October 20, 2008
Stoke thrashed Tottenham 2-1 increasing Juande Ramos’ woes, while Hull maintained their winning run as they defeated West Ham 1-0 at Kingston Communication Stadium.
The loss continued the worst starts ever for Spurs in Barclays Premier League.
Gareth Bale went on to concede a penalty, which was converted by Danny Higginbotham, within 17 minutes of the game and was eventually red carded at Britannia Stadium.
Although Darren Bent was able to hit an equaliser, it was Stoke’s Rory Delap, who scored the winning goal for the home side.
Dismissal of substitute Michael Dawson in injury time, after he challenged Sidibe only added to the problems of the North Londoners.
Spurs are yet to win a game this season and currently stand at the bottom of the table with two points from eight matches.
Meanwhile, Hull continued their remarkable start to this season with Michael Turner scoring from a header in the 51st minute, which was enough to defeat the Hammers 1-0 at the KC stadium.
Turner’s only goal in the match helped Hull to roar back again to the third place, which they secured after scoring stunning wins over Tottenham and Arsenal.
Home side deserved this win and the Lewisham born striker gave full support to the attacking intent of his team.
West Ham will surely regret the two misses from Carlton Cole, which denied them the quest for an equaliser.
Now with Hull playing great soccer in the current season, they will make life difficult for ‘Big Four’ of the Barclays Premier League.
Posted in Premier League, Tottenham | 
No Comments »
October 19, 2008
A scissors kick from Dirk Kuyt, five minutes from full time, gave all three points to Liverpool against Wigan, who got reduced to ten men in a pulsating match at Anfield.
Liverpool defeated Wigan 3-2 in spite of trailing twice courtesy an acrobatic volley from their Holland striker, who sailed the ball past former Liverpool goalkeeper, Chris Kirkland, helping the Reds remain strong contenders in the Premier League title race.
Earlier, Amr Zaki of Wigan scored his sixth and seventh goals of the season and twice gave visitors, an advantageous lead. However, a double strike from Kuyt, which included the winner, and a brace from Albert Riera helped Liverpool in retaining their position in the league table.
Another thrilling encounter saw Arsenal collect three points after coming from behind against Everton. It was Theo Walcott ensuring full points for Arsenal after he was brought-in as a second-half substitute.
Leon Osman scored for Everton, whereas it was Van Persie, Walcott and Samir Nasri firing for the Gunners in their 3-1 win at Emirates Stadium.
Meanwhile, Chelsea thumped Middlesbrough 5-0 in a one-sided match at the Riverside Stadium. Salomon Kalou scored twice and helped his side maintain their top position in the League.
Defending Champions Manchester United also had a comfortable win after they outplayed West Brom 4-0 at Old Trafford.
Red Devils scored all their four goals in the second half and secured 3 points from the game.
These results have meant that teams, which are part of ‘Big Four’ of BPL, are in the top four positions for the first time in this season.
All the other games of the high-octane Saturday, Fulham against Sunderland at Craven Cottage, Aston Villa against Portsmouth at Villa Park and Bolton against Blackburn at Reebok Stadium, were goalless draws.
Posted in Arsenal, Liverpool | No Comments »
October 18, 2008
Rafael Benitez, Liverpool boss, believes that his present team is stronger than what he ever had since his arrival at Anfield.
Liverpool will be having a testing clash against Wigan Athletic in their home ground without their main striker Fernando Torres.
Torres has pulled a hamstring while he was on international duty for Spain last week on Wednesday.
Rafa is quite confident in spite of such a high profile absentee in his team. He feels that his squad has enough bench strength and can overcome Torres’ absence.
Reds have already beaten the current Premier League Champions, Manchester United, at Anfield without their prolific Spanish hitman starting the game.
They had a 2-1 victory in the game with Steven Gerrard used as a late substitute marking the depth in their squad.
During an interview, Benitez said ‘Everyone should look at the positive side. The best thing for Liverpool was beating United without their two great players.’
Spaniard added ‘My players got tremendous confidence after win over the Red Devils.’
‘Both the players were pushing me, so that I can play them before that game. However, I had strong faith and belief in my other players, which ultimately paid off.”
‘We failed to have the same quality players in the past. I am happy that we have them now and in big numbers too.’
Liverpool boss was feeling quite happy with the current performance of his team and it reflected on his words.
‘There are times when you have good talented players, but unity in the team is missing. But, it is fortunate that current Liverpool lot has both the features.’
Posted in Liverpool, Premier League | No Comments »
October 17, 2008
Manchester United England defender, Rio Ferdinand, thanked new draftee of the club, Dimitar Berbatov, for his role in inspiring Wayne Rooney.
Rooney has scored five goals in last three appearances in England’s color, after going through a draught in the international arena for a year.
