on Eduardo.

Arsenal broke forward with Eduardo controlling the ball, he fed Arsh who cut tha ball back and played it into an empty box.

Then came the moment we were dreading. Terry passed to Cole… Cole crossed to Drogba… Drogba deftly flicked it in off the upright… the trio of filth combined to put Chelsea ahead. Gutting.

Soon after, the most hated player in football, Ashley Cole, whipped a ball into the box, the keeper and Vermaelen failed to communicate which lead to the Belgian slipping it into his own net. Poor defending from a team who continue to ship goals at an alarming rate. This was something I warned about earlier in the year… when the goals dry up, what happens?

The second half started, Song came off for Theo Walcott. Fair play, Song wasn’t exactly having the blinder people were hoping for.

Arsenal started well. Eduardo forced a save from Cech, the ball deflected out, Arshavin took an age to shoot, the ball ended up in Cech’s hands, Eduardo raised his foot above Cech’s shoulder, he dropped the ball, Arsh scored. Goal disallowed. Arsene, when a footballer who is 5ft8 has his ankle higher than a 6ft5 keepers shoulder, the ref is going to blow up.

Vela and Walcott didn’t really impress me. I think Theo is one of the most over hyped players at Arsenal and I really don’t believe he deserved a massive great new contract based on what he’s done for Arsenal. Vela hasn’t had a lot of time to shine, so it would be unfair for me to critique his performance today. Needless to say, we’re struggling to replace Robin effectively.

Chelsea absorbed the pressure and continued to dominate us with their power. Drogba demonstrated his superior strength when Traore literally bounced 6 feet off him after an attempted shoulder barge. Shortly after, Arshavin suffered the same indignity when challenging Ivanovic.

Shortly after, Drogba capped off Arsenal’s shameful afternoon by slotting a shot into the top corner from a dead ball situation. More world class keeping from Almunia, more humiliation for the home fans.

Lets not beat around the bush here, today really was a pitiful result. We were out played, out powered and out scored by 3 goals and we’re supposed to be competing for the league? The shame of it was we all knew it was coming. We all knew deep down we didn’t really have a chance. It’s ground-hog day, it’s December and we’re out of the Premiership again

So what did we learn from today?

• Well, playing the ball out wide and looking for crosses when you’re playing against the best aerial defence in the Premiership is dumb. Playing crosses into the box when you’ve got no one above 6ft is dumber
• Denilson and Song in the same team is unambitious in the extreme. People thought Geoff was joking when he said this would happen, sadly it wasn’t a joke… it was a prophetic statement.
• As for Song dominating the midfield. Well, we didn’t see that did we? I thought his performance was shoddy at best.
• Our goalkeeper needs to be changed. I don’t know how long Wenger is going to let him play badly before he ships him out. We’ve allowed 41 shots to land on target this year, we’ve conceded 18. Un-fucking-believable.
• Money buys you experience, power and winners. When has an Arsenal team ever achieved success without those ingredients?

Very disappointing. If this team is ready and it’s no longer young, well, we’ve got some serious shopping to do in January. There is only so long you can keep on talking about tomorrow.

“In England people think that the Solution is always to buy”

Arsene, that’s what people think all over Europe and guess what? They’re fucking right. We’ve got ourselves a young team of players who don’t know how to win. We need super human players like Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and Bobby Pires. We need to start giving the real talent games and stop trying to stop gap with poor players.

Talk about finishing all you like, we didn’t create chances. Blame the referee, we’re not entitled to get every decision. Moan about missing Van Persie, he wasn’t going to keep Chelsea out three times. We’ve got the same fundamental problems we’ve had for the last three years. No power, not enough world-class players and a lack of a winning mentality. We’ve lost to Sunderland, Man City, Man United and Chelsea. That’s not title-winning form. If we continue to ignore the issues we have with the squad and continue to praise how young they are and how amazing the business model is, we’ll always be here, every year, moaning about the same things.

Arsene’s got it dreadfully wrong again, just a little later than he did last year.

The kids are no longer kids, they’re failing adults. Time for a rethink.

Ratings:

Almunia: Give me a keeper who knows how to communicate with his defence, has the guts to come from crosses and can stop shots. If anyone knows of one, please forward his name onto keeper.solutions@arsenal.com. 5

Sagna: Some typically woeful crossing from the Frenchman and a terribly clumsy challenge in the first half. Harsh on the crossing. I guess asking a full back to hit one of our ‘target men’ is a pretty impossible task even for the most gifted of wide men. 5

Gallas: Terrible mix up for the two goals. He’s there to stop dangerous balls and he failed. I wasn’t overly impressed with his Drogba hug at the end of the game either. 5.5

Vermaelen: Not his best game. He should have been more composed when clearing the Cashley cross and he could have given a penalty away in the second half after rugby tackling John Terry. 5

Traore: Not a bad game considering how many people consider him to be the weakest left back to ever wear an Arsenal shirt. 6

Song: I thought he had a very poor first half. He gave the ball away cheaply, struggled to keep up with players who are 7 -8 years older than him and hardly dominated in the way so many people promised he would. Not just that, he suffered the shame of being hooked off for the equally average Denilson. 6

