Premier Predictions (Week 11)

7 Games on Saturday from 12:30 till 19:45, 2 games on Sunday and the relegation battle at Huddersfield on Monday.
Arsenal v Liverpool probably the big game of the weekend, although the rest all have interesting sub plots.
The Hammers v Burnley brings up bad memories of last season especially after the latest pitch incident :(

Bournemouth v Man Utd
Cardiff v Leicester
Everton v Brighton
Newcastle v Watford
West Ham v Burnley
Arsenal v Liverpool
Wolves v Tottenham

Man City v Southampton
Chelsea v Crystal Palace

Huddersfield v Fulham

Good Luck All :)

Sad

Really sad news that the helicopter carrying the Leicester owner crashed last night 😢
Unlike a lot of football chairman he seems to have been a really popular figure supporting local charities and hospitals as well as the team, and certainly brought them success since taking over in 2010.
I'm not sure of the full story at this time, but like any family members and Leicester supporters I'm deeply saddened about this tragedy 😢

Premier Predictions (Week 10)

Week 10, into the second quarter of the season already.
6 Games on Saturday, 3 on Sunday and one on Monday.
Top game should be Tottenham v league leaders Man City who were pretty awesome in midweek.

Brighton v Wolves
Fulham v Bournemouth
Liverpool v Cardiff
Southampton v Newcastle
Watford v Huddersfield
Leicester v West Ham
Burnley v Chelsea
Crystal Palace v Arsenal
Man Utd v Everton
Tottenham v Man City

Took me 12 games to get a win last season, getting close again :(

Good Luck All :)

Premier Predictions (Week 09)

Back for another 4 weeks of Premier action before the next International break.
8 Games on Saturday and one each on Sunday and Monday.
West Ham v Tottenham should be good, and Mourinho back at Stamford bridge is always a good story :)

Chelsea v Man Utd
Bournemouth v Southampton
Cardiff v Fulham
Man City v Burnley
Newcastle v Brighton
West Ham v Tottenham
Wolves v Watford
Huddersfield v Liverpool
Everton v Crystal Palace
Arsenal v Leicester

Good Luck All :)

Here's the all singing and dancing full predictions table so far :)

Premier Predictions (Week 08)

After the Lord Mayor's show?
Back early this week with a Friday night game.
6 games on Saturday, 3 more on Sunday then it's another international week :(
Liverpool v Man City is the big game of the week on Sunday.

Brighton v West Ham
Burnley v Huddersfield
Crystal Palace v Wolves
Leicester v Everton
Tottenham v Cardiff
Watford v Bournemouth
Man Utd v Newcastle
Fulham v Arsenal
Southampton v Chelsea
Liverpool v Man City

Good Luck All :)

Premier Predictions (Week 07)

Can anyone stop the Paulo runaway train :)
8 (that's a great number) games on Saturday and one each on Sunday and Monday.
Chelsea v Liverpool is the game of the weekend, and hopefully West Ham v Man U will be a cracker as well.

West Ham v Man Utd
Arsenal v Watford
Everton v Fulham
Huddersfield v Tottenham
Man City v Brighton
Newcastle v Leicester
Wolves v Southampton
Chelsea v Liverpool
Cardiff  v Burnley
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace

Good Luck All :)

United

No wonder Man Utd lost, they always say Mourinho doesn't trust young players :)

Thanks BBC Sport for that :)

Premier Predictions (Week 06)

This week there are 8 games on Saturday and 2 on Sunday.
Chelsea and Liverpool still haven't dropped a point, although Chelsea should drop 3 on Sunday :)

Fulham v Watford
Burnley v Bournemouth
Cardiff v Man City
Crystal Palace v Newcastle
Leicester v Huddersfield
Liverpool v Southampton
Man Utd v Wolves
Brighton v Tottenham
West Ham v Chelsea
Arsenal v Everton

Good Luck All :)

Premier Predictions (Week 05)

Back again, the International break was as dull as a dull thing :)
Should have been the first game at the new White Hart Lane but their cowboy builders still haven't finished, so another Wembley appearance for Liverpool.
Chelsea have the best chance of continuing the 100% records, Watford have Man U and West Ham go to Everton :(
7 Games on Saturday, 2 on Sunday and a South coast clash on Monday.

