1. It's not very often that you can celebrate a first-leg win, but you can forgive Chelsea for
enjoying this one. 2. Didier Drogba is back to his best... and worst. The goal-scoring hero seems
to believe his recent good form has earnt him the right to spend prolonged periods in a horizontal
position once [.
Didier Drogba, Gary Cahill,  Andrei Arshavin and Andy Johnson headline the list of Premier
League stars who are out of contract at the end of the season according to Goal.com, and could be
available on a free transfer this summer.
You could put together a pretty competitive side from this list.
As Spurs's season starts to get even worse, it's impossible to stop the rumours concerning the
futures of some of our best players. Luka Modric, Gareth Bale and even Kyle Walker are in the
spotlight while idle gossip has suggested that all three may be seeking a move at the end of the
season.
Mock the Weekend: QPR are so bad they made Michael Carrick look like Lionel
Messi
The Manchester United man dribbled from the halfway line to stroke home, while Jonathan Woodgate
put in one of the worst performances by a professional footballer ever
View the full story here: Goal
A news article on 2011-12-19 08:00:00 from: Goal
This news item has been reproduced from today's media.
Premier League Official Line special with Graham Poll
Wolves had every right to complain after Jonathan Woodgate escaped his second yellow card when
conceding a 17th-minute penalty. Woodgate had already been cautioned.
View the full story here: The Mail
A news article on 2011-12-18 22:30:18 from: The Mail
This news item has been reproduced from today's media.
I don't know what happened between John Terry and Anton Ferdinand on Sunday. I believe that
someone is innocent until proved guilty. But I do think that anyone who uses a racial slur on a
football field shouldn't receive a three- or five-game ban.
There are four ex-Spurs players in the Stoke City squad and while the Potters also have league
and European ambitions to worry about, we can expect to come up against some, or maybe all of them
this evening.
As Peter Crouch, Wilson Palacios and Jonathan Woodgate linked up with Matthew Etherington at the
Britannia, Spurs manager Harry Redknapp revealed that he is harbouring some regrets at letting
Woodgate go.
Jonathan Woodgate's career has been utterly ruined by injury, which may be some kind of karma
for his involvement in the attack on an Asian student back in 2000. Still, despite his immense
talent, the 31-year-old central-half has struggled to stay fit for any decent length of time since
leaving Leeds United in 2003.
Liverpool hasn't won at the Britannia Stadium in the Premier League and they will be in for another
tough game at Stoke on Saturday.
Tony Pulis has done some great business in the transfer market and it's been a real show of
ambition by Stoke.
They've brought in the likes of Peter Crouch, Matthew Upton, Jonathan Woodgate and Cameron Jerome
and look set for a good season.
Jonathan Woodgate was released from Tottenham Hotspur in June 2011 and found himself looking at an
end to his athletic career. Upon his departure from White Hart Lane he had only played in four
games in about two years. His downfall was an injury he...
Why Stoke are the window's big winners and Bolton the big losers, plus Arteta, Bellamy
and why I fear for Wales at Wembley
Stoke are the big winners of the transfer window, Bolton the big losers. Gary Cahill can now
leave the Reebok on a Bosman next summer, so holding out for ÂŁ17million will hurt Bolton,
especially with their big debt.
Why Stoke are the window's big winners and Bolton the big losers, plus Arteta, Bellamy
and why I fear for Wales at Wembley
Stoke are the big winners of the transfer window, Bolton the big losers. Gary Cahill can now
leave the Reebok on a Bosman next summer, so holding out for ÂŁ17million will hurt Bolton,
especially with their big debt.
Why Stoke are the window's big winners and Bolton the big losers, plus Arteta, Bellamy
and why I fear for Wales at Wembley
Stoke are the big winners of the transfer window, Bolton the big losers. Gary Cahill can now
leave the Reebok on a Bosman next summer, so holding out for ÂŁ17million will hurt Bolton,
especially with their big debt.
Why Stoke are the window's big winners and Bolton the big losers, plus Arteta, Bellamy
and why I fear for Wales at Wembley
Stoke are the big winners of the transfer window, Bolton the big losers. Gary Cahill can now
leave the Reebok on a Bosman next summer, so holding out for ÂŁ17million will hurt Bolton,
especially with their big debt.
