Wigan 0 Liverpool 1

Yossi Benayoun scored a real classy goal to end Liverpool's little crisis of drawing 0-0s. I have to admit, after 50 minutes of no goals, and wasted good chances, plus Wigan's decent performance, I was getting worried.

The pre-match hype was all about how Torres should start, especially after a hat trick in mid week and 2 bench appearance in the last 2 EPL games. The Spaniard did start and did make his presence felt. Constantly marked by 3 players, handful of good chances, near goal chances, he did enough to cause panic at the Wigan Defense line. Unfortunately only goals count in games, and he didn't deliver this time.

Substitute Benayoun came on, scored a good goal, contributed by good defending as well, and earned Liverpool 3 points. Wigan did pretty well themselves, performance wise. Without Heskey and Sibierski, Aghahowa and Bent proved good forwards(although lacking in partnership understanding), Sharner and Koumas both dangerous, causing problems and can be proud of their game.

Earlier on, Man City defeated Newcastle 3-1 in a battle for 3 points. Let me just mention that Elano's free kick is one of the best I've ever seen, making the wall practically useless and at that position, no keeper could have saved that. Man City's fans are starting to believe in their team again.

Chelsea drew with Fulham at home and with John Terry picking up an injury and Drogba sent off, this is not the Chelsea team we once hated so much. I know Grant knows his football, but issit just me or did he picked a really weird starting line up. I understand the gambling but, seriously....

Matchday 8

When I look at the fixtures for this week, I see it as the position maker, known to some as 6 pointers. We're talking about teams that are most likely to finish just 1 rung above another.

Manchester City vs Newcastle

2 upcoming teams, with new management, with so much improvement, they certainly trying to push for more than Just Uefa Cup spots. They are pretty much the dark horses to push for a 4th spot, and I do see potential. We have Elano who is creating chances like never before, and the amazing strike force of Newcastle, containing quality players that can get the job done. Seriously I don't know which way this game will go, but the winner will score 3 very important points for this one.

Derby vs Bolton

Dont underestimate the drama that can take place between these two clubs. We are talking about two teams sitting bottom of the table, fighting for precious points to climb up and out of that relegation zone. The beauty of being at the bottom with the other teams is that one win can take you up by quite a bit, as it is safe to bet that other teams in or near the drop zone will lose their games. Will Anelka lift his mediocre Bolton out of this one? I do think so.

Tottenham vs Aston Villa

Another 2 nearly heavyweights fighting out for good points. Tottenham of course in bad form, and with all the news about Jol's job being unsafe is not helping. Aston Villa has had good fortune with their wins, and as long as they do not get hit by injuries, looks like they will do fine. I see a draw in this game.

With Liverpool traveling to Wigan and Manchester United to Birmingham, both big teams know they must get full points. Especially Liverpool. If they want to mount a challenge, wins must come. The question on whether mid week hat trick hero Torres will start, I think he will. Manchester United just lost to Coventry and its time for their seniors to not repeat the same mistakes.

A look at Italy for this weekend will take us to the clash of Inter and Roma. Both teams are unbeaten so far, topping the table with 11 points a piece. Who will reign supreme after this weekend?

Mickey Mouse Cup Updates

Let the first sentence of this post be about Man Utd losing to Coventry by a scoreline of 2-0. Lets forget about how unimportant this cup can be, but face it, losing at home to a team in the lower division, especially when you were the English Champions a few months back is just plain bad. What makes it worst is that the score is 2-0, not a game where Man Utd had so many chances but were unlucky and Coventry made 1 good move to steal the game with a 1-0 win.

You know what else, I can't even remember the scorers name. I have sneak into soccernet.com right now, and in a couple of seconds I won't be able to remember his name. You can write it on a sheet of paper and stick it in front of me, and I won't even be able to tell you who he is. I don't even know if I'm pronouncing it right. All I know about him is that he is from Malta.

Man Utd lost 2-0 to Coventry. Just like to point that out one more time :)

So what if its a weak team. Lets not forget Nani and Anderson are playing in this game. Both players cost as much as the whole of Coventry's squad. Simply no excuses.

Wait am I suppose to let you all know about the other scores as well, no need right? Just take a moment to cherish this Man Utd lost :)

Reading 2 Liverpool 4

I'm embarrassed of the fact that I totally forgotten about this match. No good. Shameful indeed.

It might just be a League Cup, known to some as the Mickey Mouse Cup, because its the least important trophy to be won in the season. Usually, big teams play their youngsters to give them big match experience. Pool did play Lucas, Leto, Hobbs and a keeper whose name I don't know how to pronounce.

