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Prediction League - Results 01/09/09

Monday, 31 August 2009

There’s going to be no nice little introduction this week and you will see why when I go through the results. So, here we go:

Results

Blackburn 0-0 West Ham
Certainly not a game to remember, Blackburn picking up their first point of the season, while Chris picked up his 17th.

Bolton 2-3 Liverpool
It was billed as a must win game for Liverpool, after only 4 games. They certainly delivered, still no points for Bolton, but 1 point each of us for correctly choosing Liverpool.

Chelsea 3-0 Burnley
Score-line doesn’t reflect Burnley’s performance. They came and fought, but left empty handed. We however, didn’t. Points across the board for us.

Man United 2-1 Arsenal
Yet again I pay the price for going against my team, Chris was the only one to back United.

Stoke 1-0 Sunderland
Stoke yet again show they are no pushovers at the Britannia stadium, 2 wins out of 2 at home, and no goals conceded either. I wonder who the points go to. Oh, yes, Chris.

Tottenham 2-1 Birmingham
A late Aaron Lennon goal saved our blushes, and Tottenham’s blushes, continuing their fantastic start to the season with 4 wins out of 4. Points all round here.

Wolves 1-1 Hull
There will be no complaints from either side at this result, both need as many as they can get. Chris and Gary gain 1 point apiece here.

Portsmouth 0-1 Manchester City
Citeh win, Adebayor scores, clean sheet kept. Sums up most of their games this season thus far. Pompey are sinking fast. 1 point goes to....all of us!

Everton 2-1 Wigan
First win for Everton this season. Wigan are in freefall since their opening day win. Only one person had this result, and it takes their total to 9/10 games, it can only be one man, it’s Chris.

Aston Villa 2-0 Fulham
Chris’ beloved Villa followed up their 3-1 win at Anfield by winning again at home. Sadly, Chris went against his team, and predicted a draw. Myself and Gary take the points here.

Wow. Hats off to Chris who very nearly had a clean sweep of results this weekend, he did manage to predict 9/10 outcomes, Gary came in second with 6/10 correct, and last but not least is me, with 5/10 right.

So, here’s how things stand after Week 4:
1. Chris - 25 points
2. Gary - 19 points
3. Ian - 17 points

All I can say is, thank God we have internationals next weekend, my crystal ball seriously needs to be repaired. We’ll see you all back here in 2 weeks, for the resumption of the twofootedtackle Prediction League.

Weekend Roundup

Any weekend which has Manchester United v Arsenal in it is sure to capture the country's footballing imagination. That game didn't let us down, and neither did the weekend as a whole. Here's what happened - and they say Match of the Day 2 is the final word on the weekend's football!

Premier League

Blackburn Rovers and West Ham United stunk the place out with a 0-0 draw but it was more than made up for by an exciting Saturday afternoon in the top flight.

Bolton Wanderers twice led Liverpool thanks to goals from Kevin Davies and Tamir Cohen, but equalisers by Glen Johnson and Fernando Torres clawed the game back for Liverpool. At 2-1, Sean Davis was very harshly sent off thanks to the mouthing off of Lucas, who's proved himself to be a prize twat. Steven Gerrard slammed in a late winner for Liverpool.

Chelsea took some time to take the lead over Burnley, but made short work of turning that lead into a 3-0 win. Nicolas Anelka put them ahead before the break and goals from Michael Ballack and Ashley Cole sealed the three points for Carlo Ancelotti's men.

In the evening, Andrey Arshavin was scythed down in the box by anti-footballer Darren Fletcher but quickly got over the lack of a penalty call by firing in a lovely strike from distance to put Arsenal ahead at Old Trafford.

Wayne Rooney won and scored a penalty to equalise, and the comeback for Manchester United was complete five minutes later when Abou Diaby inexplicably headed past his own goalkeeper. At the death, referee Mike Dean correctly disallowed an Arsenal goal and Arsene Wenger was harshly sent to the stand for his reaction. Fair play to Arsene, he cleverly went to stand in the most awkward place possible and seemed to be doing so in good humour.

Dave Kitson's second goal in a week gave Stoke City all three points against Sunderland, while the points were shared between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Hull City after Richard Stearman and Geovanni got themselves on the scoresheet.

At White Hart Lane, Tottenham Hotspur required a very late winner from Aaron Lennon to defeat Dirty Small Heath. Peter Crouch had put Spurs ahead only for Lee Bowyer to equalise with a simple tap-in.

On Sunday, a very slow and dull match saw Manchester City win 1-0 against Portsmouth at Fratton Park. Emmanuel Adebayor headed the only goal of the game from a first half Gareth Barry corner, and David Nugent missed an absolute sitter which would have levelled the game.

Paul Scharner put Wigan Athletic ahead at Goodison Park, but Louis Saha quickly equalised for Everton. It remained 1-1 until the 94th minute, when Leighton Baines fired a penalty into the roof of the Wigan net for 2-1.

And John Pantsil's own goal put Aston Villa ahead at home against Fulham, the lead doubled in the 59th minute by a wonderful run and shot by Gabriel Agbonlahor.

Championship

The big drama in the Championship took place on the banks of the Trent, where Derby County almost clawed back a 3-0 deficit against Nottingham Forest but could only score twice. After the game, Forest striker Nathan Tyson appeared to incite the Derby fans by marching in front of them holding a corner flag. Chaos, of course, ensued.

Middlesbrough's good start came to an end with defeat at Bristol City, Cardiff's by virtue of a 2-0 loss at Doncaster Rovers. West Bromwich Albion lead the table after gaining a respectable point against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, and Newcastle United play Leicester City this evening after Peterborough face the visit of Crystal Palace.

At the bottom, Barnsley's home defeat by Reading leaves them on one point along with Posh. Ipswich Town drew with ten-man Preston North End to bank their second point of the season, dragging them level with Plymouth Argyle who lost heavily at home to Sheffield Wednesday.

Elsewhere, Blackpool thumped Coventry City, Queens Park Rangers won away at Scunthorpe United and Swansea City equalised late to grab a home point against Watford.

League One

Charlton Athletic and Leeds United maintain their 100% starts to the League One season. Charlton won 4-0 at Tranmere Rovers, Leeds 2-1 at Colchester United. In the following pack MK Dons beat Exeter City and Huddersfield Town beat Yeovil Town.

Bottom club Southampton picked up a point at Stockport County. Brighton & Hove Albion drew with Millwall on Friday night, and Hartlepool were beaten 2-0 at home by Norwich City.

Brentford drew with Olham Athletic, Leyton Orient with Carlisle United and Walsall with Gillingham. There were wins for Swindon Town over ten-man Southend United and for Wycombe Wanderers over Bristol Rovers.

League Two

Three teams at the top of L2 have 12 points from a possible 15. At the top, Dagenham & Redbridge stayed among the goals, putting three past Lincoln City. Rotherham United won 3-1 at Macclesfield Town, and AFC Bournemouth won 1-0 at home to Crewe Alexandra who drop to sixth. Barnet move to fourth with a 1-0 win over Notts County, now in fifth.

Darlington finally got off the mark with a 1-1 draw against Cheltenham Town. Accrington Stanley, Grimsby Town and Morecambe have three points each after a defeat to Shrewsbury Town, a defeat to Aldershot and a draw with Chesterfield respectively.

Bradford City beat Torquay United, Burton Albion beat Northampton Town, Hereford United drew with Port Vale and Rochdale hammered Bury 3-0 in their derby match.

Non-League

In the Blue Square Premier, Oxford United top the table thanks to a win at AFC Wimbledon. Mansfield Town are second with a win at Chester City, who remain on -24. Forest Green Rovers' home defeat to Wrexham leaves them pointless. Ebbsfleet still have just two points, Gateshead four, after defeats to Hayes & Yeading and Cambridge United.

Droylsden lead the Blue Square North after beating Fleetwood Town. They are joined on 13 points by Corby who lost 6-3 at home to Gloucester, Southport who beat Harrogate and Eastwood Town who beat Hinckley United. Hyde lead the chasing pack, but were beaten by Blyth Spartans. Northwich Victoria and Farsley Celtic both have zero points, Celtic reaching that target with a 4-1 win over Brian Little's Gainsborough Trinity.

Dover lead the South, winning at Eastleigh. Basingstoke beat Havant & Waterlooville to remain level on points with the leaders and one point ahead of Woking, who won 2-0 at Lewes. Newport County and Thurrock are in the chase. Worcester continue to prop up the table after a goalless draw with Staines Town.

Eduardo shouldn't be banned by UEFA (twofootedtackle)
First post from Sheriff Kimbo (twofootedtackle)
DC United lose to Toluca (Chris Pontius Blog)
Exeter beaten by Franchise (Happy As Larry)
Champions League draw preview (Touchline Views)

FC Amkar Perm welcome Fulham players to Russia. With thanks to a_fladdermus.

Saturday, 29 August 2009

What better way to kickstart the Serie A season than an early Derby della Madonnina? And how better for Internazionale to overcome a disappointing result against Bari than demolishing their local rivals?

