FA Cup -11th/12th/13th March 2016

This past weekend was the quarter finals of  the FA Cup and Manchester United drew one all with West Ham. This means that there will be a replay in the next week or so.

Crystal Palace beat Reading by two goals to nil and this was a great win for Crystal Palace especially as they have not done particularly well in the premier league. 

The first surprise result of the weekend was Everton beating Chelsea by two goals to nil. I thought Chelsea would win however Chelsea are having an awful season so I guess it really not that much of a surprise. 

The second surprise of the weekend was Watford beating Arsenal by two goals to one. Arsenal where on track to win the FA cup for the third consecutive year. 

However it was not meant to be and Watford truly deserved this win. Arsenal had on eye on champions league game and it has cost them. This could be year of no trophies after two years of the winning the FA cup. 

2nd/3rd January 2016

The new year Premier League fixtures had again some predictable results. Arsenal beat Newcastle by a goal to nil and this was a good win for Arsenal who have started the New Year top of the league! 

Manchester City beat Watford by two goals to one  and this a pretty predictable result and I would have been shocked if Watford had won. 

Manchester United beat Swansea City by two goals to one and this was well needed win for Manchester United who seem to struggling for confidence. 

Liverpool lost by three goals to nil and this  was a bad loss for them. It was looking like they had turned a corner but this result highlighted the serious lack of quality in the team. 

Chelsea got a fantastic win as they beat Crystal Palace three goals to nil and this was much needed win however this win has made little difference in their league as they are still languishing in fourteenth position. 

Premier League - 28th/29th August 2015

This weekends premiership was definitely eventful to say the least. It probably started the premiership holders Chelsea losing by two goals to one Crystal Palace. 

Chelsea have had a truly rotten start and they are not firing on all cylinders and it is a big surprise I thought with all there amazing players they would have no problems. But somehow they are not clicking together. 

Arsenal were fortunate enough to beat Newcastle by a goal to nil and Arsenal are also struggling and have not found there stride yet. 

Last week Arsenal managed a nil nil draw with Liverpool and they had a lot of chance and this week they managed to beat Newcastle by an own goal and their win was not convincing. 

Manchester City are doing well they beat Watford by two goals to nil and they continue the start of the season with 100% wins. 

One of the shocks of the weekend was Manchester United losing  by two goals to one to Swansea City. Manchester United  have been doing reasonably well so I did not see them losing to Swansea City. 

Another big shock was Liverpool losing by three goals to nil to West Ham. However although it was a shock result, I suspected that Liverpool would struggle as losing two key players would impact on them and in my opinion Brendan Rogers as not replaced them. 

Now there will be a break for the international break and it will be interesting to see how they could come back from this break. 

Premier League 14th/15th/16/17th August 2015

In this weekend fixtures Manchester United beat Aston Villa by a goal to nil and this was an expected win for Man U anything else would have been a little odd. 

Tottenham continued their poor start with a two all draw against Stoke City. I am think that Tottenham still have a holiday mindset. It's a little unusual to see them start to badly. 

Arsenal got their first win of the season and they had to work very hard to beat Crystal Palace by two goals one. 

I have to say I am little surprised by this struggle because the preseason games they played suggested that Arsenal would have a good season. 

Manchester City hammered Chelsea three goals to nil and Chelsea have also had a poor start to their season. As the holders of the title they should be doing a lot better.  But frankly I think they were very fortunate to win the title last season. 

Liverpool beat Bournemouth by a goal to nil to win their match. Liverpool have have done well in two games of the season. 

However it will be interesting to see how cope with tougher opposition and without their former captain Gerard. 

So it was a real mixed bag of results this weekend and the team that maybe struggling the most are last years winners Chelsea. 

Premier League 7th May 2015

I have blogged about the premiership for a while, however I haven't missed a match! Arsenal beat Hull City by three goals to one and it was a good win. 

I still don't know why Arsene Wenger is not playing Theo Walcott and it particularly annoyed me our previous game against Chelsea as that point we still had a little chance to win the premiership which has now gone. 

This because Chelsea beat Crystal Palace one nil and they won the title and that is another year that Arsenal don't win the title so it is frustrating but at least it help Arsenal secure second place.

Premier League - Easter Bank Holiday Games

In the bank holiday fixtures Arsenal beat Liverpool by four goals to one and it is probably the best football Arsenal have played in sometime. 

