All posts by h79snht.top

I started writing this week’s blog whilst listening to the Portsmouth vs Palace. It was going to be all about how different things are now Palace, now we’re not in administration…ignoring the fact that we’re already 2-0 down to a team in administration, it’s a boring subject already well covered.

So with Pompey 2 up and attempting to pull off the great escape, they could do worse than look back over Palace’s recent history for inspiration.

Back in 2001, Palace and Portsmouth fortunes were intertwined, with both clubs fighting to maintain Division 1 (the artist now known as the Championship) status. In the penultimate match of the season the two sides met at Fratton Park, with Palace needing 6 points from the remaining two games to keep them in the divison.

Steve Kember, long term Palace employee, appointed as caretaker manager a few days before, inspired Palace to victory. Two goals from now manager, Dougie Freedman, and one apiece from Finish internationals Mikael Forssell and Aki Riihilahti secured only the Eagles’ second win in their previous  15 matches.

The victory meant Palace would be secured of First Division status if they won away at Stockport on the final day.  Pompey meanwhile had to beat Barnsley and rely on other results to escape the trap door to division 2. You only have to mutter the words ‘away at Stockport’ to Palace to fans for them to go all misty eyed. I was in the middle of my university finals in Reading so decided it was more responsible to not travel up to Stockport, but spend the day revising (sitting in Walkabout drinking relentlessly from 11am). Big mistake on all counts.

Scores elsewhere at half-time meant Palace were down at that stage, staring into the abyss. Division 2 is for small clubs like Millwall surely?

With three tiny minutes remaining, Dougie Freedman scored one of the most memorable goals in Crystal Palace history, carving open the Stockport defence down the left and slamming home the winner to keep Palace up, and send Huddersfield down. Cue pandemonium…. It is only in more lucid moments that Palace fans will whisper ‘Hopkins handballed it in the build up to the goal’.

I’ve mentioned in earlier blogs the survival at Hillsborough two season ago. Palace met Sheffield Wednesday in a final day, winner takes all clash, with them occupying 4th and 3rd to bottom respectively. Palace’s standing advantage enough to mean a draw would see the Eagles stay up and send the Owls down.

Relegation survival scraps have a tendency to create heroes, and Alan Lee and Darren Ambrose wrote their own history that day. Darren Purse equalised for the Owls in the 87th minute, but Palace held on to relegate Sheffield Wednesday.

For those of you that don’t know, Palace have got a goal back tonight to give Pompey a glimmer of hope. But they need 6 points from their remaining 2 games to have any hope of survival, and it may still not be enough. Ring any bells?

In other news, Mikele Leigertwood has scored the goal to send Reading up. For Palace fans, Leigertwood will always be the player that gave away the goal at the Valley to relegate us from the Premier League.

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It can be a little easy to get bogged down in the negative aspects of the beautiful game nowadays. Inflated wages, off-field issues and the increasing role of player power within the sport often cast a dark shadow over, what should be, an entertaining family spectacle.

Stories surrounding racism have come to the fore this term, with John Terry awaiting a court hearing, and Luis Suarez serving a lengthily ban, as well as misbehaviour away from the field of play have been rife this term, as the darker side of the game has been making the headlines all too regularly.

However, there has been plenty to be positive about this season, with entertaining football and great goals aplenty for viewers of the Premier League.

This list looks at the 15 highlights of the season so far, celebrating the good aspects of the game we love.

Click on Kyle Walker to unveil the selection

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What do you think? Let me know on Twitter @Alex_Hams

So here we are – the final gameweek of the season. Please though, put your violin down, wipe away those tears and be strong (after all the Euros are just round the corner). There are only three teams (Chelsea, Blackburn and Wolves) whose positions have been decided ahead of this weekend’s fixtures. For the other seventeen teams, there’s still much to play for with an added focus on the fight for the title, the race for the Champions League and the battle to beat the drop.

Who do you need to be considering for selection ahead of this weekend?

The Captaincy Debate

It’s simple for Bolton Wanderers on Sunday – fail to win and they’ll be relegated. However, should they claim victory, they’ll almost certainly secure their place in the Premier League. To do this, Owen Coyle’s going to need another strong performance from a player who’s been in good form of late – Martin Petrov. The Bulgarian winger has two goals and two assists in his last four games as the Wanderers have tried to climb away from the relegation zone.  Petrov visits the Britannia Stadium on Sunday where he’ll face a Stoke side who have been misfiring of late but such is his recent form, Petrov is definitely worth consideration.