New Rossoneri boss Leonardo was joined for his first Milan derby as coach by Thiago Silva and Marco Borriello, while Inter gave Diego Milito, Samuel Eto'o, Wesley Sneijder and Lucio spots in the starting line-up.

Milan dominated the first 20 minutes but couldn't make their pressure pay in the final third. The first real chance of the match came in the 13th minute, created by Alexandre Pato who destroyed compatriot Lucio for pace and raced into the box. His lay-off was wasted by Ronaldinho.

Inter came back into the game as the half progressed, and by the 29th minute they were on top of their rivals and in the lead. Thiago Motta was the beneficiary of a lovely passing move by the Nerazzurri and bent the ball superbly over Marco Storari and into the net.

In the 35th minute, Samuel Eto'o was brought down in the area by Gennaro Gattuso, who was lucky to escape with a yellow card. Diego Milito smashed the penalty into the roof of the net to make it 2-0.

In the aftermath Gattuso signalled that he was injured - indeed he had been for several minutes - and was asked by Leonardo to play for a couple more minutes while Milan prepared Clarence Seedorf. In those two minutes, Gattuso stupidly earned a second booking and was dismissed with no hesitation. Seedorf put his green bib back on, and Milan looked dead and buried.

And on the stroke of half time, it really was game over. Inter were irresistable up the right wing and Milito played a lovely one-two to provide Douglas Maicon with a simple but exhilarating finish to put the match to bed before the break.

Ten-man Milan started the second half like a team concerned more about conceding no further goals than restoring some pride. Inter allowed them plenty of possession and slowed the ball down when in possession themselves.

In the first ten minutes of the second period, Maicon and Sneijder attempted shots from distance but did not threaten Storari until Sneijder's second long-range effort, which dipped wickedly but just flew over the crossbar.

Milan played tidy enough football with little opportunity to penetrate, while Inter remained dangerous. Just after the hour mark they thought they had a fourth, Eto'o nodding in Maicon's cross and correctly being flagged offside.

In the 67th minute, the fourth did come - and what a goal! Dejan Stankovic was teed up thirty yards out and his out-swinging thunderbolt nestled in the top corner. In truth, it was no more than the Nerazzurri deserved.

After yet more Inter pressure, Eto'o hit a low shot from a similar distance which just zipped wide of Storari's right-hand post. By the final quarter of an hour, Inter - bolstered by the introduction of Sulley Muntari and Patrick Vieira - were simply rampant.

After Inter's win tonight, Jose Mourinho is the King of Milan - and Leonardo can count himself lucky it was only by a four-goal margin.

Friday, 28 August 2009

Burnley beating Everton, Aston Villa beating Liverpool, and Hull actually winning. Those were the shocks in this week's games, but the question is did anyone predict Burnley or Aston Villa to cause an upset - or Hull to win? Let's find out.

Results

Arsenal 4-1 Portsmouth
Pompey continue this disastrous start to the season by losing again. No surprises that we all picked Arsenal to win.

Birmingham 0-0 Stoke
Perhaps I was being to ambitious in choosing a Birmingham win, that's why this one was a bore draw giving Chris and Gary 1 point each.

Hull 1-0 Bolton
Hull winning? What? Nobody saw this one coming, even if it was against Bolton.

Manchester City 1-0 Wolves
Citeh continue this impressive start to the season, giving us all 1 point each.

Sunderland 2-1 Blackburn
Steve Bruce and his newly assembled Sunderland side look like a team to watch this season, we didn’t give Blackburn a chance.

Wigan 0-5 Manchester United
What better way to bounce back from losing 1-0 to Burnley, than winning 5-0? Write Manchester United off at your peril. I did, and it got me no points. 1 point each to Chris and Gary.

Burnley 1-0 Everton
The Toffees continue their dreadful start to the season by losing again, this time to promoted Burnley. Great start for them. Chris must have been using his crystal ball to see this result coming. [Damn right mate! - Ed]

Fulham 0-2 Chelsea
Dark horses Chelsea made it 3 wins out of 3, and in turn winning a point each for myself, Gary and Chris.

West Ham 1-2 Tottenham
Spurs look good at the moment, but will they become the Villa of the pack? Start impressive, and then freefall down the table, for now they're riding high. Points to myself, and Gary on this one.

Liverpool 1-3 Aston Villa
Not even the Aston Villa supporter saw this one coming, Liverpool look weak and have already equalled last seasons number of defeats after two games. No points to anyone here.

So, after three weeks, here's how the twofootedtackle Prediction League table looks:

1. Chris - 16 points
2. Gary - 13 points
3. Ian - 12 points

Not looking too bad, even if I am last. Great week for Chris and he remains top of the league picking up 7 of the 10 results correctly this week, while myself and Gary had 5 right each.

On we go to week 4 of the twofootedtackle Prediction League:

Predictions

Blackburn vs West Ham
Chris: Draw
Gary: Blackburn
Ian: Blackburn

Bolton vs Liverpool
Chris: Liverpool
Gary: Liverpool
Ian: Liverpool

Chelsea vs Burnley
Chris: Chelsea
Gary: Chelsea
Ian: Chelsea

Manchester United vs Arsenal
Chris: Man United
Gary: Arsenal
Ian: Draw

Stoke vs Sunderland
Chris: Stoke
Gary: Draw
Ian: Draw

Tottenham vs Birmingham
Chris: Tottenham
Gary: Tottenham
Ian: Tottenham

Wolves vs Hull
Chris: Draw
Gary: Draw
Ian: Hull

Aston Villa vs Fulham
Chris: Draw
Gary: Villa
Ian: Villa

Everton vs Wigan
Chris: Everton
Gary: Draw
Ian: Wigan

Portsmouth vs Manchester City
Chris: Man City
Gary: Man City
Ian: Man City

We all hate diving. It's a blight on the game, for a start, and it doesn't sit well with the sense of fair play which we English supposedly hold so dear. I despise diving as much as the next fan, and I abhor the players who do it. Now that that's out of the way, let's get down to business.

On Wednesday night I found myself at the Emirates watching Arsenal put in a sub-par performance and still breeze past a very poor Celtic side to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League. Just before the half-hour mark, Eduardo da Silva broke into the box and was challenged on the goal-line by Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc.

From my point of view in the stadium, it looked like one of those challenges where the goalkeeper made contact but the player - as they so often these days - took a bit of a tumble to make sure the penalty was given. Sure enough, after a Boruc rage which should have seen him booked, Eduardo dispatched the kick.

As we all know now, of course, it was an obvious dive. The Celtic fans had a perfect view and were rightly furious, as I would've been had my view not been obstructed by the body of the goalkeeper. The media storm has been huge and way over the top. UEFA has charged Eduardo with "deceiving the referee", and look set to ban him for two matches.

I think a two-match ban would be an outrageous decision, even though the player is bang to rights.

Game changer?

Arsenal won 3-1 on the night, 5-1 on aggregate. I often see bad decisions being excused on the basis that they don't change the game if the benefiting team goes on to win by more goals. I don't buy that, and I generally agree with the comments of Celtic boss Tony Mowbray:

"The first goal was always going to be crucial. If we had got it, you would have had a more interesting spectacle. The fact that Arsenal scored it allows their real high-quality players to relax a bit more and play at their own pace. When you try and play high up against such quality players, you are asking for trouble."

Clearly, these decisions do change games, but on this occasion Celtic offered almost nothing to suggest they deserved to win the match. Mowbray himself has admitted as much, and to his credit has bleated rather less than some of his players.

Arsenal were miles better than Celtic over the two legs and while it's sometimes all too easy to dismiss a claim of foul play on the grounds that it didn't change the match, this one was one which really didn't - not, I should add, that that makes it right to cheat.

Bookable offence

Pop quiz: what's the usual punishment for a player caught diving? That's right...NOTHING. Even when the idiot referees spot diving, they almost never pull out a card. When they do, it's yellow and it's quickly forgotten by all concerned.

So why on earth is UEFA considering a two-match ban? Does retrospection suddenly make diving a serious red card offence? I agree in principle that players should get their just desserts, but in this case that is a yellow card. So go on, UEFA. Give Eduardo his yellow card and be done with it.

But you can't amplify the severity of his offence just because the referee missed it. It simply can't be justified.

Making an example

Over to you, Arsene Wenger:

"It singles out a player to be a cheat and that is not acceptable. We will not accept the way Uefa have treated this."

Quite. Why is Eduardo the player being made an example of? It's especially galling when the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Didier Drogba have earned reputations as divers and Steven Gerrard has mastered the art but gets away with it because he's the golden boy...and English.

Diving happens in every game at most levels, and usually goes unpunished. I watch Ashley Young every week, so I should know. So the question must be asked, and we should be asking 'why now?' as well. Why is UEFA now embarking upon one of its rare crusades against cheating? Either it's tackling cheating, or it's not. It can't pick and choose its targets.

So what's going on? Well, the media have pulled Eduardo apart in the last couple of days, but UEFA isn't really an organisation to give in to pressure. After all, most of the planet knows racism is wrong, but UEFA continues to hand out paltry fines to clubs and national teams whose supporters are guilty of loudly vocalising it.

