South Coast Team in The Sun Newspaper

I had a bit of a suprise when reading through this week's football fixtures in today's sun newspaper. In League One, South Coast Team vs Leyton Orient. It didn't take me too long to figure out that South Coast Team referred to Southampton - However, I couldn't for the life of me figure out why! So, I decided to research the answer!

It turns out that Southampton FC have banned photographers from media organisations, such as The Sun, from covering the matches - choosing instead to have their own staff cover the games and then to sell pictures to media organisations.

Surely, a wrong move - What do you think?

Football manager 2011 - Preview

I just thought I'd give you all the address to my latest blog - It's a new blog ready for the latest version of the football management simultation game by Sports Interactive. I will be adding screenshots and features ready for the launch in autumn.

http://football-manager-2011-guide.blogspot.com/

World Cup - Your thoughts so far

The world cup has now reached the quarter finals stage, so we've only got 8 more matches to watch! Italy, France & England are out, but the South American teams seem to be playing well - with Argentina & Brazil scoring plenty of goals so far.

What are your thoughts so far? Who is going to win? Vote in the poll and write your comments here. Should video technology be introduced? England were denied a goal which would have made it 2-2 against Germany. Later that day, Argentina were given a goal that was offside - video replays would stop things like this happening - wouldn't they? Send us your comments.

England 0 v 0 Algeria (Full Time) World Cup Match Report

England 0 v 0 Algeria
Another very disappointing result for England fans. After the draw with USA last Saturday, most of the country were still deluded about England's chance of winning the world cup - even I got sucked in to thinking that it's just the first game, nothing to worry about! This performance though, was even worse.

Wayne Rooney looked dis-interested, except for the 3 long range efforts on goal - none looked likely of troubling the Algerian goalkeeper. Shaun Wright Phillips came on in the second half - he made very little impact with his light-weight, one dimensionality running. However, I lay blame solely on Fabio Capello... Here's a few of his poor decisions.

1. Played Steven Gerrard on the left for this game, when he was the best player last Saturday from playing in the middle.
2. Not selecting Theo Walcott in his squad. Theo was one of the stars in qualification, so why choose Lennon & Wright Phillips ahead of him? Theo has blistering pace and can turn it on in big games (Remember his hat-trick against Croatia or his blistering run from his own box for Arsenal v Liverpool in the champions league - running the length of the pitch taking on Liverpool players before setting up a goal.)
3. Calling up Carragher for the squad. Even Sol Campbell would have been a better choice. Carragher is a red card/penalty concede waiting to happen.

Group Table
Pts
4 Slovenia
2 England
2 USA
1 Algeria

England v Algeria World Cup Match Report (66 mins)

England 0 v 0 Algeria (66 mins)
England are still very poor, mainly thanks to the poor tactical decisions from Fabio Capello. Not taking Theo Walcott is the biggest mistake he's made. His pace is second to none and he would run at defenders. Aaron Lennon has been playing on the right, yet he keeps turning inside - for what reason? He doesn't even have a left foot. Get Joe Cole on, or it's going to be another disappointing draw.

Frank Lampard? Is he playing? Because I've not seen him since the national anthem. Jamie Carragher has picked up a yellow card, his second of the tournament, which is great news as he'll miss the next game through suspension.

Soccer Aid 2010 Pictures - Old Trafford, June 6th

Here are a few pictures from the recent soccer aid game at Old Trafford - won by the rest of the world team on penalties - More details to follow.

Race for Fourth Place in the Premier League - Add your comments

Premier League Table 6th March 2010
1 Man Utd P29 63pts
2 Chelsea P28 61pts
3 Arsenal P29 61 pts
--------------------------
4 Tottenham P28 49pts
5 Man City P27 49pts
6 Liverpool P28 48pts
7 Aston Villa P26 45 pts

Wins for both Man Utd and Arsenal today, mean that a 12 point gap has opened up between 3rd and 4th places. So, the race is on for that final champions league qualification spot. Who will finish fourth?

