Fabio & The Big Two

Prem Title Race

Just when Man U were looking ominous for the title, they lost at Upton Park. Could Ronaldo's missed pen at 1-0 up prove to be a turning point ? Arsenal were flattered by a 4-1 away win at Everton, who were let down by defensive blunders. Surprisingly for a team known for their passing football, three of the Gunners' goals came from long punts into the penalty box.
Although Chelsea & Liverpool still have faint hopes, the title looks now to be a two-way fight between Wenger & Ferguson, whose teams who've dominated the Premier League, winning 12 of the 15 titles since the Prem was formed. United are still the bookies favourites for the title, and Arsenal will have to cope with losing three first team players to the African Nations Cup (Toure, Eboue & Adebayor). Man U don't have any African players so will be unaffected. Chelsea looked like they badly mised Lampard against Newcastle, and will lose Essien, Mikel, Kalou & of course the Drog to the African Cup.

Capello

Fabio Capello's appointment to the England job looks like a good move by the FA for once. He was the best qualified available candidate for the job. A serial winner of league titles, it is to be hoped he can bring success to the national team. Capello is known for being a pragmatist who favours results over playing attractive football, in this respect he is similar to Eriksson. Perhaps he differs from Sven in not picking players on their reputations, which was something the Swede was accused of during his time as England coach. Capello famously castigated Ronaldo at Real Madrid for being overweight. He also dropped Beckham, although in a recent interview in The Observer, Roberto Carlos expressed his belief that this decision had been made by the chairman rather than Capello. In any case, if Capello cannot choose the players & formation to make England successful, then no-one can.

The Rocket

Ronnie O'Sullivan won the UK Championhip two weeks ago. Surprisingly, it was his first ranking tournament win for 32 months, although he had won the Masters in the intervening time. The Masters, being an invitational, doesnt count as a ranking tournament. Many fans, including me, empathise with The Rocket for his sublime talent, which is sometimes undermined by his temperament. Last year he walked out of the same tournament when trailing Hendry 4-1. The highlight of his tournament win has to be the 147 maximum he produced in the final frame decider (!) of the semi with Mark Selby.

Pretty Boy Walks the Walk

Hatton v Mayweather

Floyd Mayweather proved he's not rated the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world for nothing. The Pretty boy dominated the fight before knocking out Hatton in the tenth. I had thought Mayweather would win on points by boxing at long range & on the retreat. But he put on a masterclass. He is now unquestionably one of the best boxers of the last ten years or so, along with other greats such as Roy Jones, De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins & Calzaghe. I think Hatton should take one more big money fight against the 'Golden Boy', Oscar De La Hoya, and then retire.


Premiership & Champions League


If sport was easily predictable, bookies would have a hard time. As it is, a fair share of shock results keeps them in profit, & the punters miserable. In the past two weeks, Arsenal could only draw with Newcastle & lost to Boro, & Liverpool lost at Reading. All 3 victors were on long odds to win.

Liverpool needed a win in Marseilles to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League. The Reds added to their glorious history of overcoming adversity in Europe - St Etienne 1977, Olympiakos & Istanbul in 2005, with a thumping 4-0 win which put them through on Wednesday. However, as group runners-up they are guaranteed strong opposition from one of the Italian or Spanish group winners in the next round.


Euro 2008 draw


Talk about the ultimate 'group of death'. Every major tournament normally has one, but Euro 2008 Group C takes the biscuit: Italy, France, Holland & Romania. The two finalists from the last World Cup; Holland are currently FIFA world-ranked 9 & Romania 13. The Euro 2008 draw was skewed by the co-hosts, Austria & Switzerland, being placed in the top 'pot'.


