purplefootball - where reds meet blue

2007-05-12T01:40:00.000+08:00

MANCHESTER UNITED - PREMIERSHIP CHAMPIONS 2007/08! :)

One game left, and Man United are already champions of the league. Sorry, Lyrad & Ah Fu (a.k.a. Tycopundit)... My team won! And my other team, Bolton, helped to halt Chelsea's footsteps. Super-duper psyched now!!

But the Chelsea-Man U game was so boring, I fell asleep.

Still... Looking forward to the Wembley FA Cup showdown... Let's see if Michael Essien or Wayne Rooney will prevail. Will Askley Cole be able to halt Cristiano Ronaldo's blistering runs? Will the Michael Carrick & Paul Scholes partnership defeat Frank Lampard & whoever his partner will be?

Questions, questions... But in the end, only one winner will prevail. And I am fully FOR the Red Devils. Whose side will you be on come 19 May?

2007-04-10T03:47:00.000+08:00

It's been a while since I last blog here.

Finally the 9 points gap has been cut to 3 points. It's been a good weekend for Chelsea with Ferdinand gifting Portsmouth the 3 points.

The next 2 matches can make or break Chelsea's season. A lot of fans are complaining that in the previous few seasons before this season, their team has also suffered numerous injuries, therefore Chelsea should just shut up. What they fail to see that despite all the injuries, they are still in the running for quadruple. Ask Liverpool, Arsenal and even Man U. Enough said.

Valencia will be Chelsea's toughest test to date. It will not be easy and Chelsea will not gift Valencia via the Ferdinand way. I will be staying up to root for who else but Chelsea! Hopefully, they can do the necessary and progress to the Semis for that grudge match with Liverpool. The Garcia-goal that was never was.

I should not comment too much about the rest of the teams. I do not want to invite arrows pointing at me after this post. Haha.

Enjoy the next 4 ECL games. I believed the 4 ties will throw up one or two surprises. It doesn't matter that Valencia has conceded only one goal in ECL so far this season. This is because they have yet to meet Mourinho and Chelsea. Be prepare to eat dirt! Haha.

2007-03-02T13:14:00.000+08:00

Match Day 28- Feb week 4

Game	HOME TEAM	AWAY TEAM	LYRAD	TYCO	JUS_MI	Result	"Score Pts"
1	Liverpool	Red DEVILS	H+1, 1-0	H+2, 3-1	A+2, 0-2	0-1	0-0-1
2	Newcastle	Boro	D+0, 2-2	H+1, 1-0	H+1, 2-1	0-0	2-0-0
3	Arsenal	Reading	A+1, 1-2	H+2, 3-1	A+1, 1-2	2-1	0-1-0
4	Sheff Utd	Everton	A+1, 1-2	H+1, 1-0	A+2, 0-2	1-1	0-0-0
5	Fulham	Aston Villa	H+1, 1-0	H+2, 2-0	H+1, 1-0	1-1	0-0-0
6	Watford	Charlton	D+0, 1-1	A+1, 0-1	D+0, 1-1	2-2	2-0-2
7	Man City	Wigan	A+1, 1-2	H+1, 1-0	A+1, 0-1	0-1	2-0-3
8	Portmouth	Chelsea	A+3, 0-3	A+2, 0-2	D+0, 2-2	0-2	1-3-0
9	Bolton	Blackburn	H+1, 2-1	A+1, 1-2	H+1, 2-1	1-2	0-3-0
10	West Ham	Tottenham	A+2, 1-3	A+2, 0-2	A+3, 0-3	3-4	1-1-1
11*	Aston Villa	Arsenal	--	--	--	--	--
12*	Man City	Chelsea	--	--	--	--	--
--	FINAL	"SCORE"	--	--	--	--	8-8-7

*Mid-week game

Selected Match comments by Lyrad:

Finally awaken from the festive slump!! sorry to our dear supporters for missing out on last week predictions league. Guess everybody was too busy collecting "ang baos". the biggest "ang bao" i got is from Liverpool 2-1 away victory at Nou Camp and follow by a 4-0 thrashing of sheffield after making 8 changes to the team. Who is questioning rotation policy now?

The big game this week got to be Liverpool taking on Man U at Anfield. Surely, this has always been the biggest match in EPL everyone is looking forward to. Be it atAnfield or Old Trafford, this pair of old foes meets in another classic encounter. Like what Gary Neville or Ryan Giggs have said previously, the first fixture they look out for every season when the calendar is out, gonna be the fixtures against Liverpool, followed by Arsenal. (what is chelsea!#$#$%@ ) =p

To make a prediction for this match is really a "head" vs "heart" struggle. Man U has been the form team this season. Ronaldo has been exceptional. They seems to be brushing teams aside. Liverpool have been see-sawing all season. At times, they look like they can score goals with evey touch, and other times, they seems to be leaking goals from nothing. They are getting back the consistently in recent weeks with only a slight bumps here and there. but will it be enough to stop the Devils? How can they overcome the Devil?

BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB AND WORD OF TESTIMONY!!! - Crouch Shedded his blood last weekend with a broken nose and word of testimony have been good around Liverpool camp of how Craig and John patch up and send Barca shaking. Surely these are signs to overcoming the devil?

Na... Crazy... but i do believe the 12th man of Anfield can be the factor to United. Anfield is impeccable this season (bar the cup ties defeat to young gunners - that is a shame). Last weekend, Liverpool din even go for a victory against sheffield... they are there to record their 8th successive clean sheets at home. Anfield is a place teams feared to come and surely, this could be the boost the winning chances of this tie. Having said that, if Man U can walk out of this games other then a draw, they are worthy to be THIS season champion. this season only i meant! For me... i go with my heart again! 1-0 YNWA

For Chelsea, my heart is hoping for a 1-1 draw, but head says 3-0 to the blues... I used up "my heart" card, so maybe this, i should play with "my head" card instead. I hope i get this wrong.

Selected Match Comments by Jus_mi:

Haha.. I shall follow BOTH my HEART & HEAD... Man Utd will win. ")

2007-02-12T02:04:00.000+08:00

Dust settled. What a difference two weeks can make. Finally, I got it right with Liverpool. I remembered telling Lyrad before going to sleep that one of these days I will get it right concerning Liverpool and last Saturday was the special day.At point in time, I remembered someone in the Liverpool team talking about winning the league and 2 weeks later, they are 16 points off the summit. What a joke. Sadly, Liverpool has failed to emulate the consistency of Man U and Chelsea. Hopefully with a new American funding, they can land some quality players to pose a better challenge for the league title.

Man U continued with their relentless march towards the EPL crown. A second geared Man U was still able to crave out a 2-0 over Charlton with two well crafted goals. Saturday's match also witnessed the debut of China's captain, Zheng who gave a decent account of himself despite ending up as losers.

Chelsea's defence continued to rack up their 5th clean sheet in a row in all competitions since the Liverpool's debacle. Saturday's win ensured that the gap at the top remains at 6points. Chelsea's boggeyteam, Middlesbrough was unlucky to be hit with 3 goals with no reply. If only they had made their chances count.

AJ shrugged off the mid-week injury and help me earn 3 points.

Bolton shrugged of their poor January form to rack up their first 3 points of 2007. Captain Nolan continue with his goal exploits and Jaaskelainen proved why he is the most underrated keeper in the EPL with a brillant save to deny a goal bound header from Tomasz Radzinski.

Rather please with my points haul this week. Like what Jus_mi pointed, I'm like Watford, suddenly racking points to try to climb out of the bottom place.

Impossible is nothing!

2007-02-09T16:28:00.001+08:00

Match Day 27- Feb week 2

Game	HOME TEAM	AWAY TEAM	LYRAD	TYCO	JUS_MI	Result	"Score Pts"
1	Reading	Aston Villa	H+2, 2-0	H+1,1-0	H +2, 2-0	2-0	3-1-3
2	Newcastle	Liverpool	A+2, 0-2	H+1, 2-1	D +0, 1-1	2-1	0-3-0
3	Chelsea	Boro	H+1, 2-1	H+2, 2-0	H +1, 1-0	3-0	1-1-1
4	Sheff Utd	Tottenham	D+0, 1-1	A+1, 1-2	A +1, 1-2	2-1	0-0-0
5	Everton	Blackburn	D+0, 2-2	H+1, 1-0	D +0, 1-1	1-0	0-3-0
6	West Ham	Watford	H+1, 1-0	H+1, 1-0	A +1, 0-1	0-1	0-0-3
7	Man Utd	Charlton	H+3, 3-0	H+4, 4-0	H +5, 5-0	2-0	1-1-1
8	Portsmouth	Man City	H+1, 2-1	D+0, 1-1	A +2, 0-2	2-1	3-0-0
9	Bolton	Fulham	D+0, 1-1	H+1, 2-1	H +1, 2-1	2-1	0-3-3
10	Arsenal	Wigan	H+3, 3-0	H+3, 3-0	H +1, 2-1	2-1	1-1-3
11*	Watford	Wigan	--	A+2, 0-2	--	--	--
12*	Everton	Tottenham	--	H+1, 2-1	--	--	--
--	FINAL	"SCORE"	--	--	--	--	9-13-14

*Mid-week game

Selected Match comments by Lyrad:

Selected Match Comments by Jus_mi:

Reading-Aston Villa: Reading will out-class Aston Villa, the team which does not play convincing football.

Newcastle-Liverpool: Newcastle has a fighting spirit, ensuring that Liverpool will only get one point from this game. Liverpool is good, but not good enough yet.

Chelsea-Boro: Are we back to the 1-0 pattern again? With Petr Cech in goal, Chelsea's defence is looking strong again. But the strikeforce... needs work.

Sheff Utd-Tottenham: Tottenham had better bounce back from their embarassing defeat last weekend. They need to pull up their socks.

West Ham-Watford: Both relegation-strugglers... The die might fall Watford's way.

Man Utd-Charlton: Thirsting for a thrashing. Hoping our defence will be safe after Van de Sar's injury. 5-0 win!!

Arsenal-Wigan: Title challengers? I hardly think so. With an injury to their star striker, Van Persie, I'm predicting a narrow escape for Arsenal, based purely on their never-say-die spirit.

Everton-Blackburn; Portsmouth-Man City; Bolton-Fulham: Difficult matches to predict, could go either way. Purely guesswork.

2007-02-06T17:20:00.000+08:00

WINNERS: RONALDO & ME ☺

So I predicted a win for Man Utd against Spurs, and that proved to be the deciding factor in last weekend’s predictions. Man Utd did not disappoint me, and even surpassed my expectations.

Cristiano Ronaldo has also won his bet with Alex Ferguson, worth 400 pounds. Ronaldo has reached his target of 15 goals for the season! The Portuguese winger also turned 22 yesterday.

Ferguson, however, was not entirely satisfied with his side’s comprehensive win, even though their superior goal difference is now a bloated plus-17. He described Ronaldo’s first-half performance as “careless and casual”. Then he added: “But it’s a fantastic achievement for Cristiano to score 15 from midfield. The boy has come on great. He always wants the ball.”

Last month, Ronaldo had said: “I am in good form. I want to play and score more goals. And I want to beat the manager! That is my ambition.”

Cristiano Ronaldo is the player to watch. Man Utd is the team to watch.

Man Utd, All The Way!! “)

2007-02-06T16:36:00.000+08:00

MAN UTD EDGE CLOSER TO TITLE…
Ronaldo Clouds His Supreme Talent By Diving…
[Excerpts from The Straits Times (6 Feb 07)]

A bookmaker has already started paying out on Manchester United winning the English Premiership… because it cannot see Chelsea overcoming the deficit. At lowly Charlton, [Chelsea] had to hang on for a 1-0 win to cut the lead to three points.

But United responded to the pressure emphatically, thrashing Tottenham 4-0 a day later. The Red Devils, inspired by Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Scholes, put on a ruthless display bearing the hallmarks of potential champions.

Cristiano Ronaldo should have been named Man of the Match, not Paul Scholes. The only reason the winger wasn’t picked was he cheated. When United lift the title come May – yes, it’s a matter of time after they toyed with Spurs at White Hart Lane – Ronaldo should be the front-runner to win the Premiership Player of the Year award.

Question is, will he again be denied because of his faults?

The winking winger… urged the referee to send Wayne Rooney off at the World Cup, an incident which led to him not being named the Fifa Young Player of the World Cup. Last December, it was Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate’s turn after… [Ronaldo] won a 19th-minute penalty. “Ronaldo has a history of it… Our goalkeeper has done everything to get out of the way, but the lad has gone down once again.”

Same story on Sunday… when Ronaldo collapsed without being touched. He got up, scored the penalty and, as boos rained down in the second half, showed why he is the most exciting winger of his generation.

Ronaldo’s display only highlighted the paucity of England’s talents. Aaron Lennon, the heir to David Beckham’s place on the right, could hardly hold a candle to his Portuguese counterpart. But when Ronaldo was taken off in the 66th minute, the jeers that accompanied the sneer on his face were again a reminder of his failings. Tottenham manager Martin Jol stopped just short of accusing the player of being a cheat.

Ronaldo’s goal was his 15th in the League, making him the joint-top scorer alongside Didier Drogba. It is an amazing achievement, Unlike the Chelsea player, he is not deployed as a central striker.

While Drogba concedes more free kicks than he earns, it must come as no surprise that Ronaldo is the most-fouled player in the Premiership, alongside El-Hadji Diouf. He has already won 67 free kicks this season.

With so much rough treatment, can Ronaldo be blamed for flinching and falling whenever he anticipates another tackle? That leads to him carrying an unsavoury reputation. He may win plenty of free kicks. But referees, focusing on his reputation more than the action on the pitch, have denied him plenty as well.

Against Middlesbrough two months ago, Ronaldo was clearly fouled by a defender. No penalty. Maybe conning the referee is his way to redress the imbalance.

But it… taints what will be an impressive season for United, who must surely win the title now. While four different players scored against a Spurs side chasing a place in Europe, Chelsea had to hang on to a 1-0 win over relegation-battlers Charlton. The pretenders, Liverpool and Arsenal, had to settle for draws.

2007-02-04T18:06:00.000+08:00

Memories from the 1st leg of the Asean Championship Final - Singapore vs Thailand

Avoid going to Thailand for the next few years.. hahaz

2007-02-02T12:09:00.000+08:00

Match Day 26 - Feb week 1

Game	HOME TEAM	AWAY TEAM	LYRAD	TYCO	JUS_MI	Result	"Score Pts"
1	Liverpool	Everton	H+3, 3-0	A+1, 0-1	H +2, 2-0	0-0	0-0-0
2	Man City	Reading	D+0, 2-2	A+1,0-1	A +1, 1-2	0-2	0-1-1
3	Aston Villa	West Ham	D+0, 1-1	H+1,1-0	D +0, 1-1	1-0	0-3-0
4	Watford	Bolton	A+2, 0-2	A+2, 1-3	A +1, 0-1	0-1	1-1-3
5	Blackburn	Sheff Utd	H+1, 2-1	A+1,0-1	H +2, 2-0	2-1	3-0-1
6	Wigan	Portsmouth	A+2, 0-2	D+0, 1-1	A +1, 1-2	1-0	0-0-0
7	Charlton	Chelsea	A+3, 0-3	A+2,0-2	A +3, 0-3	0-1	1-1-1
8	Boro	Arsenal	H+1, 1-0	A+2,0-2	A +1, 1-2	1-1	0-0-0
9	Fulham	Newcastle	D+0, 2-2	A+2,0-2	D +0, 1-1	2-1	0-0-0
10	Spurs	Man U	D+0, 1-1	H+1,1-0	A +2. 1-3	0-4	0-0-1
--	FINAL	"SCORE"	--	--	--	--	5-6-7

*Mid-week game

Selected Match comments by Lyrad:

I know know know... surely Tyco will fancy that Everton will emerge in this derby match. (i predict that this is what he will predict even before he predict!). I know is a derby match and form doesn't count especially it is a merseyside derby! Even my own head tells me an upset is on the way. But if my faith tells me that 3-0 comfortable victory for the Reds. We shall see.

Chelsea should win comfortably against lowly Charlton; unless "Scottie" Carson is out to prove and do a favor for his parent club with a MOM performanace.

I sense an upset on Riverside. Boro have been outstanding in the last few games and have no problem scoring goals. I bet that they will try to contain the on form Arsenal side and hit them hard on the counter. Downing with an assist to the goal. =p

I was daring to give a +4 to Man U last week and it really pay of with an exact score prediction. They are simply on the song at the moment. If any there is team that have the quality to to stop the Devils for steaming away; Spurs can. But their consistency prove to be their downfall for their lack of success. It is hard to bet against Man U these days, and this is one match I like to take a gamble. 1-1.

Selected Match Comments:
Hopefully Bolton picks up the pace this week and manages a win. Funny how they manage to hold Arsenal to a draw and do so poorly against lower-ranked teams. Chelsea is expected to win, though I hope they will stumble again, although that is unlikely against lowly Charlton. Charlton will be struggling to pull away from the relegation zone though, and if they have a strong team spirit, miracles could yet happen. ") Man Utd will win, proving Tyco & Lyrad wrong. 'nuff said.

2007-01-26T11:50:00.000+08:00

Match Day 25- Jan week 4

Game	HOME TEAM	AWAY TEAM	LYRAD	TYCO	JUS_MI	Result	"Score Pts"
1	Portsmouth	Boro	D+0, 2-2	H+1, 1-0	A +1, 2-3	0-0	2-0-0
2	West Ham	Liverpool	A+3, 0-3	H+1, 1-0	A +2, 0-2	1-2	1-0-1
3	Sheff Utd	Fulham	D+0, 1-1	A+2, 0-2	A +1, 1-2	2-0	0-0-0
4	Reading	Wigan	H+2, 2-0	H+1, 2-1	H +1, 1-0	3-2	1-2-2
5	Chelsea	Blackburn	D+0, 2-2	H+2, 2-0	H +1, 2-1	3-0	0-1-1
6	Man U	Watford	H+4, 4-0	H+2, 2-0	H +3, 3-0	4-0	3-1-1
7	Bolton	Charlton	D+0, 1-1	H+1, 2-1	H +1, 2-1	1-1	3-0-0
8	Newcastle	Villa	H+1, 2-1	D+0, 0-0	H +1, 2-1	3-1	1-0-1
--	FINAL	"SCORE"	--	--	--	--	11-4-6

*Mid-week game

Selected Match comments by Lyrad:

Portsmouth is strong at home while Boro is on song at the moment. Boro hasn't been shy on goal lately and i fancy a 2-2 draw.

