Also just to add to the nostalgia, I’m going to post this reel from a youtube’r I’ve just discovered. This uploader may or may not be 16 but he seems to have an abundance of time, editing ability, and old soccer clips and I would definitely recommend checking out his channel for more highlights.

This week: 4-6

Overall: 11-19

Blackburn v Arsenal                                Prediction: Arsenal                            Result: Arsenal 1-2

This game was a lot less comfortable for Arsenal than they would have liked.  Theo Walcott continued his bright start to the season with a beautiful Arsenal style goal.  Connecting passes along the ground before a clinical finish.  The win came at a cost as Van Persie injured himself once again.  A twisted ankle will keep him out for about a month.  Can you say made of glass?

Blackpool v Fulham                                 Prediction: Fulham                            Result: Draw 2-2

Mark Hughes seems only to be able to draw matches.  I should just pick draws in all the Fulham matches for the rest of the season and I’ll probably get more right than wrong.  He was sacked at Man City for drawing too many matches.  Will they be so harsh at Craven Cottage?  Blackpool were much the better side for large periods of this match.  The home crowd was boisterous throughout for their first view of the Premier League in their own ground.  Blackpool have a tough schedule ahead and could have used the three points if only they could have held on to their advantage.

Chelsea v Stoke                                            Prediction: Chelsea                            Result: Chelsea 2-0

Chelsea never had to get out of second gear.  Their performance this week was a lot less impressive than their previous two matches but they still dealt with Stoke with relative ease.  Malouda was yet again the man of the match for Chelsea earning a penalty and scoring a spectacular goal.  One thing to note is the rare penalty miss from Lampard in the first half and whether he or Drogba would have taken the second penalty if Lampard were still on the pitch at the time.  As it was Drogba took it and made no mistake.  Stoke have still yet to record a point this season and will need that to change soon if they don’t want to be marred in a relegation battle come the end of the season.

Tottenham v Wigan                                 Prediction: Tottenham                   Result: Wigan 0-1

How did this result come about?  Wigan set up very negatively allowing pressure onto them.  Tottenham looked the better side but could not convert.  Wigan then came into life late with some counter attacks and scored to steal the points away from home.  This is an enormous result for Wigan and could spark a turnaround for them.  Tottenham should be hugely disappointed and maybe had a bit of a hangover from their passage into the Champions League group stage mid week.

Wolves v Newcastle                                  Prediction: Newcastle                      Result: Draw 1-1

There were 12 yellow cards in this dirty match.  Newcastle controlled the game but were made to rue their missed chances.  Andy Carroll scored again and I must question Chris Hughton taking him off before the end.  I think he should have played 90 minutes.  Wolves have not lost yet this season and will probably feel happier about the result than Newcastle.

Man United v West Ham                       Prediction: Man United                   Result: Man United 3-0

Nani redeemed himself with a really great performance after missing a costly penalty last week.  Rooney got off the mark with a superbly taken penalty after Giggs was brought down in the box.  It was a good move to give him the chance from the spot to see if you can get him on a roll.  Speaking of being on a roll Berbatov has continued to have an impressive start to the season and added another goal.  West Ham once again offered very little and with their next match against Chelsea it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I must once again mention that anyone living in Manitoba should call their local cable service provider to demand Roger’s Sportsnet One.  This was the one game I did not see this week because I don’t have access to that channel.

Bolton v Birmingham                            Prediction: Bolton                               Result: Draw 2-2

Once again I picked against Birmingham and they made me pay.  Birmingham were the better side for most of the game especially after Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen was sent off for slapping a Birmingham player.  Bolton took advantage of a couple set pieces late, a penalty and a free kick to peg themselves back for a draw.

Liverpool v West Brom                         Prediction: Liverpool                        Result: Liverpool 1-0

Roy Hodgson finally got his first Premier League win as Liverpool manager.  Liverpool were visibly not at their best but the Torres pulled them out of the fire with a touch of class.  I think Christian Poulsen looked poor in the midfield but he is still getting used to his new team and hopefully for Liverpool will find some form.

