Premier Teams Transfers Ins and Outs, Some Inc Todays!

Arsenal In: Carl Jenkinson (Charlton), signed for £1m; Gervinho (Lille), £10.7m; Joel Campbell (Saprissa), undisclosed fee; Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Sounthampton), £15m; Park Chu-Young (Monaco), £3m; Andre Santos (Fenerbahce), £6.2m.

Out: Gael Clichy (Man City), £7m; Mark Randall (Chesterfield), free; Tom Cruise and Roarie Deacon (released); Wellington (Levante), season-long loan; Jay Emmanuel-Thomas (Ipswich Town), £1.5m; Denilson (Sao Paulo), loan; Emmanuel Eboue (Galatasaray), £3m; Jamie Edge (West Brom), free; Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona), £35m; Samir Nasri (Man City), £22m; Armand Traore (QPR), £1.2m; Henri Lansbury (West Ham), loan; Joel Cambell (Lorient), loan; Gilles Sunu (Lorient), permanent move sealed after loan period; Carlos Vela (Real Sociedad), season-long loan; Pedro Botelho (Rayo Vallecano), loan. 

Aston Villa In: Charles N'Zogbia (Wigan), £9.5m; Shay Given (Man City), £3.5m; Nathan Delfouneso (Burnley), loan expired; Enda Stevens (Shamrock Rovers), move to complete in Jan 2012.

Out: Ashley Young (Man United), £16m; Stewart Downing (Liverpool), £20m; Brad Friedel (Tottenham), free; Nigel Reo-Coker (Bolton), free; John Carew (released); Moustapha Salifou (released); Robert Pires (released); Isaiah Osbourne (released); Harry Forrester (released); Arsenio Halfhuid (released); Durrell Berry (unattached), free; Ellis Deeney (released); Calum Flanagan (released); Luke Young (QPR), undisclosed; Jonathan Hogg (Watford), undisclosed.

Blackburn In: Myles Anderson (Aberdeen), free; David Goodwillie (Dundee), £2m; Bruno Ribeiro (unattached), free; Radosav Petrovic (Partizan Belgrade), free; Simon Vukcevic (Sporting), undisclosed.

Out: Phil Jones (Man United), £16.5m; Frankie Fielding (Derby), £400k; Jordan Bowen (released); Jason Brown (Aberdeen), free; Zurab Khizanishvili (Kayserispor), free; Marceo Rigters (released); Michael Potts (released); Benjani Mwarurawi (released); Jake Kean (Rochdale), loan; Nikola Kalinic (Dnipro), undisclosed.

Bolton In: Darren Pratley (Swansea), free; Tyrone Mears & Chris Eagles (Burnley), £3m (joint fee); Nigel Reo-Coker (Aston Villa), free; Gael Kakuta (Chelsea), loan until January; David Ngog (Liverpool), £4m.

Out: Ali Al Habsi (Wigan), £4m; Johan Elmander (Galatasaray), free; J Lloyd Samuel (released); Joey O’Brien (released); Tamir Cohen (released); Sam Sheridan (released); Masion McGeechan (released); Danny Ward (Huddersfield), undisclosed; Matt Taylor (West Ham), £2.2m.

Chelsea In: Lucas Piazon (Sao Paulo), up to £8m; Thibaud Courtois (Genk), £5m; Oriol Romeu (Barcelona), undisclosed; Romelu Lukaku (Anderlecht), £20m; Juan Mata (Valencia), £23.5m; Ulises Davila Piascencia (Chivas), undisclosed.

Out: Thibaud Courtois (Atletico Madrid), loan; Jack Cork (Southampton), £750k; Jeffrey Bruma (Hamburg), loan; Sam Walker (Northampton), loan; Michael Mancienne (Hamburg), £3m; Jacopo Sala (Hamburg), free; Gokhan Tore (Hamburg), £1m; Sam Hutchinson (retired); Michael Woods (released); Danny Philliskirk (Sheffield United), free; Yuri Zhirkov (Anzhi Makhachkala), undisclosed; Siobodan Rajkovic (Hamburg), undisclosed; Ulises Davila (Vitesse), season-long loan; Patrick van Aanholt (Wigan), season-long loan; Gael Kakuta (Bolton), loan until January.

Everton In: Eric Dier (Sporting Lisbon), year-long loan.

Out: James Vaughan (Norwich), £2.5m; John Nolan (Stockport County), free transfer; Iain Turner (released); Nathan Craig (released); Gerard Kinsella (released); Lee McArdle (released); Kieran Agard (Yeovil), free; Hope Akpan (Crawley), free; Luke Dobie (released); Tom Donegan (Fulham), free; Shane Duffy (Scunthorpe), loan.

Fulham In: Dan Burn (Darlington), undisclosed fee; John-Arne Riise (Roma), £2.4m; Csaba Somogyi (Rakospalotai EAC), free transfer; Tom Donegan (Everton), free; Pajtim Kasami (Palermo), £4m; Marcel Gecov (Slovan Liberec), £700k; Zdenek Grygera (Juventus), free.

Out: Zoltan Gera (WBA), free; Diomansy Kamara (Eskisehirspor), free; John Pantsil (Leicester), free; Eddie Johnson (released); Matthew Saunders (released); Kagisho Dikgacoi (Crystal Palace), undisclosed; David Stockdale (Ipswich), loan; Jonathan Greening (Notts Forest), £670k; Pascal Zuberbuhler (released). 

Liverpool In: Jordan Henderson (Sunderland), £16m; Charlie Adam (Blackpool), £8m; Stewart Downing (Aston Villa), £20m; Alexander Doni (Roma), free; Jose Enrique (Newcastle), £6.3m; Sebastian Coates (Nacional), £7m; Villyan Bijev (California Odyssey), free.

Out: Paul Konchesky (Leicester), £1.5m; Stephen Darby (Rochdale), season-long loan; Jason Banton (released); Deale Chamberlain (released); Douglas Cooper (released); Sean Highdale (released); Steven Irwin (released); Nikola Saric (released); Peter Gulacsi (Hull), loan; Martin Hansen (Bradford City), loan; Dean Bouzanis (Melbourne Victory), free; Daniel Ayala (Norwich), £800k; Milan Jovanovic (Anderlecht), free; Sotirios Kyrgiakos (VFL Wolfsburg), free; Emiliano Insua (Sporting), free; Joe Cole (Lille), loan; Christian Poulsen (Evian), undisclosed; Villyan Bijev (Fortuna Dortmund), season-long loan; David Ngog (Bolton), £4m.

Manchester City In: Stefan Savic (Partizan Belgrade), £6m; Gael Clichy (Arsenal), £7m; Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), £38m; Costel Pantilimon (Poli Timisoara), undisclosed; Samir Nasri (Arsenal), £22m; Owen Hargreaves (unattached), free.