West Ham looking to slowly crawl back from they recent slump; drawing the last 2 games. Unfortunate for them, they are meeting the hottest team in the league at the moment - the MIGHTY REDS ARMY! Question may arise over Liverpool's away form and their ability to pick up points against the "lesser" team. Winning 4 out of the last 5 away league games and isn't that bad an statistic afterall. 3 goals to Liverpool with no reply for West Ham!

Fulham is on some kind of freak run - 6 consecutive draws in the league now. Wonder they have set a new record. Maybe they are trying to do just that. 1-1

Wigan is on a free fall. E'nough said.

Chelsea can't afford anymore slip-ups now and they know they have to win. They will be tense especially at the back. Can McCathy be the on the blow the final straw into the their confidence? Chelsea coming back from behind to snatch a draw.

So Watford finally won (in a midweek match we didn't predict), all thanks to a Emerton own-goal. I hate to say this but i think normal service should resume for the Devils. Simply class apart.

Bolton confidence must have been blow off by the abysmal performance last week. They have sometime to proved but Charlton will be resolute.

Newcastle and Villa? Both are had hot and cold runs this season... i suspect home advantage will be the key.

Selected Match comments by Tycopundit:

Bolton's heavy loss against Middlesbough was a one off incident. Expect them to bounce back strongly after their morale boosting draw against the Gunners in the 4th row FA cup tie. Downing will definitely be closely marked in the game and expect Portmouth to power to an odd goal victory.

Liverpool's victory over Chelsea was sweet for their supporters. West Ham made some pretty good signings over the transfer period. Who knows they might get the odd goal victory that they richly deserve.

With the 'Aeroplane' in their ranks, Fulham will always get the goals. Fulham has been in excellent form for the past few games. 2-0 to the away team.

Two draw specialist facing off in each other. Expect the match to end as a boring 0-0 score. Grab some sleep instead of watching the match.

With Shevchenko 'suddenly regaining' his scoring touch, Chelsea has suddenly look more impressive. Even counting in Liverpool's defeat, Chelsea has only lost 1 game in 16 matches. 2-0 to the defending champion!

Man U. I shalll not speculate much about them because I always get into trouble when I do that.

Selected Match Comments by Jus_mi:
... ... ...
Man Utd, All The Way! ")

2007-01-25T16:22:00.000+08:00

Below is an extract of an article from liverpoolfc.tv

WELCOME to the real world Jose. The world where football managers have to manage with economic restraint. A world where injuries and suspensions have to be overcome through shrewdness and acumen, not the wave of a chequebook...

And a world where the loss of three players from one department of the team has to be stoically endured. So while many will focus on the poverty of Chelsea’s defending at Anfield on Saturday – and for 20 minutes it was Dog and Duck United stuff – perhaps some will now feel inclined to celebrate Rafael Benitez’s recent enforced reshuffles. Three central defenders missing on the same afternoon? Get on with it. Like the Liverpool coach has done for the past two months shorn of the services of a trio of influential midfielders. Aside from Steven Gerrard, Momo Sissoko is the most influential member of Liverpool’s midfield. He has been missing since November 8. Liverpool’s record in that timescale? Won 10, drawn two and lost two in the Premiership. Bolo Zenden and Luis Garcia are also important options in that same department. Both have been missing for large chunks of the season – and in case anybody has forgotten, Harry Kewell is also a member of Liverpool’s midfield. The Reds even lost Xabi Alonso for 10 minutes on Saturday while he had a mouth injury patched up. Their overwhelming superiority over the champions – especially in midfield – didn’t dip for even a second.

In the engine room of the match, Liverpool totally dominated Lampard and an expensive German show pony. Ballack? Change a vowel and you’re not far away from an accurate description of his performance. One decent crossfield pass was the sum total of Michael Ballack’s afternoon contribution – while he was even nutmegged by a team-mate during a comedy free-kick routine which seemed to epitomise Chelsea’s troubles. Mourinho afterwards tried to explain away his side’s slump by labelling Liverpool route one. Hmm. Potenciometro, chaleira and preto, Jose. That’s Portuguese for pot, kettle and black.

And while Chelsea’s defensive deficiencies might explain Liverpool’s approach, they don’t adequately explain why Pepe Reina was not called upon to make a single meaningful save all afternoon. That’s because Liverpool were totally and utterly in command. And while it’s still fanciful to talk of a title charge, with reinforcements on the horizon the hitherto written off Champions League challenge may not be the lost cause some outside of Anfield appear to think – and Chelsea are now visible on the Premiership horizon. Momo Sissoko is back in training now and itching to launch himself into a tackle. But his absence seems to have dispelled one Anfield myth for the time being at least – that Gerrard and Alonso can’t play together. Hands up for occasionally airing that theory... “I’ve read that myself, and I don’t think it’s true,” said Liverpool’s skipper in a programme interview. “I think that good players play with each other whoever they are and I enjoy playing with Xabi. I think if you look at the results we’ve had playing together we’ve done well. I think we complement each other.” Perhaps. Or maybe Gerrard’s more thoughtful approach to his midfield responsibilities, following discussions with his manager, has resulted in a better balanced partnership. On Saturday Gerrard showed commendable restraint. With Sissoko on board, he can rampage forward and make your first goalscorer bet the equivalent of buying money. Alongside Alonso he has to sit deeper, and time his bursts more cannily, and Liverpool’s results since Sissoko’s shoulder popped suggest he has taken that lesson on board spectacularly. Six goals in the same period underline the argument. On Saturday, with Liverpool playing long to make full use of the unsung Peter Crouch and the excellent Dirk Kuyt, he wasn’t required to burst forward as often. Long, short or anything in-between, Chelsea were always second best. So what of the Chelsea manager? “Bye, bye Mourinho!” The Kop provocatively roared, along with a mischievous airing of “Rafa’s The Special One!” It will undoubtedly be a sad day for the Premiership when the little Portuguese takes his talents and personality to new shores. But despite his charisma, despite the colour he has brought into English football and despite his undoubted ability, it is impossible to feel sympathy for him. You can’t feel sorry for a man who regularly slanders opposition players, a manager who waves imaginary yellow cards on the touchline and makes such sweeping accusations he eventually has to issue an apology, who has managed without economic restraint and a man who has even impugned the integrity of the Royal Berkshire Ambulance Service. None of the above can be levelled at Rafael Benitez. Perhaps observers outside Merseyside may now start to appreciate him a little more.

2007-01-23T21:08:00.000+08:00

Dust settled. It's has not been a good weekend for Chelsea fans. Thank goodness for the Gunners that they chose the right time to fire in two shots into the seemly impregnable Man U armor. Nothing has changed much at the top except that now Arsenal and Liverpool are 3 points closer to the summit of the table. Had a bad Saturday night when beloved Chelsea was crushed by Liverpool at Anfield. I shall not point to injuries and suspensions as excuses but will acknowledge that Liverpool carried out their game plan to perfection for the first 18 minutes. The game at Anfield also marked the return of Cech who was decked out in a 'fashionable' helmet to protect his head. This is how desperate Chelsea has become. Even a half fit Cech is better than none as he was able to prevent an avalanche of goals.

Drogba's comical second half 'fanciful' freekick sums up the woeful display by the limping defending champions. Mourinho aptly sums up the game at Anfield with the following statement, "Benitez is no fool and I am no magician." Enjoy the victory while you can Kopites. Next up, a visit to Upton Park looms. West Ham has been going through a roller coaster form even since Curishbley took over but has strenghtened itself considerably during the January transfer period. Hopefully the army in Red can continue to keep up their devasting form.

Bolton was ripped apart by a Downing-inspired Middlesbough. I was quite shocked to see the score at half time and by then, it was already game over for the Trotters. Anyone wants 'pig' trotters for dinner? There is plenty left after Saturday. Portsmouth contributed to the shock result. Who will predict that Charlton will beat Portsmouth 1 -0 at Fratton Park? I think it has to do with one player and his name is Djimi Traore. Whichever team he is, their defence will be in shambles. I wonder why he is still so popular and never out of job, always able to convince teams to 'take him in'. The curse of Traore. Haha.

If Saturday was a good day, Sunday was better. Save the best for the last. Clash of the titans at Emirates Stadium and many fans will not be disappointed if they had stayed up to watched the show. Whenever, Arsenal meets Man U, pizza stores in England has to close for business. Look up your history if you are wondering why. Rooney broke his goal drought and Ferguson must have been eyeing with glee the moment the ball left Rooney's head for every game that Rooney scores, Man U ends up as winners. 9 points gap awaits with 8 minutes on the clock before Van the man decide to gate crash the Devil's party even if it means missing the next 6 weeks of action. That man is Van Persie. Ferguson must have been cursing and rueing but was still satisfied as they would still be 7 points ahead until the French King decided to signal his return to form with a last minute goal to break the hearts of Man U fans round the globe. Ok I admit that I was exaggerating the influence of his strike but it did turned me to become an Arsenal fan for 24hrs! Haha!

Chelsea's form is horrendous at the moment but I'll still stay up to watch them play their League Cup clash with a Wycombe today and hopefully and prayerfully, no mishap will happen and Chelsea will progess smoothing to the final~!

*To be continued*

2007-01-15T13:12:00.000+08:00

Match Day 24 - Jan week 3

Game	HOME TEAM	AWAY TEAM	LYRAD	TYCO	JUS_MI	Result	"Score Pts"
1	Liverpool	Chelsea	H+1, 3-2	A +2, 1-3	H +1, 2-1	2-0	1-0-1
2	Newcastle	West Ham	H+2, 3-1	A +1, 1-2	H +1, 2-1	2-2	0-0-0
3	Aston Villa	Watford	H+1, 1-0	H +2, 2-0	H +1, 1-0	2-0	1-3-1
4	Portsmouth	Charlton	H+2, 2-0	H +2, 2-0	H +1, 2-1	0-1	0-0-0
5	Fulham	Tottenham	A+2, 1-3	A +1, 1-2	D +0, 1-1	1-1	0-0-3
6	Reading	Sheffield	H+2, 2-0	D +0, 1-1	H +1, 1-0	3-1	2-0-1
7	Boro	Bolton	D+0, 2-2	A +2, 1-3	A +1, 1-2	5-1	0-0-0
8	Man City	Blackburn	H+1, 2-1	A +1, 1-2	D +0, 0-0	0-3	0-1-0
9	Wigan	Everton	A+2, 0-2	D +0, 0-0	H +1, 2-1	0-2	3-0-0
10	Arsenal	Man U	D+0, 2-2	H +2, 2-0	A +2, 1-3	2-1	0-1-0
--	FINAL	"SCORE"	--	--	--	--	7-5-6

Selected Match comments by Lyrad:

A Duo Combo this weekend!!! Interesting thoughts, If Arsenal and Liverpool manage victories this weekend... they will be 6 and 5 points away from the 2nd spot... which will pull back the run away "horses" at the top. If they both face defeats, the gap will be widen to 12 and 11 points which realistically, the fight for 2nd place is likely over. What a decider weekend it could be. If all end up in draws... then of course the situation remains the same.

Last week, Liverpool bounce back from the humiliating defeats by Arsenal with a comfortable 3-0 away victory against the bottom team. Finally, a spot on by Rafa who start the match unexpectedly with a 3-4-3 formation that work ideally against a defensive side. The combination look good with Kuyt dropping deep to support Crouch and Bellamy. I think this should be the way against "lesser" teams that pack their defence like no body business . They could jolly well try that against the Terry-less Chelsea defence to see if they are able to cope with the Striking Trio of Reds. However, i will expect them to revert back to the tried and tested 4-4-2 against Chelsea. Drogba is formidable but their defence are vulnerable. definitely, there will be goals in the match - the only question is who will get more. My faith says - Liverpool.

What is wrong with West Ham? Definitely, their is no lack in talents in the team and the only suspect is the cohesiveness as a unit. Newcastle has found theirs in recent times bar the midweek game in the FA Cup.

Arsenal matches are always the hardest to predict. but given their records at Emirate, i believe they could get at least a draw. This will not be just a league game, but for their pride they are playing for. Man U is the outstanding team this season and credit to them. If they can get the result at the Emirate, they are worthy of the title.

Match Comments by Jus_mi:
My focus for this weekend is very simple: Man U to win, Chelsea to lose. If Man U should draw, I wouldn't mind that result either. ") Bolton to win as well!!

2007-01-12T14:04:00.000+08:00

Match Day 23 - Jan week 2

Game	HOME TEAM	AWAY TEAM	LYRAD	TYCO	JUS_MI	Result	"Score Pts"
1	Watford	Liverpool	A +3, 0-3	A +2, 0-2	A +1, 1-2	0-3	3-1-1
2	Man U	Aston Villa	H +2, 2-0	H +2, 2-0	H +3, 3-0	3-1	2-2-1
3	Bolton	Man City	H +1, 1-0	H +1, 2-1	H +2, 3-1	0-0	0-0-0
4	Sheff Utd	Portsmouth	D +0, 1-1	A +1, 0-1	D +0. 1-1	1-1	3-0-3
5	Charlton	Boro	D+0, 1-1	A +1, 0-1	H +1, 1-0	1-3	0-1-0
6	West Ham	Fulham	A +1, 1-2	H +1, 1-0	D +0, 1-1	3-3	0-0-2
7	Chelsea	Wigan	D +0, 2-2	H +2, 2-0	A +1, 1-2	4-0	0-1-0
8	Blackburn	Arsenal	H+1, 2-1	A +1, 0-1	A +2, 1-3	0-2	0-1-2
9	Everton	Reading	D+0, 1-1	H +1, 1-0	A +2, 0-2	1-1	3-0-0
10	Tottenham	Newcastle	H +2, 2-0	A +1, 0-1	H +1, 2-1	2-3	0-2-0
--	FINAL	"SCORE"	--	--	--	--	11-8-9

Selected Match comments by Lyrad:

It is hard to conceive that the mean defence of Anfield fortress that only concede 3 goals in EPL this season; allow Arsenal to run riot and score 9 goals in their own backyard in the space of 4 days!

No excuse is good enough. Benitez have to wake up his ideas and buck up in his purchases and youth policy! The "future" seems bleak in comparison to Arsenal's; The likes of Warnock, Paletta, Peltier, Guthrie ain good enough! They are not ready, definitely not against premiership standard...

For all of Hyppia's experience and glory days, it is clearly not enough to make up his lack of pace. Paletta is definitely not the most reliable partner to cover his shortfall. He seems so"soft" for an Argentinian defender. The regular back Four/Five (Finnan/Carr/Hyppia/Agger/Riise) of Liverpool seems unreplaceable yet and that have to change! Only Agger/Sissoko seems to be the youth that pull through the ranks... what is happening!?!?! No mood to comment on matches nor predict, plain guessing...

Liverpool is now a wounded beast... beware Watford!

Match Comments by Jus_mi:
Liverpool has to regain their confidence against Watford, who has managed just one win so far in the EPL. If Liverpool are unable to defeat even lowly Watford, the players deserve to be shot. Seriously.

Man U should cruise to an easy win over Aston Villa, barring any mishaps. Hopefully Ronaldo finds the net again against Villa. ") Bring on the super-sub "Babyface Killer" Solskjaer as well!

Bolton vs. Man City is hard to tell, as Man City have put up a good fight in their past few games. But what can I say? I'm a Bolton supporter. "P

Chelsea vs. Wigan. Will Chelsea finally lose at home? Given the news that has been filtering out of Chelsea, it seems there is internal strife within the management and maybe even the team. Terry can't play, which leaves a huge gap at the back again... Since Bouhlarouz is out as well. I predict a loss for Chelsea against a never-say-die Wigan!

Arsenal, Reading & Tottenham should be able to garner enough steam to defeat their respective opponents. ")

2007-01-05T16:09:00.000+08:00

Finally recover from the festive slump... has been very slack of late... nevertheless, normal service should resume.

Hmm... back to my usual prediction form.. getting and passing score 10/19 with total 17 points! Liverpool didn't disappoint me and did better then my expectation.

This is something i must refute... althought i am a Liverpool fan and can be "blinded" at times, i will never be as disillusioned as some Chelsea fan that commented, "Bolton would have a higher chance of nicking that elusive second spot". No offense to Bolton but i don't think they have that quality yet. And I think the chelsea fan was too disillusioned and has been affecting his predictions ability; 2/19 for match results is not good enough. Wake up and think neutrally!

As i said in the tag board, Liverpool is just 8 points from Chelsea (4 points cut over the festive fixtures). i wonder what will happen if Man U and Liverpool win the next match and Chelsea draw/loss? It will be Man U with a 8 points lead and Liverpool with a 6 points behind Chelsea. Now... which is more hopeful? "Chelsea chasing Man U" or "Liverpool chasing Chelsea"? If you are smart, you will bet on the latter.

The next following match will be Liverpool vs Chelsea at Anfield... and IF Liverpool do manage a win... it will just be an 3 points difference with 14 more games to go!

These are all the "if"s; but like what Jus_mi commented, we are in a unpredicted world of EPL and you can believe for the unbelievable. Chelsea? Don't be too sure yet.

Just a sidetrack from Premiership... inevitably, the focus this coming weekend would be the FA Cup 3rd round between Liverpool and Arsenal!

My gut prediction? 3-0 to Liverpool.

The Carling cup will depends on the actual result on this Saturday. I suspect the losing team on saturday will emerge on the Carling Cup... your say?

2007-01-03T16:54:00.000+08:00

THE UNPREDICTABLE EPL

Still remember August 2006? Chelsea were on a high, aiming for their 3rd consecutive League title, brimming with confidence... They were a team with depth, they boasted. They could even let go of two defenders, such was Jose Mourinho's confidence in the team he had built up. They had the cash to spend - on two big signings, Michael Ballack & Andriy Shevchenko.

Manchester United were facing a crisis... Yes, they had much cash to spend as well, but they didn't seem to be the same team they had been during the 1999 Treble. Ruud van Nistelrooy's departure seemed to spell the beginning of the end. Their two young stars, Cristiano Ronaldo & Wayne Rooney, had a bust-up during World Cup 2006, that threatened to spill over into the new season. Things were not looking so good.