Sunderland v Man City                         Prediction: Man City                          Result: 1-0

This match will probably be remembered for the appallingmiss by Carlos Tevez early in the first half.  Man City had more chances to score than Sunderland and would regret not taking any of them when Micah Richards gave away a penalty in injury time.  Darren Bent converted the penalty despite taking what in truth was not a very good strike.  This could be one of those loses that keep Manchester City players, coaches and fans awake at night.

Aston Villa v Everton                            Prediction: Everton                            Result: Aston Villa 1-0

This was a terrific result for Villa after a really tough week.  Kevin MacDonald may have just earned himself the full time job at Villa Park.  Luke Young’s goal in this match was fantastic and deserving of a match winner.  Everton have started slowly as they did in the last campaign.  David Moyes will have to lift his side and right now it’s hard to see where the goals are going to come from with Saha (among others) not being able to find the back of the net.

The Premier League does not play this upcoming weekend but will be back at it the following weekend.  I’ll be back with my predictions prior to the next round of matches.

Or he can stop a chance thats all but in the net, like Roger Ceni does routinely for Sao Paulo. When a goalie enters that next echelon of usefulness though is when he can also score buckets of goals. Shortly after saving that penalty, Ceni went on to score his 90th goal for club (in a match that ended 2-2):

If you thought he made that look very non-chalante, it might have something to do with taking a lot of free kicks.

Question: Is there any way I could hide my love for Ronaldinho?

Answer: Since I made a post last week in which I called him my inspiration and touted his title as player of the decade, probably not. In which case there’s no where to go from here but forward.

Ronaldinho-Flare from their home opener, he’s still got it!

Question: What does a morphing-picture of Ronaldo journey through time video proove?

Answer: It prooves nothing, but it makes a nice bookend to what I’m going to talk about, so we’re all going to watch it anyway.

The physical transformation of Ronaldo Nazário de Lima from iG Internet Group on Vimeo.

No one can deny me my respect for the real Ronaldo or his pedigree on the field. I have posts where I love on him almost to the same degree as I did Ronaldinho last week.

He’s no where near the level he once was, and while crazy morphing photos may be out there to give the impression its because he’s old and out of shape. What people sometimes don’t remember though is that his crippling injuries factor into that fitness as well. I’d bet a slightly overweight Ronaldo would still be the breakout star of the Brazillian leagues, but he’s almost certainly playing through a level of pain as well. That old Ronaldo post features an individual reel of him from a game in his prime, an absolute terror to his opponents who cannot be denied a goal. Here are his individual highlights from this past weekend’s match against Vitoria:

You can see those flashes of brilliance where his body just no longer cooperates. Its nice of his coaches to give him this victory lap in this final season, but I hope it doesn’t end up doing his memory a disservice.

Question: When was the last time I ended a Monday post on something as depressing as that?

Answer: Never, I got a little more sense than that. I’m going to slightly skew my tradition of posting one of the weekend’s top goals. I’m still posting one of my favorite goals from the past week, only this time instead of looking internationally I’ll be focusing on a game right here in Winnipeg. In the MSA Cup final, arguably Manitoba’s biggest draw for soccer, Lucania’s Chris Musto impressed the crowd of nearly 300 with this beautiful controlling touch and swift finish.

Lucania would go on to win the game 4-3 in extra time over Sons of Italy.

Last week: 4-6

Overall: 7-13

Blackburn v Arsenal                             Prediction: Arsenal

Arsenal will still be rolling off their 6-0 victory from last week.  With Fabregas and Van Persie now having each had some game time in that victory they should both probably be set to start this week’s match.  Blackburn will be looking for a repeat of this fixture from last year where they were 2-1 winners.  Blackburn have a good home record only losing three times at Ewood Park last season and winning their only fixture so far this season but I think Arsenal will prove too hard a test for Sam Allardyce’s men.