Then again, one man who cannot be counted out is the PFA Player of the Year Robin van Persie. The powerful Dutch forward has had his best season in England notching 30 goals and 12 assists. You probably won’t be too surprised to learn this makes him the top goal scorer in the Premier League. He’ll be looking to better his record at the Hawthorns at the weekend as Roy Hodgson sees out his final game at West Brom. Arsenal need to win to be assured of Champions League football and for that reason, van Persie looks a good prospect for the weekend, even if the Gunners did stumble against Norwich.

However, there’s always Fernando Torres – now there’s a name that for the majority of the season shouldn’t have been anywhere near your team. It’s amazing what a little bit of confidence can do. He’s still not near the levels which he hit at Liverpool. That said relegated Blackburn Rovers visit Stamford Bridge on Sunday with both sides already assured of their positions in the table. This offers another chance for Torres to net although it’s unclear at this time whether he might be rested ahead of the Champions League final. Still, the Spaniard looks a decent option.

With Manchester City facing QPR though, it is nigh on impossible to ignore Sergio Aguero. The Argentinian hasn’t scored in his last two games for City but he’s been a key reason as to why they’re back in pole position with a game left. He has 22 goals in the Premier League this season and this weekend’s opponents have been abysmal away from home of late. In their last outing, QPR conceded six goals against Chelsea and Rangers have also lost their last six on the road. With Aguero set to be one of City’s main goal threats as they look to secure the title, the forward simply has to be in your team.

The Captain: Sergio Aguero – If the Argentinian doesn’t score on Sunday, it will be a big surprise. For that reason, play it safe and have him as your skipper.

The Vice-Captain: Robin van Persie – Again, a likely goal scorer but not quite on the same level as Aguero this weekend. Have RVP in reserve.

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For more Premier League musings, follow @archiert1 on Twitter

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New Swansea coach Michael Laudrup is ready to make a move for out-of-contract striker Markus Rosenberg according to The Daily Mail.

The Danish coach has been instilled as the Liberty Stadium club’s coach after Brendan Rodgers opted to leave to join Liverpool, and it is believed that the new man has been given £15 million to spend on bringing in players to make the squad his own.

Rosenberg has been released by Werder Bremen, and as such is available on a free transfer, with newly-promoted sides Southampton and Reading also monitoring the forward’s situation.

However, the Swans are thought to be leading the race for Rosenberg, with Laudrup’s Scandinavian links a reason to convince the player to move to Wales.

Meanwhile, Swansea look to have lost out on Gylfi Sigurdssson, as the Icelandic midfielder is thought to be talking to other Premier League clubs.

The talented playmaker was close to a permanent move to the Liberty Stadium, but Rodgers’ departure has scuppered a deal and he is now expected to join his former boss at Anfield, despite interest from other English teams.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Observing illegal global betting markets virtually extinguish the structure of certain sports from the inside, as players are tempted into fixing certain outcomes, certainly does not sit comfortably with sports enthusiasts across the globe. After all, Sport is one of the most engaging, exhilarating pastimes in the world, in no small part down to its unpredictability and honesty. When accusations are surfaced of players accepting bribes to fix certain facets of matches, whilst gaining personal financial reward, goes against what the essence of Sport represents. In recent years, Cricket has been rife with illegal betting scandals, some players actually facing prison sentences for their respective part in the allegations. Match fixing in football on the continent has also been ubiquitous, not least in Italy where in May of this year, numerous Serie A stars were arrested after accusations of receiving money from betting syndicates.

Somewhat incredibly, the Premier League has sidestepped any stories of match fixing, or illegal betting from players, until now. The popularity of this nation’s domestic league has been uncompromising in its increase, with globalisation of the competition now at its peak. However, with such unwavering, Big Brother style media coverage of proceedings at all 20 clubs that are fortunate enough to compete in the Premiership, any hidden agenda was bound to be uncovered, reported and evaluated.

Former Southampton captain Claus Lundekvam revealed yesterday that he was one of many Premier League players who were involved in illegal betting scams. Speaking to press in his native Norway, he remarked that these match fixing scandals lasted for years.  This news will come as a huge blow to all governing bodies associated with the Premier League and English Football. Whilst the domestic game on our shores hardly prides itself on a clean cut image, it has continuously been commended for never entertaining such scandals that have disturbed many other European leagues. However, the announcements today suggest that these match fixing scams had been occurring under the nose of the PFA over a decade ago. Who is to know what subsequent scandals have transpired, especially as the prominence of illegal betting syndicates in other sports have only erupted in recent years.