Lets look at the goals from Liverpool. Benayoun scored a very very good goal by any standards. It might be just against Reading in the Mickey Mouse Cup, but a goal is a goal and more importantly it s counted.



Torres gotten himself a hattrick. After failing to start the last 2 games, people were wondering what if this is another one of those players that debuts well and not make the cut later. He answered with this hat trick.







Who cares about Reading goals eh.

Man Utd 2 Chelsea 0

The faces on TV tells the story.

Roman's face shows, "Oh crap what have I done?", Peter Kenyon's face shows pure worry, Grants face shows the sign of being dominated, and Ferguson's face shows signs of pure satisfaction. Its all written in their faces.

Chelsea without Drogba or Lampard, and recently Mourinho, its the best time to play Chelsea. I don't know what good Grant can do to the team, but its the worst time for him to start. The whole squad feels different without Mourinho. That defensive security is gone, there is totally no flair in their attacks, Chelsea were playing like a side fighting for relegation.

It could have been Peter Cech's night. 6 good saves, some really classy ones but a big match like this, it came down to shenanigans. First of was the sending off of John Obi Mikel. I thought the rules changed. Who knew that a good tackle can earn a player a red card these days. Who knew. With 10 men, Chelsea's strike force is very limited. Shev didn't have the muscle or the speed to hold it together up front. Malouda is playing too wide, and Joe Cole's runs end up nowhere.

Second fault, although debatable was the fact that Man Utd's goal was scored after the proposed injury time that was allocated by the forth official. But it came from a corner, so like I said, debatable.

Chelsea made changes, seems like they are changing their approach to more speeds on the wing. But same story goes on, with Vidic and Ferdinand defending, they shouldn't feed in crosses. Not when you've only got 1 all out striker.

And who can or should forget that Saha's horrible balance that he tripped in such a fashion in the penalty box. Its funny how strikers like himself can hold himself together dribbling a ball around players but when someone sticks his leg out, they suddenly have the balance of a one legged blind man.

Oh, goals were scored by Tevez and Saha's penalty. Looks like Chelsea should concentrate on getting the 4th spot this season.

Liverpool 0 Birmingham 0

Games like that makes me unhappy.

To me, what a Championship winning team must do is win games that they are meant to win, win games that they are meant to draw, draw games that are meant to be lost. No I don't mean on paper, I meant performance on the field.

Last week against Portsmouth, I have to admit, Portsmouth played their best, and they had a penalty. It was a game destined to be lost. There will be matches like that. But somehow, Liverpool hold through and draw a game that was meant to be lost. It might be remembered as 2 points lost, but honestly, its 1 point gained.

This week, I saw total dominance over Birmingham. When I say dominance, I meant on any other occasion it should have been at the very least a 4-0 victory. I saw shots coming in from all over, from everyone, good ones, bad ones, wasted ones, ones that didn't qualify as shots but should have been goals. Birmingham never came close.

The 0-0 scoreline does no justice to the game play, its 2 points lost for this game. As much as we like to boast that we have yet to concede a goal from open play all season, and this is clean sheet number I lost count, the fireworks only happen when you score a goal. It can be the most spectacular volley from 50 yards out, or a simple tap in from a very messy play, or even a controversial one that didn't cross the line, at the end of the season, 3 points earned, by hook or crook is still 3 points earned.

Liverpool squandered chance after chance, when there are no goals scored in a game like that, there should be no excuse. Everyone has to take the blame. As fancy as they played, this is considered a failure. 3 draws in 3 games after an international break, as much as anyone would even consider this as a crisis, it is what it is. If you want to win the title, and not win games like this, it can be one game, it can be 20 games, it IS a crisis.

We need fireworks.

Matchday 7

Might be matchday 7, but for some its just their 6th game in the EPL.

This is the weekend where everyone wants to go watch Man Utd versus Chelsea and this is the weekend everyone wanted to see what pre-match team talk Mourinho can come up with. Guess that won't happen eh.

Fact is Grant is untested at Chelsea, and this is the best time to face Chelsea, and Man Utd are lucky to be in this position. I would say a small unconvincing win for Man Utd.

Still I can't digest the fact that Mourinho is gone. I have to admit, he's the best man for the job. How's Chelsea going to cope now? We'll see.

Arsenal and Liverpool's got no excuse to lose this week against Derby and Birmingham respectively.

