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I haven’t done this in a while, but since the season is winding down I thought it would be interesting to once again take a look at how things were shaping up one year ago today in the Premier League. In the past, I predicted that West Ham would win the league and that Portsmouth would win the league on two separate occassions based on their positions in relation to where Manchester United was at that point last season. Clearly, you shouldn’t gamble any money based on any of the information that I give you because those two teams are both headed for a downward spiral straight into the Championship (why is it called that anyways? Championship of what? It makes division one sound glamorous, when it really isn’t). Once again for your entertainment and pleasure, here you are:

14 Interesting Facts about the 2008/2009 Premier League season in relation to the 2009/2010 Premier League season that you may or may not find interesting depending upon your dorkiness for random, useless facts:

1. For some reason, as of April 3, 2010, teams have played 33 games as opposed to having played only 30 at the same date last year. I’m guessing this is somehow because of that little tournament in June called the World Cup.

2. Manchester United (65 points), Liverpool (64 points) and Chelsea (61 points topped the league with Arsenal (55 points) trailing behind for the last Champion’s League spot. This year, Chelsea (74 points), Manchester United (72 points) and Arsenal (71 points) lead the way in a bit of a tighter race, with Manchester City (59 points) occupying the coveted fourth place ticket to Europe (the real Europe).

3. The race to the Championship was being held between Newcastle (29 points), Middlesborough (27 points) and West Brom (24 points). They were all relegated. This year, Hull (27 points), Burnley (24 points) and Portsmouth (14 points) find themselves in the same positions; my money’s on all three of them getting relegated because Hull will desperately miss the acoustic range of one Phil Brown (but certainly not his managerial skills).

4. Blackburn found themselves clear of the relegation zone in 17th with 31 points. West Ham are clear of the relegation zone on goal differential with 27 points as of today.

5. Overall this season, the home team has won 166 times (51% of the time), the away team 78 times (24% of the time), and there have been 80 draws (25% of the time). At the completion of last season, the home team had won 173 times (46% of the time), the away team 110 times (26% of the time), with 97 draws (24% of the time).

6. Newcastle had drawn the most games with 11. This year, Stoke has paved the way to peace (ironically enough) with 12 stalemates.

7. Liverpool had scored a league-high 54 goals; Chelsea has smashed that with 84 goals forward this year.

8. Manchester United has had the best defence in the league this year, conceding 27 goals. Chelsea’s defence was more robust last year allowing only 17.

9. In contrast to the previous fact, the worst defence belonged to West Brom at this point last year (55 goals allowed, -29 on goal differential). This year, Burnley have been even lousier at the back allowing 71 goals, having scored 39 goals less than their opponents.

10. The road warriors this season have been Chelsea and Manchester United with 9 wins apiece away from home. Last season, Chelsea and Aston Villa each had 10 wins away from home at this point.

11. Blackburn have secured the most points when not scoring with 6 this season, while Fulham had 7 goalless points awarded to them last year.

12. No player scored 20 goals last season: Nicolas Anelka (19), Cristiano Ronaldo (18), Steven Gerrard (16), Fernando Torres and Robinho (14 each) lead the league in goals. The list involves four brand new names out of five this season (quick! guess who’s still in the list!). Wayne Rooney (26) leads the way followed by Didier Drogba (24), Darren Bent (20), Carlos Tevez (19), and (you cheated if you looked at this first) Fernando Torres (18).

13. Cesc Fabregas (13), Frank Lampard (12) and James Milner (11) have been willing to share the wealth this season by leading the league in assists. Lampsie and Van Persie shared the assist title (how fitting) last season with 10 apiece.

14. Fulham have the best discipline this year with only 37 yellow cards and 1 red card (compared to Sunderland who have the worst with 63 yellow cards and 6 reds). A year ago today, Fulham held the best discipline again (or before?) with 40 yellows and 1 red. Stoke earned their reputation as a rough team last season with 73 cautioned men and 5 men sent for an early shower.

