SHINESAMBORA SPORTS BLOG: Player of the year nominees thin on the ground

SHINESAMBORA SPORTS BLOG: Player of the year nominees thin on the ground: "A week or so ago, Paul Hayward from the Guardian tweeted the first set of odds for the PFA Player of the Year awards. Taking a look on Oddsc..."

Player of the year nominees thin on the ground

A week or so ago, Paul Hayward from the Guardian tweeted the first set of odds for the PFA Player of the Year awards. Taking a look on Oddschecker, one thing really stands out here, there isn't a stand out candidate.

At the moment Victor Chandler has Gareth Bale a 3/1 favourite. Now whilst Bale is clearly a fantastic footballer who was deserving of his new deal at Spurs, I can’t help but feel that he has been made favourite here on the back of two performances that were a) in Europe and b) against a team managed by Rafael Benitez. Stats don’t necessarily mean everything; however I would suggest that a winger who has just one assist this season hasn’t actually been as effective as people may think. The seven goals from the wide area are impressive and whilst it can be argued that Bale scares the hell out of most defences which means teams double up on him creating more space for other players, there are other players who have had bigger impact on their team this season.

One of Bale’s teammates for example falls into that category. Rafael Van Der Vaart’s signing in late August is the signing of the season for me, and still haunts me. Bebe £7.5m, Van Der Vaart £8m. Urgh!!!! The ex Real Madrid player had ten goals and seven assists arrived before injury struck and derailed his campaign. He was in the type of form that would have seen him run away with the award, before his dodgy hamstring went.

Other candidates on Oddschecker’s current list include Arsenal’s Sami Nasri and Cesc Fabregas. I can certainly understand the value of Nasri to the Gunners this season, chipping in with nine goals, and being their most consistent threat throughout the season in terms of creating chances for his team, however I can’t see how Fabregas should be considered. Just three goals from midfield are not good enough return for someone who is allegedly worth £40m. It’s been clear all season that Fabregas has not been all there with his head clearly turned by a return home to Cataluña. Jack Wilshere (seen below with a meerkat who can pick his own nose) would have a bigger claim to the award than Fabregas this year.

Carlos Tevez is currently priced at 5/1 and may not be a bad shout. If you look at the impact he has had on a City side full of mercenaries, only him, David Silva and Vincent Kompany have come out of this season so far with any real credit. Tevez has 18 goals this season but offers much more to them. His technique is not the best you will see around (far from it actually) but his bulldog like approach (copyright Martin Tyler, FIFA 11) and willingness to chase down anything gives City fans something to get excited about as Mancini seeks to park the bus in every single big game that they play in. (David Silva if he continues the way he his playing should be in the running for this award next year, he has been far and away Mancini’s best signing.

I mentioned earlier that stats aren’t everything but its hard not to be impressed with Nani’s form at United this year. It’s not Ronaldo-esque, however if you had asked any United fan this time last season if they saw this coming, their answer would have been a categorical no. Despite his impressive stats, Nani does continue to frustrate and should actually have more assists than he currently has to his name, mostly due to the fact most of his crosses struggle to beat the first man. Players also probably won’t vote for a man (I’m using the term loosely here) who cries on the pitch during your team’s biggest game of the season. Awful tackle no doubt but if you’re gonna cry about it, at least put your head in the ground until you've stopped.

United have two other players at the top of the list. Berbatov is quoted at the same price as Tevez, and whilst it’s not unreasonable to find the league’s top scorer in the list, the fact that 11 of his 20 goals have come in just three games probably doesn’t help his cause. The Bulgarian is an amazing talent who is having his best season at Old Trafford but he has failed to start a game since the Liverpool game three weeks ago and it is looking increasingly likely that Hernandez and Rooney will be the partnership Fergie looks to reach title Number 19.

One of the main reasons United look on the verge of that historic 19^th title is their captain Nemanja Vidic. United have lost just three games all season and in all honesty it may have been more if it wasn’t for some of the performances of their Serbian warrior who has marshalled a battered and bruised defence all season long with ease. The captain of the team that could win the league seems like an obvious choice to win the award but in a season where there hasn’t been a standout candidate it would certainly make the most sense.

Finally a quick nod has to go to Charlie Adam here who is by no means the best player in the league, however he has been a huge reason why Blackpool still have a chance to stay up this season. Where would they be without his nine goals and seven assists? Bottom is the answer you are looking for. If the award was given out based on impact of a player on one club, he would surely be in with a shout. Can’t see it though somehow, can you?

Quick CL draw thoughts

One team here will be very pleased. A quick hint; they are the best team in the world.

Although a trip to the Ukraine isn't easy (just ask City) Barca should have more than enough in the first leg to progress against a talented but inexperienced Shakhtar. They then face Madrid or Spurs in the semis. This is a tough tie to call. If Madrid were away from home first I could see them doing a similar job as they did on Lyon. But with the second leg at White Hart Lane, and a fit Van Der Vaart and Bale to return, Spurs can go through here. That said Madrid have to be the pick here as Mourinho is pretty much an expert in two legged games.

This leaves a Madrid v Barca semi which will mean four games in 15 days between the two of them. I predict the Spanish press is currently in meltdown. With the second leg to be played at the Camp Nou you would have to favour them. Given their lead in Spain it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them field a weaker side (do they have a weak side?) in either their Copa Del Ray final or their league game.

