Soccer News around the World

2008-12-05T06:55:00.000-08:00

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Liverpool

2008-10-29T22:00:00.001-07:00

With another win under their belts this morning, Liverpool is finally showing so true abilites of a championship team. Top of the league with a 3 points gap to Chelsea, however with a tough fixture away to Spurs this weekend. If Liverpool can win away again, this would really make liverpool into a true contender.

Consider the fact that with 6 points from matches vs Chelsea and Man Utd, Beneitz had finally managed to accumulate more points than any other season vs the Big Three.

RE: Euro Show down between Germany and Spain

2008-06-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

The germany warmachine up vs the classy spain in a climatic showdown in euro 2008 tomorrow.

Spain without leading socerer Villa, should still win easily against the slow, mightly germans.

Predictions for Weekend

2008-05-02T21:30:00.000-07:00

God, it had been 2 months since my last post. Lots of excitement that happened in the soccer world since.

We got the first all english CL final between chelsea and man utd. First timer zenit petersburg vs ranger for euro cup. Lastly, the exciting race to the line between chelsea and man utd.

Back to my predictions

EPL

Man Utd 1-0 West Ham
Middlesbrough 0-2 Portsmouth
Reading 1-1 Tottenham
Aston Villa 2-1 Wigan
Blackburn 3-0 Derby
Fulham 1-0 Birmingham
Bolton 1-0 Sunderland
Arsenal 4-2 Everton
Liverpool 3-0 Man City
Newcastle 0-1 Chelsea

German Bunesliga

Dortmund 1-0 Nurnberg
Stuttgart 2-1 E. Frankfurt
A. Bielefeld 0-1 Bochum
Hansa Rostock 1-3 Hamburg
Werder Bremen 1-0 Energie Cottbus
Hertha BErlin 1-0 Karlsruhe
Schalke 2-1 Hannover
Wolfsburg 0-2 Bayern Munich
Duisburg 0-2 Bayer Leverkusen

Spanish Liga

Atletico Madrid 1-0 Recreativo Huelva
Real Zaragoza 0-1 Deportivo
Villarreal 2-1 Getafe
Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Mallorca
Almeria 0-1 Real Betis
Levante 0-2 Espanyol
Sevilla 3-1 Valladolid
Racing Santander 3-0 Murcia
Barcelona 1-2 Valencia
Osauna 0-3 Real Madrid

Predictions for Weekend (1st March to 3rd March)

2008-02-27T02:05:00.000-08:00

What a weekend it was.

For starters, the EPL title race is back on with Arsenal lead being cut to 2 points by Man Utd. However the main talking point was the injury suffered by Arsenal striker Educaro during the match with Birmingham. Regardless of it, it looked that the injuries and suspension would start for Arsenal now; meaning that the devils would be breathing down the gunners.

As for Chelsea, there are calls for Avim Grant's head this few days as he was incapable of leading chelsea's players to greater heights. The reason is that he was found waning in wake of Ramos's tactics. Cheers to long suffering Spurs fans as they celebrate a carling cup victory in 9 years while hoping for a successful reign under Juan Ramos.

Back to the EPL where places for europe and especially for Champions league hots up with Everton leading the way. Liverpool, Aston Villa, Man city and Portsmouth are close behind.

As for the regelation battle, Derby seen to be surely regelated with Fulham, Reading, Bolton and Sunderland also in the fight.

Elsewhere in europe, Barcelona has cut Real Madrid's lead to just 2 points after victory over Levante. As for the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich only managed to extend its lead by one point to 4 now over Bremen after drawing with Hamburg. Lastly in Serie A, Inter drew with Sampordia to decrease its lead to 9 points over Roma.

Back to the serious matter. Here are my predictions for this weekend. The reason that they are out so early is that I would be working weekends.

English Premiership

Arsenal 2-1 Aston Villa
Birmingham 1-2 Tottenham
Derby 0-1 Sunderland
Fulham 0-4 Man Utd
Middlesbrough 1-0 Reading
Newcastle 2-1 Blackburn
West Ham 1-1 Chelsea
Man City 2-1 Wigan
Bolton 0-1 Liverpool
Everton 1-1 Portsmouth

German Bundesliga

Hertha Berlin 2-2 MSV Duisburg
Werder Bremen 2-1 Borussia Dortmund
Hansa Rostock 1-2 Arminia Bielfeld
Karlsruhe 1-1 VfL Wolfsburg
Hannover 1-1 Nurnberg
Schalke 1-2 Bayern Munich
Energie Cottbus 1-2 VfB Stuttgart
VfL Bochum 1-2 Bayern Leverkusen
Hamburg 2-1 Eintracht Frankfurt

Spanish La Liga

Almeria 1-1 Athletic Bilbao
Valladolid 2-2 Racing Santander
Recreativo Huelva 1-3 Real Madrid
Levante 0-1 Real Zaragoza
Getafe 1-1 Mallorca
Real Betis 0-0 Murcia
Atletico Madrid 1-1 Barcelona
Deportivo 1-2 Sevilla
Vilarreal 2-1 Osauna
Espanyol 1-1 Valcenia

Italian Serie A

Roma 2-1 Parma
AC Milan 1-0 Lazio
Cagliari 1-1 Genoa
Juventus 1-0 Fiorentina
Empoli 1-1 Siena
Reggina 0-1 Palermo
Udinese 1-1 Atalanta
Sampdoria 2-0 Torino
Livorno 1-1 Catania
Napoli 0-1 Inter Milan

News time

1. In search for his 100th Cap, Beckham is in a race to get fit.

2. In a bid to curb illegal betting, Vietnam jailed an Online Internet Betting Ring.

3. In disappointing season so far, PSG did managed to bring a smile to its fans by making the French League Cup Final.

Predictions for Weekend (23/2-25/2)

2008-02-22T05:26:00.000-08:00

It had been a while since I posted any predictions. But no worries. It is time for me to get back to work for this. Sorry for the delay.

English Premiership

Birmingham 1-2 Arsenal
Fulham 1-2 West Ham
Liverpool 2-0 Middlesbrough
Portsmouth 1-0 Sunderland
Wigan 1-0 Derby
Newcastle 1-2 Man Utd
Reading 1-2 Aston Villa
Blackburn 2-0 Bolton
Man City 1-1 Everton

Pick of the EPL would be monday clash between Man City and Everton as the battle for 4th place would heat up. Furthermore, Arsenal and Man Utd would continue to fight for the coveted top spot. Therefore it would be another interesting weekend.

German Bundesliga

VfL Bochum 1-1 Hannover
Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Hansa Rostock
VfB Stuttgart 3-1 Karlsruhe
Eintracht Frankfurt 1-2 Werder Bremen
Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 Schalke
VfL Wolfsburg 1-1 Hertha Berlin
Arminia Bielefleld 2-1 MSV Duisburg
Nurnberg 1-1 Energie Cottbus
Bayern Munich 2-1 Hamburg

Spanish La Liga

Osasuna 1-1 Altetico Madrid
Deportivo La Coruna 1-2 Espanyol
Murcia 2-3 Valladolid
FC Sevilla 3-1 Real Zaragoza
Racing Santander 0-1 Almeria
Barcelona 2-0 Levante
Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Villarreal
Mallorca 1-1 Real Betis
Valencia 2-1 Recreativo Huelva
Real Madrid 3-0 Getafe

Italian Serie A

Torino 0-1 Parma
Reggina 1-2 Juventus
Udinese 2-1 Genoa
Sampdoria 0-2 Inter Milan
Livorno 1-2 Napoli
Atalanta 1-1 Siena
Cagliari 1-1 Lazio
Empoli 1-1 Catania
Roma 2-1 Fiorentina
AC Milan 1-0 Palermo

Some sporting news for all.

1. Arsene Wenger is looking to extend his stay at Emirates.

2. Fergie angry about the roles played by Agents over players nowadays with regards to Wes Brown refusal on new deal

3. In wake of 1-0 aggregate victory of Bolton over A. Madrid, sparks demand into probe of police action with Bolton fans.

4. Saga over Birmingham continues with Yeung nominating an aide to the club

Results

2008-02-10T22:08:00.000-08:00

Time to post the results of Super Sunday in EPL and other leagues around the world.

English Premership

Man United 1-2 Man City
Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool

What a bad day for the Devils to lose at home, leaving the door open for Arsenal to capitalise on if they win tonight to extend their lead to 5 points. A great win though for City who really deserved it. A dull draw can sum up the match between the Blues and the Reds. At least the Reds did not lose this time at the Bridge.

La Liga

Athletic Bilbao 1-0 Levante
Osasuna 1-0 Real Zaragoza
Racing 0-2 Atletico Madrid
Espanyol 1-2 Recreativo
Real Mallorca 0-0 Almeria
Real Madrid 7-0 Real Valladolid
Valencia 3-1 Real Betis

What a turnaround from losing 2-0 last weekend to trashing Valladolid 7-0, it surely looked like that the La Liga title is going to Real Madrid. Moving lower, the fight for the Champions League places intensifies with Villarreal, A Madrid and Espanyol the main contenders. Finally Valencia is putting together a decent run of results after the turmoils of recent weeks.

Bundesliga

Bayern Munich 1-1 Werder Bremen
Dortmund 2-3 Schalke

A 3 points lead at the top, Munich would still look good for the title at the half way mark. Though Schalke, Leverkusen, Hamburg and Bremen would be still in the hunt if the Bayern Giants falter.

Serie A

AC Milan 1-0 Siena
Cagliari 1-1 Parma
Empoli 1-0 Lazio
Livorno 1-1 Genoa
Sampdoria 2-0 Napoli
Torino 3-1 Palermo
Udinese 1-2 Juventus
Catania 0-2 Inter Milan

Finally the win at the World Club Championship seen to awaken AC Milan as they are showing some real form now as with a game in hand, they are just 2 points off the champions league spot held by Fiorentina. However, the title should be headed for their rivals, Inter as no one seen able to stop them. Next season maybe.

League 1

Caen 1-4 Leans
Nice 0-2 Marseille

The sleeping giant of French Football, Marseille, is slowly climbing the league table to challenge for a Euro spot after a poor start to the season. However the title would be decided between Lyon and Bordeaux.

Soccer News around the globe

1. 2-0 stands the score between Nice and Marseille in the League 1 action yesterday; moving Marseille up to fifth in the table.

2. Also 2-0 win for Rangers in the SPL extends their run to 12 match unbeaten and maintain a 7 points lead over Cetlic.

3. 1-0 Win over Cameroon secured for Egypt a historic 6 African Cup victory; sparking wild celebration in Cairo

4. Summary of Super EPL sunday where Arsenal remain top after defeat of Man U and draw by Chelsea.

5. Demolitation of Valladolid by Real Madrid to extend lead in midst of Barcelona 1-1 draw on Saturday

Football Manager Stories

2008-02-09T05:30:00.000-08:00

As I listed FM as one of most favorite past time, I feel that it is only right to share with all of you some of the stories in FM forum which I have been following for a long time.

First up would be Sharpening a Rusty Blade (Book I to Book III) by Amaroq who won FMS 2007. It follows the exploits of Manager Ian Richards from the lower leagues of English Football to the heights of the Premiership with his current club Sheffield United in the Premership. He had managed three teams as of now which are Lancaster, York City and Sheffield United.

Things I love about it are that Amaroq's writing style and matching report would be able to bring you to scene of the matches as they unfolded. Furthermore, he does post regular updates.

Followed up would be Reviving the Legend by Donners. His grand experiment of bringing Rushden from Divison 2 in England to the heights to the premership. His reporting style is different from Amaroq where he gives a summary of matches instead of the a match report per match like Amaroq. However it is still an interesting story to follow. The reason why is that the basis of his team is based on youth development and not spending big as in real life EPL.

Lastly is the grand inspirtation to a lot of FM writers in the forum is flipsix3's story of leaving the past behind. His exploits of his character, Ed Allen, took him from French lower league team Pau to Boredux and then to his beloved Spurs in England. A FM classic story for those.

Now for the main reason for sharing the above with all of you is that this is another way to enjoy soccer other than watching on tv, playing it on field or on PC, is that one can add additional enjoyment to it if one writes about it.

Now for some news for football.

1. French Champions Lyon looks set for a win over Sochaux even without dead ball specalist Juninho; a win would maintain Lyon's six points lead over Bordeux.

2. A tough test in the form of Sevilla awaits Barcelona in its pursuit of Real Madrid in the La Liga. A victory for Barcelona would put the pressure back on Madrid giants; however with the return of Kanoute, Sevilla would be a tough nut to crack

3. In a supposedly dream final in the African Cup has turned into a meaningless third place match between Ghana and Ivory Coast. However it does show that the standard of play on the African Contient is improving, so that there is no such thing as a confirmed or easy route to the final.

4. FIFA would have the final say on the proposed EPL moves to take matches around the world.

Apologies to All Friends of The Blog

2008-02-04T00:58:00.000-08:00

It had been 1.5 months since my last post. Am I lazy or what?

Not really as I was in midst of changing jobs and my new job is on shift. That is the main problem; therefore I did not have time to post. Bear with me as I would sort something out and start posting again.

RE: EPL Predictions

2007-12-28T20:34:00.000-08:00

Hi guys, sorry for the dearth of updates as I was busy settling into my new job and settling my preivous job issues. Hence the non show for predictions.

But don't worry, I would still try to make it in future with my predictions.

Now to work.

English Premiership (Weekend)

Birmingham 2-1 Fulham
Chelsea 1-1 Newcastle
Portsmouth 2-0 Middlesbrough
Sunderland 1-0 Bolton
Tottenham 3-0 Reading
West Ham 1-0 Man Utd
Wigan 0-1 Aston Villa
Everton 2-1 Arsenal
Derby 0-2 Blackburn
Man City 0-2 Liverpool

English Premiership (Mid Week)

Fulham 0-2 Chelsea
Arsenal 2-1 West Ham
Man Utd 3-0 Birmingham
Middlesbrough 0-2 Everton
Reading 1-2 Portsmouth
Aston Villa 1-1 Tottenham
Newcastle 1-1 Man City
Blackburn 2-1 Sunderland
Bolton 3-0 Derby
Liverpool 3-0 Wigan

Notes: It would be as usual a busy end of year programme in the EPL. Usually the leader at New year should win the EPL title. However with 1 point the gap between man utd and arsenal, it is still early to say who would win.

Surely some would disagree with my picks for the weekend or mid week, but they are what I think is a likely predictions.

Best of luck to all; and hopefully my picks would assist you in getting a fatter purse for the new year.

News time

1. Some non football or soccer new first. The New England Patriots would aim to make NFL history by being undefeated for the whole regular season when they take on the New York Giants later this weekend. A record breaking season is now on. Good luck patriots.

2. Competition heats for the Bosnia hot seat with Matthaus in the hat with two other candidates

3. New man at the helm of Fulham with former blackburn boss Roy Hodgson being appointed to take over from Sanchez. A relegation battle awaits him.

Major Soccer League Predictions

2007-12-07T22:55:00.000-08:00

It is time of the week where I make my soccer predictions again.

I know that I am late for some Bundesliga matches again, but bear with me as I got struck in my new job. Anyway some updates, the search for the new English Boss is still undergoing while names of Shearer, Capello and of course Mourhino floated. But who would the FA pick is anyone guess?

English Premiership

Aston Villa 2-1 Portsmouth
Chelsea 2-1 Sunderland
Everton 2-1 Fulham
Man Utd 4-0 Derby
Newcastle 2-1 Birmingham
Reading 0-2 Liverpool
Middlesbrough 1-2 Arsenal
Bolton 1-0 Wigan
Totenham 2-1 Man City
Blackburn 2-1 West Ham

Best Bet: Liverpool, Man Utd and Chelsea

German Bundesliga

Bayern Munich 3-1 MSV Duisburg
Eintracht Frankfurt 1-2 Schalke
Hamburg 2-1 Energie Cottbus
Hannover 2-3 Werder Bremen
VfB Stuttgart 2-1 Vfl Wolfsburg
VfL Bochum 1-2 Karlsruhe
Bayern Leverkusen 2-1 Hansa Rostock
Nurnberg 2-1 Hertha Berlin

Best Bet: Munich and Bremen

Spanish La Liga

Almeria 2-2 Valladolid
Atheltic Bilbao 1-2 Real Madrid
Atletico Madrid 3-1 Getafe
Barcelona 3-1 Deportivo La Coruna
Sevilla 2-1 Murcia
Levante 1-1 Recreativo Huelva
Osasuna 1-2 Valencia
Racing Santander 1-1 Mallorca
Real Zaragoza 1-2 Espanyol
Villarreal 3-1 Real Betis

Best Bet: Real Madrid, Villarreal and Barcelona

Italian Serie A

Lazio 2-0 Catania Calcio
Palermo 2-2 Fiorentina
Empoli 1-0 Cagliari
Genoa 1-1 Siena
Inter Milan 3-0 Torino
Juventus 2-0 Atalanta
Livorno 0-1 Roma
Reggina 1-2 AC Milan
Udinese 1-1 Sampdoria
Napoli 2-1 Parma

Best Bet: Inter Milan and Juventus by 2 goals.

Sea Games

Malaysia 1-2 Singapore

Yeh I know. But go Singapore as a win would assist in avoiding Thailand in the next round.

Soccer Updates around the world

1. "Okada New Japan Coach"
With the Ivcia Osim recovering from a stroke, the Japanese FA has appointed Okada as a replacement. Okada did led Japan to their first world cup appearance in 1994, but resigned shortly after it.

2. "Beckham to start 2008 at Colorado"
Beckham led Galaxy would face ex Boss Yallop as they get their 2008 MLS season off with a game at Colorado.

3. "Drogba require surgery"
Chelsea's star striker Drogba may require surgery on his left knee and could be out for weeks or months. But no date has been fixed for it yet.

4. "Dortmund's recovery path"
Dortmund continued their recovery this season with a convincing win 6-1 over Biefield following last week 2-1 win over Stuggart.

5. "New Australia Boss his own man"
Pim Verbeek wants to bring his own style to the Australian Team and out of the shadows of his former boss Guus Hiddinck. Would it be a new dawn for Australians? Only time would tell.

Soccer Update Mid Week

2007-12-06T05:47:00.000-08:00

Hi Guys,

Time for a soccer update of major action in the world.

First up is "Celtic through Second Round"

Although Glasglow Celtic lost to AC Milan in the CL match brought forward, they had to thank Benfica for winning away to Shaktar Donstek to be able to advance to the round. Even with a second string team, AC Milan pull a well deserved 1-0 win to finish top of their round. At least something for their fans to cheer about.

"Newcastle draw with Arsenal"
In a EPL match played on Wednesday, Newcastle can take comfort from a 1-1 draw to EPL leaders Arsenal after sqeunce of lossing streak. Big Sam at least can breath easy for a few more weeks.

"Inter maintains Lead over Roma"
A easy 3-0 win over Lazio ensure that Inter's lead over Roma remain unchanged though Roma did also win 2-0 against Cagliari. Inter seen to be running away with the title again this season if they can keep it up.

"Maradona to advise Boca"
Argentine Soccer Legend Maradona is appointed to be an advisor to Argentine Club Boca Juniors. Looks like Maradona has cleaned up his act to return to the world of football.

"Simeone to be next Boca Manager"
In a related news from Argetine, is the possible tapping of Diego Simeone to be the new Boca Manager though Maradona has distanced himself from this news.

Major Leagues Predictions

2007-11-29T20:49:00.000-08:00

It is time of the week where we go league predictions again. Before that, let's us sum up events of mid week.

Man Utd has made sure of qualification for the second round of UEFA CL as group winners with a 2-1 win over Sporting. As for Arsenal, a weakened team was crushed by Sevilla 3-1 making it tough to be group winners unless Sevilla falter in the final round. Making it worse, is the sending off of Wenger in the closing minutes.

In case of Chelsea, a easy 4-0 win over Rosenborg ensure their progress as group winners. As for Liverpool, the dream continue with a 4-1 home win over Porto, making it do or die for them in the final round of CL action. Come on Reds!!!!

Now to Scotlish representatives, Rangers and Celtic. Rangers need to win at home vs Lyon for a place in round 2 while Celtic would require a draw to ensure of progress. From what we have seen of them, it would not be difficult of them.

AC Milan and Inter have also qualified for the next round.

Back to the job at hand.

English Premier League

Chelsea 2-1 West Ham
Blackburn 2-1 Newcastle
Portsmouth 2-1 Everton
Reading 2-1 Middlesbrough
Sunderland 1-0 Derby
Wigan 1-1 Man City
Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal
Liverpool 1-0 Bolton
Tottenham 2-1 Birmingham
Man Utd 2-0 Fulham

Comments: Chelsea would encounter the Hammers in another London Derby this week. However the Hammers could be in for a loss here as Chelsea is too good for them. Newcastle's bad form should continue at Edwood Park as Blackburn would be going all out to wipe off the midweek defeat to Villa.

As for Portsmouth, a win at home vs Everton should be on the cards. In a first relegation six pointer, Reading takes on Middlesbrough where a home win or draw is likely. Another relegation six pointer would between Sunderland and managerless Derby, where a home win is more likely. In case of Wigan, they would entertain high flying Man City which could be interesting as City are bad travellers.

Arsenal would hoping for a better performance vs Villa on Sunday with a full team back. But the Villians would not be pushovers. Liverpool entertains Bolton where a repeat of performance vs Man Utd would be needed for Bolton to get a point. Tottenham would welcome Birmingham to White Hart Lane where a home win is more likely. As for Man Utd, they would entertain Fulham which should be a straight forward game for the Devils.

Best Picks: Liverpool and Man Utd to win.

German Bundesliga

Hansa Rostock 2-2 Hannover
Energie Cottbus 1-2 Karlsruhe
Hertha Berlin 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen
Schalke 2-1 VfL Bochum
VfL Stuttgart 2-1 Borussia Dortmund
VfL Wolfsburg 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
Werder Bremen 2-1 Hamburg
Arminia Bielefeld 1-2 Bayern Munich
MSV Duisburg 1-1 Nurnberg

Comments: Key match this week in the Bundesliga is the clash between Bremen and Hamburg. With a good mid week win vs Real Madrid, Bremen should be hot favorites for this clash.

As for Munich, they travel to Arminia Bielefeld hoping to build up some monetum towards the winter break. Schalke and Stuttgart are at home to Bochum and Dortmund respectively looking to revive the season and get back into the championship race.

Best Bet: Schalke and Munich to win by 1 goal.

Spanish La Liga

Almeria 1-2 Sevilla
Deportivo La Coruna 1-1 Osasuna
Espanyol 2-1 Barcelona
Getafe 2-1 Levante
Mallorca 2-1 Murcia
Real Betis 1-2 Atletico Madrid
Real Madrid 2-1 Racing Santander
Recreativo Huelva 1-1 Real Zaragoza
Valencia 2-1 Atheltic Bilbao
Valladolid 1-2 Villarreal

Comments: Espanyol would be trying to build on their form vs the big clubs with another fine performance this week against Barcelona. In case of Villarreal, they should nick a win over Valladolid away.

After crushing out of the CL, Valencia should do well to revive the La Liga challenge with a home win vs Bilbao. Same for Real Madrid which should be looking back to winning ways against Racing Santander.