Tottenham v Liverpool
Bournemouth v Leicester
Chelsea v Cardiff
Huddersfield v Crystal Palace
Man City v Fulham
Newcastle v Arsenal
Watford v Man Utd
Wolves v Burnley
Everton v West Ham
Southampton v Brighton

Good Luck All :)

Summer Transfers 2018

A little bit of an addiction for me, grabbing all the info on where the Premier league cash was splashed during the summer break.
A bit weird this year with the Premier league transfer window shutting before the season started, but players still being allowed to move to Foreign and non Prem teams until Friday.

So here we go info based on the best sources I could find (no sensationalist newspaper figures), includes squad and youth players .
Several Undisclosed figures (mainly for youth players) which I've counted as free transfers.
Spending is down this year, although still over a Billion pounds changed hands.

The Chart:

Total Spend - £1,296,060,000
Most Players In - Brighton 17, Wolves 15, Fulham 12
Most Players Out - Chelsea 50, Man City 45, Wolves 41
Most Money Paid - Liverpool £179.03m, Chelsea £123.3m, Leicester £98.87m
Most Money Received - Leicester £77.22m, Chelsea £54.17m, Watford £50.22m
Largest Profit - Watford £24.77m, Newcastle £11.12m, Tottenham £2.48m
Largest Defecit - Liverpool -£163.46m, Fulham -£94.05m, West Ham -£81.92m

Largest Fees Paid

Kepa Arrizabalaga [Athletic Bilbao - Chelsea] £72m
Alisson [Roma - Liverpool] £66.8m
Riyad Mahrez [Leicester - Manchester City] £61.02m
Naby Keita [RB Leipzig - Liverpool] £54m
Fred [Shakhtar Donetsk - Man Utd] £53.1m
Jorginho [Napoli - Chelsea] £51.3m
Fabinho [Monaco - Liverpool] £45m
Richarlison [Watford - Everton] £40.5m
Felipe Anderson [Lazio - West Ham] £34.2m
Thibaut Courtois [Chelsea - Real Madrid] £31.5m *OUT*
Yerry Mina [Barcelona - Everton] £27.23m
Jean Michael Seri [Nice - Fulham] £27m
Lucas Torreira [Sampadoria - Arsenal] £27m
Jefferson Lerma [Levante - Bournemouth] £25.2m
Bernd Leno [B Leverkusen - Arsenal] £22.5m
Issa Diop [Toulouse - West Ham] £22.5m
James Maddison [Norwich - Leicester] £22.5m
Jannik Vestergaard [B Monchengladbach - Southampton] £22.5m
Andre Zambo Anguissa [Marseille - Fulham] £22.37m
Diogo Dalot [Porto - Man Utd] £19.8m
Caglar Soyuncu [Freiburg - Leicester] £19m
Lucas Digne [Barcelona - Everton] £18.18m
Aleksandar Mitrovic [Newcastle - Fulham] £18.18m
Terence Kongolo [Monaco - Huddersfield] £18m
Ricardo Pereira [FC Porto - Leicester] £18m

Premier Predictions (Week 04)

Week 4, last games before the first International break of the season.
2 of the 4 teams on 3 wins play each other Watford v Tottenham.
West ham really need 3 points this week as the following six games are all tough :(
7 Games on Saturday and 3 on Sunday.

Leicester v Liverpool
Brighton v Fulham
Chelsea v Bournemouth
Crystal Palace v Southampton
Everton v Huddersfield
West Ham v Wolves
Man City v Newcastle
Cardiff v Arsenal
Burnley v Man Utd
Watford v Tottenham

Good Luck All :)

Premier Predictions (Week 03)

Week 3, can anyone stop Gibbo?
Games being played on Saturday, Sunday and Monday this week.
Big relegation six pointer at the Emirates, and Man U v Tottenham on Monday look like the big games.
Hopefully Longy will put in an appearance after playing for the last 8 years?

Wolves v Man City
Arsenal v West Ham
Bournemouth v Everton
Huddersfield v Cardiff
Southampton v Leicester
Liverpool v Brighton
Watford v Crystal Palace
Fulham v Burnley
Newcastle v Chelsea
Man Utd v Tottenham

Good Luck All :)

Premier Predictions (Week 02)

Week 2 already, games being played on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
The pressure could be on the new Arsenal manager already if they lose to Chelsea, and hopefully the Hammers can calm the nerves at home to Bournemouth.