Denilson: Why oh why would you put him in the same team as Song? Surely one defensive midfielder is enough? Passed better than Song, but offered nothing of note to the game. Irritating how often he smiles when he plays badly. A very odd decision from the coach. 5

Cesc: Never really got into the game. Against more powerful opposition, he needs to be protected. He wasn’t, so he couldn’t perform. 5.5

Nasri: Looked lively in the first half, but failed to really impose himself past the first 20 minutes. Very disappointing. Am I the only person who feels like all our players are indentikit versions of each other? I feel like I’m playing top trumps and I’ve got 5 Alfa Romeo’s (There’s a metaphor in there somewhere)… Rosicky, Nasri, Cesc, Arshavin, Vela… they’ve all got the same qualities, all got the same weaknesses. 6.5

Arshavin: Sorry? He played? I can hardly remember seeing him! Struggling to motivate himself playing in our team? Well, if that’s the case… he’ll miss out on that move to Barca this summer. They’ll only want players who perform. Time to think about the team who pay you £80k a week, time to stop being such a girl and get over your World Cup failure, time to start delivering on that reputation you have. 3

Eduardo: What happened to our confident, cool, calm striker? Where did he go? He was off the pace today and very quiet. Like he normally is, bar the goals. 3.5

Subs:

Walcott: I’m sorry, as an outed xenophobe, I feel ashamed to admit it, but I just can’t get excited by the pride of English football. He gets the ball, either touches it behind him, 15 feet in front of him, or palms it off as a pass. Very average and totally undeserving of a 60k a week contract. 5

Vela: Eduardo off, Eduardo 4 years younger on. He even has the problem of not getting penalties because he looks like the Crozillian. 5

Rosicky: Kind of got things going, should have started really. Must have been pretty shocked that he is finally fit and the coach preferred to stick Denilson in there. A bit like finding out your boss has asked his 13 year old son to head up a multi-million pound project at work instead of putting you forward. 5

So a day on and I’m still getting ‘Happy Days’ text messages from Chelsea fans. Geoff and I were planning a podcast for this morning… kicking off that chapter of Le Grove off with a miserable episode didn’t seem right.

Still, we must dust ourselves down and hope that Manchester City’s dismal run of draws comes to an end when we beat them this week. I have a spare for that game, 2 for Stoke and a few others if you’re interested.

Have a great day Grovers! See you in the comments.

Chelsea won! On a rain-soaked evening in London, Chelsea beat Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium and boy, was it fun! It was a very crucial match and I shudder to think that we could have reduced our 5-point lead on United (the Manure sort! ) to a mere 2-points but the mighty Blues didn’t disappoint.  I was pretty sure we’d win but that didn’t keep me from biting my nails and looking horrified every time Arsenal had the ball and you have got to admit they had the ball a lot of the time. The first half was scary with the Gunners really having the majority of the ball and playing their free-flowing football which on a normal day (read when they aren’t playing Chelsea/when they aren’t try to win our title) I love to watch.

What stunned me in the first half was the shout for penalty or should I say the ‘non-shout’ from our lads for the penalty. Surely, Anelka was brought down by Bacary Sagna in the box and surely that was a penalty. I wonder why we didn’t ask for it to be given! I am guessing our brilliant Blueees were just too confident of being able to beat Arsenal (hehe their name really cracks me up… pun intended!).  I love that confident air Chelsea have got about them these days but guys next time, just claim your penalty!

Arsenal remind me of pretty girl sitting in front of the mirror brushing her hair, while the house is on fire. Ok, I know that probably made no sense and I blame it on the excitement of the win, but  I am going to try and explain it anyway… Arsenal continue to play their beautiful football even when they know that it probably isn’t working and what they should be doing is getting dirty, closing down (fire-fighting), defending … playing the Italian style. They know they are going to get killed yet they go on nonchalantly flaunting their beautiful footballing style and losing their game.

Don’t get me wrong, I not complaining, not one bit and I don’t think Arsenal could have done much today ‘coz lets face it they were facing the ‘real’ champions tonight  but in the future if they really want to be serious title contenders they need to add steel to their style.

By the end of the first half, I was starting to get a little jittery and every time the crowd boo’ed Ashley, I wanted to beat them up and when John Terry found Ashley Cole with that wonderful pass and Ashley did his bit of magic to pass to the Drog who scored that first goal, I stopped trying to look for the calculator (yes you caught me I need the calculator for calculating all the points and stuff!). I knew we were gonna win and started appropriately singing ‘carefree where ever we may be’. Within 3 minutes, Ashely Cole did his bit of magic again (that should teach ‘em to boo you Ashley!) and the  already stunned Arsenal defense didn’t know what had hit them when they saw the ball in the back of their goal yet again. Thomas Vermaelen’s own goal had  put us 2 goals ahead.If  truth be told, the pass from Ashely was just so good that it was impossible to defend, if Thomas hadn’t gotten his boot to it, Drogba would have so it really isn’t the Belgian’s fault.  For a long time now I have felt, Thomas Vermaelen has been one of the best buys of this EPL season and I think he is incredibly handsome… well.. after today, I think I can safely say he is purrrfect!