On the other side of the draw, United head to Chelsea whilst Inter entertain Schalke. Before the draw was made I spoke with a Chelsea fan and we agreed that no British team would make the semis unless they faced each other. Now it looks like one could make the final. The United V Chelsea tie is too close to call. Chelsea have won their last three competitive games against United, however in the two games in West London it could certainly be argued that United deserved a point in both games. However with United having what seems like an entire defence currently out with injuries Chelsea will certainly fancy their chances. A key figure in the tie won't even be playing. David Luiz's ineligibility leaves a huge hole at the back for Chelsea which will have to be filled. He has been their best player by distance since signing in January and has ability that no other Chelsea defender possesses. The second leg at Old Trafford could be the key thing in this all English contest.

Inter v Schalke is a repeat of the 1997 UEFA Cup final (you remember the UEFA Cup don't you? It was a good competition once). Anyway the Nerazzurri would fancy themselves here. They showed a lot of spirit in Munich, have fought back well in Serie A after a horror start (and thats a fact Rafa), and two of the best attacking players in the world on their day in Eto’o and Sneijder. Schalke on the other hand are not in their best run of form, lie 10th in the Bundesliga and have just sacked their coach. Inter has to be the pick here.

Gut initial feel here is a Barca v Inter final with Barca getting revenge for last year semi final defeat.

(I really wanted to pick United here but our midfield scares me so much that I worried enough about the game against Bolton, never mind the Champions League)

Time for one of all time greats to hang up his boots

Sitting down to watch the United v Maresille game on Wednesday night, I never imagined that I would be later thinking it would be time for one of United's greatest ever to hang up his boots. Hear me out on this one but I think it's time for Paul Scholes to retire. And not just due to the embarrassment of having to face the fact that Darren Gibson was picked ahead of him. I genuinely think it's time for United to say thanks for everything and move on.

Scholes is, it could be argued, the best midfielder in United's squad, however this has been down to a lack of real competition for that title over the last 12 months rather than anything hugely special that he has done.

I took one look at the United midfield on Wednesday night and was genuinely fearful. Gibson, Fletcher and Carrick. Which one of those would you put in an Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs, city, or even Liverpool midfield for that matter?

The fact that a 36 year old was been called upon to try and bring some creativity is in all honesty not good enough for a team that wants to be competing for league titles and European Cups.

The whole of the centre of midfield needs to be looked at starting from the holding player which I guess at the moment is a combination of Carrick and Scholes depending on formation and selection. The supposed role of the 'water carrier' in midfield is to strip the opponent of the ball and give it off to the more creative ones, or at least do something with it himself. In his near five years at Old Trafford I can honestly say I have seem Carrick win no more than 10 tackles and enough has been documented about Scholes lack of ability to tackle. Fletcher it could be argued could play that role but after a return to his 2006 form this season I'm not convinced. This role was made for Hargreeves and it's clear that sadly his days are numbered. United have to look elsewhere here.

From an attacking point of view Anderson, I'm fairness to the lad, has had a good season after many fans had written him off. Yet he is the only player United have who has the confidence to pick up the ball 30-40 yards from his own goal and drive at the heart of the opposition.
Whist Anderson does bring that to the table it can certainly be argued that there is a little creative spark missing from his game that can open up defences.

Whilst Scholes clearly does posses this ability, the problem is that he is sometimes too far behind play to effect anything. The game has to be played at a slower pace in order for him to be effective. This isn't his fault, he's 36 years old for god sake!

What I am trying to get at here is that once Scholes goes, the three that started against Marseille and Anderson are United’s four central midfielders. This frightens me. Why? Because there is not one player there that would frighten Barcelona, Real or Bayern who are probably the three best teams left in the Champions League right now. However I think it does need to happen now so Fergie will realise that what he has left is nowhere near good enough and that changes must be made.

So where do United go? In a perfect world Wesley Sniejder would be wearing red next season but I can't see it happening. A more realistic signing would be someone like Modric, however I think that hinges on how Spurs fare this season. If they fail to make the Champions league then he could end up at OT, but if they do make the top 4, I can't see him leaving. Elsewhere Fiorentina’s Riccardo Montolivo may be an option but in all honesty it's slim pickings.

The same could be said for the earlier mentioned holding role. One stand out player is Everton’s Jack Rodwell who looks a class act all the way. The big question here is would Everton sell another prize asset to United? Everyone has a price but somehow I can't see United spending 30 million on him.

So where does that leave United? Well it means that the scouts are going have to pull something out of the bag a little better than Obertan and Bebe. You can’t replace a player like Paul Scholes, but United must and they must act quickly.

Transfer Deadline Day thoughts

A mate of mine sent me a text asking if I was going to blog on the hilarity that was deadline day. Having spent most of it in work and then playing football, i missed out on the Sky Sports overkill and as a result didn't really feel like I would be able to write anything. However due to the madness of King Kenny and the arrival of the former golden boy of Merseyside in West London my mate won't go disappointed.

Starting with Carroll, let's get one thing straight; it's not his fault that he has gone for such a ludicrous price. However unless Liverpool change their style of play rapidly, he will struggle initially. Liverpool don't play with any width whatsoever and whilst he is more than capable with his feet, Carroll's strength is in the air and with a lack of service from the flanks he could find life on the red side of Liverpool difficult early on. Carroll can't be judged on this season but his high transfer fee means that he will be. On a completely different point, when Dalglish and Carroll met, could anyone else in the room understand a word that was said? Seriously I would have been amazed.

The biggest losers out of this are the Geordies, who despite pocketing £35m will be losing a lot more than that if they don't stay up this season. Without giving themselves anytime to get a proper replacement, Ashley has once again left them in the muck. Not that he cares.