Out: Patrick Vieira (retired); Javier Garrido (released); Shaleum Logan (Brentford) free; Scott Kay (Macclesfield), free; Javan Vidal (released); Andrew Tutte (Rochdale), free; James Wood (released); David Gonzalez (Aberdeen), six-month loan; James Poole (Hartlepool), free; Abdisalam Ibrahim (NEC), loan; Michael Johnson (Leicester), loan; Kieran Trippier (Burnley), loan; Jo (Internacional), undisclosed; Shay Given (Aston Villa), £3.5m; Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), £11.8m; Donal McDermott (Huddersfield), undisclosed; Felipe Caicedo (Levante), £880k; Ben Mee (Burnley), loan; Ryan McGivern (Crystal Palace), loan; Ryan McGivern (Bristol City), season-long loan; John Guidetti (Feyenoord), season-long loan; Ahmed Benali (Rochdale), season-long loan.

Manchester United In: Ashley Young (Aston Villa), £17m; Phil Jones (Blackburn), £16.5m; David De Gea (Atletico Madrid), £17.8m; Pierluigi Gollini (Fiorentina), free.

Out: Paul Scholes (retired); Owen Hargreaves (released); Edwin van der Sar (retired); Gary Neville (retired); Bebe (Besiktas), loan; Ritchie De Laet (Norwich City), loan; Joe Dudgeon (Hull), undisclosed; Corry Evans (Hull), undisclosed; Conor Devlin (released); Ryan Tunnicliffe (Peterborough), loan; Scott Wootton (Peterborough), loan; Nicky Ajose (Peterborough), undisclosed; Wes Brown (Sunderland), £1m; John O’Shea (Sunderland), £4m; Oliver Gill (released); Robbie Brady (Hull), loan; Gabriel Obertan (Newcastle), £3m.

Newcastle In: Yohan Cabaye (Lille), £4,3m; Demba Ba (West Ham), free; Sylvain Marveaux (Rennes), free; Mehdi Abeid (Lens), undisclosed; Gabriel Obertan (Man Utd), £3m; Robert Elliot (Charlton), £100k; Davide Santon (Inter), £5.3m.

Out: Kevin Nolan (West Ham), £4m; Sol Campbell (released); Shefki Kuqi (released); Patrick McLaughlin (released); Ben Tozer (Northampton), free; Kazenga Lua Lua (Brighton), loan; Jose Enrique (Liverpool), £6.3m.

Norwich In: James Vaughan (Everton), £2.5m; Steve Morison (Millwall), £2.8m; Elliott Bennett (Brighton), undisclosed fee; Ritchie De Laet, (Manchester United) season-long loan; Anthony Pilkington (Huddersfield), £2m; Bradley Johnson (Leeds), free; Kyle Naughton (Tottenham), loan; Daniel Ayala (Liverpool), £800k.

Out: Matt Gill (Bristol Rovers), free; Jens Berthel Askou (released); Sam Habergham (Tamworth), free; Owain Tudur Jones (Inverness), undisclosed; Jed Steer (Yeovil), loan; Luke Daley (Plymouth), free; Steven Smith (Aberdeen), loan; Tom Adeyemi (Oldham), loan; Cody McDonald (Coventry), undisclosed.

QPR In: Kieron Dyer (West Ham), free; Jay Bothroyd (Cardiff), free; Danny Gabbidon (West Ham), free; DJ Campbell (Blackpool), undisclosed; Bruno Perone (unattached), free; Brian Murphy (unattached), free; Joey Barton (Newcastle), free; Luke Young (Aston Villa), undisclosed; Armand Traore (Arsenal), £1.2m.

Out: Lee Brown (Bristol Rovers), free; Pascal Chimbonda (released); Elliott Cox (released); Gavin Mahon (released); Joe Oastler (Torquay), free; Josh Parker (released); Romone Rose (released); Georgias Tofas (Anagennisi Dherynia), free; Mikele Leigertwood (Reading), free; Angelo Balanta (MK Dons), loan; Max Ehmer (Yeovil), loan; Leon Clarke (Swindon), free; Kaspars Gorkss (Reading), £350k.

Stoke City In: Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham), free; Matthew Upson (West Ham), free.

Out: Abdoulaye Faye (West Ham), free; Eidur Gudjohnsen (AEK Athens), free; Ibrahima Sonko (released); Carl Dickinson (Watford), undisclosed; Matthew Lund (Oldham), loan; Andrew Davies (Crystal Palace), loan.

Sunderland In: Sebastian Larsson (Birmingham), free; Kieren Westwood (Coventry), free; Connor Wickham (Ipswich), £8.1m; Craig Gardner (Birmingham), £5m; Ji Dong-won (Chunnam Dragons), £2m; Wes Brown (Manchester United), £1m; John O’Shea (Manchester United), £4m; David Vaughan (Blackpool), free; Ahmed Elmohamady (ENPPI), £2m; Roarie Deacon (Arsenal/unattached), free; Oumare Tounkara (Oldham), loan expired; James McClean (Derry City), £350k.

Out: Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), £16m; Cristian Riveros (Kayserispor), loan; Bolo Zenden (released); Michael Kay (Tranmere), free; Nathan Luscombe (Hartlepool), free; Daniel Madden (released); Robert Weir (Tranmere), free; Nathan Wilson (released); Jean-Yves Mvoto (Oldham), free; Liam Noble (Carlisle), loan; David Healy (Rangers), free; Steed Malbranque (St Etienne), undisclosed.

Swansea In: Danny Graham (Watford), £3.5m; Jose Moreira (Benfica), undisclosed fee; Steve Caulker (Tottenham), loan; Leroy Lita (Middlesbrough), £1.75m; Michael Vorm (FC Utrecht), £1.5m; Wayne Routledge (Newcastle), undisclosed; Gerhard Tremmel (unattached), free.

Out: Dorus de Vries (Wolves), free; Darren Pratley (Bolton), free; Scott Donnelly (Wycombe), loan; Cedric van der Gun, (released); Jamie Grimes (released); Yves Ma-Kalambay (released); Albert Serran (AEK Larnaca) free; Kerry Morgan (Neath) free; Gorka Pintado (released); Ryan Harley (Brighton), £250k; Shaun MacDonald (Bournemouth), £80k.

Tottenham
In: Brad Friedel (Aston Villa), free; Cristian Ceballos (Barcelona), free; Souleymane Coulibaly (Siena), undisclosed; Scott Parker (West Ham), £5m.

Out: Jonathan Woodgate (Stoke), free; Jamie O’Hara (Wolves), £5m; Steve Caulker (Swansea), loan; Kyle Naughton (Norwich), loan; Bongani Khumalo (Reading), loan; Nathan Byrne (Bournemouth), loan; Ryan Mason (Doncaster), loan; Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy), undisclosed; David Bentley (West Ham), loan.

West Brom In: Billy Jones (Preston), free; Gareth McAuley (Ipswich), free; Zoltan Gera (Fulham), free; Ben Foster (Birmingham), loan; Jamie Edge (Arsenal), free; Shane Long (Reading), undisclosed; Martin Fulop (Ipswich), free.

