At 3.00pm GMT, today, it will be exactly 12 days until the first round of Premier League fixtures get underway.
At Ewood Park, Craven Cottage, Anfield, Loftus Road, White Hart Lane, The DW Stadium and at St. James' "We-don't-know-quite-what-the -stadium-will-be-called" Park, the first whistle of the season will blow, and with it, absolute joy will wash over millions of football fans up and down the country!
After the (shorter-than-it-seems) Summer period where limited football is played and the back pages become filled with news of Cricket and Golf, we will finally start to see normality return as football will start to dominate
The fixture list in full, then, for the weekend of 13th-15th August: Saturday, 13 August 2011 Blackburn v Wolverhampton, 15:00
Fulham v Aston Villa, 15:00
Liverpool v Sunderland, 15:00
QPR v Bolton, 15:00
Tottenham v Everton, 15:00
Wigan v Norwich, 15:00
Newcastle v Arsenal, 17:30
Sunday, 14 August 2011
Stoke v Chelsea, 13:30
West Brom v Man Utd, 16:00
Following the long-protracted 'will he, won't he' story of the last year, Carlos Tevez has again announced his desire to leave Manchester City, and England, behind this summer.
This time, I fear there is no persuading him to stay.
"But, Ross, why as a Manchester United fan are you fearing that, this time, he will leave your city rivals? Surely that is to United's benefit?!"
Well let me tell you why.
Carlos Tevez is a one-of-a-kind.
He has played with his heart on his sleeve at all three of the English Premier League clubs he has played for. And I genuinely believe that if West Ham had been relegated on the final day of the season 2006-07 season, had there not been all these ownership problems, that he would have played in the Championship.
He gives his all nearly every game, simply enjoying the fact that he is playing a sport he loves for his career. You cannot question the effort he has put in for all of his clubs, and how many players can say that they have left their former clubs, still with the adoration of every fan?
Ever since Paul Ince was pictured wearing a Manchester United shirt in 1992, despite still being a West Ham United player, a sourness between the Red Devils and the Hammers has existed. Yet, through Tevez, a common bond is shared. And I don't think there are many West Ham fans who have anything but respect and gratitude for what he did for them, despite his leaving for Man United.
And even fewer players have crossed from Old Trafford to the City of Manchester Stadium/ Maine Road and still been adored by the United fans. Probably Denis Law being the other notable player.
So, as much as one of United's title rivals and bitter neighbours will be losing their star player, I think I'll be joined by the majority of United fans when I say that the English game will miss him. I think he'll be more missed in England than Cristiano Ronaldo. Maybe even as much as David Beckham.
And Tevez is someone the entire England team should look to for inspiration. They could all do with a generous pinch of his attitude.
So why the decision? Well the same as before, really. Family reasons.
The 27-year-old Argentinian, currently playing at the Copa America, stated:
"It is with great regret that I have to inform Manchester City of my wish to leave the club. I would like to state that I have great respect for the club, its supporters and the owner, Sheikh Mansoor, who has been nothing other than respectful to me.
I hope that the people understand the difficult circumstances I have been living under the past 12 months, in regards to my family.
Living without my children in Manchester has been incredibly challenging for me. Everything I do, I do for my daughters, Katie and Florencia. I need to be closer to them and to spend more time with them."
Whilst saying that his ideal move would be to go home to Buenos Aires, he admitted that such a move would be unlikely at this stage of his career, and instead, following former United team-mate, Cristiano Ronaldo across to Spain would be the most likely option.
"I hope that most of the City fans will understand that I have given them my all on the pitch and that my dedication to the city cause has been 100 per cent on the pitch. I hope I have done my bit to help City continue their progress towards their ambition to be champions of England and to advance in the Champions League. I have no doubt that the players and management of City will achieve great success in the future."
Tevez' record in England is impressive: 7 goals in 26 appearances for West Ham; 19 goals in 63 for Manchester United and a HUGELY impressive 43 league goals in 65 matches for Manchester City
Tevez scored 43 league goals in 65 matches for City and is expected to fetch upwards of Ł40 million.
