Bullard out for around six to eight weeks

Just a quick post as I want to extend my best wishes to Jimmy Bullard who will miss a further six to eight weeks as a result of damaging his knee in an awkward landing in the match against Aston Villa on Saturday. The guy has had rotten luck with injuries over the past few years and I wish him all the best for his recovery and hope to see him gracing the Premier League again real soon as he’s a great player and a top bloke.

All the best Jimmy.

Andrew Kearney

Flash in the Pan have bid £6.8m for Hull City Midfielder Jimmy Bullard. If this bid is successful Alberto Aquilani will be returned to the Transfer List.

Bidding for this player will close at 19:00 GMT on Thursday.

To table bids for the player submit a comment to this article informing the league of your bid, your team name and the player you wish to sell. All other managers are entitled to submit a bid for this player.

Bids must be in blocks of 100K, you can bid higher than the next 100k increment. E.g. Player 1 bids 6.3, but Player 2 then counters with a 6.9 bid to ensure he scares off other managers.

Whoops, been a while since ive done one of these, not really keeping to my schedule, but here goes:

Well, well, well, a very interesting weekend indeed. It started, as it often does, with a wet Friday night Sale Sharks game at Edgely Park, except this time, some southern jessies didnt want to play because it was a bit drizzly and they might get their stilettos caught in the Stockport mud. By the time the players should have been coming out onto the pitch around 7.30pm the Wasps team were back on the coach to Watford. This is the third season in a row that Wasps have been involved in a late postponement to a match, and Premier Rugby is to fully investigate why Wasps refused to play on a pitch that referee David Rose had declared fine for the match to go ahead.

A typical Wasps player unwilling to play in slightly adverse conditions

It shows a complete disregard for the rules and a lack of thought for the 8,000 fans that had braved the inclement weather to watch them. Wasps may point to the fact that Stockport County’s match was called off as well the following day, but with all due respect that is football, and not rugby, and at least the Stockport cancellation was a decision by match officials well in advance of kick-off. I think considering Wasps’ actions they have basically thrown the game and Sale should therefore be given a the full five points.

Moving on to football, Manchester City have now had more draws thrown their way than Tom Jones (oh yes, I went there). Seven in a row is getting faintly ridiculous, and is seeing City fall off the pace in the league after genuine high ambitions earlier on. The problem for me is they are unable to keep a clean sheet when they score themselves. I have issues with their back four, not only the fact that they have been thrown together like a band of mercenaries and expected to get along like Bruce and Pallister, but with their top-level credentials. Kolo Toure is a great athlete but can be positionally weak and Lescott is a natural defender but lacks concentration. Between them they cost City goals, and points. They are not helped by a team that is light on defensively minded players ahead of them but the fact is that if they are to be competing for the highest positions they need to be holding out against teams like Hull, not being pegged back for a draw.

This is of course what happened, with City taking a late first-half lead through a Shaun Wright-Phillips goal. But the best moment of the game came as Jimmy Bullard put away his penalty to make the scores 1-1 and celebrated by imitating his manager’s infamous half-time on-pitch teamtalk in the corresponding fixture last season. It was a hilarious way to excercise the cloud that had been hanging over them since that day, when they began their free fall last season that nearly saw them relegated.

Finally on to Manchester United, who beat a struggling Portsmouth 4-1 in a scoreline that flatters them somewhat. Portsmouth caused United plenty of problems but unfortunately for them they failed to put away the great 1st half chances they carved out, Aruna Dindane being guilty of three bad misses. United went in front with a (slightly dubious) Rooney penalty, only to be pegged back when Portsmouth scored a penalty of their own through Kevin Prince-Boateng. United played better in the second-half, with Giggs putting in another great performance after a few weeks looking a bit off his usual high standards. He set Rooney up for a simple finish to put United back in front then was fouled for the penalty that gave Rooney his hat-trick and then rounded off a performance that Rooney likened to that of a 26 year-old rather than one about to turn 36 with a great free-kick late on. That was his 100th premier-league goal, and confirms what i wrote when i named him my sporting icon of the decade.

The win put United within two points of Chelsea until they thumped Arsenal yesterday, and I think any United fan should start to get worried about the Chelsea juggernaut rumbling forward to the title. They are not only grinding out wins but thumping teams as well, and United are not playing that well, and are doing just enough to hang on to their coat-tails. Fergie says he wants to be within a point of the league leaders by the new year, good luck.

Both Manchester clubs play in the league cup this week so look out for a post about the games on Thursday.

Results;

Sale Sharks P – P Wasps

Manchester City 1 – 1 Hull City

Manchester United 4 – 1 Portsmouth

Fixtures;

Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur (tues)

Manchester City vs Arsenal (weds)

That was the weekend that was.

1. Chelsea showed Arsenal what it takes to be champions elect yesterday with a lesson in how to blend skill with power. Up until the first goal Arsenal were in control without really doing anything, though Chelsea could have had a penalty for Sagna’s foul on Anelka. Then out of nothing Cole wasn’t closed down and a great cross came over for Drogba to finish clinically. The defending wasn’t the best. Sagna could have made a better attempt to prevent the cross from Cole and one of the centre backs could have cleared it but it was a great ball in.

A couple of minutes later an almost identical goal was scored. Cole again had time and space to put in a great ball from the left but this time it went in off Vermaelen who was expecting Gallas to clear it. Two quick goals before half time, game over. The second half was notable for Arshavin’s disallowed goal, Drogba’s free kick to wrap up the victory and nothing more.

The game showed exactly how far Arsenal have to go if they are to match Chelsea. Ancelotti’s team had height and strength all over the pitch as well as skill, overpowering Arsenal everywhere. Wenger was missing Van Persie, Bendtner and Diaby who all would have played in this game and perhaps made a difference. However you’d imagine that even with them on the pitch Chelsea would find have found a way to win.

For some reason there was a constant stream of hopeful crosses and medium length passes to the forward line of Arshavin, Nasri and Eduardo, who every time were beaten in the air by Terry & co. It changed a little in the second half but there were mainly lots of runs up blind alleys. Eduardo in particular looked well off the pace and badly needs a meaningful goal while Arshavin continued his peripheral form of this season. Walcott was poor when he came on and there are no true wingers at the clubs, instead lots of inside forward types.

I find it so hard to decide who I dislike more in this picture.

As for Drogba, Arsenal must be sick of him. Two great goals and an all action performance in tandem with Anelka. He now has 10 goals in 11 games vs Arsenal and has been directly the match winner six times.  I think Almunia should have done better with the third goal; his positioning was wrong (why move behind the wall?) and thus the ball was already in the net before he even reached with his dive.