Out: Giles Barnes (released); Abdoulaye Meite (Dijon), free; Gianni Zuiverloon (Mallorca), free; Borja Valero (Villarreal), loan deal made permanent; Scott Carson (Bursaspor), £2.1m; Boaz Myhill (Birmingham), loan; Marcus Haber (St Johnstone), undisclosed; Ryan Allsop (Millwall), undisclosed; Ishmael Miller (Notts Forest), £1.2m; James Hurst (Blackpool), season-long loan.

Wigan In: Ali Al Habsi (Bolton), £4m; David Jones (Wolves), free; Nouha Dicko (Strasbourg), free; Albert Crusat (Almeria), undisclosed; Shaun Maloney (Celtic) £850k.

Out: Jason Koumas (released); Steven Caldwell (Birmingham), free; Daniel De Ridder (Grasshopper), free; Joseph Holt (released); Thomas Lambert (released); Thomas Oakes (released); Francis Pollitt (released); Abian Serrano Davila (released); Charles N'Zogbia (Aston Villa), £9.5m; Antonio Amaya (Real Betis), undisclosed; Mauro Boselli (Estudiantes), loan.

Wolves In: Jamie O’Hara (Tottenham), £5m; Dorus de Vries (Swansea), free; Roger Johnson (Birmingham City), £7m.

Out: Adriano Basso (Hull), free; John Dunleavy (released); Marcus Hahnemann (released); David Jones (Wigan), free; Nathan Rooney (released); Steven Mouyokolo (Sochaux), season-long loan; Greg Halford (Portsmouth), undisclosed; Danny Batth (Sheffield Wednesday), loan; Scott Malone (Bournemouth), loan; Carl Ikeme (Middlesbrough), loan; Stefan Maierhofer (SV Salzburg), £1m.

Midlands Results Round Up

Tranmere 1 Port Vale 1 - port vale lost 4-2 on penalties.

Burton 1 Sheffield united 2

Northampton 1 Huddersfield 2

Walsall 2 Shrewsbury 1

Cheltenham 2 Torquay 1

Buck Taylors Derby County Blog

Centre Half has been somewhat a problem position for the Rams over the past few seasons.
 
Derby certainlyhave had their share of quality players over the years playing in the centre of defence.  Colin Todd, Roy McFarland, Mark Wright, Igor Stimac, Michael Johnson are but a few of the names wearing the white shirt in that position.
 
Recently it has been difficult to play a pair of players in the position to great effect.
 
Prior to the 2011/12 kick off, the club appeared to be well equipped though. Shaun Barker, Jake Buxton, Russell Anderson were all retained from last season and Jason Shackell and Chris Riggott were added to the squad.
 
Barker did as expected miss the opening games, Buxton was side sidelined from an injury from last season so Russell Anderson appeared alongside Shackell for the opening fixture.
 
Last season Anderson lasted exactly 45 minutes in the opener at Leeds before a visit to the treatment table was needed.  In this seasons curtain raiser at home to Birmingham he didn't even make it to half time.
 
Eighteen year old Mark O'Brien was thrust into action and apart from a few nervy moments as he felt his way into the game, he soon sttled and resembled a player that had beenn playing first team football for years.
 
O'Brien has since held the position and will be expected to remain in the starting line-up at least until Shaun Barker has made his return.
 
It is something of a fairytale story for O'Brien.  Two years ago he was in the operating theatre having major heart surgery.  Today he finds himslelf attracting the attentions of the media for his fine displays for the first team.
 
He did make an error against Burnley, but it is inevitable that a young player will do so with so little experience as a starter.  It is the opinion of many within the game that centre halves don't reach their full potential til they edge towards 30.
 
One thing is certain, that is that having two professionals like Shaun Barker and Jason Shackell at the club, he certainly will have good advice on tap that will only improve him further.

Catherine Harper's Weekly Derby Blog ...

 Best Start in Living Memory

The 2011-12 Championship season looks to be shaping up well for Derby County. With nine new permanent signings, a record four straight wins and twelve points from the first five games, the Rams have certainly started the season more brightly than any pundits or fans could have predicted.

On the opening day against Birmingham City, Jason Shackell showed Derby fans just why Nigel Clough brought him to Pride Park, capping off a man-of-the-match performance with a superb goal against the Blues. Derby showed the resilience and character they had lacked for long periods of last season, digging deep to come back from a goal down to deliver what to many was a shock result. It didn’t take Derby long to level after Curtis Davies’ opener for Birmingham. Too many times last season, Derby found themselves trailing and unable to reverse the score line, but Clough’s new look side had no such problem against the ex-Premier League boys. Derby’s first seven minutes later was also scored by a central defender, with Shackell heading Derby level on 26 minutes. Three minutes before half time, Derby’s own Davies (Steven) saw them fired into a lead which they would keep until the final whistle was blown. Derby squandered a number of goal-scoring opportunities in the second half, the most promising of which fell to Jamie Ward, who couldn’t convert John Brayford’s low cross before heading Steven Davies’ flick-on against the crossbar. However two goals were enough, and a solid team performance saw Derby climb into the early promotion places.

Next up for Derby was an away trip to Watford, who before the season began were one of the few teams in the Championship to have longer odds for promotion than the Rams. It was golden boy Steven Davies again who fired the Rams to victory, this time with a superb shot on-the-turn from the edge of the Watford box. Watford could find no response, and Derby were propelled higher up the table to third after their first 1-0 victory of the season.

Four days later Derby were faced with another tricky away game, this time facing newly relegated Blackpool. Before a ball was kicked, Blackpool were favourites for the match and had good odds of promotion back to the Premier League too. However, Blackpool caused Derby ‘keeper Frank Fielding few problems in the game, and with 20 minutes remaining new signing Craig Bryson coolly slotted home after Steven Davies’ free kick was saved by Matt Gilks in the home goal. The 1,769 travelling away fans were given plenty to cheer about following Derby’s impressive win over the Tangerines at Bloomfield Road, a feat they had not accomplished since 1985. The Rams remained third in the table behind newly promoted sides Brighton and Southampton.

Returning to Pride Park, Derby were looking for four league wins in a row to begin the season, which had not been achieved for 106 years! The Rams faced a seemingly demoralised Doncaster side, who were glued to the foot of the table following three successive league defeats in the 2011-12 season. Derby showed their intentions early on, with loan signing Kevin Kilbane showing he still has it even at 34. Kilbane’s headed goal from Ben Davies’ corner after six minutes was the first of three for Nigel Clough’s men that afternoon. If Doncaster thought Derby had started the first half quickly, they had a surprise in store after half time, as Derby doubled their lead through Steven Davies just a minute into the second period. Davies had now scored three goals in Derby’s opening four games, and was showing his best form since joining the Rams in 2008. Derby’s other Davies boy, Ben, dealt the final blow to Doncaster on 62 minutes, as he beautifully curled his right-footed effort past Birmingham stopper Gary Woods. Following their emphatic victory, Derby rose to second in the table on goal difference behind the only other side in the Football League with a 100% record, Southampton.