Liverpool, Tottenham & Arsenal were top teams as well, that struggled to find their footing at the beginning of the season. We wondered: was Chelsea going to cruise to another League title unchallenged? Was the EPL title chase beginning to get boring?

Come beginning of 2007... Wonder of wonders, Chelsea is lagging 6 points behind Manchester United, a sizeable gap considering more than half of the season is over. The crunch time will be when the Champions League, FA Cup matches begin. Does Chelsea have the defenders to cope? Is Jose Mourinho facing dejection, a loss of self-confidence & is the star-studded team breaking up? Alex Ferguson's 20 years of experience prevails. As he says, the past few years was a time of transition for his team. The hard work has paid off. Is it too early to tell who will win the EPL title? Of course... there are 16 more matches to go for the two top teams. Anything could happen.

Just look at Liverpool. From their bad start to the season, they have now climbed to third place. Admittedly, there have been stops and starts. But the fact remains, they are now only 8 points adrift of defending champions Chelsea. Anything can happen in the world of EPL. ")

From season to season, new stars rise and old stars fall. West Ham is one negative example. Portsmouth & Reading are positive examples. Of course, my favourite team Bolton, is another top four hopeful. Come May, who will be the champions? Who will be the top scorer of the season? Who will be Player of the Season? Anything could happen.

Man U All The Way!! ")

2007-01-01T15:22:00.000+08:00

Dust settled. Ferguson received a big birthday present from the Special One. A series of comedy of errors led to Fulham's second goal and a big wide smile from Fergie. This Christmas season, Man U is having a good season haul, not only are they racking in the three points, Chelsea are throwing in two points here and there. Chelsea must have over-soaked themselves in the festive mood. An overly optimist Liverpool fan, Lyrad even commented that at the rate Chelsea is going, perhaps even Liverpool might even catch up and be second. Dream on. I think Bolton would have a higher chance of nicking that elusive second spot.

Coupled with a dose of Fergie's hairdryer treatment, the Special One gave his team a special treatment on New Year's Eve by lambasting his team good and proper. 8 goals in 4 matches. Could it be 10 goals in 5 matches after today? The aura of invincibility has been destroyed with Cech's and Terry's injuries. Every team now fancies their chances against the limping defending champions. It's like even if you can't score against the Blues, there will be a "Cashley" Cole waiting to be bought over, a "Dynamite" Boulahrouz that's going to explode when triggered and some voyeurs caught 'ball' watching most of the time. I wonder what will Mourinho do next to 'entertain' us?

Like what I've commented earlier, can the real Arsenal please turn up! This is the plea from the fans of the Gunners. They must have felt like taking the whole squad out to the firing range, not to see them shoot but to shoot them right in the head. One moment, they are like immortals and another day, they are worse than a division one team. They are sliding out of the CL placing. Are they kidding me when they talk about getting one better in this year's Champions League when they cannot even achieve some form of consistency in the Premier League.

Bolton must be the dark horse of the league title race. They definitely will not win the race but they can surprise one or two by nicking one of the elusive champion league spot by displacing one the Big Four. Anelka is raking in goals for fun. He is starting to show the form that he once showed at Arsenal and is proving to be one of the best investment made by Sam Allardyce. If they continue with this rich vein of form, expect them to be in a top four finish come May.

The new 'Rooney', Anichebe is officially baptized into the EPL. A brace coupled with another goal from stand-in captain, P. Neveille set Everton to a 3-0 victory over Newcastle. The young forward is starting to show the early season promise. I wonder whether Man U will come plundering at the end of the season with a £20+ million bid to poach him away. Everton now has a knack of producing quality forwards. It's exciting time at Goodison Park.

Alan Curbishley's luck is running out. He needs to find solutions first before West Ham slides into a pit of no return. Year 2006 was a year that started with joy and delight that end into exasperation for the Hammer fans. Hopefully 2007 can be the year that the rot will stop. Eggert Magnusson must pondering over his investment right now.

Liverpool. Enough said.

The team of the moment must be Man U right now. Only four teams have managed to stop the Devils from reaping perfect harvest. They are raking in goals for fun and teams are dreading to face the red hot Man U team right now. Congratulations to Ferguson for assembling a team to make this season's title race an exciting one. At 65, he still has enough passion for one last shot at the title. We shall wait and see, which team will be the team standing at the summit of the EPL table. 2007 will promise to be the best year ever for football fans around the world as the EPL race gets heated up!

2006-12-29T10:46:00.000+08:00

Match Day 21 - Dec week 5

Game	HOME TEAM	AWAY TEAM	LYRAD	TYCO	JUS_MI	Result	"Score Pts"
1	Charlton	Aston Villa	D+0, 1-1	A+1, 1-2	A +1, 1-2	2-1	0-0-0
2	Man United	Reading	H+2, 3-1	H+1, 2-1	H +2, 3-1	3-2	1-2-1
3	Blackburn	Boro	H+1, 1-0	D+0, 0-0	H +1, 1-0	2-1	2-0-2
4	Tottenham	Liverpool	A+2, 0-2	H+1, 1-0	D +0, 2-2	0-1	1-0-0
5	Bolton	Portsmouth	H+1, 2-1	D+o, 1-1	H +1, 2-1	3-2	2-0-2
6	Watford	Wigan	A+1, 0-1	H+1, 1-0	A +1.0-1	A	--
7	Chelsea	Fulham	H+1, 1-0	H+1, 2-1	H +3, 3-0	2-2	0-0-0
8	West Ham	Man City	H+1, 2-1	H+2, 3-1	H +2, 2-0	0-1	0-0-0
9	Everton	Newcastle	D+0, 1-1	A+1, 0-1	D +0, 1-1	3-0	0-0-0
10	Sheff United	Arsenal	A+2, 0-2	D+0, 2-2	A +3, 0-3	1-0	0-0-0
11*	Liverpool	Bolton	H+1, 2-1	A+1, 1-2	A +1, 1-2	3-0	1-0-0
12*	Portsmouth	Tottenham	H+1, 2-1	A+1, 1-2	H +2, 3-1	1-1	0-0-0
13*	Fulham	Watford	H+1, 1-0	H+2, 3-1	H +2, 2-0	0-0	0-0-0
14*	Reading	West Ham	D+0, 1-1	A+1, 0-1	H +2, 3-1	6-0	0-0-1
15*	Man City	Everton	H +1, 2-1	A+2, 0-2	H +1, 1-0	2-1	3-0-2
16*	Wigan	Blackburn	D +0, 1-1	H+1, 1-0	A +1, 1-2	0-3	0-0-1
17*	Boro	Sheff Utd	H +1, 2-1	D+0, 0-0	A +1, 0-1	3-1	1-0-0
18*	Newcastle	Man United	D+0, 2-2	H+1, 1-0	A +1, 1-2	2-2	3-0-0
19*	Arsenal	Charlton	H +3, 3-0	H+2, 3-1	H +1, 2-1	4-0	1-1-1
20*	Aston Villa	Chelsea	D+0, 1-1	A+1, 0-1	H +1, 2-1	0-0	2-0-0
--	FINAL	"SCORE"	--	--	--	--	17-3-10

*Mid-week game

Selected Match comments by Lyrad:

Last week was a disappointing week. Liverpool unbeaten run ended so abruptly and undeservingly. A match no lack of chances yet they spun one after another. Crouch will not start in the next 10 match at least!

Internet was down the past 2 days, finally resume connection (although slow), got so much emails to reply and work to do... dun really have time to "research" for prediction again.

A quick one: Match of the week has be the match at White Hart Lane. White Hart Lane is not a good place to visit with Spur winning 8/10 (like Liverpool) of the matches and only lost once. Spur (Like Liverpool) were the form team of the moment, won 4/5 (Like Liverpool) of the last 5 games. Although on good form, Liverpool is rather poor away from home, losing 6 of the 10 (Like Spur) games played so far this season . Such is the identity records that i can sense an upset to the trend. Through faith (a substance of think hope for, evidence of things not seen), I believe that Liverpool will bounce back to keep their title dreams alive...

Man U (esp. Ronaldo) is on such good form at the moment that you would want to bet against them. But they will have to meet another in form team - Newcastle in on the New Year day and if Chelsea hope to retain their title, they will be Newcastle fans for that day!

Chelsea isn't in any good shape at the moment. Lost of Terry is definately a big blow and now their savior for the last game - Robben could also be sideline... they must be praying hard. Luckily for them, the transfer window is opening again and they can display their bank account once more...

Arsenal form is a on and off thing, not sure of they can follow up on last weekend double win. But given the weak opponents they are facing... perhaps they can go on a mini-run.

Cheers!

You will never walk alone...

Selected Match comments by Tycopundit:

I'm still in mourning period since that Cashley Christmas gift. Expect Chelsea to bounce back strongly. The bar set by Mourinho is so high that even a draw seems like a loss nowadays. A leaking defence spells trouble and the latest news that Terry will be out for a few more weeks after undergoing the laser surgery. Mourinho is considering Drogba as an emergency centre back. This is how desperate Chelsea are in now. To rub salt in the wound, Man City has just 'rejected' the 18million pound bid for Micah Richards. My question to Abrahimovic, is he worth that much or is Chelsea being taken for a ride again? God please protect Drogba's legs and ensure that he will continue to score goals and please send a few angels to plug the leaks. It's getting abit unbearable for me.

Can the real Arsenal please stand up? Sometimes is goals, goals and more goals. Another day, it can be arrrghh, oh no, not another miss and please, even I can find the back of the net easier.

There is a rumour that Newcastle are thinking of buying Crouch. Please don't. 12 million pound for him? Oh please! Newcastle will be better without him. I rather they re-signed Woodgate then to buy one who can only head and aim at the keeper's hands.

C.Ronaldo. He is one player adored by the Man U fans and hated by Chelsea fans. This guy is really good. Not only he can act, he can assist, he can also score. This is the player that every manager loves to have. He is worth at least 15 points to any team. That is how influential Ronaldo is. I would love to see him on Chelsea's bench but I doubt Man U will ever let him unless some crazy dude comes up with some crazy bid! Expect Man U to continue with their relentless march to league glory. Perhaps Newcastle can cause an upset. Who knows? Let's just wait and anticipate!

Match Comments by Jus_mi:
All predictions made on the spur of the moment. Man U will win comfortably, but Reading will put up a good fight. Chelsea will win, but they may concede a few goals.. Fulham will fight till the last minute, as seen against Charlton. Liverpool's form is so unpredictable... AND it's an away match. Spurs will be able to match up to the Reds this time.

Mid-Week Games...
The Weekend games were tremendously disappointing.. particularly Aston Villa, Arsenal & Chelsea! Some teams really experienced a drop in form recently... Taking this into account, I am predicting the scores for mid-week games. Liverpool managed to salvage a win... And Man U cruised to yet another win! 6-point gap at the top of the table... Yippee!!! ")

Liverpool-Bolton: Liverpool did well against the Spurs, and I know this is their home match. But I am still a Bolton fan... I was hesitating between a Draw and an Away win. But I chose Away, because while Bolton is running at the moment, Liverpool is struggling to move.

Portsmouth-Spurs, Fulham-Watford, Reading-West Ham, Man City-Everton predictions are all based on their current form. Portsmouth are an exceptional team, hard-working and constantly reaping results... Fulham has done well fighting back against Charlton & Chelsea recently. Reading's prowess is plain for all to see... and of late, Man City has shown flashes of brilliance.

Wigan-Blackburn & Boro-Sheff Utd are hard to predict. These matches could go either way.. but I predict both Blackburn & Sheff Utd will have hard-fought wins because of their recent showing. ")

Big Matches...
Firstly, Newcastle-Man U: Newcastle is a difficult team to face, especially after the recent tests Man Utd have gone through. However, due to the team rotation Fergie has put in place during recent matches, Man U players are relatively well-rested, compared to those at Newcastle. This will give them a slight advantage. Add to that a slew of Man U attackers in the form of Ronaldo, Solskjaer, Saha, Rooney... and Man U have a distinct advantage.. ") Man Utd will win & Cristiano Ronaldo, if he plays, will score or assist again!

Secondly, Arsenal-Charlton: Arsenal were disappointing against Sheff Utd... I would have expected them to do better, considering they are a big team. They have poor finishing, and an unfortunate lack of luck. But, given that this is Emirates stadium, I expect them to scrape a win together, also to make up for their terrible lack match showing.

Thirdly, Aston Villa-Chelsea: Crunch time! Is Chelsea on the way down? I believe they are. True... Aston Villa is another struggling team, with a losing match streak... But Chelsea are in bad shape too. Chelsea has a whole host of injured players, despite their tremendous talent. Chelsea players are exhausted, as evident during their last match with Fulham, which they were lucky to escape from with a point. Exhausted players are more prone to injury, and I expect even more of the Chelsea team to be depleted soon. Even Mourinho is starting to show signs of dejection. When the manager feels this way, the spirit will be spread to the team. Will Chelsea concede 2 goals for a fifth match running? Will Drogba be able to single-handedly create another miracle? All will be revealed... Aston Villa (and Man Utd) will benefit from the tired Chelsea team. Mark my words. ")

Man U All The Way!! ")

2006-12-28T21:49:00.000+08:00

Yippee ") It's been a good run of predictions for me! I've got 14/20 results correct *giving myself a pat on the back*... But what I'm most ecstatic about: Chelsea's draw & Man U's win! Cristiano Ronaldo's first-touch goal was the stuff of fairy tales... And Ashley Cole might really be a fan of the Red Devils!

Cristiano Ronaldo has truly dazzled this season, and as long as he keeps scoring those goals, Man U have a fighting chance. Of course, not forgetting the magnificent team that Fergie has put together. ") Now, who is the team with a lack of depth?

Yet, it is not the time to be complacent, and I'm sure Fergie is well aware of the dangers of complacency.. Just look at Chelsea & you'll understand. Chelsea's problems are now just beginning to surface: their porous defence which lacks the injured John Terry & Peter Cech, their persistent individuality & lack of teamwork, and most surprisingly, their lack of depth. A major problem is obviously their team's complacency...

Man U has teamwork, an unstoppable four-man strike team (Saha, Rooney, Ronaldo, Giggs), back-up "strikers" (Solskjaer, Scholes, Park... even Fletcher), strong defence... They just have to keep the fighting spirit together and they may pull even further away when Chelsea slip up and drop points. Man U All The Way!! ")

Liverpool put in a disappointing performance... But credit goes to Blackburn for grinding out that 1-0 result. Watford put up a good fight against Arsenal as well... As did Charlton, who unfortunately lost at the very last minute. Bolton (yippee!!) fought back from being one goal down, thanks to Ramage as well.

Looking forward to this weekend's matches... Will Man U snatch a win against Reading in their 2nd meeting this season (Previous result: 1-1)? Will Chelsea drop points again? The title race is heating up in this final weekend of 2006! Arsenal & Liverpool need to work hard.. And Bolton needs to continue its run of successes! Can't wait... ")

2006-12-24T04:41:00.000+08:00

Dust settled. The euphoria resulted from witnessing Robben's stunning 93rd minute strike is keeping me awake even though I've to wake up at 9+ tomorrow. It's tough being a Chelsea nowadays. You need to have a strong heart. Once again, Chelsea made it difficult for themselves by allowing Wigan that injury first half goal and that 'offside' goal. Credit goes to Wigan for making life difficult for Chelsea. Chelsea had to work really hard to earn the 3 points. This is the defending champion. This is the team that is moulded by Mourinho - they do not know when to say no. Chelsea was only playing with two 'real' defender in the last 20 minute as they were pressing hard for the winning goal to close the gap back to 2 points. At one stage, this was the team that was on the pitch - Hilario, Ashley Cole, Ricardo Carvalho, Michael Essien, Frank Lampard, John Mikel, Michael Ballack, Andriy Shevchenko, Didier Drogba, Arjen Robben and Salomon Kalou. This is still the team to beat if you want to win the EPL. You can only lay your hands on the trophy if you are above Chelsea at the end of the season. Man U are in the position right now but can they last the pace? We shall wait and see.

Is this the same Arsenal team that drew with Portsmouth last weekend? It's often hard to predict which Arsenal team will turn up at home. At its best, they are joyful to watch with the elaborated build up. On other days, their elaborated build up can be sometimes so frustrating to the eye. Poor Blackburn. They came to Emirates at the wrong timing. 6 goals conceded. It can't get more worse than this for the Blackburn fans.

When Ronaldo performs, Man U is literally invincible. Today he did just that. One of the best performer of the season for the Devils this season. Tried so hard to get his third goal to complete his hat-trick. Another goal that could go as the contender for the goal of the season from Scholes. How many stunning goals are we going to witness this season? The only reason that I can think off is that the keepers are getting better, therefore in order to score, you need some spectacular shots. Nahz. It probably boils down to the new balls which are able to spin and dip at an amazing rate that life as a goalkeeper is miserable.

Liverpool. Thank goodness they picked themselves up after half time and grinded out the two goals. This is afterall Anfield. This will make it the 12th wins in all competitions. Anfield is really a fortress. Not the best place to visit if you are fighting for the league title or if you are fighting against relegation.

Newcastle is getting the bargain of the season - Obafemi Martins. This is one guy that seems to find the back of net regularly of late. He is starting to adjust to the new environment and is slotting in nicely in the Newcastle setup. This will be the team to watch out for if all those injured players start to come back. This team can give any of the BIg Four a run of their money if they have their 1st eleven all fit. Only if. Tottenham are like Arsenal. They still need to find their elusive consistency if they really desire to compete for a Champion League placing.

AJ shrugged off the Mourinho controversy to end his goal scoring drought by notching a goal against Reading. Lady luck was also smiling on Everton as Reading was denied a legitimate penalty when Seol Ki-Hyeon was clearly clipped by Gary Naysmith just inside the box. In the end, Everton proved too strong for Reading. Has Reading run out of the early season steam?

The biggest cheer must be reserve for the scorer of the both goals - Nicholas Anelka. Mr Sulk, the Ah-Beng of Soccer is starting to show why the Bolton paid a club record fee for his services. At his best, he is more than capable of scoring from anywhere. If Bolton wants to make it to the elite European Club Competition, this man is the key to their plans!