When Wenger brought Theo Walcott on I thought, ‘oh boy!’  However, our lads handled the pacy Theo very well. They were phenomenal and in the words of the great Carlo Ancelotti, the defense did a “fantastic job“.

Oh and Drogba is God, his free-kick from 25 yards was a stunner and something I am going to love watching replays of!

Cheers, Chelsea! ktbffh

Magazyn France Football opublikował w niedzielę, nazwiska dziesięciu kandydatów do Złotej Piłki, nagrody dla najlepszego piłkarza roku. Macie może swojego kandydata? Szkoda, że nikt z naszej drużyny nie został nominowany. Może za rok?

Oto nominowani:

L. Messi, FC Barcelona, Argentyna

Z. Ibrahimovic, Inter Mediolan, FC Barcelona, Szwecja

C. Ronaldo, Manchester United, Real Madryt, Portugalia. Zdobywca Złotej Piłki w 2008 roku.

A. Iniesta, FC Barcelona, Hiszpania

Xavi, FC Barcelona, Hiszpania

D. Drogba, Chelsea, Wybrzeże Kość Słoniowej

S. Eto’o, FC Barcelona, Inter Mediolan, Kamerun

S. Gerrard, Liverpool, Anglia

Kaka, AC Milan, Real Madryt, Brazylia

W. Rooney, Manchester United, Anglia

Chelsea proved exactly why they are considered the favourites for the title this season as they maintained their impressive recent record against Arsenal to claim a 2-0 win in the Premier League this evening.

Carlo Ancelotti’s Blues poured on the misery for an Arsenal side that have only managed two wins from the last 15 encounters between the two London rivals as a Didier Drogba strike and an own goal from Thomas Vermaelen settled the match at the Emirates Stadium.

In a meeting between the Premier League’s strongest attack and meanest defence, Arsenal had been on the front foot during the opening exchanges and had been taking the game to their west London counterparts.

It was Chelsea, however, who were presented with the first chance of the match after 18 minutes as Frank Lampard, passed fit to play despite concerns over a thigh injury, put Nicolas Anelka into the clear but Bacary Sagna tracked back to get in the vital challenge just as his international compatriot was about to pick his spot.

There were suspicions that Sagna had hauled Anelka to the ground in the process of making the crucial tackle although none of the Chelsea players appeared to appeal for the penalty as Lampard fired wide from the follow-up.

It would take 24 minutes before Arsenal created their first real opening as Samir Nasri drove forward before hitting a low shot from just outside the box. It was a decent effort from the 22-year-old but a lack of real power ensured Petr Cech made a comfortable save.

Despite a distinct lack of genuine efforts on goal, Chelsea grabbed the initiative when Drogba scored the opening goal of the game to continue his imperious record against Arsene Wenger’s side. A smart finish into the net via crossbar and post made it nine in his last nine outings against the Gunners following good work down the left from Ashley Cole.

Just two minutes later and the Blues had opened up a two goal lead as the unfortunate Vermaelen put through his own net. Ex-Gunner Cole was again the provider as his accurate cross was delivered into a really dangerous area and the Belgian international, undoubtedly worried by Drogba’s presence in the box, diverted the ball past Manuel Alumnia for 2-0 Chelsea.

Wenger made the decision to bring on Theo Walcott at half-time in an attempt to inject a bit of pace into his side and Arsenal were a little unlucky not to have reduced the arrears almost immediately after the break when Andrei Arshavin had a goal chalked off after an alleged foul by Eduardo on Cech.

The Czech Republic goalkeeper had initially saved well at the feet of Eduardo although as Cesc Fabregas played the ball back into the area, the Croatian forward was adjudged by referee Andre Marriner to have kicked the ball from Cech’s grasp before Arshavin slammed the ball into the net past a ruckus of Chelsea players on the line.

Chelsea nearly increased their lead with what would have proved a somewhat fortuitous goal on 64 minutes. Drogba got the ball onto his right foot before shooting from just outside the box although the former Marseille star’s effort was deflected first off William Gallas and then off Lampard’s chest to force Almunia into a smart save low down to his right.

Arsenal continued to press and probe for a way back into the match although Chelsea effectively put the game to bed with a terrific free-kick from Drogba.

The 31-year-old claimed his second of the match on 86 minutes as he dispatched a stunning strike into the corner of the net from around 25-yards out to increase Chelsea’s lead at the top of the Premier League to five points ahead of Manchester United in second place.

Source-www.goal.com

African duo Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o have been named on the final shortlist of 10 for the 2009 European Player of the Year award…. From BBC News. Full story

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Where else do you start?

All we’ve heard this week is about that bloody handball, how hard done by Ireland are and that Henry is the anti-christ. Anyone else bored?

Sure, it was handball and yes it was ridiculous that they got away with it, but demanding a replay? Don’t be absurd. For starters, that’s a dangerous avenue of thinking that could open up so many doors that FIFA and the FA wouldn’t want to deal with. It’s similar to that Eduardo incident against Celtic, are we going to have replays for every game decided by a contentious goal? Forget a 39th game, we’d be playing a 75th before Christmas.

Then you get those saying that Henry should be banned for the entirety of the World Cup. Further hysterical lunacy. For starters, if he’d been caught then it would have been a yellow card at most – probably not even that. It wouldn’t even be worthy of a single game’s ban, let alone an entire tournament.

