I felt that recently we had quite good performances but did not get the results. Today we got the performance and the result, which is ideally what you want.

- Arsene Wenger, post-match wibbling session

Arsenal's January has been like the ice-skating learning curve from hell.

LeagueSpy.com A definitive and comprehensive betting guide to world football - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Football betting can be a great investment or a waste of money, with an ever-increasing number of people deeming themselves football experts and putting their money where their mouth is on a daily or weekly basis, only to see their hard-earned cash taken from them.

It has been another crazy week of football and there was no lack of drama with the big four (Plus two more this week). The off field news was way more interesting than the actual football to be honest and so its that time of the week, the time to relive the week that was (n't):

Arsenal:

"I think he will be a good signing, slot him at left back and we will win the league"

- Wenger talks about signing RVP's son

Finally the Arsenal we know are back.

Jermain Defoe Blonde

So, it feels pretty good to be a Spurs fan at the moment right?! Six points off City with a game in hand and possibly even more satisfying, six points in front of Arsenal with that same game in hand. I'm looking forward to the FA Cup this weekend and I'm hoping we will make short work of Cheltenham even if most of the first eleven are given what would be a well overdue rest.

First fifteen

For a quarter of an hour on Boxing Day, it seemed like Sir Alex Ferguson had taken the term 'Christmas surprise' too literally. By the time that we eventually figured United were playing with 9 men + Evans + Gibson, Evra had already skipped around a static Wigan defence for Park to score his first goal in the Premier League since those days when he only scored against Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea etc.

Well, what an incredibly frustrating ninety minutes that was. Upbeat start, good goal, cavalier flicks, lucky equaliser, chances, chances, CHANCES, saves, saves, more ruddy saves and Wolves rode their luck to a first point against Arsenal in the Premier League era. You couldn't fault the team's effort, apart from a slight easing off in the first half, and I agree with Arsene when he says that we would have won this game 19 times out of 20.

Thomas Rooney takes us through some of the candidates and they're not necessarily the ones you'd expect.

The FA have begun their annual search to find out who England fans rate as their player of the year for 2011. With the disappointment of 2010 well behind us, 2011 has certainly been a much brighter year for the national team, with renewed optimism about their hopes for Euro 2012.

The story of Pelé life, in art - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

A sense of nostalgia sets in when thinking of Pelé, arguably the best footballer of all times, and the one that gave "Futebol bonito" to Brazil and to the rest of the world. Pelé's memorable moments include the bicycle kick, winning three world cups for Brazil out of their total of five, and being one of the best ambassadors football could ever want and need.

Marc Albrighton and Stiliyan Petrov produced the vital goals to deliver Villa's first away win of the season, but Ivan Klasnic was able to prevent Brad Guzan earning a clean sheet on his first Premiership start.

It was a much improved performance during the first half, and fans crying out for a 4-4-2 system will be quick to point out that was the case today with Marc Albrighton on the right and Charles N'Zogbia on the left.

Two Left Feet - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

A brand new publication brought to the general public courtesy of Football Friends Media. This is a book full of football tales provided by real life fans who have a love for the game rather than seasoned journalists.

There is a refreshing level of raw talent throughout the publication, names of aspiring writers who will be seen in print a lot more in coming years.

Records must have broken this year as a plethora of Forest books hit the shelves – the postman serving the LTLF offices is currently taking three months off with a crippled spine from carrying all the review copies that have dropped through our letterbox in the last few months. But aside from giving postal workers back problems, what purpose are all these books serving?

They obviously can't be bothered, so neither can I. It was a positive line-up, but Utd never needed to get out of 1st gear. McLeish must be giving out his instructions in Russian or something because he's managed to make some very capable players look like they haven't the first clue what they're doing.

So, this past Sunday I was invited along to Dagenham and Redbridge's Victoria Ground to interview Spurs coach Clive Allen. Clive was taking part in an 'England Legends' match against a supposed Sunday League side, Ivory FC. The Legends were made up of a number of ex professionals, some who had played a lot more games for England than others, but the main thing they had in common was that they all looked quite old.

