The Big One: Carling Cup Final

We are going to look at the carling cup final now. Arsenal's quest to win a trophy for the first time in 6 years continues as they succumbed to a 2 - 1 defeat to Birmingham City in the final. Arsenal Bacary Sagna wrote on twitter that "just feel ashamed....sorry." Arsenal's Jack Wilshere also stated on twitter that "All I can say is sorry to the fans. It hurts a lot but we must all stick together in the other 3 competitions where there is still hope." Now we ask the question that how will it affect Arsenal mentally in their quest for other trophies. Arsenal are a team that always recover quickly from their mental problem. They will be saying to themselves that "we played without our best defender. midfielder as well as winger. Also adding that they lost in the last minute due to a mix-up between their defender and goalkeeper. Both of them are still young and they are in their growing phase as well.

Arsenal are learning but is their learning rate quick enough to see them end their trophy drought this year. I think they are learning, they have improved significantly to see off challenges such as Chelsea and Manchester City to be right on the tail of champions Manchester United in the premier league. They were in terrific form coming into this game but  I believe that Arsenal thought they had this game won, they were complacent and lost their cool in the final few minutes to hand the carling cup trophy to Birmingham City.

Finally, the overall issue that have played Arsenal and in particular today due to the defensive mix-up. I think that defensive mistakes happen although we rarely see them so we cannot blame Arsenal for the loss. In the past, many criticized Arsenal for their complacency at the back but the present is different as they have been solid at the back and lethal going forward. This is basically one of those days where the better team on the day won.

Man of the match: Ben Foster

Foster put in man of the match performance against Arsenal in the final as he made several crucial saves to deny Arsenal plenty of goals. He can be highly pleased with himself with the quality of his goalkeeping.

This is all for now. Later, we will focus on the big premier league clash between the two giants Manchester United versus Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Round of 16 continues..........

Today we will discuss last year`s champions league final repeat of Inter Milan vs Bayern Munich. The german team won this tie 1-0. An error from Julio Cesar gifting Bayern the win. This is a better Bayern Munich side than last year especially going forward. Last year you had Olic who did`t perform while this year they have Mario Gomez who has scored 27 goals in 31 appearences in all competitions. They also have Frank Ribery who wasn`t available last year. Moreover with Ribery on the side Arjen Robben gets more time to play his best. Furthemore you have Thomas Muller who has really matured and has developed a lot since last year.

I think going forward Bayern look much better this year. Domestically they have had their issues as they are not more confident at back and sloppy mistakes and low concentration have hurt them a lot this season. Now they have a vital away goal which will give them the momentum to go through. As for Inter they are now less restricted than they were when Murinho was incharge. Now you can see free flowing football in Inter. Obvviously this means that they will conced goals but hopefully they will get better defensively. Over the two legs, I fancy Bayern to go through to the quater finals.


Now let`s take a look at our second game Olimpique de Marseille versus Manchester United. This game finished with a scoreline of 0-0.  I think both teams went into this game thinking they would be better off with the draw. In simple terms, they wanted a draw. They matched up very easily, very compact at the back, none of them really looked like scoring. Very good atmosphere of 60,000 people but football was nowhere to be seen. Both of them were lacking the creativity in their respective team. The highlights itself was only 2 minutes long. I believe Manchester United will go through after plating them at Old Trafford in London. See you next time with more football.  

Round of 16........

Today we look back at the champion league matches which took place this week. Let's start with Lyon versus Real Madrid. This game finished with a scorline of 1-1 in France. The issue definitely surrounding Emannuel Adebayor who started for Madrid and Benzema who came off the bench and it took him just 43 seconds to get himself on the scorsheet. So, the big question is "Who should start?" We all know Jose Murinho is a great manager but has accepted the fact that he doesn't like Benzema. Therefore Adebayor geeting the start.

Today, he looked out of his depth completely while on the other hand Benzema comes off the bench and scores and put Real Madrid in the driving seat. With Adebayor coming in the team, this will drive Benzema on and will probaly bring out the best in him. Real Madrid getting a priceless away goal is very good but keep in mind that they have not beaten Lyon in the last seven attempts. After seein that Lyon got the equaliser puts a huge pressure for them to deliver at the Bernebau. Now they ahve to beat the psycological blow. Perhaps the manager will be saying to them that keep doing what you are doing and just focus. Keeping i n mind that Real Madrid olay a different game Adebayor cannot be fed the balls he want and that's why Benzema is more effective than him. I think going forward Real Madrid don't have any problems and will have a comfortable time in the second leg.

