You know your team isn't doing too well when the blasted international break becomes the blessed
international break, and the top searched news is Jack Wilshere being hauled in front of the media
jury for offering to clean a spud cabbie's window. At times like these, you feel like going into
your shell, try thinking about ramp functions rather than downward spiralling seasons, maybe watch
a bit of the Unbeaten DVD and cry tears of blood.
By Chris Wright
Thomas Hitzlsperger marked his long-awaited debut and opened the scoring for West Ham
against Burnley in the FA Cup Fifth round last night, firing home from the edge of the area with a
trademark Hitzlsperger™ of a strike...
My, how West Ham could have done with a few more of those this season.
Suarez arrives... Earlier in the season Liverpool fell to a 2-0 defeat at the Britannia but as we
all know, several things have changed since then. With Kenny Dalglish settling in nicely to his new
job and clearly boosting the sides performances in the past few weeks, hopefully this time out
Liverpool can get the better of Stoke.
Stoke City are sitting pretty in tenth place in the EPL this season only three points off the
dizzy heights of seventh place. Not many like to watch Tony Pulis' side, and fans of other Premier
League teams see them as a blot on the landscape because of their style of play. But Stoke are
suffering from the same label as was bestowed on Sam Allardyce's Bolton side.
By Chris Wright
Both Fulham and Stoke secured themselves a spot in the Europa League play-off stages with
second-leg victories over RNK Split and Banana Hajduk Split respectively last night.
Coming into the game on the back of a goalless draw in Croatia, a near-post Andy Johnson header
and the now-mandatory Danny Murphy penalty saw Fulham emerge victorious by two goals to nil at the
Cottage and maintain their unbeaten run in the preliminary stages in the process.
By Chris Wright
Both Fulham and Stoke secured themselves a spot in the Europa League play-off stages with
second-leg victories over RNK Split and Banana Hajduk Split respectively last night.
Coming into the game on the back of a goalless draw in Croatia, a near-post Andy Johnson header
and the now-mandatory Danny Murphy penalty saw Fulham emerge victorious by two goals to nil at the
Cottage and maintain their unbeaten run in the preliminary stages in the process.
By Chris Wright
Both Fulham and Stoke secured themselves a spot in the Europa League play-off stages with
second-leg victories over RNK Split and Banana Hajduk Split respectively last night.
Coming into the game on the back of a goalless draw in Croatia, a near-post Andy Johnson header
and the now-mandatory Danny Murphy penalty saw Fulham emerge victorious by two goals to nil at the
Cottage and maintain their unbeaten run in the preliminary stages in the process.
Sad face
Interesting news out of the England and Chelsea camps today. Frank Lampard has withdrawn from
the England side to face Holland on Wednesday at Wembley. The reason: a throat infection.
Says the official release from Chelsea:
Frank Lampard has withdrawn from the England squad to face Holland on Wednesday the FA has
announced.
The tenacious Turkish midfielder has agreed terms
Doesn't that just feel good to say? Tuncay has undergone a medical with Bolton Wanderers and the
signing is due to be announced at any point. There are no official word on terms of the deal yet
but what we can gather is a year long loan from Wolfsburg of the Bundesliga with an option to make
the move permanent that's in the region of £3 million.
The fourth round of the Carling Cup gets underway, and for Liverpool it means a return to the
Britannia, the site of their first league loss of the season. Stoke's body of work in the
competition is neither lengthy nor impressive, but they got past Spurs during the last round in a
match that only took nine hours, and they'll host a Liverpool side that's already won twice on the
road in the competition.
By Chris Wright
'Twas a damn fine effort Sir!
A second-half double from a fizzing Luis Suarez was enough to see Liverpool into the
quarter-finals of the Carling Cup at the Britannia last night, after Kenwyne Jones had put Stoke
one up a minute before half-time with a neat near-post diving header.
Premier League Preview: Arsenal and Chelsea fight to catch up with Tottenham and Manchester City
- originally posted on Soccerlens.com
With 15 points separating the top five teams in the English Premier League, the race for a top
four place is well and truly on. If you bet on football, you'll know that Manchester City are still
favourites for the league title but with a tough set of fixtures ahead of them, things can change
very quickly.
Stoke vs Tottenham 2-1 Highlights 2011 Goals Etherington Kaboul Red Video Chris Foy Referee is a
post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter
Stoke vs Tottenham 2-1 Highlights 2011 Goals Etherington Kaboul Red Video Chris Foy Referee is a
post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Stoke vs Tottenham 2011 ( Stoke v Spurs
video below) Final score and result:- Stoke vs Tottenham 2-1 ( Matthew Etherington*2/ Adebayor
penalty) 11-12-2011- December 11, 2011- 16.