A couple of new signings to report tonight:
Firstly, and the most high profiled, is the Ł7million transfer of French defender, Gael Clichy from Arsenal to Manchester City.
Having completed his medical earlier today, most of the rest of the day was spent meeting the club officials, before signing to become Roberto Mancini's first summer deal. He will join former Arsenal-team mates, Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure (though Adebayor is currently on loan at Real Madrid).
At the end of the season and about to enter his final contract year, Arsene Wenger was keen to tie Clichy down for an extension. Therefore the 'hands were tied' and they had little option but to cash in.
Clichy said: "I am really happy to be joining such a great club," Clichy told the club's website. I hope I can add to the quality we already have here because we have a fantastic squad who I believe will continue to get better. I can't wait to get started and I think anything is possible with this team."
Meanwhile, across Manchester, Wigan Athletic completed a deal for Ł3m less than City's as they signed Bolton Wanderers', and Oman international, goalkeeper Al Habsi for Ł4m. Having spent last season on loan at the DW Stadium, he was keen to return, but dispute over a fee held the deal up.
The Latics ended up meeting the valuation of the Trotters, and Al Habsi made his move permanent.
As Wigan's player of the season last year, manager Roberto Martinez was obviously pleased: "We are delighted to announce the best possible news for Wigan Athletic in securing Ali permanently. During his loan at our football club last season, Ali brought a great degree of professionalism in his daily work and put in many outstanding performances in the Premier League."
Al Habsi said: "I am very happy. I want to thank everyone at Bolton for helping me get established in this country but I need to be playing first-team football, and hopefully, if I can stay fit and keep doing my best, I will get the chance again at Wigan."
Newly acquired Manchester City has released an exclusive third kit for the 2008-09 season of English Premier League and UEFA Cup football.
Near identical in design to the home kit, the third kit is finished in blaze orange and blue plus very thin yellow stripes. The club crest finds it usual position on the player's left chest with the logo of Le Coq Sportif, the kit manufacturer, on the left.
The blaze orange shirt is paired with navy blue shorts and socks and the kit's main sponsor is ThomasCook.com.
The kit is scheduled to be officially launched on 26th September - great for those wanting the shirt number of Brazilian superstar Robinho who joined the club recently.
Manchester City Football Club has unveiled a new maroon and black away kit for the 2008/09 season.
The blue half of Manchester's new strip is finished in maroon and black and features 7 maroon bands and 6 black ones in the front and a thin white stripe that extends from the collar bone and down to the waist area.
The club's crest moves back onto the player's left chest while the logo of manufacturer Le Coq Sportif sits on the right chest. The maroon and black shirt is paired with black shorts.
Manchester City Football Club has unveiled a new home kit for the 2008/09 season.
The blue half of Manchester's new strip is finished in the club's traditional sky blue home colours, with black inserts around the collar and a thin black stripe that extends from the collar across the collar bone and down to the underarms. This is mirrored by a thicker white stripe mimicking the same pattern on the other side of the shirt. The sky blue shirt is paired with white shorts.
The club's crest sits in the middle of the chest area while the logo of kit manufacturer, Le Coq Sportif, sit uniquely between the neck and shoulder.
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. courtesy of Sky
Yet again another English Premiership club has fallen in the hands of international ownership, this time it is Manchester City.
Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has acquired at least 75% of the shares needed, which also delist Man City from the London stock exchange according to reports.
The Man City take over follows the Liverpool takeover that took placed in February when Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett bought the club for 174 million pounds. Prior to these, there were the takeover by Russian oil billionaire Roman Abramovich, when he purchased Chelsea of Ken Bates for 140 million pounds in 2004, and then when another American Malcolm Glazer paid 740 million pounds for Manchester United in 2005, which is still today the largest amount ever paid.
The Shinawatra family are to follow the likes of Chelsea, Man United and Liverpool in purchasing up big on top named players to strengthen their squads, with Man City new manager Sven Goran Erikkson already purchasing Rolando Bianchi and Gelson Fernandes. Sources say also that Man City are also looking at adding atleast two national Thai players to their squad. It must also be a good sign and boost for Thai football.
