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

Hello all, I was hoping to have a Podcast for today but that has not been possible due to me being misled to believe I could borrow some equipment needed from a "friend". I'm sure there must be a woman involved.

Grrrrr.

Anyway, on to more important matters. I would like to send out a massive WELL DONE to my buddy Tom who makes up 98% of the Sportboys. The reason for the well done is because not only did he get in to the Guardian weekley photoshop competition, he WON it! Go check it out at The Sportboys home page.

Lawro's Predictions

As you may remember reading, I said a few weeks ago that I was going to take on Lawro at his prediction this he does on the BBC website and was disappointed to find out it had been discontinued........ Well I was wrong, it had never been discontinued and I'm pleased to announce I shall be taking him on from now until the end of the season. If I fail to beat Lawro I promise to donate £100 of my own cash to a charity voted for by you guys, my readers. 

So without further delay, here is this weekends preview.

Fulham v Manchester City

I was wrong about Roy Hodgson, I never thought he would turn Fulham in to the effective little team he has. They kept clean sheets in their last two games, both away and to Liverpool and Aston Villa no less. In fact they have only conceded 11 goals all season in the league which is one more than Manchester United and EIGHT less than Arsenal, to think I've had John Pantsil and Mark Schwarzer on my Fantasy Team's bench for a lot of those clean sheets sickens me. It's a good think I own the guys who I play with otherwise it might have caused a problem.

Unlike Fulham who have had a week off, City played on Wednesday and since this kick-off is an early one it might swing this more in Fulhams favor. Having said that City need to start performing more consistently otherwise it could spell trouble for Hughes and I think they get a result here

Football Guy's Verdict 1-1

Lawro's Verdict           2-1

Arsenal v Wigan

Arsenal's kindergarten academy destroyed Wigan's first team last month at the Emirates yet Arsenal's first team has had problems with Wigan at home over the last two years, wouldn't it be just like Arsenal to beat Chelsea away last weekend then slip up at home to wigan. If they do I will be force to put them in the Craps Shoot Club were they will join Boro and Wigan, the latter have started to get more stable results and might leave the club it that continues.

Football Guy's Verdict 2-0

Lawro's Verdict           2-0

Blackburn v Liverpool

Do Liverpool want to win the league? I'm questioning that after their draw at home on Monday night to West Ham. What a chance to go three points clear at the top. They can't afford to keep dropping points at home to teams they should beat if they want to end there 18 year title drought.

Blackburn are a real mess at the back. I've pointed out a number of times how they have the leagues worst defensive record and still do. Another worry for them should be there home form which is worse than their away, just one win in seven home games this season and only FOUR goals scored! That is truly relegation form.

Football Guy's Verdict 0-2

Lawro's Verdict           0-2

I'm not just copying him, honest.

Bolton v Chelsea

Chelsea are beasts away from home, their record - Played Seven Won Seven Scored 19 Conceded One. I don't care how good Bolton's form is at the moment, Chelsea will be returning theirs this weekend. After only one point from their last two home games some might call it a mini crisis for the Blues, I wouldn't but, if they slip up here I might change my tune.

Football Guy's Verdict 0-3

Lawro's Verdict           0-2

Hull v Middlesbrough

If you told me at the start of August that 15 games Hull would only be three points behind Arsenal I would have thought that Arsene Wenger must have been fired and that Arsenal were the new Tottenham. Hull seem to keep getting results and from what I hear they will be looking to strength in January. They only really need another 15 points or so the be safe and I'm sure that's what their main concern still is.

Boro, Craps Shoot Kings. Because I feel they will get beat here that means they wont, CSC rules dictate I must do the opposite of what I feel with boro and I shall say a Boro win!

Football Guy's Verdict 1-2

Lawro's Verdict           1-1 

Newcastle v Stoke

I can't believe I have two players in my fantasy team playing in this game and am still doing really well. If Newcastle can pick up at least a point from this game they will have at least as good home form as Chelsea, I can't believe that's true, yet I still think Chelsea for the title, maybe I need to re-consider this in this months power rankings in a couple of weeks.

Stoke are one of three teams in the Premiership still looking for their first away win, the other two being Fulham and funnily enough Newcastle. Until they get their virgin Premiership away win I can't tip them to do any better.

Football Guy's Verdict 2-1

Lawro's Verdict           2-0

Manchester United v Sunderland

To quote Vince Vaughn in Swingers "Who's the big winner? Manchester United are the big winners". That was defiantly true last week, with the two teams ahead of them in the title race both slipping up Sir Alex must have felt Christmas had come early.