BBC Sports Personality of the Year


Joe Calzaghe was the deserved winner of the BBC award, having beaten the previously undefeated Dane, Mikkel Kessler (now 39-1) to become the undisputed no. 1 at Super-Middle. Currently 3 Brits are rated no. 1 in their weight divisions by boxing experts (including the Ring magazine, 'The Bible of boxing' ),which is surely unprecedented. Calzaghe at Super-Middle, Haye at Cruiser, & Hatton at Light-Welter (he moved up a division to fight Mayweather).
British boxing has perhaps never been stronger, with such strength in depth at one time. In the amateur ranks, British boxing also looks in rude health, several boxers having already qualified for Beijing 2008, and Frankie Gavin (Lightweight) became the first Brit to win gold at the Worlds in November. Amir Khan looks an excellent prospect for a world title. khan defended his Commonwealth Lightweight title last Saturday, knocking out Graham Earl in 72 seconds. Earl was overwhelmed by the speed & ferocity of Khan, it was the most impressive quick title win i can remember since Tyson destroyed Spinks in 1988.

Football Failures

End of season WTA & ATP Championships


Henin defeated Sharapova in the WTA Championship final in a match lasting three & a half hours. Henin hasn't lost since losing from a set up to Bartoli at Wimbledon, a 25-match win streak. As well as being arguably the most talented female player, the stats prove Henin is the best too.

The end of the ATP season saw a return to form for David Nalbandian. He showed his potential by reaching the Wimbledon final in 2002, and has made the semis of the other 3 Slams- French (04, 06) Aus (2006) & US (03). He had struggled for form this season, but incredibly he won back-to back Masters titles in Paris & Madrid, beating both Federer & Nadal twice. Andy Murray did very well to be in contention to qualify for the Masters Cup, considering the period he lost to injury (Wimbledon & US Open) & consequent loss of opportunity to pick up ranking points.



The ATP Masters Cup was business as usual for the Fed Express, although Fernando Gonzalez beat Federer in the round-robin stage. When his forehand is in the groove, Gonzo is unstoppable, but he is erratic. End of season tiredness can lead to unexpected defeats in this tournament. Novak Djokovic has had an excellent year, but lost all three matches to be eliminated at the group stage. Federer comfortably defeated Roddick & Ferrer in the semi & final respectively, and the question remains whether Nadal can challenge him for the no. 1 ranking in 2008. I expect Roger to be top of the pile again this time next year.



Euro 2008 qualifying


Scotland coming third in their group was a glorious failure. Not so for England. In a previous post I had predicted Scotland would qualify. Unfortunately their loss 2-0 way to Georgia has proved to be a killer blow. Their qualifying group was an incredibly tough draw, with both France & Italy in the top 5 of FIFA's rankings. Still, they did the double over the French, have improved their seeding for future tournaments, & restored Scotland's reputation in world football.
England got what they deserved against Croatia. The only tactic was the long punt up to Crouch. It was the same old story for England- without Rooney, they struggle for creativity. Wright-Philips did well in the first-half, but then made way for Becks. Joe Cole can beat opponents one-on-one, but he had an off-day. The failure to qualify could be a blessing in disguise though. The FA now have the opportunity to recruit a world-class coach like Fabio Capello, Marcello Lippi, or Mourinho. All are proven winners at the top level. Only Lippi has managed a national side, but the other two have extensive Champions League experience.
So, none of the Home Nations or the Irish will be represented at Euro 2008. Northern Ireland had some excellent results, beating Spain, Sweden & Denmark; & David Healy finished as the top scorer in the entire quaifying competition with 13 goals. Wales & ROI were disappointing, although the Welsh finished with an encouraging away draw against the Germans.

Premiership Deadlock & Calzaghe is The Man

Arsenal v Man Utd

This match had been eagerly anticipated. The two biggest rivals in the Premiership for the last ten years, the top two in the Prem table, who have both been in superb form in the Champions League as well, and who play attacking football. While not an outstanding game, there were enough flashes of skill, and goalmouth incidents, to satisfy the spectator. The game also, refreshingly, lacked the spitefulness that had disfigured a lot of the clashes between the sides in recent seasons, and was largely played in good spirit. Arsenal will obviously be relieved to have snatched the late equaliser. In hindsight though, it may be that their failure to convert their dominance of possession into victory will be seen as a missed opportunity.

The title at this stage still looks like a four-horse race. Avram Grant has steadied the ship at Chelsea in recent weeks & yesterday's win at Wigan puts them third. Liverpool, despite being unbeaten, lie only seventh in the table, albeit with a game in hand, having drawn more than half their games. Man City, my pre-season tip as dark horses, could possibly sneak a top four spot, but at the moment they appear to lack the quality for the title. Portsmouth, Blackburn & Everton look like the contenders for the Uefa places- Spurs surely are too far back.