Blackpool v Fulham                                  Prediction: Fulham

I was tempted to call this match a draw because Mark Hughes only seems to be able to get draws.  It was the reason he was ousted from the City of Manchester Stadium and he seems to have transferred it on to his new Fulham team (although two matches can hardly be considered a trend).  However, I think Fulham will be too strong for Blackpool disappointing the few fans that will be in attendance at their first home fixture in the Premier League.

Chelsea v Stoke                                             Prediction: Chelsea

Could the Champions have had a more cushy start to the season?  I expect another festival of goals coming from Chelsea to delight the Stamford Bridge faithful.  Hopefully Stoke don’t just sit ten men behind the ball but I don’t think anyone could blame them if they did.

Tottenham v Wigan                                  Prediction: Tottenham

Tottenham have had a great week seeing off Swiss side Young Boys to reach the group stages of the Champions League for the first time.  The celebration should continue at White Hart Lane with a visit from woeful Wigan.  Whichever strikers get the start from Harry Redknapp should have plenty of opportunity to impress.  Wigan have already allowed ten goals in two Premier League matches so far this season.

Wolves v Newcastle                                   Prediction: Newcastle

After a very impressive home win last week I can only hope that Newcastle didn’t use up all their goals before this week’s trip to Wolverhampton.  Wolves have opened their season well and will be looking to add to that early success.  The form of Andy Carroll will prove too much for Wolves this time out and if you listen closely enough you’ll hear me chanting and cheering in my living room.  In their mid week Carling Cup match Newcastle started three veterans, Ryan Taylor, Shola Ameobi and Peter Lovenkrands alongside the clubs youth and reserves.  All three scored giving Chris Hughton a nice problem to have, a squad not just a team full of hungry players.

Man United v West Ham                        Prediction: Man United

West Ham are in for a long season.  They dropped both of their first two matches and now face a trip to Old Trafford before a visit from Chelsea in two weeks after the international break.  Man United should have no problem penetrating the West Ham rearguard.  The only point of interest would be who would take the penalty should Man United earn one after Nani’s crucial miss last week.

Bolton v Birmingham                             Prediction: Bolton

I have yet to pick Birmingham this season and their late game heroics have cost me both of those predictions.  I’m hoping that I’m third time lucky by going against them again this week.  Bolton impressed last week with a 3-1 away win and will look to home fixtures like this one as potential three point matches. 

Liverpool v West Brom                          Prediction: Liverpool

Liverpool should finally get their season started with a much need victory.  After quite literally dropping points to Arsenal in the opener and being trounced by Man City last week West Brom will be welcome visitors to Anfield.  Liverpool should also be boosted by their win in Turkey on Thursday that saw them through to the group stages of the Europa League.  This will be Liverpool’s third game in six days so they may have some tired legs.  Torres and Gerrard are expected to start after missing Thursday’s game, much to West Brom’s dismay.

Sunderland v Man City                           Prediction: Man City

Sunderland have been unimpressive this season letting up late goals in both their matches.  Man City will be very confident after beating Liverpool handily last week and advancing to the group stages of the Europa League on Thursday.  Man City will be tired with this being their third game in six days but James Milner will look to inject some energy since he was not registered in time to participate in Thursday’s match.  Mancini also has a large squad of skilled players at his disposal so there should be no reason why he can’t find the right formula to ease past Sunderland.

Aston Villa v Everton                              Prediction: Everton

This is an important game for Aston Villa who have had a very tough week losing 6-0 to Newcastle and crashing out of the Europa League prior to the group stages. Villa may have taken too long to make a choice about their manager and the direction of the club.  Everton will not be sympathetic to Villa’s plight as they have had a tough start to the season themselves managing only one point from matches they would have expected more from.

There are my picks for another week, do check back Monday for my review.

