Archive for the ‘Top Football Stories’ Category

Predictions for the new 2012/13 Premier League Season

Posted on: August 14th, 2012 | by Steve | No Comments

The new football season is upon us and with it comes the annual question from all football fans “How will my team cope this season?”

Looking at the Premier League it looks likely to be another Manchester led fight for the title but expect Chelsea and Arsenal to keep closer order this time after extremely disappointing seasons in 2011/12.

Despite the impetus often injected from new management it seems unlikely either Tottenham or Liverpool will be able to break into a Champions League spot this season.

What will be intriguing will be to see if Newcastle can match or even improve on an extremely impressive previous campaign, with the goals of Cisse and Ba they will certainly feel they have a chance of repeating that success.

At the other end, last seasons heroes Norwich and Swansea both look set for difficult seasons after losing highly influential managers and newly promoted Southampton and Reading may also struggle.

Do you agree with these predictions? Let us know what you think.

Prediction:

1. Manchester City

2. Manchester United

3. Arsenal

4. Chelsea

5. Liverpool

6. Tottenham Hotspur

7. Newcastle United

8. Everton

9. Sunderland

10. Fulham

11. Aston Villa

12. Stoke City

13. QPR

14. Wigan Athletic

15. West Ham United

16. West Bromwich Albion

17. Southampton

18. Swansea City

19. Norwich City

20. Reading

Where Now for England? Will Euro 2012 be the catalyst for change?

Posted on: July 4th, 2012 | by Steve | No Comments

In the past England have understandably felt a sense of injustice, a belief that an exit on penalties was scant reward for their efforts. Here in Kiev, they got exactly what they deserved.

The statistics alone suggest England were thrashed 0-0 by vastly superior Italy and, unlike some statistics in football, they do not paint an illusion. Italy had 68 per cent possession, 31 shots against England’s eight and eighteen on target to England’s four. The pass count was 833 to 364.

So as England’s players returned to their Krakow hotel in the early hours of Monday morning, they can take satisfaction from their efforts in Poland and Ukraine but cannot have a single complaint about the manner of their departure.

In Kiev, however, they found that the tactical discipline, togetherness and resilience injected by Hodgson in his brief spell in charge could only take them so far. England were tortured by the superior technique shown by Italy and Andrea Pirlo in particular.

The result was that England, barring a 20-minute first half spell in which they played their best football of the tournament, were pulled to pieces and only survived until penalties via a combination of good fortune, brave defending and poor Italian finishing.

What cannot be denied, or indeed ignored, was the chasm in class between the sides. England had no-one to match Pirlo’s ability to dictate, to treat the ball as his closest friend.

England have been guilty of squandering possession in recent times but this was different. They did not have possession as they were manoeuvred about by Pirlo to such an extent that it became embarrassing to watch at times.

This match was a brutal illustration of where England are. They can come home proud of their efforts but also knowing they were eliminated by a vastly better side.

Will the lesson in football dished out to England by the Italians finally bring about change in the English game as it appears we fall vastly short of the level required to win major tournaments?

What do you think about Englands performance and the general state of the game in this country? let us know.

Guiseley AFC Closing in on Automatic Promotion

Posted on: April 3rd, 2012 | by Steve | No Comments

Pendle Sportswear Users Guiseley AFC have a chance to get within two points of league leaders Hyde in Blue Square Bet North tonight.

The Lions boss was named ‘Manager of the Month’ for March yesterday and his side play their game in hand over Hyde when Gloucester City visit Nethermoor.

After eye catching away wins against leaders Hyde and fierce local and promotion rivals FC Halifax,  Guiseley further cranked up the pressure on the leaders with a 3-0 home win against Corby on Saturday.

Another win in tonights game would cut the gap to just 2 points and ,with Hyde facing a very difficult looking trip to Altrincham on Saturday, Could Guiseley see themselves top at Easter?

We hope that Guiseley AFC continue their great form and that their Pendle Sportswear Football Kit continues to bring them good luck.

Chelsea In Crisis? Is a Lack of Stability costing Abramovich?

Posted on: March 8th, 2012 | by Steve | 2 Comments

Chelsea’s Ruthless owner, Roman Abramovich, has sacked André Villas-Boas after a string of poor results that has left Chelsea fifth in the league table. Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at West Bromwich Albion left Chelsea three points behind 4th placed Arsenal, and a massive 20 points behind leaders Manchester City, with 11 games remaining in the season.

Villas-Boas’s assistant, Roberto Di Matteo, has been appointed the new first team manager for the remainder of the season.

The 2011/12 season is fast proving to be Chelsea’s least successful since Abramovich bought the club, with Chelsea having won less than 50 percent of the games played under AVB. Problems with senior players, a dry spell bigger than the Sahara for his supposed Star Striker and a lack of tactical know-how along with dreadful recent results sealed AVB’s fate.

However, Villas-Boas becomes the eighth Chelsea manager in nine years to lose his job, the list including some of the finest football managers available.

So is Abramovich blaming the right people?  Why not clear out the players that are clearly not cutting it at Chelsea – instead of chopping and changing managers? Was AVB really given enough time to build his new Chelsea team, shape what he believed was a successful system, and push Chelsea towards being major contenders again? Are Chelsea just too quick to cut their losses regardless of the costs involved?

The recent decline in the performance of the team would suggest that maybe they are. Stability is surely what is required at Stamford Bridge to bring back the success of the Mourinho era.

Manchester United’s Squad Has Less Experience Now, But Is It Also Weaker?

Posted on: August 1st, 2011 | by Steve | No Comments

When you look at the big names that have left the Red Devils this year, you cannot help to wonder if Manchester United are going to be the same formidable force that we have all been used to in recent years.

Big names have either retired or left including Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Edwin van der Sar, Wes Brown, John O’Shea and Owen Hargreaves. Whilst these players were probably past their best, most were arguably world class in their time and would still have been able to offer many positive attributes to the united squad.

With the exception of Ashley Young, the new signings, goalkeeper David De Gea and England under 21 international, Phil Jones are both relatively untested at the highest level. Will their introduction really strengthen the united squad or are they just a small positive to a squad that is now very much weakened?

PENDLE VERDICT -  We were surprised that Wes Brown and John O’Shea both went to Sunderland, given that they are both very strong squad players and can be trusted to perform at the highest level. The departure of injury plagued, Owen Hargreaves makes no difference to the strength of the squad because he never played and it was probably the right time for Gary Neville to hang up his boots. Most people would agree that Paul Scholes is a player who’s retirement has to weaken the United squad in some capacity as he was arguably the greatest player that England have produced in recent times. Edwin van der Sar was still at the top of his game when he retired, so his departure has to be a blow.

 On conclusion, the answer is YES, we do think that United are weaker going into the new campaign.

YOUR VERDICT – What do you think?