Ferdinand believes that arrival of Berbatov on the deadline-day of transfer period at the Old Trafford Club has helped in lifting the game of former Everton forward.
In an interview, Ferdinand said ‘Rooney has been confident and playing well in the past few games.’
‘To be honest, amongst the few reasons, which made me happy in regards to Berbatov signing, was that I had a feeling he is going to inspire other players of the club for stepping their game up to another level.’
‘It is not just forwards, but other players in the club too, who have felt the impact of his arrival. When new players arrive, this is what generally happens.’
‘Everyone are looking forward to impress the new player and show him, why they are a Red Devil.’
‘Initially, I felt Rooney and Berbatov are going to be great in pair. However, what I’ve noticed is that Rooney has become better individually and started playing in another zone after his arrival.’
Meanwhile, Carlos Tevez has distanced himself from media’s criticism of being out of form in the current season.
Speaking to PA Sports, Argentinean striker said ‘I am not facing difficulties playing in the Premier League.’
‘Neither the position I play nor do long periods staying goalless worry me, if my team is playing well. And currently, we are getting back to winning ways in every league that we are a part of.’
Posted in Man U, Premier League | No Comments »
October 16, 2008
Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho wants to manage the Reds in the future and by doing so, he wishes to return to the Premier League again.
Earlier, Mourinho enjoyed a successful stint when he was the manager at Stamford Bridge. He is again looking forward to return to England again and weave his magic one more time.
According to close sources of the former Chelsea Boss, he is a great admirer of Liverpool.
Mourinho told news sources after leaving Chelsea last year in September ‘I will definitely come back in England as a manager, but I don’t want to do it as my very next step. For the time being, I want to manage a club in another country for getting more experience and a new style of football.’
Portuguese was true to his words when he took charge of Inter Milan few months back. But, the experience of Mourinho at the San Siro has been far from being easy.
Recently, the Inter Milan boss came under the wrath of the Italian media after an incident where he refused to appear for a post match conference when Inter defeated Leece.
Mourinho was quick to shot back at the Italian scribes after they criticised him and said ‘I think that you are not in love with football, as I hoped. All I am noticing is that everyone is obsessed with small little things and not the issues that matter.’
There is a possibility of Mourinho taking over the job at Anfield, after reports of Juventus trying to sign current Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez to replace Claudio Ranieri.
Posted in Liverpool, Premier League | No Comments »
October 15, 2008
Manchester United skipper Gary Neville has stirred up the rivalry among the top four teams in the Premier League by saying that he hoped Liverpool would not end up winning the title this season.
For the past 13 years, it has been only Chelsea, Arsenal and United winning the Premier League title.
Liverpool won their last Premiere League title when Kenny Dalglish was the manager. It was their record eighteenth League victory.
Manchester United have finished top on as many as 10 occasions since Sir Alex Ferguson took the charge. They are slowly closing on to Liverpool’s record mark.
When asked in an interview about the chances of the Reds winning the League, Neville, replying in his forthright manner, said ‘I hope they don’t’.
‘However, we don’t know what will happen next? They already have a win over us and are feeling upbeat, whereas we have a distance to cover.’
‘I feel that it will be a toss amongst the top four (Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea) for the Premier League title. In the end, it will be a case of who’s going to show more consistent run till the end.’
Speaking on United’s performance so far, Neville said ‘Despite a loss to our name, I still consider the draw against Newcastle at home to be the worst result of the season. It could have been better for us, if we would have won that game.’
With the game against West Brom coming up on Saturday at Old Trafford, Red Devils will be looking forward to extend their winning run and get closer to the top position in the League table.
Posted in Man U, Premier League | No Comments »
October 7, 2008
English and European Champions, Manchester United have moved forward denying that there is any delay in their plans of signing Carlos Tevez.
Argentina striker, who is currently playing his second year at Old Trafford in a two-season loan deal, has expressed desires for committing himself permanently to the Red Devils.
Tevez’s advisor, Kia Joorabchian, has recently rejected any interest from his former club Manchester City, in regards to him moving back.
United’s Spokesman said ‘David Gill, CEO of the club, told South African newspapers in July that we are looking forward for concluding a deal with Tevez before the winter transfer season starts.’
‘This is still going to be our aim. There’s still a lot of time left with us, so talks of delays in the proceedings are nonsense.’
‘We had a talk with Tevez. Just like us, he is also totally relaxed about the whole situation.’
Even Sir Alex Ferguson is looking eager to see the deal get finalized, as he believes that Tevez is a part of Devils’ long term plans.
However without any conclusion visible, there have been constant rumors that the Argentinean is frustrated with this situation. According to the reports, he is wondering why the Old Trafford club is dragging its heels in the deal.