Ronaldinho was, and in many ways still is an epic player. You can argue there have been people who were better at certain elements of the game, but in our life we may not see anyone who had the same creativity and flair, that Brazilian spirit of Samba-Soccer, that Ronaldinho was capable of in his prime. In 2009 the buck-toothed wonder won World Player of the Decade from the prestigious British mag World Soccer. While normally such ballots are dubious because they favour those are most recently impressing, the voting was done cumulatively over 10 years and Ronaldinho captured more votes than C. Ronaldo and Messi who were bigger headlines at the time.

Ronaldinho left Barcelona for AC under checkered circumstances. I think real fans still appreciated how he played but frequent reports of fights with the coach convinced some that maybe Ronaldinho didn’t want to play his best anymore, as well as the sensationalist Spanish media latching onto anything they could to bring him down in the minds of the fans.

But this week when Ronnie returned to the Camp Nou, he was greeted pre-game by an emotional highlight reel showcasing some highlights from his days in Spain:

I only got into soccer the year that Ronaldinho helped them lift the Champions League trophy, and since then I don’t know if a player has ever been as big an inspiration to me as he was then. Ronaldinho needs to be celebrated for the fact that he shows how the game is meant to be played, for the fun of creating great plays and always with stupid grin on your face.

He brings a lot more to the game than just goals, so lets all take a moment to remember Ronaldinho’s greatness.

Toronto FC received two red cards both rather harshly and could not overcome a 1-0 deficit.  Here is coach Preki’s and Dwayne De Rosario’s take on how the referee handled the game.

Nick LaBrocca went as far as to call the legitimacy of the game into question.

Toronto FC knew that they would be up against this kind of behaviour because Arabe Unido put on a similar display last week against fellow Group A and MLS side Real Salt Lake.  Real Salt Lake escaped their encounter with a win but spent most of the night frustrated by the same tactics used to waste time that Toronto FC saw last night.  Real Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis was particularly upset.

To my utter surprise none of the play acting was mentioned in the game review on the CONCACAF website.

My mother, with whom I watched the match (she is an avid supporter of Toronto FC) asked why would the MLS teams want to go into this competition?  Faced with this kind of abuse of the rules and downright shameful antics it seems like foregoing this game would have been a good plan to avoid the frustration of the game and the fatigue of travel. I agree with Jason Kreis that a solution needs to be found to discourage players from resorting to these embarrassing measures to waste time and then said rule must be enforced by the referee.  Arabe Unido should be ashamed of their play and CONCACAF need to start finding ways to stamp out this kind of play or at least assign a ref who isn’t fooled by it.

This week: 4-6

Overall: 7-13

Arsenal v Blackpool                        Prediction: Arsenal                         Result: Arsenal 6-0

This game was never going to be a contest.  Arsenal we by far too much for Blackpool.  The penalty awarded which lead to the second goal made the game lose all meaning because the ref also sent the player off.  Arsenal against a ten man Blackpool is a joke and the floodgates opened.  The question that arises is does one have to give a red card and a penalty in those instances because that is like a double punishment.  It would be a lot better for the game to award the penalty and a yellow so that the game could remain somewhat of a contest.  Wenger made some interesting choices for substitutions bringing in just recently back from injury Fabregas and Van persie.  To risk these two at the end of a game that was long ago settled seemed unwise.  However he may have been thinking that giving them some game time in a no pressure situation might help bring them back to match fitness.

Birmingham v Blackburn          Prediction: Blackburn                   Result: Birmingham 2-1

This game didn’t real come into life until the second half.  But the second half was very entertaining with some back and forth open play.  Blackburn took the lead but for the second straight week Birmingham showed they have heart and don’t give up.  This time their comeback led to all three points.

Everton v Wolves                             Prediction: Everton                         Result: Draw 1-1

Everton may be doing a repeat of last season when they started slowly.  Wolves however are working hard to avoid the sophomore slump and stay up again this season.  When Ebanks-Blake scored in the 75th minute it was Wolves first shot on target and Everton can feel as though they let this one slip away after a dominating performance but take nothing away from Wolves as they did what they needed to away from home.

