Premiership - 18th/19th November

[Geordie Ahmed]

Saturday, 18 November 2006
Arsenal v Newcastle, 15:00
Chelsea v West Ham, 15:00
Everton v Bolton, 15:00
Man City v Fulham, 12:45
Middlesbrough v Liverpool, 17:15
Portsmouth v Watford, 15:00
Reading v Charlton, 15:00
Sheff Utd v Man Utd, 15:00

Sunday, 19 November 2006
Blackburn v Tottenham, 16:00
Wigan v Aston Villa, 13:30

[Geordie Ahmed]

Man-City are beating Fulham 3-1 with 20 mins to go, that is the firts goal city have conceded at home this season

[Geordie Ahmed]

Today i will be supporting Reading, Man-U, Pompey and Chelski - hopefully they will all get 3 points

the chance of us getting a point at the Emirates is extremely slim so i need the teams around us to lose so that hopefully we can win our next 2 games and progress up the table

[Daoud]

I actually found a Chelski supporter. I said it seems money can buy them anything, even fans. So does that make you a ***** of sorts?

Newcastle and Arsenal are my favourite teams and I want Newcastle to avoid relegation but Arsenal to win the league (realistically speaking). SO yeah what Geordie is saying and whatever happens in that game

[Has]

Henry on the bench today for Arsenal.

[Geordie Ahmed]

Henry on the bench today for Arsenal.

every little helps, unfortunately they are still too strong for us - just compare their centre backs to ours, anyhow lets hope we atleast put up a fight of some sorts (no not the bowyer/dyer variety :9: )

[Geordie Ahmed]

wohooo - 2mins gone and its still 0-0 :27: :27:

[Daoud]

wohooo - 2mins gone and its still 0-0 :27: :27:
:))) :)))
Well what are the odds that one of the sides will still be 0 after 90 mins

[Oxy]

wohooo - 2mins gone and its still 0-0 :27: :27:
Its the 'calm before the storm' ;-)

[Geordie Ahmed]

:))) :)))
Well what are the odds that one of the sides will still be 0 after 90 mins

id say pretty high :19:

anyhow more importantly its still 0-0 after 13mins :27:

also we have had 51% of possesion so in a way we are winning :14: :27: :27:

[Nawazb]

sheffield utd take a shock 1 goal lead against man utd!

[Oxy]

sheffield utd take a shock 1 goal lead against man utd!
Well they surprised Liverpool in Game 1 of the EPL - hopefully they will go one step further today ;-)

[Geordie Ahmed]

sheffield utd take a shock 1 goal lead against man utd!

:12: :12: :12:

Reading and Chelski are following the script by winning BUT what are man-u playing at?

[Nawazb]

:12: :12: :12:

Reading and Chelski are following the script by winning BUT what are man-u playing at?

You actually want manure to win :O

[ImranR]

1-1 Rooney

[Oxy]

You actually want manure to win :OWhen youa re stuck at the bottom, you want the low teams to lose - even if it means backing ManU

[Geordie Ahmed]

You actually want manure to win :O

yes, sheff utd are just above us so i want man-u to win - i know its sad BUT thats what i have been driven to

meanwhile DYER :27: :27: :27: :27: :27:

[Geordie Ahmed]

1-1 Rooney

good, now they need another

[Daoud]

Newcastle are winning. This cant be happening

[vortex619]

At least be happy for Newcastle Daoud! :P

[Oxy]

Newcastle are winning. This cant be happeningSo the other team didnt turn up then :))

[Geordie Ahmed]

So the other team didnt turn up then :))

:))) :)))

[Daoud]

Good luck now. Henry coming on

[Geordie Ahmed]

Good luck now. Henry coming on

was just about to post that :6: :6:

why did Van Persie have to get injured :12:

[Daoud]

was just about to post that :6: :6:

why did Van Persie have to get injured :12:
Yeah, RVP would do neat tricks but in the end not score keeping everyone happy :D

[Geordie Ahmed]

and now on comes Walcott :( :(

our defence struggles against pace so this isnt looking good . . . . then again our defence struggles against footballers full stop :(

[Rob H]

I do not believe my Brummie eyes, Newcastle in the lead at Arsenal! Would be a huge scalp. Arteta has put Everton in front.