Did you happen to see "The Carlos Tevez Show" on Wednesday night? I love Tevez and as I've said before think it's SO unfair United can keep him on the bench week in week out. I miss not having him in my fantasy team this season to the point that I'm considering making a voodoo doll of Berbatov or Rooney and sticking needles in their testicles right before kick-off.

I think Roy chose this week to quit as he couldn't face the humiliation of getting a beating at Old Trafford by his former boss. I do think Keane can still succeed as a manager but he needs to be able to work with players similer to his on stature when he was a player. He also needs to work out that over paying for mediocre players is a bad move.

Football Guy's Verdict 4-0

Lawro's Verdict           3-0

West Brom v Portsmouth

Pompy are out of Europe, with out a home win under Tony Adams and might have a new manager next season. Sol Campbell is so far past his sell by date that if he were a carton of milk it would be cheese and after Thursday nights performance we can safly say "Calamity James" is back.

West Brom are poor. Poor poor poor. They are the worst team in the league and I feel despite playing well last week it proved they are the worst because if you play well and still can't beat Wigan you must be bad.

Football Guy's Verdict 1-1

Lawro's Verdict           2-0

Everton v Aston Villa

So with Yak done for the season and Saha out as well it might be a good time for me to phone up David Moyes and let him know I'm available. I'd like to think of myself as the rich mans Peter Crouch. This could be a good time to bring Tim Cahill in to your Fantasy Team as he will surly be playing basically as a second striker and see him return to gaol scoring ways, something he has not done in the league since September.

Villa are still Villa, I think missing John Carew will hurt them more than they think, it's defiantly affected my Fantasy teams attack.

Football Guy's Verdict 1-1

Lawro's Verdict           2-2

West Ham v Tottenham

Luis Boa Morte should have won the game late on at Anfield for the Hammers. Rob Green should be in the England team ahead of Scott Carson. Lucas Neill should not be on 90K a week. Kieron Dyer (remember him?) should be back soon. West Ham should get something from this game.

Spurs are lucky Blackburn and Sunderland stink and are playing Liverpool and United otherwise they could find themselves back in the bottom three. One question - Will Gareth Bale start? It affects my prediction

Football Guy;s Verdict  2-1 - Gareth Bale starts

Football Guy's Verdict  2-2 - Does not start

Lawro's verdict            1-2 - He does not care

Take Care

Football Guy

 

 

Never underestimate the power of a "Reverse Jinx", I went there on Friday and worked a little bit of magic with a well used RJ or Reverse Jinx. Now you maybe be asking, "Is this guy taking credit for Arsenal beating Chelsea?" Well the answer is NO. But I am taking slight credit for the same Assistant Referee wrongly flagging Kalou offside in the first half, then in the second, failing to notice Robin van Persie was a mere TWO YARDS OFFSIDE! That does not happen unless you have unholy powers working for you like a RJ, or it could be biased/rubbish assistant referee. If you think it was the latter then fine, that's your opinion, but as most football fans are superstitious, I choose to believe in the RJ and as long as that works for me the happier I will be.

In all fairness I would have to say Arsenal mugged Chelsea at the Bridge on Sunday. The first RVP goal was a big momentum swinger and before it I was starting to break RULE.6on my own fan conduct policy by hoping that when Chelsea inevitably scored again that it would be Frank Lampard as it would help my fantasy football team........... yes.... I'm a asshole. I will say though that there was a little justice in Van Persie scoring that goal from an offside position. I'm not a beliver in what goes around come's around but if you cast your minds back to the same fixture last season, Arsenal's title hope's were basically killed off by Drogba scoring a similar goal to win the match, so maybe these things even out in the long run.

In Scolari post match interview he touched on something I said a couple of weeks back in my changes column and that is basically that ref's should have to be accountable for their mistakes and come out and admit them. It's totally ridicules that they seem to not be accountable for their errors and me and Big Phil seem to be on the same wave length.

Elsewhere United beat City in the Battle of Manchester.tm which was for the most part, a very one sided game. United could and should have put that game away in the first half and were nearly made to pay late on, but luckily for them Evra was in the right place at the right time to clear of the line from Richard Dunne's scrambled effort.

Roy Keane

It's probably not the best time to question publicly whether you are the right man for the job you have. How do you expect to keep it Roy when you tell the world you are not sure if you are good enough? As far back as last season I was doubting whether you were a good manager but, I never doubted you were a intelligent man. I have to review my opinion on the latter.