That's all for this weekend. Here's a wishing to everyone - Merry Christmas! Can't wait for Boxing Day to come!a

2006-12-21T17:50:00.000+08:00

Match Day 19-20 - Dec week 4

Game	HOME TEAM	AWAY TEAM	LYRAD	TYCO	JUS_MI	Result	"Score Pts"
1	Fulham	West Ham	A +1, 1-2	A +1, 0-1	D +0, 2-2	0-0	0-0-2
2	Boro	Charlton	H +2, 2-0	H +2, 2-0	H +1, 1-0	2-0	3-3-1
3	Arsenal	Blackburn	D +0, 1-1	H +3, 3-0	H +1, 2-1	6-2	0-1-1
4	Newcastle	Tottenham	D +0, 1-1	D +0, 1-1	A +1, 0-1	3-1	0-0-0
5	Aston Villa	Man U	D +0, 1-1	D +0, 1-1	A +1, 1-2	0-3	0-0-1
6	Portsmouth	Sheff Utd	D +0, 1-1	H +1, 2-1	H +2, 2-0	3-1	0-1-2
7	Liverpool	Watford	H +4, 4-0	H +3, 3-0	H +3, 3-0	2-0	1-1-1
8	Reading	Everton	A +1, 0-1	A +1, 0-1	A +1, 0-1	0-2	1-1-1
9	Man City	Bolton	D+0, 1-1	H +1, 1-0	D +0, 1-1	0-2	0-0-0
10	Wigan	Chelsea	A+1, 0-1	A +2, 0-2	A +1, 1-2	2-3	2-1-2
11*	Chelsea	Reading	H+1, 1-0	H +2, 2-0	D +0, 2-2	2-2	0-0-3
12*	Everton	Boro	H +1, 1-0	H +1, 1-0	H +1, 2-1	0-0	0-0-0
13*	Tottenham	Aston Villa	H +1, 2-1	H +1, 1-0	H +2, 3-1	2-1	3-2-1
14*	Man U	Wigan	H+2, 2-0	H +2,2-0	H +3, 3-0	3-1	2-2-1
15*	West Ham	Portsmouth	D +0, 1-1	H +1, 1-0	A +1, 1-2	1-2	0-0-3
16*	Sheff Utd	Man City	H +1, 1-0	H +1, 1-0	H +1, 1-0	0-1	0-0-0
17*	Blackburn	Liverpool	A +3, 0-3	D+0, 1-1	A +1, 1-2	1-0	0-0-0
18*	Watford	Arsenal	A +3, 0-3	A+3, 0-3	A +2, 0-2	1-2	1-1-1
19*	Bolton	Newcastle	A +1, 1-2	A+1, 1-2	H +2, 3-1	2-1	0-0-1
20*	Charlton	Fulham	H, +1, 1-0	A+2, 0-2	H +1, 1-0	2-2	0-0-0
--	FINAL	"SCORE"	--	--	--	--	13-13-21

*Mid-week game

Selected Match comments by Lyrad:

It's Christmas, a season of sharing! This weekend, i am going for lotz of 1-1 draws...

Arsenal's form is erratic of late and i think that their boys will be distracted by the Christmas party mood to get maximum points this weekend.

Newcastle and Spurs match one I look forward to. These 2 teams are currently the most on form team in the league (Barring Liverpool) each winning 4 out of last 5 league matches. It is likely to be a draw.

O'Neil against Man U... not sure what implication is there but i think it will be a 'interesting' match.

4-0 to Liverpool? too over confidence? Not a safe prediction like 3-0s, 2-0s others will go for. But yet again - no risk no gain. Watching Liverpool plays the last few games... i have to say that Liverpool has not peak yet and more is expected from them. It is scary to think that the created almost 20 good chances in a 90 minute game in the last few games but only 3-4 goals to show for. The players are eager to impress. Against tactically naive Watford? No Mercy this Christmas.

Chelsea are off form at the moment but they are still picking up results. That is a mark of a strong unit. Drogba is on fire at the moment - i wonder how many more "Drogba Special" can he produce to save Chelsea. However, i think they are not scoring as many as they like and capable of - Especially when their 2 front man (30m + 24m?) cost almost twice as Liverpool's striking quarlet. (kuyt 10m, Crouch 7m, Bellamy 7m, Fowler 0m). Still, i expect them to grind this through.

Comments by tycopundit:

Before the Everton game, Ferguson was talking about the possibility of opening a genuinely 8 points gap by the time the West Ham games finishes. Of course we know what happened after that, with Drogba, the most-in-form striker dealing the psychological blow in the 87th minute. Ferguson must have been wondering what's wrong with his team. Their goals are starting to dry out fast. From 8 points lead to a 2 points difference. Indeed nothing is certain in football. Aston Villa is neither lousy or good but under O'Neil, the prospect of a draw is highly possible.

Liverpool is on fire. 11 goals in the last 3 games. Expect additional 3 more at least for this weekend minimum. This is the team that is almost invincible at home. This will be their 12 wins in all competitions.

Wigan. When on song, this team is more than a match for any of the tops clubs. The Camara injury must have been a blow to the team. If they are able to exploit Chelsea's win link, they might just win the game. However, the strong Chelsea bench meant that if anything goes wrong, Mourinho can tinker with the tactics to find the right permutations to finish off the opposition. 2-0 to Chelsea.

West Ham will continue with their resurrection by stealing another win at Fulham. Every West Ham players are playing for their future. They will be keen to impress Alan Curbishley before he dives into the January transfer market for reinforcement with a 25m budget.

Charlton is in a free fall mode, as if they were resigned and willing to accept relegation. Expect their losing streak to continue, not because Middlesbrough are good but because Charlton c.m.i .

Match Comments by Jus_mi:

I'm overseas right now, so I'll make this a quick one. Suffice to say, most of my predictions are based on the respective teams' performances recently, home and away. If some teams experience a sudden drop or surge in form, then my predictions could go awry. P.s. Man U will win. Trust me. ")

Mid-Week Games...
Chelsea vs. Reading - Call me cynical. Maybe it's prejudice against Chelsea, maybe it's Chelsea's tendency to go 2 goals down. Chelsea have home advantage, and a fighting spirit. But they have a habit of conceding too many goals, especially with a missing Terry. The team with more chances may not win - so Chelsea may attack with gusto. But they'll stumble, mark my words. ")

Aston Villa are on a slippery hill, and unless they can find their footing, expect defeat against the rising Spurs.

Man U vs. Wigan? Need you ask? Man U will win, as they sparkle on the field again. The West Ham game was just a blip on the radar, and Chelsea's Jose Mourinho can eat his hat. Wigan fought hard and Chelsea just managed to subdue them, just barely. But watch Man U show Chelsea how to beat Wigan. Of course, it is difficult for Wigan to face the two top teams within a few days, and they will be physically exhausted, thanks to Chelsea! ")

Liverpool and Arsenal will win their respective teams, but it won't be easy games, due to the tiring December schedule. Liverpool are starting to falter yet again, and I hope they will be able to find their form and win by a slight margin against Blackburn, who fought hard against Arsenal but couldn't match up to their style.

Bolton will win. Enough said. ") Charlton wins too. Why? The euphoria of having a new manager - just look at the effect it had on a struggling West Ham.

Man U All The Way!! :)

2006-12-20T16:17:00.000+08:00

Top 10 Liverpool Styles of Play under Benitez:

1) Early cross from Finnan (right) to Crouch (far post) to head down for Gerrard (coming in the middle) to poach a goal. - effectively and deadly

2) Long ball through the flanks into the channels for Bellamy to create confusion by the byline and square in for on rushing striker partner and midfielders (Gerrard, Garcia, Gonzalez, Pennant) - effectively, create chances

3) Kuyt running in the middle, 1-2 with Gerrard/Alonso and release Bellamy with a deft touch - deadly if executed with precision.

4) Pennant running by the flank and cut in to square the ball. - good chance if only Pennant can get past to the byline more often.

5) Overlapping run by Riise and Finnan. - create space and allow more midfielders into the box to poach in loose ball.

6) Direct cross from Gerrard - always dangerous

7) Riise, Gerrard, Alonso waiting at the bay ready to smash in any clearance - not as much as expected this season.

8) Kuyt / Fowler bringing the ball from the in the middle and slot in to the far post. - results still not at full effectiveness yet; hit the post a few times

9) Left back and midfield (Riise and Gonzalez/Garcia/Kewell) coming inwards to take pot shots while right back and midfield going by the line to deliver crosses. - need more accuracy

10) A Gerrard's special

Top 10 Weakness of Liverpool style of play:

1) Expose during counter-attacked when flank was switch quickly.

2) Sami Hyypia lack of pace to cover Riise left back position when being counter attacked.

3) Weak aerial presence when is Carra and Agger partnership in center back.

4) Expose at flanks easily

5) Lack attacking bit in the centre middle when Gerrard is play on the right.

6) Center mid expose when Gerrard lose odd possession or out of position.

7) Effectiveness of wing play dependable on the form of the Pennant and Gonzalez.

8) Too much chance created, wasteful finishes create panick scenario.

9) Bellamy caught offside too often.

10) Opponents plays very deep and defensive against Liverpool to neutralise their attack. Most managers will come in to the game just for a point.

2006-12-19T12:25:00.000+08:00

After match Analysis & Update in FA Prediction Table!

Well done to Jus_mi on on her first time topping this week prediction! Got an 6/10 with 2 goal margin correct!

Didn't manage to pass (4/10) this time but think i did fairly well for my gut predictions. Chelsea stole an undeserving draw while Man U was disappointing too. Thank God for Liverpool, for the 3-0 win to give me an exact spot-on this time round. This time they didn't score the fourth although on many occassions, they threaten that.

Liverpool is on revival at the moment. Say what you like; Wigan, Charlton, Fulham may not be big teams, but winning 4-0, 3-0 in a row is no fluke.. Like i mention before in my previous post, Liverpool start to find form from November and will have a easier run-in to the New Year; and is now proving the case. I believe if they have met the big boys now with their confidence flying high, they could pick up a couple of points more. A good point to note: they are on a 7 match clean sheet run in the league now.

It is no coincidence that fixture list play a part, Man U had played all the big boys (LFC, CFC, AFC) at Old Trafford over these period where Liverpool had it all away from Anfield... it couldn't get any "fairer".

But like i have said, the finishing order by New Year would be Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal... and it seems coming to past.

Man U is starting losing form for the past few matches, and whether they could sustain at the top remains a question. I suspect that their lack in depth to complete in all 4 fronts of the league and cups competitions will be exposed if they do not bring in reinforcement in January.

Chelsea too; seems to have a little problems of their own. The once seemingly inpenatrable team suddenly look short of cover in the centre defence when once; they have an embrassing quality of backups in Gallas and Huth. Instead, now the got themselves a trouble maker in Brolugwho? who contribute nothing except penalties and dangerous position of free kicks to opponent.

Although 13 points behind, i reserved some optimisim for Liverpool simply because the have the depth in the squad and the rotation policy seems to be paying off (surprisingly, nobody is questioning that now when Liverpool is on a good run?). Agger is coming to age and had perform exceptionally well when he deputise for Hyypia to partner Carra in some of the games. Gerrard is finding the form now and start to look dangerous storming in the middle of the park. Alonso's form is picking up and the new boys (Bellamy, Pennant, Gonzalez) look settling in. Gonzalez seems to pick up the pace of EPL when you see the way he went in for tackles against the opponents right back. With Crouch and Fowler scoring when the are called upon, players starting to return from injuries, new investment in january, things start to look bright in the red camp of Merseyside. i think Liverpool is well prepared for the run in...

Man U had drop 10 points in their first 18 match while Chelsea had drop 12 points. Liverpool drop 23 points. However, if Liverpool can maintain their current form (which the can go on for a long run in recent years) and take maximum points from the Home ties with their big rivals, cutting the 13 points lead doesn't seems such a tall order after all. Remember somewhere this at this stage last season, Liverpool is about 25 point behind Chelsea, which was eventually close down to 9 points. That was a massive 16 points gain! And if take Chelsea as the benchmark for the current table (I think Man U cannot last the course of season because of their lack of depth and over dependable on the attacking trio), it is a 11 points to be close down.

Of course, it would be better to be in Man U or Chelsea position then Liverpool's (playing catch up), but i believe this could be like a motor race; that when focus is on the top 2 racing to peak each other, there could a 3rd team behind, ready to zoom past at the turn of the corner to take advantage of any slip up or accident. watch out...

A Hopeful Reds... =)

2006-12-18T16:05:00.000+08:00

Dust settled. Liverpool continued with their 'resurrected' form and Charlton was at the receiving end. 11 goals scored and 0 concede. Amazingly, this was the same team that found it difficult to win on the road. They have woken up from their deep slumber.

The shocker of the day comes with Man U loss at West Ham. I was expecting a draw at least but was startled to witness Man U leaving Upton Park with 0 points. This was the same team that was entertaining us with the goals. Sadly, they have failed to come up with the goods when mattered. This was not the first time that their weakness surfaced. Games against Middlesbrough, Blackburn, Celtic and Copenhagen highlighted their wasteful finishing and it was only a matter of time when they will be punished by their opposition. Credits go to Alan Curbishley for reorganising the team in a space of a week. Remember this was the team that was hammered by Bolton 4-0 (Bolton was brushed aside 4-0 by Man U earlier in the season) and swept aside by Wigan 2-0. This was a team fighting a relegation battle versus the pace setter of EPL. As a Chelsea fan, I was happy with Man U's defeat as it provided more breathing space for Chelsea. I’m sure Mourinho was smiling with glee at the blow of the whistle.

The best match of the weekend has to be Everton vs. Chelsea. This was the game that Chelsea was supposed to stamp authority and to cut Man U's lead to 2 for the time being (Chelsea's game was before Man U's). It got off to the wrong start again, (with who else but) Boulahrouz gifting Everton a cheap penalty. He is starting to become a liability in the defence. I want to crucify him! It was a wonderful match to watch if you are a neutral. Brilliant goals, drama and suspense. As a Chelsea fan, it was frustrating to see the once invincible Chelsea defence being breached twice in the game. Cech and Terry, we really missed you both. Nonetheless, we were treated to 3 world-class goals from 3 of the 'Untouchables'. It was grave injustice to the Toffees for not getting anything out the game for they had performed brilliantly up till the 81st minute. The morale of the story: Never switch off for 1 minute against the defending champions!

Another thing that we can witness from the match was Chelsea’s flexibility in its ability to switch formations during the course of the game to pose different problems to Everton. Chelsea started out with a 4-4-2 formation and switched to at 4-3-3 formation after the break. With the team losing 2-1 and with 15 minutes left, Mourinho gambled and changed to 3-4-3. Clearly, Everton was having difficulty coping with Chelski onslaught and it was only a matter of time when they will crumble under the Chelsea relentless pressure. Man U on the other hand, was out thought and muscled by West Ham. Clearly, Ferguson needs to sign 2-3 quality players to strengthen his squad if they want to be genuine contender for the title race!

2006-12-16T01:51:00.000+08:00

The Premiership Title Chase

I just needed to write this down..

On Tuesday (12 Dec), I saw an article in The New Paper which reminded us that the title race is far from over. Why? Because at this stage of the 2006/07 season, Manchester United may lead by 5 points, but they are not guaranteed a win yet. Only during 3 out of 10 previous seasons, the leading team at this stage won the Premiership.

Well, I'd like to say: "Take a look at the point differences in the previous seasons! When the leading team led by more than 5-6 points at this stage, they went on to win the Premiership!" Of course, I'm not saying that it's a guaranteed. I admit that I'm biased. After all, I am a Man U fan! :) I tend to side my team. Just like the Chelsea fan do, delusionally...

I'm proud that Man U is winning matches, and scoring well, and continually increasing their goal difference. I hope that Saha, Rooney, Ronaldo and the rest keep on scoring :)

The West Ham Firing Squad

It's sad to see West Ham fall so low in the table, to sit in the relegation zone today. And for Pardew to be fired for the team's poor performance... It's a hard pill to swallow. But that's the way life goes. When the results are poor, the manager is blamed.

However, West Ham needs to pick themselves up now. Somehow, I feel that a change of manager may not always do the team good, especially in the middle of the season when the fixtures are packed. A new manager's style is difficult to get used to, just as a new team member has to learn to gel with the team. And the team has to gel with him ( think Shevchenko! ).. Let's see how West Ham does from here on.

Man U, All The Way!! :)

2006-12-15T16:28:00.000+08:00

Match Day 17 - Dec week 3

Game	HOME TEAM	AWAY TEAM	LYRAD	TYCO	JUS_MI	Result	"Score Pts"
1	Charlton	Liverpool	A +3, 0-3	A +2, 0-2	A +2, 1-3	0-3	3-1-1
2	Reading	Blackburn	H +1, 1-0	D +0, 1-1	H +2, 2-0	1-2	0-0-0
3	Arsenal	Portsmouth	D +0, 1-1	H +2, 2-0	D +0, 1-1	2-2	2-0-2
4	Wigan	Sheff Utd	H +1, 1-0	H +1, 1-0	D +0, 1-1	0-1	0-0-0
5	Newcastle	Watford	H +2, 2-0	H +1, 1-0	H +2, 2-0	2-1	1-2-1
6	Aston Villa	Bolton	D +0, 1-1	H +1, 2-1	A +2, 1-3	0-1	0-0-1
7	Everton	Chelsea	D +0, 0-0	A +2, 0-2	A +1, 0-1	2-3	0-1-2
8	West Ham	Man U	A +2, 0-2	D +0, 2-2	A +2, 0-2	1-0	0-0-0
9	Man City	Tottenham	A +2, 1-3	H +1, 2-1	A +3, 0-3	1-2	1-0-1
10	Fulham	Boro	A +1, 0-1	H +1, 1-0	D +0, 1-1	2-1	0-2-0
--	FINAL	"SCORE"	--	--	--	--	7-6-8

*Mid-week game

Selected Match comments by Lyrad:

Don't really have time to do analysis this time round. believe it or not, these predictions are all by gut feeling - all done in a matter if a minute. Usually, will do a more detail analysis but this time round, time forbides cos i am leaving office and i have no internet access from home!

Previous round prediction got 7/12 correct! and 3 GM and 1 ES! passing rate finally... =) and thanks to Chelsea for their 1-1 draw. And my Liverpool disappoint me by scoring a forth goal, 害我 miss spot on again...

Anyway hopefully this round i wouldn't fail too badly this time with a last minute work...

Match Comments by Jus_mi:

Liverpool must, and should, continue to win away from home now. It is time for them to step out of mediocrity. Draw inspiration from Bellamy.