Best Bet: Real Madrid

Italian Serie A

Sampdoria 2-1 Reggina
AC Milan 1-1 Juventus
Atalanta 1-1 Napoli
Cagliari 1-1 Livorno
Catania Calcio 1-2 Palermo
Fioretina 1-1 Inter Milan
Parma 2-1 Empoli
Roma 1-0 Udinese
Siena 1-2 Lazio
Torino 0-0 Genoa

News Headlines around the world

1. "Hamburg win over Rennes"
With a win over Rennes, Hamburg took a giant step towards the second round of the UEFA cup. Read on to find out more.

2. "Totteham earns their spurs"
A entertaining match where Totteham came back to win 3-2 while Bolton managed 1-1 draw at home. Read on to find out more.

3. "Advise sought for English Successor"
Platini and Beckenbauer are sought out by English FA chief executive Berwick for advise on the next English Boss Read on to find out more.

4. "Zheng Zhi enjoying life at Chartlon"
China's Zheng Zhi is said to be enjoying his time at Charlton though he is still having some problems with the language. Read on to find out more.

World Cup 2010 Qualifications Group

2007-11-26T20:30:00.000-08:00

Ah...the groups for European qualifications for World Cup 2010 was done and dusted in South Aftica on 25th November 2007. I thought to share my thoughts on the groupings and see for comments.

Group 1
Portugal
Sweden
Denmark
Hungary
Albania
Malta

Comments: Portugal and Sweden would be the favorites to qualify from this group with Denmark playing the part of the dark horses. As for Hungary, Albania and Malta, their best hope is to avoid a trashing.

Group 2
Greece
Israel
Switzerland
Moldova
Lativa
Luxembourg

Comments: An interesting group where Euro 2004 champions Greece should be the favorites here. The runner up place should be between Israel and Switzerland though Lativa might throw a spanner into things.

Group 3
Czech Republic
Poland
Northern Ireland
Slovakia
Slovenia
San Marino

Comments: The fight for qualification would be down to Czech Republic and Poland with Northern Ireland a threat. Interesting though is the pairing of Czech Republic with Slovakia as they were together as Czechovakia, if I am not wrong.

Group 4
Germany
Russia
Finland
Wales
Azerbaijan
Liechtenstein

Comments: Germany by the strength of their team should take the group if they do not underestimate their opponents, leaving Russia, Finland and Wales to fight for the runners up spot.

Group 5
Spain
Turkey
Belgium
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Armenia
Estonia

Comments: A straight duel between Spain and Turkey for the top spot in the group as the rest do not seen like a major threat to these 2 nations.

Group 6
Croatia
England
Ukraine
Belarus
Kazahstan
Andoora

Comments: What a more interesting group than this one. England and Croatia again for qualifications with Ukraine in the Russia role. Hopefully this time, England do their work well.

Group 7
France
Romania
Serbia
Lithuania
Austria
Faroe Islands

Comments: France should be overwhelming favorites to take this group, but has to be wary of Romania and Serbia though.

Group 8
Italy
Bulgaria
Republic of Ireland
Cyprus
Gerogia
Montenegro

Comments: Based on the strength of the group, World Cup Holders Italy should qualify with ease.

Group 9
Holland
Scotland
Norway
Macedonia
Iceland

Comments: The group of death for me in the qualifications are even the supposed minnows Macedonia and Iceland are no pushovers. Best group for upset actions.

Headlines time

1. " Cetlic Cup in 2009"
In the place of non qualifications for Euro 2008, the football federations of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland agreed in principles for a four nation cup. England though distanced themselves from the idea, even if the idea came from UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Read on find out more.

2. "Bruce's Round up on Birmingham"
After being formally introduced as the new manager of Wigan, Steve Bruce let loose on his thoughts on his old club, Birmingham. Read on find out more.

3. "Sir Alex Charged"
More bad news for Sir Alex after his sending off on Saturday as English FA has formally charged him with using abusive language against a match official. Read on find out more.

4. "Sir Alex Rally his troops for Sporting game"
Sir Alex has came out rallying his troops for the Sporting Game in midweek as a win would cemment Man utd as Group F winners and for a easier draw in the second group. Read on find out more.

UEFA Champions League Predictions

2007-11-26T20:02:00.000-08:00

This mid week UEFA Champions League action is the fifth week of the group stage. This represent the time of the year where qualifications for the next round or the UEFA cup would be decided.

At stake are millions in tv revenue and gate receipts. One of the most anticpated team is whether Liverpool can qualify as they would need to win all of their remaining games to stand a chance.

Now to the serious work of predictions for this midweek.

UEFA Champions League

Lyon 2-1 Barcelona
VfB Stuttgart 1-1 Rangers
Dyanmo Kiev 1-2 Roma
Man Utd 3-1 Sporting Lisbon
CSKA Moscow 1-1 PSV Eindhoven
Inter Milan 2-1 Fenerbahce
Sevilla 1-1 Arsenal
Steaua Bucuresti 1-0 Slavia Prague
Besiktas 1-1 Marseille
Liverpool 2-1 Porto
Rosenborg 1-1 Chelsea
Valencia 2-1 Schalke
Lazio 2-1 Olympiakos
Werder Bremen 1-1 Real Madrid
Benfica 1-2 AC Milan
Celtic 2-1 Shakhtar Donetsk

What is known is the Arsenal and Man Utd are through to next round. As for Chelsea, a draw or win away to Rosenborg would confirm their place. But Rosenborg is on a roll with 2 wins vs Valencia, hence Chelsea beware. In case of Liverpool, they would continue on Mission "impossible" part two at Anfield as they entertain Porto. Nothing but a win would ensure that they would stand a chance to qualify for the next round.

As for chances of the Spainish teams, Real Madrid would require a draw or win to confirm their place. As for Barcelona, the options are the same with Lyon and Rangers down their throat. In case of Valencia, it is similiar to Pool where nothing but a win would do. As for Sevilla, a draw or win vs Arsenal would make the last game academic.

Next, the Italian representative. Inter and AC are all but through to the next round. Roma can also make sure of their chance with a win at Kiev. However Lazio is still facing a uphill task as they need a win to stand a chance.

Next are some interesting headlines

1. "Video Games to Blame for English Exit"
Robert Green has offered an interesting excuse or idea for English Exit from Euro 2008 which is the video games revolution. Read on to find out more.

2. "Bad football good for Bayern business"
Bayern Munich's just released financial statements reveal though 2006-2007 season was a dreadful one by football standards, it was a good one for revenue. An interesting concept right! Read on to find out more.

3. "Scotland Boss for Birmingham"
Managerless EPL Side Birmingham City is said to have made an approcah for Scotland Boss, Alex McLeish about the top job. With a succesful Euro 2008 even though they did not qualify, the resume for McLeish looked enhanced. But would it be wise to take over uncertain Birmingham. Read on to find out more.

4. "Fan Passport by Udinese"
In the wake of more fan violence in Italy, Serie A side Udinese has introduced a fan passport to try to curb the possibility of more violence by controlling access of fans to their stadium. Interesting twist to ideal of a passport. Read on to find out more.

5. "Barcelona out for win, Puyol"
Although Barcelona stands top at group E with a 3 points cushion, Captain Puyol is rallying his troops for all three points with a win away to Lyon to make sure of qualifications to the next round. Read on to find out more.

Soccer Results Around the world

2007-11-25T00:29:00.001-08:00

What a weekend for EPL. Big result for Bolton to put off 1-0 win at home vs Man Utd. Can you believe it that was Bolton's first league win at home vs Man Utd for 30 years? Another icing on the cake is sending off of Sir Alex to the stands? Maybe he is letting off steam for not fielding Cristando Ronaldo in the absence of Rooney or he underestimate Bolton. Well Done Bolton for making the season interesting. If Bolton played this way week in and out, they would be safe from the relegation.

A bad day for Man Utd overall with Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Portsmouth all winning their respective games.

Ah...now Pool is just 3 points behind Man Utd with a good 3-0 win away at Newcastle. It seen that Newcastle even without Bramble, still has problem in defence. Another problem is whether Big Sam would be given sufficient time to turn things around as the Toons are not patient fans. As for Pool, it is nice to see Gerrard forgetting the events of mid week and focusing on the task on hand. Next is Porto in mid week CL action which better be careful.

Arsenal and Man City left it late to win their games against Wigan and Reading respectively. Only in the 83rd minute, did Arsenal breach Wigan's resistance with a Gallas goal. As for Man City, a 90th minute was needed to secure their win.

As for Chelsea, they are lucky to escape with a 2-0 win which should have been 1-1 to Derby County. A Kenny miller's equalizer wrongly ruled offside and a SWP goal that should not be given due a foul in the build up. But that's football where luck play a major part.

Portsmouth and Aston Villa enjoyed their win with a comfortable 2-0 and 3-0 win vs Birmingham and Middlesbrough.

Match of the day is the emphatic 7-1 win of Everton vs Sunderland at Goodison Park. It seen that this season would be a high scoring season as there have been at least one eight goal match every month so far. Tough luck for Keane and co though, but congratulations to David Moyes and his boys for such an entertaining match.

English Premiership Results

Newcastle 0-3 Liverpool
Arsenal 2-0 Wigan
Bolton 1-0 Man Utd
Man City 2-1 Reading
Birmingham 0-2 Portsmouth
Middlesbrough 0-3 Aston Villa
Derby 0-2 Chelsea

Bundesliga Results

Karlsruhe 2-1 Hertha Berlin
Bayer Leverkusen 4-1 Duisburg
Bayern Munich 2-1 Wolfsburg
Bochum 3-0 Arminia Biefield
Eintracht Frankfurt 1-4 Stuttgart
Energie Cottbus 0-2 Werder Bremen
Hannover 2-3 Schalke

It seen that all the big boys won respectively yesterday in the Bundesliga. A win in 5 games finally for Munich should wake their title challenge again. Really the morale winning victory vs Munich seen to spur Stuttgart on.

Spanish La Liga

Barcelona 3-0 Recreativo Huelva
Sevilla 1-2 Mallorca
Murcia 1-1 Real Madrid

Okay expected Barcelona to bounce back, but Sevilla to lose at home and Madrid's draw is unexpected though. At least the title race would be interesting though with such results. Great Chance for Villarreal and Valencia to catch up with wins.

Italian Serie A

Inter Milan 2-1 Atalanta
Genoa 0-1 Roma

Routine wins for Inter and Roma. Expected from them. Let's see why Fiorentina, Juventus or AC Milan can do tonite.

NEWS TIME

1. "Sir Alex's date with FA"
After his side lost 1-0 to Bolton at the Reebok Stadium, Sir Alex would also have to face a date with the English FA after his sending off to the stands during the match. After some many years, it seen that he had lost his fire in him though.

2. "Prefect Seven at home for Barcelona"
After winning 3-0 vs Recreativo Huelva, Barcelona maintain a prefect home record of seven home wins to move within a point of Real Madrid. However impressive as their home form, their away form need improvement as six points from 18 points are not champships form. Next up is Lyon away in the CL.

3. "Good Lesson to be Learnt"
After his departure or sacking, Steven McClaren is postive that his tenture would provide a good lesson to be learnt by his successor. McClaren's term as English Boss is one of the shortest ever, just 12 months.

4. "Lyon's Price for Victory"
France Champions won 2-0 away to Rennes to bounce back from their defeat to Marseille. However injury to midfielder Karim Benzama may be a higher price extracted 4 days ahead of crucial CL crash with Barcelona. A miracle may be needed for him to play, which without a doubt is a major blow for Lyon.

Major Leagues Predictions

2007-11-22T20:30:00.000-08:00

With the dust of the Euro 2008 done, it is time again to focus back on the league action this weekend.

Latest news is the sacking of Steve McClaren from the English FA. Hence a new search for a new boss is on. I believe that it is the first time in around more than 20 years than not one home island side is represent in a major football tournment. Already the cost of not qualifying is being calculated, a figure of around 3 billion is stated as of now.

At least defending champions, Greece, are in along with World Cup Winners Italy. Although nothing can make up for the absence of England and their die hard supporters from the tournment.

Enough of my muttering on the exit of England. Let's us get down to work for some predictions.

English Premiership

Newcastle 1-2 Liverpool
Arsenal 3-0 Wigan
Birmingham 1-2 Portsmouth
Bolton 0-2 Manchester United
Everton 2-1 Sunderland
Man City 1-0 Reading
Middlesbrough 1-2 Aston Villa
Derby 0-3 Chelsea
West Ham 1-1 Tottenham
Fulham 1-2 Blackburn

Comments:

Liverpool would travel to St James Park, hoping to maintain a title challenge. It should be a cracking match as Newcastle still does not know how to defend while Liverpool seen to perform better away from the pressure of Anfield. Furthermore, with Torres fully fit, Newcastle would have their hands full. Only word of caution is Benetiz's rotation policy as Liverpool would entertain Porto in mid week Champions League action.

As for league leaders, a easy game vs Wigan awaits Arsenal. Even with the suspension of Fabregas, Arsenal may welcome back Van Perise to their ranks and would mostly likely win. In case of fellow leaders, Man Utd would visit Bolton to inflict more misery on them. However, with the introduction of Meagson as manager, the morale boasting draw with Bayern Munich and the injury to Rooney, Man Utd might just win Bolton by a odd goal. However I would not be surprised if Man Utd is held.

Rest of week's actions include visit of Chelsea to whipping boys Derby where a win should be just formality. High flyers Man City are at home to Reading; Portsmouth travel to Birmingham and Blackburn away to Fulham. Based on form, all three high flying teams should nick wins. As for Sunderland, they travel to Everton hoping to win in 8 games. However it may not be easy with Everton welcoming back Arteta to their ranks. Lastly a london derby of West Ham and Spurs and Boro vs Villa. A draw is likely for the london derby while Villa should win vs Boro.

Best Bet: Chelsea and Arsenal to win by 2 goals.

German Bundesliga

Karlsruhe 1-1 Hertha Berlin
Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 MSV Duisburg
Bayern Munich 3-1 VfL Wolfsburg
Eintracht Frankfurt 1-2 VfB Stuttgart
Energie Cottbus 0-2 Werder Bremen
Hannover 1-2 Schalke
VfL Bochum 2-2 Arminia Bielefeld
Hamburg SV 2-1 Hansa Rostock
Nurnberg 1-1 Borussia Dortmund

Comments: What is wrong with the invicbles Bayern Munich? 3 draws and 1 loss in its last 4 games is not championship form. A minor crisis awaits Munich though. A win at home vs Wolfsburg is needed to rekindle their championship drive.

While Bremen is looking over the shoulder of Munich, waiting to capitalise on anymore falterings of Munich. As for Stuttgart, the 3-1 win over Munich should restore morale to the team and rekindle their season.

Spanish La Liga

Athletic Bilbao 2-2 Deportivo
Atletico Madird 3-1 Valladolid
Barcelona 3-0 Recreativo Huelva
Sevilla 3-1 Mallorca
Levante 1-1 Real Betis
Murcia 1-3 Real Madrid
Osasuna 1-2 Espanyol
Racing Santander 1-2 Valencia
Real Zaragoza 2-1 Getafe
Villarreal 3-1 Almeria

Comments: Barcelona would be looking to bounce from their defeat away to Getafe with a home win vs Recreativo. As Real Madrid, a win is necessary away to Murcia with Villarreal breathing down their necks.

As for Valencia, Koeman would be looking to continue his good work. In case of Sevilla, rebuilding is also continuing in midst of the post Ramos era.

Best Bet: Real Madrid, Barcelona and Villarreal to pick up wins.

Italy Serie A

Genoa 0-1 Roma
Inter Milan 3-1 Atalanta
Cagliari 1-2 AC Milan
Empoli 1-1 Torino
Lazio 2-1 Parma
Livorno 1-1 Sampdoria
Napoli 2-1 Catania
Reggina 1-2 Fiorentina
Udinese 2-1 Siena
Juventus 2-1 Palermo

Comments: Be careful this weekend as matches could still be cancel due to fans violence over the death of a Lazio fan two weeks ago.

League Leader Inter Milan are at home to Atalanta where they should pick up a comfortable win. As for their neighbours, the inconsistent AC Milan, they would be hoping to start a good run of form away to Cagliari. As for Roma, they travel to Genoa where they would be able to win.

In case of chasers, Juventus, a difficult home game vs Palermo awaits. Fiorentina may just nick an away win vs Reggina. The highlight of the week would be Lazio home game vs Parma. Lazio on grief of the fan's death would be going all out to ensure a victory to remember their fan.

Best Bet: Roma and Inter to win by 1 goal at least.

Some news around the world.

1.First up is sacking of McClaren and the new search of a sucessor to English Job

"Beckham would have to depend on McClaren's sucessor for 100th Cap Chance"
Would the new English Boss give Beckham a chance for 100 caps? Beckham would have to wait and see

"Russia celebrate their qualification at expense of England"
A 1-0 win for Russia over Andorra is enough to see them through at the expense of England. What a thrilling group as a draw was enough for England to get through, but did they bomb big time when it needed.

"Worthington unsure of future"
Another national manager, Nigel Worthington, is also unsure of his future with Northern Ireland as they failed to make Euro 2008. Would he be given time for the World Cup 2010 or shown the way of McClaren?

"Allarydace not interested in English Job"
Sam Allarydace sought to distance himself from the England Job as he assure Newcastle fans that he is committed to the Newcastle Job. While Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp would be happy to give it a shoot if offered the job, but would only
now concentrate on the weekend game with Birmingham City.

Breaking News

2007-11-21T21:18:00.000-08:00

With a 3-2 defeat to Croatia at Wembly and a 1-0 Russia win over Andorra, England is now out of Euro 2008. Hence has the time come for changes to English Set up.

Here are some news items on the issue.

"Jose Mourhino for England's top Job"
Would Mourhino be tempted for a national team job with bookmakers making him the hot favorite to take over from McClaren. Other people linked to the job are Alan Shearer, Martion O'Neil and even Guus Hiddink, manager of Russia.

"Beckham's quest for 100 caps continue"
With his appearance as a subs in the second half in england's 3-2 defeat, Beckham is now 1 short of 100 caps for his country. He would not be giving lightly in his century cap quest as indicted below.

"Irish hopes dashed in Spain"
Northern Ireland's hopes for qualifying for Euro 2008 went up in smoke after going down 1-0 in Spain and with Sweden's victory.

"Nightmare for Carson and England"
Picked ahead of Robinson, Carson was given his big chance, but he failed to grab it. And his big chance turned into a nightmare with Croatia scoring 3-2 to dash England's hopes. A big gamble on McClaren's part that fail big time.

"Another Keeper's Chance Dashed"
With a medicore performance for France against Ukraine, Frey's hopes of displacing Coupet as France No. 1 took a beating.

Soccer Results around the world

2007-11-10T21:41:00.000-08:00

As I am free this morning as compared to others, I just got time to post some interesting results around the world up for review.

English Premiership

Sunderland 1-1 Newcastle
Derby 0-5 West Ham
Liverpool 2-0 Fulham

Review: A draw between Sunderland and Newcastle is expected as it is a derby for god sake. Though boring, but a fair result to both teams. Roy Keane may need to win to ensure his team survival.

As for a 5-0 white wash of derby, it is not unexpected. So far derby has not peforming well and not been scoring goals. A good result to the Hammers in spite of their injuries.

A torres goal and gerrard penalty complete the 2-0 victory at anfield over fulham. Finally a win for the reds in the league after a succession of draws. Hopefully they can built on this and challenge more.

Italy Serie A

Sampdoria 3-0 Empoli
Palermo 2-1 Napoli

As one of my betting friends, James, said that in serie A, the home sides have the better advantage. And in the above cases, yes it is true indeed.

Spanish La Liga

Getafe 2-0 Barcelona
Valencia 3-0 Murcia

Okay a big upset in La Liga where Barcelona again falls at the hurdle of Getafe. What upset it is!!! Ah...Koeman finally gets his victory as valencia score a easy 3-0 victory over Murcia with a Villa brace.

German Bundesliga

Dortmund 1-1 Frankfurt
Rostock 3-2 Cottbus
Hertha Berlin 1-0 Hannover
Schalke 1-1 Hamburg
Stuttgart 3-1 Bayern Munich
Bremen 4-0 Karlsruche

Another upset where stuttgart takes out Munich in a first half offence where they are 3-0 up and Lucio's sending off did not help the Munich at all though Toni pulled one back. Bremen is getting into act in the league at least. Hamburg is the only unbeaten side left in the league from the looks of thing.

Some interesting news around the world.

1. Beckham has chance for a century of caps with England according to McClaren. Read on to find out more.

Major Leagues Predictions

2007-11-10T02:24:00.000-08:00

Better late than sorry. Oops, got too much things on my mind, hence the late post of my predictions for this weekend.

English Premiership

Sunderland 1-1 Newcastle
Derby 1-2 West Ham
Liverpool 2-0 Fulham
Birmingham 1-2 Aston Villa
Chelsea 2-1 Everton
Bolton 1-1 Middlesbrough
Man Utd 2-1 Blackburn
Tottenham 3-1 Wigan
Portsmouth 1-1 Man City
Reading 1-2 Arsenal

Notes: 2 derbies in epl this weekend; first up is the one between sunderland and newcastle. Still smarting from a 4-1 trashing from the portsmouth, newcastle should be going all out to wipe the distaser with a good win. However with Roy Keane in charge of Sunderland, it would not be not easy. Hence a draw. West Ham travel to Derby looking to inflict more misery on the Rams whereas Liverpool is looking to build on its 8-0 midweek win with a good result against Fulham at Anfield. Next to the other derby between Birmingham and Aston Villa where a close win should nick it for the Villans.
Chelsea should pick up three points vs Everton who are bad travellers. As for strugglers Bolton and Middlesbrough, a draw should occur. Without Rooney, Man Utd might just nick a close win against Blackburn. Even with Chris Hutchings at the helm, Wigan should prove easy meat for Spurs. While high flying Portsmouth take on poor travellers Man City in a top 6 clash, a draw seen more likely. And lastly Reading entertains Arsenal where the gunners should have more than enough to win this one.

Best Bet: Take Spurs and Arsenal to win. Draws for Aston Villa and Man City.

German Bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund 2-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
Hansa Rostock 3-1 Energie Cottbus
Hertha Berlin 2-1 Hannover
Schalke 1-2 Hamburg
VfB Stuttgart 1-2 Bayern Munich
Werder Bremen 2-1 Karlsruhe
Arminia Bielefeld 1-1 Nurnberg
VfL Wolfsburg 1-1 Bayern Leverkusen

Notes: Big Matches for Munich and Hamburg vs Schalke and Stuttgart respectively. Should be close wins or a draw. Too close to call actually. Bremen should nick one vs Karlsruhe though.

