We've all done it. Tried to decipher the means, motives and mayhem behind a certain situation all
within the whirling storm of our minds, failing to do the one oh so simple thing which could solve
all our problems. On occasion causing a much larger problem through the tangents of an imagination
enough to make [. Click to continue reading...
We think diving is as much a stain on the modern game as the next person, but it's come to the
point that when someone wins a penalty the armchair fans instinctively brandish the player a liar
and a cheat. Such was the case after Monday's Liverpool v Birmingham match, when
Lee Carsley's lunge at David Ngog in the penalty box earned the Reds a
penalty kick, a valuable point, and ultimately gave Rafa Benitez a stay of execution.
I think these are our most covered topics. We've discussed it here, here, and here, and provided
material for Patrick Barclay. If you read those articles (which I don't suspect for a second you
will) you'll see our position is abundantly clear. There were two incidents this weekend that
fulled the debate one in the United/Chelsea game, and one in the Liverpool/Birmingham game.
But a very effective one Liverpool striker David Ngog saved Rafa Benitez's blushes by cheating to
win his side a penalty against Birmingham last night. Steven Gerrard converted the spot-kick to
salvage a draw and avoid yet another embarrassing defeat. The Blues were fuming, with ex-Evertonian
Lee Carsley protesting that he had not made contact with Ngog. Click to continue reading...
[101GG] This is bad. So very, very bad. Liverpool and Birmingham offered us, as Daryl so aptly
pointed out, 'what the Premier league is supposed to be like'. It really was some fantastic stuff
with the Reds pinning Birmingham into not just their box, but their own six yard box, pinging the
ball around the eighteen as [. Click to continue reading...
Birmingham was hard done by Peter Walton's decision to award a PK after the French striker went
down in the box from a tackle by Lee Carsley. Problem was Carsley never touched him. Steven Gerrard
subbing for the injured Riera converted the penalty and Liverpool scraped a draw.
New Birmingham owner Carson Yeung, at Anfield for his clubs 2-2 draw against Liverpool, wears a
coat that might still be alive. I think he was saying "Grrr" as the picture was taken.
Reina Johnson Skrtel Agger Insua Lucas Mascherano Benayoun Kuyt Riera Ngog Goals: Ngog 13' Chucho 26' Jerome 45+3' Gerrard 71' (pen) The beach ball season rolls on. That's seven league games without a win against Birmingham. And both sides will feel cheated. Click to continue reading...
Liverpool are looking to ge their Premier League season back on track (again) against Birmingham
City. Will we field a strong enough team? Tonights lineup against Birmingham City at Anfield:
Reina, Johnson, Insua, Skrtel, Agger, Mascherano, Lucas, Kuyt, Benayoun, Riera, Ngog. Subs:
Cavalieri, Aquilani, Gerrard, Kyrgiakos, Babel, Spreaing, Darby. Click to continue reading...
3pm, live in the US on espn2 Sorry this is late, but I wanted to wait given the injuries and the game being on Monday. Posting
on Friday morning like usual would have meant even more baseless speculation over who's
available. Last 4 head-to-head: 2-2 (a) 04.26.08 0-0 (h) 09. Click to continue reading...
Given - Match saving performance. Three superb saves and the penalty stop to 'win' the
point. 8.5 Zabaleta - A strong performance, not a step out of place. Put more distance between him and
Richards. 7 Kompany - Cool, calm and assured. Forged a nice partnership with Lescott in dealing with the
lively front pair. Click to continue reading...
Image by Getty Images via Daylife In what seems to be becoming a habit, Manchester City drew their
fourth successive Premier League match with a goalless encounter with Birmingham City. The hosts
played some hard working football an created many chances, the best of them all being the penalty
shot from James McFadden early in [. Click to continue reading...
Pompey mount revival. Following a miserable season start of 7 losses, conceding
13 goals and netting just 3 in the process, the South Coast club, rooted in last place, were
everyone's early season pick for relegation. But how quickly things change in football. In the last
4 matches, Portsmouth have scored 10 goals, conceded just 2 and amassed 7 crucial points
on the way to Premiership survival.
Is anyone else starting to get a little nervous for the Man City "project"?
I was thrilled by the way the team were playing for the first two months of the season. Â They
were incisive, dashing, and had a swagger about them that said "we can do this". Â As sure as one
swallow doesn't make a summer, a handful of early victories doesn't define a season.