Weekend in Pictures

• What's worse, my manager or my haircut?
• Is he farting or sneezing?
• I've just molested someone
• What happens when Roy Keane's chin touches the top of your head 
• Elton John holds Arsene back
• Very friendly
• I dare you, give me a second yellow
• Fair play, called my bluff

Gareth Bale Watch

Well Harry thought he'd be smart and not start Mr Bale against Everton as Spurs can't win in the league when he starts. Unfortunately for Redkanpp Tottenham lost anyway. If they can go another month with out Bale starting in a game they win in the league it will been Gareth will have gone through 2007 and 2008 without winning a league game he started in for spurs, quite a feat.

Website of the week

This week it's not so much a website but more of a list on a website. As you know, I like to reference movies from time to time on here so I though I would send you to take a look at Empire magazine's top 100 moive characters.

As with all list not compiled by yourself, I'm sure you will disagree about quite a few but, I still think it's worth a look at, especially if very board at work.

Fantasy Football

Players you wish you had not made Captain

1. C-Ron                  - 0pts
2. Nicolas Anelka     - 2pts
3. Dimitar Berbatov - 2pts
4. Frank Lampard    - 2pts

Players you wish you had made Captain but never would

1. Gary Cahill         - 14pts
2. Johan Elmander - 12pts
3. Emerson Boyce  - 11pts
4. Tugay                - 10pts

Players that loads of managers brought in this week and were disapointed

1. Stephen Ireland - 1pt

The Cristiano Ronaldo award for Fantasy Football Excelence

1. Gary Cahill - 14pts

This is the second week in a row a Bolton defender has won it, odd on a three-peat?

Things we found out this weekend

1. It's a bad idea to have so many bad games at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon. Lets face it, it was a bad bunch. Other than Bolton destroying a poor Sunderland team there was not a lot to talk about.

2. Due to Arsenal's win over Chelsea, Arsene Wenger will still believe the likes of Alex Song and Denilson are still good enough to play regularly in a top for starting XI

3. Roy Keane is 15/8Fav to be the next Premiership manager sacked. We might have thought this before the weekend but now we believe it.

Liverpool v West Ham

I guess you can be a winner without playing a game. Liverpool have a great chance to go three points clear and should with this home game. They really can't afford to slip up as It's vital for potential champions to take advantage when their rivals slip up. Having said that Liverpool have proved with home draws to Stoke and Fulham they are more than capable of throwing away points at home to teams champions have to beat. Rafa knows what this game means and I'm confident Liverpool will get the job done.

Youtube

After spending countless hours on youtube over the years, I think I have found my favorite clip on there. Check this tribute to famous movie score composer John Williams, you might recognize a few of the tunes he has done for films over the last 35+ years.

Sticking on the music theme, have a listen to a bunch of guys called the UC Men's Octet. They have quite a few different covers on youtube so try to check out as many as you can, most are good. It's also made me want to join a Barbershop Quartet.

Finally take a look at this Phone Jackers style interview with Arsene Wenger done by my friends the Sport Boys. Short but sweet.

Final Thoughts

Are Arsenal back in the title race? Not really but, at least they are not out of it.

Take care

Football Guy

I went into a pub for some beers last night and got very drunk and have a MASSIVE hangover. I think my hangover is worse due to the fact I had to listen to some guy who tried to argue how Cantona was better than Zidane! I was going to tell him to piss off straight away but he suckered me in by buying me a pint and so I felt obliged to talk to him for the remainder of my drink. A pint of Carlsberg is by no means worth the crap I had to listen. I wont go in to the details of his argument as it was pointless then and still is now, needless to say I wont be accepting drinks from him in the near future.

On to this weekends games.

Aston Villa v Fulham

My buddy Pete has missed out on 19 points from Martin Laursen over the last two weeks by not starting him in his Fantasy team, I guess I understand why he did not play him as they were playing Arsenal away and Man Utd at home. The four points Villa picked up in those two games have gone a long way in improving their belief they can make it in to the top four this season. They also kept two clean sheets in both games so I would be funny if they failed to keep one tomorrow, I think they should. Fulham played pretty well against Liverpool at Anfield and in particular Mark Schwarzer who I had on my Fantasy teams bench and missed out on his 11 point haul, he will again be on my bench and Villa should win this one.

Middlesbrough v Newcastle

Remember me telling you last week Bolton would beat Boro? I hope you stuck a large sum of money on that @3/1. If not I can't blame you, my betting tips have been up and down of late and unfortunately more down than up! Newcastle "parked the bus" so to speak at Stamford Bridge but I don't think they will be doing that tomorrow. I feel a Score Draw @ 3/1 would be a good bet.