Spanish La Liga

Almeria 1-3 Atletico Madrid
Deportivo La Coruna 2-1 Racing Santander
Espanyol 2-1 Athletic Bilbao
Getafe 1-2 Barcelona
Real Betis 1-2 Real Zaragoza
Real Madrid 3-0 Mallorca
Recreativo 1-2 Osasuna
Valencia 2-1 Murica
Valladolid 1-1 Levante
Villarreal 2-2 Sevilla

Italian Serie A

Sampdoria 2-0 Empoli
Palermo 1-2 Napoli
Atalanta 1-2 AC Milan
Fiorentina 2-1 Udinese
Inter Milan 2-1 Lazio
Parma 1-2 Juventus
Reggina 1-1 Genoa
Siena 1-1 Livorno
Torino 2-1 Catania
Roma 2-1 Cagliari

Major Leagues Prediction

2007-11-02T20:38:00.000-07:00

A good week for myself though I did not bet much as I score on all my carling cup predictions and got Real Madrid and A. Madrid right on.

Now for the weekend's matches. Wish me luck for this week again.

English Premiership

Arsenal 2-1 Man Utd
Aston Villa 2-0 Derby
Everton 2-1 Birmingham
Fulham 2-1 Reading
Middlesbrough 1-2 Tottenham
Newcastle 2-1 Portsmouth
Wigan 0-2 Chelesa
Blackburn 1-2 Liverpool
West Ham 2-1 Bolton
Man City 2-0 Sunderland

Big Match: Without a doubt the meeting of Arsenal and Man Utd at Emirates would be the highlight of the week as 1st and 2nd go head to head. Arsenal going in has the slight edge as they completed the double over Man Utd last season and due to injuries to Man Utd midfield. Although Man Utd has equalled a 100 yr record of 4 consective 4-1 wins, but to come away with a win at Emirates would not be easy. Arsenal is 6 out of 6 wins at home. Hence a slight win for Arsenal is most likely here.

Rest of the Action: Derbt travel to Aston Villa where a home win for Villa is mostly secured by Derby's away performance this season. Everton faces off with Birmingham where a narrow win for the Toffess is more likely as Birmingham are bad travellers. Another bad traveller, Reading is away to Fulham where an another loss might occur for them.
Ramos would lead his Spurs to Middlesbrough for his 1st EPL match in charge, though it may be a draw, but I would go for a small win due to the "feel good" effect of the new manager. As for Newcastle, high flying Portsmouth come calling. A tight match would await them there.
In another straight forward match, Chelsea travel to Wigan to continue their winning ways. But would it be 6-0? Blackburn is at home to the faltering Liverpool; a close match it would be. If you are betting with your mind, go for a draw. But as a Red supporter, hopefully a narrow win for the reds. Bolton then would follow up with a trip to the Hammers where a hammering could be in store for them.
Lastly, Man City would entertain Sunderland. It would be the Citizens handling out a 6-0 revenge; maybe not. But Man City should nick it as they are damn good at home.

Best Bet: Man City, Aston Villa and Chelsea to win by 2 goals.

German Bundesliga

Energie Cottbus 1-2 Schalke (I know match has been played)
Bayern Leverkusen 2-1 Arminia Bielefeld
Bayern Munich 2-0 Eintracht Frankfurt
Hamburg 2-1 Hertha Berlin
Hannover 1-2 Borussia Dortmund
Nurnberg 2-1 VfB Stuttgart
Werder Bremen 2-0 Hansa Rostock
Karlsruhe 1-0 MSV Duisburg
Vfl Bochum 2-2 Vfl Wolfsburg

Matches Highlight: Nurnberg is looking to give more misery to Stuttgart on top of last season German Cup victory with a possible home victory here. Munich should continue their winning ways where Hamburg may nick a victory at home to Berlin to remain unbeaten. A straight cut win should await for Bremen at home.

Best Bet: Munich and Bremen by +2 goals

Spanish La Liga

Atheltic Bilbao 2-1 Recreativo Huelva
Atletico Madrid 2-1 Villarreal
Barcelona 2-0 Real Betis
Sevilla 1-2 Real Madrid
Levante 1-0 Almeria
Mallorca 0-1 Valencia
Murcia 1-2 Deportivo La Coruna
Oasasuna 2-1 Getafe
Racing Santander 1-3 Espanyol
Real Zaragoza 2-1 Valladolid

Matches Highlight: The big match this weekend in Spain is Sevilla vs Real Madrid. Without Ramos, Sevilla look weak which only means a close victory for Madrid more likely. Villarreal travels to A. Madrid looking to close the gap at the top, but it would not be easy as A. Madrid is strong at home. Valencia with Koeman in charge travel to Mallorca where they might just pick up a point. Easy win should await Espanyol and Barcelona this week.

Best Bet: Barcelona and Espanyol to win. Small bet on Real Madrid victory.

Italian Serie A

Lazio 1-2 Fiorentina
AC Milan 3-1 Torino
Cagliari 1-2 Sampdoria
Catania 1-1 Atalanta
Empoli 0-2 Roma
Genoa 1-2 Palermo
Livorno 1-2 Udinese
Napoli 2-1 Reggina
Parma 2-1 Siena
Juventus 2-1 Inter Milan

Match Highlight: Another top meeting this week between Juventus and Inter. A very close encounter that could swing either way, but with home advantage, a slight edge for Juventus to nick it. As for AC Milan, hopefully they can follow up their mid week performance with another victory at home. Roma should win away at Empoli while Fiorentina may have a close match with Lazio.

Best Bet: Roma to win by 2 goals. A small bet for AC Milan and Juventus victory

Some Tables of Leagues

2007-10-31T02:14:00.000-07:00

Here are some tables of the leagues I am following for your reference

Midweek Action in Europe

2007-10-31T01:32:00.000-07:00

This would be a busy week in Europe with Carling Cup in England, Spainish La Liga and Serie A action.

All this are building for the big clash in the EPL between Man Utd and Arsenal this sunday.

Round up of the weekend action. Most of the big boys did their round with the exception of AC Milan, Inter Milan and Bayern. Overall it is a nice weekend of soccer action where the big surprise is 6-0 trashing of Man City by Chelsea. Whom would see that coming?

Carling Cup

Bolton 1-2 Man City
Chelsea 4-0 Leicester City
Liverpool 2-0 Cardiff City
Luton Town 0-1 Everton
Portsmouth 1-2 Blackburn
Sheff Utd 1-3 Arsenal
Tottenham 2-0 Blackpool

Tottenham should see off blackpool with speed to spare and giving Ramos his 1st win. But for Bolton, they are up against Man City who should be wanting to clear away the 6-0 trashing by Chelsea in the weekend.

As for Portsmouth and Blackburn, both are on a good run of form. Hence should be close one with Blackburn maybe nicking this one.

Would Arsenal with its youngsters to defeat Sheff United? Very likely as they are all fighting for a first XI position.

With the visit of Cardiff, liverpool has a chance to rebuild their confidence against weaker opposition though the return of Fowler to his old hunting round would be interesting.

Chelsea should dismanthle Leicester with gas to spare. While Luton may prove a stiff test for Everton's small squad, my only major concern for an upset is here as Luton won 5 of 7 home games in League 1 so far and Everton are not good travellers.

Best Bet: Chelsea to win by a 3-0 margin.

Spanish La Liga

Almeria 1-2 Real Zaragoza
Atletico Madrid 2-1 Sevilla
Deportivo La Coruna 0-1 Mallorca
Espanyol 2-0 Murcia
Getafe 1-1 Atheltic Bilbao
Real Betis 2-2 Osasuna
Recreativo Huelva 1-2 Racing Santander
Valencia 1-2 Real Madrid
Villarreal 2-0 Levante

Italian Serie A

Atalanta 1-1 Cagliari
Fiorentina 2-1 Napoli
Inter-Milan 2-0 Genoa
Juventus 2-1 Empoli
Palermo 1-1 Parma
Reggina 2-2 Livorno
Roma 1-0 Lazio
Sampdoria 1-2 AC Milan
Siena 1-2 Catania
Udinese 2-1 Torino

Back to the world of football action with some news now.

1. First up is the new gaffer at Spurs, Mr Ramos is looking at bringing the glory days to Spurs with his style of attacking football. First up would the carling clash vs Blackpool later tonight which should be easy for Ramos to nick his victory here.

2. To France, where Cisse came to rescue of Marseille in the France Cup with his goal to take the game into extra time vs Metz where Marseille prevail on penalties to set up a last eight meeting with Auxerre.

3. Also in Carling Cup action last night was West Ham with 2 late goals against Coventry City to secure their passage into the next round.

Major Leagues Predictions

2007-10-26T21:13:00.000-07:00

It is the time of time again for my major leagues Predictions. Sorry about the no updates of my predictions for the CL league as was very busy with my other projects. Now for my predictions this week.

English Premiership

Birmingham 1-2 Wigan
Chelsea 1-1 Man City
Man Utd 2-0 Middlesbrough
Reading 1-2 Newcastle
Sunderland 1-1 Fulham
Portsmouth 2-1 West Ham
Bolton 0-1 Aston Villa
Derby 0-2 Everton
Tottenham 1-2 Blackburn
Liverpool 2-1 Arsenal

Big Matches: Chelsea vs Man City and Liverpool vs Arsenal are the big matches this week. One can add Tottenham in with Jol out and maybe his team might steal a win, but against blackburn a bit tough.

Best Bet: Man Utd and Everton to win by 2 clear goals. Small money on a man city or liverpool win.

Bundesliga

Eintracht Frankfurt 1-1 Hannover
Arminia Bielfeld 2-1 Energie Cottbus
Hansa Rostock 1-1 Karlsruhe
Hertha Berlin 2-1 Vfl Bochum
Schalke 2-3 Werder Bremen
VfB Stuttgart 1-2 Bayern Leverkusen
VfL Wolfsburg 1-2 Nurnberg
Borussia Dortmund 0-2 Bayern Munich
MSV Duisburg 1-2 Hamburg

Big Matches: Schalke vs Bremen, Stuttgart vs Leverkusen and Dortmund vs Munich. All may end in draws, but would be taking Munich to win.

Best Bet: Take Bremen and Munich to win by the odd goal.

Spanish La Liga

Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Real Betis
Barcelona 3-0 Almeria
Sevilla 1-1 Valencia
Levante 1-2 Athletic Madrid
Mallorca 2-1 Espanyol
Murcia 1-1 Recreativo Huelva
Osasuna 2-1 Valladolid
Racing Santander 1-2 Getafe
Real Madrid 2-1 Deportivo
Real Zaragoza 1-2 Villarreal

Big Match: Pick of the week would be the clash between Sevilla vs Valencia. Question here would be whether Ramos, Sevilla's coach, would be still around for this one?

Best Bet: Barcelona to win by 2, Madrid and Villarrel to win by a odd goal.

Serie A

Torino 2-1 Cagliari
Napoli 1-2 Juventus
AC Milan 1-0 Roma
Catnia Calcio 1-2 Sampdoria
Empoli 2-1 Atalanta
Lazio 2-1 Udineses
Palermo 1-2 Inter Milan
Parma 2-1 Livorno
Siena 1-1 Reggina
Genoa 1-2 Fiorentina

Big Match: AC Milan vs Roma is the cream of this weekend in Serie A. Would AC Milan finally "turn a corner" or would be it a 8 goal thriller?

Best Bet: Take Juventus, Inter and Fiorentina to win by one goal.

Enough of the boring stuff, now for some sporting news around the globe.

1. Cheers for Spur as Sevilla's coach Ramos have resigned in preparation for the Spurs Job. So the rumors are true; but a Spanish speaking boss with little english?? Can it work? Only time would tell on this one.

2. More bad news for the Reds as Pennant would be out for around 10 weeks after surgery on his right leg. Would there be a silver lining for the Reds at the weekend with a win over EPL leaders Arsenal?

3. Good News for the other Reds as Hargraves appear fit to make a return from injury for the Devils this weekend. How come the Devils are being the luckier reds?

4. Good News for AC Milan ahead for their clash with Roma is the injury of Totti for the Rome side. Would his absence allow Milan to seal a victory at home?

Predictions for UEFA Champions League

2007-10-22T03:29:00.000-07:00

After a weekend of league action, our attention would be turned to Champions League action in midweek. And here are my predictions.

Champions League Predictions

Rangers 2-1 Barcelona
VfB Stuttgart 1-2 Lyon
Dynamo Kiev 1-1 Man Utd
Roma 1-0 Sporting Lisbon
CSKA Moscow 1-2 Inter Milan
PSV Eindhoven 2-1 Fenerbahce
Arsenal 3-1 Slavia Prague
Sevilla 3-1 Steaua Bucuresti
Beskitas 0-1 Liverpool
Marseille 1-0 Porto
Chelsea 1-1 Schalke
Rosenborg 1-2 Valencia
Real Madrid 2-0 Olympiakos
Werder Bremen 2-2 Lazio
AC Milan 2-0 Shakhtar Donetsk
Benfica 1-1 Celtic

Notes: The English Big four are looking to continue their good Champions League form to update except for Liverpool which must buck up if not, it would be facing elimination soon. As for Rangers, a visit by injured Barcelona may be a good time to nick a point or even a victory after a comprehensive 3-0 old firm victory. As for Celtic, travelling to Benfica where a point would be crucial. Real Madrid and Barcelona would be looking for a good result after league losses. AC Milan have to turn their season around as their form is on a roller coaster while it should be a breeze for Inter Milan. Lazio would face a tough trip to Bremen.

Top Bets: Take Arsenal, Sevilla to win. Go small for a Rangers draw or a Kiev draw.

Results of Major Leagues

2007-10-22T03:08:00.001-07:00

Guys. Time for the results of the major leagues. Some major upsets except for the EPL, but that's life in the big leagues.

English Premership

Everton 1-2 Liverpool
Arsenal 2-0 Bolton
Blackburn 4-2 Reading
Fulham 0-0 Derby
Manchester City 1-0 Birmingham
Middlesbrough 0-2 Chelsea
Wigan 0-2 Portsmouth
Aston Villa 1-4 Manchester United
West Ham 3-1 Sunderland

Bundesliga

Energie Cottbus 1-2 MSV Duisburg
Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 Borussia Dortmund
Hamburg 4-1 VfB Stuttgart
Hansa Rostock 1-1 Schalke
Nurnberg 5-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
VfL Bochum 1-2 Bayern Munich
Werder Bremen 3-2 Hertha Berlin
Hannover 2-2 VfL Wolfsburg
Karlsruhe 0-0 Arminia Bielefeld

Spainish La Liga

Almeria 2-0 Osasuna
Atletico Madrid 4-0 Real Zaragoza
Deportivo 2-4 Valencia
Espanyol 2-1 Real Madrid
Getafe 2-0 Murcia
Levante 1-2 Sevilla
Real Betis 1-1 Racing Santander
Recreativo Huelva 0-2 Mallorca
Valladolid 1-2 Atheltic Bilbao
Villarreal 3-1 Barcelona

Serie A

AC Milan 0-1 Empoli
Atalanta 2-2 Torino
Cagliari 1-1 Catania
Fiorentina 3-0 Siena
Juventus 1-0 Genoa
Livorno 0-1 Lazio
Reggina 0-1 Inter Milan
Roma 4-4 Napoli
Sampdoria 3-0 Parma
Udinese 1-1 Palermo

Legend for Analysis of Predictions

CP: Correct Predictions based on 1x2 System
WP: Wrong Predictions based on 1x2 system
CR: Correct Result Predicted

English Premership

Everton 1-2 Liverpool (CP,CR)
Arsenal 3-1 Bolton (CP)
Blackburn 1-0 Reading (CP)
Fulham 2-1 Derby (WP)
Manchester City 2-1 Birmingham (CP)
Middlesbrough 1-2 Chelsea (CP)
Wigan 1-1 Portsmouth (WP)
Aston Villa 1-1 Manchester United (WP)
West Ham 2-2 Sunderland (WP)

Bundesliga

Energie Cottbus 1-2 MSV Duisburg (CP,CR)
Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 Borussia Dortmund (WP)
Hamburg 2-1 VfB Stuttgart (CR)
Hansa Rostock 1-2 Schalke (WP)
Nurnberg 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt (WP)
VfL Bochum 0-3 Bayern Munich (CP)
Werder Bremen 2-0 Hertha Berlin (CP)
Hannover 1-1 VfL Wolfsburg (CP)
Karlsruhe 2-1 Arminia Bielefeld (WP)

Spainish La Liga

Almeria 1-2 Osasuna (WP)
Atletico Madrid 2-1 Real Zaragoza (CP)
Deportivo 1-2 Valencia (CP)
Espanyol 1-2 Real Madrid (WP)
Getafe 2-1 Murcia (CP)
Levante 1-2 Sevilla (CP)
Real Betis 1-1 Racing Santander (CP,CR)
Recreativo Huelva 1-1 Mallorca (WP)
Valladolid 1-2 Atheltic Bilbao (CP,CR)
Villarreal 2-1 Barcelona (CP)

Serie A

AC Milan 2-0 Empoli (WP)
Atalanta 1-1 Torino (CP)
Cagliari 1-1 Catania (CP,CR)
Fiorentina 2-1 Siena (CP)
Juventus 2-0 Genoa (CP)
Livorno 1-1 Lazio (WP)
Reggina 0-2 Inter Milan (CP)
Roma 2-0 Napoli (WP)
Sampdoria 1-1 Parma (WP)
Udinese 1-2 Palermo (WP)

Results of Analysis

Total No. of Matches Predicted: 38
Total No. of CP: 21 (55.26%)
Total No. of WP: 17 (44.74%)
Total No. of CR: 4 (10.52%)

For the EPL, there were no major upsets this week, the big 5 of Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal all won through different manners. Got it wrong for Man Utd; Aston Villa started so brilliant only to end with 4-1 loss and 9 men on the field.

As for the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich is running away as a 6 ponts lead has been opened up by them. Only Hamburg and Bremen should be the contenders other than Munich at this point.

In the Spanish League, let I said that Villarreal might upset Barcelona and true indeed they came out and did it. As for Real Madrid, it was a another upset at Espanyol. Bright spark though is the victories for Sevilla, Valencia and A. Madrid.

Finally, in Serie A, AC Milan would be kissing their title dreams gone as they are already 10 points behind Inter; mostly a top four placing, but they must put up their socks for it. Looks like a two horse race between Juventus and Inter for the title.

Now for some soccer news around the globe.

1. First up with a 1-0 loss to Chicago Fire, Galaxy just miss out on a play off place this season. Better luck next season, Mr Beckham.

2. Now to France, although Lyon started slowly this season, but it would seen that service is resumed as they head up the ligue 1 in France with a 3-1 win over Monaco while Nancy could only draw 1-1 with Sochaux. It would take something special to dethrone Lyon.

3. Onwards to Spain where a 5 star performance for Altetico Madrid see them climb up the table to 6th place and forget the loss to Barcelona a fortnight ago.

Major Leagues Predictions

2007-10-18T04:48:00.000-07:00

After a week of Internationals, it is back to leagues for the players. And it is also back to work for me.

English Premership

Everton 1-2 Liverpool
Arsenal 3-1 Bolton
Blackburn 1-0 Reading
Fulham 2-1 Derby
Manchester City 2-1 Birmingham
Middlesbrough 1-2 Chelsea
Wigan 1-1 Portsmouth
Aston Villa 1-1 Manchester United
West Ham 2-2 Sunderland
Newscastle 2-1 Tottenham

Pick of the matches: would be the clash between Liverpool and Everton and Aston Villa vs Man united. A slip of either clubs would dent their title dreams.
Best Bet: Man City and Arsenal at home to win.

Bundesliga

Energie Cottbus 1-2 MSV Duisburg
Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 Borussia Dortmund
Hamburg 2-1 VfB Stuttgart
Hansa Rostock 1-2 Schalke
Nurnberg 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
VfL Bochum 0-3 Bayern Munich
Werder Bremen 2-0 Hertha Berlin
Hannover 1-1 VfL Wolfsburg
Karlsruhe 2-1 Arminia Bielefeld

Best Bet: Bayern Munich to win by 2 goals.

Spainish La Liga

Almeria 1-2 Osasuna
Atletico Madrid 2-1 Real Zaragoza
Deportivo 1-2 Valencia
Espanyol 1-2 Real Madrid
Getafe 2-1 Murcia
Levante 1-2 Sevilla
Real Betis 1-1 Racing Santander
Recreativo Huelva 1-1 Mallorca
Valladolid 1-2 Atheltic Bilbao
Villarreal 2-1 Barcelona

Pick of Match: Villarreal at home to Barcelona. A win for submariners is needed to get back into the hunt. Hence a upset may be on the cards.
Best Bet: Real Madrid to continue its winning ways.

Serie A

AC Milan 2-0 Empoli
Atalanta 1-1 Torino
Cagliari 1-1 Catania
Fiorentina 2-1 Siena
Juventus 2-0 Genoa
Livorno 1-1 Lazio
Reggina 0-2 Inter Milan
Roma 2-0 Napoli
Sampdoria 1-1 Parma
Udinese 1-2 Palermo

Best Bets: The big boys all should pick up 3 points this weekend. Take Inter and AC to win by 2 goals.

Enough of the boring matters. Now for some interesting news on the soccer site.

1. News out of England suggests that Paul Jewell would be taking over at Bolton, replacing Sammy Lee after a miserable start to the season by Bolton.

2. Former England boss Graham Taylor has came out to suggest that current England boss McClaren would be facing the sack if they fail to qualify for Euro 2008 after a 2-1 loss in Russia.

3. Current Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is tipped for further glory with a potential board position after his retirement at Arsenal by Peter Hill-Wood.

Results of Euro 2008 Matches

2007-10-18T04:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, results of the latest round of Euro 2008 qualifiers are out. And what a round it was, with Czech crushing the Germans 3-0, heartbreak for England and the Scotland losing 2-1 and 2-0 respectively. Here are the scores then below for your reference.

Euro 2008 Qualifiers

Azerbaijan 1-6 Serbia
Belgium 3-0 Armenia
Kazakhstan 1-2 Portugal
France 2-0 Lithuania
Georgia 1-2 Scotland
Ukraine 5-0 Faroe Islands
Bosnia 0-2 Norway
Malta 2-3 Moldova
Turkey 0-1 Greece
Germany 0-3 Czech Republic
Ireland 1-1 Cyprus
San Marino 1-2 Wales
Macedonaia 3-0 Andorra
Russia 2-1 England
Denmark 3-1 Lativa
Liechtenstein 3-0 Iceland
Sweden 1-1 Norther Ireland
Albania 1-1 Bulgaria
Holland 2-0 Slovenia
Luxembourg 0-2 Romania

Key to Predictions Analysis
CP: Correction Predictions based on 1x2 system
WP: Wrong Predictions based on 1x2 system
CR: Correct Results Predictions

Euro 2008 Qualifiers

Azerbaijan 0-2 Serbia (CP)
Belgium 2-0 Armenia (CP)
Kazakhstan 0-2 Portugal (CP)
France 2-0 Lithuania (CP,CR)
Georgia 1-2 Scotland (WP)
Ukraine 3-0 Faroe Islands (CP)
Bosnia 2-2 Norway (WP)
Malta 1-2 Moldova (CP)
Germany 1-1 Czech Republic (WP)
Ireland 2-1 Cyprus (WP)
San Marino 0-3 Wales (CP)
Macedonaia 2-1 Andorra (CP)
Russia 1-2 England (WP)
Denmark 2-0 Lativa (CP)
Liechtenstein 0-2 Iceland (WP)
Sweden 2-1 Norther Ireland (WP)
Albania 1-2 Bulgaria (WP)
Holland 1-0 Slovenia (CP)
Luxembourg 0-2 Romania (CP, CR)

Results of Analysis of Predictions

Total No. of Matches Predicted: 19
Total No. of CP: 11 (57.89%)
Total No. of WP: 8 (42.11%)
Total No. of CR: 2 (10.52%)

Notes: What a interesting round. If Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, Iceland and England, the CP ratio would be higher. Disappointing loss for Germany though losing 3-0 at home to the Czech Republic.