Stoke v Tottenham                         Prediction: Draw                                Result: Tottenham 1-2

There should be an asterisknext to the result of this match and I think I should get some credit for my prediction.  Stoke scored moments into stoppage time withthe ball landing in the lap of Crouch who was in the net before he scooped it clear and also looked as if he brushed it with his arm.  Referee Chris Foy was in a perfect position to see the goal but looked to his linesman to make the call who was much further away and most likely had his view obstructed by have a dozen players.  Foy should be sent down to ref in lower leagues for this horrible decision because if he could not see what was right in front of him how can he be trusted to properly do his job.  After an incident like that one always thinks again about goal line technology or video replay.  If FIFA and UEFA won’t do anything about bringing in video replay I think the English FA should take it upon themselves to introduce the use of video.  FIFA and UEFA could penalize them for not abiding their rules but the EPL should not be afraid of that.  They are enormous all over the world and those governing bodies would look ridiculous once it was proven that the technology works and does not slow the game down considerably.

West Brom v Sunderland           Prediction: Sunderland                 Result: West Brom 1-0

West Brom got a great response from their players after losing 6-0 in their opening match.  Odemwingie scored on his debut late in the game to give West Brom three points.  Steve Bruce’s Sunderland are left with only one point  following late collapses in both their games.  They will need to start playing 90 minutes and not just 80 if they are going to turn their fortunes around.  West Brom on the other hand will need to continue to pick up victories against these sorts of teams at home if they are going to stay up.

West Ham v Bolton                         Prediction: Bolton                            Result: Bolton 1-3

During the broadcast the announcer mentioned that this was the 55th league meeting between these clubs and none of them have ended goalless.  At the time this game was goalless and one feared the announcer had cursed this game to end as a dud but it was anything but.  West Ham were awarded two penalties, the first of which Carlton Cole had saved by Jaaskelainen.  The second penalty was a weak call especially considering some of the other penalty appeals waved away by this ref at either end of the pitch.  Consistency is all we ask for from the referee.  Elmanderwas the man of the match scoring twice to give Bolton the victory.  West Ham will be in tough now with two defeats from two matches and Man United and Chelsea as their next two opponents.

Wigan v Chelsea                               Prediction: Chelsea                           Result: Chelsea 0-6

What an incredible prediction.  Nobody but me would have had the guts to pick Chelsea in this match.  If you take into account the last time these two teams met on the final day of last season this outcome was never in doubt.  At least this time out Wigan allowed two less goals.  After this game these two teams are top and bottom of the league respectively both building quite impressive goal differences, Chelsea at plus twelve and Wigan at minus ten…..and we’re only two games in.  Another quick mention here about the fact that I couldn’t see this game except through highlights because Shaw and Rogers are still negotiating about Shaw carrying Rogers new channel Sportsnet One.  So again I encourage anyone living in Manitoba to call their cable provider and demand this channel.

Newcastle v Aston Villa             Prediction: Newcastle                     Result: Newcastle 6-0

Now this was truly a tough prediction, many out there probably thought I was just picking with my heart and maybe I was but boy did it come true.  After John Carew skied his penalty attempt Joey Barton started the scoring with a thumped strike from outside the box.  He vowed to shave his moustache when Newcastle won and did so in the change room after the game.  The goals continued to flow throughout the game with last year’s top scorers for the club Andy Carroll and Kevin Nolan scoring three and two respectively.  Six-nil has been a regular scoreline early this year but I think this is the best of the four because it was against a formidable squad in Villa.  TOON! TOON! BLACK AND WHITE ARMY!