Tottenham have had a great season so far, and currently occupy 4th spot, but I don't think they'll be there at the end of the season. They could be 9 points clear of 5th place by now, but defeats at home & away to Wolves and losing at home to Stoke were definitely points dropped. The good news is that Gareth Bale is back in the team and doing well.

My choice for 4th place is Liverpool. They now have Gerrard back and Torres is not far away from playing 90 minutes again. Their league form has been pretty good of late - nothing spectacular, but enough to get them back into contention for the 4th place.

Anyway, what do you think? Leave your comments here

Stadium Pics - Bolton v Chelsea

Now we head over to the Reebok Stadium in Bolton for pics from their game with Chelsea. Thanks to Abdou for sending in the pictures. If you'd like to visit his website, here is the link.

http://watch-footie.yolasite.com/

Next two games, Blackburn (home), Fulham (away)

Here is the league table so far.

Tottenham v Blackburn

Last minute injuries to Robbie Keane and Rafael van der Vaart mean I need to reshuffle my team for the Blackburn game - as I aim to extend my unbeaten run. Luca Modric will now play attacking mid, with Krancjar taking Luca's place in left midfield. Crouch and van Nistelrooy start up front.

1 Tottenham - Crouch
1 Blackburn - Lansbury
position 6th

Peter Crouch scored in the second minute and not a great deal happened afterwards, until the 83rd minute when Henri Lansbury, on loan from Arsenal, scored from 25 yards with a curling shot. Following this, I went to all out attack in search of the victory, but Blackburn sat back and managed to hold onto the draw.

Fulham v Tottenham
The first London derby of the season for me and Fulham are currently going well in the Premier League. They are two places above Spurs. Van der Vaart has recovered, but I'll be putting him on the subs bench to start with. Woodgate recovers from his injury and comes into the team, in place of King. I'm giving a start to Pavlyuchenko, to see if he can do anything, but it's largely the team who drew with Blackburn.

1 Fulham - Johnson
2 Tottenham - Bale, Pavlyuchenko

Gareth Bale opened the scoring early on with a free kick, but with only six minutes to go, Andy Johnson got the equaliser! For the second match in a row, we've scored early and conceeded late... Hang on, it's Pavlyuchenko, he's scored. 2-1 to Spurs. A minute after Fulham equalised, Tottenham take the lead again! It finishes 2-1 and the win moves us up to 5th position. It's championship WIgan next in the third round of the league cup.

Unbeaten start to season 2 maintained??? Everton (home)

Tottenham v Everton

The first home league game of the season and we are back to full strength, with Peter Crouch starting his first game, partnering Robbie Keane. Jozy Altidore makes the subs bench and should feature at some stage.

2 Tottenham - Keane (2)
1 Everton - Jagielka
0-1, 1-1, 2-1

Phil Jagielka gave Everton the lead in the first half, but two goals from Robbie Keane gave us the lead. After 66 minutes, Altidore came on for Keane, to make his Spurs debut. Carroll also came on for Crouch. After three league games, we are still unbeaten and are now in 5th place.

Season 2 - League Cup 2nd Round. Accrington Stanley (home) and League fixture Man City (away)

Our next game was postponed, meaning we haven't got a match for 10 days - not good news considering I'm trying to keep the whole squad match fit. The match is against Accrington in the 2nd round of the league cup. I'm changing my whole team, with the exception of Gomes in goal. Carroll and Lukaku start up front, with Adel Taraabt acting as playmaker.

4 Tottenham - Edwards (og), Lukaku, Carroll, Bentley
0 Accrington

A good performance from the boys. I was pleased that both of my young strikers scored. The result was never in doubt, as I was 3-0 up at half time. It's Man City next in the league at Eastlands.

Man City v Tottenham
Peter Crouch could make his return today, he starts on the bench. Pavlyuchenko and van Nistelrooy start up front and the rest of my team is pretty much my first team.