Other interesting matches would be Aston Villa vs Everton. Aston is picking up fast, and Everton is proving that they can push for a top 4 spot. This one is too close to call, at least for me.

Newcastle vs West ham is also another interesting one, watch out for this match.

See you after the goals

Mourinho parts with Chelsea

Love him or hate him, there is no doubt he brings a comical relief to football fans all over. Put aside his managing skills, Mourinho's been making headlines about sending Christmas Cards, telling people that he is the special one, cursing at his rivals etc etc.



And this morning, Mourinho leaves Chelsea. It might not be a sacking, but he will come down as the first EPL manager to leave the club this season. Honestly the whole thing is quite a shock.

This whole thing started off with the not too good relationship with Rich man Abramovich, last season, signs of him quitting the club was exposed, and in the end he announced that he will be there for the start of the new season. Looks like he's kept his promise.

Then there are the little things that Chelsea's been hiding, including an early exit of Abramovich, and the thing about Michael Ballack. Lets not forget that Shev and Ballack are not really Mourinho's signings. Looks like plenty of happenings in the backroom that didn't become public.

Recent results were also not convincing. 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa, 1-1 draw with Rosenberg, tell the world what you want, but in that office, the word "Crisis" is spelt.

And he's gone.

With the special one gone, don't Chelsea need another special one to take over?

Looks like Avram Grant and assistant manager Steve Clarke will take over, and it looks temporary, until Chelsea employ a proper replacement. Grant is a special one. This fella started managing since he was just 19. Clarke will always be a no.2 in my eyes.

All this happening before the weekend where they play Man Utd. Heh heh.

Chelsea 1 and who? 1

Chelsea drew Rosenberg at home 1-1.

Now lets look at this in a neutral point of view.

Chelsea's John Terry's weekly wages can probably pay for the whole of Rosenberg's first eleven. wages. Shevchenko's 30 million pound price tag can buy the whole of Rosenberg's first eleven. Heck, add a couple of million pounds and you can own the whole team.

Lets see... Rosenberg traveled to Stamford Bridge to face a mighty Chelsea team. Forget the injuries, Chelsea's back ups are as good as any top Premiership players.

Now let me ask, how can a mighty Chelsea team not win against a Norwegian side that are considered under par in the Champions League (no disrespect to Rosenberg)?

Its so funny.

My bad.

I just found out I have comments on the preview of Derby County. My bad, I hope you guys are still reading. Anyways, let me paste it here...

There's something about certain newly-promoted clubs and their logos that tell you they're sure to be destined for the drop. Choo | 08.05.07 - 1:05 am | #

I expect a relegation battle but we will survive. We will surprise a few people, believe me. Mike Senger | 08.05.07 - 10:58 am | #

Irrespective of how well Derby may or may not fare in the much-vaunted Premiership, they finished third in last year's Championship and then negotiating a successful path through the playoffs. Therefore, they have earned their chance to rub shoulders with the rich, the famous and the arrogant more than anyone else except arguably Birmingham and Sunderland. Watford too earned their chance to mix it with the big boys, despite the tiresome sneering. What would you do - change the rules to include a means test before teams could step up to the top division, or perhaps just have Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool in the Prem and screw the rest? Eddie Sanders | 08.05.07 - 1:23 pm | #

Choo: I remember the Chris Riggot and Malcom Christie days of Derby when they were still in the Prem. Somehow, I don't consider them as newly promoted, eventhough its been years since they were in the big league, and they really did get promoted recently.

Mike Senger: Glad to see a fan being supportive. :) that's the spirit.

Eddie Sanders: I'm not saying that it is a mistake for Derby to be in the EPL, they might not score a single point all season, and I would still say they are worthy of their position. Yes, they did earn their rights to be there, no doubt, and the EPL is for 20 teams. Maybe only a few can challenge for the title, but it is still 20 teams, meaning top 20 for England. Make no mistake, Derby did enough to ensure that they are top 20. But even the top has a bottom, reality is, 3 teams have to go down. Comparatively with the other teams, Derby is short in talent. But they will have good games, they will fight, and I'm sure their fans will have a great year supporting them. I still think they will be relegated though. I won't change the rules, it is a good system. Having just the top 4 in the league is suicide.

I hope you guys still read footietalk.. hehe

UCL matchday 1

Woo Hoo! I love the Uefa Champions League. Don't you?

I havent missed a final since Real Madrid beating Valencia 3-0, my most memorable match day 1 was after 911 of 2001 when Real Madrid faced Roma, favourite game goes to that 3-3 Liverpool and Milan draw, which was eventually won by Liverpool, I still remember the magic!

