Well people, the good news is I'm feeling much better than I did a few days ago, the bad news is I still don't feel that great and I have to go back to work later today..... I really do hate having the flu and I'm not talking about man-flu where I might have a sore throat and milk it to no end, this was the real deal stuck in bed, throat feels like someone is scraping it with sandpaper, nose want stop running (like  Park Ji-Sung) and you feel like the end of the world is nigh. That's what I hate!

I must say, a very underrated negative about being really ill is losing the ability to taste. I could have eaten pretty much anything over the last couple of days and as long as it was not rough on my throat it would not have mattered, it's a really shame because last night I had one of my favourite lasagna's (Football Mum's special recipe) and it tasted like I was eating sloppy cardboard....

Speaking of food, I'd like to introduce a new friend of the site to you all - It's long time Football Guy friend and soon to be powerful journalist Tracey Fitzgerald and her blog about eating out in London - I ate London. I fully recommend her judgment on all things food in the London area, so if your eating out in London but not sure of where to go, make sure you see what Tracey has to say about the place and if what she say's is good I'm sure you can't go too far wrong.

I would also like to say Happy Birthday to longtime reader and one of the few people who regularly leave comments on the site - I'm not from Leeds a.K.a Neill Parker - Who despite BEING from Leeds is a Manchester United fan for some reason. "I"won't say how old he is, but just for reference, think Micky Rourke.

Speaking of strange looking famous people, Arry Redknapp's Spurs threw away a three goal aggregate lead last night yet still managed to squeeze through the the League Cup final where the will be defending their crown against United. Don't worry Burnley fan's, you probably won't have to wait long for revenge as there's a decent chance you might be playing Spurs next season if you can just go on a bit of a run and make the Championship play-offs and get promoted, but in all fairness it's more realistic to say wait for Spurs to go down and give them a nice welcome when they arrive.

Speaking of welcome guests, Arsene Wenger has been trying his hardest to get Zenit to let Andrei Arshavin come over to play. He seems to be Arsenal's only real target of this transfer window and could become very handy for an Arsenal team who despite playing better still look like they lack creativity in midfield without Cesc. My only real question about AA is - Whats up with his eyes? Can he see out of them? Is there a professional squinting circuit as I think I've found the champ for the next 10 years..... OK, that was more than one question, but I guess when you see a man with paper cuts for eyes one question is never enough.

Speaking of questions, a lot seemed to have been asked about Liverpool this week after blowing two points late on in the Merseyside derby. That is now their sixth draw in their last nine games and certain sections of the media are starting to really question if Liverpool are good enough to win the title? Now my personal opinion about Liverpool's current form is that it's balancing itself out, by that I mean if you look at Liverpool's early season form there were quite a few games the wound up winning that they could have easily drawn and in the last 10 games or so they have drawn a number of games they could have won. I think Liverpool will end up being who we thought they were - A team not quite good enough over 38 games to win the league - But will be a lot closer then in the past few seasons.

Speaking of being close, how many teams are in the race to stay up? Will if you look at the table, only three points separate 20th-12th and will Hull going down quicker than an erection after seeing Amy Winehouse topless on a beach, I'd say we have at least 10 genuine contenders for the drop and were almost in to February! I wrote about how this was a crazy season a few months ago in my November Power Rankings, but I did think it would have sorted itself out by now. Squeaky Bum time stars early this year.

Speaking of starting early, could we just do away with early kick-offs? More often than not they are pretty dull games and as most football fans I know quite like a drink on a Friday/Saturday night it makes them a chore to get up for. I think evening games are the way forward, I loved the fact Spurs v Wigan was on a Friday night a few weeks back in the FA Cup and I seem to remember the Premiership a few year ago having the odd game on a Friday night, why did they get rid of them? Saturday and Sunday nights should be used as well and I'm sure if you asked most fan they would agree. The only time I want to watch Football pre 3pm is if the World Cup in in Asia!

OK, enough of my rambling, I've got to get ready for work and need to eat some tasteless food as I'm hungry.

I'll be back tomorrow for my weekend preview, until then

Take care

Football Guy

Hi all, it's time for another late night weekend preview due to work.... As I said last week, you will have to bear with me until I get used to this last work routine.

Anyway, I don;t really have much to talk about so I think we should get straight to it.

Blackburn v Newcastle

So apparently "mean" Joe Kinnear wants to snap up Nigel Quashie...... So... your in the midst of a relegation fight... I know what I'll do to solve the problem, I'll buy a man who's already been relegated FOUR time from the Premiership in his career..... Smart move Joe, why not just walk in to the away end this Saturday at Ewood Park and take a BIG GIANT PISS on all the Newcastle faithful.

There's no chance in hell I'm backing Newcastle to win this one now, couple that with that fact I'm sure Fat Sam will be out for a bit of revenge after being fired from St James last season. Needless to say I think home win

Football Guy's verdict 2-0

Bolton v Manchester United

United don't seem to want to conceded at the moment and there's no reason to think they will start at the Reebok. They also have the chance to go top of the league, although it might only be until Monday night.

Even so it could be an ominous sign for the rest of the title chasers as I don;t think United have played anywhere near their best football this season so far.

Bolton have a good run of games after this one and I don't think will be too upset by a defeat from one of their neighbors.

Football Guy's verdict 0-2

Chelsea v Stoke

I know Stoke have done pretty well against the "Big Four" this season, but Chelsea really need this one and I think they will get it.

They were as poor as I've seen them since Abramovich took over last Sunday at Old Trafford and they need a performance.

I don;t this Stoke's bully-boy tactics will work very well at the Bridge and since that's the only way they know how to play Chelsea should be fine

Football Guy's verdict 2-0

Manchester City v Wigan

Kaka... £100m.....£500k a week..... Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the era of "the death of football as we know it".

OK, that might be a slight over the top, but I do think that we could be starting down a path from which there will be no turning back. I shall discuss this in a column in a few weeks.

I don't think Wigan have too much to worry about this season and since their out of the FA Cup I would say there season is pretty much over. As long as they don;t go in to total meltdown they should easily avoid the drop.

Football Guy's verdict 3-1

Sunderland v Aston Villa

I'm waiting for Villa's one real weakness to show it's self yet there seems to be no sign of it. I'm talking about the fact they have a pretty small squad and surely so timely injuries should put a stop to their fight for a top four finish.

Sunderland, please let Kenwyn Jones score for my Fantasy Team... Please!!!

Football Guy's verdict 1-2

West Brom v Middlesbrough

The proverbial six-pointer. It seems like Boro's last win came in a by-gone era when football was played with a orange leather ball and you could not only smoke in bar, but at work in hospital and at church too.

West Brom could move out of the bottom three this weekend if results go their way, but I think they should not worry about that and concentrate on picking up what could be a vital three points against a team they might well end up going down with.

Football Guy's verdict 1-1

Hull v Arsenal

Call me a pessimist, but despite the fact Hull are in their worst run of form this season I still fear for Arsenal's chances tomorrow. Maybe it's just because I still have nightmares of Giovanni's thunder strike at the Emirates, or the fact I just don't trust my beloved Gooners to go and get a result they really need.

Fantasy Football note - With Silvestre and Gallas out for the next couple of weeks it might be a good time to snap out Johan Djourou who will be filling in for them for the time being.

Football Guy's verdict 1-1

West Ham v Fulham

Probably the worst London derby this season. Although now I've said that there will surely be plenty of goals and loads to talk about.

Fulham are hunting only the second win from 12 meetings with the Hammers in this league and since you know how much I like trends it might give you a bit of an idea what my verdict will be.

Fantasy Football note - It might be a good idea to start signing some Fulham players in the next couple of weeks as they have no one nut two games to make up and that mean two chances to pick up extra point of what I like to call "double bubble".

Football Guy's verdict 1-1

Tottenham v Portsmouth

So Jermain Defoe didn't have to wait long for a chance to stick it too the fan's who apparently threatened his life.... You stay classy Jermain.

Who's knows anymore what result Spurs might conjure, although I will say I think this could be the week Gareth Bale get's his virgin league win for Spurs.

Football Guy's verdict 2-1

Liverpool v Everton

So Rafa has apparently turned down a new contract offer from Liverpool sighting lack of control as the reason. I don't blame him, as he say's in the link, he is judged by results on the pitch and ultimately responsible if things go wrong so he dosent want anyone else messing with his system.

Everton not only are missing a attack force, but are now missing half of the partnership that is filling in for them. Fellaini will most certainly be missed.

Football Guy's verdict 1-0

Take care 

Football Guy

Football Guy posting midweek?!?!? SHOCK, HORROR!

Don't worry, it's not the apocalypse or anything else untoward. It's just that I realized I failed to give a prediction for the Manchester United v Wigan match tonight and am not sure if Lawro will so I might as well just in case.

But before we get to that, I would like to send my commiserations to our resident Canaries fan and most frequent commentator on the site, Martin Race, who today I'm sure read the news Glenn Roeder has been sacked by his beloved Norwich City. I'm not sure how you feel about that Martin, but from my point of view it's good for the club.