Derby were looking to make it five wins from five with another home game, this time taking on strugglers Burnley. It was a quiet first half at Pride Park, with neither side able to break the deadlock, and Derby had only 45 minutes to see out to retain their unbeaten record into the international break. However, four minutes into the second half Charlie Austin managed to find the back of the net for Burnley, as the Derby defence looked to collapse following a fine run from Keith Treacy. It took Derby over 20 minutes to find a response, but half-time substitute Theo Robinson provided an equaliser for the Rams on 71 minutes. Robinson had been finding himself in the goals for the reserves, however his goal-scoring record for Derby’s first team since joining on loan in January has not been so impressive. The Derby faithful will be looking for Robinson to deliver more goals for the team this season, much as Charlie Austin has been doing for the visitors. Austin cut Derby’s celebrations short, as just three minutes later, he again put Burnley ahead at Pride Park. Derby could not find another equaliser, and were dumped to their first league defeat of the season in front of 22,967 hopeful Rams fans.

Derby have looked impressive so far this season earning 12 points from a possible 15, and sitting a comfortable third in the table. Nigel Clough is now taking his boys away for some warm weather training, before a challenging televised clash away to Coventry City, who have taken just two points from five games, after the international break. The Rams will be looking to put their recent defeat to Burnley behind them, and capitalise on Andy Thorn’s side’s lacklustre start to the season in front of the Sky Sports cameras on September 10^th.

Molly's Aston Villa Review so far ...

Fulham 0-0 Aston Villa
When I looked at Aston Villa's fixtures and I saw Fulham, what cams into my head was a draw. I'd be happy with a draw. So, I'm happy to say, I'm happy with the draw.

I was optimistic as always like many and I thought, yeah we could nick a win here. Well, that was before the game.
After the first half I was pretty impressed with how we were played and how Fulham weren't playing and in my mind I was still thinking, we can win this. I realised that I'd definitely jinxed it when the whistle blew for the second half. Fulham looked decent, yes not excellent or amazing but decent and better than us. They had obviously had a ticking off in the dressing room after their lazy first half performance.
The first half got off to a poor start, with N'Zogbia showing that he still hasn't discovered his defensive side of the game. Without following, Riisse (however you spell it), it allowed him to fire a shot over the bar. Oh dear! Not to worry, we then got our backsides into first gear and started to add a little pressure here and there. A variety of passing to mix it up, for once we looked stable defensively and broke on the counter superbly. However none of the three clear chances we had could be converted and push that gear up a few levels. The three noteable chances came from an Emile Heskey header which swept over the bar, a skipper Stan's shot just scraping the same bar and a James Collins' header from a flighted Charles N'Zogbia cross flying six yards wide.

The second half was started by Fulham and ended by a last ditch attempt from Villa. Even though Fulham were the better team in the second half and had all the better chances on goal, a revived partnership in Collins and Richard Dunne made sure there was no clear path through on goal. Even when Fulham managed to brake the defence and find gaps, hero Shay Given; making his first Aston Villa start in the Premier League; was there to firmly hang on.
 
I had both the stream on whilst listening to Bluenose Tom Ross and towards the end of sick of him saying Darren Bent's name. Repeating several time "One chance, that's all Darren Bent needs, one chance, he's a goalscorer..." We do have another two strikers on the pitch mate!

Conclusion: A well fought battle in the first half, a great point away from home against a good, well drilled side. Gabby cannot play wide. N'Zogbia isn't fit. Albrighton should start cause he's a little gem. Darren Bent needs more service and Shay Given has got to be one of the best buys for this season.
 
"Everyone Likes To Be Loved"

Aston Villa 3-1 Blackburn Rovers

I sat in the north stand upper, in the same seat that I'd sat in for the past three seasons and this was the first time I'd reached my seat with butteflies of excitement. When the bells started ringing and Stan lead the team out I realised why I loved the Villa, which is too hard to put into words. Isn't that what love is? When you can't explain why you love them, because you just do. I stood and applauded the team, my eyes fixed on the tunnel waiting for McLeish's arrival. I knew what I was going to do, that was to clap the loudest of the stadium and make sure that he knew that I backed him. I doubt that one though. It was a sight that I haven't seen at Villa Park in a while, Villa fans united. For once, everyone one stood together clapping as McLeish made that minute walk to the dugout. I was touched and you don't often here me say that.

Of course, it wasn't just about McLeish's reception, there were eleven vital players on the pitch that would be able to ensure that when the final whistle blew the manager would still get an ovation. As hoped, the boys did the business. An encouraging performance full of energy and attack in the first half, and a stable second half gifted Aston Villa and Big Eck's first three points of the season, lifting us to the top of the Barclays Premier League; well aty least for twelve or so hours.

Forgotten man Gabby Agbonlahor scored the opener, a Leighton Baines-esque finish, flying into the top right corner from the left flank past a helpless - a really helpless - Paul Robinson. The former England number one shot stopper was called into action just minutes later by yet another Gabby shot. This time involving Charles N'Zogbia, who made his home debut, and Emile Heskey, who later scored Villa's seond goal.

The big man Heskey shot on the slip past Robinson, with an assit for on-fire Agbonlahor, just before the break. Aston Villa entertaining their home crowd more than some had been expecting.

A second clean sheet for Shay Given, also making his Villa home debut, was a miss however when Pedersen managed to squeeze between Dunne and Warnock to see his header squeeze into the top corner following a Juinor Hoillet cross.

The claret and blue boys hadn't come out onto the pitch for the second half full of their exuberance which had been displayed throughtout the first forty-five minutes; mirroring their second half sloppyness against Fulham, which led to Blackburn's goal. Star man Gabby had already been substituted at half-time through injury, being replaced by Marc Albrighton, who sadly looked off the pace. Something needed to be changed, that came from injuries to Luke Young and Emile Heskey. On in their place was Ciaran Clark and Barry Bannan. Our wee man Barry changing the whole game, adding pace and that extra energy that had been lacking in this second half. Bannan setting up Villa's third goal of the afternoon. Darren Bent's first of the season. Coming from nothing, Petrov releasing the trigger from twenty-five yards out. It took a deflection along the way, finding Bent's feet perfectly.

As he took two strides to the left, he fired the bullet.

Blackburn were dead.
 
Derby Day!

Aston Villa 0-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers

When Manchester United and Manchester City play one another, what do you expect? Goals, drama, meaty tackles, red cards, right?

When Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur play each other, what do you expect? Goals, drama, meaty tackles, red cards, right?

When Aston Villa and Wolves play against each other, what do you expect? Goals, drama, meaty tackles, red cards, right? Wrong. What should you expect? Wimpy challenges, yellow cards, shirt grabbing and shots that end up agt St Andrews.

It wasn't all dull, boring football. There were moments when I got out my seat ready to jump up because we'd scored. Yet, we didn't score, we had eighteen - give or take one or two - shots, eleven probably off target, that couldn't test the goalkeeper or find the back of the net.