I am not always happy with the line up that Arsene Wenger goes for but this line up was very effective albeit he left Walcott and Gibbs who are two of my favourite players but most importantly a Arsenal won the game and collected three valuable points. 

Manchester United beat Aston Villa by three goals to one and this was a good win for them and keeps them in the title race. 

Chelsea beat Stoke City by two goals to one and this helped them to lead at the top and with a few top matches coming up this win was vital. 

Shock of the bank holiday fixtures was Manchester City losing to Crystal Palace and before the game I would have bet my months salary that Manchester City would have beaten Crystal Palace comfortably. 

This was a bad loss for Manchester City and they also dropped to fourth in the league and it will take a real miracle for them to retain their title. 

 

So the last eight/nine games of the league are looking exciting and realistically any of the top three Chelsea, Manchester United or Arsenal can awin it. 

Premier league - 21st February 2015

In this weekend premiership fixtures Chelsea had a shock one all draw with Burnley at home and this after the club had spent most of the week on the front pages of the newspapers because of the disgraceful behaviour of a few fans. 

I am sure this did not help the concentration of their players and Burnley were able to capitalize on this. 

Another shock result was Swansea beating Manchester United by two goals to one. As Manchester United have been doing reasonable well so I personally didn't see before hand how they where going to lose this match. 

Arsenal beat Crystal Palace by two goals to one and it was a closely fought game. Which Arsenal managed to win by the skin of their teeth but a win is win and it have them three valuable points. 

Manchester City beat Newcastle by five goals to nil and it was an embarrassing defeat for Newcastle. Whilst it was the excellent result for City and it is also good for the goal difference with other teams. 

Liverpool beat Southampton by two goals to nil. This was a really good win for  Liverpool as Southampton have been in the team for most of the season. Liverpool can now realistically focus on a top five finish and a place in Europe. 

FA Cup - 24th/25th January 2015

There were some truly shocking losses in the FA Cup. Chelsea who were two nil up ended up losing four goals to Bradford City at home. 

Manchester City provided more shocks as the lost two nil at home to Middlesborough. Southampton who have been so well also lost three goals to two to Crystal Palace. 

So Arsenal played there game a day later and Arsene Wenger got the memo that it was not the time to play a weakened squad so he picked a full strength squad and it paid off as Arsenal beat Brighton by three goals to two. 

The losses by three of the top teams has made it more realistic possibility that Arsenal can retain their title. 

Premiership 8th and 9th November 2014

In this weekend football Swansea beat Arsenal by two goals to one. It was a pretty inept performance by Arsenal. I felt bad for Alexis Sanchez who scored an amazing goal and ended up on the losing side.

Arsene Wenger really needs to get a grip of the back four as Nacho Monreal is not and centre back and if he continues to play him in that position it could get even worse for Arsenal 

Chelsea beat Liverpool by two goals to one and this was another good win for Chelsea. 

Liverpool now seem to be in a terminal decline and if they don't start stringing some results together there season will be over very quickly. 

Manchester United beat Crystal Palace by a goal to nil. Man U fans will be relieved to get this win under their belt.

 

But this win has done little to improve their standing in the league. But I am sure it will be welcome relief for the players and fans. 

Man City drew two all with Queens Park Rangers and this was a bit of surprise. I really did not expect Queens Park Rangers to get anything out of this match. But it's one point that QPR needed. 

Man City they should really should be winning these kind of matches. If they want to retain the title they won last season. 

Stoke City beat Tottenham by two goals to one and Tottenham are languishing in the bottom part of the table. 

They too cannot seem to string results together and they need to turn it around quickly or before they know it they will be fighting relegation. 

Premiership - 18th October 2014

So the premiership returned this weekend and Arsenal drew two all with Hull City.

 This was one match I expected Arsenal to win but as I said preseason, Arsene Wenger failure to strengthen the defense will be very costly. 

To be fair Arsenal were lucky to come out with one point after a ninety minute equaliser curtesy of Danny Welbeck. But with all the talent that Arsenal had on the pitch getting a draw seems quite ridiculous.

Elsewhere Manchester City hammered Tottenham by four goals to one. This was always going to be a tough away game  for Tottenham so I was not too surprised by the score line.

Chelsea beat Crystal Palace by two goals to one and I thought Crystal Palace really held their own and it is shame there efforts went unrewarded. 

Premier League - Opening Weekend!

So the Premiership returned this weekend and the shock of the weekend was Swansea City beating Manchester United by two goals to one. 