In the past there has been a bit of backing premiership managers for foreign ownership. Suppose it is just another chapter in the revolution of this great game, with TV companies having more influence with TV rights and also paying enormous amounts of money for the rights to telecast the games. It is also a step up from the big corporate companies like Vodafone and Emirates paying big money for advertising rights, just to get their name out there and noticed.
Our great game has got to the stage where they re-start play waiting for a commercial to finish on TV, like you see in NFL and Australian Rules.
As long as the history of the clubs don't change, and it is a step in the right direction, then it is all good. The clubs that struggle these days are the clubs that usually don't have the financial support to buy top players, and to acquire these top players, you need financial support like Thaksin Shinwatra.
Just as long as the former Thai prime minister doesn't come out and say something like 'my two sons played soccer when they were young, one was a goal tender, and the other a defenseman'.
The sky blue half of Manchester will be wearing a new home kit for the upcoming English Premier League season after signing a new four-year deal with the French-based sportswear manufacturer Le Coq Sportif.
The best thing about this new kit is the price and City fans will be cheering when they hear this.
Long sleave home kit
Starting at less than Ł30 for adults and Ł19 for juniors, with further discounts available for Seasoncard holders, the new kit signifies not only the best priced merchandise in the Premiership, but also the lowest at Manchester City for more than 15 years.
This is great value considering home kits for many other clubs cost around the Ł49 mark. In fact, this low price makes it only an extra Ł1 more than the price of many away kits!
No England supporter would ever have imagined themselves saying this, but boy did England miss out on the goal-scoring 'prowess' of Liverpool striker Peter Crouch.
The England striker signalled his come-back from surgery to a broken nose with a sensational hat-trick against Arsenal at Anfield.
The Bean-pole striker's first goal came as early as the 4th minute when Jermaine Pennant and Alvaro Arbeloa exchanged exquisite back-heels to setup the first goal.
Half an hour later, Crouch doubled his side's lead from a set-piece after being fouled by Kolo Toure. Xabi Alonso delivered a pin-point free-kick into the box for Crouch to power home the header. 2 - 0 Liverpool.
Rather than sit back and defend their lead, the Reds came out for the second-half in search for more blood and Daniel Agger delivered the third goal with a glancing header in the 60th minute.
Soon after, Arsenal bundled in a consolation goal through former Chelsea defender William Gallas - why do centre-backs always seem to have a knack for scoring against Liverpool (think Rio Ferdinand earlier this season).
Peter Crouch, high on confidence after two great goals in the first half, completed his brilliant hat-trick in the 81st minute when he danced around in the box before firing a left-foot shot pass the helpless Lehmann.
A fantastic result for the Reds that could go a long way in determining who ends up with the coveted third spot in the league as well as revenging the cup losses to the Gunners earlier this season.
And what about the main man Peter Crouch? I have never sung his praises, but he deserves a huge pat on the back for such a tremendous performance. Hat-tricks don't get any better than this and some would describe this particular one as 'perfect' - one with the right foot, one with the left, and a header.
Amazing.
Elsewhere, Manchester United came from behind to record a 4 - 1 win over Blackburn at Old Trafford.
After falling behind to a Matt Derbyshire goal in the 29th minute, the Red Devils had to wait until the second half before finding the net and the floodgates opened thereafter.
Paul Scholes opened the scoring with a shot into the bottom corner and Michael Carrick (73), Ji-Sung Park (83) and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (90) chipped in to send United 9-points clear at the table momentarily.
Chelsea only just managed to stay in touch with the league leaders courtesy of substitute Salomon Kalou's injury time goal to keep Chelsea's Barclays Premiership hopes alive.
Elsewhere, wins were recorded for Bolton, Manchester City, Charlton, West Ham and Tottenham.
Man Utd 4 - 1 Bolton
Chelsea 3 - 0 Sheff Utd
Middlesbrough 0 - 2 Man City
Reading 0 - 0 Portsmouth
Tottenham 3 - 1 Watford
Wigan 0 - 0 Fulham
Blackburn 1 - 2 West Ham
Sun, Mar 18:
Charlton 2 - 0 Newcastle
Aston Villa 0 - 0 Liverpool
Everton 1 - 0 Arsenal
SUMMARY:
Manchester United's Park Ji-Sung and Wayne Rooney both scored a brace in their team's 4-1 victory over Bolton at Old Trafford.