Cardiff v Newcastle
Everton v Southampton
Leicester v Wolves
Tottenham v Fulham
West Ham v Bournemouth
Chelsea v Arsenal
Burnley v Watford
Man City v Huddersfield
Brighton v Man Utd
Crystal Palace v Liverpool

Will do my yearly transfer round-up once all the Premier league teams have shifted their dead wood out to Europe before the end of the month.

Anyway Good Luck All :)

Premier Predictions (Week 01)

It's that time again 😁
Premier Predictions 2018-19 is up and running.
Premier league is back on Friday (why Friday? 💩), so only about 75 hours to go.

T&C's - Usual rules apply
3 Points for a correct score, 1 Point for a correct result.
Predictions League will be decided on weekly wins first, if 2 or more people share a weekly win that will be classed as a draw, if at the end things are still level the toal points for the season come into play.
Predictions in the comments please :)

Hopefully the regular players will be back and anyone reading this blog is welcome to join in at any point, just let me know a name and club supported.
Obviously predictions will only count if they are made before the kick offs.

Anyway, here's the first fixtures of the new season.
Games being played on Friday, Saturday and Sunday 10th to 12th August.

Man Utd v Leicester
Newcastle v Tottenham
Bournemouth v Cardiff
Fulham v Crystal Palace
Huddersfield v Chelsea
Watford v Brighton
Wolves v Everton
Liverpool v West Ham
Southampton v Burnley
Arsenal v Man City

All welcome, good luck all 😎

Fantasy Football 18 19

That time again, please join my fantasy football leagues.
All welcome.

England Ratings

My opinion of England's World Cup run.

Goalkeepers:
Jordan Pickford 8/10 Maybe not the greatest goalkeeper but performed really well on the big stage, certainly more confident with the ball at his feet than the others.
Jack Butland 0 Did not play,  
Nick Pope 0 Did not play

Defenders:
Kyle Walker 7/10 Got the pace to cover which has been lacking in England squads of the past, but still lacks composure under pressure. Could have been better.
Kieran Trippier 8/10 Hardly put a foot wrong in defence and was our best set piece taker and crosser.
Harry Maguire 7/10 Stepped up to the mark and doesn't lack confidence, needs to improve his passing and have a little bit more confidence when he takes the ball upfield.
John Stones 7/10 Apart from the error against Croatia he has been excellent, should be nailed down as a starter for many years.
Ashley Young 6/10 Did a job, the fact he doesn't like crossing with his left foot is the biggest downside to his game.
Danny Rose 5/10 Has the pace and talent to replace Ashley Young but still makes bad choices as a defender.
Eric Dier 6/10 Not really a fan but his versatility earns him a place in the squad. Looked better in the final game.
Phil Jones 3/10 No idea why he is in the squad?
Gary Cahill 6/10 Experienced and reliable.
Trent Alexander Arnold 7/10 The fact he's behind Trippier is the only reason he won't be an England regular for a while, Bags of confidence and ability.

Midfielders:
Jordan Henderson 5/10 Did a steady job but the Croatia game showed he doesn't have the ability to create chances where he just played a stream of long passes without picking out a player.
Dele Alli 6/10 Not at his best, didn't get forward enough. Most Tottenham fans will tell you he gives the ball away too easily but makes up for it with his ability to get in the box at the right time.
Jesse Lingard 7/10 Tried hard but things didn't really come off for him this time.
Fabian Delph 6/10 Has been used as a wing back by Man City but his cameo appearances at this tournament have been in midfield where he is very average. Played the wing back roll in the 2nd half against Belgium and should have moved in front of Young and Rose.
Ruben Loftus Cheek 6/10 Has potential but needs to work harder.

Forwards:
Harry Kane 7/10 Looked good in the early games but looks to be carrying an injury, hasn't been the same since the Colombia game where he appeared to be struggling.
Raheem Sterling 6/10 Does not deserve the criticism he receives, always a willing runner but confidence seems shot when he gets near the goal. Poor last game.
Jamie Vardy 5/10 England don't play to his strengths and struggled to make an impact.
Marcus Rashford 6/10 Will get better, has the pace and skill to be a big player in the future. Hopefully he will get more game time for Man Utd this season.
Danny Welbeck 2/10 Too many injuries and a lack of game time have blunted his instincts, might come back better if he can get regular football.