[Daoud]

Luckily good old Che is back

[HAFRIDI]

yes, sheff utd are just above us so i want man-u to win - i know its sad BUT thats what i have been driven to

meanwhile DYER :27: :27: :27: :27: :27:

good to see him on the scoresheet!!

come on utd!

[Geordie Ahmed]

This is so frikkin tense - i cant take it :42: :42: :42:

i will be over the moon if we can win, heck if we can beat the gooners il donate money to PP - a tenner for every goal we score (providing we win :19: )

[Daoud]

So its 10 now if nothing else happens?

[Geordie Ahmed]

:12: :12: :12: :12:

[Rob H]

Well 1-1, Henry. Bad luck Geordie, i feel for you!

[Geordie Ahmed]

So its 10 now if nothing else happens?

its O now that Henry the idiot has scored :12: :12:

[ImranR]

Rooney makes it 2-1

[HAFRIDI]

rooooney!! good comeback from us..feel for you geordie

[Rob H]

So many yellows for the Toon

[Rob H]

Martins gets the ball, just sprints away and relieves all the pressure. He's a great weapon.

[Rob H]

and it's 1-1 FT great result for the toon!

[Geordie Ahmed]

and it's 1-1 FT great result for the toon!

yep, obviously 3 points would have been great BUT considering the situation we are in il take the point - its a must for us to pick up 6 points from our next 2 matches which are at home

[Geordie Ahmed]

Today i will be supporting Reading, Man-U, Pompey and Chelski - hopefully they will all get 3 points

the chance of us getting a point at the Emirates is extremely slim so i need the teams around us to lose so that hopefully we can win our next 2 games and progress up the table

:14: :14: :14:

cos of the above and us managing a draw we climb just outside of the relegation zone :14:

[Rob H]

cos of the above and us managing a draw we climb just outside of the relegation zone :14:
Never thought i'd see that celebration from a Toon fan :))

[Nawazb]

Boro v scousers has kicked off,im very unhappy that sami aint playing!
Schwarzher
Davies
Woodgate
Pogatetz
taylor
Morrison
Euell
Boateng
Rochaembak
Arca
Yakubu

Reina
finnan
carragher
agger
riise
pennant
alonso
gerrard
gonzales
kuyt
bellamy

[Geordie Ahmed]

Never thought i'd see that celebration from a Toon fan :))

me neither BUT this is a special season and im sure there will be more surprises in store

[Geordie Ahmed]

So its 10 now if nothing else happens?

yeah that remained nowt.
anyhow since im kinda in a generous mood i will donate a fiver for every point we get from our next 3 Premiership games :19:

[Nawazb]

me neither BUT this is a special season and im sure there will be more surprises in store


If Roeder gets the money for an entire new defence and a central striker, im sure the geordies could go far in the fa cup,ueffa cup and achieve a respectable league finish!

[Geordie Ahmed]

If Roeder gets the money for an entire new defence and a central striker, im sure the geordies could go far in the fa cup,ueffa cup and achieve a respectable league finish!

thats what its about now, try to pick up some points and just get to January in a decent position and hopefully we can buy some players - ideally i would like 4 players (Striker, LB, RB and a CB) BUT i reckon we will end up getting a striker and a CB which should atleats help us avoid relegation and finish in mid table

[Rob H]

If Roeder gets the money for an entire new defence and a central striker, im sure the geordies could go far in the fa cup,ueffa cup and achieve a respectable league finish!
Surely they cannot get rid of Bramble :O

[Geordie Ahmed]

Surely they cannot get rid of Bramble :O

ofcourse not, Bramble is gonna move into midfield, he will be the next Ruud Gullit :19:

[Nawazb]

Surely they cannot get rid of Bramble :O


Technically they already have because he is not being offered a new deal,it would be a good move to sell him for a nominal fee to a championship side!