1 Man City - Adebayor
1 Tottenham - Modric

A last minute equaliser by Luca Modric maintained our unbeaten start to season 2. The point moves us up to 9th, but most teams have played more games than us.

Yet more pre-season news - Season 2

3 Tottenham - van der Vaart, Bentley, Bale

0 Osasuna


2 Tottenham - van der Vaart (2)
1 Dnipro

The board increased by transfer budget before the start of the season, so I splashed out on the below players! Lucas will play as defensive midfield in my diamond formation and Altidore is a pacey, powerful striker.

Jordan Mutch 1.9m (DM)
Lucas 10.1m (DM)
Jozy Altidore 10m (ST)

SEASON 2
Pre-season is over and now it's time to focus on our first match of season 2! Bolton away is the first game. The only injury to a first team player is Peter Crouch. He hasn't recovered in time to make the team, but he should be back very soon. Keane and van Nistelrooy start up front.

0 Bolton
2 Tottenham - van Nistelrooy, Pavlyuchenko

Ruud van Nistelrooy gave us the lead in the first half, but the game was tight, until Roman Pavlyuchenko came off the bench to make the win secure late in the second half, to give us a winning start to season 2.

More pre-season news - Season 2

I'm again planning to sell some of the high earners who don't make the first team. I've offered Defoe, Pavlyuchenko and Palacios for sale. Everton have come in for bids of £1m for Jermain Defoe and £12.25 for Wilson Palacios - I have accepted both. Galatasary have bid £1m for Roman Pavlyuchenko - although it's only for a fraction of his value, I've accepted. I'm pleased that I can finally get rid of the two forwards that don't really play.

I've signed Ryan Bertrand on a free transfer, to act as cover for Bale in the left back role. Darijo Srna is now at the club, along with Marc Muniesa and Koke from spanish clubs. In addition, Argentine internation, Nicolas Burdisso has arrived on a free.

Pre season
9 Tottenham - Keane (4), Modric, van Nistelrooy (2), Lennon, Palacios
0 AFC Wimbledon

Peter Crouch got injured in this game and he may miss the start of the new season. It means that when it came to confirmation of the Pavlyuchenko deal, I had to cancel! The Defoe deal has gone through though, he's now an Everton player.

More pre season
3 Tottenham - van Nistelrooy (3)
1 Anderlecht - De Sutter

4 Tottenham - Keane (2), Carroll, King
1 Hertha Berlin - Rahn

I'm on the trail of Juventus play Borja Baston, a 17 year old forward who could play as a target man. I've offered 1.3m as a starting bid.

2 Brentford - Bennett, Hunt
4 Tottenham - van Nistelrooy, King, Keane (2)

I played against my new feeder club Brentford in a friendly match and they were two up by half time. I brought the big guns on and we turned it around easily, beating them by 4-2.

Pre-Season News - Season 2

Sunderland have come in with an £8.5 million bid for Giovani Dos Santos. The player was on loan there last season and the offer has been accepted, as it meets the minimum release clause in his contract. Werder Bremen have made a bid of £3.2m for Sebastian Bassong, which I accepted. I have Nicolas Burdisso coming to Spurs before the start of next season, so Bassong is not needed.

Dos Santos has rejected a move to Sunderland, over salary, which is a shame, because I was already spending the millions! Bassong has also rejected his proposed move! Atletico Madrid have now come in for Dos Santos for £10m - I have accpeted the bid!

The deal went through very quickly, which is good news - I now have money to spend! In addition, Bassong has now decided to go to Bordeaux in a 4.3m deal. I'm currently searching for a right back. Kyle Naughton has done well, but he's still young and improving. I have Darijo Srna in mind. I've been making bids, but they've all been rejected.

Finally, a £13.25m bid was accepted and Darijo has signed a deal. He will join the club at the beginning of the season. The new season will kick off with a trip to Bolton and then at home to Everton. Unfortunately, finishing in 7th, we didn't qualify for European competition. West Ham, as F.A.Cup runners up, take the third spot.

final games of the season - Portsmouth (home), Sunderland (away)

Tottenham v Portsmouth

I've returned to the 4-4-2 diamond formation for the game against Portsmouth. They are in 18th place. Peter Crouch and Ruud van Nistelrooy come back into the team for this game.

