The Round Football Column 04.21.08: 148th Edition Prem Round-Up, Champions League Preview, Plus More
Posted by Tim O'Sullivan on 04.22.2008
Daniel Guiza, Kaka and Alessandro Del Piero all score hat-tricks, Carlos Tevez saves Man Utd, Real Madrid actually win an away game, plus more. One Click Away.
Here we are.
Newcastle's excellent form continued with a win in the vastly underrated (in terms of passion and relevance if nothing else, anyway) North-East derby. Michael Owen looks reasonably sharp and that first goal was vintage. Sunderland played some nice stuff, but they really need to get Kenwyne Jones a goal-hungry, speedy striker in the summer.
Another passionate derby (albeit for the worst reasons after the game) saw Aston Villa hammer Birmingham, 5-1. I've never been convinced by Ashley Young, but he has the second most assists in the league this season (behind Cesc) and a decent goals return. He still needs to perform better against the big teams, but the potential is there. His first goal on Sunday was magic.
Despite Fergie's post-match ramblings about wanting three points, he knows a point was fair from Ewood Park. Carlos Tevez was in the right place yet again and he's unintentionally becoming quite the impact sub.
Blackburn's performance proved to me that I was right to at least care about Arsenal's game at Old Trafford instead of pretending it was already over, because with United's run-in a win really would have given The Gunners a fighting chance. It wasn't to be however, and Reading's visit to The Emirates ended up being a very sombre affair. The Arsenal left clappers on every seat to try and boost the fans, but it was too much to ask after the week from hell. Theo Walcott, RVP, Cesc Fabregas and of course, Gael Clichy were superb, but it felt like a friendly.
Liverpool's reserves won at Fulham and I'm guessing Rafa wishes this would work every week.
Benjani finally scored after a barren run, as Man City beat Portsmouth 3-1 at Eastlands. David James celebrated his PFA nomination with a howler for the first. Classic Jamo.
Bolton are somehow out of the relegation zone after another win. At this stage of the season, at this end of the table ..two wins on the bounce is huge. Gary Cahill has been a huge reason for their two clean sheets.
Tottenham continue to be the most uninspired team in the country.
Derby scored a goal! Obviously their opponents scored two, but still!
Chelsea stayed in the title race (just) after a 1-0 win at Goodison. I've got a lot of stick for being vocal about this, but I really think this game proved why the Premier League is still a little shy when it comes to being the best in the world. I know people will argue that The Toffees just had a bad night, but I was watching them thinking it was a joke that they were fifth. The Prem has four of the best five clubs in Europe, but outside the "big four" I'm still not convinced.
Barclays Premier League Team of the Weekend
GK - Brad Friedel (Blackburn)
RB - Tyrone Mears (Derby)
LB - Gael Clichy (Arsenal)
CB - Martin Laursen (Aston Villa)
CB - Gary Cahill (Bolton)
CM - Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
CM - Kevin Nolan (Bolton)
RM - Theo Walcott (Arsenal)
LM - Ashley Young (Aston Villa)
ST - Michael Owen (Newcastle)
ST - John Carew (Aston Villa)
The final four are here.
Liverpool v Chelsea
It's quite boring to talk about this. I'm genuinely intrigued by the second leg being at Stamford Bridge, but I can't say I've been overly impressed by either team this season.
The tie will be determined on patience and the performances of the match-winners. Liverpool proved against Arsenal that they have two of the best impact players in the world and everyone knows that Chelsea have such a rich squad that even your Dad could get them in the top four. Either way, I really can't call this. Part of me thinks that Liverpool can blitz Chelsea away at Anfield, but another part thinks Chelsea will hold out to The Bridge and sneak through. Either way, have you ever seen Rafa win a game at a big English stadium? No, nor me.
Prediction: Chelsea to win 2-1 on aggregate.
Barcelona v Man Utd
I love football because of games like these. I watch a lot of Spanish football and Barcelona are a really poor football team. Thierry Henry has been sulking, Lionel Messi has been injured, Ronaldinho and Deco have been getting fat and the team are simply not gelling. Man Utd on the other hand are looking better than they have in years. I still think their midfield isn't half as good as people make out and that Rooney can't be the best striker in the Prem until he actually starts scoring goals (!), but when they have a fully fit team at their disposal it's hard to argue with the claim of them being the best in Europe.
In Ronaldo, Ferdinand and Vidic they have three of the finest individuals in world football right now. The only way Barcelona can win this is for their individuals to have special moments. They were awful at Parkhead, but a stunning goal from Henry and two bits of magic from Messi gave them a 3-2 win. Barcelona need to rely on more jaw-dropping solo moments, because as a team they are nowhere near the would-be Prem champs.