Calzaghe

Joe Calzaghe has now proved himself to be indisputably the best fighter in the world at super-middle, with his unanimous points win over the previously undefeated Mikkel Kessler last night. Kessler himself had suggested his relative youth (28) could be a factor, but it was the 35 year-old Welshman who finished the stronger, particularly over the last three rounds. Calzaghe had said earlier last week that he wants one last big payday after this. A superfight against Bernard Hopkins at light-heavy, would be a fitting end to his career. Hopkins, of course, also enjoyed a long reign as an undisputed champ, making 20 defences of the middleweight title.

Triple Whammy

Last week was a triple whammy for British sport. It started with the football Euro 2008 quallies. Scotland lost in Georgia, & England were mugged in Moscow. The qualification hopes for both are now in jeopardy. Then South Africa were just too good in the RWC final. The miserable week was completed with the F1 Brazilian GP.



RWC Final



England couldn't upset the odds for the third match in a row, South Africa were just too strong. For once, England's grinding style using the forward pack was blunted. South Africa were able to force a couple of turnovers with fierce counter-rucking & were dominant in the line-out. It was a shame Cueto's 'try' was ruled out-Tait's fantastic jinking run deserved better. England were more than holding their own in the first half but gave away needless penalties. It was only towards the end of the half that the Springboks threatened the try-line. However, SA were always in front, & kept control for much of the second half, and thoroughly deserved their victory. TV cameras captured a disconsolate Jonny Wilkinson at the final whistle. I hope he gets the chance to play in one more final.

Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton has done fantastically to finish runner-up in his rookie season. The feeling remains though, that a fantastic chance to win the title was squandered over the last two races. In China the team decided to allow him one more lap on badly wearing tyres which resulted in the DNF. In Interlagos, he had the rush of blood to the head- when he tried to pass Alonso and ran wide-which dropped him down a few places, but most damaging was the gearbox problem which left him back in 18th, & with too much ground to make up. A lot of the pundits seem to think he is definitely bound to win the title. I certainly hope so. Alonso & Raikkonen know what a threat he is & will be psyched up to beat him next year. Plus Massa, & the other young bucks, Kubica & Rosberg will be strong rivals for Hamilton to contend with next season. Still, he looks nailed-on to win BBC Sports Personality this year.

Dad's Army reach the Final

What was I saying last week about upsets in the RWC ? Never mind.

Most pundits, including me in one of my posts here, had written England off, if not before the tournament, certainly after the 36-0 drubbing by the Springboks. Now not only have they beaten the Aussies, but the hosts too. Wilko has once more proved himself to be the 'go-to guy' (as the Yanks would say) when you need a vital penalty slotted between the posts. It really is incredible how England have pulled themselves off the floor after the SA game & turned it around. All this has been achieved with a liberal sprinkling of 30-somethings who might have been deemed past it a few weeks ago. One of those is 33-year old Jason Robinson of course, who seemed to have played his last game when he pulled up with a hamstring problem in the SA game, but who has recovered incredibly. Now Robbo has the perfect occasion for his final game, the World Cup Final.

If South Africa beat the Pumas tonight, the final could be difficult for them psychologically. Having beaten an opponent comprehensively in a previous match, it can be difficult to adjust when the opposition is much stiffer in the rematch. Argentina would also make for a great final with the fierce sporting rivalry between the two nations. I expect the Springboks to edge a tight match tonight.

Underdogs

Carling Cup Round 3

It seems that only Arsenal can play the kids & still win. They proved it last season when they reached the League Cup final. This week they did it again, beating a nearly full-strength Newcastle side. Meanwhile, on Wednesday night a largely youth United side lost to Coventry despite bringing starting with first-teamers O'Shea, Nani & Anderson; Carrick & Brown came on as subs.

In recent years some Premiership sides, especially the 'Big Four' clubs, have treated the Carling Cup as almost an unwelcome distraction, & used it as an opportunity to play some of their fringe players. No doubt the teams still involved in the Champions League will continue this policy.