Arsenal are without several key players, most notably their star player, Thierry Henry. They did well to hold their own against Chelsea, but were uninspiring during the game. Same goes for their game against Wigan. I hope to see Theo Walcott score a goal. He deserves it. But Portsmouth will hold Arsenal to a draw.

Newcastle did supremely well against Chelsea in mid-week. If they continue in the same spirit, they can defeat Watford, despite missing quite a number of first-team players. It is the attitude that counts!

Aston Villa have been conceding draws too often this season. Meeting Bolton will not be easy, and I expect Bolton to be able to win their match.

More often than not, Chelsea have only been able to score one goal per match recently. Their talent will ensure they beat Everton (without Mourinho's tinkering), but I expect their usual 1-0 scoreline. Man U will be able to defeat a struggling West Ham, provided they do not underestimate their rivals. :)

I want to see more goals from Tottenham against Man City! Give me another goal blitz! :)

Man U, All The Way!! :)

Comments by Tyco:

I'm going to predict using the ideal world thoerem, 1-0 home ground advantage to those team who are not hosting teams from the front 2 and the new manager inspiration theory. If everything comes to past, so should 90% of my prediction. I'm expecting at least 3 full strikes here!!

The next 7 games will be super crucial in shaping out the league table. The league table will be a reflection of the potential of each team. Will Man U run away if the title or will Chelsea claw back and set the pace? We shall see! =)

2006-12-15T01:26:00.000+08:00

Alan Curbishley has officially replaced Alan Pardew at West Ham and he has been entrusted with £25m transfer kitty to secure some quality signings to consolidate Hammer's position in EPL. Hopefully, a new manager can spark off the hunger that was evidently missing from the Hammers this season. What better ways to kick start the season with a Devil's scalp this weekend? He can make a friend with the nickname, the Special One if he manages to beat Man U.

‘Al-Liverpool’? Talks are smoothly progressing and there is a high chance that Liverpool will be sold at around £450m to the guys from Dubai. Will Benitez get the cash that he truly desires to strengthen his squad or will we see another ‘Pardew act’ being carried out. 2 consecutive 4-0 games. Clearly, the imminent takeover is boosting the morale of the players and many of the players who have been ordinary previously are raising their play.

Chelsea’s draw with Arsenal has clearly put the Devils in the driving seat. What was Mourinho thinking when he sent out a ‘makeshift’ team to face Newcastle? The Special One is indeed special when he secure the 3 points needed to cut the gap to 5 points. But only just barely. This is a clearly a cocky guy who seem to know what he is doing. Mind games. The siege mentality.

By the way, did I mention that Mourinho nearly send an early Christmas present to Paul Pierce. Rooney must be thanking his lucky stars for not sustaining a serious foot injury while watching a basketball match. Imagine getting injured off the field, worse still, nothing to do with football. Ferguson must be praying really hard!

Anyway, foreign investors are snapping EPL clubs like hotcakes. Every club seem to be valuable commodity. Did someone forget to mention to them that there is only one EPL trophy up for grabs only? Arsene Wenger is worried that this will cause Arsenal to lose out in their competitiveness and lagged behind other foreign-owned clubs. I believed the funds poured in by the foreign investors will improve the quality of the league if they are being used wisely. What do you guys think??

2006-12-11T01:58:00.000+08:00

What a match! Like what the post-match analyst put it, Chelsea was unlucky and Arsenal was plain lucky. 3 times hitting the post and 1 sucker punch by Arsenal. Argh! 52 games unbeaten and counting at Stamford Bridge. 8 points away from Man U. This is a true test of a champion credential. Only the last 15 minutes, then Chelsea begin to exert more pressure on Arsenal.. why can't they do it earlier on? Now must pray that Man U's winning bubble will burst or their key players get injured and Chelsea to win all the remaining games and Shevchenko to start scoring cause Drogba isn't firing cylinders at the moment. Next up, Newcastle.

2006-12-08T12:13:00.000+08:00

Match Day 16 - Dec week 2

Game	HOME TEAM	AWAY TEAM	LYRAD	TYCO	JUS_MI	Result	"Score Pts"
1	Man Utd	Man City	H +2, 2-0	--	H +2, 2-0	3-1	2-0-2
2	Portsmouth	Everton	D +0, 1-1	--	A +1 , 0-1	2-0	0-0-0
3	Blackburn	Newcastle	H +2, 1-0	--	H +1, 1-0	1-3	0-0-0
4	Tottenham	Charlton	H +2, 2-0	--	H +1, 2-1	5-1	1-0-1
5	Liverpool	Fulham	H +3, 3-0	--	H +2, 3-1	4-0	1-0-1
6	Watford	Reading	A +2, 0-2	--	A +1, 0-1	0-0	0-0-0
7	Boro	Wigan	H +1, 1-0	--	H +2, 2-0	1-1	0-0-0
8	Bolton	West Ham	H +1, 1-0	--	H +1, 2-1	4-0	1-0-1
9	Chelsea	Arsenal	D +0, 1-1	H +2, 2-0	H +2, 3-1	1-1	3-0-0
10	Steff Utd	Aston Villa	D +0, 1-1	H +1, 1-0	A +1, 0-1	2-2	2-0-0
11*	Chelsea	Newcastle	H +2, 2-0	H +2, 3-1	H +3, 3-0	1-0	1-1-1
12*	Wigan	Arsenal	D +0, 1-1	H +1, 1-0	A +1, 1-2	0-1	0-0-2
--	FINAL	"SCORE"	--	--	--	--	11-1-8

*Mid-week game

Selected Match comments by Lyrad:

Although it is a local derby in Manchester, I think the Devils will register a comprehensive victory over their weaker neighbour. City away form is awful to say the less and now, it is even worst than that of Liverpool's.

Portsmouth and Everton are both average team managed by above average manager performing above expectations this season. Both teams have equal qualities and a very hardworking side. I predict a draw.

On a contrast, Blackburn and Newcastle have flamboyant nature but always fail to live up to their expectation - Both at struggling at the foot of the table at the moment. In fact, their current standing is SO similar that the only difference is that the Rovers has score 1 more goal at home and let in 1 more goal away from home. For this match, I suspect that home ground advantage will be key. 1-0 to Rover.

I am sorry, but I am always bias towards Liverpool. 3-0 seems a big scoreline, but that is usually the case when they are fired-up. Unlike in Houiller's reign, the range Liverpool could hit is between +2 to -2; they wouldn't score more nor concede more. But under Rafa, the range hit to +4, 5, 6, 7 to -3,-4. That is how unexpected this current Liverpool side can be. Fulham was defeated 5-1 on the same ground last season by an inspired Liverpool side where Steve Warnock got his first and only goal. That was also the beginning of their second winning run of 11 games last season. And right now, they are on run of 5 clean sheets in league matches and will be going out for the 6th!

So Reading winning run has come to an end in the midweek against Newcastle. But I expect them to win against Watford with ease. Last week predict in Reading vs. Bolton nearly hit a bingo bingo in which I predicted a 1-1 and goals from Doyle and Anelka. Doyle has done his part only for Anelka to disappoint me. I expect Doyle to score again in the coming match!

Chelsea had some rest last week, but will they take advantage of it or will they fail to get their engine going? I think Arsenal will go all out to make life difficult for Jose's millionaires. Expecting some crutching tackles rolling away and maybe a Robben's special (diving) trying to secure points for the blues.

2006-12-07T12:17:00.000+08:00

After match analysis round up & update of prediction table:

Lyrad resume normal duty to top the week of prediction with 6/13 of the matches and get 4 goal margin spot on!

It is quite funny to do a match analysis on a thursday when my sight is half set on the coming weekend. Due to fixture congesting which include the midweek matches, this seems unavoidable. Hence I will just do a round up:

Arsenal and Liverpool both emerge victorious with style, but their consistent is still to be question. No doubt of their potential that they can annihilate teams when it was their day... but how many of the days are theirs?

They near to their familiar places at the top although is still a distance from the run away leaders Man U and Chelsea. All i can say is the my previous predictions of the Big 4 by christmas is still very much in the hunt. (in the order of Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal).

Is good to note for the Liverpool critics that they are on a 5 league clean sheet since the whipping by Arsenal 1 month ago. Let see if they can build on the momentum.

The bottom clubs all had put on some hard fights and with most of them register a win and a loss lost in the 2 matches they played over the week. At least now they are not losing all the way. Credit to Sheffield, Charlton and Newcastle.

West Ham continue in their misery when lost to a injuried plague Everton and deflated Wigan. Tevez perform well in those matches and still they cannot win?

2006-11-30T16:11:00.000+08:00

Match Day 15 - Dec week 1

Game	HOME TEAM	AWAY TEAM	LYRAD	TYCO	JUS_MI	Result	"Score Pts"
1	Arsenal	Tottenham	D +0, 1-1	H +2, 2-0	H +1, 2-1	3-0	0-1-1
2	Reading	Bolton	D +0, 1-1	A +1, 0-1	A +2, 0-2	1-0	0-0-0
3	Blackburn	Fulham	H +1, 1-0	D +0, 1-1	D +0, 1-1	2-0	1-0-0
4	Sheff Utd	Charlton	H +1, 1-0	H +1, 1-0	H +1, 1-0	2-1	2-2-2
5	Wigan	Liverpool	A +2, 0-2	A +1, 0-1	H +1, 1-0	0-4	1-1-0
6	Portsmouth	Aston Villa	A +1, 0-1	A +1, 0-1	H +2, 2-0	2-2	0-0-0
7	Boro	Man U	A +1, 0-1	H +1, 1-0	A +2, 1-3	1-2	2-0-1
8	Everton	West Ham	D +0, 1-1	H +1, 1-0	D +0, 1-1	2-0	0-1-0
9	Man City	Watford	H +1, 1-0	H +1, 1-0	H +2, 2-0	0-0	0-0-0
10	Charlton	Blackburn	D +0, 1-1	A +1, 0-1	H +1, 1-0	1-0	0-0-3
11	Tottenham	Boro	H +1, 2-1	D +0, 1-1	D +0, 1-1	2-1	3-0-0
12	Newcastle	Reading	H +1, 1-0	H +1, 1-0	A +1, 1-2	3-2	2-2-0
13	West Ham	Wigan	H +1, 1-0	A +1, 0-1	H +1, 1-0	0-2	0-1-0
--	FINAL	"SCORE"	--	--	--	--	11-8-7

Selected Match Comments by Jus_mi:
Apologies for forfeiting 6 matches in mid-week :) I will catch up! I was just mounting a protest because Man U's and Bolton's crest is not featured at the top of this blog together with Chelsea's and Liverpool's! Haha *just kidding* I was simply too lazy. :p Anyway I'm overjoyed at Man U's efforts this week..

Arsenal - Tottenham:
Arsenal has performed disappointingly in the last 2 away matches. Their consistency has received yet another dent... However, as this match is played at home, I expect them to be able to take advantage of the home crowd, as well as take their chances, and pull off a win against the Spurs.

Reading - Bolton:
Both Reading and Bolton are actually evenly matched, with Bolton playing a more physical game. Bolton failed to score against Chelsea in mid-week but I expect them to put the pressure on Reading and score 3 points to keep them in third place.

Wigan - Liverpool:
Yet another away match for Liverpool. They have performed poorly away, and now their home form is also being affected, as seen during their game against Portsmouth. They do not perform at the level expected of them. It remains to be seen if they can break their duck, but I expect Wigan to be able to win at home.

Portsmouth - Aston Villa:
Villa has slowly started to lose steam whereas Portsmouth have performed well enough to convince me to back them for this home match.

Boro - Man U:
Man U lack the depth, but their players are willing to work hard as a team, score the goals and defend. Their goalscorers come from all across the pitch; Ronaldo, Saha & Rooney surge forward as a team; Giggs & Scholes provide the foresight. They are unpredictable. Need I say more?

Jus_mi signing out ... Man U All The Way!! :)

Selected Match Comments by Tycopundit:

This week, I'm trying out a new way to predict the score. This is the 1-0 theory. Defenses are getting tighter and it's pretty hard to score in EPL so just put 1-0 in favour of the team that is higher up in the league table and of course, there are exceptions. Follow at your own risk, friends.

I think Liverpool will finally break their away jinx. They might be down to the bare minimum but, it is in adversity that great team triumphs. I believe Liverpool will win their first away game in the EPL. The reason is simple, Liverpool's home form is starting to change for the worse. Go figure out the rest.

Arsenal. If you're a fan of the Gunners, I bet that you're dropping lots of hair. Why? They are one of the best passing team in the league. Their build up to goal is fantastic. But their final third? Pathetic. I have given them a brilliant nickname, that is polemaster = they are more often to hit the post than the back of the net. Sometimes, people do appreciate ordinary, efective goal. Can someone please let Arsene Wenger know about this?

To jus_mi, Bolton did not score against Chelsea because they did not show enough belief in themselves. They lost the match at the 1s whistle because they were contended to play out for a draw. It was only late into the second half when they began to show more belief and exerted more pressure onto Chelsea. Reading is a different opposition. Expect a better showing this time round from the Trotters. Good enough for an away goal.

Charlton = hopeless. No need to say anymore. If you want to make money, just bet on Charlton losing and Chelsea and Man U winning, I think 9 out 10 times, you will get it right except for this week! Haha. Why? Ask Boro. =)

Selected Match Comments by Lyrad:

These days, the fixtures is are getting tighter, it is so hard to predict. Some teams can hurdle past the congested fixture unscathed while some crumble away in their consistency.

As i said before, i seriously hate predicting match involving Arsenal. Sometimes they bring their "gun-powder" to match, sometimes they left them in the dressing room. Arsenal does not have a problem in the final 3rd. they have problems in the final 1/8 of the field! they can pass inside the opponent PK box and not score!! Anyway, Spur is coming to look good now, although they are as inconsistent as the Gunners, Jol's team is starting to gel and the forwards are firing. I can't see them not scoring in this match.

Kevin Doyle is firing, so is Anelka... I bet the score one each. =p

As for my dear Liverpool? The the stats are point another defeat. Against all Odds - No reason again... Pure optimism. (note: kuyt have yet to score away goal yet)

Everton is drafting away from their early season form while West Ham is picking up after their early season slump. This will be a stalemate.

No Chelsea this week? Hope they "shake leg" at home this weekend and forget to pick them up again! lolx.

2006-11-30T15:57:00.000+08:00

Update in prediction table:

Congralution to tyco for 3 spot-ons; saving his blushes of only getting 4/15 games but still top the week predictions! Perhaps "1-0" scoreline is good spot-on prediction!

Jus_mi went MIA and forfeited 6 of the matches in the mid-week.

This is a week of surprise results especially from the London clubs. Will do better the next time! Perhaps go for "HOME 1-0" formulas! =p

2006-11-27T22:24:00.000+08:00

Dust settled. I admit that I was wrong with the score. But hack. Was right about the part that one of the 3 attackers might be injured and poor Man U must be rueing their miss chances. On top of that, Saha and Ronaldo are now doubtful for their next match against Man U. We shall see how this draw will affect Man U's title aspiration.

Arsenal. Great build up in their play. Over elaborate at times. Hit the pole 3 times. One offside Bolton goal. Lost by 2 goals. Only one word to describe Arsenal - suay.

Gerrard finally deliver the good. The same can't be said about the rest of the team. Crouch and Luis Garcia were disappointing in particular. Hopefully, they can use the Man City match as spring board for ther away games. Their home form is Chelsea class. Away form is relegation form man. They need to bring more 'scoring boots' for their away games.

Stay tune for more updates.

2006-11-27T12:16:00.000+08:00

Post match Analysis:

As i have said, Chelsea is lucky to get away with a point. If not for the wastefulness of Ronaldo, Rooney and Saha infront of goal, Chelsea would have walk away from Old Trafford in shame. Drogba shouldn't be on the field in the 2nd half. Chelsea fans, please wake up, your team isn't that invincible afterall. Comfortable win with 2 goals? dream on... ...

Arsenal as i predicted, continue to be in the sick trend... super unpredictable. Brillant in one game, nightmare in another.

Liverpool had a hard-fought win. Had Garcia not wasted a glorious opportunity in the the first half, (It would be a tap-in for his beanpole teammate has he choose to square it instead going for the near pole and hit the side netting) it would have settle some nerve for a comfortable win. But comfort from that game is that the 3-5-2 formation did not backfire and it proves to have the "possibilities" to cope with the injuries list that never seems ending.

2006-11-24T11:49:00.000+08:00

Match Day 14 - Nov week 4

Game	HOME TEAM	AWAY TEAM	LYRAD	TYCO	JUS_MI	Result	"Score Pts"
1	Charlton	Everton	D +0, 1-1	A +2, 0-2	A +2, 0-2	1-1	3-0-0
2	Aston Villa	Boro	H +2, 2-0	H +1, 1-o	D +0, 1-1	1-1	0-0-3
3	West Ham	Sheff Utd	H +2, 2-0	H +1, 1-0	H +2, 2-0	1-0	1-3-1
4	Fulham	Reading	H +1, 2-1	H +1, 1-o	A +2, 1-3	0-1	0-0-1
5	Bolton	Arsenal	H +1, 2-1	A +2, 0-2	H +1, 2-1	3-1	1-0-1
6	Liverpool	Man City	H +3, 3-0	D +0, 1-1	A +1, 1-2	1-0	1-0-0
7	Newcastle	Portsmouth	A +1 0-1	H +1, 1-o	A +2, 0-2	1-0	0-3-0
8	Man Utd	Chelsea	H +1, 1-0	A +2, 0-2	H +1, 2-1	1-1	0-0-0
9	Tottenham	Wigan	H +1, 2-1	A +1 0-1	D +0, 0-0	3-1	1-0-0
10	Watford	Sheff Utd	H +1, 2-1	A +1 0-1	--	0-1	0-0-3
11*	Aston Villa	Man City	H +2, 2-0	H +1, 1-o	--	1-3	0-0-0
12*	Liverpool	Portsmouth	H +2, 2-0	H +2, 2-o	--	0-0	0-0-0
13*	Fulham	Arsenal	A +2, 0-2	A +2, 0-2	--	2-1	0-0-0
14*	Man Utd	Everton	H +1, 1-0	D +0, 1-1	--	3-0	1-0
15*	Bolton	Chelsea	D +1, 1-1	A +2, 0-2	--	0-1	0-1
--	FINAL	"SCORE"	--	--	--	--	8-10-6

*Mid-week game

Selected Match comments by Lyrad:

Everton has only win 1 away game this season and Charlton has 3 draws at home already this season. It likely this will end with a draw also.