Stoke v Hull

Tony Puliss made a statement yesterday about how he "Hopes for a big name casualty" to go down this season so his Stoke side can stay up....... Well Tony, I hope to win the lottery each week too but hope only goes so far. Instead of hoping, how about playing more like Hull and amounting 40+ points by the end of May and you wont have to hope someone else f**** up.

Sunderland v Bolton

There are some very horrible games on Saturday and this ones no exception. Roy Keane will celebrate 100 games incharge on Saturday and here is what he had to say:

"It's a little milestone but it's just a number, there are a lot of managers out there who have in excess of 1,000 games."

"Clearly, I'm still learning my trade (CLEARLY). I've made plenty of mistakes (Yes you have) but I'm positive that we can improve and get better over the course of the season (I'm not so sure)."

It does feel like Sunderland have not won in a long time but in reality it's only been two weeks. Although if they fail to win this one I don't think they will be able to rite the ship next week as the travel to Old Trafford so thy best make hay while the sun shines.

Wigan v West Brom

So to round up arguably the worst bunch of Saturday games this season we have arguably the worst team in the league visiting the team that finally managed to win a game Amir Zaki did not score in.

I feel Wigan should be higher up the table than they are and I also feel West Brom should be in a lower division which they will be in about 6 months time.

West Brom really need this game and I would not be surprised if they got something from it.

Manchester City v Manchester United

The last time United beat City Tony Blair was still Prime Minister and I doubt many of you knew who Barak Obama was. Mark Hughes record against United as a manager is pretty good, Hughes has won two, drew two and lost three of his seven league clashes and might improve on that come Sunday.

United have failed to score in their last two games with City not conceding in their last two. None of that matters though as I feel we should see some fire works in Manchester for this one and that man C-Ron will kick it of. Back Ronaldo First Goalscorer @ 5/1 sit back and enjoy the show.

Portsmouth v Blackburn

Poor old Tony, he was 6 minutes away from a famous victory against AC Milan and then it all went wrong. I was a little disappointed we didn't get to see Crouch, Gattuso and Ronaldinho all on the field at the same time as I hoped they would morph in to their FIFA STREET 3 versions of themselves for comedy value. The great thing about their computer alter-egos is that Gattuso looks like he swallowed a keg of bear, Crouch looks like a pipe cleaner and Ronaldinho somehow is better looking than real life!

Tottenham v Everton

Whats going on with Spurs? Two clean sheets in a row! Unfortunately for them Gareth Bale looks set to start on Sunday which means no three points for them. Good news for Everton who have not had a good performance since drawing with United at Goodison back at the end of October. Back Draw @ 12/5 as I can't give a stong case for a victory by either team

Chelsea v Arsenal

*Before you read the rest of this section please note I am trying my hardest at a reverse jinx.

Get ready for the "Stamford Bridge Massacre". That's right folks, at 4pm on Sunday the Arsenal team will be lead out on to the field in west London and any lingering hopes they had of winning the title will be killed of in spectacular fashion.

RIP Arsenal League Campaign 2008/09 - It was over before it even began

As an Arsenal fan I don't think I have ever been so terrified to go to Stamford Bridge and that's in a season where Chelsea's home form is a lot worse so far than recent years. Arsenal have looked God awful in their last three games and I've seen nothing to suggest there will be an improvement on Sunday. I wish we could go back to the good old days where we dominated Chelsea for a decade. Unfortunately Doc Brown would not lend me his DeLorean from Back to the Future otherwise I'd be out of here faster than Arsene Wenger holding contract talks with a good player over 25 years of age.

I might be in a bad mood come Monday.

Take care 

Football Guy

Well, what an interesting weekend we just had. Lets start with woeful Arsenal, a team that very nearly won the league last season looks like it's on the verge of a total meltdown. I will say that up until City scored the first goal that neither team looked very good, it was probably the worst half of football I have seen all season. Arsenal without Cesc, Ade and Walcott (at least Walcott can beat people and cause some problems) looked like a team if given 270mins would struggle to score a goal. The total lack of inventive play from the gunners was amazing. Very rarely have Arsenal under Arsene Wenger gone back to back games without scoring and this might be the first time I remember them really never looking like doing it. But how has it come to this? 