RWC Upsets

In the Rugby World Cup there seems to be far less chance of a big upset than in the equivalent football tournament. South Korea reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2002. (Also Greece won Euro 2004 as hugely unfancied underdogs) Japan's draw against Canada was hailed as a fantastic result for them. Fiji did beat Wales, but generally, Rugby Union has so many set plays that the stronger side can keep up constant pressure, and it’s much harder to prevent a score. The weaker side has to compete at every scrum, line-out, ruck & maul. In football, the defending goalie can play a blinder &/or the strikers have an off day, & the minnows can get a draw or even sneak a win. So it seems unlikely that Fiji, for example, can make the semis of the current RWC.

Farewell to the Special One

The English game has lost its most colourful manger since Brian Clough.

Jose Mourinho will be sadly missed, especially by journalists, as he provided such fantastic copy, starting with the famous first press conference. It's often not quoted in full, even by the Times/Guardian/BBC etc:


Again, please don't call me arrogant, because what I'm saying is true. I'm European champion, so I'm not one (pause) of the bottle. I think I'm a special one.



link to Sky Sports video

http://news.sky.com/skynews/video/videoplayer/0,,31200-1284939,00.html

Another great piece of Mourinho showmanship was the 2005 press conference for a round of16 Champs League tie, when he cheekily (& correctly) predicted the Barca line-up (& peeved Frank Riijkard by depriving him his right to announce his own team ).

Today Mourinho said how he felt he had 'another family at the training ground'. No wonder Drogba was (allegedly) in tears when Jose said his goodbyes to the squad at Cobham.

He has been criticised for favouring a pragmatic playing style, but two league titles, an FA Cup, two ECL semi-finals & two League Cups in three seasons, is a fantastic return, even allowing for the amount spent on players. Unfortunately Mr Abramovich wanted his team to play beautiful, attacking football. The warning signs of his disastisfaction were evident from his early exit from Chelsea's Villa Park defeat. Mourinho however, has presided over the most successful period in Chelsea's history, including breaking Liverpool's record for the most successive top-flight home games without defeat.

Even his fiercest managerial rivals have spoken today & yesterday of the loss to the Premiership. Occasional gracelessness in defeat is the only negative of Mourinho's time in England.

His first English fixture was a 1-0 home win over Man U. His successor, Avram Grant, will play the same opponents at Old Trafford in his first game in charge tomorrow.

Triumph & Despair

Euro 2008 Quals

England 3-0 Russia

I had thought it might be a cagey game, but England played superbly & Russia were totally outclassed.

Quite a few pundits (& some work colleagues) are now saying McClaren should stick now with this winning team, I disagree. We played well, but that's not to say you can't change the team & they could play even better. Rooney can hold the ball up as well as Heskey, though he can't match his aerial prowess. The Roonster is much more of a goal threat though, can drop deep to link the play, & is capable of surging runs as well as being a superb passer. Gareth Barry was a revelation, and could be the answer to the conundrum of whether Lampard & Gerrard play together- he plays instead of Lamps.

France 0-1 Scotland

Scotland had another superb victory over the French. They still have tough games to come v Italy & Ukraine, but they are both at Hampden. I reckon the Scots can get the points required to qualify, especially as teams level on points are separated by their head-to-head record as the primary tie-breaker.

US Open Tennis

Federer duly beat Djokovic, but it was very tight with two tie-break sets. Rog held his nerve better on the big points. Federer has now incredibly won 8 out of the last 10 Slams. Its conceivable he could suffer a barren spell- Sampras went two years before winning his final Slam, the '02 US Open. Surely he can't repeat winning 3 out of 4 Slams again next year ? I would guess that he breaks Pete's record of 14 some time in 2009( he needs two more to draw level).

