Bleacher Report - Articles by David Wilson

Liverpool Out of Champions League

David Wilson — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:06:18 -0500

Rafa Benitez’s miserable season at Liverpool continues as they were knocked out of the Champions League despite winning 1-0 in Hungary.

Liverpool players and fans will talk about the Europa Cup and how they look forward to playing in that tournament next year. That is all talk. This is a huge blow to Liverpool, and not just because of the financial implications.

The Champions League is the best club tournament in the world. Teams are able to attract and sign stars by offering them a chance to play against the best in the CL. With Liverpool not making the knockout stages, and in serious difficulties of even qualifying next season, Rafa is going to have a lot of trouble not only attracting the best players to Liverpool, but also keeping the ones he has.

Winning the Europa League is a nice, but at the end of the day, the kop doesn’t care. Liverpool is all about winning Championships and European Cups. Anything else is a disappointment.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, Barcelona showed why they are still the best team in Europe as they took apart Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan 2-0 at the Nou Camp without Messi and Ibrahamovic. Inter need to a point at home to Russian Champions Rubin Kazan to go through to the knockout stages. If Inter don’t qualify, the Special One will be looking for a new job next season.

Two teams that did reach the knockout stages were Arsenal , who beat Standard Liege 2-0 at home, and Fiorentina, who beat Olympique Lyon 1-0.

These two teams join Bordeaux, Manchester United , Chelsea , Porto, Olympique Lyon, and Sevilla in the next round.

Montreal Impact To Join Major League Soccer in 2012

David Wilson — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:13:48 -0500

It's not official yet, but according to MLS Rumors and Its Called Football , Major League Soccer is set to announce that they will expanding again in 2012.

The new franchise, called the Montreal Impact, will add another USL team and provide a natural rivalry with Toronto FC .

While I believe that the Montreal franchise can be as successful as Toronto and Seattle , I have to wonder whether MLS is expanding too rapidly.

Consider that this year they added Seattle, next season it is Philadelphia . Then in 2011 Portland and Vancouver are joining, and now Montreal in 2012.

That is five new teams in four years. An extra 100 players playing in Major League Soccer.

With this sort of rapid expansion, will the quality of the league suffer?

The MLS plans reminds me of the rapid expansion of the National Hockey League in the 1990’s. The NHL added all these sunbelt franchises, but in the rush to expand the reach of hockey and become a major sport in the U.S. , the quality of play dropped as the new players added would not have been good enough for the NHL prior to expansion.

My worry is that MLS is heading down the same path. What do you think?

Liverpool vs Man City Highlights: This Weekends Premier League Games

David Wilson — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:46:20 -0500

The International break is over and it is time to get back to Premier League action. The big game this weekend has to be the lunch time matchup between Liverpool and Manchester City.

Liverpool vs. Man City

This is really a huge game for two teams who have Champions League ambitions. Liverpool has been part of the "Big Four", but Manchester City is desperately trying to break into that select group. City is one point ahead of Liverpool with a game in hand, so they know that if they win at Anfield, they could be a massive seven points ahead of Liverpool.

A Liverpool loss would put them 14 points behind league leaders Chelsea, and will end their title ambitions for another season.

Liverpool will have Steven Gerrard, but it looks like Fernando Torres will miss the game due to injury. City is hoping to welcome back Brazilian striker Robinho, who has been out injured since injuring an ankle playing for Brazil in September.

Both teams have problems in defense, and I expect this game to be wide open game. By 3 p.m. on Saturday the pressure will be turned up on either Mark Hughes or Rafa Benitez, and I expect Rafa to be celebrating a big win at home.

Verdict: 2-1 Liverpool

Birmingham vs. Fulham

These are two sides that play better at home than away from home. Luckily for Birmingham this game is at St. Andrews and not Craven Cottage. Birmingham started playing some good football before the break, while Fulham had that huge win over Liverpool. These are the type of games that Birmingham need to win to stay up, but I don’t think they will.

Prediction: Birmingham 1 Fulham 1

Burnley vs. Aston Villa

Burnley has made Turf Moor a really difficult place to go and get points, which is one of the reasons why they are where they are in the league. At some point, Aston Villa has to step forward and show whether they are Champions League contenders or pretenders, and this is the week that they show how good they can be with a tough victory away from home.

Verdict: 1-2 Aston Villa

Chelsea vs. Wolves

This is the lick of the week, Chelsea has been fantastic at Stamford Bridge this season, and even with their injuries they are much too strong for the Wolves.

Verdict: 4-0 Chelsea

Hull vs. West Ham

The win against Stoke helped save Phil Brown’s job in the short-term, but eventually Hull needs to fire him if they are to stay up. That being said, this is the kind of game they could easily win, because West Ham is a very hot and cold team.

You never know what team will show up from a week to week basis. I am looking for the bad West Ham to travel to Hull, and for Phil Brown to get another big win.

Verdict: 2-1 Hull

Sunderland vs. Arsenal

This is a really tough game for Arsenal, who will be without Robin Van Persie and will have one eye on next weekends game against Chelsea. In the past three years, this is the kind of game Arsenal would have lost or drawn, but this team is maturing, and I expect them to get all three pints here.

Verdict: 1-2 Arsenal

Man Utd vs. Everton

United has had two weeks to stew about the defeat at Chelsea, and they know that they need to get three points here against Everton if they are to keep Chelsea without touching distance. Everton has been a real disappointment this season as injuries have really hurt them. Games between these two sides are always close, and I expect United to edge this one in the end.

Verdict: 2-1 Man United

Bolton vs. Blackburn

If you are a fan of Brazil, this is not the game for you. This one will not be pretty, but it will be very competitive with no quarter asked, and no quarter given. This will be a game of few chances, which indicates a draw to me.

Verdict: Bolton 1 Blackburn 1

Tottenham vs. Wigan

Similar to West Ham, Wigan and Spurs are two teams that have been very up and down lately. The advantage Tottenham has in this game is that they are at home, and their forwards are better than Wigan’s defenders. That translates into three points for the home team

Verdict: 2-1 Spurs

Stoke vs. Portsmouth

This is a big relegation six-pointer. Stoke was really unlucky to lose at Hull before the break, while Portsmouth has been playing better than their record indicates. I expect this to be a really tense affair, but Stoke is at home, in front of some very passionate fans, and at the end of the day, that will be the difference between one point and three points.

Verdict: 2-1 Stoke

The Problem With Chairmen: Peterborough United Manager Ferguson Fired

David Wilson — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:29:39 -0500

Press reports suggest that Darren Ferguson has been sacked as manager of Peterborough United.

The son of Manchester United boss, Sir Alex, watched his side lose 3-1 to Newcastle United on Saturday, a loss that saw them drop to last place, having picked up just 11 points in 16 games.

So at first glance, you might see why Ferguson would get sacked.

But let’s turn back the clock two seasons. In November 2006, Peterborough United was in League Two in England. They won promotion to League One that season before being promoted again this year to the Championship.

So Ferguson wins back-to-back promotions, then is let go three months into the new season? What sort of knee-jerk reaction is that?

What was the Chairman expecting? That Peterborough would get promoted every year?

After two consecutive promotions, most football analysts would agree that this would be a settling-in year for Peterborough. The goal would be to survive in the Championship, consolidate the squad and plan for a mid-table or higher spot next year.

They are bottom of the table, four points from safety. Instead of getting support from the board, a la Roy Keane at Ipswich, Peterborough has instead gone the other way.

Chairmen cannot complain about loyalty if a manager leaves in mid-contract and goes to another team, when they treat successful managers like Ferguson like this.

Managers need to be given time to get results, and when you have won back-to-back promotions, you would expect to get a little more leeway. If Peterborough fires Ferguson, they deserve to get relegated.

Champions League Group Stages Finally Get Interesting

David Wilson — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:31:39 -0500

It took four rounds of play but the Champions League group stages are finally heating up.

If the group stages finish as they are now then Bayern Munich, Barcelona , and Liverpool would all be playing in the Europa League.

Jose Mourinho and Inter Milan were five minutes away from a ninth consecutive Champions League game without a win, when two late goals not only gave Inter the win, but also propelled them to first place in the group.

Next up for Inter are games against Barcelona and Rubin Kazan.

Nobody seriously expects Barcelona not to qualify for the knockout stages, but Barca fans have to be a little worried this morning after seeing their side effectively lose to Rubin Kazan over two legs.

And Barca was very lucky to avoid defeat yesterday.

Bayern Munch finds itself four points behind Juventus with only two games to go. Bayern has to go to Turin to play Juve on MatchDay Six and Bayern must be hoping that that game will mean something. But it looks like Bayern’s only hope of European glory this season will be in the Europe League.

Here's anther European power who has one leg out of the Champions League: Liverpool. They are in a more desperate situation than Bayern as they are five points behind Fiorentina with two games to go. Matchday Six pits Liverpool versus Fiorentina at Anfield in what will be an electric atmosphere if that game means anything.

Another big name that could still struggle to progress to the knockout stages is Real Madrid .

Reports suggest that Cristiano Ronaldo could be out for three more months. Real is only one point ahead of third place Marseille who they play on MatchDay Six in France. Real is a very different team without Ronaldo. Imagine spending all that money for a place in the Europa League?