Martin O'Neil's Villa Park soon becoming a fortress and they have yet to taste a defeat at home while Boro has not register an away victory yet.

I am really dreading to predict an Arsenal game. Unlike Liverpool, (you know they do well at home and awful away) but for Arsenal??? I will go for Bolton this time because they have Ex Liverpoolian - Diouf! lolx

Liverpool at Anfield against Man City? (Away record as bad as Liverpool) Having securing the Top Spot in the Champion League group stage with ease, they are in a Bouyant mood and will be focus back in their league standing. Bet Kuyt and Crouch to fire in this game. The lost of Alonso, Gonzalez and Pennant to injury in the PSV game is a big blow, but they should have players provide sufficient cover. Now on the treatment table: Kewell, Sissoko, Alonso, Gonzalez, Pennant, Aurelio...

Last week, my "Home match formula" seems to come to good effect. This week i adopt a similiar tactic but it won't be for this Newcastle game. The Mappies was always much hype over the last decade and not really delivered anything at all. Although they are doing well in Europe, they haven't have a clue for the league. Harry Redknapp has the reputation of working well with budget. Just see how he transform Kanu to the EPL current most feared striker (barring Drogba). The Prompy with a victory over the Mappies!

GAME OF THE WEEK has to the showdown at Old Trafford. Both team seems to be sufffering the same fate at the moment. Both team has a marginal victory by a goal last weekend and played considerably badly, and both the mid-week CL game 0-1 when they played considerably well. For this game, my gut tells me that is a Devil victory and Chelsea will be lucky to get away with a point. and Man U victory with many cards shown. =p

Wigan 4 match winning sequence end last by being held my Aston Villa. All good thing must come to an end, especially you are riding or luck rather then quality.

Watford and Sheff... i hate predicting such matches where form and ability cannot be read. It such case, Home-win formula is always a safe option.

Selected Match comments by Jus_mi:

Couldn't post this earlier due to problems on my laptop... Now watching the Charlton-Everton match and watching my prediction for that match fail. :( Hoping Everton or Charlton score one more goal! Good effort by Charlton though...

I've noticed many of my predictions hinge on the Away teams winning -- which goes against Lyrad's theory. Sighz. Anyway I expect Reading to win their match against Fulham, given their good showing last weekend.

Liverpool vs. Man City is a difficult match to predict. Liverpool always perform unpredictably, although their Away matches usually end in losses or draws. If their form is good, they may even win this match. However, I expect Liverpool to score the first goal. Man City will then have to score 2 goals to prove my prediction right. Oh well, it's worth a try :)

West Ham vs. Sheff Utd -- the 2 teams which met Chelsea & Man Utd respectively last weekend. Both teams proved themselves to be of strong mettle... However, West Ham has to learn to take its chances so as to ensure a win over Sheffield. The Hammers have to finish their build-ups to score goals! I believe they'll be able to manage a win this weekend.

Bolton vs. Arsenal. It all depends on whether Arsenal fires blanks again.

Finally... CHELSEA vs. MAN UTD -- Blues vs. Red Devils.
Being a Red Devils fan, obviously I would predict a win for Man U. However, seriously speaking, I still give Chelsea credit and predict that they will be able to score a goal, probably in the first half. I am expecting and waiting for either Terry or Cudicini to score an own goal. Man U have had a fairly consistent EPL season and it should continue through this weekend, even against a strong team like Chelsea. This will be the ultimate test.

Selected Match comments by Tycooundit:

West Ham gave Chelsea a good fight last week. Expect them to finally get it right with a win. They are starting to gel as a team and with the takeover saga finally over, expect the Hammers to regroup and climb up the league table.

Liverpool. Hit hard by injuries. Expect to reshuffle his team. I think the most this will be a draw. 3 months ago, they were still talking about the title, now they are talking about 4th position. Perhaps 3 months from now, the UEFA cup or Intertoto qualification?

Arsenal will get this one right this time. It's been 4 years since they last won at the Reebok Stadium. I think Arsenal of this season is tougher than the previous years and most importantly, they will have the resolve to win t his one.

Lastly, Man U will eat dust at their own backyard. Expect them to be hit by 2 Chelsea goals. To rub salt into the wound, expect one of these players - Rooney, Ronaldo or Saha to break leg. Man U squad is way too thin to mount a serious challenge on so many fronts. Expect injuries and suspensions to start to haunt the Devils.

2006-11-23T16:42:00.000+08:00

Werder Bremen 1 vs Chelsea 0, Celtic 1 vs Man U 0

What's going on with the EPL pacesettlers? Both suffered unexpected defeats before this coming Sunday's crucial showdown.

Lightning strikes when you leasts expects it and to hit twice, man that was shocking.

In my heart, I stil believe that Chelsea will take this on. Besides Rooney and Saha, Man U don't really have quality options on the bench. Therefore once, Chelsea works out a way to nulify Saha and Rooney, Man U will become impotent in their striking department.

As for the midfield, other than Ronaldo who has the pace and the trickery, the rest are too light weight in comparison with the Chelsea's heavy weights. If Cole can tame C.Ronaldo, this will only be for Chelsea's taking.

However all in not smooth sailing, Drogba and Ballack are doubtful starters. The absence of Drogba will be greatly felt especially.

All is not confirm until the last moment, stay tune for more updates on this upcoming classic match!!

2006-11-22T22:23:00.000+08:00

Hi :) As everyone can see, I am a Man Utd fan, a Portugal fan, a Cristiano Ronaldo fan. But before you write me off as being a groupie, let me first clarify that I didn't think highly of C. Ronaldo at all, until his rather spectacular performances during Portugal's World Cup campaign and Man Utd's performance thus far. I am rather pleased at Man Utd's performance so far this EPL season, although this has caused Tyco and Lyrad to be (understandably) against me and my team. :p But I don't care! Man U, all the way! Ha, Liverpool don't stand a chance! And Chelsea, be ready to give up your throne; you've warmed the seat enough for Man U to take over! :)

Also, I am a Bolton Wanderers fan, as I've been since 1999. I've seen them rise from the relegation danger zone to being one of the top teams this season and the last. Yay! :)

As a side note, I am disappointed with Man Utd's showing during their Champions League match with Celtic. They should have performed better! Hopefully, they will manage to gather their winning spirit and squeeze into the knockout stages. Please, let this not affect their determination during the EPL match with Chelsea. Let this fuel their determination to show Chelsea who's tops!

The Past Weekend: 18 - 19 November 2006
For my first try, that's not a bad run of predictions. I think my skepticism of Chelsea's ability helped somewhat during my predictions; it should have been a draw against West Ham, but the Hammers didn't take their chances. Anyway, as Tyco defends Chelsea: they "gave chance" to the Hammers -- Like real! I admit, they were trying to conserve energy for the Champions League game, and the clash with Man Utd this coming weekend. However, being a top team, they should have created more chances from themselves. AND THE MISCOMMUNICATION BETWEEN THEIR DEFENDERS AND THEIR GOALKEEPER WAS DREADFUL!!! Quite a few times, Cudicini was left stranded because of this miscomm. I was almost expecting an own goal to ensue. Unfortunately for Man Utd, this did not happen. Tsk tsk.. Chelsea, be ready to meet with defeat this weekend!

Pity I wasn't more skeptical of Liverpool's ability. Yet again, they failed to win another away game, and coupled with that, they didn't score again! Hopefully, they will pull themseIves out of the doldrums soon. Arsenal vs. Newcastle was a stunner. Unfortunately, Arsenal are very inconsistent this season. Yet again, the Gunners have not managed to find the ammunition to fuel their guns! How to pose a threat to Man U and Chelsea like that??!!

Bolton lost. *sniff sniff* However, it was a close match, and either side could have gained the upper hand. Blackburn vs. Tottenham was expected, for me at least. The Spurs have really experienced a bad season, from their being a Top Five team before the start of the season, to the struggling state they are in now.

Finally, Man Utd vs. Sheffield. What were Man U's defenders, particularly Ferdinand, doing? Edwin van der Sar and his defenders have had a tremendous season, conceding 6 goals in 13 matches, resulting in a magnificent goal difference of 23 goals. However, they need to work hard to keep up that record, particularly again Chelsea. Rooney did well to find the net twice in the second half, and Man Utd dominated the second half. Thankfully, they saved their face (unlike Arsenal). But, Man Utd CANNOT allow any defensive lapse this weekend. Please please please please please... For your fans, Man U. :)

=*~ Portugal, Man Utd, Bolton ~*=
=*~^^^ ALL THE WAY!!! ^^^~*=

2006-11-20T19:49:00.000+08:00

Dust settled. It's been a while since all big 4 won. It definitely won't happen next week.

Man U managed to recover from an early set back with 2 excellant goal by Rooney. Overall, Man U should at least score 3 one. What was Ronaldo doing in the last minute of normal regulation when he ballooned his chance from 5m with an open goal gasping. I don't think Chelsea will give him that kind of luxury next week. Laugh while you can, 'devil fans'. The Blues are going to slice you at your own courtyard in 7 days.

Chelsea needs to buck up. They switched to the 99th gear after getting the lead. They were literally inviting the Hammers to bombard their goal. It's pretty sad that Chelsea were not really stretched by the team from the north. Chelsea needs to exert more authority in their next 2 away matches against Werder Bremen and Man U. It's going to be 2 tough journey. It will be a true test on the credentials of JM's squad.

Liverpool. Hopeless.

Arsenal needs to get some consistency in their game. Like what Lyrad has said, so what if you get 2-3 goals in some matches and 0 goal the next moment. 3 points is more important than just providing entertaining soccer. The throne is the ultimate goal right? =P

Blackburn vs Tottenham. 1-1. 100% match.

2006-11-20T10:36:00.000+08:00

Post Match Analysis:

Lyrad:

Getting closer now, 7/10 matches predicted correctly and with a bonus 2 correct goal differences and an exact score!

Only disappointment is that Liverpool fail to win the match they TOTALLY DOMINATED... can't understand why. Boro play at home 4-5-1 total stay in their own half and let the poor Yakubu chasing upfront for lost cause. Wood"gate" has a blinder game... Liverpool should have signed him. But they got the result they looking for in the end - good tactic by South"gate"... he really shut the "gate" on liverpool.

Chelsea and Man U won, but - just. they disappoint me on goal difference which i thought they might win by a bigger margin.

The other predictions i got wrong is on the 2 london clubs - Arsenal, Tottenham. Liverpool thrashed Newcastle, Arsenal thrashed Liverpool... how can Arsenal not win Newcastle?????

Finally, welcome to our new guest tipster that join us this week. She did much much better then the first round of games Tyco and me predicted! She even got an exact score on her first attempt! give her a round of applauds!

2006-11-17T10:07:00.000+08:00

Match Day 13 - Nov week 3

This week we have added a new tipster to our hot tips. She is non other than hot babe, Jus_mi. She is relatively accurate except that sometimes, she thinks with her heart rather than her mind.

Game	HOME TEAM	AWAY TEAM	LYRAD	TYCO	JUS_MI	RESULT	"Score Pt"
1	Man City	Fulham	Home +1, 1-0	Away +1, 0-1	Away +1, 0-1	3-1	1-0-0
2	Portsmouth	Watford	Home +2, 2-0	Home +1, 1-0	Home +2, 2-0	2-1	1-2-1
3	Arsenal	Newcastle	Home +3, 3-0	Home +2, 2-0	Home +2, 3-1	1-1	0-0-0
4	Reading	Charlton	Home +1, 2-1	Home +1, 1-0	Draw +0, 1-1	2-0	1-1-0
5	Chelsea	West Ham	Home +2, 2-0	Home +3, 3-0	Home +1, 2-1	1-0	1-1-2
6	Sheff Utd	Man Utd	Away +2, 0-2	Away +2, 1-3	Away +3, 0-3	1-2	1-1-1
7	Everton	Bolton	Home +1, 1-0	Draw +0, 1-1	Draw +0, 0-0	1-0	3-0-0
8	Boro	Liverpool	Away +2, 0-2	Home +1, 1-0	Home +1, 2-1	0-0	0-0-0
9	Wigan	Aston Villa	Draw +0, 1-1	Home +1, 1-0	Home +1, 1-0	0-0	2-0-0
10	Blackburn	Tottenham	Away+1, 0-1	Draw +0, 1-1	Draw +0, 1-1	1-1	0-3-3
--	FINAL	"SCORE"	--	--	--	--	10-8-7

* Note - Amended: "Draw +0" is always +0 goal difference...

Selected match comments by Lyrad:

What kind of prediction is this? This is call the safe-method prediction. Go for Home matches (50% win most of the time). with the exception of Man U, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Spur getting something from their away ties. Why? Simple:

MAN U? - Man U Form guide: W-W-W-W-W - need i say more? Too good for Sheffield
Liverpool? - Liverpool's Away Form guide L-L-L-L-L-D - then why? - Blind Faith lor
Aston Villa? - Quality Manager
Spurs? - Blackburn simply too poor in form (L-L-L-L-D) at the moment

Selected match comments by Tycopundit:

Liverpool is consistently 'cmi' in their away matches. 1 draw and 5 losses. In case you are wondering what is cmi? cmi = cannot make it. Moreover, Liverpool has not score 4 games consectively at Riverside. Expect this run to continue with the home team nicking that sucker punch goal to condemn Liverpool to their 6th away loss.

Man U is buring hot right at the moment. They only know one thing right now that is to win win win win win win win. Scary form man. Expect this run to stop in 1 -2 weeks time but not this week. Don't be a fool to bet against the Devils right now. It's no joke.

Blackburn with their rought in house tactic might just do enough to stop their rot of 4 cosecutive losses and get away with a point at least provided that they can make full use of their chances.

Hopefully Chelsea won't exceed my expectations again and score 4 goals. 3-0 will be just nice and enough for me to harp on.. hehe

Selected match comments by Jus_mi:

All I want is for Chelsea to lose or draw. And Man U (all the way!) must win in order to have an advantage over Chelsea when they meet. Although I've predicted a 2-1 win for Chelsea, I'm hoping against hope that West Ham will miraculously hold them to a draw! :)

The other games are pretty run-of-the-mill. Everton vs. Bolton is a match that can go either way. Everton has a better goal difference than Bolton, but my loyalties (again) lie with Bolton so maybe, they will win. Haha :)

Liverpool will lose once again. Unfortunately, they've had a bad run recently against top teams and their morale has been damaged. Add to that: this is an Away match and they haven't performed too well away. Maybe moving Gerrard to centre will help, but it may be a case of too little, too late.

2006-11-13T17:39:00.000+08:00

Updates on FA Prediction League:

As promised, this week, we did better of last week score(3-1) with a 4-5 scoreline! well, at least we are getting closer in our predictions.

At current standing Lyrad still have a point lead over Tycopundit all thanks to Gallas 3rd Goal for Arsenal! Thank you Gallas! Or else, Lyrad will be a point behind!

I should have bang on a Reading and Boro wins earlier... West Ham and Spur did more badly than i expect them to be. Already "give them face" when i predict them not losing yet the disappointing me... i guess London clubs cannot be trusted...

Liverpool? 别提了... one word "悲"

Lyrad - Status: Sackcloth & Ashes

2006-11-13T03:54:00.000+08:00

Dust settled. Total of 25 goals being scored.

Poll shot himself into the limelight once again with his perfect eye sight. He is now even better than television replays. He can see what technology cannot see. Poor Samaras must have thought that he hit jackpot until Poll's divine intervention - ruled that Corradi had 'tussled' with Newcastle player prior to the goal. From television slow motion replay, I pretty amazed how Poll could spot that when I'm still trying to spot the foul on slow slow slow slow snail motion replay. Standing ovation for Poll! The only goaless match over the weekend.

Chelsea. Not in the best of form yet. Moving at second gear but managed to fire four pass Ben Foster. Poor chap. Not the best time to face the most in form striker in Europe right now. Second hat-trick of the season. JM is showing the world how to play attacking football without using wingers but using the overlapping runs of wingbacks to make up for it. Geremi excelled in the right back position with his pace. Lampard and Ballack are starting to gel. Perhaps Gerrad is eyeing with glee and must have rue his decision in joining the Blues. Hahaz. Was expecting 3 but Chelsea gave me 4.

Rooney. 2 horrific open goal miss. His confidence must have returned to zero after this game. Thank goodness Giggs and Saha combined together to spare Rooney his blushes. Not a nice game to watch but Man U managed to scrapped through with all 3 points. Clearly, it's been a while since 3 years ago that Man U is setting the pace. Hopefully they can last through which I doubt so. Watch out for Chelsea is coming to Old Trafford on the 26th. Expect this fairy tale to end soon.

C.Sutton. This was the 10 million dollar goal man. Cannot believe that it took him so fast to break his duck in Aston Villa colours. This was the same man that found it easier to shoot for the sky when he was with Chelsea. Martin O. Neil is really a brillant manager who's able to bring the best out of his limited resources. Wondering what excues David O. Leary is preparing to use for his next job interview. The bright side is that he has plenty of time to come out with an excellant excuse.

Liverpool. Told you guys not to look at their home form. Their away form is relegation form. 1 away goal since the beginning of the season - a penalty. That's pathetic. No wonder, Gerrard was so frustrated that after Gallas' goal, he was seen arguing with Riise. Welcome to Chelsea, Gerrard. The bench awaits you. Finally, the Gunners managed to find the back of the neck as predicted but they went about efficiently and even upped the ante by scoring 1 more than what I predicted. Well done, Arsenal. It's hard being a Kop at away games nowadays. Benitez must really solve the issue quick or is bye bye Rafael!

Stay tune for more discussion.

2006-11-12T12:48:00.000+08:00

After-match analysis:

Last week is moaning week for Tycopundit, this week is mine...

"Excuse me... i am looking for physicians, doctors, Lou Kuns, Sin Sen?? any one there? i need medication... medication for SERIOUS TRAVEL SICKNESS... help help... can go Glenn Eagles or Mount Elizabeth for operations? specialists? KK also can if "got use"... ... HELP HELP HElP..."