RWC

England 0 South Africa 36

The world champions were humiliated as the Springboks recorded a crushing shut-out victory. Jason Robinson, after limping out of the game with a torn hamstring, has now probably played his last competitive game, sadly. He had been England's most dangerous attacking threat on the night. South Africa were exceptional with their kicking, time & again finding touch, & pushing England back. England still have a chance to reach the knock-out phase, but on this form will be eliminated. Their decision-making was poor, and they missed chances when near the try-line to disturb the scoreboard. They seemed to have lost the ability to "Think Correctly under Pressure" (T-CUP, as described in Clive Woodward's Winning). It is incredible that the defending champions have suffered such a decline-this was the biggest margin of defeat they have suffered in a RWC tournament.

Predictions- RWC, ECQ etc.

Football:ECQ


As expected, England were too strong for Israel on Saturday, with a comfortable 3-0 win. However, I think they will come unstuck against the master tactician, Guus Hiddink, when they play Russia on Wednesday.


RWC


Even before Argentina's shock upset of France on Friday, I expected an All Blacks-South Africa final. The Springboks play their first pool game v Samoa today. Ireland are the best Home Nations side but will need to top the 'Group of Death' to avoid NZ in the QFs, a tall order, especially as Argentina have a good record against them. England, Scotland & Wales can hope for the QFs at best in my opinion, but I'd be delighted to be proved wrong.


US Open Tennis


It was a statistical quirk that no-one had beaten both Williams sisters in the same Slam & gone on to win it. Henin dispatched that & Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets yesterday. It was the 7th Slam for the woman with the most beautiful backhand in the game, men included. Another player with the tournament victories to match his aesthetic appeal, is of course Mr Federer. Novak Djokovic faces the daunting prospect of preventing him winning his fourth consecutive US Open today, as i predicted in my 14 Aug post; though it hardly takes a genius to tip Roger these days.
Andy Murray will be disappointed with his 3rd-round exit to the Korean, Lee Hyung-taik.

Platini's Proposals

Michel Platini has been discussing recently his latest attempt to reform the structure of the Champions League. Platini's plan is to give the 4th Champions League place to the FA Cup winners, instead of the team finishing 4th in the League. Picture this scenario, however. A lower division team has an easy route to the final, like Milwall in 2004. They are playing a team which has already qualified for the ECL by virtue of a top-three finish. The lower division team loses the final, but would be eligible for the ECL spot as their opponents have already qualified. The minnows would have no chance in the Champions' League & most probably would be knocked out tin the qualifying round. A team that finishes in 4th place in the league nowadays would have a strong squad, & would be equipped to compete in the ECL. Platini's proposal would deny them the chance.

His attempts to make the ECL more egalitarian should be applauded, but he is always likely to be thwarted by the G14(the lobbying group of the richest European clubs). The problem at the moment is that the rich continue to get richer, thanks to the massive TV revenues from continually qualifying for the group stages of the ECL. At the moment in the Premier League it looks unlikely that anyone apart from the Big Four will qualify for the ECL, & that is clearly not good for the competitiveness of the English top division.

I hope though that the shock of Chelsea's defeat at Villa (last Sunday) could be repeated, & the gap between the 'Big Four' & the rest is reduced. I tend to think it indicates a lack of competition when a team finishes with 90+ points, as in 2004, '05 & '06.

Big Four back on form

Premiership round-up:

Arsenal eventually sneaked a 1-0 win over a dogged Man City. Arsenal have been guilty in the past of over-passing.They still show signs of suffering from it this season, going for the extra pass & trying to walk the ball into the net, when a shot on a goal or even (shock horror) a punt into the box might be a better option.

So Chelsea are back on top, and will surely will be difficult to dislodge. Man United's first win, over Spurs, showed how talk of a crisis after 3 games was a nonsense. They found themselves in 19th place on Saturday, but with most teams having played a game more, and the three points from Sunday lifted them to 10th.

Liverpool's strength of squad looks formidable, they have quality in depth, especially in midfield & the strikers.

Time for my relegation tips. I think all the newly-promoted teams will go straight back down. Derby look doomed after losing their home 'six-pointer' with Birmingham, but the Brummie Blues will join them in the Champioship next year. Sunderland, despite Keano's motivating powers, do not appear to have enough quality in their squad either.