Chelsea vs. Man Utd Headline Weekend in Premier League

David Wilson — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:26:54 -0500

A lot at this weekend's action in the Premier League where there are some important battles at the top and bottom of the table.

Aston Villa v Bolton
That was terrible loss to West Ham on Wednesday’s night for Villa and they will be looking to get back on the winning track against a Bolton tea, that just has to be glad that they are not playing Chelsea again. It is clear that Chelsea, Arsenal and Man Utd are the class of the Premier League. But four teams qualify for the European Cup and between them, Aston Villa, Man City , Tottenham and Liverpool have won just four of their last 20 games. At some point one of these pretenders is going to get on a roll and put together a winning. Villa have a chance to start that winning against Bolton and I think they will
Verdict: 2-0 Villa

Blackburn v Portsmouth
It looks like Pompey turned a corner last week with the wins in the league and the Carling Cup. One thing I like about Paul Hart is that he is not a defensive minded coach and his team likes to play football. That has never been the case for Big Sam, who, if he thinks that he will get the job at Old Trafford after Fergie leaves, then I want to have what he is drinking! Blackburn’s away form has been dismal so they need to pick up points at home and I see both teams getting a share of the points here.
Verdict: 1-1

Man City v Burnley
Burnley is typical of a lot of the bottom tier teams in that they are much better at home than they are on the road. The problem here is that they have to go the Eastlands where Mark Hughes needs his team to start converting draws into wins. And City will win this derby comfortably.
Verdict: 2-0 Manchester City

Tottenham v Sunderland
That was a tough loss for Spurs last week at Arsenal For 42 minutes they played well, then they shut down for 11 seconds and the game was over. Now they need to get back on the winning track. Sunderland is no pushover this season but I cannot see Spurs losing two in a row at home.
Verdict: 2-1 Spurs

Wolves v Arsenal
Arsenal are playing with a lot of confidence at the moment and they might be the prettiest team to watch in Europe. Arsenal come unstuck when they have to travel to hostile grounds and go against big, physical teams who knock them off their stride. Luckily for them, Wolves is not that type of team and I can see this game getting out of hand if Wolves are not careful. This is my lock of the week.
Verdict: 0-4 Arsenal

Hull v Stoke
If Hull lose this one, it might well be Phil Brown’s last game in charge. Hull were really unlucky to lose last week at Burnley, but this is the type of game they have to win. The problem I see though is that after three wins in 2009, how can you possibly pick Hull to end that losing streak. I cannot, although I expect them to get a share of the points here.
Verdict: Hull 1 Stoke 1

West Ham v Everton
Two teams with very different results in midweek. West Ham got a huge boost with that win against Villa while Everton lost again in the Europa League. Both teams are battling the injury bug and this game might some down to whose reserve team is better.
Verdict: West Ham 1 Everton 1

Wigan v Fulham
Fulham are always tough to beat at Craven Cottage as last weeks win over Liverpool showed. The problem for Roy Hodgson’s team is that this game takes place in Wigan. Wigan has been up and down all season, and like all struggling teams they are better at home than away from home. I am not sure what Wigan team shows up this week, but I am expecting the good Wigan to show and for them to grab all three points.
Verdict: 2-0 Wigan

Chelsea v Manchester United
This is the latest of the big games this season. It will be important in the final standings, but it will not determine the title. Chelsea are the best team in the Premier League at the moment, with Anelka and Drogba causing defences all kinds of trouble. Man United’s problem is that Rio and Vidic will both miss this game and that has to swing the advantage to Carlo Ancelotti’s side. Chelsea will win this game, which will put them in the drivers seat for the title. At least until the next big four game in less than a month.
Verdict: 2-0 Chelsea

Premier League Weekend Winners and Losers

David Wilson — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:16:20 -0500

At look at the winners and losers of another weekend of Premier League action.

Winners

Chelsea

Chelsea is the best team in Europe at the moment. That doesn’t mean that they will win the Champions League or the Premier League, it simply means that they are playing better than anyone in Europe at the moment.

Chelsea has picked up nine victories from their opening 11 games, which projects out to 93 points over the course of the season. If achieved, it would be Chelski’s highest total in five years.

Next up for the Blues is Manchester United on Sunday. A win here will mean that the title is Chelsea’s to lose.

Manchester United

While a lot of the media attention gets focused on the games between the Big Four, it is usually the records against the bottom half of the table that determines who wins the league.

So it is not surprising to find that the defending champions have not dropped a point against a bottom-half team in more than a year (since the opening weekend of last season when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Newcastle United).

United’s last loss to a bottom-half team occurred almost two years ago at the Reebok in November 2007 and their last home defeat to a team that finished the season in 11th or lower was the final-weekend loss to West Ham in May 2007.

Losing on Sunday to Chelsea will put the Blues in the driver’s seat, but if Man United can continue their record against teams in the bottom half of the season then you cannot discount their title challenge.

Cesc Fabregas

It was a typical north London derby (Arsenal beat Spurs ), and the star of the show was Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas. His goal, 11 seconds after Robin van Persie’s sealed the game, and will be a candidate for goal of the season. If Arsenal is to challenge for the title this season, they will need this sort of dominating performance every week from Fabregas.

Carlton Cole

Continues to confound the critics with 13 league goals since Boxing Day. Can Capello possibly leave him out of the England squad against Brazil ?

Portsmouth

I am slowly coming around to the job that Paul Hart is doing at Portsmouth . The off-field distractions are enough to drive anyone crazy, but he has somehow managed to keep his team focused on the task at hand; avoiding relegation.

Pompey has played better this season than their record suggests, but they are now three points from safety and into the quarterfinals of the Carling Cup. All in all, not a bad week if you are a Pompey fan.

Shay Given

Given single-handily earned a share of the points for Manchester City against Birmingham this weekend. After the game, Birmingham manager Alex McLeish said that a good goalkeeper is worth 10 points a season. Considering how close the title race is this year, Given might be the difference between a Europa League spot and a Champions League place next season.

Wigan

It’s not often that a team gets drubbed 4-0 and makes it into the winner’s column, but Wigan did for the way they quickly responded to the jail sentence for Marlon King but in essence sacking him.

Losers

Liverpool

Where to start? All the job of last weekend’s win over Manchester United has vanished as Liverpool reverted back to form. They have now lost six of their past seven games and if they lose to Lyon on Wednesday night, Liverpool’s season is basically over.

Champions League Contenders

Between them, Aston Villa , Man City , Tottenham and Liverpool have won just four of their past 20 games. Does anyone want that fourth Champions League spot?

Phil Brown

Three wins this year and now the news that his Chairman is gone. With his club in the bottom three, Hull’s board needs to act quickly and sack Brown is they are to have any chance of avoiding relegation this season and the hug financial impact that would have on the club.

Blackburn Rovers

They have lost 10 successive away games by a combined score of 32-4. That is a streak that gets you relegated.

Everton

It has been a horrific start to the season for Everton , who cannot stay healthy. What has to worry Everton fans is that they still have to travel to any of the sides currently above 10th in the league table. That kind of schedule makes qualifying for Europe next year even more challenging.

Premier League Weekend Preview

David Wilson — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:26:48 -0400

A look at this weekend's game in the Premier League. The showcase is the North London derby where Spurs will try and end a 10-year losing streak to their biggest rivals.

Arsenal v. Tottenham

Arsenal have been really good at the Emirates this season and will hope to continue that form against a Spurs side that is not playing quite as well as they did last month. Arsene Wenger has not lost to Spurs for 10 years in the league and I don’t see that streak coming to an end Saturday.

Prediction: Arsenal 4-2

Bolton v. Chelsea
Bolton are a much better team at home than on the road, but so is Chelsea . Chelsea play really well on the counter attack and I expect Drogba and Anelka to cause Bolton all sorts of trouble on the break. Bolton will cause Chelsea some problems at set-pieces but it will not be enough for them to win the game.

Prediction: 3-1 Chelsea

Burnley v. Hull

Burnley have picked up 12 points at home this season. Only Chelsea (15) and Manchester United (13) have more and that stat has to worry Phil Brown who has maybe two games to save his job. Better get that CV polished up Phil, because I cannot see Hull getting anything at Turf Moor.

Prediction: Burney 1-0

Everton v. Aston Villa

These are two teams that were supposed to be challenging for Europe, but one of them (Everton ) seems to be going in the wrong direction as David Moyes has seen his relatively small squad decimated by injuries. Villa is another team that I think plays better away from home, as their speed causes teams all sort of trouble on the counter-attack. Which is what I think will happen here.

Prediction: Aston Villa 2-1

Fulham v. Liverpool

Huge win for Liverpool last week, but now they face Fulham in a trap game as Liverpool will surely have one eye on next week’s crucial Champions League game. Fulham are much better at Craven Cottage than away from home, but they are facing a Liverpool side that has to be flying high after beating Man Utd . This will be a tight game, but I expect Liverpool to shade it in the end.