More pressure has come from Scottish FA chief executive Gordon Smith, who's made himself look a complete prat over this affair with comments like this one:

"Eduardo showed disrespect to the game by his actions. We have shown courage to use retrospective punishment when it comes to simulation. I'd urge Uefa to do so."

The SFA has form in this area, of course, and one could argue that it would be admirable if only its most high-profile cases weren't simply attempts to protect Scottish interests. Regardless, since when did UEFA give a toss what local associations thought?

A friend reminded me today of some comments made by UEFA chief suit Michel Platini about Arsene Wenger not so long ago:

"Me, I only want to talk about football, he (Wenger) only cares about business. We must shut up with Wenger and everything. He is an extremely selfish person...I would not mind if the technology is introduced, just as long as Arsène Wenger is not around to see it."

Subtle, Monsieur Platini. So I'll ask again: why punish Arsenal and Eduardo, when countless opportunities to crack down on diving have been shunned in the past?

(Pic via BBC Sport)

The twofootedtackle Football Podcast Episode 16: Tim Vickery

It's doesn't get much more exciting than this, folks. Gary and I were joined in the studio by football journalist, South American football expert and all-round lovely bloke Tim Vickery.

On the agenda: Premier League, Major League Soccer, Brazil, Argentina, South American players in Europe, Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona and the (hopefully brief) return of large-scale hooliganism.

Episode 16 of The twofootedtackle Football Podcast is now available via iTunes. Alternatively, you can click straight through to the MP3 here or listen using the CSRN media player.

This is quite a proud moment for me, to think that my humble blog has afforded me the chance to sit in the studio with a writer I respect as much as I respect Tim. It was simply an absolute pleasure and I can't thank him enough.

Give it a listen - it's a great show. Please, please, please tell us what you think, tell your friends about the show, blog it, tweet it and basically punt it out any way you see fit.

When I pack in blogging someday, this will be the high point.

Thursday, 27 August 2009

Ladies and gentleman, I'm delighted to welcome Phil Kimberley to the growing stable of twofootedtackle writers. Phil is a fantastic and experienced writer and blogger and I couldn't be more pleased to have him on board for his new weekly column.

Hi. Let me introduce myself. Some of you will know me as Phil Kimberley, some of you will know me as Sheriff Kimbo, most of you won't know or care who I am...that's ok, I'm used to it by now!

First up, the 'Sheriff Kimbo' moniker is not because I'm some arrogant eejit who views myself as some sort of lawman on life; it simply come out of a joke with a labelling machine and a name badge, and it snowballed! Secondly, I've been writing in various places and am delighted to be involved with twofootedtackle. Oh, and I'm a mostly English but also part-North-part-South Irish Brummie; I'm a Villa fan; I enjoy a good booze-up; I'm, um, 'on the large side'; I'm a bit of a Britpop head; and finally I'm a little in love with Lily Allen. There, now it's like we're old friends.

So now the niceties are out of the way, let us discuss football. Well, my first column finds me in a deflated mood, as I have been about football recently. Joleon Lescott is one reason; not just because I am sick of hearing about him, but because at £24m it sums up the madness of football that is going around. Don't get me wrong, Lescott is a decent defender, and I wouldn't mind him at my club (the Villa) but £24m? I suppose if Ronaldo is worth £80m...but honestly, £24m for just a decent defender? It is madness.

You know, I was watching Sky Sports News and after Lescott went off, they were interviewing Gareth Southgate. I tell you what, if Lescott is worth £24m then I reckon Southgate at his best would have been worth at least £50m. Southgate going to Boro after he left the Villa was a shame really; he'll never get the recognition he deserved for just how good he was. I for one felt Villa have never replaced him properly.

On the subject of Sky and old players, I watched about five minutes of Soccer AM recently - does anyone still watch it? - I saw Tubes ask his question. It was to Ossie Ardiles, and the question was, "Who is the best foreign player to have played in England?" The answer Ossie gave was Eric Cantona. I'm sorry, but that is absolute tosh! Don't get me wrong, Cantona was a very good player who sparked something in the already very good side that Fergie had assembled. But for me, he is the most over-rated player in the history of football. Looking at some of the players in his position that have played in the Prem, give me Zola, Bergkamp, Yorke, Rooney, Gerrard over him. The worst part was how people used to moan about him not being in the French team. You want to know why he wasn't in the French team? Because Zinedine Zidane was in his position for crying out loud! It's not rocket science is it!

People are making a lot of Arsenal's start but I am not convinced, largely because they have beaten an Everton side in obvious disarray and with a bit of a freak result, a Portsmouth side on its way out, and twice a Celtic team that, with all due respect to the Scots, they should be beating. The thing is, I have mixed feelings on Arsenal. Part of me really wants them to make a good fist of the title this season just to prove a point to the arrogant Phil Thompson and his 'big three' comment - as well as Sky for their advert including Man City’s Gareth Barry - but at the same time, they seem to be the one side you feel you can get at if top four is your aspiration. Plus I don't like Wenger, albeit I really do like watching Arsenal play.

On the subject of Arsenal and Celtic, the Eduardo thing seemed a bit over the top in terms of reaction. Maybe it was the proverbial straw and all that? I've seen a lot worse and can understand why it was given in all honesty. Not that I condone diving - that includes you, Ashley Young!

Recently I have heard discussions about various teams saying they are too lightweight here and there. But does anyone really suffer from that anymore? I’m not saying all our defenders could get away with being five foot but let us be honest, tackling is barely allowed anymore and look at the Champions League final: both teams played 4-3-3 and the two central strikers were Messi and Ronaldo. It's not the game it used to be, is it?

I’m sorry I'm moaning a lot but the point is I love football and I hate the fact that it hurts me so much! It's a bit like a family member that I'm fed up of but I can't turn my back on!

For instance - I'm a Villa fan. Fans of Villa, Everton, Spurs...is there anything more frustrating? It's MASSIVELY difficult to break into the top four, yet anything less than 'best of the rest' is pretty much deemed as failure. Throw Man Citeh's money into the mix and then the potential for someone to have a season like Fulham did last season and all of a sudden finishing 8th/9th is very realistic yet would be viewed as a disaster by their fans.

I know, I know, you're reading this as a Bolton fan or whatever and telling me to stop whinging, but I just think that the trio of Villa, Everton and Spurs really are in an incredibly frustrating position that leads to unrealistic expectation levels from fans and a whole lot of moaning.

But then that is understandable - Spurs finish 5th twice on the trot, where do they go from there? Now Everton have done the same, where do they go from here? Villa were in pole position for 4th and lost that battle more than Arsenal won it - what next? Maybe the European super league will form and these 3 can slug it out for the Prem? No, I wouldn’t really want that either...

Well, I think that’ll do for this week. I’ll speak to you next week - hopefully in a better mood!

O’Neill: ‘Laursen replacement imperative’

The latest contribution from Gareth Freeman at Betfair:

Martin O'Neill has admitted that he is on the look-out for a new commanding centre-half in order to help his Aston Villa team cement their place among the Premier League elite.

The Irishman claims it is evident that his squad is wafer-thin having lost Gareth Barry to Manchester City and selling Zat Knight to Bolton, while the loss of influential centre-back Martin Laursen, who was forced to retire following a long-standing knee complaint, has been seen by many as a gap which needs plugging.

Despite the signing of Habib Beye from Newcastle, O'Neill has identified the centre of his defence as an area which desperately needs new faces and he has been linked with moves for Sylvain Distin and Richard Dunne in recent weeks.

The manager said he hopes to have some new faces arriving in Villa Park before the Premiership transfer deadline on September 1st.

"It goes without saying that defensively we are still looking for a Martin Laursen-type player and it is not easy in this day and age," added O'Neill.

"We know that we have about a week to get the squad together."

Following an opening day home defeat against Wigan, Aston Villa turned many heads when they gained an unfancied 3-1 victory away at Anfield on Monday night.

If O’Neill achieves his ambition and enhances his squad in the next week, then there could be a flurry of Premiership football bets for his team to move on and challenge for the European spots come the end of the season.

The signings of Fabian Delph and Stewart Downing have bolstered the team's already blessed midfield, however their bid for European qualification could be hit as England winger Downing is not expected to return from injury until December following his £12 million move from Middlesbrough.

Wednesday, 26 August 2009

My weekly Major League Soccer round-up is now available at Some People Are On The Pitch.

Check out Football Americana Week 23 for all the Week 23 action.

If anybody didn't know there would be trouble at West Ham United's second round Carling Cup match against Millwall last night, they're immeasurably stupid. If anybody thinks English football hooliganism is dead, they're wrong.

And last night they got a severe reality check in the form of some of the most high-profile football violence we've seen in years.

Football-related violence has changed since the bad old days. The pre- and post-casual eras are different beasts altogether, though they share a level of organisation which gives the battles an eerie cold-bloodedness which, perversely, makes it that bit more concerning than if it were just a bunch of lagered-up football fans getting carried away.

Historically, football violence in England existed on a far larger scale, on a more regular basis, and in closer proximity to the grounds than we see today. The idea of trying to "take an end" or fighting on the pitch sounds like an alien concept to modern football fans, but it was very real.