Why Stoke are the window's big winners and Bolton the big losers, plus Arteta, Bellamy
and why I fear for Wales at Wembley
Stoke are the big winners of the transfer window, Bolton the big losers. Gary Cahill can now
leave the Reebok on a Bosman next summer, so holding out for ÂŁ17million will hurt Bolton,
especially with their big debt.
Why Stoke are the window's big winners and Bolton the big losers, plus Arteta, Bellamy
and why I fear for Wales at Wembley
Stoke are the big winners of the transfer window, Bolton the big losers. Gary Cahill can now
leave the Reebok on a Bosman next summer, so holding out for ÂŁ17million will hurt Bolton,
especially with their big debt.
Liverpool turn their attentions back to the Premier League this weekend when they welcome Stoke to
Anfield after two games in the FA Cup and Carling Cup.
The Reds go into the clash boosted by the news that skipper Steven Gerrard has signed a new
long-term deal which is likely to see him end his playing career at Anfield.
1. After making a better start to the season than Sir Alex Ferguson has ever managed with
Manchester United, we dropped our first points on Saturday evening. Based on the performance, we
can have no complaints. We didn't create enough opportunities to score and didn't deal with the
Freak well enough for a cross.
Gerrard signed a new deal this week...Liverpool face Stoke at
Anfield on Saturday in the Premier League. After a winning performance at the Etihad in the League
Cup, the Reds are brimming with confidence. Interestingly, the last time visitors Stoke lost in the
league was at the Etihad, Pulis's boys are on a bit of a roll.
A plethora of former Tottenham players suited up in a Stoke City uniform and fully played their
part in ending the Spurs' 11-game unbeaten run with an impressive 2-1 win at the Brittania
Stadium.
Matthew Etherington, who was a Spurs player between 2000 and 2003, scored twice in the first
half, with his opening strike being assisted by Peter Crouch, who just left White Hart Lane this
summer.
This will not be an Arsenal related post. It's the Interlull and while there's been sufficient
topic of discussion to go about, I felt it would be nice to take a break and write about other
things for a change. Was suggested this wonderful site by WengerBoy1 on twitter and there's some
wonderful statistics on there.
Facts and figures ahead of the Premier League clash between Arsenal and Stoke City at the
Emirates Stadium.
TEAM NEWS
Arsenal are without Carl Jenkinson due to a knee injury sustained against Marseille so,
withBacary Sagna a long-term absentee, Johan Djourou could start at right-back.
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.
Now that deadline day's out the way, it's time to take a look at who's feeling smugly
self-satisfied about the whole affair and who spent the small hours of last night crying into their
pillow at the injustice of it all. Here, in no particular order, are the four biggest winners and
losers to emerge from yesterday's dealings.
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-2 Stoke City Premier League 17th December 2011
You have to hand it to Tony Pulis, you really do. For all the (often justified) criticism of his
team's tactics and style of play, Stoke continue to ground out decent results season after season,
never looking like getting themselves embroiled in a relegation dogfight.
Europa League or Carling Cup, which ought we to want less? It's a tricky one. The Europa League
trophy is a sizeable beast, and its lack of handles gives it a pleasingly Neanderthalic edge –
one cannot help but handle it in rough, uncouth manner when raising it aloft, which is rather apt
after 90 minutes of blood and thunder.
Despite spending a fair amount of money on his Sunderland team, Steve Bruce has endured a rather
rubbish start to the season. However, at home to Stoke on Sunday, the Black Cats finally marked
their territory by weeing all over the Potters.
Not famed for his goalscoring ability, Titus Bramble opened the scoring while summer signings
Craig Gardner and Seb Larsson also helped to give the Black Cats their first win of the new
season.
Just 26 minutes into his King's Cup debut as a Zaragocista, the defender flew studs-up into an aerial challenge Jose Antonio Reyes, appearing to hit the former Arsenal winger quite violently with his knee.
In the aftermath of Spain's memorable Euro 2012 triumph earlier this month, there have been many
comparisons between the current Spanish side and England's under-achieving Three Lions.
A little over four years ago, both teams were considered to be on par: extremely talented but
unable to shine at the big stage.
Since the transfer window came into force during the 2002-03 season, Spurs have been one of the
most active clubs in terms of players arriving at and leaving White Hart Lane.
After a fairly quiet window by their standards – signing trio Yago Falque, Louis Saha and Ryan
Nelsen all on free transfers, let's take a look at seven players signed for big money during the
January period.
