pundits

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September 30, 2008

The world has gone mad: Styles to continue officiating

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Remember this from last season: Chelsea vs Liverpool

Not good news for Spurs who are scraping the bottom of the barrel. The last thing they need is an blundering referee who snatches victory from them.

Styles has an uncanny ability of becoming the headline whether through incompetence or attention seeking behaviour.

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September 29, 2008

Amr Zaki: A player Wenger would have been proud of

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Amr Zaki is proving to be the "thinking out of the box" player that Wenger prefers. With a nice affordable price tag.

He is on loan to Wigan and it is because of his performance that pundits suspect that Wigan are better than they look. Steve Bruce is all praise for the EPL's top scorer.

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Tony Cascarino: The fat lady - and Chas & Dave - are singing for Newcastle United

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I laugh when I hear and read pundits talking about relegation at this stage of the season. I mean, we're only in September. But I'm sorry, when you look at the basket case that is Newcastle United and the predicament that they are in, there is only one way of looking at it. They have relegation written all over them. Click to continue reading...

Man Utd 2-0 Bolton: Ref Reprieve Earns Win

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No, it wasn't a penalty; everyone by now would testify. I'm not sure if Ronaldo dived, as lot of pundits would claim though, I think he could have stood his ground. But it was the sort of break you needed in the game to come away with a win. As usual I've taken longer [...] Click to continue reading...

September 26, 2008

The Kids Are Alright

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Under the heated spotlight of the Premier League it's difficult to keep your head when all about you are losing theirs. It takes the stubborn resolve, perhaps even the arrogance, of a manager sure of his principals with unbreakable trust in his players.

Arsene Wenger spent little this summer, and has never had the financial power of Chelsea or Manchester United, yet is charged with the task of competing with such clubs for domestic and European honours every season. Click to continue reading...

September 24, 2008

Keep the red card flying here . . .

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Neither newspapers nor pundits missed the opportunity to comment on a recent incident from the Manchester City/Chelsea game in the Premiership, when John Terry, the England captain, was sent off by Mark Halsey for serious foul play in the 66th... Click to continue reading...

A Gentle Reminder

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I listen to several different football podcasts and try to read as much about the beautiful game as possible (while trying not to get fired from my other job that actually pays me money). In the past few days I have noticed a disturbing trend in the coverage of Manchester United's newest player, Dimitar Berbatov.

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September 23, 2008

Tuesday and We’re Back at It

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I'm home and still catching up, so this will be brief.  We're undergoing an audit by the State of NH at work starting tomorrow and running through the end of the week.  (As Princess Sparkle Pony would say ... "Yay!"). On the actual, honest-to-goodness YAY front, I see that the Phillies won (again) over the Braves, [. Click to continue reading...

September 21, 2008

Crisis at Spurs?

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Tottenham remain bottom of the Barclays Premier League table after only picking up a point at home to Wigan Athletic today. At the start of the season, many fans and pundits felt they could break into that elusive top four, but that looks a distant memory now.

They are still without a win this season and it is now their worst start to a top flight season in 34 years. Click to continue reading...

Chelsea v Man Utd: Preview

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The magnitude of the situation has been spelled out by pundits and fans alike. SAF recognises the importance of not falling nine points behind Chelsea. Win today and we'll be three points behind with a game in hand. Lose and we'll be you guessed it nine points behind; not a situation one might [. Click to continue reading...

September 19, 2008

Match Preview: Bolton v Arsenal (Premier League)

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Arsenal will be looking to shoot down the white's in a tough looking clash at the Reebok tomorrow afternoon. Gary Megson's side don't have a very good record against Arsene Wenger's boys, and pundits are already writing them off despite Arsenal's draw against Kiev in midweek. Games between the two sides usually create plenty of goals, and [. Click to continue reading...

Match Preview: Bolton v Arsenal (Premier League)

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Arsenal will be looking to shoot down the white's in a tough looking clash at the Reebok tomorrow afternoon. Gary Megson's side don't have a very good record against Arsene Wenger's boys, and pundits are already writing them off despite Arsenal's draw against Kiev in midweek. Games between the two sides usually create plenty of goals, and [. Click to continue reading...