It does happen on occasion even now, though rarely at such a high level as a Premier League stadium. But as recently as the 90s, I witnessed on-pitch crowd trouble, most notably at Dean Court during a visit by Brighton & Hove Albion. Most often, trouble now occurs outside or even away from grounds, my most recent experiences being violence outside Villa Park when Birmingham City were visitors and at Villa's trip to the Britannia last season.

Trouble at Upton Park

Inevitably, Millwall's trip to West Ham last night resulted in violence. Everybody with a brain knew it would, though the sheer scale was admittedly surprising. To clarify, the details presented in this post have not come from one source but an evening of listening to the radio, watching the television and surfing the web.

My understanding is that Millwall supporters broke a large police presence outside The Queens, after which scuffles broke out between rival "fans". From some photos I've seen, those scuffles would appear to be more like full-on running battles. Unsubstantiated claims suggest that fighting continued from around 7.15pm until after the match ended after extra time.

At least one man was stabbed (in the chest) during the disorder. I've yet to decide whether I consider this tragic or not. That depends on whether or not he was an innocent bystander, which I suspect is unlikely at this stage.

Inside, the atmosphere was predictably tense. Rival fans reportedly faced up to each other throughout, and I've seen and heard numerous accusations of objects being thrown onto the pitch by Millwall's fans, ranging from cigarette lighters to the backs of seats. There was apparently a scuffle in the first half as well, all of which combines to make a mockery of Kenny Jackett's defence of Millwall's fans.

That said, West Ham's thugs (they might claim to support the club, but they're not fans) were undoubtedly the main culprits inside the stadium. There were three pitch invasions which caused the Millwall players to briefly head down the tunnel.

It's outdated, it's retarded and it's sickening.

What can be done?

Let's avoid the hype: football hooliganism is not back. Despite being home to some of the worst violence in world football history, England is one of the best-managed countries in the world in football-related disorder terms, West Midlands Police utterly excepted.

Government, the police and the clubs have done a good job of driving this nuisance out of the game. But it's practically impossible to do away with it entirely, simply because society must suffer a large number of morons. Banning orders have made improvements, but what can we do when hooligans are so determined to fight? After all, are they more interested in supporting their team or beating the crap out of someone?

The FA is, of course, investigating. And with a 2018 World Cup bid in the offing it is likely to come down very hard, most likely on West Ham. There's a difficult dilemma here, and it's the one which makes tackling football hooliganism so challenging: the most obvious way to punish the clubs is to force them to play games behind closed doors, but this affects the real fans more than it does the retarded gibbons intent on trouble.

But realistically, what else can be done? This isn't a football issue, this is a problem of human breeding and human nature. If football didn't exist, the same people would be tarnishing the reputation of the next biggest adversarial "crowd" event. Looked at in those terms, it seems as if there's no solution. I await anxiously the Football Association's response, and hope that this doesn't affect our chances of hosting the World Cup.

(Pic via Daily Mail/PA)

Tuesday, 25 August 2009

Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo recently cut Ade Akinbiyi to make room for their new designated player, Luis Ángel Landín. Landín signed on loan from Morelia in Mexico, via another loan at Cruz Azul.

There are two reasons this has got MLS fans all hot and bothered. First, it's a bright young(ish) thing from the Mexican league joining MLS. And second, there's the goal above which, I believe (and I have zero knowledge of Mexican football) was against Morelia during his loan at Cruz Azul.

Monday, 24 August 2009

It's twofootedtackle's worst-kept secret: this week, South American football oracle Tim Vickery will be joining us in the podcast studio. Right now, there's still room for Tim to change his mind without causing offence so I won't say it's 100% definite, but I have no reason to doubt him.

Needless to say, everybody at twofootedtackle Blog Network is excited as hell about Tim being a guest on the show, not least Gary Andrews and myself who will have the immeasurable honour of spending time behind the mic with one of our favourite journalists (he's top of my list, don't want to speak for Gary though).

I said when we started the show that Tim would be my dream guest, and to have that so close to a reality is testament to the amazing work Gary and our previous guests have put in despite having nothing invested in twofootedtackle.

For the uninitiated, Tim Vickery is a football journalist who is based in Brazil and has been for 15 years. He is, without doubt, the English voice on South American football. That in itself is enough to make me, a follower of Argentine football, a huge fan. But his finest work in my opinion is done for the BBC, where his column is a hit every week.

His cult following in the UK has developed thanks to his excellent ever-present appearances on the World Football Phone-In. In short, the man is at the very top of his profession.

As a result, we were more than happy to re-arrange recording this week. All being well (or even not so well, actually) the show will be available on Friday rather than Wednesday this week. Sorry for the delay, folks. It'll be worth it, I'm sure you'll agree.

Around the Network - 24th August 2009

twofootedtackle Blog Network news from the last seven days.

Chris on the Soccerlens podcast (Soccerlens)
Bournemouth off to a flyer (twofootedtackle)
DC United draw with LA (Chris Pontius Blog)
Steaua Bucharest v St. Pat's (Touchline Views)
Exeter win away (Happy As Larry)

The brilliant Wade Elliott celebrates his first Premier League goal, Burnley's winner against Everton. Keep an eye on this kid, he's got some class and he's not quite the skinny fella he was at Bournemouth. Come on Wade! (via BBC Sport)

Weekend Roundup

The penultimate weekend of August flew by, and doesn't it feel like the football's never been away? Here's what happened throughout English football over the last couple of days.

Premier League

On Saturday, Arsenal pulled apart Portsmouth at the Emirates. Abou Diaby fired in two goals before Younes Kaboul pulled one back for Pompey. William Gallas kicked the ball against his own head for 3-1 and Aaron Ramsey tucked in the fourth.

Birmingham City and Stoke City played out a very uneventful goalless draw, with Birmingham's imminent sale and Peter Reid's expected appointment as assistant to Tony Pulis dominating the headlines before the match, and rumours of a Stoke fan being ambushed and left for dead at Birmingham New Street doing the rounds afterwards. Ah, Blues v Stoke. So predictable...

Jozy Altidore quickly made an impact at Hull City, coming on as a substitute and carving out some good chances for himself as the Tigers beat Bolton Wanderers 1-0. He set up the goal too, acrobatically playing Kamel Ghilas through on Jussi Jaaskelainen's goal. The Algerian made no mistake, cracking in a close-range rocket to win it for Phil Brown's side.

Another Manchester City goal for Emmanuel Adebayor was enough to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers, but only just. Wolves gave City a real scare, and both will have to be more clinical in front of goal to achieve any kind of success this season.

Gael Givet drove Blackburn Rovers ahead at the Stadium of Light, but a wonderful double from the excellent Kenwyne Jones earned the three points for Sunderland. Rovers boss Sam Allardyce is upset about two disallowed goals. He may have a case in the first instance, but his second argument is weak: if a player is standing in the middle of the goal, next to the goalkeeper, he's interfering with play. Simple as that.

A goalless first half for Manchester United at Wigan Athletic was enough to kick them into overdrive after the break. Former Wigan winger Antonio Valencia picked out Wayne Rooney to open the scoring with his 100th United goal. He got another one in a 5-0 win, aided ably by Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen and Nani.

On Sunday, Burnley followed up their historic win over United with another victory over Everton. Wade Elliott ("we've got Wade Elliott, he's f***ing brilliant!") curled Burnley into the lead and toothless Everton even missed a penalty in their poor attempt to claw it back. For the record, I'm chuffed for Wade. Big up the ex-Bournemouth players.

Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka created a goal each for one another as Chelsea ran out 2-0 winners against Fulham at Craven Cottage, while Carlton Cole went from hero to zero in the space of five minutes for West Ham United. He scored an absolute scorcher against Tottenham Hotspur, but inexplicably gave the ball away for Jermain Defoe to equalise. Aaron Lennon scored the winner to maintain Spurs' great start.

Championship

There are four teams on 10 points at the top of the Championship. Cardiff City won 3-0 at home to Bristol City, Middlesbrough beat Doncaster Rovers 2-0, Newcastle won 2-0 away at Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion picked up a 2-0 home win over Ipswich Town.

Ipswich have just one point from four games and are joined at the bottom by Peterborough, who were beaten by Preston North End, and Barnsley, who were beaten by a Matt Fryatt goal at Leicester City.

On two points, Plymouth Argyle lost at Derby County, Reading lost at home to Sheffield United and Nottingham Forest drew with Queens Park Rangers. Elsewhere, Swansea City ended Coventry City's quick start with a win at the Ricoh, Sheffield Wednesday hammered Scunthorpe United, and Watford drew with Blackpool.

League One

The weekend's League One action got underway on Friday with a 0-0 draw between Southend United and Millwall. On Saturday, Brighton & Hove Albion and Stockport County shared six goals and three dismissals, County running out 4-2 winners over nine-man Albion.

Bristol Rovers beat Huddersfield Town 1-0, and our Gary was delighted by Exeter City's 1-0 away win over Carlisle United. Gillingham fell to a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Hartlepool United.

Charlton Athletic and Leeds United have 100% records, picking up their fourth wins over Walsall and Tranmere Rovers respectively. MK Dons had five men booked as they ran out 2-1 winners over Colchester United, and Norwich City thumped five past Wycombe Wanderers, who could only get two in return.