And its all starting again... in a few hours.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007
TIME	HOME		AWAY	STAGE	VENUE
19:45 UK	FC Porto	v	Liverpool	First Phase Group A	Estadio do Dragao
19:45 UK	Marseille	v	Besiktas	First Phase Group A	Stade Vélodrome
19:45 UK	Chelsea	v	Rosenborg	First Phase Group B	Stamford Bridge
19:45 UK	Schalke 04	v	Valencia	First Phase Group B	Veltins-Arena
19:45 UK	Olympiakos	v	Lazio	First Phase Group C	Karaiskaki Stadium
19:45 UK	Real Madrid	v	Werder Bremen	First Phase Group C	Estadio Santiago Bernabéu
19:45 UK	AC Milan	v	Benfica	First Phase Group D	Stadio Giuseppe Meazza
19:45 UK	Shakhtar Donetsk	v	Celtic	First Phase Group D	Shakhtyor

Wednesday, September 19, 2007
TIME	HOME		AWAY	STAGE	VENUE
19:45 UK	Barcelona	v	Lyon	First Phase Group E	Estadio Camp Nou
19:45 UK	Rangers	v	VfB Stuttgart	First Phase Group E	Ibrox Stadium
19:45 UK	Roma	v	Dynamo Kiev	First Phase Group F	Stadio Olimpico
19:45 UK	Sporting Lisbon	v	Man Utd	First Phase Group F	Jose Alvalade
19:45 UK	Fenerbahce	v	Inter Milan	First Phase Group G	Sukru Saracoglu
19:45 UK	PSV Eindhoven	v	CSKA Moscow	First Phase Group G	Philips Stadion
19:45 UK	Arsenal	v	FC Sevilla	First Phase Group H	Emirates Stadium
19:45 UK	Slavia Prague	v	Steaua Bucuresti	First Phase Group H	Evzena Rosickeho Stadium

One to watch would be Porto vs Liverpool. Liverpool's going to play Fernando Torres no doubt, and it would be his European debut. Lets not forget this is a Liverpool away game, and Porto has Quaresma up their sleeves. No one is hoping for a straight win, any amount of points taken from this fixture would be good for pool.

Real Madrid vs Werder Bremen. Its all about Madrid's fantastic start in the La Liga, and Bremen's have good Group stage rounds before.

AC Milan vs Benfica. Defending Champions will start their title defence against a tricky Benfica. As tricky as they are, lets not forget that Milan has a very strong but aging team that can wipe out Benfica in 30 minutes.

Sporting Lisbon vs Man Utd. What does Nani, Cristiano Ronaldo and Chewbacca has in common?

Barcelona vs Lyon. Barcelona has a shaky start and everyone is busy looking for Henry goal clips in a Barcelona jersey, and I think they can't find any.

Big 4's fortunes

Man Utd pulled off another Houdini, this time against Everton. Its unbelievable how they can play such crappy football and take all 3 points off. And its unbelievable how this always happens to them.

Liverpool drew 0-0 with Portsmouth. This match will be either remembered as 1 point, or not remembered at all. At the end of the day, no one will remember Reina saved a penalty and the game could go either way, and the fact that both teams deserves something out of the game.

Arsenal came from 1-0 with a spectacular free kick from Gareth Bale, to win 3-1 against rivals Tottenham Hotspurs. They are slowly proving their point that there is still life after Henry.

And Chelsea had a goal disallow and proved my point of how Blackburn is a tough opponent.

Other games worth a mention would be Wigan draw Fulham 1 -1 and Bolton failing to win against Birmingham losing 1-0. I had so much hope for Anelka to produce something.

After Scotland vs France...

I'm trying to work on a html script where i can put the fixtures of upcoming games + times in my sidebar. Haven't really got the time to work on it, and I really don't know that much about html. If someone can help me I would be thankful ;)

Back to the weekend preview of the EPL. In a rare weekend like this one, the big four have games on the same day, against middle table teams that can potentially ruin their weekend.

Everton vs Man Utd, with Ronaldo and Rooney returning to action against a stronger Everton squad this time round. Man Utd might have a rough start, but considering they had players off for a couple of games, they were pretty lucky in points.

Portsmouth vs Liverpool, another one of those ever improving sides, and no one can doubt Harry Redknapp spent his money wisely last summer to improve his squad, and Liverpool will be travelling after a hectic international weekend. Let not forget those Pompey bells that leaves the rings in your ears until you die.