I think we can safely say that Arsene's "Invest in youth" policy has failed. But not because he has invested in youth but because he has failed to back it up with experience. I'm all for teams building their squad up with players from their academies but that does not mean you can't add to that with some quality players who are older than 25 and not Mikel Silvestre.

Lets take a look at United famous younglings that came through in the early 90's. Giggs Beckham, Scoles ect came through and were complimented with older experienced players like Bruce, Pallister and Irwin in defense, Ince in the middle and Cantona up front. This is how you build a team with youth Arsene. You don't have pretty much the whole team come up, you bring them through with the older players there who have quality and leadership. What leader is there in the Arsenal team at the moment? Fabregas? How long will he be wiling to stay there without winning trophies? Wenger's next move will undoubtebly be to make Fabregas captain because he feel's he will lose him otherwise, just like he did with Viera and Henry before.

It's a massive monster Arsene has created which could be his undoing. The worrying thing is though that I'm not sure he see's it. If his post match interview was anything to go by he seemed to claim Arsenal were the better team against City! Now I know Arsene is famous for the "I did not see it" line but know he seems to be seeing things that are not even there like Arsenal deserving anything more than the beating they received or that Alex Song is a good player. My only hope for Arsenal fan's out there would be that Arsene has realized the error of his ways and buys in January and forgets about "Hindering the progress" of players who although talented, are just not good enough for the very highest level were Arsenal should be playing. In 20 years of being and Arsenal fan this is the first time I truly am worried with the direction we are going.

Anyway, back to the rest of the league. Now regular readers will know that I always say more often than not, one of the Big 4 will slip up each week. Well this week all four slipped up and even more amazingly all failed to score! When was the last time that happened? Has it ever happened it the Premiership era? If someone knows the answer to this please email me. (You will get your name in the blog :-)

The fact that none of them scored is more remarkable due to the fact Liverpool and Chelsea both had very easy home games against teams not know for their defensive prowess. I really don't know what's up with Chelsea at home this year? P7 W3 D3 L1 is hardly the home form of champions, but their away record of P7 W7 D0 L0 F19 A1 is the record of immortals! Anyway I'm sure Chelsea will get that home form back on track with a easy win next weekend.............. They play Arsenal.

Weekend in Pictures

• All those who think Arsene is doing a good job, raise you hands 
• Torn hamstring on the horizon
• You want a piece of me?
• Torn hamstring part 2
• Can I play against these guy every week?
• Maybe I could be the guy to add experience to this side?
• Was seen parked at Stamford Bridge

Gareth Bale Watch

The man with the most unenvious record in the Premier League did not play this weekend and surprise surprise Spurs won. Spurs have Everton at home next week, watch out for a Bale start and a Everton win!

Quote of the Week

"We had a good focus and I believe it is a flattering victory for Manchester City. We were quite in control but after the goal the game turned and they played on the counter-attack. We played into their hands. We lacked the maturity to deal with being in a dominant situation and not getting caught." - Arsene Wenger

If by "played into their hands" you mean "played crap" then yes I agree. Two other questions Arsene. When were you the dominant team in that match? And why don't you have the maturity?

Website of the Week

This week it's a little site called Footballsite.co.uk. Do check out the Colemanballs section in the Facts and Figures area for some truly great quotes.

Fantasy Football

Players you wish you had not made Captain

1. Wayne Rooney     - 2pts
2. Fernando Torres   - 2pts
3. Cristiano Ronaldo - 3pts

Players who you porbably had on the bench and are gutted you did not start them

1. Mark Schwarzer  - 11pts
2. Gretar Steinsson - 11pts 
3. Michael Turner     - 9pts  *Yes Pete, that's for you!

The Cristiano Ronaldo award for Fantasy Football Excelence

     1. Tie - Mark Schwarzer, Stephen Ireland and Gretar Steinsson - 11pts

Well done to you guys, I'm sure that two of you will never receive this award again. I will let you guys guess who they are.

Things we found out over the Weekend

1. Maybe Stevie G was injured and so I should apologise for saying he would definitely play against Fulham, but I believe that due to the massive palava over Capello forcing him to report to the training ground and Rafa defending him I think Rafa just thought F*** IT, we can beat Fulham with or without Gerrard. Guess not. I was right about Lampard playing though........So there.

2. Like we needed anymore proof to Middlesbrough being the King of the Craps Shoot, they go and lose and very winnable game at home to Bolton after being unbeaten in their last five. Those who read my weekend preview column will know that I predicted that, which brings me onto....