Prediction: Liverpool 1-0

Manchester United v. Blackburn

Terrible performance by Man United last week, but now they get to rebound with a win in another derby type game. Blackburn have managed just one Premier League victory at Old Trafford in 15 attempts and that streak will not end this weekend. Big Sam has already beat one Ferguson this week. He is not going to beat the father.

Prediction: Manchester United 3-1

Portsmouth v. Wigan

Wigan is a team that I just cannot understand this season. One week they look great, but then the next week they look terrible. Since they won at Burnley last week, I am expecting Wigan to underperform this weekend, which is great news for Paul Hart and Portsmouth fans. The events at Fratton Park this season have been farcical, but I expect the bells to be ringing in celebration Saturday night as Pompey get a rare win.

Prediction: Portsmouth 2-1

Stoke v. Wolves

This is a relegation battle between two teams that will be in the bottom six come the end of the season. The difference is that I expect Stoke to stay up, while Wolves will get relegated. Wolves have only picked up two draws from their past five matches and I they seem to lack that bit of class in the final third of the park that is often the difference between survival and relegation.

Prediction: Stoke 2-0

Sunderland v. West Ham

I was really disappointed in Sunderland’s performance last week, as I am sure Steve Bruce was. On the other hand, Gianfranco Zola must have been over the moon with the way his team came back against Arsenal to get a share of the points. We have not had many draws in the Premier League this season, but this could be one of them.

Prediction: West Ham 1 Sunderland 1

Birmingham v. Manchester City

Birmingham had a huge win last week against Sunderland as Alex McLeish played a more open game for the first time this season. The problem for his this week is that Manchester City are not Sunderland. City, who started the season playing great, have won only one of their past five league games and they need to get back on the winning track. City need to start to turn some of their draws into wins if they are to compete for a Champions League place and that means winning at places like St. Andrews instead of drawing.

Prediction: Manchester City 1-0

Portsmouth in Transfer Ban

David Wilson — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:27:41 -0400

It seems as if a team in the EPL was actually able to outdo Newcastle with their off-field antics. Portsmouth’s season has descended yet further into chaos with news that the Premier League have hit them with a transfer ban.

The Premier League confirmed reports by the Daily Mail that they had taken the drastic action because of Portsmouth’s outstanding debts to other English clubs.

Premier League spokesman Dan Johnson told the Daily Mail :

“We can confirm that there is an embargo on Portsmouth registering any new players.”

The transfer ban will not be lifted until those debts are paid.

Peter Storrie, the chief executive of the club that currently sits bottom of the Barclays Premier League, admitted recently that Pompey are still struggling with debts of around £10million after selling the majority of their best players.

They owe money not just to other Premier League clubs but to Barclays Bank and a number of agents.

“It is true that we owe a couple of top agents a great deal of money, and if you say it is £3million I can confirm it is not far short of that figure,” said Storrie earlier this month. “But there are other agents owed their commissions as well. It is through my friendship with them that they are not banging on the door. They have been really understanding. But we have owed money to a number of clubs, and they have also been helpful. I have been asking people to be patient, but they cannot be expected to be patient forever.”

Portsmouth director of communications Gary Double said:

“This concerns unpaid money to other clubs and it is in the process of being sorted. We are confident the situation will be sorted by the end of the week.”

At what point will the Premier League step in and start deducting points from Portsmouth? Yes they are not technically in administration, but when you cannot pay your players on time, or pay your bills to agents and other teams, that sounds like a bankrupt team to me.

It is time for the Premier League to give Portsmouth a deadline.

If they cannot get their financial house in order, then they need to face the consequences of having points deducted.

Can Liverpool Stop the Bleeding?: Premier League Weekend Preview

David Wilson — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:40:02 -0400

That week was a tough week as I only got six out of 10, which keep me around 66 percent for the season. Here is a look at this weekend's games.

Wolves vs. Aston Villa

Both teams had good results last week with Wolves getting a point at Everton and Aston Villa beating Chelsea. Villa are one of the teams in form at the moment with 13 points from their last six games. Wolves have only won one of their four home games this season and I cannot see them getting a second win here. Villa boss Martin O'Neill has got his players believing in themselves and I expect them to pick up all three points here.

Prediction: Villa 2-1

Birmingham vs. Sunderland

Sunderland is another team that is playing well with a draw at Old Trafford and a win against Liverpool in their last two outings. Jones and Bent up front are a handle to any team and you have to expect that Sunderland will create some chances at St. Andrews. That is a problem for Birmingham as they cannot score goals. I expect this to be a happy return to the midlands for Steve Bruce.

Prediction: Sunderland 2-1

Burnley vs. Wigan

This should be an interesting game as both teams like to play attractive football. Burnley have turned Turf Moor into a bit of a fortress which is what they need if they are going to stay up. Wigan on the other hand have impressed me recently I am looking for them to grab a goal on the break and share the points with Burnley.

Prediction: 1-1

Hull City vs. Portsmouth

This is a true relegation six-pointer with both teams stuck in the bottom three. I have lost faith that Phil Brown can turn things around at Hull and keep them up. They have only won three games this year, and this in not the weekend to get a fourth!

Portsmouth have played better a lot better than their results suggest and I expect them to go into Hull and grab all three points here.

Prediction: Portsmouth 1-0

Tottenham vs. Stoke City

Spurs are really playing with confidence this season, especially at home, and I cannot see Stoke being able to keep up with the Spurs. Stoke are very tough to beat at home, but this game is on London and I expect nothing but a convincing Spurs victory here.

Prediction: Spurs 3-0

Chelsea vs. Blackburn

Over the last couple of weeks Chelsea’s back four has looked vulnerable at set-pieces, which is Blackburn’s game. But Chelsea have had a week to switch around their back four and I will be shocked if they give up another goal to a corner or free kick. Anelka and Drogba will cause Blackburn problems all game and I cannot see anything but a Blues win here.

Prediction: Chelsea 4-1

Bolton vs. Everton

This is a game that you normally expect Everton to nick. But David Moyes’s team is beat-up at the moment and they just got hammered in midweek by Benfica. Bolton gave Manchester United all it could handle last week in the second half and I think that Bolton can squeeze out a win here at home.

Prediction: Bolton 2-0

Liverpool vs. Manchester United

The big game of the weekend. It looks like Gerrard is out but Fernando Torres will probably play, which will not please Vidic. This is a huge game for Liverpool who have lost four in a row for the first time in over 20 years.

Now they get to play their bitter rivals at home, in what is a must win game for Liverpool. They cannot afford to drop 11 points behind Man United before Halloween. And that will be the difference to me here. Liverpool are the more desperate team, and it will be great atmosphere, and that combination will see Liverpool edge this one.

Prediction: Liverpool 1-0

Manchester City vs. Fulham

Fulham have lost every game that they have played this season after playing a midweek Europa League game and this week will be no exception. Fulham’s small squad has to be tired after playing three games in six days (two league games and Europa League tie) while Mark Hughes has had a week to get some of his players fit again. City are for real this season and this game is my lock of the week.

Prediction: Manchester City 2-0

West Ham vs. Arsenal

West Ham, like Everton, is another club with an small squad that is facing a growing injury list. And like Everton, I expect West Ham to lose this week. Arsenal are playing really well at the moment, scoring an incredible average of 3.37 goals per Premier League game this season. That is too much fire power for the Hammers to shut down and I expect Arsene Wenger to get three points as a belated birthday present.

Prediction: Arsenal 3-1

Injuries Are the Story in Champions League, Matches Have Been a Pain to Watch

David Wilson — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:20:45 -0400

I am going through the Champions League games this week, and I am amazed at the stars who will be missing because of injury. The Champions League is billed as the best club tournament in the world, but this year's event has, so far, failed to live up to the hype. Whether it is familiarity because the same sides play each other every year, or a full schedule that leaves players vulnerable to injury, the Champions League group stages this year have been a major disappointment.

Here is a sample of the stars that will probably be missing from action this week:

Barcelona: Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thierry Henry

Liverpool: Fernando Torres

Real Madrid: Ronaldo, Fernando Gago, striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, and defender Christoph Metzelder

AC Milan: Lassana Diarra, Marco Storari, and Gennaro Gattuso

Manchester United: Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Park Ji-Sung, Darren Fletcher, and Patrice Evra

Inter Milan: Marco Materazzi and Thiago Motta

Bayern Munich: Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery

If some of the big teams above lose on Match Day Three because they are missing some of their best players, it could make the last three group stages matches much more interesting.

Premier League Week Nine Winners and Losers

David Wilson — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:47:07 -0400

A look at the winners and losers after Week Nine of the English Premier League...

Winners

Manchester United

Manchester United has shown the heart of a champion, finding ways to win when they are not playing. United are atop the Premier League despite struggling in all but two of their nine league fixtures since August. Can they be a good enough team to conted for the EPL championship without Ronaldo? That question has yet to be answered.

Arsenal

After losing two of their first three games, some were ready to write off Arsenal’s title ambitions. But Arsene Wenger’s new 4-3-3 formation is paying dividends, as the Gunners lead the league in goals scored. If they win their game in hand, they will be one point off the league lead.

Tottenham Hotspur

With the win at Portsmouth on Saturday, Spurs have picked up only one less win away from home than they managed in the whole of last season.