Tottenham vs Arsenal, a north London derby. Is this match ever a boring one? No need to talk about the rivalry, its going to be intense.

Chelsea vs Blackburn, Chelsea gets the best fixture but against a Blackburn side which is difficult to play against. Although Chelsea should win this one.

Other matches worth a mention would be Derby vs Newcastle. Time to add Newcastle United players to your Fantasy football squad.

Euro 2008 qualifiers

While everyone was waiting to see how England will do against Russia and betting on them to either lose momentum or winning impressively again, Scotland beats France... again.

Remember a couple of months ago, France went to Scotland to play an Euro 2008 qualifier and lost 1-0 to a Steve Caldweld goal?

This time they lose 1-0 in Paris to a James Mcfadden 30 yard strike.

Here are some stats

Match Stats
	France	Scotland
Shots (on Goal)	15(7)	2(2)
Fouls	11	14
Corner Kicks	16	3
Offsides	0	1
Time of Possession	72%	28%
Yellow Cards	2	2
Red Cards	0	0
Saves	3	9

Remember, this is not a weak French squad, and in the modern world, does Scotland ever had a strong squad? We are looking at a team that only had 2 shots, against 15, a team that only had 28% of the possession, and that's probably from Craig Gordon's time wasting goal kicks... haha.

Check out the goal here

Moving along, we see how the Owen Heskey Partnership blossom. In the past, we took for granted that this partnership can be the funniest thing to watch as everyone is betting on how Heskey would not score, how Owen is running too fast and not stopping, how much of a disaster this would be. 3 years later, they came back and this would be one of McClaren's smartest moves.

England beats Russia 3-0. Check out the goals. Owen's scoring good goals again

Drunk Man attacks Ferguson

Forty-three-year-old Kevin Reynolds pleaded guilty to assaulting the Manchester United manager outside a train station before attacking the officer and racially abusing him.

And he kicked Ferguson in the groin...


Ouch!

Fantasy UCL

September 19th is the date, and its time for me to pick my squad for my UCL Fantasy game.

Check it out here

I've been participating in this fantasy for years, each time, pushing my luck on a couple of players to shine, and what I really like about this game is the scoring system.

Action	Points
For playing in a game	1
For playing at least 60 minutes in a game (includes playing points mentioned above)	2
For each goal scored by your goalkeeper or defenders	6
For each goal scored by your midfielders	5
For each goal scored by your forwards	4
For each goal assist	3
For your goalkeeper conceding 0 goals (must also play at least 60 minutes)	4
For your defenders conceding 0 goals (must also play at least 60 minutes)	4
For your midfielders conceding 0 goals (must also play at least 60 minutes)	2
For every penalty save	5
For every penalty miss	-2
For every 2 goals conceded by your goalkeeper or defenders	-1
For every yellow card	-1
For every red card (includes any yellow card points)	-3
For every 3 saves	1
For earning a penalty after the referee adjudges that the player had been fouled	1
For conceding a penalty after the referee adjudges that an infringement takes place in the penalty area that results in a kick from the penalty mark	-1

It is clear on what kind of players I should select. Smart idea to put in defenders that can score, or makes crosses, Scoring midfielders, and of course a players from teams that does not concede often. Other important factor would be players with good behaviour. Good to put players that takes free kicks and corners, as they are likely to score assist points. And most importantly, scoring strikers.

Of course you cant have all the stars in the world, you've got a budget to worry about.

Here is my current squad



It was either Cech or Reina. Came down to Cech cause I could only add 2 players from the same team.

Finnan Kromkramp and Cole are wing backs that frequently swing crosses in for potential goals. Vidic is reliable.

Kaka is the most reliable midfielder ever, and I put him captain so his points doubles. Scoring midfielder, creates goals and happens to be in a team that hardly concedes. Gerrard is similar to Kaka in the contribution sense. Great player, and scores. Mendez is someone I put in to cover my budget. Should be reliable enough to play at least 60 mins per game.

Van Piersie is showing his Henry replacement skills, and I gambled Crespo and Vagner Love.

Roux is a keeper to keep my budget intact, never gonna start him anyways, Toulalan is a good backup for a midfielder, and the 2 Steaua players are also there for budget reasons.

Players I would be looking at to add into my squad:

Samir Nasri
Yaya Toure
Kolo Toure - With Arsenal's easy group, they should have cleansheets
Sami Hyypia - Injury to either Agger or Carragher, and I'm getting this guy. He scores goals.
Torres
Van Nisterooy - If Crespo fails

Notice I don't have any Barcelona, Rangers, or Stuttgart regulars, besides a couple of Lyon small fries, its called group of death for a reason.