Oldham Athletic drew with Swindon Town and Southampton with Brentford, while Yeovil Town and Leyton Orient split six goals down the middle in a 3-3 draw down Somerset way.

League Two

We'll start with a controversial Sunday game. Rotherham United defeated Rochdale 2-1 at Don Valley, but Dale boss Keith Hill is considering a complaint to the Football League about the state of the pitch. The stadium had hosted Bono and his fellow smug pricks U2 previously, and Rochdale claim they found glass and nails on the pitch. If true, that's clearly unacceptable.

Four other teams join Rotherham on nine points from four games. Notts County won 3-0 against second-placed Dagenham & Redbridge and Crewe Alexandra beat Hereford United 1-0. AFC Bournemouth lost, going down 2-0 at Northampton Town.

Hereford have two points and are ahead of Morecambe, who drew with Macclesfield Town, on goal difference. Darlington were beaten at Port Vale and are the only team in the division without a point. Cheltenham Town were beaten 5-4 at home in a nine-goal thriller against Bradford City.

Aldershot beat Accrington Stanley, Grimsby Town won at Bury, Burton Albion won away at Lincoln City and Barnet won at Torquay United. Shrewsbury and Chesterfield drew 1-1.

Non-League

Oxford United lead the Blue Square Premier after a win against Stevenage, closely followed by Mansfield Town, who beat Ebbsfleet United, and Luton Town, who drew 0-0 with Chester City. AFC Wimbledon won 1-0 at fellow high-flyers Altrincham. At the bottom, Forest Green Rovers were beaten at Rushden & Diamonds and remain on zero points ahead of Chester with -24.

Corby won at Blyth Spartans to lead the Blue Square North ahead of Hyde, who were beaten at Ilkeston Town. Droylsden, Fleetwood Town, Southport and Eastwood Town aren't far behind. Droylsden lead the pack after a 4-1 win at Gloucester City. Northwich Victoria and Farsley Celtic remain in the red on -3, behind Solihull Moors, Gloucester and Redditch on three.

And in the South, Dover's 5-3 win over Weston-Super-Mare has them leading the division ahead of Havant & Waterlooville, Thurrock and Basingstoke on goal difference. That leaves Weston on one point, level with Worcester.

Sunday, 23 August 2009

Proof, if any were needed, that Roy Hodgson is one of the most honourable men in football.

Last season Fulham signed a young defender called Chris Smalling from Maidstone United. Smalling had come through the Stones' youth set-up but was playing on a non-contract basis, which meant Hodgson didn't need to pay a penny for the youngster.

But, in a gesture that's all too rare in football these days, Fulham promised to compensate Maidstone for swooping for one of their young stars. And they've gone through with that and then some.

Not only have they donated the cash for the Stones but Hodgson has promised the London club will make further payments once Smalling has made ten appearances for the Cottagers. He's already appeared once, against Everton in Fulham's final game of last season, and it won't be a surprise if he adds to that this season.

The total from Fulham could eventually reach five figures, cash that's vital for a Ryman Premier level club like Maidstone, much of which will go into youth development so they can continue to produce starlets like Smalling.

Fulham, meanwhile can hold their heads up up for a small gesture which shows more appreciation for the roots of the game than some of today's Premier League clubs often show.

Friday, 21 August 2009

Regular readers will know that I write a weekly column at Soccerlens, but I've been a little more involved than usual this week.

Having met Ahmed Bilal for a chat on Tuesday, I got to writing my weekly MLS column which is now available and looks at the recently revived fortunes of FC Dallas.

I was also the guest on the first Soccerlens Podcast of the season with Stephen Darwin. It's a bit of a whistlestop tour around European football, focusing on the first week of Premier League action and a look forward at La Liga and Serie A (you can tell with which of those two leagues I'm most familiar), as well as a quick look at Villa, Lyon and the midweek Champions League games.

I also barely managed to disguise that I'd completely forgotten about Gary's revelation in the latest twofootedtackle Football Podcast that Samuel Eto'o collects mobile phones.

Seriously, give it a listen. You can hear exactly the moment it all comes flooding back.

Thanks to Ahmed and Stephen for inviting me onto the show, hope to do it again sometime.

Two weeks in, and already there's been a couple of shocks in the Premier League which we have failed to predict. Looks like we should throw out the crystal ball and let our instincts guide us as we continue to predict the outcomes of this weekends ties - badly.

Here's how the mid-week went for us:

Results

Sunderland 1-3 Chelsea
Chelsea continue to grind out a result after a shaky start, no surprises we all had Chelsea to win.

Wigan 0-1 Wolves
Wigan followed up beating Villa by losing to promoted Wolves. None of us predicted this one sadly.

Birmingham 1-0 Portsmouth
Two games in an Pompey look doomed. Gary got this result right, with myself and Chris predicting otherwise.

Burnley 1-0 Manchester United
The less said about this the better. Manchester United got burned, and so did we.

Hull 1-5 Tottenham
No real shocks here, despite Gary thinking otherwise. Points to me and Chris.

Liverpool 4-0 Stoke
What better way to forget the weekend, than by winning 4-0. It may have been Stoke, but a win's a win. The points go to myself and Chris, with Gary thinking Stoke might have nicked a draw, but they didn't.

After two games Chris still remains top of the league on 9 points, with myself and Gary tying second on 7 points.

Here we go with Week 3, and as ever let us know if you agree or disagree with our predictions.

Predictions

Arsenal vs Portsmouth
Chris: Arsenal
Gary: Arsenal
Ian: Arsenal

Birmingham vs Stoke
Chris: Draw
Gary: Draw
Ian: Birmingham

Hull vs Bolton
Chris: Draw
Gary: Draw
Ian: Bolton

Manchester City vs Wolves
Chris: City
Gary: City
Ian: City

Sunderland vs Blackburn
Chris: Sunderland
Gary: Sunderland
Ian: Sunderland

Wigan vs Manchester United
Chris: United
Gary: United
Ian: Draw

Burnley vs Everton
Chris: Burnley
Gary: Draw
Ian: Draw

Fulham vs Chelsea
Chris: Chelsea
Gary: Draw
Ian: Chelsea

West Ham vs Tottenham
Chris: Draw
Gary: Tottenham
Ian: Tottenham

Liverpool vs Aston Villa
Chris: Liverpool
Gary: Liverpool
Ian: Liverpool

Thursday, 20 August 2009

Looks like Robbie Fowler's taking the exact same belly-building approach to Australian semi-retirement as I would. Good lad!

(Pic from Ross Laman - you'll be hearing more from him soon)

Fantasy Football Fight #13: Pulis v Kirkland

Well folks, it's Thursday. And that means I have to battle through general illness and an excrutiatingly painful shoulder to put two footballing fighters in a ring made of abandoned cars and pay them to beat the living crap out of one another.

Last week, Marlon King beat Ledley King, presumably by targeting his knees. This time around, it's a little different. We usually don't allow any form of armour to be worn in Fantasy Football Fight, but for installment number thirteen we've allowed headgear. It's Premier League football's most famous cap-wearing duo, Tony Pulis and Chris Kirkland.

Please vote for your winner in the poll below, and remember I'd love your suggestions for future match-ups - for example, Karren Brady v a mentalist with a pick-axe.

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Wednesday, 19 August 2009

Here are the results of the twofootedtackle Index for Major League Soccer bloggers, August 2009.

The stats underneath all this were correct at 11th August 2009. Incidentally, I'd like to turn this into a top 25, so if I've missed any blog you think is worthy of inclusion (within the rules, below), please leave me a comment. Also, if you feel aggrieved to have not been included I'll be happy to run the rule over your site and see if you make it. Just be nice.

The list came from my own blogrolls and a good few hours' searching, so it's not exactly scientific - more of an indicator. Many blogs didn't make the cut, others have been removed due to inactivity.

I know there are some missing from this list. If you'd like to be considered for inclusion, please leave your URL in the comments.

Under the hood

The twofootedtackle index is based on a series of not-very-complicated sums which were devised to make the maths easier for my feeble brain. I won't go into the calculations, but the important points are:

The index covers Technorati authority, the number of comments attracted by the last ten relevant posts, the tenure (i.e. age) of the blog and the recency of the latest relevant post

These factors are weighted. Technorati authority is the most important, followed by tenure, then comments. The recency of the latest relevant post is also factored in quite heavily, so the index numbers of blogs with a week or more since that post are affected significantly

This is an index, so the highest scoring blog is given a score of 1.00, and the remaining blogs given a score below that based on percentages of the top blog's total

I think that about covers it, so let's get going.