Now we will discuss Chelsea's trip to Copenhagen. Nicolas Anelka with a brace to give Chelsea a 2 - 0 victory over their opponents. Let's look at some facts here. Nicolas Anelka has score 7 goals in his last six champions league appearences while in premier league he has scored only 6 goals in 23 games. Chelsea definitely looked better compared to their recent form and their are couple of reasons for that. First of all Copenhagen looked very poor after coming back from winter break. They lacked the sharpness and energy in them.

Today, Chelsea played a different system. They played a normal 4-4-2 formation. As far as I recall they haven't used this formation for quite a while. It was Anelka and big signing Torres who started the game. Although Torres didn;t score he did look very good off the ball. Meaning his movements and positioning was perfect. On the other hand Anelka looked faultless today. He was very good on and off the ball. This keeps Chelsea the favourites for winning this tie but the most important match will be next week when Chelsea take on Manchester United.

Post-Match Analysis

    Today we will look back at some of the premier league matches that were played this past week-end

·          Aston Villa vs Fulham

Dempsey scores the equalizer

It was no surprise to me as Fulham drew Aston Villa with two goals each. Fulham came from behind twice to take a point back to Craven Cottage. Fulham were very strong defensively despite conceding two goals. No doubt about their superiority in Attack as they scored two past Aston Villa. Overall, both sides were pretty equal and I believe that draw is a fair result. In the coming week Aston Villa will be looking bounce back from this performance. I think that this draw was down to who is a more driven team. Fulham were more driven despite the Villains being the favourite. Aston Villa seriously need to put more time training their strike force as Fulham goalkeeper was no really tested very often. Moreover, it was quite easy to deal with the crosses which were bent into the box. As for Fulham, I believe them to be their usual self. Win or lose, they never fail to impress.



Joey Barton scores from the spot



·          Newcastle United vs Arsenal

Arsenal going in as firm favourites could only muster a 4-4 draw. Arsenal raced into a four to nothing lead in the first 26 minutes. In the end, they both finished with 4 goals each. This was a big blow for Arsenal and it will be interesting to see their response. I think that they will return stronger as they always deliver under-pressure. With Arsenal still fighting on all four fronts it puts them in lots of pressure as they have to compete every three to four days. I think Arsenal will response positively as Wenger is not taking anything for granted this season. Arsenal have become better defensively over the past season but are still some way off the standard if they are to win the premier league this season. As for Newcastle, they have just found a blessing in disguise and need to build on the confident that they gained from this match.

·          Wolverhampton vs Manchester United



Doyle nets Wolves winner



Wolves will be very happy with the result as they ended United’s 29 match unbeaten run by winning two goals to one. Wolves host Arsenal next week at the Molineux. Wolves who sit at the bottom of the table have the belief that just might save them from relegation. On the contrary, Manchester United will have breathed a huge sigh of relief as they saw Arsenal drew Newcastle. Even though they lost against wolves, the added pressure of remaining unbeaten is off. This can be the start of something new.

·          Chelsea vs Liverpool

Chelsea probably lost their last glimmer of hope of winning the premier league this season as they lost to Liverpool at home. This match ended joyously for the Liverpool faithful as it was exactly the opposite for the Chelsea fans. Chelsea probably would have forgotten about winning the league title and concentrating more on finishing in the top four. Liverpool must have gained some momentum after a win against one of the big boys. I personally believe that Liverpool are on their way to recovery after their recent slump at the start of the season but it’s too late.



Preview of upcoming premierleague matches

Today we will  take a look at the some of the upcoming matches in the premier league.

• Aston Villa vs Fulham

14th placed Aston Villa take on 12th placed Fulham at Villa Park on Saturday. Fulham winning last week against Newcastle while Aston Villa suffered a loss against league leader Manchester United. Both teams will be looking for a win as only 6 points separate the bottom half of the teams from the relegation zone. Fulham's Dickson Ethuhu is ruled out for this clash after suffering a hamstring injury. New loan signing Eidur Gudjohnsen could be in line to make his debut for Fulham. As for Aston Villa, they have a clean health bill from last week.