Darren Bent

Yes, his goal against Liverpool should not have been allowed, but Darren Bent is now tied with Torres for the most Premier League goals this season. He has to be wondering what more he has to do to get a call up to the England team.

Rafa Benitez

It would have been easy for Rafa Benitez to moan and groan about Bent’s goal and how it had robbed Liverpool of at least a point at Sunderland. But Benitez took the high road and didn’t blame the referee for making the wrong call. In a month where referees have taken a lot of stick from managers, it is nice to see one manager respect that referees sometimes get it wrong.

Losers

Pundits and Liverpool Hysteria

According to the majority of the British newspapers and pundits, Liverpool's season stands on the brink of ruin before Guy Fawkes day.

If they pick up two wins this week against Lyon and Manchester United, Rafa will suddenly be the greatest thing since Shankley and all will be fine on Merseyside. The truth about Liverpool’s season lies somewhere in between these two extremes.

Four loses in nine games is not the form that will win Liverpool the title. But in a season where everyone is dropping points, four loses does not mean that the season is over. If they beat United next week, they will be only four points back of the champions—an insignificant gap at this stage of the season.

Chelsea

Chelsea have conceded eight goals this season, and six of them have come from set pieces. Petr Cech is not the same goalkeeper he was before he got hurt, and Chelsea’s inability to defend free-kicks (and score from them) has to worry Carlo Ancelotti, especially as Chelsea’s next two opponents, Bolton and Blackburn, are known for their strength at set pieces.

Aston Villa

While Chelsea cannot defend set pieces, Villa cannot score unless it is a set piece. Only three of Aston Villa’s 12 goals this season, the lowest such figure for any side in the top eight of the table, have been scored from open play.

Manchester City

After a great start to the season in which they won their first four games, Manchester City have managed to take just five points from their last four games.

Liverpool and Arsenal Face Financial Challenges

David Wilson — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:12:53 -0400

It is fascinating to look at the financial handcuffs that Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has to work with.

The Independent was able to get a hold of a prospectus published in March by investment banks Rothschild and Merrill Lynch to attract potential investors in the club. The prospectus lays out the financial framework with the next five years.

Basically Liverpool’s net annual transfer budget is locked at £20 million until 2014, and that figure includes wage increases accruing from contract renewals. So basically Rafa needs to continue to sell before he can buy.

From the newspaper report:

The section of the Rothschild/Merrill Lynch document relating to “player transfer payments” states:

“Management believes that the normalized long-run level of new net player capital expenditure is £20m.” The accompanying data suggests “long run” means the next five years. This figure “will grow together with increases in media broadcasting revenues,” the bankers promise. Though revenues from British broadcasters are expected to drop, overseas rights should grow before 2014.

This summer Liverpool used most of the £20m to extend the contracts on some of its players. As a result, they had to sell Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid for £30 million in order to afford the purchases of Glen Johnson and Alberto Aquilani.

With more contracts of key players being up for renewal this summer, Liverpool will have trouble resisting the advances of Real Madrid this summer for Javier Mascherano if they want to add new players to the squad.

Earlier this week Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis made some interesting comments about Arsenal’s transfer policy. Gazidis said:

“We believe transfer spending is the last resort. That’s a sensible view to have. Re-signing existing players is a far more efficient system. What Arsene will not do is spend money on players that do not add something of real value.”

With Liverpool and Arsenal being limited financially in the transfer market for the next several years, and Chelsea banned from signing new players, a window has opened up for other teams within the Premier League to use their financial powers to jump into their Champions League positions.

Champions League Match: Day One Thoughts

David Wilson — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:03:46 -0400

So the first round of matches in this year's Champions League games are under our belts. And what did we learn?

Eleven out of the 16 games, 69 percent, ended up in either a draw or a one-goal victory. I think that this year's Champions League is the deepest contest in years and that is reflected in the closeness of the games.
As expected, Real Madrid can score goals (five in Switzerland against FC Zurich). But I would think that when we enter the knockout stages Madrid will need to do something about that defense if they want to progress in the tournament.
The domination by the Premier League sides continued with four wins, and three of the four English teams posted a clean sheet.
The problems that Serie A teams have had in recent years in the Champions League continue with only one win from four games.
Ronaldo and Messi showed once again why they are the two best players in the world.

In two weeks we get to do it all over again, with Bayern Munch vs. Juventus headlining the matches on Matchday Two.

EPL Week Five Winners and Losers

David Wilson — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:09:39 -0400

This is my take on Football365.com's weekly winners and losers column after week five in the Premier League.

Winners

Manchester City

While the actions of Emmanuel Adebayor got all the attention this weekend, this was a huge statement win for Manchester City. All summer pundits were talking about whether they could break into the big four, and even after winning their first three games, most soccer observers were still not convinced that they were actual title contenders.

A win this weekend at Old Trafford, and there will be no doubt that Manchester City will be a Champions League contender this season.

Chelsea

Success and failure in football is so delicately balanced at times. Consider that Chelsea sit on top of the Premier League after five games with a three-point advantage over Manchester United. Carlo Ancelotti is getting a lot of praise for how well Chelsea have started.

But consider that if Chelsea’s games this season had only consisted of two periods of 45 minutes, then they would have dropped five points already, and everyone would be talking about the bad job that Ancelotti is doing.

Didier Drogba

When Drogba is motivated as he is now, he is the best center forward in the Premier League. With four goals and three assists in five games, Drogba has been involved in more goals than any other top-flight player to date. How Chelsea cope without him for a month in January could well determine whether the Premier League title returns to Stamford Bridge.

England Forwards

Three of the top four goal scorers in the Premier League this season are English. With Jermain Defoe, Wayne Rooney, and Darren Bent all in great form, Fabio Capello will have some tough choices to make when picking his England forwards for the 2010 World Cup next summer.

Emmanuel Adebayor

With four goals in four games, Adebayor has given Man City the big target man that they were missing last year. One complaint about Adebayor at Arsenal was the number of chances he missed, but that is something that he seems to have corrected at City.

Losers

Emmanuel Adebayor

Vilified in the English newspapers for his stamp on Robin van Persie and his length of the field run to celebrate in front of the Arsenal fans, Adebayor will undoubtedly be suspended this week. With Carlos Tevez and Robinho out injured, City will be forced to go to Old Trafford this week with Craig Bellamy as their one true striker.

After visiting old Trafford, City play West Ham at home and Aston Villa away. Without Adebayor, City could easily drop points in all three of these games, wiping out the great start to the season they have had.

Arsenal

After the 6-1 thrashing of Everton on opening day, everyone was buzzing about this Arsenal side and whether they will finally win something this year. Now after two tough loses in Manchester, some people have already started to push the panic button.

When the 2009-10 fixture list came out and showed Arsenal had early season away games at Goodison Park, Old Trafford, and Eastlands, even the most optimistic Gunners fan had to expect that they would drop some points.

And they did, but now the schedule gets a lot easier for Arsenal with only Spurs and Chelsea as difficult games in the next 10 weeks, giving Arsenal plenty of time to go on a long winning streak and get back into the title race.

Portsmouth

Five games, five losses. Will Pompey challenge Derby County’s record for futility in the Premier League this season?

EPL Week Five Preview

David Wilson — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:22:17 -0400

The Premier League returns this weekend and that means it is time to bring out the crystal ball again. Last time out I went seven for 10 and that brought my score for the season up to 20 out of 36 (56%). The weekend after an international week always thoughts up some upsets and this is how I thing that this weeks games will go.

Blackburn v Wolverhampton

It is early in the season but this is a must win home game for Blackburn. They have failed to win any games this season and they cannot afford to keep dropping points, especially to teams that will be around them this season. Wolves look like they will be competitive this year, but this is a game of force over style and Big Sam’s force wins here.
Prediction: Blackburn 1-0

Liverpool v Burnley

Burnley has had a brutal schedule to start the season with games against Man Utd, Everton,Chelsea and now Liverpool. They have done well enough to pick up 6 points so far, but they are not going to win at Anfield.This is the type of home game that Liverpool struggled to win last season, but I expect them to win here and keep within shouting distance of Chelsea and Spurs.
Prediction: Liverpool 3-1

Man City v Arsenal

This is a big test for Man City to see how they compete against one of the big four. It looks like Arsenal will be without Fabregas and Arshavin and that is too huge loses for them. This will be a close game, but I expect Arsenal to come up short again in their travels to Manchester.
Prediction: Man City 2-1

Portsmouth v Bolton

This is not a game for Match of the Day. Two very poor teams who are both struggling for their first points of the season. Bolton is a better side than Portsmouth, who I expect to get relegated this season, and I am looking for the home side to squeeze out a victory and get their first points of the season.
Prediction: Bolton 1-0

Stoke v Chelsea

Stoke is a really tough ground to go to, but Chelsea are looking very much like Championship contenders. Chelsea play really well away from home as I think it suits their counter-attacking style of play better. The combination of Anelka and Drogba will be too strong for Stoke here.
Prediction: Chelsea 3-1

Sunderland v Hull

I have gotten every Hull score wrong this season, so the Hull fans that read this will be happy to know that I am picking a home win for Sunderland. I like Steve Bruce over Phil Brown and expect Sunderland to be too strong for City.
Prediction: Sunderland 1-0