It has confused me how all the vitriol has been aimed at Henry rather than the incompetent buffoon linesman however. As difficult as it may be for me to defend a Frenchman, Henry made a reflex movement and benefited from it. The linesmen and referees are there to ensure this doesn’t happen and they failed in their duty. I’m aware it’s a hard job, but it was hardly a conspicuous action and the linesman on the far side had a grand view of the whole thing. He’s the scapegoat if you insist in having one.

Not that Henry’s helped the situation at all. He’s acting all high and mighty for having the good grace to admit the handball (about as useful as Drogba admitting he dives) and saying that he’d accept the replay if it was ordered, despite being entirely aware it was never ever going to reach fruition and knowing full well that he’d have no choice but to play if it did.

The bottom line is that this is football and the least deserving usually benefit at the most inopportune time. By all accounts, most of Ireland was decked out in Argentina shirts following the infamous ‘Hand of God’, so sympathy is a little short in my heart bhoys.

Gameweek 14 reaches us as we start the middle third of the season. Week 13 saw few surprises though we did get the highest ever individual score. I made the error of having Fabregas as captain which I didn’t especially feel comfortable with but didn’t have many other options with Lampard and Drogba out injured, and Rooney out of form.

I did have David Dunn but didn’t fancy him due to two away games. In the event he proved me wrong. I regret not bringing in Bullard or Dempsey as I was looking at both pre-deadline. Sometimes it’s better to take the four point hit for the rewards it can bring. Don’t even get me started on having Thomas Sorensen’s 14 points left on the bench…

Gameweek 13 Top Gun (aka Tom Cruise Approves):

When I was looking back over the top scores from last week, I had a moment of panic when I thought there was a three-way 18 point tie for 1^st and I’d have to find another Top Gun character to join Maverick and Goose.

Then I remembered that someone called Jermain Defoe scored five goals against Wigan. Yes, the pint-sized striker scored a full handful of goals and picked up three bonus points. It might just be me but it almost feels like 25 points isn’t enough reward for such a feat. I guess that’s what happens with just four points for a striker’s goal. I’m sure the people who had him as captain weren’t complaining – 50 points was only two off my whole total for the week. Anyway, it’s the highest score ever from one game, even Ronaldo never got that.

As mentioned previously, following Defoe you had Dempsey Hunt and Lennon all with 18 points. The former two took advantage of playing twice while Lennon was the provider of three Defoe goals as well as getting one for himself in that 9-1 victory. A mention too for Michael Essien who scored 16 via two goals and his third man of the match award of the season.

Maverick should really be using all five hand digits to approve of Defoe's performance.

Three Captain Choices:

1. Adebayor/Man City – Every run has to come to an end and I think Man City might finally stop their run of six consecutive draws and beat Hull at home. Hull have picked up since Bullard’s return with two wins and a draw but they’re still leaky at the back while Adebayor scored his first goal in two months against Liverpool. He tends to feast on weaker defences, get bonus points when City play well and thus is a good shout for captain this weekend.

2. Drogba/Chelsea – The best defence faces the best attack this weekend as Chelsea face Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday. Normally I wouldn’t suggest picking someone from this fixture but Drogba loves playing Arsenal and has terrorised them down the years. What scares me even more is that due to Gallas being doubtful, there’s a tiny, tiny chance we might see Big Phil Senderos make an appearance. I’m shuddering at the thought, Drogba owns him.

3. Rooney/Man Utd – Portsmouth at Fratton Park. Slightly trickier now that Pompey have Avram Grant newly installed but Rooney and Man Utd should still have more than enough to beat Portsmouth.

Gets a Captain's tick.

Three suggested transfers in:

1. Evra/Man Utd - The French left back has been putting together a good season and in his last few games has picked up and assist and three bonus points. Man Utd should be good for a clean sheet against Portsmouth and after that Man Utd face West Ham, Villa, Wolves and Fulham which should provide a few more opportunities.

2. Johnson or Dann/Birmingham - I’m sure many of you already Joe Hart in your team but why not add Roger Johnson or Scott Dann to your side too? The two centre backs were a newly formed partnership at the start of the season having both been signed from Championship clubs but have adapted to the Premier League well. Johnson is the pricier of the two and more likely to get bonus points but Dann is just £3.9m leaving you plenty of case for elsewhere.

3. Hunt/Hull - Some people’s form rating is skewed by one massive week whereas others are a bit more consistent. If Bullard is out of your price range then Stephen Hunt is a good option having scored five points or more in four of the last five gameweeks.

Might be worth a pick.

Three to avoid:

1. Everton players - They were woeful against Hull and have generally struggled this season. There have been bright spots like Baines and Saha but they have a tough three games (Liverpool, Spurs, Chelsea) coming up and then no fixture in week 17. Avoid for now.

2. Gibbs/Arsenal – Just as soon as he was becoming a cheap option while Clichy was out, he breaks a metatarsal and is now out for three months.

3. Owen/Man Utd - Just 24 points so far. The goal against Man City is literally the single good thing he’s done this season. Diouf, N’Gog and Ghilas all have more points. Having said that, what better opponent than Portsmouth to prove me wrong.