The front three English men still seemed sharp and made and nearly finished off several chances, with Gabby coming the closest. Emile Heskey just centiments wide and Darren Bent's dipping header bounced off the roof of the net. Aston Villa looked dominant, until N'Zogbia was brought off. Many people have said that he wasn't great yesterday but I'd like to argue; he provides width, yes he seems to not know the word 'defend' or 'cross and not shoot' and also 'don't wander, or follow the ball' but when he came off there was no width, no-one who was willing to have the ball at their feet or shoot.

I don't feel like I can right much about the game, if I do some might deem me as 'clutching at straws.' What I would like to say is that with the depature of Luke Young, we really do need a new right-back. Chris Herd was great yesterday, and deserved man of the match, however we can't rely on Herd. A young player whose only played so many Premier League games, you cannot expect him to step up for every game.

However Sky Sports seem to disagree with me: Chris Herd. Outstanding as he dealt with Jarvis like an established Premier League right-back. Only his second start in the top flight but Villa's hunt to replace Luke Young may already be solved.
 
On the list of players to come in before Wednesday:
-A right-back, preferably Kyle Walker.
-Loans; James Milner, Aaron Ramsey.
-Someone whose also been brought to my attention; Nico Kranjcar.

We need someone creative and dynamic. Someone who can provide chances for a stirker.
 
"He's A Bluenose Though." The banks of empty seats said more about the home club. Villa is historically a huge club. It is the biggest team in Britain's second-biggest city. 'The City is Ours!' It finished second in the first Premier League season. Now, it is a finishing school for Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City. Fan frustration boiled over when Alex McLeish was appointed from despised and relegated neighbors Birmingham City. The fundamental problem is not that McLeish is a "bluenose." It's that his hiring suggests that Randy Lerner, has given up hope of breaking into the top four. The two previous appointments, Martin O'Neill and Gerard Houllier, suggested the club thought it might be possible to go toe-to-toe with the big boys. Which with O'Neill that did happen and given Houllier was fit enough to carry on we could have been. Although McLeish did win a couple of Scottish titles during his checkered reign at Rangers, there has been nothing in his recent past, that suggests he will break Villa's soul-sapping 12-season streak of finishing somewhere between sixth and 16th. What we learned Saturday was what most Villa fans already knew, this team is not going to be in contention nor is it in danger of relegation.
 
 
 
Molly

Carl Ziemann's Weekly Port Vale Blog

Giving two very sloppy goals away inside the opening 7 minutes at home certainly burst the feel good bubble at Vale Park on Saturday.

Whilst Southend were sharp up front with the experienced Neil Harris and the Vastly underrated Liam Dickenson, they were no great shakes at the back as evidenced by the amount of times they panicked when we got the ball in there box.

Unfortunately we just didnt have the know how to take advantage despite the best efforts of midfielder Doug Loft whose deep run earnt us our goal to get back in at 1-2 but almost immediately we failed to close down Southend and a 25yrd shot fizzed in, deflected off Yates and went in.

Which brings me to problem number 1- our goalkeeper is out of form, last season he was dominate of anything in his 18yrd box. this season hes hesitant and looks shaky to say the least.
2- our defence is short of organisation , particularly at set pieces where we were at 6s and 7s yesterday.
3- finally the midfield, lacked real direct pace, lacked creativity and as a result we were left lumping long ball after long ball.

The solutions to me are simple, the defence has to get back to basics and this would be helped by the loaning of an experienced keeper who can steady the ship.

The midfield at home we should have Rob Taylor in for his directness and a position has to be found for Louis Dodds and i would like to see the inclusion of Ryan Burge. At home we need to be on the front foot and these players are the type who will create and score.

We of course could have had just a bad day at the office, however warning signs have been around since day 1 v Crawley.

We have a chance to put it right on tuesday night in the JPT against Tranmere, but its the next two league games that give me most concern, even at this early stage they are crucial and anything less than 4 out of 6 points will be disapointing.

The bright spot is the return to training this week of Marc Richards who if fit should in my opinion be immediatrly restored to the team, his link play, hold up play and crucially goals have been sorely missed.

Premier League Round up ...

Premier League Round up - Sat 27th & Sun 28th August



Here we have a brief round up of some of the talking points of the weekend's Premier League action.

Aston Villa 0 v 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers

People were expecting a feisty Midlands derby, but ended up with a fairly event-less 0-0 draw. Villa piled on the pressure in the second half and Mick McCarthy thought Wolves had a fair shout for a penalty when Stephen Ward collided with Herd in the penalty area, but still neither team could manage to break the deadlock.

Both teams remain unbeaten so far in the Premier League. I think it's fair to say on the back of the relegation scare both sides experienced last season, they will both be OK this year.

Blackburn Rovers 0 - 1 Everton

I don't think even Everton and Blackburn fans could believe how this one panned out! After a pretty event-less first half, Blackburn were awarded a penalty when Formica was brought down in the box. Hoilett stepped up to take the penalty, only for it to be saved by Tim Howard. Shortly afterwards, Formica was again brought down in the penalty area, this time by Jagielka. Formica decided to step up to the plate this time, only for the penalty kick to rebound back off the foot of the post and away from the danger area.
Blackburn fans must have then felt extremely sick to the stomach, as - after the heartbreak of seeing two penalty misses -Samba was judged to have impeded Fellaini in the area during injury time, and a penalty was awarded to Everton. Mikel Arteta gladly slotted past Paul Robinson into the Blackburn net; rounding of a truly terrible day for the Ewood Park faithful.
In my previous post regarding "The Great Sack Race", I said Steve Kean was already under pressure. This game will not have helped and the fans will be beginning to get very frustrated with it all.

Swansea City 0 - 0 Sunderland

It's not getting any better for Brucey is it? After losing 1-0 away to Brighton in the Carling Cup and 1-0 to at home to Newcastle in their previous Premier League fixture, they travelled to the Liberty Stadium, only to come away with just a point and a 0-0 draw.
Both sides had chances to go ahead, with Swansea keeper Vorm producing yet more magnificent saves to deny Gyan in the first half. O'Shea had a shot which hit the woodwork, with Swansea's Danny Graham and Nathan Dyer also narrowly missing getting the opener with headers that were mide of the mark. The second half was on the most part controlled by Swansea, but with Sunderland still looking threatening on the counter attack.
Although Swansea are still searching for their first Premier League win, they have already managed to gain 2 draws and keep two clean sheets, and appear to be more than holding their own so far. Sunderland's results tell a different story, with this being only the second point picked up so far in 3 games. Based on last year's 10th place finish, and the number of players that have been brought in, the fans and the board at Sunderland will be expecting more from Bruce and his team than 0-0 draws with the Premier League new boys.