Chelsea’s win over Manchester United seems to have put them in the pole position to take the league this year and the stats agree with that statement (much like they agreed with West Ham winning the league way back in October. Go figure). Just don’t forget about Arsenal back there.

If you liked this, you might want to check out my blog.

“Chelsea To Win The Premier League?” was originally published at Soccerlens.com – Football News.

Birmingham City 1-1 Liverpool
English Premier League
4 April 2010

For the second week in a row, Birmingham City came back from an 0-1 deficit to get a draw.

Liverpool would take an early second half lead as Steven Gerrard scored in the 47th minute. Unfortunately for the visitors, they wouldn’t be able to hold onto this lead as Birmingham City would score in the 56th minute to make it 1-1.

It was a similar match to last weekend when Arsenal took a 1-0 lead but City replied quickly. It’s a disappointing result for Liverpool who look like they will be playing in the Europa League next season instead of the Champions League.

Birmingham City 1-1 Liverpool Video Highlights

“Birmingham City 1-1 Liverpool – Video Highlights – 4 April 2010” was originally published at Soccerlens.com – Football News.

Racing Santander 0-2 Real Madrid
Spanish La Liga
4 April 2010

Real Madrid continued their long unbeaten run in La Liga with a solid win at Racing Santander on Sunday.

The goals were from Madrid’s top scorers, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain. The goal from Ronaldo was a penalty converted in the 23rd minute while Higuain’s was in the 76th minute.

The win puts Real Madrid on top of the La Liga table on goal difference. Next weekend’s match between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona will likely determine who wins the title.

Racing Santander v Real Madrid Video Highlights

“Racing Santander 0-2 Real Madrid – Video Highlights – 4 April 2010” was originally published at Soccerlens.com – Football News.

If there is one thing the great Sir Alex knows how to do, it is to rise to the occasion and win trophies when the pressure is mounting. He’s even coined a term for it (‘squeaky bum time’ anyone?). So with that, this is, we have all been made to believe, the time of year where United thrive.

The early confusion and adaptation of tactics as we lost our best player to Madrid has been finely (and finally) tuned, our ridiculous defensive injury woes have slowly heeled and the goals are really pouring in. Our last two league games have seen as satisfactorally beaten our most hated rivals, and completely batter an often challenging Bolton side at the Reebok; the latter without our top scorer. Yet even so, you just felt that facing a side as fresh as Chelsea, especially after the mental and physical battering we had incurred mid-week, would be a tad too much to overcome.

The counter argument of being the best and therefore competing in every major tournament, in this case Europe’s premier competition, was utterly prevalent yesterday.

Where as we all rejoiced when Chelsea were convincingly knocked out by Mourinho’s Inter – voiced early on by the fans with chants of ‘Champions League? You’re having a laugh’ – it’s worth remembering that Chelsea were the ones with the fully fit and fully focussed squad. Due to Tuesday night’s defeat in Munich, and of course that other extra-curricular ‘distraction’: the Carling Cup final in February, we were left with  only one striker facing a team who had conceded only 15 away from home all season; and who in their last game scored 7 against a team fighting for a spot in the top 4. Oh, and just to rub it in, they apparently had SO many choices up front that they could afford the luxury of being able to stick 24-goal Drogba on the bench.

As with other sickening results this season, I cannot be bothered in the slightest to analyse this match in any great depth, as quite simply, I would rather repress it for now and deal with it in time (hopefully when Chelsea drop points at some stage in the next 5 games). Interestingly however, it’s worth mentioning that there can be a key parallel drawn with this seasons match at Stamford Bridge where we unluckily and undeservedly walked away point-less. The away fixture and consequent result In November was all (rather conveniently) overshadowed by controversy and injustice towards United; and today, the result can be just as easily disregarded in the same way.

Drogba – who of course, came on to seal victory – was unquestionably offside; so offside that the FA probably need to spend the rest of the bank holiday weekend re-training their retarded on-field staff for the millionth time on what exactly constitutes as ‘offside’. What was even more unquestionable however was Chelsea’s overall dominance and utter superiority in the first-half that should, you would hope, leave Ferguson spending more time questioning his own tactics and players ability rather than that of the linesman.