3. I found out that it's silly of me to give you bets each week as I clearly lose you money, so instead I thought long and hard about it over the weekend and decided to take on a challenge I was sure I could handle (beating Mark Lawrenson at Challenge Lawro). To my disgust it seems Lawro got wind of my up coming battle to destroy his (very poor)reputation at predicting the weekends football and has buggered off. I guess he is smarter than he looks!

Youtube

• What would you do if you lady did this in bed? 
• This baby does it best Carols Tevez voice
• Speaking of which

 

Final Thoughts

Look out for the "Michael Jackson Syndrome" column on Wednesday, until then.

Take care

Football Guy

Weekend Preview is back this week after making way for the Power Rankings last week. I'm sorry for not giving you anything to chew on through the week but since most of the football world was on a glorified break (International Friendly) I thought I would too.

I do have something planned for next week and it's called "Michael Jackson Syndrome". That's all I shall say for now!

I would like to point out that one funny thing did happen this week during the International break and that was Terry Butcher's comments about how he was going to deck Maradona  22 years ago. Now, Why would Terry Butcher who now works for Scotland, bring up a game against England that happened 22 years ago? Maybe he feels he needs to be relevant again? Well the greatest footballer of all time summed it up best with his post match comment of " Who is Terry Butcher?" My thoughts exactly!

Chelsea v Newcastle

So, Newcastle looked like losing at home to Wigan with 10 minutes to go, then with 1 minute to go looked like winning, then had to settle for a draw.I don't know who should be more pissed off after those last 10 minutes were done. Chelsea on the other hand did what they did best last week and that's dispatching poor teams with ease. Look for Chelsea to win by at least a two goal margin. That's what they seem to do against poor sides and (despite me thinking otherwise in the last couple of weeks) Newcastle are still a poor side. I'd take Chelsea to Score 3+ goals @ Evens and watch the goals fly in. Fantasy Football Side Note - With United and C-Ron venturing to Villa Park, people might be looking elsewhere for their Captain choice this week, If like me you have both C-Ron and Lampard in your team this could be a week to profit from not making the great one Captain and going with Lampard. Although I would not fully recommend it.

Liverpool v Fulham

Liverpool had a solid win last week away to Bolton and you would think they should follow that up with another three points on Saturday. On Sunday we were told Stevie G would be out for 7-10 days with a torn muscle (Convenient is a word I would like to use). I can find any odds on whether or not he will play but I'd bet heavily on him playing. I do think it's a bit unfair the Gerrard got a lot of stick for missing England's game and Lampard did not. In fact as you may have noticed I did not mention that about Lampard a paragraph ago. Maybe the media has finally decided to leave Fat Frank alone and start picking on Stevie instead (how the tables have turned). Fulham have been very good over the last few weeks with back to back win's for the first time since games two and three of the season where they beat Arsenal and Bolton. Did you know that 5 of Fulham's 12 games this season have ended 2-1? Could happen at Anfield as I do believe they will score, unfortunately for the Cottagers I know Liverpool will score more. Take Fulham to score exactly 1 goal @ 9/4 and hope I was right.

Manchester City v Arsenal

Now in this game anything could happen and I would not be shocked in the slightest. Arsenal could win 4-0 and I would believe it and could lose 4-0 and I would believe it, or it could be and boring 0-0 draw and I would not bat an eyelid. That's because the way these teams have been playing this season is very reminiscent of how Britney Spears has been living her life lately. This game has entered the "Britney Spears Zone". Now let me explain, you most probably have read some of Britney's exploits from the past 2-3 years in the press (Shaving her head, going out with no knickers on, the whole will she wont she keep her kids, Ect) Anyway the point is that after a while of reading all of these stories of craziness you start to be less and less shocked by each one until you reached a stage like Britney (The Britney Spears Zone) where someone in a pub tonight could tell me that they saw on the news Britney pissing on Elvis Pressley's grave and I would say "OK, that sould about right". So with the results these two teams have been having this season if I did not watch the match and afterwards someone told me that Arsenal won 3-2 with Almunia scoring two and Gallas getting sent off for elbow dropping Van Persie off the cross bar I'd probably believe it. Don't bet on this match, it's not good for you.

Middlesbrough v Bolton

As I have mentioned in the past, I do quite like Boro this season. They have been playing pretty well and getting good results. They lose this one though, I'm not falling for there B.S. this week. If you are sure Boro or Wigan are going to win a match bet against them! That's what happens when your "Craps Shoot Hall of Fame" teams. Bolton played well in their loss to Liverpool and were unlucky not to be level at halftime after they had a goal rather dubiously disallowed. If you need another omen to back Bolton in this game here it is, as I was writing this bit a pop-up of Vernon Kay appeared on my screen and we all know where he if from........ Bolton. Take Bolton win @ 3/1 and watch it happen.

