Picture of the Day: Fernando Torres

On the last day of the January Transfer Window, Chelsea shocked everyone by purchasing Fernando Torres from Liverpool for 50 million pounds. Being one of the most hyped up transfers, Torres' first 2 months at the Bridge were... how do I say it.... EPICCC FAAILLLL. Maybe that's an exaggeration. But still. The images of Roman Abramovich being hugely dissatisfied when watching Chelsea's matches were pretty hilarious to me. On the other hand, Liverpool got the great end of the deal. With the money they earned, they purchased Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll, with the latter being priced at a hugely inflated 35 million pounds. Despite Nando's poor performances, Chelsea's purchase of him and David Luiz revitalized the Blues, and gave them the drive to recover from their slump and finish their season in 2nd place. So I don't really know what to think about it. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise. A very bad, out of form, lazy disguise.

Premier League Top 4: What's Next in Store?

After all of the excitement, drama, and collapses in this year's Premier League season, Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United have once again become Champions of England. Was it really that surprising? To be quite honest, not at all. Despite having huge hope for the Gunners, once again, the season ended dismally, with the single highlight being the victory against the eventual champions. Now, I'll look over the best 6 teams in the Premier League, and make my views clear on what they should do to succeed next year.

Manchester United (10/11: 1st Place, 80 Points): No matter how much I hated seeing them take the trophy again, I have to admit that the Red Devils have been stellar. Despite, in most people's views, having a weaker squad then their rivals; they're able to achieve the success that other teams can only dream of. A midfield of Carrick, Giggs, Anderson, and Fletcher doesn't even begin to send shivers down the spines of most teams, so it seems like that's the one area that Sir Alex needs to purchase players for. One area that doesn't need purchases is the attack, with Hernandez, Rooney, Nani, and Berbatov providing proper cover. Watching Rooney recover from his scandal, I was amazed when he dropped back behind Hernandez and played numerous passes for the little Mexican, "Chicharito" to easily finish off.  In fact, that's what Hernandez has shown he's best at, poaching. Always at the right place at the right time, usually being able to tap the ball into an open net. Those two, along with Nani, will be troubling many defenses for the next few years in both Europe and England. For the 2012 season, I view Manchester United as the favorites to retain the title. The only real signings they need to make are one or two midfielders, especially a creative midfielder, with Paul Scholes recently retiring. With that, they can continue to grind out results, no matter how hard it seems.

Arsenal (10/11: 4th Place, 68 Points): Oh boy, where do I start with my favorite team? At the beginning of the season, nearly everything was perfect. Samir Nasri was just sublime, Marouane Chamakh was providing wonderful cover for the injured Robin Van Persie, and Jack Wilshere was showing the potential to become one of the best midfielders in the world. They were on top of the world in January and February, beating Barcelona in the Champions' League, and strongly contesting the four tournaments they took part in. Then, on February 27th, it all collapsed. Everything. Losing the Carling Cup final to Birmingham City, knocked out of the Champions' League on aggregate by Barcelona, and knocked out of the FA Cup by Man United. They still had the league right? Nope. A late collapse saw them drop from title contenders to fourth place. So what are they missing? Not to be biased, but Arsenal's attack is formidable, one of the best in the league. Robin Van Persie, Samir Nasri, Cesc Fabregas, Jack Wilshere, and Theo Walcott lead a front-line that can terrify even the strongest defenses. But the defense is a completely different story. As much as Johann Djourou and Laurent Koscielny tried, they couldn't contest battles in the air. More than 50% of the goals Arsenal have conceded have been from set pieces. MORE THAN 50%. For a team regularly contesting the title, that's ridiculous. So it's pretty obvious what's needed. Someone big, strong, even a leader to show a path when times are tough. Christopher Samba has been highly linked, and he ticks all of the needed boxes. So what's gonna happen next year for them? I honestly don't know. It depends on what happens in this transfer market. These next few months will be absolutely crucial for a successful 2011/2012 Premier League season for the Gunners.

Chelsea (10/11: 2nd Place, 71 Points): 2010's Champions went into this season being strong favorites to clinch the title. Sadly, for them atleast, a mid-season collapse in form saw them struggling and falling into third place behind Arsenal. Trying to fix that dip in form, Roman Abramovich reached into his pockets, took out 50 million pounds, and bough Fernando Torres. Now, despite the hilarious outrage of Liverpool fans on the internet, the Reds were happy thanks to their new purchases of Luis Suarez and Andy Caroll. Meanwhile, over at Stamford Bridge, Torres was failing to make an impact. Despite this, Chelsea's form improved hugely, and made a late run for the title, but still missed out. This year has been quite peculiar for the Blues. No trophies? Strange for them. What's been the problem? My guess is that their once world class stars are beginning to show the signs of their age, and there aren't any young replacements. Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, John Terry, Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, and Paulo Ferreira are all 30 or older. Granted, they do have Torres, McEachran, Ramires, and David Luiz, but that really isn't enough. Most of the aging players still have a few years in them, but for Chelsea, it's time to start looking for replacements. They can't rely on the players they purchased 5 years ago for the next few seasons. This summer, my bet is on Roman Abramovich, oil magnate and Chelsea owner, will go on a huge spending spree before the Financial Fair Play rules kick in.