Regulations will now be incredibly severe as the league attempts to distance itself from these accusations. The positive side of the story for the PFA is the period of time that has passed since the supposed betting scandals occurred.  If any other stories surface that are of more recent chronology, then questions will have to be answered as to why, with the PFA so stringent on other aspects of football, had they not acquired knowledge of any incidents of this calibre?

With UEFA acting so heatedly after Jack Wilshere jokingly posted tweets stating that he had put ‘a cheeky tenner’ on an Arsenal player to score last season, one would expect an almighty upheaval by the Premier League bigwigs to delve to the epicentre of this scandal.

While all fans of the Premier League will be saddened to hear news such as this, one couldn’t state that ‘surprised’ is a applicable word to define opinions on the scandal. With such a societally high standing a sport as Cricket becoming so defined by similar allegations in recent years, the negative coverage that Football receives at times was bound to uncover stories such as Lundekvam’s tale of match fixing; stories that are far less financially involved than other illegal betting scandals that have rocked the sporting world. Expect dire repercussions but don’t expect prison sentences.

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Chelsea are ready to conclude a deal to sign Eden Hazard’s younger brother, Thorgan.

The Blues have already completed a big-money deal to bring the Belgium international star to Stamford Bridge this summer, and are now closing in on his 19-year-old brother, who is also an attacking midfielder.

Thorgan currently plays for Lens, and the French club’s sporting director Antoine Sibierski has admitted that a deal is close to being finalised.

“It should be official tomorrow,” Sibierski told Lens’ official website, translated to English by Sky Sports.

“When I arrived there was no intention of letting him go and I met him very quickly after my arrival to show my confidence in him.

“He still had one year left and it was proposed he extended it but he told me eye to eye that did not interest him and he wanted to leave Lens.

“I realised 48 hours later why, when I learned Chelsea wanted him. I understand,” he concluded.

Meanwhile Lens coach Jean-Luis Garcia has confessed that the opportunity was too good for the player to turn down.

“He is a boy of 19, his elder brother signs for Chelsea and he is urged to do so by the same club, who won the Champions League.

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“Congratulations to Thorgan. Unfortunately we cannot go against such an opportunity. Good luck to him,” the coach revealed.

By Gareth McKnight

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Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has stated that he is confident that Brendan Rodgers will lead the club back to the Premier League top four.

The Anfield club have missed out on Champions League football for the last number of seasons, and Kenny Dalglish was sacked after poor domestic form last term.

However, the England international feels the Northern Irish boss has brought in a sense of excitement and that finishing in the top four is achievable.

“I do think we will get in the top four. I think we will get it. I am confident we will get it,” The Telegraph have Gerrard as saying.

“I am not being unrealistic. If we can play like we did in a lot of games last season, be clinical and take our chances, I think we will be high up in the table. I do.

“It has got to come. We are Liverpool. We can’t finish eighth. We have got to put that right. We have got to take the criticism for underperforming last year.

“We can’t be doing post-match interviews saying ‘we should have got the points or we were not clinical enough’. We have got to be clinical. We have got to get the points we should get,” he admitted.

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By Gareth McKnight

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The season kicks off today and Swindon Town blogger Calvin Hothi is just as excited as every other football fan around the country. Here he has look back over pre-season and give his thoughts about  the upcoming season for the Robins.

For Swindon pre-season has been a good one which is unusual for Robins fans as last year we were facing the basement division of English league football and the season before our ex captain Gordon Greer had completed a move to Brighton who would go on to become champions that year.However, this year saw business completed early with seven new additions and some promising pre-season performances.

Paolo Di Canio had strengthened the squad before they jetted out to Lake Garda for their pre-season training. First of all we were introduced to Andy Williams, a signing that had dragged on for at least a month and fans were just waiting for confirmation. He has looked lively in pre-season and has put in man of the match worthy performances so I can’t wait to see him bang in the goals for us like he did for Yeovil last season. Next was the surprising capture of Gary Roberts. He has looked good in the games I have seen him play and will release some pressure of Ritchie as teams won’t be able to stick two men on both wingers. The final signing of that day was the biggest coup of them all with James Collins arriving at the County Ground. The striker had many Championship clubs sniffing around him but Paolo Di Canio managed to persuade the Republic of Ireland U21 international to sign on the dotted line for the Robins and even though I have only seen glimpses of him he has looked like the 20 goal a season striker we didn’t have last season although I’m sure Williams will be targeting that as well.