Wenger can say the disallowed goal was pivotal but I disagree. As in the game against Man Utd, having all the possession is pointless if you can’t do anything with it. The reason why Chelsea and Man Utd have been the two top teams for the past few years is that they can soak up pressure and still win. Arsenal have yet to discover that method.

What you see and what you get.

2. Everton lost again and although there’s no shame in being beaten by Liverpool (actually…) you sense that perhaps Moyes has taken them as far as he can. That’s not to say he isn’t right for the job and the Scot has done wonders with the budget and constraints he has but maybe something needs freshening up.

Everton won’t reach the heights of the past few seasons and the constant long-term injuries to key players means a likely finish outside the top eight this year. With the Kirkby stadium plans rejected and no buyers for the club, the future looks a little uncertain at Goodison.

3. Is the clock ticking for Mark Hughes? Seven straight draws now. Funny how you can say they’re unbeaten in ten or without a win in seven. Hughes will no doubt slant to the former but I suspect the owners will be looking at the latter. Of the seven games (Villa A, Wigan A, Fulham H, Birmingham A, Burnley H, Liverpool A, Hull H), only Villa and Liverpool are truly tough games if you have real aspirations to be in the top four, and despite everything said otherwise that is the target. Somehow I don’t think Hughes will get a second attempt if he doesn’t achieve it this season in what is such an open year.

4. Hats off to Jimmy Bullard for the celebration of the season. In case you haven’t seen it, he gathered his teammates in a circle and mock scolded a la Tango Man last season. Ironically enough it was at the City of Manchester Stadium again. His return has been the main reason behind Hull’s resurgence and they may yet find themselves in a position like last where they weren’t very good but three teams were worse. He has brought a sense of fun back to the KC Stadium and fair play to Phil Brown for being able to see the funny side of Bullard’s celebration.

Genius.

5. One of those teams will be Wolves unless Mick McCarthy goes. It took a while but it’s now clear that either the players or the manager aren’t cut out for this level. Time for either to prove that’s not true.

6. Birmingham have been doing well of late. They have been hard to break down since the start of the season but Alex McLeish has realised that by adding an extra striker and playing 4-4-2 he is far more likely to rack up the points that will lead Birmingham to safety this season.

T.

It seems as though derby season is upon us; there have been quite a few this weekend and next weekend the most anticipated match in Roma’s season (and the greatest derby in Italy) gets underway. But, before we can start our countdown to a good Biancocelesti thrashing, we have to deal with all the derbies (and mundane regular matches) going down this weekend. Shall we?

Football:

Somebody get this guy a Red shirt.

Liverpool 2-0 Everton (The Merseyside Derby) – Well, the Scousers went head to head today as strugglers Everton took on strugglers Liverpool. It was a battle of the underachievers, with both Rafa Benitez and David Moyes’ sides badly needing the points and morale boost that come from a derby win. In a season when both sides have fared so poorly both in league and European competitions, it comes as no surprise that today’s match was decided not by a particularly heroic individual effort but by a particularly atrocious performance. A pair of grievous mistakes from Everton defender Joseph Yobo gifted the Reds a 2-0 victory, much to the dismay of the Toffeemakers’ fans at Goodison Park. Yobo put the visitors ahead in the 12th minute, putting his foot out and tipping a long-range effort from Javier Mascherano (which was veering well wide of the net, I might add) past Tim Howard and into the back of his own goal. It was a typically scrappy derby match, and Russian wiz Diniyar Bilyaletdinov nearly leveled the score 6 minutes later in the beginning of what was a very back-and-forth first half. Everton found the back of the net twice and were twice disallowed, but the home support were buoyed by their side’s performance and were left singing at the half despite the score remaining 1-0. However, they wouldn’t be singing at fulltime – their side failed to equalize in the second half with Pepe Reina denying the Blues over and over again, seemingly through sheer determination and a bit of luck. When it finally occurred on 81′, the second error from Joseph Yobo would all but put the game out of Everton’s reach. The Nigerian whiffed on an aerial clearance, leading to a shot from Albert Riera before Dirk Kuyt buried the rebound to make it 2-0. Ten minutes later, it was the away support who were singing as another Merseyside derby came to pass.

Manchester Utd 4-1 Portsmouth – Ah, our first non-derby match of the weekend. Still though, there is a bit of history here – the last time Avram Grant came up against Sir Alex Ferguson on the touchline was in the 2008 Champions League final, with Chelsea just one slip away from being crowned Champions of Europe. Despite being runners up in that competition and in the EPL, Grant was sacked as Chelsea manager, left to ponder what could have been. Yesterday he made his (unofficial) return to coaching, this time as manager of strugglers Portsmouth, who are looking to turn their fortunes around after going through 3 owners and 2 managers already this year. Fergie himself had to watch the match from the stands, as he is currently serving a touchline ban – luckily the match was quite a spectacle, abundant with soft penalties and controversy. On 25′ the visitors were awarded a somewhat questionable penalty which Wayne Rooney buried from the spot. The Fratton Park crowd could not complain too much, though, as 6 minutes later their side was awarded an even more inexplicable penalty which Kevin Prince Boateng was able to convert – apparently awarded for some rather run-of-the-mill shirt tugging by Nemanja Vidic. The teams went into the half level, but it would not take United much longer to find their stride. Within the first 8′ minutes of the second period Wayne Rooney would complete his hattrick with a low shot on 48′ and a second penalty on 53′. Ryan Giggs would top it all off on 87′ with the 100th Premiership goal of his career, making it 4-1 United and ensuring that Avram Grant will have Fergie-related nightmares for a while yet.

Tottenham 1-1 Aston Villa – It’s always difficult to come down after an incredible high. No, I’m not referring to my own struggles with substance abuse (fictional, I assure you), but rather the 9-1 victory which the Spurs were able to achieve over Wigan Athletic last weekend. Instead of repeating that incredible feat, the Lilywhites were held to an unremarkable draw at Villa Park. Gabriel Agbonlahor gave the home side an early lead on 10′, but Michael Dawson was able to level for Tottenham late in the match to earn his side a point and lift them to 3rd place in the English Premier League. Not an overly impressive performance from Harry Redknapp’s side, but they did just enough to keep themselves in the Premiership race.

