FA Premier Update

Monday, December 10, 2007

Here is the latest tally of scores:

1st - Arsenal - 37pts
2nd - Manchester United - 36pts
3rd - Chelsea - 34pts
4th - Liverpool - 30pts
4th - Manchester City - 30pts
4th - Portsmouth - 30pts
7th - Everton - 27pts
7th - Aston Villa - 27pts
9th - Blackburn - 26pts
10th - West Ham United - 22pts
10th - Newcastle - 22pts
12th - Reading - 17pts
13th - Tottenham - 15pts
14th - Bolton - 14pts
14th - Birmingham - 14pts
14th - Middlesbrough - 14pts

Then I cut the list.

Way to go Manchester United, tailing shortly behind Arsenal. I give proper respect to Chelsea Football Club for exerting aggressiveness. Props will go to Liverpool as well, for consistent delivery in every match. I'd still say that this season's darkhorse is Manchester City. Over-all, the season is getting more and more exciting. Woohoo!

 

Snippet of Barclays Premier League weekend review:

Aston Villa 1-3 Portsmouth
Sulley Muntari's superb double strike helped secure a sixth successive away win in the Barclays Premier League for Portsmouth and earned them their first success at Villa Park for 37 years. The £7million signing from Udinese gave Aston Villa goalkeeper Scott Carson no chance with two stunning left-footed drives to double his goal tally for the campaign. A Craig Gardner own goal had set Pompey on their way to victory and all the home side could muster in reply was a late Gareth Barry penalty.

Chelsea 2-0 Sunderland
Andriy Shevchenko celebrated his Chelsea return by spearheading the Barclays Premier League victory over Sunderland. The Ukraine striker was handed only his fifth league start of the season but did his chances of securing an extended run in the side no harm. His second goal of the season may only have been a routine finish off Salomon Kalou's 23rd minute cross, but it capped a lively display.

Everton 3-0 Fulham
Ayegbeni Yakubu grabbed a second-half hat-trick as Everton stretched their unbeaten run to 10 matches - the best in five-and-a-half years under manager David Moyes. After a quiet start, Everton warmed up nicely for their Carling Cup quarter-final at West Ham United on Wednesday. Yakubu, a £11million signing from Middlesbrough, has now scored nine goals in 16 matches, but the better statistic is eight in 10 starts in the Barclays Premier League.

Manchester United 4-1 Derby County
Ryan Giggs clocked up a century of league goals for Manchester United as Sir Alex Ferguson's men overcame an early struggle to record victory over bottom club Derby County. Carlos Tevez grabbed a brace and Ronaldo converted a last-minute penalty. Steve Howard scored Derby's first away goal of the season.

Newcastle United 2-1 Birmingham City
Habib Beye chose the perfect moment to claim his first Newcastle United goal as the Magpies struck at the death to end their seven-match wait for a Barclays Premier League win. Cameron Jerome had given the Blues an early lead before Obafemi Martins converted a penalty. Then Beye's dramatic winner in the last minute sealed victory for the Magpies.

Reading 3-1 Liverpool
Reading rode their luck to inflict a 3-1 Barclays Premier League defeat on Liverpool and dent the Merseysiders' title hopes. Stephen Hunt's penalty was cancelled out by Steven Gerrard's 10th goal of the season, but the home side were not to be denied and responded with second-half goals from Kevin Doyle and James Harper.

Middlesbrough 2-1 Arsenal
Middlesbrough eased out of the bottom three with a hard-earned 2-1 win over title contenders Arsenal at The Riverside Stadium. A Stewart Downing penalty and a Tuncay Sanli strike, his second in two matches, earned the Teessiders the win - their first in the Barclays Premier League since 1st September - and also denied the Gunners the chance to stretch their one-point lead at the top of the table. Tomas Rosicky scored late on for the visitors.

Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Manchester City
Tottenham Hotspur's Jermain Defoe scored late to give his side a 2-1 win over Manchester City. Rolando Bianchi cancelled out Pascal Chimbonda's opener before Defoe grabbed the winner with seven minutes left, just after Stephen Ireland was given a straight red card for a challenge on Young-Pyo Lee.