Another highlight on deadline day was as usual, Harry Redknapp. I heard him on five live around 8.45 saying that he had put in one bid and that was for Phil Neville. "I'm going to head back to the hotel and put my feet up with a cup of tea and a sandwich." Anyone who believed him must have been mental and sure enough come the end of the night Charlie Adam was nostril hair away from becoming a Spurs player. Redknapp can always be counted on for some sort of entertainment on deadline day.

Speaking of Adam he hasn't exactly come out of the window as a winner. You can’t blame him for wanting to join Liverpool or Spurs, not one bit. But for his old man to call Blackpool a "cheap skate club" was one of the more ridiculous things you'll hear all year. The same "cheap skate club" that redirected your sons’ career. Seriously!!!

There wasn't a lot of movement in the top three with the exception of the fantastic rumour that City wanted to LOAN ( that's right, LOAN) Sebastian Larson from Brum. Yeah, that will end the trophy drought.

And I'll finish with Torres who has finally got the move to the big club he had been dreaming of all these years. Hold on a minute, I thought he got that in 2007. Quick history lesson Fernando ; whilst what you said made me chuckle, the facts speak for themselves. Liverpool is a proper football club built on winning trophies (although there's been a distinct lack of them recently) whilst Chelsea is a club built on a Russian Oligarchs cash and a few titles. That said though, signing for Chelsea does give him a better chance of winning trophies.

Liverpool should have got rid in the summer. He hasn't looked interested all season long, with the exception of ironically enough the Chelsea game when he scored two. Perhaps he was trying to prove a point to Abramovich. I asked a friend of mine who is a season ticket holder at Anfield what he thought and after using the 'C' word to describe his former hero, he said that there is no loyalty in football anymore. Well no there isn't. But the reality is that we shouldn't be surprised one bit by anything. In my first blog in July I talked about U.S basketball star Lebron James and how he shamelessly defecated on the entire Cleveland fan base. In the same blog I talked about how Tevez had done something very similar (in my eyes anyway) to United fans. Since I wrote this, Rooney, Tevez (AGAIN!!!) and now Torres have all either left or threatened to leave their respective clubs for various reasons, with fans of these clubs asking for loyalty. In reality we shouldn't expect anything because players are just like me and you; if someone offers them more money their head will turn, no matter how much they are currently on. I'm not saying its right, but it's a fact.

At the end of the day the Scousers have got good money for Torres, I'm just not sure they have spent it all that wisely.

Quick Picks

Tuesday

Blackpool v Birmingham, 20:00. Home win.

Blackpool haven't played at home in over a month. They will be fired up.

Fulham v West Brom, 20:00. Away win.

A team that has won at The Emirates should win at craven cottage.

Man Utd v Stoke, 20:00 Home win.

Standard home win here. On a separate note can Gary Neville please retire now. Seriously it's getting embarrassing.

Wednesday

Arsenal v Man City, 19:45 Home win.

City have no Silva or Balotelli. Shame as it would have been interesting to see Wilshere introduce himself to him. Gunners look to be hitting good form again.

Aston Villa v Sunderland, 19:45 - Home win

Villa will be hugely up for it after their performance at Chelsea. How great was the look on John Terrys face at the end of that game.

Newcastle v West Ham, 19:45 - Draw

Hammers have put some form together and Newcastle are very Jekyll and Hyde.

Wolverhampton v Chelsea, 19:45 - Away win

Wolves were unlucky on Saturday at Upton Park. Chelsea whilst being very funny at the moment, also have more than enough to win here.

Blackburn v Liverpool, 20:00 - Draw

Rovers are awful at the moment.Liverpool got out of jail on saturday but are shocking away from home.

Bolton v Wigan, 20:00 Home win

Bolton have too much quality for Wigan here.

Everton v Tottenham, 20:00 Away win

Spurs have to win these games if they are going to challenge for the title

Not looking good for Roy.. Not looking good at all

Six months ago as England were in the middle of a shocking World Cup, talk began of who would succeed Don Fabio if things didn’t turn around in South Africa. They didn’t of course, and the man who was on most people’s lips to replace Soho Squares famous Italian import was Roy Hodgson.

Now six months on, you have to wonder if Hodgson had been hired just how bad England’s Euro 2012 qualifying campaign would be.

Instead of Wembley, Roy ended up on Merseyside and was handed a squad that whilst in need of a lot of work, still had a decent amount of talent. So how has he ended up where he is now, teetering on the brink of the sack?

For starters he has had to deal with the ownership issue and it could be argued that this has had an effect on the squad as a whole. But this was sorted out months ago now and their form is as bad as ever. Whilst seeming to raise themselves for big games in patches, they have been truly awful in ones which a club like Liverpool should be winning.

Things were tough enough for Roy before Blackpool produced arguably the result of the season. Lacking in any type of real response, it became clear then that Liverpool's problems were not limited to just off the field.

As an inept derby performance seen by many Liverpool fans followed at Goodison and since then any good result has been followed by two bad ones. Victory at home to Chelsea was followed by a draw at Wigan and a defeat at Stoke. A 3-0 hammering of Villa was followed by a lacklustre defeat at Newcastle and the latest disaster at home to Wolves on Wednesday night. They have eight defeats at the turn of the year. Eight!!!!


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Despite all the turmoil of the field, Hodgson can't point to a lack of funds last summer. Yes Mascherano was sold, however two replacements were signed in Poulson and Meireles, neither of which have paid back any of the fee that was spent on them. Then there is Joe Cole...Pointless is the only word I can come up with for his signing.