Group A:

With 2 games to go, the top four are separated by just 4 points. Mistakes for Poland and Portugal in next games, would open the way for Finland or Serbia to seak through. Poland and Portugal remain favorites to go through however.

Group B:

With the surprising Scotland's loss, the next game with Italy is a must win for Scotland to have a chance. France just require a draw to go through while 4 points would do it for the Italians.

Group C:

Greece is through, leaving Norway and Turkey to fight it out for the remaining place in the group. Mostly likely the winner of their next match would have an edge.

Group D:

Czech Rep and Germany are through with 2 games to spare.

Group E:

Russia would require min of four points to make sure of their qualification while a point for Croatia would do it. As for England, it is a must win against Croatia.

Group F:

With Sweden's draw with N Ireland, a point is required while for Spain, 3 points would seal it. For N Ireland and Denmark, they only stand an outside chance now.

Group G:

Romania is through, leaving Holland and Bulgaria to fight it out for the remaining place with Holland in pole position; requiring a single point to nick it.

Now for some news and reactions to games played yesterday.

1. In Sunny Brazil, the Samba kings cruised to a emphatic 5-0 victory over Ecuador in the WC qualifier after a disappointing draw with Columbia.

2. With non qualification staring in his face after a 2-1 loss in Russia, England coach McClaren is looking to fight on and for Israel for a favor in defeating the Russia.

3. More bad news for United Kingdom teams, with Scotland and England losing yesterday while Wales, N Ireland and Ireland are all but out of Euro 2008, leaving a chance that no United Kingdom would be in next summer edition. As for the defending champions, Grecce is through after a 1-0 win vs Turkey.

4. Great news for france with the loss of Scotland. Henry also became the leading scorer for France after a brace in the winner vs Lithuania, replacing Platini at the top of the scorer list.

5. Lastly the proud Germans are finally beaten. But to lose at home 3-0 to the visiting Czeh Republic must be a pain in the neck for the Germans which had not lost before in the qualifiers.

Predictions for Euro 2008 Midweek Actions

2007-10-14T23:17:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys, It is predictions time again here at my blog. Euro 2008 actions heading our way midweek where some key games coming up. So Stayed tuned.

Euro 2008 Qualifiers

Azerbaijan 0-2 Serbia
Belgium 2-0 Armenia
Kazakhstan 0-2 Portugal
France 2-0 Lithuania
Georgia 1-2 Scotland
Ukraine 3-0 Faroe Islands
Bosnia 2-2 Norway
Malta 1-2 Moldova
Germany 1-1 Czech Republic
Ireland 2-1 Cyprus
San Marino 0-3 Wales
Macedonaia 2-1 Andorra
Russia 1-2 England
Denmark 2-0 Lativa
Liechtenstein 0-2 Iceland
Sweden 2-1 Norther Ireland
Albania 1-2 Bulgaria
Holland 1-0 Slovenia
Luxembourg 0-2 Romania

Some other Predictions of interest:

Olympics Qualifiers

DPR Korea 1-1 Iraq
Syria 0-1 Korea
Bahrain 1-1 Uzbekistan
Lebannon 1-2 Australia
Qatar 0-1 Japan
Saudia Arabia 2-0 Vietnam

Up now are some news regarding games for midweek euro actions

1. First is German No.1 Lehman is to miss the Germany's match with Czech Republic through suspension while also trying to get his No.1 place back with his club Arsenal.

2. His German team mate Klose is hoping to get back to action for Munich's match with Bochum this weekend.

3. As for England, it is bad news for McClaren who would be without Ashley Cole for the crucial away game to Russia mid week. How much an impact may Cole's absence be on wednesday remains to be seen? Only interesting issue is who would McClaren plays there?

4. As for Olymapic Qualifiers 2008, Ghana has taken a great stride towards it with a 3-1 victory over South Africa. With a win in November vs Nigeria, Ghana would have a five points lead in Group A; making it likely that they would qualify.

5. Back to the game vs Russia midweek, England defender Rio Ferdinand is sure that England would not be affected by playing on an artifical pitch. THis is a game where anything but a positive results would not do for England.

Results of Euro 2008 Matches

2007-10-14T22:37:00.000-07:00

Here are the results of Euro 2008 matches played on saturday

Euro 2008 Results

Armenia 0-0 Serbia
Azerbaijan 0-2 Portugal
Belgium 0-0 Finland
Poland 3-11Kazakhstan
Faroe Islands 0-6 France
Italy 2-0 Georgia
Scotland 3-1 Ukraine
Greece 3-2 Bosnia
Hungry 2-0 Malta
Molodva 1-1 Turkey
Cyprus 3-1 Wales
Ireland 0-0 Germany
Slovakia 7-0 San Mrino
Croatia 1-0 Israel
England 3-0 Estonia
Denmark 1-3 Spain
Iceland 2-4 Lativa
Liechtenstein 0-3 Sweden
Belarus 0-1 Luxembourg
Romania 1-0 Holland
Slovenia 0-0 Albania

Analysis of Predictions

CP: Correct Predictions based on 1x2 system
WP: Wrong Predictions based on 1x2 system
CR: Correct Result Predictions

Euro 2008 Predictions

Armenia 0-2 Serbia (WP)
Azerbaijan 0-3 Portugal (CP)
Belgium 1-2 Finland (WP)
Poland 2-0 Kazakhstan (CP)
Faroe Islands 0-3 France (CP)
Italy 2-1 Georgia (CP)
Scotland 1-0 Ukraine (CP)
Greece 1-0 Bosnia (CP)
Hungry 3-0 Malta (CP)
Molodva 0-2 Turkey (WP)
Cyprus 0-2 Wales (WP)
Ireland 1-2 Germany (WP)
Slovakia 2-0 San Mrino (CP)
Croatia 1-1 Israel (WP)
England 2-0 Estonia (CP)
Denmark 1-2 Spain (CP)
Iceland 1-1 Lativa (WP)
Liechtenstein 0-3 Sweden (CP, CR)
Belarus 2-0 Luxembourg (WP)
Romania 0-1 Holland (WP)
Slovenia 1-0 Albania (WP)

Results of analysis of Predictions

Total No. of Matches Predicted: 21
Total No. of CP: 11 (52.38%)
Total No. of WP: 10 (47.62%)
Total No. of CR: 1 (4.76%)

Some major surprises in this round of Euro 2008 actions where Wales again crushed to Cyprus, Romania edging Holland 1-0, failure of Germany to win vs Ireland, Turkey drawing with Moldava and the biggest surprise where Luxembourg managed the 1st of its campagin vs Belarus and an away encounter to boot. Luckily most of the big guns come into the gate for a winning percentage of 52.38% this week.

Stay tuned for midweek action too.

Group Analysis:

Group A - Poland required a win from its last 2 games to qualify where Portugal must at least achieve min of 2 wins to go through. As for Finland, two wins out of two are required while hoping for Portugal to drop points for a chance through.

Poland P12 Pts 24
Portugal P11 Pts 20
Finland P12 Pts 20

Group B - With 2 games remaining, it is still too close to call for Italy, Scotland and France with just 2 points between them. France must win both of its remaining matches while hopping for a draw between Italy and Scotland in the final round of games to go through. As for the fate of Italy and Scotland, the crucial game would be at Glasgow where winner takes all.

Scotland P10 Pts 24
Italy P10 Pts 23
France P10 Pts 22

Group C - Another five points from 3 games would secure qualifications for Euro 2004 champions Greece while the last place should be between Turkey and Norway with a point between them.

Greece P9 Pts 22
Turkey P9 Pts 18
Norway P9 Pts 17

Group D - With a draw with Ireland, Germany is the first team through Euro 2008. Czech Rep would just require one point from its last 3 matches to join the Germans.

Germany P9 Pts23
Czech Rep P9 Pts 20
Ireland P10 Pts 15

Group E - A win from last two games for either England and Croatia would see both teams through while Russia must win all their games to stand a chance.

Croatia P10 Pts 26
England P10 Pts 23
Russia P9 Pts 18

Group F - A similiar scenario for Sweden and Spain where min 4 points from their 3 and 2 games respectively would secure qualifications. Wheras Northern Ireland must win all 3 games to stand a chance.

Sweden P9 Pts 22
Spain P10 Pts 22
Northern Ireland P9 Pts 16

Group G - 4 points more would secure Romania's qualification where seven points would be required for Holland. As for Bulgaria, 3 wins out of 3 is necessary for them to stand a chance.

Romania P9 Pts 23
Holland P9 Pts 20
Bulgaria P9 Pts 18

Whoa....what an update, now for some news around the world

1. First up for the South America World Cup Qualifiers where a brillant free kick gave Venenzuela 1-0 victory over Educaor; bringing 3 valuable points for the team's hope of qualification for its 1st world cup appearance.

2. As for the African version of World Cup Qualifiers, Madagascar crushed Comoros Islands 6-2 in the first round. Winners of the first round would join the remaining 45 teams in the second round matches.

3. Germanys' coach Low is delighted to have qualified for Euro 2008 after a 0-0 draw with Republic of Ireland. Hence the Germans have became the first team to join hosts Austria and Switerland next summer.

10 Interesting Facts About FIFA Player of Year Award

2007-10-12T21:31:00.000-07:00

Another article that is done by me in conjunction with the short list of FIFA Player of Award 2007. It is also published on Ezinearticles.

It is time of the year where the FIFA world player of the year award is decided by the votes of coaches and captains of national team worldwide.

An introduction of the mechanism of the system used to select the player of the year would be discussed first. The award was started in 1991 for the male player and in 2001 for the female player categories respectively. Basically, the coaches and national team captains would vote for players drawn by the technical committees of FIFA. The system used is called the Borda count where each coach and captain would get three votes (one of five points, one of three points and one of one point) to cast for the players of his choice. And the winner would be determined by the total of points received. The winner last year is Italian defender Fabio Cannavaro of Real Madrid.

And here are ten interesting things about the FIFA World Player of the Year Award

1. The winner of 2006 award, Fabio Cannavaro, is the first defender or a player other than a midfielder or striker to have ever won the award since its inception win by Lothar Matthaus in 1991. The closet any other defender or goalkeeper has came to the award before Cannavaro’s victory are Oliver Kahn (Goalkeeper, second in 2002), Roberto Carlos (Defender, second in 1997) and Paolo Maldini (Defender, second in 1995).

2. In the past sixteen editions of the awards, it had been won by strikers and midfielders for seven times each. Thus making outfield players with the exception of defenders, a more popular choice for the award. It is summarized that as strikers and midfielders hoard most of the glory in competitions, therefore their chances are equally higher than defenders and goalkeepers.

3. There are two triple winners of the awards since its inception in 1991. They are French Midfielder Zinedine Zidane (1998, 2000 and 2003) and Brazilian Striker Ronaldo (1996, 1997 and 2002). The other player who has won more than once is Brazilian Ronaldinho (2004 and 2005).

4. No player has ever won the award for three consecutive years in the roll. The closet any one have came to it are Ronaldo (1996 and 1997) and Ronaldinho (2004 and 2005). It would take something really special every season for any one player to do so.

5. Although the award is meant for the world’s best player, only players from Europe, Africa and South American do make it to the final short list. Hence there have been quite some critics from some corner in the world about the selection process.

6. Another interesting fact is other than Juan Roman Riquleme’s nomination in 2007 when he is playing on loan for Boca Juniors, all the players on the short list came from clubs in Europe.

7. No English Player or Player from United Kingdom has ever won the award before. The closet any have came are Gary Lineker (1991, third), Alan Shearer (1996, third), David Beckham (1999 and 2001, both second) and Frank Lampard (2005, second). Maybe it would take England winning the World Cup or European Championship for a English to take the award.

8. Brazil has the most wins by nationality. Brazilian players have won the award a staggering seven times; four times more than the closet nationality of French with three wins. It could be the flair and attacking nature of the Brazilian players that clinched them the wins as players such as Ronaldo, Ronaldino, Rivaldo and Romario are all attacking players full of flairs. Or it could down to the names as all the Brazilian winners have a letter “R” to head off their names.

9. The last six winners of the award have come from teams in the Spanish La Liga. Hence it can be seen it is not English Premiership with the most star power, but the La Liga.

10. FC Barcelona had six winners from players within its ranks while great rivals Real Madrid had four. Thus making a majority of winners (a staggering sixty three percentage) from both of them for the past sixteen awards since the inception of the award. Their closet rivals for this honor is the Italian Giants Juventus with four winners.

Hopefully, the above can give one a better understanding of the FIFA Player of the year Award. And let’s await the result in 17th December 2007.

Review of Players Short Listed for the FIFA 2007 Player of the Year Award

2007-10-12T21:28:00.000-07:00

In conjunction with the release of the short list for the FIFA 2007 Player of the year award. I did this short article on Ezinearticles.

It is time of the year where the FIFA world player of the year is decided by the votes of coaches and captains of national team worldwide.

But before we go into the discussion of the list of players drawn for 2007, an introduction of the mechanism of the system would be discussed first. The award was started in 1991 for the male player and in 2001 for the female player categories respectively. Basically, the coaches and national team captains would vote for players drawn by the technical committees of FIFA. The system used is called the Borda count where each coach and captain would get three votes (one of five points, one of three points and one of one point) to cast for the players of his choice. And the winner would be determined by the total of points received. The winner last year is Italian defender Fabio Cannavaro of Real Madrid.

Now to the list of players short listed for the award this year. Heading the list are five players of Italian descent, they are Cannavaro, Gianluigi Buffon, Gennaro Gattuso, Alessandro Nesta and Andrea Pirlo. Except for Cannavaro and Buffon (Juventus), the remaining three players of the UEFA 2006-2007 champions league winners AC Milan. However the chances of an Italian repeating the feat of winning is slim this year as the national team did not perform to its best after World Cup 2006 and as for domestically, the Serie A is recovering from the scars of the scandal hit season.

Next up would be the discussion of the English contenders for the title. They are Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), John Terry (Chelsea) and Wayne Rooney (Manchester United). Looking at chances of the English contenders, none of them have high chances of clinching the title as the English national team has a difficult Euro 2008 qualifying campaign so far and they did not any outstanding club exploits last season. The other reasons are although Manchester United and Chelsea went head to head in the Premiership race, they failed to impress at the UEFA Champions league level. As for Gerrard, if Liverpool did won the last season UEFA Champions league final against AC Milan, then his chances would be different. However they did not and Liverpool had another of its forgettable seasons in the league again.

As for the French, they have Thierry Henry (Barcelona), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), Lillan Thuram (Barcelona) and Patrick Vieira (Inter Milan) short listed. At the moment, the chances of the French are as slim as the English for similar reasons. Henry has been a world class player, but he could not inspire Arsenal to the Premiership title and for this season, he is still adapting to his new club, Barcelona. Ribery also did not have the best of seasons last year and has changed clubs in the summer, leaving for Bungesliga Giants, Munich from the sleeping giants of French Football, Marseille. In Vieria’s case, Inter Milan did retain their Serie A title last season, but as mentioned above, the title seen to be given to Inter midst point deduction for several Serie A clubs and demotion of Juventus. Hence he would not have a high chance in this year’s competition for the best player’s title. For Thuram, it is even more gloomer as he did not feature in a lot of his club’s games last season and Barcelona failed to defend its La Liga title.

Brazil has three players short listed in Kaka (AC Milan), Juninho (Lyon) and Ronaldinho (Barcelona). Although the Brazilians have a forgettable world cup 2006, however one of three can be considered as a highly possible contender for the title. He is Kaka. The reason is that he has also won the FIFPro 2007 Player of the year award and it was he that inspired AC Milan to winning the UEFA Champions League midst a disappointing Serie A 2006-2007 campaign. As for Ronaldinho, a previous two time winner (2004 and 2005), his chances this year are quite slim as he was not in the best form last season with the Catalans Giants as they lost out to Real Madrid in the La Liga title. In the case of Juninho, other than inspiring Lyon to six consecutive French Ligue 1 titles, he had no major efforts of note last season.

As for Brazil’s South American rival, Argentina too has three players short listed in Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Juan Roman Riquelme (River) and Carlos Tevez (Manchester United). Of the three, Messi’s chances are the highest as he has continued where he left off last season with eight goals in as many games this season. Tevez had a difficult season in which his transfer reeks of a drama serial while Riquelme with his talent to a lot of people has choked on the big stages once too often.

Another highly possible contender for the title is Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United. With his 23 goals, English Premiership Player of the year award and PFA player’s player of the year award last season, he can be seen as a major reason why Manchester United managed to regain the English Premiership title. Furthermore, in midst of enduring an anti-Ronaldo season after his antics at World Cup 2006, it is a wonder that he could conjure up such a wonderful season. Another Portuguese short listed is Deco of Barcelona who for all his talents was a bit player for Catalans last season and hence his chances are not very high then.

The remaining players of the short list are Fernando Torres (Spain, Liverpool), Ruud Van Nistelrroy (Holland, Real Madrid), Petr Cech (Czech Republic, Chelsea), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast, Chelsea), Michael Essien (Ghana, Chelsea), Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon, Barcelona) and Rafael Marquez (Mexico, Barcelona). Of seven remaining players, Ruud Van Nistelrroy may have the best chance as he was the top scorer for Real Madrid in their title winning squad last season and has continued his fine form this season. As for players of Chelsea and Barcelona, their failure in defending the title and poor UEFA Champions League showing would count against them. Lastly, Torres, the sole Spanish in the list, like Henry has traded clubs where he left his boyhood club, Atletico Madrid for English side Liverpool in the summer. His chances are very slim as during his time as Atletico Madrid, the team failed to establish it as La Liga contenders and as for his new club, he is still adapting there.

Lastly to summarize my views on FIFA 2007 Player of the year, my choice of player to win is the Kaka of AC Milan with Lionel Messi (Barcelona) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) to give him a run for the title. The results would be out this December 2007 at the FIFA World Player Gala in Zurich.

Euro 2008 Qualifiers Predictions

2007-10-11T00:37:00.000-07:00

Away from the major leagues, we would come to the EURO 2008 Qualifiers again with some crucial fixures coming up for teams.

Euro 2008 Predictions

Armenia 0-2 Serbia
Azerbaijan 0-3 Portugal
Belgium 1-2 Finland
Poland 2-0 Kazakhstan
Faroe Islands 0-3 France
Italy 2-1 Georgia
Scotland 1-0 Ukraine
Greece 1-0 Bosnia
Hungry 3-0 Malta
Molodva 0-2 Turkey
Cyprus 0-2 Wales
Ireland 1-2 Germany
Slovakia 2-0 San Mrino
Croatia 1-1 Israel
England 2-0 Estonia
Denmark 1-2 Spain
Iceland 1-1 Lativa
Liechtenstein 0-3 Sweden
Belarus 2-0 Luxembourg
Romania 0-1 Holland
Slovenia 1-0 Albania

Friendly

Switzerland 1-1 Austria
Ghana 2-0 Jamaica
Mexico 2-1 Nigeria

Matches of Interest

The matches of interest this weekend are the following:

- In Group A, a must win for Portugal at Azerbaijan to keep their qualifications hope alive while the Fins have a difficult fixure away to the Belgium and Poland should pick up 3 points at home with a victory.

- All Group B matches as the top three of Scotland, France and Italy are separated by just 2 points. Hence a win or loss can go a long way to deciding the top two.

- A win for Greece over Bosina in Group C would open its lead at the top while Turkey must win at Moldova to remain in the hunt.

- Ah, Ireland must win at home against Germany in Group D to stand a chance of qualifying while a win for Germans would all but ensure their qualification.

- In Group E, England must win at home vs Estonia and hope that Croatia drops points vs Israel.

- Another tight group situation in Group F where Spain must come up with a win at Denmark to maintain pressure on Sweden which is expected to roll over Liechtenstein.

- In the final group G, a win for either Romania or Holland would decide the group winner while opening the door for Bulgaria with a outside chance.

And now for some soccer news around the globe.

1. First up is the release of the short list for the 2007 FIFA Player of the Year Award. Italians head up the list with 5 names; however it is the names of Kaka and Cristano Ronaldo that are hot favorites this year.

2. Next with England Micah Richards committing his future to Manchester City; thus crushing rumors of a move to London Giants Arsenal. But one can never confirm such things until the end.

3. Again in England, ex-Ajax coach Teh Cate looked poised to join Chelsea in the next 24 hours; thus ending speculation over his move to assist Avim Grant.

4. Again rumors of Hiddincks moving to take over Chelsea has been crushed with his signing of a 2 year extension with Russia national team to 2010. He is quoted saying that he had a dream to fulfil with the Russians.

5. In another country vs club debate, Michael Owen is looking to clear the air on his return to the english national side just days after his injury. While Gareth Barry is worried about his place in side with the return of Lampard.

English Premiership Football Prospects for 2007-08 by David Carter

2007-10-10T00:38:00.001-07:00

Here is something I got from the Ezine articles which I found interesting to share with all.

English Premiership Football Prospects for 2007-08By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=David_Carter]David Carter

Can Manchester United repeat their success this year after their unexpected win last time? Many people think they can and they start favourites. They have boosted their squad by signing Owen Hargreaves from Bayern Munich plus Nani and Anderson and have now picked up Carlos Tevez as well from West Ham. They have looked good in pre-season and will be there or thereabouts.

Their biggest challenger will probably again be Chelsea, though Liverpool Arsenal and Spurs will all have a say in that. Chelsea would dearly love to recover the title they lost last season, but then again they seem more interested in the Champions league. No London club has ever won the Champions league and Chelsea would dearly love to smash that unwanted record.
Arsenal on paper don’t look as strong, with Henri gone to Barcelona, and continuing rumours that the manager himself Arsene Wenger could be on his way out of the club. Leagues are not won on paper. I have a feeling Arsenal will confound the critics and put in a strong performance this year. Their younger players will be one year older and wiser and anyone who writes them off could be standing on dangerous ground.

Liverpool have not won the league for an incredible 18 years. Before that they were regularly winning it more than all the others put together. Despite two Champions league finals in the last three seasons it is the English Premier league their fans are so desperate to win. They have spent big money this time too under their new American owners, a reported 22 million pounds on Torres alone from Athletico Madrid. Whether he really is the final piece in the jigsaw, or even an important piece, remains to be seen. Some of the manager’s Spanish signings have been moderate successes at best, like Morientes, now back in La Liga, and the pressure will be on Torres to perform. He will too, but whether it will be enough only time will tell. The tempestuous Bellamy has gone to West Ham, and Cisse to Marseilles. Last year I tipped Liverpool to win the league and I was wrong. They could do it this time, but will have to get past Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United to do so.