Chelsea 3-0 Arsenal (The London Derby) – Realistically, there are more intense traditional rivalries in London town; historically Chelsea and Arsenal have been less concerned with each other than their other London neighbours. However, the rise of Chelsea into the big four of Premiership football means that in recent years these two sides have been forced into competition with one another at the top of the table and as a direct result their rivalry has become much more intense. Today’s London derby turned out to be an absolute rout from the Blues, who have been in tip-top form all season under Carlo Ancelotti, decimating Arsene Wenger’s depleted side who have been just shy of top form of late. It was another episode of the Didier Drogba show at the Emirates, with the big Ivorian grabbing the brace to all but destroy the Gunners and keep his fantastic record against Wenger’s side alive – Drogba has found the net in each of the last 9 matches played against Arsenal. Drogba opened the scoring on 41′, firing from close range into the top of Almunia’s net after some impeccable service from Ashley Cole. Just 4 minutes later Cole would again play the role of provider, but this time it was Arsenal man Thomas Vermaelen who turned the ball into his own net – giving the home side plenty to think about as they retired for the halftime interval. Just after the break Arsenal should have made it 2-1 when Andrei Arshavin blasted a rebound past Petr Cech and into the Blues’ net, but the goal was disallowed for an alleged foul on the Czech keeper by Gunners man Eduardo. Despite some dangerous efforts, Chelsea dominated play for much of the second half; their persistence paid off on 86′ when (guess who?) Didier Drogba struck again from a free kick just outside the area, blasting past the wall and away from Manuel Almunia into the back of the net. Ultimately, Ancelotti’s side would cruise to a relatively easy win, taking advantage of a depleted and demoralized Arsenal side to further their dominance atop the Premiership table. Chelsea have now recorded wins this season against all of their fellow big four sides – a positive omen if there ever was one.

Manchester City 1-1 Hull City – Oh, and City drew their 7th straight game after Shaun Wright-Phillips’ opener was cancelled out by a late penalty converted by Jimmy Bullard.

Calcio:

Inter 1-0 Fiorentina – Oh, Inter. I am growing to hate you so. In a game when Jose Mourinho’s side played poorly and were well-met by an organized outing from Cesare Prandelli’s men, it would be a penalty kick which separated the two sides in the end and allowed i Nerazzurri to go 8 points clear atop the Serie A table. It’s so typical of this side to underachieve thoroughly and then get by on the skin of their teeth that I shouldn’t be surprised, but yet I am disappointed each time a more deserving team outplays them and ultimately falls, especially due to this sort of misfortune. I’m not saying that the penalty wasn’t there, but had it not been for Gianluca Comotto’s hotheadedness, or had Alberto Gilardino buried his one-on-one chance against Julio Cesar instead of hitting the post just moments earlier, then Inter surely would have dropped points on the evening. In the end, Diego Milito’s penalty made the difference in a match full of could’ve-beens for La Viola that was perhaps ultimately a shouldn’t-have-been for La Beneamata.

Genoa 3-0 Sampdoria (il Derbi della Lanterna) – The Genovese derby, or il Derbi della Lanterna, as it is known, always produces some fireworks. This year’s was no different, as i Grifoni demolished i Blucerchiati in a game that had as many goals as it did red cards. Omar Milanetto opened the scoring for Genoa on 10′ with a spot kick after Reto Ziegler executed a clumsy tackle in the box. Genoa’s Giuseppe Biava was sent off for handling the ball as he fell to the ground, Sampdoria’s Marco Rossi received two yellows, and his teammate Fabrizio Cacciatore received a straight red late in the match. Meanwhile, Genoa’s Marco Rossi (yes, there are two of them) scored on 53′ and Raffaele Palladino capped off the victory with a spot kick on 75′. An eventful and exciting derby, and also a hard-fought one, which I’m sure an inspection of Antonio Cassano’s shins would tell you. They really don’t like that guy, eh? I bet Lippi calls up the whole team come June.

Cagliari 2-0 Juventus – La Vecchia Signora ha perso contro… gli Isolani? Cagliari managed to pull one (better yet, two) over on their visitors at the Stadio San’Elia today, snatching all three points from a rather toothless Old Lady. I think I’ve waited long enough to say this – Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has certainly been a huge flop at AC Milan this season, but realistically, what has Diego done for Juventus’ offense lately? I’ll tell you what he did today: not enough. Their confidence shattered by a midweek loss to Bordeaux, Juventus fell about play clumsily and were victimized by a sharp and determined performance from the Sardinians. The home side opened the scoring on 30′ when Nenê unleashed  35-yard screamer that blasted into Buffon’s top corner. Juventus struggled to respond, and with their own Brazilian Diego firing well-wide before the half, went into the break with a much-deserved 1-0 deficit. After the interval, Amauri thought he had grabbed a quick equalizer for his side, but the goal was correctly disallowed for offside, leaving Cagliari keeper Federico Marchetti more than happy to pick the ball out of the back of the net. Cagliari also had fair claim to a spot kick after Martin Cácares handled the ball in the area, but the referee adjudged it ball-to-hand and play continued. A late goal would come to pass, but it would not be the strike that Juventus needed: substitute Alessandro Matri turned Fabio Cannavaro absolutely inside-out before slotting past Gigi Buffon in the 89th minute. Both Diego and substitute Alessandro Del Piero would miss absolute sitters for the visitors in added time and Juventus were forced to swallow their second humbling defeat in 5 days, dropping to 8 points behind league-leaders Inter.

Vucigol had me praising the heavens with his 44th-minute header.

AS Roma 2-1 Atalanta – An ugly, nervy, but ultimately deserved away win. I couldn’t be happier. Though dominations at the Stadio Olimpico like the one last weekend over Bari are a joy to watch, they are expected – those are the games that we will always win, because the magic of the Olimpico rarely fails us. However, it is matches like today’s at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri D’Italia that are must-wins for i Giallorossi, because they are the ones where we so often lose our nerve and drop points against teams we would easily beat at home. It’s not called an advantage for nothing, you know. Luckily, Roma was able to pull out a comeback win against gli Orobici today after Fabio Ceravolo gave the home side the lead on 13′. Roma looked decidedly lackluster for huge spells during the first half, but were able to grab a set-piece goal just before the half as Mirko Vučinić nodded home a corner from David Pizarro on 44′. Simone Perrotta was able to give his side the lead 20 minutes later, ghosting into the box unnoticed to head home a cross from Vučinić. After gaining the lead, i Lupi simply fought to maintain it. The substitutions of Jérémy Ménez for Rodrigo Taddei and Roberto Acquafresca for Cristiano Doni changed the entire complexion of the game; suddenly Roma were on the backheel and fighting only to maintain their lead while the home side heaped on piles of offensive pressure. For the most part Roma held up nicely under the waves of attack; Riise almost scored an own-goal on 85′ but instead cleared the ball nicely, while Atalanta had a legitimate appeal for a penalty on Juan two minutes later which was happily waved off. Finally the fulltime whistle blew and Roma were able to take a much-needed 3 points home to Trigoria. We’ve finally cracked the top 10! Rejoice ironically – but only for a second. We have il Derbi della Capitale to think about.

