Which Club Is Going To Win The Premiership This Season?

[greaves]

Two cracking games this Saturday 09/09/06:

Everton v Liverpool

Man Utd v Spurs

Important games for all four clubs, even this early in the season.

Let's hope the favourites lose in both games. Man Utd especially need a reality check. They are a totally conceited outfit, led by a blinkered manager, who believes Rooney is a world class player. He is a spoilt brat who should not be let near the national side.

 

[greaves]

Spurs have only themselves to blame for not picking up a point at ManUtd, but I was pleased by their performance. (Highest ever attendence today in Premiership history.)

And thoroughly enjoyed watching - on Sky - Liverpool go down to their biggest derby defeat in 40 years.

And Arsenal could only manage a draw v Midd'boro.

Great to see Portsmouth doing well.

Although I am a staunch republican, I shall be rooting for the Royals on Monday nite.

 

[greaves]

While all true football fans hope ManUtd get relegated from the Premiership this season, this does not look like a possibility

But let's hope Reading can make them illiterate today

 

[greaves]

Congrates to the Royals of Reading; a great result

 

[greaves]

It's got to be said ManUtd are looking mighty impressive

What this week-end's games have highlighted - again - is the need to introduce modern technology to help referees. I say "modern", but the technology has been available for decades.

I was at WHLane today to see Spurs win 2-1 but our winning goal was a penalty that should never have been awarded. And there were similarly controversial decisions in several other games - most noticeably at Bolton.

Never mind all this crap about "bungs". It's about time the FA, FIFA and UEFA addressed the real issue. That so long as one person - the referee - is the sole arbiter of EVERY decision made - as he has been been since the 1880's - there will hang about the "beautiful game" a wiff of corruption.

On a more positive note, great to see Reading winning at WHam

 

[-live-]

im hoping Tottenham Hotspur win!!!!

But if they fail which im guessing they will im hopinh Arsenal or Chealsea!!! Anyone but Liverpool or Man Utd!!!

 

[greaves]

In my job I meet many ManUtd "fans". I've been in this job since 1998, in London, and have yet to meet a ManUtd fan from Manchester, or anyone who has been to a game at Old Trafford.

Now, when I come across such "fans" I assume they know nothing about football, but are desperate just to belong to a successful "brand".

A true fan is someone who supports their LOCAL team thru' thick and thin. That is what football - and all sport - is all about.

 

[greaves]

Watched the Wigan v ManUtd game on Sky. A real cracker! And it ain't even Xmas yet! Rooney produced a couple of moments of sheer magic, and Giggs, when he came on, was superb.

Chelsea - also on Sky - won at Reading, but it's difficult to comment on their win as the game had 2 injured goalkeepers stretchered off, 2 red cards, and a referee of comical ineptitude.

ManUtd have set the benchmark.

But are Arsenal on a roll too...?

Spurs have an Angel to thank for their point at Villa

 

[greaves]

Newcastle lose 2-1 at home to Bolton.

The loyalty of Newcastle fans is truly awesome. 50,000 turn up for virtually every home Premiership game tho' the club has not won a major domestic trophy since the FA Cup win in 1955.

These fans deserve better.

 

[greaves]

I love the names of football grounds! Just reminded of this after watching Fulham win 2-1 v Charlton, at Craven Cottage.

Do you know who plays at:

Gay Meadow?
Spotland?
Gigg Lane?
Feethams?
Fratton Park?
Parkhead?
Layer Road?
Bootham Crescent?
Hillbottom Road?

And have you ever heard of Archibald Leitch? If not "google" him and Simon Inglis

 

[greaves]

Two non-Glazer directors at ManUtd handed in their resignations yesterday: See:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/6064274.stm

True ManUtd fans are, again, not happy, but they MUST have been reassured by a Glazer spokeperson's statement:

"United is (sic) a very stable, solid brand, and what the Glazers have demonstrated is that they still add value."

Now there speaks a true football fan.

 

[greaves]

What an awesome - with a capital F - display by Arsenal today at Reading. They could easily have scored 10 goals. One of the best performances by a Premiership side I have ever seen. And I'm a Spurs supporter.

ManUtd v Liverpool, in comparison, was like watching clueless schoolboys rushing around in a game at the local park.

But still early days...

 

[greaves]

A quarter way thru' the season, and ManUtd and Chelsea have opened up a 5 point gap. Arsenal's game in hand looks less important as they could only manage a home draw v Everton.

Portsmouth continue their great form. What a canny buy Kanu has proved to be.