As in the past two seasons Spurs remain the most likely to break into the top four. They have spent big on Southampton’s young Welsh full back Gareth Bale, and perhaps more importantly 16.5 million pounds on relegated Charlton’s striker Darren Bent. Darren has scored goals wherever he has been and now in a better team like Spurs he will be expected to score even more, though whether he will get enough starts is another matter. Spurs have four other top strikers, and Martin Jol has shown he likes to rotate his players. Spurs insistence on signing and promoting home grown talent, a direct opposite of Arsenal’s policy across the road, is to be applauded. They could improve, and break into the top four, but for that to happen, one of the top clubs would need to suffer a poor season.

And what of the rest? Newcastle have a new owner, new chairman, and new manager in Sam Allardyce, and some tasty new players too. They have signed former Middlesbrough striker Mark Viduka, they should have the fit again Michael Owen available at last, plus the signing of the tempestuous Barton from Manchester City and Alan Smith from Manchester United. The manager has been quick in attempting to sort out the leaky defence too; something that has plagued the Toon for almost as long as most of us can remember. Expectations on Tyneside are huge. A vitally important season for the manager, and many of the players who are at a crossroads. I expect them to succeed.

Manchester City is another club under new ownership and managership. Former England boss Sven Goran Eriksson has taken over and with lots of Thai money to invest he will now be looking for some top players to build a decent side. He has quickly bought scattergun style on relatively unknown players, but the manager has a proven track record at club level. He will need them too as the City squad still looks lightweight and weak. It will all depend on Sven’s buys. If he can get good people in, City will certainly stay up, and may well do better than that. If he cannot, City could struggle, and Sven may turn out to be a one-season wonder in English football. I suspect not, because Sven is a good manager.

Aston Villa have begun to spend some cash under their new American owners too. England Under 21 skipper Reo-Coker has just been signed from West Ham for £8 million though they will need more than him if they are to worry the top teams. Martin O’Neill’s side started last season on fire but drifted away alarmingly. The Villa fans will be hoping for better, but I cannot see beyond mid table for them.

Everton had a good season last time and qualified for this years Uefa cup but the last time they were in Europe it seemed to distract them, and they had a terrible year. I don’t see David Moyes allowing that to happen again. They have signed Jagielka from relegated Sheffield United though that is hardly going to set the world on fire, plus the promising Baines from Wigan. Johnson should be fit again to supply some goals but they will need more than that if they are to worry the top clubs. Top eight could be their best hope.

Reading, who enjoyed a super season last year in their first ever year in the top flight, have picked up a terrible starting pair of fixtures. Unsurprisingly they are favourites to be bottom of the premiership by the end of August, but under their quietly spoken astute manager Steve Coppell, they might surprise a few people. The loss of Sidwell to Chelsea is a big blow, though they have signed several of the club’s more promising players on long-term contracts. This will be their difficult second season, something that so nearly sank Wigan last time. Reading only just missed a European place last year, anything above the dreaded bottom three this time will be considered another success by all but the most enthusiastic of Royals’ fans.

Middlesbrough have lost talisman striker Viduka, and stories abound that Yakubu could follow him out the door. If that happened I would worry who is going to score the goals to keep them up. Fulham are another club who went into freefall last time and only stayed up through a last minute change of managers. The newly installed former Northern Ireland boss Lawrie Sanchez has already been busy in the markets signing Davis from Aston Villa and Healey from Leeds. A good start could be crucial for them as well.

The fact that West Ham stayed up at all last year was due to their new Manager Alan Curbishley, and the courts deciding not to dock them points over the decidedly odd Carlos Tevez affair. The manager has strengthened by signing Parker from Newcastle and Bellamy from Liverpool and should have the talented and much missed Ashton back from injury. He missed the whole of the last campaign after injuring himself in the warm up for an England match. The Icelandic owners seem determined to take West Ham on to another level. Many fans will be watching their progress this time round, some no doubt hoping they trip up due to that protracted court case, but I cannot see West Ham struggling. Mind you no one imagined they would last time out, and they did. Mid table I suspect for the Irons and a good cup run too.
Of the three promoted clubs, perhaps the most fascinating one will be to see Roy Keane’s Sunderland back as Championship champions, especially when he confronts his old boss Sir Alex Ferguson back at Old Trafford where the legions of fans still chant his name. Sunderland have been busy building up a big squad backed by Irish money and they would seem to have the financial clout to keep out of trouble. A good start might be important for them too. One feels Mister Keane’s determination and charisma all by itself will be enough to see them safely into mid table.

Birmingham look vulnerable. They did not have a great season last year despite finishing second, and took a long time to convince their own stay at home fans to turn out. They have bought players but whether they are good enough to keep the blues up remains to be seen. Currently they are second favourites to finish last, and though that might be a tad pessimistic, it does seem likely they will flirt with relegation again. Anything else would be major achievement for their yo-yo manager Steven Bruce. By the way you can still land a free $30 bet at betfair.com by inputting the code 6CHE3VPWJ when prompted.

The third newcomers are Derby Country. Diminutive Scottish boss, known as mini-Fergie wasted no time in signing former Norwich striker Robert Earnshaw who has scored goals wherever he has been and in partnership with Steve Howard, they could trouble some defences. Whether they have sufficient class and firepower would be a worry for Rams’ fans. They are expected to be relegated, and I think so too, and anything else would be a huge achievement for the board, manager, players and most of all, for the supporters who have bought season tickets in their thousands. They will be looking to emulate Reading last year and Wigan the year before that, but it will be a tall order to do so.

The Lancashire twins of Blackburn and Bolton both had good seasons again last term and with small crowds and little money to spend, that is a huge testament to their managers. But with Allardyce gone from the Reebok, Bolton under new manager, former Liverpool player, the diminutive Sammy Lee, could be in for a hard year. A good start would be most important for the Trotters and they do have players like Anelka, if they can hold on to him, who can score goals. Bolton will rely on him, but if he doesn’t do the business, they could be in trouble. Blackburn still have their super manager in Mark Hughes and with players of the growing stature of the likes of Bentley, Derbyshire and Pederson they should be fine again.

They only just missed out on Europe last time and made the semi finals of the FA Cup. On their day they are quite capable of beating anyone, and that is a huge achievement for this likeable Lancashire town club. The third Lancashire town club Wigan stayed up last time by a single point and have since lost their talismanic manager. That is not a great start and though they have signed a handful of new players, their new manager Chris Hutchings is unproven in this league. They are many people’s pick to go down this time and they could well go close to that, but something tells me they might just survive again. It will be close.

Portsmouth only just missed a Uefa Cup place by a whisker last season and they have been busy again in the market buying Nugent, the England under 21 striker from Preston, plus signing Kanu for another year. There is a much-needed new stadium on the horizon, and they should have another good season, but they are a yo-yo club, and sometimes when expected to do well, they don’t, and vice versa. Mid table again for me.

Last year two of my four predictions came up, so what about this season? Could this really be Liverpool’s year? They will go a lot closer, I am sure of that, but I suspect that Chelsea will still have something in hand to regain the crown and they can always spend more cash if they need to. Manchester United would dearly love to do better in Europe and I suspect they will put everything into trying to win the Champions league again, something that the manager and fans would dearly like to see.

As for relegation, sorry Birmingham and Derby, but I just don’t think either have the firepower or class to stay up, though I would be happy to eat my words in both cases. The third downer place is a much harder one to call with City, Fulham, Reading, Wigan, Bolton, Pompey, Boro, and Sunderland, all flirting with a bottom three place during the year. For these teams, their future will be decided on the results between these clubs, where points will take on added significance. I have to pick one though, and somewhat surprisingly I feel that Boro might the ones to go, though Fulham and Wigan could also be in for another hair-raising time.

My predictions then: Champions: Chelsea. European Champions: Manchester United. Relegated: Derby, Birmingham, and Middlesbrough. Sorry chaps! Whoever you support, I wish you and your team well. Let’s have another cracking year with all issues going down to the last week. That would be the ideal for everyone. As Stuart Pearce was fond of saying: Come On!

David Carter's new novel "The Fish Catcher" tells the story of a group of children evacuated from London during World War II to escape the blitz bombing. It turns into a murder mystery and has been well reviewed. You can check out the first chapter on David's website at http://www.davidcarter.eu The book is available in hard copy or by instant download, and can be ordered in any bookshop quoting ISBN 978 - 1847539304

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Carter http://EzineArticles.com/?English-Premiership-Football-Prospects-for-2007-08&id=678426

3 Reasons Behind 4-4-2 Formation Or System

2007-10-10T00:24:00.000-07:00

In the modern game of soccer or football, the most common formation or system played is the 4-4-2. In most games, one would be likely to see a 4-4-2 being deployed 90% of the time. Here are three main reasons why such a formation or system is employed. A definition of the formation or the system is needed first to understand the rationale behind them.

A 4-4-2 would refer to the deployment of one goalkeeper, four defenders, four midfielders and two strikers. The basis is that for defense, the four defenders would include two centre backs (or centre defenders), one right back and left back (right defender and left defender respectively). As for the midfield, it is set up like the defense where there are two centre midfielders, one right and left midfielder (or winger). The remaining three positions would be the goalkeeper and two strikers up front. There are also variations of the formation or system in which it can be attacking or defensive in mind set. But we would not be describing them in detail here.

As for the reasons, there are as follows:

Flexibility - Football or soccer is one of the most fast paced games in the world, where an attack can be turned into the counter attack by the opposition if possession is lost. As similar to a 4-5-1 system discussed in another of my articles, a 4-4-2 offers or allows for the flexibility for the team in both attack and defense. In attack or possession of the ball, the left and right midfielders would operate as wingers to push up and join the strikers. Furthermore of the two central midfielders, one or both can also push to join the attack and fall or drop back to assist the defense in case of a break or counter attack by the opposition. As for defense or without possession of the ball, strikers would assist in dropping down to the midfield to contest possession while the midfielders assist the containing of the opposition’s attacks.

Balance – Deploying such a formation or system of 4-4-2, there is balance thoroughly the team as there are tactically cover for all positions. Without a doubt, the major reason for the popularity of the deployment of 4-4-2 is the overall balance allowed for the team as compared to most other formations. Balance here would refer to coverage of all positions on the field. In theory the whole field would be covered by the players employed under such a formation since each player is dedicated to an individual role.

Simplicity – A 4-4-2 is a very simple formation to play in as most or all players have played in the system or formation at one or the other during their careers. Hence it is the most comfortable for players.One must remember that football is a fast game and to deploy a simple formation could enable the players to play better or get into their rhythm faster.

Furthermore the tactics are very easy and common for the deployment of such a formation or system. Over complex tactics or instructions would cause miscommunications or problems in execution and might result in bad results.Hence the above reasons should help to explain the rationale behind the employment of a 4-4-2 system or formation.

PS: Article has been published on Ezinearticle.

Results of Major Leagues

2007-10-08T00:12:00.000-07:00

Here is the results of games played over the weekend

English Premiership

Man Utd 4-0 Wigan
Aston Villa 1-0 West Ham
Arsenal 3-2 Sunderland
Reading 1-0 Derby
Blackburn 2-1 Birmingham City
Bolton 0-1 Chelsea
Liverpool 2-2 Tottenham
Man City 3-1 Middlesbrough
Newcastle 3-2 Everton
Fulham 0-2 Portsmouth

La Liga

Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Almeria
Barcelona 3-0 Atletico Madrid
Seville 0-1 Deportivo
Mallorca 4-2 Getafe
Murcia 0-0 Real Betis
Osasuna 3-2 Villarreal
Racing Santander 2-0 Valladolid
Real Madrid 2-0 Recreativo Huelva
Real Zaragoza 3-0 Levante
Valencia 1-2 Espanyol

Upset of the week: The loss of Seville, Villarreal and Valencia

Serie A

Atalanta 0-0 Udinese
Inter Milan 2-1 Napoli
Catania 1-0 Livorno
Fiorentina 1-1 Juventus
Genoa 2-0 Cagliari
Palermo 1-1 Reggina
Parma 0-3 Roma
Siena 3-0 Empoli
Torino 1-0 Sampdoria
Lazio 1-5 AC Milan

Upset / Surprise: 5-1 win of Milan and 1-1 draw of Juventus

Bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund 2-1 VfL Bochum
Arminia Bielefeld 0-1 Hamburger SV
Hertha Berlin 0-0 Energie Cottbus
MSV Duisburg 1-3 Werder Bremen
Schalke 0-2 Karlsruher SC
VfB Stuttgart 0-2 Hannover 96
VfL Wolfsburg 1-0 Hansa Rostock
Bayern München 3-0 FC Nürnberg
Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen

Upset / Surprise: Losses for Stuttgart, Leverkusen and Schalke

Analysis of Matches Predicted

CP: Correct Predictions based on 1x2
WP: Wrong Predictions based on 1x2
CR: Correct Result Predicted

English Premiership

Man Utd 2-0 Wigan (CP)
Aston Villa 2-1 West Ham (CP)
Arsenal 3-0 Sunderland (CP)
Reading 1-0 Derby (CP,CR)
Blackburn 2-1 Birmingham City (CP,CR)
Bolton 1-1 Chelsea (WP)
Liverpool 2-1 Tottenham (WP)
Man City 1-0 Middlesbrough (CP)
Newcastle 2-1 Everton (CP)
Fulham 2-1 Portsmouth (WP)

La Liga

Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Almeria (WP)
Barcelona 1-1 Atletico Madrid (WP)
Seville 2-1 Deportivo (WP)
Mallorca 1-0 Getafe (CP)
Murcia 1-1 Real Betis (CP)
Osasuna 0-2 Villarreal (WP)
Racing Santander 1-0 Valladolid (CP)
Real Madrid 3-1 Recreativo Huelva (CP)
Real Zaragoza 2-0 Levante (CP)
Valencia 1-0 Espanyol (WP)

Serie A

Atalanta 1-1 Udinese (CP)
Inter Milan 2-1 Napoli (CP,CR)
Catania 1-1 Livorno (WP)
Fiorentina 1-2 Juventus (WP)
Genoa 1-1 Cagliari (WP)
Palermo 2-1 Reggina (WP)
Parma 0-1 Roma (CP)
Siena 2-1 Empoli (CP)
Torino 1-1 Sampdoria (WP)
Lazio 1-2 AC Milan (CP)

Bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund 2-1 VfL Bochum (CP,CR)
Arminia Bielefeld 1-1 Hamburger SV (WP)
Hertha Berlin 3-0 Energie Cottbus (WP)
MSV Duisburg 1-2 Werder Bremen (CP)
Schalke 2-0 Karlsruher SC (WP)
VfB Stuttgart 2-1 Hannover 96 (WP)
VfL Wolfsburg 2-1 Hansa Rostock (CP)
Bayern München 3-1 FC Nürnberg (CP)
Eintracht Frankfurt 1-2 Bayer Leverkusen (WP)

Results of Predictions
Total No. of Matches Predicted: 39
Total No. of CP: 21 (53.84%)
Total No. of WP: 18 (46.16%)
Total No. of CR: 4 (10.25%)

Finally a decent return of 53.84% this week. Although it should be better, but some of the big boys did disappoint this week especially in the La Liga and Bundesliga. Maybe both end with liga was the reason why there are upsets there.

Time again for some soccer or football news around the world.

1. Some EPL News first. The return of Micheal Owen to action brings a smile to Mclaren's face ahead of crucial euro games and striker woes. Owen came off the bench to score in Newcastle 3-2 win over Everton would surely shows that Owen is back from injury and would be playing the upcoming euro qualifiers.

2. Avim Grant is loving the pressure at Chelsea even though he is also not serving up attacking football which saw his preceedor Mourinho left. Interesting enough Chelsea is still winning 1-0 also. So why did Mourinho left? One would surely wonder then. And he is still insisting that Shenvencko has a future at Chelsea though like Mourinho is not playing him. What a irony.

3. Now to another manager in trouble. Martin Jol is still defending Robinson in goal even though calls for his replacement is getting more especially after his mistakes vs Liverpool yesterday. The draw yesterday still left Spurs in 17th position in the EPL and waiting for a victory in 14 years over the reds. Now he has another two weeks to work his magic to get his team to start winning.

4. Now to go up north to Scotland where Cetlic regained the lead in the SPL with a close 2-1 win over Gretna to cap a memorable week where another 2-1 win over AC Milan midweek was the start of a good week. In another match, Aberdeen knocked 4 past St Mirren.

Some Soccer Results and News

2007-10-07T03:10:00.000-07:00

English Premiership Results

Manchester United 4-0 Wigan
Aston Villa 1-0 West Ham

Here are some feedback or comments from yesterday's games.

1. Man Utd has lost both O'Shea, Saha and Vidic to injuries before or during the Wigan Game which now numbers 12 players. However Sir Alex Ferguson is defiant that Man Utd has the strength in depth to handle such a crisis. Only time would tell then.

2. Next to Scotland where Glasgow Rangers lost 1-0 at home to Hibs after winning impressively away in the mid week Champions League match to Lyon; leaving Sir Walter Smith in a unforgiving mood as defeat denied Gers a chance to return to the top of the league. What a let down surely for Rangers after the mid wwek high of a 3-0 victory at Lyon only to lose to Hibs

3. Now off to Spain where Valencia completed a bad week by crushing 2-1 to Espanyol. Disappointing indeed for the spanish team after their mid week loss to Chelsea, now a defeat to Espanyol and a dent in their La Liga Aspirations. Now leaving the way open for Real Madrid, Villarreal and Barcelona to extend or the open up the title race more if they all win respectively tonite.

4. Back to England where there is more heartache for Dean Ashton of West Ham. He had damaged his knee ligament in the game vs Aston Villa, ruling him out of the England Squad. Ashton has just came back from injuries only to suffer this setback leaving Mclaren short of fire power upfront.

5. Lastly to Holland where PSV has returned to the top of the league, winning 3-0 at Willem II.

Predictions for Major Leagues

2007-10-04T22:13:00.000-07:00

It is time for the predictions for major leagues games this weekend . Hopefully I can get out of my run of bad predictions and score some major winners....

English Premiership

Man Utd 2-0 Wigan
Aston Villa 2-1 West Ham
Arsenal 3-0 Sunderland
Reading 1-0 Derby
Blackburn 2-1 Birmingham City
Bolton 1-1 Chelsea
Liverpool 2-1 Tottenham
Man City 1-0 Middlesbrough
Newcastle 2-1 Everton
Fulham 2-1 Portsmouth

La Liga

Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Almeria
Barcelona 1-1 Atletico Madrid
Seville 2-1 Deportivo
Mallorca 1-0 Getafe
Murcia 1-1 Real Betis
Osasuna 0-2 Villarreal
Racing Santander 1-0 Valladolid
Real Madrid 3-1 Recreativo Huelva
Real Zaragoza 2-0 Levante
Valencia 1-0 Espanyol

Serie A

Atalanta 1-1 Udinese
Inter Milan 2-1 Napoli
Catania 1-1 Livorno
Fiorentina 1-2 Juventus
Genoa 1-1 Cagliari
Palermo 2-1 Reggina
Parma 0-1 Roma
Siena 2-1 Empoli
Torino 1-1 Sampdoria
Lazio 1-2 AC Milan

Bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund 2-1 VfL Bochum
Arminia Bielefeld 1-1 Hamburger SV
Hertha Berlin 3-0 Energie Cottbus
MSV Duisburg 1-2 Werder Bremen
Schalke 2-0 Karlsruher SC
VfB Stuttgart 2-1 Hannover 96
VfL Wolfsburg 2-1 Hansa Rostock
Bayern München 3-1 FC Nürnberg
Eintracht Frankfurt 1-2 Bayer Leverkusen

Just some news bits with regards to Bundesliga

1. Karlsruher is looking to consolidate their position in the Bundesliga with another good preformance in the game vs unbeaten Schalke. A host of games coming up tomorrow morning with Arminia Bielefeld looking to put their 8-1 trashing by Bremen aside while Bremen looking to bounce back from UEFA champions league mid week loss.

5 Reasons Behind the Deployment of a 4-5-1 System or Formation in A Soccer or Football Game

2007-10-04T22:10:00.001-07:00

Another of my soccer articles published on ezinearticles. Do enjoy

In the modern game of soccer or football recently, a formation or system 4-5-1 has enjoyed a much higher played ratio especially by smaller clubs or clubs or nations playing away. Here are five reasons why such a formation or system is employed.

A defintion of the system is first needed. A 4-5-1 would refer to the deployment of one goalkeeper, four defenders, five midfielders and a striker. An example of a team making a success of the formation is the Greek National in European Football Championships 2004 where they emerge as champions with the deployment of such a system. And now for the reasons.

Flexibility - Football or soccer is a fast paced game where an attack can be turned into the counter attack by the opposition if possession is lost. Hence the deployment of a 4-5-1 system allows the flexibility in both attack and defense. In attack or possession of the ball, the left and right midfielders would operate as wingers to push up and join the lone striker. Furthermore of the three central midfielders, one or two can also push to join the attack while the remaining midfielder would drop back to assist the defense in case of a break or counter attack by the opposition.

As for defense or without possession of the ball, a five midfield in theory would be able to pressure the opposition to win back the ball. Another example, the five man midfield would add more steel into midfield portion to win or retain possession to ease off pressure at the back.

Defending a one goal Lead - In some matches, the game can be very close one where a single goal can decide the outcome. Hence some managers would like to employ 4-5-1 formation to defend the lead in the last ten to twenty minutes of the game. The flexibility of the system is already explained under point 1. The system would also enable the team to launch counter attack if needed when the opposition throws caution to wind for an equalizer. The other purpose is to pass the ball around to run down the clock and the best way to do so is to keep possession.

Playing an Away Game - In the modern league games, a point from a game drawn especially if the game is away or against a strong opposition is crucial. The reason is simple as most home teams would go out to try their best to win at home with their supporters behind them acting as the 12th man. For example, in recent games like Liverpool verses Birmingham City or Manchester United verses Reading, both City and Reading employed a 4-5-1 system to stifle the midfield of Liverpool and United. The system would usually enable a team to come away with a point or avoid a mauling at hand of strong opposition. Such a point usually meant a victory for the smaller clubs.

Playing against Stronger Opposition - As mentioned in point 3, playing against strong opposition at home, a 4-5-1 system would be employed for the same rationale of getting a point or avoiding a heavy defeat. Such a attitude towards game can be seen as a defeatist attitude, but survival in the top leagues around the world would mean huge revenue for clubs. An example is the English Premiership where millions can be lost if a team is relegated. Hence some teams would rather employ such a formation to ensure of a low scoring defeat or a draw game for a point while a more attacking one when facing opposition of similar status.

Injuries - This is the least common reason why a 4-5-1 formation would be deployed. The reason is a very simple one. There are usually more defenders and midfielders than strikers in the club. Hence if a club has a striker injury situation, it may be more inclined to employ such a system than others. Furthermore deploying players in familiar positions would be having a much better effect than playing them in an untrained position.

Hence the above reasons should help to explain the rationale behind the employment of a 4-5-1 system or formation.

PS: Article has been published at Ezinearticles too.

Round 2 UEFA Champions League Results

2007-10-04T21:48:00.000-07:00

Let's us review the UEFA Champions League Results of round 2 of the group stages.