Manchester United 8 - 2 Arsenal

Wow! Now that is a scoreline none of us saw coming. Sure, most of us were predicting a comfortable United win considering the state of Arsenal's squad at the moment, but Arsenal conceding 8 goals? What is going on?
Danny Welbeck headed United into the lead in the 22nd minute before coming off with a hamstring strain later in the first half. Arsenal then had a chance to level the scores when Theo Walcott was brought down in the box, only for United's keeper De Gea to compensate for some of blunders in previous games and pull off a save from Robin Van Persie. This set Manchester United off, and only 1 minute later the score was 2-0. Rooney then scored from a free kick on 41 minutes, with Theo Walcott replying with a goal in first half injury time. During the second half De Gea once again made some fine saves to deny Arsenal, with Rooney putting away another free kick for United in the 64th minute. Then came goals from Nani, Park Ji-Sung, Ashley Young and a Rooney penalty, with Van Persie scoring another consolation goal to make it 8-2.
I think it's safe to say that this was a definite statement of intent from United and Sir Alex. After City's win convincing 5-1 win earlier in the day, United definitely replied and reminded City, and Arsenal, why they are the current Premier League Champions.

Tottenham Hotspur 1 - 5 Manchester City

After a Saturday that saw only 11 goals in the 6 games, we were treated to a super goal Sunday with an amazing 20 goals in the four games played. Manchester City were another team out to make a serious statement of intent against one of the other teams competing for one of the league's top spots.
Edin Dzeko, with his newly found scoring skills, went on the rampage in this one, scoring 4 of City's 5 goals. The first came when Samir Nasri flew in a cross for Dzeko to poke into the net. Nasri again impressed on his City debut; swinging in another ball for Dzeko to head past Brad Freidel. Joe Hart made some fine saves from Van der Vart's efforts, but after the break Dzeko popped up again to tap in his 3rd in the 55th minute. Instant City hit Sergio Aguero scored the side's 4th, before Kaboul grabbed Tottenham a consolation goal, heading in from a corner in the 68th minute. Dzeko still wasn't done in injury time when he curled in a fine shot into the top corner, and rounded off Tottenham's annihilation.
Tottenham are not a bad team, but it seems that City are finally starting to show their immense quality, and that Mancini has found a way to utilise all of these big names and turn out the results they need. They are certainly a team to look out for this season.

Blackburn's Chicken Balls



As you are no doubt aware, in November last year Blackburn were took over by a company called Venky's, an organisation that basically sell chicken. Upon their arrival they made such promises as securing Champions League qualification within 4 years, an ambition to challenge for the Premier League title, and an interest in signing Ronaldinho.

At one point the new Chair of Blackburn Rovers and head of the Venky's group, Mrs Anuradha Desai, stated that maybe her brother could scout players, as "he is a football fan". Sorry but I am also a mere football fan, and I sure wouldn't trust myself heading off with £25 Million to buy quality players without a proper scouting structure in place. As you can see, these people have no clue about running a football club. "Who needs a medical? I have a cousin who had physiotherapy once who could help!"

Below we see the next stupid idea to come out of the Blackburn boardroom. If you don't appreciate highly cringe-worthy fried chicken adverts, then look away now... (Post continues below)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYwf2SBWa5o]

Ah. Right. Now, I'm no nutritionist, but I'm thinking this probably contributes to the fact the players don't perform too well on matchdays, and why they are currently sitting rock bottom with a grand total of zero points.

Joking aside, Blackburn are in trouble, and I can't see anyone around Ewood Park at the moment with the experience required to keep them in the Premier League. Steve Kean, by no fault of his own, was installed with no previous Premier League First Team Manager experience, and the board clearly don't have the slightest idea of how to run the damn thing.

I can seriously see Blackburn going down this year. They just do not have enough quality in my opinion. As I write this they have missed two penalties against Everton and have just now lost 1-0 from - you guessed it - a penalty. The pressure is mounting and I'm sure the fans will begin to get more and more restless as the weeks go by. We will just have to wait and see.

The Great Sack Race



Now the new season has well and truly kicked off, our attentions turn to which managers are already under pressure for their jobs. Traditionally at this time everyone has a good guess of who will be the first of the season for the chop. Therefore sit back and have a look at my take on the current season's Premier League Great Sack Race!

Steve Kean - Blackburn Rovers



I feel a bit sorry for Steve Kean. The Blackburn board gave him the managers job based on his experience as an assistant manager and his performance as Caretaker boss after Allardyce left the club, which was never going to go down too well with the fans. While Kean has been in charge managers such as Roy Hodgson and Alex McLeish have been snapped up by teams with a similar budget and stature as Blackburn - which can only be frustrating to the fans.
The fact he has no previous first team manager experience will be a stick that the fans will return to continually beat him with whenever Blackburn have a bad result. Maybe they should be asking why their board installed him in the first place? But don't get me started on Blackburn's board. I may well do a post in the near future regarding these clueless people.

Nevertheless, Steve Kean will be under immense pressure already in the season. If the next few games don't yield any points or major improvements, the fans will become restless, and if the Blackburn board have any clue what they are doing, he may be gone by January.

Neil Warnock - Queens Park Rangers



Rumours were already rife of Warnock's departure before the first ball of the season was even kicked. This was allegedly down to a rift between a director of QPR and Warnock, with reports at the time even suggesting he had walked!

Currently Warnock is second favourite to be the first for the chop. With the latest money-spinning takeover that has occurred in the last week or so at QPR, the board seem to have the cash to bring in a more experienced premier league manager if they find themselves being cud adrift in a relegation battle. But, they are splashing the cash at the moment; Joey Barton signed on a four year deal on Friday, and rumours are flying around mentioning such names as Shaun Wright Phillips and Scott Parker. These sort of signings are definitely going to add quality to an already fairly strong squad.

I think Warnock will be given a fair amount of time by the board to bed in his new signings. But if they are in the relegation zone by January, there may well be someone with more premier league experience on the market by then.

Steve Bruce - Sunderland



I'm worried for Brucey, I really am. I have lost track of all the incomings at the Stadium of Light, in addition to the money Bruce spent during last years transfer window for the likes of Gyan and Titus Bramble. It's obvious the board at Sunderland are trying to back Steve Bruce in the transfer market as much as possible, I'm just worried that they are not going to perform together on the pitch.

People have been talking about a potential push for Europe for Sunderland this year; given the success of finishing 10th last year. On Tuesday evening they travelled to Brighton for the Carling Cup. I thought Brucey may have given it a good go, considering it is a possible way into Europe to win the Carling Cup. Saying that, quite a few big names were on the team sheet that night, but they ended up losing 1-0. In their previous premier league fixture, at home to Newcastle, local pride was at stake for the fans, yet Newcastle left with all 3 points.

I know it's early days, and the board aren't likely to be too hasty in giving him the sack given how they've backed his choices of players in the market for the past couple of years, but if their results don't start to reflect the quality they have in their squad, it could end up being 'bye bye Brucey'.

The Championship's Front Runners

It seems that the bookies are placing Andy Thorn of Coventry City as the favourite, with the other front runners being Sean O'Driscoll of Doncaster Rovers, Simon Grayson of Leeds United, Paul Jewell of Ipswich and Steve McClaren of Nottingham Forest.

Wenger's World



Wenger's world is a scary and lonely place. Everyone is against you, yet you can't see where you or your players have ever done anything wrong.
Yesterday Arsene Wenger was moaning about Bolton Chairman Phil Gartside, who said he had made a derisory bid for Bolton defender Gary Cahill. Wenger said it was not derisory. Yet how many times did Arsenal criticise Barcelona for putting up what they knew was a very low offer for Febregas? Wenger's double standards are apparent yet again.

