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Saturday, 27 August 2011

Chelsea 3-1 Norwich

Chelsea managed a win over the Canaries, but they were given a real run for their money. The match looked to be an onslaught, first a Ramires shot tipped wide by John Ruddy. Then even Ruddy couldn't do anything as Jose Bosingwa scored a screamer, after the Norwich defenders backed of. Norwich had a great chance when Grant Holt failed to connect with a good chip from Wes Hoolahan. After Florent Malouda played a good ball to Fernando Torres, he tried to feed it to Didier Drogba, the Ivorian a whisker away from connecting to what surely would have been a second goal. Norwich had another good  chance, this time Chris Martin raced clear but Hilario saved well, before scrambling back to his line to tip a follow-up from Kyle Naughton over the bar. In the second half, Norwich got the goal they deserved courtesy of a defensive mix-up by Chelsea. Hilario came out of his line, only to see Branislav Ivanovic clear with a header. The ball fell for Holt, and he expertly hooked his shot into the empty goal. Then came the moment. Ramires raced forward after a good pass from Nicolas Anelka, and as he tried to round Ruddy, he was caught by the goalkeeper, resulting in a penalty. Ruddy, who had earlier knocked Drogba unconscious, got a straight red card. Declan Rudd came on, but he failed to save Frank Lampard's smashed penalty. With 11 minutes of stoppage time following the Drogba incident, substitute Juan Mata made the points save as he capitalised on a poor back pass and finished cooly to score on his debut for Chelsea. Chelsea will next travel to Sunderland, while Norwich will entertain West Brom.

Blackburn 0-1 Everton

Blackburn wasted two second half penalties as Everton struck theirs to take all three points. Early on, an excellent dummy by David Dunn saw him have a sight of goal and his shot hit the inside of the post. Later, Jason Roberts almost broke clear if it wasn't for a stretched Sylvain Distin. Everton's new 17 year old diamond, Ross Barkley, was heavily involved in Everton's creative play as he linked up well with Arteta. Then came the first huge moment of the match. A bad back pass from Barkley found Argentinian midfielder Mauro Formica, and he lured the youngster into a mistimed tackle in the box, resulting in a penalty. To Everton's relief, Tim Howard beat away Junior Hoilett's penalty. Then again, Blackburn were awarded another penalty after Formica was tripped by Distin. This time it was the Argentinian himself who took the penalty, and crashed it onto the foot of the post. Then in the dying minutes, Chris Samba fouled Marouane Fellaini in the box. Mikel Arteta stepped up and converted, giving Everton all the spoils. Blackburn's next match is at Fulham, while Everton will welcome Aston Villa.

Aston Villa 0-0 Wolves

In the Midlands derby, Aston Villa and Wolves slugged out a 0-0 draw. Both teams had no clear-cut chances as they continued their unbeaten start to the season. Wolves had the best of early exchanges, Aston Villa goalkeeper saving well from Stephen Hunt's header. Aston Villa right back, Chris Herd, was drafted into the team following the sale of Luke Young to QPR. He went close three times with headers going forward. Charles N'Zogbia had two shots that went just a little too high, and Kevin Doyle cleared Richard Dunne's header of the line. Darren Bent looked a forlorn figure, but he got his only chance of the match with a looping header that dropped just over the bar. Aston Villa's next match will be away to Everton, while Wolves will host Tottenham.

Villa want Hutton.

Following Luke Young's departure, Aston Villa look to fill the void at the right back position by recruiting Tottenham's Alan Hutton. Hutton found his form last season and became a Tottenham regular. Securing his services would be a huge boost for Aston Villa, but it would also be a surprise as Tottenham won't be ready to part with Hutton.

Tevez will stay.

Manchester City were given a huge lift after it was confirmed that star striker Carlos Tevez will stay at the club. Tevez wanted out after his family failed to settle in England, but it is reported that they have moved in again.

Liverpool try to prise Dutch winger.

Liverpool are reportedly weighing up a move for Dutch winger Ibrahim Afellay. Afellay, who currently plays for Spanish team Barcelona, looks set to leave after failing to play on a regular basis. His cause wasn't helped with winger Alexis Sanchez joining Barcelona.

Spanish outfit try cheeky move for Anelka.

Spanish team Real Betis reportedly told Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka to rip up his contract to allow him to come to Spain on a free transfer. Anelka has been linked to move away from Stamford Bridge after losing his place to fellow Chelsea strikers Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres and Salamon Kalou.

Young joins QPR.

Today another Young left Aston Villa, in the form of Luke Young. Ashley Young had already left earlier this summer to Manchester United, and now Luke Young has made a new home in Queen Park Rangers. The fee for the deal was undisclosed.

Bolton can keep Cahill, Arsenal eye pacy winger.

After a bid from Arsenal for Bolton defender Gary Cahill was laughed of by Bolton's manager Owen Coyle and chairman Phil Gartside, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has finally told Bolton they can keep their star centre back. Meanwhile, Arsenal have had talks with German club Hamburg over the sale of Dutch winger Eljero Elia. It was thought at first that Italian team Juventus were going to make a bid, but Elia insisted that if he were to leave, he would join a better team.