Roeder was doing what he does with evey club he has managed.... Nothing. The team really hadn't gone anywhere and I think it was time for a change. Funnily enough this was (statistically speaking) Roeder's second best performance as a manager, which really put's in to perspective what a poor manager he is 

Team		From	To	Record
				P	W	L	D	Win %
Gillingham		1 August 1992	9 July 1993	51	13	22	16	25.49
Watford		1 August 1993	20 February 1996	139	44	55	40	31.65
West Ham United		9 May 2001	24 August 2003	86	27	36	23	31.39
Newcastle United		2 February 2006	6 May 2007	72	33	24	15	45.83
Norwich City		30 October 2007	14 January 2009	60	20	14	26	33.33

Cristiano Ronaldo

On Monday C-Ron was unsurprisingly named World Player of the Year. 42 goal, Premier League Champion and Champions League winner, can't really argue with that.

I will say that "I" personally think Messi is a better player, but due to what C-Ron has achieved in the last year I can;t complain with the award. I almost feel he should have won it due to the amount of Fantasy Football League's he single-handedly won last season.. If you had no C-Ron in your team last season and were not making him captain each week you were going to be at least 200+ points behind your league winner and that alone should have really won him World best player!

Manchester United v Wigan

As I already mentioned, I'm not sure if Lawro is giving a prediction for this one, but just in case I will anyway.

I'm pretty annoyed as I brought in Rio for John O'Shea thinking Rio would be back for these two games as would Evra. Turns out Evea is now out for four weeks due to the injury he sustained against Chelsea and Rio had another bout of back spasms (someone must have tipped him off that he would be drugs tested). Anyway, should have just stuck with O'Shea who I had to start with and brought in Wigan's Ryan Taylor like I wanted who picked up nine points on Sunday and anything he gets tonight would be a bonus.

United have not conceded a league goal in 720+ minutes of football (which is 8 games) two shy of Chelsea's Premier League record. It's a good thing their defense has been so tight because other than the three they scored against Chelsea, goals have be few and far between in their recent Premier league form.

Football Guy's verdict 2-0

Take care

Football Guy

Hello one and all, here's wishing you a happy new year. As you may have noticed, I've not posted anything for about nine days or so. "Lazy Bum!" I hear you cry, well not exactly... I've been entertaining four friends from Croatia who were visiting London for the first time and staying at casa del Football Guy. Now, I'm not sure if you have ever tried being a tour guide and drinking partner for seven straight day's before but let me assure you, I didn't have much time for anything else! And besides, all we've had since I last spoke to you all is some silly 3rd round FA Cup ties which, apart from Manchester City's humbling at the hands of Nottingham Forrest, didn't really spring too many surprises.

Football Guy v Mark Lawrenson

Time for a quick recap on how the last round of my ongoing battle with Lawro went. Lawro's predictions here and mine are here.

Last Week

Football Guy - PS 1 CR 7 WR 3

Lawro           - PS 1 CR 6 WR 4

Like I said in my predictions, I wish I had had the balls to go with a draw for the Fulham Chelsea match as I was proved right! Dam my lack of testicles...

Fantasy Football

Quick recap 

Rafa still hate's Fantasy Football, after scoring twice on Boxing Day Robbie Keane was the 3rd most transferred in player for the last round of games, so what does Rafa do? Drops him from Liverpool's 5-1 drubbing of Newcastle. I've said it before about Rafa, you have four definates who if fit Rafa is sure to play (Gerrard, Torres, Carragher and Reina) the rest are select at your own risk.

Did you know that since Fat Sam has taken over at Blackburn, Jason Roberts has scored 24 points in those three games? To put that in to context, it took Roberts the previous 17 weeks to amass 31 points. Maybe J-Rob should be on your January sales shopping list.

The Cristiano Ronaldo award for fantasy excellence

1. Steven Gerrard - 18pts 

 

Stevie G has been on a right tear up over the last 5 weeks where he has managed to score 55 points at an average of 11 per week. That's the kind of form we've come to expect from C-Ron over the last couple of seasons and it's by far Gerrard's best spell of the year. Is it time to sell Ronaldo and go with a Gerrard+Lampard combo? I wouldn't give it the green light just yet, but if I were over 100 points behind the leader of my league I'd be seriously considering it.

Power Rankings

In The Thick of it 20th - 12th

These teams at the moment are worrying about the top flight status and will be for the foreseeable future. Like winter follows autumn they know they are in for a long cold winter and HOPE that by the time spring come's around things will be considerably more rosey.

This section seems to be getting bigger and bigger each time we visit the Power Rankings!

PR 20th (20th) - PL 20th (20th)  WBA

You know what happens when your bottom at Christmas right? You go down, apart from that one time West Brom managed it... You'd think that anything Brian Robson can do as a manager most people can do better but yet somehow 15 other managers have tried and failed in the Premiership era where Captain Marvel has succeeded... Don't worry Baggies, if the Homer Simpson of Management could save you I'm sure Tony Mowbury must have some chance right?

PR 19th (16th) - PL 18th (12th) Stoke

I'm not sure I've disliked a team more for pure Footballing reasons than I have this Stoke side. Even the evil old Bolton teams than Fat Sam created had a bit of skill and flair. Unfortunately not this Stoke side who are basically a Championship side on steroids. They will push, shove, bruise and foul you for 90 minutes and then some. That's not how football is meant to be played and I think they are the only side at the moment who plays without any flair in the Premier League (unless you count 50 yard throws).

PR 18th (11th) - PL 17th (8th) Middlesbrough

The last time I did the Power Rankings was the 14th of November, the last time Boro won a league game was the 9th of November. That's Eight games without a league win and that's why they have slipped from 11th to 18th in the Power Rankings. Their big problem over these eight games has been goals, they have only managed Four of them over this poor run and is definitely something Southgate needs to address and fast!

PR 17th (12th) - PL 19th (15th) Blackburn

I do remember writing last time I did a Power Rankings -

"It's strange to think that the team with currently the worst defence is not bottom of the league"

Well we all know what happened after that comment and (thankfully for Blackburn) had Paul Ince still been in charge I'm sure they would be bottom of the league right now. Now despite my general dislike for Fat Sam, I do however respect that he knows what he's doing in these parts of the league (after all it's not rocket science) and I'm 99% sure he will keep Rovers up.

PR 16th (9th) - PL 16th (16th) Tottenham Hotspur

It seems I may have been a tad generous in my placement of Tottenham last time round. Not only did I have them 9th but also in the "Hunt for Europe" section... Well when your wrong you say your wrong and I was most definitely wrong and am very angry at myself for it.

Question - What happened to high scoring, fun Tottenham from last season? They managed to score Four in One trip to the Emirates yet from Ten home games they have only manged Seven poxy goals. Last season there were a whopping 80 goals scored at White Hart Lane which was by far the most and worked out to a massive 4.2 goals per game, this season WHL is on pace for 25 goals... If your going to be crap, at least be entertaining!

PR 15th (18th) - PL 15th (19th) Sunderland

Maybe Ricky Sbragia should not have taken the job permanently as his first game after taking the post full time was also his first loss. More worryingly for the Mackems is the fact Ricky seems to think Micheal Chopra is a Premiership player! And here's us thinking he knew what he was doing. 

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and allow him the chance to show what he's made of, decent stuff so far.

PR 14th (7th) - PL 12th (9th) Portsmouth

Pompey are very lucky to be this high in the Power Rankings and now thinking about it, should be a lot lower. Thankfully for them I'm willing to give Tony Adams ONE more month to show me he knows what he's doing cos so far it seems like he does not.

One win in their last Eight games is a good way to get yourself relegated and to make matters worse, your star striker Jermain Defoe has apparently received death threats from your own fans... I bet it was this guy, he's always looked like a creep to me.

(BTW - If I wanted to leave a club and not look like the bad guy, I too would say the fan's had threatened to kill me)

PR 13th (17th) - PL 14th (18th) Newcastle

So hold on a minute, is Michael Owen staying or going? He owes them another year right?

But wait just a second, is Shay Given Staying or Going? Newcastle owe him the chance to leave and play for a club with real chance to win something right?

hey, how about Mike Ashley, selling or staying? He owes the Newcastle fans a proper owner who does not take the club he want to sell off the market just because nobody is stupid enough to pay what he paid for the club right?

Newcastle - Where nothing is straight forward.

PR 12th (14th) - PL 11th (11th) Bolton

Have you ever noticed how crap Bolton's badge is, it kind of reminds me a little of this badge.

Quirky stat about Bolton - No score draws this season.

Their next two games are tough, Arsenal away, Manchester United home, but after that they have a run nine games stretching till April that I'm sure they will feel they can win and I think they should pick up enough points over that period to see themselves safe for another year.

Looking over their Shoulder 12th -10th

These are the teams that are thankful that for now there are teams that are worse than them, but need to keep looking over their shoulders in case they get sucked in.

PR 11th (10th) - PL 8th (6th) Hull

The Tigers have now lost three straight in the league which equals their worst run this season. The problem is their next two games are Everton away and Arsenal at home, which could easily see them end up with a five game losing streak and them slip further down the table.

Having said that I still think Hull will be OK this season, but I do think they will end up closer to the drop than most people think.

PR 10th (15th) - PL 10th (14th) West Ham

I probably should have put the Hammers further down the list as they are likely to lose quite a few key players during January.

Mind you, if they can keep them they'll most like finish where they stand now, somewhere in mid-table.

Question - Is Gianfranco Zola the most universally like ex-Chelsea player ever?