At the risk of contradicting myself and sounding like I am in fact analysing, all I will say is that this was one of the tamest United performances of the season. Every time their midfield and/or defence were in possession, we couldn’t touch them; yet when the ball was back with Rio or Vidic, their front two and even Lampard and Cole (who had a formidable afternoon) hounded us until we could do nothing other than surrender possession. Giggs and Scholes were clueless, especially with their passing and delivery, and Berbatov – as everyone presumed – was completely isolated at the front. Neither keeper’ had a great deal to do, proving that possession was kept and squandered in the midfield; and Terry, in my opinion, was completely average due to again how minimally he was made to work. Our back two in contrast, and quite tellingly, had a busy old afternoon.

Our goal was scored by last season’s saviour (this is Kiko’s time of year after all). However unfortunately, although it was perfectly timed only 2 minutes after their illegal 2nd, was nothing other than a constellation as opposed to a dramatic reinstatement of our spirit. Will their be another Kiko/Villa moment this season? I pray so.

Whether Ancelotti got it spot on – leaving Drogba on the bench and giving Cole the ability to roam free – or Ferguson simply miss-judged the opponents (in hindsight, should Nani have started to give us and the clueless Berbatov far more creative options?), the merits and points are deservedly with the away side. Yes, we will forever be reminded – and remind Chelsea fans – of how we were robbed both times against them this season, and I have no doubt that some will even highlight these two results and the Chelsea goals that harshly won each game as significant moments if we fail to retain the title. But as a more level-headed, less red-tinted United fan, I in no way can condone this; as surely the display, lack of courage and genuine lack of fight instilled within our team would be a more potent reason as to why we would fail in this seasons title challenge.

Also: Poor Refereeing a factor at Old Trafford – At least bad decisions favored neither side

“United 1-2 Chelsea” was originally published at Soccerlens.com – Football News.

There are very few times that I agree with the ramblings of the master of the dark media arts Alex Ferguson and his accomplices, but yesterday the officials made far too many mistakes during Manchester United’s defeat by Chelsea.

During the game advantage was played too often, even when it was clear no advantage was to be gained and too many small decisions were given the wrong way. Worse still, when Mike Dean and his assistants were faced with big decisions, they appeared to bottle them.

However Manchester United’s management have no right to blame the officials for the shortcomings of their team in the game, if anything the inadequacies of officiating were the best we can hope for in football. They were balanced offering no advantage to one side or other and having no clear impact on the result.

Manchester United can point to an offside goal that they conceded and a penalty that on another day would have been given. Yet Chelsea can also feel hard done by that Nicholas Anelka was denied a stonewall penalty and that Federico Macheda was able to pull a goal back with a touch, that replays show clearly hit his arm.

Instead of focussing on these errors we should be thankful that they favoured neither side and therefore kept the integrity of the game intact, errors creating integrity may appear an oxymoron, but no one wants the title to be decided by a catastrophical refereeing error.

It is a severe bugbear of mine that given this balance, so called men of football cannot accept defeat but seek to play the mind games of manipulation regarding the officials. Where is the humility, the admittance that on the day a side can be outplayed, frankly the outburst from the Manchester United camp smack of desperation and a lack of class.

Referees cannot produce good displays with the pressure heaped upon them in the modern game, each decision is reviewed with a slow motion microscope and the respect campaign has become a joke. Time and time again Alex Ferguson and his ilk have been allowed to taunt and deride referees in an attempt to influence them; a governing body with testicular fortitude would have put paid to this many years ago.

As previously stated the general review of the match official’s performance from Manchester United was correct today, but if the decisions in a game are balanced I think that is the best we can hope for.

Referees are not machines and should be given more protection from the publicised ramblings of those with vested interests and games to play.

Also: United 1-2 Chelsea

“Poor Refereeing a Factor at Old Trafford – At Least Bad Decisions Favoured Neither Side” was originally published at Soccerlens.com – Football News.

