Premiership review - 29/01/14

In yesterday premiership games Manchester City beat Tottenham Hotspurs by five goals to one. 

It was a definitely a five star performance from Man City and top of getting hammered Spurs finished the game with ten men. 

For Man City this win has put them top of league and it was a good away win. I am sure this will help to reaffirm their belief that they can win the title. 

For Spurs this would have been an embarrassing loss at home. After all the money that they spent on players last summer their fans might start to feel a little short changed. 

By contrast Chelsea drew nil nil to Cardiff City. This was a  game that Chelsea where expected to win. So Chelsea fans will see this as dropped points especially as they played at home. 

So Manchester City are the new league leaders with Arsenal a point or so behind.

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. 

Review of the Australian Open from the sofa!

This years Australian Open was interesting to say the least. The adverse weather conditions meant players where playing tennis in forty two degrees heat. 

These weather conditions lasted for almost the first week of the slam and resulted in players getting dehydrated, vomiting or some even passing out. 

The second week started with a shock when the women's favourite for title Serena Williams was beating by Ana Ivanovic. 

Serena's exit of the tournament was closely followed by Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka's exits. This ultimately lead to Li Na beating Dominika Cibulkova in the final. 

The men's draw was much more stable and than the women's. It was only final that had me most surprised when Stanislas Wawrinka beat Rafael Nadal. 

The Aussie fans where particularly vocal in the men's final and had some point sections in the crowd where booing Rafael Nadal for his injury time out. Which I thought was particularly unpleasant and was totally uncalled for. 

Some of the men's matches where played until 01.30 in the morning which I thought was a little strange. 

Overall I was surprised by wins of Li Na and Stanislas Wawrinka which I did not see coming. I guess that is why I love tennis because sometimes it can be unpredictable. 

However I can bet a bottom dollar that the players who under performed at this tournament will have a bigger impact in the remaining Gram Slams. 

FA Cup - Fourth round

The fourth round of FA Cup took place over the weekend and Arsenal beat Coventry City by two goals to nil.

It was a routine win for Arsenal who where up against a Championship side at home. It would have been a huge surprise if Coventry had got the win.

Arsenal are now becoming a lot more consistent, however they do have a very tough February month coming up. 

Liverpool beat Bournemouth FC by two goals to nil in a match that they where also expected to win. However they face Arsenal away in the next round. 

Chelsea beat Stoke City by a goal to nil and they face Man City in the next round. Man City where losing to Watford by two goals to nil but managed to win it by four goals to two. 

Australian Open - Day Fourteen- Men's Final

Day fourteen at the Australian Open and Stanislas Wawrinka beat Rafael Nadal in four sets to win the men's final. 

Rafa later on stated in his press conference that he hurt his back in the warm up. Which got progressively worse with each game. 

Rafa did his best to compete but the back injury made it difficult for him to serve or run. So it was amazing that he was able to get the third set. 

Stanislas served very well and was hitting winners everywhere and this was made easier by the fact that Rafa could not get to half the balls. 

So it was a gripping final but I am sure it would have been better if Rafa had not got injured. 

Australian Open - Day thirteen - Women's final

Day thirteen of the Australian Open and in today's women's final Li Na beat Dominika Cibulkova in straight sets. 

The first set was very competitive but in the second set Li Na imposed her authority and Dominika was unable to step up to the challenge. 

For Dominika it has been a great tournament and I am sure at the beginning of the tournament she probably didn't see herself in the final. 

So getting to the final would have improved Dominika's ranking and she will hopefully build on this success to win a grand slam soon. 

For Li Na she would have come into this tournament at least expecting to get to the semi-finals. 

So winning her second grand slam I am sure exceeded her expectations and she will hoping to build on this success for the remaining grand slams of the year.

It was by no means a classic final but aLi Na was fortunate enough not to face a top twenty player on route to the final. But all that means is the draw opened up in favour and made this win possible. 

Australian Open - day twelve

Day twelve of the Australian Open and in the second men's semi- finals, Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer in straight sets. 

This result did not come as a huge surprise to me as Roger is not getting any younger and as much as some  tennis pundits still think of him as world number one. 

 

I think Roger's time has come and gone and he is not getting any younger and yes he is supremely talented. 

But it is asking too much to expect him to compete and beat men that are five years younger than him now that he is a step slower.   

So the men's final will be between Stanislas Wawrinka and Rafael Nadal. This is a match that I think Rafa should win quite comfortably.