Meanwhile, Ferguson is very happy with his side’s current form. With a 2-0 away victory over Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park, he feels that Manchester United is back and top position in the league is not far from their grasp.
Posted in Man U, Premier League | No Comments »
October 7, 2008
Former players, who played under Joe Kinnear, have backed Newcastle United’s interim manager. He has been under a lot of pressure since taking over the job vacated by Kevin Keegan.
Mike Ashley, Newcastle’s owner, surprised everyone by handing the job to Kinnear, who is yet to be involved in managing a side since leaving Nottingham Forest in 2004. Ashley has given the job on a short term basis, as he has begun the process of selling Magpies.
The brief tenure of Kinnear has already been quite eventful after press conference at St James Park where he used over 50 expletives to criticize journalists.
His appointment has met criticism from a large section of the club’s supporters and press. However, members of his Wimbledon’s ‘Crazy Gang’ spoke in support for him.
Former Dons Captain, Vinnie Jones, who played under Kinnear, urged the Toon Army for giving him a chance.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Jones said ‘It’s tough for me to understand why people are slaughtering him. They should look at his overall record.’
‘When I moved back to Wimbledon, we finished in Premier League’s top half each season under him. We even reached semifinals of League Cup and FA Cup in 1997.’
‘The thing I found commendable about the man was that he did it all without a ground available to him. We used Crystal Palace’s ground during his reign at the club.’
Adding to his comments, Jones said ‘I am sure that adding Kinnear to the crew is the best thing that Ashley could have done for the Newcastle. Although they might not finish as the Champions of the League, still there is every possibility of ending up at a commendable position.’
Posted in Newcastle United, Premier League | No Comments »
October 6, 2008
Liverpool maintained their winning run by coming from 2-0 down and beating Manchester City 3-2 on an eventful BPL Sunday.
It was Dirk Kuyt who scored his first Premier League goal since November, as Liverpool beat 10-man Manchester City in stoppage time.
The home side got a stunning two goal lead in the dramatic first half through Javier Garrido and Steven Ireland.
Liverpool almost scored in the fourth minute after Albert Riera got an excellent touch, but City goalkeeper Joe Hart was alert enough to turn the effort around the post.
In spite of many swift counterattacks launched by Liverpool, Shaun Wright-Philips showed some great defensive qualities to prevent the visitors from scoring a goal.
It was Ireland, who rifled an unstoppable shot into the corner and scored his third goal of the season for Manchester City in the 19th minute.
City was quick to extend their lead to 2 goals just before the first half (41st minute) when Garrido sent a superb free kick just over Reina for his first goal for the club.
It seemed all over for Liverpool when the second half began. However, Liverpool striker Fernando Torres had some other ideas.
He gave a marvellous slid in from a close range in the 55th minute reducing the deficit to 2-1. It was the Spanish striker again, who headed the equaliser in the 73rd minute from Gerrard’s corner.
Liverpool got the momentum and finally Dirk Kuyt scored the winning goal in injury time when he smashed the ball high into the City net.
Meanwhile, Chelsea continued their winning streak at Stamford Bridge after they beat Aston Villa 2-0. Bolton also scored a 3-1 away victory over West Ham United at Upton Park. Again, it was Jermain Defoe, who fired Portsmouth to clinch a 2-1 victory over Stoke City at Fratton Park.
Posted in Liverpool, Manchester City | No Comments »
October 6, 2008
After five successive defeats in the Barclays Premier League, Newcastle United finally managed to salvage a point from the game against Everton at Goodison Park.
Everton took a 2-0 lead in the first half and almost looked like running away with the game. However, Newcastle had a roaring comeback making it 2-2 at the end, as they scored in both the half of the game.
First goal for Everton came in the form of a penalty after Nicky Butt got penalized for a sliding tackle on Baines. Mike Arteta’s had no difficulty while converting the spot-kick in the 17th minute of the game.
Marouane Fellaini scored the second goal for Toffees in the 35th minute of the game, as he crashed home a Baines’ cross.
Although Owen and Duff made constant effort at Everton’s goal, Tim Howard made valiant saves to deny Newcastle from opening their account.
However in the extra time of the first half, Steven Taylor headed home a ball to make it 2-1 for the Magpies.
Taylor was again instrumental in the second goal for the away side, as his pass caught Damien Duff in his way. Duff guided the ball into the net for making it 2-2 in the 47th minute, which was the final score in the end.
This draw was relief not only for Newcastle, but also for David Moyes’ Everton, who finally ended their losing streak at home.
Meanwhile, it was another miserable day for the Spurs, as they kept their bottom position intact after losing 1-0 to an in-form Hull City. Hull, who got promoted in this season, has now moved to the 3rd position on the Premier League table.
Posted in Everton, Newcastle United | No Comments »