Major League Soccer, August 2009

Soccer By Ives - Technorati Authority: 128, TFT Index: 1.00

Soccerlens - Technorati Authority: 190, TFT Index: 0.71

MLS Talk - Technorati Authority: 45, TFT Index: 0.37

Climbing The Ladder - Technorati Authority: 20, TFT Index: 0.17

WV Hooligan - Technorati Authority: 21, TFT Index: 0.16

The Kin Of Fish - Technorati Authority: 14, TFT Index: 0.16

The 24th Minute - Technorati Authority: 1, TFT Index: 0.13

This Is American Soccer - Technorati Authority: 15, TFT Index: 0.12

Match Fit USA - Technorati Authority: 1, TFT Index: 0.11

MLS Daily - Technorati Authority: 1, TFT Index: 0.08

Ginge Talks The Footy - Technorati Authority: 5, TFT Index: 0.07

MLS Fan Blog - Technorati Authority: 4, TFT Index: 0.07

Soucie On Soccer - Technorati Authority: 1, TFT Index: 0.07

MLS Offside - Technorati Authority: 20, TFT Index: 0.04

Advantage Played - Technorati Authority: 1, TFT Index: 0.04

The Zygo Soccer Report - Technorati Authority: 1, TFT Index: 0.01

Notes

I'm a little surprised to see Soccerlens drop to second here. Soccer By Ives had, in the relevant period, attracted a frankly staggering number of comments. However, those comments aren't always the most...coherent. That's no reflection on Ives, of whom I'm a big fan. Ives' high overall score has skewed the index pretty badly but the running order still applies.

Incidentally, finishing bottom here doesn't mean you're not loved. Qualifying for the list means that you have made it onto my radar which isn't that easy across the Atlantic. I've seen plenty of crap and the blogs above blow it all out of the water.

The Rules

No club-specific blogs
No highlights blogs or aggregators
Comment scores based on PL posts only
Blogs were not included if they have not posted recently
Major media outlets excluded
Gossip sites excluded
Relevancy of posts is at my discretion, but I'm nice about it
Blogs without Technorati get an Authority of 1
Liveblog posts do not count
Larger sites with only one Technorati profile have their full Authority counted

They say never meet your heroes and never appoint a club legend as manager.

But AFC Bournemouth's appointment of Eddie Howe is starting to smell of roses. Howe was given the job at Dean Court on a permanent basis in January 2009 after two games as caretaker following the sacking of Jimmy Quinn, under whom Howe had been assistant.

After looking dead and buried, the Cherries escaped relegation despite a 17-point penalty. Steve Fletcher, another legend at the club, scored the goal which secured survival and tied Howe into Bournemouth folklore forever.

The former Parley Sports defender played over 250 matches for Bournemouth between 1994 and 2007. He was sold to Portsmouth in 2002 but a couple of nasty injuries severely limited his appearances at Fratton Park and he found himself, via a zero-appearance loan spell at Swindon Town, back at Dean Court on loan in 2004.

In November that year, Howe rejoined the club on a free transfer. He was a true fans' signing: following an appeal by the chairman, supporters raised over £13,000 in two days. He played for the club until 2007, when he retired from the game through injury (source: Wikipedia).

After a stint as player-coach under Kevin Bond, Howe was sacked along with his boss and then brought back by Quinn. Months later, it was Howe's time to shine.

In 21 games last season, Howe's Bournemouth won 12 and drew three, an amazing success rate at a struggling club. The Cherries escaped what had, at several points during the campaign, seemed a certain relegation.

But I was unsure about this year and I'm delighted that Howe looks set to prove me wrong. I thought that with the siege mentality of last season gone, and the takeover of the club showing little sign of dramatically improving its situation, Bournemouth would suffer. Howe, brilliant though he was last year, remains unproven in "normal" circumstances. Sure, he might turn out to be the next Mourinho. But it's unlikely.

At least it was unlikely. Eddie Howe has led Bournemouth to a perfect start in League Two in the new season, picking up three wins from three. One-goal wins over Rotherham United and Aldershot followed the Cherries' stunning opening day win away at Bury and the mood at Dean Court appears to be overwhelmingly positive.

If success in the face of adversity and the ability to hit the ground running are the signs of a bright young manager, we'll be seeing plenty of Eddie Howe over the next couple of decades.

The twofootedtackle Football Podcast Episode 15

It's Wednesday, and that can mean only...many things. But one of the most important is The twofootedtackle Football Podcast on the Champions Soccer Radio Network.

Gary and I are joined again this week by Luton Town fan Ben Shaw to talk about the Premier League, MLS, Neil Warnock, David Beckham, the Blue Square Premier and Napoli. It's a good one, folks!

Episode 15 is now available via iTunes (just search for 'twofootedtackle'). Alternatively you can click straight through to the MP3 here or listen on the media player at CSRN.

Tell your friends, relatives and people you meet on public transport. Please feel free to leave your comments here, on Twitter, on Facebook or on our message board.

Tuesday, 18 August 2009

This weekend saw the launch of our very own Prediction League here on twofootedtackle, which will see myself, Chris and Gary going head to head for a prize not even Manchester City’s millions can buy, champion of the twofootedtackle Prediction League.

Here is how we fared in Week 1.

Results

Aston Villa 0-2 Wigan Athletic
We all predicted Villa, and sadly we were all wrong.

Blackburn Rovers 0- 2 Manchester City
No correct predictions here either.

Bolton Wanderers 0-1 Sunderland
Ian predicted that the Black Cats would be victorous, and they were.

Chelsea 2-1 Hull City
We were all correct in picking Chelsea to win.

Everton 1-6 Arsenal
Chris was the only one to succesfully predict an Arsenal win.

Portsmouth 0-1 Fulham
It was a unamamous decision here on a Fulham win, and we were correct. I can't see us predicting many Portsmouth wins this season somehow.

Stoke City 2-0 Burnley
Chris got the point here, with Gary and myself thinking Burnley could snatch something from the game unfortunately like us they ended up empty handed.

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-2 West Ham United
The Hammers got all 3 points, and in doing so they earned Gary 1 point.

Manchester United 1-0 Dirty Small Heath
1 point each, with all of us envisaging a Manchester United win.

Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Liverpool
Chris and Gary predicted a Spurs win, and they were right to predict it.

So as it stands, Chris tops the table on 6 points, coming second is Gary on 5 points, and last but not least is myself on 4 points.

Moving swiftly along as we have managed to dust off our not so reliable crystal balls and make our predictions for week 2. Let us know if you agree or disagree with our predictions.

Predictions

Sunderland vs Chelsea

Chris: Chelsea
Gary: Chelsea
Ian: Chelsea

Wigan vs Wolves

Chris: Wigan
Gary: Wigan
Ian: Wigan

Birmingham vs Portsmouth

Chris: Draw
Gary: Birmingham
Ian: Portsmouth

Burnley vs Manchester United

Chris: Manchester United
Gary: Manchester United
Ian: Manchester United

Hull vs Tottenham

Chris: Tottenham
Gary: Hull
Ian: Tottenham

Liverpool vs Stoke

Chris: Liverpool
Gary: Draw
Ian: Liverpool

My weekly Major League Soccer round-up is now available at Some People Are On The Pitch.

Check out Football Americana Week 22 for all the Week 22 action.

Video of the Week #13

And following my last post, here isthat non-goal. Bristol City 1, Crystal Palace 1 0. Complete joke.

Neil Warnock is no stranger to controversy. Sometimes it's his own fault, his forthright nature spilling over into outright aggression and, much to the contempt of other managers, dirty tactics. Allegedly.

But Warnock often feels victimised by the football establishment and while that might be stretching the point, he does seem to find himself on the end of some terrible luck at times.

The latest incident which has upset Warnock was a controversial moment during his Crystal Palace side's visit to Ashton Gate on Saturday. Palace striker Freddie Sears, on loan from West Ham, found himself at close range and onside in the 30th minute. His finish was neat, beating the goalkeeper and planting the ball in the bottom corner to put Palace ahead against Bristol City.

Only it didn't put them ahead. Referee Rob Shoebridge - somehow - thought the ball had not gone in. With protestations from Palace players, he consulted with his assistant referee (I have a problem with this, because the goal-line is the linesman's job - it is the referee's responsibility to spot what happens between the posts) and no goal was given.

In the 90th minute, Nicky Maynard scored for City to turn one point to none for Warnock's side. Unsurprisingly, the larger-than-life Yorkshireman was furious. And in my book, he's right to be.

Here are some quotes from Crystal Palace. Chairman Simon Jordan:

"What troubles me was that the Bristol City players saw what was going on and by saying nothing, that's cheating. I don't know how the referee did not see it. The players knew it was a goal, their manager knew it was a goal and they could have done something about it - let us go up the other end and score or something."

Manager Neil Warnock:

"I thought Gary Johnson and his players could have shown more sportsmanship because they knew it was a goal, like everyone else. But I'm 60 years old and maybe I expect too much."

Clearly, the referee was horrendously at fault, but Jordan and Warnock have been clear in their belief that Bristol City - who have admitted that they knew the goal had been scored shortly after it happened - should have taken measures to even things up. And to be honest, I agree with them.

City have responded (more on this later) with the ridiculous get-out that allowing Palace to score would set a precedent for other events, like incidents where the ball may or may not have crossed the line, incorrect offsides and bad penalty decisions.

Total bullshit. When the ball hits the back of the net after going between the posts, there is no grey area. The referee hasn't got a tough 50-50 decision wrong, the ball hasn't been cleared off the line in flight. There was no decision made, so to argue that it would mean bad offside calls would lead to free goals is staggeringly misleading. The facts are clear: Crystal Palace scored a goal which was not a sketchy one in the slightest to give, and the referee missed it.