Udinese 2-0 Livorno – The other Bianconeri were able to achieve a much better result this weekend than Juventus. A cracker of a free kick from Antonio Di Natale opened the scoring on 29′, bringing his total for the season to a round 10. 7 minutes later, Antonio Floro Flores doubled his side’s money, heading home after a build-up that was again largely the work of Di Natale. The one-two punch was more than enough to subdue the Tuscan visitors at the Stadio Friuli and le Zebrette ran away with the 2-goal win. I almost feel bad for Sersi Cosmi, fervent Romanista that he is, until I remember that it was his cursed side which sent us on the downward spiral earlier this season from which we are just now recovering (ie, getting Totti back). But then again, Udinese was a part of that spiral too… Aw, to hell with the both of them.

The Hunter finally found his gun!

AC Milan 2-0 Catania - AC Milan were given a golden opportunity to leapfrog Juventus in the standings this weekend, with i Bianconeri dropping points at Cagliari and i Rossoneri overcame Catania in Sicily to make the most of that chance. Leonardo’s side were held to a goalless draw by the Rossazzurri for 93 minutes, but Milan ‘flop’ Klaas-Jan Huntelaar finally made good on his promise to score an added time brace and catapult his side into second place. First the Dutchman sent a low strike in after some lovely control by Filippo Inzaghi, and then only seconds later after the restart he struck again, chipping Andújar beautifully to make it 2-0 for Milan. Well, the Hunter certainly took his time, but it seems that he has finally found his form for his new side – and his timing couldn’t have been better.

Futbol:

Ibra done good.

Barcelona 1-0 Real Madrid (El Clásico)- Well, it might be called El Clásico, but there was nothing ‘classic’ about Spain’s biggest derby this evening. Barcelona and Real Madrid played out a scrappy game in which neither truly came into their stride or were able to showcase their own particular brand of football. Despite injury concerns, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic were all able to feature in the game, but the big Swede would be the only one to make his mark on the match. The Camp Nou was buzzing with energy as 98,000 of los Culés welcomed their most hated rivals to their home ground. Madrid, however, were not daunted, and were the first to impress, with Xabi Alonso and Kaká putting in perhaps their most impressive performances in the shirt of Los Blancos to date. Cristiano Ronaldo played for a solid hour, but was clearly not at full fitness and unable to terrorize the Barcelona backline as he might have wished. Meanwhile, Lionel Messi caused all sorts of trouble but was ultimately kept fairly quiet by Real Madrid’s defense, who put in a surprisingly solid performance. It was the combination of the substitute Ibrahimovic and Dani Alves which would prove deadly, as the diminutive right-back put in an inch-perfect cross which Ibracadabra struck home with authority to put the home side ahead on 55′. However, that would be the only goal of the match, and besides red cards for both Sergi Busquets (63′) and Lassana Diarra (90′), there was not much other action to speak of. In fact, in light of the last Clásico, in which Barca drubbed Madrid 6-2, tonight’s match was a bit of a dud.

Sevilla 2-2 Málaga (Andalusian Derby) – Sevilla’s closest (and fiercest) rivals are Real Betis, against whom they contest the Derby of Seville. However, with Real Betis currently languishing in Segunda División, Sevilla’s closest rivals in the interestingly-named Autonomous Community of Andalucía are perhaps their neighbours in Málaga, who are currently languishing at the bottom of the Primera División. So, we have the Andalusian Derby; and while the rivalry might not be as intense as El Clásico, I personally found the game itself to be much more entertaining. At the Estadio Sánchez Pizjuán Sevilla were looking to bounce back from a 1-0 defeat in midweek to Romanian side Unirea Urziceni, but they certainly did not get off to a good start. Although in a bizarre incident Málaga substitute Albert Luque was shown the red card from the bench, it was still the visitors who took the early lead. Fernando opened up the scoring for the visitors on 22′, and Duda made it 2-0 just before the half after being set up by Fernando. It seemed as though Málaga were headed towards all three points, but a spectacular second-half performance from Luis Fabiano ensured that the spoils were shared in Seville this weekend. The Brazilian struck first on 58′, heading home past Gustavo Munúa, and then on 72′ struck again, smashing the ball into the lower corner of the net to bring his side level. Both sides fought hard for an equalizer, and Sevilla came closest right at the death with a point-blank header from Fernando Navarro that Munúa probably saved by accident. In the end, each team would come away with a single point in a 2-2 draw that was anything but uneventful.

Fußball:

Bayern München 3-0 Hannover 96 – Well, it seems that die Roten have finally regained their lost form, overcoming midtable side Hannover 96 with ease in a match that featured goals from two of their most talented young stars. Thomas Müller tapped in from close range on 19′ to open the scoring, but Bayern looked shaky at times and were not convincing in their possession of the ball. Constant Djakpa caused all sorts of trouble for Phillip Lahm up the flank, and drew a good save from Hans-Jörg Butt, but was unable to affect the scoreline before the stroke of halftime. Ivica Olic made sure that the visitors got off to a good start in the second half, rising at the far post to meet a Danijel Pranjic cross with his head and double Bayern’s lead. For the rest of the half the home side did everything they could do to reduce Bayern’s lead, but to no avail – it would ultimately be Mario Gomez who would get the last laugh, beating the offside trap on 90′ and slotting home to make it 3-0 for his side. This victory sees Bayern rise to 4th in the Bundesliga standings, while Hannover 96 sit at 12th.

Someone control this guy!

Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 VfB Stuttgart – Leverkusen exit this weekend sitting three point clear atop the Bundesliga table, and it can largely be contributed to one man: Stefan Kießling. The 25-year old striker has been absolutely on fire for his club of late and bagged a hattrick this weekend at the Bayarena to cement his place atop the German scoring charts as well. Kießling struck on 22′, 59′ and 87′, while Eren Derdiyok added a goal of his own on 38′ to complete a 4-0 drubbing of a lacklustre Stuttgart side.

Werder Bremen 2-2 VfL Wolfsburg – Edin Dzeko’s double was not enough for the reigning Bundesliga champions to grab all three points away at the Weserstadion. Each time the young Bosnian scored to give his side the lead, the home side were quick to equalize, and ultimately the two squads cancelled one another out and had to settle for a point apiece. Hugo Almeida and Per Mertesacker were on hand to restore parity for their side, with the latter scoring at the very death in the 91st minute of stoppage time. The sharing of points means that Werder Bremen now sit at 2nd place in the Bundesliga standings, while Wolfsburg remain 8th.

]]> http://walkingollie.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/in-with-a-bullet/ Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:53:31 +0000 Stephen Foster http://walkingollie.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/in-with-a-bullet/

All Time Goal Celebrations

1. The Tango Tribute

Took place at Eastlands today when cheeky Cockney chappy Jimmy Bullard, having scored a late penalty to level the scores at 1-1, collected his team mates and re-created the infamous moment from a year ago when manager Phil ‘Tango’ Brown sat his side down in the penalty box when they were 4-0 down at half-time and ticked them off. It was a joy to behold, and you could not have had a better actor to play the part of Tango than artful dodger Bullard who did an excellent job of pointing at people.

