Gunner Be In Trouble

Sad News

Arsene Wenger has reportedly been rushed to hospital,
to undergo a Quadruple bypass

Things Are Good (For Now)

What a week.
On Monday West Ham turn in a great performance hammering Burnley 5-1 to make the Cup Quarter finals ... things are good :)
On Tuesday I go to work with a big smile ready to take the piss out of all the doubters, but am greeted with the news the company is laying off 30% of it's staff sometime in the next 90 days ... things are bad :(
Blackpool's win over Tottenham takes my mind of it for a bit :)
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday I find out that as I've only been in the job 16 months I've probably got little chance of avoiding the cull, and Southend's insistence of blocking all major routes out of Southend with roadworks causing me to be late at least once a week probably puts me top of the list for the bullet (without redundo pay) ... things are shit :(
On Saturday I watch England beat the French at Rugby ... Mood improving :)
On Sunday I listen to the Hammers win against the Scouses, I watch Brum beat Arsenal and the English cricket team draw their World cup game against favourites India with an amazing 338 runs a piece ... things are good again :)
Next week who knows? but thanks to sport for making life more bearable :)

A Good Day All Round

What a great days football, West Ham thrash the scouses, Mark Hughes returns to Megadosh City and takes a point which puts Mancini into a sulk and then there was the Carling Cup Final :)
I feared the worst after the woman linesman gave Lee Bowyer offside when he was 2 yards onside, so the latest dodgy Arsenal keeper got lucky when he should have been sent off? (* Must have been a woman because male lino's understand the offside rule according to Gray and Keys).
But full credit to Brum who kept with whining Arsenal for most of the game, although Foster was a deserved Man of the Match.
"Good time to score" I said to the missus with 2 minutes to go and how we both laughed as the cock up twins provided Martins with his winning goal, brilliant stuff :)

The Season Starts Now

A wins a win, and at this stage of the season it's a bit more important but for me, any win over the scouses is a bit special, so a 3-1 win is nearly as good as it can get :)
Hopefully we can carry this on and another 12 points from our next ten games should be enough?

The Carling cup is just about to start ... so come on Brum :)

Knob

Predictions (Week 26)

Back to the predictions, a total of 9 games this week due to the Carling cup final.
Man Utd play twice with 2 away games, the second on Tuesday would have been a top of the table clash if it hadn't have been postponed in December but Chelsea's form has gone to pot since and now they need the points to catch Tottenham for 4th.

Here's my predictions including a few unlikely ones to give Longy a chance :)

Saturday
Aston Villa v Blackburn 2-0
Everton v Sunderland 3-1
Newcastle v Bolton 2-1
Wigan v Man Utd 1-2
Wolves v Blackpool 2-2
Sunday
West Ham v Liverpool 3-1
Man City v Fulham 2-0
Monday
Stoke v West Brom 1-0
Tuesday
Chelsea v Man Utd 0-2

One Sided Game

Just looked at the stats for the Blackpool v Spuds game and it looked like a bit of a one sided game with Tottenham dominating the play, the score - Blackpool 3 Tottenham 1 .... shame haha
Good night for Chelsea with an away win over Copenhagen who were playing their first match since before Christmas, Gronkjaer handing over a nice Christmas present to his old team with the pass for Anelka's first goal, also the Spuds losing at the seaside must have made Chelsea happy.

Happy Days?

Thomas Hitzlsperger finally makes his debut and scores :)
Another hole filled, in what on paper looks a really good team now.
I think we're only a centre half short of a team that could get us out of trouble injuries permitting, I know Winston Reid scored but he looks like the weakest link and Upson has never won me over, I think the sale of James Collins is still haunting us. The forward line when fit look as good as anything in the Premier league and with Jack Collison back soon the midfield is looking strong.
Our league run in looks harder than any of the teams around us but with the current line up we must be confident of picking up something from the "bigger" teams, or realistically we must pick up something or we're only going to see this line up for another 12-14 games as relegation would surely see more than half of this team leave.

What's left - 11 League games (8 against current top ten teams)
H Liverpool, H Stoke, A Tottenham, H Man Utd, A Bolton, H Aston Villa, A Chelsea, A Man City, H Blackburn, A Wigan, H Sunderland.
+ The Cup - A Stoke
Hopefully it will start in the right way with a win over Liverpool on Sunday, to revenge our crappest performance of the season at Anfield.

Why Did He Buy Him?