September 16, 2008

Ban Danny Guthrie until Craig Fagan is fit

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Newcastle midfielder Danny Guthrie's vicious scythe on Hull's Craig Fagan on Saturday had many commentators and pundits saying the Tigers striker was lucky to escape without serious injury. Well, it turns out he didn't. Despite jumping straight up to remonstrate with Guthrie, it has now emerged that Fagan broke his leg in the incident and [. Click to continue reading...

September 9, 2008

MLS 8-ball: Kartik goes top

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It makes sense that one of the most knowledgable American soccer pundits would take the top spot in the MLS 8-ball table. It's still a great race, but entering week 25, Kartik has taken the top spot with Real New... Click to continue reading...

September 8, 2008

COMPETITIONS: SuperLiga Not Going Away

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There are currently many discussions of the MLS schedule, fixture congestion and other issues regarding the calendar.

Many pundits and people who looked closely at the MLS schedule seem to come to a hasty conclusion: "Well they could just get rid of SuperLiga. After all, the CONCACAF Champions League serves the same purpose. Click to continue reading...

September 6, 2008

Andorra 0-2 England

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When McClaren's England won 3-0 against Andorra many fans and pundits attacked the manager and team for not winning against a poorer opposition, tonight Cappello's England only managed a 2-0 victory.

So does this mean that once again that England will struggle and even fail to qualify for a major tournament? Click to continue reading...

September 3, 2008

Wenger Criticism Is Wide Of The Mark

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In the immediate aftermath of Arsenal's 1-0 defeat at Craven Cottage on  the second Saturday evening of the Premiership, several pundits queued up to pass judgement on Arsenal, the players who performed and the lack of signings. Two games into the season and Arsenal have no chance of winning anything, finishing in the top four [. Click to continue reading...

August 30, 2008

2008-2009 UEFA Champions League Group Stage Decided

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Several pundits have offered opinions on which group will be the toughest and which Serie A club(s) have the most difficult task of proceeding further so I might as well throw my hat in the ring with the rest. Roma and Juventus are going to face the toughest battle in groups A and H respectively. Click to continue reading...

August 28, 2008

Four Champions League Surprises

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Four clubs surprised the pundits by pulling off impressive victories against higher ranked outfits. Based on current rankings:

  • Anorthosis Famagusta (ranked 193) defeated Olympiacos (ranked 44)
  • FC BATE Borisov (unranked) defeated Levski Sofia (ranked 80)
  • Atlético Madrid (ranked 67) defeated Schalke 04 (ranked 22)
  • Dynamo Kyiv (ranked 74) defeated Spartak Moscow (ranked 61)

FC BATE from Belarus and Anorthosis from Cyprus are the first clubs from their perspective countries to ever qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

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August 24, 2008

Fulham’s Paintsil Likely To Face FA Charge

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Fulham defender John Paintsil may regret his horror challenge on Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Eboue if the FA view television footage of the tackle which occured during the Gunners' surprise 1-0 loss at Craven Cottage. Several television pundits pointed out that Referee Martin Atkinson was in a good position to witness the hack-down, despite that, Atkinson failed to [. Click to continue reading...

August 21, 2008

Should Rooney follow Barwick and quit England?

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Thanks to Brian Barwick and the FA anyone who was even mildly interested in the England v Czech Republic friendly had to find somewhere or someone who has Setanta Sports - the backwater satellite broadcaster who has won the rights to show England's friendly and World Cup qualifying games.

Sad to report, that I was among the suffers who'd tuned in to witness the demise of Barwick. Click to continue reading...

August 20, 2008

Gunners Sign Silvestre

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Arsenal today signed French full-back Mikel Silvestre from title rivals Manchester United. The injury-plagued 31 year old will sign for the Gunners on a two-year deal, for an undisclosed fee, although national reports suggest the move was a free transfer.

Silvestre promises to bring a wealth of experience and maturity to what is a tender Emirates dressing room, which is though to be the thinking behind the transfer. Click to continue reading...

August 18, 2008

Premiership Prospectus 2008/9 -- Wigan Athletic

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Koumas...please don't shoot

2007/8 Review

Wigan struggled for goals last season. Marcus Bent scored just seven but he was their runaway top marksman, no-one else netted more than four. Defensively, Wigan did just enough to ensure survival, managing to contain most teams and getting Chris Kirkland through a season (almost) injury free for the first time since the dawn of time. Click to continue reading...