CSKA Moscow v Inter Milan
UEFA Champions League Quarterfinal 2nd Leg
Luzhniki Stadium – Moscow, Russia
6 April 2010 – 17:30 GMT

Inter Milan holds a slim 1-0 lead after the first leg over CSKA Moscow with the second leg heading to Russia.

CSKA Moscow v Inter Milan Preview

CSKA will have a few home field advantages which include an earlier start time than normal (17:30 GMT instead of 19:45 GMT) and the artificial surface at the Luzhniki Stadium. It will be a tricky match for Inter Milan with only a one goal aggregate lead heading into the match.

Inter Milan comes into the match leading the Italian Serie A by a single point. Speculation continues to surround the club about manager Jose Mourinho’s future. His recent comments suggest that he is unlikely to return to Inter next season and could be headed back to England.

CSKA was supposed to play a weekend match in the Russian Premier League against Zenit St Petersburg but the match was cancelled due to security concerns. The cancellation will allow CSKA Moscow extra time to prepare and should be the fresher team in the match. They are 2-1-0 in the Russian Premier League this season.

Inter Milan will not play an open and attacking style but instead play for a low scoring (0-0 or 1-0) match. Their road win at Stamford Bridge showed they are capable of winning in hostile environments. Unlike recent seasons, Inter are finally showing they are capable of winning the Champions League. CSKA is a tough team and won’t quit but Inter Milan will be advance. A 0-0 or 1-1 scoreline seems most probable.

CSKA Moscow v Inter Milan Prediction

The match will end in a 1-1 draw and Inter Milan will advance 2-1 on aggregate.

Watch CSKA Moscow v Inter Milan Live Online

You can watch CSKA Moscow v Inter Milan live online as well as all other Champions League games. Read our live Champions League football page for more details.

“CSKA Moscow v Inter Milan – Preview – 6 April 2010” was originally published at Soccerlens.com – Football News.

Tony Cascarino, writing in the Times Online yesterday, invited some sarcastic criticism in the comments section of his blog, against his claim that England should take Darren Bent to South Africa, rather than a 3rd goalkeeper. Cascarino wrote, “Third-choice goalkeepers never play, yet England could easily need a predator such as Bent if Jermain Defoe got injured.”

One kind-hearted reader commented: “Oh my, its [sic] a pity your suggestion is against FIFA guidelines. Research Tony, try it. Or leave it to the real journalists.”

And sadly that is apparently true – World Cup guidelines currently state that 3 of the 23 squad members of World Cup Finals participants must indeed be goalkeepers.

But Cascarino’s claim is interesting anyway. Should FIFA leave it up to individual managers to decide whether to take 3 or only 2 goalkeepers to the World Cup finals? And if they should, would it indeed be smarter for England to take an additional striker?

Darren Bent: versatile, but THAT versatile?

3rd choice keepers NEVER play at World Cups
Ignoring the question of whether the additional striker should be Darren Bent, or a more clinical striker (e.g. a cardboard cut out of Wayne Rooney?), it seems to me that Cascarino makes a good point. When was the last time a 3rd choice keeper was actually called into action in a World Cup Finals? Too lazy myself to do some genuine research on that, I’ll leave it to our more stat-loving readers to put me straight – but from the top of my head I wonder if England have ever used a 3rd choice keeper at the World Cup? Is the position totally useless, just a summer jaunt for an already over-pampered Premiership star?

In fact haven’t England only ever had ONE 2nd choice keeper play in a World Cup Finals?
Peter Bonetti – he played for England in the Mexico World Cup in 1970, covering Gordon Banks (rather badly it turned out). But that was only as England’s #2. I can’t think of another time after 66 when England even needed their #2 goalkeeper at the World Cup.

Contrast that with the times England have lacked extra strikers. Even at the last World Cup, when Theo Walcott was controversially picked by Sven Goran Eriksson, England were notoriously without additional firepower upfront to support Wayne Rooney. Particularly as the tournament wears on, England may increasingly wish they had more strength in depth up front.