Prediction: Man Utd to win 6-2 on aggregate.
Check the staff roundtable for more.
Real Madrid are extremely close to yet another title win and after looking like the poorest champions in recent history, they actually grabbed an impressive win at the weekend. Goals from Raul and Higuain gave them a 2-0 win at Racing Santander, and to be honest I didn't see it coming. They are that bad.
Barcelona fans pulled out those famous white handkerchiefs as the goals dried up yet again this time at home to Espanyol.
Good to see Messi back though.
There were a couple of really weird results this weekend and they primarily involved the teams battling for fourth. Sevilla lost 4-1 yes, 4-1 at home to the ever-improving Almeria and Atletico Madrid lost 3-1 at home to Betis. I swear I don't respect one team in this league. Not one.
Valencia are edging extremely close to relegation. After fellow underachievers, Real Zaragoza won 3-0 the pressure was really on to deliver at Bilbao. A 5-1 loss later and the Copa del Rey winners really look in huge trouble. Their form is really ruining some of their players for me too. Seriously, David Villa, Raul Albiol and Miguel were three of my favourite players in Spain last season. The latter two in Bilbao were just horrible. Ronald Koeman's men are in huge trouble.
In more positive news, Villarreal moved back up to second and my favourite player, Daniel "The Geezer" Guiza scored a hat-trick against Murcia.
Two of the leagues top stars scored hat-tricks at the weekend and despite two of Kaka's goals being penalties it's good to see him back amongst the goals. As for Del Piero, well check the fans' banner after this goal. Too good:
Super Mario Balotelli didn't score for once, but Julio Cruz did and Inter pretty much secured back-to-back titles.
Inter's smiles were even wider due to Roma's home draw with Livorno.
It's over.
The Championship continues to be quite the exciting league. West Brom look set to gain promotion and I'm happy about that because they seem to play reasonably fluid, confident under Mowbray. The other place is well up for grabs though, especially after Stoke beat Bristol City. Those two automatic spaces are vital though, because I don't see anyone stopping Crystal Palace in the playoffs.
Swansea have been promoted to the Championship, despite losing.
Peterborough and MK Dons have both been promoted from League 2.
Bayern Munich won the German Cup after an extra time win over Dortmund. It was the same story as Getafe, with Luca Toni the hero yet again.
In-form midfielder Mathieu Bodmer scored again as Lyon beat Strasbourg.
PSG look like they're going to get relegated from Ligue 1.
PSV bagged their fourth Eredivisie title on the bounce. I'm not fussed. Are you?
The transfer rumours continue to spread and it looks like there will be some genuinely massive moves this summer. Samuel Eto'o, Ronaldinho, Karim Benzema, Didier Drogba and David Villa all look set to leave their current clubs.
As for the latter, well as an Arsenal fan it was very exciting to hear him say he would want to move to The Emirates. However, it wasn't very exciting to hear Arsene Wenger say that he's not interested and would rather stick with Nicklas Bendtner. Oh joy.
Elsewhere, it's been reported that Man City have paid a crazy £20 million for CSKA Moscow striker, Jo. I think that's insane money for him.
05 Essien v Everton 04 Pennant v Fulham 03 Del Piero v Atalanta 02 Young's first v Brum 01 Bilbao v Valencia
As discussed, it's a big week in the Champions League, but we're also down to the final four in the UEFA Cup.
This really could be an interesting couple of games. Bayern Munich have had a sensational two months, but Zenit really impressed me in Leverkusen. They have a really well organised team and a player in Andrei Arshavin who can change a game. In the other tie, surely the Ibrox faithful can't drag Rangers to yet another win. Of course, their success has been encouraged by away results, but those games at Ibrox really do seem to have something special about them.
Huge weekend in the Prem ..huge I tell thee. First up is the big one for the title and Chelsea must, must, must beat Man Utd to hold on to their feint trophy-lifting hopes. If Michael Essien plays right-back I think every member of the Chelsea board should unanimously demand Avram Grant's resignation. The Ghanaian is without doubt one of the top five players in the league on his day and the whole Chelsea midfield should be built around him. Paul Scholes' form isn't great and Michael Carrick still has the tendency to be a touch lightweight. Essien genuinely could win them this.
Elsewhere, the other highlight of the weekend is a game that shouldn't be such a huge contest. Everton really have lost it over the past few weeks and this match with the Villa is now a season-decider. I see Villa taking it.
The big thing in Europe this weekend is Valencia's home match with fellow strugglers, Osasuna. It's getting silly.