I had been quite excited by the prospect of Five's live Serie A coverage (Sundays from 1.30). The first of this new series aired on Sunday (Aug 27). They made much in the build-up of how Serie A, historically famed for its mean defences, last season actually had more total goals scored than any of the other big Euro leagues (Prem, La Liga, Bundesliga or Le Championnat). The televised game was the champs, Inter, at home to Udinese. In the event the games was a rather lacklustre 1-1 draw. However, Inter had some key players, like Crespo & Viera, out injured. If they had played, maybe it would have been a better spectacle. If I'm allowed to make a sexist comment, the studio coverage did have the attraction of the beautiful co-presenter, Laura Esposto, though.

Henman-an Appreciation

As had been widely predicted, Tim Henman announced today that he'll retire after next month's Davis Cup tie with Croatia.

When you mention Henman to most people with a passing knowledge of tennis, you get a lot of ignorant comments that he was no good. The fact is, he was unlucky to be playing at the same time as one of the greatest, arguably the best, grasscourt players of all time, Sampras. Pistol Pete got the better of him 3 times at Wimbledon: '95 R2 (3 sets), & SFs in '98 & '99 (both 4 sets) . Samp also beat him in the final of the Stella Artois. Henman's record at SW17 was excellent, of course-4 semis, 4 QFS & a R4 is not be sniffed at. He also made the semis of the US & French. Most people are also unaware that Henman has the rare distinction of having beaten Federer at Wimbledon (QF 2001). That was the year of his rain-interrupted semi with Goran, which many experts believe was best chance of reaching the final.

Henman is one of my favourite players to watch, aesthetically (although nerve-shredding to watch if you're rooting for him in one of his typical rollercoaster performances-eg v Moya Wimbledon 2007, where he won 13-11 in the 5th) . His attacking serve-volley game makes a refreshing change to the baseline grinders. His attacking game, being suited to grass, has not been helped by the slowing of the courts. You could argue that these slower courts have gone too far the other way in favour of the baseliners. Djokovic's R4 & QF matches at this year's Wimbledon, v Hewitt (R4) & Baghadtis(QF) lasted four & five hours respectively & featured numerous rallies of more than 20 strokes. But I digress...

I hope Tim comes out of retirement next year to have one last crack at the Stella & Wimbledon, but he seems to have ruled it out.

My favourite classic Henman wins at SW17:

'96 R1 bt Kafelnikov 5 sets '97 R3 bt Haarhuis (14-12 in 5th)

'01 QF bt Federer 4 sets '03 R4 bt Nalbandian 4sets

& last but not least this year when he beat Moya in the first round, 13-11 in the 5th.

A Tale of Two Full-Backs

I could have titled this 'A Tale of Two Goalies' but it didn't have the same ring to it.

Enlgand 1 Germany 2

The full-backs: arguably England's best player was Micah Richards. He displayed nimble footwork, and athleticism & provided the assist for Lampard's goal. The German debutant, Pander, scored a cracking winner from long-range.

I think James should now be given his chance ahead of Robinson in goal. Robbo has just made too many howlers recently, & his current lack of confidence is affecting his judgement.

England fans will hope Owen is back to his sharpest for the qualifier v Israel on September 8. He missed a couple a half-chances last night that he would have gobbled up on top form.

A goal down at half time, a long-range effort from SW-P which Lehman saved comfortably, low to his right, was the best England had to show for their second-half efforts.

Lampard answered his critics & played well. One writer (Matthew Norman in the Evening Standard) dismissed him as a 'mercenary' this week, but his commitment to the England cause couldn't be faulted last night. As well as scoring, he tracked back diligently & won his share of tackles in midfield.

The latest FIFA rankings show all the traditional major European powers (Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal) ahead of England, who are 12th. Brazil are 1st. Surprisingly, Argentina are ranked one ahead of World Cup holders Italy (3rd). Strange when you think that Argentina lost in the QFs, but then the FIFA ranking system does use a four-year (weighted) ranking period. See the link to FIFA's site below.

http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/lastranking/gender=m/fullranking.html