Fulham v Man United                 Prediction: Man United                 Result: Draw 2-2

Once again Craven Cottage proves to be an unhappy hunting ground for Man United.  What I couldn’t understand about this match was Nani as the penalty taker.  Earlier in the match you had Scholes score his 150 goal for the club and both Giggs and Owen had been brought on.  Berbatov, a man who is there to score goals was still on the pitch and yet Nani stepped up to take the penalty.  As soon as I saw he was the one to take the penalty I was questioning that decision and my worry was proven justified as he put forward a tame effort.  Instead of getting an insurance goal and going on to a victory the saved penalty inspired Fulham to find an equalizer and Nani will probably not get another penalty this season….as he shouldn’t.

Man City v Liverpool                  Prediction: Draw                                 Result: Man City 3-0

The opening goal for Man City was a link up between two former Villa players, Milner on his debut set up Gareth Barry for an easy side foot into the goal.  Milner was also involved in the second goal sending in the corner that was turned in.  Joe Hart looked good once again making some key saves after Man City took a two goal lead that held their advantage.  Roy Hodgson needs to sort Liverpool out quickly to avoid another season like the last.  Thankfully they get West Brom at Anfield next week.

Check back on Friday when I will once again try to improve my predictions, maybe 50% this time?

I’m going to do away with the question and answer format because there’s only two videos I want to share. First off is what I consider to be the goal of the week and an early contender for goal of the season. Things like this will always be up for debate but I’m giving my vote to Gareth Bale’s emphatic volley off the post against Stoke:

The second is these Assists of the Week reels appearing on Youtube. I have no idea who this guy is.  But until he quits this thankless job or gets banned for infringing on the copyrights of the various leagues, I urge every fan of the game to enjoy the best part of it, the brilliant play making:

Last week: 3-7

Overall: 3-7

Arsenal v Blackpool                                             Prediction: Arsenal

I wrote last week that many would jump off the Blackpool bandwagon.  I was completely wrong, they had to start wedging more people in with a shoe horn.  This week will be a reality check though as a trip to the Emirates often is for teams.  Arsenal’s injury list has grown with Samir Nasri now out but they should still have enough quality to easily deal with Blackpool.

Stoke v Tottenham                                               Prediction: Draw

Tottenham suffered a thrilling 3-2 loss to Young Boys in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier on Tuesday which also saw strikers Defoe, Keane and Pavyluchenko injured.  Harry Redknapp will have one eye on the return leg of that qualifier mid week and with Crouch as his only fit striker will find this a tricky fixture.  Kenwyne Jones is expected to make a quick return to action for Stoke after what looked like a serious injury last week.

West Ham v Bolton                                               Prediction: Bolton

West Ham offered little resistance to Aston Villa last week.  I don’t see much changing against Bolton this week who come into this match with a fully fit squad.  Bolton should spoil the opening match at Upton Park this season.

West Brom v Sunderland                                  Prediction: Sunderland

West Brom were shell shocked last week at Stamford Bridge and will no doubt know that they have a tough season ahead.  They will need to rely on their home form to stay up but that won’t begin this weekend.  Sunderland will still be feeling the sting of blowing a two goal lead in the final minutes last week and that will be more than enough motivation for them to earn the win this week.

Birmingham v Blackburn                                Prediction: Blackburn

Blackburn will pick up another low scoring victory, which is the MO of manager Sam Allardyce.  Once Blackburn get the lead Allardyce will shut down all paths to goal for Birmingham.

Everton v Wolves                                                   Prediction: Everton

Wolves started their season with a good victory and Everton looked off their regular pace in a loss to Blackburn.  Everton should expect to win in their home opener despite the fact that Wolves are almost the same on the road as they are at home.

Wigan v Chelsea                                                      Prediction: Chelsea

The only question to answer about this match is how many goals will Chelsea score?  I think they can score as many as their hearts desire.  Wigan have shown that they cannot defend even against the likes of Blackpool and Chelsea can tear apart any team.  Do not look for a repeat of the result of this fixture from last season where Wigan came out winners.