Hua Tuo must appear soon, else "Li Wei Pu" will lose ground soon and premiership will become 三国 le... Haix... 6 away games, 1 draw 5 defeats... relegration materials... well... consolation, at least they have face Chelsea, Man U, Arsenal, Everton, Bolton... not the kindest of fixtures you wish for... must complain to the FA for making such bias fixture.... how can play the all 3 aways games against the big '4' in the 6 matches away from home!! bias!! bad FA... !!!

okk... enough of grumbling... haiz... must fast and pray for miracles le...

2006-11-10T15:26:00.000+08:00

Match Day 12 - Nov week 2

Game	HOME TEAM	AWAY TEAM	LYRAD	TYCOPUNDIT	Result	"Score Pt"
1	Man City	Newcastle	Home +1, 1-0	Away +2, 0-2	Draw +0, 0-0	0-0
2	Portsmouth	Fulham	Home +2, 2-0	Draw +0, 0-0	Away +1, 0-1	0-0
3	Chelsea	Watford	Home +2, 2-0	Home +3, 3-0	Home +4, 4-0	1-1
4	Sheff Utd	Bolton	Away +2, 1-3	Draw +0, 1-1	Draw +0, 2-2	0-2
5	Everton	Aston Villa	Draw +0, 1-1	Home +1, 2-1	Away +0, 0-1	0-0
6	Wigan	Charlton	Home +1, 2-1	Draw +0, 1-1	Home +1, 3-2	2-0
7	Middlesbrough	West Ham	Draw +0, 1-1	Away +1, 1-2	Home +1, 1-0	0-0
8	Blackburn	Man Utd	Away +2, 0-2	Away +2, 1-3	Away +1, 0-1	1-1
9	Arsenal	Liverpool	Draw +1, 2-2	Home +2, 2-0	Home +3, 3-0	1-0
10	Reading	Tottenham	Draw +1, 1-1	Away +1, 1-2	Home +2, 3-1	0-0
--	FINAL	"SCORE"	--	--	--	4-5

Selected match comments by Lyrad:

L-D-L-L-L - That is the form of Newcastle - What is the hell wrong with them? may it continue.
The big baby is crying: "not fair not fair!!" "Referees are bias" "they dive", "they play rough" "they play-act". whatever the Moanrinho have said, Chelsea should win this with ease. Watford simply don't have the quality to beat Chelsea. Well, Chelsea are world-class team - a world-class diving/actor in Robben (remember Reina tap on his face?) - Messi is his apprentice. =) Maybe Jose should consider his team before complaining about others.

As we always see in EPL, fairytale don't last forever, both teams have faint off from their excellence start of the season. They are currently UEFA teams at best. success needs to be build on consistency. You can't be at the bottom of the top one season and the top the next. However, i fancy Martin O'Neil team to last longer if the manager stays around. this match? - a draw.

Blackburn is on a 3 match losing steak and will be hard to overcome the high flying table leaders, although they prove to by the unrelenting team for Man U in the past. It will be a tough fight but the devils should be able to overcome them.

Liverpool will travel to Emirate on the back of 3 straight victory at home looking to clich their first away victory this season. Meanwhile, Arsenal look a bit disjointed having lost and drew the past 2 games. They will be dangerous will a bite back. I go for a entertaining draw with both team desperate to prove a something.

Tottenham is on a win-draw-win-draw-win sequence at the moment and Reading is currently on a 4 match (premiership) losing streak. i fancy that this will end with a low scoring draw, to continue on Spur sequence and Reading breaking their duck.

Selected match comments by Tycopundit (not in the best of mood; pardon me for the short comments):

Chelsea to resume normal service after the minor hipcup at White Hart Lane. Expect some practice shootings over here. Man U will want to prove that League cup exit was a one off thingy.Expected to regain their weekend form again. 3 will be minimum. This time round, crossing my fingers, hopefully they will let in a goal. Arsenal 50+ shots and only a goal to show. Expect the Gunner to gun down Liverpool like slotting the pool balls into the hole easily. West Ham will be continuing with their resurrection up the table.
--

2006-11-07T00:55:00.000+08:00

Dust settled. Shattered. Still coming to terms with Chelsea's loss. No mood to attend lesson today. Was mourning in the library today. A self -declare day of mourning. 32 matches run against Tottenham ended just like that. Boulahrouz is a condemned man after 3 howlers consecutively. Another poor poor poor weekend of predictions. Maybe whatever I predict, you just do the opposite and you might make a killing.

No team can beat the devils now. They are the most in form team at the moment. Expect their winning ways to end in 3 weeks time. But let's give credit to Ferguson's rebuilding. It's paying dividends. 28 goals in 11 games. They are hot!

Arsenal continued with their blanks. I think they have forgotten to load their ammos. One word. Pathetic. End of story.

Liverpool grinded. That's 3 games on the trot. Kuyt is firing in goals. I'm impressed!

Watford, another surprised team over the weekend, breaking their winless run. Wee wee!

Expect some heads to roll soon.

Going back to my mourning cave. No in the best mood right now.

2006-11-06T11:50:00.000+08:00

After-match analysis:

First and foremost, I have to apologise for Tycopundit and myself for the poor showing this week in our FA Prediction Table. In the end, i scaped through with a 3-1 marginal victory for this week. We promise to bring you a more a higher "scoring" prediction next time round!

I would start of with last night crunching match between Spurs and Chelsea. Wow.. what a derby match. Although my prediction is the opposition score, but guess what, i got something right - A John Terry Special - A red card. I am glad that Spurs got the victory they deserved, although it means it goes against my prediction. I have to say that all 3 goals are beauties; each deserving to be match winners.

Actually, i have no intention to watch this match especially after a long day celebrating my gf's birthday. However, i was drying myself after shower and turn on the TV and the pace that this match was played captured my attention. This match really play a 100km per hour pace from end to end - really exciting. In the end, it turns out to be Chelsea was brought back down to earth by an industrious Spurs side lead by the tricky wizard Keane. In my opinion, i thought that chelsea is unconvincing at the back especially at their right back. Ferriera find no answer for the wizardry of Keane at was sub out at half time. But their new summer signing Bouglozus (whatever the spelling is) did no better. No wonder he was sub-in and sub out in the 2nd half. Poor chap, have to endure the torment by Ronaldhino in the mid-week have to endure a charge-up Keane who is so eager to prove this claim for the regular starting spot.

Where will Chelsea go from here? I have no doubt that Chelsea is still a classy team with top top players and will still be at the top end of the table (may not be first) But this season, they prove to be defeatable, where now the minor teams have evolved and adopted strategies that will surprise top teams. Even in the Liverpool match against Reading, although in the end of the day, Liverpool have a comfortably "uncomfortable" 2-0 victory, they will made to work and labour to crave out openings in a very resolute defence. Reading come into the match with a 5-4-1 formation which turns to a 3-6-1 (not 6 midfield, is 6 defenders and 3 sweepers) stuffing liverpool out of space. the game balance shifted so badly that the like of Hyppia and Carra can walk by the halfway line with ease and into the 30 meter zone to take some pot-shots (although lack their shots lack direction. it will be better if Agger have played in that game). But despite Liverpool's dominance in possession, Reading did have their dangerous threat on the counter attack and aim to exploit Hyppia's lack of pace.

I have say hat off to Man U who is in fabulous form at the moment. The ease the brush off the Prompy will definitely made Jose stand up a little bit. In terms of consistency, Man U seems to have advantage over Chelsea this term. And now, they put off the lead in the table will surely place them in a psychological advantage over the blues.

Arsenal is blowing hot and cold at the moment, despite their ability to create numerous chances, they have not been able to put them in when it matters most. No point having 4 goals in a match already won, when you cannot score in another match where 1 goal will do. I will settle for 2 goals in each match and win both! =p

Newcastle? don't talk about them - usual story.

As i predicted (see earlier posting), by end december, Man U will have a slight advantage over blues and with Liverpool over-taking Arsenal and closing in the gaps seems to be taking shape - sooner than i expect.

2006-11-03T11:57:00.000+08:00

Match Day 11 - Nov week 1

Game	HOME TEAM	AWAY TEAM	LYRAD	TYCOPUNDIT	Result	"Score Pt"
1	Fulham	Everton	Away +1, 0-1	Away +1, 0-1	1-0	0-0
2	Bolton	Wigan	Home +2, 2-0	Home +1, 2-1	0-1	0-0
3	Charlton	Man City	Draw +0, 0-0	Away +1, 1-2	1-0	0-0
4	Liverpool	Reading	Home +2, 3-1	Draw +0, 2-2	2-0	2-0
5	Man Utd	Portsmouth	Draw +0, 1-1	Home +2, 3-1	3-0	0-1
6	Watford	Middlesbrough	Away +1, 0-1	Draw +0, 1-1	2-0	0-0
7	Newcastle	Sheff Utd	Draw +0, 1-1	Home +1, 2-1	0-1	0-0
8	West Ham	Arsenal	Away +3, 0-3	Away +2, 1-3	1-0	0-0
9	Aston Villa	Blackburn	Home +1, 2-1	Draw +0 ,1-1	2-0	1-0
10	Tottenham	Chelsea	Away +1, 1-2	Away+2, 0-2	2-1	0-0
--	FINAL	"SCORE"	--	--	--	3-1

Selected match comments by Lyrad:

Liverpool are firing at the moment especially at Anfield. No doubt about the number of chance they can create in this match, but how many they can put it away. Expect Gerrard to nick 1 in after his confident boosting goal in the Champion League.

Expect Arsenal to roar back after a disappointing mid-week draw in which they really should have won. They are in great form at the moment.

Personally, i don't wish to see a Chelski win, but i got a feeling they may just nick this one with a late late goal - maybe with a Terry or Drogba special again, but it will not be from the 30million man. I hope i am wrong in this prediction. =p

Man U has been doing very well in the league so far this term, but expect Harry's team to continue their solid defensive display this term. Expect former arsenal man, Sol Campbell and Kanu to frustrate the Red Devils in this match

Selected match comments by Tycopundit:

Liverpool are indeed firing. Guys, remember the "Law of Unpredictability" Theory that I brought out in one of my articles earlier? Liverpool will cause you guys to burn big holes if you read too much into the past 2 results. They are firing, but at the back, they are also not that 'zai'. 2-2 will be a more realistic score, lyrad. Please wake up.

How do you guys explain 50+ shots raining at the target but only 1 goal to speak for? Poor West Ham, only when they think that they are turning around their fortunes, here comes Arsenal on a rampanging mood to get goals, goals and more goals to shut some of their fans. Expect the Gunners to get it right this time round.

Man U drawing with Portsmouth? This must be the greatet joke so far. No way, will the Devils let Portsmouth leave Old Trafford with anything. It's going to only goals, goals and more goals for the Devils. Wrong time to visit Old Trafford especially after their lost to Copenhagen.

Newcastle is burning hot and cold at the moment. Expect the 'out of jailed' team to get all 3 points with who else but Luque grabbing all 3 pts again.

Last but not least, Chelsea will want to prove they shoud be getting all 3 points from Nou Camp and will be set out to shut critics up. Home advantage does not count when meeting the consistent Chelsea team, Tottenham beware. Chelsea will bring you down to earth after the euphoria of wining their UEFA match. 2-0 to the blues.

2006-11-01T10:09:00.000+08:00

Upcoming Fixtures (see earlier posting)

After doing a study of the upcoming fixtures for the Big 4 in the next 2 months, It seems Liverpool and Man United have the easlier fixtures to come. I have a suspicion (as much as i don't wish) that Man United might have a slight lead at the top of the table come new year time will liverpool may well close the gap close with 6 points.

Both Chelsea and Arsenal have 2 big matches against the other Big-4s while Liverpool and Man U had 1 each. Matches like, Man U vs Chelsea at Old Trafford may well be opportunity for Liverpool and Arsenal to close in the gap on top.

On a closer study, Liverpool perhaps only have a tough tie against away to Arsenal and a tricky home match against Harry Redknapp's team, with the rest relatively there for the taking.

Man U haves to overcome the surprises of this season (Portsmouth, Everton, Aston Villa) and the big match against Chelsea to get maximum point.

For Arsenal, although with a game in hand, does have tough games including the big match against Liverpool and Chelsea, London derby against Spurs and West Ham (never take form in derby matches) and the battling Bolton and Portsmouth.

Chelsea will face Man U and Arsenal, with tricky ties against London neighbour Spurs and the tough nuts - Everton and Bolton.

With these matches in perspective, i predict by New Year, the standing would be in the following order:

Man U
Chelsea (-1 to -2 Pts)
Liverpool (-5 to -7 pts)
Arsenal (-6 to - 7 pts)

2006-11-01T04:41:00.000+08:00

Barcelona vs Chelsea

1st half

What disgusting match for the footballing ball. Just watch finish the first world and I must admit that I was disgusted by the threatrics of both set of players. It was football at its ugliest. If you cannot play a man's sport, please don't play. It's pretty amazing how both teams were more interested in diving, trying to get the opponent sent off. Disgusted. You can check the amount of puke that is right in front of me right now.

I was looking forward to another exciting encounter. It was quite interesting. Off the ball. Pathetic is another word that I can think off. Actors is another I can associate. Elbows are flying like no body's business. Kungfu flying kicks. Praying mantis. Shaolin kick. You name it, you have it. Lost count the number of freekicks. Refree considering retirement during the game. Poor game.

The bright spark of the whole game must be Messi. He is pretty good. Excellant. JM must be eyeing him now. Who won't? Expect someone to be send off. Make it two. Expect riot to happen in the 2nd half. Barca leading 1-0 now. Expect them to lose 2-1. Reason: Blind faith.

2nd half

Chelsea began the half brightly with Lampard scoring a magnificent goal. Bara reply shortly with the Iceman with Ronaldhino crafting out the goal. It was back to the boxing ring after that. They were more interested in each other 'balls' with Essien and Deco on some painful receving end. It was ugly. Pathetic. The referee was losing the game. There was a total of 10 yellow cards. 6 to Chelsea. The crowd booed loudly when 6min of extra time was ended. Wonder why? My guess was that they wanted to see more blood. More injuries. Did I mentioned that Gudjonsen was taken by Car-va-row's spinning kick? It was only a matter of time before the SWAT team will be called in to stop this terrorist attack. Credit to JM for pushing Terry to the front line. 93rd minute, history was set.

Match Summary:

Final score: Chelsea 2 vs Barcelona 2

No. of players took out by the opponent: Chelsea o vs Barca 1
No. of players stamped in the groin: Chelsea 1 vs Barca 1
Blueblacks: Lost count for both teams
Yellow cards: Chelsea 6 vs Barca 4
Red Cards: Surprisingly none
Fights: Plenty
Off the balls figthing initiated: Chelsea 10 vs Barca 7
No of dives: Chelsea 87 vs Barca 99

Expect the UEFA to look into this game. WWF might want to take this match for referencing also. This is football of the highest drama!

2006-10-31T17:37:00.002+08:00

Upcoming Fixtures (Home Fixture in Bold)

MONTH	CHELSEA	MAN U	ARSENAL	LIVERPOOL
Nov	Tottenham	Portsmouth	West Ham	Reading
Nov	Watford	Blackburn	Liverpool	Arsenal
Nov	West Ham	Sheff Utd	Newcastle	Middlesbrough
Nov	Man Utd	Chelsea	Bolton	Man City
Nov	Bolton	Everton	Fulham	Portsmouth
Dec	Arsenal	Middlesbrough	Tottenham	Wigan
Dec	Newcastle	Man City	Chelsea	Fulham
Dec	Everton	West Ham	Wigan	Charlton
Dec	Wigan	Aston Villa	Portsmouth	Watford
Dec	Reading	Wigan	Blackburn	Blackburn
Dec	Fulham	Reading	Watford	Tottenham
Dec			Sheff Utd

2006-10-30T13:35:00.000+08:00

Answering Mr Post-man:
I have to disagree that the current Liverpool’s poor form is due to the rotation policy set by Rafa. Do the 99 games rotated include the 2 good runs of victories and clean-sheets achieved last season? Does it also pay off with a Champion League and FA Cup victory? Isn't those achieved using the same policy? In recent seasons, based on statistic show, shocking perhaps - all the title holders rotate their squad as often. You also cannot compare the winning formulas (strongest IX every match) in the 60s/70s to current day game (you can buy a plate of Cha Kway Tiao for 50 cents those day, try doing the same today).
I strongly believe that the current criticism is founded because of the under performance of the team to meet the huge expectation on Liverpool’s potential. I am not finding excuses for Liverpool, but consider this: the core players of the team (Finnan, Hyppia, Carra, Riise Stevie, Xabi, Garcia) all have 2 long seasons before, which include a world cup, fine Cup-runs in CL and FA Cup and even the Carling Cup and the never heard of “CL qualifier from 1 round till the knockout”. It was no surprise that the under performance this season are these wore-out “core-players”. The back four has been sluggish; Alonso and Gerrard have not hit top form either. It is unfair to say that the new boys are the under performing when the “old boys” has not led by example. People may also blame the treatment of Crouch by Benitez, but could he have score as much now if he played every match? (Remember, he is able to go 19 matches without scoring). Could his rich vein of scoring form due to careful handling of his fitness?
We see in the Aston Villa match the devastating effect Liverpool could cause when all the players are fully switch on, but whether that could last the remains to be seen. Like Benitez have said earlier in the season, Liverpool will hit their gear in November – do you believe in that? It is true that the league starts in August and not November, but given time is need for players to regain from their exhaustion from previous campaign, I think that this is excusable.
For the mindset of the players, I think Benitez have instilled good mentality to the players to accept the policies, you hear players like Gerrard, Bellamy and even Crouch coming out to defend Benitez. In Chelsea’s case - Robben, Duff, Crespo, Johnson all had shown their displeasure often on the point they are being left out. You assess the situation yourself. I think that Benitez is changing the player’s into a mindset to fit into the system he wants the team to function rather then building around players. I believe it is still “in progress” stage – but I don’t think it will be too far off to the ideal.

2006-10-30T12:19:00.000+08:00

Dust settled. Had to call in the ambulance during the Boltan vs Man U. At the rate Rooney and the whole team was going, 4 goals were considered little. Couldn' believe that that was the Bolton team that did not let in any goals at the Reebok Stadium since the beginning of the season. Frustration. Anger. Disbelief. Dumbfounded. Xyz. Abc. You name it and I will have it. Should have activated the team of ghostbusters to get rid of the devils before the match. Man U was literally burning Bolton during the whole 90 minutes. They were frying them left and right. At the end of 90 minutes, a burnt Bolton was presented on the platter. Next dish coming up, Sweet and Sour Copenhagen. Hopefully they won't be overcooked.