One thing that was apparent during Man Utd's struggling win over Crawley was that Obertan and Bebe looked out of their depth against non league opposition.
So at the moment the 7 million he paid for Bebe and 3 million for Obertan seems like a total waste of money.
Although as I remember I thought the same when he signed Evra, Vidic and Nanny and they haven't turned out so bad so maybe these 2 will get better but I reckon he's really got his work cut out.
So Man U through to the last 8 to join Birmingham and Stoke who had easier wins against league one teams.
Best result of the day Everton's win at Chelsea with the more talented Neville brother getting the winning penalty, still not sure why Chelsea let Anelka take penalties he obviously can't be bothered.

I Know A Song About That ...

The Red Devils v The Red Devils
Normally a non league team going to a Premier league club in the cup would have me hoping for an upset, but this time I really hope it goes with the form book.
As the song goes "Money can't buy you love" I know Man U are hardly paupers (although the Glazer's are doing their best) but the fact that Crawley now have riches beyond most teams in the first and second division of the league just seems unfair like Man City and Chelsea in the Premier, so it's really hard to like them also having seen the highlights of their last cup game they seem like a pretty obnoxious bunch.
So as far as I'm concerned the only giant killing I want this weekend is an Orient victory over Arsenal, and maybe something for Notts county at City?

Every time Crawley get a mention on TV I can't help but think of another song .. Boris the Spider by the Who :)
"Creepy, crawly
Creepy, crawly
Creepy, creepy, crawly, crawly
Creepy, creepy, crawly, crawly
Creepy, creepy, crawly, crawly
Creepy, creepy, crawly, crawly"

It's All To Play For

Looking at the Prem table it's still mathematically possible for anyone to get relegated and anyone to win the title, which is unusual at mid February.
The title race though looks to be between Man U and Arsenal and I have to think Man Utd should stay well ahead.
The champions league places are still up for grabs with Man U plus any 3 of the current top five, I'm sure Chelsea will get their act together and put in a strong finish which will put the pressure on the others.
Relegation is any 3 from eleven or twelve clubs? West ham's fixtures don't fill me with confidence that we'll escape but it's so tight that if we can manage to win the 4 home games against other strugglers it might be enough?

Predictions (Week 25) - Suspended

Just three games this week in the Premier league, too few for a decent competition :(

Sunday - West Brom v Wolves
A Wolves win sends the Hammers back to the bottom :( so I'm hoping for a draw

Tuesday - Blackpool v Tottenham
The Spuds have the chance to go third, Blackpool suddenly need the points

Wednesday - Arsenal v Stoke
Arsenal could go within a point of Man U, Stoke could put some distance from relegation.

The FA Cup

This weekend should be the 5th Round of the cup, but for some reason the replays haven't taken place and it's a right mess.
So the cup matches this week are a mixture of 4th and 5th round ties, meaning the 6th round draw will be a load of A or B versus C or D?
.. and just to annoy me more the Hammers game is on when I'm at work :(

Wed 16th Feb
Wigan v Bolton - 4th Round Replay

Sat 19th Feb
Chelsea v Everton - 4th Round Replay
Birmingham v Sheff Wed - 5th Round
Stoke v Brighton - 5th Round
Man Utd v Crawley - 5th Round

Sun 20th Feb
Man City v Notts County, 4th Round Replay
Fulham v Bolton or Wigan - 5th Round
Leyton Orient v Arsenal - 5th Round

Mon 21st Feb
West Ham v Burnley - 5th Round

Tue 1st Mar
Everton or Chelsea v Reading - 5th Round

Wed 2nd Mar
Notts County or Man City v Aston Villa - 5th Round

Bad Loser

Like Joe Jordan I'm getting soft in my old age, I was actually pleased the Spuds beat Milan!!
One of the odd things about my like and dislike of teams is that whenever an English team plays foreign opposition I want the English team to win, even Tottenham and Chelsea? although I struggle with Liverpool so try not to watch them :)
Me and the missus! for some reason are Peter Crouch fans despite the clubs he's chosen to play for so I was happy he got the winner.
As for Joe Jordan you just know that 30 years ago Gattuso would have been on the floor searching for his teeth, so I assume he's mellowed a bit :)

Ouch

I really feel for a Southend supporting friend at work this afternoon, he was telling me last night that his marriage could be in danger after he had promised his missus that he would do some essential DIY at home instead of following the blues to Accrington Stanley but had just got a call from his mate who told him that his place on the minibus was booked, so obviously he had to go :)
The game itself was called off for a waterlogged pitch at 1.30pm which probably meant he was in an Accrington pub getting ready for the game when he heard.
So a 400 mile round trip, no game to watch, and dinner in the dog when he gets home if she lets him in :)