Bonetti's famous bad day in Mexico…

If England have to take a 3rd choice keeper, he should be a penalty king!
But regarding the third choice keeper position – I leave you with a final thought. Given that, as Cascarino points out, the 3rd choice keeper never plays, England’s #3 should be chosen on the basis of one criterion above all else: penalty saving expertise. England went out of the 2006, 1998 and 1990 World Cups at the quarter and semi finals stages, each time choosing to stay with their first choice keeper for the shoot outs, rather than bring on a penalty saving expert. The 1990 example is particularly memorable, with Shilton left on the pitch to concede all of Germany’s spot kicks, with Penalty saving great Dave Beasant (also known as “lurch” for his imposing size) left on the bench. England went out, and the World Cup drought continued…

Mark Crossley: the only player to save a Le Tissier penalty, and only the 2nd keeper to save a penalty in the FA Cup final. He's still playing…

So who should that be? Who is the most prolific penalty saving goalkeeper from England? Is it even a Premiership keeper? Could England really go to the World Cup Finals with a 6 feet 6 goalkeeper from the Second Division?! For me, as long as we went with our best penalty saving goalkeeper available, I wouldn’t care…

“Darren Bent to be England’s 3rd choice World Cup keeper?” was originally published at Soccerlens.com – Football News.

Barcelona v Arsenal
UEFA Champions League Quarterfinal 2nd Leg
Camp Nou – Barcelona, Spain
6 April 2010 – 19:45 GMT

Defending UEFA Champions League Barcelona host Arsenal in the second leg after a 2-2 draw in the first leg.

Barcelona v Arsenal Preview

The two teams played a very entertaining first leg the Emirates but Barcelona missed a few chances. They were dominating the match in the first half and could have scored several goals. These missed opportunities could come back to haunt Barcelona who will be without their two starting centerbacks (Puyol and Pique) for the match due to suspension.

Both teams are without several key players including Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas who is out for suspension and because of a season ending leg injury suffered in the first leg. Andrey Arshavin and William Gallas were also injured in last week’s match and won’t be available on Tuesday. Without several of their top players, Arsenal will have to rely players such as Denilson and Theo Walcott. Walcott provided a spark in the first leg as a second half substitute and his speed can trouble can any defense.

Barcelona will be without striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic who is out with a calf injury. The core of Barcelona’s team, Xavi and Lionel Messi, will be available on Tuesday night at the Camp Nou. Messi did not have his best performance in the first leg but is always capable of breaking down defenses.

Arsenal’s goalkeeping problems were exposed last week’s and could be an issue in the second leg. Almunia made some great saves in the first half but was in poor position on the first Barca goal. The Gunners goalkeeper is prone to mistakes and arguably one of the worst in the EPL.

Barcelona do not need to score in the match but they by nature play attacking and aggressive football. Arsenal needs to score and will have to send players forward. This combination will make for lots of chances and probably several goals. The Gunners have players like Theo Walcott who can create chances. Barcelona should advance but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the visitors get an upset.

Barcelona v Arsenal Prediction

Barcelona will win the match 2-1 and advance 4-3 on aggregate.

Watch Barcelona v Arsenal Live Online

You can watch Barcelona v Arsenal live online as well as all other Champions League games. Read our live Champions League football page for more details.

“Barcelona v Arsenal – Preview – 6 April 2010” was originally published at Soccerlens.com – Football News.

There is something quintessentially British about tonight’s Champions League second leg at the Camp Nou, something that harks back to the days of English clubs pre-ascendancy in the Champions League. Arsenal are clear underdogs despite a stirring comeback from 2 nil down at the Emirates last week, yet, even with a crippling injury list, they could well upset the odds.  

Barcelona were simply sublime in the first half of last weeks encounter, but Arsene Wenger uncharacteristically made key mistakes. The first was to gamble on the fitness of too many of his players. The second was to sit too deep.