He's big, he's mean, he's a destruction machine or as the Old Trafford chant goes "He comes from
Serbia, he'll F***in murder ya". Manchester United tough as teak central defender Nemanja Vidic is
now...
Continue to the full story
"Sort of King Lear-esque twilight scenario on the cards for Lord Ferg, then." James
Richardson, Football Weekly
Britannia, AD 600. Ferguson is king of Britannia, lord of all he surveys. A firebrand Celt, his
armies have marched as far south as Barcino in Hispania and towards the rising sun as far as the
banks of the Volga.
First off, I'd like to apologize for the lack of posts in the last week. The Wigan match left a
bad taste and watching Bolton York City was impossible in the states. We couldn't even get
highlights until nearly three days later. Right, back to regular programming:
Bolton travel to Stoke this weekend for their second match against the Potters this season.
Weekend Six Pack The end of history for Spurs at White Hart Lane is a post from: Just
Football
Each week our betting columnist Rob Hartnett will bring you six bets from the weekend
football action. Rob is the public face of leading In Play betting specialists 188BET.com and
appears regularly on the Bolton, Wigan, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Everton websites doing
betting previews.
While Stoke fans get used to the sight of John Carew in a Potters kit after completing his loan
move from Aston Villa last week, the big striker has revealed that a permanent move to the
Britannia could be on the cards. Carew said that if things go well for both parties then summer
discussions could lead to a permanent transfer.
The FA Cup has reached the quarter-final stage and Manchester United's clash with Arsenal takes
centre stage. Manchester United beat Arsenal 4-0 the last time the teams met in FA Cup action at
Old Trafford in February 2008 and they will be the pre-match favourites to advance to the
semi-finals. Saturday's other game sees injury-hit Birmingham entertain Bolton at St Andrews with
manager Alex McLeish hoping at least eight wounded players are fit enough to feature.
Weekend Six Pack Bolton, Brisbane and the Britannia are A rated is a post from: Just
Football
Each week Rob Hartnett from 188BET.com will bring you six of the best football betting
opportunities from the weekend action. Rob is the public face of leading the leading In Play
betting specialists and appears regularly on the Bolton, Wigan, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Liverpool and
Everton websites doing betting previews.
Manchester United heaped more misery on Arsenal by turfing the Gunners out of the FA Cup with a 2-0
victory at Old Trafford. Although he named a team containing seven defenders, Sir Alex Ferguson's
gamble was rewarded with goals either side of the interval from Fabio and Wayne Rooney. Earlier,
substitute Lee Chung-yong earned Bolton their first FA Cup semi-final spot for 11 years with a late
winner as they beat Birmingham 3-2 at St Andrew's.
With the game at Stoke fast approaching, I thought I would ask how you all how you feel about the
game. With Manchester United approaching in the Champions League on Wednesday, I just wonder if
Carlo Ancelotti will decide to rotate the side?. It's tempting isn't it to ensure we have players
fit and injury free but at the same time I still believe that we have a chance in the Premier
League.
Chelsea need to take each game as it comes. After gaining 19 points out of a possible 24 and
confidence back amongst the players, we travelled to the Britannia this afternoon hoping that we
can continue our good run of recent weeks and to once again put pressure on Arsenal and Manchester
United above us.
After watching Manchester United come back from being two goals down to beat West Ham 4-2, Chelsea
knew before kick off that we needed to win this one to keep on the tail of the leaders. Chelsea
huffed and puffed their way at the Britannia and if we are honest, Stoke looked like the ones who
would win the game in the second half.
What could prove to be a decisive weekend in the Premier League took many twists and turns as
Manchester United tightened their grip on the title. The Red Devils came from two goals down to
beat West Ham 4-2 while rivals Chelsea and Arsenal could only manage respective draws against Stoke
and Blackburn.
Ahead of this weekend's game at the Britannia, Wenger brings us some good news and some bad
news. The bad news is that Cesc, Nasri, and Diaby will all be out for the Stoke match. Wenger
mentioned that Cesc and Nasri have a small chance to be fit for the Villa game, but who knows what
that really means in Wenger-speak.