Rob Shoebridge should be at the beginning of a very, very long suspension. On Sunday night, I was still of the opinion that he should be banned for life. Missing a goal is unforgiveable. Now, I think a ten-match ban and demotion would suffice, though I would feel for the managers in the divisions below.

Keith Hackett, refereeing-bastard-in-chief, has apologised to Warnock and the Palace fans in public, and suspended all officials involved. Quite how the other assistant referee and the fourth official have been implicated I don't know, and I think that if the assistant involved saw the ball cross the goal-line, he's done his job. Shoebridge was the moron who ballsed up.

As always, Hackett has popped his head out to put a sticking plaster on a shotgun wound. I'd be amazed if his "apology" has had any effect on Warnock's mood. What Hackett needs to do is tell us how he's going to put in place a training, employment, assessment and punishment system which flushes out the idiots, starfuckers and sadists who insist on spoiling matches.

I am not, incidentally, in favour of goal-line technology (at least I don't think I am). What I want is for the Professional Game Match Officials Board to fix the system, because it's laughable. Everyone saw that the ball had crossed the line and gone in - if Shoebridge didn't, that's a problem with refereeing, not a technological issue. Besides which, why give the TV companies what they're lobbying for?

Another structural issue which must be addressed (pun half intended) is why there is a metal frame around the bottom of a goal in the Championship in this day and age. Stupidity of the highest order.

Bristol City's response to all this, by the way, has been nothing short of a complete disgrace. And that's a shame, because I've been fond of that club and its supporters for years.

Manager Gary Johnson, chairman Steve Lansdown and chief executive Colin Sexstone have chosen to ignore that fact that their team could have allowed Palace a goal (given the fact that they knew a goal had been missed), preferring instead to focus on a mythical infringement leading up to the goal, denying heat-of-the-moment accusations of cheating and "it's happened to us and it evens itself out" platitudes which do nothing but deflect attention from their unsportsmanlike conduct.

Warnock has serious cause for complaint here, and his calls for the game to be replayed are sensible, though with recent history between City and Palace being so explosive, extra security would be advisable.

Say...I wonder if that's why City acted in the way they did.

(Pic via This Is London)

Monday, 17 August 2009

Here's what's been going on around twofootedtackle Blog Network in the last seven days:

Chris Oakley guests on Podcast 14 (twofootedtackle)
Exeter battered by QPR (Happy As Larry)
DC United lose to Toronto (Chris Pontius Blog)
Ian's weekend roundup... (Touchline Views)
...and his Premier League preview (Touchline Views)

Weekend Roundup

The Football League season was in its second matchday of the season, and the Premier League got underway. Here's what happened around English football during the weekend just gone.

I'd like to say it's good to be back, but it's bloody well not.

Premier League

The Evil Money League of Doom kicked off its 2009/10 season on Saturday lunchtime, with a late Didier Drogba goal giving Chelsea a 2-1 win at home to Hull City. Petr Cech's nemesis Stephen Hunt had put City in front before Drogba's first goal levelled for the hosts.

A stunning strike from Hugo Rodallega and a neat finish by Jason Koumas gave Wigan Athletic an opening day win over a shocking Aston Villa side, while former Villa skipper Gareth Barry saw fellow debutant Emmanuel Adebayor open the scoring for Manchester City at Blackburn Rovers. Stephen Ireland sealed the win late on.

Darren Bent scored his first league goal for Sunderland in a 1-0 away win over Bolton Wanderers, and Bobby Zamora gave Fulham a win by the same scoreline at Portsmouth. Ryan Shawcross' header and a Stephen Jordan own goal saw Stoke City spoil Burnley's Premier League bow with a 2-0 defeat. A great strike from Marc Noble, who later provided the corner from which Matthew Upson doubled the lead, set up a 2-0 win for West Ham United at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

At Goodison, goals from Denilson, Thomas Vermaelen, William Gallas, Cesc Fabregas (2) and Eduardo put Arsenal 6 (six) nil up over Everton. On a disastrous afternoon, Toffees fans were given something to cheer if any of them stuck around until full time, Louis Saha tucking in a no-consolation goal.

On Sunday, Wayne Rooney scored the winner in Manchester United's 1-0 win over Dirty Small Heath, and goals from Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Sebastien Bassong either side of a Steven Gerrard penalty gave Tottenham Hotspur a 2-1 win at home to Liverpool.

Championship

The big news from the Championship came at Ashton Gate, where a Freddie Sears goal for Crystal Palace was not spotted by referee Rob Shoebridge because it bounced off a metal frame around the bottom of the net. Nicky Maynard scored at the death to give Bristol City a 1-0 win. (Much) more on that from me tomorrow - Neil Warnock is rightly spitting blood.

Rob Kozluk was sent of as Barnsley slumped to a 2-0 defeat to Coventry City, who've started brilliantly. Despite not appearing on the BBC's Championship results page, Newcastle United did play, beating Reading 3-0 with a Shola Ameobi hat-trick.

Blackpool drew with Cardiff City, Doncaster Rovers with Preston North End, Ipswich Town with Leicester City, Peterborough United with Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth Argyle with Queens Park Rangers.

Elsewhere there were victories for West Bromwich Albion, Scunthorpe United, Sheffield United and Middlesbrough.

League One

Relegated Charlton Athletic grabbed their second League One win by beating Hartlepool and Leeds United won away at Wycombe Wanderers, but it wasn't all plain sailing for League One's big boys.

Stranded Southampton were comprehensively beaten by Huddersfield Town, while Norwich City had to settle for a draw at Exeter City. Colchester United top the table thanks to a home win over Yeovil Town, while Oldham Athletic won 2-1 at Leyton Orient. Stockport County suffered a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Bristol Rovers.

Tranmere Rovers won 4-2 at home to promoted Gillingham and it sounds like they were in charge all afternoon. There were draws for Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion, Millwall and Carlisle United, Swindon Town and MK Dons, and Walsall and Southend United.

League Two

In the bottom tier Notts County and AFC Bournemouth have gotten off to a flyer. The Cherries won 1-0 over Rotherham and County picked up another big win, defeating Macclesfield 4-0 on their own turf. Dagenham & Redbridge are also at 100% after a 5-3 home win over Torquay United. Promoted Burton Albion also hit five against Morecambe.

Accrington Stanley beat Lincoln City (who'll be getting a call from the authorities after six bookings) 1-0, the same scoreline by which Chesterfield beat Northampton Town. Bury won 1-0 at Darlington, Crewe Alexandra won 4-0 at Grimsby Town and ten-man Rochdale scored deep into injury time to defeat Aldershot.

There were draws for Barnet and Shrewsbury Town, Bradford City and Port Vale, and Hereford United and Cheltenham.

Non-League

Luton Town, Altrincham and Oxford United have made unbeaten starts to the Blue Square Premier Season. Town defeated promoted Gateshead with two goals in one first half minute, while Oxford beat ten-man Histon 4-3. Altrincham won away at Hayes & Yeading.

Cambridge United, Crawley Town and Mansfield Town picked up their second wins each of the season, Mansfield inflicting Salisbury's first dropped points of the season. Cambridge's win at Chester City leaves the hosts on -25 points, while Gateshead and Forest Green Rovers are yet to get off the mark.

In the Blue Square North, Corby's win at Stalybridge continues their 100% record. Gloucester and Farsley Celtic played out a 4-3 thriller, Celtic taking home the points to rise to -7. Northwich Victoria's win over Solihull Moors takes them to -3, while Redditch and Gloucester remain on zero.

In the South, Braintree Town and Basingstoke defeated Maidenhead and Chelmsford respectively to take their third win from three games. Worcester City, Welling United and Weston-Super-Mare are propping up the table with three defeats each.

Photo of the Week #13

LA Galaxy's David Beckham puts in an awful tackle on Seattle Sounders' ex-Galaxy man Peter Vagenas and is rightly given a straight red card (pic via Washington Post)

Sunday, 16 August 2009

Don't be fooled, all is not well at Aston Villa. What looks on the outside like a substandard start to the season has in fact ripped open a wound which has been threatening to sour the mood at the club for 13 months.

Last summer, a minority of supporters became frustrated with Martin O'Neill's transfer market sluggishness. The strength of the squad has been a concern for some time and fans have been wondering why, with a wealthy and generous owner holding the pursestrings, the notorious right back problem (and several others) hadn't been addressed.

Late summer signings made, it appeared O'Neill had received the message loud and clear: football had changed.

As Villa stormed to third place in the league, stringing together a long run of away victories and raced ahead of Arsenal in the battle for a Champions League place, the slow summer was forgotten. But there were issues arising which caused some questions to be asked.

John Carew - a serious fans' favourite - was caught in a strip club and mysteriously disappeared through injury. Emile Heskey was signed and the football turned a little agricultural. And Villa were, once again, playing a number of players out of position.

Villa's awful run in the second half of last season highlighted the lack of strength in depth and the squad's inability to deal with injuries. It also gave some indication that O'Neill doesn't know how to turn an ailing team around. Sixth was a fantastic achievement once, and to do it twice was impressive. But stinking up the place for four months is not acceptable to Villa fans expecting better.

