Archive for the 'English Premier League' Category

Jul 29 2008

Liverpool Sign Keane : Any more to come ?

Published by Madhur under English Premier League

So Liverpool have finally managed to sign one of the most proven goal scorer in the premiership. Even though he may have cost around $20m, he will be worth every penny. Now it will be interesting to see if he and Torres can form a good partnership, and I am confident they can. This is the the Liverpool’s biggest signing of the season so far and Rafa will need to sign a few more players of his stature if he wants Liverpool to challenge for the premiership.

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Jul 12 2008

Who should Manchester United Sign ?

So while the rest of the big names such as Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham etc are busy in the transfer market, Manchester United have been quiet. Sir Alex has already confirmed that the club will sign utmost 1 player only but that might change if the Ronaldo moves to Real Madrid. But who is going to come to Old Trafford, striker, midfielder or defender.

There is a big chance that United will go for a striker. They currently have only Rooney, Tevez and Saha for that purpose. But with the injury problems of Saha, it will be no surprise if he is sold. A new recruit will be Manucho but he is the not a proven goal scorer and might take time to settle. So who are the players that Sir Alex might be interested in.

Berbatov : It is no secret that Sir Alex has been an admirer of Berbatov abilities for a long time. He tried signing him but he decided to move to Tottenham. But his current situation at Tottenham is not good and if the price is right, he might play is trade at Old Trafford next season. And with his already established record, what a signing he would be.

Benzema : He is another great option. He is young, got great pace and technique and there is no doubt that Sir Alex admires him. But price could be a big issue here, Lyon would want at least $30m and considering his below par performance at the Euro 2008, i don’t think he will be a good choice to take a risk.

Hunteleer : He is another good option. He has already expressed his desire to play for United and he has got the Dutch factor with him(remember Van Nistelrooy). His record at Dutch league has been excellent (31 goals in 34 games i think). He will be a great choice and will be easily available too.

Michael Owen: He is the latest Striker to be linked with United. He is the last year at his Newcastle contract and there is a chance that Newcastle will try to cash on him lest should he move away for free next season. He is a proven goal scorer in the Premier League but his injury problems will be a negative point. But if he is available for a cheap price, then i say why not take the risk ?

If the midfield department is considered, i think United have got enough talent. They have Fletcher, Carrick, Hargreaves, Scholes, Anderson. And the wingers are Ronaldo, Nani, Giggs, Park. But considering the age of Scholes, i would be happy to see an attacking midfielder join the United team. One of the players which i would love to see is Van Der Vaart. He is an amazing player and his performance at Euro 2008 were top notch. He will be a good replacement for Scholes in the long run. Another Dutch player that i would love to see is Wesley Sneijder. His performance at Euro 2008 speaks for itself but I don’t think Real would be interested in selling or he would want to come here (unless United get him in exchange is Ronaldo decides to leave). Arjen Robben is a good player that United should definitely bring should Ronaldo decided to leave. Though he hasn’t got the same pace like Ronaldo, his technique is top class. I wish United would have signed him before he moved to Chelsea.

Sir Alex should also be thinking about the right back situation. Last Season, Gary Neville missed most of the season because of injury, and it that age, it is difficult to get your same form back. Wes Brown was superb at that position last season. United have also got Danny Simpson who impressed in cameo performances last season. But a player that i would like to see is Phillip Lahm. He is an amazing player. Not only he can defend well, he got good attacking instincts too. He can come forward and even score goals. Out of these players, i would be happy to see Berbatov and Van Der Vaart in a United Shirt ? So what do you think ? Which player should Manchester United sign ?

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Jul 08 2008

Manchester United without Carlos Queiroz

Ever since Scolari left Portugal to sign for Chelsea, Carlos Queiroz is being linked with the vacant position. And why not, he has been a great coach at United and that speaks for itself. In the latest development, it was being reported that he is close to agreeing a $1.5m four year deal with Portugal.

As a United fan, I would be disappointed to see him leave which i am almost sure is going to happen. But i wouldn’t blame him, who wouldn’t want to manage there country one day. That type of job doesn’t come often. For United, it will be a big loss, or we can say, a bad summer for united as the Cristiano Ronaldo drama continues with Madrid reporting there interest and Ronaldo saying nothing to deny it. Considering he was a big mentor to Ronaldo and one of the main reason behind his deadly form, a face which even Ronaldo agrees. So his departure will once again bring the Ronaldo saga to the fore front. The fact that Ferguson welcomed him back after his stint with Real Madrid, and Ferguson also saying that he is the ideal man to replace him after he retires, tells you about his importance to the club. Even Ryan Giggs mentions in his autobiography

He’d train us, prepare us for games, organise the team and decide the things we needed to work on. Some said he had too much influence, but I don’t agree. He impressed me from the start."

He was one of the main reasons behind United’s impressive defending and there tactical approach to big games. Not only was he a master tactician, he had a great eye of discovering talent. He was the man responsible for scouting Nani and Anderson, two impressive young talents. And most important, he had an amazing language skills as he could speak 5 different languages and a good network, as well as being a father-figure to Ronaldo.

Though the club hasn’t said anything official about this but I guess Ferguson must be looking for a new no. 2. One of the men being linked with the post is the great “Eric Cantona”. Though what will happen only time will tell. But it is a bad news for the club and it might also be for “Ronaldo”.