Chelsea are Champions - Arsenal Struggling?

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After one week-end the pundits are all lauding Chelsea, they are unbeatable, unstoppable, we might as well give them the league now. It is interesting to see how the media have taken to writing us off after one game, even though we won, whilst others who have had a bad week-end have had their misfortunes [. Click to continue reading...

August 15, 2008

It’s deja vu all over again

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Before the 2007/08 season, many critics/pundits were forecasting what would be a negative season for the Gunners. They were too young, too inexperienced - whatever the excuse, this would be the season that would see them fall out of the top four, perhaps only the top three and concede one spot on the table to Liverpool.

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August 12, 2008

Dexy’s Premiership Predictions Part 1

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After a whirlwind 1st season last year at UKFF, I don't think I faired too badly in the gypsy glass ball prediction game malarkey, well it's in the blood innit. Ok, the Manc's didn't do the treble as I thought they would but they darn well came close with 100 goal-line clearances by Pompey in the FA cup semi denying me some sheckles. Click to continue reading...

August 11, 2008

What are Liverpool fans’ hopes for the new season in SIX WORDS!

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Long-winded people are boring, and writing full sentences is for chumps. So instead you have just SIX words. Sound easy? Good for you. Don't forget to check out Online Football Manager! As the new season fast approaches, many pundits are predicting good things for Rafa's Liverpool side and it could be that the Merseyside outfit run the [. Click to continue reading...

Who is the best pundit?

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Inspired by comments on the ‘Ramos Revolution' blog, I decided it was fitting to have a blog on those big mouths, who don't actually manage or play and don't live or die by what results happen on the pitch. Click to continue reading...

August 10, 2008

Pompey fail to turn up as Reds secure the Shield...

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As pre-season warm-up games go, it was decent work-out for both United and Portsmouth, but as a contest the holders had by far the better of things with Pompey looking decidedly lacklustre in midfield and up front.

Despite the Reds almost total domination of the ball it was a game of few clear cut chances. Click to continue reading...

August 8, 2008

If You Know Your History - Bouncebackability

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Somewhere around 2004, Crystal Palace manager Ian Dowie, when talking about his sides ability to bounce back from bad results, described this phenomenon as his teams 'bouncebackability'. Pundits, always keen to add to their vocabulary started using the word and before too long, 'bouncebackability' was popping up in the newspapers, the blogs and the podcasts [. Click to continue reading...

August 7, 2008

Sooooo … What Now, Pia?

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Norway 2, USWNT 0. The laments and wailing, the recriminations, the rending of clothes and gnashing of teeth have all begun and will continue until the USWNT plays like they can. Norway did it to us again ... or perhaps more accurately, we did it to ourselves. According to many on-line pundits, the [. Click to continue reading...

July 30, 2008

Andrei Arshavin Deserves A Better Club

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Andrei Arshavin is world-class material. He deserves a better club and greater recognition than to spend his entire career languishing in the Russian League.To many soccer fans, this name may not ring a bell, that is, until the European Championships which concluded last month. Arshavin caught the eyes of soccer pundits and bigwigs with his [. Click to continue reading...

July 29, 2008

Harriet Harman takes temporary charge of England

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MASSIVELY demented Labour deputy Harriet Harman has demanded that she take charge of the England national team while Fabio Capello is on holiday, prompting pundits to claim she will be the first woman to take charge of the national team since Glenn Hoddle's departure in 1999. But Mr Capello – who last week claimed the [. Click to continue reading...

July 25, 2008

Campeonato Brasileiro preview round 15

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For Saturday's game, we'll be set up at the estádio Maracanã for Fluminense against Cruzeiro. Nearly all the pundits were expecting Fluminense to be challenging for one of the top slots by this stage of the championship ... Click to continue reading...

If We Want To Hate Ronaldo, That’s Up To Us…But You Lot Can Clear Off!

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Manchester United fans rallied behind Cristiano Ronaldo following the dreadful behaviour he received in this country after the World Cup 06. The press, football fans, rival players and pundits were all after him, criticising and berating him, in quite shocking fashion. This country became obsessed with him and that obsession is still present two years [. Click to continue reading...
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