The players must take some responsibility for sure, Gerrard and Torres have been lifeless all year (granted they have both had injuries) with no one else seeming like they want to do anything about the situation. It's down to Hodgson to motivate this team and he doesn't seem capable of it. If new players aren't brought in, and by new players I mean quality players, Hodgson is on course to lead Liverpool to its worst season since the days of Souness. With no one really willing to do business in January it doesn't look good for Uncle Woy.

New Years Days Picks

WBA v UTD – Draw

I will be getting up at 7.30 to head the hawthorns on Saturday morning with a stupid hangover to watch United throw away another lead late on. Why this team can’t finish off other sides is anyone’s guess.

Liverpool v Bolton – Draw

Hodgson’s last hurrah? Well not quite. Bolton were unlucky not to beat Liverpool at the Reebok back in October and will fancy their chances here. Liverpool look completely lost.

City v Blackpool – Home Win

After thrashing Villa last week, they will be hugely confident but I’ve written off Blackpool so many times that I now hesitate to do so. That said, City should have too much here.

Stoke v Everton – Away Win

Everton have taken 4 points from there last two away games and are unbeaten in four whilst Stoke lost at home to a Fulham team who have been awful all season. I can’t remember the last time a Delap throw in lead to a goal either.

Sunderland v Blackburn – Home Win

The Mackams hadn’t lost all season at home until Blackpool turned up on Wearside, and I don’t see them doing so again here. The sacking of Big Sam is, at the moment anyway, proving to be disaster for Blackburn.

Spurs v Fulham – Home Win

It’s hard to see past anything past a Spurs victory here. If they can beat two teams win three days with ten men then I can’t see them slipping up against Fulham.

West Ham v Wolves – Away Win

Both teams have had some good results recently but I’m picking Wolves here. Confidence will be sky high after winning at Anfield on Wednesday night and after winning 3-1 in the corresponding fixture last year they should be confident of repeating the same trick here.

Birmingham v Arsenal – Draw

Can anyone remember the last time Brum lost at home to a so called big team? Last season is the answer you are looking for my friends. Everton won in early October at St Andrews but no other team has managed it all season and the Gunners will need to be on their best form in order to take all 3 points here.

Chelsea v Aston Villa – Home Win

Mainly because Villa are so bad, even a severely lacking in confidence Chelsea team shouldn’t have any trouble here. Villa has some talented youngsters but Houllier needs more experienced players in Jan.

Wigan v Newcastle – Away Win

“Ladies and Gentlemen, CLEVERLEY vs CAROLL, its Super Sunday live on Sky Sports”. Seriously, this is the first “Super Sunday” of the year. I couldn’t be less excited. The Geordies will sneak this because they have, despite the sarcastic intro, a top player in Andy Carroll who will make the difference here.

Happy New Year to everyone.

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Champs League Draw thoughts and this weeks picks

So we are at the time of the year when the European Cup finally gets interesting. It's said every year but this competition would be so much better if it was a knock-out comp from Round One. It will never go back of course but we may as well enjoy the knock-out stages whilst they last. The Super League wont be far away.

So the draw for this years knockout stage threw up some interesting ties with Arsenal preparing for a tonking off Barcelona whilst Bayern will be confident of getting revenge on Inter for last year. United and Chelsea will fancy their chances of getting through but Spurs will find it tough to get past Milan. If they don't win at White Hart Lane they are going out as they concede way too many goals away from home and Milan have been on fire this year.


Initial predictions on Quarter Finalists:

Barcelona
Milan
Bayern
United
Chelsea
Real
Shakhtar
Schalke

And onto this weeks picks. Last week a respectable six out of ten although I must add that that is in part to Didier Drogba and his inability to score from twelve yards.

Sunderland v Bolton Home Win

Gut feeling here is a Sunderland win. Bolton played with ten men for a decent amount last week and got a great result but this has the feeling of a let down game for them.

Arsenal v Stoke
Home win

Flat track bullies win comfortably here.

Birmingham v Newcastle
Home Win

Brum look good at home. Pardew might find out he has only really 4 players of quality.

Blackburn v West Ham
Home Win

Big Sam's sacking is hilariously stupid and what these guys who've taken over are thinking I don't know. It's ironic that he will take Avram Grant's job after he gets beat at Ewood on Saturday.

Wigan v Aston Villa
Away Win

Despite them drawing the last couple of games, I still believe they are the worst team in the league.

Liverpool v Fulham
Home Win

Liverpool reasonable at home, terrible away. So logic dictates they win on Saturday night.

West Brom v Wolverhampton
Home Win

This West Brom team is the best of the three teams promoted, and Di Matteo could get a better job somewhere next year if they keep doing what they are doing.

Blackpool v Tottenham
Away Win

This game may not happen if the cold weather sets in. Maybe they could play it on the beach. Even if they did play on sand Spurs are still winning this game.

Chelsea v Man Utd
Draw

Chelsea had looked below par to say the least in the last few weeks but were showing signs of life at Spurs last week. Add that to United's rubbish record at the bridge and I'm worried.

Man City v Everton
Home Win

The Tevez story is just strange. What message it sends the rest of their squad is another matter. Add that to Balotelli's strop last week at West Ham and they would in theory be a complete mess. Yet they are still getting results and with Everton being all over the place they should win here.

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Tyneside soap opera takes another stupid twist

"People think I'm mad to take the job" I don't Alan, not at all. If anything you are a genius. You've managed to get yourself a five year contract at the most unstable football club in the country. Succeed and you are a genius. Fail and you get a lovely compensation payoff. Incredible!

Why Houghton was sacked is beyond me. You take a club back into the Premier League and have them mid table at Christmas and that’s the thanks you get? Holloway and Di Matteo must be crapping themselves.