This pushes the previous number One (from obscure Book of Lists: Football) to second:

2. The Dying Swan

Jürgen Klinsmann joined Tottenham Hotspur in 1994 following performances in successive World Cup tournaments – Italia ’90 and USA ’94 – during which his fame as the Diver’s Diver reached global proportions, nowhere more so than in England where supporters are on permanent red alert for skulduggery from Ze Germans. Klinsmann scored his first goal for Spurs away at Sheffield Wednesday; in an inspired choreographed gesture, which won over a significant amount of the non-partisan, he celebrated by running to the touchline and performing a self-mocking cartoon bellyflop, just ahead of his teammates, who piled in behind following suit.

Context 1 : Liverpool at home, Roma away midweek (a gut-punch game) and now Wigan away. Tiredness was always going to be a factor, so any points gained would be a bonus. As Alan Hansen said on MOTD 2, how many points would have hoped for from the aforementioned fixtures. Two was his answer and you cannot really argue with that.

Context 2: Injuries. We were without AJ, Danny Murphy, Dio Kamara. Davies, Etuhu and Duff on the way back from injury.  To have this many first team players out should be a huge problem for a team like Fulham, but amazingly it has not been so far, so all credit to Roy and his system.

It was a game that focused on two goalkeepers. Schwarzer stole the headlines with save after save, throwing himself around the goal like a man possessed. He certainly looked closer to 27 than 37 today. Lets hope he continues his fine form and trains up young Stockdale as a good replacement once he leaves.

Neither of the goals were anything to write home about. Boyce took advantage of some slack marking to power home a shot from six yards and Demspey put away a spot kick after going down in the area. Other chances of note for Fulham were Nevlands early header which looped off of his head onto the post and deflected away, and an excellent double save from Kirkland , who denied first Dempsey then Greening. I have always rated Kirkland and the antics of his dad have mad me warm to him even more. If Wigan ever go down I would love to bring him to Fulham.

Some other thoughts having watched MOTD 2:

That Alessandro Diamanti looks like a quality player. He has one hell of a left foot and enjoys dropping deep to create chances for others, plus he is Italian and shares the same first name as me so always bonus points. I think West Ham are in trouble. Zola is a good manager, but I fear for their finances.  It will be interesting to see what happens in January.

It was good to see Bullard back for Hull. I for one am well past the stage of believing he was greedy to go to Hull. Good luck to him, and it would bring a smile to my face if he was influential in their fight against relegation (as long as we beat them next time we play). It is easy to see why Bullard never fit into Roy’s system, and Lee Dixon showed why today albeit in a positive way. Bullard was all over the pitch, drifting around, starting every move and generally creating a nuisance. Great if you want a box to box midfielder, but not if you are looking to keep a strong midfield 4 who hold position and stay solid he could be a nightmare.

The comments of the pundits made me laugh in reference to the Man Utd-Chelsea game. They kept talking about how both teams were out to win etc etc, but United were defensive, playing on the counter and Chelsea were stifled creatively by the deep defensive line that United played. I for one really hope that Arsenal win the league this year. I think it would be great reward for Wenger and a good advert for the game as a financially sound club with a realistic long-term plan, who stick by their manager succeed.

Two week break now, great news for the Fulham squad, but no so good for football fans. I cant wait till we kick off again in a few weeks time.

Wigan Athletic Reserves 2 – 1 Hull City Reserves

Tuesday 20th October at the Robin Park Arena

Goals from Tomasz Kupisz and Rachid Bouaouzan gave Wigan’s reserves a 2-1 victory at home to Hull City on Tuesday night.

The result is Latics’ first win of the season in this year’s Premier Reserve League North under coach Graham Barrow.

Hull opened the scoring early on through Tom Cairney and then former Wigan favourite Jimmy Bullard was denied from the penalty spot by Latics ‘keeper Lee Nicholls.

Kupisz then levelled the scores just before half time after linking up well with fellow Pole Tomasz Cywka.

Latics began to dominate after the break and Dutchman Bouaouzan struck home for the winner 20 minutes from time.

The reserves’ next game is away to Burnley on Tuesday 3^rd November. Kick Off 7pm.

———–

This is an example of some very basic copy that I’ve written for my local newspaper, The Wigan Observer. The paper is a weekly publication and covers Wigan Athletic and Wigan Warriors.

I am required to keep the reports short, sticking to 120 words detailing the key events. This blog however should give me the opportunity to expand upon this and I’ll try to add a bit more flair and personality to my writing in future posts.

Jeg glemte å si det:

Jeg lanserer meg selv som høyaktuell kandidat til landslagstrener-jobben. Helt serr mener jeg at jeg kunne ført Norge til EM.

Tidligere meritter:

Vunnet Premier League og kommet til semifinale i Champions League med Watford på CM 01/02.

Vunnet Seria A med Piacenza på CM 01/02

Vunnet Premier League og UEFA CUP med Blackburn på FM 08/09

Komme på 2.plass med Bodø/Glimt på FM 08/09.

Oppdaget og sett det skyhøye potensiale på for eksempel Jimmy Bullard, Lee Cattermole, Gareth Barry og Darren Fletcher henholdsvis 3, 2, 2 og 3 år før de såkalte “fotballekspertene” skjønte hvilke tre store talenter disse var og fortsatt er.

Faen så rævva norske og utenlandske fotballeksperter er.

A

• Nice job by Shaun on the a little pre-game preview of today’s Champion’s League “match-ups.” See the story below.

• Thanks to TSG commentator Antonio (and ESPN……THREE……SIXTY!…that’s how I feel about it) I will be watching even more soccer. About to take in the USMNTers against Cameroon’s Indominatable Lions on “the 360.”

Amazingly, DeMerit's eye injury didn't come on the pitch.

• Speaking of the Indomitable Lions, TSG is working on our follow-up to our nickname piece.  Add more commentary here.

• USMNT’er and Confederation’s Cup stalwart Jay DeMerit is now a candidate for surgery as his contact-sliced eyeball is not healing. Good luck in getting back out their Jay; we miss the cover in the middle. Paging Goodison and Conrad.

• Freddy Adu sleeps with a soccer ball and the Twitterati is giving him hell for it. Check it out here. Ah, the instant feedback of Twitter. Oh, and we’re again in Freddy’s corner–the kid is passionate.

• TSG crashed and burned hard on our EPL prognostications, no wins for Arsenal and Chelsea and we gave West Ham a chance on the road. We’ll be laying low for awhile. In other news, we see Honduras 10 – USA 0 — okay hopefully we reverse jinxed this.