Whilst defeats inevitably brings with it the criticism and analysis a side faces, conversely, can
draws mask the problems that a side has? Yet another point yesterday, and in the context of the game with the penalty save (more of a miss?)
and wonderful and brave double save at the end of the first half from Shay Given, it can be viewed
as a point gained given that we again avoided what could have been a defeat. Click to continue reading...
Ahead of Sundays game at Birmingham I had the chance to catch up with Kev, who runs the Birmingham
City blog 'Joys and Sorrows' to gage the mood ahead of the game and to pose one or two questions
about how the season has been going so far. How has Joe Hart fared this season? Would you like to sign permanently and will that happen? Click to continue reading...
Boro have a break from league action this Saturday as the FA Cup campaign starts against
Chelmsford City. It was only a few months ago that Boro faced Chelmsford in a pre-season friendly
where Charlie Griffin and Chris Beardsley both scored Boro won by 2-1.
Chelmsford find themselves in 11th place in Conference South despite winning 3 of their last 5
league games.
In the wee small hours of Sunday morning, a 10-man brawl broke out in the RnB Room at Bambu club
in Birmingham where Wolverhampton and Birmingham City players were partying after their respective
matches on Saturday. Those involved in the brawl, including Wolves backup keeper Carl Ikeme and
Birmingham striker Cameron Jermone, were banned from the club for life.
You really can't argue with the title. Seriously you can't so don't even try.
As Arsenal return from the 2 week break with a good win if not spectacular over Alex McLeish's
Birmingham, some opposition fans chose to greet Liam Ridgewell's crunching tackle on Theo Walcott
with a distasteful chant of "there's only one Martin Taylor".
A big thank you to all who took part in the poll. I really needed your help as I couldn't decide
who our best player was. At best I could have narrowed it down to 3 but no further.
The Poll is now closed and I have the results. (I sound like an X factor presenter!). The player
you voted as our man of the match is.
It was the 7th consecutive win on the trot for Arsenal Football Club since the double losses to
both Manchester clubs. It was not the best of performance from the boys. Exciting and seemed to be
cruising, then almost immediately allowed Birmingham back into the game until the 3rd goal
arrived.
Well, 3 more points, and we're back into the top 4, with 18 points from 8 games. And
functionally, you could make the argument that we're in 2nd place, since we're only 3 points behind
2nd place Chelsea, with a home match against Bolton in hand, and a goal differential advantage over
the Blues (and everyone else in the Premiership, for that matter).
Promoted Championship teams entering the Premier League transition in different ways. Some
settle straight away and show why they belong in the league. Others take longer and end up
struggling to survive, battling in the relegation flight. Then there are the special cases: teams
that surprise everyone and do extremely well with relegation not even a factor to consider during
their first season; or conversely they are completely out of their league and winning is not a
realistic goal.
Today see the visit of Birmingham to Ashburton Grove. The incident 2 seasons ago at St. Andrew's
will no doubt still rankles in the mind of all Arsenal fans. The Eduardo broken leg incident
brought about sad memories of that particular season. First for the bad injury that the Brazilian
suffered at the hand (or legs) of Martin Taylor but more importantly, it was the start of which
Arsenal lost the impetus for the Premier League title.
It is true. 7 goals this season and McLeish's Birmingham have scored them all AFTER 75 minutes.
(courtesy of optajoe). When it comes for providing entertainment for value, I've heard that the
Blues fans are now asking for refunds on free Birmingham city tickets.
So if we click and when we do, we should put Birmingham to sleep BEFORE they wake up.
Lost in translation Carson Yeung has finally taken control of Birmingham City after a protracted
takeover. And on this evidence it is pretty easy to see why negotiations went quite slowly. The
Hong Kong billionaire inadvertently said that manager Alex McLeish's position was not safe at the
moment.
Wolves fans are gutted. Prior to this weekend's fixtures, Portsmouth
had lost their first seven matches. While losing runs can't go on forever, every club in the
country was licking it's lips at the prospect of playing the South Coast side. But on a glorious
Saturday afternoon, in front of a packed Molineux, Wolves fans witnessed utter
horror as their team became the first club to give up points to Europe's worst team.
The title to this article might suggest that I am providing some late coverage on Arsenal
striker Nicklas Bendtner's recent car accident while driving to practice in his Aston Martin. In
reality, though, this article is written in vehement defense of the player, who has certainly had
more than his fair share of critics, to put it bluntly.