Manchester City (10/11: 3rd Place, 71 Points): Like Chelsea, the Sky Blues are another team who basically bought their success. 12 years ago, they were dwelling in the third tier of British football, but now thanks the a Sheik Mansour they're one of the best teams in England. I honestly don't know what to think of it. On one hand, I like how their success finally managed to throw off United, whom they beat in the FA Cup semi-final. On the other hand, they finished above Arsenal in the table thanks to their 400 million pounds of spending. Me no likey. Let me outline their most likely plan on how to improve the squad in the summer: LET'S SPEND SOME MOOLAH. They also better hope that Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko finally step up and fill their potential, because they will also most likely have to fill Carlos Tevez's boots. It seems as if he could be moving away from the Mancs, especially since he was told by Sheik Mansour himself that he is allowed to leave. Recently, the team's squad has really been clicking, and towards the end of the season they were, I hate to admit it, playing some great footy. The midfield trio of Yaya Toure, David Silva, and Nigel De Jong can only improve next season, and can soon look like a formidable squad that any team in Europe would be scared to face, if they aren't already. So what can they do to improve? Other than what was stated above, not much really. Maybe a few big name signings could come in, and knowing City, I'm ready for some crazy transfer news.


Now, time for some predictions. It'll be tough to call a winner for next season's Premier League. Honestly, I believe that Arsene Wenger will make the best transfers for his squad, and will end up winning the Premier League title. As for the other challengers, I wouldn't be surprised if they win other silverware in England and abroad. We'll just have to wait and see.

My Predictions for 11/12:
Premier League Winner: Arsenal
2nd Place: Manchester United
3rd Place: Manchester City
4th Place: Chelsea/Liverpool
FA Cup Winner: Manchester United
Champions' League Winner: FC Barcelona
Premier League Top Scorer: Robin Van Persie
Carling Cup Winners: Liverpool
 Player of the Season: I honestly don't know, probably someone British.
Young Player of the Season: Henri Lansbury

Carlo Ancelotti Sacked as Chelsea Manager

After Chelsea's 1-0 loss to Everton today, Carlo Ancelotti was removed from the post of the Blues' manager. Thanks to a mid-season collapse in form, Chelsea has finished this year without a trophy. Despite a recent resurgence that has seen Chelsea move up to second, it wasn't enough to secure the Italian's job. Roman Abramovich has hinted at who could be his potential successor, with Guus Hiddink in the front-running. Ancelotti will most likely not be out of a job for long, with many clubs looking for new managers after dismal seasons. Compare this to the situation at Arsenal, where Arsene Wenger hasn't won a trophy with the Gunners for 6 years. Just shows how ruthless Chelsea is when looking for success.

Arsenal Make Things Exciting

So, without Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal finally defeat Manchester United, for the first time in the season. But, it was a hollow victory, atleast for the Arsenal fans. A few weeks ago, it looked like this match would be a title decider. Instead, it's a stumbling block for the Red Devils. But, it has opened the title race wide open. Chelsea, who in the winter looked completely out of the race, now has a wonderful chance to retain the league title next week, with the Blues visiting Old Trafford in a Clash of the Giants.  But then again, a lot has happened, so.... can Arsenal still win the title? Let's see.

Well, let's start with Chelsea. About 4 months ago, they were down and out. They were defeated at the Emirates by Arsenal, who at the time were arguably the strongest team in England, and people counted them out only half way through the season. Now, thanks to Arsenal's terrible recent form, they're in second, and only 3 points behind the Red Devils. But on Saturday, they were lucky to get their crucial three points against Tottenham, with the first goal never fully crossing the line, and the second being scored by Kalou from an offside position. I hate to say it (as an Arsenal fan), but I feel sympathy for the Spurs. They could have been a major changing force in the title race, but thanks to terrible refereeing, they're now behind Liverpool, who jumped up to 5th place. 

 

 

Now, on to Arsenal. Oh, the Gunners. How sad of a collapse. Despite all of their draws, they were still fully in the race until their loss to Bolton. Let me say that again, BOLTON. But with this win, can they be the dark horse in the race? In a word, yes. They don't play up to their full potential when under pressure, but now that people don't take them seriously in the race, they play freely. And the Gunners showed what they could do with that freedom, defeating Man United despite being robbed of a penalty. Chelsea and Manchester United play next weekend, and if Manchester loses while Arsenal beat Stoke City, the table will read Chelsea-73, Man Utd -73, Arsenal-70. Yes, I am being very optimistic. But why not? The 2010-2011 Premier League season has been absolutely insane, meaning anything can happen. Anything.