PR 9th (19th) - PL 7th (17th) Wigan

Back in November when Wigan were 17th in the League I wrote -

"I don't get why Wigan are not getting more points. Thay have some very good players in Zaki, Heskey and Valencia yet can't seem to win games thay should"

I'll be honest people, it feel good to be right, especially with a team you would like to see do well. I've said before that I like Steve Bruce as a manager, I just hope he can keep a hold of his key players until the end of the season and build from there.

PR 8th (13th) - PL 9th (10th) Fulham

Forget Hull, Fulham have supprised me the most this season. I was sure they were going down, didn't see any other secnario and yet here they are 9th in the League with a by FAR better defensive record than either Arsenal or Aston Villa.

I'm not going to go as far as to say they are safe just yet, but by next months Power Rankings they could be.

Your Season Ended in August

This is for those teams who will end up in mid table mediocrity, who's fans barring a cup run will have very little to get excited about. Hence, your season ended in August.

PR 7th (8th) - PL 13th (13th) Manchester City

Slightly controversial I know given their current form a League position but seriously, who really believes City will go down?

I'm sure if I gave you the choice between backing City to go down for £1m or them finish at least 10 points clear of relegation for £10k you chose the second option right? If I'm wrong you are a bigger fool than I.

Question - How did Wayne Bridge become more expensive over the last five year despite warming Chelsea's bench for most of them?

That was a question asked of me by one of my buddies from the SportBoys, if you've never read there stuff be sure to check it out.

In the Hunt for Europe 6th 

For those who are looking at a UEFA cup spot but not quite top 4 spot.

PR 6th (6th) - PL 6th (7th) Everton

Do I believe Aston Villa can break into the top four? Yes. Do I also believe Everton can finish above Villa? Yes.

Everton can for me most certainly catch Villa and come 5th, but to do so their going to need some more fire power up front as Cahill, Arteta and Lescott can't do it all.

Hopefully Saha will be back soon (and then injured again) which will help easy the pressure on their beleaguered strike force.

Fourth Spot Chasers  4th

I think you can guess what that means.

PR 5th (5th) - PL 4th (5th) Aston Villa

Had Villa taken their chance on Boxing Day, beaten Arsenal and gone six point clear of them instead of snatching a late point and being only three points ahead I would have bumped them up one place in the Power Rankings.

Alas for them they stay fifth for now, but that could all change soon enough as they have a pretty favorable run of fixtures coming up that, if they seriously think they can get 4th spot they have to win.

PR 4th (4th) - PL 5th (3rd) Arsenal  

The Arsenal Transfer Funds Mystery -

28/11/2008 - Arsenal have money to spend

02/01/2009 - Arsenal have "no" money to spend

Question - What happened in those 34 days? Peter Hill-Wood + Gala Casino = no transfer funds

Title Chasers 3rd - 1st

The big boys, the ones who dream it will be their captain lifting the trophy in may.

PR 3rd (1st) - PL 2nd (1st) Chelsea

So for the first time this season Chelsea drop from the top spot down to 3rd.

There's only so many time's you can slip up at home and get away with it, since the last Power Rankings were published Chelsea have managed just one home league win from four matches.

Also in store for them in the second half of the season are trips to Villa Park, The Emirates, Anfield and this weekends trip to Old Trafford. That's a lot of potential dropped points right there.

PR 2nd (3rd) - PL 3rd (4th) Manchester United

I've been scratching my head wondering what the hell is up with United attack? Then I realized... Nothing! It's the same as it was last year apart from the fact C-Ron is not bailing them out each week and on pace to score 256 goals in the season.

In fact C-Ron's influence on the United attack is so great that in the six league games he has gone without scoring united have failed to score more than one in all of them and the last three times United managed to score more than one goal in a league match C-Ron scored at least two goals in each of them.

Question - How good are United without Ronaldo scoring every week? Not as good as we thought!

PR 1st (2nd) - PL 1st (2nd) Liverpool

Hopefully now that I've finally put Liverpool atop the Power Rankings all the threats of burglary from scousers will stop.

Fair play to Liverpool who have managed to open up a three point gap at the top of the League despite having one of the worlds best strikers out for big chunks of the season so far.

Now with Torres seemingly back, Liverpool need to take full advantage and press on in their pursuit of their first title in 19 years.

Final Thought

Three of the last four teams top of the league at Christmas have gone on to win the League. The one that failed was last season Arsenal, I shall no proceed to set myself on fire...

Take care

Football Guy 

Hi everybody, hope you all enjoyed the feast of football served up for us yesterday. There was a bountiful 25 goals dished out over the ten games which was plenty to go round, however if you had the misfortune of being at either White Hart Lane or the Stadium of Light you really did end up with a Christmas Turkey!

Game of the day I guess had to be the last one. It was actually one of the best games of the season with both teams netting twice, the woodwork was also hit four times and Martin O'Neill set a new record for most distance covered on the touchline by a manager during a match.

There was also a rather funny/awkward hand shake between the two managers after a heated discussion minutes into the second half. It's funny that Wenger is often described as a professor or a great thinker yet he seems to love to get into near punch up's on the touchline more than any other manager in the Premiership. Funniest one has to be when him and Martin Jol butted heads in some sort of antelope mating ritual (Sorry as i can't find the video).

Elsewhere, the "Big Three" all one and in pleasantly symmetrical order, 1-0 2-0 3-0.

Stephen Ireland answered my fantasy football teams call with a first half hat trick of assist and a second half goal with absolutely destroyed Hull who have shipped NINE goals in their last two games.

Then there was Pompy, who instead of winning their game comfortably they get spanked 4-1, sorry Tony, as much as I love you, things just seem to go wrong for you. I hope people don't start remembering you as a $*1T manager rather than the great captain you were.

Arsenal v Portsmouth 

So, Tony Adams get's to finally take on Arsenal in a managerial capacity. I don;t think it's going to be a happy return. Portsmouth have developed that dangerous trait of playing well yet losing. Funnily enough it started right after Big Tone took over.

Arsenal Will Have Adebayor back for this one and I'd look for him to be in amongst the goals, if you've got the cash I recommend bringing him into your fantasy team for this one

Football Guy's verdict 2-0

Blackburn v Manchester City

                                                                                                          

Merry Christmas to you all, I hope Santa brought you all you deserved this year. I went for a hour and a half long walk this morning around Islington and managed to see 10 people (three of which were jogging and two were homeless). It really is a ghost town on Christmas day.

For a football fan though, this really is a glorious time of the year. Games come think and fast and there is loads of food and booze to enjoy them with. I can't understate how much I love the festive period and the sporting action it brings!

I know most people love Christmas for the presents (greedy so and so's), so I thought I would take so time before the previews to mention some of the "presents" I think a few of the Premiership teams hope they will receive.

Arsenal

When your locked in what looks to be a real battle to come at least forth, the last thing you need is your captain and best player to get crocked ofr four months which basically rules him out for the rest of the season.

We already knew Arsene would probably need to buy a midfielder in January, but now with Cesc injury it seem the wise old Frenchman will need to add to his Xmas wish list. It's also never a good position to be in when teams know you are desperate for a player, they really can hold you to ransom.

Wenger's big problem will be that the restless Arsenal fan's out there will probably be look for a relatively big name signing to appease the sense of lack star power in the team, those kind of player don;t come cheep at the best of times and with teams knowing Arsenal's predicament it could make finding another one of Arsene's "bargains" very tough indeed.

Chelsea

A home win please! Chelsea are without a win at fortress Stamford Bridge since demolishing Sunderland 5-0 on November 1st.

I think they will get there wish as they face West Brom at home on Boxing Day and if they are unable to beat them then maybe uncle Roman will have to get out his big fat cheque book and delve in to the January sales.

Liverpool

Fernando Torres fit! There is only so much Stevie G and co can do without there best front man. A fully fit and in form Torres could be the difference for whether or not Liverpool can end there 19 year title drought.

The good news is that he seems to be about to make his comeback, the bad news is judging by  Fernondo's injury history since joining Liverpool, he's probably about a month away from another spell on the sidelines.

West Brom

Can lightning strike twice? We all know that if your bottom on Christmas Day it mean almost certain relegation come May.

Having said that the Baggies are the only team to have avoided that fate, surviving after a truly miraculous run that saw them still at the foot of the table come the last day of the season.

They already find themselves four points adrift from safety and with a trip to Chelsea on Boxing day it looks unlikely they will be any nearer to safety come the weekend.

Lawro's predictions

Stoke v Manchester United

Fresh from their exploits in Japan, United return to Premiership action looking to make up some ground in the title race. Waiting for them is a vist to Stoke who they crushed last month at Old Trafford 5-0.

That game was also the last time C-Ron scored in the Premiership and United will need the World Footballer of the Year back in goalscoring form if they are to get their title chase back on track.

Stoke have been remarkable good this year at home with a record of W-5 D-2 L-2. I don;t expect them to be adding to the first two columns tomorrow.

Football Guy's verdict  0-3

Chelsea v West Brom

Chelsea have to start winning at home sometime soon and this fixture presents them with the perfect opportunity to get their once legendary home form back on track.

I hope Lampard has not gorged himself to much with Christmas Turkey and is fighting fit for this one as he could do with a goal (as could my fantasy team). If your looking for a little festive bet on Boxing day go with Lampard First Goalscorer @ 5/1. It might help you make up for that lousy present you bought your girlfriend.

West Brom have no hope here and I think Chelsea crush them

Football Guy's verdict 3-0

Portsmouth v West Ham

Tony Adams really really really needs a a run of league wins! Since the beginning of November Pompy have managed just two league wins out of eight games and yet despite their form are still 10th.