BPL Preview

These are the teams playing this weekend. Here are my predictions.

Aston Villa 1-1 Wolves
Both teams have unbeaten starts, and they look unlikely to end soon, so I think a draw is on the cards.

Blackburn 1-0 Everton
Blackburn, losing their first two matches, will look to bounce back while Everton will keep their record of bad starts every season.

Chelsea 4-0 Norwich
No doubt for me, Chelsea will take this easily.

Liverpool 2-0 Bolton
Bolton have not beaten Liverpool for 6 years, and that run looks to continue.

Swansea 2-1 Sunderland
I predict another good performance from Swansea, and their first win of the season against a depleted Suderland.

Wigan 0-2 QPR
QPR will pick up where they left of at Goodison Park, with another win.

Man Utd 0-1 Arsenal
Sure, Arsenal have had a bad start in the BPL, but I think their attack will cause Man Utd's young defense to crack.

Newcastle 1-1 Fulham
With the loss of Joey Barton, Newcastle for me won't take all three points.

Tottenham 0-3 Man City
Tottenham can't cope with Man City's mega rich superstars.

West Brom 2-1 Stoke
After two losses, notably to great teams, I think West Brom will pick up their first points.

Chelsea eye former star winger.

Rumours suggest Chelsea will try to capture Bayern Munich playmaker Arjen Robben. Robben played for Chelsea before, but it seems unlikely that he'll play for them again. Chelsea fans wouldn't be too disappointed if he doesn't arrive because of their new capture Juan Mata.

Liverpool on the verge of sealing £7 million deal.

Liverpool are close to their sixth signing of the summer in the form of defender Sebastian Coates. Reports suggest that the defender would be delighted to play for the Reds. He will leave his current club Nacional in a deal worth £7 million.

Arsenal close to getting Hazard and go for shock raid.

Reports have surfaced that Arsenal target Eden Hazard is close to joining the Gunners in an estimated deal of about £29 million. Hazard, known for his superb skill and pace, is keen to join his former Lille partner Gervinho at the Emirates. If a deal is reached, Arsene Wenger just might finally see the hole left by Cesc Fabregas plugged up. It is also reported that Hazard has agreed personal terms, despite Lille's chairman recently insisting that Hazard will not leave. Meanwhile, it is rumoured that Arsenal are lining up a shock bid for Chelsea's central defender Alex. Tall and strong, he might just be the answer to Arsenal's defensive worries.

Arsenal bid for Cahill.

Arsenal have finally given a bid of £10 million for Gary Cahill. Earlier it was rumoured that Arsenal had given a measly £6 million bid for Cahill, which shocked Bolton manager Owen Coyle, saying that Cahill's price tag was much higher. However, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger dismissed the rumour, saying that the figure was incorrect. Critics have said that Arsenal desperately need defenders, following Laurent Koscielny's back injury and injury doubts over the injury-prone Thomas Vermaelen and Johan Djourou.

QPR get Barton.

Bad boy Joey Barton has left Newcastle, but instead of West Ham, his new club is newly promoted Queen Park Rangers. Barton had long been on Newcastle's offload list after a rant with the club's chairman. Surprisingly though he played in both of Newcastle's opening matches but he finally left on a free transfer. He has penned a four year contract with his new club. A week ago, it was reported that Barton's former midfield partner, Kevin Nolan, asked him to join his new club West Ham, but Barton had no desire to drop into the lower league.

Alberto Aquilani back to Italy.

Liverpool flop Aquilani has once again completed a loan move back to Italy. After being captured by the Reds in 2009, he failed to impress and scored only 2 goals in the entire season. After realizing he will not nail regular starts for Liverpool, he moved to Juventus on a season long loan in 2010. In 2011, he played a few frendlies for Liverpool before Milan discovered his potential and managed to secure his services for at least a year.

Arsenal eyeing Hazard, Baines, Schweinsteiger, Cahill and Albiol.

Reports surfaced that Arsenal are looking at two players to replace Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, and those players are Bastian Schweinsteiger and Eden Hazard who are rated at £31 million and £23 million respectively. Other players linked with a move to the Emirates are left-back Leighton Baines from Everton and centre-backs Gary Cahill and Raul Albiol from Bolton and Real Madrid respectively.

Friday, 26 August 2011

Hey people My first post

Well guys I'm new to this so cut me some slack.
Well about me...
My name's Sanjeevan and I'm 13
I'm a major football fan and I support Arsenal.
So far, here are Arsenal's results so far this campaign:

BPL: Newcastle 0-0 Arsenal, Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool
UCL: Arsenal 1-0 Udinese, Udinese 1-2 Arsenal

Well the latest major result:

Barcelona 2-0 Porto (UEFA Super Cup)

Barcelona scored a goal in both halves, the first from Lionel Messi, then the second from former Arsenal player Cesc Fabregas. Congrats Barca, they are no doubt the best team in the world.

Bye for now, I'll leave you with a compilation video of Barcelona's win.