I do think that Manchester United will suffer at the back from the departure of both Vidic and Rio and it will take time for them to jell which could mean letting in a few more goals. 

Arsenal beat Crystal Palace by two goals to one but Arsenal where fortunate enough to get the winning goal in extra time. 

It wasn't Arsenal best performance but to be fair it was better than last year where Arsenal where beaten on the opening day. 

Manchester City beat Newcastle United by two goals to nil and this was good win for them.  

But to be fair it always going to depend on which Newcastle team will turned up. Some fans are desperate to get rid of Alan Pardew maybe the players now feel the same. 

Chelsea beat Burnley by three goals to one and it was a win that I expected Chelsea to get. Burnley are newly promoted team into the Premiership and it make take a few games to find their feet. 

Premiership review - 3rd/4th/5th May 2014

In the weekend premiership games Manchester City beat Everton by three goals to two. 

It was a very competitive match but Manchester City seems to have that extra gear to score more goals and get the important win.

Sunderland  beat Manchester United by one goal to nil. This was shock result as I did not expect Sunderland to beat Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Arsenal beat West Bromwich Albion beat one goal to nil and it was a good win. Arsenal players are showing that they are trying to end the season on the high and preparing themselves for the FA Cup final. 

Chelsea drew nil nil with Norwich at home and this was a shock result as well.  If Chelsea had won they would have gone top. This draw may have cost them possibility of winning the league. 

Liverpool drew three all with Crystal Palace and this after Liverpool went three nil up and somehow managed to throw away three goal lead.

A Liverpool win would have have meant that they would have won the title. Now they have to hope that Man City trip up and give the advantage back to them. 

So this means the last couple of games for this season should be exciting as the destination of this year trophy is still undecided. 

Premiership review - 26th/27th/28th April 2014

In the weekend's premiership games Manchester United with Ryan Giggs as Manager beat Norwich City by four goals to nil. 

This was the kind of win the Man United needed as they move forward and plan for next season and the reality of not playing any European games sinks in. 

Manchester City beat Crystal Palace by two goals to nil and this win kept Manchester City in the title race. 

The shock of the weekend was Chelsea beating Liverpool by two goals to nil. Some sports pundits had been predicting that Liverpool where going to win the title by beating Chelsea. 

However Chelsea managed to put Liverpool potential title win on hold by beating them at Anfield. 

Chelsea win at Liverpool means that the title race is still open and it could be decided on the final day. 

In last nights evening game, Arsenal beat Newcastle by three goals to nil. This was a good win for Arsenal who still need to secure fourth place to ensure they can play in next season Champions League.

Arsenal played reasonably well in most parts but where helped by the fact that Newcastle played badly. 

Normally Arsenal/Newcastle games are very competitive and there are normally lots of goals. 

It was a bit of a surprise on how badly Newcastle played but relieved that Arsenal secured all three points. 

Premiership review - 2nd & 3rd February 2014

In the premiership on Sunday Liverpool drew one all with West Bromwich Albion. This was a surprise result for me as Liverpool have been getting good wins of late. 

So I thought a win at West Brom would have cemented there top four credentials.

Arsenal beat Crystal Palace by two goals to nil. It was a fairly routine win but Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and Carzola both played exceptionally well to create and score goals which helped to secure the win.

Yesterday Chelsea beat Manchester City by one goal to nil. It was a very good win for Chelsea who attacked and defended very well. Although Man City had a few chances they where unable to convert them.

 

This means that Arsenal stay top of the league but they have some very tough matches coming up.   

Premiership review 28/01/2014

Premiership returned last night and Arsenal drew two all with Southampton. This was a bad draw from Arsenal's perspective as Arsenal need to beat teams like Southampton if they are to win the league. 

Arsenal next game is Crystal Palace at home and it is a must win game. After this game Arsenal have some very tough matches ahead.

Hopefully Arsene Wenger has learnt his lessons from last night and will put out a stronger team against a resurgent Crystal Palace.  

By contrast Liverpool beat Everton by four goals to nil and it goes show what a strong team Liverpool has and they could still win the league. 

Manchester United also beat Cardiff City by two goals nil and they played their new signing Juan Mata. This was a good win for Man United and will help them to get at least a Champions League place. 

So Arsenal are still top of the league but Manchester City and Chelsea play tonight so it could all change. 

Premiership review - 14th December

Yesterday in the premiership Manchester City beat Arsenal by six goals to three. As an Arsenal fan I was disppointed that we lost. 