• Hull City hopefully get an injury boost with a date set for the return of former Fulham middleman Jimmy Bullard. Any English nattie team fans want to tell us who’s fallen futher, Bullard or Bentley?

• The situation in Honduras is more volatile than Craig Bellamy. However, what TSG is wondering is, with Benny going to the distance in Monday’s match and Bradley seeing only 45 mins of pitch time over the last 3 games for Bo….Munchen!, what is Bob Bradley contemplating right now.

• Boy, we’ve dropped the ball on our soccer business pieces. While American owner Stan Kroenke has done at least a decent job of endearing himself to the Arsenal faithful over at Emirates, the same cannot be said for the States’ duo of Tom Hicks and George Gillett. Here’s just the next item in the Liverpool saga.

• First Damien Duff and now possibly….Nigel Reo-Coker? That’s a crowded midfield and forward picture that Roy Hodgson is Bob Ross’ing over there at Fulham. Where does Clint fit in the watercolors?

• Okay, Duka and Cruz in the starting side for the U.S. About to start….see you in a bit.

Was shown this on Friday. You gotta love Jimmy Bullard.

RR

Not that there’s much competition, but Jimmy Bullard must surely be the Premiership’s funniest player. Here he is filming his player idents for Sky:

And this is his legendary message to his old club Peterborough United,
followed by some on-couch blather with Lovejoy and Hells Bells which,
to be fair, isn’t quite as entertaining:

The Germans don’t know what they are missing.

(Via Iain Dale)

He’s rubbish at staying fit but ace at comedy- from Soccer AM:).

Last Season: 17^th

Say hello to your new teammates: Seyi Olofinjana, Jozy Altidore, Steven Mouyokolo.

Close the door on your way out: Sam Ricketts, Dean Windass and a few others.

Predicted star: Phil Brown if he has it his way. Looking at Hull’s squad if they can get Jimmy Bullard fit and playing again, he could be the difference between relegation and staying up for another season. At the back Michael Turner will look to make a late bid for England’s World Cup squad. To be honest he’ll probably be doing it at another club though.

"All together now: 'There's only one Phil Brown, he's the best'"

Needs a big year: One of their strikers, none of whom look like scoring more than five goals. Daniel Cousin would be the most likely.

One to watch: Kamil Zayatte was relatively impressive last season and will look to build on it.

What they want to happen: Stay up. Sign a striker, any striker.

Nightmare scenario: Relegation, Bullard’s knees continue to play up.

Plan A: Play like the first of half of last season, where Geovanni ran the show and every player played like their lives depended on it.

Plan B, just in case: Motivate your players on the pitch, at half time, in front of everyone. Yeah, that’ll work.

Predicted finish: 19^th

Why? Last season was the archetypal tale of two halves for Hull. A fantastic start with away wins at Spurs and Arsenal led to 6^th place as late as December. It then all went wrong and Hull went winless for at least half the season before just surviving by a point on the last day. Hull fans may deny it but a lot of this was down to Phil Brown’s pitchside half time team talk when 4-0 down at Man City on Boxing Day. I would lose all respect for him as a player if that happened and the longer the season went on, the more Brown would talk rubbish to the media.

Listen up lads, I want to make a point. And win none for the rest of the season...

Remember the bizarre rant at Fabregas for coming on the pitch, at full time no less, in his own ground? Or the cringeworthy sing song once survival was achieved. These issues result in Hull’s big problem this summer, the failure to sign anyone good. At least four or five players have publicly turned down Hull and you have to think it’s because Phil Brown is manager. Of the players that have come in Olofinjana was not a big piece for Stoke last year but will provide steel in the middle. Jozy Altidore sounds like a sweet for a sore throat and is not the proven striker they need while Mouyokolo is an unknown quantity.

Overall I can’t see anything but a Hull relegation this time round, even with Bullard fit. I think Turner will move on before the transfer window closes and the players they have are generally just not good enough. They were lucky to have three atrocious teams beneath them last season. They won’t be so lucky in 2009/10.

.

T.

Fulham FC: En sæson på det jævne…

Stiftet: 1879 (som Fulham St. Andrew’s Church Sunday School)

Stadion: Craven Cottage (Kapacitet: 27.726)

Kælenavn: Cottagers, Whites, Lilywhites

Seneste tre ligaplaceringer (07/08/09): 16/17/7

Første fem kampe: 15/8 Portsmouth (U), 18/8 Blackburn (H), 22/8 Chelsea (H), 29/8 Aston Villa (U), 12/9 Everton (H)

Manager: Roy Hodgson (Siden december 2007)

Fulham har efterhånden været et fast indslag i den bedste engelske række i en årrække. Holdet rykkede op i 2001 efter en markant længere årrække i de lavere divisioner. Holdets comeback i det fine selskab hang uløseligt sammen med rigmanden Mohammed Al-Fayeds økonomiske engagement, som startede i 1997. Med hans penge, og franske Jean Tigana (efter blandt andet Kevin Keagan havde haft fornøjelsen) på trænerbænken tromlede Fulham op i den bedste række med folk som Louis Saha og Luis Boa Morte blandt de absolutte profiler. Da Roy Hodgson kom til Fulham var klubben imidlertid i en bitter nedrykningskamp. Ikke mindst fordi det virker som om Al-Fayeds interesse for holdet er dalet betragteligt de senere år. Holdet reddede imidlertid livet ved at vinde fire af sæsonens sidste fem kampe under Hodgsons ledelse. I sidste sæson skulle man så undgå at havne i en tilsvarende situation igen, og denne mission mere end lykkedes. Fulham overraskede alt og alle, og snuppede til sidst også den 7. plads som gav en plads i dette års Euro League. Manden som nogle måske husker for sit år i FC København har således iscenesat en transformation på Craven Cottage som fortjener respekt og beundring.

Truppen generelt: The usual suspects…

En væsentlig årsag til Fulhams succesfulde sæson sidste år, var at holdet i det store hele undgik skader til de centrale spillere. Særligt vigtigt var det, at målmanden og backkæden stort set overhovedet ikke behøvede blive udskiftet. Således spillede keeperen Mark Schwarzer samtlige kampe, og viste sig at være et regulært scoop for Fulham, da de hentede ham på fri transfer inden sæsonen. Noget kunne også tyde på at Middlesbrough måske kunne have brugt ham et år til… Schwarzer presses i øvrigt fra bænken af ingen ringere end manden med et af fodboldverdenens dummeste navne: Pascal Zuberbühler. Venstrebacken Paul Konchesky missede to kampe, den ghanesiske højreback John Pantsil gik glip af en, det samme gjorde Brede Hangeland, mens hans makker i centerforsvaret, Aaron Hughes, spillede samtlige kampe. Den stabilitet skabte en meget stærk forsvarsenhed hos holdet fra Craven Cottage, som lukkede færre mål ind end alle andre hold i Premier League, bortset fra top tre. Særligt den tidligere FCK’er, Hangeland, tiltrak sig mange overskrifter for sit dominerende spil, og et skifte til Arsenal var på tale i flere omgange.