The only way that this decision could have been justified was if they had brought in a big name, and when Martin Jol resigned from his position at Ajax, it seemed that Mike Ashley might have pulled off something of a coup. But instead they have gone for a man whose sole achievement in football management is a trip to Cardiff with West Ham back in 2006. Since then Pardew was sacked at West Ham, albeit slightly harshly, struggled terribly at Charlton and left League One Southampton under a cloud of controversy.

But this isn’t Pardew’s fault; Ashley is the man to blame here. Just when it seemed like all was quiet on the Anti-Cockney Mafia front, the owner of the world’s worst sports store has managed to once again rile up the Geordie faithful. Will he ever learn? I can understand that he is ambitious and wants to take Newcastle to the next level but this season isn’t about that. Survival should always be the aim for a newly promoted team. And if European Football is Ashley’s ultimate dream Pardew is hardly the man to take them there.

And with that here’s this week’s SS Selections. Three out of nine last week was a truly atrocious performance and this week’s games are also to tough to call.

Villa v West Brom - Draw

Villa look knackered at the moment and the baggies appear to have hit form again with a couple of good wins.

Everton v Wigan - Home win

Cos Wigan are awful really. Not much more to add here.

Fulham v Sunderland - Draw

Basically because Fulham appear incapable of anything else.

Stoke v Blackpool – Away Win

I've written off Blackpool too many times this season to make the same mistake again.

West Ham v City - Away win

The Hammers are showing signs of improvement but City should have too much for them.

Newcastle v Liverpool - Draw

Pardew won't have the same luck as Gullit did years ago against the scousers. Hodgson looks a bit clueless away from home but I don't think Pardew will give the Toon a huge lift.

Bolton v Blackburn - Home win

Owen Coyle should enjoy showing Big Sam that you can keep the ball on the deck at the Reebok.

Wolves v Birmingham - Draw

Another West Midlands derby, another draw. Brum don't score more than one a game an Wolves will be up for it after getting battered by Blackburn last week

Spurs v Chelsea - Draw

Spurs are on a high at the moment and Chelsea look so out of sorts that i wouldnt be too surprised to see Ancelloti replacing Rafa at Inter by the start of the new year. That's said Chelsea will turn it around sooner or later and they have the quality to get a result here.

United v Arsenal - Home win

I am biased and I don't care.

The SS Selections

Before I delve into this week’s Premier League picks, I feel I should take the blame for United’s defeat at West Ham on Tuesday night. In this blog I stated that I thought West Ham were doomed and were rubbish. Whilst I still believe this to be the case, I had clearly jinxed United’s second string who decided that after a long slog down the motorway to East London that they couldn’t actually be bothered to play football on Tuesday night. I don’t want to be too harsh on Johnny Evans, but I can’t remember seeing him have a worse game. As for John O’Shea; well I don’t think I have enough words to some up my feelings on him getting an £80k a week contract extension.

Last week I managed to put up a respectable performance getting half of my picks right. Not too bad, although I was way off on Everton and was saved by a couple of late goals in the Wolves and Spurs games.

Onto this week then...

Arsenal v Fulham – Home Win

Is there a manager in the Premier League who looks like he could care less than Mark Hughes. Despite some recent troubles at home the Gunners should have no probs here.

Birmingham v Spurs – Away Win

This may be a rare game where Spurs don’t have to come from behind to win as Birmingham don’t actually believe in shooting all that much. I actually believe Spurs should be deducted of all points until Aaron Lennon gets his stupid shaved eyebrow/shaved head (see number 8) concoction sorted out but that’s a whole different story.

Blackburn v Wolves - Draw

Wolves finally got the result they deserved last week against the Mackem’s and after Blackburn’s non performance at Old Trafford last week, they will fancy getting a result at Ewood. That said I think there will be some sort of reaction from Rovers so I’m going for a draw here.

Chelsea v Everton – Home Win

Everton have picked up results at Stamford Bridge in the past, but with Essien returning to the line up Chelsea should have enough with a suspended Arteta not available for the Toffees.

Man City v Bolton – Home Win

The curse of the Manager of the month strikes here as Owen Coyle scooped last month’s award today. Add that to Elmander winning player of the month and this has disaster written all over it. (Side note: if Tevez does actually in fact not enjoy the life of a footballer, can he get on with it and leave already. Every month he comes out with some spiel about this, and no one is ever going to sympathise with him)

Wigan v Stoke – Away Win

You have to fear for Wigan; they were battered by West Ham away from home last weekend and will return to the JJB to a half full stadium and a they are without Hugo Rodallega, their only real goal threat.

West Brom v Newcastle - Draw

Newcastle are very up and down and this week they are due to be down and the Baggies confidence will be high after a 4-1 win at Goodison last week, however with that all being said, Joey Barton returning is big for Newcastle as he is the best crosser of the ball in the squad and Andy Carroll will thrive off his return.

Sunderland v West Ham – Home Win

Just because they won Tuesday night doesn’t really mean anything has changed on the road for Avram. Sunderland to win comfortably here for me.

Liverpool v Aston Villa - draw

This was the game last season (despite it being only the third game of the season) where everyone saw that Liverpool were not going to be a contender. We already know that this time around, and so a young Villa team will have even less to fear this season.

The SS Selections

I am aware that this sounds like I am selecting people to join Hitler's rather controversial policing unit but alas this is just my Premier League picks for this weekend.

Villa v Arsenal – Away win

The Gunners have had some big wins away from home in the league and despite losing their last two games against Spurs and Braga (in Europe) they will probably have too much for Houlier’s young Villa team.

