By Alan Duffy
Everton 2-0 Chelsea Premier League 11th February 2012
That much-publicised midweek training ground visit from Roman Abramovich would have done
little for Andre Villas-Boas' confidence ahead of Saturday's game against Everton.
By WAG Watcher
Remember the delectable Miss Morgan? The cute-as-banana-pie USWNT player that sent hearts
a-flutter during the Lady World Cup last summer?
Well, after a few fallow months, she's just exploded back onto the WAG Watch radar, being as
though she's set to appear in Sports Illustrated's fabled 'swimsuit edition' in nowt but bodypaint
and SI have done the decent thing by leaking a teaser.
When Arsenal collapse in comical style, such as from 4-0 up to draw 4-4 with Newcastle last
season, or conceding a goal seconds after equalising in the 3-2 defeat to Swansea, it feels
fashionable to say "only Arsenal could have lost a game like that".
And there's something to it, to be fair, our defence has generally been the worst in the top
four over the years, and we have a poor record in points lost from winning positions.
1. It's a strange one to take, I think if you had asked me before hand I would have said that it
was important Chelsea didn't lose the game. Saying that, to play well for the first ten minutes of
the second half and find ourselves 3-0 up was a bonus!. To throw it all away is tough to take.
2.
Manchester United produced a trademark comeback to force a draw at Stamford Bridge. Two Wayne
Rooney's penalties and a late equaliser by Javier Hernandez saw United snatching a draw from the
jaws of defeat, after having been 3-0 down at one stage, while David DeGea produced two
outstanding saves deep in injury time to deny Chelsea [.
How long have we been hoping for a result like this? We said for a long time that
somebody will get a hiding from Arsenal sooner or later and today Blackburn – together with a
handful of wasted bin bags, filled with nothing but hot air were taken to the
Bin-Bangers.
How long have we been hoping for a result like this? We said for a long time that
somebody will get a hiding from Arsenal sooner or later and today Blackburn – together with a
handful of wasted bin bags, filled with nothing but hot air were taken to the
Bin-Bangers.
Manchester City moved three points clear at the top of the Premier League thanks to a convincing
3-0 win at home over Fulham.
Heading into the Fulham match a lot of questions were being asked about a City side that had
lost four of their eight matches in 2012, exiting the FA and League Cups and seeing Manchester
United draw level with them on points at the top of the Premier League.
By Alan Duffy
Queens Park Rangers 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers Premier League 4th February
2012
Djibril Cisse could never be described as a shrinking violet, so it will come as little surprise
that the former Liverpool man was once again the centre of attention at Loftus Road, albeit for all
the wrong reasons.
People talk about the magic of the FA Cup, but don't tell that to me or Hull fans who staked
emotion or cold, hard cash on their team winning last Saturday. I knew I shouldn't have trusted
Matt ‘Tubbsy' Tubbs after he snuck an equaliser for Salisbury City against Forest a few years
back. Still, [..
By Chris Wright
Watch, mere mortals, and weep as the slightly more 'agricultural' 50% of Barcelona's central
defence pulls off not one, but two 360° roulette tricks in a row as he maraudes his way through
Valencia's midfield during last night's Copa del Rey semi-final first leg.
By Alan Duffy
Blackburn Rovers 0-2 Newcastle United Premier League 1st February 2012
Despite still being shorn of the services of their two Demba-tastic strikers, Alan Pardew's
Newcastle halted their recent decline with a very valuable away victory at Ewood Park.
Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech is extremely impressed with Swansea City's home record and suggests
that the toughness of the Welsh outfit at Liberty Stadium should ensure survival in the Barclays
Premier League.
Following last night's 1-1 draw with the Blues, the Swans are now nine points clear of the
relegation zone with a little over a third of the season left to go.
By Alan Duffy
Swansea City 1-1 Chelsea Premier League 31th January 2012
A last-gasp Neil Taylor own-goal saved Chelsea from another disappointing defeat on Tuesday
night, after Swansea gave the home fans another superb display of pacy attacking football.