Manchester United are on the verge of a 19th league title after their showdown against Chelsea
ended in a 2-1 victory for the home side. The relegation battle at the other end took another twist
as West Ham could only manage a 1-1 stalemate with Blackburn, as Wigan and Blackpool also drew.
Wolves were the big movers on Sunday as Mick McCarthy's men dragged themselves out of the
relegation zone with an emphatic Black Country derby success over West Brom.
Well we are finally here. The last week of the season is upon us and by Saturday afternoon we will
know which teams will be playing in the Championship next season. I would like to thank all of the
readers of the rundown, and of course my partner Zach for holding it down and filling in for me
last week.
Dramatic. Unpredictable. Captivating. The season concluded in exhilarating fashion at the
weekend, epitomizing everything that is great about the English game. The day dubbed 'Survival
Sunday' certified the Premier League as the world's best, undeniably most competitive. An
unprecedented five teams – separated by a single point, goal differences so similar that a
play-off was perfectly conceivable – battling to escape the clutches of the two remaining
relegation places.
Date: Sunday Apr 17 2011
Ground: Wembley
Comp: FA Cup Semi Final
Match: Bolton Wanderers 0 Stoke City 5 HT: 0-3
Etherington 11, Huth 17, Jones 30, Walters 67, 80
ATT: 75,064
Additional: Entrance £34.50, Programme £5.00
Wembley in pictures
Ground Statistics (marks out of ten, maximum 40)
Character 7, Structures/Terracing 7, Hospitality 3, Backdrop/Scenery or aesthetics for larger
stadiums 7
Total 24
I was very privileged to be at one of or maybe the best Stoke game in their
history.
Out of favor Tottenham Hotspur striker Peter Crouch is not paying too much attention to the
speculation surrounding his future.
The 30-year old former QPR striker was reportedly closing in on a return to Loftus Road,
particularly after his encouraging comments for the recently promoted outfit.
By Chris Wright
Flares? Shamless play-acting? Neo-Nazism? It truly was a European night at the Britannia
yesterday evening, with Stoke securing themselves a narrow first-leg lead in their Europa League
third-round qualifying tie with Hajduk Split courtesy of a Jonathan Walters header.
By Chris Wright
Flares? Shamless play-acting? Neo-Nazism? It truly was a European night at the Britannia
yesterday evening, with Stoke securing themselves a narrow first-leg lead in their Europa League
third-round qualifying tie with Hajduk Split courtesy of a Jonathan Walters header.
A new season is upon us. It may not be this weekend thanks to a large number of disillusioned
idiots but it will arrive soon nevertheless. This fact brings with it a number of questions, among
them: Who will Andre Villas-Boas field at the Britannia in our opener?
The goal
As Petr Cech admitted earlier this week, there are a plethora of options at the manager's
disposal.
A new season is upon us. It may not be this weekend thanks to a large number of disillusioned
idiots but it will arrive soon nevertheless. This fact brings with it a number of questions, among
them: Who will Andre Villas-Boas field at the Britannia in our opener?
The goal
As Petr Cech admitted earlier this week, there are a plethora of options at the manager's
disposal.
The season is here, my friends. Mount up.
Villas-Boas rides into Trentham.
Join us for team news and a good rant starting at 8:30am EDT (1:30pm GMT).
Chelsea begin the Andre Villas-Boas era with a goalless draw on a not cold non-night at the
Britannia Stadium. Well-earned, but there could have been much more. Still, I, for one, am not
going to complain.
You be the judge
So we start the season with a point.
A competitive home debut is at hand for our suave, animated (see below) leader. Chelsea host the
Baggies at Stamford Bridge in Saturday's evening fixture.
Who: West Bromwich Albion
What: Premier League, Round 2
When: 20 August, 5:30pm local (12:30pm EST)
Where: Stamford Bridge (42,050)
How: Fox Soccer Channel (DirecTV 619, Dish 149)
Why: A point at the Britannia may have been half-acceptable not according to
Villas-Boas, though but a similar result tomorrow will hardly be peachy.
Liverpool head to the Britannia tomorrow to face Tony Pulis' Stoke City in one of the more
challenging away fixtures on the Premier League calendar. The Reds have only earned two points in
their last three visits, and the hosts have a well-founded reputation for being one of the least
hospitable clubs in the top flight.
The view from the Britannia
Stoke fan Ryan Summerfield provides the view from the Britannia ahead of Liverpool's clash
against the Potters.
View the full story here: Liverpool FC
A news article on 2011-09-10 08:59:36 from: Liverpool FC
This news item has been reproduced from today's media.
