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
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."
Wigan Athletic has unveiled a new fluorescent yellow and black away kit for the 2008-09 English Premier League season.
Made by new kit manufacturers Champion using 100% polyester, the kit isn't as fluorescent as Chelsea's 07/08 away kit but it's still quite 'out there' with its bright colour and modern design with black inserts around the neck, collar bone, sleeves and down the side of the body.
The shirt also features a redesigned club crest showing a tree sitting on top of a crown and the year in which the club was established: 1932. The yellow shirt is paired with black shorts and black socks.
Wigan Athletic has unveiled a new home kit in traditional blue and white colours for the 2008-09 season of English football.
Made by new kit manufacturers Champion using 100% polyester, the kit features a modern design of blue and white in thick vertical stripes and patterns around the neckline and above the shoulders.
The shirt also features a redesigned club crest showing a tree sitting on top of a crown and the year in which the club was established: 1932. Paired with blue shorts and white socks, the 2008-09 Wigan home kit features arguably the most changes of any kit in the English Premier League this season.
Manchester United are sitting firmly in the driver's seat for a second successive Premiership title after nearest rivals Chelsea suffered a shock 1-1 draw against Wigan overnight.
The home side were punished by an injury time equaliser from England striker Emile Heskey which means the gap between the 1st and 2nd placed teams on the ladder has now stretched to five points with just four games remaining.
A lethargic Chelsea display capitulated in the dying seconds of the match despite Michael Essien giving the hosts the lead in the 55th minute following good work from France striker Nicolas Anelka. Chelsea had further chances to put the result beyond doubt with Joe Cole going close on a few occasions but their inability to finish off a side in the bottom half of the table came back to haunt them in injury time when Heskey volleyed home a cross from substitute Jason Koumas.
Chelsea will now have to beat Everton on Thursday if the much hyped 'decider' against Manchester United on April 26 is to have any bearing on the outcome of this season.
Watch the video of Heskey's dramatic equaliser here.
Chris Hutchings have become the third managerial casualty this season after he was sacked by Wigan following the club's slump into the bottom three of the English Premier League.
Hutchings was promoted as first team manager following the resignation of Paul Jewell in May. He had been assistant manager at the club for six years and in that time, he played a pivotal role in taking the club from League One to the Premier League.
However, the club finally lost patience after a poor start to the season with the team collecting just eight points from 12 matches. Their loss to Chelsea over the weekend was their sixth defeat in succession - a clearly unacceptable statistic to the club's board.
Chairman Dave Whelan said: "It is crucial for our development that we maintain our Premier League status.
"Following results and performances in recent matches we feel it is critical to act now. It is in the best interests of the club and its long-term future."
Assistant manager Frank Barlow will take charge of first team affairs on a caretaker basis with immediate effect.
Wigan Athletic's latest away kit is made from Umbro's "Climate Control" fabric which is developed to provide vapour, moisture and heat management to ensure that the wearer is kept dry and comfortable whatever the conditions.
The kit is predominately white with hints of blue and black stripes near the neck and shoulder area and complements the blue home kit well.
Wigan Athletic will be wearing this new home kit at the JJB Stadium for the current English Premier League season.
Made using 87% Polyester 13% Cotton by Umbro, the kit features blue and white stripes with the sponsor's logo, JJB, neatly implemented with the colours of the kit.
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.
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.
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