In what's becoming a common theme for our blog recently, those "one month bargain wonders" (First Denilson (remember him?!?), then Armand Traore, and now Stephen Ireland) that fantasy premier league managers oooed and ahhhed over for the first 1/4 of the season now look like dead weight...
Only 32% of the season is over, but managers are in mid-season crisis mode - wondering if their high-priced studs Ashley Young and Mikel Arteta will break out of their slumps, or if their mid-priced bargain buys Ireland and Traore should be shipped out. Click to continue reading...

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Blog favorite Ashley Young has been a staple in our fantasy lineups since his good old newly-promoted Watford days, years ago. Click to continue reading...

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The lineups are set, and another week of World Cup Qualifying is well underway. Click to continue reading...

You have to go all the way back to 21st February 2004 to find the last time Chelsea lost at home in the Premier League. Since then 85 teams have attempted to beat the Blues at Stamford Bridge but none have left with more than a point. One of the teams to go closest to ending [...] Click to continue reading...

We know that some of our footie- addicted bachelor readers are probably more interested in the announcement of a new soccer singles dating website than plunging into a world of fantasy premier league opinion and commentary, and while we respect that, we need to focus on soccer/football rather than on T&A for the time being. Click to continue reading...

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba is injured. In a rare case of non-diving, Drogba's knee injury seems to be legitimate, as he was stretchered off the pitch during Chelsea's Champions League draw in Romania.
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The Ivorian is not a fantasy premier league factor this season (as he has just returned from injury) but with Joe Cole and Deco also out due to injury, Chelsea's injury crisis in the real world could provide some excellent short term benefits for fantasy premier league managers. Click to continue reading...

While the Bulgarian stock exchange has seen its value plummet a la the US stock market, Bulgaria's greatest footballing export Dimitar Berbatov seems headed in the opposite direction.
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The expensive Manchester United striker opened his Champions League account today netting twice in United's 3-0 away win in Denmark. Click to continue reading...

In British newspaper match reports of Aston Villa's 2-1 away win against Tottenham Hotspur, almost all of the stories lead with sentences similar to this one found in The Sun: "Calamity keeper Heurelho Gomes messed up to leave Spurs rooted at the foot of the table." True, yes, but it doesn't provide a complete accurate picture [. Click to continue reading...

Picture from The Telegraph via Getty Images. Maybe Tony Pulis was right. Mamady Sidibe's header gives Stoke City a shock 3-2 win at the Britannia Stadium. If you heard me this week on The Third Half, I pretty much mocked the fact I pulled this game out of the hat to do as one of my two full [...] Click to continue reading...

Picture from The Telegraph via Getty Images.

Maybe Tony Pulis was right.

Mamady Sidibe's header gives Stoke City a shock 3-2 win at the Britannia Stadium.

If you heard me this week on The Third Half, I pretty much mocked the fact I pulled this game out of the hat to do as one of my two full match reviews.

Click to continue reading...

Martin O'Neill...A Simple Plan

2007/8 Review

When Martin O'Neill joined Aston Villa in August 2006, he had spent most of the previous six years managing in Scotland. However the Premiership had already seen the prototype of O'Neill's Aston Villa in his final year at Leicester. With his last major signing for the Foxes, he bought athletic striker Stan Collymore. Click to continue reading...

1. Debut goals are easy When Arsenal debutant Samir Nasri scored just four minutes into his Premier League career, he set the tone for goalscoring debutants over the weekend. Egyptian striker Amir Zaki got the idea with a left footed strike for Wigan, Deco got himself a great goal to seal an impressive performance for Chelsea, [. Click to continue reading...

England have been missing a rampaging forward ever since Alan Shearer retired from national duty in 2000.  Gabriel Agbonlahor has the physique, the skill and the attitude to finally replace Shearer at the center of England's attack. A potted history of England's strikers since 2000: Michael Owen has continued to shine whenever he's pulled on the England [. Click to continue reading...

The first weekend of the Premier League is over, and what an entertaining weekend it was. Thirty two goals and an average of 3.2 goals per match, and a few surprise results. Who said the Premier League was boring?! Here are some of the highs and lows from this past weekend, as well as my two [...] Click to continue reading...