Lyon 0-3 Rangers
Stuttgart 0-2 Barcelona
Dynamo Kiev 1-2 Sporting Lisbon
Manchester United 1-0 Roma
CSKA Moscow 2-2 Fenerbahce
Inter Milan 2-0 PSV Eindhoven
Sevilla 4-2 Sparta Prague
Steaua Bucuresti 0-1 Arsenal
Besiktas 0-1 Porto
Liverpool 0-1 Marseille
Rosenborg 0-2 Schalke
Valencia 1-2 Chelsea
Lazio 2-2 Real Madrid
Werder Bremen 1-3 Olympiakos
Benfica 0-1 Shakhtar Donetsk
Celtic 2-1 AC Milan

Analysis of Predictions

CP: Correct predictions based on 1x2
WP: Wrong Predictions based on 1x2
CR: Correct Results predictions

Lyon 2-1 Rangers (WP)
Stuttgart 1-2 Barcelona (CP)
Dynamo Kiev 2-1 Sporting Lisbon (WP)
Manchester United 1-1 Roma (WP)
CSKA Moscow 1-1 Fenerbahce (CP)
Inter Milan 2-0 PSV Eindhoven (CP,CR)
Sevilla 2-1 Sparta Prague (CP)
Steaua Bucuresti 0-2 Arsenal (CP)
Besiktas 1-1 Porto (WP)
Liverpool 2-1 Marseille (WP)
Rosenborg 1-2 Schalke (CP)
Valencia 2-1 Chelsea (WP)
Lazio 1-3 Real Madrid (WP)
Werder Bremen 2-1 Olympiakos (WP)
Benfica 2-1 Shakhtar Donetsk (WP)
Celtic 1-2 AC Milan (WP)

Total Number of Matches Predicted: 16
Total of CP: 6 (37.5%) What a bomber
Total of WP: 12 (62.5%)
Total of CR: 1 (6.25%)

Note: What a bomber....I thought the weekend of 40% was bad, now this. This show that you cannot predict everything. Who can expect Liverpool, AC Milan, Lyon and Bremen to lose??? Chelsea and Man Utd victory should have been long in the coming; while real Madrid should have done better. Anyway would revise my predictions for the weekend. Sorry guys for the bomber of the results.

Some soccer or football news to brighten up a otherwise gloomy day at the post.

1. Bayern Munich is through to the group stages of the Euro cup while Blackburn and Ajax have respectively crashed out after the second legs were played earlier this morning.

2. Chelsea has released denials to reports that Current russia coach Gus Hiddincks is being lined up as the new coach while Ajax coach Ten Cate as his assistant. Interesting to see who is finally brought in for the chelsea manager position?

3. Other Bundesliga news is that German Striker Lukas Podolski being prepared for a move during the jan transfer window with Bremen a highly likely destination. With the additionals of Toni and Klose to the Munich ranks, playing opportunities have been limited for the talented young german. Hence his willingines to move for more football.

4. Here is more news linking Ajax coach ten cate to Chelsea

UEFA Champions League Updates

2007-10-02T20:15:00.000-07:00

Here are the results and standings of the games played this morning

Group E

Lyon 0-3 Rangers
Stuttgart 0-2 Barcelona

Barcelona 6 pts
Rangers 6 pts
Stuttgart 0pts
Lyong 0pts

Group F

Dynamo Kiev 1-2 Sporting
Man Utd 1-0 Roma

Man Utd 6 pts
Roma 3 pts
Sporting 3 pts
Dynamo Kiev 0 pts

Group G

CSKA 2-2 Fenerbahce
Inter Milan 2-0 PSV

Fenerbahce 4 pts
Inter Milan 3 pts
PSV 3 pts
CSKA Moscow 1 pts

Group H

Sevilla 4-2 Slavia Prague
Steaua Buacharest 0-1 Arsenal

Arsenal 6 pts
Sevilla 3 pts
Slavia Prague 3 pts
Steaua Buacharest 0 pts

Now for some news update of UEFA Champions League Matches played this morning.

1. First up, Wayne Rooney scored the crucial goal that allowed Man Utd to beat Roma 1-0 at Old Trafford. Sir Ferguson had commented that he hoped that this would open up the floodgates for the English International. Another tight game where Man Utd won by 1-0; this would be 6 win of the season with the 1-0 score line. A worrying sight for Sir Ferguson's defending EPL Champions.

2. Next up, Another win in Champion League for the young gunners. Mr Wenger is hoping for another repeat of the unbeaten run by the gunners 2 to 3 seasons back. Looking at his team, he might be able to do it again.

3. Following a 2-0 win at Stuttgart, Barcelona has taken a big step towards the next round of the Champions League. Barcelona heads up the table with Rangers on 6 points.

4. In the same group with Barcelona, Rangers served up a 3-0 win away to Lyon. This would inspire the Rangers to maybe greater heights in the competition with a place in the next round highly likely if they keep up their form.

5. Already mindgames have started for today's game of Liverpool vs Marseille with Manager Erik Gerets with the first salvo. This would also marks the return of Cisse and Zenden to Anfield.

6. In another of today's game, Chelsea may field Captain John Terry in a crucial game against Spainish Side Valencia. However Terry would be wearing a protective mask if he does play especially after having a operation on his checkbone 2 days ago.

UEFA Champions League Predictions

2007-10-01T02:04:00.000-07:00

It is mid week action again for the Champions League with some interesting fixtures especially the one of Man Utd vs Roma.

No one would forget the lop sided 7-1 victory of Man Utd over Roma last season. Would Roma leave Old trafford with a different result this time around?

Another interesting match up would be Chelsea travelling to Valencia for a rematch of last season quarter final. Would Valencia manage a win over the Blue Blues?

Here are my predictions then

Lyon 2-1 Rangers
Stuttgart 1-2 Barcelona
Dynamo Kiev 2-1 Sporting Lisbon
Manchester United 1-1 Roma
CSKA Moscow 1-1 Fenerbahce
Inter Milan 2-0 PSV Eindhoven
Sevilla 2-1 Sparta Prague
Steaua Bucuresti 0-2 Arsenal
Besiktas 1-1 Porto
Liverpool 2-1 Marseille
Rosenborg 1-2 Schalke
Valencia 2-1 Chelsea
Lazio 1-3 Real Madrid
Werder Bremen 2-1 Olympiakos
Benfica 2-1 Shakhtar Donetsk
Celtic 1-2 AC Milan

Some soccer news around the world

1. The return of Ronaldinho for the mid week match vs Stuttgart would means that Barcelona would have a edge in this game. Barcelona should go into this match confident of victory after an impressive 4-1 victory over Levante on Saturday.

2. The US women football did manage a third place in the world cup after defeating Norway 4-1. At least some good news for the scandal hit US team.

3. Here below is the top scorer list for the just concluded Women World Cup with Brazilian Marta da Silva bagging the golden boot.

4. Here is for those who miss Platini comments on money in the modern game.

Results and Analysis of games played 29/09-30/09

2007-10-01T01:42:00.000-07:00

Here are the result of games played over the weekend (29/9-30/9)

English Premiership

Birmingham 0-1 Man Utd
Chelsea 0-0 Fulham
Derby 1-1 Bolton
Man City 3-1 Newcastle
Portsmouth 7-4 Reading
Sunderland 1-2 Blackburn
West Ham 0-1 Arsenal
Wigan 0-1 Liverpool
Everton 2-0 Middlesbrough

La Liga

Zaragoza 2-0 Seville
Levante 1-4 Barcelona
Atlético Madrid 2-0 Osasuna
Espanyol 1-0 Deportivo
Recreativo Huelva 0-1 Valencia
Betis 3-0 Mallorca
Valladolid 1-4 Murcia
Almeria 0-1 Racing Santander
Villarreal 1-0 Athletic Bilbao
Getafe 0-1 Real Madrid

Serie A

Cagliari 1-0 Siena
Empoli 3-1 Palermo
Livorno 0-3 Fiorentina
Milan 1-1 Catania
Napoli 1-2 Genoa
Reggina 1-1 Lazio
Roma 1-4 Inter
Sampdoria 3-0 Atalanta
Torino 0-1 Juventus
Udinese 2-1 Parma

Bundesliga

Werder Bremen 8-1 Arminia Bielefeld
Bayer Leverkusen 0-1 Bayern München
Hamburger SV 2-2 VfL Wolfsburg
VfL Bochum 3-3 1. FC Nürnberg
Karlsruher SC 3-1 Borussia Dortmund
Hansa Rostock 2-1 VfB Stuttgart
Hannover 96 2-1 MSV Duisburg
Energie Cottbus 2-2 Eintracht Frankfurt

Analysis of Games Predicted

CP: Correct Prediction based on 1x2 system
WP: Wrong Prediction based on 1x2 system
CR: Correct Result Prediction

English Premiership
Birmingham 0-2 Man Utd (CP)
Chelsea 2-1 Fulham (WP)
Derby 1-2 Bolton (WP)
Man City 1-1 Newcastle (WP)
Portsmouth 2-0 Reading (CP)
Sunderland 0-1 Blackburn (CP)
West Ham 1-3 Arsenal (CP)
Wigan 0-2 Liverpool (CP)
Everton 2-1 Middlesbrough (CP)

La Liga

Zaragoza 1-2 Seville (WP)
Levante 1-3 Barcelona (CP)
Atlético Madrid 3-1 Osasuna (CP)
Espanyol 1-1 Deportivo (WP)
Recreativo Huelva 0-2 Valencia (CP)
Betis 1-2 Mallorca (WP)
Valladolid 2-1 Murcia (WP)
Almeria 1-2 Racing Santander (CP)
Villarreal 2-0 Athletic Bilbao (CP)
Getafe 1-2 Real Madrid (CP)

Serie A

Cagliari 2-1 Siena (CP)
Empoli 0-2 Palermo (WP)
Livorno 1-2 Fiorentina (CP)
Milan 3-0 Catania (WP)
Napoli 1-0 Genoa (WP)
Reggina 1-2 Lazio (WP)
Roma 1-1 Inter (WP)
Sampdoria 1-2 Atalanta (WP)
Torino 1-3 Juventus (CP)
Udinese 1-1 Parma (WP)

Bundesliga

Werder Bremen 1-2 Arminia Bielefeld (WP)
Bayer Leverkusen 1-2 Bayern München (CP)
Hamburger SV 1-0 VfL Wolfsburg (WP)
VfL Bochum 2-1 1. FC Nürnberg (WP)
Karlsruher SC 1-2 Borussia Dortmund (WP)
Hansa Rostock 0-2 VfB Stuttgart (WP)
Hannover 96 2-1 MSV Duisburg (CP,CR)
Energie Cottbus 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt (CP)

Analysis Results

Total Number of Matches Predicted: 37
Total No. of Correct Predictions: 18 (48.64%)
Total No. of Wrong Predictions: 19 (51.36%)
Total No. of Correct Results Predictions: 1 (2.07%)

What a bad run of predictions getting only 18 right predictions (48.64%). The worst run of luck ever so far. Hopefully can do better this week for the Champions League.

Now some sporting news around the globe.

1. First up is the victory for defending champions Germany in the Woman World Cup Final. They defeated Brazil with 2 second half goals. What a wonderful run of form for the Germans. After the match, the germans remain modest about their achievement.

2. Read more about the germans' victory in the world cup here.

3. After a hard won victory at Birmingham City, Manchester United would now return home to entertain Roma in the mid week Champions League Match. However Hargraves did warn his team to be wary of the Romans' revenge for losing 7-1 last season in the CL quarter finals

4. After winning 2-0 at home vs Boro, David Moyes would look forward to the second leg Uefa Cup match vs Metalist. He hope that his club could continue their form and progress to the group stage of the UEFA cup after the first leg ended in a draw

Predictions for Major Leagues

2007-09-28T21:27:00.000-07:00

It is time for the predictions for major leagues games this weekend

English Premiership

Birmingham 0-2 Man Utd
Chelsea 2-1 Fulham
Derby 1-2 Bolton
Man City 1-1 Newcastle
Portsmouth 2-0 Reading
Sunderland 0-1 Blackburn
West Ham 1-3 Arsenal
Wigan 0-2 Liverpool
Everton 2-1 Middlesbrough
Tottenham 1-1 Aston Villa

La Liga

Zaragoza 1-2 Seville
Levante 1-3 Barcelona
Atlético Madrid 3-1 Osasuna
Espanyol 1-1 Deportivo
Recreativo Huelva 0-2 Valencia
Betis 1-2 Mallorca
Valladolid 2-1 Murcia
Almeria 1-2 Racing Santander
Villarreal 2-0 Athletic Bilbao
Getafe 1-2 Real Madrid

Serie A

Cagliari 2-1 Siena
Empoli 0-2 Palermo
Livorno 1-2 Fiorentina
Milan 3-0 Catania
Napoli 1-0 Genoa
Reggina 1-2 Lazio
Roma 1-1 Inter
Sampdoria 1-2 Atalanta
Torino 1-3 Juventus
Udinese 1-1 Parma

Bundesliga

Werder Bremen 1-2 Arminia Bielefeld
Bayer Leverkusen 1-2 Bayern München
Hamburger SV 1-0 VfL Wolfsburg
VfL Bochum 2-1 1. FC Nürnberg
Karlsruher SC 1-2 Borussia Dortmund
Hansa Rostock 0-2 VfB Stuttgart
Hannover 96 2-1 MSV Duisburg
Energie Cottbus 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt

With my weekend predictions done, on monday I would be posting my Champions League Predictions; Hence stay tune for them.

And now for Some soccer or Football news around the world

1. There is a new man in charge at Cetlic with Former British Minister John Reid taking over the chairman position from Brian Quinn

2. A 1-0 win by Schalke this morning over Hertha Berlin temporarily moves them to 2nd Position in the Bundesliga; maintaining their unbeaten record so far in the season.

Importance of A goalkeeper to a Team

2007-09-28T21:09:00.000-07:00

Here is my latest article on football or soccer at EzineArticles.

Have you played as a goalkeeper before? Never wanted the position? Think about it. It is one of the most critical positions in a game. Read on to find out more.

As discussed in my soccer formation or system article, a goal keeper in a soccer team is always critical player. He would have to be fielded regardless of whatever formation or system a team would be put out to play. A goal keeper can be defined as the player who guards the goal of his team during the course of a match. Furthermore he is the only player legally allowed to touch, pick or save the ball with his hands within the six yards box or penalty box. This alone makes him different from all the other players.

Under the laws of soccer, any other player who uses his hand to touch or block the ball purposely would result in a foul minimum and a free kick or penalty would be given to the opposition. Another fact is that most keepers would stay within the penalty box or not across the half as their job is to keep the ball out of the goal. Technically a goal keeper is the most difficult position to play in. The reason for this is simple even if he saves every shot at him in the match except for conceding the one goal that loses the match for his team, he would become a villain instead of the hero at the end of the match. Hence a keeper has to be on own his toes and maintain concentration throughout the whole match as a single mistake or lapse could cause his team to lose.

Therefore usually a goal keeper is treated in a very different way from the rest of the team. The characteristics of a great keeper can be summarized as: Having a good command of the box, having good positioning sense, having good agility or jumping ability and having a good pair of hands. Having a good command of the box, would enable a goal keeper to better or organize “arrange” his defense during opposition corners or free kicks. This is critical as most teams in the modern game do work on their set pieces and just a lapse in defense may result in conceding a goal.

In the past, great keepers have always been seen commanding the box like generals such as Peter Schmeichel of Manchester United fame.Another important aspect is the positioning sense of a keeper. Sometimes it can be akin to a sixth sense of where the ball would be shot towards. In some games, poor positioning of the keeper can result in a goal being scored. Being agile or having good jumping ability has enabled many a keeper to keep out or pull off magnificent saves when the opposition has shot certain goal bound shots. While equipped with a strong pair of hands is a necessity as shots can be coming in at a high speed or from different avenues with a variety of power.

Some of the best keepers in the modern games are Buffon of Italian Giants Juventus and Peter Czech of English Giants Chelsea fame. Each of these keepers possesses most of the above characteristics to make them a highly valued member of their teams.Without a doubt, a goal keeper is one of the most specialized positions in soccer or football with their ups and downs in each match.

PS: Article Has been posted on Ezinearticles.com

Results of Mid-Games

2007-09-27T02:18:00.000-07:00

Here are the results of games played mid-week.

Carling Cup 3rd Round

Aston Villa 0-1 Leicester
Blackburn 3-0 Birmingham
Fulham 1-2 Bolton (AET)
Hull City 0-4 Chelsea
Man Utd 0-2 Coventry
Sheff Wed 0-3 Everton
Tottenham 2-0 Boro
West Ham 1-0 Plymouth

Bundesliga

Arminia Bielefled 0-2 Hannover
Bayern Munich 5-0 Cottbus
E Frankfurt 0-1 Karlsruhe
Nurnberg 1-2 Bayer Leverkusen
Stuttgart 1-0 VfL Bochum

Serie A

Catania 1-0 Empoli
Fiorentina 2-2 Roma
Genoa 3-2 Udinese
Inter Milan 3-0 Sampdoria
Juventus 4-0 Reggina
Lazio 3-1 Cagliari
Napoli 1-0 Livorno
Palermo 2-1 AC Milan
Parma 2-0 Torino
Siena 1-1 Atalanta

La Liga

Athletic Bibao 0-2 Athletic Madrid
Barcelona 4-1 Real Zaragoza
Deportivo 0-2 Recreativo
Mallorca 4-2 Real Valladolid
Murcia 0-1 Almeria
Osasuna 4-1 Levante
Racing Santander 0-2 Villarreal
Valencia 2-1 Getafe

Predictions Analysis

CP: Correct Predictions based 1x2 system
WP: Wrong Predictions based 1x2 system
CR: Correct Result Predictions

Carling Cup 3rd Round

Arsenal 2-1 Newcastle (CP)
Blackpool 1-2 Southend (WP)
Burnley 0-1 Portsmouth (CP,CR)
Luton Town 1-2 Charlton (WP)
Man City 2-0 Norwich City (CP)
Reading 1-2 Liverpool (CP)
Sheff Utd 3-0 Morecamb (CP)
West Brom 2-1 Cardiff City (WP)
Aston Villa 2-0 Leicester (WP)
Blackburn 1-0 Birmingham (CP)
Fulham 2-1 Bolton (WP)
Hull City 0-3 Chelsea (CP)
Man Utd 2-0 Coventry (WP)
Sheff Wed 0-1 Everton (CP)
Tottenham 2-1 Boro (CP)
West Ham 2-0 Plymouth (CP)

Bundesliga

Arminia Bielefled 2-1 Hannover (WP)
Bayern Munich 3-0 Cottbus (CP)
E Frankfurt 2-1 Karlsruhe (WP)
Nurnberg 0-2 Bayer Leverkusen (CP)
Stuttgart 2-1 VfL Bochum (CP)

Serie A

Catania 1-1 Empoli (WP)
Fiorentina 1-2 Roma (WP)
Genoa 0-1 Udinese (WP)
Inter Milan 2-0 Sampdoria (CP)
Juventus 2-1 Reggina (CP)
Lazio 1-0 Cagliari (CP)
Napoli 2-0 Livorno (CP)
Palermo 1-1 AC Milan (WP)
Parma 1-1 Torino (WP)
Siena 1-2 Atalanta (WP)

La Liga

Athletic Bibao 1-3 Athletic Madrid (CP)
Barcelona 2-1 Real Zaragoza (CP)
Deportivo 1-1 Recreativo (WP)
Mallorca 1-0 Real Valladolid (CP)
Murcia 2-1 Almeria (WP)
Osasuna 2-0 Levante (CP)
Racing Santander 1-2 Villarreal (CP)
Valencia 2-0 Getafe (CP)

Results of Analysis
Total Number of Matches Predicted: 39
Total No. of CP: 23 (58.97%)
Total No. of WP: 16 (41.02%)
Total No. of CR: 1 (2.5%)

Overall a good mid-week predictions of over 58% correct predictions, but a low of 2.5% for correct results.

Big Winners: Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Valencia, Villarreal, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham (for ensuring the current safety of Martin Jol's job) and Chelsea (for giving Avim Grant his first win)
Big Losers: AC Milan (For failling to keep up the pace in Serie A), Roma (For allowing a late penalty as an equalisier in 2 matches running), Man Utd (for failure to win at home vs Coventry) and Aston Villa (For failing to follow EPL success with a win vs Leicester)

Some feedback and News around the soccer world.

1. Even with a change of Manager at Chelsea, Shevchenko is still not guaranteed a place in the first 11. Grant took a risk into dropping Shevchenko for the Hull match where Chelsea won 4-0. Hence it is interesting to see whether the Shevchenko question or problem would cause Grant any sleepless nights too.

2. With Barcelona, Villarreal and Valencia winning yesterday, Real Madrid would have to win at home against Real Betis tonite to regain the lead in the La Liga. Below are some highlights with regards to the results of games played last night.

3. Some news out of the Women World Cup in China. In a semi-final match played last night, Germany emerged 3-0 victors against Norway to book their place in the Finals. It would seen that the Germans are determined to retain their title.

4. Sir Ferguson is left fuming at the Carling 3rd Round exit at the hands of Coventry last night. Even with six internationals in his line up, it was the Malta international Micheal Mifsud that stun the home side with his brace. At least now, Man Utd can focus on the league and champions league actions though it has been 12 years since York tumped United 3-0 for a lower league side to beat Man Utd in a cup game Woe remain for Birmingham at the weekend for a Man Utd backleash.

Major Leagues Predictions / Results

2007-09-26T03:48:00.000-07:00

We are having a series of major leagues having mid-week fixtures. Before my predictions, here are some results of games played last night.

Carling Cup Round 3

Arsenal 2-0 Newcastle
Blackpool 2-1 Southend (AET)
Burnley 0-1 Portsmouth
Luton Town 3-1 Charlton (AET)
Man City 1-0 Norwich City
Reading 2-4 Liverpool
Sheff Utd 5-0 Morecamb
West Brom 2-4 Cardiff City

Bundesliga

Dortmund 0-3 Hamburg
Hertha Berlin 1-3 Hansa Rostock
Duisburg 0-2 Schalke
Wolfsburg 1-1 Werder Bremen

La Liga

Sevilla 2-3 Espanyol

Predictions for mid week

Bundesliga

Arminia Bielefled 2-1 Hannover
Bayern Munich 3-0 Cottbus
E Frankfurt 2-1 Karlsruhe
Nurnberg 0-2 Bayer Leverkusen
Stuttgart 2-1 VfL Bochum

Serie A

Catania 1-1 Empoli
Fiorentina 1-2 Roma
Genoa 0-1 Udinese
Inter Milan 2-0 Sampdoria
Juventus 2-1 Reggina
Lazio 1-0 Cagliari
Napoli 2-0 Livorno
Palermo 1-1 AC Milan
Parma 1-1 Torino
Siena 1-2 Atalanta

La Liga

Athletic Bibao 1-3 Athletic Madrid
Barcelona 2-1 Real Zaragoza
Deportivo 1-1 Recreativo
Mallorca 1-0 Real Valladolid
Murcia 2-1 Almeria
Osasuna 2-0 Levante
Racing Santander 1-2 Villarreal
Valencia 2-0 Getafe
Real Madrid 3-0 Real Betis

Now for some soccer news around the world. Benetiz would not guarantee hat trick hero Torres a starting berth for the game vs Wigan this sat. The question here is if someone is on red hot form, still do not play in the first eleven is really surprisely.

