There hasn't been a great deal of business done that has impressed me in the Premier League this season. Stoke boss Tony Pulis deserves a mention though, he has picked up some great bargains. Here are my thoughts on the best buys of the Premier League season 2008/09.

Abdoulaye Faye, Stoke City

Man-mountain Abdoulaye Faye has been immense for Stoke this season and they absolute rock in their defence.

Rafa should trust more to youth.

Liverpool youngster Daniel Ayala is hungry for more opportunities after a brief taste of Premier League football.

The Spanish defender played in Liverpool's first two games of the season after Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger were struck down by injuries.

This one is really coming out of nowhere, but just hear me out. Insua is selected by just 0.1% of fantasy managers. Not one percent. 1/10 of one percent. Basically, no one owns Liverpool's cheapest left back. That's the bad news.
The good news? The club has kept a clean sheet all three times that the left back Insua (4.

St Louis Lions - 1
Springfield Demize - 0
A strong header by Steven Beattie, from a corner kick 2 minutes into the 2nd half, was enough to propel the short-handed Lion's past their hosts this evening. The Lion's went down a man midway in the first half when a hard tackle led to a red card but the Demize were never able to take advantage.

Drury Panthers, GK Stephen Conner and Ben Taylor (23)

KANSAS CITY Northern Kentucky junior forward Steven Beattie has been named to the Daktronics, Inc. Men's Soccer All-America First Team as announced by the organization on Wednesday. Beattie is one of eight GLVC men's soccer student-athletes to earn All-America recognition by Daktronics, Inc.

Just when the window opened, some interesting deals have already been made. First of all, we should point out that teams that didn't do their job right this summer are now in the worst position. Teams like Blackpool, Norwich or Charlton have all been looking to fill in the squad with loanies and now, when [.

St Louis Lions - 5
Springfield Demize - 0
A pair of goals in the first 8 minutes effectively sealed the Demize's fate this evening as GLVC Offensive Player of the Year Stephen Beattie scored in the third minute (pictured), assisted by fellow front runner Steven Brocks, who scored one of his own in the 8th.

Welcome to Gooner Talk's highlights feature, ‘Rewind'. Rewind will provide you with post-match highlights to every single Arsenal first team game giving you the opportunity to watch the goals you've missed, or want to see again. So, sit back, relax and enjoy the mighty Arsenal on your computer screen.

The Springfield Demize host the defending PDL champion Thunder Bay Chill on Tuesday night with a start time of 7:30 pm. It will be the only game these two teams play against each other this season.

The Thunder Bay Chill suffered a 1-0 loss to the St. Louis Lions Sunday night in the first game of a four game road trip.

All of us neutrals were delighted to see Everton beat United at Wembley on Sunday. Not because we hate United...although it's fair to say the majority of non-United fans feel a certain contempt towards the Red's, mainly because of their domination in the English league - and their outspoken manager. But it wasn't because of that; it was because we were glad to see a team from outside the ‘top four' make it into a final of the cup.

The Springfield Demize host the defending PDL champion Thunder Bay Chill on Tuesday night with a start time of 7:30 pm. It will be the only game these two teams play against each other this season.

The Thunder Bay Chill suffered a 1-0 loss to the St. Louis Lions Sunday night in the first game of a four game road trip.

Stoke City were very, very good to me last season. Their fixture list fell just perfect so that their last few months were a cake walk. Not that I cleaned up, but I did get good returns from Lawrence, Beattie and Wilkinson. Meanwhile, Fuller and Shawcross were point machines.
Now it's second season syndrome.

Irish Club teammates Steven Beattie, NKU & Peter Higgins, Drury

Coming off their first Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament championship and about to embark on their first NCAA-II Tournament appearance, the Drury men's soccer Panthers climbed one spot to No. 2 nationally in the latest NSCAA/adidas Top 25 national rankings released Tuesday.

Midget Maestro, What a Player
The holiday season is upon us. Walking up and down Abbot Kinney two nights ago in Venice Beach, the Christmas Carolers were already out - entertaining locals and tourists alike with their festive renditions.
And you know what that means - the busy Christmas fixture list is around the corner, and then - a bunch of injuries due to exhaustion, overuse of muscles, and cold weather.