The first weekend of the Premier League is over, and what an entertaining weekend it was. Thirty two goals and an average of 3.2 goals per match, and a few surprise results. Who said the Premier League was boring?! Here are some of the highs and lows from this past weekend, as well as my two [...] Click to continue reading...

Something to read while you send a friend request to the oldest person on Facebook... New Bundesliga stars for a new Bundesliga season (Bild) Fabio Capello. In his pants. That'll teach him (Aston Villa Offside) Beginners guide to Celtic (Inside Left) David Bentley's 1940s haircut (A More Splendid Life) The Dutch need their own Messi (Netherlands WCB) The pros and cons [. Click to continue reading...

And with the season upon us, it's time for more predictions which will almost certainly not come true because my crystal ball is dirty and unreliable. Just like Man City's ownership. The Big Four.....will stay the Big Four. Every year someone is supposed to crack through and break the big moneyed foursome clotting the top of [. Click to continue reading...

A summer filled with video highlights here continues with Ashley Young's stunning goal in Aston Villa's 1-0 victory over Odense BK yesterday. The win sealed Villa's place in the UEFA Cup second qualifying round, and Young sent the home crowd into raptures with this right-footed drive from his usual left wing position. Click to continue reading...

Does Barry's imminent departure mean more fantasy return from Blog Favorite Ashley Young this season? Just thinking that the corners and free kicks that Barry would have taken last season will now come to BFAY. And with BFAY listed as a midfielder this season in the Yahoo!UK game instead of at forward. Click to continue reading...

Numerous reports today have confirmed what has basically been common knowledge over the past couple of weeks: Liverpool is interested in signing Aston Villa's captain, Gareth Barry. Villa manager Martin O'Neill came out today criticizing Liverpool for publicizing this interest; a part exchange offer has been made for sure, with Peter Crouch, John Arne Riise, and/or even possibly Scott Carson as the likely candidates to go the other way. Click to continue reading...

Watching today's edition of the Second City Derby, won in style 5-1 by Aston Villa, one had to have been impressed with the victors. They scored from open play and set pieces. They ran Birmingham ragged from start to finish. Ever since manager Martin O'Neill altered his team's formation, they've been almost unstoppable in the league, and it continued this afternoon. Click to continue reading...

To no one's surprise, David Beckham was retained by England manager Fabio Capello in the final 23-man squad for the Three Lions' friendly in Paris next week. Beckham is one cap short of 100 in his England career and if he doesn't get it against France, and it appears that he will based on this roster, he'll very likely get it at Wembley against the US on May 28. Click to continue reading...

Aston Villa youngster Ashley Young is getting heaped with praises after an excellent season with the Midlands club. First it was his team mate John Carew who hailed the 21-year England international and now his club manager Martin O'Neill has showered him with more praises. O'Neill says: After a very good opening game against Newcastle, the [. Click to continue reading...

Norwegian international striker John Carew has seen it all with Valencia and Lyon and knows a thing or two about quality. So when he speaks highly of young Aston Villa team mate Ashley Young, we may as well believe him. Carew even backs the Villa youngster to carve out a permanent place in the England [. Click to continue reading...

As a Watford supporter I was delighted when Aston Villa paid us £8 million for Ashley Young. Although I was disappointed to lose one of our better players, I was sure that Villa had paid way over the odds for him.

Watching the 22 year-old winger play now, I think Villa got a bargain. He is direct, quick, and provides an end product. Click to continue reading...

Fabio Capello has arrived in England to find the game in this country at its lowest ebb for many years. Failure to qualify for this summers European championships has left English football in the doldrums. He must have expected the worst when he started attending Premier League games in order to assess the talent he has available for selection. Click to continue reading...

Alan Hansen, writing for the Daily Telegraph, reckons that England simply don't have the requisite young up and coming talent at their disposal and that Capello will be hard pressed to pick a team vastly different from the ones chosen by Steve McClaren. Hansen writes: "Like any other new England manager, Capello will [. Click to continue reading...

Well, this is disappointing news. Apparently Harry Kewell is not in-line to start today at Blackburn and may not even play nonetheless. Rafa has said that he will be extra cautious in integrating the Aussie into the first-team. This may be a ploy by Benitez, but I doubt it. To be honest, King Harry looked oddly spent within minutes of taking the field against Cardiff on Wednesday. Click to continue reading...