Chelsea must be wondering maybe this year, they might have to get 100pts to clinch the title. As a Chelsea fan, i think they might only win by 6pts this season. (* go figure out why). JM managed to do what Erickson and Claren failed to do that is to harness Lampard and Ballack (Gerrrard) in the same team. Maybe they can use that blue print at international level. On a lighter note, Hilario is fast beoming a hero, making the stopper decision his own now. He might be the shortest of the 3 GK in Chelsea but he is making the penalty box his own home man. 4 more weeks and we will know who's the best!

Liverpool once again prove that Anfield is the place where their rotation stratgey works. It's pretty amazing how Liverpool's play could be so devasting during home matches but when on their travel, they played 'kampong' soccer. It baffles lyrad and myself. To understand their woes, you have to go back to the last time they won on their travels in EPL. Let me see.. How many years was that? Just kidding. i think the main reason why they are weak in their travel is that.... Hopefully they end up like during Houllier's reign where they keep turning the corner. I've got a feeling that Benitez is not too good with his words, if not can someone explain to me the comments that he usually gives after the match. It's like so predictable.

No HAMburgers for this week. I think after eating HAMburgers for so many meals, it's a refreshing change. Hammers finally 'hammering' only their second team of the season. There were some nerve wrecking moments but they did survived to clinch all 3 points.

Featured team discussion: Tottenham

This must be the most disappointing team of the season. This season, they have taken many steps back. Frustration. Anger. Disbelief. Dumbfounded. Xyz. Abc. You name it and I will have it. They are fasting becoming the most underperforming. The season that promises so much is fasting becoming a nightmare for Jol and his team. Thank goodness, I'm not a Spurs fan.

(To be cont'd)

2006-10-30T11:11:00.000+08:00

Robbie Fowler Compilation

2006-10-28T12:41:00.000+08:00

Answering Mr Post-Man:

Since the inaugural EPL, no squad has won the crown through frequent rotation. Benitez keeps using his success at Valencia as a basis for rotation. However, he seems to forget that we’re comparing two different leagues.

La Liga focuses on techniques. In Spain, Benitez was blessed with a technical team that responded to his beliefs. He kept the core of the Valencia team, with players playing in their best positions and seldom out of position. He also had a versatile playmaker in Aimar, giving the defensive Valencia team an attacking edge.

The EPL is a different ballgame. Consistent teams like Man U and Chelsea do not drop points cheaply. Valencia previously won the title with 75 points (01/02) and 77 points (03/04). By Chelsea’s standards, 90 points is the ‘breakeven point’ in EPL. Greatness is beyond that level. As Chelsea has shown, consistency is the key to glory.

Rotation is a feasible option when players are tired, but playing players out of position is definitely not advisable. I liken it to buying a BMW 5series car to perform the role of a bicycle! Solution to Liverpool: keep the core players playing their best position and rotate when necessary.

2006-10-28T03:02:00.000+08:00

Tips of the week

I just received a secret email from 00七. Here’s the details.

Sheff Utd vs Chelsea

Expect Shevchenko to use this match to further repay the a chunck of the 30 million. I expect an avalanche of goals. Everyone in the Chelsea team will be raining shots on Sheff Utd’s goal. Avoid Bramall Lane if you are the home fan. Prepare some pills if you have a weak heart. It’s hard to imagine a reversal of role.

Prediction: Sheff Utd 0 vs Chelsea 4

Liverpool vs Aston Villa

Liverpool to draw 0 – 0. Both side are having difficulty finding the back of the net. It’ll be a boring match to watch. But it’ll be fun to guess the line-up for Liverpool. Last heard was that Benitez is offering a grand prize to those who can correctly predict his next combination for the Anfield show down. Contest only open to those who can watch the match live. The grand prize is the chance to catch the match live in front of the tv screen tomorrow.

Prediction: As predicted.

Arsenal vs Everton

Everton is the next team in line to face the firing squad of Arsenal. The Gunners are the most in form team at the moment. Every trigger = goals. In other words, one shot one kill. Scary stuff. Attractive for neutrals. Beware of their hypnotising one-twos. Defence will come to a standstill if playing with eyes open. Bring along sunglasses to be wore during match.

Prediction: Arsenal to win by 2 goals.

Bolton vs Man U

Man U to lose and Chelsea will extend their lead at the top to 3 points. Need I say more?

Predictions: Bolton 2 vs Man U 1

Expect some shocks for the rest of the matches. It’s going to be an awesome weekend. Stay tune for further updates!

2006-10-26T12:37:00.000+08:00

Finally got over the mourning... It is so hard to get my pen on the paper... erm... i meant fingers on my key board since the 2-0 defeat by Man United. I have to admit that the Red Devils really played well and thoroughly deserved the victory. I am so so so disappointed by Liverpool - putting another unspirited display on the pitch. They really lack conviction and was a shadow of a team they should be. however, the only comfort you can that from that game is that they lost only 2-0. erm... not really, but i think they did relatively well in the opening 30 minutes of the game prior to that goal; after which, they look totally disjointed.

Some consolation is that we are only 11 points behind but have already visited Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge, Goodison Park and Reebok Stadium, all not easy place to visit... Taken into consideration that the liverpool having played somewhat 122 matches for the past 2 seasons compare to some other teams like Spurs (88)*, they had managed relatively well.

However, standard in Anfield has been set in such high level throughout its history and present times that somehow, their performance this season becomes unacceptable. 4 trophies (Champion League, Europer Super Cup, FA Cup, Community Shield) in the past 2 years, and 10 in the past 6 years isn't that bad a return after all? Clubs like Newcastle/Tottenham who spent equal much if not more then liverpool - will die for any of those if they can just lay the hand on any of them.

But again, we are not competing against the likes of Newcastle, but the other 3 of the "Big-4s". I think what Liverpool have achieved in terms of trophies the past 5-6 season is comparable, if not the best of the lot. But what proved elusive and the reason of the tag of underachiever of the big 4s is the Premiership crown. Chelsea, Man U, Arsenal have all taken in at least twice in the since the premiership began although the latter 2 has not matched up to Chelsea in recent times.

Last season, liverpool really come close to the title if not for - again - "the early season slump". In fact, the form they produced in the later half of the season was even more superior the that of the Blues, only for the early season form to let them down. Only, if, they did not fall behind to a nearly 20 points deficit before they finally find they feet together and close in up to 9 points, they would have given the Blues a good run of their money. Whatever is the case now and taking away the "only ifs", liverpool have to find their feet sooner then later. It is still only 11 points away, not 20+ point last season, if they can find they feet soon, they are still in it!

*source of liverpoolfc.tv

2006-10-25T00:49:00.000+08:00

Was talking to my gf about the Bolton vs Man U. Here's her reply, "I supported both Man U and Bolton, but looking at the standings now, I rather Man U win." I asked her why and this follows, "My goal is for Man U to win the EPL and for Bolton to improve their results, which they have already done. So Man U will win!"

Alamak, upon hearing this, I slammed my head across the living room onto the wall. Vomitted some blood. Crack my skull. Concussed. Ok I admit, I was overexaggerating. As a hardcore Chelsea fan, I was disappointed with Liverpool already. Hopefully, the Daddy Armies can do me proud this time round. For the first time in the history of EPL, finally there is some fight. ok I admit, I overexaggerated again. It's different this year, as Chelsea have yet to show their true form. They are grinding out results, keeping pace with the devils but bearly only.

JM is still figuring out the best players to 'fit' the new formation. I expect more goals from a 30million front man, not just running. If I expected running, could have gone to any nearby park and see the girls run. That would have been more satisfying! I want more goals, not just goals, but spectacular ones! Tonight Chelsea will be playing Blackburn. 4 - 0 to the Blues in the Carling Cup. Let's be realistic for this one. Many superstars will be rested for this one. Expect some promising youngsters to exhibit their potential talent.

Mikel will want to forget last outing. He will show why Man U was fighting for him. Let his feet do the talking. Joe Cole will also want to use this match to gain more match fitness. Expect Geremi and Kalou to be given some run also. There will be no lack of surprise for this one. Chelsea will want to extend their run to 11. Watch Chelsea switches to gear 2 from this point on and poor Blackburn to be on the receiving end today!

Prepare for mourning.

2006-10-23T23:59:00.000+08:00

Less drama this time round. Something's wrong with my Mac in posting out the predictions for this weekend on the blogspot site. Was very disappointed. Wanted to help you guys earn some expense but godly intervention has made this impossible. Next week perhaps.

Aston Villa 1 vs. Fulham 1

Was hoping for an Aston Villa victory. The team that came out on Saturday was definitely not a Martin O'Neill team (MON). The team was devoid of ideas after such an impressive start to the season. Aston Villa is fast earning the tag of the draw specialist. Draws don't get you into the CL. Fulham's revival continue at Villa Park. They were unlucky not to get all 3 points.

Man U 2 vs. Liverpool 0

I must admit that Man U was pretty impressive without those fanciful stepovers. Was looking forward to Ronaldo's 'new tricks'. Liverpool in short was pathetic. I suspect Benitez is secretly 'concocting' a brilliant team that is only available for viewing during season break and 'tasting' during the season. How else can you explain the uninspired performance away from Anfield? Almost everyone in the Liverpool team looks lost with all those rotations. Benitez seems like a man who is living in the past, who keeps pointing to his Valencia team as a basis for rotation. He might be right if you take away Man U, Chelsea, Bolton, Arsenal, Portsmouth, Everton, Aston Villa, Fulham, Reading and Blackburn. *winks* Kudos to Man U. If this carries on for Man U, expect the pizza shops to close on the 26/11/06, I wouldn't want to see flying pizzas in the walkout tunnel.

Reading 0 vs. Arsenal 4

The Gunners are really on fire. The baptism of the youth players at Old Trafford sure loaded the ammos of the Gunners. They are firing on all cylinders. It is only a question of how many. Credits to Reading for never giving up even when 4 - 0 down but they must be pretty unlucky to be facing an in-form Arsenal team. If it was a few weeks back, they might have nicked something of the game. It was a delight to watch when Arsenal are playing smooth flowing champagne soccer. You just want more and more! The youths are clearly slotting into team well. Expect more sizzling play from the Gunners as they cannoned their way to the summit of the table. West Brom, you better stocking on your bullet-proof vest. The Gunners are paying you a secret visit next week. Beware of their dismantling power!

Blackburn 0 vs. Bolton 1

There is a saying, you don't deserve to win if you cannot convert your penalty. You don't if you missed 2 in 60seconds. It is plain horrendous! Bolton must be thanking their lucky stars after the match. On the other hand, Blackburn must have been watching Gone in 60seconds before this match, because 3 points realy slipped through their hands. Morale of story: Do not watch any 60seconds title movie before the match or you will live to regret it. Credit to Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Tottenham 1 vs. West Ham 0

Have you guys noticed that Pardew's hair is getting whiter and lesser at the same time also? West Ham was supposed to be in the top half team. Nothing is going right for them. Perhaps they need to consult a fengsui master to change their fortunes. It must be quite frustrating to be a Hammer fan. The season was supposed to be one where they will really shine this season with their transfer coup is fast turning into a season of disaster. Tottenham was not really tha impressive. Much work need to be done if they want to be in UEFA Cup next season.

Look up for the upcoming prematch predictions!

2006-10-20T12:05:00.000+08:00

Answering Mr Postman:

Personally i felt that great players may not be great captains, and sometimes, an great captain can be someone average in the team at best. One good example is Owen time in Liverpool, during his captaincy, he is often weighted down with responsibility he couldn't cope and as a result -dipped of form. It may have boost his morale initially, but over a long haul, it is not the case.For Rooney case, i felt the same; i don't think he is ready for captaincy - not just yet; although he have the quality to become one in the future. However, i don't think his team-mates will argue or disagree with his captaincy because of the reputation already achieved. It is not like giving captaincy to Theo Walcott with the likes of Henrys and Lehmann around. However, i think Rooney is still to "time-bomb" to be given such responsibility at this age. Until he mature as a person and as a player, then the time is about right.

2006-10-19T23:40:00.000+08:00

Dust settled. What drama we have last weekend 14-15/10/06.

Wigan 1 vs. MaN U 3

Wigan will never know the Roonie Typhoon was about to hit them in the second half, despite their bar being rattered in the 1st half, the Wigan’s weatherman has failed to warn Jewell about the impeccable storm that was coming. Fergie-mania dealt 3 bolts and the end result was a fried Wigan ‘steak’.

Arsenal 3 vs. Watford 0

The rebels were in no mood to stop their arson activities and Watford was next in line to face the ammunition and wrath of Arsenal. Other teams beware as they in red form yet the moment. As of today, I heard their weapons failed them in Russia. Perhaps the bullets can’t fly that fast in cold weather. Conclusion: Install POWERFUL coolers to freeze the Gunners out.

Liverpool 1 vs. Blackburn 1

Liverpool as usual never fails to surprise us and I've come out with this theory with my soccer buddy, lyrad that is Liverpool plays the opposite of whatever he thinks and 99.9% of the time, it's true! Liverpool is like the Joker of the Premier League. You never know what you will get until the 90th minute. Actually, I was just exaggerating; they are basically not a bad team, just that they left their glasses at home, which could be the main reason that is contributing to the blanks. Anyone has good optician to recommend? They are offering that job now at quite high pay $XXXXX / week.

Reading 0 vs. Chelsea 1

This match must be the talk of the town. Hilário’s jersey make his debut before Hilário can even stepped onto the pitch. Talk about lightning hitting twice on the same spot, moody Mourinho was wondering perhaps all those ranting have resulted in bad karma. Thank goodness, God was kind to them and gave them an “expensive” 3 points. Can’t wait for tonight’s match to start! Stay tuned for the clip. Coming soon.

Newcastle 1 vs. Bolton 2

PSI: 250, how else can you explain the 2 gifted goals in the second half? The daddies must have been smoking lots of cigar at St James’ Park contributing to the surge in the PSI. Expect the Dads to be somewhere near the top as we approach the winter break! Go Dad! Go! By the way, can someone inform Newcastle to overhaul their whole defence system? No point scoring 3 and letting in 30. It’s a joke man!

Other scores

Can’t you check yourself? Expect me to spoon feed you guys all the way ah? =)

2006-10-19T18:12:00.000+08:00

Bordeaux 0-1 Liverpool but Poor Poor Football...

Latest night match, Bordeaux vs. Liverpool was really disappointing. Sometimes I am really puzzled by some of the press that says how Liverpool had played well in last night match. Although they won 1-0 and kept a clean sheet, I thought their performance was below par. Most of the match, they lost the "2nd balls" and lacking in the midfield department not until late in the second half. Zenden look total lost and become a spectator for most of the match. You can see his frustration when he went in for the reckless challenge that warrants his booking. Crouch - apart from the goal, was guilty of wasting simple chances that would have settle the tie before half time. Gonzalez and Garcia was everywhere but getting or holding on the ball. They certainly miss the presence of Momo Sissoko. It is strange that i have seen top class performance from Liverpool and yet they lost the match (eg. vs. Chelsea in EPL earlier this season - lost 0:1) and performance like this get them through.

My Rating:

Reina - 6 (was rarely trouble except for some nervy crosses)
Finnan - 7 (Decent performance, a threat with his crosses)
Hyppia - 7.5 (Got behind his recently poor form, was towering in the air)
Carragher - 8 (back to his dependable self, always covering Riise)
Riise - 6 (advantagous in attack but compromise his defensive duty)
Gonzalez - 6 (pacy but did not maximum his run, lost balls often)
Alonso - 6.5 (not his usual standard of passing; sloppy at times)
Zenden - 5 (rusty - was a different person that start the charity shield against chelsea)
Garcia - 6 (not his best European performance)
Bellamy - 7 (His pace causes problem for the opponent in most of the game and deliver good cross)
Crouch - 6 (wasteful finishing but a nicely taken goal - only if he can do it more often)
SUB:
Sissoko - 6.5 (add steel to the midfield)
Kuyt - 6.5 (did well holding up front)
Warnock - 6.5 (maturing as a player, confidence and no nonsense, nearly finish the game with a individual goal if only he can be more composed)

2006-10-18T13:13:00.000+08:00

Answering Mr. Postman:

I certainly feel that Liverpool got a good chance of turning the season around in this game. As a devoted Liverpool fan since the days Rush and Fowler, I have watched their performance in the matches for the past few seasons. I have to say that their style of play have evolved from an exciting (but super inconsistent days) under Roy Evans, to a more consistent (but very one-dimension and boring) during Houllier times. Since the arrival of Rafa, Liverpool did really have more "possibilities" as Rafa always say. During the Roy Evans era, Red Devils seems to be always the jinx to Liverpool team. Till now, I still can remember losing to a heartbreaking Cantona 75+ minute goal in the FA Cup Final 95/96. Is not until Houllier times that we broke the losing steak jinx and start a few matches winning streak against them. Currently under Benitez, the results are 50-50, with some wins and losses. However, judging from their current depth and quality, and Liverpool's form against top teams, I certain feel that we have what it takes to win the on-form Red Devil. The only question now is whether, Liverpool can play a 90 min game or the just appearing for "half the match" which the did most of this season.

My prediction: Liverpool 2, Man U 1 (with Kuyt / Bellamy scoring)

Lyrad

2006-10-16T16:11:00.000+08:00

Nabil El Zhar (born August 27, 1986 in Alès, France) is a Morrocan professional football player currently playing for Liverpool FC. He plays as a striker or "in-the-hole".
Although born in France, El Zhar opted to play internationally for the country of his parents, Morocco. However he has represented France at youth level. In the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship El Zhar was one of the stars of the tournament,[1] and helped guide Morocco to the semi-finals, where they were defeated 3-0 by Nigeria. Moroco ended the tournament in fourth place after a 2-1 loss to Brazil.
Nabil El Zhar is currently involved in the Liverpool set up, having been unhappy with the new contract offer from Saint-Étienne. He made his debut for Liverpool reserves against Sunderland on 28 September 2006. Following that match, he signed a contract with Liverpool and made his official debut against Newcastle in a reserves match on 3 October 2006.