Wenger needs to do something. Two of the most gifted players he had at his disposal, Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, have gone on to pastures new, with no replacements on the horizon as of yet. With 6 years and counting without silverware at Arsenal, the supporters are now becoming restless with Wenger's stubbornness to spend. With about £60 Million in the bank from the Nasri and Fabregas deals alone, you would expect more activity would already be happening at the Emirates, but no. I am still seeing rumours such as "Arsenal chase highly rated youngster".

One look at the various Arsenal message boards shows a growing murmur of supporters who think that Wenger's time is up. I may have to agree as I can't see any silverware coming this season either, unless in the next 3 days they go on a Manchester City style transfer blow-out, which I wouldn't really recommend for any club. He has already said he wouldn't resign as Manager of Arsenal, so at the end of the season their board has a very tough decision to make.

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20 Midlands Teams league positions

Wolves 5th
Villa 7th
Stoke 9th
West brom 18th
Derby 3rd
Leicester 10th
Forest 18th
Blues 21st
Coventry 23rd
Walsall 10th
Notts county 15th
Cheltenham 6th
Port vale 8th
Shrewsbury 11th
Burton 16th
Northampton 19th
Kiddi 4th
Tamworth 5th
Afc telford 15th
Kettering 19th

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Our Midlands Results Round up

Villa 0 wolves 0
West brom 0 stoke 1
Watford 2 blues 2
Mboro 1 coventry 1
Forest 1 west ham 4
Derby 1 burnley 2
Leicester 3 soton 2
Bournemouth 0 walsall 2
Preston 2 notts county 0
Accrington 2 burton 1
Cheltenham 3 crawley 1
Northampton 0 morecambe 2
Port vale 2 southend 3
Shrewsbury 2 swindon 1
Afc telford 2 newport 1
Bath 0 tamworth 2
Kidderminster 2 southport 0
Mansfield 3 kettering 0

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Rich Tullis's Weekly Leicester City Blog

Leicester Vs Southampton

3-2

A Game of Two Halves

So today was the day that ended our poor form at home. The foxes walked away the victorious side with a 3-2 win. This for the fans was most defiantly a game of two halves. The Foxes form and approach to the game was as changeable as the weather.
Leicester started the afternoon in blistering fashion; Andy King was the instigator after finding himself in space. He sent in a delightful pass which Vassell gleefully nudged past the keeper Kelvin Davis to set the tempo of the game.
The young Jeffery Schlupp then made his appearance after Dave Nugent went off after 6 minutes (Hamstring Injury). Even following this departure the Foxes showed their intention when the second goal should of arrived after Matt Mills rose high to meet a Neil Danns' corner ball, only to be denied by an excellent Davis save.
Half way through the first half the second goal did arrive, Jeff Schlupp had been a constant threat up front, he held the ball up outstandingly before lining up Wellens who struck a 25 Yard curler which struck the inside of the post.
This was not to be an easy afternoon; once again a positional error with the defence allowed Dan Harding to nod home an Adam Lallana’s cross. Were we to go and allow another two goal lead to be taken from us?
Leicester was certainly intent on finishing the first half as they started. And once again that pressure paid off. Another corner came and so did another goal albeit from the head of Richard Lambert. 3-1 at half time, what an afternoon this was turning out to be.
Second half, wow what a difference. As the old saying goes ‘If it is not broke, then why change it’. The first half had been played using an effective 4-4-2 formation with Schlupp and Vassell up front working effectively. WHY did they decide to change what had been going so well. Schlupp had been pushed out on the right wing and the midfield did not even know who was supposed to be tracking who. We went from dominating the first half to being continually pushed back under a barrage of crosses and shots from the Saints.
The Saints pressure paid off as once again another Lallana cross found the head of David Connolly.
The arrival of Paul Gallagher (75) and Yuki Abe (86) failed to reproduce the flair and entertaining football that had been so evident in the first half. The team still failed to regain the composure and assertiveness they had earlier been on show. The defence were failing to clear the ball, the midfield was being pulled from pillar to post, the only thing Southampton were failing to do was score.
For Leicester the second half belonged to one man, Kasper Schmeichel. Salvo after Salvo is how it appeared to be for the Foxes defence. Even in the dying moments Schmeichel denied Lambert after he took a point blank shot at goal.
What had started out as a fantastic afternoon’s football turned into a survival match.
Leicester held on to the tree points which were greatly needed for the fans and to show our intention this season. As I mentioned previously, if we are to show our desire and our intent this season then we had to ensure a win occurred today. The team did do that.
A two week international break now follows and I am sure the team will be better for starting the break with a win under their belts.
 
Goals:
Leicester:  Darius Vassell (3’), Richard Wellens (22’) and Richard Lambert (og 45’)
Southampton: Dan Harding (28’) and David Connolly (53’)
 
Man of the Match for Me: Kasper Schmeichel
 
Attendance: A very poor 23,808
 
Richard Tullis
@Rich_Tullis

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Carling Cup 3rd Round - WOW!

Aldershot or Carlisle v Rochdale
Aston Villa v Bolton
Arsenal v Shrewsbury
Blackburn v Leyton Orient or Bristol Rovers
Brighton v Liverpool
Burnley v MK Dons
Cardiff v Leicester
Chelsea v Fulhsm
Crystal Palace or Wigan v Middlesbrough
Everton v West Brom
Leeds v Manchester United
Manchester City v Birmingham
Nottingham Forest v Newcastle
Stoke v Tottenham
Swindon or Southampton v Charlton or Preston
Wolves v Millwall

Francois.L. Goofy Recap

Good Morning Football
By: Francois L.
Good Morning Football, Good Morning Football fans,

Although Barcelona's match against Arsenal in the return leg of the Champions League was another brilliant performance by the Blaugrana, all of their deserved credit was put aside, the referee was blamed for Arsenal's defeat and comments by Wenger, Nasri and van Persie made wednesday's headlines. It is an understatement to claim that Premier League teams have been the most consistent in the Champions League over the past five or six years, but it seems this consistency is not admired by everyone. Over the last two years, referees have made strange decisions against Premier League clubs, leading the fans and even players or club officials to claim conspiracy against the Premier League. Since the Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea in 2008 (three Premier League clubs were in the semi-final), it could indeed be possible that football's governing bodies decided to stop the dominion of the Premier League in the European Cup. I have picked out three Champions League games in which refereeing decisions led to the exit of Premier League clubs.