In a crucial Champions League tie you could perhaps get away with gambling on one of your star players, but to gamble on three of them was madness. One can understand why he wanted William Gallas on the pitch – Sol Campbell, despite performing admirably since his return, is not quick enough on the turn anymore to play a team like Barcelona. Mikael Silvestre is a good player, excellent in distribution, but not reliable enough as a center back for his manager to totally trust him, and Wenger would have been loathe to withdraw the combative Alexander Song from central midfield – an idea buttressed by the fact that Song was their best performer alongside Manuel Almunia in what was a fraught first half.

Interestingly, Denilson was excellent when he was introduced in the second; a real calming influence and reliable hub of possession, better, I would dare to suggest, than ‘Cesc Fabregas, who despite scoring a late penalty that kept his side in the tie, looked way off the pace in the first half, and only started to exert some influence in the second. But at what price? His yellow card and subsequent injury means he will take no part tonight, which is a massive blow.

Andrei Arshavin is also a big loss – his pace, skill and low center of gravity would have undoubtedly caused Barcelona problems on what is an extremely big pitch at the Camp Nou, especially given the nature and frequency of Dani Alves’ spectacular’ forays forward. They’ll still have Walcott, and it’s no overstatement to say he changed the course of the first leg, putting real pressure on Barcelona’s back line and the tired Maxwell in particular. Eric Abidal is likely to be restored to left-back this evening and he has already caustically claimed pace alone is enough to bother their defence, words which could well come back to haunt him.

Arsenal can take heart from several things – not least, the mental resilience evinced by their fight-back, but also from the fact that its highly unlikely Barcelona will be able to reproduce the quality of the football they played in the first half last week. They have set a standard they are going to struggle to match, and therefore the fulsome praise from Wenger and his players makes perfect sense.

Guardiola has already said its the best he has seen his side play since taking over – which is some claim – and whilst they will inevitably have moments of brilliance, the chances of them dominating in the manner they did in the first 25 minutes of that match are remote, they may even get anxious if they don’t dominate to quite the same extent.

Of course, Wenger will have to get his tactics right, and ensure his team press high up the pitch the way Barcelona did to them, as well as somehow nullifying the threat of Xavi Hernandez; the player without whom, Barcelona would be a changed proposition. But having a team of fit players should make a vast difference, and playing Samir Nasri in the Fabregas role offers a slightly different, but not greatly reduced threat.

Nasri was, overall, Arsenals best player last week; his balance and technique on the ball are exceptional and not only did he retain possession expertly, and under intense pressure, but he was very often the architect of Arsenals best attacks. He is more than capable of playing the role of conduit, which he did to devastating effect against Porto.

Barcelona will be without Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol, undoubtedly the two best defenders at the club, and it will be interesting to see how Rafael Marquez and Gabriel Milito handle players with pace on the turn. Milito in particular, is still feeling his way back from over a year and half out of the game due to injury.

Perhaps of more importance to the Catalan giants however, will be the loss of Zlatan Ibrahimovic to a calf injury suffered before the win over Atletico Bilbao this weekend. He caused Arsenal untold problems last week as a graceful and inventive mix of point man and siphon, and Thierry Henry did nothing to suggest he is in the sort of form to be an efficacious replacement, whilst Bojan, despite being talented, still looks raw and one-dimensional at this point in time.

In the maelstrom of praise for Barcelona following the first leg there was one comment from Andres Iniesta which was most pertinent: “Praise makes you weak” he said, and Barcelona would do well to heed his wise words and retain some humility, as Wenger and his players have shown no hesitation in letting the public know just how good this Barca team are in the build up to the match. Its win-win for them: lose and one can hardly criticise, but emerge victorious, and your feat is magnified all the more, after all, everyone loves an underdog.

“Beware the underdog; Arsenal could bite” was originally published at Soccerlens.com – Football News.

Retired midfielder and currently a presenter and analyst on Sky Sports, Chris Kamara was on duty in Fratton Park for the coverage of the Portsmouth vs Blackburn on April 3rd when this happened:

Source

Related post:
FA’s new film featuring Chris Kamara – ‘Lucky Jock Strap’

“Chris Kamara’s “cutting edge report”” was originally published at Soccerlens.com – Football News.