• Newcastle United vs Arsenal

Arsenal Midfielder Andrei Arshavin

Arsenal will be looking to keep the pressure on league leaders Manchester United by winning at St. James's Park on Saturday. They will also be out for revenge as Newcastle beat them earlier in the season. Newcastle are short on strike force after Andy Caroll's move to Liverpool while Shola Ameobi suffered an injury in his last game. On the other hand, Arsenal will be missing their defensive midfielder Alex Song as well as Denilson and Samir Nasri through injury. Arsenal do have Theo Walcott back from injury while Sebastian Siquillaci is back from suspension.  

• Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Manchester United

In-form Striker Wayne Rooney

The league leaders will be looking to extend their unbeaten run in the premier league to 25 games by beating Wolves at the Molineux Stadium. Wolves who currently sitting at the bottom of the table with 21 points will definitely go all out as they have nothing to lose. Manchester United duo Darren Fletcher and Rafael Da Silva are a doubt for this match. Wayne Rooney will be looking to continue his form from last week in order to keep the Red Devils at the top of the table.

• Chelsea vs Liverpool

New signing Fernando Torres

The big game on Sunday at Stamford Bridge Chelsea versus Liverpool. New signing Fernando Torres will be looking to make his first appearance for the Blues against his former team. David Luiz is also expected to start against Liverpool. Liverpool's new signing Luis Suarez made his dream debut last week as he scored against Stoke City and will be looking for the same performance against Chelsea. Experienced defender Jamie Carragher is pushing for a start against Chelsea after being out for two months due to a shoulder operation. Liverpool are currently 7th with 35 points and will want a win if they are to close in on the champion league qualifying places. Chelsea on the other hand have 44 points and are 10 behind leader Manchester United. A win is vital for Chelsea as they look to keep their title dreams alive. A mouth-watering clash between two popular sides. Do not miss it. It will take place on Sunday 6th February at 3 o'clock in the morning.

These are the matches to look out for this weekend as their results will shape the future of the premier league. See you all next time. Enjoy the weekend.

Past Deadline: Done Deals

50million man

On the last day of the transfer market, there were three big name signings. Total amount of their fees were over 100million pounds. Chelsea spent over 70million on the last day of transfers on Liverpool striker Fernando Torres and Benfica's star defender David Luiz. This came as a surprise because at the start of the year Chelsea announced losses of over 70million and here they are spending another 70million. It looks like Chelsea owner Roman Anbrahamovic provided a timely cash injection to bolster the Chelsea squad as they seem to be losing their sights on the premier league crown.

As for Liverpool, they spent 35million of the 50million they got from the sale of Torres on Newcastle United Andy Caroll. Many pundits have their doubts on Caroll as he doesn't seem to earn the 35million price tag but he is determined to prove the critics wrong here at Anfield. 



Welcome to Liverpool Andy Caroll

 Out of nowhere, Tottenham bid 38.5million for Atletico Madrid star striker Sergio Aguero but the offer quickly turned down as the Argentine international is very important to the club. Blackpool yet again have rejected an offer from Liverpool for experienced midfielder Charlie Adam. This time it is rumoured that the offer was around the region of 6million.

This is probably the last post on Transfers. From now on I will focus on some of the matches from the premier league and and the champions league. It was a very busy transfer window and I will see many Chelsea fans happy with the last two deadline day signings.

Rumours flying around........



25million man David Luiz



Looks like Chelsea target David Luiz will not be joining Carlo Ancelloti at Stamford Bridge as they are unwilling to meet the 25million euros price tag set by Benfica. Tottenham Hotspurs midfielder Niko Kranjcar is attracting interest from a German side Werder Bremen. Kranjcar is unable to breakthrough in the starting line-up and is said to be considering his options. Elsewhere, Barcelona are closely following Ajax defender Gregory Van Der Wiel. Back to premier league, Liverpool have been given a deadline in order to make an acceptable bid for Ajax striker Luis Suarez.

Hot Prospect Alexis Sanchez

Chelsea and Manchester United are trailing Udinese winger Alexis Sanchez. Chelsea have been keeping an eye on this player for a long time while Manchester United have just joined the race for his signature. Fiorentina have completed the signing of striker Valon Behrami from West Ham United for an undisclosed fee.

In other news:

• Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger Ready To Bid €14m For Paris Saint-Germain Defender Mamadou Sakho?
• Sunderland have stopped chasing Paris Saint-Germain’s Stephane Sessegnon.
• Sevilla's Luis Fabiano could make a surprise move to Juventus although it is very unlikely.
• Benfica are closing in on Nantes youngster Lionel Carole.

That's all for today. See you next time.