The next week Di Canio added three more signings to the squad with the first of them being Tommy Miller. The centre midfielder has looked like he will be a good signing although he continuous efforts to the play the diagonal ball over to Ritchie keep failing as 9 out of 10 times it ends up a throw in for the opposition. Then the signing of Alan Navarro was confirmed. He has said not to expect many goals from him this season but he netted twice against his former employers Brighton two days ago to progress Swindon to the second round of the Capital One Cup and his defensive work has been top notch in pre season. Finally that day saw Jay McEveley return to the County Ground on a permanent basis after impressing on loan last season. The final signing we made was Troy Archibald-Henville (imagine the price of that name on your shirt eh) from Exeter. The young Centre Back has been outstanding in pre season and scored a couple of goals as well. Him and Flint will be battling it out next year. We have been promised two more signings with one being finalised next week as well and hopes are high for the new campaign.

Well… to narrow it down to one word it is promotion. With the signings we’ve made and the squad we have got, play-offs should be a very sensible aim with a view of finishing second would realistic aim as the squad is very capable of this. Di Canio will have them putting every ounce of effort in and it will be a very exciting season ahead with big games against clubs such as Sheffield United and Coventry to look out for (many would say Preston is a big game with all the signings they’ve made but I doubt they will be a big threat).

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With the season now firmly under way, only to be interrupted by a brilliantly times international break – thanks for that FIFA – some sides have been straight out the traps, Chelsea and Barcelona have collected the maximum points available to them and have made nothing short of a brilliant start, whilst other teams such as PSG and Real Madrid have performed shall we say less than acceptably and are propping up the middle of the table. It might only be three games in, but fans and the media are debating said results with gusto, and their effect on the rest of the season, raising the question just how vital is a good start to the league?

If someone tries to tell you a good start to the season is detrimental to a team’s campaign I will show you a liar or indeed someone with an I.Q that rivals Joe Cole’s, who after 9 months in France was learning to say Je Voudrais – as much as you may dislike a rival, if they have collected 9 points from 3 games it is impressive and any fan would much rather their side be sat at the top of the table than in a spot that would not even get you into the Europa League next season. A good start sends a message and is never a bad thing.

Of course it cannot be described as the be all and end all – otherwise the season would be over by October. Some teams perform much better in the second half of the season – United are prime examples of this, and always come to the fore after Christmas, meaning that a few points gap is not the end of the world for them. In fact fans have come to expect it. Who a team has played can also be significant – Southampton have faced nothing short of a nightmare first couple of fixtures and it does not get much better for them in the near future but their fans will know they are playing well and beating United or City will not keep them up – beating the teams around them will, and if they lose to them it is time to worry. As for now, their start is not as bad as it may seem on paper.

There is also the small matter of the period over Christmas and Easter – far away they may seem, but they are the most significant periods of the season and if a side can collect maximum points from these jam packed periods they can go a long way to atoning for dropped points earlier in the season or making the gap at the top even wider.

The ACON – yes it is back again to the lamenting of City fans – is also a major factor which is yet to weigh in on matters, but teams with a big or significant African presence will struggle during these months and again even if they have collected maximum points at the start of the season, all that hard work can be derailed during the most inconveniently timed competition.

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Only a fool would tell you they wanted a bad start to the season for their team – as I cast an envious glance up the table to where Barcelona sit I can assure you no matter how hard I try and tell myself 4 points from 3  games is A ok, and Real are doing fine this is about as truthful as when Ronaldo protests he doesn’t care Messi is lorded above him – but there are many more factors to come in to play yet, and whilst the teams who have excelled thus far will be hoping to carry on in the same vein, the ones below them will certainly be relying on the fact it nothing is decided in the middle of September – thank God.

Southampton’s young starlets, Jack Stephens and Calum Chambers, have been called up to the England Under-19 squad for the upcoming European Championship qualifiers, The official Southampton FC website reports.

Stephens and Chambers both play for the Saints in the Under-21 Premier League- revamped from the previous reserve team structure.

Chambers has already scored for the Under-21s this season, while Jack Stephens has made four appearances for the side- the joint-highest so far this season.

They will both fly out to Estonia next week along with the rest of Noel Blake’s squad, to play in the First Qualifying Round of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship.

This comes after the duo were on the standby list for the Under-19 friendly against Germany.

England start by facing Estonia next Wednesday, before taking on the Faroe Islands the following Friday, and finally finish their trip with a match against Ukraine on 1st October.

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As a result of their call-ups, Stephens and Chambers will miss Saints’ Under-21 fixtures against Tottenham and Stoke, as well as the Capital One Cup tie against Sheffield Wednesday next Tuesday.