Feel free to challenge me. My league code is 1750-600

"Hahaha!" said McClaren

So England won, and France took points home.

The English pattern of qualification continues. Everytime England are in the qualifiers, they get a reasonable draw, fail to beat the "smaller" opponents, screw up, injury strikes, media attacks the manager like crazy, Club vs Country issue, and everyone is betting on them not making through.

In the end, somehow, they qualify, start off well and don't win the tournament.

Sounds too familiar in the modern world no?

Now with the team and fans starting to believe their chances, Russia is coming up on Wednesday. Reality check, Israel is no Russia. But at the end of the day, I do believe that Russia is just another obstacle.

Euro 2008 qualifiers

All eyes will be on England and whether they can overcome a supposedly easy opponent, Israel, and it is about how the small fries can shock the world. England behind in points are desperate for 2 wins from tonight and Wednesday, to have any realistic hope of qualifying for the Euro 2008.

Its supposed to be Michael Owen's night. With Wayne Rooney out and Peter Crouch suspended, its up to Owen and who ever partners him to represent England in the best way possible. Looks like Gerrard is playing through pain to help out, I do hope nothing happens to him. My guess is England wins by a small margin.

Other big games includes Italy vs France, World cup finalists. Italy is not the team they used to be and neither is France. I think the French will take this game, whether a draw or a victory. It would be worth the trip.

Other games worth mentioning includes Sweden vs Denmark, a fixture that didn't finish the last time due to the fact that a drunk Danish fan attacked the referee.

Portugal vs Poland should be another interesting fixture.

The fixture list for international week is as follows.

Saturday, September 8, 2007
TIME	HOME		AWAY	STAGE	VENUE
19:15 UK	Serbia	v	Finland	Group A	Stadion Crvena Zvezda
21:00 UK	Portugal	v	Poland	Group A
15:00 UK	Scotland	v	Lithuania	Group B	Hampden Park
16:00 UK	Georgia	v	Ukraine	Group B	Lokomotivi Stadium
19:50 UK	Italy	v	France	Group B
15:00 UK	Hungary	v	Bosnia-Herzegovina	Group C	Ferenc Puskas Stadium
18:30 UK	Malta	v	Turkey	Group C	Ta'Qali National Stadium
19:00 UK	Moldova	v	Norway	Group C	Republican Stadium
19:15 UK	San Marino	v	Czech Republic	Group D	Stadio Olimpico Serravalle
19:30 UK	Slovakia	v	Ireland	Group D
19:30 UK	Wales	v	Germany	Group D	Millennium Stadium
16:00 UK	Russia	v	Macedonia	Group E
17:00 UK	England	v	Israel	Group E
19:30 UK	Croatia	v	Estonia	Group E	Stadion Maksimir
17:15 UK	Latvia	v	Northern Ireland	Group F	Stadionas Skonto
19:30 UK	Sweden	v	Denmark	Group F	Nya Ullevi Stadion
21:00 UK	Iceland	v	Spain	Group F	Laugardalsvollur Stadium
16:00 UK	Luxembourg	v	Slovenia	Group G	Josy Barthel Stadium
17:00 UK	Belarus	v	Romania	Group G	Dinamo Stadion
19:30 UK	Netherlands	v	Bulgaria	Group G

Wednesday, September 12, 2007
TIME	HOME		AWAY	STAGE	VENUE
16:00 UK	Kazakhstan	v	Belgium	Group A	Ortalyk Tsentralnyi Stadium
17:00 UK	Finland	v	Poland	Group A	Olympiastadion
21:00 UK	Portugal	v	Serbia	Group A
18:00 UK	Lithuania	v	Faroe Islands	Group B	Zalgiris Stadium
19:45 UK	Ukraine	v	Italy	Group B	Olympic Stadium
20:00 UK	France	v	Scotland	Group B	Stade de France
18:00 UK	Norway	v	Greece	Group C	Ullevaal Stadium
18:30 UK	Turkey	v	Hungary	Group C	Ataturk Olympic Stadium
19:00 UK	Bosnia-Herzegovina	v	Moldova	Group C
17:30 UK	Slovakia	v	Wales	Group D
19:00 UK	Cyprus	v	San Marino	Group D	Ramat Gan Stadium
19:30 UK	Czech Republic	v	Ireland	Group D
17:00 UK	Andorra	v	Croatia	Group E	Estadio Comunal de Aixovall
19:30 UK	Macedonia	v	Estonia	Group E	City Stadium Skopje
20:00 UK	England	v	Russia	Group E
19:00 UK	Denmark	v	Liechtenstein	Group F	Lia Manoilu
19:05 UK	Iceland	v	Northern Ireland	Group F	Laugardalsvollur Stadium
21:00 UK	Spain	v	Latvia	Group F
18:30 UK	Bulgaria	v	Luxembourg	Group G	Vassil Levski Stadion
18:45 UK	Slovenia	v	Belarus	Group G	Petrol Arena
19:45 UK	Albania	v	Netherlands	Group G	Qemal Stafa Stadium