Atletico Madrid's revival under new coach Diego Simeone continued on Monday as Diego Godin fired
the winner in a battling 1-0 victory at Osasuna that lifted Atletico up to seventh in La Liga.
The Uruguay defender bundled in from close range at a corner just before the break and forwards
Adrian and Radamel Falcao missed gilt-edged chances to extend the lead.
It wasn't exactly Premiership action over the weekend but it was still a
FA Cup Party out there, nonetheless! Arsenal, of course, deserve a round
of applause for springing back from two goals down to make it 3-2 against Aston
Villa yesterday.
By Alan Duffy
Sunderland 1-1 Middlesbrough FA Cup 29th January 2012
Frazier Campbell made a goalscoring return from injury at the Stadium of Light on Sunday,
netting the Black Cats' equaliser after 18 months out of action.
Dirk Kuyt's 88 minute strike put Liverpool into the fifth round of the FA Cup as they beat
bitter rivals Manchester United 2-1 at Anfield earlier today.
Daniel Agger gave the Reds the lead as United keeper David De Gea was again found wanting midway
through the first half before Park Ji Sung scored a deserved equaliser as United came out on top in
the possesion stakes, however possesion doesn't always win games and Dirk Kuyt's winner with just
two minutes of normal time on the clock proved that as the Kop went wild.
They say that lightning doesn't strike twice but both Equatorial Guinea and
Gabon scored late goals in their matches to make the last eight of the African Cup
of Nations.. Then again many experts said that Equatorial Guinea and Gabon shouldn't be hosting the
African Cup of Nations as neither country has any real football pedigree.
Tunisia The team to beat at Africa Cup of Nations 2012? is a post from: Just Football
My latest African football column for FourFourTwo looks at Tunisia and
whether they are the team to beat at this year's AFCON:
For a team that could just as easily be sitting at home watching on TV, they made a pretty good
start.
Ahead of this weekend's FA Cup game against Liverpool, Andy Cole has reflected on his time
playing for United at Anfield.
Cole scored at Anfield in our 3-1 win in the 1996-1997 season, scored two there the following
season, and again in 1999.
"When I was in the team I used to love playing at Anfield," he told the official
site.
This was one result i was not expecting, however one i totally agree with. Right from the start
of the tournament and even through out the Qualifying period, the Lions of Teranga had established
themselves as one of the very few sides who were strong favourites to lift the AFCON trophy on Feb
12th.
By Alan Duffy
Liverpool 2-2 Manchester City (Aggregate 3-2) Carling Cup Semi-final 25th January
2012
Liverpool came from behind twice against Manchester City at Anfield to secure a place in the
final of the Carling Cup, and their first appearance at Wembley in 16 years.
Despite the nonsense about some other matchup in the Copa del Rey right now can't quite remember
the names of those rather insignificant teams at the moment the real story is not east, not west,
but down. Way down in the third division. Mirandes, a humble little club in the north of Spain,
knocked off their third yes, third La Liga opponent to get to the Copa del Rey.
It's been a week for finding positives in things and Spurs' Tim Sherwood has joined the
bandwagon after he presided over a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Leyton Orient at the Lodge.
For Spurs fans, the most striking thing to come from the game was another goal for centre
forward Souleymayne Coulibaly who fired in a 74th minute equaliser before the away side snatched a
winner just two minutes later.
With both Euro 2012 and the Olympics getting underway this summer, it is perhaps no surprise
that speculation has been rife over who will make it into Fabio Capello's final squad for Poland
and Ukraine, and who is in line for a call up for Stuart Pearce's Olympic Team GB squad and the
Euro 2012 betting odds for one youngster in particular have just dramatically
shortened.
By Chris Wright
With Palace going into the game with a 1-0 aggregate lead courtesy of centre-back Anthony
Gardner, Cardiff levelled the score after just 7 minutes through Palace centre-back Anthony Gardner
who somehow got his head down lower than his own feet to power a header past Julian Speroni and in
off his own post.