Torres FINALLY Scores for Chelsea!!!

 

Chelsea's recent 50-million pound purchase, Fernando Torres, hasn't scored for his new club and country in over 901 minutes. That's 10 whole games, well, until today it was. He finally put the ball in the back of the net for the Blues in their 3-0 win over West Ham. After coming on for Didier Drogba in the 76th, Torres found the back of the net after only 8 minutes on the pitch. According to "El Nino" himself, he believes that there's less pressure on him to score; "There's less pressure for me now, now I can enjoy it." Well, congrats to him. It's unusual to post about a player scoring a goal, but this seems like a fitting occasion.

Champions League Quarterfinals: First Legs

Well, this is rather disappointing. Only 1 of these matches will be truly contested in the second leg, that being the Manchester United vs. Chelsea clash. All of the other ties will have teams try to overcome near-impossible deficits, but who knows? Crazy things happen.

Chelsea 0-1 Manchester United (Agg. 0-1): Despite Chelsea coming back into form recently, their efforts weren't enough and gave the Red Devils their first win at Stamford Bridge since 2002. In the 24th, after an amazing piece of play from 37 year old Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney put away the simple tap in from 6 yards out. Chelsea kept putting the pressure on United, with Patrice Evra having to clear a Frank Lampard effort off of the line to hold Man U's lead. Then, in the dying minutes of the game, Evra clearly fouled a charging Ramires in the penalty area, but a spot-kick wasn't given. In a desperate attempt to draw, Fernando Torres later dove in the box, but was only awarded a yellow card.

Barcelona 5-1 Shakhtar Donetsk (Agg. 5-1): Well, here's the first of the hugely one-sided matches. Just 2 minutes into the match, Andres Iniesta put in the first for the Catalans, with a low shot from an interception off of a loose ball. Despite dominating later on, Barca let the Ukranians have a few chances which definitely put a scare in the Spanish giants. Then in the 34th, the goalscorer slotted a perfect pass to Dani Alves, who only had to put the ball into an empty net. Gerard Pique made it 3-0 for Barca after taking a shot from a corner first time, and the ball was helped in with a deflection off of Rakitskiy. The Ukrainian defender redeemed himself in the 59th, heading Srna's free-kick past Victor Valdes to get a consolation goal. But, Seydou Keita then powered a shot into the back of Shakhtar's net after Leo Messi worked hard to get past his man and then pass it to the waiting Keita. Finally, Barcelona killed the match off with a Xavi goal in the 86th minute, basically ending Shakhtar's chances of advancing.

Real Madrid 4-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Agg. 4-0):  After promising to score against the Spurs for the Arsenal fans, Emmanuel Adebayor did indeed do so. Twice, actually. Early in the 4th, Adebayor, who was marked by the puny Jenas, put a header past Luka Modric on the post to give Real the lead. Stupidly, after already being on a yellow, Peter Crouch earned his second and was sent off in only the 15th minute of the match. Despite being denied a penalty, Real put a second one into the back of the net in the 57th minute, with Adebayor once again scoring from a stunning header. Then, in the 72nd, Angel Di Maria scored one of the Champions' League goals of the season, with a curler from the right into the top left corner of the goal. Hoping for the goal to kill off the tie in the 87th, Cristiano Ronaldo took a hopeful shot, which somehow found the net thanks to a dumb mistake from Gomes, the Spurs keeper.

Inter Milan 2-5 Schalke 04 (Agg. 2-5): Looking to bounce back from their 3-0 loss in the Milan derby, Inter desperately wanted a win. But a comeback of this magnitude by the Germans was not expected by anyone. Inter was up 1-0 in the 1st minute thanks to a wonderful volley from Dejan Stankovic. 16 minutes later, Schalke leveled from a corner kick, with Joel Matip putting the ball in the back of the net. Diego Milito restored the lead of the Italians, when he finished off with smooth strike from Cambiasso's header. 5 minutes from half-time, the pesky Germans equalized, with Edu scoring after his first shot was saved by Julio Cesar. Then, it was time for Inter to hit the self destruct button. In the 53rd, former Real Madrid man Raul put his 70th Champions' League goal into the back of the net, after Farfan had worked hard to get the ball to him. 4 minutes later, Andrea Ranocchia scored an own goal in an attempt Jurado's cross. 15 minutes from full time, Edu put the final nail in Inter Milan's coffin, with an absolutely fantastic strike from outside the box, leaving Julio Cesar stranded.