I went to watch Spurs at Watford. An exciting game for a 0-0 draw. Spurs are playing well at present, but don't score goals. Watford's most famous fan is Elton John. There's a joke in there somewhere...

 

[Jeimuzu]

They play Portsmouth tonite. Whenever I see Middlesborough on TV the ground seems to be half full. They had almost 30,000 there for the Chelsea game, but there will probably be a lot fewer tonite. It can't help the players to see so many empty seats.|

It is half full. I should know, I have a season ticket.

A true fan is someone who supports their LOCAL team thru' thick and thin. That is what football - and all sport - is all about.

In other words, a middlesbrough fan. We have an awful lot of thin. Admittedly, we reached the UEFA cup final, but it's just typical of middlesbrough to get hammered at the last hurdle.

 

[wetboxersguy]

my vote is for arsenal

 

[greaves]

Jacobim: you're right about the thin times. It's amazing a big club like Boro have never won a major trophy.

Stilll, you must have been pleased to beat the Geordies last week. I shall be watching the Pearce v Southgate encounter tomorrow nite on TV. I hope Boro stick with Southgate. He's inexperienced in management, but he has a real passion, and could become a very good manager.

My best friend at uni came from Roseworth, and I've always had a soft spot for the Boro. And a pint of NBA.

 

[Jeimuzu]

Well, in our defence, we did win the league cup two years back.

And yes, we were I love beating them... There is a big rivalry between us, sunderland and newcastle, but I tend to leave out sunderland because for a short period of time, I worked at the stadium, so all my rivalry is focused on the geordies.

Oh, dont worry, we will stick with southgate for a while. Gibson has supposedly just offered him a proper managing contract, since before he was doing a managers job on his playing contract.

So far, hes beaten Chelski, the geordies, and Everton who were until then unbeaten this season. If nothing else, he wins at the right times. Also drew against arsenal who are a very difficult team to come up against, and bolton who are doing shockingly well this season.

While weve lost some games we shouldnt have, hes not doing too badly. Hes doing better than we expected him to... in factm McClaren lost his first five games in charge! So so far, hes doing better than the first manager to have won a professional trophy for us, first one to get us into europe, first one to get us to a european cup final... Im not too worried about southgate. Hes doing alright in my book.

Oh, and sorry about this post - my apostrophe button, along with my cursor keys, has crashed.

 

[Jeimuzu]

Solskjaer has been, ever since I've been old enough to understand the sport, my favourite United striker, and he's like Sheringham. He's not stopping any time soon!

I'm not a united fan, but if solskjaer came to Middlesbrough, he'd be my favourite player. Wow... Imagine Yakubu and Solskjaer? Yakubu gets most of the assists on goals that he didn't score himself, because he pushes out to the wings, and Solskjaer is awesome with the ball at his feet, so that'd suit him down to the ground.

I'm really wishing we had someone like solskjaer right now... the Duke(Viduka)'s gone and injured himself. We have had so little striking cover since we let Jimmy floyd go to Charlton. Ok, so w got Euell, but he's just not scoring (He's doing perfect everywhere else, but he's getting good chances and missing), and the only place Maccarone scores in Europe, which Middlesbrough didn't qualify for despite reaching the final last year.

There's only one thing this season that disappointed me.

We lost Franck Queudrue. He'd have done well at any of the top teams in England, and he went to bloody Fulham! Fulham! Instead of us! For gods sake... And he asked to leave, that's the only reason we let him go! Why would you leave Middlesbrough to go to fulham?!?

 

[greaves]

A crucial weekend in the Premiership?

ManUtd beat Portsmouth 3-0, to give Ferguson a nice 20th anniversary present.

And things got even better for him today as Arsenal lost 1-0 at West Ham.

And then, my beloved Spurs beat Chelsea 2-1 at WHL. The first time we have ever beaten Chelsea in the Premiership. And the first time we have beaten them at WHL since 1987. I live and work in the Chelsea heartland of west London, so tomorrow is a Monday morning I am looking forward to.

So ManUtd have a 3 point lead at the top. Is Ferguson going to get the present he really wants...?

 

[greaves]

Fatman: you're on the ball. There is talk in today's papers of Chelsea's interest in bidding for Lennon, if not in the January "window", then next summer.

If Spurs can do well in the Uefa Cup this season, and even get a place in the Champions League next season, players like Lennon, Dawson - who has been awesome this season - and King, will stay and take Spurs forward.

And one other surprise result this weekend which is worth a mention: Real Madrid 1 Celta Vigo 2. Nothing to do with Premiership of course...but heartwarming just the same.