Early Fireworks on New Year’s Eve

The fireworks came early in the premier league on New Year’s Eve as the fixtures gave some real shocks to the watching world.

In the early kick off Steve Keane’s Blackburn stunned Manchester United at Old Trafford beating Alex Ferguson’s team 3-2. Fergie would have been less than pleased with his players relinquishing their chance to top the league for the first time since October. Many will question Ferguson himself though as he had named a fairly weak bench and had little to turn to when United found themselves trailing.

Other shock results saw Aston Villa taking a deserve 3 points at Stamford Bridge and Swansea holding Spurs to a draw. The pressure now piling on Andre Villas-Boas as he blurts out the word ‘project’ to anyone that will listen. Incidentally, if his project is to turn Chelsea into a mediocre team then it’s all going swimmingly well.

Elsewhere, Arsenal beat QPR 1-0 at home clawing back some much needed points for the gunners. The rest of the days matches ending up in draws with Bolton v Wolves, Norwich v Fulham and Stoke v Wigan all ending in stalemates.

Meanwhile on the other side of Manchester, Roberto Mancini’s men will be bracing themselves for their match against Sunderland tomorrow knowing that Fergie didn’t achieve his target of topping the league by the 1st Jan.

Mancini Okay With Balotelli Smoking

Never one to be far from the headlines, Manchester City’s hotheaded striker Mario Balotelli is a rare breed – a footballer that smokes.
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Chelsea’s Cahill Deal Hits A Snag

After agreeing a fee with Bolton for defender Gary Cahill, Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas has confirmed that there is still a long way to go before any deal is complete. (more…)

Henry Set To Return To Arsenal

Arsenal’s all time leading goal scorer Thierry Henry is on the brink of a sensational return to the club.

Henry, currently training with the gunners does not have to return to current club New York Red Bulls until March. Any deal with Arsenal is likely to be a short term loan deal as Arsene Wenger looks to strengthen his team while Gervinho and Chamakh head off to the African Cup of Nations.

Will Henry be able to emulate the kind of form from his first spell at Arsenal? Only time will tell…

England’s Next Manager

Fortunately for England Fabio Capello will not be the man in charge of the national team after Euro 2012. Capello’s reign has been less a step forward and more a very expensive exercise in stepping backward. While Capello’s team has had no problems in qualifying for the 2 tournaments he has been tasked with winning, England were abysmal at the world cup in 2010.

So who will England turn to when Capello steps down? Here are the contenders… (more…)

Is Wayne Rooney World Class?

20111228-091408.jpgOften referred to as one of England’s only true worlds class players, Wayne Rooney is a footballer that regularly divides opinion in pubs, on the terraces, on radio phone-ins and everywhere else that you find people talking about football. But is Rooney truly world class?

Much will depend on the definition of world class. Does it simply mean that a player is good enough to play on the world stage? Or that a player would find his way into a world XI should such a thing exist? The latter seems to make more sense, but would leave only 11 players worthy at any one time, which given the amount of times the phrase can be heard doesn’t seem to fit the bill. (more…)

January Transfer Window Bargains

As we close in on the start of the the January transfer window managers around the country will be looking to unearth a hidden gem. Unfortunately for those managers, transfers made in January very rarely work out the way they’d like. There are of course exceptions but it’s a dangerous game. Here we take a look at some potentially good buys…

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Boxing Day Roundup

Current Premier League Champions Manchester United closed the gap on Manchester City and went level on points after thrashing Wigan 5-0 at Old Trafford. Dimitar Berbatov seizing his opportunity and helping himself to a hat-trick in a rare start for the Bulgarian. (more…)

Should Abramovich Sack Villas Boas

André Villas Boas came to Chelsea with a fantastic reputation. He’s the youngest manager ever to win a European club title. He also came with a whopping great price tag (€15 million). Unfortunately for Chelsea, Villa Boas hasn’t hit the ground running and Chelsea have been indifferent so far this season.

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