[KaSaNoVa_G]

I just got back fm the Arsenal v Newcastle why the hell do all goal keepers have their
best game of the season against us lol.. if it was not for N'castle keepr we should have
won it bloody 4-1 or 5-1 ... same old story had 15+ chances but just aint finishing them
ot the damn keeper is having a game of his life !!

[Toony™®]

saw the whole of the newcastle match

defense was outstanding. Bramble was back being the BEAST. Given top quality saves.

Dyer was best player for newcaslte on the pitch even martins did what he was asked to do.

[KaSaNoVa_G]

We hit the post.. missed a few by inches lol top saves by the keeper.. the whole
lot but just didnt bang another one in and again let in a stupid goal.. need to win on
tuesday now which is a MUST win in champs league ...

[Geordie Ahmed]

I just got back fm the Arsenal v Newcastle why the hell do all goal keepers have their
best game of the season against us lol.. if it was not for N'castle keepr we should have
won it bloody 4-1 or 5-1 ... same old story had 15+ chances but just aint finishing them
ot the damn keeper is having a game of his life !!

Bro this is Shay Given we are talking about he is excellent against all teams - he aint the best keeper in the premiership for no reason

[Nawazb]

Boro drawing with liverpool at half time, liverpool have definetly looked the better side, southgate needs to bring on a second striker(maccarone) to partner yakubu who looks isolated up front!

[Toony™®]

Bro this is Shay Given we are talking about he is excellent against all teams - he aint the best keeper in the premiership for no reason


exactly..its standard for him... tbh, i thought the defense were outstanding...

4 cbs again..same as in palermo.. play this defense more often i say.

[Nawazb]

Great draw for boro against liverpool,we were dominated against for large parts of the game but some good saves prevented a liverpool victory!

[Geordie Ahmed]

exactly..its standard for him... tbh, i thought the defense were outstanding...

4 cbs again..same as in palermo.. play this defense more often i say.

i agree BUT only cos Carr/Baba are rubbish imo - they are not good enough, we need a new RB and LB in January

[Rob H]

Liverpool again stutter away from home. With this sort of form they're heading for a mid table finish.

[Nawazb]

i agree BUT only cos Carr/Baba are rubbish imo - they are not good enough, we need a new RB and LB in January

Simple solution to that is buy up lucas neill from blackburn(hes out of contract in summer) and either gareth bale or baines who would do a great job too!

[James]

Rooney is in fantastic form. A joy to watch him.

Liverpool away from Anfield are an absolute joke :))

[Jimmy two-times]

We need to beat spurs today or we could be dragged into the relegation battle.

The main problem is that gamst pedersen has been off form for most of the season, oojier has taken too long to settle down and still prone to defensive mistakes and we are relying heavily on benni for the goals because nonda, jeffers are misfiring and roberts is injured.

[Daoud]

Simple solution to that is buy up lucas neill from blackburn(hes out of contract in summer) and either gareth bale or baines who would do a great job too!
Havent seen Bale in real life but if hes anywhere close to what he is in FM2007, they really need to get him. Goal problem solved too :D

[w4s1m786]

We need to beat spurs today or we could be dragged into the relegation battle.

The main problem is that gamst pedersen has been off form for most of the season, oojier has taken too long to settle down and still prone to defensive mistakes and we are relying heavily on benni for the goals because nonda, jeffers are misfiring and roberts is injured.

i recokon this game will be a draw, we have a few injury problems ahead of thia game aswell, Jenas is out injured and lennon a 50-50 for the game, we have been very poor away from home this season so a draw for us wouldnt be a bad result.

id start with Mido and Defoe upfront and give Berbatov a rest because he hasnt settled to the pace of the premeirship

[Nawazb]

Havent seen Bale in real life but if hes anywhere close to what he is in FM2007, they really need to get him. Goal problem solved too :D

Bale is probably the best talent wales have produced since ryan giggs,he has shown great ability in his short football career with wales and soton showing his pace and great defensive skills while also being able to go forward regularly supporting the midfield and also his freekick taking is a real asset!