Blue Moon

Only 3 games played, so let's not get carried away, but Man City are top. P3, W3, & no goals conceded. I can't resist the opportunuty to be smug, & to remind readers that I tipped City as my dark horses on Aug 6th. Of course, the old maxim about the table not showing anything meaningful until Xmas, has to be borne in mind. However, I doubt whether Man U's 2 points from 3 games was part of the Glazers' plan for world domination. Man U dominated possesion, but couldn't stick any of their chances away. Sven must secretly be delighted to have sneaked a win over Fergie. United have now made their worst start since 1992-3 (P3 Pts 1: Sheff U, A, 1-2; Everton, H, 0-3; Ipswich, H, 1-1). The Man U-haters should enjoy their schadenfreude now, with the calibre of players available in their squad, they will surely soon start winning. Despite that bad start in '92 they ended up winning the innaugural Premiership by 10 pts from the Villa. My barber reckons that next time I get my grade 3 (probably in 5-6 weeks) Utd will be top, I have to disagree. Surely, at least one of the other 'Big Four' clubs will still be above them.

Chelsea must be chuffed with the point they got at Anfield, Malouda appeared just to collide accidentally with Finnan for the (equalising) penalty. Torres looked sharp for the Reds, & showed great pace & skill for his opener. Arsenal showed once again they can be ratled by teams who take a 'robust' approach & who try to deny then time & space for their passing game.

Saturday sees the first 'six-pointer' of the season, as 2nd bottom Derby host 3rd-bottom Birmingham. Both teams need to make some astute buys to avoid the drop.

Is Anybody worth £135k a week ?

Aug 6, 2007.
John Terry signed a new contract with Chelsea last week, worth a reported £135k a week. Few could dispute JT's commitent to the Chelsea cause. He is not afraid to "put his body where it hurts" as the pros say-as in the 2007 Carling Cup final where he was knocked unconscious, following a brave attempted headed clearance, by Diaby's (accidental) boot.
However, is he 'worth' £135k a week ? He is only a centre-half, after all. Although he gets his fair share of goals, he's not going to get 20 a season-he scored once last term, whereas 'The Drog' got 33. Plus, what if it gets injured ? He missed a significant chunk of last season, which together with Cech's lay-off (head injury) was identified by many experts as one of the main reasons Chelsea conceded their title.
I, like many others, rate him as Chelsea's best defender. He might not be as skilful as Rio Ferdinand, for example, but as a pure stopper, probably only Carragher can rival him in the Premiership.
However, surely he's not worth £135k a week.

Predictions for 2007-8 Season

Champions Man Utd 2. Chelsea 3. Arsenal 4. Liverpool Dark horses- Man City
United's defence is suspect to the very best, as Milan proved last year, but they should have too much firepower, & score at least one more, than the vast majority of Premiership sides.Chelsea should be solid-if JT is fit & available, but may depend too much on Drogba for goals.Arsenal & Liverpool may get closer this season. If RVP stays fit, The Gunners should make a decent challenge.Torres is higly rated, but can Rafa 'rotation policy' Benitez find, & settle on, a winning formula ?
I think Sven could do something at Man City this season-8th place or thereabouts.

The First Post

Welcome to my ramblings about sport, the universe & everything.



I'll concentrate mostly on football & tennis. I'm a useless player (think of the kid who always got picked last for the playground match) but hopefully i can write an entertaining blog.



Tennis: Novak Djokovic won the Montreal Masters at the weekend, beating Roger the dodger (Federer) for the first time. This could be the start of a three-way rivalry at the top of the men's game- Djok. also beat Nadal in the semis. Before this year, Rafa & Roger have dominated the rankings, & monopolised the Slams-according to my stats bible, Safin was the last player other than these two to win one (Aus Open 2005). Djok. has now won two Masters tourneys this year (Miami was the other). These are the toughest events outside the Slams, as all the top players compete- hence the name Masters. Other weeks you'll get half the top players playing eg in Holland, & the other half in England. Djokovic also made the semis of Roland Garros & Wimbledon this year. Surely a Slam title is not too far away for Novak-but my money is on Roger for the US Open. Roger, by his lofty standards, has had some suprising losses this year-losing to Canas twice, for example-but has still won two slams (Aussie, Wimbledon) & made the final of the French. Not too shabby really. I reckon he'll once again produce his top form for a Slam, & be champ at Flushing Meadows.



Excelsior ! (as Stan Lee would say)