Premier League Injury Update: March 31st

Chelsea: The Blues' recent signing Yossi Benayoun has been out of action since October, after getting surgery on his knee. He played in Isreal's Euro qualifier against Georgia this week, and will be looking forward to return to play for Chelsea. I was actually wondering where he went. 

Arsenal: During today's training session for the Gunners, Theo Walcott, Cesc Fabregas, Abou Diaby and Alex Song were all seen training at full strength. Arsene Wenger is confident that all four will be ready for Saturday's match against Blackburn. Also, Robin Van Persie should be ready for the match after his injury during Holland's Euro qualifier against Hungary was ruled to be not very serious. This will be a huge boost for Arsenal.

Tottenham: After recently recovering from a groin injury, Jonathan Woodgate returned to play in a friendly against Barnet. But, he was taken off with a calf-problem, and will miss the Spurs' Champions' League quarter-final against Real Madrid. This could be a major setback, despite Huddlestone coming back from injury. Also, Gareth Bale has a hamstring injury which occurred when training with Wales, but he could possibly feature against Real Madrid. Aaron Lennon should also be back after pulling out of England's friendly with Ghana.

Bolton: Stuart Holden will be out for approximately six months after sustaining ligament damage from a hard tackle by Manchester United's Johnny Evans. For the hard tackle, Evans received a straight red. This is a huge blow to the American, who in my opinion was one of Bolton's most consistent players at Bolton and in the USA National team.

Liverpool: Steven "Captain Fantastic" Gerrard could be back from a groin surgery for Saturday's match against West Bromwich Albion. He took part in most of this week's training sessions, but manager Kenny Dalglish will be cautious when considering to play Stevie G. I don't think it's been that huge of a loss for the Reds, with Raul Meireles and Luis Suarez both stepping up recently, contributing hugely to Liverpool's good recent form.

Premier League Weekend Roundup: Gameweek 29

Wolverhampton 3-3 Tottenham: After a long spell of posession for the Wolves, Kevin Doyle flicked in a header a Milijas header to put Wolves up 1-0. However, 10 minutes later, Jermaine Defoe fired a thundering shot from 25 yards out to equalize for the Spurs. 5 minutes later, Jermaine Defoe scored another off a deflection off of Ward to put Tottenham up 2-1. Continuing to trouble the Spurs' defense, Nenad Milijas was pulled down in the area by Alan Hutton, and Kevin Doyle slotted the penalty into the back of the net for his second. Two minutes into the second half, Roman Pavlyuchenko of Tottenham put the ball into the back of the net to give the Spurs the lead, and scoring his 11th of the season. Tottenham held onto the lead until the 87th minute, when Steven Fletcher equalized the match with a header from Jarvis' cross. Because of this draw, Tottenham wasn't able to hop above Chelsea in the table.

Blackpool  1-3 Chelsea: Despite the one-sided scoreline, this match wasn't as close as it seemed. Having many chances early in the match, Blackpool wasn't able to capitalize on those shots. Taking advantage of the Tangerine's poor finishing, John Terry put a corner into the back of the net in the 20th minute. After Blackpool almost gaining an equalizer, the half ended with Chelsea showing poor form. Soon after coming on, Slomon Kalou won a penalty for Chelsea, and Frank Lampard put it away to double the Blues' lead. 4 minutes later, Lampard scored another and put the game away for Chelsea. Blackpool got a consolation goal when Puncheon scored in the 86th minute, but that did nothing to change the outcome. Chelsea now move above Tottenham in the table. 

Sir Alex, Quit Your Yappin'

After Manchester United's 2-1 loss to Chelsea, Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of Man Utd, criticized the referee, believing that Chelsea's David Luiz, should've been sent off; "You want a fair referee, or a strong referee anyway - and we didn't get that." From a neutral perspective, David Luiz, who was already booked with a yellow, should have gotten a second yellow and been sent off. Here is the foul in question:

Wayne Rooney had already passed the ball, and wanted to continue to run, but tripped over David Luiz, who wasn't quick enough to get out of the way. Despite the arguing of the Manchester players, the referee took no action against Luiz. Alex Ferguson would be completely correct in this situation normally, but in Manchester's previous match against Wigan, Rooney did this:

Following the match, Fergie reacted to the incident; "There is nothing in it." There's nothing in it? Rooney running by a player, far from the ball, and elbowing him in the face is "nothing". The ref seemed to agree, letting Wayne off with just a warning. Before you complain about refs Ferguson, remember, you're lucky that Rooney was lucky to even be playing at Stamford Bridge. Ferguson simply got a taste of his own medicine, and now, because he complained, is facing a 2 match touchline ban, meaning he's going to be sitting in the stands.