West ham I think have been pretty unlucky to only have one point from their last three games (that coming at Stamford Bridge). It's never a good sign to play well and lose. They seem to be having all sorts of problems putting the ball in the back of the net and could really do with a top striker in January. Unfortunately it seems they are more likely to sell due to their precocious financial standing.

Football Guy's verdict 2-1

Tottenham v Fulham

Last season White Hart Lane was the place to go to see goals, this season it is not. WHL has seen the least amount of net bulging action in the Premiership with only 14 goals in 9 games, the next best (or worst) is at either the JJB or Reebok which have both seen only 18 goals each.

Fulham sport the Premier League's best home record picking up 20 points at Craven Cottage (although United have played 2 games less at Old Trafford). The problem they have is that they also have the league second worst away record (Stoke having the worst) with only 4 points from 8 games on their travels. I don't expect that to change.

Football Guy's verdict 1-0

Liverpool v Bolton

The Merseysiders celebrate Christmas at the top of the tree for the first time in 12 years and a record equaling 16th time all told. Good news for Liverpool as they have gone on to win the title on 10 of the 15 occasions they previously were on pole position on 25 December, but the most recent of these was the 1987-88 season.

They will also have gone a whole calender year unbeaten at home should they avoid defeat.

All you need to know about Bolton's chances in this one is that the last time they one at Anfield Albert Einstein was still alive, maybe they could use his big fat brain to devise a way to win tomorrow.

Football Guy's verdict 2-0

Manchester City v Hull

I bet I know what Mark Hughes want for Christmas, a much needed 3 points. Who would have thought come Boxing day City would have the same amount of league points as their position in the league (both 18).

This one should be an entertaining affair as there have been a total of 116 goals in their 36 games combined this season, which if I've done my maths corectly works out to 3.2 goals per game.

I really enjoyed the 2-2 draw they served up last month as I was fortunate enough to have both Giovanni and Stephen Ireland in my fantasy team who score 3 between them. I'm hoping for more of the same!

Football Guy's verdict 2-2

Middlesbrough v Everton

Things are looking considerably less rosy for Boro then they did a few weeks ago. Their last league win was back in October and have managed just 4 points from their last 8 games.

Everton on the other hand have been surprisingly good away from Goodison, picking up 19 points on their travels compared to just 7 at home.

There still lacking in the fire power department but one goal might be all that's needed.

Football Guy's verdict 0-0

Sunderland v Blackburn

About two weeks ago this game might have been sorting out who was the worst in the Premiership, but know with both teams having new men in charge there seems to be a sense of optimism for what the new year will hold.

I'm sure both will fancy their chances and both need the win. I think they might well cancel each other out.

Football Guy's verdict 2-2

Wigan v Newcastle

So it looks as though Mickey Owen will be staying at St James's for at least another year as he feel's he "owe's them one more". That awfully nice of him, it's good to see he's will to turn up each week for ONLY £100,000 a week. Let that be a lesson to you all and try to be more charitable in the new year!

Wigan on the other hand have two striker's who's future's are a little less certain. What will happen with Zaki and Heskey? If they were to lose both of them I would be straight down the bookie's with some some cash back them at 7/1 for the drop.

Football Guy's verdict 2-1

Aston Villa v Arsenal

Finally we have what's arguably the best game on Boxing Day. 3rd vs 5th in what could be a massive momentum swinger it the "race for fourth".

Arsenal really will be up against it traveling without their two best players (Cesc and Adebayor). Will they have enough to overcome a Villa side who have lost just once at home?

Arsenal haven't actually lost to Villa at Villa Park this millennium and will be hoping that run continues.

I don't want to knock Villa in what they have achieved so far this season but I will say they have been very fortunate with injuries. I read a stat somewhere which has them as the team that has used the fewest different players in the league so far this season and if you think about it, other than John Carew, they haven't had anyone missing from the first team for any considerably length of time.

If they are to push for a Champions League spot their run of injury free luck will have to continue but if the worst happens they will be doing themselves a big favor if they can open up a 6 point lead over Arsenal.

The Gunners this season have managed their best performances when their backs have been against the wall, I hope that continues!

Football Guy's verdict 1-1

Final Thoughts

I would like to take this moment to wish you all a very merry Christmas, may it be as good to you as it has so far been to me. I will be back on Saturday with the preview for Sunday's games (It will also be my first weekend post). I've also got planned for nest week the "Football Guy end of year awards" which should be fun, but until then

Take care

Football Guy 

 

Hey ho everyone, it's time for a Tuesday Monday Hangover. It had nothing to do with me being lazy or forgetting. I had a electronic problem, namely my computer was messing me around in a very VERY annoying way. Basically what happened was that about two minutes after I would turn the sucker on it decided to switch itself off, which in turn made it virtually impossible for me to do anything about it, so I had to wipe everything and start again!

Needless to say, once I was done with that I was in no mood to write and had a lot of other stuff on so hence, I come to you today.

Weekend Winners

Aston Villa

Another good weekend for the Villans which saw them move to within five point of leader Liverpool and three points ahead of Arsenal who's game on Boxing day at Villa park should prove to be an intriguing match to say the least. In fact it's a bit like a delayed Xmas present and as I don;t think I shall be getting much this year I'm looking at it as my "Thing" to look forward to (despite being very worried about the possibility Arsenal might end up six point behind them).

Manchester United

United not only won the World Club Championship over the weekend, they also won ground in the title race as their main rivals (other than Villa who I don;t think their to concerned about) all slipped up. United now have two games in hand, both at home, which if they win will see them go level on points with Chelsea and one point behind Liverpool with both having to visit Old Trafford in the New Year. SPOILER ALERT - With this month power rankings coming up next week you might see United on top... Maybe.

Ricky Sbragia

Yes folks, the man with the name I can't pronounce has turn Sunderland's fortunes around it seem and has put himself surly in pole position for the job on a permanent basis. After almost stealing a point at United they have go on to crush both West Brom and Hull, team's which Manchester City can;t seem to figure out. Speaking of which...

Weekend Losers

Manchester City

If you can;t beat West Brom then who can you beat? I'm still not going to go as far as to say it's a crisis at Eastlands but there are certainly some big problems that I'm sure £50-60m will sort out. The only question is if Sparky will be given the chance to sort them out.

Football Guy

Yep, I had my first losing week in my battle with the BBC's Mark Lawrenson. Let's take a look at what went down.

Football Guy v Mark Lawrenson

As was quite correctly pointed out to me by my mate Amer, I had made a mistake in calculating the points last week. I had given perfect score three points but also gave them one point for being a correct result which basically meant I was give four points for a perfect score which it way too much.

Anyway that has been rectified this week. I managed only Three correct results, all coming on Saturday, where as Lawro had Four correct results with One perfect score. For a full check on how Lawro did click here.

This Week

Football Guy - PS 0 CS 3 WR 7

Lawro           - PS 1 CS 4 WR 6

Season

                         PS - CS - WR - Pts

Football Guy     3     14     16     20

Lawro               3     12     18     18

Well at least I'm still in the lead, although I not happy at all with the gap I have. Will have to make sure I have a good festive period.

Fantasy Football

The only player you realistically would have made captain that done anything

1. Robin Van Persie - 10pts

Players you wish you had made captain but never would

1. Steed Malbranque - 16pts
2. Danny Murphy       - 14pts
3. Matty Taylor          - 13pts

Players who scored more points this week than they had combined in past X weeks

1. Benni  McCarthy - 12pts - more than past 8 weeks combined
2. Jason Roberts    - 10pts - more than past 6 weeks combined
3. Roman Bednar   - 8pts   - more than past 6 weeks combined

Super-Duper goalkeepers

1. Brad Friedel - 11pts
2. Petr Cech    - 10pts

The Cristiano Ronaldo award for Fantasy Football Excelence

1. Steed Malbranque - 16pts

Steed has now scored 39 points in the last 6 gameweek's which works out to 6.5 a week, despite that his value has dropped by .1m, figure that one out?

Final Thoughts

As you may have noticed, there is no Youtube or pictures this week due to some lingering problems I'm still experiencing with my computer. I'm sure I shall have those fixed in the coming days and things will be back on track in no time, until then.

Take Care

Football Guy

So I'm back with my 4th, that's right 4TH column of the week! How lucky you all are...

Were back with the regular Weekend Preview were I take on the BBC's Mark Lawrenson in his Lawro's Predictions column on the net.

But before we get to that I had a thought this week that was more a question and it turned into one that I had no answer for. What is that question I hear you ask?

If C-Ron is the best player in the Premiership, then who is the second?

hmm, I really could not say. I guess most people would go with Gerrard, Lampard or Cesc, but for me Torres, Drogba, Rooney and Berbatov have to figure in the discussion as well as Ashley Young and Robinho.

It's defiantly an interesting question and one that I might have to attempt to answer in the new year.

I think the problem with the question is that for me there is no definitive answer, it all depends on from what perspective your looking from and how you value one players impact over another.

Anyway, I'll get back to this in a couple of weeks time.

On to this weeks picks, as always, I'm picking these without looking at what Lawro has picked and for what it's worth, you have my word I didn't peek.

Blackburn v Stoke

Unfortunately for me there is no early Saturday kick-off where I have a 100% record in guessing the score, BOO.