[Geordie Ahmed]

Havent seen Bale in real life but if hes anywhere close to what he is in FM2007, they really need to get him. Goal problem solved too :D

i take it he is doing well for you? :19:

Southampton's chairman just said the other day that a bid of £7million would do the trick - personally i would snap him up for that amount BUT i doubt we would go for him

[Geordie Ahmed]

Rooney is in fantastic form. A joy to watch him.

Liverpool away from Anfield are an absolute joke :))

his first goal was quality. goal of the day has to go to Mikel Arteta, what a quality goal that was

also what about Ronaldo's miss :))) :))) :)))

[Daoud]

i take it he is doing well for you? :19:

Southampton's chairman just said the other day that a bid of £7million would do the trick - personally i would snap him up for that amount BUT i doubt we would go for him
Yeah, thanks for the recommendation. Has 8 goals from freekicks in the season despite missing nearly 2 months due to injury right at the start of the season. Not only that but rating wise is the leading player in the Premiership

also what about Ronaldo's miss
I hearc :))) :))) :)))

[James]

Ronaldo's miss was brilliant. It reminded me of a miss from Kanu (when he played for West Brom) where he missed an open net from 1 yard in the last minute.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1jQG73v7X0U

what a miss! :)))

[Has]

Liverpool away from Anfield are an absolute joke :))

While we didn’t get the result we wanted, we went to the Riverside and put in a strong performance against a side that last season beat Chelsea (and again this season), Man Utd and Arsenal at their own ground.

[James]

While we didn’t get the result we wanted, we went to the Riverside and put in a strong performance against a side that last season beat Chelsea (and again this season), Man Utd and Arsenal at their own ground.

It was an improved away performance (mainly because you didn't lose) but you hardly created chances and still don't look like scoring. Heck you don't even look like looking like scoring! For a club that is always banging on about how big they are and how they should be challenging for the league, the whole season (away from home) hasn't been good enough.

It is getting pathetic now. every bloody week, Benitez says 'we created many opportunities but couldn't take them, all we have to do is take them', but it never quite happens. In the long run it would be better for you if when you lost, you lost convincingly like you did to Arsenal and Manure, so the denial and excuses will go away.

Other side's results shouldn't be an excuse, all those results at the Riverside were shock ones. The Middlesborough side under Southgate is a poor one that would have hardly had any positive moments from the season if they hadnt had a fluke win against Chelsea.

[Has]

It was an improved away performance (mainly because you didn't lose) but you hardly created chances and still don't look like scoring. Heck you don't even look like looking like scoring! For a club that is always banging on about how big they are and how they should be challenging for the league, the whole season (away from home) hasn't been good enough.

It is getting pathetic now. every bloody week, Benitez says 'we created many opportunities but couldn't take them, all we have to do is take them', but it never quite happens. In the long run it would be better for you if when you lost, you lost convincingly like you did to Arsenal and Manure, so the denial and excuses will go away.

Other side's results shouldn't be an excuse, all those results at the Riverside were shock ones. The Middlesborough side under Southgate is a poor one that would have hardly had any positive moments from the season if they hadnt had a fluke win against Chelsea.

Of our away performances the games at Sheff Utd, Man Utd and Arsenal (second half) were poor. Rafa admitted we played badly at Utd and has openly stated that our performances, not only our results, have not been good enough.

We were comfortably the stronger side against Middlesbrough especially in the second half, and even thought we didn’t exactly pound their goal we did enough to score a goal or 2.

With the resources we have we should be putting basic targets up of being in the top 4 every season and getting into the last 16 of the Champions League every season. But obviously our ultimate target is to win the league, it would be stupid not to have this target when clearly we do have the means to challenge at the top end of the Premiership. I don’t think this unrealistic of misguided, it’s the way it should be.