På midtbanen var den tidligere Liverpool-mand (og uofficielle verdensmester i dårlige mål på langskud som rettes af flere gange inden de ryger i kassen – nummer to er i øvrigt Deco) Danny Murphy i storform og startede også samtlige kampe for the cottagers. Han blev i første halvdel af sæsonen suppleret af Jimmy Bullard, som i januar tog til Hull. I anden halvdel af sæsonen satte Dickson Etuhu sig ofte på pladsen, hvor han foruden at bidrage med et voldsomt sejt navn, udfyldte sin rolle uden nonsense. Det tidligere Tottenham-stortalent Simon Davies så ud til definitivt at have lagt de skader som længe saboterede hans karriere bag sig, og spillede for anden sæson over tredive kampe fra start – hovedsagligt på højrekanten. Sæsonafslutningen blev dog trods alt ødelagt af en skade for den teknisk gode waliser, som dog regner med at være klar til sæsonstart. Venstrekanten tog Zoltan Gera sig af i første halvdel af sæsonen inden skader kom i vejen for ungareren som i mange år har været stjerne hos West Bromwich. Derefter blev han hovedsagligt brugt som indskifter. Amerikaneren Clint Dempsey spillede til gengæld en god sæson, hvor han tog sig af såvel rollen som kantspiller, offensiv midt og angriber, hvor det samlet blev til 7 mål.

På toppen spillede manden som mærker tyngdekraften tidobbelt i straffesparksfeltet, Andy Johnson og Bobby Zamora de fleste kampe. Johnson lavede næsten godkendte 7 mål, mens Zamora trods sin arbejdsiver og mange andre gode egenskaber ikke kan være tilfreds med blot at have bidraget med 2 mål. At Zamora alligevel spillede stort set spillede alle kampe alligevel, siger noget om at Hodgson må værdsætte hans indsats. Begge reserverne, Eric Nevland (som giver truppen ren og skær 90′er-glød) og Diomansy Camara, lavede faktisk dobbelt så mange mål i deres få kampe fra start og hyppige indskiftninger.

Væsentlige transfere: Don’t hassle the Volz…

Fulham har haft en relativt stille sommer på markedet, hvor to mand er gledet ud, mens to nye er kommet til. Den rædselsfuldt dårlige angriber Collins John har endelig fået gjort en ende på sine Premier League lidelser, og kan fremover henrykke i den belgiske klub KSV Roeselare. Mere sørgeligt er det, at ligaens måske mest sympatiske spiller, tyske Moritz Volz, ligeledes er blevet fritstillet. Volzy har med sit gode humør og sin tydelige kærlighed til fodboldspillet været et kærkomment afbræk i forhold til mange af de fimsede, krukkede, napoleon-kompleksramte, blingbling primadonnaer som render og surmuler lørdag efter lørdag. Volzys personlige hjemmeside volzy.com kan anbefales, hvis man vil vide mere. Her kan man blandt andet læse om hans sammenklappelige minicykel som han transporterer sig omkring på i London (når han ikke er med metro), og hans kærlighed til David Hasselhoff og tv-serien Nightrider, ligesom man kan blive linket til hans egen youtube-kanal.

Ind er til gengæld kommet Birmingham-højrebacken Stephen Kelly som kan give konkurrence til backkædens svageste led, John Pantsil, og den norske midtbanespiller Bjorn Helge Riise, som kommer til fra Lillestrøm.

Forventninger: Mere af det samme, bare dårligere…

Det er happy days på Craven Cottage. Næste sæson bliver dog sværere for London-holdet, da truppen i sin nuværende form virker foruroligende smal i forhold til både at spille med i ligaen og i europæisk fodbold. Det øgede antal kampe vil kræve at flere spillere kommer ind omkring førsteholdet, ligesom det synes usandsynligt at Fulham næsten kan undgå skader endnu en sæson. Ikke desto mindre har holdet i Roy Hodgson en træner som ved, hvordan han skal bygge sit hold op, han ved hvordan han vil have dem til at spille, og han har formået at få en række mindre spektakulære spillere til at fungere utrolig godt som en enhed. I næste sæson vil folk dog være forberedte på dette, ligesom den generelle distraktion fra europæisk fodbold plejer at have sin pris i den hjemlige liga. Sidste sæson sås dette med al tydelighed, da såvel Tottenham som Aston Villa i sidste sæson lod reserverne tage sig af deres sekstendedelsfinaler i UEFA-cupen. Derfor vurderer undertegnede, at Fulham – medmindre de virkelig åbner den store tegnedreng i løbet af de næste to uger – kommer til at få en sæson på det jævne. Nedrykning bliver næppe aktuelt, hvis holdet kan spille med cirka den samme stamme som sidste år. Til gengæld bliver der heller ikke tale om en gentagelse af sidste sæsons imponerende resultat.

Tip: Forventet placering: Nummer 13  Supersæson: For Fulham vil det være helt fantastisk, hvis holdet igen kan spille med omkring den nederste europæiske plads og slutte i top-8.

Hull City FC

Stiftet: 1904

Stadion: KC Stadium (Kapacitet: 25.404)

Kælenavn: Tigers

Seneste tre ligaplaceringer: (07/08/09): 21 (ch) /3 (ch)/ 17

Første fem kampe: 15/8 Chelsea (U), 18/8 Tottenham (H), 22/8 Bolton (H), 29/8 Wolverhampton (U), 12/9 Sunderland (U)

Manager: Phil Brown (Siden oktober 2006).

Evigt solbrune Phil Brown med lokumsbrætskægget er en mand som formår at skabe overskrifter. Først lykkedes det ham at rykke Hull City FC op i den bedste engelske række for første gang i klubbens 104-årige historie. På det tidspunkt var Hull den største by i England som aldrig havde haft et hold i det fornemme selskab. Dernæst ledede han holdet gennem en så succesfuld start på livet i Premier League, at han blev kåret til årets manager i september; blandt andet efter en imponerende sejr på 2-1 over Arsenal på Emirates. Siden blev livet noget hårdere for opkomlingene. Brown fik adskillige bøder for upassende adfærd når temperamentet løb løbsk, han gennemførte sin halvlegssnak til sine spillere på banen foran Hulls medrejsende fans mod Manchester City, han udtrykte ønske om at holdets ubestridte stjerne Geovanni skulle dumpe en dopingtest i et interview efter en kamp, og da Hull efter en miserabel afslutning på sæsonen trods alt redede livet i den bedste række; ja – så greb Phil Brown en mikrofon og skrålede en modificeret version af Beach Boys hittet Sloop John B for de måbende og glade hjemmetilskuere: “Leeeet me go hoooo-ooo-ooome”sang han. (Find klippet på youtube og krum tæer til de knækker.) Hvis ikke han gør sit arbejde overordentlig godt, så kan både han og Hull få ønsket opfyldt, og være så godt som hjemme i de lavere rækker ved juletid.