Newcastle United v Aston Villa                    Prediction: Newcastle United

Newcastle didn’t lose a game at home last season in the Championship and I see that trend continuing this weekend as St. James’ Park will be electric for this clash.  James Milner has left Villa and Stephen Ireland has come in.  Ireland has warned Milner about life in Manchester.  The starting lineup will change whether Ireland gets his debut or not.  How will the players deal with the change?  Villa looked great in their opening match but will find stiffer competition in Newcastle.  Look for Andy Carroll to delight the hometown faithful.  Manager Chris Hughton is hoping that he can give Carroll some help with the possible returns from injury of Peter Lovenkrands and Danny Guthrie.

Fulham v Manchester United                       Prediction: Manchester United

Craven Cottage has not been happy hunting grounds for Sir Alex’s men in recent years.  Last season Fulham won this fixture 3-0.  However I do not think that a repeat is on the cards.  Look for Rooney to get off the mark.

Manchester City v Liverpool                        Prediction: Draw

Both of these teams are still trying to find fitness.  They both drew their opening matches and then had 1-0 victories in Europa League qualifying yesterday.  Manchester City earned most of their points at home last year but Liverpool should be able to hold them to just one.  Look for a low scoring draw.  An interesting sidenote for this game will be to see if James Milner is given his debut for Manchester City.

There are my picks for another week.  Fingers crossed I’ll do better this time.  Enjoy the matches.

Now on to this weekend’s games and my terrible performance in predicting the results.  I only got three out of ten predictions correct, which means I was below chance.  Chance being one in three when choosing one of the two teams or a draw.  So any random picks I could have made should have preformed better than my so called informed picks.  Hopefully next week I can make up for it but I do want to remind everyone not to put money on the games based on my picks.  thelocalgame.com and I will not be held responsible for any losses incurred.

Tottenham v Manchester City             Prediction: Tottenham         Result: Draw 0-0

 Tottenham were much the better team in the first half.  Gareth Bale was having his way down the flank but Joe Hart made several good saves to keep the scores level.  The second half had much less in terms of genuine scoring chances.  It seems Joe Hart will keep his place as the starting keeper for Manchester City and we may see Shay Given sold before the transfer market closes, perhaps to Arsenal.  An interesting note about Tottenham this year is their shirt sponsors.  They have split the advertizing on the front of their shirt between two companies.  One of the sponsors, Autonomy, is one their shirts for all their EPL games whereas the other, Investec, will be on their shirts for all cup matches.  This is a great way for them to make extra money.  First of all they probably received more money from two sponsors than they would have if one had bought the rights for all matches and secondly they know many fans will purchase both types of jerseys.  A cash grab if ever I’ve seen one.

Aston Villa v West Ham                             Prediction: Draw                        Result: Aston Villa 3-0

Villa came out of the blocks fired up in this game.  West Ham were really poor in the first half and perhaps Villa should have had more than a two goal lead at the break.  They came out better in the second half but could not capitalize or sustain their improvement for long.  James Milner added the third goal in a nice send off to the Villa faithful.  The fans cheered him almost begging him not to go but this game was indeed his swan song as he has now joined Manchester City.  The youngster Mark Albrighton quickly made a name for himself giving the West Ham defense fits.  The question after this match is whether interim manager Kevin MacDonald will keep the position.

Wigan v Blackpool                                         Prediction: Wigan                     Result: Blackpool 0-4

This was a true shock to everyone.  I challenge anyone to find someone who predicted Blackpool to win this game or someone who didn’t predict that they would finish 20th this season.  I don’t want to take anything away from Blackpool cause they played with heart, determination and may have won by more.  However, Wigan were awful, maybe they are still recovering from the final day of last season when they lost 8-0 at Stamford Bridge and with the Champions coming to the DW Stadium next week it could be another trouncing on the way and a long season ahead.  The other thing to note about this game was the poor performance by the match officials.  Not only did they wrongly chalk off a goal by each team for phantom offsides but they also allowed a ball that clearly went out the side to be taken as a corner kick.