Are you taking the mick?

T.

By Joe, www.Bettingexpert.com

Could there be another brawl at the Emirates? The London derby is one of the most heated matches in Premier League.

From the Merseyside derby to the London derby, it is sure a Super Sunday for all the Football fans in the world. The London derby will be an interesting one as it could determine where the Premiership will go this season. Chelsea are leading the table and if they win at the Emirates then it would be a two legged horse race between the blues and Manchester United. Arsenal will have to dig deep to avoid this.

The North side of London will be contesting for the top spots in the Premier League. They are currently third in the league and eight points behind their London rival, Chelsea, at the top. Many have doubted Arsene Wenger’s kid this season but it seems like they are finding their stride. They reached the last 16 of the Champions League in the midweek after beating Standard Liege 2-0 at home. The French manager will be happy to put away another London rival at the Emirates after disposing Tottenham with 3-0. Wenger is concerned over the injuries of Kieran Gibbs, Andrey Arshavin and William Gallas. Gibbs is out after needing a metatarsal surgery while Gallas has an ankle injury.  Theo Walcott and Samir Nasir are set to play a role in the London derby.

Leading the Premiership with 5 points to the closest rival, qualify for the last 16 in the Champions League and playing at the top of their form, could Chelsea continue their winning streak without Frank Lampard? Chelsea have depth in the squad and that could bring the Premiership title back to Stamford Bridge since 2006. Manager Carlo Ancelotti has inherited a good bunch of players and now managing them looks simple. Ancoletti will be without Frank Lampard and Jose Bosingwa for the London derby. Michael Ballack and Deco are set to return to the starting lineup while Essien and Drogba are back after complains over receiving knocks in the midweek.

Massive brawl whenever these two teams meet and it will not be the last of it. Chelsea have the upper advantage going into this match, they beat Arsenal twice, 4-1 in the Premier League and 2-1 in the FA Cup at the Emirates Stadium. Arsene Wenger will be desperate to claim one over the Chelsea team as he wants to close the gap between them. A stalemate could be reached but without the inspirational Frank Lampard, anything can happen.

Read the report on Bettingexpert.com called  “A betting report for the 2008/2009 season“ and the tipsters might be able to help you decide where you want to bet.

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Ivorian striker Didier Drogba is included in the Chelsea squad for Wednesday’s Champions League clash against Porto…. From BBC News. Full story

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1. Amazing to think that you can score five goals in a game and there can still be a debate over whether you were man of the match. Aaron Lennon’s performance against Wigan ensured that Defoe didn’t come away with all the plaudits, his sparkling play from the right playing a big part in at least half the goals.

Defoe meanwhile became just the third player to score five in a game in the Premier League era and notched the second fastest hat trick after Robbie Fowler’s four and a half minute wonder against Arsenal many years ago. I’ve mentioned in recent weeks that he needed to watch his temper and just concentrate on his football, and with performances like that there’s no chance of him not going to South Africa. Lennon too did his case no harm, and on current form is far and away the best option when it comes to tricky small winger.

Spurs’ goal difference enjoyed a big boost in terms of chasing Arsenal, while they are beginning to take advantage of Man City, Liverpool and Aston Villa’s inconsistency to open a little gap over those three. They face one of their rivals next week in Aston Villa but should have nothing to fear the way they are playing.

As for Wigan the best you can say is that it’s just one game. These sorts of results can have a lasting effect, especially if you go behind in a game. It will be up to Roberto Martinez to ensure it remains a one off.

High five, we're going to South Africa!

2. Would Phil Brown be fearing for his job if Jimmy Bullard hadn’t got injured in his first game after signing? His performances in the last couple of games suggest that may have been the case. A win over Stoke and a fightback from two goals down to draw against West Ham possibly indicates an improvement in fortune for the men at the KC. Even Tango Man himself seems to be less in the spotlight than usual.

Bullard may have dodgy knees but he has an enthusiasm for the game that few players can match and his energy and creative play have got Hull scoring some goals again. They have a tough run coming up with three well organised teams in Everton, Man City and Aston Villa. Ok maybe not Man City but still! I’m pretty sure Geovanni isn’t injured and he appears to have lost his place to Bullard but I would be interested to see them both in the same team. Part of Hull’s success last year was to be brave, so maybe playing both together would have the same effect this year.

3. Before Arsenal get completely written off for losing against Sunderland (who have drawn with Man Utd and beaten Liverpool), let’s not forget that the key game is next week against Chelsea. Defeat would leave an 11 point gap; a win would leave it at just five with a game in hand. This defeat does render next weekend rather important if a title challenged is to be maintained. The lack of focal point without van Persie (and Bendtner) was a concern but it was in midfield where Sunderland won, with Cana stopping Fabregas and his teammates from creating many chances.

In addition to this, a set play was once again Arsenal’s outdoing at the back with Darren Bent reacting quickest after the initial ball had not been dealt with (déjà vu anyone?) While such defensive frailties are a long-term malaise, Arsene Wenger must ensure that his patched up squad is mentally right for the Chelsea game. Win it and two easier home games against Bolton and Stoke follow and momentum can be formed. Lose it and another frustrating season could be on the cards.