1 Tottenham - Pavlyuchenko
1 Portsmouth - Ben-Haim
0-1, 1-1

Well it's not a win, but it does stop the run of defeats. The results keeps us in 7th, 3 points ahead of 8th placed Bolton.

2 Sunderland - Turner, Woodgate (og)
2 Tottenham - Lennon, van Nistelrooy

So, I end the season with two draws and finish the premier league in 7th place. I'm not sure whether that gets me into Europe yet, but I'll keep you posted. Chelsea win the league, one point clear of Man Utd.

4 games left until end of season. Next Games are Liverpool (home), Bolton (away)

Tottenham v Liverpool
Ruud Van Nistelrooy comes in for Robbie Keane, Rafael van der Vaart and Ledley King also make their return back to the team.

1 Tottenham - van Nistelrooy
3 Liverpool - Benayoun (2), Gerrard
1-0, 1-1, 1-2, 1-3

Ruud van Nistelrooy gave us the lead in the first half after a perfect through ball from van der Vaart. However, on the stroke of halft time, Liverpool equalised through Yossi Benayoun. Van Der Vaart was replaced by Jenas at half time, as he picked up a slight injury. In the second half, we fell apart, for the second match running! We had been doing well, but goals from Steven Gerrard and Yossi Benayoun in the second half sealed the victory for Liverpool. Everton won their match, so they are now in 6th place. Spurs move down to 7th.

2 Bolton - Muamba, Davies
1 Tottenaham - Defoe
position 7th.

I went for something different against Bolton to try and prevent this losing streak - Jermain Defoe and Andy Carroll up front. It resulted in another poor result and we now stay in 7th, with 8th place Sunderland only two points behind!

F.A.Cup semi final - West Ham v Tottenham

F.A.Cup semi final - West Ham v Tottenham

A capacity crowd of 90,000 is expected at Wembley for our semi final match against West Ham. Rafael van der Vaart will miss the game against West Ham, he picked up a knock in the game against Man Utd. Jermaine Jenas will come in to play centre midfield. With Ledley King and Sebastian Bassong injured, I'll play Shawcross and Woodgate in centre defense. Keane and Crouch will start in attack.

1 Tottenham - Keane
5 West Ham - Ashton (2), Cole (3)
0-1, 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-5

Dean Ashton gave the Hammers the lead with a curling shot from outside the area, but Robbie Keane equalised by pouncing on a low cross to score from 6 yards. West Ham regained the lead a minute into the second half when an Ashton shot was only parried by Gomes, into the path of Cole. The rest of the game was a nightmare! As I tried to push forward to get the equaliser, West Ham tore us apart at the back. A very disappointing end to ther cup run, but we now need to focus everything in our remaining 4 premier league fixtures.

Table
1. Man Utd P34 83
2. Chelsea P33 81
3. Liverpool P34 66
4. Man City P33 64
5. Arsenal P34 56
6. Tottenham P34 55
7. Everton P34 53

Birmingham (away), Manchester United (away)

Birmingham v Tottenham

Ruud Van Nistelrooy comes back into the starting lineup, although he still hasn't scored for us yet. Crouch will partner him up front. Bentley gets a game in place of Lennon, but it's largely unchanged from the win at Fulham.

0 Birmingham
2 Tottenham - van Nistelrooy, Crouch
position 6th

After 64 minutes, I was about to make a change. Robbie Keane on for Ruud van Nistelrooy. I 'confirmed' the changes and it went back to live tv. Gareth Bale swung in a cross from deep into the box where Ruud van Nistelrooy swooped

Man Utd v Tottenham
This game was the game of the season when we met at White Hart Lane, earlier in the season. We beat them 4-3 on that day. It's pretty much my strongest side that will face Man Utd, with van Nistelrooy and Crouch up front.