Instead we have another one of those bunch of 3pm games which look horrible. This one see's the return of the walrus who, despite me disliking very much, is going to be a good thing for a Blackburn team in crisis after having Paul Ince try to convince them that players who were good enough for AFC Wimbledon were also good enough for Blackburn (well I guess considering the direction he was taking them maybe they would be in six months time).

I think the walrus will have an immediate effect and I'm tempted to say their going to keep a clean sheet as well (then I realize he's not a miracle worker).

Football Guy's verdict 2-1

 

Bolton v Portsmouth

I've had a few email's in recent weeks accusing me of being a tad harsh on Tony Adams, so in response to that I will say that they were in no way deserving of the 3-0 beat down they received at home to Newcastle and had Jermaine Defoe not turned into Dave Nugent it might well have been 3-0 to the home side.

Bolton's good run of form ended last week away to top four challengers Aston Villa. Bolton have actual picked up more points away from home this season then they have at the Reebok, with goal scoring being their biggest problem (only six in eight games).

I say low scoring draw.

Football Guy's verdict 1-1

Fulham v Middlesbrough

Fulham, the best home team in London. Does not sound right does it? But regardless of how it sound's, it's true and I think it will continue (which mean's knowing Boro they will win).

I do think this is the best of the 3pm games and I shall be watching over the internet expecting some good footballing action.

Boro are a dangerous team to back against if you feel confident they will lose as I have documented before.

So with that said I'm quite ready to eat my words when they beat Fulham on Saturday.

Football Guy's verdict 2-0

Hull v Sunderland

Sunderland bounced back in terrific style last week with a 4-0 pounding of West Brom and the week before were about 90 seconds away from getting a point at Old Trafford.

Hull keep proving the doubters wrong and I feel they should keep there unbeaten run going (5 games).

It would be a nice boost to my fantasy team if Giovanni could score this week. Please Gio, all I ask is one goal, come one, that's not too much to ask is it?

Football Guy's verdict 3-1

West Ham v Aston Villa

You know that Villa will most likely be either 3-4 points ahead of Arsenal or 4-5 points behind Liverpool come Sunday night. I think until proven otherwise Villa must be taken as serious challengers for a top 4 finish (Just don;t let Ashley Young do anything in this game, thanks)

The hammers put in a good performance at Stamford Bridge last week, but considering Chelsea's home form this year it's not really that big of a deal.

Is there anyone on West Ham's team you like for fantasy purposes? Because I can't think of one player from there team I would consider bringing in to mine.

Football Guy's verdict 0-2

West Brom v Manchester City

It's good that we finally have a team we can say are definitely the worst in the Premiership this season. had Blackburn not sacked Paul Ince and brought in the Walrus we might still be undecided but now we have a clear favorite, that's the status you get when Sunderland whoop you 4-0.

Did you know that in all competitions City have failed to win their last five games? If sparky does not address that soon he might well be the next manager in the dole Que. I'm sure if he can make it to January and strengthen the area's they need work on he should be just fine. It's also good for him he has a VERY winnable game this week.

Football Guy's verdict 0-3

Newcastle v Tottenham

What's going on with Tottenham's defense? It's been a shambles now for the last 18 months or so, yet they have managed 3 clean sheets in their last 4 league games. Might be time to start looking at Spurs defenders as viable options for your fantasy team.

Speaking of defenses, Newcastle too have had a remarkable improvement in that department of last also picking up clean sheets in 3 of their last 4 games. The world seems the little bit more strange.

Football Guy's verdict 1-1

Arsenal v Liverpool

Undoubtedly the weekends biggest game. Arsenal definitely need the win more than Liverpool who, if they look at this reasonably, would be happy with a point from this one.

Apparently Arsenal will have Samir Nasri back for this one which is very good news for the Gunners as he seems to be incapable of scoring anywhere apart from the Emirates and also has a knack for scoring important goals (Winner against West Brom, Both in win over United and equalizer v Everton).

It also mean that Arsene wont have to play the 4 central midfielder midfield, which give Arsenal less width than a hooker's back alley.

The big question with Liverpool will be who they start up front? With out doing any research and only using my memory I seem to remember Robbie Keane having quite a decent record against Arsenal, though I might be wrong.

Will Rafa put his faith in his £20 front man? Or will it be sloth spearheading the attack once more?

I say since Arsenal have already beaten 2 of the 3 Big Four by a 2-1 score line that they will do so again (finger's crossed).

Football Guy's verdict 2-1

Everton v Chelsea

Lastly we have Monday nights game which see's Chelsea looking for a 9th straight win away from home this season where they have also only conceded 1 goal.

As long as Chelsea make sure they keep an eye on Cahill and Lescott they should be alright as I can't see Everton scoring more than 1 in this game. Chelsea have managed 21 goals so far away from home in 8 games which is a top return in anyone's book's.

Note to Lampard - F%@KING SCORE YOU FAT C@&T, MY FANTASY TEAM NEEDS IT.

Football Guy's verdict 0-2

Final thoughts

With C-Ron of in the land of the rising sun, who will you have as your fantasy teams captain this week?

Take care

Football Guy

Hope you enjoyed part one. No intro's for part two, straight in to the action.

1996/07 - Brought to you by The Spice Girls and Tupac

Middlesbrough lose both cup final's and go down

This has to rank up there with one of the most depressing season's any team has ever had. Two cup final's, lost both, get relegated. Pretty bad. What's worse is that they would have stayed up if not for a three point deduction due to them not turning up for a game against Blackburn. There excuse was that they did not have enough players fit due to illness and injury (the plague was rife that year on teeside). Although they did appeal the points deduction they were not as fortunate as Tottenham who a few years earlier had a points deduction over turned that would have sent them down.

Arsenal hire some guy called Arsene Wenger

Yep, a couple of months in to the season Arsenal brought in a little know Frenchman as their new manager and boy did he look strange! I will refrain from making joke's about what he looked like back then, but let's be fair, it would have been a tough decision over whether to let Gary Glitter or Arsene Wenger babysit your kids.

Anyway, it was one of the most important appointments in Arsenal history and the man over the coming years went on to revolutionize not on Arsenal, but English football as a whole.

Au revoir, Cantona

On 18 May, Eric Cantona dropped a bombshell on Manchester United by announcing his retirement from playing. The news hit football like a tidal wave. Cantona was one of the most idolized footballers of his day. Cantona wowed the footballing world with his talents and the way he bounced back from his long suspension won him even more admirers. In five seasons at Old Trafford, he had won four Premiership titles and two F.A Cups as well being voted PFA Player of the Year in 1994 and FWA Player of the Year in 1996. He had ironically been part of the Leeds United team which pipped Alex Ferguson's men to the league title in 1992, and proved himself to be one of the biggest bargains in Premiership football when he moved to Old Trafford the following November for little over £1million. That's why people think Howard Wilkinson is a idiot.

Keegan does a Keegan

On 5 January 1997, Newcastle United were hit with perhaps the biggest shock in their history: Kevin Keegan had resigned as manager. His reason for quitting was that he felt he had taken the club as far as he could. And during his five years at St James's Park, Keegan had overseen a revolution in Newcastle's fortunes. On his appointment in February 1992, Newcastle had been second from bottom in the old Second Division and looked favorites for relegation. But he kept them in the Second Division and they were founder members of the new Division One in 1992-93. A superb run of form kept them at the top of the division all season and they went up to the Premiership as Division One champions. Third and sixth place finishes followed before Newcastle led the Premiership for most of 1995-96, only to be overhauled by Manchester United in the final weeks of the season. He had walked out on Newcastle as they looked well place to challenge for a league title.

Kenny Dalglish was appointed manager of Newcastle in Keegan's place - ironically Dalglish had replaced Keegan as Liverpool's main striker 20 years earlier!

Side Note

Alex Ferguson famously blamed this kit for a 6-3 drubbing at the hands of Southampton. His excuse was that his players could not see one another....

Manchester United - Producers of the first Cloaking Device used in football.

1997/98 - Brought to you by Elton John and Princess Di

Arsenal clinch double

In Arsene Wenger's first full season as manager, Arsenal went on a storming run during the final three months of the season to take advantage of having three games in hand over leaders Manchester United and clinch the Premiership title after overhauling United's 11-point lead. Two weeks after being crowned champions, Arsenal went to Wembley and beat Newcastle Unted 2-0 to clinch the FA Cup. In doing so, they became the only team to match Manchester United's record of two "doubles", though it was achieved with an entirely different squad to the Arsenal side that had been double winners in 1971.

Michael Owen hit's the scene

With an injury to Robbie Fowler, Owen was thrust immediately into action as a first team regular alongside the likes of newcomer Paul Ince and playmaker Steve McManaman. He scored his first European goal for the club against Celtic in the UEFA Cup and recorded his first professional hat-trick against Grimsby Town in the League Cup. Owen ended that season as a joint top scorer in the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers' Chris Sutton and Coventry City's Dion Dublin, scoring eighteen goals, and was voted the PFA Young Player of the Year by fellow professionals. 

David Beckham becomes hate figure

It was all because of this. Silly boy,if your going to kick someone, don't do it right in front of the ref. The public's reaction to this incident was ridiculous. I remember effigies of Beckham being burnt and the media completely destroying him. It's also the reason why I don't do the Sun's fantasy football, after the game they gave ALL the England players 10's except for Beckham who got a 0. Now, let's not forget that the Sun charged you to enter and there was a £50,000 prize at stake, so for them to completely nullify the legitimacy of their competition with that act of jingoistic stupidity was a step to far for me and thus they have never been graced by England's finest fantasy player of his generation ever again!