Wigan v West Ham

Wigan at times have looked really impressive (Aston Villa game) and really weak at the back (Manchester United game), so it is hard to know what Wigan team will show this weekend. West Ham has had a pretty good start to the season and I expect them to steal a point at Wigan.
Prediction: 1-1 Draw

Tottenham v Man Utd

This is the second of the North London v Manchester games this weekend and I am expecting a reverse of the other game. It is not the replacement of Ronaldo and Tevez that is worrying me about Man Utd. It is the problems they are having at the back. They seem a lot more vulnerable this season defensively and I am looking for Lennon and Defoe to take advantage and keep the unbeaten run going for Spurs.
Prediction: Spurs 3-2

Birmingham v Aston Villa

Local derbies are always hard to predict as the games are often more about emotion than skill. But Villa is the better team and as long as Martin O’Neil sticks with his 4-5-1 formation I expect Villa to win this one comfortably.
Prediction: Villa 2-0

Fulham v Everton

These are two teams that were expecting to be sitting on more than 3 points at this point of the season. Both teams have lost big names (Lescott and Andy Johnson) for different reasons and at some point these two teams have to resort to form. Everton have lost on the last eight league visits to Craven Cottage – part of a sequence of 18 league matches between the teams that have all been won by the home side. I expect history to continue this weekend as the home team wins again.
Prediction: Fulham 1-0

Chelsea Hit With Transfer Ban

David Wilson — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 22:35:55 -0400

FIFA has hit Chelsea with an astonishing transfer ban that will stop manager Carlo Ancelotti signing players until January 2011.

The punishment is for luring 16-year-old Gael Kakuta from Lens in the summer of 2007.

Lens, who lodged a complaint with FIFA when Kakuta signed for Chelsea two years ago, wanted £4.25m in compensation but FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber, recognizing that £4.25m would not stop Chelsea from repeating this action in the suture, decided on this unprecedented action.

A FIFA statement said:

“The DRC found that the player had indeed breached a contract signed with the French club. Equally, the DRC deemed it to be established that the English club induced the player to such breach. A restriction of four months on his eligibility to play in official matches is imposed on Gael Kakuta while Chelsea are banned from registering any new players, either nationally or internationally, for the two next entire and consecutive registration periods.”

Chelsea posted this statement on their web site:

“Chelsea will mount the strongest appeal possible. The sanctions are without precedent to this level and totally disproportionate to the alleged offence and the financial penalty imposed. We cannot comment further until we receive the full written rationale for this extraordinarily arbitrary decision.”

How do you think this ban will impact Chelsea's title and European Cup challenges over the next two years?

EPL Week Four: Winners and Losers

David Wilson — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:17:31 -0400

Football365.com has their weekly winners and losers column, and this is my take on their post this week.

Winners

Chelsea

Yet another impressive start to the season for Chelsea with four wins in four games, although the schedule has been very kind to them with games against Sunderland, Hull, Burnley, and Fulham. Chelsea's weak schedule means they should be unbeaten when they play Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Oct. 4.

Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka

The best pair of strikers in the Premier League—it makes you wonder what Big Phil was looking at when he said these two could not play together.

Aaron Lennon

Two winning goals in less than a week and a call-up to the England squad means that Lennon’s England career could be back on track. This is bad news for a certain David Beckham, as Theo Walcott is a certainty for South Africa next summer, and I cannot see England taking three right wingers with them to the World Cup.

Tottenham Hotspur

It has been a great start to the season for Spurs, but now we will get to see how good they really are. Next up is Manchester United at home, followed by a trip to Chelsea. If Spurs are still unbeaten, then I will start to become a believer.

Manchester City

Everyone was focused on the attacking options that Mark Hughes signed this summer, but with four clean sheets in four games, City are showing that they can grind out the wins when they need too. Similar to Spurs, the next two games, at home to Arsenal and then away to Manchester United, will tell us a lot about whether Manchester City are title contenders or pretenders.

Aston Villa

After week one, I wrote how Aston Villa’s dip in form last season coincided with the signing of Emile Heskey and the change in formation that resulted from that move. It is no coincidence then that when Villa reverted to their old 4-5-1 formation against Fulham, they won the game 2-0.

Losers

Arsenal

Tough loss at Old Trafford considering the value of the six-point swing that they gifted to the champions. Instead of being three points clear of United they are three behind, and defeat at Manchester City in two weeks’ time will most probably find the Gunners a full nine points off the top and, like Liverpool, seeing their title aspirations end before fall.

Blackburn, Bolton, and Portsmouth

Teams that avoid relegation usually have one of two players who can score the all-important goals that turn a loss into a draw and a draw into three points. Good goal-scoring center-forwards are a rare commodity and should be treasured.

Consider the three teams at the bottom of the table: Blackburn, Portsmouth, and Bolton. Between them they have played 10 games and scored four goals. None of these teams have a proven goal scorer in their lineup.

But look at who these teams have sold in the last 18 months. Bolton sold Nicolas Anelka to Chelsea, Portsmouth sold Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe to Spurs, and Blackburn sold Roque Santa Cruz to Manchester City.

The money that these clubs received is nice, but none of them have replaced the goal-scoring abilities of the player(s) they sold. As a result, all three will be involved in a relegation battle this year.

EPL Week Three Preview

David Wilson — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:04:39 -0400

After the midweek round of games I am back at .500 with a record of 13 out of 26. To hopefully this week will push me into positive territory.

Chelsea vs Burnley
Who would have expected Burnley to be three points ahead of Liverpool after three games? It has been a great start to the season for Burnley, but playing Chelsea away from home is very different than playing Everton or Man United at home. Chelsea have looked really good this season and I expect them to win this one easily.

Prediction: Chelsea 2-0

Blackburn vs West Ham
It has been a horrible start to the season for Blackburn with no points from their first two games. This week they play at West Ham team that is struggling to get enough fit forwards to play. Big Sam will be desperate to avoid an 0 for 3 start and desperate wins this one.

Prediction: Blackburn 1-0

Bolton vs Liverpool
Speaking of desperate teams, then there is Liverpool. Two defeats in their first three games is not the performance of Champions and Liverpool need to make sure that Chelsea do not gain anymore points on them before their meeting on October 4.

Bolton created enough chances in their first two games to win them but they are missing that bit of quality in front of goal. Similar to the Blackburn game, Liverpool is the team most desperate for the win and I think they get it.

Prediction: Liverpool 2-1

Stoke vs Sunderland
Stoke stayed up last year because of their home form, but Sunderland are a different team under Steve Bruce. Bent and Jones up-front are causing havoc for every team that plays them and I expect Sunderland to pick up their second away win of the season here.

Prediction: Sunderland 2-1

Tottenham v Birmingham
Spurs have had a fantastic start to the season scoring 14 goals in four games. They should add to that number this week as Birmingham is a team that will be battling relegation this season.

Prediction: Spurs 3-1

Wolves vs Hull
Amercian Jozy Altidore has looked great for Hull in his two appearances this season and I think he will really help them this season. With two wins in a week confidence at Hull will be pretty high and I think they can get a draw at Wolves.

Prediction: Hull 1 Wolves 1

Manchester United v Arsenal
After beating Wigan 5-0 last week all the newspapers said that United are back, but I am not so sure. They seem to be missing a dominate player in midfield this season and I think that will cost them points against the better teams.

Arsenal have been so impressive this season in the league and Champions League and they are getting United early enough in the season when they have not figured out how to replace Ronaldo. I am looking for the upset here, as Arsenal go to Old Trafford and win.

Prediction: Arsenal 2-1

Portsmouth vs Man City
Portsmouth is just a bad team and unless their new Arab owners can bring in a bunch of new players this month, I am picking them for relegation. Manchester City is still a work in progress, but they have more than enough quality to get win here.

Prediction: Man City 2-0

Everton vs Wigan
Another desperate team is Everton who have made a terrible start to the season. There is no way that Everton can go winless in their first three games is their? I don’t think so. Wigan is a team that will get better as the season progresses, but this week they are playing someone just a little more desperate than they are. And that will be the difference.

Prediction: Everton 2-0

Aston Villa vs Fulham
Which Villa team will show up this week? The one that lost at home to Wigan or the one that won at Anfield? I am picking the latter, partly because Fulham had to travel to Russia in midweek for a Europa League game and I expect them to be a little bit tired.

Prediction: Aston Villa 1-0

Barcelona vs. Inter Milan Headlines Champions League Draw

David Wilson — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:07:25 -0400

The draw for the group stages of the Champions League was made today and it threw together some mouth watering Spain vs. Italy matchups.

Defending Champions Barcelona were drawn against Inter Milan, Dynamo Kiev and Rubin Kazan. Barcelona will open up defense of their title away to Inter Milan on September 16th. The game will also feature Samuel Eto’o and Zlatan Ibrahimovic playing against their old teams.

Also facing his old team will be Kaka as Real Madrid were drawn in the same group as AC Milan, Marseille and FC Zurich.

The four English teams got relatively easy groups and should be favored to progress to the knockout stages as group winners. The eight groups are below.