Bolton Wanderers 4-1 Wigan Athletic
Bolton Wanderers' revival continued at the Reebok Stadium as Gary Megson's men recorded their biggest win of the season, 4-1 against neighbours Wigan Athletic. Paul Scharner headed into his own net to give the Trotters the lead and although Denny Landzaat equalised for the visitors, Kevin Nolan put Bolton back in front before the break, with Kevin Davies and Nicolas Anelka, who also missed a penalty, finishing off an easy win.

Blackburn Rovers 0-1 West Ham United
Dean Ashton's goal ensured Alan Curbishley celebrated a year in charge of West Ham United with a 1-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers. Interval substitute Ashton struck seven minutes into the second half as the Hammers made it four successive wins over Rovers to lift themselves into the top half of the table.

The art of delivering a blow with a foot

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Drizzly Thursday afternoon. Rainwater strewed the ground. It's a bit humid. I had to wear a hoodie, to retard the development of colds.

I was hanging out with my friend Marco that afternoon, who happens to be an awesome footballer. He plays as defensive midfielder if I tapped it correctly from my memory, and he does his stint very well by the way. So, we talked about the usual stuff, the How are you's. As I binged on my barbecue-flavored fried potatoes minced into thin slices, we shifted the conversation to what else, football.

In this archipelago, normally, you won't hear people talking about football. Translation: Majority of the Filipinos do not patronize the sport. I can then conclusively say that this is owed to the influential contribution of Uncle Sam to our culture. Basketball. I guess we, Filipinos, love aggressive sports. Something that should surprise and amaze us. Not to mention, fast-paced action. Thus, we were easily clutched by basketball.

But wouldn't it be so nice if we expand our inclination to sports and not just limit it to basketball? Yes, we are already at par with other countries in terms of our competitiveness in basketball, but we should not stop there, should we? What I'm trying to say is that we should at least try harboring other sports, say football, since it is also widely played professionally. You ask, "How are we gonna get the players for this sport?" Oh, we have lots of talented footballers in the country. What we need to do is to subsidize these players. Support them. For maybe in the future, they might be representing our country in FIFA.

UPDATE:

FA Premier League

1st - Arsenal (19pts)

2nd - Manchester United (17pts)

3rd - Manchester City (16pts)

4th - Liverpool (15pts)

5th - Portsmouth (12pts)

6th - Blackburn (12pts)

7th - Chelsea (12pts)

8th - Newcastle (11pts)

9th - Aston Villa (10pts)

10th - West Ham United (10pts)

Talk about vengeance. Five consecutive wins in a row! Hail Manchester United! Hail Sir Alex Ferguson! I think the dark horse this season is Manchester City. Chelsea FC should gain more wins under their belts. 'Bout Arsenal. Hmm. They're starting to look very decisive. This would be a great great season!

[EDIT 7:43 P.M.]

La Salle won against Ateneo by five points. As I always say, the real winners at the end of the day are J. Amado Araneta and the chunk of sponsors. But kudos to the De La Salle University - Manila Green Archers. Next game: >–UE—> 

Man Utd, get a win… PUHLEASE!

Monday, August 20, 2007

Darn! Manchester United is off to a bad start this season!

Having drawn their first two matches, the team's current status in the league is rather alarming for us, United fans. Their latest battle against Manchester City was not either helpful for the team; Man Utd lost to Man City. Both teams have already played three games. In all of their matches, Man City outscored everyone else. Putting them at the top spot. On the other hand, the powerhouse Man Utd had lost in one of their games, which was against Man City, and their other matches resulted in a draw.

Shoutout to Rooney and others: "Wake up guys! Although it's only the start of the season, you should not rest on your laurels! Act like winners ya'll! Dominate in every aspect!"

Shoutout to Sir Ferguson: "Slap their faces, Sir, if you see the need of doing such. And, we are starving for a win. Please get one under your belts!"