The Round Football Column 05.01.07: 93rd Edition
Posted by Tim O'Sullivan on 05.01.2007
Sam Allardyce, Alex Ferguson, Samuel Eto’o, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, second leg previews, plus more. One Click Away.
Sup. Go:
Matinee Madness
SKY SPORTS……..I salute you.
That was an unbelievable two hours of excitement and drama on Saturday afternoon. Here are seventy points worth noting:
1. The gap is now five points
2. If United win the Manchester derby, Arsenal can hand them the league by either beating or drawing with Chelsea on Sunday.
3. As funny as that would be, it would also mean that the clash at the Bridge on May 9th may be irrelevant. That would be bad.
4. Although it would be funny to see Chelsea have to applaud United onto the pitch that night.
5. When you see the fourth United goal go in at Goodison, remember not to use the phrase, "Eagles can fly"
6. If you are hitting a club, don't follow Alex Ferguson's dance moves. Laughter will follow.
7. Phil Neville did that on purpose.
8. Manuel Fernandes can hit a ball hard.
9. I can't believe Alan Stubbs had the balls to shoot that free kick from there.
10. Michelik doesn't know how to celebrate scoring a goal.
11. Kalou is actually okay.
12. Mourinho being unhappy is never not funny
Okay, so seventy was ambitious. We'll leave it at twelve.
Eto'o and Van shine as La Liga heats up
A Van Nistelrooy brace helped Real Madrid ease past Bilbao, whilst a Sammy Eto'o goal encouraged a nervy Barca to turn over Levante. Then, the potential UEFA Cup final was previewed as Sevilla beat Espanyol, 3-1. That leaves Barca one point ahead of Sevilla, and two points ahead of Real. With six games to go, anything can happen, but we may have a two-horse race after this Sunday. Real and Sevilla meet at the Bernabau, and a defeat, for the home side especially (considering their poor goal difference), may end their charge. Barca should ease past Sociedad on Saturday, which will put even greater significance on the events at the Bernabau. Either way, this title race could well cement La Liga's status as the greatest league in Europe, once and for all.
Anfield and San Siro await drama
Two games, two winners, one final. On Thursday morning, we will know who will be going to Athens on May 23rd, but until then it's still a four-horse race.
I really fancy Chelsea to score at Anfield. If that happens, the Kop fans have a problem, because Liverpool are not scoring three past Petr Cech. They need to generate more width this time around, with Pennant and Crouch surely starting. Mascherano and Alonso need to pick up their runners from midfield and stop Lamps and Joe Cole getting the space for pot shots. As important as that though, they need heightened urgency from the outset. No time for Chelsea. Get Carradona on Drogba throughout. Hurry him. Hassle him. The Ivorian ruined Agger for the goal at the Bridge, and that can't happen again.
As for United, well they'll probably be outclassed in every department before bagging a late winner. Its too tough to call, but it should be a great night at the San Siro.
Football rules………….but what actually happened last week?
Sam Allardyce has left Bolton…….with two games to go. Weird. Sammy Lee has taken his place. Not so weird. Something is going on with Allardyce. Surely he has something lined up…….and no, it's not a tray of burgers. That's not funny. He's had a fantastic tenure at the Reebok, and has revolutionised the club's fortunes. Could he turn Newcastle into title challengers? Perhaps
Sunderland and Birmingham got promoted to the Premiership after dramatic wins and the deadly duo of Clinton Morrison and Mark Kennedy. Carlos Edwards scored a classic goal to give the Mackems a 3-2 win, whilst Brum only seemed to pick it up against Sheffield Wednesday once they were down to ten men. That left the pair requiring Palace beating Derby, and well, they did.
Anyway, Carlos Edwards…….take a bow fella:
Oh, and Leeds (basically) got relegated and the fans went nuts.
West Ham escaped a points penalty, albeit at the expense of a mammoth £5.5 million fine. Dr. Evil worked that beautifully, because without the loss of points and Tevez, West Ham got a great result at the JJB to leave them a Bolton win away from probable survival.
Still on the Premiership relegation fight, Sheffield United scraped a nervy one-goal win over already-relegated, Watford, but only a deflected goal and the crossbar (damn, Watford have missed Marlon King) got the Blades three points.
The Charlton fans went to the north-west in their masses to help perform "OPERATION EWOOD", but they got back on the M6 with the memories of a 4-1 defeat, and abuse from the West Ham fans at the services. Bad day.
Fulham were awful against a mis-firing Arsenal at the Emirates, but nearly earned a point after Simon Davies lobbed the hapless, newly-contracted, Jens Lehmann. Unfortunately for them, Adebayor decided to add finishing to his repertoire shortly after.
As for Arsenal, well Gilberto and Baptista sully their nationality.
Berbatov and Keane ruined Middlesbrough, to probably give Woodgate second thoughts on his permanent move to the Riverside.
Mickey Owen played his first game since Sweden in the World Cup, as Newcastle lost 1-0 at Reading. The injury-ridden striker had a goal ruled out for offside early on, but was off the pace for the rest of the game and was caught offside about ninety times.
Joey Barton produced the worst penalty of the season. It was mildly funny.
Javier Saviola looks set to "do a Figo" and move from Barca to Real. Expect pigs heads in the post wee man.
Top 5 Moments of the week
05 – Adebayor vs. Fulham 04 – Ferguson's celebrations at Goodison. Just bizarre entertainment 03 – Berbatov vs. Boro 02 – Fernandes vs. United 01 – Edwards vs. Burnley
The Adventures of Laurence Hobbs
After the Fulham game, Hobbsy got drunk and went on a rant telling everyone that he is a better footballer than Julio Baptista.
A huge claim, but he's probably not wrong.
Last Week's Match Predictions (bold = prediction, italics = actual results)
Premiership
Saturday 28th
Blackburn v Charlton 2-1 // 4-1
Chelsea v Bolton 2-1 // 2-2
Everton v Man Utd 1-1 // 2-4
Man City v Aston Villa 0-2 // 0-2
Middlesbrough v Tottenham 3-0 // 2-3
Portsmouth v Liverpool 1-0 // 2-1
Sheff Utd v Watford 2-1 // 1-0
Wigan v West Ham 2-2 // 0-3
Sunday 29th
Arsenal v Fulham 1-1 // 3-1
Monday 30th
Reading v Newcastle 2-1 // 1-0
Next Week's Match Predictions
UEFA Champions League – Semi Final, Second Legs
Tuesday May 1st
Liverpool v Chelsea 2-1
Wednesday 2nd
AC Milan v Man Utd2-1
UEFA Cup – Semi Final, Second Legs
Thursday 3rd
Sevilla v Osasuna 4-1
Werder Bremen v Espanyol 1-0
Premiership
Saturday 5th
Aston Villa v Sheff Utd 1-0
Everton v Portsmouth 1-2
Fulham v Liverpool 2-1
Man City v Man Utd 0-2
Newcastle v Blackburn 0-2
Reading v Watford 2-1
West Ham v Bolton 1-1
Wigan v Middlesbrough 2-2
Sunday 6th
Arsenal v Chelsea 2-2
Monday 7th
Charlton v Tottenham 1-2
Championship – Final Day
Burnley v Coventry 1-1
Colchester v Crystal Palace 3-1
Derby v Leeds 5-1
Hull v Plymouth 2-1
Ipswich v Cardiff 3-0
Leicester v Wolves 0-2
Luton v Sunderland 0-3
Preston v Birmingham 1-2
QPR v Stoke 1-1
Sheff Weds v Norwich 3-1
Southampton v Southend 4-0
West Brom v Barnsley 3-1
Read these or I can't guarantee you'll have a good week