Last Week's Match Predictions (Bold = Prediction . Italics = Actual Result)
Barclays Premier League
Monday 14th
Chelsea v Wigan 2-0 // 1-1
Thursday 17th
Everton v Chelsea 0-2 // 0-1
Saturday 19th
Arsenal v Reading 1-1 // 2-0
Blackburn v Man Utd 0-2 // 1-1
Fulham v Liverpool 1-2 // 0-2
Middlesbrough v Bolton 3-0 // 0-1
West Ham v Derby 4-0 // 2-1
Wigan v Tottenham 2-1 // 1-1
Sunday 20th
Aston Villa v Birmingham 2-2 // 5-1
Man City v Portsmouth 1-0 // 3-1
Newcastle v Sunderland 3-2 // 2-0
Next Week's Match Predictions
UEFA Champions League Semi Final, First Legs
Tuesday 22nd
Liverpool v Chelsea 0-0
Wednesday 23rd
Barcelona v Man Utd 1-4
UEFA Cup Semi Final, First Legs
Thursday 24th
Bayern Munich v Zenit St. Petersburg 1-2
Rangers v Fiorentina 0-1
Barclays Premier League
Saturday 26th
Birmingham v Liverpool 0-2
Chelsea v Man Utd 0-1
Man City v Fulham 2-0
Sunderland v Middlesbrough 2-1
Tottenham v Bolton 1-1
West Ham v Newcastle 0-2
Wigan v Reading 1-0
Sunday 27th
Everton v Aston Villa 0-0
Portsmouth v Blackburn 0-1
Hobbsy is on THE BILL this Thursday, Watch it and be impressed. He's like an intelligent Jan Molby. That's the best description I've got.
Barcelona v Man Utd 1-4
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What world are you living in, Barca will kill United just like AC did last year!
Posted By: steve0 (Guest) on April 22, 2008 at 10:09 AM
I hate Man U with a passion that is probably borderline dangerous, but they are a team of destiny. I don't see Barca giving them any problems. Ronaldinho has a foot out the door, Messi isn't 100%, Henry is already thinking about the mistake he made coming and who he wants to play for next year. Man U for the double, should have been the treble.
Posted By: Amp (Guest) on April 22, 2008 at 05:43 PM
No Wrexham AGAIN! Perhaps you don't appreciate the full importance of Wrexham to football, especially in England, never mind their beatings of top european sides...
Anyway, we're non-league now, but I thought as a football jouranlist yu'd realise Wrexham's importance in the British Isles, obviously not, so just go back to saying what you see in a Roy Walker style from Sky Sports, eh.
You Obviously don't like actualy, honest football because you are too busy bothering about the money end, which is so sad it's amazing. Surely you are a season ticket holder somewhere? Who has ties to a club far reaching back? Surely with real history? Or are you just training to write for such wank as "Shoot" or "Match"? Beacuse that's what this column is getting like. I honestly expect "Top fashion tips to look like Lionel Messi" in the near future.
If you love football, please, PLEASE, discuss good honest football. For Example, the reason why Swansea can't have a Parade.; I hate them, but that should be in here. If you've no-one to actually talk about real grass roots football, accessable to all I'll do it myself, because 411's coverage of anything not Premiership "Big 4", la Liga, and similar is a fucking disgrace.
And please post this so my friends who feel the same will know.
Posted By: ButchReedMark (Guest) on April 22, 2008 at 09:19 PM
Damn, no mention of the Portuguese Cup semifinal THRILLER between Sporting - Benfica. When a team's down 0 - 2 at the half and comes back to win 5 - 3, I figured it would make some noise.
Here's the uefa.com article > http://www.uefa.com/footballeurope/news/kind=16/newsid=684543.html
Also, you can find all the goals on youtube. Especially spectacular were the 4 - 3 and 5 - 3 goals.
Thanks for a great column once again.
Posted By: Mike (Guest) on April 22, 2008 at 10:38 PM
Wrexham.......what is happening here no-one wants to hear about Wrexham mate, it's all about the league clubs not non league Easy Easy Easy
Posted By: Tim's Only Mate (Guest) on April 23, 2008 at 06:28 AM
Not from Chester are you chief?
Anyway, There seems to be a lack of interest as regards the championship title race, which is infinitely more interesting than that of the Premiership. Bristol City? 'Ull? Great stuff.
Posted By: ButchReedMark (Guest) on April 23, 2008 at 12:17 PM
Mate I don't know why you think anybody would care about Wrexham, they offer the football World nothing, and never will. Please stop talking about non league tripe.
It's all about the premiership baby..yeah
Posted By: Jeremy Coxmen (Guest) on April 24, 2008 at 06:35 AM
The Premier is full of Girly men.
Even though Stoke have signed Shola Ameobi till the end of the season. I don't suppose clear heads always prevail in the Fotball league system.
Posted By: ButchReedMark (Guest) on April 24, 2008 at 07:47 PM