The big deal with Michael Ballack

Recently, there is a fuss about Michael Ballack not included in the Chelsea squad for the Champions League, even though he is supposedly ready for action by October. If my fingers didn't fail me, that is like 1 month away, possibly 4 out of 6 fixtures to play. Like many others I see a possible transfer in January.

The thing is, Ballack is earning 130,000 pounds a week, one of the top earning footballers in the world, playing in a team that he doesn't belong. His move to Chelsea is obviously a very bad decision, and the Chelsea's back room staff is also noticing something.

In case you don't know, not playing in the Champions League makes him eligible to play in European competitions next year. Which means, Ballack would be higher priced if some other club wishes to buy this player. At his age, a 7 million pound move back to Germany or Spain would be a wise decision.

Looking back at his Chelsea move, honestly, a move to Manchester United would be a good one then. Filling in for Paul Scholes at times, and actually given the freedom to roam around behind the strikers.



But when I look at Michael Ballack, I remember his days at Bayern Leverkusen. Those were the days when I watched their Champions League games and point out that this one is special and will one day move to England. Well, he did move to England and he WAS special.

Make no mistake, Ballack is a good player, better than most, but is just wasting his time at the wrong club.

Paul Tomkins is my hero

The title said it.

Check his website here

I feel like buying his books

England's Euro Qualifiers

With so many injuries to the first team, its going to be a new look for the double header coming up.

Honestly, in the Friendly against Germany a few weeks back, McClaren should have done what Sven did the last time. Experiment with potential players. Its a bloody friendly, make it meaningful by separating the 1 cap players with players that can win games.

I don't know how the training went, but this is the squad England should play against Israel.

Its time to change Robinson. He is no longer the Robinson we use to believe that can replace Seaman. He deserves to be in the squad no doubt, but its time to give Scott Carson a chance to play in goal.

In defense, I believe a Micah Richards, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole will do. Maybe Nick Shorey, but anyone else should not start a competitive game just yet.

The midfield is where it starts to get interesting. We have Beckham, Lampard injured, and Gerrard not in a condition to play as of now. I hope McClaren is smart enough to either not play gerrard or give him nothing more than 45 minutes. I know McClaren would like to play with a flat four, but with the injuries going on, what I would do is play a double left wing position. Best part is, its never done before.

I'm talking about Shaun Wright Phillips taking right, Carrick Centre, Gareth Barry a central role, but free to roam in the left, and a Ashley young running the upper part of the wing. Imagine this, the pace of Ashley Young, supported by Barry and Cole, we've never seen it before and its a good time to try. Hit Israel with something they didn't prepare for. Run the wing deeper.

In attack, I believe Michael Owen should start, and with Crouch Suspended, I hope Heskey starts next to him. He's no goal scoring striker, but no doubt a strong teammate. If things don't work out, throw Defoe of Smith later, or maybe pull Young forward.

I just realize Ashley Young and Ashley Cole share the same first name.

Haha, on paper this should be easy, but its never that simple. To save his job, McClaren should gamble. Its time to do so.

Aston villa beats Chelsea!

The score is 2-0 if you have yet to realize.

They lost to a team that played started with four strikers, playing 2 on the wing. Not common in modern football.

Yes, Chelsea lost.

The scoreline might not do my Fantasy football team well, as far as points go, but after Liverpool's rout, its even better to hear about a rival's failure. What is even more important that in this very fixture, Liverpool took 3 full points.

First goal by Zat Knight! Of all players, this has to be the premiership's best kept secret. So much talent, wasting his months in Fulham, finally gotten himself into a more prolific club and what a fairytale beginning. For a defender to score in a winning game against Chelsea in his debut home game for his favourite team, that is quite something.

And Gabriel Agbonlahor scores the second.