However, the chief tormentor for Bolton was none other than in-form Portugal international Cristiano Ronaldo who played a part in three of the four goals, including a stunning 80 yard run from the edge of his own box to setup Wayne Rooney for a chipped goal.
A serious-looking ankle injury to skipper Gary Neville in the 10th minute was the only sour-note of a dominant Red Devils performance and with six senior players already on the treatment table, the latest injury blow will truly test the depth of Sir Alex Ferguson's squad.
Chelsea are still in hot pursuit of the league leaders with a comfortable 3-0 demolition job on struggling Sheffield United at Stamford Bridge.
Goals from Andriy Shevchenko, Salomon Kalou and substitute Michael Ballack were more than enough to settle a game in which the home side were rarely in trouble.
Arsenal and Liverpool, however, were unable to keep up with the top two sides with a loss and draw respectively.
The Gunners lost to an injury time winner from Everton's Andy Johnson which came from Mikel Arteta's corner. Arsenal chose the worst time to lose concentration and failed to clear the ball allowing the striker to drill home with a left-foot shot.
Meanwhile, Liverpool dominated possession at Villa Park but was unable to find a way past a resilient Aston Villa defence, reinforcing the need for a world-class striker in the off-season.
The man known as "God" to Liverpool fans, Robbie Fowler, replaced Gerrard with six minutes left and almost won the game for Liverpool when his header was turned around the post by Sorensen.
Oh what might have been had Fowler been brought on earlier when it was clear that a goal-poacher of his quality would not go amiss.
Reigning premiers Chelsea narrowed the gap at the top to just six points with a hard fought win over Manchester City over-night.
The Chelsea of late have been slow starters and this was no different despite taking the lead in the 28th minute. England defender Micah Richards fouled Salomon Kalou inside the box and up stepped Frank Lampard to dispatch the penalty and only goal of the game.
While Chelsea are six points from the top of the ladder, Manchester City will be looking over their shoulders as this defeat puts them within six points of the relegation zone.
Arsenal finally gave boss Arsene Wenger something to smile about with a win against Aston Villa.
The Gunners have suffered heartbreak over the past few weeks with their treble exits from cup competitions but Vassiriki Diaby's strike in the 10th minute gave the young side precious three points which saw them leap-frog Liverpool into third place.
Arsenal were without four players through suspension plus the injured captain Thierry Henry but they still managed to maintain a nine-year unbeaten run against Villa which encompasses 17 games.
Liverpool 0 - 1 Man Utd
Arsenal 2 - 1 Reading
Fulham 1 - 1 Aston Villa
Man City 0 - 1 Wigan
Newcastle 0 - 0 Middlesbrough
Sheff Utd 1 - 1 Everton
Watford 2 - 2 Charlton
Portsmouth 0 - 2 Chelsea
Sun, March 4:
Bolton 1 - 2 Blackburn
West Ham 3 - 4 Tottenham
SUMMARY:
Liverpool's unbeaten home run was ended in dramatic fashion when Manchester United defender John O'Shea's shot from a loose ball ended in the back of the net in the dying seconds.
Manchester United visited Anfield knowing that a win would give them a hand on the prized Premiership trophy but Liverpool had other ideas and dominated the game throughout the match.
However, in the dying seconds, the Red Devils pulled off an amazing "smash and grab" when O'Shea scored after a Ronaldo free-kick had rebounded off Liverpool keeperJose Reina.
Sir Alex Ferguson claimed Manchester United were lucky to beat Liverpool - and admitted the referee was right to send off Paul Scholes, who flung a stray arm at Xabi Alonso, for violent conduct.
Manchester United now has a nine-point lead in the Premiership race with just nine games remaining and the win at Anfield may have just sealed it for the Red Devils.
Chelsea remains within sight of the leaders with a 2-0 win over Portsmouth at Fratton Park courtesy of Didier Drogba's 29th goal of the season and Salomon Kalou's 82nd minute goal.
Arsenal bounced back from their recent disappoint to beat Reading at home to move within a point of third place Liverpool.