Yesterday's home defeat by Wigan Athletic has met with an angry reaction but there's more to it than meets the eye. No doubt fans of other clubs and the London-biased media will be holier-than-thou about Villa fans booing their players after just 45 minutes of the season but it really was that bad. They deserved it, and O'Neill deserved it.

Under the surface, the dissatisfaction from last season lingers. The Moscow fiasco caused unrest and, despite understanding the decision at the time, it's clear now that it was a setback in the relationship between O'Neill and a significant minority of fans.

To begin the new season with only two senior centre backs in the squad, Nicky Shorey in the team, and Emile Heskey and Gabriel Agbonlahor up front, exposes O'Neill's transfer failings. The performance itself suggests that his coaching and tactics are well wide of the mark too. This wasn't just about one match, it was about a total lack of improvement on an appalling few months and weaknesses are beginning to show in O'Neill's abilities.

Even more concerning were rumours that Carew and O'Neill had a falling out before the game, causing the striker to storm off after being selected as a substitute. That appears to not be the case, but the ease with which many supporters accepted it as possible (or even likely), indicates a lack of confidence in the relationship between manager and star player.

There is, at this moment, paper over the cracks. O'Neill's popularity hasn't taken a comprehensive bashing, his personality and eccentricity having won him many loyal fans. But if the rot continues, O'Neill could well be in trouble. We don't know yet how trigger-happy Villa owner Randy Lerner will be, but it's unlikely he'll stand by and watch his club take too big a step backwards.

So while the creeping talk of a sacking is outrageously premature, if there isn't a massive improvement - and soon - this could be the beginning of the end. The next two weeks are crucial to O'Neill's future at Villa, as are the three months after that. From this point it looks like a difficult challenge, but it's the kind of challenge upon which Martin seems to thrive.

Friday, 14 August 2009

Well done. Take a moment to give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back, run around the room shouting "wooo" or pull up your t-shirt as if you're celebrating a goal, whichever you can do depending on your current location. You've sucessfully survived 3 months without the beautiful game.
This weekend marks the much anticipated return of the Premier League, and another new and exciting venture at twofootedtackle.

As you know recently we launched the twofootedtackle Blog Network, and to mark the start of the new season we have another very exciting (well, exciting for us) launch, which will see myself (Ian), Chris and Gary go head to head in our very own Prediction League.

Every Friday, depending on mid-week games, our predictions for the upcoming Premier League fixtures will be posted here for you to see. Then every Monday, I will do a round-up of how good or how bad we all got on, setting in motion our very own league table.

Let us know if you disagree with any of our guesses.

Here's the first set of predictions:

Aston Villa v Wigan Athletic
Chris: Villa
Gary: Villa
Ian: Villa

Blackburn Rovers v Manchester City
Chris: Draw
Gary: Draw
Ian: Blackburn

Bolton Wanderers v Sunderland
Chris: Bolton
Gary: Draw
Ian: Sunderland

Chelsea v Hull City
Chris: Chelsea
Gary: Chelsea
Ian: Chelsea

Everton v Arsenal
Chris: Arsenal
Gary: Draw
Ian: Draw

Portsmouth v Fulham
Chris: Fulham
Gary: Fulham
Ian: Fulham

Stoke City v Burnley
Chris: Stoke
Gary: Draw
Ian: Burnley

Wolverhampton Wanderers v West Ham United
Chris: Draw
Gary: West Ham
Ian: Wolves

Manchester United v Dirty Small Heath
Chris: United
Gary: United
Ian: United

Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool
Chris: Spurs
Gary: Spurs
Ian: Liverpool

First person to tell me what's wrong with this picture gets a cookie. And they say the game still has integrity! (thanks to Arseblog/Soccerlens for the tip)

MLS 2009 - Mid-Term Report

My Friday column at Soccerlens is now available.

With the mid-season friendlies and All-Star game out of the way, Major League Soccer is shaping up for the business end of the season. This week, I give my assessment of what's happened so far.

MLS 2009 - Mid-Term Report

Enjoy.

Thursday, 13 August 2009

It's that time of the week once again where we put two footballers in a back alley, agitate them vigorously like a microwave meal, and ask them to beat the living crap out of each other.

Last week, Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano split the vote right down the middle in the Battle of the Joorabchian Twins. I'm a little surprised, given that J-Masch has previously given no indication of an ability to tame the Tasmanian Devil.

This week, it's a right old Battle Royal. Ladies and gentleman, I give you Tottenham Hotspur part-timer Ledley King against his common crim namesake Marlon, who probably plays for someone up north or something.

Please vote for your winner in the poll below, and remember I'd love your suggestions for future match-ups - for example, Karren Brady v the SAS.

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Wednesday, 12 August 2009

It's Wednesday, the football is back and that can only mean one thing: it's time for The twofootedtackle Football Podcast!

For Episode 14, Gary Andrews and myself were joined once again by Chris Oakley of Some People Are On The Pitch. With Chris involved, it would've been rude for us to not look forward to the French season which began last weekend.

We previewed the Premier League and looked back on the first weekend of the Football League season before heading abroad to Ligue 1, Major League Soccer and the delayed start to Argentina's 2009 Apertura championship.

And finally, we asked whether we'd succeed in management after Simon Kuper came to some strange conclusions in the writing of his new book.

Episode 14 is now available via iTunes (just search for 'twofootedtackle'). Alternatively you can click straight through to the MP3 here.

CSRN

On the show, I was chuffed to announce that The twofootedtackle Football Podcast is now officially part of the Champions Soccer Radio Network. That means the show will soon be available on CSRN's media player and audio feeds.

Many thanks to Graham Bell for rubberstamping the deal, and Zach Woosley for acting as broker. Big up yo' selves.

And in equally exciting news, we announced a very special - nay, dream - guest who will be joining us this month. Listen in to find out who!

My weekly Major League Soccer round-up is now available at Some People Are On The Pitch.

Check out Football Americana Week 21 for all the Week 21 action.

Tuesday, 11 August 2009

Just wanted to drop a quick plug for an excellent new football podcast from my good friends at Some People Are On The Pitch and The Onion Bag.

Having spent many hours at pub tables with Chris, Terry and Graham, and had them all as guests on The twofootedtackle Football Podcast, I can tell you that you'll struggle to find a trio more wise and entertaining in their punditry.

The Sound of Football is their new podcast, half an hour a week of football goodness. Enjoy.

Video of the Week #12

Norway. ODD Grenland striker Peter Kovacs scores while Brann Bergen goalkeeper Håkon Opdal is injured. Fair enough, in my view, it all happens so fast that it is a forward's responsibility to put the ball in the net.

However, ODD could then have allowed Bergen to score to cancel out the controversial goal - they didn't. They could at least have had the good grace not too be utter twunts about it, something their coach emphatically failed to do (via VillaTalk).

And as an added funny, here's a Manchester United fan's take on Michael Ballack's weekend antics, from our friends at Republik of Mancunia. Personally I couldn't give two shits about the game, and I think it's hilarious that Chris Foy, the most United-biased of all the United-biased referees, stitched them up and turned Alex Ferguson purple. But it's a bloody brilliant video.

twofootedtackle Fantasy Football 2009/10

The Premier League season is now just days away and it's about damn time you had a fantasy football team on the go. Here at twofootedtackle, we've filled that gap and it's time to give our league another bump.

One or two people have asked me for the code, so I thought I'd bang up another quick post. The twofootedtackle Fantasy Football League 2009/10 begins on Saturday and is hosted on the Premier League's excellent official free game. Click here to visit, sign up and then enter the code for our league.

When you come to enter the league code, simply enter 23074-88476 to join.

And it'll be more fun with your friends involved, right? So tell them about it - it'd be much appreciated.

Monday, 10 August 2009

What's been happening on twofootedtackle Blog Network:

Ten-man Exeter pipped by Leeds (Happy As Larry)
DC United progress in Champions League (Chris Pontius Blog)
St. Patrick's roll on in Europe (Touchline Views)
Xabi Alonso joins Real Madrid (Touchline Views)
Chris on the Designated Player Rule (Soccerlens)

Linkbar

TFT Podcast

Archive

Premier League Blogs

MLS Blogs

Other Football Links

Monday, 31 August 2009

Premier League

Championship

League One

League Two

Non-League

Saturday, 29 August 2009

Friday, 28 August 2009

Results

Predictions

Game changer?

Bookable offence

Making an example

Thursday, 27 August 2009

Wednesday, 26 August 2009

Trouble at Upton Park

What can be done?

Tuesday, 25 August 2009

Monday, 24 August 2009

Premier League

Championship

League One

League Two

Non-League

Sunday, 23 August 2009

Friday, 21 August 2009

Results

Predictions

Thursday, 20 August 2009

Wednesday, 19 August 2009

Under the hood

Major League Soccer, August 2009

Notes

The Rules

Tuesday, 18 August 2009

Results

Predictions

Monday, 17 August 2009

Premier League

Championship

League One

League Two

Non-League

Sunday, 16 August 2009

Friday, 14 August 2009

Thursday, 13 August 2009

Wednesday, 12 August 2009

CSRN

Tuesday, 11 August 2009

Monday, 10 August 2009

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