3 Man Utd - Rooney (2), Rossi
2 Tottenham - Lennon, Crouch
0-1, 1-1, 2-1, 3-1, 3-2
position 6th

Again, it was a great game with lots of goals. Lennon gave us the lead, scoring in his second game in a row, but goals from Wayne Rooney and Guiseppe Rossi put united 3-1 up. Crouch got his 16th of the season, but it was only a consolation. It's the F.A.Cup semi final next, against West Ham, at Wembley.

Transfer Window Update

We're over half-way through the current transfer window, but there hasn't been too many transfers as of yet. The most news-worthy are the signings of Sol Campbell to Arsenal and Patrick Vieira to Man City. Sol Campbell obviously did enough in training and the 45 minutes of a reserve game to merit a short-term deal. Vieira has joined Man City at a time when they seem to be doing well (if you ignore the game against Everton) - so I struggle to see Vieira getting many games, especially as Gareth Barry and Nigel De Jong have been pretty solid in midfield.


The biggest transfer so far, in terms of money, is Michel from Sporting Gijon to Birmingham in a £3m deal. There have been plenty of loan deals, obviously because of the credit crunch! Maxi Rodriguez has joined Liverpool on loan from Atletico Madrid and I'm sure he enjoyed watching the game against Reading on the F.A.Cup! Jake Livermore has joined Peterborough on loan from Spurs and goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic has joined Wigan on loan from Sporting Lisbon and I'm sure he didn't enjoy his debut against Nott Co. in the F.A.Cup 4th round! Didier Digard has gone out on loan from Middlebrough and Andy Griffin has joined Reading, on loan from Stoke City. Stoke had apparently signed Amr Zaki according to newspaper reports last week, however, he has joined Hull City instead, on loan from FC Zemalek.

Colchester have signed both Kayode Odejayi and John-Joe O'Toole from championship clubs to add strength to their push for promotion and Vincent Pericard has signed for Swindon after fellow league 1 side Carlisle decided not to retain him, suprisingly.

Hopefully, the rest of the transfer window will be more eventful. This year, it closes on Monday 1st February.

Rumours

Ryan Babel could be on his way out of Liverpool as the Dutch striker is out of favour. Ryan was also fined a week's wages after he revealed on Twitter that he had been dropped for the game against Stoke, before the game. Birmingham could come in for the striker at a cut-price deal. Personally, I think Babel should be playing wide right and Dirk Kuyt as a forward.

The race is on to sign Joe Cole at the end of the season. He wanted a 50% pay-rise from 80k to 120k a week to stay at Chelsea. How can he, or should I say his agents, justify wanting such an increase? Especially, as he's spent more time injured than playing over the last few years. Man City could snap him up for free in the summer and would not say no to his wage demands.

Stadium Pics - Liverpool v Wigan

Liverpool 2 v 1 Wigan (16th December)
Liverpool celebrated 'Shanks' night with a decent victory against Wigan. The game started bright enough with the 'pool having shots cleared from the line, before N'Gog gave them the lead with a fine header from a Yossi Benayoun floated cross. However, Liverpool didn't make the most of their early dominance and the rest of the first half was fairly dull!

Rafa brought on Lucas! Clearly wishing to hold on to a 1-0 victory against Wigan! Fernando Torres, finally, came on in the second half, which gave everyone a lift. He went on to score the second goal and secure three points. Charles N'Zogbia turned inside onto his left foot from the right side and shot past Reina to score a consolation goal.

Liverpool legends help to celebrate shanks night, including Kevin Keegan and Phil Thompson. The legends went over to the kop end, applauded and went back down the tunnel! Cheers lads!

Stadium Pics - Arsenal v West Brom - League Cup

These pics were sent in from a reader - they are from the Emirates Stadium in London, home of Arsenal FC. Not a great deal of info was supplied with the pics, just that it was against West Brom in the league cup.