It is funny though, that Beckham went from public enemy number one to the nations savior in the space of four years... Who ever said English supporters were fickle?

1998/99 -Brought to you by Britney & Monica Lewinsky

The best domestic game of the last 25 years

After a utterly forgettable first game four days earlier the Football world was treated to arguably the best game of domestic football in the last 25 years. I still remember when the final whistle went not being angry but in awe of what I had witnessed over the last 2+ hours.

It had everything with both sets of fans going through all the emotions. I'm still glad to this day that it did not go to penalties as a game like this deserved a goal to finish it and what a goal it was.

Vieira for some reason decided to pass the bass cross field to no one, Giggs ended up getting the ball and the rest was history. My only question would be why Bergkamp (who had missed 3 of his last 5 penalties) was allowed to take what would have been the winning goal?

Check out hairy chest and co here.

That memorable night in the Nou Camp

Clive Tildsley seems to remind us of it every Champions League match for the last 10 years. The game capped of what was a unique treble and at the time, the greatest club achievement in English football. I would say the greatest but I feel it can be done again and will be done again.

It was also the first time I remember seeing a team in the Champions League final get totally dominated yet win the match, something another English team who plays in red would go on to do a few years later.

It must go down as the worst lose for fans in CL history, I can't imagine how Bayern fans must have felt (although after Croatia's Euro 2008 quarter final against Turkey I've got some idea). I remember me and my buddy Pavel watching it around a friend of ours house called Chris who was supporting United because "Their playing the Germans", despite being an Arsenal fan. Me and Pav were supporting Bayern as all good Arsenal fans should have. Anyway when United equalized I remember saying to Pav "Oh well, atleast we've got extra time". 30 seconds later we didn't and I think me a Pav just stared at each other for a good couple of minutes in silence as Chris jumped around.

Watch the drama here if you can stomach it.

All hail Sir Alex

That's his name now, not Alex Ferguson or Fergie, but Sir Alex.

On 12 June, Alex Ferguson received a knighthood in recognition for his services to football - making him the seventh knight of English football and the third knight to be associated with Manchester United, the others being Matt Busby and Bobby Charlton.

Could someone tell me why Bobby Charlton was Knighted and not put to sleep? Old prick.

1999/00 - Brought by Oxide & Neutrino and Sarah Knauss

The year were nothing interesting happened.

United win the League

United retained their Premiership title after losing just three league games all season and finishing 18 points ahead of runners-up Arsenal. Roy Keane was voted Player of the Year by both the PFA and FWA and Andy Cole finished as the club's top scorer with 19 Premiership goals. United lost their defense of the European Cup after losing to eventual winners Real Madrid in the quarter finals. United got demolished against Real, it was also the game Redondo did that famous trick.

Famous debutants

• Ashley Cole, 18, was involved in Arsenal's League Cup tie at Middlesbrough in November 1999, with his first taste of league action following in a loan spell at Crystal Palace.
• Shaun Wright-Phillips helps Manchester City win at Burnley in the League Cup in August 1999, two months before his 18th birthday.
• Michael Carrick is brought off the bench in West Ham United's 3-0 win at Bradford City in August 1999.

That's how boring that year was.

2000/01 - Brought to you by Limp Bizket and Bush v Gore

Sven is England's first foreign coach

With pressure building up on him following England's dismal Euro 2000 campaign, Kevin Keegan di "A Keegan" and resigned as manager of England's national team minutes after a 1-0 defeat to Germany in the opening World Cup qualifying game. The match, played October 7, 2000, was also the last played at Wembley Stadium (I watched that game in my old local sitting next to David Bowie). Howard Wilkinson and Peter Taylor each had one-match stints as caretaker manager before Sven-Göran Eriksson accepted the F.A's offer to become the new national coach. Former Lazio coach Eriksson, 52, was the first foreigner to be appointed coach of the England national team. His first match in charge was a 3-0 win over Spain. England would go on to win their first five matches with Eriksson in charge and all the critics who were opposed to Eriksson being appointed looked to have made a major misjudgment.

Sir Alex makes history with United

Sir Alex became the first manager in English football to win three successive league titles after Manchester United were crowned Premiership champions for the third season running. Their title was secured with 80 points and a 10-point gap between themselves and runners-up Arsenal. Most bookmakers had closed their books before the turn of the New Year and admitted that United were certain of their seventh Premiership title in nine seasons. A 6-1 demolition of Arsenal in late February crushed any lingering doubts over the title's destiny.

United were not the first team to win three straight league titles. Huddersfield Town, Arsenal and Liverpool had all done it before, but with managerial changes in between.

Houllier delivers three for Liverpool

Liverpool captured the 2001 UEFA Cup on 16th May with a 5-4 win over Alavés. I watched this game in break for the Boarder which is sadly not with us anymore, great venue for Karaoke on a Wednesday night. The game was won in the 116th minute by golden goal, and it completed a triplet of trophies for Liverpool which ended their six-year trophy drought as well as delivering their first trophies under Houllier's management. The League Cup had already been won with a penalty shoot-out triumph over Birmingham City in the first English final at the Millennium Stadium, and the FA Cup was secured after a dramatic 2-1 win over Arsenal in which Michael Owen scored two late goals after Freddie Ljungberg had put Arsenal ahead.

Arsenal were well and truly mugged in that game. Liverpool should have had Henchoz sent off for a deliberate hand ball on the line (This started a trend for Henchoz who went on to handball in his own box against Arsenal a further two times, also not getting caught). Arsenal also missed 4-5 glorious chances with Liverpool clearing off the line twice (not counting Henchoz).

To this day I blame my mate Chris for this defeat as we were 1-0 with about 15 minutes to play, he walks in to the pub and Owen equalizes, he buys a drink and comes and sits down next to us, Owen scores the winner, I get up and walk out. Don't really remember the next hour or so...

2001/02 - Brought to you by DJ Otzi and 9/11

Closest title race in years

At the start of 2002 the title was wide open as teams such as Newcastle Utd and Leeds Utd were flying at the top of the table along with the big boys. Newcastle, after two back to back Christmas away wins 3-1 at Arsenal and 4-3 at Leeds stamped themselves as genuine title challengers and led the league at the turn of the year. Leeds were also top at Christmas before losing that dramatic 4-3 thriller at Elland Road to the Magpies.

Come March time, the Premiership was mainly contested between Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United, due to Chelsea, Newcastle and Leeds failure to stay in touch with those specific clubs.

Liverpool appeared to crash out of the title race. Despite being top of the table at the start of December and eleven points clear of Manchester United, they suffered a slump into fifth place and five points behind United.

January saw Liverpool head to Arsenal and Manchester United, all in a fortnight. Danny Murphy scored a late winner to give Liverpool the three points at Old Trafford, while John Arne Riise salvaged a point against Arsenal. Manchester United were top of the table for the first time in the season after Liverpool and Arsenal's stalemate draw.

Liverpool's defeat to Tottenham in March installed Arsenal as favorites for the title. The Gunners win against Bolton Wanderers, in April saw them close the gap to just three points for an Arsenal Championship victory.

All eyes were on the match at Old Trafford between Arsenal and Manchester United. Arsenal needed a draw to guarantee the title for the second time in five seasons, while United needed a win to have any say in the outcome of the league. Sylvain Wiltord was the only scorer in the fiercely battled rival, which had meant that Arsenal secured their third double in ironic fashion. United's loss allowed Liverpool to leapfrog into second place, after their win against Blackburn Rovers, on the same night.

Liverpool confirmed second place and another season of European football on the last day of the season. They trashed and relegated Ipswich Town, 5-0 at home. Arsenal displayed their trophy in style after beating Everton 4-3 at Highbury, while Manchester United could only manage a draw against Charlton.

Sir Alex does a U-Turn

Sir Alex announced in February that he would be postponing his retirement as Manchester United manager by at least three more seasons after he signed a new contract as manager. The news came just after United completed an impressive revival in the Premiership which saw them rise from ninth to first in the space of two months.

United's failure was largely put down to the inability to find a suitable replacement for Jaap Stam, the brilliant Dutch central defender who had been sold to Lazio for £16.25million just after the start of the season. Another disappointment was the failure of Juan Sebastián Verón, at £28.1million the most expensive player ever to sign for an English club, to never live up to his hefty price tag. On a positive note, Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy lived up to his £19million price tag by scoring 34 goals in all competitions during his first season at Old Trafford - breaking the club record that had been set by Dennis Viollet 40 seasons earlier.

Side Note

Arsenal made history that season by becoming the first team in the modern era to go unbeaten away from home all season and score in ever game.

2002/03 - Brought to you by Las Ketchup & The Beltway Sniper

Tragedy - Mar-Vivien Foe dies

On 26 June 2003, Cameroon faced Colombia in the semi-final, held at the Stade de Gerland in Lyon, France. In the 72nd minute of the match Foé collapsed in the center circle,with no other players near him. After attempts to resuscitate him on the pitch, he was stretchered off the field, where he received mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and oxygen. Medics spent 45 minutes attempting to restart his heart, and although he was still alive upon arrival at the stadium's medical centre he died shortly afterward, in spite of the efforts to save his life. A first autopsy did not determine an exact cause of death, but a second autopsy later revealed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and concluded that Foé's death was heart-related.