Portsmouth v Hull

I really enjoyed watching Man City v Hull last week, not just because of the entertainment but because I had Stephen Ireland and Giovanni in my Fantasy Team, I got a massive 23 points from those two! Now here is a question for you lot out there. Who do you think has more chance of winning this week, Arsenal or Hull? A win here for Hull could put them back up to fourth in the league, but a defeat could see them slip down to ninth. A worry for Pompy has to be the fact the Defoe and Crouch have only one goal each in their last seven games in all competitions. They need those two guys to keep scoring if they want to push for a UEFA cup spot. Fantasy Football Side Note -  Did you know that Diarra has as many bonus points as Amir Zaki? How is that right?

Stoke v West Brom

Get ready for a preview of a 2009/2010 Championship game. You get it a whole season early! If you like rough and tumble football, up and under style of attack and Rory Delap grenade throws then find yourself a stream for this game at 3.00pm on Saturday. Otherwise you will have to wait right until the end of Match of the Day to catch the highlight as I'm sure this will be the last game they show.

Sunderland v West Ham

I told you it was a good thing Kenwyn Jones was back for Sunderland, he got them back in the game last week and I fancy him to do well this week. West Ham's Matthew Upson had a good game midweek for England (Would Arsene like him back at Arsenal? I read somewhere long ago his French was very good) and looked a lot better than his more celebrated partner at the back JT. Speaking of JT, I would love to see a beat-box fight between JT-John Terry and JT-Justin Timberlake. I think the comedy value would go through the roof! Come on BBC, if you can arrange that for next years Children in Need you will have an extra £100 from the Football Guys deep pockets! BTW I'm not going to check this out but who does George McCartney  play for again? Is it Sunderland or West Ham? And are his middle names John and Ringo?

Tottenham v Blackburn

I'm writing this on Friday, this game is on Sunday and that makes it very hard for me to get a definitive yes or no on whether Gareth Bale plays or not. If he does not start then I'm saying Spurs win this one, if he does start I'm saying Spurs don't win this one. Simple as that, end of discussion. I'm also going to say "there will be blood goals". These two teams have 3.2 goals a game combined scored in their matches and I say take over 2.5 goals @ 8/11 and as David Bentley is playing against his former team look for him to score against them just like he did at the Emirates (OK not exactly like he did at the Emirates) Bentley anytime goal @ 16/5.

Final Thoughts

Look out for the "Michael Jackson Syndrome" column later next week and as always the Monday Hangover on....... Monday.

Until then, take care

Football Guy

With another weekend of football in the books it's that time again for us to look back at what happen over the last 48 hours or so.

One of the big four failed to big again, although I'm starting to think we should call it "Big three, plus one" as Arsenal gave further proof to my old adage of never backing all four of them to win in a single weekend. It was not really that big a surprise to be as I said before the weekend to back a draw because Villa have managed to come away with that in the last two seasons from the Emirates. This time they went one better getting a deserved win and in all fairness they well could have done that in both their previous visits to the red and white half of north London.

Elsewhere Chelsea continued with their trend of demolishing teams they should in the league and maintained their 100% away record which no stands at an impressive seven wins out of seven with only one goal conceded. Nicolas Anelka seems to be in his best form since....... well I don't ever remember him doing this well. He has also turned into some what of a Fantasy Football stud picking up 51 points in the last four games! Only the great C-Ron has managed more with his haul of 52 points over the same period.

I have an apology to make to all the West ham and Portsmouth fans out their who witnessed the bore draw at Upton Park. As you may recall I had mentioned how games involving West Ham had been averaging 3.6 goals a game, well I feel I may have jinxed that match as it produced about 3.6 chances rather than goals and they all seemed to fall to Jermain Defoe. Very sorry. It was also pointed out to me by a friend of mine Pavel who is a part time writer for the Sport Boys blog that Gianfranco Zola has a striking resemblance to Ben Stiller, I pointed out that it's more like his ugly brother. I will let you be the judge.

=

Middlesbrough got another good result away to Everton but as the are the King of the Craps Shoot Club watch out for their upcoming defeat at home to Bolton next week. It also occured to be and has no doubt been said elsewhere on the net, that Everton's Fellaini is basically a £15m 6'5ft Screech from Saved by the Bell which led to me realizing that Tim Cahill is a tiny A.C. Slater. If only Everton could sign a Zach Morris look-a-like and hire Mr Belding as manager we could all start calling them Bayside FC and then it would solve their problem of needing a new stadium as they would be forced to move to California where I'm sure there is a nice ground waiting for them.