English Giants Chelsea faces an acid test with Hull City in the Carling Cup. One can bet if Chelsea lose tonite, heads may start rolling at the Bridge...

With a victory over the weekend, Barcelona would look to build on it for the match vs Real Zaragoza where a reunion of Gabriel Milito and Diego Militio since the departure of Gabriel for Barcelona in the summer. Although Ronaldinho would still out with an injury, Barcelona should be able to overcome Zaragoza.

Carling Cup 3rd Round Predictions

2007-09-25T02:44:00.000-07:00

Here again is the Carling Cup tonite and tomorrow. A cup where big teams such as Arsenal, Liverpool, Man Utd and Chelsea would field a "second" team for most matches. Cup games are the most difficult to predict. But here goes nothing

Carling Cup Predictions

Arsenal 2-1 Newcastle
Blackpool 1-2 Southend
Burnley 0-1 Portsmouth
Luton Town 1-2 Charlton
Man City 2-0 Norwich City
Reading 1-2 Liverpool
Sheff Utd 3-0 Morecamb
West Brom 2-1 Cardiff City
Aston Villa 2-0 Leicester
Blackburn 1-0 Birmingham
Fulham 2-1 Bolton
Hull City 0-3 Chelsea
Man Utd 2-0 Coventry
Sheff Wed 0-1 Everton
Tottenham 2-1 Boro
West Ham 2-0 Plymouth

Disclaimer: The above are based on my own predictions and analysis of the teams; use them on your discreet. And there is no sure win bet.

Some news with regards to the Arsenal vs Newcastle. Mr Wenger would be continuing his practise of blooding his young guns in the carling cup especially after their run to the final last season. But who would bet against them continuing off from last season and maybe winning the cup this season.

News out of Japan is the Yokohama Marinos are looking to bring Celtic's Nakamura back to Japan. However it would not be easy as Celtic would not want to lose a player of Nakamura's abilities.

And lastly news out of France, where Laurant Blanc of Bordeaux might be the one to wrestle the League 1 title from Lyon's hand after his side won against PSG 2-0 and are now second in the table. This would be a dream start to his maiden managerial career.

A Soccer Formation And What It Means

2007-09-25T02:40:00.000-07:00

In a soccer or football game, there are eleven players to a side. However if one reads any articles on the web or newspaper and hear or watch a review and match, there is always a formation mentioned for each match. What is a formation then, you may ask yourself?Basically it can be defined as a tactical system by which the team is organized and plays by for a match. Formation can be changed anytime during a match. Reasons for these changes could be due to injuries to players, tactical changes by the opposition, to protect a score or even to chase a game. Therefore it is not surprise to see several formative changes to it during the course of the match.

An important note in any formation, the only unchangeable aspect is the goalkeeper. Regardless of whatever formations obtained by a team, there must be a goalkeeper in the game. And he is the only legally allowed player in a match that can use his hands to collect, save or touch the ball in the six yards or penalty box. Hence he would be wearing gloves and a different color jersey from his team mates. This is another reason why all formations seen to be based on 10 outfield players since the goalkeeper is a compulsory player. Therefore formations can read 4-4-2, 5-4-1, 5-3-2 and 3-43 without mentioning the goalkeeper.

Since there are many formations, this article would focus on the current basis for formation for most teams which is a 4-4-2. In layman terms, it means that other than one goalkeeper, there are four defenders, four midfielders and two strikers. Here is a bit more complex as even in a 4-4-2, there can be attacking or defending methods or styles to it. To have a clearer picture, the 4-4-2 would have to be broken further.

In defense, there are usually four defenders which mean that there would be a left back (or left wing back / defender on the wing), two centre backs (central defenders) and a right back (or right wing back / defender on the right wing). In attack or possession of the ball usually or frequently, the left and right back would push up and join the attack while the two centre backs hang back to defend. While in a corner situation, the reverse happens, the two centre backs (chosen for their heights) would join in the opposition penalty box while the left and right back hang back in case of a counter attack.

In a defense situation, all four of them would form a line in front of the goalkeeper as the basis for the offside rule. Interestingly to note the depth of defensive line played would indicate how offensive the team would play; a higher line or closer to midfield can be often perceived as going into a more attacking mode. Secondly they would be defending the opposition players in the penalty box when there is an opposition corner.

Next up is to examine the midfield positions in a formation. It is quite similar to the defense where there are four midfielders as to four defenders in a 4-4-2. There are left midfield (or winger), two central midfielders (or defensive or attacking midfielder) and one right midfield (or winger). In a 4-4-2 system, the left and right wingers or midfield players would support the two strikers with crosses from their sides respectively. Frequently, they would also link up with the left back and right back to work the flank effectively. However, it must be stated not many wingers are famed for tracking back to defend. Hence there is a huge danger for allowing an opposition counter attack when possession is lost by the winger with the back in front of him.

As for the jobs of the central midfielders, one is usually employed as a holding or defensive midfielder in the modern game. His job is to protect the back four, break up the opposition attacks and win back the ball. In some sense, he is to be the enforcer or school yard bully. The other midfielder is usually employed in a more attacking sense to link up play between the defense, midfield and attack. The top midfielders in this aspect are sometimes known as playmakers since most of the attacks revolve around them. However they are not that easy to find in the top flights of soccer.

Finally the front line or usual goal poachers can be examined. There are many combinations for the strikers. Usually one frequent pairing is of a fast striker (small man) with a bulky striker (big man). The logic is that the bulky striker would head down, lay up the ball for his team mates or hold up the ball for his team mates to join him. As for the other striker, he would use his pace to get the lay up ball to break the opposition defensive line and find an opportunity to score. Some team may also employ four pacey strikers and wingers to break the opposition line by pace alone. One important thing to note here is that if the front two are of the same wave length, they would be extremely dangerous to the opposition. An example of a small-big approach is the pairing of Michael Owen and Emilie Heskey in the England games verses Israel and Russia recently.

Thus the above is simple explanation of a 4-4-2 formation and some of the roles of players in it.

A parting note is that there are a lot of variations for formations or system nowadays. But hopefully the above can assist the explanation of how a soccer / football formation or system is based or built up on.

PS: Articles has also been published on EzineArticles.com

RE: Results from the weekend

2007-09-23T22:43:00.000-07:00

Here are the results of games played over the weekend

Bungdesliga

Vfl Bochum 0-0 Eintracht Frankfurt
Energie Cottbus 1-2 Vfl Wolfsburg
Hamburg 1-0 Nurnberg
Hansa Rostock 2-0 MSV Duisburg
Hertha Berlin 3-2 Borussia Dortmund
Schalke 3-0 Arminina Bielefeld
Werder Bremen 4-1 Vfb Stuttgart
Hannover 0-3 Bayer Leverkusen
Karlsruhe 1-4 Bayern Munich

English Premier League

Arsenal 5-0 Derby
Liverpool 0-0 Birmingham
Middlesbrough 2-2 Sunderland
Reading 2-1 Wigan
Fulham 3-3 Manchester City
Newcastle 3-1 West Ham
Aston Villa 2-0 Everton
Blackburn 0-1 Portsmouth
Bolton 0-1 Tottenham
Manchester United 2-0 Chelsea

Spanish La Liga

Almeria 1-1 Mallorca
Atletico Madrid 4-0 Racing Santander
Barcelona 2-1 Sevilla
Getafe 0-0 Deportivo La Coruna
Levante 1-2 Athletic Bilbao
Real Betis 1-2 Valencia
Real Zaragoza 2-1 Osasuna
Recreativo Huevla 2-1 Espanyol
Valladolid 1-1 Real Madrid
Villarreal 2-0 Murica

Italian Serie A

AC Milan 1-1 Parma
Atalanta 2-1 Lazio
Cagliari 0-1 Palermo
Catania Calcio 0-1 Fiorentina
Empoli 0-0 Napoli
Livorno 2-2 Inter Milan
Roma 2-2 Juventus
Sampdoria 0-0 Genoa
Torino 1-1 Siena
Udinese 2-0 Reggina

Analysis of Predictions

CP: Correct Prediction based on 1x2 system
WP: Wrong Prediction based on 1x2 system
CR: Correct Result Prediction

Bungdesliga

Vfl Bochum 2-1 Eintracht Frankfurt (WP)
Energie Cottbus 1-1 Vfl Wolfsburg (WP)
Hamburg 2-1 Nurnberg (CP)
Hansa Rostock 0-2 MSV Duisburg (WP)
Hertha Berlin 1-1 Borussia Dortmund (WP)
Schalke 2-0 Arminina Bielefeld (CP)
Werder Bremen 2-1 Vfb Stuttgart (CP)
Hannover 1-2 Bayer Leverkusen (CP)
Karlsruhe 0-2 Bayern Munich (CP)

English Premier League

Arsenal 3-0 Derby (CP)
Liverpool 2-0 Birmingham (WP)
Middlesbrough 1-1 Sunderland (CP)
Reading 1-1 Wigan (CP)
Fulham 0-1 Manchester City (WP)
Newcastle 2-1 West Ham (CP)
Aston Villa 1-1 Everton (WP)
Blackburn 1-0 Portsmouth (WP)
Bolton 1-0 Tottenham (WP)
Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea (WP)

Spanish La Liga

Almeria 1-1 Mallorca (CP,CR)
Atletico Madrid 2-1 Racing Santander (CP)
Barcelona 2-1 Sevilla (CP,CR)
Getafe 2-1 Deportivo La Coruna (WP)
Levante 1-1 Athletic Bilbao (WP)
Real Betis 0-2 Valencia (CP)
Real Zaragoza 2-1 Osasuna (CP,CR)
Recreativo Huevla 1-1 Espanyol (WP)
Valladolid 0-3 Real Madrid (WP)
Villarreal 2-1 Murica (CP)

Italian Serie A

AC Milan 3-1 Parma (WP)
Atalanta 0-1 Lazio (WP)
Cagliari 1-1 Palermo (WP)
Catania Calcio 1-2 Fiorentina (CP)
Empoli 2-1 Napoli (WP)
Livorno 1-2 Inter Milan (WP)
Roma 2-2 Juventus (CP)
Sampdoria 2-1 Genoa (WP)
Torino 1-1 Siena (CP, CR)
Udinese 2-1 Reggina (CP)

Total Number of Matches Predicted: 39
Total Number of CP: 20 (51.28%)
Total Number of WP: 19 (48.72%)
Total Number of CR: 4 (10.25%)

Sad to say sorry to those who supported me. Really a bumper to score a dismal 51.28% again. Would really try to make it next week.

I am really disappointed in Liverpool, Real Madrid, AC Milan and Inter Milan which all failed to win over the weekend in "easy games". But that's how football is in the world.

Now for some soccer News around the World

1. Rangers go top of the SPL after winning at home vs Aberdeen with Celtic losing to Hibernian 3-2. Here are some comments from the Gers' Manager, Sir Walter Smith.

2. In the midst of the Jose Mourhino's departure, Martin Jol has came out fighting that his job is safe according to Spurs Chairman, David Levy. Some comments from White Heart Lane. (Really it could be a matter of time before Jol leaves as a single win from 7 EPL games is not a good start to the campagin.)

3. Avim Grant is still positive even though there seen to be no clearing of the dark clouds over Stamford Bridge. Read his comments here.

RE: Predictions for Major Leagues

2007-09-21T20:49:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the late posting of predictions as I have been busy. Now is that time where I would post my predictions for the major leagues which I am following around the world.

Disclaimer: Feel free to consider my predictions, but there are no sure win bets. Bet on your own risk though.

Bungdesliga

Vfl Bochum 2-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
Energie Cottbus 1-1 Vfl Wolfsburg
Hamburg 2-1 Nurnberg
Hansa Rostock 0-2 MSV Duisburg
Hertha Berlin 1-1 Borussia Dortmund
Schalke 2-0 Arminina Bielefeld
Werder Bremen 2-1 Vfb Stuttgart
Hannover 1-2 Bayer Leverkusen
Karlsruhe 0-2 Bayern Munich

English Premier League

Arsenal 3-0 Derby
Liverpool 2-0 Birmingham
Middlesbrough 1-1 Sunderland
Reading 1-1 Wigan
Fulham 0-1 Manchester City
Newcastle 2-1 West Ham
Aston Villa 1-1 Everton
Blackburn 1-0 Portsmouth
Bolton 1-0 Tottenham
Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea

Spanish La Liga

Almeria 1-1 Mallorca
Atletico Madrid 2-1 Racing Santander
Barcelona 2-1 Sevilla
Getafe 2-1 Deportivo La Coruna
Levante 1-1 Athletic Bilbao
Real Betis 0-2 Valencia
Real Zaragoza 2-1 Osasuna
Recreativo Huevla 1-1 Espanyol
Valladolid 0-3 Real Madrid
Villarreal 2-1 Murica

Italian Serie A

AC Milan 3-1 Parma
Atalanta 0-1 Lazio
Cagliari 1-1 Palermo
Catania Calcio 1-2 Fiorentina
Empoli 2-1 Napoli
Livorno 1-2 Inter Milan
Roma 2-2 Juventus
Sampdoria 2-1 Genoa
Torino 1-1 Siena
Udinese 2-1 Reggina

Looking to keep my record of at least 55% correct predictions. Good luck to all especially for the chelsea game.

Some sporting news around the world

1. Old rival of Jose, Arsene Wenger has expressed regret that he is leaving Chelsea despite the stormy relationship between both of them. Hence it seen that Jose still has his admiriers among the other coaches.

2. Some comments from the man himself. He admits that he would love to return to the EPL for another shot, but revealed that his next job may not be in England.

3. England would meet USA in the Women World Cup Quarter Finals. Would the english women show the men how to do it in the World Cup?

Prospects of Newcastle in the 2007-2008 English Premier League

2007-09-19T23:58:00.000-07:00

Here is something I wrote on EzineArticles on Newcastle United. Things are looking at Tynside indeed this season, hence read on and see whether you agree with me.

Without a doubt, the appointment of Sam Allarydce, Big Sam, as the new gaffer or manager for Newcastle for the 2007-2008 season had been greeted with cheers by the Toon Army. With his growing reputation of grooming of Bolton Wanderers that were challenging for Europe and giving the Big Four of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United, it is widely expected that Newcastle would finally challenge for Europe at least.

In the off season, Big Sam has radically transformed his Newcastle squad; making wholesale changes to his team and moulding it into his own image. Let take a closer view on the 2007-2008 squad below.

At the back, with Irish Number 1 Shay Given in goal, Newcastle is usually in safe hands. In front of him, there are the ever improving England U21 Steven Taylor and new recruit the Czech David Rozehnal, Newcastle has improved a previous weakness. Another indicator was the release of Craig Moore, Oliver Bernard, Alan O'brian and Titus Bramble from defence shows his determination to cut the dead wood from the team. Plus the transfer of or the addition of Geremi from Chelsea, Claudio Cacapa from Lyon, Jose Enrique from Villarreal and Habbib Beye from Marseille to the likes of Steve Carr, Peter Ramage and Celestine Babayaro , Big Sam has rebuilt up the defence and his options at the back.

As for midfield interestingly enough, Allardyce has allowed the likes of Kieran Dyer, Scott Parker and Nobby Solano to leave St James Park. These three players have been the main stay of previous Newcastle midfield. In came Joey Barton from Manchester City and Faye from Sam's old club Bolton. Looking at it, it could be a wise move on Big Sam's part as Dyer had his injuries, Solano is getting older in age and Parker may not be in his mould of a player. Furthermore, with exciting youngsters such James Milner and Charles N'Zogbia added with the experience of Nicky Butt, Emre and Damien Duff, Big Sam has a strong midfield to choose from for every match. Only concern is the addition of Barton may test his abilities to the fullest as he had been a problem player at City.

Up front, what more can be said of a front line of Micheal Owens, Mark Viduka from Boro, Alan Smith from Manchester United, Obafemi Martins and Shola Ameobi. A combination of youth and experience. The major concern of Allarydce would be the health of his strikers at his disposal especially Owen's. Without a doubt, with Viduka and Ameobi, Sam may be trying to play a big-small combination up front if Owen is fit.

So far the performance have been encouraging though the recent defeat to Derby away is a wrong step down. Newcastle is current in 10th position, winning 2, drawing 2 and losing 1. At the moment, Newcastle is a team in transition as Big Sam is still moulding his teams to his ideals and playing styles. It can be strongly concluded once the team is consolidated to the playing style of Big Sam and gotten used to each other, performance should improve.

It can safely be concluded that Newcastle should be strongly challenging for a European Spot come end May 2008 with the current team and Big Sam's abilities.

PS: Article is also posted on EzineArticles.

Some interesting new bits

Finally Henry has scored for Barcelona since his move from Arsenal to Barcelona in the summer. At least Barcelona return to winning ways after defeating Lyon 3-0 in the Champions League after two disappointing draws in the La Liga.In the meantime, his old club Arsenal romped to 3-0 win at the Emirates over UEFA cup winners Sevilla and old rival Manchester United won 1-0 at Sporting Lisbon

Other news include Wenger is pleased with the performance of his post Henry Arsenal side after a 3-0 win over Sevilla at home. While Fergie is convinced that Ronaldo would be scoring more goals in the future after his goal secured a priceless 1-0 win away to Sporting Lisbon.

UEFA Champions League Results

2007-09-19T23:36:00.000-07:00

Champions League Results

Group A
FC Porto 1-1 Liverpool
Marseille 2-0 Besiktas

Group B
Chelsea 1-1 Rosenborg
Schalke 0-1 Valencia

Group C
Olympiakos 1-1 Lazio
Real Madrid 2-1 Werder Bremen

Group D
AC Milan 2-1 Benfica
Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 Celtic

Group E
Barcelona 3-0 Lyon
Rangers 2-1 Stuttgart

Group F
Roma 2-0 Dynamo Kiev
Sporting Lisbon 0-1 Manchester Utd

Group G
Fenerbahce 1-0 Inter Milan
PSV Eindhoven 2-1 CSKA Moscow

Group H
Arsenal 3-0 Sevilla
Slavia Prague 2-1 Steaua Bucuresti

Comparsion between Results and Predictions

CP: Correct Predictions for match based on 1x2
WP: Wrong Predictions for match based on 1x2
CR: Correct Result Predictions

Group A
FC Porto 1-2 Liverpool (WP)
Marseille 2-1 Besiktas (CP)

Group B
Chelsea 2-0 Rosenborg (WP)
Schalke 1-2 Valencia (CP)

Group C
Olympiakos 0-1 Lazio (WP)
Real Madrid 3-1 Werder Bremen (CP)

Group D
AC Milan 2-1 Benfica (CP, CR)
Shakhtar Donetsk 1-2 Celtic (WP)

Group E
Barcelona 1-1 Lyon (WP)
Rangers 1-2 Stuttgart (WP)

Group F
Roma 2-0 Dynamo Kiev (CP, CR)
Sporting Lisbon 1-2 Manchester Utd (CP)

Group G
Fenerbahce 0-2 Inter Milan (WP)
PSV Eindhoven 2-1 CSKA Moscow (CP, CR)

Group H
Arsenal 2-1 Sevilla (CP)
Slavia Prague 2-1 Steaua Bucuresti (CP,CR)

Analysis of Results and Predictions

Total Number of Matches: 16
Total CP: 9 (56.25%)
Total WP: 7 (43.75%)
Total CR: 4 (25%)

A slight improvement over the weekend, a better return of 56.25%, while scoring a high with 25% on correct results. A disappointment for Chelsea, Liverpool, Inter Milan and Celtic. Hopefully I can score better with this weekend games.

Breaking News

Jose Mourinho has parted ways with Chelsea after disappointing draw with Rosenborg. What shocking time for a sacking or resignation especially with the big match up vs Man Utd on Sunday? Who is going replace him now? Avim Grant?

Anyway I feel that it would be sooner or later for this as the recent months have shown the increasing tension between Mourinho and Chelsea Owner, Mr Roman Abramovich. Hence the end, hopefully he would stay on in England and maybe take over Spurs. A slap in Chelsea's face and winning the EPL with spurs. Stranger things has happened too.

More news out of Chelsea with regards to Murinho's departure.

Predictions for the UEFA Champions League

2007-09-16T21:39:00.000-07:00

It is the time of year again where the champions of europe go at it for the ultimate prize in european club football: The UEFA Champions League. Would AC Milan retain it? Or another champion would emerge this season? Stay Tuned as we followed the progress.

Champions League

Group A
FC Porto 1-2 Liverpool
Marseille 2-1 Besiktas

Group B
Chelsea 2-0 Rosenborg
Schalke 1-2 Valencia

Group C
Olympiakos 0-1 Lazio
Real Madrid 3-1 Werder Bremen

Group D
AC Milan 2-1 Benfica
Shakhtar Donetsk 1-2 Celtic

Group E
Barcelona 1-1 Lyon
Rangers 1-2 Stuttgart

Group F
Roma 2-0 Dynamo Kiev
Sporting Lisbon 1-2 Manchester Utd

Group G
Fenerbahce 0-2 Inter Milan
PSV Eindhoven 2-1 CSKA Moscow

Group H
Arsenal 2-1 Sevilla
Slavia Prague 2-1 Steaua Bucuresti

Disclaimer: Feel free to use the above predictions and hopefully win some money. My aim is to improve my predictions ratio back to 60% from a bad 51% over the weekend. Good luck to you and me. Cheers

Some News out from Anfield
- Benetiz is targeting 12 points from the championship games for the group stage meaning at least 4 wins or 3 wins and 3 draws.

- Fernando Torres has revealed how he spurned Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal before moving to Anfield.

- Former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier is set to be appointed as France's technical director.

Major Leagues Results

2007-09-16T20:59:00.000-07:00

Here are the results for games played over the weekend.

Bungdesliga

Borussia Dortmund 3-0 Werder Bremen
VfB Stuttgart 3-0 Energie Cottbus
Bayern München 1-1 Schalke 04
Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 VfL Bochum
1. FC Nürnberg 2-2 Hannover 96
Arminia Bielefeld 4-2 Hansa Rostock
Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 Hamburger SV
VfL Wolfsburg 1-2 Karlsruher SC
MSV Duisburg 1-2 Hertha BSC Berlin

English Premier League

Birmingham 1-0 Bolton
Chelsea 0-0 Blackburn
Everton 0-1 Man Utd
Portsmouth 0-0 Liverpool
Sunderland 2-1 Reading
Tottenham 1-3 Arsenal
West Ham 3-0 Middlesbrough
Wigan 1-1 Fulham
Man City 1-0 Aston Villa

Spanish La Liga

Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Real Zaragoza
Deportivo La Coruna 1-0 Real Betis
Espanyol 1-0 Getafe
Sevilla 4-1 Recreativo Huelva
Mallorca 0-1 Villarreal
Murcia 1-1 Atletico Madrid
Osasuna 0-0 Barcelona
Racing Santander 1-0 Levante
Real Madrid 3-1 Almeria
Valencia 2-1 Valladolid

Italian Serie A

Fiorentina 2-2 Atalanta
Genoa 1-1 Livorno
Inter Milan 2-0 Catania
Juventus 0-1 Udinese
Napoli 2-1 Sampdoria
Palermo 1-1 Torino
Parma 1-1 Cagliari
Reggina 0-2 Roma
Siena 1-1 AC Milan

Predictions
Now to analyze my predictions vs results.