Sorry about the title, but I can't resist a good pun if possible. Misleading as it might be, I
must stress that I am not saying Johan Djourou deserves any credit for his performance against
Manchester United.
However, for all the criticism surrounding Arsene Wenger for his choice to remove Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain just as he'd made our equaliser and was at the centre of everything good we were
doing, a rather more bold move by the boss has gone largely ignored: replacing the more experienced
Djourou, terrible as he was, for Premier League debutant Nico Yennaris, a move that proved more
successful than bringing on Andrey Arshavin later.
By Alan Duffy
Sometimes the world isn't fair. And for League Two Morecambe on Saturday, the world was very
very unfair.
After getting the scoreline back to 2-1 in their home clash with Torquay, play-off hopefuls
Morecambe pushed for a late equaliser.
Double Doob boob Former Chelsea defender Michael Duberry could see the funny side of his eventful
afternoon after Oxford emerged from their match against Hereford with a point from a 2-2 draw.
Duberry claimed to have bagged the "imperfect hat-trick" after scoring with his left foot (og),
header (og) and right foot.
Arsenal 1 (Van Persie 71) Man United 2 (Valencia 45, Welbeck 81)
(Premiership)
The bare facts make for grim reading. Defeat to United leaves us fifteen points behind them, and
eighteen off the pace set by their city rivals. Our own neighbours remain ten points above us
despite their loss earlier in the day, and that critical fourth spot is still an elusive five
points away.
By Chris Wright
Oxford United's veteran centre-back Michael Duberry was in rare old form against Hereford
yesterday afternoon, scoring the perfect hat-trick (one left, one right, one head) in his side's
2-2 draw at the Kassam.
You may have noticed that the maths doesn't quite add up there and with good reason.
By Alan Duffy
Stoke City 1-2 West Bromwich Albion Premier League 21st January 2012
West Brom secured a vital three points away at a blustery Britannia against a Stoke side who
never really got into their stride.
Six years ago to this very day, Theo Walcott signed for Arsenal Football Club at the age of just
16-years old. The teenager, who had set the Football League Championship and the south coast alight
whilst playing for Southampton, was signed by Arsene Wenger just a couple of months before his 17th
birthday.
There are very few players who are capable of becoming an instant fan favorite within short span
of time that Javier Hernandez managed to do so with the Old Trafford faithful.In his first season
at the club he earned rave reviews from fans and the press alike, he had earned himself the title
of Solksjaer's heir apparent.
By Chris Wright
"I fart in your general direction!"
Eric Abidal's second goal in over five seasons at the club saw Barcelona come from behind to
snatch the victory in last night's Copa del Rey quarter-final first-leg El Clasico in the
Bernabeu.
Mark Hughes' first game as Queens Park Rangers manager ended in defeat as Newcastle United
strengthened their European hopes at the Sports Direct Arena on Sunday.
Leon Best's well-taken first-half strike was enough to see off the challenge of QPR and lift his
side up to sixth in the Premier League table, level on points with Arsenal.
By Alan Duffy
Aston Villa 1-1 Everton Premier League 14th January 2012
Alex McLeish's Villa side once again struggled in front of their home fans, drawing with Everton
to make it just three wins out of 10 home league fixtures for the Villans.
By Alan Duffy
Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers Premier League 14th January
2012
Much has been written and spoken in recent weeks about Tottenham's title burgeoning title
credentials. However, against Wolves at White Hart Lane, the Lilywhites somewhat struggled to live
up to the hype, producing a disappointing display in front of their home fans.
Video- Hatem Ben Arfa goal vs Blackburn FA Cup 2012 Newcastle January 7 Amazing Goal Pardew is a
post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter
Video- Hatem Ben Arfa goal vs Blackburn FA Cup 2012 Newcastle January 7 Amazing Goal Pardew is a
post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter This great Hatem Ben Arfa goal vs
Blackburn Rovers ( see video below) gave Newcastle United the equaliser in their FA Cup tie against
Rovers on 7th January, [.