Just as we have guessed and assumed, transfer rumors about James Beattie leaving Sheffield United for Stoke City, came true. Excellent striker has reinforced the Potters for the estimated sum of £3.5 million. After a year with the Blades and 34 goals, ex-Southampton and Everton player traded his red Sheffield United shirt for the [.

1-0 J.Beattie (OG) 10'2-0 R.van Persie (Pen) 16'3-0 A.Diaby 18'3-1 R.Fuller (Pen) 31'4-1 R.van Persie 41'DISCLAIMER: Calcioplus non hosta alcun video pubblicato su di esso. Tutti i video pubblicati sono caricati da amanti di calcio su siti di video hosting come Youtube e Dailymotion ed ubicati dunque su siti esterni a Calcioplus.

Some choice games this weekend I think.
My Saturday game of choice would probably be the relegation 6 pointer Hull City and Stoke City. either team wins and it will help them survive. Stoke wins and they are going to be safe I think.
Tony Pulis is doing a great job the second half of the season, Etherington, Beattie, and co.

Delap: Stoke City's Wild Card

Stoke City vs Chelsea FC at the Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent, 3pm local time. Conditions: pitch good, weather fine.

Line-ups

Chelsea: Cech, A Cole, Terry, Ivanovic, Bosingwa, Ballack, Malouda, Kalou, Mikel, Lampard, Drogba

Stoke City: Sorenson (Simonsen), Faye, Collins, Huth, Higginbotham, Delap, Shawcross, Etherington, Whelan, Kitson (Tuncay), Beattie (Fuller)

1st Half

Stoke, playing five at the back, begin marking the ball closely.

Drury Panthers -
Northern Kentucky Norse -
Drury, who have already clinched a GLVC post-season spot with a 10-0 Conference record, put their #3 national ranking on the line today against Northern Kentucky, their closest challenger at 8-2 in the Conference and the #12 ranked team.

The Norse have been looking forward to this game for awhile, as chronicled in the Cinncinnati Examiner, looking at forward Steven Beattie who is nearing a career scoring record.

Drury Panthers -
Northern Kentucky Norse -
Drury, who have already clinched a GLVC post-season spot with a 10-0 Conference record, put their #3 national ranking on the line today against Northern Kentucky, their closest challenger at 8-2 in the Conference and the #12 ranked team.

The Norse have been looking forward to this game for awhile, as chronicled in the Cinncinnati Examiner, looking at forward Steven Beattie who is nearing a career scoring record.

• New blog post: Art Firley Shoot-Out Opens In Jefferson City http://bit.ly/Igrln #
• Lady Panthers tied 0-0 at halftime with NKU Norse. A couple of late opportunities for Drury, one earlier for NKU. Frantic pace #
• NKU lady Norse score with 7 min remaining. From a throw in, a flick is met and buried inside the six #
• Drury Panthers just have a shot cleared off the line as Mandi Little's header is denied #
• Drury Panthers fall to 8-3 in #GLVC with 0-1 loss to NKU Norse who score in the 83rd minute #
• NKU Norse take an early lead against the Drury Panthers as sr Braden Bishop converts a PK in the 5th min.

Irish Club teammates Steven Beattie, NKU & Peter Higgins, Drury

Coming off their first Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament championship and about to embark on their first NCAA-II Tournament appearance, the Drury men's soccer Panthers climbed one spot to No. 2 nationally in the latest NSCAA/adidas Top 25 national rankings released Tuesday.

It's maybe to our shame that those of us who don't count ourselves as Kilmarnock supporters might never have heard of Frank Beattie, whose funeral takes place tomorrow.Beattie, or Big Frank, played for Kilmarnock from 1953 to 1972, playing over 600 games in his one club career, earning the love and respect of the fans as the "heart and soul" of the side.

Lineups are in:

Arsenal: Starters: Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Traore, Fabregas, Denilson, Nasri, Eboue, Rosicky, Arshavin. Subs: Fabianski, Senderos, Silvestre, Merida, Ramsey, Vela, Wilshere.

Stoke City:Starters: Sorensen, Wilkinson, Huth, Faye, Collins, Lawrence, Delap, Diao, Etherington, Sanli, Sidibe.

As the year comes to a close, it is appropriate to think of what has gone on during the previous twelve months. There are many others out there analysing Liverpool's best game of 2009, the most spectacular goal as well as the highs (and, undoubtedly, the lows) of the year so I won't bother you all by going over those matters.