Foé's death caused a profound shock. Numerous tributes to the man's joyous personality and infectious humor were expressed in the media. Also Thierry Henry and other players pointed to the sky in tribute to Foé after Henry had opened the scoring against Turkey in France's Confederations Cup semi-final that evening. Many suggestions for ways to honor the life of Marc-Vivien Foé were made after his death: it was suggested that the Confederations Cup and the Stade Gerland could have been renamed after him, and former Manchester City manager Kevin Keegan announced that the club would no longer use the number 23 shirt Foé wore during his successful season there. At Manchester City's ground; the City of Manchester Stadium there is a small memorial to him in the stadium's memorial garden, and on the walls of the players' tunnel are plaques paid for by supporters, with their names, dubbed the Walk of Pride. The first plaque on the wall is for Marc and reads "Marc Vivien Foé - 1975 - 2003". His first club (Racing Club de Lens) has given his name to an avenue near the Félix Bollaert Stadium. Foé was given a state funeral in Cameroon.

United win 8th Title

Manchester United ended the campaign as champions for the eighth time in eleven years - an achievement made all the more remarkable by virtue of defending champions Arsenal having led by eight points in the beginning of March.

Although this was a season of breaking new English domestic records for the Gunners and leading at all fronts come the halfway stage, they threw away a priceless lead against Bolton Wanderers and finally surrendered the title with a 3-2 home defeat to Leeds United, in the penultimate game of the season. This result all but saved Leeds from relegation, with a game to spare.

Wayne Rooney becomes the youngest-ever goalscorer in FA Premier League history when he scores a last-minute winner against Arsenal, five days before his 17th birthday, to end the opposition's 30-match unbeaten Premiership run.

He would end something far more greater a few years later through cheating.

2003/04 - Brought to you by Usher and Gavin Arvizo

The most impressive achievement in English football

The Invincibles

Call me biased if you will but I don't care. For me this is the more great an achievement than a treble because it will never be done again. People have done different forms of trebles and United's is the best, but especially in recent seasons teams have come close to it and I feel someone will do it again.

No one has ever gone undefeated in modern English football, no one has come close to it and that's why it's the best!

Rant over.

Abramovich come's to town

Chelsea had been bolstered by a £100 million outlay on world-class players, a spree funded by the extensive financial resources of their new owner Roman Abramovich. He would go on to spend alot more in the coming seasons

Rio disappears for a afternoon

Rio Ferdinand was ruled out for the final four months of the season after being found guilty of the "failure or refusal to take a drugs test". The case of Rio Ferdinand started a debate about punishments relating to drug testing in football, with there being differing views on whether the punishment was too harsh or too lenient.

The fact of the matter was, he missed a test, the rules say punishment and in actual fact he was probably lucky it was not longer.

Arsenal's season

Arsenal, had only signed German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann in the 2003 close season, but French striker Thierry Henry was instrumental in Arsenal's success. Away from the Premiership, Arsène Wenger's team suffered disappointment in the cup competitions. They lost their defense of the FA Cup (which they held for two seasons in a row) after losing to eventual winners Manchester United in the semi-final. Arsenal were knocked out of the Champions League quarter-finals by Chelsea (3-2 on agg)

That game broke my heart, we were by far the better team for three out of the four halfs and Chelsea had not beaten us for like 10 years... Famously in my local after Bridge scored I took my shirt off and threw it at the screen. I'm not really sure why it was that big a deal or why so many people in their always talk to me about it?

Anyway these two blows came with a few days of each other and I really feared that Arsenal might squander their lead of the Premiership for the second successive season, but Arsenal thumped Liverpool (I swear Biscan would have tackled Henry for the second goal if not for Caragher falling over into him) only days later and never looked back. Arsenal's Invincibles finished the season with 26 wins, 12 draws, 0 defeats and 90 points.

Battle of Old Trafford Part Two

I remember being very upset over the media's reaction at Arsenal over this. One hack from the Sun went as far as to say "Arsenal stand for all that is wrong in football today"

The fact is Arsenal were being robbed in that game and temper boiled. Veira's red card and the penalty were both harsh at best.

Watch

For some reason it's very hard to find good clips of this on the internet.

Side Note

Cesc Fabregas, 16, is given his first taste of first-team football at Arsenal in three Football League Cup ties, the first against Rotherham United in October 2003.

2004/05 - Brought to you by Eric Prydz and Tsunami

The Special one arrives

He was hailed as a breath of fresh air for the Premership, fresh from winning the Champions League with Porto, Jose Bought brought his Midas touch with him winning the Premiership in his first season at Stamford Bridge ending their 50 year drought for the title in their centenary year.

It also ended one of my favorite Arsenal chants for Chelsea -

"You won the league, On radio, you won the league on radio. You one the league before TV, you won the league on radio".

We sing a similar one to Tottenham which goes -

"You won the league, in black and white, you won the league in black and white. You won the league with no colour, you won the league in black and white".

Rooney and United rob Arsenal of 50 unbeaten

This is in my top three Arsenal tragedies and I don;t want to talk about it - Watch.

Never a penalty! Here's what Wenger thought about it

Liverpool mug AC Milan

It what has to be one of the strangest night in football history, Liverpool come back from humiliation with 3 goals in 9 minutes in the second half and go on to win on penalties.

Liverpool were dead and buried at half time and how they managed to come back will remain a mystery. although the warning sign were there with Milan who only a year earlier had let slip a 4-1 first leg lead against Deportivo.

The key goal for me was the second which Dida should have saved, it was a tame shot from Smicer from the edge of the box which Dida somehow let slip through his hands. It gave Liverpool the momentum they needed.

The maker of this video conveniently leaves out Gerrards dive for the penalty - Watch

I must say that that double save from Dudek near the end has to go down as one of the greatest saves of all time.

Brian Clough dies

The man, the myth, the legend. My favorite manager in football history. I loved the great man and very sad to hear of his demise. I actually heard about his death whilst on holiday in Philadelphia having just read his column in 442 magazine only days earlier. 

He achieved league title success as manager with Derby County in 1972 but is best remembered for his achievement at Nottingham Forest - where he won promotion to the original First Division and established Forest as one of Europe's top sides. They were league champions once, European Cup winners twice and League Cup winners four times. He underwent a liver transplant in January 2003, 20 months before his death from stomach cancer in a Derby hospital.

2005/06 - Brought to you by Gnarls Barkley and Robin Cook

Chelsea retain title

Chelsea secured a second successive title with 29 wins and 91 points. Their domestic title challenge saw them lead the Premier League from the opening weekend of the competition, but their chances of winning their first double were ended when they lost to eventual winners Liverpool FC in the FA Cup semi-finals. Their European season came to an end in March, as they met a resurgent FC Barcelona side, whom they had defeated the previous year. In the round of 16, Barca knocked them out over two legs.

Frank Lampard contributed another 20 goal season, and was again named player of the year, and excellent seasons from John Terry, Petr Cech, and newcomer Michael Essien. The season was, in part, defined by three major victories over Chelesa's title rivals throughout the year. In October, the blues crushed Liverpool at Anfield to the tune of 1-4. This was the Merseyside club's worst home defeat since the First World War. In December, Chelsea gave a convincing performance against Arsenal at Highbury, solidly defeating them 0-2 and cementing their status as league leaders.

Finally, with the title already won Chelsea confirmed their status as champions in late April by beating their nearest contenders Manchester United 3-0 at Stamford Bridge with Joe Cole scoring a sensational individual goal. Though they did not match their two trophy haul from the previous year, it was still an excellent season for Jose Mourinho and his expensively assembled side. But their lack of continental success this year saw them embark on signings the following summer to improve their form in Europe.

Arsenal become first London team to reach Champions League Final

In a season that saw their worst league performance under Wenger ironically saw them do the best they ever had in Europe.

I remember before the game saying to my buddy Pav that, "I only hope we score a goal that means something, I don't want use to lose 1-0 and never have anything to celebrate"

Well I got my wish, Eboue dive's and wins us a free kick which Campbell nods home. It's strange to say this considering we lost, but that goal was the second best moment in my football life behind winning the league at Anfield in 1989. The pub I was watching in was so packed you could not move and when the goal went in there was just a wall of noise a can't describe, it seemed like we were cheering for 10 minutes solid (I'm sure if I could see it again it was probably only 30 seconds) but for that moment in time nothing else mattered. Strange that such a big defeat would be my second most cherished Arsenal moment of my life.

George Best dies

I've talked about my feeling on George "simply the" Best before, read about them here

2006/07 - Brought t0 you by JT and Youtube

Another quite season.

United win back title

United ended Chelsea's two year dominance of the Premiership by taking back the title after Chelsea failed to beat Arsenal at their new Emirates stadium.

C-Ron starts his dominance

The PFA Players' Player of the Year award for 2007 was won by Cristiano Ronaldo. He had won the PFA Young Player of the Year award earlier on in the awards ceremony, making him the first player to win both awards in the same year since Andy Gray managed the same feat in 1977.