Bolton v Blackpool - Home win

Coyles team march on here. They also have one of the most underrated players in the league in Lee Chung-Yong.

Everton v West Brom – Home win

Everton were much better than Sunderland on Monday night and West Brom appear on a slippery slope. No brainer really

Fulham v Birmingham – Draw

Birmingham beat Chelsea at the weekend but had just one shot in 90 mins. Fulham were woeful against City and Hughes can't seem to buy a win.

United v Blackburn – Home win

United will continue to be dull, Nani will annoy the hell out of everyone for 90 mins and will then do something out of the ordinary that will win the game.

Stoke v City- Away win

Despite Mancini not been the man for the job (and for City’s owners the job is them winning the title) I have a feeling their players will do what they want here and they’ll win 2 or 3 nil. And Tony Pulis will cry.

West Ham v Wigan – Draw

Bold prediction here... this will be shown last on Match Of The Day and it will be 0-0. Both teams are so poor it’s beyond belief.

Wolves v Sunderland – Home win

I think Wolves are better than their position suggests and Sunderland are so unpredictable. Awful at Newcastle, okay at Spurs, brilliant at Chelsea; I can’t figure this team out.

Newcastle v Chelsea – Away win

Ancelotti isn't losing three games in a row. Just isn't happening. Can see Drogba destroying Newcastle here.

Spurs v Liverpool – Home win

Usually I would pick a draw in this situation and by Sunday I may have persuaded myself that Spurs Euro exploits would have rendered them knackered, but without Gerrard, I cant see Liverpool getting anything here.

New Job = No Blog

In one of my early blogs, I waxed lyrical about how I go through obsession phases and vowed that golf wouldn't be one, and I might add that it wasn’t. I played until mid September before Saturday league football started again and free time became precious. I never did manage to break 90 but rest assured the clubs will be out again come April and hopefully sooner than that.

What did appear to be nothing more than a fad was this very blog. Having smashed my way through six in four to five weeks, nothing has been forthcoming in the last three and half months. As a result of rather indirectly selling my soul to Murdoch, the truth is that I’ve not had the time to put any thoughts down on paper and for a couple of months i barely had time to watch as much football, NFL, golf, or cricket as I normally would.

The workload continues to increase but as my last blog post back in August focused on what I thought would be of interest in this year’s Premier League, a good way to get blogging again would be to see how the five topics that were supposed to keep everyone interested this season are progressing.

1. Javier Hernandez

I’m going to come off extremely biased here but I simply don’t care; this guy looks the complete package so far. Chicharito has seven goals this season, including the winners at Stoke in the league and Wolves in the Carling Cup. His first goal at Stoke however is the one that sticks in most people’s mind, as he somehow managed to arch his back and place a header into the back of the net using the back of his head. I mentioned a few months back that I was really looking forward to seeing him play with Rooney, however young Wayne’s well documented issues on and off the field have meant that this partnership hasn’t really got started. Even without Rooney though, Hernandez has blossomed into United’s most likely threat if a goal is needed.

2. They say in America that parity usually rules supreme in the NFL, and for the first time in a long time, the Premier League is starting to head in that direction. The standards may have dropped somewhat but overall this makes for a more exciting league. Chelsea currently top the table and have four defeats in late November. FOUR DEFEATS!!!!. Last year they had six in total. But Chelsea isn’t the only team to have odd results. Sunderland who ran out 3-0 victors at the Champions ten days ago, had two weeks previously been battered 5-1 at their biggest rivals Newcastle. Newcastle themselves were beaten by the same score line at Bolton (this years surprise package) this past Saturday. West Brom have travelled to the Emirates and won and taken a point at Old Trafford, yet managed to be beaten 3-0 at home by a Stoke team who are on a three game unbeaten run having lost their previous five. One thing that does stay constant, West Ham are rubbish. Their performance at Anfield last Saturday evening was nothing short of a joke and they are surely dead certainties to go down.

3. My early season prediction looked something like this.

1. Chelsea

2. Arsenal

3. United

4. City

5. Spurs

6. Liverpool

At the moment the table looks like this

1. Chelsea

2. United

3. Arsenal

4. City

5. Bolton

6. Spurs

With Liverpool currently in ninth and so inconsistent they can’t be trusted to put together two wins against teams in my Saturday league, the top six will more than likely stay that way, but I would swap Bolton and Spurs around. Bolton are a completely different side under Owen Coyle and are playing some great football that has got them big results recently against Spurs, Newcastle and Wolves. Plus they were one kick away from an impressive win at Goodison a few weeks back; I can see them sticking around.

As for the title race itself, at 12.45 last Saturday I had Arsenal, at. 1.45 I was ready to sign into Oddschecker and find the best price, at 2.40 I didn’t know what to think. Chelsea then went to St Andrews and got beat, whilst United plodded past Wigan without much fuss or fanfare. I’ve talked about Chelsea already but as for United, they hardly look inspiring yet somehow they remain undefeated. This is not a team that would win the title in any other season but this year with the other team slipping up anything is possible. City? Well they have talent but as I’ve said before I don’t think Mancini will bring them the title or even a trophy. Winning 4-1 away at Fulham was a step in the right direction but any manager who brings on Gareth Barry and thinks it will bring them a goal isn’t convincing me. As for Spurs, they may be the most exciting team in the league in terms of entertainment and they have made the best signing of the season in Van Der Vaart, (excuse me i’m just thinking of him playing every week at Old Trafford....... sighs), however they are more susceptible to a draw or defeat at home to a so called lesser team and so Harry’s dreams of a title will have to wait. As a famous commentator once said “It’s Up For Grabs Now”.