Truppen generelt: Nick Barmby?! Lever du endnu?

Da Hull umiddelbart efter oprykningen forrige sæson hentede Geovanni i Manchester City, hentede man også den primære årsag til holdets succes. Den brassilianske 10’er lavede otte mål i sidste sæson, og er alfa og omega for om holdet fungerer offensivt. Nummer to på holdets topscorerliste sidste år var store Marlon King, som tegnede sig for fem træffere. Generelt er Hulls trup heller ikke noget at råbe hurra for. Holdet faldt fuldstændig sammen i anden halvdel af sæsonen, og hvis der havde været et par runder mere ville de næppe stadig være at finde i den bedste række. Hull vandt ikke i sæsonens sidste ti kampe – og på sæsonens sidste 21 (!) kampe blev det blot til 9 af holdets i alt 36 point. Hvis man skal fremhæve nogen, så er kaptajnen Ian Ashbee en udmærket, fightende boldflytter, som desuden kan prale af at have scoret for Hull i samtlige af de øverste fire engelske rækker (ligesom han har haft den tvivlsomme ære, at blive hentet til klubben af Jan Mølby, dengang han huserede). Forsvareren Michael Turner spillede samtlige minutter for the tigers i deres første Premier League sæson, og gjorde det godt nok til at blive kåret til årets spiller for andet år i træk. Han sættes nu i forbindelse med en række andre klubber. Jimmy Bullard som blev hentet i januar fra Fulham, er som bekendt en rigtig god spiller, som både kan bidrage offensivt og defensivt, men ikke overraskende er hans tid i Hull blevet fyldt med skader. Afslutningsvis bidrager den tidligere Tottenham, Boro, Everton, Liverpool og Leeds-spiller Nick Barmby med noget 90’er nostalgi på KC Stadium.

Væsentlige transfere: Nobody wants to go to Hull

90’er nostalgi var der også masser af ved tudsegamle Dean Windass, som imidlertid er blevet skippet ud tillige med en håndfuld andre fyldspillere (herunder Michael Bridges!), som alle er røget til klubber i de lavere divisioner. Dog har også førstevalget på højrebacken, Sam Ricketts, forladt klubben til fordel for Bolton. Denne relativt store udskiftning vidner om at Brown godt kender den forestående udfordrings størrelse. Foreløbig er den eneste nye mand en franske forsvarer med det mundrette navn Steven Mouyokolo, men Hull linkes bestandigt med et hav af spillere. Senest har Bobby Zamora sagt pænt nej tak, for i stedet at sidde på bænken hos Fulham. Heri ligger Hull og smørtenoren Browns pt største problem. Hull er en lille klub i et temmelig usexet hjørne af England, og derfor bliver det svært at lokke profiler til. Man fristes til at kalde denne mekanisme for Wigan-syndromet…

Forventninger: Ud på røv og albuer

Som allerede nævnt talrige gange bliver det svært for Hull næste sæson. Holdet har som udgangspunkt allerede nedrykningsform, og såvel spillere som trænere og fans må have en temmelig slunken selvtillidsbeholdning. Holdet skal simpelthen hente en række forstærkninger – til snart sagt alle pladser – i løbet af det resterende transfervindue, og så skal de ellers gå til hver kamp, som gjaldt den liv og død. Og selv hvis de gør dette, får de det stadig svært.

Tip: Forventet placering: Nummer 19 Supersæson: Nummer 17 eller derover.

The season is over, Newcastle, Middlesbrough and West Brom all find themselves in The Championship next season.  I wrote a few weeks ago that I thought Hull would be relegated, unless they beat Bolton.  Well, they did not win, but drew and that point keeps them up.  Well done Hull!

Newcastle have paid the price for countless mistakes both off the field and on.  They need some real work to bounce back.  Sunderland’s manager has stood down, he looked on TV like the pressure had been too much.

Hull’s chairman needs now to make a brave decision.  Does he stand by Phil Brown and hope he has learnt from mistakes made?  Or does he bring in an experienced manager, someone who has built a side capable of Premiership survival?  Yes Phil Brown has survived, this year, but was that a fluke?

Hulls record in the 2nd half of the season has been dreadful, the transfer signings questionable.  Paying £5million for Jimmy Bullard, a player plagued by injuries, went disastrously wrong when  he was injured soon after signing.

Whatever happens, I hope Hull can build over the summer and survive another year in The Premiership.  I really hope Phil Brown stays and proves himself.  My fear though is that they will do a Bradford City.

Sure, everyone knows that i hate frederico macheda. i relished in the fact that he was substituted after what can only be described as a reserve team performance for Dimitar Berbatov. But this did not just highlight the unnecessary hype that has surrounded Macheda for the last two weeks after his two fluke goals.

It also showed how much money football teams were wasting on players. berbatov came on and the first thing he does? misplaces an eight yard pass right out of play. £30million in transfer fees and i’m sure a ridiculous weekly wage packet to put the ball out of play. he brought zero inspiration to his team, went on to misplace passes another two times and not to mention miss a penalty in the shoot out. Even Macheda could have managed three passes and a penalty…

Man City are the worst. Robinho, another £30million transfer on ridiculous wages. Scores one goal in 2009 and vicious rumours of dressing room bust-ups and of course his little unauthorised trip back to brazil. Nigel De Jong, 18million for a player who has done what this year? Jo, £18million, goes out on loan at christmas. Wayne Bridge has never and never will be worth £12million and Shay Given is leaking goals left, right and centre. And despite winning 4-2 this weekend i heard that West Brom played them off the park… at home!

Arsenal buy in Rosicky who is hailed as Robert Pires’ replacement only for him to contract Harry Kewell Syndrome and not play three games in a row for the two seasons he’s been there.

Other players under the spotlight include Darren “its only taken three years to justify my £18m transfer” Bent, Scheva cost an absolute packet and did nothing and Jimmy Bullard put Hull along way out of pocket with his dodgy knees.

Fault for the credit crunch? football teams are up there on the blame list…

It couldn’t be more worst for Hull City than losing their record signing Jimmy Bullard for the remainder of the season, says club website (www.hullcityafc.premiumtv.co.uk).

Jimmy goes to Mummy!!

The ace midfielder joined Tigers from Fulham for a record 5 million pounds on the January window. For full story visit
http://www.octansports.com/football/index.aspx