On a regulation weekend for the ‘Big Two’, with 2-0 and 3-0 home wins respectively for Chelsea and Manchester United, the ‘Next Four’ had differing fortunes. Arsenal proved their mettle by winning at Blackburn, Liverpool looked unimpressive while Spurs and City both lost games they would have pencilled in as wins.
Spurs’ home loss to Wigan was an absolute coupon buster, no doubt ruining hundreds of punters’ 12 game accas. Wigan had looked woeful in conceding ten goals in their opening
Group A
Inter Milan, Werder Bremen, Tottenham, FC Twente
Spurs fans wanted the big teams and the European champions certainly count as big, though without Jose Mourinho they may not be as dominant this year. Twente have also lost their title winning manager Steve McClaren so are hard to predict at this stage and Bremen complete the group after coming through a thrilling play-off with Sampdoria. Playing Inter over the middle two games for Spurs was the worst case scenario
So all is well in Geordie Land. Newcastle won 6-0 at home to Villa on Sunday, the new number nine Andy Carroll smashed in a hat trick and Gazza is out of rehab (again). It seems like an almost annual occasion now when Mr Gascoigne appears on Sky Sports News, professes to have changed to be on the right path and about to set up a football academy. And then he takes some fried chicken to a gun wielding murderer while police are trying to negotiate.
Just like the Gazza interview has
It is now fast approaching two weeks since Martin O’Neill left the post as Aston Villa manager on the 9th of November and there appears to have been little movement from Randy Lerner to appoint a new man. Is this because caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald has done such a stellar job in his short tenure (until yesterday)? Has Lerner been rebuffed by his prime candidates? Maybe everything is signed, sealed and delivered and the new gaffer is ready to be unveiled this week. Whatever the scenario, here’s
Normally, the teams who come down from the Premier League are instantly made favourites to go straight back up. This year though, Pompey are broke, Burnley are rubbish and Hull and broke and rubbish.
The bookies have made Middlesbrough, or Scotland as they’re sometimes known, favourites for the league. Some clubs scout the world for the best talent, looking at teenagers from Senegal and 10 year olds from Kazakhstan, some clubs just scout Europe but I have never seen a club so adamant