Group A	Group B
Bayern Munich	Manchester United
Juventus	CSKA Moscow
Bordeaux	Besiktas
Maccabi Haifa	Wolfsburg

Group C	Group D
AC Milan	Chelsea
Real Madrid	Porto
Marseille	Atletico Madrid
Zurich	APOEL

Group E	Group F
Liverpool	Barcelona
Lyon	Inter
Fiorentina	Dynamo Kyiv
Debrecen	Rubin Kazan

Group G	Group H
Sevilla	Arsenal
Rangers	AZ Alkmaar
Stuttgart	Olympiakos
Unirea Urziceni	Standard Liege

What do you think of the draw?

Premier League Week Two: Winners and Losers

David Wilson — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:14:03 -0400

A look at the winners and losers in the second weekend of Premier League action.

WINNERS

Arsenal

What crisis at Arsenal? Two games and 10 goals have silenced the critics. Next up in the league is the first "Big Four" game of the season, as Arsenal go to Manchester United this weekend.

The only cloud on Arsenal’s performance so far is the lack of goals for forwards. At some point, the defenders will stop scoring two goals a game, and the Arsenal forwards will have to start hitting the net.

Jozy Altidore

The future of the U.S. national team made his Premier League debut as a substitute for Hull. He made an impact on the game, assisting one and almost scoring a goal himself.

Burnley

Six points from two games at home has to be more than the most fanatical Burnley supporter could have hoped for, especially when you consider who they have beaten this week: Manchester United and Everton.

Spurs

Nine points from three games and top of the table, with Birmingham to play at home this weekend. Then come back-to-back games against Manchester United and Chelsea. Those games will tell us more about whether Spurs are really European contenders this season.

Jermaine Defoe

Four goals in three games, to go with the two he scored for England against Holland, give Defoe six goals already this month.

LOSERS

Pompey

The demise of Portsmouth is sad to see. You know things are bad when the Premier League has to agree to cover a transfer deal with Pompey’s television cash if the club fails to pay Lens on time for Ivory Coast striker Aruna Dindane.

Everton

Two games, two losses, and bottom of the table. Obviously they will not stay there, but David Moyes needs to use the money he got for selling Joleon Lescott and bring in some new players before the end of the month. Otherwise it will be a disappointing season for Everton fans.

EPL Week Two Predictions

David Wilson — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:20:00 -0400

It was a tough week in the predictions world with both Burnley and Wolves getting upset wins in midweek. Those games dropped me to 7 out of 16 or 44%. Hopefully this week I can move above the 500 mark.

Arsenal v Portsmouth

Arsenal have looked very impressive in their wins at Everton and Celtic and will be full of confidence for this game. I think Arsenal’s style is better suited to counter-attacking and playing away from home as they had trouble breaking teams down at home last year. This will not be the case this week as Portsmouth are in total disarray and look very much like relegation candidates.

Prediction: Arsenal win 3-0

Birmingham v Stoke

Big win at home for Birmingham in midweek and now they get to play another team that will be around them in the relegation zone all season. I don’t expect this game to provide a lot of technical highlights, but it does have a draw written all over it, which will make both managers happy.

Prediction: 1-1

Hull v Bolton

Is it too early to put Phil Brown on the first manager to get fired watch? Hull were ripped to shreds by Spurs in midweek and it will be a long season for them. Bolton had a tough loss to Sunderland last weekend and they have had a week to stew about the Sunderland loss and I expect them to come away from this with a win and continue Hull’s dismal run of poor form at home.

Prediction: Bolton 1-0

Man City v Wolves

That was a huge win for Wolves in midweek at Wigan, considering that they were without most of their first-choice strikers. However, Man City is not Wigan and they have more quality than Wolves all over the park. In front of a sold-out Eastlands crowd I expect City to win this one comfortably.

Prediction: Man City 3-1

Sunderland v Blackburn

Darren Bent has made a great start to his Sunderland career with two goals in two matches. The Stadium of Light is a tough place to go and win and I don’t think that Blackburn have the quality to win this game. It will not be a classic, but Sunderland get their second win of the season.

Prediction: Sunderland 2-1

Wigan v Man Utd

If there is such a thing as a must-win game for the Champions this early in the season this is it. With upcoming games against Arsenal (h), Spurs (a) and Man City (h), Man United cannot afford to drop points to Wigan and fall further behind Chelsea. Wigan had a tough loss at home in midweek to Wolves and will be looking to rebound here. But United are the more desperate team here, and that will carry them to victory in a game that will be closer than people think.

Prediction: Man Utd 1-0

West Ham v Tottenham

Spurs have had a great start to the season and look like the European contenders that they think they are. West Ham also had an impressive victory last weekend at Wolves and they have had a week to prepare for this game. This should be an entertaining game with plenty of goals.

Prediction: 2-2 Draw

Burnley v Everton

Huge win for Burnley in midweek over Manchester United, but so was Everton’s impressive win in Europe. I cannot see Burnley pulling off two upsets in less than an week, and I expect Everton to notch up their first points of the Premier League season.

Prediction: Everton 1-0

Fulham v Chelsea

Big win for both teams in midweek as Roy Hodgson continues to do a great job at Fulham. This is a local derby, but Chelsea have class all over the park and I expect them to make this 9 points out of 9 to start the season.

Prediction: Chelsea 2-0

Liverpool v Aston Villa

Big win for Liverpool in midweek as they rebounded nicely from losing to Tottenham last weekend. Villa are really struggling at the moment, losing two games and I cannot see them getting their first win of the season at Anfield.

Prediction: Liverpool 2-0

Premier League Midweek Predictions

David Wilson — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:51:44 -0400

The games are coming thick and fast in the Premier League with six games today and tomorrow. I got five out of the 10 right for the weekend ’s games, which puts me one game up on Mark Lawrenson of the BBC.

Sunderland vs. Chelsea
Both sides got off to a winning start on Saturday, so both managers will be hoping to get something from this game. The physical play of Kenwyne Jones and Darren Bent will give Chelsea some problems, but Chelsea have too many great counter-attacking players for them to lose here.

Prediction: Chelsea 1-1

Wigan vs. Wolves
I was really surprised at how well Wigan played against Aston Villa, and now they get to come home in front of their own fans and play relegation candidates Wolves. The Wolves, like most promoted teams, are missing that piece of quality up front, and they will struggle to score goals this season.

Prediction: Wigan 2-0

Birmingham vs. Portsmouth
Birmingham put up a good showing against Manchester United on Sunday, and if they can maintain that same work ethic and organization they will become difficult to beat, especially at home.

Portsmouth is this season’s version of Newcastle. The wheels have come off this train, and it is not a pretty sight. It was is an early relegation six-pointer, I expect Birmingham to win this one.

Prediction: Birmingham 2-0

Burnley vs. Manchester United
Burnley had to be hoping to get something from the Stoke game because playing the champions at home is a tall order. Man Utd, never got out of second gear against Birmingham, and I expect them to get a comfortable win here.

Prediction: Manchester United 2-0

Hull vs. Tottenham
Both teams looked good this weekend, and Hull were very unlucky to lose such a late goal against Chelsea. For Hull to avoid relegation, they need to improve their home form. And whom better to do it against than a Tottenham side that really struggled away from home last season. Spurs are still a work in progress and I look for Hull to pull the upset here.

Prediction: Hull 2-1

Liverpool vs. Stoke
That was a terrible performance by Liverpool on Sunday, and they have to win this game because they cannot afford to drop six points behind Chelsea and Man United this early in the season. Stoke had a great win on Saturday, and this is the type of game that they are not expecting to get anything from. I expect the crisis to be over at Anfield for a couple of days at least as Liverpool will win this one comfortably.

Prediction: Liverpool 3-0

UEFA Names Nominees for Player of the Year

David Wilson — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:29:07 -0400

Yesterday, UEFA announced the nominees for the UEFA Club Football Awards.

Coaches will now vote on the Team of the Year, along with the Player of the Year. Winners will be announced in Monaco on Thursday, Aug. 27.

I have to say that some of the nominees have surprised me. Was Petr Cech really one of the top three goalkeepers in Europe last season? Remember the howlers he had in Europe in 2008?

I also raise a similar question about Gerard Pique. Was he really one of the three best defenders in Europe last season?

The midfield and forward nominees look fine to me, and I will be shocked if Messi doesn't win the Player of the Year award.

UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year

Petr Čech (Chelsea FC)
Víctor Valdés (FC Barcelona)
Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United FC)

UEFA Club Defender of the Year

Gerard Piqué (FC Barcelona)
John Terry (Chelsea FC)
Nemanja Vidić (Manchester United FC)

UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year

Steven Gerrard (Liverpool FC)
Xavi Hernández (FC Barcelona)
Andrés Iniesta (FC Barcelona)

UEFA Club Forward of the Year

Samuel Eto’o (FC Barcelona)
Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United FC)

What do you think of the nominees? Who do you think is missing from the list?

English Premier League Week One Winners and Losers

David Wilson — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 10:07:01 -0400

Football365.com has this great winners and losers feature, and this is my take on their post this week.