Pin the placenta on the van Persie.

4. They were impressive but it was only Wolves at home. Chelsea’s next two tests are the altogether tougher visits to the Emirates and Eastlands. Let’s see how the keenly the absences of Lampard and Drogba are felt then.

5. Liverpool and Man City played out a draw which leaves neither going anywhere fast. Man City have now drawn six on the spin which has stagnated them after a promising start. Just one win in eight games fro Mark Hughes’ side. A Hull side winless away from the KC provides the best possible opportunity to end that run next weekend.

Liverpool have one win in six but their habit of winning games they don’t lose (Saturday was just their second draw) means they’re still in a good position. The pretenders to the top four ideally want a gap going into the spring as if Gerrard and Torres are fit for the run in, I know who I’d back to get the last Champions League spot.

6. David Dunn is scored his fourth goal in six games and is playing the best football of his career. Someone left a comment asking what chance an England call for the Blackburn man. While I think he’s bit of a luxury and probably not quite international quality, there’s no doubting there are few more in form midfielders playing at the moment.

Quite good these days.

T.

Further to my blog on Stephen Ireland and his cars I there might be a few of you out there interested in these stars and the cars they drive.

On this clip you can see the cars of Alonso, Ballack, Beckham, Campbell, Crouch, Del Pierrro, Drogba, Essien, Gerrard, Giggs, Henry, Ibrahimovic, van Nistelrooy, Rooney, Ronaldo, Shevchenko, Torres.

Well firstly I would like to apologise, due to work, alcohol and quiz based commitments I have not had a chance to post this week.  Not that it really matters however as nothing of note has really happened in the world of Chelsea, yes Ballack, Drogba, Lampard and a litany of others are injured but there has been little activity in the world of Chelsea.

The football news has been dominated by the Ireland/France play off in which France scored a goal with the aid of the hand of Henry, to be honest the Irish reaction has been farcical and whilst I never thought I would agree with Roy Keane the referee did not spot the infringement SO GET OVER IT!

The protests and politicians, celebrities and every man and his dog taking time to comment has been hilariously unnecessary (yes i am aware of the irony) so I am going to swiftly move on and discuss more important matters such as today’s game versus Wolves.

Chelsea returned to business in style today romping to victory against a Wolves team that would struggle to compete even if Chelsea had double the number of top players missing in a comfortable victory which temporarily allays fears at the impact of our placenta ridden injury list. Although I am sure that you know that comparing Wolves and Arsenal (our next opponents), is like comparing a Lada (Slow lumbering and prone to leaks) to an Alfa Romeo (fast elegant but notriously unreliable).

The most interesting part of the game however was the introduction of Gael Kakuta the player at the heart of the recent transfer ban saga. I am delighted that Ancelotti has taken to fielding the player not only does it aid his develop and stick two fingers up at FIFA, but it will do the young man’s confidence no end which can only be a positive for his future. As is standard when one of your own is under attack you get behind them and Gael Kakuta got a rousing ovation from the fans when replacing Anelka to make his debut.

Another Liverpool draw  (comedy value only) coupled with an Arsenal defeat mean that all in all Chelsea have had a fantastic day of Premier League business.

So let me finish by saying great result, great to see Kakuta, great day! OH AND F*%K YOU FIFA!

After what’s seemed like an age since the last Premier League matches, we return to domestic action after the international break. Plenty to consider this gameweek as four teams play twice and a host of stars are injured. More on that later.

Last time round saw an above average score of 52 for myself but this was still quite far off the high score of 107. I was not helped by Drogba and Rooney predictably doing nothing in the big clash between Chelsea and Man Utd; while I also had 13 points marooned on the bench via Joe Hart and Scott Dann, who I hadn’t thought would do much vs Liverpool.

Our captain choices did well, with Fabregas having another big week while RVP and Adebayor also had fair contributions. If you had gone with the suggested transfer of Clint Dempsey, he would have scored you seven points too.

Gameweek 12 Top Gun (aka Tom Cruise Approves):

Maverick thinks John Terry is a fool, but his fantasy score last week was good.

Yep, John Terry was Gameweek 12’s Top Gun with the now ubiquitous defender’s score of 15 points for winning goal, clean sheet and three bonus points. The number of times this has happened is ridiculous but fair play if you’ve reaped the benefit.

But wait I hear you cry, there was someone else who also scored 15 points last week. Yes dear readers, for the first time this season we had a tie for highest score of the week. John Carew almost double his season’s score with a goal, two assists and three bonus points in Aston Villa’s 5-1 destruction of Bolton. This means Maverick needs some help in approving so what better person to have than his co-pilot Goose:

Goose approves of being involved in such silliness.

It was a struggle bringing him back from the dead, but through the powers of Google search and Photoshop I managed to do it. Maybe next time Iceman will muscle his way in on the show… Elsewhere Gomes saved a penalty to score 14 for Spurs while Wright-Phillips and Fabregas both got 13, the latter getting his fifth straight man of the match award.

On to this week.

Three Captain Choices:

With Torres and Drogba very doubtful and Van Persie and Lampard definitely out, the usual field of captain choices is substantially narrowed. In addition to that Hull, Blackburn, Fulham and Everton all play twice so it might be time for some leftfield thinking in terms of captain this week.