However Man City where quicker to the balls than we where and Ya Ya Toure totally bossed the midefield.

It was good to see Theo Walcott back in the squad and scoring goals with his pace. 

Sadly nobody else in the Arsenal team has got that kind of pace and against a team like Man City you need to be able to run at them without fear. 

So it was a bad result for Arsenal who face Chelsea next weekend. This will be a very tough match and a match that Arsenal need to win to stay top of the league. 

Chelsea beat struggling Crystal Palace by two goals to one and this win has puts  them second behind Arsenal. 

So next weeks  game between Chelsea and Arsenal will decide who will be top of the league for Christmas. 

Premiership - a Roundup

Another good weekend of premiership football and Arsenal managed to beat Crystal Palace by two goals to nil. 

It's been while since Arsenal have managed to stay at the top of league for consecutive weeks. 

But like I said in my previous blog it is all about the November test for Arsenal. Which historically is the month we tend to struggle with the change of weather.

Man United came from behind twice to beat relegation bound Stoke City by three goals to two. 

David Moyes is still under massive pressure and close wins like this would not have helped his cause.

 I think that if by the start of the new year Man United are not top four then it will be hard for David Moyes to hold on to his job. 

Liverpool continued there impressive start to the season by beating West Bromwich Albion by four goals to one. 

I think Liverpool are the team to watch and this is there best start to the season for quite sometime. 

Arsenal will nervously looking over its shoulder as Liverpool have got the team and the desire to win the premiership.

Chelsea and Tottenham Spurs also recorded wins and they are only a couple of  points dividing teams in the top of the league positions. 

So it is still very early in the season with most of the top teams all doing well at the weekend.  

Premier League review - 14/09/13

So after the international break the premier league was back yesterday. 

Man United beat newly promoted Crystal Palace two nil and to be fair, it was always going to be a challenge for Crystal Palace to win at Old Trafford.

However they did well and Man United had to work hard for this win. If Palace can keep this up they will do well this season.

 

Man City and Stoke City drew nil nil and this meant that Stoke maintained their proud record not losing to Man City at home. 

Tottenham Hotspurs beat Norwich City two nil. This was always going to be a challenge for Norwich.

I thought that with all the new players that Spurs bought it would take time for them to settle in. I guess that was not a problem for Spurs.

Everton beat Chelsea one nil and I was not too surprised by this result. Everton are a good hardworking team. 

Chelsea also bought some new players like Samuel Eto so it may take little while for him and the others to settle in.

Arsenal controversially beat Sunderland three goals to one. Arsenal where winning two goals to one when Sagna pulled back a Jozy Altidore and then Jozy scored a second goal. 

But referee claimed he had blown his whistle for Sagna's infringement on Jozy. So he disallowed the goal and give Sunderland a free kick instead which did not result in a goal. 

Arsenal then went on and scored a third goal and won the match. I have to say that we were a little fortunate, but these things tend to even themselves out over a course of a season.

Aaron Ramsey scored two goals for Arsenal which helped to seal the victory. I have to say that last season I was not impressed with Ramsey.

 So it is a big surprise to see him playing so well. Just as well Arsene Wenger stuck with him as he is now scoring amazing goals. 

Arsenal played well but I was concerned that defensively we looked a little vulnerable. 

Although Santi Carzola did not play and is an attacking midfielder. He  gives the team a little lift which was a little lacking today. Hopefully Arsenal will be  stronger and better in our next game.

Preview of the premiership games

So after the break for the World Cup qualifiers, the premiership resumes today.

Man United are at home to the newly promoted Crystal Palace. This could  be quite a tough match for Crystal Palace but who knows they might surprise us. 

Man City are away to Stoke City this will be a very competitive game. Which  to be fair could go either way.

Chelsea are away to Everton now this should be a good match and I would not be surprised if Everton won.

Tottenham are at home to Norwich this will probably be a very competitive match.

 Spurs new players are still to bed in with the rest of their players. So if Norwich where going to beat Spurs this would be a good time. 

On Monday Liverpool are away to Swansea this will be a competitive game that could go either way. 

However Liverpool  have started very well with three straight wins so maybe their winning streak might continue.

Arsenal are away to Sunderland and we always  struggle away from home to beat Sunderland. 

Arsenal normally comeback from  the international break and play sluggish football. 

I am hoping that our new signing Mesut Ozil might shake the team up and get us a win!