Winners

Arsenal

As impressive as Everton were dreadful, Arsenal players and fans will have gained plenty from their resounding victory at Goodison Park: confidence, defiance, belief in their new formation, and the reassuring cushion of three away points. There are no must-win games on the opening weekend of a season but Arsenal’s upcoming fixture list is so unusual and tricky in equal measure that anything less than victory on Merseyside would have resulted in awkward anxiety.

Arsenal has a really tough start to the season with only two home games before October. Between now and then end September Arsenal must travel to Celtic, twice to Manchester as well as Fulham. Saturday’s win will give the players confidence for these tough games, where Arsenal needs at least three wins from four games.

Tottenham Hotspur

With Wilson Palacios running the midfield, this was a very convincing performance by Spurs. If it was not for the man the appalling finishing of Robbie Keane, Liverpool could easily have conceded four or five goals. It is easy to get carried away with one victory, but on this weekend’s evidence the only question to be asked is where Spurs will finish in the top six.

Mark Hughes

Has the most pressure of any manager in the Premier League, but got a badly needed victory at Blackburn. With Wolves and Portsmouth in their next two games, City have a chance to be top of the table at the end of the month.

Wayne Rooney

Nobody knows better than Rooney what is at stake in the next ten months. “For me personally, next season could be the season that transforms me from someone who could be a great player into someone who is a great player,” he said in an interview published in July.

He has the centre-stage platform from which to make the transformation and stood out as a class apart against Birmingham. There’s a long way to go but it’s the start he wanted.

Wigan

Critics will say that they beat an Aston Villa side weakened by the departure of Gareth Barry and retirement of Martin Laursen. Consider then that since the start of the year, Wigan have been sold Antonio Valencia, Wilson Palacios, Emile Heskey and, most recently, Lee Cattermole

Sunderland

Thus was a huge win for a team looking mid-table stability this season. Darren Bent, with a point to prove and a England squad berth to claim, should be a success alongside Kenwyne Jones and has already repaid a chunk of his transfer fee with the winner at Bolton. Sunderland play Chelsea in midweek, bit after that they play Blackburn, Stoke, Hull, Burnley and Wolves, which are all winnable games.

Losers

Liverpool

If it was not for a remarkable second half comeback in Istanbul, would Rafa still be managing Liverpool?

It is easy to overreact to one game, but Liverpool look very much like a two-man team. There is a big hole in the midfield where Xavi Alonso used to sit, but luckily for Liverpool the schedule will give them enough time to straighten things out. Liverpool’s next six opponents are Stoke, Villa, Bolton, Burnley, West Ham and Hull. This gives Liverpool the chance to be sitting on 18 points before they play Chelsea in early October.

Everton

It has been a tough summer for Everton as they have been fighting back Manchester City’s approaches for Joleon Lescott. The question for David Moyes and the Everton board is whether they are better off keeping Lescott, or would they be better off getting £20 million-plus for Lescott and using that the strengthen a small squad in several places?

Aston Villa

It was a horrible performance by Villa against Villas. Villa’s troubles started in February with the arrival of Emile Heskey. Since his debut for Aston Villa, Heskey has played in 14 league games, scored two goals and been on the winning side just twice.

In the 15 matches that immediately preceded his debut, Villa were victorious on ten occasions mostly using a 4-5-1 formation that has been jettisoned to accommodate their new signing.

Portsmouth

The Portsmouth side on the opening weekend of last season:

James, Johnson, Campbell, Distin, Hreidarsson (Lauren, 79), Diop, Mendes (Mvuemba, 75), Diarra, Kranjcar (Utaka, 60), Crouch, Defoe.

The Portsmouth side this weekend:

James, Kaboul, Wilson, Distin, Belhadj, Mullins, Diop (Kanu, 76), Mokoena, Utaka (Nugent, 87), Kranjcar, Piquionne.

Pompey’s financial troubles are really worrisome and if they are forced to see Distin, James and Kranjcar in either of the two transfer windows then I cannot see how they can avoid relegation this season.

Premier League Week One Predictions

David Wilson — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:55:33 -0400

The waiting is finally over. The 2009/10 Barclays Premier League season starts this weekend and it is time to bring out our crystal ball and get some week one predictions.

With Manchester City spending big over the summer and Everton, Aston Villa, and Tottenham Hotspur all improving their squads, will this be the season that the big four has a new member?

The Premier League also welcomes back Burnley, who will be playing at the top level for the first time in 33 years, while Wolverhampton Wanderers and Birmingham City are once again back in the Premier League.

The season kicks off with a lunch-time meeting between Chelsea and Hull City at Stamford Bridge.

CHELSEA V HULL CITY

Carlo Ancelotti takes charge of his first Barclays Premier League match and he has already got one trophy under his belt after winning the Community Shield last weekend. Hull City have never won at Stamford Bridge but last season they did manage to earn to a goalless draw at the Bridge.

That will not happen this year as I expect Chelsea to win this one easily 3-0.

Prediction: Chelsea 3-0

ASTON VILLA V WIGAN

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez will also be making his Barclays Premier League managerial debit, but he faces a much harder task that Ancelotti as his Wigan side travel to Villa Park.

Villa’s home form last season was terrible as they won only seven matches in front of their own fans last season. Wigan have never won on the opening day in the Premier League and I expect that streak to continue.

Predction: Vila 2-1

BLACKBURN V MAN CITY

This is a game that everyone will be watching as the expectations for Manchester City are huge this season. A local derby is going to be physical and with City not having won at Ewood Park since 2003 I think this will be a tight game, but a piece of magic from Robinho will seal the pints for City.

Prediction: Man City 2-1

BOLTON V SUNDERLAND

I don’t expect this game to be a footballing classic. Neither team, plays the ball on the ground a lot and both managers like to play physical football. Sunderland will be better this season under Steve Bruce, but I think he is still finding out what he has at Sunderland. I expect a tight game with few goals here, and both teams getting a share of the points.

Prediction: 1-1

PORTSMOUTH V FULHAM

It has been a terrible summer at Portsmouth and I think that they will really struggle this season. Fulham on the other hand are really doing well under Roy Hodgson, and they have already played two competitive games in the Europa League competition. Fulham are unbeaten in their last three visits to Fratton Park and I expect that streak to continue.

Prediciton: Fulham 2-0

STOKE V BURNLEY

This is an interesting game as new-boys Burnley travel to one of last years surprise teams Stoke City I think it will be a struggle for both these teams this season and I can see them sharing the points here.

Prediction: 1-1

WOLVES V WEST HAM

Another newly promoted team is Wolves, who are lead by manager Mick McCarthy who has twice been relegated in last place while in charge of Sunderland. Can he make it three? West Ham play some good football and I like the job that Zola and Clark are doing there.

The weather will be warm, the field in great condition and I think that all points to a win for the more stylish team.

Prediction: West Ham 2-1

EVERTON V ARSENAL

This is a huge game for two teams that battled hard for a Champions League place last season. Bad news for Everton is that this is the sixth successive season they have started the season at home, but have lost four of those five fixtures.

Arsenal on the other hand have only lost at Goodison Park four times in 17 Premier League matches. This one will be tight game, and I expect it to end in a draw

Prediction: 1-1

MANCHESTER UNITED v BIRMINGHAM CITY

Manchester United begin the defence of their Barclays Premier League crown at home to newly-promoted Birmingham City. It will be interesting to see how United adapt this season without Cristiano Ronaldo and how Michael Owen fits in. It will be a long season for Birmingham fans and I cannot see them getting anything from this game.

Prediction: Man Utd 2-0

SPURS v LIVERPOOL

This is the other big game of the weekend. White Hart Lane is where Liverpool suffered one of their only two Barclays Premier League defeats last season in what was Harry Redknapp’s first outing in charge of Tottenham Hotspur. Liverpool have title aspirations again this season, but injuries will play a role in this game.

Steven Gerrard is a doubt while Spurs will be looking to find two fit bodies to play center-half. In what should be an exciting game, I expect to see Liverpool shade the game slightly and take home all three points.

Prediction: Liverpool 2-1

English Premier League Preview: Part Four

David Wilson — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 07:52:52 -0400

The English Premier League kicks off its 2009-2010 season this weekend and it promises to be an enthralling season again in Europe’s top league. So far we have looked at the likely relegation battle candidates and those teams who are destined to be middle of the table and the Europa League contenders.

Today we will look at the big four who will be competing for Premier and European glory this season.

Champions League Contenders

The big four, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United will see a new member this year, as Manchester City will replace Arsenal in the battle for Premier League supremacy. I expect an extremely tight battle this year between the big four and for a new champion to be crowned at the end of the season.

It has been a tough offseason at Old Trafford as Carlos Tevez and the best player in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo have both left Manchester United for greener pastures elsewhere. In their place comes Antonio Valencia and Michael Owen.

United won the Premier League by four points last season over Liverpool and seven points over Chelsea. Even the most ardent Man Utd fan will admit that the United team this season will not be as good as the 08-09 team, as it is currently composed.

Ronaldo was worth at least 7-9 points to United last season, and without him United move closer to Liverpool and Chelsea and there three year title reign will come to an end.

It has been another interesting offseason at Stamford Bridge, with the arrival of another big-name manager in Carlo Ancelotti.