The game went ahead amidst many calls for its postponement following the tragic news of Gary Speed's death. The result doesn't seem that important in the scheme of things right now, but it's probably a point that will prove invaluable at the end of the season.
Following a heart warming and entirely spontaneous round of applause in place of the planned minute of silence, the first half didn't provide any shocks.

No one likes to admit it, but it's happened to most seasoned bloggers out there- watching the game, taking home a few well-chosen points of analysis, noticing a few things you think only you have noticed and smugly lording it over less enlightened, coke-and-popcorn football fans who watch matches for silly reasons like ‘entertainment' (simpletons who watch games with the handbrake on, if that term isn't patented); only to have all smugness blown away in a hurricane of shame and comeuppance after reading Zonal Marking.

PHEW! What a sizzler! Matchday 5 of the UEFA Champions League churned out some truly epic matches, tons of goals and five more valuable insights which In The Stands lists below. After watching on hawkishly during the week's action, the In The Stands team gathered around our panoptical-style office and drew up a list of [.

Emmanuel Adebayor helped himself to a first half brace, but should have had at least a hat-trick during a game that Tottenham barely had to break a sweat to dominate. In fairness, such was the gulf in quality, we should consider ourselves fortunate to have left with the score only 2-0.

There were rumours before kick off that Alex McLeish intended to field Alan Hutton as a right midfielder and Carlos Cuellar behind him at right back to deal with the threat of Gareth Bale and that's what he did.

Qualification for the knock-out phases of the NextGen series will have to wait after Villa's U19s failed to get a result in Norway, losing 3-2 to Rosenborg.

Derrick Williams cancelled out Ole Kristian Selnæs' 29th minute opener from a Samir Carruthers corner in the 39th minute. Daniel Johnson sent the visitors into the break 2-1 ahead just minutes later with a wicked shot from a tight angle.

Ahead of Saturday's friendly between England and Spain, In The Stands looks back to the pair's last match where goals by David Villa and Fernando Llorente sealed an easy 2-0 win for the hosts. David Villa and Fernando Llorente were the heroes for Spain as they brushed aside a feeble English threat in a resounding [.

Remember this? In February 2007 Spanish star Andres Iniesta scored his first ever goal for Spain as they beat England 1-0 in a tight match at Old Trafford. The goal was Andres Iniesta's first ever strike for La Roja Furia but of course would not be his last and his most famous. Iniesta's angled drive [.

A much improved performance from Villa in a lively game led to a vital three points at home thanks to two goals from Darren Bent, and a goal for the provider of both those goals; man of the match Gabby Agbonlahor. Goals from Anthony Pilkington and Steve Morison bookended the home goals, and set up a nervous final ten minutes.

It was so nearly a vital three points for Alex McLeish away from home thanks to goals from Stiliyan Petrov and what should have been a late winner from Richard Dunne to cancel out Conor Wickham's first half leveller.
Unfortunately, the familiar sight of a late goal coming from a set piece returned when 5'7″ Stéphane Sessègnon helped himself to a free header with one minute of normal time left on the clock.

I remember talking about the Carling Cup carnival one year ago after a 4-0 victory against Newcastle, a match in which we were ruthlessly efficient in the second half after being handed a lucky lead in the first; a Bendtner curler and two Walcott one-on-ones giving the scoreline much gloss and splendour as we lovingly clutched the CCQF Cup to our bosom and went through to the last eight.

You might not have been alive that last time West Brom left Villa Park with three points: it was May 11th 1979. In fairness, we've only played in the same league 12 seasons since then, which reduces the chances of losing somewhat, but then we also didn't have to endure Phil Dowd refereeing.

Not the scoreline we hoped for, but certainly one we feared. Not a great deal to discuss really, we were soundly beaten by a side who are clearly superior in every single position.

Mario Balotelli opened the scoring by leaping on the opportunity to pull a bicycle kick out of his toolbox, scoring from six yards.

Review: Why Football Manager 2012 Will Rock Your World - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

The first impression you get while playing Football Manager 2012 is how it's improved as an imitation of the real thing a genuine simulation of what it means to be a football manager, inasmuch as you can simulate the experience digitally.