Blackburn v Everton                                  Prediction:  Draw                        Result: Blackburn 1-0

This game will be remembered for one moment.  Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard had a lapse in concentration and dropped the ball on a routine play.  The ball landed at the feet of Nikola Kalinic who made no mistake putting the ball in the back of the net.  Afterwards Sam Allardyce set up his team to hold their advantage.  Everton didn’t threaten to score until very late in the game.  They will have to improve if they have their sites set on European football next year.  Blackburn fans should be happy as this is a very good three points for them.

Sunderland v Birmingham                    Prediction:  Sunderland         Result:  Draw 2-2

Former Newcastle player Stephen Carr looked to be the goat for Birmingham to the delight of Sunderland fans.  He fouled Frazier Campbell in what appeared to be outside the box but was given as a penalty that Darren Bent finished and as if that weren’t enough Carr also headed a cross into his own net to send those few in attendance at the Stadium of Light into raptures.  But the sending off of Sunderland captain Lee Catermole in the first half for two yellow cards finally caught up with the home side as Birmingham scored twice in the final twelve minutes to secure a point.

Bolton v Fulham                                           Prediction: Draw                          Result: Draw 0-0

Mark Hughes started his career by doing exactly what got him canned at Manchester City, earning a draw.  Martin Petrov made his debut for Bolton and looked bright at times.  Bolton were the brighter side for much of the match but Fulham goalkeeper David Stockdale gave a good account of himself making several saves.  Stockdale was given the start over Mark Schwarzer, another keeper who is in the sights of Arsenal.

Wolves v Stoke                                               Prediction: Stoke                          Result: Wolves 2-1

Stoke started bright with new signing Kenwyne Jones striking the bar early on but just over ten minutes in he went down with a knee injury and did not return.  Wolves broke the dead lock with a brilliant free kick goal.  David Jones flicked the ball up to himself and then looped his volley over the wall and into the back of the net.  Just over a minute later debut boy Steven Fletcher doubled their advantage as the Stoke players still had their mouths wide open gasping at the free kick they’d just seen.  Amdy Faye pulled a goal back with a header in the second half but Wolves never looked like giving up their advantage. 

Chelsea v West Brom                                 Prediction: Chelsea                    Result:  Chelsea 6-0

The Champions took their oppurtunity to show that they are not prepared to give up their title.  Drogba looks like he wants to win the golden boot again.  As I have already addressed earlier this is the only match I did not watch but from the highlights it seems Chelsea had their way and West Brom put up very little resistance.  West Brom will need to improve if they hope to avoid the drop.  Chelsea will hope to be able to keep up this pace and should find many more goals again against Wigan next.

Liverpool v Arsenal                                   Prediction: Liverpool                Result: Draw 1-1

Liverpool should have won this game.  Joe Cole was sent off just before the break for a challenge he made almost as far away from his own net as one could get.  It was a silly challenge for the spot on the field and the time in the match but after watching it several times I think a yellow card would have been sufficient.  There was no malicious intent, just aggresive play.  Straight after half Ngog scored a terrific goal to give Liverpool the lead.  Liverpool looked the better side for much of the second half but in injury time Chamakh bundled into goalkeeper Pepe Reina in what may have been called a foul on another day and the ball hit the post only to come out into the retreating Reina’s path as he tried but failed to keep it out of his own net.

Man United v Newcastle United       Prediction: Man United             Result: Man United 3-0 

As you know my bias this match upset me more than all those that I predicted wrong.  Andy Carroll had a chance to give Newcastle the lead early but didn’t take it.  It didn’t take Manchester United long to capitalize on their decided possession advantage.  Berbatov and Fletcher scored before the break.  Ryan Giggs came on in the second half to score the third goal and take care of his record early of being the only man to score in every Premier League season since it’s inception.

I’ll be back on Friday to make my predictions for this weekend and hopefully I’ll have learnt something from this past weekend’s matches.