1)
Chelsea - Barcelona, Semi-Final 2009 (1-1 at Stamford Bridge)
Referee: Tommy Ovrebo
Chelsea could have had a second chance in the final against Manchester United, had the referee made decisions that seemed blatant to all onlookers. Four penalties could have been awarded to the Blues on that night, three of which were absolutely flagrant. Anyone who watched the game will remember Ballack's symbolic reaction to the last uncalled penalty, chasing down the referee across half the pitch, as well as Drogba's "it's a f***ing disgrace" remarks about the game. These "mistakes" by Ovrebo led to Chelsea losing the semi-final 1-1 on aggregate, sending Barcelona to the final in Rome, which they ended up winning against Manchester United.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDe5_W_P1WA

2)
Manchester United - Bayern Munich, Quarter Final 2010 (3-2 at Old Trafford)
Referee: Nicola Rizzoli
What if Rafael had still been on the pitch at the 74th minute when Ribery delivered the corner? Would Robben have scored his brilliant volley had Rafael been on the pitch? Probably not. Rafael's exclusion by the referee at the 50th minute meant that by the time Robben struck his volley, van der Sar's right post was left uncovered. Don't take anything from the goal though, it was real master class, to say the least. But the referee did not need to book Rafael for his foul on Ribery. Yes he was already on a yellow card and it was a stupid foul, but it was not worth a second yellow. Looking back at the referee's reaction, he does not seem to be pulling out his cards at all, at least not until four Bayern players surrounded him. Only then does he start nodding in agreement with the Bayern players who were asking for a second yellow, and sends Rafael back to the changing rooms. What about Ribery's violent reaction to Rafael's foul in the first place? Why was Ribery not booked or at least warned by Rizzoli for violently pushing back Rafael with his elbow? The game was conditioned from the 50th minute and Bayern went on to win the game 4-4 on aggregate.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwuMMt2tJK0

3)
Barcelona - Arsenal, Round of Sixteen 2011 (3-1 at Camp Nou)
Referee: Massimo Busacca
"With 95,000 people jumping up, how can I hear his whistle?". Robin van Persie was clearly disgusted by his red card against Barcelona, especially after being told after the game that only 1 second separated the referee's whistle from his shot. Also, what clearly proves that van Persie was not the only one who did not hear the referee's whistle is that Abidal did not stop. He clearly kept challenging van Persie until the ball went out for a goal kick. Valdes also did not stop making himself big in front of his line at any point. That second yellow card is probably one of the most undeserved and ridiculous yellow cards in Champions League history. Although it is not certain that Arsenal would have managed to go through with van Persie on the field, what is certain is that by the time the Dutchman was forced down the tunnel, the game was still drawn at 1-1, Arsenal having the aggregate advantage. Van Persie's red card definitely had an impact on Arsenal's game, and the referee's decision was absolutely outrageous.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ0gkloaINY

The referee is always the first criticized, insulted and blamed for making the wrong decisions. What we must not forget is the role of the other referees. During Chelsea-Barcelona in 2009, sideline referees could and should have lifted their flags at least once for a foul committed in the box. During Barcelona-Arsenal, two extra referees (sideline and goal-line) as well as the central referee must have seen that van Persie did not kick the ball deliberately to waste time. Such match situations have led to the emergence of conspiracy theories against the Premier League.
The Chelsea-Barcelona game was just the start of that list of suspicious games and there are no signs that make me think it is not going to be extended. What is clear is that refereeing decisions over the last two Champions League campaigns have not helped Premier League teams in their European adventures at all. We shall see whether an English club reaches the Champions League final this year, and if not, it could mean an extension to the list of conspiracy.

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Write Footy Articles & be seen by over 4,000 people,companies ..

I only started a proper blogging site the last few days but when I went to stats, it shows how many peoplenhave clicked on and viewed individual articles and there was over 4.000 views per article.

Quite shocking so if you would like to write an Article for us least you know it will be seen by a large audience and might even get you paid work just writing on your team.

Your article will be on this site and our website and Facebook and Twitter.

http://www.facebook.com/groups/mfcharityevents/ - Join this Footy Tournament

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We have come up with an Idea to do regular footy tournaments involving fans of the 20 midlands clubs, we are discussing the format, and venues etc, chance though to play it at a proper league football ground - we are doing this for Bham Childrens Hospital as already have a justgiving page i- http://www.justgiving.com/Midlandsfooty     x
Pls join if you fancy being involved raising money for a great charity and playing the great sport, just a laugh and banter no kickin off!

Midlands Footy Charity Football Tournament ....Dec 3rd 2011

 Sat 3rd December 2011 - Date 4 Charity Footy Tournament!

Saturday 3rd December 2011 Midlands Footy Charity Tournament in Aid of Birmingham Children's Hospital - 20 Midlands Teams Fans Involved!

We need players for 20 midlands footy teams .. villa burton Cheltenham Blues Coventry derby Kettering Kiddi Leicester Northampton Notts county Nottingham forest port vale Shrewsbury Stoke Walsall wba wolves

£2 to enter - justgiving.com/Midlandsfooty

Email us Midlandsfooty@gmail.com

Our Interview With Ex Derby, Baggies Darren Moore

1)  Which club did you enjoy playing for the most?

      I enjoyed playing for W.B.A as being a local lad and I had 5yrs of good times there, 2 promotions & stayed up in the prem!

2) Your earliest memories of career?

     1st Memories are signing my first pro contract and scoring my first league goal vs Walsall.

3) Best ground played at?

     Best Ground would probably be the Emirates.

     

4) Best player played against?

     Thierry Henry.. Immense pace.

 5) Best player played with?

      Best player wud be Kanu, great technique and ability!

6) Any funny stories memories etc?

     Played match at Exeter & the crowd attendance that day was bout 4,500! I did an clearance with the ball in to the       stand and hit my land lady. Out of 4,500 on that day that was in the ground I managed to hit the only person that came to support me. Unbelievable!

7) Plans for the future?

     Coaching, Media, Management and Charity work and P.F.A.

8) What's the future hold for clubs you've played for?

      W.B.A exciting times! Derby need to slowly improve team over next few seasons to get back into top flight. Portsmouth, just needs to consolidate and get some solid structure back there. Doncaster are doing fantastic with themselves as chairman John Ryan has put that club on the Map again and they could be a surprise package for season ahead. Barnsley,have done incredibly well over the years. Fantastic club where everyone gives 100% on and off the pitch that's why they're in the Championship. Torquay will always float between League 1/2 but will always have soft spot as that where it started for me. Bradford City, its a shame to see what has happened to this impressive club, its a good job they have such a huge fan base and that over next 5 Years will see them back up towards Championship or even Premiership? Watch this space. Burton Albion.is a Great Club a lot goin for it only 3rd year in the League so a lot of work ahead but teams looking good, manager is right Man to take this club onto next level and compete with bigger clubs.

9) Who did u room with at all clubs?

     WBA Russell Hoult, Derby Giles Barnes, or Micheal Johnson, Portsmouth Linvoy Primus, Barnsley on my own! Bradford Jamie Lawrence and burton Jack Magoma, torquay Paul Trollope, Doncaster can't remember!

10) Who do you support?

        The Baggies.

11) Which team would you liked to of played for?

         Team most liked to of played for would be Bayern Munich.

12) Most memorable game?

        Memorable game too many to mention!  

13) Most memorable goal?

       Playing for WBA v Rotherham and i scored 35yarder!     Nice goal..!

14) Any superstitions?

       I Have No Superstitions wat so ever..!