=

=

Football Guy vs Football Dad

As you may be aware me and the Football Dad have been having an on going argument this season about two topics 1. Who is better Almunia or Gomes 2. Are Manchester City going to finish in the top five. I think I am winning both arguments and this weekend proved it a little more. Almunia makes a penalty save and over all has a good game (I will conceded he should have done better with Villa's second goal), Gomes is a fault for another goal against Tottenham making that the 253rd goal of his career he was at fault for. As for Manchester Cit, they fell a further two points back from 5th spot making it nine behind. I have no doubt they will buy big in January and improve but I think they might be too far back by then to catch Villa (yes it will be Villa and not Arsenal) by that stage.

Stat of the week

I might start calling this the Gareth Bale paragraph as it only seem to concern him. His streak is still alive! Again Tottenham fail to win a Premier League match Bale has started. Even Harry Houdini's powers are no match for the young Welshman's streak. It is really amazing that Spurs just can't win a game he has started in over two season. Maybe they should look into the possibility of selling him to one of the big three plus one if they ever want to break in to the Champions League.

Quote of the week

"Jermain Defoe had some great chances, I told him that on another day he'd get a hat trick but I think he was trying too hard today as it was his old club." - Tony Adams Tony Adams - Where trying too hard costs you goals. Website of the Week It's one that is close to home. It's called The Sport Boys and has been mentioned a few times on here. These guys are very good and are friends of mine so it's only fair I try to throw some traffic their way. (Next time I will charge). But seriously it's a good site and if you like what you read here I'm sure you will find their stuff rather amusing. Fantasy Premier League Players you wish you had not made Captain  Wayne Rooney  - Did not play  Cesc Fabregas  - 1pt  Robbie Keane    - 1pt  Frank Lampard  - 3pts   Players who you made Captain, done well, but felt silly you didn't make C-Ron Captain   Nicolas Anelka    - 13pts Dirk Kuyt             - 10pts Soloman Kalou    - 7pts Dimitar Berbatov - 6pts

 Players you wish you had made Captain but never would

1. Jose Bosingwa    - 13pts
2. Stephen Ireland - 13pts
3. Martin Laursen   - 12pts
4. Michael Carrick   - 11pts
5. Giovanni             - 10 pts
6.  Rob Green         - 10pts

The Cristiano Ronaldo award for Fantasy Football Excelence

1. C-Ron - 18pts

That's why the award is named after him!

Things we found out over the weekend

1. Even Harry Redknapp cannot win a spurs game Gareth Bale starts.

2. That Wigan get bad sending offs when ahead in games, Emerson Boyce should never has got a second yellow for that tackle against Newcastle, he clearly won the ball and to make matter's worse they can't even appeal it due to that stupid rule of only being able to appeal  red cards. The same thing happened against Liverpool a few weeks back when they were 2-1 up at Anfield and Valencia was sent off. Also Wigan still cannot win a game if Zaki does not score! It's no wonder that when they played Spurs at WHL earlier in the season that they drew as Spurs started the match with Gareth "we can't win when I start" Bale and Amir "We don't win if I don't Score" Zaki failed to hit the back of the net.

3. Arsenal are not who we thought they were (Title chasers) , Villa are who we thought they were (The 5th best team in England), Tottenham are not what we thought they were (A good team again), Fulham are not what we thought they were (A very bad team), Blackburn are who we thought they were (No defense), Manchester City are not what the Football Dad thought they were (A top five team) and Chelsea are who we thought they were (The best team at the Moment)

Youtube

Here is a great video from Ft Tim Cahill and Marouane Fellaini about the danger's of drugs, if only Rio had watched this a few years back he would have had no problems going to that drugs test and would not have been banned for six months - There's no hope with Dope

Now I know the 80's were a different time and we may not have realized stuff back then that would be easily noticed now but after watching this video again for the first time in many years I had to ask - HOW COULD NOBODY TELL GEORGE MICHAEL WAS GAY A LONG TIME AGO?

There are those of us who have called Berbatov lazy in the past, well this interview might tell us why we thought that.

Final Thoughts

Has a manager of one of the big teams across Europe ever managed to last four seasons without winning a trophy and avoided getting sacked? Could Arsene Wenger be the first?

Football Guy