15,000th goal

The Premier League expected to have the league's 15,000th goal scored at some point in the period between Christmas and New Year. The target was reached on 30 December when Moritz Volz scored for Fulham against Chelsea. Barclays, the Premiership's sponsor, donated £15,000 to the Fulham Community Sports Trust in Volz' name. Additionally, a fan who correctly predicted that Volz would score the historic goal in a contest presented the player with a special award prior to Fulham's game against Watford at Craven Cottage on 1 January. The honor of scoring the 15,000th goal has led to Volz being nicknamed "15,000 Volz"

2007/08 - Brought to you by Rihanna and Antonio Puerta

More United success

United successfully complete the European double despite a poor start to the season, finding themselves in 17th place in the Premier League after three matches. However, on 11 May 2008, United retained the Premier League title with a win over Wigan Athletic. With title rivals Chelsea only able to draw with Bolton Wanderers, United finished the season two points clear.

The club also reached the European Cup final for the third time in their history, having knocked out such clubs as Barcelona and Roma en-route to the final. They beat Chelsea 6–5 on penalties in the final in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, after a 1–1 draw in normal time on 21 May 2008. With this win, they earned their third European Cup title and kept up their record of never having lost a major European final.

Coincidentally, this season marked the 100th year since Manchester United won their first League title, 50 years after the Munich air disaster and 40 years after Manchester United became the first ever English side to win the European Cup. The European Cup final also saw Ryan Giggs make his 759th appearance for the club, overtaking Bobby Charlton as the club's record appearance maker.

John Terry cries

Possibly my favorite football comedy moment of the past 25 years - Watch.

In a game which for me anyway was very much Alien vs Predator, I.E. whoever wins I lose, at least I've got the image of John Terry slipping, losing the Champions League final for Chelsea and crying afterward

Go here and click on the audio link for a very funny John Terry song - skip to 1:10

Check out highlights of the game here.

Record breaking year

There were quite a few, some good and some very bad and some I bet you didn;t know about.

• Derby County finished with the worst record since the league was founded in 1992-93 and also the worst since the introduction of the three points for a win rule. Among the records set by the Rams were:
  • A final record of one win, eight draws and 29 losses for a total of eleven points, worse than the Sunderland team from 2005-06, with the previously set lows of three wins, six draws and 29 losses totaling fifteen points. The single win, coming at home against Newcastle United 1-0 on 17 September was also a record for the fewest wins in a Premiership campaign.
  • Derby's 20 goals scored as a team (with Ronaldo, Adebayor and Torres each scoring more goals individually) was lower than the 2002-03 Black Cats' total with 21 goals scored. This marked the third time a team was outscored by one or more players. The team also failed to score in 21 of their 38 games.
  • Their −69 goal difference (20 goals scored, 89 conceded) was worse than Ipswich Town's 1994-95 goal difference of −57 (36 goals scored, 97 conceded). The 89 goals they conceded was the worst defensive performance by a team since Ipswich Town conceded 97 goals in 1994-95.
  • The 29 defeats they suffered equaled the 2005-06 Sunderland team for the most losses suffered in one Premier League season.
• Chelsea's 85 points accumulated was a new record for the most points gained in a 38-game season without securing the title. The 83 points achieved by Arsenal was a new record for the most points gained in a 38-game season for finishing third.
• Manchester United's goal difference of +58 is the greatest ever attained in a Premier League season, beating the record set by Chelsea in the 2004-05 season.
• Cristiano Ronaldo beat his own record for most goals scored by a midfielder, raising the record to 31 goals. The previous record was 17 goals, from the the previous season. Furthermore, his goal total equaled the highest number of goals ever scored in the Premier League during a 38-game season, equaling the record first set by Blackburn Rovers' Alan Shearer during the 1995-96 season.
• Marcus Bent and Roque Santa Cruz each scored a hat trick for their team during Wigan Athletic's 5–3 victory over Blackburn Rovers on 15 December 2007. This is the first time in Premier League history that players from opposing sides both scored hat tricks in the same match.
• Emmanuel Adebayor scored two hat tricks home and away against Derby. This was the first time in the Premier League, that a player had scored a hat trick against the same team twice in the league.
• Fernando Torres scored 24 goals for Liverpool, a new record for goals scored by a foreign player during his debut season.

Side Note

England failed to qualify for Euro 2008, that's what happens when Steve McCalren take's charge.

2008/09

Who knows, we will come back to this at the end of the year.

Until then, let me leave you with what will undoubtedly be the best Youtube clip of the season -

Thanks Steve, you really know how to brighten my day

I will be back tomorrow as always for the weekend preview.

Take care

Football Guy

So having recovered from my birthday weekend, I'm glad things are back to normal in the world of the Football Guy.

Friday was cool and I would like to thank everyone who came down to see me, for those who didn't you can look on enviously at the great time you missed by checking out the photo's on Facebook (I am not sure who that bearded hobo was who seemed to pop up in a few pics).

The best present I received (ONLY) was a framed picture of Maradona at the 86 World Cup final. It's seems to be quite a unique photo as I was unable to find it via google images, the closest I could find to a copy was this one, hopefully that gives you have a rough idea of what my picture looks like.

Anyway, enough about me. Let's get on to some football talk. 

Before we get onto the Premiership, there was the little matter of a certain game in Spain. El Clasico I think it's fair to say did not disappoint. I watched it at home as I was feeling quite tried and it was raining outside which it seemed to do all weekend. The game although not being a "Classic", was good and certainly entertaining, Barcelona were worthy winners even though they left it late. So well done to them and well done to Lionel Messi who finally had a hair cut and looks SO much better with shorter hair (Also funny to see Cannavaro run into the post like that).

Weekend in Pictures

• £35m hate
• Loneliness
• The mincy wince
• Beenie Man
• £20m benchwarmer
• (INSERT JOKE)
• Hmmmm
• P45
• Man in the middle?
• Merry Xmas Rovers
• Hmmmm part 2

Football Guy v Mark Lawrenson

I've been asked by a few people to clarify what ranks better in my battle with Lawro, correct results or perfect scores?

So after a suggestion from the Sportboy I'm going to say that Perfect Scores count as THREE points and correct results count as ONE point.

So I had another good week over Lawro and have extended my lead over him by a couple of points.

This Week

Football Guy - PS 1 CS 5 WR 5

Lawro          -  PS 1 CS 3 WR 7

Season

                        PS - CS - WR - Pts

Football Guy    3     11      9      20

Lawro              2      8      12     14

So a nice six point lead for me over Lawro after two weeks. At this rate I'll be 66 points ahead come the end of the season!

Stat of the Weekend

Jamie Carragher has put to ball in the net 11 times in his Liverpool carer. 7 have been own goals, 4 for Liverpool, 3 for Spurs and 2 for Manchester United. It's amazing to think he has almost scored as many goals for Tottenham as he has for Liverpool.

Fantasy Football

Players you wish you had not made captain

1. Berbatov   - 2pts
2. Robinho     - 2pts
3. Van Persie - 2pts 

Players you should have made captain

1. Agbonlahor    - 15pts
2. Gerrard          - 14pts
3. Ashley Young - 13pts

Players you wish you had made captain but never would

1. Valencia           - 17pts
2. Reid                 - 16pts
3. Cattermole      - 10pts 
4. Kenwyn Jones - 10pts

Players you wish you had not left on your bench

1. Guthrie         - 10pts
2. Jose Enrique - 9pts
3. Gomes          - 8pts

The Cristiano Ronaldo award for Fantasy Football Excelence

1. Valencia - 17pts

Well done to him, Valencia does have occasional big fantasy weeks and kudos to you if you have him in your team. It's been a few weeks now that C-Ron has failed to even come close to winning his own award and with United off in Japan next weekend it's going to be a little while longer before he regains his crown.

Things we found out this weekend

1. Aston Villa are title contenders? Well if Arsenal fan's still think they are then why should Villa not be counted as well? Boxing Day should be a treat as the 5.15pm game is Villa v Arsenal, Battle for 4th? Could be.

2. This is one of the most strangest season in recent history. Only one of the top 8 this weekend won and everyone from 6th down I think is pretty much as good as each other. You could jumble all those other teams up in a hat and pull them out one by one and say that was the oder in the Premiership and I would believe it.

3. The Legend that was Chelsea's home form is officially dead. In the last four season's the most points Chelsea have dropped at home was 14, they have already this season dropped 10! Back in the 05/06 season when Chelsea last won the league they dropped only TWO points at home winning 18 of 19. Those days seem a long time ago.

You Tube

Now this handsome fellow in the picture above is a Friend of mine called Murat. Now, after being told by another friend of mine Peter (who bought me the Maradona picture) that he looked like a certain someone Murat seemed to be very happy with that. I'm saying that the person who Peter said you look like Murat is nothing to be pleased about.

Who is that person I hear you ask? It's a bloke called Michele Salvemini who, sings a song called "Abiura di me" which, so I'm told was a massive hit in Italy about computer game.

I must say I love this song and it currently sitting at the No1 spot in the"Football Guy's top 3 tunes to get ready to go out". The other two being the "Faber Collage theme" from the movie Animal House and Otis day and the Knights singing "Shama lama ding dong" from the same film.

Next up we have this guy who teaches us how to do a Christopher Walken impression which is pretty good. I know it's long but the Walken part is within the first 5 minutes, watch of for those greesy little gooks.

Lastly check out "The Special One's" thoughts about how Arsene threw the Proto game so Arsenal would come second in their champions league group and avoid playing his Inter side. Good stuff.

Final Thoughts

If you were six points ahead of Mark Lawreson would you see that as success or failure?

Take care

Football Guy