Gareth Southgate 7/10 Great to have an England boss who seems to care for a change, he got them all playing as a team and motivated them at the right times, showed some inexperiece with his substitutions in the Croatia game where it was obvious Kane was struggling and Rashford instead came on for Sterling who was still fun of running, also Trippier was left on despite being injured for the whole of extra time and Walker replaced instead?
The one big criticism you can level at Southgate is the original selection, Jack Wilshere and Jonjo Shelvey are both the type of creative midfielders we were missing throughout the tournament and especially against Croatia.
Why he couldn't find room for them in the squad is a mystery when he chose players like Phil Jones, Fabian Delph, Danny Welbeck and Ruben Loftus Cheek who weren't trusted to come on and make a difference.

World Cup 2018 Predictions (Part 6)

Only a week to go and the World Cup is over ... boo hoo!!
I like many others thought a World Cup in Russia could be a disaster with predictions of Russian hooligans, heavy handed police, racist chanting, VAR etc?
But from what I've seen it has been brilliant so far and not just because England have performed, the VAR has mostly been done really well, weeding out the cheating b'stards and letting teams get on with playing football.

Final Rounds of Predictions (please fill in teams for final and 3rd place)
(90 Minute rule again - extra time and penalties don't count)

Semi Finals
Belgium v France
Croatia v England

3rd Place
Belgium v England

Final
France v Croatia

Thought I was running away with this, but Paulo has put the pressure on ...
60 Games - Lee 43, Paulo 40, Paul 31, (Lawro 42)

Good Luck All :)

World Cup 2018 Predictions (Part 5)

Starting to get our hopes up, I think every English footy fan wants us to win the World Cup but after all these years of disappointment we've kept it in check :)
Injuries permitting we should be able to compete against Sweden, Croatia or Russia, but then the big 4 in the other half of the draw come into play.
Of course our history suggests we'll get a dodgy red card or one of our top players inured before then so don't count any chickens :)

8 Games left and it's Quarter Final time, games on Friday and Saturday.
90 minute rule applies for predictions.

France v Uraguay
Brazil v Belgium
Sweden v England
Russia v Croatia

Good luck All, and England :)

World Cup 2018 Predictions (Part 4)

Last 16 time, 2 games a day from Saturday till next Tuesday.

France v Argentina
Uruguay v Portugal
Spain v Russia
Croatia v Denmark
Brazil v Mexico
Belgium v Japan
Sweden v Switzerland
Colombia v England

Rules for the knockout stages:
Prediction result will be the score at the end of normal time (90 minutes + injury time).
Extra time and Penalties will not count.

World Cup Last 16

France - 2 wins 1 draw, quality team who have yet to really get going.
Argentina - 1 win 1 draw, lucky to scrape through but they have Messi.
Uraguay - 3 wins, great defence and Suarez, one to avoid.
Portugal - 1 win 2 draws, they've got Ronaldo so will always have a chance.
Spain - 1 win 2 draws, not at their best but will still be hard to beat.
Russia - 2 wins, badly beaten by Uruguay, home crowd won't be enough.
Croatia - 3 wins, looking very good so far just lacking a top quality striker.
Denmark - 1 win 2 draws, looking like one of the weakest teams through.
Brazil - 2 wins 1 draw, not the best team but have some top quality individuals who can win a game on their own.
Mexico - 2 wins, looked great in the first 2 games but thrashed by Sweden.
Belgium - 3 wins, top squad if they all perform but always get the feeling they will bottle it?
Japan - 1 win 1 draw, helped by playing 87 minutes against Colombia against 10 men, lucky to get through
Sweden - 2 wins, unlucky to lose to Germany but were very good against Mexico.
Switzerland - 1 win 2 draws, not impressed with the Swiss but keep getting results, although thanks to dodgy V.A.R in the Serbia game.
Colombia - 2 wins, unlucky against Japan but have been good in the last 2, will be hard to beat.
England - 2 wins, hopefully Harry Kane won't get injured.