1. Bullard/Hull – Feeling brave? Quite the gamble this one but it could well pay off. Bullard is a good player but has been injured pretty much the whole time he’s been at Hull. He made a belated home debut last week and was the key figure in a win over Stoke scoring an assist and three bonus. Now one whole game isn’t much to go on but with Hull having two games at the KC Stadium, one against lowly West Ham you’d assume he would play a part in anything good Hull may do.

2. Anelka/Chelsea - With Drogba doubtful after Jonny Evans’ kung-fu kick to his ribs, and Fat Frank injured after attempting to sprint in England training, it leaves Nicolas Anelka as the most likely source of points for Chelsea this weekend. They face a home tie against Wolves which is as near to a gimme as you can get. I fully expect a comfortable home win with a goal or two from the Frenchman.

3. Fabregas/Arsenal - Fabregas is fast becoming the new Ronaldo of fantasy football. If in doubt for a captain choice, go with him. Sunderland away is the not the easiest place to go this season, but Arsenal have a good record there in recent years and should have enough to win, even without Robin van Persie.

Gets a Captain's tick.

Three Suggested Transfers In:

1. Eduardo/Arsenal - Now that Van Persie is out for several weeks, joining the already injured Bendtner, the onus falls on Eduardo to lead the line for the leading scorers in the team. He has had a very stop start season so far but has still got two goals and two assists in just over 300 minutes of action, which isn’t bad at all. With full fitness and a new contract in the back of his pocket, he should do well over the next couple of months.

2. Etherington/Stoke – He’s kind of slipped beneath my radar but is one of the form players of the last few weeks. In his last five games he has three assists and two goals as well as a few bonus points. Over the next four weeks, only Arsenal is a game which you would class as tough for Stoke.

3. Alexander/Burnley – His price has gone right up now but as long as Burnley keep getting penalties, he’s still worth it I’d say.

Might be worth a pick.

Three To Avoid:

1. Van Persie/Arsenal - Out for a couple of months in case it wasn’t already clear. Let’s hope he doesn’t rush back from injury like he has done in the past.

2. Benayoun/Liverpool - Has been in great from this season but has tweaked his hamstring. Also, knowing Rafa he’ll probably find a way to drop the Israeli now that Aquilani is approaching full fitness.

3. Bolton players – Bottom of the team stats with just 345 points between them.

Are you taking the mick?!

T.

Chelsea’s Didier Drogba has attracted praise for his decision to donate £3m to charity, but he is not the first footballer to show his generous side. FanHouse takes a look at 10 players who have found it’s good to give.

1 – Didier Drogba intends to donate all the money he will receive for being the “face” of Pepsi. The Ivory Coast striker will finance the building of a hospital in his homeland. A 150-200 bed facility will be set up to treat children and it will also be used as an orphanage.

2 – Cesc Fabregas has convinced his team-mates to give up a day’s salary and a win bonus this season in order to raise up to £1m for Great Ormond Street Hospital. Last year, the Gunners raised an impressive £532,816 for the Teenage Cancer Trust and plan on making their donation an annual event.

3 – Niall Quinn gave nearly £1m – the money raised by his 2002 testimonial game at Sunderland – to a host of charities in the north east and Ireland and also funded the construction of a hospice in India.

4 – Sami Hyypia was at Liverpool last season when heard on a local radio station that a playroom at nearby Arrowe Park Hospital would not be completed because of a shortage of cash. The defender stepped in with a gift of £23,000 to make up the difference and the playroom was finished.

5 – Michael Essien set up the Michael Essien Foundation to help children in his native Ghana. It is believed that Essien will plough as much as £500,000 into the project over the next 12 months.

6 – Gary Kelly, the former Irish international defender, donated 750,000 euros after his Leeds United testimonial in 2002 to a cancer charity that had helped his sister Mandy. She died of cancer in 1998, prompting Kelly’s big-hearted gesture – the equivalent of more than £460,000 at the time – and the Gary Kelly Support Centre opened in 2003.

7 – Craig Bellamy may not be the most popular footballer in the Premier League, but, without wanting publicity, he set up a Sierra Leone charity in 2008. The Craig Bellamy Foundation aims to help youngsters affected by civil war and he pumped in £650,000 of his own cash to get the idea off the ground.

8 – Alan Shearer decided that the profits from his testimonial should split between charities in Newcastle and The Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research. Fourteen charities received a healthy share of the money from Shearer’s farewell game.

9 – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer marked histestimonial in front of a packed Old Trafford against Espanyol in 2007 by giving £2m to Unicef so they could finish off school building projects across the world, including Angola and Mozambique.

10 – Rio Ferdinand, the Manchester United defender, has set up a charitable foundation, donating substantial sums to try and get youngsters off the street and more involved in their communities.

Credit: fanhouse.co.uk

Em negrito – o jogador e o time que pretende contratá-lo
Em itálico – a posição e o time atual do atleta

A fonte do boato está linkada no nome do jogador

DEMOROU!

Barcelona – Rooney (A-Manchester United) - Talvez encontrasse dificuldade para encaixar seu estilo de jogo com Messi e Ibrahimovic no time, mas os 3 são ótimos e se entenderiam com o tempo.