We Got It

So goodbye to Upton Park and hello to the Olympic stadium (or whatever they are going to call it?).
Pleased to put one over on the Spuds and listening to the sour grapes today has been a pleasure :)
From the financial point of view this is a great move, from the football point of view I'm not so sure? but whatever happens we'll get used to it.
Can we fill it? probably not but Arsenal upped their average crowd by 23,000 by moving to the Emirates and we should expect a rise of 10,000+ on our current 33,500 average at the very least.
It will be easier to get to by rail and hopefully there will be plenty of parking. If they can offer a reduction on the current prices that should swell the gates, Man City's prices are a fraction of ours which is why they almost fill their left over athletics stadium every home match.
If we start getting good crowds more money and sponsorship will come in, better players will suddenly notice us, and probably Sullivan and Gold will sell up for a profit to some oil rich arab who fancies a piece of the action.
So although I'm not quite into celebrating this at the moment, I'm sure in the long run it will probably be a good thing?
Maybe we could get some of those old invalid carriages to fill the gaps behind the goals like Chelsea used to in the 70's haha :)

Predictions (Week 24)

This weeks games spread over 4 days with a bonus game thrown in.
The Manchester derby gets star billing, I'll go for a narrow United win (in the tenth minute of added time?) but it will be interesting to see if last weeks defeat by Wolves is the start of a bad run or they can bounce back?

Saturday
Man Utd v Man City 2-1
Arsenal v Wolves 3-1
Birmingham v Stoke 1-1
Blackburn v Newcastle 2-1
Blackpool v Aston Villa 2-3
Liverpool v Wigan 1-1
West Brom v West Ham 1-2
Sunderland v Tottenham 1-2
Sunday
Bolton v Everton 1-1
Monday
Fulham v Chelsea 2-2
Tuesday
Birmingham v Newcastle 2-2

Lee v Longy tied at 6-6 :)

Geography

Olympic Bosses Back West Ham Bid

Nice picture but where is the running track?
I'm still in two minds over this, yes I want us to beat Tottenham to claim this but the thought of playing at a ground with a running track between you and the action is a bit of a nightmare.
I'm still not keen on how far away from the pitch you are at the current home Upton Park having been brought up in the days when the players would have to lean back ito the crowd to take a two step throw in! (Rory Delap wouldn't have got much joy at the old Upton Park).
I know it makes financial sense and I'm sure we could fill it on a regular basis if the team had a little success (and they dropped the prices a bit).
The removal of the terraces in the nineties killed the atmosphere for me and I really can't see how you will ever get any sort of intimidating atmosphere going at a place like this?

R.I.P Les Stubbs

Former Southend and Chelsea player Les Stubbs died last week at the age of 81.
Although way before my time his name had come up many times as a local football hero.
He started out with local club Great Wakering Rovers before moving on to play for Southend in 1948, after scoring 45 times in 88 games in 1952 he was signed by Chelsea for £10,000 and in 6 years at Stamford Bridge he scored 34 goals in 112 games including some vital goals helping Chelsea to their first league title in 1955.
By 1958 he had lost his place to youngster Jimmy Greaves! so he returned to Southend United. Eventually he returned to his home club Great Wakering and played on and off till the age of 53!
Sad news :(

Barton

I can't stand that little scouse twat Joey Barton, who just can't seem to stay away from trouble on and off the field, but .... just for once I think he's innocent.
The tackle that started the trouble which led to Diaby getting sent off was the best tackle I've seen in ages in the premier league, the sort of tackle I loved to make many years ago in my Sunday league career, take the ball first and if the player isn't quick enough to get out the way then take him as well :)
As expected Arsene Whiner thinks Barton should have been sent off for the "dangerous" tackle (was it even a free kick? shouldn't have been), I do think Kevin Nolan was lucky to stay on after his two "raised hands" incidents but Barton's tackle was just classic right out of the old school of tackling you used to see every game before all the players became ponces.

Oh Dear

Just when you thought things were on the up.

At least a certain Chelsea fan will be feeling the same way!

Goals Goals Goals

Still got the Man Utd v Wolves to go but what a day so far.
Stoke v Sunderland 3-2
Aston Villa v Fulham 2-2
Everton v Blackpool 5-3
Man City v West Brom 3-0
Newcastle v Arsenal 4-4
Tottenham v Bolton 2-1
Wigan v Blackburn 4-3
38 goals (a new record) with the Newcastle Arsenal game just taking the game of the day from several contenders.
Due to an irritating git at work who's a Newcastle fan I was quite happy to see Arsenal 4-0 up and was looking forward to Monday especially if the Hammers win tomorrow, but I love the fact that Newcastle came back just to see what excuses whining Wenger comes up with :) I was hoping for Pardew v Wenger round 2 but they shook hands at the end sadly instead of a hoped for punch up.
Once again Arsenal had a player sent off which has cost them the game, Diaby should have done a proper job on Barton, there are ways to get that little shit sent off but he failed.
Blackpool were leading at Everton but Louis Saha proving that when he's not injured he's a great striker blew them away with 4 goals.
* and Nani has just scored for Man U *
Wigan beat Blackburn 4-3 which would normally be the best game of the day, but not today.
Now I'll carry on watching the game :)