4. The blue half of Merseyside once again had a terrible start, blowing my prediction of them making the Champions League right out of the water. Losing Rodwell at the start of the season didn’t help a huge amount, but they have lost just one of their last eight games, the 2-1 home defeat to Arsenal. Whilst that run sounds impressive, too many draws in that sequence have meant that they haven’t really climbed the table as much as they would like. They have two tough away games ahead of them at Chelsea and City, places they managed to take four points in total from last season, and with some very winnable home games coming up Moe from the Simpsons, Albert Steptoe and the rest of the toffees will be climbing up the table, I’m still pretty confident of that. They may even finish higher than the red half of Merseyside.

5. I owe the people and supporters of Blackpool an apology. Currently residing in 12^thplace they already have more points than I thought they would amass the entire season. Ian Holloway has brought with him a much needed breath of fresh air in terms of post match interviews and he has also brought with him a squad with a huge amount of fighting spirit as demonstrated by their "heroic in defeat" performances against City and Villa and of course their famous win at Anfield. With the talented Charlie Adam patrolling the midfield, and Luke Varney and Marlon Harewood coming up with some big goals, including Varney’s candidate for goal of the season against Wolves, the Tangerines have a great chance of staying up. And here’s hoping they do as a lack of cash means I can’t make the United trip there in a couple of weeks.

A Season to look forward to?

This past Sunday I went to Wembley for the Charity Shield despite saying like I do every year that it’s a waste of time. My £20 ticket price was the main reason for my attendance; that and the fact that I haven’t been to a game since Paul Scholes’ last minute header at Eastlands sent me into delirium.

United deserved to win but as the new season gets underway this weekend I’m struggling for things to look forward to. Here’s a cobbled together list of what I think will be of interest in 2010/2011:

1. Javier Hernandez

When United signed this kid from Mexico I was pretty sceptical. For starters recent young strikers signed to the club haven’t exactly been successes; Dong, Manucho, and to a lesser extent Diouf have hardly lit up Old Trafford over the past few years. Yet there is something different about this lad. His two goals in the World Cup filled me with some optimism, but then again so did Karel Porborsky. His movement looks fantastic and in 5 minutes on Sunday he did more than Owen managed in 45. What we didn’t see on Sunday was him play with Rooney. Whilst it was great to see Rooney smack in goal after goal last year, I can see his natural ability to link with players like he did with Ronaldo, to be of great benefit to Hernandez who appears to have a good eye for the target. This kid has potential. Plus he has the ability to kick the ball against his own face and still score.

2. People whinging about the league been rubbish because the standard has dropped

Last season I heard people complaining that the league was rubbish. The reason? The big teams were losing too many games and therefore the standard of the league had dropped. Whilst this may be the case, this doesn't make the league as a whole not good to watch. If anything it makes it a more entertaining league because it gives fans something to talk about. There was a point last season where Everton beat Chelsea and United in the space of three days at Goodison Park. Two years ago United and Chelsea took maximum points from those trips to Merseyside whilst a year later both could only manage a draw. It shows that the standard of the teams that are outside the so called ‘big four’ is improving, which is surely better for the league in the long run because it makes it more competitive. A more competitive league makes for a better, dare I say it, product as fans will maintain interest. Which, in a way, leads me onto my next point.

3. The Title Race

Six teams could win the league this year. That’s right, six. At the moment I have Chelsea as favourites but wouldn’t be overly shocked if United, Arsenal, City, Liverpool or Spurs go close. If Chelsea had of had a fit Michale Essien last season they would have won the league by nine points. Even though he is returning this year, the squad is continuing to get older and they have lost a creative player in Joe Cole who has great ability. Whilst United and Arsenal have added a couple of players, they are by no means world beaters who have taken the squad to another level. City have spent a lot of cash this summer and will compete whilst Spurs and Liverpool have added one or two players to the mix. I have Chelsea winning it from Arsenal, with United third and and City fourth just ahead of Spurs and Liverpool. But one team could blow that prediction out of the water.

4. Everton to continue their good form

Everton are a team that I would be keeping a close eye on next season if I were Spurs, City or anyone else who ends up in the fight for a Champions League place. If the team can stay healthy they can certainly make a push for fourth spot. Last season with a fully fit squad the Toffees had the third best form after 1^st January, behind United and Chelsea, losing just two games. They seem to have fought off the advances for some of their best players in Arteta and Jagleika and are producing talent such as Seamus Coleman and of course Jack Rodwell who looks to be the real deal. David Moyes has put together a fantastic bunch of players, which may be lacking a little in depth but make up for that in spirit. They have a great chance this year.

5. Blackpool to beat Derby’s low points record

In 2008 Derby County managed just 11 points all season long and this year it will be touch and go as to whether or not Blackpool will beat that record. I don’t mean to have a go at Blackpool because in all honesty I don’t know enough about them to break their squad down bit by bit. What I do know about them is that they have an unproven manager at top level, no players with top flight experience and they already appear to be having money issues, as they have only just managed to pay bonuses to players for last seasons promotion. They are struggling to get their ground ready and already have had to switch one fixture around. No matter what pundits may say, off the field problems do have an influence on the pitch when teams are struggling; look at Pompey last year. Their one shining light looks to be Charlie Adam who from what I have seen looks fairly useful. They have to go to Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool by early October where they will surely take a hiding. Big defeats at grounds like that can have a huge knock on a teams confidence and they will find it very hard to come back from that.