In The Stands' Rolly Pelovangu jumps ahead of the queues, grabs a packet of milk and cookies and brings forth a comprehensive review of Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 – it's a screamer! In a week which saw the release of the mightily impressive FIFA 2012, Konami's latest Pro Evolution Soccer release has much to [.

Stick Football: Keeping Football Fans Busy At Work - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

FIFA 2012, PES 2012, and Football Manager 2012 are all sure to keep football fanatics occupied for the next several months, much to the chagrin of wives, girlfriends, parents, employers, and teachers around the world.

England secured qualification for Euro 2012 after a 2-2 draw against Montenegro thanks to goals by Ashley Young and Darren Bent however the victory was tarnished by Wayne Rooney's sending off. In truth it was a very mixed night as Fabio Capello's men stumbled rather than waltzed their way into next summer's European Championships after [.

A superb individual performance by Mario Balotelli coupled by goals from Adam Johnson, Samir Nasri and Stefan Savic saw Manchester City put the woes of the week behind them as they crushed Blackburn Rovers 4-0 and proved that they may not need Carlos Tevez after all. The victory at Ewood Park under the awkward October [.

Ten men Inter Milan were crushed 3-0 at home to Napoli as coach Claudio Ranieri suffered his first loss as Nerazzurri boss. The turning point in the game came when a run down the right-hand side by Christian Maggio was halted by Inter midfielder Joel Obi, who was adjudged to have pushed the central-midfielder inside [.

Wigan Athletic were finally beaten in the league at Villa Park in a comfortable win for the home side thanks to a goal in either half. The first, a brilliant effort from Gabby Agbonlahor, who then turned provider for the second; setting up an unmissable effort for Darren Bent in front of the Holte End.

Even with the sticks-and-stones footballing knowledge at my disposal, I can confidently opine that winning runs are good for a team. The warm, fuzzy feeling that you get after pocketing three points slowly snowballs into a huge-ass bear hug as it is superseded by more and more victories. Arsenal aren't quite in bear hug territory yet, but a 3-0 over Bolton and the 2-1 usurping of Olympiakos means that the warm, happy tumour is definitely throbbing and eager to grow.

An injury time own goal by Richard Dunne cancelled out a second half penalty by Barry Bannan to end yet another game in stalemate, but a win would have been thoroughly undeserved.

The first half is not worth talking about. It was as bad as anything I've seen from Villa in recent years and, let's face it, we've seen some poor stuff lately.

We won against Shrewsbury Town! Woooooo...*cough* *cough* erm, yeah. A 3-1 huff-puff win against League Two opposition is hardly the tonic you'd want after the League run Arsenal are having at the moment, but I'd prefer to concentrate on the ‘win' part of things for now.

***

Team Selection.

Dare I suggest that we can concentrate on the league now? No? Didn't think so. Nevertheless, we are out of the Carling Cup thanks to a 2-0 loss at home to Bolton in what, by all accounts, was an utterly dismal performance.

Chris Eagles picked up on a Marc Albrighton mistake to score a screamer from 20 yards.

Another game, another draw. That's four draws and a win now in the Premier League. Gabby Agbonlahor gave cause for optimism when he opened the scoring somewhat against the run of play during the first half, but Leon Best cancelled that out during a second half the visitors largely controlled.

When you've been looking forward to watching football all week, putting the irritating staccato of everyday tests behind you and clutch at the panacea that only an Arsenal game can provide, and realize that ESPN have decided to telecast the Liverpool and Chelsea games in their unending ignorance, the mind can do little else but baulk.

There's no getting away from it, that was a poor performance against an Everton side unable (or unwilling) to field a single recognised striker. We might owe a somewhat sheepish nod in the referee's direction, but Petrov and Gabby somehow managed to cancel out Leon Osman's opener and Leighton Baines' second half penalty to grab a hugely valuable point we barely deserved.

The typical statement of intent was sent out with extra sugar, spice and everything nice, as a ruthless Manchester City side emphasized their title credentials with an earth-shaking win at White Hart Lane. The result said it all: Tottenham 1-5 Manchester City. It was Talksport's controversial and outspoken broadcast journalist Adrian Durham who, to much derision, [.