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May 11 2008

We are champions

Manchester United Champions

What an afternoon of Premiership football. We beat Chelsea to the title and are the champions for the 17th time. What an amazing season it is turning out for us. Before the game Wigan promised that they will be a tough nut to crack and that’s what happened in the opening minutes. They started well and we looked a bit nervous in the opening minutes. Even the return of Rooney and Vidic were not enough as Wigan played well in a closely contested first half. Scholes got a booking for a challenge on Palacios before Boyce wasted a decent chance for Wigan. We were lucky not to concede a penalty when Koumas’s shot appeared to be blocked by Ferdinand’s arm. But Rooney got a penalty when he was tripped by Boyce and Ronaldo made no mistake from the spot to score his 41st goal of the campaign.

_44645799_ferg_gett Scholes was lucky not have been sent off for a foul on Palacios. It looked like he was going to get a red card but the referee was lenient. In the second half we got confident and started creating chances with Ronaldo testing Kirkland from 30 yards with a free kick. Wigan also got there share of luck in the 52nd minute when Scholes was fouled by Bramble in the box but the referee didn’t give a penalty. Kirkland then prevented us from getting that second goal as he saved well from a Rooney drive. He was Wigan’s hero again as he brilliantly saved Tevez’s deflected shot. Then there was news of Chelsea leading against Bolton. Now it was just a question of getting a goal. Wigan’s goal would have meant title loss while United’s goal would have secured them the title. My heart nearly stopped beating when Heskey headed inches wide from a free kick. But it was the veteran Ryan Giggs that saved the day. Rooney delivered a clever pass to Giggs who calmly slotted past Kirkland to secure the title for United. Even though he has played less games for United, this goal was the most important. And then Bolton too equalized against Chelsea and the we were the champions.

In the other matches, Fulham scored a late goal to beat Portsmouth 1 - 0 and ensure there survival. Fulham’s survival meant that Birmingham and Reading got relegated to the championship despite there impressive wins. Everton secured there UEFA cup spot with a 3-1 victory over Newcastle. Aston Villa drew 2-2 with West Ham but earned an Inter Toto cup spot after Blackburn lost to Birmingham. Liverpool defeated Spurs 2-0 in a dull game. Manchester City got thrashed 8 - 1 by Middlesbrough while Arsenal eneded there season with a 1-0 win over Sunderland.

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May 10 2008

Premier League set for D Day

In the beginning who would have thought that Premier League would go to the final match of the season. There has been a lot of mind games going on recently regarding the two highly anticipated matches. But the equation is very simple. We have to beat Wigan to if we want to win the championship. There has been a lot of talk about Wigan being motivated to beat us and Bolton celebrating about avoiding relegation.

But i think every team will be trying to win there respective matches. There are lot of things still undecided which will be decided tomorrow. The champions, the UEFA spot and the relegates will all be decided tomorrow. But for Man Utd and Fulham, the destiny is in there own hands and i will be devastated if we don’t win the title. Wigan are all fired up about beating us and we can’t doubt the commitment of Steve Bruce. But we have great side that will be going for the win. Even without Wayne Rooney, Fergie would have had all the player fired up for the match. And with the likes of Ronaldo and Tevez in superb form, hardly any team can stop us. So i expect United to win the championship tomorrow on goal difference. Everton will get to Europe while Reading and Birmingham will join Derby in the championship.

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May 03 2008

Man Utd thrash West Ham, one step away from title

Ronaldo Manchester United fans, it is time to rejoice now. We are nearly there. Only one games separates us from the title and that too may prove to be unnecessary if Newcastle United can help us by beating Chelsea on Monday. I was pretty confident that we will win the game but there was a doubt in my mind considering our last recent record against West Ham to whom we have lost the last 3 matches. But all that doubt was erased from my mind when Ronaldo raced into the area and beat Green with a deflected shot while the Hammers defenders just watched. Hammers might have got back into the game three minutes later but Patrice Evra saved on the line and we were also a bit lucky not to have conceded a penalty when Brown hand balled under pressure.

But still our passing was excellent and we created several chances. Then on 24th minute, Hargreaves delivered a beautiful cross, the defenders failed to clear and the ball went into the back off the net off Ronaldo’s thigh for his 40th goal of the season. If that was not enough, Carlos Tevez sent a vicious shot into the net from 25 yards. So beautiful was the goal that even West Ham supporters also appreciated and clapped. The game was almost over but Ashton, who has been linked to United recently scored a wonderful goal from an overhead kick. It would just have been a small amount of hope for West Ham but a foolish moment from Nani nearly cost us the game. After some brief altercation with Lucas Neill, Nani head butted him, and then produced a theatrical display of falling to the ground in hope of avoiding punishment. He was shown a straight red card and we were left with 10 men. Clearly it was a very amateurish behavior from Nani and that too in such an important game. I would have loved to see what Fergie would have told him at half time.

Luckily for us, Ashton injured his muscle in scoring the goal and he was soon replaced in second half by Carlton Cole. And the hope of West Ham comeback was gone when some poor defending allowed Carrick to score from a deflected shot at 58th minute. Fergie soon sent on Giggs for Park and Fletcher for Ronaldo and Fletcher could have added a fifth but his shot hit the upright and bounced back. We had a few decent chances afterwards but we won at 4 - 1. The record attendance at Old Trafford was 76,013 and they sensed that we have won the league, well almost. The gaffer was quick to put some pressure on Chelsea, and to be honest, i have a feeling that Chelsea might lose at Newcastle. Newcastle have been in good form lately and if Owen, Martins play to there best, added to the pressure on Chelsea to win, they might end up losing.

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