Elsewhere, West Ham's relegation battle looks doomed after throwing away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-4 to Tottenham. The Hammer's defensive frailities were cruelly exposed when Tottenham scored twice in as many minutes to down the fellow Londoners.
Reading 2 - 0 Aston Villa
Chelsea 3 - 0 Middlesbrough
Everton 1 - 0 Blackburn
Man Utd 2 - 0 Charlton
Newcastle 2 - 1 Liverpool
Sheff Utd 2 - 1 Tottenham
West Ham 0 - 1 Watford
Portsmouth 2 - 1 Man City
Sun, Feb 11:
Bolton 2 - 1 Fulham
Arsenal 2 - 1 Wigan
SUMMARY:
The results from the Premier League this weekend was "same old, same old" with Manchester United and Chelsea achieving 2-0 and 3-0 wins respectively.
The Red Devil's 6-point cushion remained intact despite never hitting top form after goals from midfielders Ji-Sung Park and Darren Fletcher secured a 2-0 victory.
Didier Drogba's brace helped Chelsea on their way to a 3-0 victory against Aussie Mark Viduka's Middlesbrough with the Aussie guilty of missing a sitter after superbly pulling away from his marker, England captain John Terry, no less.
Rather than celebrating their first win under new American owners, Liverpool came unstuck against Newcastle at St James' Park having taken the lead through ex-Newcastle player Craig Bellamy (who was roundly booed, as one would expect) before the Toon brigade fought back to snatch a 2-1 home victory.
On Sunday, Arsenal came from behind to earn a hard fought victory over Wigan to keep their unbeaten home record intact.
Wigan stole the lead in the first half with a screamer from Denny Landzaat and it took until the 81st minute for the Gunners to equalise through a fortuitous own goal.
Czech midfielder Tomas Rosicky then scored the winner for Arsenal with a header in the dying minutes of the game to seal the three points for the home side.
Liverpool 0 - 0 Everton
Aston Villa 1 - 0 West Ham
Blackburn 2 - 1 Sheff Utd
Charlton 0 - 1 Chelsea
Fulham 2 - 1 Newcastle
Man City 0 - 2 Reading
Watford 0 - 1 Bolton
Wigan 1 - 0 Portsmouth
Middlesbrough 1 - 1 Arsenal
Sun, Feb 4:
Tottenham 0 - 4 Man Utd
SUMMARY:
The 205th Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton finished goal-less with the blue half of Merseyside celebrating the feat of taking four points off fierce rivals Liverpool in a single season.
The build-up to the big game was all about the Mighty Reds avenging the 0-3 loss to Everton earlier in the season with manager Rafa Benitez signalling his intent by fielding a three-pronged attack of Peter Crouch, Dirk Kuyt and Craig Bellamy.
However, a determined Everton outfit defended admirably to earn a point at the fortress that is Anfield with the Reds unable to breach the stubborn defence marshalled by Alan Stubbs.
Ten-men Arsenal fought hard to earn a draw with Middlesborough on Teeside and hard to rely on talismanic captain Thierry Henry to equalise in the 77th minute.
Australia captain Mark Viduka was on fine form and gave nightmares to Arsenal defender Kolo Toure all afternoon and was unlucky not to make the score-sheet.
Elsewhere on Saturday were wins for Aston Villa, Blackburn, Chelsea, Fulham, Reading, Bolton and Wigan.
On Sunday, league leaders Manchester United regained their six-point cushion on second placed Chelsea with a 4-0 win over Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
On-form Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring with a controversial penalty at half-time when he appeared to dive in the box when challenged by Spurs defenders Steed Malbranque and Lee Young-Pyo.
I would've liked to give Ronaldo the benefit of the doubt, but given his reputation as a diver and the minimal amount of contact in the challenge, I would have to say that Spurs were hard done by.
Watch the video and see for yourself.
In the second half, it was all United with defender Nemanja Vidic, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs all getting on the score-sheet.
footballnotsoccer
Paladin
Hardy
KC Hill
techman
Graham Fisher
Andrew Aigner-Muehler
LukeS
Craig Hill
Add Comments
Comments (1)