Its funny how this is the stadium that Chelsea has yet to win for 8.5 years (league games i meant).

Reds ate Rams

Premier League

Final - Anfield Attendance: 44,076

Liverpool 6 - 0 Derby

Xabi Alonso (27) Ryan Babel (45) Fernando Torres (56) Xabi Alonso (69) Andrej Voronin (76) Fernando Torres (78)

Its like having a 90 minute orgasm, unless you are actually rooting for Derby to win.
On any other day, more than half the team deserves to win man of the match award. Let me remind everyone that this is the side without Steven Gerrard or Jamie Carragher. Overall everyone played well, Finnan was consistent, Hyppia and Agger never really gave Derby a chance, Aberloa is showing how much he's matured and how he deserves to be involved in every minute of Liverpool's games so far. In midfield, Xabi was excellent, Marcherano is tackling from behind legally(best tackler I've ever seen), Pennant had a great day, Babel, I thought he was just an extra man after losing possession so many times , until he scored that brilliant goal. Kuyt was working so hard, and Torres simply proved why Liverpool paid so much for him. Hey, even the subs were good, Voronin's first touch was a goal, excellent mins per goal ratio. Lets not forget Reina who watched the match from his goal post.

Elsewhere, Fulham scored 1 fluke and 1 acrobatic bicycle kick to draw 3-3 with Tottenham. Robinson is really not doing well, I hope he is not in your fantasy football team.

Roy Keane and Dwight Yorke returns to Man Utd, and were pretty unlucky to lose to another fluke header by Saha. Man of the match was clearly Craig Gordon with his 9 million pound save(shot by saha). The game ended 1-0.

Oh and Owen scored for Newcastle's first home win.

31st of August Scramble

31st of August for a couple of Leagues in the Uefa region means that the transfer window will close until January. Usually at this time, managers make panic buys trying to improve their teams before they can do nothing about them for the next 3 months.

This season, the panic buys are not very impressive. Seems like there was no panic involved, and no team feels in a rush to secure another player.

List of player transfers on the transfer dateline.

TRANSFER DEADLINE DAY
Player	From	To	Fee
Caleb Folan	Wigan Athletic	Hull City	£1,000,000
Dejan Stefanovic	Portsmouth	Fulham	£1,000,000
Mohamed Shawky	Al-Ahly	Middlesbrough	£650,000
Stephen Hughes	Leicester City	Motherwell	Undisclosed
Glen Johnson	Chelsea	Portsmouth	Undisclosed
Mikele Leigertwood	Sheffield United	Queens Park Rangers	Undisclosed
Alan Martin	Motherwell	Leeds United	Undisclosed
Lee Bradbury	Southend United	AFC Bournemouth	Free
Jason Euell	Middlesbrough	Southampton	Free
Santiago Aloi	River Plate	Watford	Loan
Marcus Bent	Charlton Athletic	Wigan Athletic	Loan
Chris Birchall	Coventry City	St Mirren	Loan
Curtis Davies	West Bromwich Albion	Aston Villa	Loan
Amdy Faye	Charlton Athletic	Rangers	Loan
Paul Gallagher	Blackburn Rovers	Preston North End	Loan
Andy Gooding	Coventry City	Burton Albion	Loan
Lewis Grabban	Crystal Palace	Motherwell	Loan
Evan Horwood	Sheffield United	Gretna	Loan
Dan Kirkup	Carlisle United	Clyde	Loan
Larrys Mabiala	Paris St Germain	Plymouth Argyle	Loan
David Martot	Le Havre	Brighton & Hove Albion	Loan
David McGoldrick	Southampton	Port Vale	Loan
George O'Callaghan	Ipswich Town	Brighton & Hove Albion	Loan
Eric Odhiambo	Leicester City	Southend United	Loan
Adam Rooney	Stoke City	Chesterfield	Loan
Sam Sodje	Reading	Charlton Athletic	Loan

Elsewhere in Europe, Kluivert moves to lille, and Arouna Kone moves to Sevilla

AC Milan wins Super Cup

With everyone busy with everything else, we all forgotten about the curtain raiser of Europe. I know I did.

UEFA Super Cup: 2007

Final - Stade Louis II Attendance: 18,000

AC Milan 3 - 1 FC Sevilla

Filippo Inzaghi (55) Marek Jankulovski (62) Kaká (pen miss 87) Kaká (87) Dirnei Renato (14)

Sevilla still Mourning the death of Puerta, and it is seriously sad, can't do much about this game. Everyone expected Milan to win anyways. Meaningless friendly