However, the biggest move Chelsea did this summer was to persuade John Terry to turn down Man City’s millions and stay at Stamford Bridge. In a summer where all of Chelsea’s big rivals lost key players, Chelsea win because they were able to retain their players.

Like Luiz Felipe Scolari last year, Ancelotti will try to both entertain and win at Chelsea. It is too easy to tell whether he can deliver the attacking style of football that Roman Abromovich is demanding, but he will once again make Chelsea difficult to beat.

It is hard to poke holes in what is basically an all-star team, but with stability at the helm this season I expect Chelsea to win at least the Premier League or Champions League.

It was a pretty quiet summer at Anfield until Xabi Alonso said he wanted to go to Real Madrid. Aquilani is a nice replacement, but he is no Alonso, and there is a big hole in the middle of that Liverpool midfield.

Liverpool’s success in 2009-2010 will depend on the health and fitness of Torres and Gerrard. If they are fit for the whole season, then Liverpool’s odds on winning the Premier League for the first time really shorten. But Torres has had injuries in his previous two seasons at Anfield and I don’t expect that to change.

Another reason why I think that Liverpool will finish close to the title, but not win it is Benitez. If Liverpool had Ancelotti, Fergie or Mourinho leading them then I would pick them as favorites to win the league. Benitez is not in that class and I see Liverpool coming in second this year.

I like what Manchester City have done in the last two transfer windows, They have added class as well as players who have been successful already in the Premier League. Yes, City need another central defender but I think that will happen before the transfer window closes.

As for attacking options, City’s group of Wright-Phillips, Barry, Ireland, Robinho, Tevez and Adebayor is as good as any team in the Premier League. City also have the advantage that if they need a signing in the January transfer window, transfer funds is not an issue.

As mentioned above, I expect that Chelsea will win the Premier League this year with Liverpool second, Man United third, and Manchester City fourth. This could change depending on who comes and goes in the next three weeks, and I will update my predictions after the transfer window closes.

English Premier League Season Preview: Part Three

David Wilson — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 07:45:29 -0400

The English Premier League kicks off its 2009-2010 season this weekend and it promises to be an enthralling season again in Europe’s top league.

So far, we have looked at the likely relegation battle candidates and those teams who are destined to be middle of the table.

Today, we will look at the five teams that will be competing for UEFA Cup spots. With the transfer window still a couple of weeks away, the prospects for many teams will rise and fall on how is added or leaves between now and then.

But with the current rosters, this is how I see the battle for the Premiership going in 2009-2010.

European Contenders

These four teams; Aston Villa, Everton, Spurs, and Arsenal will battle it out this season for UEFA Cup honors.

Yes, Arsenal is in this group, as I expect that the domination of the big four will be broken—unless Arsenal pull off some major signings in the next three weeks.

Arsenal have gone four seasons without a trophy and Arsenal fans have to be wondering if they are now a selling club.

This offseason has seen Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure both head to Eastlands to join Manchester City. Arsene Wenger is hoping that the combination of Andrey Arshavin, Eduardo, and Robin Van Persie can replace Adebayor’s goals. That is a strategy too reliant on players that are often injured.

Arsenal’s weakness for the last two season’s has been at the back, and they have not fixed those problems yet.

In order to compete with the best in England and Europe, Arsenal need a dominating center partnership in defense, and they do not have it. In midfield, a lot of weight has been put on the shoulders of Cesc Fabregas.

The problem for Fabregas is that he cannot do it all by himself, and he misses the graft of Flamini. Arsenal need a bit of experience in midfield, but Wenger apparently disagrees. He risks running Fabregas into the ground this year, and this will hurt Arsenal come April and May when titles and trophies are handed out.

David Moyes is one of the most under-rated managers in the Premier League and his Everton team are always very competitive. My worry for Everton is their lack of activity in the transfer market.

Having Jo for a whole season, along with Yakubu, should translate into lots of goals. Cahill, Arteta, and Fellaini will all probably combine for 20-25 goals this season between them.

If Everton can keep hold of Lescott this season, then they are poised to compete with Arsenal and Manchester City for that fourth Champions League spot.

Harry Redknapp has totally overhauled Spurs from the Juande Ramos revolution. Without European football to distract him, I expect Spurs to be very competitive this year, and finish just behind Arsenal and Everton.

I feel that Spurs are still a little light at the back and it will be their defensive frailties that will stop them from breaking into the top six. But with four weeks left in the transfer window, expect the Spurs lineup to change a little more between now and then.

Aston Villa were impressive for two-thirds of last season before injuries and the size of its squad took a toll. That is why I am really surprised that Martin O’Neill has only added Stewart Downing (injured) and Fabien Delph to a squad that has already lost Gareth Barry, Zac Knight, Stuart Taylor, and Martin Laursen.

If Villa’s squad was too small last year, it will be even smaller this year. That is why I expect Villa to take a step back this year and fall to the bottom of the European contenders group.

From this group of four, I think that Arsenal and Everton are best positioned to grab the European spots and to capitalize on any slips by one of the top four. As we saw last season, the best chances of silverware for this group might be the Carling and F.A. cups.

English Premier League Preview: Part Two

David Wilson — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 08:09:00 -0400

The English Premier League kicks off its 2009-2010 season this weekend and it promises to be an enthralling season again in Europe's top league.

Yesterday, I looked at the likely relegation battle candidates and today I will look at those teams who are destined to be middle of the table. With the transfer window still a couple of weeks away the prospects for many teams will rise and fall on how is added or leaves between now and then. But with the current rosters, this is how I see the battle for the Premiership going in 2009-2010.

Mid-Table Candidates The mid-table candidates are those from position 9-14 who are not in any danger of being relegated but also have little realistic chance of qualifying for Europe. The teams in this group include Sunderland, West Ham, Blackburn, Fulham, Stoke, and Bolton.

Sunderland was involved in the relegation battle last year but a new manger in Steve Bruce and dressing room clear-out means safety to Sunderland this season. Darren Bent and Frazier Campbell along with Kenwyne Jones will provide Sunderland with the goals that they need this season.

Blackburn is another team with a revolving door in its dressing room. Big Sam has cleared house and brought in his types of players. That means lots of long balls, and battles all over the field. It is not "the beautiful game" but it will keep Rovers in the Premier League this year.

Fulham manger Roy Hodgson did a terrific job last year and was my manger of the year. The challenge I see for Fulham this season is meeting expectations, which are much higher than in previous year. Combine that with Europa league games and Fulham’s small squad will be really tested this year.

Gianfranco Zola is one of the up and coming managers in the Premier League and I expect another mid-table finish for the Hammers is where West ham will end up. My only worry for West Ham is where the goals will come fro this season.

Stoke were a big surprise last year in that they avoided relegation. Adding James Beattie in January was a masterstroke move by Tony Pulis and it probably kept Stoke up. Stoke's home form was exceptional last year and if they can make the Britannia Stadium as difficult for opposing teams this year then they will avoid relegation again.

Bolton will finish just outside the relegation battle simply because there are worst teams in the Premier League. Gary Megson is not a favorite of mine (or the Bolton fans), but with Jaaskelainen, Cahill, and Davies, Bolton is strong enough down the middle of the park to be difficult to beat most Saturdays.

English Premier League Season Preview: Relegation Candidates

David Wilson — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 08:09:08 -0400

The English Premier League kicks off its 2009-2010 season this weekend and it promises to be an enthralling season again in Europe’s top league.

With the close of the transfer window still three weeks away, the prospects for many teams will rise and fall on who is added or leaves between now and then. But with the current rosters, this is how I see the battle for the Premiership going in 2008-2009.

In Part One, I will break down the relegation battle. In the next couple of days, I will also look at the teams who will battle for Europe, the Champions League, and those who are doomed to be mid-table candidates.

Relegation Candidates

I expect that the three newly-promoted clubs, Birmingham City, Burnley, and Wolves to be involved in the relegation battle all season and I expect at least two of them to get relegated.

Burnley surprised Premier League teams in the Carling Cup and FA Cup last season with an entertaining style of football. I am hoping that they can carry this for a whole season and avoid relegation.

Wolves and Birmingham are led by Mike McCarthy and Alex McLeish, respectively, and I am not a big fan of either. Neither team has made any significant signings this offseason and I cannot see how either squad can stay up.

Joining the three teams in the relegation battle will be Portsmouth, Wigan, and Hull. The wheels are coming off at Portsmouth. It is hard to believe that this time last year they were playing in the Charity Shield and looking forward to playing AC Milan in the UEFA Cup.

Now they are in financial disarray and are a shadow of themselves. If any of the promoted teams avoid relegation, it will be because of how poor Portsmouth are.

Wigan under Steve Bruce had been a mid-table team. But Bruce is gone, as are Emile Heskey, Wilson Palacios (both left in January), and Antonio Valencia.

In comes Roberto Martinez as manager and he has never managed at this level before. I think it will be a long and tough season for Wigan fans, but ultimately I think they avoid relegation.

Hull survived last year by the skin of their teeth and I think it will be another tough season at the KC Stadium. Phil Brown has been searching for a center-forward all summer and he is hoping that American Jozy Altidore can supply the goals to keep Hull safe this season.