And that’s about it. The lack of movement in the transfer market has meant that there are no huge big players going back to former clubs where feelings will run high and the atmosphere will be good. There haven’t been a huge number of managerial changes either. It’s been an incredibly dull summer. What the league needs is a couple of great games in the first weekend of the season. Spurs v City and Liverpool v Arsenal has the potential to do the trick.

Breaking 90

I arrived at the 17^th tee at Hanbury Manor on Wednesday in fantastic spirits.

“So what club you taking?” says Keith, who I have known for no longer than the four hours we have spent out on the course.

“3 Iron as always” I say.

I strike the ball and it flies down the middle of the fairway. Boy did that feel sweet.

Fast forward to a few minutes later… “Lads, can anyone see my ball?, Seriously where the hell is it?” The search continued for ten minutes before I gave up and took a drop. My fantastic back nine was about to be blown to pieces.

I am a man who will readily admit that I go through what I guess you could call obsession phases. In the past they have included what have been dubbed my friends at work as “man crushes” on David Villa, Wesley Sneijder and a minor fatherly crush on Tom Watson (although it pales in comparison to a work colleague who says he is the best man on the planet). I do the same thing with TV shows. At present I am currently flying through episodes of Seinfeld on a nightly basis, despite having seen them all and I’m sure in a few months I will move onto some other show like Mad Men or Curb Your Enthusiasm. These are usually just phases and to an extent I am going through one with Golf at the moment. I've been here with Golf before, although it feels a bit different this time around.

Last Sunday I played Silvermere, a lovely little course near Woking in preparation for a corporate golf day at Hanbury Manor, a course that had previously hosted the English Open in the late nineties. As always we were playing twilight and were due of at 5.30. We planned to make it there for 4.45 in order to get in some time on the range; however for some reason we didn’t bother and managed to get ourselves onto the course 20 minutes earlier. The problem here being that I need time on the range in order to get rid of all the rubbish shots that are bound to feature in the round if I don’t do so. So, on we rushed and sure enough it was terrible. I fluffed the ball off the first tee, managed to smack the second shot into the adjacent driving range, and fluff two more before eventually sinking a putt for a ten. A TEN ON THE FIRST!! It could only get better. Well it sort of did. A five on the par three second wasn’t great but as we went on things did get a little better and I started to hit the ball reasonably well; until we reached the eighth. Now the eighth hole is a dogleg left par three that is the hardest on the course apparently, although to be honest it isn’t hugely difficult, just long. I hit a decent tee shot and an average second shot to leave myself around 90 yards to the pin; however I had low hanging branches that made the shot a lot harder. I took out my seven iron and tried to punch it in. It looked great and as the ball zipped towards the centre of the green and my hopes of a par putt looked nailed on, but the ball didn’t stop. It kept rolling and rolling and fell off the back of the green leaving me with a nasty chip. When I tell you I got an 8, I don’t need to tell you that the chip didn’t work as planned. Two bad putts on the par three ninth brought more misery and after that it was dreadful. And not just for me either, my mate Joe had a shocker as every ball he hit seemed to have a magnet towards a bunker.

I came off the course after hitting 106, seriously considering taking lessons if I was going to get any better. I am 110% sure that I am one of millions of amateur golfers who has gone through the same emotions. Rather desperately I purchased a Tom Watson DVD called lessons of a lifetime. As a guy who has used the interlock grip his entire golf life, it didn’t fill me with much confidence that Tom said I should use the overlap grip. What the hell I thought, nothing else is working. I went to the range the night before and after a few shockers the ball started to do what it was supposed to. I remained very cautious however; hitting the ball on the range and hitting the ball on the course in front of a group of lads that you don’t know and are more than likely to be silently judging you (because let’s face it that’s what I would do) are two very different things.

I arrived at Hanbury Manor more in hope than expectation. The place is comfortably the best I have ever played and looked magnificent. You never realise how well kept private courses are kept in comparison to public courses. This was like golf pornography. Inspired by the magnificent surroundings I played the best I had all year. With my new grip intact the ball simply flew off the club.

Sure there was the odd shocking effort but as I approached the par five 9^th I had hit 43 and was full of confidence. A rather stray five iron meant that I had ended up in the first of three beaches. I proceeded to go in all three of them before ending up with a nine and a score of 51 on the first nine. What followed was seven holes of the most consistent golf I had played all year with putts been sunk from all sorts of distances. And then I arrived at the seventeenth.

This was a 440 yard par five that looked reasonably straight forward. A decent tee shot was needed to avoid having to go over some water on the right hand side to reach the green. What happened to the ball I still can’t figure out. Maybe it travelled into another dimension or something. Or a seagull picked it up and flew off with it. I was so worked up about it but still managed to smash my dropped third shot towards the green leaving myself an approach over a bunker to land it on the putting service. However still feeling a sense of injustice I went over not just the bunker but also went over the green and half way down the hill at the back. The resulting 8 meant my anger levels were at an all time high as I drilled my tee shot off the final hole into the sun glistening lake. This was like Van Der Velde all over again and after managing to calm myself somewhat, I finished with a 6 meaning I had hit 100 dead on.

Coming off the course I was gutted. All I could think of was that ball. That damn Nike 3 ball. On the drive home I spent two hours driving through central London and managed to gain some perspective. On Sunday I had played awful. Today was, by my own standards, great. Two bad holes aside I had played the best all year. And now I am more determined than ever to get better at this game. I have set myself a target for the year. Nothing ridiculous, the aim is to break 90. This is my new obsession. And this one will not be a fad. Coulsdon Manor on Sunday awaits.