CP: Correct Prediction of Winner based on 1x2
WP: Wrong Prediction of Winner based on 1x2
CR: Correct Result based on correct score

Bungdesliga

Borussia Dortmund 2-2 Werder Bremen (WP)
VfB Stuttgart 3-0 Energie Cottbus (CP, CR)
Bayern München 1-1 Schalke 04 (CP, CR)
Bayer Leverkusen 1-1 VfL Bochum (WP)
1. FC Nürnberg 1-1 Hannover 96 (CP)
Arminia Bielefeld 2-0 Hansa Rostock (CP)
Eintracht Frankfurt 1-2 Hamburger SV (WP)
VfL Wolfsburg 2-1 Karlsruher SC (WP)
MSV Duisburg 2-1 Hertha BSC Berlin (WP)

English Premier League

Birmingham 1-2 Bolton (WP)
Chelsea 1-1 Blackburn (CP)
Everton 1-1 Man Utd (WP)
Portsmouth 0-2 Liverpool (WP)
Sunderland 1-1 Reading (WP)
Tottenham 1-2 Arsenal (CP)
West Ham 2-1 Middlesbrough (CP)
Wigan 1-2 Fulham (WP)
Man City 1-1 Aston Villa (WP)

Spanish La Liga

Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Real Zaragoza (CP,CR)
Deportivo La Coruna 2-1 Real Betis (CP)
Espanyol 2-1 Getafe (CP)
Sevilla 2-0 Recreativo Huelva (CP)
Mallorca 1-1 Villarreal (WP)
Murcia 1-2 Atletico Madrid (WP)
Osasuna 1-2 Barcelona (WP)
Racing Santander 2-1 Levante (CP)
Real Madrid 2-0 Almeria (CP)
Valencia 2-1 Valladolid (CP,CR)

Italian Serie A

Fiorentina 2-1 Atalanta (WP)
Genoa 1-1 Livorno (CP,CR)
Inter Milan 2-0 Catania (CP,CR)
Juventus 3-1 Udinese (WP)
Napoli 2-1 Sampdoria (CP)
Palermo 1-0 Torino (WP)
Parma 1-1 Cagliari (CP,CR)
Reggina 1-2 Roma (CP)
Siena 1-2 AC Milan (WP)

Analysis of Results

Total Matches Predicted: 37
Total CP: 19 (51.35%)
Total WP: 18 (48.65%)
Total CR: 7 (18.91%)

Final Score: 51.35%, whoa a drop of 20% in correct predictions. Sorry guys, had a bad week especially with Man Utd, Liverpool, Barcelona, Juventus and AC Milan Disappointing. Would try to do better next time.

Now for some feedback from managers:

Eriksson dismiss talks of a top 4 finish come May 2008 despite picking 3 points from the sunday game vs Aston Villa. Read below to find out more.

Next up, the France Divison 1 news. PSG clocked up a second win of the season vs Monaco to move up to 11th. The win at least shows some championship potential in PSG.

What Are Arsenal's Chances In The English Premiership This Seaon?

2007-09-13T22:09:00.000-07:00

Although I am a supporter of Liverpool, but one other team that really catches my imgination over the last few seasons is that of Arsenal. With Mr Wenger in charge of Arsenal, they have been playing flowing, passing and attacking football. What a sight to behold when they are in true flight. After a disappointing 2006-2007 season, how would Arsenal cope this season?

Read on to see whether you agree with my views on Arsenal.

With the departure of Thierry Henry for Barcelona FC, most people would have written off Arsenal at the start of the season as a team in transition. However so far Arsenal has proven the detractors wrong by winning 3 games and drawing 1 game. Thus staying in the hunt for another league title.

The main reason behind this I believe is due to Arsene Wenger and the belief or confidence he has instilled into his young charges. For the last few seasons, it would seen that detractors always view Arsenal as being goners due to the fact that key players for the team keeping departing such as Patrick Vieria for Juventus and Henry to Barcelona. However looking carefully at the team Mr Wenger has assembled since he arrived in Arsenal, it is not hard to find a replacement ready to step up to plate.

In defence, with the additional of Sagna, it seen to make the defence more complete as compared to last season. The central pairing of Toure with Gallas or Senderos looking promising. As for wing back positions, Sagna provides competition to Diaby, Flamini, Eboue and Clichy. Only in goal, Jens Lehmann seen to be weak link, conceding two unnecessary goals so far. Thus with the additional of Polish Goalkeeper Fabianski, there is an option for Wenger to switch if necessary.

Next to the midfield. This is in my opinion the strongest element of Arsenal's team. In centre of the park, there are Csec Fabregas and the veteran Gilberto. In the wings, there are Hleb, Rosicky and Walcott to choose from. The playmaker here is Fabregas who has risen to fill the gap left by Henry. Looking at it, it would be Fabregas to bring Arsenal forward in next few seasons especially with Wenger agreeing to a new three years deal. And with the addition of Diarra from Chelsea, it looks like a strong midfield for the Gunners.

Finally upfront. When Henry left for Barcelona, Mr Wenger did not purchase a big name to replace, but instead he opted for the Brazilian born Croatian Da Silva. It may be part of Wenger's plan or gamble. However reviewing Wenger's track record of developing superstar from normal player such as Henry or Nicholas Anelka, it would be hardly surprising. Furthermore, Van Persie back from injury joining Adebayor, Da Silva and Bendtner up front, Arsenal has a strong or equal strike force to the other Big Three Teams in the EPL.

So far, the performance of Arsenal is still a joy to watch as they dish out passing attacking football for all to see. Hence if Arsenal can maintain the form and avoid key injuries, then at end of may, they should be around the summit of the EPL.

What a future hold for the Gunners.

PS: Article has also been published on EzineArticles.com

Come this weekend, Juventus and Roma would look to protecting their prefect start to the season with games at Udinese and Reggina respectively. Mostly likely, both teams should make it 3 wins out of 3. Read on for more details.

Is This The Year When Liverpool Reclaims the English Premiership Title?

2007-09-13T21:59:00.000-07:00

Being a supporter of Liverpool since young, it pains to see that unachievement of the team in the premiership for last few seasons. Granted, Liverpool had been excellent in the Champions League, making the final twice in three seasons. But it is the league that is important.

Read on to see whether you agree with me on the chances of Liverpool this season.

For the last 17 years, Liverpool and its fans have been living in the shadows of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea as the trio dominate the English Premiership (EPL). Without a League title to its name for the past 17 years since 1990, this season however may prove to be different.

With the support of new owners Mr Hicks and Mr Gillett, Rafa Benitez has spent wisely over the close season by bringing strength to each of the position. Thus making sure that Liverpool would have at least 2 players to choose from for each of the position. This is important as without strength and quality in depth, the team would be suffer in competitions if injuries started cooping up. Hence with the transfer of Ferando Torres, Andriy Voronin, Ryan Babel, Yossi Benayoun, Lucas Levia, Sebastian Leto and Charles Itandje into the squad for the 2007-2008 season, Liverpool looks well prepared for the new season.

Upfront, the transfer of Torres in especially is highly anticipated by the fans as the solution to the scoring woes that plague the team for the last few seasons. Thus far, this has proven to be true as all four strikers, Torres, Kuyt, Voronin and Crouch have opening their accounts for Liverpool.

In midfield, finally Benitez has realized the impact of playing Steven Gerrard in the middle of the park and would play the Captain there. And with the additional of Benayoun, Levia, Leto and Babel in, there are many more choices or options for Benitez to choose from. This is also essential as Benitez has set out a team in a match that in his opinion is the best against the opponents.

As for defense, not much changes have been made to the first choice back four of Arbeloa-Agger-Carragher-Finnan and goalkeeper being Reina. So far this season in the league, Liverpool has only conceded 2 goals from penalties. Thus the defense seen sound as always in a Benitez's team. However only a small concern on the centre backs as if Carragher, Agger or Hypia is out, then there may be a problem as there are no other recognized centre back in the 1st team.

Back to league, another problem for Liverpool over the season is the slow start it had made in the August or September. Reviewing 2006-2007 season, if Liverpool has managed to win more games in the opening two months, then the league race would be much closer. However so far, Liverpool has made an excellent start to season, winning 3 games, drawing 1 and have a game in hand verses West Ham.

The pick of the wins is the 6-0 demolition of Derby County with Torres scoring a brace. What makes it more impressive is that both Carragher and Gerrard were out injured. With that win Liverpool is first in the league for the moment. Next up is Pompey, then Spurs.

If Liverpool can continue this rich vein in form and have no major injury problems, this could well be the year that Liverpool add the EPL title to the 18 it has previously won.

PS: Article has been published on Ezinearticles too.

Some news from the premiership where Benitez has joined the chorus of Man Utd and Chelsea in critizing the league for scheduling games post International; leaving him with less time to prepare for the upcoming clash with Pompey. Now the question is that would it really have an effect this sat?

Predictions for Major Leagues

2007-09-12T23:45:00.000-07:00

Now is that time where I would post my predictions for the major leagues which I am following around the world.

Disclaimer: Feel free to consider my predictions, but there are no sure win bets. Bet on your own risk though.

Bungdesliga

Borussia Dortmund 2-2 Werder Bremen
VfB Stuttgart 3-0 Energie Cottbus
Bayern München 1-1 Schalke 04
Bayer Leverkusen 1-1 VfL Bochum
1. FC Nürnberg 1-1 Hannover 96
Arminia Bielefeld 2-0 Hansa Rostock
Eintracht Frankfurt 1-2 Hamburger SV
VfL Wolfsburg 2-1 Karlsruher SC
MSV Duisburg 2-1 Hertha BSC Berlin

English Premier League

Birmingham 1-2 Bolton
Chelsea 1-1 Blackburn
Everton 1-1 Man Utd
Portsmouth 0-2 Liverpool
Sunderland 1-1 Reading
Tottenham 1-2 Arsenal
West Ham 2-1 Middlesbrough
Wigan 1-2 Fulham
Man City 1-1 Aston Villa
Derby 0-3 Newcastle

Spanish La Liga

Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Real Zaragoza
Deportivo La Coruna 2-1 Real Betis
Espanyol 2-1 Getafe
Sevilla 2-0 Recreativo Huelva
Mallorca 1-1 Villarreal
Murcia 1-2 Atletico Madrid
Osasuna 1-2 Barcelona
Racing Santander 2-1 Levante
Real Madrid 2-0 Almeria
Valencia 2-1 Valladolid

Italian Serie A

Fiorentina 2-1 Atalanta
Genoa 1-1 Livorno
Inter Milan 2-0 Catania
Juventus 3-1 Udinese
Lazio 2-1 Empoli
Napoli 2-1 Sampdoria
Palermo 1-0 Torino
Parma 1-1 Cagliari
Reggina 1-2 Roma
Siena 1-2 AC Milan

Looking forward to the restart of the leagues after internationals....hoping to maintain a 60% and above hit rate though.

RE: EURO 2008 Qualifiers (12th-13th Sep 2007) Results

2007-09-12T23:25:00.000-07:00

Here are the results of the EURO 2008 Qualifiers held on the 12th-13th Sep 2007. And also the comparison with my predictions.

Results
Kazakhstan 2-2 Belgium
Finland 0-0Poland
Andorra 0-6 Croatia
Slovakia 2-5 Wales
Lithuania 2-1 Faroe Islands
Norway 2-2 Greece
Turkey 3-0 Hungary
Buulgaria 3-0 Luxembourg
Bosnia 0-1 Moldova
Cyprus 3-0 San Marino
Denmark 4-0 Liechetenstein
Slovenia 1-0 Belarus
Iceland 2-1 Northern Ireland
Czech Republic 1-0 Ireland
Macedonia 1-1 Estonia
Ukraine 1-2 Italy
Albania 0-1 Holland
France 0-1 Scotland
England 3-0 Russia
Portugal 1-1 Serbia
Spain 2-0 Latvia

Comparison of results vs predictions

Comparison key
CP: Correct Prediction of Outcome based on 1x2 system
WP: Wrong Prediction of Outcome based on 1x2 system
CR: Correct Prediction or Score

Kazakhstan 0-2 Belgium (WP)
Finland 0-1 Poland (WP)
Andorra 0-4 Croatia (CP)
Slovakia 1-2 Wales (CP)
Lithuania 2-0 Faroe Islands (CP)
Norway 0-1 Greece (WP)
Turkey 2-1 Hungary (CP)
Buulgaria 2-0 Luxembourg (CP)
Bosnia 2-1 Moldova (WP)
Cyprus 2-0 San Marino (CP)
Denmark 3-1 Liechetenstein (CP)
Slovenia 1-1 Belarus (WP)
Iceland 1-0 Northern Ireland (CP)
Czech Republic 2-1 Ireland (CP)
Macedonia 1-1 Estonia (CP,CR)
Ukraine 0-1 Italy (CP)
Albania 0-3 Holland (CP)
France 1-1 Scotland (WP)
England 2-1 Russia (CP)
Portugal 1-1 Serbia (CP,CR)
Spain 2-0 Latvia (CP,CR)

Summary of comparsion

Total Number of Matches: 21
Total No. of CP: 15 (71.42%)
Total No. of WP: 6 (28.58%)
Total No. of CR: 3 (14.28%)

Author's Comments

The only major surprise this round is the loss of France to Scotland 0-1, other than there are no major shocks.

Personally, a hit ratio of 71.42% for 1x2 is a very good rate. Also an improvement over last Sat's round of matches where a hit ratio of 64% was achieved. Hence I am quite satisfied with this results. Hope that the above have been helpful to you guys.

And although I only got 3 Correct Results, it is quite good enough already. If u had followed my other predictions of the England vs Russia and went for 3-0, good for you.

Stay tune for my predictions on the major leagues matches this weekend.

Now for Asian Football news where Vietnam draw 1-1 with Saudi Arabia during the Asian Qualifiers for Olympics 2008 and Japan beat Qatar 1-0 in another match.

RE: Crunch Time for England

2007-09-11T22:19:00.000-07:00

All English Fans out here, it is crunch time for England tonite as they face up to Russia.

As per my predictions and review below, you can sense that I am predicting a English Victory. It would be close. England would need a goal in the opening half hour to stand a chance of winning. Fortune would favor the brave.

McClaren vs Hiddinks Round 1.

Here are some reactions from presses around the world.

Steve McClaren believes his decision to let Steven Gerrard off the leash has given England a fresh impetus in the race to Euro 2008. Would it be enough for a win vs Russia?

Taking attention away from this cruical match, is the mindless attack on Sir Alex in a train station in the UK while on his way to a charity function. An arrest of a 40 year man have been made, though Sir Alex suffered injuries to his leg. The guy must be a Man City Supporter???

And Lastly to Sevilla before signing off for tonite's match. 33 yr old Goalkeeper Palop has agreed a new deal with UEFA cup winners; making it likely to retire with the club. At least some good news for Sevilla Fans.

RE: My Predictions for Russia Match

2007-09-11T07:32:00.000-07:00

Here is my two cents on the possible English Formation for this Wed's England vs Russia Match

Goalkeeper: Paul Robinson / David James
Leftback: Ashley Cole
Rightback: Micah Richards / Nicky Shorey
Centreback: John Terry (C) / Micah Richards
Centreback: Rio Ferdinand
Defensive Midfielder: Gareth Barry / Michael Carrick
Centre Midfielder: Steven Gerrard / Joe Cole
Left Winger: David Bentley / Joe Cole
Right Winger: Shaun Wright-Phillips / David Bentley
Striker: Michael Owen
Striker: Emile Heskey

Notes:
As with the England vs Israel match, I still would stick with Paul Robinson. Of course, Paul Robinson has repaid the confidence with a clean sheet against Israel. But he have to be on his toes vs Russia.

As for the defence, it would still pick itself at the moment. Without Gary Neville, Micah Richard should be the right back for this one. However, if Terry does not prove his fitness, Richards should move into CB while allowing Shorey as the RB. As with my selection with Israel, there are nothing wrong with this formation, but Russia under Hiddink would be a different team from Israel.

In Midfield next, with Steven Gerrard in, but no Hargraves and Lampard, it should looks as Barry would be in for his performance vs Israel. The wingers in wright-philips and bentley should provide the crosses needed for the two strikers up front. Hopefully they can keep the performance they gave for vs Israel.

As for forwards, my choice of Emile Heskey and Michael Owen is like a reunion of sorts as they have played together before combining for 14 goals in 12 matches. Although it is a risk for such a combination vs Israel, but I do not see a better option up front at the moment. True it had positive results for Israel. But against Russia, it would be very interesting as the defence would be tougher prospects.

England should go for it at the start of the match as Russia would be grateful for a point.

My verdict: England 2-1 Russia or England 3-0 Russia

Check out my other predictions for the Upcoming Euro Qualifiers below.

Some big news for fans, Kaka is earning the most for the Italian Serie A players as the article below shows

England Female Team was heading for a victory in Shanghai for the woman world cup, but was hit late by the Japanese. Read more below

Predictions for European Qualifiers (12-13 Sep)

2007-09-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

Predictions for European Qualifiers (12-13Sep)

Home score Away

12th Sep 2007

Kazakhstan 0-2 Belgium

13th Sep 2007

Finland 0-1 Poland
Andorra 0-4 Croatia
Slovakia 1-2 Wales
Lithuania 2-0 Faroe Islands
Norway 0-1 Greece
Turkey 2-1 Hungary
Buulgaria 2-0 Luxembourg
Bosnia 2-1 Moldova
Cyprus 2-0 San Marino
Denmark 3-1 Liechetenstein
Slovenia 1-1 Belarus
Iceland 1-0 Northern Ireland
Czech Republic 2-1 Ireland
Macedonia 1-1 Estonia
Ukraine 0-1 Italy
Albania 0-3 Holland
France 1-1 Scotland
England 2-1 Russia
Portugal 1-1 Serbia
Spain 2-0 Latvia

Disclaimer: Free to consider the above, but there are no guarantee for a sure winning bet. Hopefully, I can keep up my 65% in getting correct predictions.

Results for European Qualifiers (8-9 Sep)

2007-09-09T20:39:00.000-07:00

Euorpean Qualifiers (8-9 Sep) Results

Home Score Away

8/9/07
Scotland 3-1 Lithuania
Hungry 1-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina
Georgia 1-1 Ukraine
Russia 3-0 Macedonia
Luxembourg 0-3 Slovenia

9/9/07
England 3-0 Israel
Belarus 1-3 Romania
Lativa 1-0 Northern Ireland
Malta 2-2 Turkey
Moldova 0-1 Norway
Serbia 0-0 Finland
San Marino 0-3 Czech Republic
Slovakia 2-2 Ireland
Wales 0-2 Germany
Croatia 2-0 Estonia
Sweden 0-0 Denmark
Holland 2-0 Bulgaria
Italy 0-0 France
Portugal 2-2 Poland
Iceland 1-1 Spain

Euorpean Qualifiers (8-9 Sep) Predictions

CP - Correct Prediction
WP - Wrong Predictions

Home Score Away

8/9/07
Scotland 2-0 Lithuania (CP)
Hungry 1-1 Bosnia-Herzegovina (WP)
Georgia 0-2 Ukraine (WP)
Russia 2-0 Macedonia (CP)
Luxembourg 1-2 Slovenia (CP)

9/9/07
England 2-1 Israel (CP)
Belarus 0-2 Romania (CP)
Lativa 1-1 Northern Ireland (WP)
Malta 0-3 Turkey (WP)
Moldova 0-2 Norway (CP)
Serbia 1-1 Finland (CP)
San Marino 0-4 Czech Republic (CP)
Slovakia 1-2 Ireland (WP)
Wales 0-2 Germany (CP)
Croatia 2-0 Estonia (CP)
Sweden 2-0 Denmark (WP)
Holland 2-0 Bulgaria (CP)
Italy 1-1 France (CP)
Portugal 1-1 Poland (CP)
Iceland and 1-2 Spain (WP)

Total CP: 13
Total WP: 7
Percentage: 13/20 = 65% hit rate

Not bad for a start with a 65% hit rate for this week predictions

And now for some reviews for the Woman's World Cup. The USA and Germany looks strong contenders for the world cup held in China.

RE: Some news for MLS (US)

2007-09-07T21:28:00.000-07:00

As it would international friendlies and eurporean qualifiers this weekend, hence my thoughts are to bring some news on the MLS instead.

1. Toronto FC foward, Danny Dichio would be out for four weeks with an injury in training, thus making likely to miss the rest of the MLS season. A blow for Toronto indeed. Read more below.

2. FC Dallas has finally completed the signing of Brazilan Denilson. Although Denilson was playing well in the past, but to come to MLS in wake of the arrival of Beckham would beg one to wonder is Beckham's arrival attracting all these players like Denilson to open up the MLS

3. Purchase of Chicago Fire completed by Andell Holdings. Interesting that the starting owners, AEG, only owns two teams, LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo. Would be the Beckham's deal causing the sale so that they can focus ont his superstar status or deal? One really would wonder

RE: My England Formation for Israel Match

2007-09-06T03:49:00.000-07:00

Here is my two cents on the possible English Formation for this Sat's England vs Israel Match

Goalkeeper: Paul Robinson / David James
Leftback: Ashley Cole
Rightback: Micah Richards / Nicky Shorey
Centreback: John Terry (C) / Micah Richards
Centreback: Rio Ferdinand
Defensive Midfielder: Owen Hargaves / Michael Carrick
Centre Midfielder: Steven Gerrard / Joe Cole
Left Winger: Stewart Downing / Ashley Young
Right Winger: David Bentley / Shaun Wright-Phillips
Striker: Michael Owen
Striker: Emile Heskey

Notes:
For goalkeeper in such a crucial, I would stick with Paul Robinson instead of David James as to take him out now, would be a blow to his confidence. As a Liverpool fan, I am a bit biased against James due to his matches for Liverpool. I am not sure whether he can be up to it in this match although his form has been better than Robinson.

As for the defence, it sort of picks itself at the moment. Without Gary Neville, Micah Richard should be the right back for this one. However, if Terry does not prove his fitness, Richards should move into CB while allowing Shorey as the RB.

In Midfield, the main question would be over the fitness of Owen Hargaves and Steven Gerrard. If either of them are not available, Michael Carrick or Joe Cole should be able to step in. The wingers in downing and bentley should provide the crosses needed for the two strikers up front.

As for forwards, my choice of Emile Heskey and Michael Owen is like a reunion of sorts as they have played together before combining for 14 goals in 12 matches. Although it is a risk for such a combination, but I do not see a better option up front at the moment.

England should go for it at the start of the match as Israel would be grateful for a point.

My verdict: England 2-1 Israel

Check out my other predictions for the Upcoming Euro Qualifiers below.

RE: Headlines from around the Premiership 6th September 2007

2007-09-06T03:38:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the headlines making the news around the English Premiership today

- An interview with Cesc Fabregas on No Real Regrets

- Reading Centre Back Sonko Targeting his return

- Boro Manager Southgate finding his feet

- Samuel Happy to be a Wanderer

- Ferguson's Stam Regret

For more news, click on http://www.premierleague.com/page/HeadlinesIndex/0,,12306,00.html