Predictions (Week 23)

Star billing this week goes to the Chelsea v Liverpool match, both teams showing improved form but with added bite as Torres should make his debut against his old team, Suarez looked good on his debut for the scouses (but surely that was an own goal?).
Wolves badly need a win to get back in the mix, but Fergie shouldn't take any chances and a full strength United should win.

Saturday
Stoke v Sunderland 1-1
Aston Villa v Fulham 2-1
Everton v Blackpool 2-0
Man City v West Brom 3-0
Newcastle v Arsenal 1-1
Tottenham v Bolton 2-0
Wigan v Blackburn 1-2
Wolves v Man Utd 0-2
Sunday
West Ham v Birmingham 3-1
Chelsea v Liverpool 3-0

Gary Neville

Hiya Gary,
Glad your reading the blog and have taken my advice :)

For Longy

For One day only!! Here you go Longy, to replace that weird picture on your site :)

Loadsamoney

The Transfer Window

A couple of silly transfer fees but not as much movement as predicted.
Chelsea blow £71 Million on 2 players to try and finish above Tottenham.
Liverpool get £50 Million for Torres and then blow it all and more on Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez.
Blackpool spend bugger all and keep their best player and get a few more good players which should keep them up.
Arsenal, Man U, Man City and the Spuds don't buy anyone.
Newcastle sell their best striker and only get Stephen Ireland.
West Ham pick up Tottenham reject Keane plus a guy from Dulwich Hamlet! (although the last signing we made from Dulwich was Rio Ferdinand so hopefully ..).
Horrible c**t El Hadji Diouf has gone to Rangers, I wonder how long he'll survive in a Glasgow bar :)

Most of the moves are loan deals so here's the last weeks transfers, might have missed some but it's as good as I could find.

Arsenal
In None
Out Aaron Ramsey, Benik Afobe, Carlos Vela, Cedric Evina, Craig Eastmond, Henri Lansbury, Kyle Bartley

Aston Villa
In Michael Bradley
Out Curtis Davies, Isaiah Osbourne, John Carew, Jonathan Hogg, Stephen Ireland

Birmingham
In Curtis Davies, Obafemi Martins
Out Daniel Preston, Jake Jervis, Michel

Blackburn
In Mauro Formica, Ruben Rochina
Out Aaron Doran, El Hadji Diouf

Blackpool
In Andy Reid, James Beattie, Jason Puncheon, Salaheddine Sbai, Sergei Kornilenko
Out None

Bolton
In Daniel Sturridge
Out None

Chelsea
In David Luiz, Fernando Torres
Out Daniel Sturridge, Gael Kakuta, Jacob Mellis, Patrick van Aanholt, Nemanja Matic

Everton
In Apostolos Vellios
Out James Vaughan, Joao Silva, Kieran Agard

Fulham
In Eidur Gudjohnsen, Gael Kakuta
Out Eddie Johnson, Keanu Marsh-Brown

Liverpool
In Andy Carroll, Conor Thomas, Luis Suarez
Out David Amoo, Fernando Torres, Paul Konchesky, Stephen Darby

Man City
In None
Out Andrew Tutte, David Ball, David Gonzalez, Emmanuel Adebayor

Man Utd
In None
Out Cameron Stewart, Danny Drinkwater, Joe Dudgeon

Newcastle
In Stephen Ireland
Out Andy Carroll, Wayne Routledge

Stoke
In John Carew
Out Eidur Gudjohnsen, Louis Moult, Tuncay

Sunderland
In Stephane Sessegnon, Sulley Muntari
Out Andy Reid, David Healy, Paulo da Silva

Tottenham
In None
Out Giovani dos Santos, Jamie O'Hara, Robbie Keane, Ryan Mason, Tommy Carroll

West Brom
In Carlos Vela
Out Ishmael Miller, Kayleden Brown, Paul Downing, Reuben Reid, Romaine Sawyers

West Ham
In Demba Ba, Gary O'Neil, Paul McCallum, Robbie Keane
Out Frank Nouble, Valon Behrami

Wigan
In Conor Sammon
Out Lee Nicholls

Wolves
In Adriano Basso, Jamie O'Hara
Out Andy Keogh, David Davis, Matt Hill