Liverpool – Carlton Cole (A-West Ham) - O time precisa fazer contratações urgentemente e uma nova opção de velocidade para o setor ofensivo seria ótima.

Manchester City – Yaya Touré (V-Barcelona) - Faria uma dupla excelente com Gareth Barry no meio-campo do time inglês.

Manchester United – Jovetic (A-Fiorentina) - Talvez não chegaria para ser titular, mas o montenegrino fez um ótimo começo de temporada na Itália e já merece a chance de jogar em um clube maior.

TANTO FAZ…

Barcelona – Gregory Van der Wiel (LD-Ajax) - Não dá mais pra jogar com Puyol improvisado quando Dani Alves está fora do time. O elenco dos catalões precisa melhorar e esse seria um bom começo.

Manchester United – Di María (M-Benfica) - O argentino ainda é irregular, mas tem velocidade e habilidade para dar trabalho até no Campeonato Inglês.

CAI FORA!

Inter de Milão – Guti (V-Real Madrid) - Os Nerazzurri têm pelo menos 6 jogadores melhores. Ou seja, não precisa dele nem pra compôr o elenco.

Juventus – Zabaleta (LD-Manchester City) - Só os torcedores do time inglês vão comemorar se esse negócio realmente acontecer.

Manchester City – Ronaldinho Gaúcho (A-Milan) – O brasileiro ainda está se recuperando na Itália e o time não precisa de mais um atacante que jogue aberto pelas pontas.

NÃO ENXERGAM?

Rodallega (A – Wigan) – Já foi comparado a Drogba e, apesar do exagero evidente, tem características parecidas com as do marfinense. O colombiano pode ser uma boa opção para times grandes.

Leia também

• Rumores sobre o próximo ano no futebol brasileiro

Injured Didier Drogba has pulled out of Elephant’s final World Cup qualifier against Guinea this weekend…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: soccer live scores. The blog is also related to: soccer picks.

Injured Didier Drogba has pulled out of Elephant’s final World Cup qualifier against Guinea this weekend…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: soccer archive. The blog is also related to: world cup soccer.

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Chelsea beat Manchester United and we are now 5 points clear of them at the top (the view from the top is spectacular!). The best bit was that it was our captain fantastic John Terry who scored the all important goal in a very hard fought out game of football. I can’t believe I finally got a prediction so right! Earlier in the day someone asked me who would score for Chelsea and I had said JT!  It would have been great if Chelsea had won by loads of goals but credit to Manchester United for playing very well. In fact, I think United played some of their best football of the season last evening, which probably isn’t saying  much especially since their form has been no where near  what it was during the sparkling win-all Cristiano Ronaldo days.  However, of all the clashes with the top 3, the match I enjoy the least is when Chelsea play Manchester United and it’s not because I am scared of Chelsea losing… I mean, c’mon the last time Chelsea lost to Manchester United was in April 2002!  Its because no matter how well you play against Manchester United to beat them, you are always blamed for cheating or getting lucky or both. The next days headlines are usually dominated not by the positive play of the team that won but by how poor a deal United or what Sir Alex thinks! I don’t care what Sir Alex has to say! He is the worst loser in the league. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that wanting to win every time is the mark of a champion. It shows your desire, your passion for the game and your commitment to excellence. But there is a difference between wanting to win every time and being a unsporting, blaming, bratty loser. Sir Alex has made being a bad loser something of an art. Whenever his team loses, there is almost always something wrong with the refereeing, or the referee or the weather and when United win, he shares a laugh and jokes with the same referees who have now remarkably become fit and worthy of his smiles and back-slapping!

He is a brilliant manager and one would forgive  him a lot but surely he must know that his attitude is adopted by his team. They look up to the gaffer and so when thing aren’t going their way, instead of focusing on their football, they start to focus on being bratty and on trying to influence referee decision like Darren Fletcher did when he waved an imaginary card at referee Martin Atkinson in an attempt to get Carvalho dismissed for a tackle on Rooney.

If Johnny Evans’  ill-tempered tackle on Drogba was not a case of a dangerously high-challenge, I don’t know what is. His studs caught Drogba in the chest full-force leaving the Chelsea striker wincing in pain and he was quite understandably in no position to jog off the field at lightening pace. The referee showed him a yellow for staying on the field, an incomprehensible and inhuman decision. Johnny Evans who deserved a red for the assault got away scot-free.

Sir Alex has pointed out quite a few things wrong with the goal that won Chelsea the game, starting from the free-kick which he felt was unjustly awarded to Chelsea; he feels Drogba was interfering with play from an offside position and also something about the referee not being in the right position. Next, he will be complaining about the colour of the referee’s hair or perhaps the effect Carlo Ancelloti’s raised eyebrow has on Fletcher’s concentration and how the chairs at Stamford are at a strange home-team advantage angle. Stop lying to yourself and cooking up excuses and blaming everything in sight. Admit that you didn’t make the most of the chances you had and the other team did, decisions in football have a weird way of evening themselves out and are never the reason a team wins or loses a game. The bottom line is Manchester United lost and Chelsea who haven’t by the way conceded at Stamford Bridge in 872 minutes, won.