And to dismiss all of Middlesbrough’s 4 home victories as “shock” suggests that they didn’t deserve them, when the clearly did.

[Geordie Ahmed]

Boro have done well at home so i dont think its a major surprise Liverpool drew.

Overall tho for a team like Liverpool their away record is abysmal, 2 points from a possible 21 is obviously NOT good enough. only 1 goal scored away from home and that was a dodgy penalty imo

i havnt seen enough of Liverpool this season so i honestly havnt a clue what the reason for this is BUT its something Rafa has to sort out sooner rather than later otherwise Liverpool will end up in mid table

[Has]

It’s a platform to build on, we were comfortably the better side in a match were last season Chelsea lost (and this season), Man Utd lost, Arsenal lost and we haven’t won in a while. We may not have got the result we wanted yesterday and we didn’t exactly pepper their goal but it was a strong performance, their was clearly some anxiety in the players, a lot of them where feeling the pressure that building because of the media and sadly also the fans who have started to turn on both the boss and the players.

Some of the passing in the second half was far better than it has been recently. But one thing I have noticed we have been giving the ball away very cheaply compared to last season, and some of the biggest culprits have been the new players like Gonzalez, Pennant and Bellamy.

We have 2 home games in the league against lesser opposition, and the next 10 league games are winnable. My predication is that we will collect most of the points available in the next 10 league games and will be sitting comfortably in the top 4 but still some way off the leaders.

[Easa]

Good to see Man U coming back nicely, I'm backing them to be at the top by the end of the season.

[Rob H]

Wigan 0-0 Villa. Well with the form Wigan have i'll take it but i think it was definitely possible to win it. We missed the electricity of Petrov in the midfield and didnt create enough chances. Still we are 5th in the table which i'll take.

[Waqar's inswinging yorker]

i'd rather bale stayed at soton, that way we mite get to see some premiership footy in soutampton! plus it will stop the pompey fans bragging on the south coast.

[Waqar's inswinging yorker]

blackburn 1-0 spurs!!! LOL, cmmon blackburn

[James]

Of our away performances the games at Sheff Utd, Man Utd and Arsenal (second half) were poor. Rafa admitted we played badly at Utd and has openly stated that our performances, not only our results, have not been good enough.

We were comfortably the stronger side against Middlesbrough especially in the second half, and even thought we didn’t exactly pound their goal we did enough to score a goal or 2.

With the resources we have we should be putting basic targets up of being in the top 4 every season and getting into the last 16 of the Champions League every season. But obviously our ultimate target is to win the league, it would be stupid not to have this target when clearly we do have the means to challenge at the top end of the Premiership. I don’t think this unrealistic of misguided, it’s the way it should be.

And to dismiss all of Middlesbrough’s 4 home victories as “shock” suggests that they didn’t deserve them, when the clearly did.

The big thing for me is, his response to the losses have been disappointing (until yesterday). A great team bounces back hard after a bad result, but you can never be better than decent if you go on extended poor runs.

A clutch of away games this season and next to nothing in terms of points, and until yesterday, the performances weren't improving, in fact they were getting worse. Seriously I like Rafa, Stevie Gerrard and the new Liverpool they have been trying to build since the season where they won the CL, I really do, but this looks like a different side to the one which could have won the league last season were Chelsea not so strong (their points total was incredibly high for a 3rd placed team). Last season they played some fantastic football, they were scoring goals and winning games for fun. I rated them at 2nd best in the country this time a few months ago. I hope yesterday was a game that steadies the ship and leads to some wins.

Re Boro. They deserved to beat the 'big 3' but all the results you mentioned were surprises. Arsenal losing 2-1, Man Utd losing 4-1, Chelsea losing 3-0 and 2-1, actually Chelsea losing full stop is unusual enough! I saw all these games and bar the display from Arsenal, the visiting side put in one of their worst defensive displays in years. These results should not be an excuse for Liverpool to be happy with a 0-0. Liverpool are one of several teams in the league who I feel should be winning at the Riverside.